AlClad lV Hospitality

"Why! Oh why! Did we have to bivouac on that moon?" grumbled PFC. Travis Anderson. "I've got sand in my boots, sand in my socks, sand in my underwear, and that is the smallest grain sand I have ever seen."

Pvt. Tom Crawford said " can you ever not complain; or better can you go 20 minutes without complaining. Try it. It will make you a better soldier. You will be a better Strike force Team member and a better man!

"Uh" Anderson remarked, " Am not a complainer. Well not about everything, just if it bothers me. And this sand in my underwear bothers me."

"Hey, now that is an improvement. You only complained about sand in your underwear, not everywhere else." Said Pvt. Crawford. "By the way you can always tell the Sergeant your concerns."

"Have you ever noticed how the Sergeant and the Lieutenant think just alike, ask one a question it is like? .... He was interrupted when he heard the Lieutenant shout.

"Halt." Lt. McLane ordered, as he grazed a blue pine nut bush. He sensed something was amiss. They were at the edge of a clearing in the blue green brush just a half kick from where they had landed in the Scorpion shuttlecraft. Just over the bush line. AlClad lV does not have trees, just big bushes. Blue green bushes interwoven with tall blue and green Tsongas grass, and in some places smaller shorter grasses. He could make out the light blue glint of the metallic paint on a Jouth flier. The dark smoked barrels, indicated recent use of the 6 plasma cannons, and double blasters mounted on each side looked menacing as Lt. Rex McLane shouted, " cover - back!" Because blaster fire began to fall down upon Strike Force One McLane mussed " This was suppose to be a simple in and out mission - pick up an operative in an uninhabited area. J.J.Jameson was the operative. He was to gather inlet on a primitive prison camp where a United Star States soldier was held. - Where was Jameson?"

The entire clearing erupted as powerful plasma cannons expelled their strength devastating the entire area. Strike Force One was heavily armed. Each member of the 8-man force had a medium plasma rifle, a blaster with 3 battery packs, and 16 Y flux bombs. The team had 3 Y flux launchers. They carried the firepower of 100 men. But against that gunship they were in for one torment of a fight.

Sgt. Jack Crow spoke quickly to Lt. McLane "They do not have any forces on the ground! Just the Gunship! If we..."

McLane and Crow had worked together so much they did not have to communicate completely orally. They had an almost ESPER power between them; McLane interjected, " Put 2 Y flex bombs as close to the gunship as possible. Reload turn the tube vertical, punch remote. We only have 40 seconds before they can re energize their plasma cannons." McLane turned to his men and said, " Aim, shoot, and move in the direction of the Scorpion."

* * * * *

Jameson tried again to pick the lock on his cell door. One more time one more try, he thought. Such a crude lock should not be this hard to pick. He knew the Jouth guard would begin his patrol again, maybe 15 minutes. Jameson had figured out the guard's schedule. They patrolled constantly during daylight, every half hour after sundown till midnight. After midnight the guard would not come again until 2:00 AM, and then not until 4:00 AM. After four another long stretch till around sunrise it was not an exact schedule. Sometimes the guard would come earlier, sometimes later.

The lock clicked! It was open! Jameson knew he would be free! He turned to wake his cellmate soldier that had been sleeping.

" Nelson, Nelson I did it - wake up, lets get out of here."

Nelson rose from his sleep. Jameson heard the crunch in the sand of 4 feet coming in his direction. It was the 4 footsteps of the guard. Why? It was not 2:00. The guard was early. Jameson and Nelson slumped down and pretended to be asleep.

Maybe the guard would not see the lock. Oh I hope he walks on by. Jameson mussed to himself.

The guard did walk by, but just as he stepped on his 3rd leg, he turned abruptly and pulled hard on the lock with his lower arms. It slipped open. The guard jerked opens the wooden bar door. He stepped inside the cell. The Jouth guard held, with his upper arms, his rifle upright and spoke. Jameson and Nelson began to rise slowly. They did not understand Jouth but they knew the Jouth guard's statements were not friendly. The Jouth yelled something and swung the stock of his rifle into Jameson ribs. The rifle still held in his upper arms. Jameson slumped in pain. The Jouth raised, raised his rifle and slammed the stock on Jameson head. Fortunately the stock slid off the side of his head or the force of such a blow would have killed Jameson. The Jouth raised his rifle for another blow. Before he could Nelson retrieved a shank he had buried in the dirt. He lunged at the Jouth, driving the shank deep into his chest. The guard grabbed Nelson with his lower arms and threw him against the cell wall. Nelson held onto the shank all the while he was thrown and the self made knife was pulled from the Jouth's chest by his own force of throwing Nelson against the cell wall, blood spurted on Nelson covering his hands and shirt. Nelson had a lot of Jouth blood on him.

It was hard for Jameson to stand. The pain was still with him. But stand he did. Blood was spurting from the Jouth guard, but before he could recover Jameson picked up a table leg he had removed weeks earlier, and hit the jouth hard at the base of his skull. He grabbed the Jouth's rifle as he fell into the colorful dirt floor of the cell. Jameson reached down and checked his pulse. It was rapid. He knew the Jouth's main heart and 2 auxiliary hearts would continue pumping blood on the cell floor until his body was empty.

The soldiers left the cell looking in all directions, keeping close to the buildings in the dark shadows. They proceeded to creep out of the prison camp. A watchful eye was maintained in all directions.

As they came around a corner of the last building 4 Jouth soldiers confronted them. One was an officer. Jameson thought, "So close to freedom. Another 50 feet and they could escape into the woods free. It was 4 against 2.One gun against four. Should they just give up, resign them to prison? No, No." Jameson mussed. "It is every soldiers duty to escape." Without another thought he lunged the bayonet of the dead Jouth's rifle into the officer's chest, pushing him into the soldier behind him all the time driving the steel deep into the officer. Jameson had placed it so deep he could not extract it. Thus he discharged the rifle. The recoil of the rifle dislodged it from the officers' chest and drove a bullet into the soldier behind him. Nelson quickly placed his shank into the 3rd solder's neck, severing several blood vessels. Jameson aimed the rifle at the last soldier and fired accurately.

Just before they slipped into the woods to freedom Jameson took an incendiary grenade from one of the dead Joutheans' and lobed it at the cell building from where they had been confined and said, "And that is for your hospitality you blue 4 legged Jouth." They then disappeared into the tall Tsongas grass surrounding the camp.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Y flux bomb exploded in front of the gunship, and every member had fired once including McLane and retreated 50 feet into the brush.

" I think we damaged one of their front air intakes." Jack said as he fired his blaster. He had not had time to remove his plasma rifle from his shoulder. You could see the dark burned area at the air intake that contrasted with the metallic blue paint.

" Good, then it will take 'me another 20 seconds," McLane fired his plasma rifle. "To energize the cannons" They retreated another 50 feet into the bush, looked up, fired at the gunship. The second eruption of plasma cannon fire erupted as the gunship started to move in their direction. McLane fired a second shot from his location then retreated over 100 yards. Over the radio net he ordered his men to cease-fire.

The gunship continued to move toward their location. McLane turned to Jack and said, "All right now Jack." By remote control Jack launched the Y flux bombs as the gunship moved over the reloaded launcher they had left at the edge of the brush. One last flash of the gunship's cannon went completely off target burning a 40 meter wide swath of bush and then into the air as two Y flux bombs exploded at almost point blank range to its under side.

****************************************

As Strike Force one boarded the shuttle, electronics officer Reggie Hines said, "Lieutenant I am getting life form scans about 2 to 3 clicks away"

Lt. Mclane spoke in a questioning voice, " Can you tell if they are human, AlClad, Jouth or what."

Hines hesitated, mumbled something in German then replied in standard "Not from this distance, or on the ground. Once we are air born we can approach that direction. We can use our long-range scanners. Long range scanners are useless while we are on the ground."

"Make a quick scan as soon as we are off the ground, it could be a Jouth patrol investigating what that explosion was. I don't want to approach that direction until we know what we are dealing with. If they are Jouth, we may need to lay down some strafing fire to protect our 6 before we depart this planet's atmosphere." Lt. McLane turned, directed his attention momentarily to Sgt. Jack Crow and asked "everyone on board?" After receiving an affirmative answer, he angled his attention to shuttle pilot Capt. Rene' Andrus and spoke, " We need a course plotted for the direction of the life forms."

With only a slight acknowledgment to the request, Capt. Rene' Andrus took control, commenced cracking orders and spoke directly to her navigator, "Plot that course" she then sounded an alarm and announced, "General quarters, man all battle stations." Lt. McLane was mission commander of Strike Force One, but on the Scorpion she was in charge. Additionally, she out ranked him and had about 10 to 15 more years in service.

" Captain, All battle stations manned, on line, and active," responded Chief Weapons Officer Morris Water wise. "Do you want missiles armed?" he added.

"No on missile armament now. Get the coordinate's from Hines, and aim your Z flux blasters at those coordinate's; be prepared to fire multiple Z flux blast at that location. I don't want anything left to return fire on us. We have surprise on our side, I want to use that surprise to our advantage. Gravity interrupter's engaged lift off in 5,4 3; Hines, bring up your long range scanners, only passive, nothing active until we know what we are dealing with"

With the gravity interrupter's engaged the Scorpion lifted from the blue-green soil of AlClad 4, Capt. Andrus ignited the Scorpion's thrusters and they were on course for an encounter which was unknown but did include a possible fire fight. Confidence she did have in the Scorpion. It was built as a shuttlecraft but it could fight its way into any atmosphere or out of an atmosphere. It was not the preferred location for a fight.

Everyone was quiet, with full attention to his or her job. Hines broke the quiet, first by mumbling some German phrases then " Captain they are human, the life force is human, I make it to be 2 humans. I have already double checked the data 2 times" That double checking was what he knew that the Captain would ask, double checking 2 times meant that he had checked the data 4 times.

"Hines, double check, and open up your scanners to cover a wider area, We will circle that area, but I want to know that area is clear, there is a Jouth base somewhere and more gunship" Andrus said, as she brought the Scorpion to a hedging that would circle around the life forms.

" Area clear Captain " Hines reported.

Capt. Andrus called," Lt McClain, get your force ready to check out what humans are wondering around on AlClad 4. And keep a good out look."

"Aye Aye, Ready Sir." McLane responded.

As soon as the Scorpion landed, Strike Force One deplaned and was enroute to find the life forces of humans. Very soon Jameson and Nelson were discovered, retrieved, and hustled back. When Strike force One returned to the scorpion, they had 2 extra passengers.

Capt. Rene'Andrus unstraped and released her harness. She stepped into the shuttle bay. "McLane get everyone on board, and strapped down PRONTO. We need to exit this planet." She had only a slight hesitation before she completed her statement, "Now." She had recognized J.J.Jameson.

Jameson's attention was diverted to the tall female Captain that saluted him and said, " Welcome aboard, Sir." She did not call him by rank although she knew he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the OSS.

Jamison returned the salute and said "Well hello Andy. How is your family? I heard your father was on AlClad. "

"They are all fine, thank you for asking, almost all of my family are on AlClad. Lt. McLane will take care of you back here, we need to rendezvous with a destroyer 3 light years out."

Capt. Andrus returned to the cockpit, speaking as she entered. "Engage the gravity interrupters," directing this order to the Copilot Lt. Henry Austin.

"Aye, Aye, Andy."

She accepted the calling of this newly discovered nickname without comment, but mussed, Hank - Austie - Austy Hank, that will come later, trivial stuff later. Now this shuttlecraft needed to lift off. " 5, 4, 3, take us up Lieutenant."

On board the United Star States Ship The Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. Lt. Col. J.J. Jameson briefed the staff about the other aliens held in the prison camp, from which he and Nelson had so recently escaped. "A rescue mission must be planned."