Part 21 (1/2)

They did not possess artillery, heavy weapons, or fighters. Handheld weapons were their only real fighting tools. Their tactics were simplistic. Instead of carefully picking and choosing targets within the disarray that had been inflicted on his forces, they had established crude fighting lines from which they pressed their attack. As they had done for years, they relied solely on the individual aggressiveness of their foot soldiers and their unwavering desire to kill their opponents. And while those tactics, combined with their intimidating size and appearance, had served them well when Earth operated as a Peaceful society, they were no match for the superior forces Grant had a.s.sembled.

It was clear to Mouse that the Minith commander had no clue what he was facing when he decided to land and face the humans head-to-head. Seven years earlier, a hundred Minith warriors had enslaved the entire planet. The aliens must have thought the four to five thousand they brought back to Earth would be enough to re-enslave the world's Peaceful population.

Well, welcome to the new Peace World.

On the other hand, reports coming out of the battles in the Urop'n capitol were not as positive. The latest report included a rumor that the Leaders.h.i.+p Council had been killed or captured, and Mouse waited anxiously for further word.

In the meantime, he considered their next move. It was a no-brainer. If these s.h.i.+ps were like the one that had been stationed here on Earth for a dozen years, they each carried a weapon capable of destroying the planet. The humans would have to take the fight to the forces that remained inside the aliens' s.h.i.+ps before they had a chance to employ them.

Mouse opened a communication line to his subordinate commanders and issued his orders.

Treel was marched to the command center along with Eli and the other young human. He had asked that they be allowed to remain behind while he met with Soo, but the request had been denied. With their shorter legs, they struggled to keep up. After a few meters of awkward walk-running, Eli did the ”jump-click” move that activated the wheels attached to his strange footwear. The second human followed suit and the boys easily kept up for the rest of the journey.

Five minutes later, the Minith lieutenant entered the doorway to the heart of the s.h.i.+p and came face-to-face with his brother for the first time in nearly a decade. Soo stood proudly in the center of the s.p.a.ce, his feet shoulder-width apart and his hands held loosely behind his back. He wore a general's rank, and his place in the center of the room announced his position as commander. Three subordinates were sitting at their places on the console behind him. He appeared calm, untroubled, and in control.

A lifetime of examining his brother's mannerisms informed Treel that Soo was neither calm nor untroubled. His brother was ready to boil over. As a youngster, Treel had been on the receiving end of Soo's anger more times than he cared to recall or admit. It had not been a congenial relations.h.i.+p.

”Brother,” he greeted.

”Treel. How are you, my brother?” Soo acknowledged. He then turned toward Eli and his friend. ”I see you've brought guests.”

”Not guests. I used them to bargain for my pa.s.sage here.”

”Ah, hostages.”

”Yes. They were needed to get past a single human soldier,” Treel conceded. He did not like the way Soo was eying the boys. ”But now their usefulness has expired. We should release them so they can return to the fortress in the distance.”

”Can they understand what we are saying?”

”No, General.” Although Soo was his brother, Treel was still technically a soldier. In his agitated state, he felt it best to use his t.i.tle. ”Neither of the young humans speak Minith.”

”Hmm. Tell me, brother, why would we want to release them?”

”They are of no use. They pose no threat. Why would we not release them?”

”I can see that the years you've spent among these 'peaceful' creatures has affected your judgment-made you soft,” Soo responded. ”Why not just kill them and toss them into the garbage?”

Treel was careful to keep his ears still and his emotions in check. He had not meant to put Eli or the other human in danger by bringing them to the s.h.i.+p. Unfortunately, that is exactly what he had done. That knowledge caused the Minith warrior to understand for the first time that he felt... fondness...for the boy. It was a strange, but sobering feeling. One he could not allow his brother to discover.

”Yes, that is another option,” he responded. ”Would you like me take care of it?”

Soo stared intently into Treel's eyes, and the younger brother struggled not to give any of his thoughts or feelings away. It reminded him of the game he and Rala had invented and often played-the one that had made her so good at hiding her thoughts and intentions. The first to flinch or twitch lost. Treel had never been as good as his mate, but he was apparently good enough for his brother.

”No.” Soo waved the suggestion away. ”That won't be necessary. Yet.”

The back and forth between the brothers was interrupted by one of the workers seated at the command console spread out behind Soo.

”Sir, we've captured another human approaching the s.h.i.+p. A female.”

Soo looked at Treel with a questioning look. ”Another of your hostages?”

”I have no idea who the human is, General.”

Soo turned to the worker. ”Have her delivered here.”

Eli stood to Treel's right and tried to become invisible. He had often hoped for a brother, because brothers are supposed to care for and look out for each other. At least that's what his dad had always told him.

But it didn't look like Treel had that kind of relations.h.i.+p with his brother. Although he couldn't speak more than a few words of Minith, Eli understood the basics of the aliens' body language from spending so much time with Treel. And the brother's body language was screaming ”trouble.”

Although he trusted Treel, that feeling did not extend to his brother. The best thing he could do was to stay as alert and as quiet as possible, and he worked to do exactly that. Jonah's constant fidgeting beside him didn't help, but he couldn't tell the older boy to knock it off. It would have drawn more attention from Treel's brother than the fidgeting itself.

Ceeray was half-dragged, half-pushed down the corridor. Her entrance into the s.h.i.+p had gone just about as well as she had thought it would go. The rifle had been taken from her right away, and she wondered briefly why she had even wanted to bring it. She had no intention of shooting her way onto the s.h.i.+p. Armed rescue was not her forte and would have been useless. She had no training, no skill, and no desire to fire a weapon.

Her goal was to get inside the s.h.i.+p and talk sense to the Minith who held her friend's son and Jonah. That had been her plan, and in hindsight, it now seemed exactly what it was-incredibly naive and stupid.

Treel recognized the female the guard escorted into the room. She was Avery's friend-the former interpreter who had been stationed on the mothers.h.i.+p. He watched in growing anger as the guard deposited her easily next to Eli. She gathered the boys into her arms and hugged them tightly.

”Thank goodness you're both okay,” she squealed as only a human female can. Treel did not wait any longer to gain control of the situation.

”I know this female, General Soo. She is the caretaker of many human children. Like the young males, she does not speak Minith.” The lie felt right. He just hoped the woman understood and played along. To his relief, she did not respond or refute his statement. She merely stayed on her knees and continued holding the hands of the two boys.

”This is becoming humorous, Treel.” Treel knew Soo did not think that at all. In fact, he probably felt just the opposite. ”Here, inside the s.h.i.+p, we have two human babes and their nurse. While outside, my men have been killed by human soldiers.”

Treel was surprised. He had not thought of the ongoing battle much since Eli released him from his room. His only thoughts had been of escape.

”The fight has not gone well?” he asked with trepidation and caution. Surely, not all of the Minith could have been killed in so short a period of time? He hesitated to ask for clarification, but couldn't fight the need to know. This s.h.i.+p held the key to his pa.s.sage back to Waa-to his family.

”You could say that, Treel.” Soo grimaced and slammed his hand down on the console behind him. The facade of calm he had been presenting was shattered. ”All the warriors on these two s.h.i.+ps are dead-outdone by a flock of sheep who have somehow been turned into a pack of rabid vermin.”

”All of them?”

”Yes, all. Except for those of us in these two s.h.i.+ps, only our forces on the other continent remain.” Treel watched as his brother tried to regain the veneer of calm that was previously pasted to his being. Failed. ”Not that it matters. We will leave one of our s.h.i.+ps behind to crush the entire planet.”

Treel was stunned at the announcement, was prepared to argue against the act. But before he could speak, the human female-Ceeray-stood and spun angrily toward Soo.

”No! You cannot!” She took two steps toward Soo. Her fists were balled and her eyes flashed with defiance and rage. ”I will kill you with my bare hands before I let you do that!”

Time slowed for Treel. He watched, as if from a dream, as Soo drew his sidearm, took two steps toward the approaching human, and raised the weapon. Ceeray took another step toward the Minith general. The weapon fired, and Treel knew the human was dead before she hit the floor.