U-10

Koritt blinked as the thermal grenade exploded in a dazzling flash.

No biological life could withstand the 7,000 degree temperature created within the blast radius. Even the ground would be fused to a depth of thirty centimeters at the blast center, feathering out to five centimeters at the farthest effective point.

It was impossible to believe the Earth sentients had found the way to activate the U-10, but the evidence was crystal clear. Despite his original presumption about the intelligence level of the inhabitants of this planet, Koritt had to admit he was wrong.

Thanking the engineers for the foresight of designing the activation cards for single-use, Koritt settled down to crafting a way to remove the U-10 from the clutches of the Earth sentients. He had to stop their experimentation. The U-10 was a survival tool; however, it was dangerous in untrained hands. A shudder vibrated down his spine as he remembered a few of the things the activation cards could produce.

Koritt was considering his alternatives when he saw lights bouncing across the sand toward the campsite. Frowning at the intrusion, he settled deeper into his hiding place.

***

“One klick to the camp. They will have spotted us by now,” the Special Forces Master Sergeant said.

Frost’s eyes narrowed as she anticipated the confrontation with Lieutenant Lavender. SEED Team authority had to be respected no matter how maverick he thought he was.

SEED had been created in the early 1950′s by President Eisenhower to investigate, capture or eliminate existential, metaphysical, supernatural and transcendental threats to the National Security of the United States.

Due to the nature of its mission, the SEED Team had unrestricted authority over all United States military forces. The benefits of SEED Team investigations justified its unconditional power. Reverse engineering of alien technology had led to advanced power storage systems, Nano-tech and artificial intelligence. The benefits to American technological dominance could not be ignored.

Lavender had to toe the line, or Lincoln had to force him. It was not the first time she had encountered a macho-man, and it wouldn’t be the last. Picturing Ty’s face, she thought,

“Put a little testosterone in a boy and they think they’re indestructible. I hate a macho attitude. He may think shouting and beating his chest demonstrate male authority, but my rules are the rules.”

***

Ty returned to his bedroll, pulled the grenade card out of the pouch’s slot and slid it into the back of the box of cards.

Looking around for a suitable hiding place, he levered up a big rock, scraped out a hole beneath it and placed the card box in the hole. Covering the box with sand, he replaced the rock. When he was finished, he couldn’t see anything indicating the rock had ever been moved.

Lying down on his bedroll, he stuffed the pouch under his head like a pillow. Pretending to be resting, Ty acted surprised when the MRAP’s slid to a stop near the camp.

Grabbing his M16A4, he walked out to meet the trucks. Big Papa and Sasquatch were waiting on him.

With weapons at the ready, Marines jumped out of the first MRAP and formed a semicircle around Ty and his men. Their HK416′s weren’t pointed at Ty, but they could be in a heartbeat. Another group of Marines left the second MRAP and jogged away. Ty kept his body relaxed, but his brain was working overtime. The situation was getting out-of-hand fast.

Frost climbed out of the lead MRAP as soon as her guards were in position. Marching toward Ty in a stiff cadence, her back as straight as a West Point graduate, she stopped short and looked around.

“Where are the rest of your people?” she demanded.

“Scouting the perimeter for hostiles,” Ty responded. “What are you doing here?”

Ignoring the question, Frost tried to walk past Ty toward the camp. Ty put a hand on her shoulder. Big Papa and Sasquatch gripped their M16A4′s but didn’t raise them toward Frost’s guards. As if on cue, Frost’s men snapped into combat positions. The barrels of their HK416′s shifted to target Ty and his men.

“Take your hand off me, Lieutenant Lavender, or my guards have orders to shoot,” Frost warned.

Without moving, Ty replied, “Fisheye, if any of Frost’s people so much as twitch a trigger finger, put a hole in their neck.”

“Yes, Sir. Watching for movement,” a voice answered.

The semicircle of guards began looking from side to side. Two of them dropped their night vision goggles over their eyes and peered around. The sun would be above the horizon in less than an hour, but at this moment the darkness was complete. There was no way to pinpoint the location of the voice despite how hard they looked or strained their hearing.

“You wouldn’t dare take such action,” Frost said. Her eyes glared.

“You have attempted to enter my camp without notice, invitation or identification. It’s very dark, and we are in hostile territory. Based on my team’s experience, it’s shoot first and ask questions later. The only reason you’re still alive is because I don’t like paperwork,” Ty replied.

Frost smiled as she turned her head and spoke into her shoulder-mounted mike, “Sergeant Stevens, are you in position? Report status.”

Her receiver squawked.

“Yes, Ma’am. The heat-signature sensor you provided has located all the missing squad members. This thing lights them up like a candle no matter where they are. Your orders?”

Her smile faded and Frost said to Ty, “There is evidence that leads me to believe you took something from the crash site. I intend to find it.”

“If you would ask in a polite way, I might just let you into the camp,” Ty said.

“I don’t need to ask. My authority is absolute,” Frost replied and shrugged Ty’s hand off her shoulder.

***

Abdul Akhund’s eyes glittered with anticipation as he watched his horde of Insurgents encircle the US soldiers’ camp.

At first, Akhund had been troubled by the arrival of the armored trucks. He had not factored reinforcements into his planned ambush; however, it appeared the US soldiers were arguing with each other.

The encamped group had stationed guards at places where they could engage the newcomers with relative ease. Based upon the actions of the truck soldiers, they were not friends with the encamped group. The guards’ attention and weapons were focused on the truck soldiers. The infidels had no idea they were surrounded by forty-three of Allah’s mightiest fighters.

Akhund decided it was time to pounce while the infidels were focused on each other. He reasoned that by the time they realized they were under attack, his horde would have eliminated half of them. Glorious!

Signaling for the ambush to begin, Akhund sneered as he heard the first shot.

***

A gunshot broke the silence of the Ty-Frost standoff.

One of the truck guards fell, blood gushing from a neck wound. Frost backed away from Ty and pulled her pistol.

Ty turned and said, “Orion Squad, cease fire!”

“It’s not us,” Fisheye yelled.

More bullets hit the armored MRAPs but no other American fell. Trained soldiers seek cover fast under live fire. Frost shot in Ty’s direction. Ty thought she was shooting at him until he heard a body hit the sand nearby. Twisting around, Ty saw a dead Insurgent lying just a few meters away from him. Looking back at Frost, Ty had just enough time to give the woman a ‘thank you’ nod when he saw movement.

Snapping his pistol toward Frost’s head, Ty yelled, “Duck!” as he pulled the trigger.

Frost’s eyes grew round, but she obeyed the warning. A body landed beside her. The impact was close enough to knock sand into her hair. Scrambling toward Ty and putting her back against him, they faced opposite directions.

“We’re surrounded,” Wendigo said over the comm. “Everyone in the second MRAP group that had the heat sensor is dead. We’ll have better cover nearer the camp.”

“Everyone fall back to the camp. How many Insurgents are we up against?” Ty asked.

“They’re like that Bop-A-Mole game,” Psycho said. “Hit one and another pops up somewhere else.”

Automatic rifle-fire popped across the sand and wounded two of Frost’s Marines. Their fellows dragged them further back to the shelter of the MRAPs. Ty and Frost ran for the boulders protecting the campsite, firing behind as they weaved across the sand. Ty could see other squad members running zigzag toward the camp.

The ring of Insurgents was tightening. Ty had no illusions about the dire predicament his squad faced. Outnumbered and pinned into a hard-to-defend position, his team’s survival prospects weren’t good.

Staring at Frost, Ty had to admit the woman had an icy personality and was good with a pistol. Shaking his head in resignation, Ty decided to put the lives of his squad over keeping the pouch hidden.

Grabbing Frost by the shoulder, Ty said, “Cover me. Be back in a minute.”

***

Akhund nodded as he watched the infidels try to hide from the onslaught of his men.

One group had taken refuge under the armored trucks. The soldiers from the second MRAP had no warning and were eliminated without a problem. The third group was retreating to the campsite where the boulders might provide better protection from gunfire. Another few minutes and the attack would end with a few ritual beheadings. The American swine had no chance when faced with well-trained warriors. His people ruled the desert. Their hard-scrabble lives were formed in desert crucibles from which only the hardest and best fighters emerged.

Akhund fought the urge to feel pride over his accomplishment. Pride was a sin that should be avoided. His father had beaten him mercilessly for showing pride. Even now, years after his father died, Akhund still remembered the pain of the beatings.

“I hated that man,” Akhund thought as a memory of his father’s grim face appeared in his mind.

Three more of the soldiers hiding under the armored trucks grunted as bullets found their mark. The infidels would soon be out of ammunition, and his men would finish them with blades.

Feeling confident, Akhund picked his way down the rocky slope where his observation post was hidden. He needed to be close to the fighting. When the massacre ended, he wanted to be the first to order a beheading.

***

Ty shuffled and crawled to his bedroll as bullets whizzed over his head.

Grabbing the alien pouch, he made his way to the rock where the box of cards was hidden. Bullets thumped the sand nearby. One hit the rock and ricocheted.

Turning toward the sniper’s position, Ty unleashed a volley of automatic gunfire from his M16A4. When no return shots came his way, he pushed the rock aside and dug for the box.

His arms full of pouch, card box and rifle, he scrambled toward Frost. Frost unleashed a series of shots at some target behind Ty. Sure a bullet was going to hit him in the back, Ty fought the urge to look behind him.

When he reached Frost at last, he rolled aside and tried to spot her target. The bodies of two Insurgents sprawled in lopsided mounds not twenty meters away.

“My first name is Lincoln,” Frost grinned.

“Thank you, Lincoln,” Ty nodded. “I bring gifts.”

Ignoring the pouch, Frost eyed the box of cards.

“I knew it. There were more cards.”

“You found some more?” Ty asked.

Reaching into her pocket, Frost pulled her card and handed it to Ty.

“What do the cards do?

“Watch,” Ty said and slipped Frost’s card into the pouch slot.

A red light glowed, and a harsh buzz sounded. Pulling the card out and reinserting it only resulted in the same red light and buzz. Frost’s curious look turned to disappointment.

“That’s it?” she asked.

“Wait a minute,” Ty said as he removed the card and examined it.

The deep cut in Frost’s card created a shadowy line.

“This is broken,” Ty said and tossed the card away.

Bullets whacked into the sand nearby. Ty and Frost ducked by reflex.

“I need a little time here,” Ty called out.

“Aye, Sir. Would you please pull something out of your goody-bag and use it?” Sasquatch shouted.

“Your goody-bag?” Frost asked.

“Let’s see what I can conjure,” Ty replied.

Pulling the next card from the box, Ty wiped it across his sleeve to remove any sand.

“Watch,” he whispered as he slipped it into the pouch slot.

The green light glowed, and the pouch expanded. Frost’s eyes bulged as Ty lifted the flap and reached inside. Grabbing something hard, Ty pulled.

What looked like the butt of a rifle emerged. Pulling further, Ty was amazed as a long-barreled device emerged. The pouch was at best thirty centimeters deep, but the apparatus he pulled from it was over 72 centimeters long.

It looked like a 12-gauge shotgun. The stock was made of black plastic. What Ty considered the receiver, barrel and muzzle were formed from shiny metal. Instead of a trigger, there was a red button inside the trigger-guard. The gizmo’s weight was no more than a standard M16.

“What the hell?” Frost exclaimed as she examined the gadget, touching it to see if it was real.

“Let’s see what it does,” Ty grinned as he steadied the rifle-shape on a nearby boulder and looked around for an enemy.

He spotted a keffiyah and aimed the alien weapon at it. Holding his breath, Ty pressed the button. A hum increased in volume, and Ty felt a slight kick as the thing fired.

A streak of light lasered from the muzzle and hit the keffiyah. A moment later, a body fell from behind the boulder and slumped onto the sand. The streak of light retracted into the barrel, and the receiver began vibrating. A distinct, electronic whine grew louder and a series of colored lights flashed around the receiver like a toy alien pistol Ty had received at Christmas when he was 9-years old.

Ty and Lincoln looked at each other, wide-eyed. Lincoln was about to say something when the lights stopped flashing and the receiver turned red.

A streak of white light about the size of a broom handle discharged from the muzzle and wove a crooked path around the campsite. The ‘laser-beam’ curled and twisted as it snaked from place to place. The tip of the beam darted toward everyone in Ty’s squad, then arrowed toward the Insurgents hiding in the darkness. It seemed to have a purpose. Ty decided it was choosing who to attack and who not to attack. Every American soldier was ignored while every Insurgent was speared by the beam. If the laser encountered an American, it veered away, causing no injury. If the laser encountered an Insurgent, it shot through his body and killed him. As the Insurgents began to comprehend the danger they faced, they abandoned their posts and fled into the desert night. It made no difference in the end. The light beam chased and skewered each of them before moving to the next man.

As soon as the last Insurgent was eliminated, the gizmo Ty was holding blinked and became inert. Pushing the button again and again didn’t help. The device no longer functioned. Just like the alien knife, the alien rifle was single-use.

“What the hell?” Lincoln whispered.

***

Akhund cringed behind the largest boulder he could find.

Whatever the infidels had used to defeat his men was gone. Closing his eyes, he offered a silent prayer of thanks for his life. He had no idea what kind of weapon used light to kill, but he couldn’t deny what he’d witnessed.

He had watched as a streak of light chose its victims. It ignored every US soldier and skewered every Insurgent. Lucky he hadn’t been closer to the fighting. He was separated from the battle by at least 200 meters.

Forty-three loyal Insurgents had died this night, and Akhund had to explain the defeat to Jalauddin Razaq Nafez. He couldn’t claim an animated beam of white light killed his fighters. Oily sweat dripped down his forehead as he considered his options.

Smiling as he settled on a plausible explanation, he shuffled back from his hiding place and headed toward the cave where Jalauddin Razaq Nafez waited.