“Let’s start with a polite response,” I replied. “Tell them that your human crew doesn’t necessarily trust any E.T.s at this time. We may reevaluate in light of future events.”

“Nice!” Patrick said.

“Done. They have repeated their original demand.”

“Uh-huh.” I grinned. “Now transmit our first responses. All of them.”

“Done. No response forthcoming. They may be conferring.”

Nat chuckled. “Or maybe shocked into silence. Do Gen have swearing?”

“Either way, I guess we’re technically guilty of High Piracy now,” I said. “We have to hide the Halo, and our barn is the only place we have.”

Patrick shook his head vehemently. “Whoa, whoa, remember what you said about them using our families as bait? They’ll be waiting for us.”

“Maybe, but I don’t know any alternatives. The Covenant will find us if we stay out in the open.” I looked at my friends for a moment, inviting a counterargument. Neither responded. I sighed and gave a fatalistic shrug. “Sheldon, take us down to near our barn; then we’ll release a drone. We’ll need to check for ambush as best we can.”

“Aye, captain. Arrrrr.”

Nat groaned. “We need to work on your impressions.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine: It Hits the Fan

Chapter Thirty-Nine: It Hits the Fan

Sheldon settled the Halo to hover just above the ground behind the barn. As soon as the airlock was lowered, Patrick and I rushed down the stairs to the ground. Before we’d even taken a step, the stairway retracted and vanished.

I tossed the drone into the air and it disappeared with a whir. Patrick reached down and activated his cloaking device and was replaced by a white-tailed deer. A moment later, I did the same.

“It does at least solve the problem of staying together while cloaked,” Patrick said.

“Yup. Just don’t do anything a deer wouldn’t do.”

We walked carefully around the barn, attempting to emulate the walk-and-freeze movement of real deer. I paused. “I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Sheldon?”

“Nothing so far. No cloaking fields, except yours of course. I will buzz the house and peer creepily into windows.”

Patrick and I slowly circled the property for another minute until Sheldon announced the all clear. “I am not one hundred percent certain, of course. But if there are Loranna here, they are—”

A gunshot rang out and I staggered. “What the fuck? We’re being shot at!”

“One moment. Repositioning the drone … ”

One moment, my ass. I ran for the barn. I was surprised that I wasn’t in any pain. I had definitely felt the impact of the bullet, but more as a punch than anything else. I found my sprinting ability completely unimpeded, and maybe even enhanced from the experience. It seemed Sheldon had used intelligent cloth when making our garments.