Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Distraction
"THAT'S CRAZY. THERE's no way that will work."
Marty was flying us back toward the outpost. I'd left the infiltration drone in place. Next time we went within range, Brick would be able to use it again. That would come in handy, no matter the plan we decided on.
"No way, man. It's genius. There's nothing that can compare to the power of the people."
"You're sounding crazy right now, Marty."
"No, seriously, let me try again. There was a really big movement, Storm Area 51. The idea was if a big enough group of people got together, they could just force their way into the base and see the aliens the government has there."
"Marty, my information shows that there are no aliens in Area 51. There is nothing of interest to us at all," Brick said.
"Sure, we know that now, but nobody else does."
"Wasn't Storm Area 51 a joke? It was a meme about using the Naruto run to move faster than their bullets," I said.
"Yeah, it was, but a lot of the True Believers took it up as a real cause. It would work, I think. Can you imagine the shitstorm if the soldiers in Area 51 mowed down hundreds of American citizens with machine guns?"
"It's still a huge gamble for anyone dumb enough to actually try storming the base. You've seen the firepower they have, Marty. You really want to put your friends on the receiving end of that?"
"Not just my friends. All of the tens of thousands of people that wanted to storm Area 51. The people that want the truth about aliens. They're all still out there. If we get them to storm the base, it will be all the distraction we need. We'll be able to come in, steal that junk, and fly off."
The Earth rolled by underneath us, the stunning view forgotten as we debated the idea. The eastern sky was beginning to lighten as the sunrise wasn't far off.
"Alright, even if we put aside the risk of the soldiers killing hundreds of people, we have no way to get people there. I don't think a meme will work again, especially when it's not actually Area 51 this time."
"That's the best part," Marty enthused. "I know exactly how to fix that. Give me some time and I'll prove it to you. Maybe you could try to figure out a way to make sure the soldiers don't kill everybody?"
"As long as you don't take too long, that's fine. I'll try to figure out a non-lethal way to deal with the soldiers."
"Thanks, Jake, it's going to be awesome, trust me."
I was a bit surprised to find that I did trust him.
An hour later we dropped down into the hangar. The camouflage was amazing—one moment it was a snowy clearing underneath us, the next it was an open hangar. The cabin nearby was as we had left it, although fresh snow had completely eliminated the tracks I'd made when we arrived.
The Redemption set down gently and the roof closed over us, concealing us from the satellites above I was sure were peering down.
Marty went through the gate to hang out with Metra and do whatever it was he had planned while I sat down in the control room, bringing up the design tools. I put the new Gazer design aside. We'd need it—and lots of other types of weapons—in the future, but we didn't need them today. Instead I began to comb through the Union component catalogs and racked my brain for some way to make a non-lethal weapon that wasn't just a high-tech taser.
A few hours of frustration later, Brick interrupted me.
"Excuse me, Jake, there is a gate connection request from Hephaseta."
"Really? Accept it then. I'll get down there."
I got up, grateful for the interruption. I'd been making nearly zero progress on non-lethal weaponry. Without normal humans to test it on, we stood basically no chance of getting something working. At least not like I wanted it to. We weren't going to start abducting people and doing experiments on them any time soon.
The gate room wasn't far, as the outpost wasn't large. I snatched up the GN-75 as I left the room and stuck it to my right side. Better to have a gun and not need it, etc.
Regar and Kiril stood on the other side of the gate, politely waiting for me to arrive. This was something I was only peripherally aware of—gate etiquette in the Union. It was a thing. Regar wasn't wearing his red armor, but some lighter, off-white set that looked like casual wear on his bulky frame. He had a small pistol at his hip. In Infested world terms it might be like he was in his pajamas.
I hadn't actually met Kiril, yet. Brick had shown me what Faella looked like, which made me very suspicious about Earth's past. Faella were exactly like our legends of elves, little people, fairies. The Fae. The name wasn't a coincidence, I was sure. I meant to question Kiril about it, since Brick had no information about Earth's distant past.
Kiril looked like one of those Fae from legends that would kill you and eat your liver. Not the happy, hippy-dippy kind of fairy. He was muscular, dressed in light blue armor. On his hips were a pair of sheathed daggers. He had a serious expression, long black hair framing a ruggedly handsome face with sparkling blue eyes. Sticking out from his back I could just barely see the tips of gossamer wings.
He looked me in the eyes, taking my measure as I took his. I had to look down, as he barely came up to my knees.
"Hey, guys," I said. "Come on through."
The two Seekers stepped through, Regar taking the lead. He grasped my forearm. "Well met, Jake. I felt it far past time to impose on you and introduce my friend and fellow Seeker, Kiril."
I had never had a serious, manly handshake with someone the size of a child. I
