by Jan Domagala
“Do not move or we will fire,” a voice said from behind the group of clones, obviously the one in command of this group, Hades.
The sight of the cones had caught them all off guard. They were momentarily not sure what to do and they began to lower their weapons in resigned to the sudden change in their situation. Kurt however, had other ideas. Before the clones could do or say anything he moved. Bringing his assault rifle up he shot the clone facing him in the face. The plasma bolt at such close range destroyed his head but also threw the rest of them into complete confusion. They certainly were not expecting any form of resistance from their captives considering the predicament they had stumbled into. Kurt slammed the butt of the Remm into the side of the head of the clone to his right then slammed the muzzle into the chest of another to his left then fired. The kinetic energy from the plasma bolt threw the clone back against the wall giving the rest of them time and the room to move.
The confines of the corridor made it impractical to use plasma weapons so they had to resort to close quarter combat.
Moving at hyper accelerated speed Kurt kicked a clone in front of him between the legs which doubled him up in agony. He didn’t have time for anything too fancy, just fast direct moves. An attacker came at him throwing a punch to his face which he blocked, knocking the arm down then delivered a series of fast blows to his head and torso that culminated with a blow that crushed his windpipe. He then blocked an attack from the side and ducked beneath a follow up blow and smashed a fist into the clones’ groin. Standing up he butted the clone in the face which put him on his back. An elbow strike to the side of the head felled another while he spun away from another clone intent on destroying him. His movements were a blur to the Rover5’s who could not keep up.
Kurt’s focus was total; he was lost in the combat, a slave to the energy of the battle. The sound of bare knuckle on skin was music to his ears as all the frustration of the last few hours from being chased, shot at and having the lives of all he held dear put in danger came flooding out in a wave of pure fury.
He glanced around to see the Wildfire Team also lost in the combat as they waded through the ranks of the Rover5’s with as much ease as a hot knife cuts through butter.
Within a matter of seconds all the clones lay on the floor either dead or unconscious.
“That felt good,” observed Vance with a smile of satisfaction mirrored by the rest of his team mates.
“Let’s get moving, this isn’t over yet,” Kurt said and Jake waved them on toward the elevator.
They all piled in and pressed the button for the sub basement.
*****
The Rover5 in command of this operation had placed guards at the elevator doors at the sub basement level. The second they saw the light go on, indicating the elevator had been called up to the ground floor, they went on full alert.
“The moment the doors open, we open fire. Kill anyone inside,” ordered the Rover5 in command. He left them to return to the bunker doors where the last of his men were attempting to open the huge doors.
The two guards watched as the lights on the control panel above the elevator lit up showing its descent. They braced themselves taking a wide legged stance readying their assault rifles against their shoulders aiming down the sights as they prepared to fire.
The second the doors began to open they started to fire. Pulsed plasma bolts peppered the inside of the elevator destroying anything inside. The clones kept firing until the battery clips on the weapons were depleted. As they stopped firing to replace the clips they noticed that the cubicle was empty.
The startled expressions on their faces were soon replaced by ones of shock when they saw a figure drop down through the open hatch in the roof. What they had failed to notice was that the escape hatch in the roof had been open and had been where the former occupants had gotten out through on the journey down. When Kurt appeared in front of them it was too late to do anything about it.
Kurt fired his assault rifle gunning the two clones down in a hail of plasma bolts. He walked out of the elevator whilst the rest of his friends joined him through the hatch.
There were thirteen clones in the corridor facing him at that moment, their attention was grabbed the moment their comrades began firing inside the elevator.
“Hi there guys, wanna play?” Kurt said and he ran at them.
They were completely caught off guard by the rash actions of the newcomer. This was not something they had expected nor planned on so they did not actually move until Kurt swiped the first one with the butt of his rifle caving in his head.
By that time it was too late and he was among them punching and kicking, knocking them down with the brute force of his frenzied attack.
Before the rest of the team had emerged from the elevator five of the thirteen clones lay on the floor either dead or senseless.
Jake ordered them to open fire on those clones that presented a clear target and to illustrate he picked off one who had worked around Kurt’s back. He died as he raised a hand to strike from behind him.
It didn’t take long for the four newcomers to add to the list of dead and dying and Kurt looked around to see the floor littered with their dead.
“We did it,” Cooper said almost in disbelief at their success.
“Did you ever doubt it man?” Torres said high fiving Vance.
Kurt smiled for the first time since the attack had started and felt relief finally. He waved to them then walked up to the huge doors and viewed the locking mechanism. Turning to Jake he asked, “Have you ever seen anything like this?”
“I’ve read about them, they’re really old, at last a couple hundred years at least,” he said when he too saw what Kurt meant.
“Try around four hundred years old,” Torres said. When everyone looked at her in disbelief she said, “What? I read books too you know.”
“Okay but how do we get in there?” Cooper asked.
Jake had an idea.
Stepping away he accessed the pulsar comm. links via his NI. “Artie has the communication blackout been lifted?” he said.
They all looked at him as if he’d gone mad. This deep underground there was no way he could reach their vehicles AI, or so they thought.
“I am glad to report it has sir.”
“Great, see if you can reach anyone in the bunker and tell them it’s safe to come out now,” Jake said with a smile.
Turning back to his friends he said, “It stands to reason that anyone entering a bunker like that would have to know how to get back out again. There must be the same locking device on the inside so they can open the door when the danger was over.”
“Good point,” Kurt said.
The sound of the doors opening caught all their attention as they watched the huge slabs of metal slowly swing toward them.
From inside walked a tall man they all knew.
“Colonel Gemmell, so glad you’re all okay,” Jake said stepping forward to greet him.
“I think the same goes for all of us too,” he said and he waved the others forward.
President Takagi walked out and looked at the bodies littering the floor then looked at those who were standing with some amazement, for they looked like they had done nothing more than taken a stroll in a park on a sunny afternoon.
“Gentlemen I must congratulate you on your efforts on our behalf,” he said then when he saw Torres he bowed and added, “Forgive me Miss, I meant no disrespect.”
Torres returned the bow and said, “None taken Mister President. I am first and foremost a Recon Delta Marine sir, gender does not come into it.”
Takagi spotted Cooper glancing at her behind and quietly said, “I think you may have to remind some of your team mates of that.”
When Jake heard this he scowled at the offending team mate which garnered a shame faced glance from him.
“Shall we all get out of here and get you to somewhere a little less damaged?” Kurt suggested.
Jake said, “Yes Mister Presi
dent I think you’ll all be better off at our temporary base until we get this whole thing sorted out.”
“I think we all agree on that score,” Takagi replied then looking at the amount of dead bodies lying on the floor he said, “Lead on, please.”
37
Nellis base was a southern Nevada installation that had been used by the military since the mid twentieth century. It had always been used by the Air Force as a Tactical Wing deployment facility, now though it was a Col Sec base. It stretched over twenty square miles and was one of the largest remaining air bases remaining in the United States.
The moment the Pulsar arrived at the base, the defences were already up and running at full battle alert. The arrival of General Sinclair and the rest of the staff evacuated from Area 15 had brought on the full alert status.
A fighter wing of Hornets were primed on the runway for immediate take off and the anti aircraft missile pods were all armed and were actively scanning for any incoming threats. The anti aircraft pulse cannons were all manned and locked into the bases computer system to help with the active scanning target system.
The Pulsar’s forward section touched down inside the perimeter security fence on one of the many runways. News of the success of their mission had been forwarded to General Sinclair and as they were coming in to land a security detail of Recon Delta marines ran out from the main complex to greet them.
“Welcome to Nellis base Mister President, if you and your party would please follow me I’ll show you all to your quarters,” said the marine in command of the security detail.
Takagi turned to Kurt and the Wildfire Team and shook each person by the hand. He said, “Thank you all for your efforts today, we literally owe all our lives to you. This will not go unnoticed or be forgotten, you have my word.”
“Thank you Mister President, but we were just doing our jobs,” Kurt replied.
Takagi nodded his head slightly and followed the marines toward the base with the rest of the Defence Council in tow.
“Just doing our jobs? Now if we’re going to work together Kurt some things are gonna have to change my friend,” Vance said slapping Kurt on the shoulder.
“What, what did I do wrong?” Kurt wanted to know.
“Well for starters we had an opportunity there to get some extra R and R, a pay rise maybe, even better food in the canteen but you screwed the pooch with that comment,” Cooper said joining in with the ragging.
“I’m sorry guys, I never thought---“
“That’s your problem isn’t it Kurt, you never think,” Vance said keeping his face straight.
“We’ll have to change that won’t we Joe,” Cooper said seriously.
Torres stepped forward and put her arm through the crook in Kurt’s elbow and said, “Never mind these mindless morons Kurt, you did good. They’re just joshing with you.”
Kurt realised then what was going on here and smiled. “Good one guys, you had me then,” he said.
“Gina, you spoil sport, we could’ve had him going for a week at least with that one,” Vance said pretending to have hurt feelings.
“Come on guys, let’s go get de-briefed and see what the General has next for us,” Jake said.
They walked across the airfield then, feeling relief at a job well done possibly, for the first time since this whole thing began.
When they got inside the main complex they were shown to the Conference Hall which General Sinclair had taken over as his Command and Control centre. As they entered he was standing over by the far wall where a huge monitor had been erected where visuals played.
The closer they got to the screen the more they saw, Kurt could see everything in startling detail from across the room the moment he entered due to his enhanced sight.
“Isn’t that the Moon?” he said as they went and stood next to him.
“Yes Kurt, it is. It seems we have another problem,” Sinclair said. He glanced around to see that they were all present before he continued.
“A message came to my attention just after I arrived here. I had a Comms tec going over all the calls that were logged in when the blackout went in to play. One such call stood out. It was from Washington, someone reported that a forensic team picked up the remains of Norsky and took them into the RandCorp building but they never came out. We thing they went up to the roof with his remains and took off in the shuttle that was left there,” he said once he had their attention.
“What does that mean sir?” Kurt asked, he was concerned about the fact that there had actually been anything left of the ex Alliance agent who had tried to capture him.
“I’m not sure but we are trying to find where that particular shuttle went once it took off.”
“Have you identified its engine’s energy signature, perhaps that might help,” Torres suggested.
Sinclair nodded to the tec who was working away reading the sensor logs and he recalibrated the sensors to look for that particular engine’s signature.
“Sir, that was no ordinary shuttle it had FTL capability, short range I assume but never the less it could take it to the Moon in just one short jump,” he said.
“Are you saying that it went to the Moon?” Kurt asked him.
“It seems to be so sir, yes,” the tec said.
“Okay, if no one seems to want to ask the obvious question then I will, why the Moon?” Cooper said.
They all glanced at each other searching for answers. Torres said, “They must have a base up there. It would account for how they’ve been one step ahead of us in this. They have been monitoring our every action and directing their agents accordingly.”
“Even if that was true what can we do about it?” Kurt asked not convinced that was the answer.
“Sir, I’ve just completed a detailed scan of the Lunar surface and there seems to be an area that is reading as blank,” the tec said before any of the others could reply.
“How?” Sinclair wanted to know.
“I used the orbiting satellites that scan for starships approaching us and recalibrated them and redirected toward the Moon. I managed to boost their range and these are the results,” the Tec explained as he indicated the large monitor screen. His results were being displayed there.
“That has to be it, hidden beneath a stealth shield,” Vance said as he looked at the screen.
“Look at the size of the damn thing,” commented Torres.
“Do you think they’ll still be there?” Cooper asked.
“Are you suggesting we go up there? There is no way we could get anywhere near that base without them seeing us,” said Kurt
Sinclair turned from the screen and said, “I think I may have a way.”
*****
The Rover5 in command on the lunar colony, Apollo was standing in the Command and Control centre when the forensic team arrived with the remains of Pavel Norsky. He had been monitoring the events on Earth closely and was dismayed at how things had turned out.
It seemed that, once again the enemy had been under estimated and they had managed to survive. The only positive consequence of the recent actions that he could see was that they were able to salvage Norsky’s remains. If he was able to regenerate from his present state then they may be able to go ahead with the plan they had for Stryder substituting Norsky for him.
There was one task he faced now though that he did not relish and that was contacting OMEGA Command and giving a sit rep. Knowing he could not put it off any further he went to his private office to make the call over a secure channel.
Jonas Wilde’s face appeared on the small monitor screen on his desk. “I hope you have some good news for me Apollo,” he said, his face devoid of emotion.
Apollo sat straight in his chair, bowed his head slightly and gave his report. “I am afraid things did not go as planned sir,” he said.
“Elaborate.”
“It seems we underestimated their abilities and their resolve sir.”
“We managed to detonate the thermabaric charge inside t
heir underground Headquarters but the casualties were not as high as we’d hoped. Most of the staff escaped through tunnels we knew nothing about. It will take them a while before they can use the base again. Our plan to capture Kurt Stryder did not go as planned either. He escaped and somehow managed to destroy Norsky but on the plus side we were able to collect his remains and bring them here. With time he may be able to regenerate enough for us to implement the plan we had for Stryder. Finally, and because Stryder escaped in Washington, he and some others, went to the aid of the Defence Council. They prevented our troops from fulfilling their objective.”
There was a pause as Wilde collated all what he had heard, putting it into some perspective. When he spoke his voice was calm and steady almost as if the failure of his teams meant nothing, but inside he was seething. His anger was building and at that moment it had no outlet so he thought it best to keep it contained until that outlet presented itself and he could give it full rein.
He said, “While Norsky is regenerating administer the additional serum we gleaned from the samples we rescued from Tartaran. Let’s see if it will speed up the process any and then see what results we get. As soon as you can take a viable sample from him I want it given to the first batch of Rover5’s, try it on the first ten, no more. If it works then administer it to the rest. Keep Norsky in stasis so we can use him. His ability to regenerate will give us an endless supply of his blood that we can use for our troops. Col Sec will fall.”
“At your command sir,” Apollo said and the screen went blank as Wilde ended the call.
38
“We use the Moon base that RandCorp set up for Col Sec. We get there through the Gateway portal they have designed,” Sinclair said, he was smiling to himself, a bit like the cat that swallowed the cream.
“Okay, I admit that would help but how do we get from there to the enemy facility without them seeing us coming?” Kurt asked.
Sinclair held his smile in check then said, “The SUT can get you and Zara inside without being detected and once there you create a diversion so we can organise a co-ordinated attack from orbit.”
