“Hey, a woman does what she has to do!” Felicity stood to her feet with a big smile on her face. “Took you long enough to get here, Dave! I was ready to have a go with these bastards. Ah, well, maybe another time.” They shared a laugh as she pulled the suit from the bag. “They have monitors in here, unless you’ve fried those already.”
He grinned. “No longer a problem. We got to their control room just as one was getting ready to come and deal with you for sabotaging them. We think they got off an alarm before we took them down, but we’re in charge here now.” He stopped as the floor trembled. “Uh-oh, this might get complicated. You might have your fun with them after all.”
Sealing her suit and tugging on the helmet, Felicity signalled her readiness. “Bring it on. Where’s Captain Heron?” She indicated the display. “They gave me this to watch ‘the fun’ on, but James … the Captain … has not played as they expected.” Her laugh was brittle. “He seems to have taken great care to make sure they can’t watch him.”
“So we’ve discovered. Not sure what he’s used to kill the sensors, but it’s worked. Hopefully he’s on his way out of here. Our people are going in to provide cover and protection for him.” The Team Leader handed her a weapon. “Party time. The Boss says he’s not bothered about survivors from the other side on this one. Let’s go and rescue the Captain.”
Captain Heron studied the blocked entrance. “Well that takes care of that neural disruption unit. Now to deal with the bastards lurking in the only option left.” Scooping up his mechanical spiders, he worked his way round the plaza, well aware that there was precious little cover. At least he could be satisfied that he’d neutralised all the booby traps he’d found, and taken out several spy units.
The ground trembled. “Okay, so you’ve blown something. “If you’ve killed Felicity, you’d better brace yourselves for the hellscape I’m going to rain down on your nasty little heads.”
He checked the data gathered by the spider droid in the one remaining exit. He had to hand it to these daemons—he was now certain Bast wasn’t here—they were damned good at concealment. There were at least two in this tunnel, possibly more, and he couldn’t be sure he’d trapped, injured or killed those covering the exits he’d just destroyed. No worries, he still had a couple of toys in his arsenal.
When he reached the tunnel opening, he ran a full scan using a telescopic wand. He maneuvered it very carefully up the edge of the tunnel mouth as high as it could go. The images and date stream steadied. Fixing the scanner in place, he prepared the pair of spider droids. “You take the high road, and you take the low road,” he said, remembering a tune from his childhood. He grinned as the two droids entered the tunnel, one climbing the wall, the other following the floor, each carrying a small load.
“I hope one of you bastards tries to stomp on my spider toys,” he murmured. “Or better yet, shoot them. It won’t be fun having your eyes clawed out by eight mechanical legs. Here goes!”
He hurled another of his smoke canisters into the tunnel, and by luck it bounced off one of the concealed assassins and startled him into movement, just as he was engulfed in bright orange smoke. Deeper in the tunnel, his fellow assassin almost fired at him, and stopped herself just in time.
“Fourteen, are you alright?”
A figure loomed, apparently trying to clear his visor of something.
“Look out!” she yelled. Too late. Captain Heron’s weapon flashed and she felt herself falling. “Bastard,” she croaked even as his weapon flashed again at a second target. The scream in her comlink went silent.
Captain Heron moved to an alcove. “Right, who else and what else have you got rigged up in here? And which of you controls it?”
Checking the body of his victim for life signs, he grunted in frustration. Dead men couldn’t provide information. A quick search in his optics revealed the second body, which also showed no sign of life.
He moved forward and did a quick search of the nearer of the two. He grimaced when he realised it was a woman. He found a small unit clipped to the suit. His analyser tagged it as an ID signaller. He removed it and clipped it to his armour. A quick check confirmed that one of his spider droids was now inactive, and the other waited above him on the tunnel ceiling. He checked his comlink. Still no link to any communications network. Carefully he scanned for the second agent and located a second body, the mangled state of the legs suggesting the fate of the inactive spider.
Time to move on then.
Bast moved quickly, taking care to avoid drawing attention. The operation appeared to be going according to plan, but her instincts said there was something wrong. Pausing to carry out an apparent check on an installation, she checked her private link to her surface team. Nothing. There should have been confirmation that the Captain had been taken, or that Felicity had been killed and the team were on their way to the escape rendezvous. A momentary feeling of concern rippled through her. Had she been betrayed? Who would dare?
She checked the area. This ship made her uneasy. It wasn’t just the size of it; there was something else about it, something she’d not encountered in any others. Nor was it the fact there were service droids in all the living spaces. Packing up her instrument case, she checked the area again. Workers and crewmen were present, all apparently engrossed in various tasks, but she felt she was being watched. It made her short-cropped hair rise on the back of her neck. She needed to change plans and get the hell out of here. She had what she came for. Her agents could look out for themselves, and if they found that too hard to do, oh well, too bad. They were disposable anyway.
Deliberately she pressed her neck twice. The implanted microlink would cause her team to feel a tingle in the same spot. They would know what it meant. Now to get the hell off this ship before anything else went wrong. Hefting her instrument bag, she descended two decks using the nearest companionway then found a lift tube and rose five levels before setting off along one of the main corridors. Another descent to the main deck and she was in the main crossover passage between the great lateral fins of the ship and their vast hangar spaces. She was in luck; a service barge was unloading containers, and several empty units waited to be loaded.
She recognised the markings on one. Perfect. My way out. About to move, she spotted the Security RMW who had checked her and her companions aboard earlier.
Retreating, she found an area set aside for the Dock staff doing ‘outside’ work. Her gaze took in the empty spaces where the workers’ EVA suits were usually stowed, and saw that most of the suits were gone. Good, that meant they were working on the outer hull. She found a suit her size and got it rigged. A system check assured her it was fully powered and the atmosphere system operating. She opened the suit and wrinkled her nose at the stink that emitted from it. “Just my luck,” she muttered to herself. “The bastard who used this last has a hygiene problem. Geez, take a shower, you disgusting pig!” She shook her head in disdain and inserted herself into the suit.
Moving as quickly as she dared, she traversed the compartment—one of several on different decks that would eventually become EVA and Lifepod Stations for the crew—and checked the airlock. Empty. She cycled through it then moved along the hull until she was in position to reach the dock arm attached to the hull. Half an hour later she removed herself from the suit and took a long and roundabout route to the accommodation she’d rented using yet another false name and ID.
Aboard the Vanguard, the Admiral listened to his team. “She’s gone to ground, sir. We got one of them in the service tube. He took a dose of Erithian venom as soon as we tried to take him. The other one put up a fight—or tried to. Rainier got him with a dart. They planted a device in the node but didn’t have time to trigger it before we found it and deactivated the remote trigger.”
“Well done,” said the Admiral, still in the uniform of Chief Master Warrant Officer Brown. “Pity the two are dead, but I’d expect nothing less from these people. Search the ship. Bast must be found and neutralised.�
� He paused. “Have the surface teams extracted Ms Rowanberg and the Captain?”
“They got Ms Rowanberg and took out five of the other side. Then someone triggered a prepared charge. It collapsed a lot of the tunnels in the area, and knocked out our comnet. We’ve no idea of the Captain’s location or how he’s getting on.” The officer paused. “Team Four is trying to reach him, Team Five is mopping up, and Team Six is clearing the path to the entry point.”
Mr Brown nodded. His ghost team had taken out six more Pantheon agents while capturing their waiting shuttle and had almost been caught in the blast that collapsed the tunnels. But now Bast was alone, or nearly so, and she had the schematic, so their work wasn’t done yet, not by a long shot.
Chapter 22
Reunion
The tunnel was well and truly blocked. James had no way of knowing how extensive the blockage was, and his remaining spider was unable to find a way through. Very well, there had to be a way round this—all he had to do was find it. “I hope they haven’t rigged a trap,” he murmured.
Moving back the way he came, he found a door. A check of his schematic display suggested it gave access to a large warehouse space connected to a series of what may have been offices, handling areas and possibly a manufactory area. That suggested access to other tunnels. A few minutes’ work got the door open. Slipping through, he recovered his droid spider and closed the door behind him.
A sweep of the empty space showed it clear of monitoring equipment and devices of any kind. Were they overconfident, or am I missing something? Captain Heron checked again. Perhaps they didn’t think he’d get this far.
The dusty floor showed no signs of anyone else entering—at least from this door. On the far side he could see three openings. Choosing the one farthest from his position, he made for it, his weapon ready. He moved cautiously and left nothing to chance, periodically checking the floor and the roof above him for any sign of anything out of place.
At his destination, he checked the opening for sensors, traps, or signs of entry. Nothing. He moved forward then stopped, his eyes searching the empty space. Larger than the space he’d just traversed, it was also empty, and once again, lacked any sign of anyone having entered it in the recent past. He checked his schematics for the area.
“Interesting. There should be a tunnel running along that rear wall. So,” he considered, “there must be access to it from somewhere in that direction.” He used the holo projector in his helmet to project the three-dimensional schematic onto the floor. “I thought so. Now the question is have they rigged it?”
It was a long walk to the door he’d identified, and he took his time, checking and double checking. He studied the schematic again. “Ah, I see, that tunnel connects these two, which lead to … “ He hesitated. “And that one must be the one I reached the plaza through.” He checked his location. “It is, and as I know it has collapsed there, I should be able to work my way out to that entrance.”
He’d almost reached the next compartment when a figure stepped into view just beyond the opening.
“Well done, Captain. Bast was right, you are a worthy prey. A pity we must end it here.”
James Heron saw the figure’s weapon and reacted immediately, feinting a move toward cover on his right before hurling himself forward and down. Rolling to his left, he drew a bead on his attacker and fired, causing the other man to take evasive action. Now they had a stand-off, both in cover and knowing that only one of them could walk away. He took stock. He still had his droid spider, two of the smoke canisters, and several other special weapons he hadn’t used yet. Could he plant some and lure his opponent toward them? Worth a try.
Extracting the small discs he armed the first and slid it into position on the doorframe, grateful the door concealed his hand. A second found a place on the protruding part of the door itself.
Now to see if he could dislodge his stalker. He used his whip scanner to try to locate the other man in the space beyond the door. It wasn’t practical, and his opponent sent a stream of plasma at it as soon as a clumsy movement exposed the scanner. Ruefully, he studied the now useless device. Activating the droid spider, he sent it up the wall and into what appeared to be a ventilation duct.
Moving carefully, he retired to a position from which he could watch the door and the duct. Data began to flow from the spider, which confirmed that it had found an exit deep in the adjoining chamber and was now on the ceiling. An image flashed on his visor, and James could see his opponent lounging casually against an abandoned piece of machinery.
That suggested two things to the Captain. The man felt secure because he knew there was only one approach, and second, he must have some means of knowing what his target was doing. That meant there must be some device in this space that allowed him to see and follow what was happening on this side.
As soon as James had this thought and realised the implications, his opponent spoke.
“Bit of a stalemate, Captain.” The man sounded relaxed, confident in fact. “I’ve no intention of storming through that door, and I don’t think you’re about to try that in my direction. Oh, and you’re probably wondering how I know what you’re doing. I have a few useful little items on your side of the wall. Fair is fair, right? You have your spiders, and I have my cockroach droids hiding in their favorite crevices. You’d be disappointed if I hadn’t prepared the hunting ground. After all, you want a good fight, don’t you?”
James waited a beat before firing off a response. “It must have taken a great deal of time and effort to set up this little game. Well done. My apologies if I spoiled a few of the surprises you arranged.” He checked the data and images from the adjoining chamber. Nothing had changed. Wait, the assassin wasn’t lounging any longer. He was moving toward another exit. James used his visor optics to get a closer look. Now he could see the carefully disguised opening.
James Heron positioned himself, readying his weapon. Where was the monitoring device? Again he activated the search function of the visor. Nothing. But there had to be something. Why couldn’t the visor detect it? Was he looking for the wrong thing or just in the wrong place?
Try the first option, he told himself. If the visor couldn’t detect it, it must be using a system not reliant on any sort of transmission.
“Care to do a bit of horse trading with me?” he called out.
“We can discuss your options, but I’m afraid they’re rather limited.” The voice sounded casual, but the Captain detected an edge of tension in the tone.
“So are yours.” Captain Heron chuckled. “By now Fleet Security will be searching this area pretty intensely. The explosions around the plaza won’t have gone unnoticed, and they’ll have pinpointed it as the epicentre. I imagine they’ll be closing in by now.”
“You may be right, but they’ll be too late.”
On his visor display, James could see his opponent preparing to use the hidden door.
“Mind if I ask a question?” said James.
“Why not? I might answer it, I might not.”
James got straight to the point. “Is this something personal against me? I’d just like to know why I’m being hunted. If I’m to die, I’d hate not knowing why.” Hoping he’d guessed correctly from his observation of a bunch of dangling cables, James aimed his device at the cables and activated his surprise. The intense light would have blinded him had he not had his visor set to blackout. Brighter than a lighning bolt and akin to looking directly at a solar flare, it was on the extreme limit of what his own eye protection could deal with.
As he’d hoped, the brilliant illumination brought a response. The optic filaments must have transmitted the full benefit to the man’s visor. The startled exclamation was followed by the sound of a body colliding with something. Already on the move and now with the advantage of being able to see clearly, James blasted his way through the concealed door. His opponent was quick, but his aim was off as the hidden door disintegrated, showering him with flaming debris.
The Captain’s instinctive aim found the target. The man died instantly. James crept close to the corpse and checked the body for devices that might trigger additional traps. He found a small unit he recognised as a friend/foe link intended to disarm devices planted by the wearer or his team. “That’ll be useful.” He removed it, checked that it was active, and collected the weapons.
Yelendi Dysson looked up. “Commander Brandeis?”
“Thought I better warn you. Bast got away,” he said under his breath for only her to hear, then, as a ruse, he said in a normal voice, “Ms Dysson, we may have found a link to Ms Rowanberg’s abduction and certain people in your organisation.”
“In our organisation, Commander?” Yelendi played her role perfectly, aware that he’d intentionally left her office door open to be overheard. “We’ll give you any assistance you require—subject to the usual legalities, of course.”
“Excellent. I’ll send the authorisations as soon as I have them. I appreciate your cooperation.” Once more lowering his voice, he added, “Last seen, Bast was disguised as a male.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, Commander.” Louder she said, “I’ll look out for your authorisation.” She touched her link, glad she’d found and disabled Bast’s eavesdropper. “Before you go, I’d like you to meet my assistant.” Her link chirped. “Dylan, come to my office, please.”
Piet Brandeis turned as Dylan Raddeck entered.
Yelendi introduced them. “Dylan, this is Commander Brandeis. He’s with Fleet Security, Investigations Branch.” She kept her voice neutral.
“Pleasure, Commander.” Dylan showed no sign of alarm, but shook hands warily. Taking his cue from Yelendi, he played ignorance. “Investigations Branch? As in the police?”
Captain James Heron: First into the Fray: Prequel to Harry Heron: Into the Unknown of the Harry Heron Series Page 24
