by G J Ogden
“Yes, but it was built before the war, to host the signing ceremony,” explained Maria. “With all of the planetary governors in one place, they had to make sure it was secure, so the whole room is shielded against any form of electronic surveillance.”
“Agreed, it’s the ideal place to host a covert interrogation,” said Byrne.
Maria studied the holo and then reached into the image again, tapping the glassy outer shell of the Teardrop and making it disappear to reveal the internal layout.
“You mentioned that Kuba and Major Darien were seen entering, but who were the others?” asked Maria.
“One or two staff, and perhaps three other UEC soldiers that we’re aware of,” said Byrne. “Two entered with the person we believe was Major Page, but the third arrived more recently and hasn’t yet departed. We haven’t seen Kuba or Darien come back out, either.”
“There is another rumor circulating,” added Etta, nervously while still looking at her feet.
“We can’t confirm that yet,” Ashley cut in, quick to rebuke her for presenting speculation instead of fact.
Maria looked at them both. “What rumor? Anything could be significant, even if unconfirmed.”
Etta looked up at Ashley and she nodded, giving her permission to pass on the gossip. “Before they took my brother, there was talk that they were interrogating suspected members of resistance groups inside the Teardrop,” Etta began. “One apparently died during the process and was taken out in a body bag.”
“That’s terrible, Etta, but how is it relevant?” said Maria. Hearing her own words, she was aware that she sounded cold and callous but the stakes were too high to waste time on irrelevant matters.
“We checked with all the other groups in the other sectors on the dark channels. No-one has been reported missing.”
“So who was brought out in the body bag?” asked Maria, starting to lose patience.
“The talk is that it was Major Darien,” said Ashley, noticing how the tempo and volume of Maria’s foot-tapping was starting to increase.
“Are you suggesting that Kuba assassinated Major Darien?” said Maria. Her foot had become still again.
“It’s only a rumor,” admitted Ashley. “But it’s at least a possibility, if only a slim one.”
Maria leaned back into the holo image again, studying the layout and making mental notes.
“Actually, it’s exactly the sort of thing Kuba would do, given half a chance, and if true it could actually work in our favor. It means we only need to take out one slimy bastard, Kuba, and we can end this.”
“Perhaps, but whenever he moves in public, he’s protected by a veritable army,” said Byrne, clenching his fists. “We can’t get to him.”
“I can,” said Maria, and suddenly she had everyone’s undivided attention. “If I go alone, I can sneak into the Teardrop undetected. Once it’s secured, I can even make the broadcast from there. It’s what the place was designed to do.”
Ashley shook her head. “But you need to still be alive in order to make the broadcast. It’s too risky, Sal. ”
“Says the woman who plans to steal a space fighter and park it a meter above the base?” said Maria, raising an eyebrow towards her former teacher.
“Point taken,” said Ashley, resignedly. “It doesn’t mean I’m wrong about you doing this, though.”
“Maybe not,” said Maria, returning her attention to the schematic layout of the Teardrop. “But no-one else puts their life on the line for me today. Besides, I owe Page.”
“That sort of sentiment will get you killed, Sal.”
Maria shook her head, defiantly. “No, it’s what’s going to save us all. We’ve spent too long not caring about anyone but ourselves, and look where that has got us. Well, that’s all going to change, starting now.”
Ashley stood taller and smiled. “When the hell did you become so wise?”
“Are you complaining?”
“Not at all, Sal. In fact, it suits you well. Byrne and Etta will help you to reach the government sector undetected. From there, you’re on your own.”
“Understood,” said Maria, then to Etta and Byrne she added. “Thank you, both of you.”
“It will be our honor, Commander Salus,” said Byrne.
“Please, Sal will do just fine.”
Ashley removed a small data pad from her pocket and checked it. “I have to go. I have an appointment with a space fighter and I don’t want to be late...”
“Try not to crash,” said Maria, taking Ashley’s hand and shaking it firmly.
“This is no time for jokes, Maria,” said Ashley, becoming suddenly serious. “No heroics, okay? If we’re to blow the lid off this whole web of lies connecting Kurren and Kuba, we have to let the entire station see you on that holo.
Maria switched gears accordingly. “I understand, Ashley, and I’ll be ready when you are. Good luck.”
“Good luck to us all,” Ashley replied, and then she nodded to Byrne and Etta and hurriedly left the basement room.
Chapter 20
Lights flashed past outside the window as the transport sped along the main transitway towards the government sector. It was hypnotic and, combined with the drone of the transit’s motor, deeply soothing. As Maria relaxed in the rear seat, she could feel her eyes closing. Sleep had been hard to come by since the destruction of the GPS space station, and restful sleep had been even more scarce than that.
“Commander?” She opened her eyes and found her head to be resting against the window.
“Sal, are you awake?” She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Byrne was looking at her, his eyes reflected in the rear viewing mirror.
“Sorry, I must have zoned out for a minute.”
“More like forty minutes,” said Byrne, brightly. “I’ve been circling around for a bit; I thought you could use the sleep.”
Maria yawned; Byrne wasn’t wrong. “Thanks.”
“There’s only so many times I can pass through sector boundaries without it looking suspicious though, so we’re heading to the government sector now. Won’t be long.”
“Understood,” said Maria, still groggy. The disorientating effect of waking up in the moving transport was compounded by the fact that she didn’t recognize her clothes, and it took her several seconds to remember why she’d changed. Byrne had suggested that Maria ditch the stolen UEC uniform, because she had been identified wearing it and the surveillance holos and patrols would have been advised to hone in their facial scans on uniformed women. Etta had fetched some clothes from her apartment, including a long hooded cloak which she said would adequately disguise Maria’s face without drawing suspicion, and allow her to move through the government sector without being stopped. The clothes weren’t really her style, but she appreciated the utility of the outfit all the same. Underneath, she still wore her old partner’s PVSM unit.
“We’re coming up to the tunnel link,” added Byrne, who was the only other person in the transport. “They have stepped up security, but our hacked ident should get us through without additional checks.”
“Should?” said Maria, suddenly feeling less comfortable.
“Don’t worry, just act normally and this will go fine.”
The transport slowed as they approached the gate blocking the center of the tunnel link, and the transport was suddenly bathed in a cool white light. A message then flashed up in the center console, ‘Security Check: Pull in to Bay A2.’
“Byrne, this doesn’t seem to be going fine…” said Maria.
“It’s okay, they do this from time to time,” said Byrne, slowing further and then taking a slip road off the main transitway. “Just pretend to be asleep, okay?” He glanced back, grinning, and added, “That shouldn’t be too hard for you…” The waggishness of the comment seemed entirely unbefitting to the seriousness of their situation, but Maria didn’t have time to protest before the transport came to a halt. Maria saw a UEC soldier approach the cockpit and she slumped into the corner of the rear compar
tment, pulling the hood up so that it draped just over her eyes. She was reminded of how comfortable the rear seat of the transport was, and despite the flood of nervous energy rushing through her body, she felt like she could actually fall asleep again, given half a chance.
Byrne lowered the side window and waited for the UEC soldier to come alongside.
“Just a routine check, nothing to worry about,” the soldier said breezily. “Can you tell me the nature of your business in the sector this evening?”
“We’ve been called back in for a night shift,” said Byrne, casually. “You know what it’s like, with all the extra security and the Flying Corps strikes. It’s twice as much work and half the staff!”
“Yeah, I hear you,” said the soldier. “If you ask me, the whole place has gone mad.” Then he glanced into the rear compartment at Maria. “What’s her story?”
Byrne laughed. “She’d only just got off after ten hours straight. It’s the only sleep she’ll get tonight, so I let her get away with it.”
“Alright for some I guess,” said the soldier, with half his attention focused on a data pad in his hand. “Everything checks out, have a good evening, sir.”
“Same to you,” said Byrne, affably, before closing the window again. Then the transport began to pull away.
Byrne waited until he was back on the main transitway and then said, “It’s okay, we’re clear.”
Maria sat up and drew the hood back so that it was resting on top of her head. “You handled that well, you should be working in intelligence, not… what exactly do you do, anyway, besides being a member of Ashley’s resistance group and chauffeuring me around the base?”
“I work in a food production lab, in sector seven.” Byrne seemed glad that Maria had asked. “Compared to this, it’s quite boring, really.”
“I could do with a little boring when this is all over,” remarked Maria.
Byrne turned down a side street and continued on for a few hundred meters before stopping. “There are extra patrols around the Teardrop and the key ministries, so they’re not allowing transports down the nearby streets. It’s best if I drop you here and you continue on foot. If you approach through the side streets and head for the south side service entrance, you have the best chance of not being seen.”
Maria nodded; she had already planned her approach, but was glad of having her strategy confirmed by someone else.
There was a short series of electronic bleeps; Byrne quickly removed the hacked ident from his shirt pocket and slipped it into the console, reading the message carefully. He then twisted around in his seat and fixed Maria with a determined stare.
“That was a message on the dark channel; Ashley has secured the spaceport.”
“So, how long do I have to pull this off?”
“The clock started as soon as we entered the government sector,” replied Byrne. “You have maybe forty minutes before Ashley gets in position to hijack the holo broadcast system. We don’t know how long she’ll be able to hold that position for, before they either shut down the transmitters or force Ashley to leave. Are you sure you can do this alone?”
Maria knew what he was angling at, but she was resolute about no-one else getting harmed because of her actions.
“I appreciate the offer, Byrne, but if this is going to work, it has to be me, and me alone.”
Byrne nodded, though he didn’t look convinced or happy about Maria’s answer. He quietly slipped back into the driver’s seat without a word of protest, and then leaned over and opened the glove compartment, removing a pistol.
“I understand,” said Byrne, twisting back to face Maria. “Here, you might need this. I see you lost yours.”
Maria took the pistol, which was an older model UEC-issue weapon, and inspected it, noting that the clip was full and the safety was engaged. “Where did you get this?”
“Ashley told me to give it to you,” said Byrne, “I think it was hers, from when she was still enlisted.”
Maria smiled and concealed the weapon in the waistband of her pants, underneath the cloak, “Thanks Byrne,” she said, warmly. “Here’s hoping my performance will be as convincing as yours just was with that guard,” she added, and then she opened the door of the transport and stepped out. It was late evening and the illumination levels in the dome had been lowered accordingly. She pulled the hood of her cloak further over her head and closed the door, before patting the roof to let Byrne know he could leave. The transport moved off slowly, and Maria watched it head away for a moment, before turning to stare up at the Teardrop, suspended near the apex of the dome, looking like a giant bullet balanced on a stem of metal.
The main streets were still a bustle of activity, which Maria was thankful for as it would help her to blend in. She spotted a two-person UEC patrol and casually turned her back to them and headed for a smaller side-street. She could feel the cool metal of the pistol rubbing against the skin of her lower back as she picked up the pace towards the south entrance of the Teardrop. She knew the labyrinthine back streets of the government sector better than most and she quickly got her bearings. A significant portion of the five years she had spent with Diana, working to further the peace process, had been spent in the various ministry offices, discussing the logistics of combining GPS and UEC resources and coming up with a structure for governing their two societies as one. This had proven to be far more complicated than anyone had expected; after more than one hundred years of independent control the UEC and GPS had developed surprisingly different ways of managing everything from food production to law and order. It was often stressful, but it was also an undeniably happy time. Memories of these days spent with Diana streamed back into her mind, but instead of joy they only served to remind her of the pain of her loss, as well as the magnitude of her own failure and what it had cost. She squeezed her fists together so that her fingernails dug into the palms of her hands, like eight tiny blades, and allowed the pain to blot the image of Diana’s face from her mind.
She rounded the corner and continued on through the emptier back streets towards the Teardrop. She could see the high fence ahead, which acted as a first-stage security barrier, stopping anyone from reaching the ground level complex. She checked her pocket and felt the rectangular shape of the hacked ident, which she was counting on to get her through the gates, then a more immediate obstacle presented itself in the form of a second security patrol, heading directly for her. She focused on her breathing, trying to remain calm, and covertly surveyed the street for a way out, but there were no exits nearby, and she couldn’t risk trying a random door and it not opening. She considered turning around, but reasoned that this would look even more suspicious, and so reluctantly she decided to pass by the patrol and hope they ignored her. She continued to focus on her breathing and on maintaining a steady pace, despite her fight or flight instincts urging her to speed up. The soldiers drew alongside and she kept her head bowed slightly, painfully aware of the fact that their eyes were upon her.
“Hold up there, miss,” said one of the soldiers as Maria passed them by; her heart leapt and her gut churned angrily.
She stopped and smiled, and tried to channel Byrne’s cool-headed acting ability. “Sure, is there anything the matter?” she said as nonchalantly as possible, while forcing a smile.
“We’re going to need to see your ident; these streets are off limits to anyone except approved personnel.”
Maria held the smile, “Of course, I am authorized. Just a moment while I find my ident...” she fumbled inside her cloak, pretending to search for her ident card, while stealthily glancing behind the two soldiers and noting that there was no-one else on the narrow street but them. Still, she couldn’t risk a firefight out in the open; while a physical response unit would take a minute or two to arrive, security drones could be on top of her within thirty seconds. She would need to take them both down silently if there was to be any chance of making it inside the Teardrop undetected.
Maria pulled out the hacked
ident card and offered it to the closest soldier, still smiling amiably, but then deliberately dropped it just as the soldier’s gloved handed reach for it. “I’m terribly sorry!”
The soldier groaned and bent to pick it up, but only made it half-way down before Maria had surged forward and hammered her knee into the soldier’s nose, producing a nauseating crunch. The other soldier staggered back, clearly caught by surprise, and then half-heartedly swung his rifle towards Maria, but she caught the barrel and struck him in the throat with the flat of her hand. Croaking and spluttering, he barely had time to register the pain before Maria had wrestled the rifle from his hands and clubbed him across the temple with the butt, knocking him out cold.
Maria recovered the weapon to a firing position, and aimed down the length of the street in both directions, but fortunately it was still clear.
The whole incident was over in only a few seconds, but Maria was conscious that time was short, and that needing to hide the bodies of two unconscious soldiers had not been part of her plan. She checked her PVSM; there were twenty-five minutes remaining until Ashley was intended to be in position to hack the main holo network.
“Damn it…” Maria cursed out loud. She slung the rifle and then dragged both of the bodies in to the alcove of a nearby double doorway that didn’t appear to be in regular use. There was no time to hide them properly, but unless she was very unlucky, they wouldn’t be discovered until she was inside the Teardrop. She turned to leave, but then had a thought, and crouched down beside the first soldier, searching inside his body armor until she found his ident card. Keeping the card gripped tightly in her hand, she quickly checked the street was still clear, and then sprinted to the security gate that provided access into the Teardrop’s ground-floor complex. She pressed the soldier’s ident to the panel and waited, anxiously glancing up and down the street as several silhouetted figures appeared in the distance.
“Come on, work…” she said, urging the lock mechanism to activate, but then the panel surround turned green and she recognized the tell-tale clunk of the lock mechanism turning. She pulled the gate open and darted through, letting it swing shut behind her, and raced to the back door of the Teardrop complex. She held the soldier’s ident card to the panel and waited, but this time the panel surround turned red.
