by PP Corcoran
“Two minutes,” replied Chris. Jodee turned to berate her brother, who was now crouched down on the mine side of the inner doors, next to a panel identical to the one that he had used to access the mine’s controlling computer system and open the inner doors.
“What the hell are you doing now, Chris?” she demanded.
“And…” Chris tapped a command with a final flourish, a satisfied smile on his face. The inner plasteel doors slid smoothly closed and a small puff of blue smoke escaped from the control panel beside him. A faint trace of melted plastic touched the air. “Now they’ll have to blast through the inner doors as well if they want to get us.” Jodee’s furrowed brow begged an explanation.
“When the doors sealed, I locked out the main computer and convinced it to go into a maintenance cycle. That should blind the mine’s surveillance systems for at least thirty minutes. And just in case our friends outside have any computer techs with them who think they can attain local control of the doors, I sent a power surge through the embedded circuitry of the door controls, frying them. No way are they getting through these doors without blasting them open. So even if they do get in behind us, they’ll have no idea where we are.”
Jodee felt a grudging respect for her brother’s quick thinking; however, she was damned if she was going to show it. Ignoring his smirking face, she turned her back on him and set off down the mine at a steady jog. Behind her, Chris mumbled something about being unappreciated before following.
Ten minutes later, the pair was standing beside a plain metal door set into the white walls of a tunnel that was indistinguishable from any of the other numerous white-walled tunnels that Jodee had navigated them along. Away from the entrance now and the attempts of the K’Tai to breach the imposing doors, the mine was strangely still. When the rotund guide had conducted his tour, the mine had hummed with the sound of automated hoppers carrying their sealed cargo along unseen pre-determined electronic paths to the processing facilities. Deeper into the mine, the massive boring machines had happily eaten their way into the rich veins of Redlazore. Now, though, the silence was broken only by the occasional click or whir of machinery going through the enforced maintenance cycle initiated by Chris’ tampering with the main computer.
Jodee regarded the unassuming metal door, reading the mix of numbers and letters stenciled above it. Referring once more to the schematic displayed by her wrist comm, she satisfied herself that this was indeed the correct door. Taking a step back, she pointed at the locking mechanism. “Time for you to do your thing.”
Chris busily began inputting commands into his hacking program and a few seconds later, the telltale alongside the door changed from red to green as the door popped open a few centimeters, the echoing sound of a distant thrumming fan growing louder as Chris pulled the door fully open, stepped through and on to a flimsy-looking gantry. Jodee followed his lead, her eyes automatically being drawn to the sound of the fan. Smooth, circular walls interrupted only by the flimsy staircase, clinging to it like a metal creeper, rose high above her until they merged into a single spot of light at the top of the ventilation shaft. “Wow! I didn’t realize we were so far underground,” said Chris, having to raise his voice to be heard over the whump, whump, whump of the fan.
Jodee tapped at the wrist comm, which dutifully gave her the answer she had sought. “883 meters, according to the plans. Remember, Santa mentioned something about the company scooping out a big chunk of ground so the main processing facilities were hidden out of sight because they were so darned ugly, must have been a lot further below ground level than it looked.” Behind her, the door slid closed and rather than shout to be heard over the noise of the fan, Jodee gestured toward the locking mechanism. Chris immediately got her intention, and within a few seconds bright sparks were jumping from the control pad, sealing the pair into the ventilation shaft. With one more glance upwards, Jodee resolutely began the climb toward the spinning fan blades.
#
Thighs burning from exertion, Jodee and Chris reached the top of the gantry, finding themselves standing on a platform hanging from the shaft’s wall, large enough for a half dozen workers to stand. The noise of the whirling blades dragging air into the mine had steadily increased the higher they had climbed; now though, a few scant meters above their heads, the sound was deafening, making any hope of conversation impossible. A thick metal mesh screen prevented workers from inadvertently inserting tools, equipment or, more seriously, body parts anywhere near the spinning blades. A drop-down trap door, secured by a separate electronic lock, was built into the protective mesh maybe two meters above her. Sunken into the wall, so as not to impede the spinning fan blades, was a vertical ladder leading to the top of the shaft and the beckoning freedom of outside. Reaching that freedom, however, presented a problem that Jodee hadn’t foreseen. How the hell were they meant to get past the fan blades? Jodee scanned the smooth walls of the shaft and failed to see any form of control mechanism that Chris could use to order the fans to halt their frantic beating. Turning to scream at Chris that she thought they were stuck, her words stuttered to a halt as she was confronted by the sight of her brother staring at the lock on the trap door. Deciding not to waste her energy shouting a question, she opted for tapping him on the shoulder, and when he looked at her she pointed upwards and shrugged her shoulders. Chris took another look at the lock before a wicked grin cracked his face. The grin became something else as, reaching over to place his arms on her shoulders, he spun her around in place before pushing down on her. With a flash of insight Jodee realized what Chris wanted; bending her knees, she lowered her body, using one hand placed against the shaft’s smooth walls to steady herself. Without hesitation Chris climbed on to her shoulders, one knee unceremoniously whacking her as he did so, forcing Jodee to refrain from dropping him back on his ass and berating him. With a grunt of effort, Jodee straightened her legs, struggling to keep her back straight. She hadn’t lifted Chris like this since they were children, when had he put on so much weight? Chris slipped his fingers between the overhead mesh to steady them as Jodee, with small, tenuous steps, turned around and shuffled forward until Chris was directly below the trap door’s lock.
Any good balancing act at a circus would have been proud of Chris and Jodee as Chris held on to the mesh trap door with one hand while he tapped away at his wrist comm with the other, all the while swaying back and forward on the shoulders of his sister, who regretted now not commenting on his second portion of breakfast. The lock on the trap door was simple in comparison to those Chris had already dealt with elsewhere in the mine. Once he accessed its safety lockout, it sprung open obligingly. The sound of a loud klaxon split the air twice as the mesh cover dropped open, causing Jodee to nearly drop Chris as she bent forward and he slipped unceremoniously from her shoulders. A metal ladder extended downward until it locked into position on the gantry’s floor. The noise from the fan diminished as it spun down, gradually coming to a complete halt. Chris was already scrambling up the ladder as he called to his sister.
“Thank the pencil pushers for health and safety. Opening the lock automatically cuts off power to the fan, but you can bet your ass that it shows on somebody’s board in the control room.”
Jodee didn’t need any further encouragement. Grasping the ladder, she flung herself up it, following Chris as she inadvertently used one of her father’s favorite phrases. “Then let’s boogie, kid.”
Slipping past the imposing fan, Chris barely paused as he reached another of the dumb locks that secured the access hatch, which represented the last barrier to the outside world. Climbing over the raised edge of the ventilation shaft’s inlet, he collapsed on the soft grass, which encircled the inlet for a few meters before giving way to native trees on three out of four sides, the fourth side showing only sky as the ground seemed to disappear. Seconds later he was joined by Jodee. Both kids were breathing heavily, partly from exertion, partly from the relief of escaping the mine. That relief evaporated as the booming soun
d of a large, distant explosion reached them. An impressive shock wave caused the branches of the trees to sway back and forth.
Chris scampered across the grass on all fours until he reached the edge of the drop. What he saw caused him to take a sharp intake of breath before turning excitedly to Jodee. “Holy crap, Jodee you gotta see this!”
Reluctantly Jodee imitated her brother’s example and crawled across to where he was lying, and the view stole her breath away, though not for the same reason as Chris. The pair found themselves perched atop a sheer drop of at least 500 meters, and laid out before them was the expansive mining complex. The guide had said that it covered an area of 2.3 square kilometers above ground and consisted of over 100 individual buildings. Seeing it now, though, from what was effectively a bird’s-eye view, brought those numbers into stark reality. Centered on the three huge oblong processing buildings, what seemed like a myriad of smaller buildings spread out, intersected by wide permacrete roads. The entire complex was bounded by a double-lined boundary fence. What must once have been a pristine, efficient example of humanity’s industrial prowess was now partially obscured by thick black smoke, as numerous buildings were engulfed by fire as ants ran between the buildings. No, Jodee corrected herself, not ants. People!
A flash of yellow drew Jodee’s eye to an area slightly beyond the western side of the perimeter fence. Another shock wave rumbled over the lip of cliff top, branches swaying as the noise of the explosion caught up with the initial shock wave.
“I think that was a ship blowing up,” stuttered Chris.
“Uh-huh,” agreed Jodee, her mind whirling as groups of ants seemed to pause momentarily before all rushing in the direction of the momentous explosion. Jodee looked upon the scene of devastation with fresh eyes and only now noticed that at least one more large ship was already billowing smoke. Something, or more likely someone, had destroyed two of the invaders’ ships.
Jodee’s pulse raced and she suddenly felt giddy. Scrambling for her wrist comm, she hoped beyond hope that she was right. With fumbling fingers, she keyed in a call to her mother, breath catching in her throat as she waited a reply. Seconds passed like eons then, briefly, a double beep reply.
Jodee rolled on to her back, closing her eyes and giving a silent prayer as she felt her cheeks wet from the tears that ran down them. Chris was too engrossed in the unfolding scene below to notice his sister’s actions. Another bright flash and a third transport burst into flames, causing Chris to release a loud excited whoop.
“Hey sis, looks like somebody is really kicking ass down there.” When Jodee didn't immediately reply, he pulled his gaze away from the ongoing fighting. Jodee was lying on her back, tears coming from tightly closed eyes; strangely a huge toothy smile was fixed on her face. Chris’ eyebrows came together as he tried to figure out what was up with his sister today. Giving up, he gave the smoke-obscured mining complex below a last look before jumping to his feet and giving Jodee a not-too-gentle kick.
“Hey, sleepy head. I guess it’s time we got moving. If mom finds out we hung around watching all the fun, then she’ll not be best impressed. And you know what she’s like when she gets annoyed.”
Jodee let out a short laugh as she wiped her eyes and rolled to her feet, slapping away Chris’ proffered hand playfully. Bringing up the map overlay, she oriented the little bouncing ball that indicated the route to their family cabin. Ignoring the dulled sounds of gunfire behind them, the twins set off, both wondered how far they would get before their mother caught up with them.
#
Sue ducked behind the corner of an outbuilding as the first of the thermic grenades that she had tossed through the gaping maw of the imposing troop transport, after she had cut down the small security detail in a hail of pulse rifle fire, went off. Thermic grenades in an enclosed space surrounded by tanks full of highly inflammable lifter fuel were a bad combination. Well, certainly bad news for anybody caught up in the resultant blast radius.
With the sound of the explosion ringing in her ears, it was the vibration of her wrist comm rather than the urgent incoming call tone that garnered her attention. Sue’s eyes fell upon the caller ID and she had to stifle a cry of pure joy as Jodee’s name blinked at her. Urgently she tapped in a two-tone reply, praying that the kids would stick to the plan and head for the cabin, where she confidently believed that Dave would be awaiting them. With the message sent, Sue’s attention returned to her current task to hand: keeping the K’Tai so preoccupied with her that they would have no time to go chasing the kids.
Destroying the first transport hadn’t conjured the desired reaction. The K’Tai must have expected to meet at least some tacit resistance to their landing. After all, there were several armed guards at the mine. Perhaps they viewed the destruction of a single transport as an acceptable loss. Sue hoped with a second transport now a burning mass of wreckage, it would divert troops to protect the landing site.
Risking a brief glance around the corner of the building that had sheltered her from the blast of the exploding transport, she warily eyed her next target. Maybe 150 meters away sat a third transport; the security detail attached to this one picked itself up from the ground where the blast of her last explosion had knocked them. One K’Tai was being more vocal than the rest. He was obviously in charge and was urging the others to their feet and to take up defensive positions. A feral grin spread across Sue’s face as she sighted down her stolen pulse rifle. Well we can’t have that, can we? Allowing the aiming reticule to center naturally on the K’Tai’s blue forehead, Sue steadied her breathing, then almost without a command, her finger gently stroked the trigger. The K’Tai’s head exploded in a burst of red blood and gray brain matter. As his body crumpled to the ground, Sue was already lining up her next shot. In rapid succession, the security detail was dispatched, clearing the way for Sue to approach the now unguarded, open ramp.
Scanning left and right for potential trouble as she ran, Sue unhooked the last of her thermic grenades, lobbing them into the rear of the troop transport without slowing. She angled away from the transport, sprinting for all she was worth for the beckoning thigh-high bush. One transport destroyed might be acceptable, possibly two. Three, however, couldn’t be mistaken for anything else but a concerted attack on the landing zone, and any commander worth his salt would react to protect these valuable assets. And that was exactly what Sue was counting on: get the K’Tai to go after her for a few hours, leaving the kids time to get clear of the mine area, and then she would double back and hook back up with them and they could all head for the cabin together.
Sue made it nearly 100 meters before the grenades went off and the shock wave hit her. Expecting it, she rolled forward with the explosion and came back up on her feet and continued her headlong sprint. The brush around her got thicker and taller and she veered left slightly as she hunted for an easier route. In the near distance, a solid wall of green rose, the edge of a thickly wooded area where she hoped she could confuse her pursuers and eventually lose them completely. That was the plan, anyway.
CHAPTER TEN
Jacob
H HOUR PLUS TEN MINUTES
THE LEVIN FARM, TEN KILOMETERS WEST OF GEMINI CITY
Jacob Levin had been up and out early this morning. He had found signs of Gaters the evening before, down by the bottom field. Last season, he had lost over a dozen lambs to the indigenous predator. About the size of a terrier, the Gater had two rows of needle sharp teeth in its Y-shaped mouth and six legs that carried it over smooth or rough terrain at prodigious speed. Gaters were pack hunters like old Earth’s wolves, and, just like wolves, if a Gater pack thought it had the upper hand on a lone human, they would not hesitate to attack. Jacob gave his antiquated scatter gun a reassuring pat. It might be old, but its three barrels held fifty razor-sharp polycarb pellets each and at close range they would rip a Gater to shreds. A wry grin creased Jacob’s sweating face. If he could get close enough. Gaters were smart. They had hastily adapted to the arrival of hum
ans on their world. They avoided the clusters of buildings making up the farms and ranches that dotted the landscape between Gemini City and its surrounding mountains. Gaters had a fantastic sense of smell but poorer eyesight, although their hearing was on a level with their sense of smell; hence a heavily sweating sixty-four-year-old man who really should know better, trudging through waist-high grass two kilometers away from the comfort of his aging but still completely functional flitter. Gaters scattered and hid at the sound of a flitter’s whining engines.
A fleeting movement at the edge of the slowly waving grass caught Jacob’s eye, and he froze still as a marble statue. Jacob searched the field’s edges, his gaze sweeping from left to right, willing the thick grass to part and reveal his quarry. As if his silent prayer had been answered, the grass before him parted to reveal four Gaters happily munching away on a lamb that had been unlucky enough to become separated from its mother. With enforced patience, Jacob slowly raised the scatter gun to his shoulder as he took careful aim on the still feeding vermin. Jacob’s index finger was curling around the trigger when all four Gaters froze as if someone had flung a switch. As one, they raised themselves high on their rear legs, nostrils twitching as they scented the air. Had they got a whiff of Jacob? Keeping perfectly still, Jacob watched the swaying stalks of grass to judge the direction of the gentle breeze. No, he was downwind of the Gaters. Something else must have spooked them. Too late, Jacob returned his attention to the Gaters. They were gone, vanished into the sea of grass, leaving behind the tattered remains of the unfortunate lamb.
