The Cagliostro Chronicles II: Conflagration by Ralph L. Angelo Jr.

muttered.
    “Get it together, DiGenovese ,” rumbled Red. “You men activate your suits’ camo units now,” he shouted toward the back of the Stargrazer . The thirty security men did as they were told and disappeared into a shimmering haze.
    Nearby could be heard the sounds of fighting and screaming, most of it coming from the severely out matched and outgunned natives.
    “The ship is clear for fifty feet in every direction. You men clear out first and head right toward the battle. I’ll be joining you on the ground. Der, you’re with me. Eddie , take this bird back up and power up the cannons. As soon as we separate the natives from the enemies, do a strafing run.”
    “You got it , Red.”
    The rear door of the Stargrazer slid open silently and the cloaked men exited like silent wraiths. Red nodded to Eddie and activated his own camo unit and disappeared as well, dragging the fearful native behind him, hiding him within his own camouflage field.
    T he battlefield near the village was chaos. Purple skinned aliens fired plasma beam weapons at the natives, blasting them off their feet to land in unconscious heaps upon the ground. Once unconscious they were bound and collected. They were then dragged to an awaiting ship where they would be brought back to the hidden base under the volcano and used as slave labor. All of this Red processed almost instantaneously.
    But then the crew f rom the Cagliostro joined the battle. Blasts of energy enveloped the surprised Agalum troops, dropping them to the ground with one shot. Now the battle was joined.
    “Sweep them up , guys,” Red ordered. His men complied standing in a staggered formation and firing in an A group B group pattern one after another so that there was always someone firing upon the alien intruders.
    Startled , the Agalum fired back upon their invisible foes. But even if they scored any hits the super durable blue and silver suits, light armor that shunted energy as well as projectile attacks, each member of the Cagliostro crew wore deflected most of the energy damage from the blasters. While the wearer was discomfited, he wasn’t mortally wounded or rendered unconscious.
    The Agalum troop leader, a ‘Salad head’ according to the Cagliostro crew for the way their hair, or whatever it was that grew out of their heads, resembled a head of lettuce, hurried up the ramp of the ship that had the natives packed into it. He ordered the ramp closed with quick barking commands.
    “Red , they’re rabbiting,” Eddie called over his comm.
    “Don’t let ‘em get away, Eddie. It’s all on you. We have our hands full.”
    “Thanks, Chief. I appreciate the added pressure.”
    “My pleasure , short stuff,” Red grunted in reply.
    The cargo ship lifted off the ground and shot ahead, but almost instantly the cloaked Stargrazer was on its tail. Both ships rocketed just above tree level. Eddie aimed the forward cannons and fired, nailing the escaping ship’s primary engine. Instantly the Agalum ship lost altitude and slammed into the trees, flattening dozens of them as it slid to a smoking, sizzling halt.
    “Woo- Hoo!” Eddie shouted over his comm to Red, “Got ‘im!”
    The natives who were in the heavily fortified ship ran from its shattered hull, some carrying those who were too hurt and could not run. They all disappeared into the dense forest surrounding them.
    But Eddie’s glee was short lived, for flying over the horizon was a much bigger, much deadlier looking ship that did nothing to hide its approach. It was sleek , a long rounded body with a stanchion on each side that rose up above the hull, then dipped down toward the ground. At the end of each stanchion was mounted an engine and at the forward section was a heavy canon of some type. It was much larger than any weapon Eddie had ever seen on a small Agalum ship.
    Eddie hovered the Stargrazer in place silently, still cloaked. Cloaked or not the enemy ship was looking to draw him out.
    Its weapons began