The Mountains of Kandahar Part 1: Heavy Cargo

A mysterious, humanoid cargo arrives from overseas.

The large C-17 cargo plane opened its doors.  The Ohio sun was a welcoming piece of home to the crew as it filtered into the bay, shedding light on the large piece of cargo at the end of the cargo hold. The crew made their way over to remove the netting that held their enormous charge in place. The large tarp covered a lumped figure.  As the men tangled with the equipment, a large foot became exposed from underneath the tarp.

“Get that back under Harris' ' said a clearly senior officer who approached the plane.  The senior officer, a colonel by his insignia, pointed to the exposed foot.  The toes were massive, indicating the same for the rest of the creature covered by the tarp.

“Yes sir.  Get those piggies back into cover,” said Corporal Harris.

“Amused corporal?”  the Colonel asked the young airman standing by the foot of the monstrosity.  His expression betrayed a slight annoyance at the response of the new acquaintance. The corporal hastily tucked the large foot back under the tarp before facing the officer.

“Intrigued sir.  Never seen a big boy like this before” Harris said. 

“Not the first I’ve seen, or your Pilot.”

“So, he tells me” Harris confessed. “Guess there was no risk in him saying so.  This is hard to hide.  At least from my eyes.”

“From your eyes.  We have our ways to keep exposure to a minimum. I think you can guess as to our reasons young man” the Colonel said “They’ll ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement.  Ask…” he said, giving him a knowing look, intentionally obvious in what he was revealing in his veiled threat. “Besides, how are you going to explain this anyway? Nobody would believe you.”

“Not even momma?” Harris asked.

“Not even momma.  Besides, best to not bring work at home.  Especially this” the colonel said. “Best get to work.  Got several today.  I expect them all out before chow.” 

The Corporal saluted and was met with a prompt return by the colonel, who turned and walked away.  The appropriate trucks assembled around the cargo hold, lifting and then depositing the pallet on the flat truck bed.  With a waive the Corporal cleared the crew to depart, carrying the odd cargo off into the hangars around the runway.  It would not be their final destination.