A Small Gray Dot

The doctor said it was possible they don’t run into many species that are as aggressive as ours. One would think they’d been on Earth long enough to have figured out that they might need some better, and tougher, fighters but maybe they’d thought they would have us all finished off before it became a problem for them.

A mistake on their part, but apparently, their tactics had always worked before. Maybe they had been at this so long that they got complacent and had long ago gotten out of the habit of bringing real fighters along for their takeovers. On the worlds they acquired before, maybe no one ever caught on until it was too late so they hadn’t gotten much in the way of opposition.

With a little luck, they wouldn’t have enough time to gather more or better fighters. After all, our little uprising had come about fast. I didn’t want to think about what might’ve happened if Henderson had waited for his negotiator to work out a deal with Madison instead of trying to force her hand, which led to his ordering the kidnapping of Morgan. Which led to me showing up.

I held up a hand for attention. “Okay, listen up. Simon told you how this is going to go, so remember which group you’re in. If they have the shield up, I’ll knock it out and I’ll also take out their lasers. Some of you have already seen the wrecked fence so you know we can get through it, just be careful of sharp edges.”

Cue was standing out on the driveway, shotgun in one hand, machete in the other. He was definitely ready to roll. He pulled his knit cap off, and ran a hand over his shiny head before cramming it back on. “Let’s go git them bitches,” he said, his eyes narrow and his face hard. “They done fucked up our world wit’ that goddam Event shit an’ then the muthafuckers add to it by tryin’ ta snatch a li’l girl. They’s wrong as shit. Time fo som’ fuckin’ payback.”

I didn’t try to correct him. As Lem had been, he was half-right. The Binqua didn’t cause the Event but they sure hadn’t given a flying bat turd about us. They never told us it was coming when they could have, and had kept the anomaly jammed open so they could screw up our technology and make a profit off us. Now they wanted to divest us of our world. Like Lem and Cue, many people wouldn’t ever believe they hadn’t actually made the Event happen but as far as I was concerned, that was a minor point.

Simon held his rifle in the air and yelled, “Let’s get it on!” and there was a chorus of “Yeah!” and “Let’s go get them assholes!” It was time.

I nodded. “Okay. Let’s go. Be sharp. Just because we can take out the lasers, it doesn’t mean they can’t hurt us. Remember, they’ve got a number of regular firearms.”

As we started forward and turned down Main Street to head to Semptor Labs, I glanced at Madison’s determined face as she strode along. I almost smiled. She had her rifle slung over one shoulder and her designer purse over the other. She may have looked soft and pampered but the woman had steel in her backbone and on top of everything else they’d done, those nasties hurt her little sister. She was pissed and ready to make them pay.

Everybody was quiet as we got to the mostly demolished front fence. There wasn’t anything to indicate a shield. The doctor said it wouldn’t be visible so there was no way to tell if it was on just by looking. I picked up a rock and tossed it over the fence. It bounced back. Definitely working.

“As soon as you’re in position,” I told the fighters, “Throw a rock to make sure the shield’s down.”

Two groups jogged off to the left, heading for the vehicle entry, which Duncan said would be unlocked, just like the front gate. I was certain the Binqua hadn’t suddenly gained enough smarts to think to lock it, especially since they were depending on their shield. A couple more groups moved down, prepared to go in through the large opening on the left put there by the laser while we were trying to get Morgan out. A third group headed to the right to go through the other ragged section. The rest of the fighters gathered behind me at the melted down main gate.

“Get ready,” I said to the gaggle of people. “Remember your part. Stay low and be careful.” I pulled the canceler out, and praying the thing worked the way the instructions indicated, I pushed switch number three two times. Percy picked up a rock and pitched it over the fence where it landed on the other side without impediment. I was relieved. At least that part worked. Then I pressed switch number two once to take out the lasers. We’d only know that one worked when we didn’t suddenly become crispy chunks.

We moved in.

Chapter Forty

WE GOT THROUGH THE MANGLED FENCE AND took off down the slope for the buildings. As we crossed the treed and grassy span that abutted the lot where the burned and ruined delivery trucks and vans were, nobody was fried.