Terra Dawning by Ben Winston Page B

and looked away.
    “Vessel has changed course and accelerated; ETA now thirty seconds... mark,” Mother reported.
    “Wow that was fast!” Deirdre said.
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    E R/SAR Command and Control ship Tiderius
    Sector 3421 (5 miles south of the Great Falls crater.)
    Terral III, Duchy of Cassius (Earth)
    Hyclarion Imperial Consortium
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    “T ask Commander! There is a flare in the sky near the shore of the Great Inland Sea!”
    “Alter course for intercept, stand by to launch armed skimmers, ready the troops,” TC Warmake ordered.
    Ranger Commander Jance was impressed with how quickly the crew replied to his orders. She had little doubt that elsewhere in the ship, the six armed skimmers were already manned and ready to launch.
    Warmake turned to his companion. “This is an odd move. That flare has to be for us, since we are the only ones out here. Do you suppose the pirates want to talk?”
    “Such an action would only get them to the gallows faster and they know it. No, I agree this is for us, but I don't believe it is the pirates. Either way, we are going to find out shortly. May I recommend a full spectrum scan of the entire area as we approach?” Jance offered.
    Warmake nodded. “You may. I am leery of this; it feels like an ideal trap and we know the pirates have the weapons to bring us down. Somehow, I doubt My Lord Duke will respond to our distress call with all due haste.”
    The big being then turned back to his console to issue orders and make the report back to his control base.
    Seeing as the Task Commander was busy, the scanner tech, having finished her scan of the area, reported to the Ranger standing next to him. “Scans complete, Commander. A small, highly camouflaged armed shuttle that is unoccupied and two human females one of which is wearing a sidearm, standing on the beach. They appear to be waiting for us.””
    “No other life signs?” Jance asked. “Weapons status on the shuttle?”
    The tech shook her head. “Hundreds of life signs in the tree lines, Commander. Nothing unusual considering the area. The shuttle is powered down and the weapons appear secured. There certainly isn't any power to them.”
    “Well done, thank you, Officer,” Jance replied.
    The tech hesitated a moment. “I don't know if its relative, Commander, but the weapons on that shuttle are archaic and of a design not seen in centuries. However, the camo-screen on it is really good. I doubt we would have found it if we hadn't been meant to. The shuttle itself is of a design we can't identify at all.”
    Warmake had been listening and raised his overly bushy eyebrows in question. “Just two humans and an unidentified, ancient shuttle? Now, I'm really nervous about this.”
    “Very unusual, indeed. The question for the moment is; are these more pieces to the puzzle, or will this help us fit them together?” Commander Jance replied. “Huh, they're not wearing breathers.”
    “We are about to find out; either way, we have arrived,” Warmake said, getting up and heading for the door.
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    G reat Inland Sea shore
    Sector 5634 (Delta Quad)
    25 Apr. 10266 CE (AD)
    Earth, Sol system
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    “W ell, it's too late to chicken out now,” Deirdre said, more to herself than to Gail.
    Gail chuckled. “It was too late once they got into the area. They would have detected the shuttle leaving.”
    Deirdre smiled at her. “Smart ass! I just hope this works.”
    They watched the big ship maneuver into a landing on the wide beach; it was a tight fit. A ramp lowered from under the front of the ship and six people walked out. Four of them spread out as if guarding the other two. The two in the center, a woman in armor and what looked like a huge man, wearing different armor, were focused on Deirdre and Gail. Deirdre smiled as she noticed that the woman and two of the guards were wearing respirators. The woman would be the Ranger that Elrond was supposed to