<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #FF0000">Major Tom ‘TT’ Theophilus Peters</span></span></div><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="http://i1343.photobucket.com/albums/o793/Galvin_Fugazi/0b1c5703-1ec6-4951-9974-ee41ec21aa28_zps54ccd4dc.jpg">[ img ]</a></div><br/><br/><div style="text-align: justify;">Tom heard Karra's silent comment and the snickering of the Sarge. He caught a quick look of one of the female soldiers to Karra too and her amused smile when she turned back. Probably that one was the medic of the commandos.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">"As much as you cursed in the cockpit, I thought you were already knocking on heaven's door, Karra..."</span><br/><br/>It was just as silent as Karra's comment, but Sarge snickered again. That guy must have some good ears. But the other civilian took his attention away from Karra.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80BF00">"How is this even possible? I thought the two of you were supposed to be the best the air force has to offer! And how can you not have any clue where we are? This is absurd. This sort of thing hasn't happened in damn near a century, and you are telling me we have absolutely no contact with civilization--and yet here you have two people tied up and one dying or dead?"</span><br/><br/>Tom's nerves were already not the best and he knew that Karra was a little volcano if treated like that. He tried to stay polite but the sharp tone was unmasked in his voice.<br/><span style="color: #FF8000"><br/>"Even the best have some problems to find our base if they fly without navigation, communication and sight. It was more like searching a needle in the haystack. When we came out of the clourds we were right beneath the top of the trees. And if you have any interest in scanning the frequencies, Mr..., feel free to do so. I wonder if you hear anything other than static.<br/>About those people here. We have no idea who they are. Luckily we have all the translator chips implemented, so that we may speak and understand their language. I doubt it will be a language we have ever heard before. I am sorry for the dead one. He was too far out to be caught by our weapons and as we have no idea what his weapon would do to the ship, we decided to play it safe. Sarge, I would say it is time for a demonstration of that weapon..."</span><br/><br/>Tom had opened the door of the ship again and all watched the Sergeant Major walk to the door and pointing the weapon on one of the big trees. They all ignored the foul stench entering the plane. When Sarge found something like a trigger he pressed it. The air seemed to pulsate in front of the weapon and then the tree had a mansized hole in its trunk.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">"Wow! A plasma weapon?"</span><br/><br/>Tom had probably spoken what all the soldiers were thinking. If the third one would have fired that on the ship, it would have caused some big damage. A quite impressive weapon. <br/><br/><span style="color: #80BF00">"Right, Major. I know that our scientist work on designing one that would have four times the size of this one and that is the smallest we manage to build right now. With only half the damage this one causes. Whoever designed that one, it is far above our technology. Look at the material alone. I have no idea what this is made of."</span><br/><br/>Most of the soldiers looked at the weapon now, but Tom had a look at the prisoners and he saw the eyelids of the female flutter.<br/><span style="color: #FF8000"><br/>"Keep attention! Tango 2 is awake."</span></div>