Mana Pool Snippets - The Days After

Three

They left the SUV and joined the military holdout a hundred yards from Jaruka's dropship. No soldiers were mixed in with the citizens as they surrounded the dropship, searching for ways to look inside and find a way inside. Two news trucks were next to a pair of Humvees broadcasting the commotion, but soldiers were already cutting their airtime.

Katie and Scott walked up a small hill for a better look, along with Deryl, Mathews, and Keeji when he materialized from Scott's right hand.

"Oh, boy," Katie said.

People, from hippies to scientists, crowded the area, touching the hull, examining the side thrusters and anti-gravity pods, and peeking through the bridge's window. Some sat in music circles, religious communes, and one group even treated the gathering as a massive party, but everybody was there to see the evidence of life from space.

Arana flew back, landing on Katie's shoulder. "I counted a few dozen people, some with guns I suspect. Jaruka's Howler Cycle is here, but not Jaruka himself," she said.

"Take a good look," Mathews said beside Katie. "That alien has no sense of secrecy. Look, he made a pubic example of his stay. This must be part of his plan."

"Really? A faction?" Scott shook his head. "I don't think that's like him. Maybe. Could be. No."

"What else why? It has to be."

"How about a hangover and stunk like hell!"

The terrans, totems and humans turned around as the mercenary walked towards them from the temporary communications truck. "I forgot the cloak, but I'd be damned to forget to lock it." He showed them a black cube than pocketed it. "Mathews, you're ridiculous."

Every soldier kept their eyes on him and their distance far. Jaruka did not care if they had gotten the order to keep away or heeded the warnings unlike Mathews, but they seemed to understand the issue.

Jaruka walked up to the group, managing to keep himself from being seen by the civilians. "Wonder who tipped them off about where I was?" He eyed at Mathews.

"Perhaps you riding that thing you call a motorcycle," Mathews scorned, and then spotted the commanding officer. "Captain Britt, you had orders to clear those crackpots from the ship hours ago. I see no movement. Explain."

The mid-forties man folded his arms. "Sorry, sir, new orders came. I love this country but I'm not liable to turn it into a scorched desert. Those alien conditions might apply to the ship."

"Just me, Captain, no technology," Jaruka said, then muttered, "like you could listen to that." Looking back at the dropship, the little bug behind his neck told him the hull or the bridge's glass would not hold the civilians back any longer.

Mathews mentioned containing Jaruka again, but Britt was wise enough to disagree. Soon the group fought for an agreement as to what to do with Jaruka, but he tuned out the fight as he focused on the squabble at the ship.

Come on, think, big guy, he thought. Think of something. His eyes moved from one group of humans to another, he spotted a few terrans but they were not an issue. Negotiations were out, the moment he showed himself to them everybody would run at him. The military was of no use to him.

One solution came to mind and he remembered what Nova Company had installed.

Jaruka went back to his Howler Cycle, parked behind a tree; the terrans and agents had not noticed him leaving. He detached and lifted the seat; the storage compartment had his wet clothes in the trash bag, but he went for a weapon he rarely used. His plasma rifle and katana were his default choice, but the pistol was a better choice for his current circumstances.