by Susan Kelley
Excitement coursed through Molly. This was the exact kind of discovery she’d hoped for when she’d convinced her father she was the scientist for this mission. She pulled up the personality traits they’d identified as being influenced by certain genes combined with specific environmental issues. “Look at this, Hector. Those genes are the major influencers for compassion and loyalty traits.”
Helen peered over Molly’s shoulder. “Where did you get that data? Genetic links to personality studies aren’t factual. It’s a guessing game, a soft science like psychology.”
A day ago Molly would have told them the data came from Recon Marine records. But now that she wasn’t sure if she could trust them sharing anything about the marines seemed a betrayal of Mak. “Psychology is a science. We can’t ignore it because we think our fields of knowledge are superior.”
Hector tapped again and changed the screen to display multiple strands of DNA. “These are from the samples we gathered on Arid Four. Because of the degradation caused by the dry climate I don’t have all the samples ready for comparison. But all the ones I’ve uploaded have the same protein markers where the genes were manipulated. I think there are more manual manipulations but I haven’t had the time to search them out.”
“So they not only trained them to be a certain way, they rebuilt their genetic makeup to make them a certain type of person.” Molly couldn’t imagine the mindset that would lead a person to experiment on another human being in such a way.”
Hector ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know if I can do this anymore, Molly. I’m already having nightmares. These people were monsters.”
He sounded so sincere that Molly’s doubts that one of her friends could be a traitor strengthened. Mak had to be wrong.
Helen put her hand on Hector’s shoulder. “It’s tough on all of us. It will soon be over.”
“I can’t thank you two enough for coming with me,” Molly said. They couldn’t be traitors.
****
Mak waited until the ship took off, using its distraction to move toward the scent of metal. After traveling a few hundred yards, he caught a stronger scent of burning crystallized iron. A herd of goat-like herbivores grazed on the short grass a quarter of a mile away. The soft wind blew toward Mak and masked his scent until he was among them.
The animals stirred in curiosity but didn’t seem afraid of his alien scent. With gentle persuasion he urged them to move in the direction he wanted them to go. He crouched so the enemy sensors would see him as another of the harmless fauna, assuming their tech could see through his camouflage.
Modern stealth technology could hide objects from the scanners of orbiting ships and even low flying fighter cruisers. But the human eye would always be superior to artificial eyes. Green patterned paint attempted to blend the building rising in front of Mak into the grasslands.
The herd animals resisted his efforts to get any closer when they had drifted to within fifty yards of a thirty-foot high wall. Wide composite sheets stretched at least five hundred yards from end to end. The only breaks in the wall were grill-covered exhaust units spaced twenty yards apart near the top of the wall. Not a single door to grant access for intruders. He’d seen temporary hangars on other worlds. One of the other sides would be open along its length to allow flying crafts to enter and exit.
Like many inexperienced military units, these people relied too much on technology to keep them secure. Real guards would have spotted him on the open plain but his gear and knowledge could fool cameras and motion detectors. They hadn’t even planted tripwires near the wall. Though if the mines had been placed only hours ago it followed that they hadn’t expected anyone to find them.
He ran toward one end of the wall, staying about five yards from the bottom. Before he took the last few steps around the corner he knew the next side wasn’t the open one. He continued and found the entrance on the side opposite his approach.
Mak dropped to his stomach and slithered to a spot where he could see the parking bay. Full. Three small agile, star cruisers and a larger cargo hauler. Not a single guard in sight but neither was there other buildings. Motion sensors spanned the open entrance and motion activated video scanners were spaced along the overhanging roof.
Mak recognized the vid units as the newest technology available to the military. Only someone who had used them before would know how to get around them. He stayed back, deciding which cruiser he would take and plotting the path he would travel to reach it. Seven seconds if the ship had a common code access, twelve to fifteen if it was personalized. He took the buzz maker from his belt and set it for fifteen seconds. It would create video fuzziness and vibrations that would trick the motion sensors into thinking there was a brisk gust of wind. The short duration outage hopefully wouldn’t alarm anyone.
With a gentle flick of his wrist, Mak rolled the buzzer precisely where he needed it. He moved as soon as it settled inside the open doorway, silently counting off the seconds to himself. He ran to the cruiser closest to him, noting very little dust on its surface. Recent use then. The door cooperated and opened as soon as he entered one of the universal codes known to Recon Marines and engineered into every military vehicle. At the end of the allotted fifteen seconds he sat in the pilot’s seat. The controls responded to his coded commands, firing up the engine and bringing the sensors online. Standard handling for such a craft required a warm up period for the engines, but Mak didn’t have that time.
The cruiser handled like the excellent craft it was, gliding out of the hangar with nearly silent propulsion. Like many star-capable ships it had cloaking capabilities. Mak switched them on. But how long it took them to realize he’d stolen a ship and locate it would depend more on the experience of the humans interpreting their security channels than on the technology they had available.
He used an encrypted channel to hail Box. “Sending you coordinates, corporal. Set her down in exactly seven minutes and twenty seconds. Weapon up with everything you can carry and make sure the doctors are ready to evacuate the ship. Only what they can carry in one trip. I want this craft back in the air sixty seconds after I land. Don’t power down your ship.”
Mak spent the seven minutes searching for the mine avoidance software patched into the craft’s controls. It wasn’t standard equipment as all space mines were illegal. Few pirates even used the cowardly weapons. After finding it, he ran diagnostics on the cruiser’s other weapons. Two projectile cannons and four ship-killer rockets. Not much but better than nothing.
The ships landed side by side at nearly the same moment. Mak waited on the ground beside the science ship before the door opened. Pender came out first, a pistol in his hand and three rifles slung across his back. Mak took one of the long guns from him and then helped Molly down off the last high step. She had her arms full with her AI tablet and three thin memory slabs. Her fat pack hung over one shoulder and slapped against her hip as she hurried across the grass.
Box herded the other two doctors ahead of him. He carried as many weapons as Pender as well as a pack filled with foodstuffs. “Everything as ordered, sir.”
Mak helped carry things into the star cruiser. The ship had been designed for a three-man crew so things were tight. He showed Pender how to work the mine disabling software.
“What is the plan, Mak?” Molly asked.
“Box and Pender will fly you out of here until you reach the radio perimeter. You’ll call your father and tell him we need a combat unit here. You wait there until help arrives.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You describe that as if you’re not coming with us.”
“I have to disable the other fighter ships or they’ll hunt you down.” Mak added the rifle he’d taken from Pender to the one he already had hanging across his back. “This ship can navigate the minefield but so can theirs.”
“You can’t stay here and fight them all alone.”
“I’m not going to fight them. I’ll delay any response to my incursion and your escape.”
“But not alone.” She wrapped her long strong fingers around his wrist. “I’ll stay with you.”
“That would only make my job more difficult.”
She smiled. “I suppose I should be insulted by that.”
“Why?”
“Be careful, Mak. You saw the vid. I think that Nemon character came from here.”
“Tell your father that.” Mak worked his way around the doctors’ packs and entered the small flight deck. “Are you familiar with the weapons’ systems, Pender?”
“Yes, sir. I trained in an earlier model of this craft. Do you think I’ll have to use them?” Pender’s face looked pale in the greenish light from the control panel.
“Not if I do my job.” Mak couldn’t avoid Molly as he exited the cockpit.
“Maybe you should keep Andy or Kory with you.” She looked frightened as she swept her gaze over him.
He couldn’t let her be scared. Despite Dr. Loren sitting on the floor only a few steps away, Mak picked up Molly’s hands and squeezed them. “You’ll be fine. Pender knows how to fly this machine. Your father will send a regiment to protect you.”
She shook her head. “I’m worried about you.”
“This is what I do, Molly.” He couldn’t resist. He kissed her. “As long as you’re safe everything will work out.”
“Sir, could you give me another minute here?” Box called from the forward section.
Mak joined them, finding both soldiers staring at the sensor display.
Box pointed. “Sir, we had a communication blip from our ship as we landed. It was only three seconds long but probably enough to give away our location.”
“Get out of here now. Use stunners inside the craft if you need to.” Mak ran out of the ship, not even looking toward Molly lest she try to speak to him. They’d been betrayed again.
Chapter Fourteen
Molly regretted her rash decision as the science vessel banked sharply left. She clung to the doorframe until the ship straightened and then worked her way toward the bridge. Engineering wasn’t one of her fields of expertise, but she was certain the ship wasn’t designed to fly like this. Her shin slammed into the first step up toward the bridge and drew Mak’s attention.
She’d learned to read Mak’s passion on his face as well as amusement and confusion. Now a dark emotion she’d never seen on his lovely face transformed his expression into something frightening.
Mak looked back at the instrument panel. “Strap into the copilot’s seat.”
His growl made it clear it was an order not to be disobeyed. Almost as soon as she snapped the harness the ship pitched sharply left and then down. The grassy plain rushed at them in the front view screen. She gripped the edge of the control panel. Her stomach climbed her throat but then Mak pulled out of the dive so they skimmed near the surface.
In a more peaceful situation the exhilarating ride might have thrilled Molly, but at the moment she wondered what danger drove Mak to fly in such a risky fashion. A large building splattered with green paint came into view. It rose from the flats to tower above the short grass.
Mak flew at it and then arced around to approach from a different direction. The side growing large in the front screen was open to the world. Three ships took up most of the big building, two of them matches for the one Mak had stolen. As they drew nearer Molly made out the tiny forms of men running around the ships. Reaction to the theft?
Their science ship shuddered as Mak forced it into another sharp turn. Something crashed against a wall back in the lab. Molly’s stomach took a sickening lurch as the ship dropped coming out of the turn. It hit the ground with a jolt that jarred her backbone. She hadn’t drawn in a full breath before Mak rose from the pilot’s seat. He reached over and unsnapped her safety belt.
Mak grabbed her arm and dragged her back through the ship and into the small cargo closet. He threw his rifle across his back as they ran. He tapped a code into the wall panel and a trapdoor slid open on the floor. She hadn’t even known the opening existed on her ship. He jumped through, landing lightly in the grass below the belly of the ship.
“Jump.” He reached up for her.
The distance was at least twelve feet, ankle-breaking height. She fell more than jumped. Mak caught her waist and broke her landing. Giving her no chance to find her balance, he grabbed her hand and took off running for the back of the ship. She’d never run so fast in her life. Her feet skimmed the grass as Mak led her around the far corner of the building. He pushed her against the metal wall and pressed his body tight against hers.
“Cover your ears.” Mak touched something on his weapons belt. A blast shattered the day, light and heat rushing past them. A rumble ran through the ground beneath their feet, felt more than heard. A secondary explosion followed. A screech of metal added to the ear bursting noise.
Molly saw flaming debris landing far out into the plains beyond Mak’s shoulder. White smoke drifted like fog outward from the building and added an eerie quality to the silence.
“Stay here,” Mak growled. He glided along the building to the corner and then peeked around the edge. After a moment he moved further beyond the corner. His movements blended into the smoky air so he seemed part of it.
Molly looked down at her dark utilities, the simple clothing she always wore on missions. It resembled the basic military uniform favored by the army. It would stand out against the gray smoky background. Her presence would endanger Mak’s ability to be stealthy. He would have been better off without her. But she hadn’t wanted to leave him alone to face whatever new nightmares waited to be discovered in the still functioning lab.
Mak waved her forward to join him. His dark eyes traveled over her, no longer filled with the anger she deserved to see. “I can’t leave you here alone. They’ll be searching through the wreckage and might put out patrols. Their cruisers are disabled so they won’t be able to catch our crew but their cargo ship might still be flight capable. I have to make sure they can’t use it.”
“I won’t hold you back.” But Molly knew that wasn’t true.
Mak lifted his eyebrow and took a pistol from his belt. He handed it to her. “You stay behind me. I have armor. If someone shoots you’ll be safest behind my body.”
She nodded but he swept his gaze over her, looking unsure. “I should take you out in the grass and hide you until help arrives.”
“By the time it does they might have taken all the evidence and escaped. They could start up again on a different world and this time we might not find them.” Molly squared her shoulders. “You know we have to stop this. We can’t let their experiments go on.”
“I know. Why did you stay, Molly? I sent the ship away to keep you safe.”
“How could I run away while knowing you were being left behind all alone?”
“What does that matter? This is what I do, what I was created to do.”
“We can’t have this discussion here and now. I stayed so let’s get on with it and stop those cruel bastards.”
His eyebrow went up again. “Sometimes you’re exactly like your father.” He gave her no chance to respond and led off around the corner.
The first body part took her by surprise though it shouldn’t have. Men had been running toward the science vessel when it had exploded.
Mak didn’t look at the carnage, and Molly forced her gaze to stay on his back. Though nothing could block her view of the two mangled star cruisers. They crept beneath the sagging chassis of the first destroyed ship. Mak paused and took something out of his belt. He took a few steps to the left, staring up at the underbelly of the ship. The white metal all looked the same to Molly but Mak found what he was looking for. He slapped a gray metallic disc onto the spot. They continued to the next cruiser where he repeated the process. They climbed over a shredded wing section out into a more open area.
The body sprawled in their path appeared intact. If not for the blood oozing from his ears Molly might have thought he still lived. The explosive forces mu
st have focused into the open hangar.
Mak spun and grabbed Molly’s hand. He ran with her to the rear wall. He tugged at the collar of his armored shirt and pulled free a hood. He slipped it over his head and then pressed her against the wall, his body shielding her from whatever danger he sensed. To each side she could see piles of twisted metal, some still glowing with the explosive heat, but Mak’s shoulders blocked most of her view.
After a tense minute she heard men shouting. The voices came from her left, beyond the large cargo ship. Sweat popped up on her forehead, and she moved her hand toward the pistol she’d stashed behind her waistband. Mak’s hand covered hers and stopped her from pulling the weapon free.
Mak acted as calm as always, none of the nervous tension humming through Molly evident in his posture. He held her immobile against the wall for a few more minutes before stepping back. They moved in the direction of the voices though it sounded as though the men had moved out beyond the opening of the hangar.
Molly looked down as she walked, necessary with the amount of debris on the ground. She bumped into Mak’s back when he stopped. He made a small gesture with his head and directed her attention to a man standing near the rear landing strut of the cargo ship.
The guard held a rifle and stared toward the open front of the hangar. Looking in the direction of his gaze, Molly say more than a dozen men moving cautiously toward the burning wreck. The scent of oily smoke drifted to her and a thin band of gray smoke hung near the high ceiling of the hangar.
Mak put a hand on Molly’s arm and then pointed at the ground. She’d noticed Mak teaching his men hand signals and wished now she’d paid close attention. But even she understood this simple command to stay put.
Seeing Mak in his natural element highlighted how little of himself he shared in the staff meetings aboard ship. His intelligent questions and easy comprehension of facts helped him fit in with the scientists but this stalking of the guard displayed him as the predator he really was. The man never saw Mak until the Recon Marine’s hand clapped over his mouth. Mak put his other hand on the guard’s shoulder and turned him. Molly tore her stare away but the loud crack of neck bones let her brain create the image in gruesome detail.
