Sholan Alliance - AU Bk. 02 Ch. 03

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General we have a report for you. The speaker waited for the General to wave him forward. As soon as he did the speaker moved forward and handed a screen to him. "We found indications that the others are in this area." He tapped his screen which was linked. A map of the quadrant came up and indicated the hyper traces they had found.

The General looked at the screen and after several minutes he nodded for the other to continue. This was the first time they had found traces of the others since the ship had been destroyed. His high command wanted to know where they were from and possibly capture some of them for questioning. For some reason when the attack happened the troops had gone berserk and literally tore the ship apart. He had not been pleased with that.

The speaker tapped the screen again with a claw. "The indications show a number of small craft scattered around in the quadrant. It appears that they are searching since they have entered a number of systems. There is also a trace of a ship with a different hyper signature as well." He had pulled up the traces of that ship. "It has an odd hyper signature that we have not come across before. Indications are that it is a fairly large ship based on the traces discovered in hyper space."

The General frowned and really studied the screen. This time he actually scrolled through the report instead of having the speaker inform him. He did that to ensure everyone knew who was in charge of the destroyer they were on. "Send a message to Command HQ about this and redirect half the small craft towards the traces we have found. I want to know what they are doing. If possible capture some of the Others and have them brought here." He studied the screen and ignored the speaker which was his way of dismissing him.

~~~

He was sitting in his living room sipping on a large tumbler of Vodka on the rocks when the call came in. After considering a few moments he put the glass down and activated the screen. All he could see was a shadow since there was a light behind the person. The voice was also electronically modified so he didn't know if it was male or female.

"What can I do for you?" That came out in an irritated tone. He had been grounded for the time being and that had seriously pissed him off.

The shadow stared at him long enough to make sure the other was uncomfortable. "Do you have anything to report? This is especially related to the engines. We want to know what he did to them." They also needed to get their agent out of the compound the crew and everyone else was in. The loss of the ship and her crew was rather upsetting since they had been a very productive crew. Personally Jack Sparrow was despised and the person hated having to use him. It advanced their plans though since he had been sowing fear all over the place.

He leaned forward and pressed the transmit button. "Here is everything I have on the ship. Scanner data, external visual, weapons, and everything else. We never got inside so I can't provide you with any interior video." That had been his fault and he knew it. "I would suggest possibly removing the captain from the equation. That will give us the ship and superiority over most other ships."

The shadow stared at him again and finally spoke. "That is of no concern of yours. Stick to what you have been tasked with or you might die in an accident." Even through the electronically disguised voice the lack of concern about that possibility.

He shivered slightly at the tonelessness in the person's voice. "Yes sir I will keep that in mind." Before he even finished talking the screen went dark as the connection was broken. He picked up the tumbler and took a healthy drink from it. He was already thinking how to get the information they wanted. That should be possible working through channels. He could use the 'untested hardware' to force Billy to open up his notes on what had been done to the engines.

~~~

Almost from the moment the mention of meeting an alien species had been made the Company had sent him a tasking. Since he was already in Europe getting to Switzerland wasn't difficult. He immediately started playing tourist and taking pictures. Considering that there was a huge crowd gathered around the landing area he blended in. He did get a few pictures of the Sholan's and was going to examine them to get all the details he could.

Eventually he made it back to his room and started reviewing the notes he had made as well as the photos. It took several hours for him to do that but he quickly had a plan. It was going to be difficult and he would probably have to leave everything behind but he was being paid extremely well. After crashing for a few hours he started reviewing the plans again.

He might have to sit and wait for some unknown length of time but he was patient. He was used to waiting for lengths of time to take out his target. In this case he had to be very careful since taking out the wrong person could be catastrophic. Well catastrophic to his life. The Company tended to take a dim view of a screwed up op. Eventually he packed up what he needed and headed out.

There was a tower that would work as a snipers nest. When he reached it he picked the lock and closed and locked it behind him. He had no idea what the tower was for and didn't really care. It was perfect for being able to scan the landing field and pick out his target.

Eventually he was set up and ready. He had a cloth that muted body heat and blocked some scanning devices. How it might do with the scanners on the Sholan vessels he didn't know but he was sure it would do adequately. It didn't take long to assemble the gun and get his firing position ready. Now all he had to do was simply wait.

~~~

Breakfast was done by Sally this time and he was pleased with the results. Everyone looked like they had slept well and that included Crystal. After checking the schedule on his watch he sighed. "Well Tasha and I need to go over to the barque and attend several meetings. I also have a teleconference scheduled for causing more headaches." He grinned and several of the others groaned.

Since nobody else had anything to do they decided to go over to the Sholan ship as well. Sandi and Jenna linked arms with Z'Marl as they walked out of the ship. They were chatting with her as they were walking. The others were walking out as well and sort of formed up in groups that matched up with who they were connected to.

Billy was walking with Satasha and had her hand in his and was greatly enjoying the gentle flow of energy. It was warm and soothing at the moment. He was sure if and when they had an argument or disagreement the energy would feel different. That he wasn't looking forward to but it happened and you took care of it. "This is going to take a bit of time to get used to Tasha. It feels so strange to know what you are doing and how you are feeling at any moment. I hope they can teach us a way to filter our thoughts on normal days."

She had to grin and then sobered a bit. "I understand Yilly since I feel much the same way. I love you and wanted the bonding contract and to be with you. This is a bit more than I asked for though." She wrinkled her nose when he squeezed her hand. Just for good measure she lightly bumped him with her shoulder and smiled as he laughed at her.

He was about to reply when a sudden sense of dread came over him. Dread and danger and it was focused at them. He looked around trying to pinpoint the source but wasn't able to. As he was looking his senses expanded and he drew on Satasha without realizing it. Right as he identified the source he felt a surge of satisfaction.

~~~

The sniper was watching when they walked out of the ship and smiled. This was perfect and if he was lucky he might get more than one or maybe two shots before they figured out where he was. He put the binoculars away and settled behind the rifle. He carefully sighted in and with a slight smile gently squeezed the trigger. As with the best shots the sound of the bullet and the recoil was a slight surprise.

As he was laying there he kept an eye on the targets to ensure he hit what he had been aiming for. If he hit he would shoot at someone else. They hadn't set any specific number of targets and he had gotten the impression that it was a case of the more the merrier.

~~~

Why Billy lunged at Vangie later he wouldn't know. He nailed him in the side and managed to knock him over and into Sally. Right as they were falling the bullet struck and Billy was nailed in the shoulder blade and the round came out of his chest. It grazed Vangie but not seriously but Billy went down hard and screamed in pain.

Satasha went down as well as the surge of pain from Billy hit and she screamed as well and collapsed. She tried to block the pain but they were to new to the bond and Billy wasn't all there mentally. Jenna and Sandi had rushed over to her to see if she had been hurt as well.

The response was almost instantaneous as warriors from everywhere came pouring out. A number made a defensive perimeter and started trying to figure out where the shot had come from. Several others hurried over and took a look. "Get them to the barque and especially Yilly and Satasha."

From the fighter a weapon lifted out of the top and a single beam flashed out and the top of the tower vanished in an explosion. As that was happening Swiss army soldiers came flooding out as well. Their sensors had picked up the shot and the rough location where it had been aimed. As they were forming up the fighter craft lifted off and hovered over the people on the ground. Her sensors were fully engaged and scanning for any additional threats.

As all this happened several warriors had picked up the injured and almost ran towards the barque. The pool of blood was large and spreading. Sally and Dani tried to get to the bargue the warriors almost had to drag all of them onto Billy's ship and closed and secured the hatch.

By the time they got Billy and Satasha to medical he wasn't looking very good and was pale with blood loss. The doctor immediately started working on him and finally stood back. "Prepare the cold sleep capsules. I don't have what I need. Both need to be put in cryo till I can get them back to the mother ship." The last Billy remembered was a chill from the meds and the cover coming down over him.

~~~

I hope you enjoyed this installment of the Sholan Alliance stories. Please leave a comment and vote. I really look forward to knowing what you think.