When Stars Fall (The Star Scout Saga Book 4)

by GARY DARBY

  Half a dozen slender poles dotted one side, with weblike strands interconnecting the whole structure. A cluster of miniature geodesic domes sat astride a large rectangular box closest to Teng while nano and micro cables flowed across the surface toward several ports on one side of the structure.

  “Lieutenant,” Budo called out, “I’m on the far side. I think I found the airlock hatch.”

  Together, Teng and Jin-Sang joined Jorsh and Budo to inspect the heavy, silvery frame. Teng flipped up the control box’s small lid to examine the interior.

  “No security lock,” Jin-Sang observed, “just a manual release mechanism.”

  “I doubt burglars were on their mind when they set this up,” Teng replied. Just then, he heard Kasum say, “Lieutenant, we’re here.”

  “Get’em into the dome, gunny,” Jin-Sang ordered. “Leave two to guard the opening.”

  “Roger,” Kasum replied and with rapid orders set the security detail.

  As the veterans they were, in precise fashion, the platoon spread out behind Teng and Jin-Sang, weapons aimed at the airlock.

  “Budo, Jorsh,” Jin-Sang said, “after Mr. Rhee releases the door, cover both sides. I’m going to stick my head around to see what we’ve got.”

  The two gave quick nods and took up positions on each side of the metal entryway. Jin-Sang said to Teng, “If you please, sir.”

  Teng reached over and pulled the lever down with a hard jerk. The airlock door slid aside. Jin-Sang gave it a moment and then poked his head around the corner.

  For a second, only his helmeted head and shoulders stuck out into the entryway. Cautiously he eased fully out into the corridor.

  “It’s empty,” he declared.

  Teng stepped next to him and peered down the shadowy tunnel. At the far end was a second airlock door. Teng tilted his head toward the framed doorway and said, “If they know we’re here, they’ll be waiting for us when we open that door.”

  “I know,” Jin-Sang replied crisply.

  Gunny Kasum gestured toward the tunnel and said, “Sir, I wouldn’t advise taking the whole platoon in there, one spread shot from a laser cannon, and they’d take out half a squad.”

  “Wasn’t planning on it, gunny,” Jin-Sang muttered. “The first squad will follow me. Once inside, close this hatch. If I yell for help, you know what to do, right?”

  “You got it, sir,” Kasum returned, “just be sure you’re holding onto something real tight when you yell.”

  Jin-Sang turned and commanded, “First squad, weapons free, follow me.”

  He turned to Teng and said, “You might want to stay here, this could get a little dicey.”

  “Thanks for the offer,” Teng responded. “But I’m going with you.”

  Jin-Sang shrugged and mumbled, “It’s your skin.”

  The squad entered the tunnel and Kasum closed the airlock door behind them. Jin-Sang motioned for his troops to spread out and take positions hugging the bulkhead on each side.

  Once assured that everyone was in place and ready, the lieutenant motioned toward the inset box that held the door opening mechanism and said, “Mr. Rhee, once again, if you please.”

  Teng took a deep breath, ran his tongue over dry lips, and reached out to grasp the bar. “Here we go,” he muttered and pushed the lever down.

  In an instant, the door slid aside.

  Neither Teng nor Jin-Sang had time to yell out a warning before laser pulses exploded around them. The detonations slammed Teng into the side wall with such force that, for a second, he was too dazed even to stand.

  From somewhere distant he heard Jin-Sang bellowing, “Now gunny! Now!”

  Chapter Twelve

  Star date: 2443.096

  On the Surface of the Rogue Planet

  A hurricane of wind blasted Teng full-on. He could hear the gale’s thunder through his armor on top of the whirs and clicks inside his suit as the mech oversuit fought against the overload from the sudden decompression.

  Thankfully, the suit’s response was automatic as Teng was still dazed from the explosions and couldn’t have reacted as fast as the auto circuits to keep him upright and standing against the tempest.

  Instinctively, he reached out to a nearby metal stanchion that ran up the smooth wall and wrapped an arm around the brace. The twisting, flailing body of a Faction henchman flew by, blown completely out of the central complex as if he were a leaf picked up by a whirlwind and shot into the air.

  A moment later, the laser cannon that had poured its unmerciful laser bolts at the marines tumbled past, rolling over and over as it bounced down the passageway.

  More bodies flew by in a wild torrent. Teng could see their mouths open in soundless screams as they were battered against the walls and ceiling of the narrow corridor.

  The hurricane of rushing wind pulled at his arm with such force that if it weren’t for his suit’s stabilizers the rushing windstorm would have torn his arm out of its socket.

  The roaring vortex seemed to last forever, but finally, the wind died down, leaving Teng standing with one arm wrapped around the brace.

  With a grimace, he pulled his arm from between the wall and the brace. Taking stock, he could see that not all of the squad remained in the tunnel.

  He glanced to one side to find Jin-Sang struggling to stand. In the pounding gale, the weighty laser cannon had bowled him over. Teng reached over and pulled him to his feet.

  “Neat trick, lieutenant,” Teng muttered. “But a little more warning would have been nice.”

  “Sorry,” Jin-Sang gasped out, “but there didn’t seem to be time, and I wasn’t sure that gunny could pull it off. Sometimes these systems have safety protocols that won’t allow both doors to be open at the same time without an override order.”

  Peering past the open airlock door at where their ambushers had stood just moments ago, Teng observed, “Well, if it makes you feel any better, those who were ordered to hold down the fort don’t seem to be in the fort anymore.”

  Just then, Gunny Kasum came running up. “You two okay?”

  “We’re good,” Jin-Sang replied. “How many of first squad did we lose?”

  “None,” Kasum replied. “Sudrow probably has a busted arm, that laser cannon caught him square and Worczinski wrenched a knee but no casualties. I’ll put those two on guard duty in the dome and pull the two I have there now.”

  “And our attackers?” Teng asked.

  Through Kasum’s faceplate he saw a big smile. “Next time they’ll think about at least wearing p-suits. The decompression shot them through the hole in the dome.”

  Somehow he managed a shrug in his armor. “They’re sorta littered over the countryside outside.”

  Jin-Sang glanced over at Teng and said, “So much for your innocent civilian theory. That cannon could have torn us up if we hadn’t blown the tunnel.”

  “Point made,” Teng replied. “I guess there’s not much doubt about what’s going on here now. So, what’s our next step?”

  Jin-Sang surveyed the now empty entry corridor and said, “Gunny, bring the platoon forward. I’ll take the first two squads and go left; you take the rest to the right. And close both of these doors once we’re through.”

  A few minutes later, and hugging the wall with his laser rifle at the ready, Teng was following Jin-Sang and his marines down the lighted corridor. The few compartments they came to seemed to be all storage or supply rooms and Teng was beginning to think that what they sought wasn’t in this direction.

  They hadn’t gone far when Teng heard Kasum call out over the communicator, “Lieutenant, I think you and Mr. Rhee should backtrack and see this for yourselves.”

  “On our way,” Jin-Sang answered and at a trot led the group back down the syn-concrete and metal corridor. The tunnel made an elbow jig and a few minutes later, they came into an enormous, domed room.

  Teng muttered, “Could put at least two dozen of the chief’s rugby fields in here,” but an instant later, his eyes were fixed on w
hat stood in the middle of the cavernous bay.

  Kasum stood near the thing and waved for Teng and Jin-Sang to join him. At a quick trot, they crossed the room to stand next to the platoon sergeant.

  Waving an armored glove at the odd-looking craft, Kasum said, “Mr. Rhee, I thought flying saucers were supposed to be, well, you know, pure fiction.”

  Teng grunted in response. “Does resemble what people used to call flying saucers, doesn’t it?”

  “Are you sure it’s a ship?” Jin-Sang asked pointedly. “Might be something else entirely, you know.”

  “Could be,” Teng admitted. “But I think Gunny Kasum is right, this whole setup smacks to me of a hangar with a ship sitting in the middle of it.”

  “Yeah, but what kind of ship?” Kasum interjected. “With all those funny-looking gizmos sticking out, sure doesn’t resemble any ship I’ve ever seen.”

  “Does look lumpy doesn’t it?” Teng mused. “Well, let’s get to work and find out what we’ve got.”

  He waved a gloved hand at the supposed vessel and said, “Lieutenant, put a squad around this and spread your platoon out. Let’s find the O-two plant, repressurize, and see if there is anyone left alive. Might help us get some answers.”

  In rapid order, Jin-Sang fanned his platoon out with strict orders not to shoot unless fired upon and to search for the atmospheric control system. In the meantime, he and Teng began a careful scrutiny of the supposed ship.

  “You know,” the lieutenant began as they walked around the plas-steel framework that held the ship in a snug fit. “It occurs to me that this underground complex is quite an undertaking. What I don’t understand is the lack of security. One puny squad is not enough to cover this whole facility.”

  “Arrogance and supreme overconfidence, lieutenant,” Teng answered quietly. “The Faction assumed that because this was so far off the beaten track and one planet among thousands that no one would ever find it.”

  “But you did,” Jin-Sang answered. “Mind if I ask how or is it one of those ultra-secret, I’ll-have-to-kill-you-if-I-told-it you type of things.”

  “It is,” Teng answered. “Let’s just leave at that. We both owe a debt of gratitude to Gertrude.”

  “Gertrude, huh?” Jin-Sang replied. “Well, if we get out of this alive, give me the lady’s address, I’ll send her a big bouquet of flowers.”

  “I’ll do that,” Teng answered dryly.

  He swung around and surveyed the massive dome. “Still, you have a good argument; one squad-sized security element seems out of character, doesn’t it?’

  He spun around to Jin-Sang and ordered, “Contact the Intrepid, let them know what we’ve found. Also, let Captain Federov know not to drop his guard, we may still be in for some rude surprises, and that goes for your search teams, too.”

  “Will do,” Jin-Sang replied.

  Just then, Gunny Kasum came running up. “We found the oxygen generator. It’s on max output, but it’ll be several hours until we’re up to one atmosphere; this is a big place. I left Lopez and M’bara to guard the control room.”

  He hooked a thumb toward a side corridor and said, “In the meantime, you two might want to follow me, we found something else.”

  The two hustled after Kasum as he sped across the large chamber and into a bare tunnel. Around the corner, they found three marines standing at the ready outside a large, sealed hatch.

  At the doorway’s foot were two bodies. The fact that the corpses clutched at their throats or mouths told Teng that they had died of asphyxiation when the complex lost its atmosphere.

  Kasum gestured at the dead and then to the door. “Looks to me as if they were trying to make it into this room, and the door closed on them before they could get inside.

  “And what’s unique about this place is that unlike the others, this one has a security lock. We can’t get in unless we blow it open.”

  Teng and Jin-Sang inspected the closed hatch and security lock. “Could be a designated safe haven,” Jin-Sang offered.

  “The ventilation ducts automatically sealed the room off once the pressure dropped to a certain level. Might even have a portable oxy generator inside or at least a carbon dioxide scrubber.”

  “Which means they could hold out for a while,” Teng observed.

  “Yeah,” Jin-Sang replied. “Are you willing to wait them out?”

  “I’m not. Give me some options, lieutenant.”

  “Two,” Jin-Sang quickly offered. “We can plant a series of c-explosives and blow the hatch.”

  “Which might give the same effect as when you blew the airlock door,” Teng observed.

  “Except it would be on a mini-scale, but yes,” Jin-Sang replied. “Or we could take the nicro-torch and burn through the electronics. It would take a bit, but once we cut the circuitry, we should be able to use the manual release mechanism and open the door.”

  “We’ll do it that way,” Teng directed. He glanced down at the dead bodies and said, “If there’s breathable air on the other side, this compartment might just harbor those who were running the show, and I definitely want a crack at them.”

  Jin-Sang turned to Kasum and commanded, “On the double, get Jorsh and the torch up here.”

  Kasum sped away. Jin-Sang motioned to the remaining marines and ordered, “Find an open compartment and place these bodies inside.”

  A half hour later, Jorsh stepped back from the doorway and said, “That should do it sir, I’ve cut the circuits.”

  Jin-Sang turned questioning eyes to Teng, who replied, “Check the pressure first.”

  “Sergeant Lopez,” Jin-Sang said over the trans-com, “What’s the pressure reading now?”

  “Just coming up on forty percent of one atmosphere, lieutenant,” Lopez replied.

  “Good enough,” Teng muttered. “They’ll feel like they’re running a marathon with their mouths clamped shut and their noses stuffed with cotton, but that should make them all that more pliable.”

  Jin-Sang nodded and turned to the two squads of marines that stood virtually shoulder to shoulder in the cramped corridor. “Listen up,” he began, “remember the plan. Do not return fire unless I or gunny give the order. We’re trying to take prisoners here, not rack up kills.”

  The marine leader turned to Teng. “We’re ready, sir.”

  Teng nodded to Kasum, who yanked the release lever down. The metal door began to slide into the wall. It hadn’t gone halfway when a volley of scarlet fire erupted from inside the compartment.

  Several dark ovoids came flying out of the room to clang against the wall.

  “Grenades!” Jin-Sang yelled.

  Almost as one, Teng and the marines hit the deck. Two thundering explosions ripped through the corridor. Teng felt a fusillade of metal fragments peppering his suit as the concussion wave seemed to lift him off the floor and then slammed him back down.

  Dazed, he rolled over to see Jin-Sang pull out a fist-sized ball from his belt, touch several spots on the orb and then fling it into the room.

  Moments later, there was a muffled thump from inside compartment followed by Jin-Sang bellowing, “Stalkers! Follow me!”

  With their lieutenant in the lead, the marines charged into the room. Cherry-red laser fire flashed in streams of supra-hot beams, crisscrossing the compartment.

  Teng pulled out his own weapon and slid around the corner. Crouching low, he joined in the furious fighting.

  For long seconds, the two sides exchanged fire, with pencil-thin crimson rays blazing in violent intersecting patterns across the compartment.

  Teng pushed forward, firing as he went. He stumbled over something on the floor and glanced down. It was Jorsh; his faceplate smashed open by a direct hit. His sightless eyes stared upward from a mask of scalded flesh and bone.

  Teng pressed on, knowing there wasn’t anything he could do for the brave marine.

  Another marine staggered against Teng and then slid down against the bulkhead. Teng knelt over him, but the young man waved him
on indicating that his suit had sealed itself against the thumb-sized hole and for now, he was okay.

  Teng turned back to the battle only to find that the fight was over. He scanned the room and saw numerous bodies lying on the floor, each giving off tiny wisps of smoke where a laser beam had sliced through both clothing and flesh.

  In a far corner of the room, a group of unarmed civilians, huddled and cowering together, worked their mouths up and down trying to suck in enough air.

  Teng motioned to Jin-Sang to reseal the door. After marking off a few seconds, Teng walked over to confront the gasping group.

  He set his voice transmitter to external audio and said, “We knocked out all the circuitry to this room. That means no ventilation, no oxygen flowing in. The only way you’re going to get oxy is if I open that door. But if I don’t get answers to my questions, it stays shut, understood?”

  He glanced at the huddled civilians, sizing them up. “Who’s the leader here?”

  Silence greeted his question though all of the prisoners struggled for breath. Teng turned to Jin-Sang, who stood nearby and switched to internal communications. “Lieutenant, take your men outside, along with those bodies and seal the door after you.”

  “You’re not going to remain inside alone with them, are you, Mr. Rhee? What if they jump you?”

  “They won’t,” Teng answered confidently.

  “I don’t like it, sir. Best if I at least stayed with you.”

  “No, you can’t. For what I might have to do, I need for you and your men to be outside. You’re bound by the military convention of laws and regulations—I’m not.

  “If anything ‘official’ ever pops up on this, I want you and your men to have plausible deniability of any subsequent events. Understood?”

  Jin-Sang stared at him before giving him a curt nod. “Understood, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  Rapidly, Jin-Sang gave the necessary orders and in a few minutes, followed the last of his marines out the doorway. He turned and gave a little wave as he reached over and pulled the lever down.