Free Talosian Chronicles 6: Armageddon by Ben Winston Page B

his throat, “Thank you, Colonel. Yes, let me issue some orders. If you don’t mind, I think we’ll pass on the refreshments for now. No offense, but we’d probably all be getting poked and prodded for the next twenty years if we took you up on your offer."
    Alan chuckled, “Major, you're probably right, but I thought I'd at least make the offer. Please keep in mind that we can, and will render any aide you might need. We can even sneak it to you if we have to.
    “If you'd like, you can pull your Bradley up here to make it easier for you, but we’ll probably have to ask you to move one or two of your other vehicles. I need to issue some orders of my own. If you'll excuse me, Major, I’ll make sure plenty of cold water and anything else is available in case we need it. We also have medical facilities close by in case of an emergency. I’ll explain these designs after you’ve issued your orders, and I’ve got my folks doing what they’re supposed to be doing.” Alan turned away from the major, to try to give the man time to collect his thoughts. 'It’s a wonder this guy ever made it to major,' he thought to himself. He stood and slowly walked back to the Raptor Poseidon .
    Alan had Kevin and Carl carry a portable replicator out to the small pavilion, but still inside the shield. He had Andreya start the other two drones on building the surface buildings, landing strip and defense perimeter. The drones underground were building hangers, repair and large-scale replication bays, as well as launch tubes for the Hornet and Wasp fighters. Most of the base was to be built underground, with the only visible parts being the control center and a few support buildings (and of course, whatever buildings were going to be needed for the U.S. troops that would be set to guarding them).
    Seeing that everything was going according to plan, Alan - still wearing his armor since it was protecting him from the fierce sun and keeping him cool - returned to the pavilion to talk with the Major and his company commanders. The drone that was to start on the perimeter “fence” followed along with him.
    When he noticed that the people in the pavilion starting to get nervous, he told the drone to stop and wait. He turned back and finished walking to the shelter. “Sorry to scare anybody. I was bringing the drone along so you could get a close look at it. Its assignment is to build a perimeter fence around the area that will be used as a protective shield over the base during attack. I thought if you all got a good look at it, you wouldn’t be as nervous when it went wandering off into the desert alone.”
    “That thing is going to build a fence? How?” asked one of the Captains standing with the Major.
    “Well, that’s one of the other things I wanted to show you. Do you mind if I bring it closer? It can’t hurt you,” Alan asked. When the Major nodded, Alan called out for the drone to proceed to the pavilion.
    When it stopped beside him, he told it to build a standard military issue M-16 and two twenty-round magazines for it. It beeped at him and the side door opened to reveal the butt end of the rifle. Alan took hold of the weapon and slowly pulled the rest out as the drone replicated it. The door slid shut then opened again with another beep. In the slot were the two magazines.
    Alan handed the rifle and the magazines to the Major to inspect. “This is the primary reason we can’t let you get a hold of any of our equipment. Major, do you or any of your men see anything wrong with that M-16?”
    “No, it looks brand new. But does it work?” Dentin asked.
    “Let one of your guys fire it with your own ammo,” Alan suggested. The new rifle was given to a soldier who pulled the magazine out of his own M-16 and loaded it. The soldier stepped a few paces away from the pavilion and indicated the direction he was going to shoot.
    “Wait a moment, please,” Alan asked. He keyed up his comm-unit to the ship; “Stacy, Private Jones