Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (16 page)

“Where are we going?” I asked, too tired to be tactful.

“The ship’s commander wants to see you and then he’ll decide
,”
s
he replied.

We weren’t twenty feet from sick bay, when the shock wave hit,
Sergeant
Yarborough slammed into me as I cushioned her fall when I hit the wall nearest me
. I winced in pain.

“What the hell was that?” I said as I stood up
,
rubbing the side where my
almost
healed fractured ribs were, now throbbing in protest
.
Sergeant
Yarborough collected
herself and refused my hand to help her up. “Whatever
,” I said
as I went back to caressing my injured innards.

The sailor who had been
escorting us after the initial shock answered. “The aliens, somehow they see us as soon as we break surface. Luckily we
learn
their targeting systems are for shit once we get to below
a hundred
feet. We don’t know why that is, but they take pock shots anyway. We’ve lost a few subs
,
but nothing like the wholesale destruction on the surface units. They’ll take a couple of more shots, but where they think we are
is
not where we really are. At least we can hope those aren’t the same points.” As if to reiterate the sailor
’
s words, the next shock wave hit, but with nothing of the force the first had. My pulse was finally coming back down.

Sergeant
Yarborough kept on walking as the seaman stopped and knocked on the
Commander
’
s
door. “Sir, Captain Talbot is here.”

It had been so long since I had been addressed that way I was slightly taken aback.

“Show him in, Yeoman,
”
he replied. “A
nd could you please ask the chef to send up some coffee? Thank you.” Without waiting for an answer
,
I entered the fairly spacious
—
for a sub
—
compartment. The majority of the room was taken up with models of all subs from its earliest conception, to the latest super boomer models.

“My son
,” the Commander said
as he noticed where my gaze rested. “I suppose it’s his way of showing appreciation for what I do while I’m away. And probably the only way he feels connected to me on my long absences
,” he said
as his chiseled features dropped a little
, no doubt
at the thought of being away from his family.

“Where is he
, sir
? If you don’t mind my asking
,” I said

“Safe, for now
,
”
h
e added. I sent him and his mother back to her home, in a small province outside of Alberta. The aliens have thus far only been targeting larger metropolitan areas.” He left the rest unanswered. We both knew relatively soon, ‘safe’ would not be a word used casually.

“Sit-
sit, Captain
,” the Commander said
as
he motioned to a small leather
chair off to the side. I
gratefully accepted. I was dog-
tired and sore to say the least.

“I’ve been reading your bio
since we started on this mission
,” h
e started.

I have a bio?
But I let him continue.

“Pretty impressive stuff, I might add. Too bad the
N
avy didn’t get a hold of you first, I would have commissioned you myself.”

“With all due respect
, sir
, my
f
ather was a Marine, I don’t think he would h
ave approved.”

“
Quite
,”
h
e mused.

“Sir
,
I only did what I had to do
.
E
veryone keeps thinking I’m some sort of hero. But a hero makes a conscious decision and strikes out to do just that against overwhelming odds. I did what I did because I had no choices.”

“That’s where you
’
r
e
wrong
,
Michael
,”
t
he commander stated. “A true hero does not set out to become a hero, those are usually the idiots that get themselves or their troops killed. You sacrificed of your self for the well being of
others against odds no
one
would touch. So yes that qualifies you as a hero in my book and a lot of other books.”

“Not everyone’s books
, sir
, not by a long shot.”

He looked over quizzically at me, but I didn’t feel the need or the desire to elaborate.

The yeoman returned with two cups of coffee and hastily retreated, probably to the sick bay to get another look at Drababan.

“And so what is the relationship between you
and the alien?”
the commander
asked.

“Drababan
,”
I interjected
             

The commander’s pleasantries stopped with me, he wasn’t quite ready to start referring to the enemy by name. He was waiti
ng for my response, I think any
thing less than a kinship to Drababan might have his head on the executioners block tomorrow.

“Sir
,”
I started and hesitated. “I guess he’s sort of my friend.”

This startled the commander, his tongue and the roof of his mouth took the brunt of
the splashing hot liquid
, as he placed his coffee mug down. “Sir
,
we talked for hours while I was captive on that ship. About everything
—
our home worlds, religion, friends.”

“Talking about such
matters does not make one friends
,”
t
he commander added.

“Sir
,
he saved my life
,”
I threw in on Drababan’s defense.

“Yes
,
there is that.”

“Sir
,
he was as much a prisoner on that ship as I was and when he had the opportunity to escape
,
he took it and me with him
,” I said
.

“Would he have killed you?”
t
he commander asked.

No need to hesitate this time. “Without a doubt.”

The commander raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah
,
well
,
there is that
,” I said
dejectedly.

The yeoman who had previously brought us coffee burst
in
to the commander’s quarters.
“Sir
—
sir! The alien is awake and he’s tearing stuff up.” The yeoman didn’t wait for a response
.
The commander and I
tried to keep up with him.

I heard the din long before I got there, four Marines were at the door,
M-16
s at the ready, and about a dozen or so sailors were behind them trying to get a better look. I barged my way through the sailors but that same tactic wasn’t going to work with the Marines
.
Sergeant
Yarborough barred my way with her weapon.

“And where do you think you’re going, mister
?
”

I was through with this crap
,
she had been treating me like a punished third grader for the last time.

“Listen
,
Sergeant
I am a
c
aptain in the United States Marines and if I
want to go into that
room, I
damned well will
,”
I barked. Well orders, were orders even if she didn’t like them.

“Stand down
,
men,
”
s
he ordered.

I walked in.
Drababan was against the far wall, his snarl making him look the meanest croc that ever walked th
e
planet.

“Drababan
,” I said
with my hands chest high. “What’s going on
?
W
hat’s the matter?”

“You tell these hu-mans
,
”
h
e spat
, “i
f they don’t stop poking me with their needles I’m going to start launching fireballs through my nose!” Everyone at the door took a step back. I unfortunately kept approaching.

“Can you do that?” I asked softly.

“No, but I knew it would scare the hell out of them
,”
h
e snorted.

I almost broke down laughing
.
A
t least some of the aliens had a sense of humor.

“
Damn
, Drababan, I almost lost it
,” I said
still approaching. “Are you alright
?”

“I’m fine
,
Talbot, but every time I try to go into deep meditat
ion, these little scurrying
fur
balls keep taking my blood
,”
h
e yelled the final part for dramatic effect
,
was my guess. I again had to suppress a smile.

“Drababan, if I get them to stop
,” I said
as I turned to look at the doctors who seemed a little depressed about not being able to do any more lab work on their new favorite project. “Will you go lie down
?
”

“And I’ll want him restrained”
Sergeant
Yarborough added.

“
Sergeant
!” I snapped. “Don’t you have some boots to polish
?
” Her eyes shot lasers at me as she turned and pushed her way through the growing throng of spectators. “All of you!” I yelled
.
“If you are not essential personnel, go back
to
your business.” The crowd began to reluctantly disperse.

Commander Denton stepped forward through the crowd. “Captain, would I be considered ‘essential personnel’
?” he asked.

I had to hand it to the commander
, he didn’t hesitate for a milli
second as he approached Drababan
. No,
matter what the commander was feeling, it didn’t show.

“Drababan
,
is it? I would appreciate it greatly if you would no longer attempt to dismantle my ship, rivet by rivet.”

I looked up at D
ee
, I couldn’t tell whether he wan
ted to eat Denton or salute him.
A
nd then the tension was finally broken as D
ee
acquiesced.

“Yes
, sir
,”
Drababan responded. “I will not dismantle your ship
,
rivet by rivet.”

The commander seemed appeased with that answer, I personally thought that left
a lot of room for
maneuverability
.

CHAPTER TWEN
T
Y-ONE

Sammie
died half way to Worcester, his breath rattled once and then he was still. Beth had pulled over five minutes earlier, realizing he had taken a turn for the worst. She had placed his head on her lap and caressed his face hoping his last few moments on Earth would be gentle. He never regained consciousness which Beth guessed made him better off. She placed his body in the back seat and covered him up with a spare blanket. She hoped to properly bury him when they reached Walpole and Mike, she let out a small cry. “Now’s not the time
,
Beth
.
K
eep
it moving
,” she said
to her
self
.