Moon Men

Chapter 11

The hanger was a large cavernous space at least a football field wide and two football fields deep. Plastic panels in the roof were spaced every ten feet so to take advantage of the sun and natural light, supplemented by Xenon work lights strung up between the skylights.

Rob stopped halfway through the door.

A large alien spaceship hovered in the middle of the hanger, surrounded by four black F14's.

Two Troop Transports, Four government issue sedan's and two Black Suburbans are dwarfed underneath the flying saucer.

"Shit," he said.

"Is that?"

"Impressed," said the scarred man. A name patch on his black commando gear read RIGGS, though that wasn't his real name. It was good enough for this assignment.

"It's not ours...yet," he continued.

"It's real?" Jodi asked Rob.

"Told you."

He blanched and moved to cower behind her.

"Are you hit?"

Rob nods toward the underbelly of the ship and tries to cower lower.

"Nordes," he said.

Jodi turned back to the ship as a thin opening spread on the hull. Five tall thin blond humanoids dressed in dull black jumpsuits march in lockstep out the saucer.

Each of them was armed with wicked looking oversized blaster rifles.

They could have been clones since they all looked exactly alike. Not quite Viking or Norse, though she could see why he called them that. There was a Scandinavian leaning to the way they looked.

"What's a Norde?" she asked.

Riggs grabbed Rob by the collar and jerked him from behind Jodi.

"A Norde is our friend."

He dragged Rob toward the alien war party.

"And they want to talk to you."

Jodi reached for Rob, but a Commando grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back.

"Don't move," he said.

Riggs led Rob out to the middle of the hanger and abandoned him on the concrete floor. The Commandos backed away to line the wall in a single file.

"Crow!" Jodi screamed.

The Nordes float toward Rob and surround him.

The leader raised his blaster rifle and aimed it at Rob's head.

Rob lept at him and jerked the rifle from his hands.

The laser made a fizzing sound as red bolts shot around the circle. Rob shot two Nordes and leaped over the leader. He landed and blasted a third alien.

Jodi grabbed the Commando holding her arm and flipped him across her back. She jammed a knee into his throat and took his weapon.

Riggs shouted and aimed his rifle at her.

Rob turned the blast rifle onto the Commando's. He sliced through the men lined up against the wall before they can shoot back. Riggs ran for the open doorway firing over his shoulder as his boots slammed on the pavement. The Norde leader retreated to the hovering saucer.

A Norde popped up and fired at Rob. He sidestepped the blast bolt and shot back, pegged the alien in the chest.

The hanger was silent. There was no one left to shoot, but Jodi scooped up a couple of magazines from the Commando's slumped against the wall.

Rob grabbed her hand and dragged her up.

"Come on," he growled. His voice was different, lower.

They ran for one of the Suburbans and he shoved her behind the wheel.

"Drive."

Rob climbed in the back seat and lowered the passenger side window.

"Where did you?!"

"Go! Go!" he screamed.

The bottom of the saucer split in half and Nordes spilled out like angry hornets.

Rob leaned out of the window and opened fire with the blaster rifle. Each shot fizzed through the air and nailed the target.

Jodi gunned the Suburban and raced through the open hangar doors.

They bounced up the dirt road toward the gate.

"Gate!" she screamed.

Rob dropped the rifle and ducked inside of the truck.

The Suburban crashed through the gate and sent metal flying. Rob climbed over the front seat.

"We may need that rifle," said Jodi.

An explosion rocked the truck. Jodi gripped the wheel and fought to maintain control.

"Kill switch," he said.

She nodded and concentrated on the road.