Heart Of The Machine (Soulmates Book 2)

by Don DeBon

  "Why don't I believe you?" Lavine swiveled in his high back chair. "By now they must have repaired their systems. You have failed me."

  "Sir, I doubt they could have repaired them this quickly. At least not without a full active facility, and we have all of those covered."

  "I have my doubts. Remember our discussion earlier?"

  Halburn nodded. "Yes sir, I do."

  "Good, then this won't be much of a shock. Lieutenant Naud, you are to take command of the Valiant. Return to this building immediately. Is that understood."

  Naud stood up. "Yes sir, it is. We will leave in a moment."

  "Good. I am glad someone can follow orders." Lavine's face shrank to a dot before disappearing.

  Naud turned around. "I am sorry sir. I don't want this. And you should know, we are behind you, not that pompous fool."

  "I know." Halburn sighed as he stood up and turned towards Rechert. "Well you heard your new commander, set the course and engage the overdrive."

  "Yes sir, but—"

  Halburn sighed again. "We have no other option. And he wants to see me personally, this won't be pleasant. I will be in my cabin." He shuddered. "Of course it is now yours Naud, I will get my stuff out of it and you can move in at your earliest convince."

  Naud smiled. "Not necessary sir, I never liked that cabin anyway." He winked.

  "Of course." Halburn said as his shoulders sank and he made his way off of the bridge.

  Chapter 14

  The Defiant exited from overdrive hovering low above an empty grassy area scarred with large craters. The Phoenix arrived a second later just above and behind them.

  Aleshia looked out the bridge window on the Phoenix. "What are we doing here?"

  "This area was once a great city before the war. It was one of the last casualties and no one wanted to rebuild." Deven walked over to the window and pointed to several of the large craters. "No one was left alive that lived here before. Mechands cleared the wreckage and recycled it. But nothing has been here for a long time."

  "I will say again, why are we here?"

  Deven smiled and pointed. "The UN complex is in that direction and not far away. We are out of their normal detection range, but we might get spotted if we stay here too long."

  Aleshia raised her eyebrows and glared. "And what are we doing here?"

  Deven laughed. "Dropping you off."

  "What?"

  "I want you and Otis in a vehicle, hugging the ground as we emerge from overdrive over the complex. Hopefully, they will be so busy with us, you won't be noticed."

  "If it was my Mechands, you would be noticed," Minerva said.

  Deven nodded. "I know, and I am counting on it. Lavine will not be using an army of Mechands to keep watch, or much of your equipment outside of weapons. We should have the advantage."

  "I hope so." Aleshia sighed heading towards the hatch that led off of the bridge.

  "Boss, you can't be serious. The only non-Mechand vehicle in the Phoenix's landing bay is that old truck you came on. I can't use that. Let me get mine from Fenton. "

  "We don't have time, and you know it. Besides, your truck would stand out with all of its modifications. The one I brought over is very old and will blend in better than one with a mini cannon mounted on its back or a door painted with symbols of dead Mechands."

  "You have a point." Otis chuckled, grabbed his bag, started towards the hatch then stopped and turned around. "One question, why send Aleshia? I think it will be easier for me to get into the lab by myself."

  "That maybe true, but you may need her help to locate the crystal. And if things go bad, she can get you out in one piece."

  "But why not let her get it? From what I saw at the manufacturing plant, she could tunnel her way down there without any sort of hacking needed."

  "She might be able to get down there. But out again is another matter, she might be too tired at that point. Also, I don't want Lavine knowing what we are up to if at all possible. If she blasts her way in, he will. Or at least suspect."

  Otis nodded. "Gotcha. Minerva, prep the landing bay. We will leave as soon as I get down there."

  "The vehicle in question is ready, as is the landing bay." Otis turned back towards the hatch and climbed down the ladder. A few minutes later the truck was seen speeding away hugging the ground as it went.

  Deven pulled out his data tab and tapped the link. Galina's face appeared. "I see Otis is away. Shall I jump to the target?"

  "No wait fifteen minutes. We have to time this right. Is the Defiant ready?"

  She shrugged. "As ready as she'll ever be. Everything is buttoned up and secure. Gregory thinks the engines are at peak output, I hope he is right."

  The screen split as Gregory's face took up the other side. "Hey will you give me a little credit? You know I am not that bad."

  Galina smiled. "Yeah I know, or at least I think I do." Gregory grumbled something as his image disappeared. "He is so easy. Much better than Leon."

  Leon perked up from the other side of the Phoenix's bridge checking the ship's systems. "Hey! What did she say?"

  Galina grinned. "Ooo two for two. I'm on a roll today." Her image winked out.

  "Deven? What did Galina say?"

  "The Defiant is ready."

  "I could have told her that. I never would have left if she wasn't." Leon went back checking the systems. While Minerva should detect any problems, he wanted to be sure.

  "Minerva, are your Mechands and their fighters ready?"

  Minerva nodded. "Yes. And they have all been instructed to disable, not destroy."

  "Good. I do not want any human casualties if we can avoid it."

  The Defiant's engines began to glow brighter and the Phoenix followed suit. "Overdrive activation in ten seconds. Prepare yourselves."

  Deven looked around the sparse bridge and Leon holding onto his chair. "I think we are ready. Launch the fighters as soon as we arrive."

  "Understood. Overdrive in three … two … one." The Defiant disappeared as it leapt into over drive and the Phoenix did the same a second later.

  Some distance from the UN a lone truck hovered along an old disused road. "You would think Lavine would have had this fixed," Otis grumbled.

  "I doubt anyone has come this way in a long time. Why bother when the skyways are much more efficient?" Aleshia said.

  "Well it would have made it easier for us," Otis said as he tried to avoid another dip in the road. He wanted to raise the truck up, but it would increase their radar profile. And he knew most, if not all, of the scanners would be watching the skies, not the ground. Or at least, he hoped. The truck shook again as it ran over inconsistencies in the road throwing off the hover system. His teeth grated. "I can't believe Deven stuck us with this old piece of junk."

  "Well you did tell him you could sneak in there with ease."

  "But I didn't plan on using something made before I was born! My truck would have glided over this road without so much as a hiccup."

  Aleshia pointed to buildings some distance away. "I think I see the UN complex."

  Otis nodded. "You do. I can't tell if anything else is in the area or not. I don't dare activate the sensors, we might be noticed."

  Aleshia smiled. "No need. I will take a peek." She closed her eyes but a second later they snapped open. We've got to warn Deven!"

  "We can't, not now. If I try to contact them, we'll be spotted for sure. What did you see?"

  "They're waiting for us."

  The Valiant arrived on schedule and parked over the UN complex. Rechert tapped several keys on his console. "We are in continual hover over the UN. What now?" He glanced over to Naud who sat at his old station, refusing to sit in the commanders chair.

  "We wait. I am sure Lavine will contact us in a moment." He tapped a key on his console. "Sir? We have arrived at the World Council headquarters."

  "You don't need to call me sir Mr. Naud, you are in command." Halburn's voice came through the intercom.

  "Sir,
with all due respect I still do not want the position. And everyone aboard feels the same."

  In his cabin Halburn smiled. "Thanks for that. Has Lavine called yet?"

  "No sir."

  "Well, if you don't mind, I would like one last look at the bridge before I have to leave."

  "Of course." Naud heard the intercom click off. "I don't know how Lavine thinks I am going to run this ship without him. I don't have the experience."

  Rechert sighed. "No one aboard does. I don't want to lose him either. I think Lavine is nuts."

  "Best you kept those comments to yourself." A voice came from behind them.

  They both spun around in their chairs. "Sir! We didn't—"

  Halburn smiled. "Don't worry, I happen to agree with you." He gazed around the bridge. It wasn't a lot to look at, Mechand carriers never were, but it was his command. Emphasis on was. He turned to leave when an alert screamed through the speakers.

  Naud's fingers flashed over his console. "Sir! We have something inbound and its big."

  He turned back and saw a flicker out of the corner of his eye. By the time he rotated the rest of the way, the Defiant come out of overdrive almost on top of them and a Mechand carrier a micro second later. "Holy! Full shields! Evasive action! Fire on them now!"

  Naud blinked. "Which one?"

  "The Mechand carrier! Jumping out of overdrive like that their shields might not be at full strength for a few seconds At this range we might have a chance. FIRE!"

  The Phoenix emerged from overdrive and began turning hard to starboard. "I regret to inform you, we have company."

  "I see them Minerva. Full shields."

  "We are several seconds before full shields can be utilized. I am attempting to evade."

  Multiple cannons aboard the Valiant let loose with full power. The beams slammed into the Phoenix sending them careening and Deven pulled himself back into his chair. "Blast it! They must have been waiting for us. Release the fighters."

  "I am sorry, I cannot. The bay doors have been damaged."

  "Cannons?"

  "Two are operational."

  "Use them! But not full power, remember disable not destroy."

  Minerva nodded. "Understood."

  "Leon, get down to the bay, see if you can get it open. Without those fighters we're in trouble."

  "I'm already on it," Leon said from halfway down the hatch.

  Deven whipped out his data tab and Galina's face appeared. "We took a direct hit to the landing bay and can't launch the fighters. What's your status?"

  Several shots from the Valiant missed both ships by a hair. "We're fine. They hit us once but the shields were more than enough. I can get between and block the shots."

  "No, we need to keep him busy. We can still maneuver."

  "I can launch a few vehicles."

  "And take the chance the Valiant will zero in on them because of their weaker shields, or they might suspect a ground offensive? No, stick with the plan. Keep them guessing. We need to give Otis and Aleshia the time they need."

  The truck shook as it encountered another hole in the road. Aleshia gazed up into a sky lit up repeatedly by energy blasts. "I still think we should have warned them."

  "Wouldn't have done any good. They were on top of Halburn by the time we could message. And it would have given away our position." Otis gripped the wheel tighter as he saw another shot impact the Defiant.

  "I know, I know, but I wish there was something we could do."

  "We're doing it now." The truck hovered up to a large fence. A camera on a post gazed down at them. "Smile you're on camera." He jerked a thumb towards the glass eye above.

  "How do we get through?"

  "Easy. We wait." A second later the gate ground open just large enough for the truck to slip through. Otis guided it inside and the gate closed behind them. "Our little spy is doing his job well."

  Otis gunned the engine and a few seconds later they reached the tall glass and concrete central building. They jumped out and ran for the glass doors in front. When they reached them a Mechand, half a man in height with two arms and wheels instead of feet with an attached trash collector cart behind it rolled up to them from behind the glass. It didn't have a head but the eyes mounted in its chest glinted from the light above. It slipped a metal hand covered in a scratch protective plastic along the door panel. The door glowed red, but as soon as the Mechand touched it, the interior lighting turned green and Otis heard several dead bolts slide open.

  He pulled the door open and they ran in. The door closed and locked behind them. "Thank you bot," Otis said looking at the Mechand. The Mechand gave a slight beep in acknowledgment and pointed to the large trash cart behind it. "What do you want?"

  Aleshia looked the short Mechand up and down. "I think it wants us to hop in." The Mechand gave a little beep.

  "I don't know why but okay," Otis said as they hopped into the empty cart. The Mechand's rubber tires squealed on the marble floor leaving a trail of rubber across the UN symbol as he bolted for the back of the building. The building was deceptively larger than Otis first thought, and it would have taken them several minutes to get to the elevator. But the Mechand arrived in a few seconds. They hopped out and the Mechand placed its hand on the controls beside the door. It lit up green and the doors slid open. "Thanks again bot." They stepped inside and the Mechand removed his hand causing the doors to close.

  The elevator began to descend.

  Otis whipped out his cracking card and jammed it into the slot under the keypad as Aleshia watched. "We're almost to the subbasement level, you'd better hurry."

  "Don't you think I know that?" Otis snapped. "Sorry. Will be in a second." He tapped several keys on the controls strapped to his arm. The screen above them glowed as numbers and letters scrolled fast across it. "Dang it! Lavine installed two extra routines."

  Aleshia sighed. "How long?" The Elevator screen display showed B3 as the car slowed. "Otis? If these doors open, we might be spotted."

  Otis didn't say a word, but gave a slight nod. The car lurched and they felt a rumble right below their feet and they shot down gaining speed. The indicator on the wall acted broken as the letters and numbers dissolved. Otis looked up from the small screen on his arm. "About that long."

  Aleshia blinked. "You got it?"

  His face gave a lopsided grin. "Was there ever any doubt?"

  "We are going a long way down. Where is this lab? The center of the planet?"

  Otis shrugged. "I don't know. I assumed they put it deep to prevent any scanners from detecting it."

  The elevator car came to a sudden stop that almost knocked them off their feet as the doors opened.

  Halburn's teeth grated as he felt another shot graze the Valiant's shields. "We managed to get several shots through that Mechand carrier's shields, keep pouring it on!"

  Naud's fingers flew over his controls. "I am trying sir, but their shields are now up to full strength, and between the two targets running interference for each other, it is proving difficult."

  "I don't care how difficult it is! We can't let this opportunity slide through our fingers." Halburn tiled his head as another shot impacted their shields. "Damage?"

  "Nothing of any consequence sir."

  Halburn stood up and walked over to Naud. He paused looking down at the console and gripped Naud's chair. "What is he up to? He has us out gunned at the center of the world's government, is not taking advantage of it, and not one fighter has been launched."

  Naud pointed to his screen. "See this here? I think we did enough damage to the Mechand carrier's hanger bay that they can't."

  "Perhaps, but it does not explain why they haven't launched any from the Defiant."

  "True sir. One thing is for certain, they aren't even hitting us with half the power their cannons are capable of." A console beeped. "Sir? Lavine is trying to contact us."

  Halburn's frowned. "Now? Let him hang. We're too busy."

  A second later Lavine's face appeared on t
he large screen in front of them. "Commander Naud, what in the world is going— Halburn? What are you doing on the bridge?"

  Naud launched a new pattern, guiding their cannons, trying to probe for a weakness in the Mechand carrier's shields while Rechert tried to keep them from being hit themselves. "Sir? I am sorry but we are a bit busy. Can you call back in a bit."