Talosian Chronicles 5: Raptor Squadron (31 page)

Chloe could be heard to splutter over the comm. "Now you listen here you little strumpet! I am
not
that kind of girl! I would
never
allow something like that to happen much less enjoy it! Unlike a certain Raptor commander we all know!"

"Yeah, yeah, why don't you call me back after you go change your 'knickers' and we can pick this up where we left off?" Cindy offered. "After all, we do need to discuss security arrangements for the visit."

"Hmph! For your information I'm not wearing any!" Chloe replied without thinking.

Cindy caught her. "Oh? No knickers huh? I guess that kind of shoots the whole 'not that kind of girl' thing in the 'bum' then doesn't it?"

By now, the whole family was laughing at their antics. Ian took pity on Chloe and took the conversation back from Cindy.

"Chloe, get with Major Eischens and give Cindy a call back to make sure we're covered for the visit." He grinned as he paused. "I'm sure you can step out long enough to change your uniform."

"Yes Sir, I'll do just that…" then she realized what she just said. "Uh, get with Major Eischens that is! I swear I'm going to strangle that girl!"

"Thanks for the call Chloe, talk to you later," Ian said and closed the connection. Turning to Cindy he raised an eyebrow. "You really shouldn't piss her off too much, she is the one that handles a lot of your missions."

Cindy winked at him. "She knows I was just playing. Besides… Star, where is Colonel Brighton right now?"

"Colonel Brighton has temporarily excused herself from the operations center for personal reasons and is currently en-route to her quarters. She told Major Eischens she would 'be right back'. After she departed, the entire room broke into laughter," Star replied playfully. "She was laughing and smiling as she left."

Ian just shook his head and winked at Cindy. "Discipline has gone right out the window around here!"

"That's true, but what are we going to do about T'gan? Somehow I don't think the United States government is going to issue her a passport," Cindy replied.

"Well, we still have some time before she gets here, so I'm gonna go get some skiing in before duty slaps me in the face again. Anyone want to join me?" Ian asked.

"Shannon, Sam, take a drone with you and go with them," Cindy ordered when Talena and Beth said they wanted to go as well. "Make sure they are all wearing personal shields. Sasha, suit up and go with them, but stay cloaked."

"Isn't that a little much Cindy? I mean, I know you take our protection seriously, but personal shields and armor?" Beth asked.

Cindy smiled at her friend. "Five minutes before we landed, two US Navy Osprey aircraft were tracked taking off and trying to fly low enough to hide. It's safe to bet there are
at least
two SEAL teams already on the ground here. We have no idea what their orders are, and I'm not going to take any chances. Jerry and Lissa are already placing the shield emitters around the lodge."

"What about the Raptor? Will it be okay by itself?" Talena asked.

"Yeah, if they can actually find it, the shield is active on it as well. They could drop a nuke on it and not so much as scratch the paint," Cindy replied.

As if Cindy had been prophetic, Ian and the girls had no more than gotten in line at the lifts when Ian felt something pressed against his back.

"Welcome to Earth Mister Williams, you and your party will come with us. Now," a man's voice said quietly right behind him.

"Navy SEAL right?" Ian asked. "We saw your landing craft leaving the area when we arrived. I would not recommend firing your weapon, sailor. I'm wearing a shield that will deflect the bullet. As for us going with you… I'm here to enjoy a much needed rest. Go tell your bosses we declined their invitation."

"Son, I don't think you grasp the situation here; you don't have a choice in the matter. You will come with us, now," the SEAL operative replied. "The barrel of my weapon is pressed against your spine; there is no way you can be wearing anything it won't blow right through. Now come along and this won't have to get messy."

"George Bean you fucking idiot!" Ty Anders voice was heard in Ian's ear. From the reaction of the man behind him, the SEAL could hear it too. "You dumb fuckers are violating a major UN treaty right now, not to mention you are completely outclassed and surrounded!"

"Anders? I'd heard you turned traitor and were working for some group of terrorists out in New Mexico someplace!" the SEAL replied, but he didn't lower his weapon. Ian glanced at the girls and saw Talena grinning and Beth looking concerned, both had large serious looking men standing very close to them but as yet none of them had moved. Ian casually waved the people behind them to go around and slowly stepped out of line. The two women did the same.

"Did you hear about the group that had gotten hold of some alien tech and moved up to the moon and were now protecting the planet from Alien attack?" Ty replied.

The man behind Ian snorted. "Yeah, I heard that. Fucking intel pukes and their hunt for ET. Like we'd fall for that!"

"Really? You have a gun pressed to the back of the man that happens to be in overall command of those forces. He actually is wearing a shield device that will prevent you from harming him. You still think this is all bullshit, pull the trigger. The bullet will hit you in the stomach. One thing I can tell you, if you do not simply walk away right now, you and your team are in serious shit. We can stun you and your men there, but the sniper is out of range of the stunners. So a high powered railgun is trained on him. If he fires the only thing that will be left of him is a blood smear," Ty explained.

"Fuck you! All units, comms are compromised. Change to tac two and continue mission," the man said.

Behind Talena and Beth, the two men grunted and slowly fell to the ground unconscious. The lift operator immediately called for the ski patrol as people began to gather around.

"Still don't believe me, George?" Ty asked.

Ian was pushed slightly forward as the pistol at his back fired. The man, George, grunted and doubled over. Ian quickly turned and helped him to the ground. Beth rushed over to assist him. "Stupid asshole!"

"Hey, I had to try! It's my job!" George replied through gritted teeth.

"Quiet!" Beth ordered. "I'm a doctor. I'll try to stabilize you until the ski patrol arrives and they can get you to a hospital. For now, just lie still. SEAL teams! If you can hear me, this is Colonel Elizabeth Williams, I'm a doctor with the Terran Defense Force. Your man has been wounded by a ricochet from his own weapon. We are protected by powerful force shields. Do not fire your weapons or you could hurt innocent people!"

The crowd gasped when they heard that and slowly let Shannon and Sam push them back. The Ski Patrol arrived while Beth was working on the man and she got some supplies from them. She managed to stop most of the bleeding, but the bullet had perforated the small intestines.

"Call for a medevac; if he doesn't get to the hospital in ten minutes he's not going to make it!" Beth ordered.

"It takes fifteen minutes just to get the bird out here, Doctor!" one of the EMTs said.

"Fuck!" Beth replied. "Ian I need to treat him, right now, or he's a dead man."

"You know what they'll do to him if you do Doctor?" Ian asked.

"Then we'll fucking rescue him if we have to, he doesn't have another option!" Beth replied.

Ian sighed. "Very well Colonel, do what you need to do."

Beth nodded. "Cindy, I need my emergency bag out here now. Can you get the Raptor in here?"

"Negative, Doctor. There is too much slope there to land," Lissa replied. "I recommend treatment in place. Relocating him to the Raptor would place too much strain on his system."

"Understood Lissa, you bring the bag, I'll need your help as a nurse." She turned to the ski patrol that was keeping the oxygen mask over George's face. "What your name, Sir?"

"Jed Brown, Doctor."

"Jed, we're going to have to try to do this right here. He doesn't have enough time to wait. I have my emergency kit and a nurse on the way here. For now, I need to know his vitals at all times. Can you do that for me?" Beth asked.

"Yes Ma'am," the man replied.

A man from the crowd called out. "I'm a doctor, do you need assistance?"

Beth nodded to him and waved him over. He knelt on the snow next to the man and looked over the wound. "He was hit with a bullet two centimeters above and to the left of the navel. The bullet perforated the small intestine and he is spilling fecal matter into the body cavity. As far as I can tell the bullet did not pass through and is still in him. I called for my emergency bag and a nurse from our party, they should be in the next two minutes," Beth replied.

"Have you called for the helicopter?" the new doctor asked.

"Yes Sir, it's twelve minutes out," the ski patrol replied.

"He'll be dead in twelve minutes," the doctor replied. "What's your plan?" he asked looking up at Beth.

"Repair the intestine in place, stabilize him for transport," Beth replied.

"You're going to operate on him right here?" the new doctor asked.

"Unless you have a better idea, that's exactly what I'm going to do. We don't know where that bullet went, so if we move him, it could kill him all by itself," Beth replied.

"Blood pressure and pulse are dropping Doctor, his temperature is one oh three and rising really fast!" Jed reported.

"Damn, there's a bleeder. Lissa, where are you?" Beth said more to herself than anyone else.

Lissa fought her way through the crowd carrying a big case with her and wearing a backpack. "Here Doctor. I brought the sterile field unit as well."

"The what? Say, just what kind of Doctor are you?" the male doctor asked.

Beth looked up at him with a half-smile as she opened the backpack. "Colonel Elizabeth Williams, Terran Defense Forces, Medical Corps."

"Who?" the man asked.

Beth just shook her head as Lissa got the sterile field system set up. "I'll explain later, Doctor. Right now, we need to save this man's life."

Sirens could be heard approaching the scene. Ian knew the last thing they needed was a big publicity nightmare, although it was probably already too late for that.

"Listen up everyone, SEALs too, situational security is shot to hell," Ian said over the comm. "This is going to be all over the news in less than an hour and now the local police are going to be involved. I would recommend one of the SEALs get down here to head off the local police. Once we get your man stable, we'll let them take him to the local hospital. We'll play stupid about this incident because, frankly we have no idea what the hell you guys were told or what your bosses were thinking."

"What about the other two men?" a voice answered.

"They are only stunned. They should be waking up in a couple of minutes, I'll do what I can to try to keep them from being arrested. You might want to get someone over to their department to handle the issue," Ian suggested.

"You're being very forgiving Mr. Williams, why are you doing this?" the voice replied.

"Because I have my doubts you are working for the United States Government at the moment. These men you sent here are being used for some other agenda and I'm sure they had no idea what it was or what this was about. This is the second time we've had to deal with you people. I will be speaking to your superiors on this matter, but until then, be warned that this is the last time we play nice with you assholes. The next time you try something like this you better bring your own body bags," Ian replied.

"Well, since you won't be going anywhere, we'll just see who does what Mister Williams. Good Day," the voice finished.

Ian stepped over to Lissa, who was assisting Beth. "What's the status of the Raptor?"

"It's still cloaked and the shields are still up. It is surrounded by a large group of heavily armed men. However, they have nothing that can penetrate the shields. The ship is still secure," the woman replied without looking up. "If they do try anything overly destructive I can pulse the shields and stun them."

"Good work, I will leave you to your job," Ian said and walked over to Sam. "Where's the drone?"

"I ordered it to project a shield against sniping. Sensors say there are two snipers still in position upslope from here. Cindy is paying them a visit," the big man replied.

"She's not going to kill them is she?" Ian asked.

"I don't think so, neither of them actually fired so they are safe for now. She's going to stun them and drag them back to the Raptor and the men there. She's in full armor," Sam replied, grinning.

"Great, can this day go to hell anymore?" Ian asked shaking his head. "Where's Sasha?"

"Sasha is on top of the first Chair lift tower covering one of the snipers. Sir, the Major's cloaked and will remain so until she arrives back at the Raptor. The last man you spoke to is not a member of the armed forces nor is he on site. Currently, General Anders is trying to get through to Vice Admiral Jamison who actually is in their chain of command. He'll get this mess figured out."

"Well, we're going to have to deal with the local police very shortly. Do you have your cover story in place?" Ian asked.

"Yes Sir, both stunned men even have the taser marks to back it up," Sam replied.

"I told you to stop what you are doing and back away from him, NOW Lady!" a police officer shouted. Ian turned to see an officer had his weapon pointed at Beth's head while she worked to save the wounded SEAL.

Ian rushed over to the officer. "What the fuck do you think you're doing asshole? Do you
want
this man to die?"

"Back the fuck off!" the officer said and pointed his weapon at Ian.

"Deputy, these two people," Ian indicated Beth and the male Doctor, "Are medical doctors. The man on the ground was critically injured when a bullet pierced his intestines. The helicopter would not have gotten here in time to save his life so these two
medical professionals
are doing everything they can to prevent his death. You are interfering and could easily cause them to make a mistake that will kill this man."