by M. R. Forbes
"Dad, are you feeling okay?" Gabriel asked. He cared more about that than the report.
"I'm fine. Just a little nauseous from the meds is all. They were giving me anti-emetics back on Alpha. I don't have any here." He shrugged. "Tell me, what's it like on Earth? It's been so long since I've seen it, and back then most of it was on fire."
"It isn't on fire anymore, at least. There are still things growing there. I saw trees up close for the first time in my life." Gabriel couldn't help but smile at that. Even while trying to escape the Dread, a portion of his brain had been able to marvel. "I might have seen a person, too, but I'm not sure."
"They're down there. With any luck, they saw you. Even if the transmission didn't make it, having you pass so close to the surface has to send a message of its own."
"If they were there, I'm sure I was hard to ignore."
A tone sounded from the door. Diallo was standing next to it, and she stood in front of the hatch and opened it.
"Uh, is General St. Martin here?" Reza said.
"Lucy, I know you want to help me, and I appreciate it from the bottom of my ancient ticker, but I don't need a keeper," Theodore said.
"I'm sorry sir," Diallo replied, stepping aside. "It's the training."
Reza, Guy, and Sarah entered the room with Colonels Choi and Graham.
"Sir," the soldier said, saluting.
"Relax," Theodore said. "We're all friends and family in here."
"We have the results of the logging, Theodore," Guy said.
"Well, don't keep us all squirming. Spill it."
"The transmission was a success," Reza said, his voice giddy. "It was sent, anyway. Obviously, we have no way to know if General Rodriguez, or anyone for that matter, heard it."
"It worked," Theodore said. "Y'all are geniuses. All of y'all. If I had any cigars, I'd give you one."
"Cigar?" Reza asked.
"They're made from a plant that grew on Earth. Tobacco. You cultivate it, dry it out, roll it up, and smoke it."
"Oh. Why?"
"What do you mean, why?" Theodore asked.
"I'm sorry, sir. I mean, what is the purpose of it?"
Theodore stared at him for a moment before laughing. "Heh. You know, I never really thought about it. I ain't sure I know anymore. The point is, the mission was a success. A real team effort, too. Y'all make me proud. Now, we need to start planning ahead."
"We'll assume that they received the message," Choi said. "That means that you'll be making another run in twelve days, Gabriel."
"Standard operation this time," Theodore asked. "Easy-peasy for you." He looked over at the scientists. "You three have some tougher work ahead of you."
"What do you need?" Reza asked.
"We have to assume the ground forces will do their damnedest to get us one of the enemy weapons. Once they do, we'll need to get on the ground to retrieve it."
"I barely made it skimming the surface," Gabriel said. "Dad, there's no way we're landing without getting killed."
"Now Gabriel, don't make me embarrass you in front of the others. No soldier of mine is going to use words like 'no way' without getting under this old gator's skin. Nobody's saying it'll be easy, but we have to believe it can be done."
Gabriel felt his face flush, even though Theodore had gone easy on him that time. "You're right. I'm sorry."
"Reza," Theodore said. "You've been doing a lot of work on slipstream algorithms. What is your opinion on the possibility of exiting a slipstream inside of Earth's atmosphere? And remember what I just said to Gabriel."
Reza looked uncomfortable under Theodore's gaze. "Uh. Hmm. It's a good question, sir. I gather you want Gabriel to be able to leave the slipstream already past the Dread defenses?"
"That's right. I want to take them by surprise. That way we get in and out before they can organize a defense."
"Well. You know. I mean." He paused.
Gabriel could tell he wanted to inform the General that it couldn't be done. That it was impossible. After all, it wasn't a new idea.
"I've done a lot of reading on this subject. There are three main problems with the concept. The largest is that while slipstream velocities are somewhat predictable, they aren't consistent. Right now we can estimate time to arrival with a certain margin of error, but to phase out in atmosphere doesn't have any margin. The disembarkation would have to be millisecond precise, as would the velocity calculations. One tick in the wrong direction, and you could come out in the center of the Earth, or shoot past it by a million kilometers."
"But the shorter the distance, the less error there is," Guy said.
"Right," Reza agreed. "Which is a second problem. There is a minimum distance to phase. Otherwise, you would never be able to turn the system on and off fast enough to arrive at your destination instead of shooting past it. Not to mention, you need to get up to slipstream join velocity in the first place."
"Even at a minimum distance there is still some error," Sarah said. "One thousandth of a millisecond could be the difference between life and death."
"Another problem is exit velocity," Guy said. "You'll be coming out of the slipstream at over twenty thousand KPH. A fighter will be torn to pieces by the sudden air resistance and pressure. Even if it could survive the exit, it would be a challenge to slow enough to keep from crashing into the surface."
"Reza, you told me back on Alpha that you were working on improved slipstream algorithms to better calculate velocities," Gabriel said. "Can you eliminate the margin of error?"
Reza started to shake his head before thinking better of it. "There is still some error. It's much, much less, but it isn't zero."
The assembly fell silent. Gabriel turned his attention to his father, who was sitting stiff and stoic, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Well," he said at last. "It looks like y'all have your work cut out for you. I want to know what the margin of error is. I want calculations on the effects of air pressure and resistance at speed, and I want proposals on how to mitigate both as much as possible. We don't have the luxury of 'can't' right now. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," Reza said. Guy and Sarah nodded.
"You have twelve days. I know you won't let me down. Dismissed."
Gabriel stood with the others. He started to salute Theodore before remembering what he had said. "I'll see you on the bridge, Dad," he said instead.
Theodore nodded. "Take a day off, son. You've earned it."
Gabriel wasn't going to lay around and relax when he knew Reza and the Larones would be working nonstop. "I'll see you on the bridge," he repeated.
His father smiled. "Have it your way."
SEVENTY
General Rodriguez, Diaz, and the rest of Donovan's t-vault team were already assembled by the time Donovan and Ehri joined them, with Ehri now wearing her original Dread clothing.
"Time is not on our side, Major," Rodriguez said.
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."
"It was my fault, General," Ehri said. "I-"
"It doesn't matter," the General replied. "All of you, follow me."
The group trailed behind Rodriguez as he moved away from the silo. Donovan hung back to walk next to Matteo, who looked lost and alone amidst the armed soldiers.
"Are you okay, amigo?" he asked.
"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" Matteo said. "No sweat."
"I've got your back. Don't worry."
"I don't know if I can update the system to transmit. Hell, I don't even know what the system is."
"You'll figure it out. You've read every technical manual we have."
"That isn't saying much."
"I have faith in you," Donovan said, clapping Matteo on the shoulder.
"General, where are we going?" Diaz asked. "The exit is that way."
Rodriguez turned his head back. "There is an exit that way, yes. It's a little too open."
"Too open for what, sir?" Wade asked.
"You'll see, Corporal." He smiled. "I've been saving
this surprise for a special occasion. I hoped I would never need to share it with anyone."
They reached the General's office. He circled his desk and stood next to the wall.
"I always figured there had to be another way out," he said. "Even though it wasn't in the schematics we found. I mean, you never know if you might need to evacuate, and exiting near a nuclear warhead seemed a bit stupid. I found this by accident a couple of weeks after we arrived here."
He ran his hand along the wall, feeling for something. When he found it, he pushed.
The solid cement wall suddenly gained a seam, and then it clicked and swung inward.
"Oh, man," Sanchez said. "A secret passage? Too cool."
"If there's another way out, why haven't the Dread found it?" Wade asked.
"And why didn't you tell the others about it?" Donovan asked. "They can use it if the Dread find their way in."
"Your mother knows about it, Major. She'll lead the others here and try to keep them hidden if things get bad. If the Dread are already coming into the base, it's likely they'll be killed if they attempt to leave whichever way they go. That's why we're trying to draw them away."
He brought them into the passage. It was dimly lit by emergency strips along the cement walkway, guiding them a hundred meters forward until dipping down.
"Where does it come out?" Donovan asked.
"You'll see."
Rodriguez started jogging, and the others picked up the pace with him. They followed the corridor nearly half a kilometer. Finally, they reached a heavy lead hatch that was hanging open. An earthy, damp smell permeated the tunnel, making Donovan nauseous.
Rodriguez slipped through the hatch, which led to a ladder.
"The ladder goes down into the sewers," Rodriguez said. "What you're smelling is fifty-year-old shit, garbage, and corpses. I think the stench is too much for the Dread, and that's why they never came this way."
"The bek'hai consider delving beneath the ground to be a sign of weakness," Ehri said. "They think it is degrading, even for a lor'hai. That is why they never search the sewers." She paused. "With the Domo'dahm's new orders, I don't know how much longer that will hold true."
"You learn something new every day," Rodriguez said. "But I guess when your enemy can't hurt you, you don't need to go soil yourself to hunt them down. In this case, it works out in our favor."
Rodriguez descended. The others followed. When he reached the bottom he pulled a wrist light from his pocket and slapped it on.
"The Dread have the right idea," Diaz said, holding her nose with her free hand.
Donovan looked around, feeling even more sick at the sight of the bloated, rotted, bodies that mingled with the rest of the debris in an inch deep layer of brown muck.
"We should have gone out the other way," he said.
"Come on."
Rodriguez led them another kilometer through the sewer to another ladder.
"I'll go up first and make sure it's clear. Wait here."
He climbed the ladder, reaching the top and then using his back to lift the heavy cover enough to see out. Once he was convinced it was safe, he slowly moved the cover off to the side and finished his ascent.
They joined him a minute later, standing in the back of a dark, enclosed space.
General Rodriguez made his way to the wall and pressed a switch. A single light faded on above them, revealing his secret.
"Is that a car?" Matteo asked.
They were in an old garage somewhere within the city. A bench of tools sat along the north wall. A hatch leading out was to the south. The west wall was intact, while the east had collapsed, destroying the rest of the building but managing to keep the single bay hidden.
Rodriguez smiled. "An old car. I think it was parked in here when the Dread came. Maybe they were working on restoring it? You can imagine my surprise when I happened across it."
"It has wheels," Diaz said.
"And an electric motor," Rodriguez said. "Fortunately, it was still holding a charge."
"What year do you think it's from?" Sanchez asked. "Twenty-two hundred?"
"Earlier than that. This thing was probably already a hundred years old when the Dread showed up. I've been coming here every week since I discovered the secret passage, trying to fix her up. It took me three years, but I got her running again."
The group circled the car. It had large, rugged tires and a boxy shape, and was covered in a layer of thick armor-plating.
"I can't believe you were coming here to work on this, sir," Donovan said. "Nobody else knows?"
"Major Sharma knows," Rodriguez said. "He made excuses for me now and then so I could come here. I had a feeling we would need it one day."
"How does it work?" Montero asked.
"I know how it works," Ehri said. "I have studied human transportation extensively."
"Ehri is driving," Donovan said.
"Major, I said I know how it works. I have never driven before."
"None of us have, except for the General."
"It's been a long time," Rodriguez said. "I always hoped I would be able to take her for a spin." He smiled sadly. "It's electric, so it won't give off too much heat for the first five minutes or so. After that, if there are any scouts around, they will spot you. Try to get as far as you can up the mountain before you have to abandon it." He reached into his pocket, withdrawing a small, gray block and a remote. "Explosives. After you ditch the car, blow it up. The heat will help hide you, and if you're really lucky they'll think you crashed and burned, or that they killed you themselves."
Donovan was reluctant to take the explosives. The General had spent so much time to restore the car, only to have to destroy it. It didn't seem fair.
"It's okay, Donnie," Rodriguez said. "It's a tool. A means to an end. Nothing more."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, get in. I'll get the door for you. Don't look back, don't slow down. Three blocks straight out, turn left, head up two klicks. You'll see the old highway there. Head over to it and follow it until you reach the tree line. Head into the trees and go as far as you can as fast as you can. Their mechanized armor will have trouble through the brush. The canopy should help absorb some of the plasma if they send fighters after you."
General Rodriguez took a step toward the hatch. There was no power to open it, so it would have to be pushed up manually.
"General, wait," Donovan said, approaching him.
"What is it, Major?"
"I hope I'll get to see you again, sir. If I don't, it's been an honor."
"The honor is mine, son. That goes for all of you. The bravest of the brave. You know what you have to do."
"Yes, sir," they replied, sharp and low, saluting at the same time.
Donovan retreated to the car, opening the passenger side door. Ehri climbed in behind the wheel to his left. She stared at the controls for a moment while the others piled into the back.
"You're sure you know how to work this thing?" Donovan asked.
She reached up and pressed the ignition. It didn't make any sound, but the dashboard lit up. She put her foot on the small, thin pedal on the right at the floorboard and depressed it slightly. The car inched forward. She moved her foot to the larger pedal and it stopped.
"Yes," she said.
General Rodriguez gave them the thumbs up, and then bent down and grabbed the small handle at the bottom of the hatch. He pulled hard, lifting it up and over his head, getting it just high enough for the car to fit below. He stood there, holding it while Ehri accelerated out into the fading light.
The General had said not to look back, but Donovan did anyway. He saw Rodriguez vanish behind the door.
"We're on our way," Matteo said, his voice shaking.
"Don't worry, bro," Diaz said. "We'll be there in no time."
A figure moved out into the street ahead of them.
A Dread clone, its plasma rifle already raised and ready to fire.
SEVENTY-ONE
The car
bucked forward as Ehri slammed on the brakes.
"What are you doing?" Donovan started to say, a sudden feeling of betrayal worming its way into his head.
The Dread soldier's shot was short, judged on where they would have been if she hadn't slowed. She immediately accelerated again, swerving to the left as the soldier adjusted his aim. The next shot grazed the side of the vehicle, leaving a scorch mark on the armor.
Corporal Wade aimed his rifle out the window, returning fire. The clone ducked back and away as they sped past.
"We made it, what, twenty meters?" Matteo asked.
"Relax, bro," Diaz said. "Ehri clearly knows how to handle this thing."
They crossed the three blocks in less than a minute, with Ehri making a hard left turn that threatened to tip the car. More Dread clones were appearing in the streets, answering the call of the first and trying to keep up with them.
"How the hell is the General going to get through this mess?" Montero said. "They're already crawling all over the city."
"We're still a klick out from home base," Donovan said. "It could be less crowded back that way."
The car was whipping past the ruined streets, with Ehri deftly steering it around the rubble. The large tires allowed them to clear large pieces of debris, bouncing the team around inside.
"Drive faster, drive faster," Sanchez said.
Donovan turned his head back to see her staring out the rear. He cursed under his breath as the mechanized armor turned the corner and took aim.
"Ehri, we've got a mech on our tail," he said.
Fire spewed from its arms, and the ground behind them began to explode, creating a cloud of fragmented pavement behind them while the machine adjusted its aim.
Ehri reached a street corner and turned left, escaping the strafing fire as it tore up their expected position.
"We're going the wrong way," Matteo said.
"Would you rather be dead?" Diaz asked.
Ehri turned right at the end of the block and immediately brought the car to a stop.
The road was blocked by a twenty-foot high pile of rubble.
