Another chapter.
CHAPTER THREE:
On-Site Investigation
Parker, Demos and Saffa headed out for the supposed crash site. Saffa went hawk and provided aerial reconnaissance. Parker personally thought it was unnecessary, they were on pretty flat ground, exceoti g the hills they were hiding for. Demos kept fiddling with his ID mask -- which were modified to basically resemble a Green Lantern's mask. It projected a human image over its wearer.
"Stop fiddling with that thing." Parker scolded.
"Why do I have to wear this thing?" Demos demanded.
"We don't want to start a panic." Parker answered easily.
"Then why are you still wearing your armor?"
"We need the sensor readings," Parker answered quickly, then adding after a moment's thought, "besides, there aren't religious zealots out for my blood."
"A demon joke." Demos said, snippily. "You proud of yourself for that one?"
"I was serious." Parker said, when Saffa landed in front of them taking on human form. Parker replied wearily, "What's the good word, Saffa?"
"It's just beyond those to hills." she said. "You're not gonna believe what a mess it is."
It was a mess. There were people strewn about. A man taking and selling tickets. There was something peculiar about him. His head seemed to be heavily bandaged. Parker's scans showed that he recently undergone some head trauma and his body was hotter than the people milling around her. Parker relayed this to the others.
"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this," Saffa said concernedly.
"Oh, don't be such a pessimist!" Demos said cheerily. "This looks to be great fun!"
"Fun. Right." Saffa said.
When the trio tried to bypass the ticket vendor, he tried to stop them, but they flashed their Marks like police badges, with Parker saying, "RAF business."
It was true that RAF was given such jurisdiction over extraterrestrial and supernatural events. The ticket vendor, as well as every layman in the country, knew this. He reluctantly let them by.
They walked until they reached the supposed site and saw the average Joe taking photos and posing next to a ship that looked like a cross between a Skrit Na freighter, a classical UFO and a mop bucket.
"It's tourist trap," Demos noted. "We came all this way for a tourist trap?"
"A tourist trap wouldn't have alerted Yarin's sensors," Saffa said confidently. "It was an
atmospheric breach, remember?"
Parker could tell right away from his experience, both as a SPARTAN and a RAFian, that this
thing they saw was
NOT the thing that crashed here. He told the other so.
"So . . . what, the aliens or whatever fabricated a false UFO and put it on this spot? Why?"
"They must be an invasive species," Demos postulated.
"Want to have a look inside?" said a voice. It was Prichard. "Just a buck more."
Saffa decided to turn on the ol' feminine charm, though Prichard was a couple years younger.
"How much have yoy made so far?" she asked, not quite flirtly, but not so indifferent either. Prichard didn't react, didn't respond at all to how this was said, and just answered, "Three hundred dollars, miss."
"Parker -- may I suggest switching to thermal view superimposed upon real imaging?" Tyr suggested.
"Do it," Parker instructed, and he could suddenly see the heat signatures of every one. He noticed as two adults (one male, female) and boy of about nine went inside with normal heat signatures, but came out with slightly higher body temperatures. Clearly, this ship was like a Yeerk Pool. Something was either marking or inhabiting the people leaving.
"No, I don't think we will," Parker said, knowing that while they had the jurisdiction to
inspect place, they didn't have the authority to
shut down things without more substantial proof. "I think we've got all we need here. Good day to you."
A little way away, they began talking about what they should do. Parker suddenly hushed them, noting that they were being followed. Saffa easily knocks out the guy -- who turned out to be Lee, Victor Lee. He was out cold.
But yet his back twitched, and seemed to move of its own accord. Then something black and wet tire through Victor's shirt and tried to attack them, as Saffa reflectively began to morph a Tyrannopede.
But, with three swift movements, Demos had captured the alien back-rider in an orb rather like the one the Omnitrix was found in.
"Demos, that was a little too easy," Parker said suspiciously.
"Pract-- er, I mean, I was just . . . lucky! That's it!"
Parker facepalmed, "Please don't tell me you're continuing your genetic experiments."
"Alright -- I won't tell you."
"Demos, don't remember what happened with the poisonous duck?"
"That was my bad, I'll admit."
"Now you've gone and create whatever this --"
"I didn't create this!"
"Atmospheric breach, remember," Saffa poined out.
"Touche," Parker conceded. "But we're no done with this Demos."
