Chapter Three
"You're Kidding, Right?"
The General reached over the seat and tapped the Lieutenant's shoulder. "How's the other shoulder, Mike?" he asked.
"Just fine, sir," the Lieutenant announced. "Nothing was broken, just a lot of bruises. Your friends got me out o.k.. Appreciate it, sir."
"Got you out of where?" Donald asked.
The Lieutenant looked towards the General and with his nod answered.
"Baghdad, sir. I was guiding in laser bombs when the Iraqis caught me. The General took them out, got me to some of his people. Rather weird experience. When The President approved the mission he asked for me. I've got full diagrams, sir. Anything you didn't find out last night?"
The General shook his head. "No, they're doing a good job. Cursed luck, though, that culvert was washed out. If it hadn't been for that the ship would've been sitting nice and level on the road, instead of plowed up in those buildings. I hope that engineer's all right."
"Yes, sir. Just a few bruises. You're quite a start, sir, to someone who's never seen you before."
The General only nodded, and Donald was completely confused. "What are you two talking about?" he asked.
The General and Lieutenant laughed. "YOU explain it to him," the General ordered.
"The General can leave his body, sir," the Lieutenant commented. "He can take on several different forms, one of them alien. He visited the crash site list night. One of the engineers saw him, was startled and fell from the rigging."
"Are you serious?" Donald inquired.
"Absolutely!" the Lieutenant answered. "It was his alien form that saved me in Baghdad."
Donald shook his head and stared at the man beside him. "Excuse me, sir," he said, "I'm a good old Catholic boy. I find things like that very hard to believe."
"Quite understandable, Donald," the General told him. "Sometimes I find MYSELF hard to believe."
They arrived at a small executive airport and an Air Force Leer was waiting. They were airborne in minutes. "We've got a couple of hours in the air, gentlemen. Let's get some work done. Get me the weather reports. I want to know who's going to be effected if we have to use the bomb. How's the evacuation going?"
A Sergeant who had been on the plane spoke up. "Almost everyone is out of the immediate danger zone sir, except for a few stragglers: hhunting party we can't find, and two people in an old folks home too sick to move. Two Air Force nurses are staying with them. But we've got over one thousand people out of the area. The cover is one of our missiles went haywire."
The General nodded. "Show me where the nursing home is," he asked. "The Sergeant indicated and the General again nodded. "Even if we have to use the bomb, they're pretty far off. They could come out o.k.....find that hunting party!"
"Yes, sir!" the Sergeant snapped.
The General began to study photographs of the ship, itself. "This is where we'll establish contact," he said. "If I can get through to the computer half our battle's won. If we only knew what the danger was inside. I was too weak to penetrate the hull last night. Maybe I really ought to give it another try."
"Why don't you wait until you're closer, sir?" the Lieutenant suggested. "It's daylight."
"Maybe you're right," the General answered. "Let's have some lunch. Maybe we'll all think better on a full stomach."
"I made sure they brought food and beverages you could eat; turkey ham, and, cheese, Postum. There's plenty of stuff for us."
"My kind of man, Lieutenant" the General laughed.
They settled down to a quiet lunch while the plane sped westward.