by Jan Domagala
5
I
Cordoba
The elevator stopped on the floor Matt had wanted, the doors opened allowing him access to the corridor beyond. He stepped out and looked around, his ice blue eyes searching for his target.
The corridor was busy with people walking to and fro, completely unaware of his purpose there. He searched for any sign of where Tanya might be and quickly realised that there would be none. If anyone who worked in the building needed to know where anything or anyone was they would simply connect to the computer via their NI and access the data they required. So as not to appear as though he did not belong there he too accessed the computer and downloaded all the relevant data pertaining to the whereabouts of Tanya and any security staff he may come up against straight to his NI.
Once he knew where to go he set off with a purpose, walking quickly to ward off anyone stopping him to ask questions he did not want to answer.
He knew that the alarm had gone out the second he overpowered the guards in the lobby and that other security staff would be in hot pursuit. The second he stepped off the elevator the security staff on that floor would have been alerted and would be on their way to intercept him.
Being six feet six with a broad, muscular chest it was hard for him to blend in as well as he would have liked. He tried to compress his spine, shrug down into himself in an attempt to appear shorter as he walked towards the end of the corridor. From behind him he heard the running footsteps of the security staff coming late to the party. Obviously they had only just been alerted to his presence on their floor; a bit slack really as they should have been on standby the moment the alarm was raised.
He wondered why. There was only one reason he could think of and it troubled him.
He quickened his pace and reached the end of the corridor where it met a cross-corridor leading both left and right. He knew where he should go, where the computer stated the person he wanted to see should be, but he decided not to go the direct route, the way they would expect him to take.
In front of him was a window leading to the fire escape. He walked as fast as he could towards it without drawing undue attention to himself.
Windows in tower blocks were usually sealed so they could not be easily opened in case anyone had an accident. However, this window led to a fire escape so it was essential that it could be opened if the situation required a rapid exit for those personnel inside. It was usually something simple like a quick release switch or something of that nature. The release mechanism would be alarmed so that if opened when not an emergency it would alert security, so he knew he had to be careful. He wanted to do this off the grid so he hacked the security protocol on the window lock via his NI and disconnected it.
Once the window was opened the fire escape protocol was engaged and the tunnel that personnel could ride safely down to the ground was activated. Matt left the window and walked into the nearest office then, using his NI, re-activated the security on the window.
Alarms went off all over the building and the security staff already searching for him immediately ran to the window. They assumed their quarry had exited through the window and left the building to return to the ground giving up on his mission. They secured the window and assured everyone they passed that the problem was over and they could return to work, everything was safe once more.
Once the calm had returned to the floor Matt left the empty office and walked as calmly as he could to the nearest elevator. When the doors opened he entered the cubicle and accessed the floor he wanted.
The elevator ride lasted only a few seconds and as the doors opened Matt readied himself for lay ahead. With his jaw set grimly in determination he stepped out of the elevator.
II
Titan
When they arrived at the C and C it was not what they expected. The room was basically a small chamber where the main systems computer console was housed. There was room for perhaps one or two people to work in but nothing else.
“This place must be fully automated,” Cooper said when they all saw the size of the Command and Control centre which in any other facility or ship would be one of the largest rooms there, and the most important.
“Let’s go see if we can find out what they need all this space for then,” Jake said as he led them away from the tiny room.
“What do the schematics say?” asked Torres.
“Not a great deal just the outlay of the place, not what any of the levels are used for,” replied Jake.
“You’d think that because we haven’t come across anyone I’d start to feel better about this place, but I don’t. I’ve got a really weird vibe off this whole damn place,” Vance said.
“I thought it was just me,” Torres agreed.
“Pussy’s the pair of you,” joked Cooper.
Jake said, “Let’s find out once and for all what this place is for.”
They reached the elevator once more and went down another level. When the doors opened they walked out onto a gangway that overlooked a huge chamber the size of a football field. Inside this chamber were rows and rows of containers. Each container was about eight feet long and four feet wide with tubes leading from each one connected to a panel up near the roof. They were stacked vertically in rows with a walkway between each row. There must have been hundreds of them, too many to count with the naked eye. Each container had a transparent panel near the top so whatever was inside could be seen. It was what was inside them that chilled their blood.
“Clones,” Jake said when he saw what they were.
“This must be a storage facility of some kind,” Cooper said his voice trailing off as the enormity of what they were seeing sank in.
“There must be hundreds of them,” Torres said, then a thought struck her. “Do you think there are chambers like this one on all the levels in here?” she asked.
“Probably,” Jake replied his voice cold and hard.
“How’s that vibe of yours now Joe?” Cooper asked.
“Worse, much worse,” he said.
“We need to destroy this place. If there are rooms like this all over this place then OMEGA has an army down here they can call upon anytime they want,” Torres said.
“I’ve seen enough, come on let’s blow this place,” Jake said.
They all turned around and went back to the top floor via the elevator. Before they left the building Jake accessed the main computer once more and entered an instruction to sever the life support to every container holding an inert clone inside. They would die mercifully in their medically induced coma-like states. When that was done they all went through the air lock and onto the lunar surface where they boarded their ship, or rather the forward section of it, the Pulsar.
“Artie, target that facility with your forward missile tubes and open fire. I want it totally destroyed please,” Jake said once they were aboard. Artie, their Artificial Intelligence that controlled the ship replied, “Certainly sir, missiles away.”
The Hellfire missiles streaked towards their target as the forward section of the starship lifted off the lunar surface. The ensuing explosions blew the facility’s upper structure apart, sending debris high into the air. When it was over they saw that what remained had caved in and blocked the lower levels from ever being reached, or at the very least for the time being.
“That should hold them until we can send a proper demolition team out here,” Cooper said as he shrugged out of his gear.
Torres looked across at Vance to ask, “How you feeling now Joe?”
“Better,” he said and for the first time since they arrived at Titan he smiled.
“Artie, take us home please,” Jake said.
6
I
Col Sec HQ, Nellis Base
Kurt and Zara were in their quarters discussing the mission reports from the Tartaran expedition. Zara had downloaded them to her NI from the main computer so she knew as much as those who had been there.
Their quarters were fairly Spartan in de
coration because the place was purely a military base. There was a cupboard to store clothes and other essentials, a table with a computer terminal for manual inputting of data should the need arise and a bed. One chair completed the furniture ensemble.
“I would love to see some of those creatures,” she said once her brain had assimilated all the data from the download.
“You already have,” Kurt told her. Then she realised that she had already fought and killed two of the octo-felines when OMEGA attacked the Col Sec base at Area 15.
“What about the flying creatures, were they as aggressive as the large cats I fought?” she asked.
“Every life form we encountered on the planet seemed to want us dead. I don’t know if it was a territorial thing and they were protecting their own space, or if it ran deeper and it was an inbuilt response against anything that didn’t belong there. They didn’t attack each other so I’m tending to lean in the favour of the latter,” Kurt tried to explain. It was difficult because he had no knowledge of the creatures’ history or what motivated them, just that they seemed to hate any humans.
“I wonder what other life is on that planet and how did it evolve into such an aggressive form?” she pondered.
“I doubt we’ll have the chance to find out, especially if Sinclair wants us to go in and get the job done fast,” Kurt said.
“What exactly do you think he wants us to do?” Zara asked as she lay back on the bed stretching out her lithe form like a cat sunning itself.
Kurt went over to lie down next to her and said, “I’m not sure, I have a few ideas though.”
“Such as?” she probed as she sidled up close to him wanting to feel the warmth of his body next to hers.
“When we were down on the surface we saw a city, it appeared to have been built by the indigenous life, the original indigenous life. He may want us to go and destroy it, to prevent the Alliance from gaining a foothold there. I can’t see them ever doing that but you never can tell and I don’t suppose he wants to take the chance.”
“Wait, are you saying there was intelligent life on there at some point?”
“It seems that way, yes. I don’t know the full extent of the story behind it all but it’s safe to assume that those creatures sure didn’t build it.”
“I bet Sinclair knows more than he’s telling us,” Zara said.
“I’d be very surprised if he didn’t,” Kurt agreed.
“An Admiral Garvey was on the original expedition wasn’t he, only he wouldn’t be an Admiral then, probably a Captain or something?” Zara asked.
“I don’t know, I never downloaded the data from the computer, I thought being there would give me everything I need,” Kurt said.
Zara gave a snort of derision before telling him, “You really should download it then you’ll have a clearer picture. Garvey is the only officer left alive who was on the original expedition to Tartaran. Isn’t Garvey the surname of the woman who was with you when you went down there?”
“Yes, what are you getting at?”
“I wonder if they’re related, if they are Jake might know a little more about it than we do.”
“How so?”
“Jake was in a relationship with Natasha Garvey, she could be Admiral Garvey’s daughter and if she is then Jake might know a little more than Sinclair is telling us.”
“What makes you think that Jake would know anything just because Natasha might be the Admiral’s daughter? Why would he divulge top secret information to them?” Kurt asked returning her snort of derision.
“Lovers talk and daughters talk to their fathers so its just possible she knows something and she tells Jake,” she explained her tenuous link.
“That’s pretty thin even you must admit that?” he said as he rolled over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling.
“I agree but I don’t hear you coming up with any better theories or any theories for that matter,” she said as she playfully punched him in the ribs.
“Well, Jake and the team will be here soon, we can ask him when he gets here,” he said.
“What shall we do in the meantime?” she asked.
He looked at her and asked, “What do you have in mind?”
She smiled and reached an arm over his hard chest and he knew by the look in her eyes he was going to enjoy whatever it was.
II
Cordoba
Matt walked up the empty corridor towards the door at the far end. He stopped momentarily to check his surroundings. The entire floor was the last one that had not been damaged by the blast. It had been cleared for the use of the executive personnel only. At the moment it seemed to be in use by only one member of staff and that was okay by him because it was the one member of staff he had come to see - Tanya Wilde.
“I was wondering when you would come to see me,” she said as he stood in the doorway to her office. She was standing at the far end of the room behind the desk, facing the large picture window that gave a wonderful view of the city beyond.
“How could I refuse such a charming and warm invitation?” he replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.
She turned from the window to look at him and the second he laid eyes on her he knew she wasn’t the Tanya he remembered. She was the same physical size and shape as the original, she had the same shoulder length blonde hair, the same colour eyes, but she was not the same. Not the Tanya he had grown to love without realising until she was torn from his life right before his eyes. No, this was some absurd abomination of her, a clone, a cheap imitation, nothing more. Not just those things though, this was a soulless creation of a madman, someone desperately trying to play God.
“Ah, you’re upset, never mind, this will all be over pretty soon,” she said and without taking her eyes off of him signalled for security, probably via her NI linking to an encoded comm. link.
Three large men in dark suits suddenly appeared from somewhere on their floor, entering the room behind Matt.
“Don’t worry Matt, they’ll take good care of you,” she said matter-of-factly.
Matt glanced over his shoulder at them and in that moment had assessed his chances against them. These were just ordinary security guards and not Rover5s, the warrior class of Wilde’s clones. There was no trace of fear in his ice blue eyes when he looked at her.
“I don’t think so,” he said then spun into the nearest guard smashing the point of his right elbow into his unprotected face. Teeth, blood and bone splashed across the downed guard’s face but Matt was not done yet. He was in no mood to take any prisoners so he continued his spin with a back kick that struck the guard with the smashed nose squarely in the chest sending him flying back out of the door. He spun once more, in the opposite direction this time, and struck another guard in the face with a spinning back fist that almost took his head off. The guard was sent spinning into the air to crash against the doorframe. That just left the last one and Matt assaulted him with a flurry of punches to the chest, which travelled up to batter his face. He fell over backwards, his senses having deserted him half way through the onslaught.
Matt turned to face Tanya, not even breathing heavily and said, “You just can’t get the staff nowadays.”
“That is so true and I have been trying to improve the situation the best I can,” Tanya said with a smug smile. She gestured to a door on her right, which opened to reveal a large man standing there. He too had the distinctive opaline green eyes of the Rover’s and by his size and musculature he was obviously a warrior class clone, a Rover5. “Have you met my new aide? His name is Apollo,” she added watching Matt for his reaction.
“Apollo, really? Come on, that has to be delusions of grandeur to name your aides after Greek Gods, and what does that make you?” Matt said folding his thick arms against his muscular chest.
“Oh his name came from my father, so I suppose you’re right to a certain extent,” Tanya said glancing away thoughtfully. “Apollo is different from other Rover5s though, he was bred with leader characteristics. He
was one of the four team leaders who were in the attack on your headquarters not so long ago, granted they failed, but I put their failure down to the poor organisational skills of my father,” she said bringing her attention back to the man before her.
“But he is only one man, sorry, clone. I already flattened three of his brothers in Michael’s office earlier today. What exactly are you expecting this one to do?” Matt said, not even bothering to look at the warrior class clone before him. It was an act of total disdain for the clone from Matt and it was done deliberately to force a reaction. Not the expected one though.
Apollo entered the room and looked at Tanya. “Is this him?” he asked hitching a thumb in Matt’s direction. “I can’t see what all the fuss is about personally,” Apollo added with a smirk.
“Why don’t you come over here and find out big boy?” Matt goaded.
Apollo turned to look at him slowly and deliberately. His calm demeanour was meant to intimidate, but when Matt smiled at him and winked his eye; the clone was taken aback slightly.
“I wouldn’t want to disappoint,” Apollo said and walked towards the slightly taller man.
The clone attacked first with a series of punches followed by a front kick aimed at Matt’s stomach.
Matt blocked each punch with relative ease then sidestepped the kick by spinning around and striking Apollo with a back fist across the clone’s face. The blow rocked the clone and he backed off shaking his head. He wiped blood off his check with the back of his right hand and glared at Matt who simply stared back. For a large, well-muscled man Matt was incredibly fast and had the grace of a trained dancer.
Apollo came at him then, his head down in a charge, hoping to tackle him to the floor. They collided but Matt bent forward and took the charge across his midriff, his right leg straightened out behind him digging into the carpet to prevent the clone taking him to the ground.
Apollo grabbed Matt around the waist and heaved him into the air once he knew he wasn’t going to force him over. Once Matt’s feet left the ground Apollo twisted him in mid-air and slammed him into the floor at his feet using all his prodigious body weight and strength to follow him down.
