STRIKE (Jim Able: Offworld Book 8)
Page 3
Larc sat down next to the radio again and, with a cylindrical tool, began to clean and polish his teeth.
Chapter Six
Jim awoke to the sound of the artificial voice.
“Pursuing ships have reached the point in their flight path corresponding to your prior request.”
“Show me.”
Jim watched the blackness of space, assuming the ship was showing him the correct area.
“Are they showing any signs of decompression?”
“No detectable gases or debris have been ejected from any ship.”
“Damn!”
“Please restate query.”
“Cancel query. Continue to monitor for signs of decompression in pursuing ships.”
“Monitoring.”
Marhan’s improvements must have been incorporated into some of the ships. Jim cursed his luck, again, for getting into one of the original ones. “Are the pursuing ships the same design as this one?”
“Fifteen of the pursuing ships are of the same design.”
“Any detectable differences between those fifteen and this craft?”
“No information is available. The pursuing ships are in stealth mode.”
“Really? Then how do you know they are following?”
“All ships in this fleet broadcast an identifying signal to prevent the unintentional targeting of weapons systems.”
“Is this ship sending such a signal?”
“Silent running is engaged; no signal is being transmitted.”
“So how are they able to follow us?”
“Insufficient information.”
***
Jim waited and dozed while Tanna Gul shrank behind him, and the bright speck of Tanna Jorr grew to a giant green orb.
“Approaching Tanna Jorr, slowing to one third. Please state required orbit.”
It took Jim a moment to recall the details of Tella’s flier. “Find PR flier type 568, register number 83476-9.”
“Scanning.”
“Take a path over the planet’s equator until the search is complete.”
“Danger! Trajectory conflicts with existing orbital structures.”
“Show me.”
The screen showed an oddly shaped craft. Jim thought he had seen something like it somewhere else.
“Can you identify the craft?”
“They match the specifications of the ark transports. There are four such structures in orbit above the equator.”
Suddenly Jim saw the craft in its proper perspective. He had taken it for a small craft, somewhere close. Now, he saw that it was much farther away. What’re they doing here?
Daum Robertus had shown the arks in his simulation orbiting Tanna Gul. Jim shook his head and wondered what had happened here once Marhan’s news had come to the Praestans Rapax. He felt again the pattern was holding true; they had told him only selected parts of the story.
He gazed at the image of the structure; it was both enormous and beautiful. Its appearance had all the finesse of the Rapaxans’ best.
“Do not approach the arks. Swing wide to avoid them.”
“Acknowledged.”
Jim longed to be out of the space suit. He studied the air-supply indicator. It seemed easier to read now; he did not understand why he had thought it difficult.
“Nearly empty; it’s obvious,” he said to himself.
“Please restate query,” the ship responded.
“Cancel query.”
He went back to the suit lockers to look for another air supply.
“Pursuing ships are within weapons range. Flier 83476-9 located.”
Jim rushed back to the cockpit. “Take us down immediately to the location of the flier.”
“Atmospheric entry is not recommended due to missing hull plate. Immediate entry will compromise stealth mode.”
“How much damage is likely to be caused if we enter the atmosphere?”
“Danger of internal fires. Danger of melting of external plates. Insufficient data to provide a detailed estimate.”
“Damn!”
“Please restate query.”
“No, cancel query. Take us down to the location of the flier; use an entry path that minimizes atmospheric heating.”
“Atmospheric entry is not recommended due to missing hull plate.”
“Prepare all fire suppression systems. Proceed with atmospheric entry.”
“Fire suppression system online. Entry path initiated.”
“Are the pursuing ships firing yet?”
“The pursuing ships are moving into orbit.”
Jim frowned. “Are they still following us?”
“The ships are slowing to take up orbital positions above the target location.”
“What are they up to?” he wondered.
“Insufficient information.”
“Shut up.”
“Please restate query.”
Jim sighed and said, “Cancel query.”
Jim sat and thought, his jaw clenched to avoid engaging the ship in unnecessary conversation.
“Ship, do you have maps of Tanna Jorr and its cities?”
“Full geographical and political maps are available.”
“Show me where the flier is.”
Jim was astonished to see Tella’s flier marked in the center of a field, next to a lake in the capital city.
“Is there room to land next to the flier?”
“There is sufficient space to land, but an alternative site is recommended due to the presence of Jorrs in the area.”
“No, land there. Hover above the site until the people move aside.”
“Landing site confirmed.”
Jim felt the pressure in his suit ease slightly as the atmosphere surrounded them. The noise immediately grew loud enough to be painful, even through the insulation of the suit. Jim could hear the fire systems trying and failing to deal with the waves of burning gases swirling off the hull and through the small hole where the name plaque had been. The noise was enough to drown out the litany of doom being recited by the ship.
At least this will get their attention. Maybe they’ll catch on to the other ships before it’s too late.
The noise lessened as the ship sealed the cockpit door.
“Fire suppression measures in place. Warning: do not remove pressurized suit until normal atmosphere has been re-established.”
Tell me about it.
Jim looked down at the “Empty” indicator on his suit.
Well, at least there won’t be any oxygen to burn up in here.
He tried to calm himself and breathe slowly and deeply. Years before, there had been oxygen starvation sessions in Jim’s training program. He and his friends had found many inventive ways to avoid them.
No way to duck out of this one.
For Jim, it was the only thing that could trigger feelings of claustrophobia. He could see no alternative to breathing. It had to happen; there was no way to postpone breathing or avoid it. It had to happen; the next breath was not optional. If the air failed, breathing was a trap from which there was no escape.
“Ship! Open the hatch on landing. Recognize Tella the Neraffan for voice commands when he—it—comes aboard.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Contact the onboard systems on the target flier. Transmit a copy of all logs and records. Transmit information about...identity signal of the fleet to the flier, mark it urgent. Replay for Tella both here and on the other flier.”
“Acknowledged. Unable to establish contact due to atmospheric disturbance. Transmission delayed.”
It was hot and stuffy in the helmet. After a few more minutes, Jim started to release the seat belt that held him to the shuddering pilot’s chair but stopped, unable to remember what
he had intended to do.
“Ship!”
“Please state query.”
“...ship...”
“Please state query.”
***
The ship shuddered its way along a shallow flight path, drawing a long burning finger across the Jorr sky, to point ultimately at the heart of the city of Brurass.
Chapter Seven
The alarms sounded in the Higher Life Sciences building. Larc’s door flew open, and a team of armored soldiers stood ready to escort him and his bodyguard to safety.
“Where do we go?” asked Tella.
“To bunkers below this building. We have emergency rations and stuff, but it’s really dull down there.” Larc sighed.
“Please move quickly!” called one of the soldiers.
As they trotted down the stairs, Tella asked them, “Is there a situation room ready? I need to advise your commanders about what they may be facing.”
“The emergency defense network is active. You will have access if you are authorized to do so.”
They hurried down into the faintly musty lower levels in silence. Professor Mel greeted them as they pushed their way through heavy doors into a brightly lit corridor.
“Ma’,” said Larc.
“Sa’,” she said, taking his hand. “Tella,” she nodded to the Neraffan.
“Professor, do we know what is happening?”
“A ship is landing next to yours in Matcha Park. It showed up on the radar and looks like it’s damaged in some fashion.”
“A flier?”
“Bigger than yours, heavily armed, they think.”
“But not hostile?”
“Not yet.”
“That doesn’t sound like an invader. I wonder if it might be my colleagues.”
“Let the military secure it. They won’t shoot first. If it is them, they’ll be okay.”
“I need to see it. I wonder what the damage is.”
“I’ll get you into the situation room. They’ll have a feed from Command.”
They moved past the sparse accommodation rooms and stood at the double doors of the control center. The guards refused to let them in without orders. They waited several long minutes before the guards’ superior came through the doors. He gave Tella a suspicious look, waited for a reassuring nod from the professor, and then let them in.
Tella watched the operation with the professor at its side. Larc sat on a table nearby; seemingly uninterested, he slipped off his shoes, extended the claws from his toes, and began to examine them.
The ship had been hovering for many minutes and finally landed close to Tella’s flier. From a helicopter camera, they saw the hatch open, the steps unfold, and nothing happen. No pilot came down the steps.
The rear of the craft was on fire. Another helicopter moved in with a spray of suppressant foam.
A team of soldiers cautiously moved in toward the open hatch. One climbed the steps, then another followed.
All in the room were silent as they waited, watching the image of the hatch and two soldiers aiming their weapons inside. The soldiers moved back to let their teammates carry out a space-suited figure.
“It’s a Gul!” muttered several of the soldiers around Tella.
The shape of the helmet was unmistakable. They watched a soldier remove the helmet to reveal a small round head.
Into the shocked silence, Tella said, “No, it’s a human.”
“A what?”
“That is James Able, my colleague from Sol Earth. Please ascertain if he is still alive.”
Larc came forward and peered at the screen.
“Oh, that’s a human?”
“Yes, he’s a primate, like myself. And the Rapaxans of course.”
“Uh-huh, I’ve seen some before but didn’t realize it.”
“Did he succeed in destroying the fleet?” wondered the professor.
“We need to talk to him if he’s alive. But tell them there should be another person there.”
A soldier called from his communication console, “General Tefra wishes to speak with Tella!”
Tella stood in front of the image of a general, who snapped, “What can you tell us about this alien?”
“He is not hostile; he and I work together. He was attempting to remove the threat of the Gul fleet. There should be another occupant.”
“Another one? Where?”
“On board somewhere, I hope.”
The general turned and said something to an aide that Tella did not understand.
“Wait there!” he ordered Tella.
Tella turned to the soldier at its side and asked, “What’s going on?”
“They only found the one. He’s ordering them to search again.”
“I should be there.” Tella leaned into the screen again and called, “General! I think I need to be there. Can you have some of your staff here escort me over?”
“Remain there,” the general replied. “The pilot is alive. We will question him when he regains his senses. They are sure there was only one occupant. Is it possible there’s another craft on its way?”
“Yes, I suppose it is possible. Or perhaps something went wrong. Can you tell if the damage to the craft was from weapons fire?”
“There’s no certainty. Who, or what, was this other occupant?”
Tella hesitated. “It’s another human—a Rapaxan monk.”
“Oh really?” the general smiled. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
Tella frowned.
The general again ordered, “Remain there!”
Tella returned to the professor and her son. “What did he mean about not being surprised?”
“About the Rapaxans?” she answered. “They are everywhere, aren’t they? They did some kind of deal with the overarch to get the arks parked in orbit here.”
“Of course...”
“There’s some dispute between them and the Guls. The whole ark project is on hold.”
“Who’s operating them?”
“There’s a skeleton crew of maintenance engineers and a couple of biologists monitoring the atmospherics. Why?”
“Are they your people or Guls?”
“Right now? I don’t know. What are you suggesting?”
“I’m suggesting you should be monitoring them for any activity. I don’t think Jim would arrive in a burning ship—without Tamric—if all had gone smoothly. He needed to warn us of something. I need to get to him and find out what the situation is.”
The professor left Tella and conferred quietly with the group captain.
“Tella!” she called. “You must stay here with Larc. I’m free to go see your colleague. What do you need to ask?”
“Ask if the manner of his arrival indicates that something went wrong. We need to know the situation on Tanna Gul and the status of the fleet. I am concerned about Jim’s injuries, and we should find out what happened to Tamric, the monk.”
“Clear enough. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
The group captain waved three of his soldiers over to accompany the professor. She stopped to kiss Larc on the top of his head and went out. Tella watched her go, feeling as trapped by its promise as it had been by the flashing bracelet on Beta Oraga.
“Tella? I’m Group Captain Gorra. What was it you were saying about the arks?”
“You should watch them carefully. If the Guls have access to them, the arks could be dangerous.”
“What are we looking for?”
“Anything. Anything at all. You’re looking for ships with stealth technology. You saw how difficult it was to detect my flier.”
The Jorr nodded and said, “We have imaging satellites watching for moving shadows. We should see anything that moves by daylight.”
Tella frowned again. “We don�
��t know what my colleague’s arrival means. You should be assuming the worst. Now is not a time to be overconfident.”
Gorra turned to walk along the banks of communication screens arranged down the wall of the room. He talked quietly to several of the operators, who nodded and quickly moved to new tasks.
Tella looked at Larc and smiled. “You told me it was dull down here.”
Larc did not smile back. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at Tella and said, “The Gul fleet is made of Rapaxan ships, isn’t it? Did my father steal them?”
“Almost...”
“The Rapaxans could tell us how to defeat the ships, couldn’t they?”
“Yes, they could. But you’re smart enough to realize that information could undermine their business.”
“I don’t like them; they’re creepy.”
“When did you meet them?”
“When we started helping with the arks. Ma’s department was seeing them a lot, at first. I wasn’t supposed to be around, but I saw them. It’s like they know what each other is thinking. I know they’re not really telepathic or anything...they’re just creepy.”
Tella looked at him and said nothing.
The group captain was leaning over the shoulder of one of the communications operators. He looked up and motioned Tella to join him.
“Tella, your opinion, please.”
The operator had a thermal image of one of the arks. Across the bottom face of the colossal construction were faint streaks indicating a slightly higher temperature.
“Can you focus on these to see what height they are?”
“No, sir,” the operator replied, “I don’t think they are a horizontal phenomenon. The height seems to vary along each trace.”
“Can you get a 3D plot of them?” asked Tella.
“Yes, sir, it’ll take a few seconds.”
The group captain nodded and said, “Proceed.”
Another operator called over, “Sir, Ark One is moving out of position!”
“What? Where’s it going?” the group captain shouted.
“I can’t tell yet, sir.”
Tella was at the operator’s shoulder. “The height, check the height!”
“Sir...” He entered another series of commands into the console. “It’s on its way down!”