by Jan Domagala
“What was that for?” he asked a little breathlessly when she slowly broke contact.
“For doing as I asked,” she said.
“I’ll never understand women for as long as I live,” he said shaking his head.
“You’re not supposed to, that’s the mystery and beauty of it,” she told him with a smile.
II
Omega HQ, RH426
Guardian, Cowboy, Hacker and Hellcat had been dropped off by the Hyperion onto the landing pad outside the underground base. They had tracked Matt’s signal from his NI so they knew the route he had taken inside the building and planned on doing the same.
The base was on high alert and guards had been placed on all exits, not that there were many. As they had landed they exited the ship and made for cover behind an outcropping of rocks close to the entrance. They had been dropped off so fast and they were far enough away that the guards had not seen them.
From their concealed position Guardian gave the order to take out the guards.
Hellcat lay down on her stomach on top of the outcropping with her Remm M25 stretched out before her, the stock pulled tightly into her right shoulder as she sighted through the computer-enhanced scope. The range was over five hundred feet but in the rarefied atmosphere of the planet there was no wind to account for. She placed the cross hairs of the scope on the centre of the head of the first of the three guards, right between his eyes. Taking a deep breath she held it for a second to slow her pulse and then exhaled. Her finger tightened on the trigger and a pulsed plasma bolt tore the back of the guard’s head off. His two companions lay beside him with similar wounds a second or two later.
“Good shooting Hellcat,” Guardian said slapping her proudly on her shoulder as she rose to her feet.
“Come on, let’s get in there before they realise those three are down,” he added to the rest of the team. They sprinted across the ground between their position and the entrance to the base, conscious that every step could be their last.
They reached the entrance and went through into the massive docking bay area. As soon as they saw the size of the chamber they had entered they stopped in their tracks.
“Holy shit!” Cowboy said, giving voice to all their thoughts. If this was just the docking bay area, how big was the rest of the place?
“Come on, let’s go find Matt,” Guardian said, and they ran towards the interior of the base.
III
The Cronus
Captain Arvin Dankovic was strapped into his command chair barking orders to his bridge crew. The helm had finally brought the monstrous starship under control and she was on an even keel returning to a stable orbit.
“Damage report,” he said through the ship wide comm. link. Soon reports were pouring in telling of the damage that had been caused by the attack and sabotage and how long it would take to repair.
“I want those damage repair teams working at full speed. I want those two intruders found and I want that ship that attacked us found and destroyed. It must be operating under a stealth shield so look for unusual energy signatures,” Dankovic shouted angrily. The harness that had strapped him into the command chair automatically retreated into the recesses in the chair once the danger had passed and the ship was back under control. He thrust himself out of the chair and strode over to Ops.
“Resume the landing parties’ schedule, time is running out and we need to gain a foothold down there,” he said. Through a comm. channel via his NI he contacted Major Solon directly.
“Go ahead Captain,” Solon said when the call was connected.
“Major this incident has all the trappings of sabotage. From initial reports it seems that somehow agents of Col Sec have infiltrated this ship and are determined to prevent the success of this mission. This makes your task that much harder and all the more important, do I make myself clear?” Dankovic said.
“Perfectly Captain, we will not fail sir, you have my word on that,” replied the young major.
“Your father would be proud,” Dankovic told him, referring to the late General.
“Thank you sir, for the Alliance,” Solon said and broke the connection. Dankovic was left wondering if he had ever felt that way about the Alliance, the all-encompassing fervour that the Alliance was the Mother and Father of everything important. He remembered when he first joined the Academy and he had felt some of that elation that showed in the young Major, the elation that he was doing something important, something that mattered. That feeling had faded in the ensuing years though as he realised that some of the propaganda was just that, propaganda to keep the masses quiet.
In later years what he did became more of a job than a career and, as he viewed the situation he found himself in at the present, he hoped that all their endeavours would not be for naught and that some good would come out of the inevitable loss of life.
IV
Major Solon was tall and muscularly built, just like his late father. His hair though was jet black and had not yet been tinged by grey from his already impressive career in the Black Knights. He was a career soldier, nothing more would have been tolerated by a hawkish father who had made the security of the Alliance more than his life’s work, his obsession.
Being given the command of this mission was the high point of his career. This was by far the most important mission he had been given command of so far. His career was about to take off, but only if he was successful. It could just as easily turn the other way if he failed.
As he stood in the docking bay area he watched as the men under his command made their final preparations for their mission to the planet’s surface. They were all dressed in the new black combat suits made from an improved Kevlon material that was more flexible than earlier versions and also more resistant to plasma blasts. They also wore the new Rapier battle helmet, all supplied by MaxCorp. Their armament was also supplied by MaxCorp: the new Magerov P12 pistol based on the old Italian Beretta’s design, which still had the slide on top to prime the battery clip inserted into the butt. This newer version had a load of twenty shots in a fully charged clip; their new rifle was the uprated version of the ARX-260, again based on the old Beretta design.
Solon was proud to command this troop of men, the finest soldiers he had ever seen, ferocious in combat and truly professional. If anyone could get the job done today it was these soldiers.
“Okay men, time to go,” he said and made his way to the nearest shuttle. The fighter escort was also on standby and would leave just prior to them dropping from the Cronus.
As he took his position at the front of the vehicle he watched as the men filed past him to take their own seats. Every expression was one of grim determination. They had all been briefed on their mission, had seen what had happened to the previous missions to the surface, and were aware that this was a last ditch effort. Do or die time. Once they all sat down and the harnesses had deployed to strap them in, Solon gave the order for the fighter escort to exit the massive ship.
As soon as they were airborne the shuttles would leave too.
They all felt the familiar churn in their stomachs as the shuttle fell free of the artificial gravity of the docking bay, having been released from the clamps holding them in place. Soon they were on their way to the planet’s surface and the hell that would greet them, if they made it that far. Hell came in many forms and one of them was flying up to greet their arrival.
“Hold tight men, this is going to get rough,” Solon said as he saw through the forward viewport of the pilot’s section a huge winged creature fill his field of vision.
15
I
OMEGA HQ, RH426
Guardian and the rest of the newly formed Red Team made their way through the docking bay towards the interior of the huge base. They were on a balcony that ran around the perimeter of the docking bay. Suddenly from a doorway in the distance came a group of large men all dressed in combat gear and armed with the new ARX 260 pulse rifle.
Without a command from Gua
rdian the Red Team opened fire. Pulsed plasma bolts tore up the torsos of the clones before they could open fire, dropping them where they stood.
Alarms were ringing out throughout the complex.
“They know we’re here so why aren’t there more guards?” Hellcat asked.
“I don’t know but let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth ’eh?” Cowboy said.
“For once Cowboy, I tend to agree,” Guardian said.
He urged them forward to the doorway from where the clones had appeared. When they reached it they realised it was an elevator.
“This should work,” Hacker said as he dragged the body of one of the clones to block the doorway preventing the doors from closing. He walked inside the cubicle and faced the others.
“Well, what’re you waiting for, a gold edged invite?” he asked.
“You do know there will be more guards waiting for whoever steps off this elevator don’t you?” Hellcat asked as surprised as the rest.
“Not necessarily, they’ll be expecting the elevator yes, but not anyone riding it down. They’ll be expecting the empty carriage so they can load it up again. That gives us the edge,” Hacker explained.
Cowboy frowned and looked at Guardian then reluctantly said, “You know, he could be right, as much as I hate to admit it.”
Guardian looked at him, then Hellcat and nodded. It was all the permission they needed to follow Cowboy into the cubicle.
The doors closed on them as they all faced towards the front with their assault rifles held ready to fire. They felt the sensation of being lifted as the elevator took them up into the base proper. The moment they stopped the doors began to open giving them a clear view of the room before them.
It was a chamber not unlike many others in the base. It was huge, as everything inside this base seemed to be, and stretched for a few hundred feet out before them. The unnerving aspect of it was, it was populated by rows upon rows of canisters held upright and connected to a series of pipes that ran across the room and up to the roof.
“Are those what I think they are?” Cowboy asked getting a little antsy.
“I think they are,” agreed Guardian.
Hellcat looked around and said, “I heard about OMEGA and the clones they used to attack Col Sec HQ, but I never thought of it being so big.”
“That’s okay, I don’t think any of us realised just how big this organisation is and all the more reason to shut them down,” Guardian said.
A sound suddenly filled the chamber; they heard it even where they were. It was the sound of huge metal doors closing.
Hacker turned to Guardian and said, “Is that what I think it is?”
“Sounds like the docking bay doors closing,” Guardian said.
“Oh this just gets better and better,” Cowboy said.
The sound of boots hitting the metal flooring of the balcony they were on made them turn, only to see several more Rover5s on either side of them approaching, rifles up and ready to fire.
Guardian said, “Right Hacker, get down there and do what we came here to do. We’ll hold these fuckers off and then join you.”
Without further instructions Hacker slung his Remm over his shoulder and vaulted the railing. He had a magnetic grapple out which he attached to the bottom rung of the balcony. The grapple was attached to a gossamer thin thread with the tensile strength many times that of steel, which was looped inside his belt. It unspooled as he descended to the bottom of the Cloning chamber allowing him to abseil down safely.
While Hacker was doing that his teammates were left to face the Rover5s. Guardian faced left while Cowboy and Hellcat faced right and they all opened fire simultaneously. The clones were caught unawares as they were either under orders to capture them alive or had never expected any resistance, but whichever it was they were cut down before getting off a shot.
“Right you two get down there and cover Hacker. I’ll cover you then follow,” Guardian said. Cowboy and Hellcat did the same as Hacker had done seconds earlier and abseiled down to the floor below.
As soon as Guardian had followed them they rejoined Hacker over at the computer terminal he was busy working at.
“What’s your progress Hacker?” Guardian asked.
“I’m in,” Hacker replied.
II
Matt was keeping himself away from all monitors that could chart his progress through the base which meant keeping to the shadows. He knew where he wanted to go but the base was so huge he had doubts he would get there before all hell broke loose. As it was they were on the lookout for him and he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to remain free.
He was troubled by the fact the clone he had disarmed was using a different weapon than usual. The Magerov P12 was a newer variant of the sidearm the Alliance Black Knights were issued with. Where did this Rover5 get it from, was it from an Alliance soldier or were they now being supplied with them instead of the Sig P996? If the latter was true did that mean that MaxCorp was back into full production mode once more and any pretence at not supplying both the Alliance and OMEGA had been discarded? Tanya did say that this was a business run with the ruthless efficiency of a terrorist cell. This could only mean bad news for the Confederation.
The alarms had long since been quieted but that didn’t mean the search had been called off, just the opposite in fact. They knew he had escaped from them and they would be determined to either recapture or kill him.
Where he wanted to go was going to be difficult to reach purely because of the location and what it was. He wanted to get there but if he actually succeeded he had no idea how he would complete what he would have to do. One thing was for sure he was going to need help.
Accessing a battlecom channel via his NI he made the call.
III
Tartaran
Kurt and Zara had gained entry into the city and Kurt began to retrace his steps from his first visit there.
“Are you sure you can remember which way to go?” Zara asked as they navigated through the corridor.
“It’s like what happened back on Toldax, when I look at something I seem to remember it without trying or even knowing how. I remember every detail of this place from my last visit, no idea how, I just know,” replied Kurt.
“Okay then, where do we go from here?” Zara asked.
“Down this way,” Kurt said.
They walked down the corridor going deeper into the city.
“Did the power come on the last time you entered this place?” Zara asked.
“Yes, it freaked us out then too,” admitted Kurt with a smile.
They came to a section where a fight had taken place between Kurt and the octo-felines. The floor was littered with rotting carcases of the dead animals. The stench was horrendous from all the decaying flesh and Zara crinkled her nose.
“Wow, I have finally seen a downside to having enhanced senses,” she said as she wafted the stench away from her nose.
Kurt couldn’t help but giggle to himself. He carried on deeper into the city remembering the action that had taken place there the last time he visited this world. Leaving that room behind them he led Zara further inside the city.
“We should find something further ahead,” he said.
“What exactly are you hoping to find?” Zara asked as she fell in step with him.
“Answers,” Kurt said.
IV
Jake was watching the forward viewscreen as the Cronus had righted her orbit and the shuttles flanked by the fighters exited their docking bay.
“Holy crap Jake, look how many ships are going down there,” Torres said as they all watched the endless stream of small craft leave the super destroyer.
“It’s a last ditch effort,” Jake added. He was about to say something else to elaborate when the AI’s voice filled the small room.
“Sir, there are a large number of creatures inside the city moving to intercept Kurt and Zara,” he said. Without another word Jake contacted Kurt and Zara, linking the two of
them in the call. He said, “Be advised, you have a group of creatures heading in your direction.”
Vance said, “Come on Jake, we have to help them, they can’t do this alone. You know what it’s like down there, we can’t leave them to it, we have to get involved.”
“Isn’t that what we’re here for, don’t tell me we’ve been sent here just to sit on our asses and do nothing?” Cooper added standing closer to Jake. They were pressuring him to get involved, something he was going to do anyway, he just wanted to make sure they wanted it as much as he did. To follow orders was one thing but to throw themselves into the danger they were about to face required something else, a particular kind of dedication. He knew his team had it; he always gave them the opportunity to voice their opinions though before any major engagement.
Jake smiled briefly and said, “Artie, detach the forward section and take us down to the surface, full stealth mode.”
16
I
Tartaran
Major Solon braced himself for the hit as the winged creature came at the shuttle he was in with the accuracy of a guided missile.
At the last second, just as the creature flared its wings to slow its descent towards the shuttle and brought its talons around to rip and tear its target, its head was blown apart by a fighter’s forward pulse cannons. The creature spun out of control as it died in mid-air before it had time to complete its attack run on the shuttle.
As Solon watched the creature fall away he let out a deep breath he had been unaware he was holding. They were not out of danger yet though, the sky was still filled with the winged horrors.
Fighters swooped around shooting missiles and firing their pulse cannons at the creatures. Missiles rarely hit their targets as the creatures had total control of the air currents and could turn in mid-air seemingly on a wing-tip, so the pilots soon realised their only course of action was to use the pulse cannons.
The pilot of the shuttle had to swerve to avoid slamming into another winged creature that had been blasted by a fighter’s pulse cannons, throwing the passengers around in their seats. On another occasion the pilot had to take evasive action to avoid a brace of missiles that had missed their target and almost latched onto the shuttle’s heat signature. The imminent disaster of being blown up averted the pilot who steered his craft towards the ground as they headed for the city’s landing pad on the outskirts.
