Ancient Astronauts

Martial Law

Alyonna was shocked when Sgt. Batts pulled her jeep around onto Second Chance's main street. Soldiers in dark gray uniforms patrolled all up and down the avenue. Tanks choked all access points to the street allowing only one vehicle or a few people through at a time. Heavily armed soldiers blocked these spaces with movable barriers. They checked the citizens' Orion Sky crypto-chips before allowing them to pass.

"The hell is this?" Alyonna whispered. A moment later her question was answered.

An officer wearing a commander's insignia on his lapel rolled up and down the street on the bed of a truck repeating the same thing over and over again into a microphone, "Citizens of Second Chance. All civilians are required to submit to interrogation pursuant to the murder of Tyrone Hunter and the disappearance of several other citizens of Second Chance. All OS crypto-chips will be scanned searching for irregularities in CC payments. The town is under martial law until this issue is resolved by order of Governor Hans Agler."

When the captain at the opening to the street saw Alyonna in the passenger seat of Sgt. Batts' jeep he waved them through without checking their ID's. No sooner had they passed the barricade than a large group of civilians appeared from a side street holding signs that read, "Down with Tyranny!" and "Respect for Individual Liberties!" Clearly a thirty-year world war on their last home was more than enough for the colonists, and it didn't take more than a whiff of government overreach to run tempers high. Some of them even carried weapons like knives and makeshift clubs.

"Get her out of here, Sgt. Batts!" The captain at the barricade bellowed at Alyonna's escort.

Sgt. Batts gunned the engine and they took off down the street. Alyonna cast a frightened look over her shoulder as the road was sealed off and soldiers rushed to the barricade. Her terror mounted when she saw the tanks swiveling their turrets toward the protesters.

The tanks fired. Luckily for the colonists, it was only tear gas canisters. The protesters retreated only a few dozen yards. Whoever organized the protest was smart. Because the wind was blowing against the tanks pushing the gas onto the soldiers at the barricade. Well trained as they were, it still took them several minutes to retreat, bust out their gas masks, and put them on. The protesters closed in quickly, softly, like wraiths following the tear gas cloud. As soon as it cleared they were on the soldiers bludgeoning and stabbing. Their light and makeshift weapons had little effect against body armor and riot shields. The soldiers responded with clubs and tasers.

Alyonna was relieved not to hear any shots, but it was only a matter of time. General Kellerman's last words to her rang in her ears, "Power has a tendency to make false words true."

"Take me to Hans, Sgt. Batts. Now!"

"Already on it ma'am."

"And give me your radio."

Alyonna grabbed the radio before the stocky NCO had even gotten it off his belt and smashed the Talk button, "Angel Bird to Papa Bear, come in Papa Bear."

Silence.

"Angel Bird to Papa Bear. Do you copy?"

Silence.

"Dammit, Hans! Answer the fucking radio!"

Nothing.

Alyonna slammed the radio down in the cupholder and sank back into her seat like it was going to absorb her.

"He'll be alright, Aly," Sgt. Batts forced an encouraging smile.

"This isn't like him," Aly said.

"People will do strange things when they're grieving or afraid," Sgt. Batts replied solemnly.

"Like imposing martial law over a few murders?" Alyonna snapped.

"Like seizing a hospital," Sgt. Batts gave her a meaningful look.

Aly looked away, "That was necessary."

"Who says this isn't?"

"I do."

"You're not the governor."

"And?"

"And that means you don't have all the facts. For that matter, neither do I. So how about we reserve judgment until we hear what Hans says?"

"Drive."

"Yes, ma'am."

---------------------------------------------------

"This worked out better than expected," James chuckled.

Kathy Stalbot and Adam Galloway exchanged looks.

"James," Kathy whispered, "Did you really kill Tyrone?"

"No," James grunted, "I told you. I never kill anyone. I have others do it for me. To all the world, it'll look like a stab wound."

"And when they figure out that no knife ever made could make a wound like that? I guarantee you that forensics specialist Hans has working with him...what's her name? Harrison? She'll figure it out real quick," Adam said, uncertainty tainting his confident words.

James just smiled, "Oh, she probably already did."

"Don't tell me," Kathy spat, "You killed her too. How many people are you going to off before this thing settles down?"

James stood slowly. He wasn't a tall man by any means but towered over his sitting counterparts, "As many as I have to," he growled, "to ensure the safety of our empire and its long term prosperity."

James folded his hands behind his back and paced slowly over to the globe of Proxima-B. When he reached it he stopped and ran his hand over the top, coming to a stop on Second Chance. The tiny dot, dwarfed by his palm.

"And no," he added after a moment, "I didn't have Harrison killed. She'll be useful. In fact, she's probably getting ready to tell the good Governor her findings right now. I also sent that unwitting little mouse of a husband of yours to drop one more tiny little clue in Hans' hand."

Kathy's gaze snapped up, "Oh God, James. How many?"

"In all?" James seemed to ponder the question for a long moment, "About twenty."

Adam choked on his cigar smoke, "Twenty, James? Was that really necessary?"

"A small price to pay," James replied, still greedily running his hands over the globe, "I do believe our dear governor has his hands full and has for a while. Between pests eating his oil and now civilians being murdered or going missing...like Clarice Sterling–throw on top of that the governor's sudden declaration of martial law. Oh yes, I do believe the people are just about ready for a change of regime. And when they find out Hans killed a prominent and respected man they'll do the rest of our work for us."

Kathy sighed and picked up her wine glass, filled to the brim with the blood red liquid. She raised it. James and Adam followed suit, "Cheers," she said softly, "to the new hero of Second Chance."