Chapter 10: Shooting Pigeons

Otis studied his watch, one finger raised. "They're about to launch. How much warning did you get out?"

"It wasn't perfect, but the foreign media was eager to learn of the White House's machinations. Not being able to access the State Department limited how we spread the alert. Instead of informing the police in each city, we had to rely on the local press outlets. Unfortunately, they're likely to issue press releases which may produce more bystanders rather than less."

"Well, we're about to find out how successful you were." Otis dropped his hand. "They've launched. It'll take time for them to reach Earth." He tapped his ear, accessing the Wi'Tibold's communication link Natalie supplied. He began speaking, but in a tongue the others hadn't heard for some time. They glanced at each other with confused expressions.

"When did you learn their language?"

Otis smiled. "Our shuttle is approaching. I warned it the Ti'chrk are in the area. It wanted to attack, but I told it not to. They really dislike each other." He turned to the others. "It turns out the Ti'chrk nanobots understand the Wi'Tibold language. I didn't know until I started talking."

Fred scanned the dark sky overhead. "How long will it take?"

"I'm still not used to their timeframe. For everything the implants do, they don't do numeric conversions."

Ger stood beside her brother, clutching his arm. He'd tried to get her to stay somewhere safe, but she refused to abandon him to his fate. "Have they noticed the shuttle?"

"Not yet, but I'm guessing they'd spend time confirming any sighting before sounding alerts. It may take some time for them to respond. But they haven't, so far. I'm gambling that, even if they do notice, the attack fighters won't change course."

While they waited, Fred turned to Natalie. "So are you completely cut off? Am I correct in assuming the newspaper won't print anything about what you've learned?"

She spread her hands out and shrugged. "According to our source, they're planning to shut the media down, but so far they're waiting. They don't want to scare me away. In the meantime, the paper posted my expose on their website. It's already up. They're also reporting the reactions of the world press. With luck, there will be enough flak that the White House will be forced to back down. For all effective purposes, I'm a refugee in my own country. I don't dare risk being stopped. Calling all those outlets chewed up a lot of burn phones. However, once we get airborne, I can post to YouTube by piggybacking on people's home routers. Doing that, the NSA and police will be so busy following each case, they won't be able to organize."

"I'm skeptical. They've got a lot more people than we do. They can afford to waste time on pointless tasks."

"Don't forget, it was the same technique you used the last time," Fred said. "I wouldn't count on the government not learning their lesson."

Natalie waved her arm across the night sky. "This was excellent timing, even if it was accidental. Because they wanted to attack during daylight in most cities, it's late here. Plus, it's cloudy and we can't see the stars, meaning a shuttle sitting out in the open won't be as obvious."

"OK, it's here," Otis announced, dropping his hand.

"It is?" Fred asked as all three glanced up at the sky. Suddenly a black shape appeared, falling from the clouds. It fell like a dead ten-thousand pound weight. Everyone leapt back, anticipating a horrendous crash, but Otis remained where he was. The ship abruptly halted, hovering over the field, hanging delicately over the grass.

He spoke a couple words and the door swung open. Turning, he motioned the others in.

Natalie glanced between the shuttle and Otis. "Tell it to close the door."

Otis did, and the door sealed shut.

She approached the door and tried it herself, using what she remembered of the command, then motioning like Josh had years ago. Nothing happened. She turned back.

"I don't think we can fly this without a native speaker."

"But if I go, we'll all be exposed, plus I won't be able to alert you."

"You can warn us quicker if you're next to us. Besides, if the ship advises us about something, like an attack, we wouldn't have a clue what it was."

"She's right," Ger said. "If anything, we should remain here and let you handle everything. You're better protected in the shuttle than standing alone in an open field."

"You make a good point," Otis said, reopening the door. Shaking his head, he led them in. "Natalie, you have to come to communicate with the different areas. Fred, you're not strictly needed, but I wouldn't mind having backups in case I'm injured."

"Makes sense," he said, following him into the ship. As usual, Ger didn't want to be separated from her brother, and trailed him wherever he went.

David tossed his hands in the air, shouldering his rifle. "Hell, as long as the rest of you are going, I might as well too. After all, if you're running for your lives, you're unlikely to stop for me on the way back."

Otis spoke to the shuttle, and the two had a short conversation which was unintelligible to the others. He finally uttered a single word. "We're off," he announced. He continued instructing the craft, before turning to the others. "They still haven't noticed us, despite our leaving our cloud cover."

Fred, who was observing Otis's every action, spoke up. "Probably because their ship, or drones, are surveying their attack."

Ger sat on one of the seats, trying to get comfortable in the unusually shaped chair. "I hate to suggest it, but I suspect you need to approach the site of the attacks, just to determine whether they can see us or not."

Otis cocked his head. "Curiosity killed the cat. That kind of information won't help if we're blasted out of the sky."

"But satisfaction brought him back," Fred added. "If we don't know their capabilities, and our own, we're shooting blind. This is no time to be cautious. We need to learn what we're doing in record time. Otherwise we won't have much of a choice."

Otis commanded the ship to show where they were. It revealed they were flying in a straight line over the top of the clouds, nothing but stars overhead. "The shuttle's not even attempting to hide from ground surveillance. My guess is it's already familiar with the Ti'chrk's capabilities. They must not have drones monitoring the Earth." He put his hand on his chin. "It's daylight over most of the attack sites. I'm sure a black ship would show up like a sore thumb on a clear day."

"Only some of the attacks will happen in sunlight. Try Buenos Aires, which is close to our time zone."

"I say lay our cards on the table, head where they can observe us. The shuttle wants to fight, so it's not intimidated by the attackers' capabilities."

"What about Beijing?"

"It's late evening, so it's a decent compromise. What's more, the Chinese are more likely to launch a counter attack. The Ti'chrk may be distracted, allowing us to zip in and back out. If not, they'll realize someone is watching, and we'll learn how well they can track us."

"Shoot. I was afraid you'd suggest something like that." Otis spoke a few words and the ship accelerated, the clouds shooting by like jet fighters.

"Be sure to turn off the display before it starts evading observation. I still get an upset stomach remembering what it was like."

"Noted," Otis replied, doing so.

"Does the shuttle know where Beijing is?"

"It doesn't, but the Ti'chrk planned out their attacks. I can describe the location so it understands it. The Ti'chrk aren't familiar with the Wi'Tibold's navigation system, but the Wi'Tibold know the Ti'chrk's." Otis turned. "We're now in avoidance mode, but as fast as we're traveling, I'm not sure how much good it'll do. I suspect we may be mistaken for the attackers, though I doubt the Earth based defenses can do anything about it."

He waited a moment, and then opened the display to reveal the Forbidden City stretched out ahead of them.

Ger studied the vista before them. "Where are they?"

"They haven't arrived yet. They aren't quite as ... fast as we are." Otis pointed to the back wall. "Here they come now."

"Damn, their fighters appear more intimidating than our shuttle."

"That's by design. They're big into intimidation while the Wi'Tibold build alliances." Natalie pulled out her camera, filming the display projected on the walls.

The alien fighter dove, holding about 50 feet over the tallest buildings in their path. The display zeroed in on their approach. The Chinese got the message out, there weren't many people on the streets, but it was hardly clear. As the attack craft drew closer, they began firing into the street below. Sporadic ground fire followed, but the ship was long gone before the shots could reach it. Otis's crewmates didn't know where to look, at the damage inflicted on Beijing, the city's haphazard defenses, or where they were aiming. It didn't take long for the fighter to reach its target. It pulled up as it fired its last shot at the Forbidden City."

"Two Chinese jet fighters approaching," Otis declared. "Another four have launched. They're unlikely to do much, but this is what I'm trying to encourage."

It was clear the Ti'chrk attack craft flew differently than the Wi'Tibold, as it arched across the sky. It followed the traditional rules of motion, though covering the necessary distance much faster than any Earthly craft. Instead of leaving, it was demonstrating how ineffective the Chinese defenses were.

The ship turned a full 180 degrees, now confronting the jet fighters, which hardly seemed to be moving. Both fired missiles.

"If you want to encourage resistance, it would be better if you helped," Fred suggested.

"You have a point," Otis said before speaking a few words. A flash of light exited the shuttle as the Ti'chrk fighter confronted the ships, zipping past the missiles, flying up and over the jets as they fired. One Chinese jet exploded, sending fiery remains into the city. Before the alien ship could maneuver any further the shuttle's shot caught up to it. It was like a ball of light, about four feet in diameter, jerking to and fro, making minute adjustments as it approached. The light charge struck the attack craft. It was utterly unspectacular. It didn't seem to do anything, but as soon as it was connected, the Ti'chrk ship lost power, dropping like a fast moving brick. Seconds later, pieces began falling from it. There were no parachutes, as neither the Chinese nor the aliens had time to eject. The attack ship reached the outskirts of the city before it crashed, producing a spectacular sight.

"Well, they know about us now," Otis said. "Sorry to spoil your video, but I'd rather not stick around." With that, the shuttle took off, flying so haphazardly it was impossible to tell which side was up. Otis shut down the display, leaving the others befuddled.

"Are they coming after us?" "What's the other Chinese fighter doing?" "How much damage did their attack do?" "Are the aliens alive, at least before they crashed?"

Otis, still watching the controls, responded to each question. "No, they only had a single ship in play here, so there's no one to chase us down. The shuttle says they can't track us, but I'm not convinced. Apparently the shot shut down their electronics before producing a ... massive magnetic effect, causing the fighter to fly apart at the seams. The Ti'chrk pilot didn't have a chance to respond. Their craft was already destroyed. He was probably killed by shrapnel from his own ship before crashing."

"Does that mean the Chinese can examine their weapons?"

"They can try, but it's doubtful they can figure them out without decades of study. The attack left everything in the ship nonfunctional, so they can't even test the ship's surviving systems. In addition, the Ti'chrk aren't eager to help their foes, so the explosion when it crashed was by their design."

"Hot damn!" Fred declared. "I'd say that was a success. The bad guys didn't even see us until we fired, and they had no defense against your single shot. Maybe we should take the fight to them?"

"I'm not counting them down for the count. The Ti'chrk weren't anticipating our attack and were distracted. What's more, they now know about us. They won't be as defenseless in the future. So far, there's no mention of me, so they haven't put the pieces together yet, but they might."

Panicking, Natalie handed Otis her phone. "Can you transmit this to the Chinese?"

He shook his head. "We're out of Chinese airspace and won't be over any city long enough to figure out how to send it. Let's hope they can't follow us home. Otherwise, it's game over for our little rebellion."

The president stormed up to his chief of staff, who was issuing instructions to a couple people. "Walter, what the frig is going on?"

"I'm sorry, Sir, but the news keeps getting worse. I'm still trying to connect the dots."

"Damn it, I'm fielding calls from all over the globe, asking what we're doing about these friggin' aliens."

"They're known as the Ti'chrk, Sir."

"Says who? Some nobody from out in left field? I've had more contact with them than anyone else, and they never mentioned that word to me."

"That's what the media is reporting. It appears they've found someone with an inside connection."

"Speaking of the freakin' media, have we arrested the damn two-bit reporter causing this ruckus? It's one thing to report the news, but to publicize it before it takes place casts us as the bad guys."