Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (69 page)

“
Great
.
A
nother bomb
.
N
ot a big fan of bombs, Urlack.”

“Not a bomb
.
T
hey would pilot the ship to the nearest atmosphere, so it would destroy itself.”

“Don’t see how that’s much better.”

“It is not
.
T
he
y would both lead to our de
aths
.”

I thought for a moment how long it was before Dee began to catch on to how
I communicated and then I wondered if me and Urlack would have that kind of time together.

“Should we get some Genogerians together who can act as leaders and begin to formulate some plans as to how we can take this ship over? Are all the Genogerians even aware that a rebellion is happening?” It was amazing how quickly that second question was solved for me. I would have liked to thank the Progerians for their thoughtfulness in
that
matter.

Over the speakers that permeated the ship came
the voi
c
e of a Progerian
o
fficer. “Genogerian soldiers
,
you are in direct violation of the Gesteindt Dictum that states all Genogerians will bow in deference to all Progerian commands. You will return to your barracks where you
will await your deaths for your treasonous acts
. Drop your weapons
and honor the accord which your ancestors bowed to many millennia before.”

Astounded
,
I watched as a fair number of Genogerians did just that. The clatter as multiple weapons fell to the floor was unnerving. Urlack’s shoulders slumped as he realized that perhaps he had underestimated his allies. The rest that had not dropped their weapon
s
now looked around confused
;
for something, for some sort of direction. They had been led for so long they knew no other way.

I jumped on a table and plowed three shots into the ceiling, never really thinking how incredibly stupid that was and hoping they didn’t ricochet. “Until now I had absolutely no idea how stupid you Genogerians are.”
I
was
not sure all of them understood my words, but it would have been impossible to not hear the derision in my tone.
“Your freedom
is within your grasp
,
yet you yield and meekly head back to await your deaths
,
no less. I don’t know why I ever feared you or your kind
.
Y
ou are among
some of the most pathetic creatures we have ever
encountered.
Go
!
Go to your fucking bunks
,
maybe they’ll let you live so you can fight on
E
arth! I hope so
,
because I can’t wait to tell my fellow man how
you really are
big losers! It’ll be
m
y pleasure to shoot each one of you because, while me and my kind will be fighting for
our
freedom, you and your kind will be fighting merely because someone told you that you must!”

I was enflamed, my throat was hoarse with rage, spittle arced from my mouth as I screamed
.
I could not believe the temerity of the beings!

Some stopped their progress back to their barracks
;
some openly g
rowled and hissed at me. Some began to advance
—
they were mad
—
and now I was the focus of their attention.

“The next motherfucker that takes a step I will blast
him
into Geno
heaven if there even is such a thing
and you can grovel at the feet of Gropytheon for your worthless souls
!
"

They stopped, I could see them asking among themselves how this outsider knew about the Heaven of their forbidden religion. More than a few pressed their palms to their
foreheads. “If you fight and possibly die for what you
believe in, those of you that survive will be able to believe in and pra
y to whomever you wish down on E
arth. You will be able to raise your off-spring without the yolk of oppression.”

“You speak the truth?”
o
ne of the closer Genogerians asked.

“I do
,” I told
him.

“My name is Tantor, I wish to be part of this new world
,”
h
e told me.

“You will have to fight for what you want
,
Tantor
.
N
obody, especially the Progerians
,
is
going to give it to you.”

Tantor snarled some harsh words that would make a German blush,
the
Genogerian
s
came back and picked up their weapons.

“What’d he say?” I asked Urlack.

“He basically echoed your same words, with two added parts.”

“I’m waiting.”

“He told them to gather all the
idiot
s that went back to their bunks and
to make sure that no one eats you.”

“Comforting.”

“I would think so
,” Urlack said
.

***

It was an hour
later
when
we were all in one of the massive barra
cks that housed the Genogerians.
I
t was immense. It was so vast
,
it curved out of sight
.
I sat on one of the large racks going over the paw d
rawn outline of the ship
, n
ot at
all happy with what I was looking at. Attacking a medieval castle with nothing more than a slingshot would have been
easier
. There were layers upon layers of defenses set up.

“Urlack,
Michael
,”
Tantor said
,
damn near shredding my name. “There are
ten thousand, two hundred forty-seven
Genogerians aboard this ship that are in fighting ability. Although
one thousand, two hundred twenty-six
will not fight with us
,
they have given their word that they will not impede us
,
either.”

“That’s insane, they await their deaths if we lose and reap the benefits if we win with no bloodshed on their part
,” I said
angrily.

“They will not leave here if we are victorious
,”
Tantor said.

“They would rather die like sheep?” I asked him.

“I do not know what sheep are, but yes
,
they would rather die by the
hands of their masters than do their masters any harm.”

“Their funeral. That gives us around
nine thousand
Genogerians.” The vast numbers of the Genogerians were already
on earth most likely wreaking havoc. It was going to be difficult to convince the surviving humans down there that we were now allies, should we get to that point.

One thing at a time
, I thought
,
trying to refocus on the task at hand.

“How many mutants are there?” I asked Urlack.

“Easily seven thousand
,” he said
.

I moaned softly. If we had the proportionate losses like we did in the feeding hall we were done for.

“And the Progerian Elite?” I asked, heaping bad news on top of bad news.

“I do not think it is more than
a thousand
.”

“Well
,
there’s something! We have advantage in numbers!”

“There are still the two to three thousand Progerian pilots on board to deal with
,
” Tantor added.

“Will they fight?” I asked Urlack.

“Perhaps if they feel pushed to the wall.
They do not know much
of fighting beyond what their ship can do
,
though.”

“What if we give them an out?”

Urlack waited for
further
clarification.

“Would they surrender over death?”

“I think perhaps they may be too haughty to surrender to Genogerians.”

“Okay
, let’s suppose it wasn’t Geno
s?”

“It would not be unheard of. They have surrendered
before
with the hopes that they will be freed later on by their superiors.”

“And how does that go?”

“The Progerians are very protective of their own.”

I sat and
discussed
my plan
with Urlack and Tantor for a few more minutes. Even they seemed dubious with my thoughts
,
but unlike their counterparts on
E
arth they didn’t complet
ely
rip them apart.

I stood outside the door
leading
to the
o
fficer’s quarters. I still amaze
d
myself
each and every time I
g
o
t into one of these predicaments, it was like I was playing Russian roulette with myself and the revolver was fully loaded. “Who does this shit?” I said aloud.

Tantor looked at me. “You are going in
?” he asked
.

“Want to trade places?” I asked. He started to move. “Just kidding
,
sorry
,” I said
,
placing my hand on his chest.

Urlack came over to the pad a
nd entered the appropriate code.
T
he door slid
quietly open. I walked in alone—
like a lamb to the slaughter
—
flashed across my mind. Progerian officers were milling about, they appeared to be trying to relax
,
but I could see traces of stress in their mannerisms. Besides being in a war with a planet of savages
,
they now had an open rebellion aboard their own ship.

“Hu-man
,
you cannot be here!”
o
ne of the Progerians said
,
rushing at me.

I leveled my rifle on him, my heart thudding in my chest. I felt like I was pointing a
bb
gun at a rhino. “Hold on a moment
,” I told
him, hoping my voice didn’t crack.

He pulled up short. “What is the meaning of this
?”
h
e screamed in rage.

“Well,
I would have thought it was pretty self-explanatory. I
’m
pointing a rifle at your mid-section and I can either blow a hole in you or you can surrender.”

“Surrender to a filthy hu-man
?” he asked
.
N
ow some of his pilot jockey friends were flanking him in a show of solidarity. I noted that none of them were armed
,
which made me feel only slightly better.

“Die then
,
it doesn’t really make all that much difference to me
,” I said
as I brought the rifle up to my shoulder.

“You canno
t kill all of us before we over
power you
,” he said
haughtily.

“No,
but we can
,” Urlack said
as I was forced forward from the influx of Genogerians.

“Urlack? You have truly betrayed your people? I thought it was lies from higher command because they did not like your heritage. I should have known that your weaker Genogerian traits
would
pull you down with them
,”
t
he pilot spat.

Urlack did not rise to the barb
,
but I could tell he wanted to. “You are wrong
,
Betar, I do what I do for all of us. Genogerian, Progerian
,
and hu-mans
—
even if they are filthy.”

“Hey
,” I
said
.

He continued. “For far too long we have enslaved the Genogerians to do all the work we have deemed menial or dangerous for the Progerian class. We have suppressed their beliefs, forced them to fight for our causes and entertainment. They grow weary of the burden we make them carry.”