The Deftly Paradox

by Matthew D. White

“This is your final warning,” the voice repeated itself. “Stand down or deadly force will be applied.”

  Lorde took a deep breath, feeling his heart rate quickly rise in response to the impending action. In his mind, he saw his target perched high in the bunker and drawing down on them, removing the slack from the rifle’s trigger. They were out of time.

  “Move!” he shouted and dove forward, bringing up his main rifle and letting loose a burst of rounds that traced up the wall of the fighting position and exploded around his primary target. Lorde caught a flash from the sniper’s weapon and an incoming shot snapped above his head. He focused in and drove more fire down on the emplaced defender until he heard their first fire team open up. Shafer and Maddie were twenty yards ahead, engaged with the shadowy forms concealed within the nearest position. Lorde dropped his rifle and sprinted forward, switching magazines as he passed the pair of operators.

  Shafer and Maddie saw their accomplices rush by and waited for Sullivan and Erikson to make their stand before breaking lock and following them in like fashion. Each advance was slow and methodical but undeniably effective as they covered the distance without suffering any casualties.

  At their second stop, barely two hundred yards out, they again lined up for a protective volley. A small caliber round snapped by and caught Erikson to the midsection. The force knocked him from his feet, spinning him backward onto the ground but didn’t puncture the armor. He coughed and sputtered through the pain, of a single mind to keep moving, and struggled back to his feet. Just ahead, Sullivan picked up his place and engaged the likely attacker with a sustained rain of fire of his own.

  Lorde saw the distance close and, taking the chance, he broke from the group and sprinted forward from their formation, diving through the lowest firing position, firing blindly through the enclosed space. The reverberating noise was deafening within the small space, and smoke billowed low in the air from the weapon discharges, refracting the yellow flares from the weapon’s muzzle. He was on his back and spun about, checking for any remaining movement to each side. Two bodies were crumpled on the floor beside him, staring out through blank and ashen expressions and he pushed the image away.

  “First floor is clear! Moving up. Watch your fire!” he called back, going for the corner of the outside wall, which he assumed was hiding the access passage to the upper levels. Lorde bounded up the spiraling service stairs but dove back for the floor, catching the remaining guard as the man adjusted to engage his intruders below. The soldier fell, leaving the room as a peaceful vignette among the continual fire echoing from outside.

  “Second clear. Heading to third,” he said, sprinting up again and taking the last corner of the stairwell as he had the first, tagging two more guards before they could swing their weapons to respond.

  Lorde watched the last defender stagger backward and crumple to the ground, the shots fading into the distance as the immediate danger passed. Part of him felt relieved as he pulled himself back up and clamored back down the stairs, remembering their mission. On the first floor, Shafer and Maddie were already at the controls, attempting to lock down the tunnel. The security feed showed a sizeable company of soldiers rushing down on them from across the surface hangar.

  “Come on, come on!” Shafer growled, hammering on the controls. “Marcus! Wake up! Lock us in! We need the vault closed now! Twenty seconds till the whole damn battalion comes down on us!”

  “I’m doing all I can!” the lead maintainer voice snapped back through the radio. “I told you I can’t touch that thing from here and not in a couple gaddamn seconds!” he continued cursing, hitting every command he could think of. “Nothing’s fucking responding!” he yelled again.

  “We’ve got maybe ten seconds,” Maddie said. “We’re gonna need to hold them off the checkpoint.” She continued to watch the feed, only to hear a distant rumble as the doors shuddered from some unseen force. Billowing gas escaped from the actuators and the reinforced panels began to slide.

  “They’re moving!” Shafer exclaimed. “Whatever you did, keep at it!” he added, watching the soldiers run faster in the far field, only to see them disappear behind the vault doors.

  He heard Marcus’s incessant voice in his ear. “Dammit all, what the hell did you just do? I didn’t do anything. You just shut it yourselves.”

  Shafer and Maddie looked from the locked-out console to each other. “Just agree with him; tell him what he wants to hear,” Maddie told him.

  “That’s right. Got the system to respond. Standby,” Shafer replied and switched off the channel. “Did OSIRIS just do that itself?”

  “If it did, it just saved our asses,” Maddie shot back. “That would have been the end of us.” She looked off to the facing guard shack. “We still have to deal with the other side. They’ll shred us if we try to move.”

  Lorde nodded from the back of the room. “Maybe. I’ll grab the rifle off the top floor; rest of you rearm with whatever you can find in the locker. Give them a few minutes to advance, but if they don’t, I’d say we leave them.”

  Erikson shrugged before coughing up blood. “Fine by me. I’m not looking forward to getting shot again.”

  “The radio works, right?” Shafer asked. “Why don’t we negotiate? Ask them to stand down?”

  Lorde chuckled low on the open channel. “These are the most fanatical soldiers among the Fleet, but you’re welcome to try. Beats another firefight.” He picked up the long-range rifle from its operator’s dead hands. “Erikson, I don’t know how you survived that one. I think this thing could drop a gaddamn ship by itself.”

  “Not fanatical, just dedicated,” Maddie corrected him and reached for the radio. “Here, let me give it a try.”

  Her eyes focused in on the console, drilling though the cabling to see the person who waited on the facing end of the wire. She keyed the microphone. “This is Machine Operations Center team lead Maddie Cooper.”

  The line went dead before emanating a blast of static. “Identification confirmed.”

  “Allow me and my companions passage to the core.”

  “Negative, not without the substantiated command of the OSIRIS. Deadly force is authorized for any who attempt to gain unauthorized access to the core.”

  “Impressive,” Shafer muttered.

  “Understood,” Maddie said, ignoring the quip. “You have already lost one fire team defending this station and there is no reason to lose another.”

  Lorde rolled his eyes and turned back to Erikson. “Can you find some smoke? I want to blanket the road between the two stations.”

  “Sure,” Erikson replied and pulled a handful of changes off the corpses, activated each one and pitched them through the windows of their fighting position. At a steep angle, they landed on the road and quickly obscured the facing bunker.

  “Ma’am, surrender is not an authorized mission parameter. Our orders are to resist by all means necessary until no longer able.”

  “Yes, I know your orders well; I see them cross my screen every day, but today that changes. OSIRIS is failing and we are here to repair it,” Maddie continued to argue with the team lead in the facing building, steadily losing patience for their robotic subject but not willing to give the defeat to her team.

  “Not without the substantiated command of—”

  The line went dead at the sound of a sharp crack from a rifle. Maddie jumped and froze as it was followed by a rising stream of shots on the far end of the channel. As quickly as it started, the line went silent until a line of static feedback filled the air.

  “Maddie, it’s Lorde,” a voice broke in. “Fire team leader has been incapacitated. Remaining members assess attack by overwhelming force and shall immediately stand down to prevent damage to the core. I’ll be back over in a second.”

  Maddie looked around the fighting position. She hadn’t even noticed Lorde sneaking off to clear the bunker by himself.

  “I’m impressed,” Erikson noted. “Sounds like they’ve got someone with som
e sense over there after all.”

  “They were already down fifty percent,” Sullivan said. “That doesn’t put them in a good place, especially after their perimeter is breached.”

  Shafer nodded. “Good point, but we should probably pay them a visit to make sure they won’t shoot us in the back as we continue on. Of course, there are still more stations between us and the core.”

  Lorde walked back in from the smoke, carrying with him an armload of rifle magazines. “Reload if you need to,” he announced, dropping the stack. “There were three survivors, but they won’t be causing us any more trouble.”

  “You’re sure of that?” Erikson asked.

  “They didn’t tag me in the back on the way out the door, did they?” Lorde shot back as he refilled the empty ammunition belt across his armored chest. “We need to focus our attention on the next two stations.”

  The maintainers followed his lead and reassembled themselves for the next movement. “What are you expecting?” asked Shafer. “More than this?”

  “Probably, but I doubt they’d seal an army down here. With that many guys all with eyes on the OSIRIS, there’s no way it’d still be a secret to your building. At least, not for long.”

  Shafer nodded toward his fellow maintainer. “He’s got a point,” he admitted. “As far as the force on the surface is concerned, all they’re guarding is a Fleet bunker.

  ***

  “Target’s building. Fifteen seconds,” the destroyer pilot advised as they closed in on the circling fleet. “If that thing gets the wrong idea on us, we’re done.”

  Leo shook her head, in quiet denial over her fate. There was nothing else she could do to come between the fleet and the planet. She scanned between the consoles, praying for something to activate her brain. She spied the communication terminal.

  “Can we jam the targeting system?” she asked, glancing over the unused rack of self-protection equipment to the right.

  “Against our own systems?” the pilot thought. “Yes, it should work. Find the highest-energy signal and dial a competing one to hit it.”

  The instructions were vague at best, but Leo saw the scope had already located the likely spike which was being broadcasted by the battleship ahead of them. “Got it.”

  “Hit it but hold on tight; they still think we’re one of them.”

  “That’s because we are,” Leo muttered and cranked up the dial. A bright envelope grew over the signal on her screen and drove a mild hum over the radio’s audio feed. “How’s that?”

  “Perfect! They just lost lock and are back to searching. If they open fire, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “I don’t mind taking the heat on this,” Leo replied, continuing to watch the display.

  “Fleet to Destroyer two-five-one, disable self-protection system. You’re interfering with the planetary bombardment.”

  Part of Leo wanted to tell the monsters on the other end to fornicate themselves, to try her luck if they opened fire. She considered her words, but held cold on the radio.

  “Fleet Destroyer, disable self-protection or be fired upon.”

  Leo face curled into a sneer. The order was presented between a threat and an ultimatum. There was no use in delaying farther. “I’ve got a better idea,” she said, flipping the channel open. “Destroyer two-five-one to Fleet, understood. Ship has encountered significant damage during the crash landing. Self-protection system not responding, carrying multiple injured crewmembers. Request immediate assistance.”

  The operator on the far side paused. “Understood. Divert path to support bay as noted on your navigation system.”

  “They just gave us a course to one of the battleships,” the pilot reported. “Orders?”

  “Cut your speed and keep us covering them for as long as we can. When we get close, see if you can get a firing solution on the main guns. We’ll disable them and see about getting on the ground.” Leo looked back to the small team of soldiers behind her. If her home was still in danger and Lieutenant Mercer was still off and fighting, she had no excuse to not give at least as much for the cause.

  24

  Mercer heard the clamoring of a pursuing force on the far side of the door before they made their presence formally known. “Sir,” he said, looking toward Commander Warner against the clattering of footsteps that echoed through the wall, “we’re about out of time. Whatever you’re up to, better make it worth it.”

  “Aye, agreed,” he replied, switching channels as he called for the gunners. “Attention, flight deck may be compromised. I’m going to pivot us about and give you a clear shot against the deployment off the nose and the starboard battery. All stations prepare to fire.” The commander held his breath and cut the controls hard to the side.

  The battleship pulled up and soared clear of the gathered formation, drawing a line down on one of their sister ships a farther distance out. “Fire when ready,” Warner managed as a block of explosives vaporized their hatch and sent their crew flying about the command deck.

  Mercer lost contact with the ground and landed in the shadows beneath a console. He saw the cloud of fire erupt above and wheeled about to defend the room. He could barely discern the chaos erupting throughout the burning fog across the bridge from that which still reverberated within his shattered head. Drawing his sidearm, he fired blindly into the space, catching one of the responding soldiers with a shot to center of mass as he filled the hatch. The second target traced his position and responded with a burst of automatic fire, tearing into his armor and drilling deep into his chest.

  He lost feeling in his hands as he tried to keep his hold on the weapon. It slipped away, out of reach, leaving him dangerously exposed as the invaders moved in. He went for a knife, anything left, but only felt a boot pin his arm to the ground. An armored hand exploded out of the fog and clamped down on his throat before ripping him from the deck and slamming his limp body against the wall. He swung at the soldier’s head with the last bit of strength he could muster, which deflected with no damage, and again he met the wall face-first.

  His vision turned to stars as the soldier threw him hard into the deck and pinned him in place. It mattered to him not. Through the floor, Mercer felt the rumble of the guns as they roared to life, buying a few more precious minutes for the planet below. He smiled through the bloody mess of his face. If this was to be the only purpose of his life, he would call it well spent.

  ***

  “You want us to get past that?” Erikson asked, putting eyes on the second battlement for the first time. The team cleared a small series of roadblocks at the halfway point between the stations and were approaching what Lorde felt confident was the maximum range of their weapons.

  Similar in design to the first fighting position, the second pair looked to be far more durable, rising above the roadway like the keep of a medieval castle. Instead of the multitude of notches and fighting position, automated turrets were positioned on individual ramparts along every floor. The barrels seemed to track their every step forward.

  “Precisely,” Lorde replied. “There’s no other way.”

  “Are you insane,” he demanded. “There’s no outrunning the guns. Those things will tear us apart.”

  “Don’t be melodramatic. They’re anti-armor, not anti-infantry. If we move fast and change directions on our approach, they won’t be able to lock on us.”

  “You sure about that?” Erikson asked again. “This looks like suicide.”

  “No. No, it is not.”

  “Riley,” Maddie began, staring at the barren firing range between them and the gate. “He’s right. I don’t think we can do this.” The first warning siren blared from the battlement. Maddie stopped cold. “We need another plan.”

  Lorde’s shoulders rose defensively. “And what for the rest of you?” he asked, glancing between the MOC team and the pair of maintainers. Without a word, they hung their heads. The liaison groaned in exasperation, “So that’s it? We get a mile from undoing this galaxy-wi
de frustercluck, and you decide it’s too hard and you want to quit.”

  “It’s not quitting,” Erikson said. “We need another option before we get shot apart.”

  “Well, what do you suggest?” Lorde demanded, staring down at the operator.

  “What if we surrender?”

  The group turned in unison to look at Maddie.

  “Come again?” Shafer asked.

  “We drop our weapons and surrender,” she reiterated. “They’ll have to send a force out to subdue us. They won’t expect it, and we can overpower them when they take us into the tower.”

  “What’s your assurance they still won’t open fire?” Lorde asked.

  Maddie frowned. “None, but…”

  “They shouldn’t,” the one maintainer replied. “Orders down here are always to prefer apprehensions over conflicts.”

  Lorde shook his head. “I don’t like it, but I’ll trust your assessment.” He pulled the rifles from his shoulders and set them on the ground. “Get a few yards spacing between each of us, make sure they can see us safety, and drop all arms. Hold grenades and smoke unless they demand we drop them.”

  The team complied, setting down their empty weapons before forming up in a wide row. Lorde nodded in approval. “Hands up, I guess, and forward, march,” he added stepping off toward the fighting position, flanked by the team to each side.

  Together they advanced on the keep, not stopping at the second or third warnings. Shafer stared out at the cannons as the deadly instruments continued to track their movement forward, drenched in a cold sweat.

  “Final warning,” the voice instructed. “Cease advance immediately.”

  “Keep going,” Lorde commanded again. They had under a hundred yards to go before hitting the gate.

  One of the smaller cannons fired off a single anti-tank round, which snapped above their heads with a deafening retort. They jumped at the noise and froze in place.

  Lorde sneered at the wall ahead. “This is as far as we’ll get. Let them respond.”

  They waited several minutes on the security team as they evidently exhausted their protocols and were unable to reach the surface for support. Maddie’s arms burned from keeping the pose but soon felt a low rumble build beneath the roadway. Between the battlements, the tall armored gate shuddered and began to descend into the ground.