Operation Phoenix: A Race Through Dark Places (Part 2)

Day 2--Somewhere in the Colorado Rockies.

	“It’s time to get the hell out of the fire.”
	And with those stirring words, I prepared to abandon my wrecked
privateer _Skylark_ to the ever-closing Lizard search teams. After
dunping a large amount of microcapsuled junk into a backpack and
strapping on a light body armour, I stepped onto the trasnport
platform, touched a button on a remote control, and vanished out of
existence for a moment.
	I reappeared several miles away from the wreck, hip deep in a
snow drift. Of course, in my haste to leave, I had forgotten exactly
how cold the high country gets in October. I mumbled a few choice
Kzinti curses as I fumbled for the environmental controls on the body
armour. Once I had fixed the temperature so I wasn’t either freezing or
roasting, I made a quick equipment check.
	“Okay, Let us see what I have here.... A shotgun, blaster rifle,
flash gun, Minerva’s CRAIT, and enough microcapsules to dam a river.
Okay, the CRAIT goes in the pack, put the flash gun on the belt, sling
the blaster rifle, and hold the shotgun at ready. Okay! Ready for a
nice invigorating walk through the forest.”
	I slogged off through the snow, whistling the river march theme
from “The Bridge Over the River Kwai.” A few feet into my journey, a
bright light flared behind me. The autodestruct charge on the _Skylark_
had finally gone off, leaving the Lizards to contend with a pile of
smoking rubble. I had outwitted them.
	How wrong I was.
	Two hours later, I had finally gotten out of the snow, if not
the bitter cold, and was making a brisk pace towards the south gate of
the TRES base, when I heard a whistling overhead. I ducked and watched
as the stars were blocked out by something large and blocky hovering
over the trees nearby. The Lizards had already found out where I was.
Not trusting myself to speak or breathe, I waited in a hollow as the
ship moved slowly towards me, broadcasting great beams of light
everywhere. Finally, just as I thought it was going to find my hiding
place, it darted off with a whine, headed back for base. I sighed a
breath of relief, and began moving.
	And all of a sudden, a section of the tree in front of me jumped
out, brandishing a large and nasty sword. It landed ten feet in front
of me, the blade glinting in the moonlight almost the only thing I
could see of it. The other thing I could see were two rows of equally
glinting sharp teeth. It snarled, and jumped again. I did the only
thing I could: I blasted it with my shotgun.
	Once. Twice. Three times. And it was still in the air, still
moving, swinging the sword with superhuman speed-
	I ducked, using the shotgun barrel to parry the blow. As I
rolled across the ground, losing my backpack in the process, I felt the
gun tug against my hand. When I finally stopped moving, I saw that half
of the barrel had been cut clean through by the blade. And that same
sword had been aimed at my head. Ouch. The Lizard warrior was crouched
against a tree, watching me. “Next time, Jihaddi, you will not be so
fortunate,” it growled.
	I dropped the shotgun, since it was useless. I couldn’t get to
my backpack before he jumped, nor could I unsling the blaster rifle.
That left only one option. My flash gun. My flash gun could create a
narrow cone of light that could be seen from orbit. Although not
exactly the best weapon, it was my only choice. “Allright, Godzilla,” I
snarled, hoping I could get it angry enough that it would make a
mistake, “Come and get me!”
	The Lizard lept, sword above its head and flashing down. I
rolled, quick-drew the flash gun, and pulled the trigger. Instantly,
the Lizard and the entire forest behind it lit up with a light greater
than the sun’s. The Lizard howled like a dying steam engine and crashed
to the ground, writhing with intense pain, screaming and cursing in its
own language. I unslung the blaster, pointed it at the Lizard, and kept
the trigger depressed until it stopped moving. Scratch one Lizard.
	The Lizard’s sword had been embedded in a tree. I yanked it out,
and examined it in more detail. It was a nice piece of work, one edge
smooth and molecule sharp, the other serrated, with three-inch long
teeth, set at a backwards angle. The whole thing was plated in some
dark material, and covered with engraved alien script and some nice
scrollwork. I found the scabbard, sheathed the sword, and took it along
with me. Spoils of war.
	After yet another few hours of walking through the darkness, I
could see the front gate to the TRES headquarters in front of me. The
wall bridged a several hundred foot gap between mountain peaks. Behind
the wall, I could see the tops of the towers. Never in my life had I
seen such a wonderful sight as the compound stretching in front of me. 
	And behind me, I could hear the sharp whine of replusorlift
engines, along with a sudden screech as unknown weapons fire slammed
into the forest where I had left the Lizard warrior’s body. With this
new motivation, I began sprinting towards the gate. As I approached,
searchlights went on, and large wide-barreled guns swung in my
direction. “HALT AND BE RECOGNIZED!” boomed a mystery voice from the
top of the gate.
	“Professor Malaclypse, EGfaBT! Listen, you dolt! I don’t have
time to halt! I have company coming, and they’re very not happy with
me! Open the damn door, and KILL THOSE GOD-SNECKING LIGHTS BEFORE I
COME UP THERE AND FORCE-FEED THEM TO YOU!!”
	The lights went out, and I could hear the gate creak open.
Without missing a step, I sailed throught, dragging the Lizard sword
behind me. I had made it. Safe.
	For the moment.

<*>TBC<*>