by Frank Carey
"So did I. Royce mentioned something about Mars balking at the financial disclosures."
"Huh? Is he hiding something..." Neta looked at Losira. "I'll get my people on it immediately. Can you send me a copy of Royce's report?"
"He CC'd you."
"Excellent. The life of a security officer is never boring."
Chapter 14 - Desert Action
Lucien stood at the base of the Grumpy Elfling's forward ramp and watched as the EarthSec troops prepared for action. A mile beyond the dunes sat their target, the VáliCorp facility. What remained of Lucien's smuggler sense was running at DEFCON 1. He knew this staging area could be seen from space, while anyone with a pair of field glasses could be watching them from a nearby dune, yet the forward observers reported no activity around the facility. He reached over and thumbed the intercom. "Jewel, are you near the cockpit?"
"I'm sitting in the captain's seat watching Reese commanding his troops. This is better than your romance novels."
"I really don't need to know that."
"Wait a minute, they're moving out. Lucien, they're heading your way."
"Copy that." Lucien heard the squad walk around the back of the Elfling. "Colonel Reese, going out for a stroll?"
"In a manner of speaking. Sir, you shouldn't be here," he said as Jewel joined them.
"I asked him to do this," Jewel said as she walked over and straightened Reese's collar. "Ever been in this type of situation before, Colonel?"
"No, No one has..."
"He has. Think of Lucien as backup," she said before leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek.
"Colonel, I promise, Jewel and I will not interfere."
"Fine," the colonel said before turning to his troops. "Move out!"
Jewel and Lucien watched them walk away. "I've got a bad feeling about this," Jewel said.
"Me too." Lucien ran back into the ship, then returned moments later with a pair of large centipedes. "Orbital scans and two scout teams show the building to be quiet. No guards, no patrols, nothing. It's as silent as a tomb and that has my hackles up, so I think some close observing is in order. These should do the trick."
"Nerfretti?" she asked as he handed them to her.
He walked over to a terminal and typed commands. "No, these are probes I brought with us." The two centipedes moved their legs in a complex pattern before returning to rest. "You can put them down. Thank God Harmon made the interface user friendly."
She did as instructed. A moment later, the two arthropods headed out after the troops.
"Centipede one, full scan. Centipede two, standby," Lucien said into the terminal's microphone.
The screen filled with data from centipede one. He stared at it. "Sister, what do you see?"
"Static build-up ahead of the troops," Jewel observed. "That makes no sense unless... Computer, pop a probe bot and have it hover and observe at one hundred feet altitude!"
"Working..." A sphere about the size of a softball shot upwards from its bay in the top of the Elfling. It came to a stop one hundred feet above the Elfling.
"Centipede two, visual on Colonel Reese and his troops," Lucien ordered.
Lucien and Jewel could see the troops walk toward the building. "Computer, area twenty yards ahead of troops. Magnify and enhance!" The area in question appeared on the screen. Though the air was dead calm, they could see wisps of dust rising from the ground. "Shit, they're walking right into a force field!"
"Computer, emergency contact," Jewel yelled. "Reese, there's a force field twenty yards dead-ahead of your current position!" She watched as the troops scattered while attempting to find cover.
"Computer, fire probe sensors, full power pulse, three hundred sixty degrees!" Lucien yelled. "Jewel, get up front and get us into the air." On the screen, the force field and the ship generating it became visible as the pulse revealed their presence. The ship, a corvette, fired on the probe, destroying it instantly. It then turned its attention to the troops, opening fire with slug throwers and blasters. Harm hit the ramp switch, closing it as he ran forward.
"Engines are hot, but I can't find weapons control," jewel yelled as the ship hovered.
"There are none," Lucien explained. "Yachts don't have weapons and neither do freighters. Computer, shield configuration 'rescue.'"
"Rescue?"
"Top shield augmented, starboard, port, aft and forward shields weakened to allow people to pass through them."
"You think of everything."
"I thought of nothing. This was Harm's doing. He implemented a lot of this after the Segue Six incident. Unfortunately, the arms stashes were removed during the refit." He stopped and looked at her. "This is going to get hot. You can stay..."
"To Hell with that," she said as she lifted the ship and headed to the dunes. "Operations, this is Ventos Two," she said over the radio. "The mission is scrammed, I repeat, the mission is scrammed. Facility is protected by a cloaked corvette and a force field. Troops are taking heavy fire."
"Copy, Ventos Two. Team leader has called for dustoff. ETA five minutes. You are ordered to stand by. Over"
"Plark that,” they both said as the ship lifted over the dunes and flew straight into a firefight. "Suggestions?"
"Land with our ass to the facility. We can evac through the forward ramp, thus putting the ship between the guns and the people. Be ready to leave if things go more sideways than they already are."
The ship shuddered as it took weapons fire from the corvette.
"I assume you are going to do something ill-advised?" she asked as she fought the controls.
"No, just real stupid," he yelled as he dove through the hatch leading to the forward hold. Once inside, he lowered the forward ramp and ran outside, grabbing a comm on the way. Immediately, the corvette aimed a weapon at him and let loose with a barrage of slugs. "Dammit, we need cover!"
"Cover? On it! Jewel yelled as she reconfigured the engines. Immediately, the air behind the ship filled with sand and static discharges as the main engines tilted downward to gouge trenches in the sand, throwing up clouds of charged material which interacted with the corvettes shield, causing parts of it to disappear.
"Inside!" Lucien yelled. "Get inside! The meter is running!"
Troopers grabbed their wounded and headed up the ramp into the waiting freighter. Checking for stragglers, Lucien saw a wounded trooper dragging an unconscious Col. Reese. Lucien ran down the ramp, grabbed Reese under a shoulder, and helped drag him into the ship.
"Aymar!"
Lucien turned and saw a figure standing outside the Elfling’s force field. It was wearing heavy-duty battle armor and had a rather large weapon aimed at the Prince. "Get him inside," Lucien said as he released Reese.
"Sir?" the wounded trooper asked.
"You heard me, get him inside. This has nothing to do with Earth."
The trooper nodded and dragged the colonel out of sight.
Lucien turned his gaze back to the soldier outside. "Harmon Aymar is dead. I am Prince Lucien of House Irithyl. Have we met before?"
"My name is unimportant. What is important is the price on your head, which I plan to collect."
"Lucien," Jewel asked over the comm, "who the hell are you talking to?"
"Oh, come on. You're about to splatter my atoms all over the forward bay, at least give me a name."
The soldier’s helmet retracted to reveal an elf woman whom Lucien immediately recognized. "Hello, Meena. Where the plark is my wife?"
"Marta is inside, safe for now..."
"Keep her talking," Jewel whispered.
"And I know we're being monitored. Any more attempts like this and she dies, just as you are about to..."
Two centipede bots rose on either side of the soldier, each with a red targeting laser illuminating Meena. "Now, you listen to me, Meena, or whatever your name is. You will stand perfectly still until we leave. You move or you move that weapon a micron, and those pedes will fire on you with multifrequency lasers powerful enough
to carve adamantine alloy. Meena, have a nice day." He turned and ran up the ramp, closing it behind him as the ship lifted off.
Meena stood there, fuming as the ship flew out of sight. Moments later, the centipedes arched backwards and disappeared into the sand. "Harmon Aymar, I am going to kill you!" she screamed into the falling sand.
Jewel dropped the Elfling dead center in the middle of dozens of waiting medics. Once down, she opened all four hatches and extended their ramps, allowing access to the injured troops. Once the ship was secure, she ran back and joined Lucien in helping the fallen troopers.
"Irithyl!" Chief Downing yelled as she stormed past the wounded. "What the hell was that? I told you to wait!"
Lucien helped a trooper up on a gurney before turning to face the angry Chief, his own anger overflowing. Before he could unload on her, Colonel Reese stepped between them.
"Ma'am, he and Jewel saved our lives. We would have all been dead if we had to wait another minute for extraction. My men report five more armored soldiers exited the building as the Prince engaged the first one."
"What engage? What the hell is he talking about?"
"It was Meena in a full-blown armored power suit," Jewel said, her own anger unleashing. "She was going to carry out a hit on Lucien. Thank God we had those pedes out on recon."
"Pedes?" the chief asked.
"Robotic centipedes used for rescue operations. I had a couple of them on board, so I sent them out to keep an eye on Colonel Reese and his troops. The pedes are equipped with visible light lasers and video."
"Reese, are you sure the Prince helped you?"
"Ma'am, we would have been sitting ducks. They had a corvette hovering over the building, protecting it with shields. Ma'am, we never had a chance."
"How did you know?"
"I was a smuggler for many years. Your gut learns when a situation is too good to be true. Now, if you don't have any more questions, these people need assistance."
She waved him and Jewel off. As they walked away, she asked Reese. "What the hell went wrong?"
"Ma'am. They caught us with our pants down, and those two pulled them up for us."
"Reese, this one is on me. Get checked out. I want a debrief in one hour and I want those two there.”
"Yes, ma'am," the Colonel replied before heading off to the infirmary to be checked out.
"How did we miss a corvette?" Chief Downing asked from the head of the table.
"That class ship is small, even for a corvette," Lucien explained. "They have highly efficient cloaking fields and over-sized weapons. That's why they're popular with many members of the smuggler crowd."
"We should have seen it," the colonel said.
Lucien shook his head. "Nope. They went to great lengths not to be seen. Jewel and I threw a wrench into the works. They weren't expecting an ex-smuggler to be on scene. They won't make that mistake again."
An aide ran into the room and whispered something to the chief. "Get a trace on it. I want to talk to her."
"Yes, ma'am."
"What's happening?"
"We have Marta on the line. She wants to talk to you."
Jewel and Aerith put their hands on Lucien's arms while Torren just leaned forward. Soon, a tech came in with a transceiver unit which he place on the table and activated. He pointed to the chief before stepping out.
"General McMurphy, this is Earth Security Chief Debra Downing. What is your status?"
"Debra, I'm unharmed. I seem to have been drugged, but I'm down now. Can Crusher has been compromised. I repeat, Can Crusher has been compromised. Where the hell am I?"
"A deep-drill site in the middle of the Simpson Desert. You're on Earth, in Australia."
"Dammit. Debs, you have to call a broken arrow. I don't know who the hell these yahoos are, but I'm getting a really bad feeling. So far, I've met an elf named Alex and an elf called Hera."
"Copy the broken arrow and the IDs. Marta, Lucien, Torren, Aerith, and Jewel are with me."
"You crazy elf, get my kids out of here. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Marta, I love you," Lucien said. "We're coming to save you and stop the assassins."
"Marta, Jewel. What the fool said."
"Mom, it’s me Aerith..."
"And Torren..."
"We're coming for you."
"Harm, that note..."
"I know. I promise you. I am going to rain fire down on those people. I will turn the desert to glass for what they did to you and the family."
"I love you, you silly elf. I've got to go. Assume further communications are compromised. McMurphy out."
Chapter 15 - Back at Mira's
Mira leaned back in her seat, her eyes closed, as she recovered from her food rapture. They slowly opened as her tail did the Dance of the Seven Veils behind her. "That was incredible. Chef, excuse me, Captain Letain, is a genius."
"Thank you, milady," the captain said as he brought in the dessert course. On his tray were small little delights that defied description. Mira marveled that the Chef was wearing a tactical harness under his chef whites.
"You must come work for me when your term in the EMEF is over."
Letain smiled. "Yes, milady."
Royce's comm beeped. He looked at it, then stood up. "Duty calls," he said as he headed out to the shuttle, placing his napkin on the table with a flick of his tail.
"What it must be like to have a third hand," Nayla marveled.
"Oddly, half the time we forget we have the things," Royce noted as he slipped out the door.
Royce sat down and activated the shuttle's comm system. "Go for Aymar."
A document emerged from a slot and dropped into the in basket as a familiar voice answered, "Royce, its Losira. How are things going there?"
"Perimeter is being watched by the shuttle and five of Gloria's creations. We just finished dinner, and I think the good lady is going to steal Letain."
"Did he make those little pieces of heaven for dessert?"
"Yep. And to think, he can field strip a blaster emplacement with those hands. So, what's up?"
She told him about finding Marta and the system. We still don't know what they're going to do with it, but Marta is very worried."
"I think we have a pretty good idea what they have in mind. I doubt they chose a deep-bore site because of the view. It is my considered opinion that these assassins are planning to blow this planet up."
There was silence from the other end.
"Losi?"
"Get your team out of there, Royce."
"I can't do that and you know it. My duty lies here. I'm protecting a Ventosian citizen, and my team is backing up Lucien and Team One. Do you remember when the terrorists tried assassinating you at the Cube? That's what Marines are trained to do."
"You're right. I just don't know what the hell I would do if you and Lucien were killed."
"Have faith, my love. Your brother is resourceful and so are his sister and kids."
He could hear her sniffling. "I love you, you old elf."
"And I love you with both my hearts and all my soul. Anything else?"
"No, nothing else. I'll pass your observations on to Earth Command. Take care, General. Ventos Prime out."
"Royce out." The general sat back and stared at the wall as he collected his thoughts while slowing his breathing. It wasn't good for the troops to see their leader worried. He grabbed the report and headed back into the house.
Royce found Nayla checking the inner perimeter. "Report, Major."
"Suits are set. Shuttle is set. Our people are patrolling while keeping to the shadows. Mira has retired to her bedroom where she's being watched by, as she put it, the cutest tree rat she's ever seen. I've also deployed a clowder of six cats. Sir, I assume you think the assassin is going to try again."
He handed her the report. "Affirmative. What bothers me is the timing. We have a group of people planning to destroy a planet and an assassin trying to kill an aristocrat on the same planet. We're
missing something. Where's Samuel?"
"In the room next to Mira's. We insisted."
"Good. Activate a scanner-block field around those rooms and a couple other random bedrooms. Have another clowder patrol the grounds, and make sure they're in stealth mode."
"Sir, do you think the assassin will try to hit the lady again?"
"I've got a feeling, Nayla, and if there's one thing I’ve learned, it's always to trust my feelings."
"Yes, sir. Sir, why aren't we trying to evacuate at least some of the people?"
"On a hunch? We could kill millions in the panic. No, we stay the course and protect Mira. We have to hope that Lucien and his team pull-off his usual miracle."
"Miracle?"
"Miracle. I once watched him pick up a power-suited Marta, throw her across a room, then take two bullets into his chest. I had dinner with him that night."
"That's impossible, sir."
"I was there, Major. I was the one who caught Marta. Remember, Lucien Irithyl is a very driven elf."
"I guess, sir."
"Major, if memory serves, you were trained in the use of a skinsuit, weren't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, we may need it."
It was a dark, moonless night. Perfect for a job, the assassin thought as he scanned the building with a pair of scanner-equipped binoculars. Looking through the eyepieces, he could see biosigns overlaid over a 3-D diagram of the building. "Hmmm, guards on the roof and perimeter assisted by power suits. Ah, there we are milady," he whispered as the optics identified the Lady Pereara's life signs. She was in the sitting room. "Probably watching vids," the assassin muttered while putting the glasses away. He stood up and headed to the back of the residence.
The back part of the building was dark. He looked up and saw a dead flood light. The darkness didn't bother the assassin. Being an elf, he could see in the dark. He made his way to a window. Being careful not to trip the perimeter alarm, the assassin jimmied the window open and made his way inside. He stopped and listened as a guard stopped outside the room. A moment later, the door opened followed by the guard panning the beam from a hand torch around the room. The assassin wasn't concerned about being caught. His stealth camouflage suit hid him from anything short of a precision scan. Satisfied, the guard reported in. "False alarm, the area is clear. He closed the door and continued with his patrol, but not before tapping his earpiece three times.
