The Madman's Clock

Chapter 8

He watched me closely, not my eyes, but my body language.

"You're trespassing aboard Earth military property," I said evenly. "What are you doing here?"

"The same thing you are, Captain Jack Mallory," he replied as he continued to look me over. "You and your men were deployed to the Saturnus to halt the temporal experiments."

"What I'm doing here is none of your fuckin' business," I replied. I nodded toward his men. "You and your men need to leave this ship right now."

The Edra blinked slowly, his red-black slit eyes staring at me. It was unnerving. He stepped closer, almost toe to toe with me, and looked very closely at my face, as though he were studying it.

"I wonder if you humans understand just how easily your intentions and thoughts can be read, based solely on your facial expressions." He breathed in deeply. "In addition, your pheromones practically broadcast your current state of mind. Looking at your soldiers, I know they are angry, frustrated. You are all of these things, and something else besides."

I shook my head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No," the Edra replied. "I do not suppose you do, not yet. You will, though. All of you will. However, I lack the time to explain further. We have others subjects to discuss."

"If you're gonna kill us, don't talk our ears off first," Kyle said with a snarl.

I shot him an annoyed glance, but the sentiment was true enough.

The Edra did not even look toward Kyle, though he was obviously annoyed at his words. "Why does your soldier address me, Captain Jack Mallory? It is not appropriate for a soldier to speak on behalf of his commander. None of my soldiers," he said, gesturing to the nine Edra behind him, "would dare to speak in my stead. Please instruct him to remain silent."

"Why don't you look him in the eye and tell him, yourself?" I replied.

The Edra seemed perplexed, cocking his head once more. He turned back to the other Edra, the one with all of the extra gear. They conversed for a moment.

"It would be inappropriate for me to give orders to your soldiers," the Edra explained. "It would not be respectful, which is why I asked you to order them to relinquish their weapons, instead of doing so myself. I expect the same courtesy from you. Obviously, this is a custom your planet has failed to learn. I find that quite chaotic, and rather barbaric."

"You've got us up against a wall," I said with a huff. "You want me to be polite to you before you shoot me? Really? Kiss my ass."

The two Edra spoke again. The one in front of me nodded. "You are operating under a false assumption. I will not order my soldiers to fire, so long as you take no action against us while we talk."

I looked to my men, and I could see that they were as shocked as I was. This was a first. Edra commandos were not known for sparing lives. In the century or so since becoming aware of the Edra, neither our diplomats nor intelligence agents had ever come across a single account of survivors from a raid by Edra commandos. They tended to appear suddenly, kill everyone, and then leave quickly. The Edra rarely flexed their muscle, but when they did, it was not a partial job.

"You're not going to kill us?" I asked, suspicious.

The Edra shook his head. "No, Captain Mallory. If my orders included killing you, we would have done so the moment we captured you."

"Then what do you want?"

"I wish to converse with you, and exchange information," the Edra replied.