by Jan Domagala
“If it works it’ll be brilliant,” Matt said.
“What do you mean, ‘if it works?’ of course it’ll work,” Hacker said confidently, and then he added, “Okay, it’s done.”
III
Tanya Wilde had made her way back to the C and C and was monitoring the status of the situation.
Behind her stood a tall muscular Rover5, Apollo, his face as still as rock as his opaline eyes surveyed the same feeds his mistress was monitoring. He had climbed over the railing after his fight with Matt but by that time the agent had run off. There had been no recriminations from his mistress but he knew she would not accept another failure on his part.
“Apollo I want you to prepare a fast shuttle on the off chance we may have to vacate this base soon,” she said without taking her eyes off the monitors.
“At your command,” the clone replied and he accessed a comm. channel through his NI. He contacted a group of Rover5s stationed outside the C and C who were standing guard. He said, “Prepare the Commander’s private shuttle for immediate departure. I want a guard around it the moment that it’s prepped.”
Tanya turned to look at him and said, “There is still a chance that the Rover5s will capture Hawk before he does any more damage, and now that this base is in lock-down those other meddlers will not be able to escape either. I want the search teams doubled up, wake up another batch of your brothers.”
“At your command,” Apollo replied.
“In fact, take command of one of the new squads and go capture Hawk yourself. Use the internal sensors to pinpoint his position and hunt him down, then drag him here to me,” Tanya said with a wild gleam in her eye. “And Apollo,” she added her expression hardening, “No mistakes this time.”
Apollo bowed slightly and turned on his heel to exit the C and C. He had ordered the team to meet him at Matt’s last known location before he had even left the cavernous chamber.
Tanya accessed the sensor logs via her NI and learned where Matt was. She looked at the monitor that showed his position after the data from the sensors had been added. She saw him doing something but couldn’t quite make out what it was.
“How the hell did you get there, it’s supposed to be guarded?” she asked herself angrily. She contacted Apollo and said, “Hawk is in the server room, get there and kill him, now.”
Apollo could sense her anger without her words and he pointed out, “I thought you wanted him brought to you?”
“He’s proven too much of a hindrance, I want him dead,” she said, her words were laced with venom.
“At your command,” Apollo said with a smile. Finally he had the consent he had hoped for; it meant he could exact his revenge for his earlier defeat at the agent’s hands with no repercussions. Hastening his pace he informed the team he had requisitioned to meet him there.
He ordered them to cordon off the area and to ensure Matt did not escape; he would kill him himself.
18
I
Tartaran
Kurt saw the eight-legged felines approaching the hatch from where Zara was looking down on him.
All the details of their frightening appearance came back to him from his first encounter with them. Their mottled fur, the array of eyes that ran down the side of their heads, the way their jaws opened sideways to show the needle sharp teeth and above all, their size. These creatures were larger than the largest tiger known to man, almost as tall as a man at their shoulder and extremely powerful. Their strength and agility was matched only by their aggression towards humans.
As the first in the pack saw Kurt, its huge maw gaped open to roar its fury at him in a battle cry that would spur on the rest of them. Mandibles at the corners of its strangely formed mouth shone in the light of the corridor as it neared the hatch.
Kurt increased his effort to reach the hatch. He knew he would not make it though, as did Zara. He knew what he could do, but his timing had to be perfect. Even with his enhanced senses this would be cutting it fine, but it was his only option. If Zara knew what he was planning she would have had a heart attack at the thought of it, so he didn’t tell her.
Kurt ran at the pack as fast as he could, his legs pumped as his boots pounded the floor of the corridor to get more speed out of him. The lead feline had passed by the hatch as its focus by that time was now firmly on its intended prey. At the creature’s shoulder in the cramped confines of the corridor were several more felines almost tripping over their eight legs in order to reach the prey first.
Kurt leapt into the air, his right boot landing on the head of the lead creature just as its gaping maw slammed shut on empty air. Kurt ran across the tops of the creatures towards the hatch then at the last second he reached up to grab Zara’s outstretched hand. His hand connected with hers and his grip held, then with all her prodigious strength she hauled him up through the hatch helped by his momentum as he pushed off the nearest creature’s head.
Several gaping maws snapped shut behind him as the creatures vainly attempted to bite and grab him as he passed by them.
Zara released her hold on Kurt once he was clear of the opening and quickly replaced the cover. It bucked in her hands as the creatures tried desperately to get through to them.
Kurt twisted around to add his efforts to hers in securing the cover in place. When they had sealed it they both rolled over on their backs breathing heavily from their exertions.
Zara looked at Kurt and with anger blazing in her dark eyes. “That was a dumbass shitty move to try you fucking moron.”
“Don’t hold back Zara, tell me what you really feel,” he quipped giving her a cheeky grin and a wink.
“I thought I’d lost you there for a minute,” she said playfully punching his shoulder.
“You’ve seen me regenerate from far worse than that,” he said hoping to placate her.
“You idiot, how would you regenerate if they tore you apart and ate you? Did you ever think about that?” she countered.
Kurt was silent for a second as he pondered her words. “Never thought of it like that,” he said, his face scrunching up at the thought of being eaten alive.
“We both have amazing abilities but there must be some scenarios where not even what we can do would save us, so don’t be so damn blasé about your life, okay. I don’t want to lose you Kurt.”
He looked at her and could see the hurt in her eyes. Softly he said, “I understand and I’m sorry. Now you know what I’ve been going through with you.”
She looked at him, her eyes widening for just an instant with the realisation that he had known all along what she had been struggling with and she looked away, partly in embarrassment, partly in relief that she no longer had to hide it.
Beneath them they could hear the fury of the feline creatures at the frustration of their prey being snapped from their very jaws.
“Okay,” Zara said then added, “Let’s move, we have a job to do.”
“Yes boss,” Kurt quipped this time receiving a smile for his efforts.
II
The Cronus
Captain Arvin Dankovic was sitting in the command chair monitoring the reports that were coming in to his NI. He had an elbow resting on the armrest of the chair so that he could rest his chin on his hand. A subtle tingle overrode the reports he was assimilating informing him of a call being received.
“Go ahead,” he said simply, he was tired and getting angry at how this mission had turned out.
General Lokar Tillic said, “What progress have you made Captain?”
Sakovic sat upright in his chair as he recognised the voice and tone. He said, “I have a team on the ground working towards your results sir, but we’ve been hampered by the indigenous life forms and sabotage to the Cronus. The winged creatures that inhabit this world destroyed most of the teams we sent down there and the fighters we have left are fighting a losing battle against them. As to the sabotage, a covert black ops team infiltrated our ship and caused damage to our shield generators which left us open to
attack, we can only assume these were from Col Sec. We now suspect they could also have a team down on the surface.”
“It seems even more drastic measures are needed here then. Hold your position and I’ll send you reinforcements,” Tillic said. Then he was gone, the connection terminated, leaving Dankovic to wonder what the General had in mind. Were the reinforcements to help or to plunge them further into the hell he and his men were experiencing? Time would tell he supposed but in the meantime he was more than worried about what the final outcome of this enterprise would be.
III
Paradisia
General Lokar Tillic was furious after the call he had made to Dankovic on the Cronus, furious at being thwarted by Col Sec after all the steps he had taken to ensure things went smoothly. How had Col Sec attacked them, and why now? Surely they hadn’t found out about their last ditch effort to procure some sort of result for their time spent at Tartaran? If they had learned of this, it posed another more worrying question of how they had found out.
Tillic had his suspicions that he would deal with shortly, now though he had more pressing matters to sort out. Accessing an encoded comm. channel he called a friend.
Captain Viktor Markovic was a friend Tillic had had for many years. They came through the Alliance Academy together and served on their first ship together, but when it was time for promotion Tillic’s star shone the brightest, he went on to become a high-ranking officer where Markovic remained a ship’s captain. Now though he was coming to the end of his career in the Alliance as the space fleet was to be downsized due to budgetary cuts. He had been put in charge of a carrier fleet that was to be mothballed and was on their last patrol of the border.
When the call came through to Markovic he was in his quarters about to change for the evening meal in the captain’s dining room with his officers. It had been a day just like all the others, boring, so when he heard his friend’s voice he felt invigorated.
“Lokar what can I do for you? Have you called to wish us well on our final few days in space?” he said, omitting the rank of the caller and instead referring to him as friend rather than commanding officer.
“I’m afraid not old friend, instead I call to ask a favour of you,” Tillic replied.
Markovic was energised by this prospect and he prepared to listen intently. “Go ahead,” he said, to which Tillic explained the situation at Tartaran and the role he wanted Markovic to play. When he had finished he asked, “It is a risk Viktor, are you willing to take it to bring the Alliance back to her former glory?”
“You have my word General, my men and I will do whatever it takes,” Markovic said with a huge grin on his face and a renewed pride in his stance.
“Then get to it Captain, we have little time left,” Tillic said and ended the call.
With a smile across his broad face Markovic straightened his uniform, jerking down on his jacket that stretched across his stomach from years of inactivity. He ran his hands through his salt and pepper hair then accessed the intership comm. channel. He took a deep breath to calm the excitement bubbling up inside him before saying, “This is Captain Viktor Markovic to all command personnel in the battle group. We have new orders starting immediately. We are to go to general quarters and plot a course to Tartaran. All weapons are to be charged; weapons crews to their stations; shields to be raised; we leave in five minutes. The countdown, gentlemen, starts now.” Markovic left his room and strode towards the bridge. By the time he reached it they would be ready to depart and the final act in Tillic’s power play would begin.
19
I
OMEGA HQ, RH426
Matt had just finished hacking into the server when he heard a commotion outside the door.
That was quick, he thought as he realised what the sound meant. He quickly took out the Magerov P12 that was still primed ready to fire and moved away from the huge computer.
The sounds of activity outside the room halted for a second and everything went quiet.
They were ready to make their move.
Above the door was a monitor display of what was happening outside in the corridor. In this way anyone working in the server room could restrict access to anyone not authorised. Matt could see there was a small group of three Rover5s led by another, Apollo. The leader of the clones had obviously come back to exact his revenge for Matt besting him earlier. The expression on Apollo’s face was that of suppressed rage, clearly revenge was on his mind.
There was one either side of the door and one facing it ready to charge in and cover every possible angle once the door was breached. Apollo stood behind the one facing the door issuing orders and leading the play like a star quarterback on the football field. He was the one to watch, Matt already knew.
Accessing a battlecom channel so that only the recipients would hear, he contacted Guardian. “I’ll need some help soon guys if you’re near,” he said sotto voce.
II
Guardian heard the call from Matt and acted upon it. “Let’s get moving guys, we’re leaving no one behind on this trip,” he said.
“Finished here boss,” Hacker said as he picked up his Remm and followed the tall captain towards the exit.
“When will what you did start to take effect?” Hellcat asked as she joined the young soldier in heading towards the exit. Cowboy brought up the rear keeping a close watch on their six should anyone try to sneak up on them. “Not soon enough for my liking,” he commented nervously, his eyes darting here and there to make sure no one got the drop on them.
“Any time now, the code has been transmitted and if it acts like the original did it should seek out any NI with the clone’s signature in the immediate area and so on until they’re all infected,” explained Hacker quickly.
Guardian led them to the exit of the cloning chamber. The door had been secured when the lock down was initiated. He took two pouches of shaped explosive and placed them close to the locking mechanism. “Fire in the hole,” he said and once they had moved to a safe distance he activated the detonator.
The charges blew taking out the locking mechanism and a section of the door with them. With their weapons up the Red Team approached the door. Guardian slid the door aside and led them through.
III
Inside the server room Matt crouched down behind a desk, the only cover in the room. He had the Magerov P12 in his hand aimed at the doorway ready to fire. He knew the door would be breached soon and the four of them would come pouring in through the access point and he would have to fight. He had fought these odds before and come off best but those he fought were unarmed like he was, so in that respect it was an even fight, if you discounted the four to one odds. This time though the odds were stacked in their favour, they were better armed than he was and had the advantage of covering the only exit to the room. What little cover he had would not last long once the shooting started. They could toss in a grenade and it would be all over anyway, they would win without a shot having been fired. Matt was hoping that Apollo’s need for revenge would play against him though. He hoped the clone would want to take Matt on himself and in that regard it could work in his favour.
Matt steadied himself and said a silent prayer that Guardian and his team would not let him down.
The sound of the door opening brought his focus back to the job at hand.
He placed his arms on top of the desk holding the Magerov in a two-handed grip and aimed at the door. The moment anyone appeared through it he would blow them away.
IV
Outside the door to the server room Apollo had everything under control. He had the team with him organised so that once the door was breached they would go in covering all the angles and find this troublesome Col Sec agent.
“Get ready, on my mark,” he said. He had one Rover5 on either side of the door and one facing it. He was behind the one facing the door and would go in last letting the first three take any incoming fire from the agent.
The Rover5 closest to the door lock looked at Apoll
o for the signal. The Rover5 facing the door held a small object in his hand. They would act in unison.
Apollo called out, “Mark!”
The door opened and the Rover5 facing it tossed the stun grenade into the room.
V
Guardian checked the schematics of the base and realised where they were in relation to the server room, which meant they would not reach Matt for at least three minutes.
He said, “Come on guys, double time it.”
VI
Matt saw the small object come flying into the room and instinctively knew what it was, a stun grenade. He just had time to duck behind the desk and cover his ears and eyes as he turned away from the blast.
The room was bathed in a burst of blinding light so intense he could see it through his tightly closed eyelids even though he had turned away. The sound hit him like a solid object, which is exactly what it was supposed to do, disorienting his senses and confusing him. It would be a few seconds before he would be able to see properly and that was time he didn’t have.
The moment the grenade went off the Rover5s would be preparing to storm the room. They would come in with weapons raised and would fire the moment they acquired a target. His life expectancy could now be counted in seconds.
He had to do something.
His hearing was shot to shit and he could barely see anything, just white shapes against a whiter background as he peered over the desk. Pain attacked his eyes when he tried to open them but it was something he must do.
He saw, or he thought he saw, a shape over by the door, or where he remembered the door to be and he brought up the Magerov. He fired a quick three shot burst at the movement.
The shape seemed to drop away from what he thought was the door.
Was he actually hitting anything in his confusion, he had no idea? What he knew was he had to try.
