“Copy that,” said the colonel through Tessa’s comm. “I’m giving up on restoring communications with the asteroid. Coming to you now.”
The three UFOs now began crisscrossing the island, leaving huge clouds of . . . something . . . in their wakes, clouds that quickly fell to ground level and swept over vast patches of real estate. Any soldier touched by the vapor collapsed to the ground instantly, as if the gas was the personification of the Grim Reaper himself.
Several soldiers who had seen the carnage the approaching wave of gas had wrought managed to fasten gas-masks on their faces, but these didn’t lessen the effects of the gas one iota.
The first group of soldiers reached our position and encircled us, but we all knew this gesture was the essence of futility. The gas was racing toward us faster than we could possibly run, and this time we had no magic dome to protect us.
I zoomed in on downed soldiers a hundred yards away and detected the slight rise and fall of several chests. They were still alive! The gas had only been used to knock them out.
I was ecstatic at this revelation, but my relief lasted only seconds. As the cloud began to envelope me, and just prior to losing consciousness, I had just enough time to remember that this use of non-lethal force made perfect sense. Michelle had made it clear that she didn’t want anyone killed.
In fact, the only person in all the world she wanted dead was a former writer named Jason Ramsey.
34
I awoke with a start. How long had I been out? All I could remember was the gas hitting, and then feeling a searing pain in my brain, as if the life were being squeezed from every last neuron individually.
I took a quick survey to get my bearings. Soldiers were still strewn about the island, but instead of UAVs overhead, a half-dozen or more standard human helicopters were out over the ocean to the west, racing toward us.
I had the sense that these had to be Michelle’s mercenaries once again, her human eyes, ears, and hands on the ground—no doubt coming for me. Tessa gasped beside me and bolted upright, taking in the scene in one glance.
“We’ve only been out for a few minutes,” she said, having had the wherewithal to note the time just before the cloud hit us. “We got lucky. This must have been a gas the nanites were able to counteract fairly readily.
“Follow me,” she ordered, beginning to run toward the south. “Hurry!” she added, picking up speed.
“Where are we going?” I asked when we hit our full stride, running at an Olympic pace without even breathing hard.
“To a secret bunker Nari asked Brad to install underground. A shelter of last resort. Invisible from all sensors.”
“Wasn’t this island supposed to be invisible too?”
Tessa grimaced. “Not to an insider like Michelle, apparently. But don’t worry, this hiding place is smaller and better concealed than the island. Protected by a force-shield of its own. And completely off the books. Not even the Federation AI knows about it, so Michelle can’t possibly know. It’s fully sound-proofed and well stocked with food and drink. We can hole up there until Nari wakes up to what’s happening down here.”
We soon neared the entrance to a subterranean structure, one of several from which soldiers had emerged. After winding through a veritable maze of hallways, we entered a small elevator with buttons for three levels. Tessa reached over and pressed the first and third button simultaneously. “This will take us to a level that isn’t on the menu,” she explained.
Within minutes we were inside the alien equivalent of a panic room, which Tessa could control using her nanites, and she quickly activated the force screen. The bunker was the size of a great room in a mansion, and contained a large refrigerator, a standard stove, a kitchen table, and several couches and beds.
“Why human appliances?” I asked.
“This was built for the benefit of the Federation’s human allies. I’m sure you’ve figured out that the Galactics never make personal appearances here on Terra. Remote-controlled craft only.”
Tessa paused. “Hold on,” she said. “I’m going to make the walls transparent.”
She must have given her nanites a mental command, because the walls disappeared around us, although the borders were outlined in green, presumably to prevent us from slamming into them by accident.
“This way we can see and hear anyone approaching,” she explained. “But no one can see or hear us. From outside, all anyone will see is a hologram of natural rock, as if the excavation of this underground level ended abruptly.”
“How long do you think it will take Nari to clue in to the threat and send a rescue mission?”
“He’ll only suspect something’s wrong if he can’t reach us. Or Brad. He has an entire galactic coalition to run, so I doubt he’ll try for at least half a day, probably several.”
“That’s a long time to have to hide,” I said miserably.
“Look on the bright side,” said Tessa, trying to cheer me up. “It will give me ample time to explain things. To convince you that the Federation is on the side of the angels and that my feelings for you are real.”
Just then I caught movement in the corner of my eye and swung around to see what it was. My mouth dropped open in shock.
Standing just outside the transparent perimeter of the room was a lone figure. An unmistakable one. Lieutenant Bob Baga, last seen doing a face-plant into a forest floor in Australia—with the help of Tessa Barrett.
“Hello again, Tessa and Jason,” he said, facing the room’s stove, an indication he wasn’t aware of our precise positions. “It feels like we were all having a pleasant nature hike only last night.”
He grinned. “Oh, wait, it was only last night. Since we’re such good friends, I’ll pause for a bit to let you stop whatever it is you’re doing. So when I do speak again, you’re paying the proper attention.”
“Are you sure he can’t hear us?” I whispered to Tessa.
“Positive,” she replied in a normal speaking voice