“There’s something I found out when I was
talking to my people.” Jaeda hesitated as she looked at Torque. “You need to know.”
She couldn’t keep the information from him. “The ship you arrived in has been
destroyed.”
She noted the slight change in his eyes
then he turned and slammed his fist against the wall. Everyone jumped but said
nothing. She approached him and laid a hand on his back. “I’m sorry.”
He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even
acknowledge that she’d spoken. After a moment, he drew in an audible breath and
turned. “We need to get to the armory. Once tracking and communications are
restored, we’ll coordinate the attack. Kirk! We need the internal videos
functional to see what the Egesa are doing and where they’re at. And find an
additional power source however you can. We may need it.”
“I’ll get you what you need.”
He stepped around Jaeda. “Grady, how much
handheld firepower do we have with us?”
“Two disruptors. But they’re spent.”
“What about your weapon, Jaeda?” Torque
asked.
“Unfortunately when I checked it, I saw
that it had been damaged. Probably in the duct. It’s useless.”
Torque thought a moment. “The two dead
Egesa. They were armed, right?”
“Yeah,” Grady said. “But it’s Marid
technology. Their weapons don’t work for us.”
“Thank you, Halah,” Torque said, walking
toward the back.
Grady and Jaeda followed. “What does that
mean?” Jaeda asked. “Where are you going?”
“We learned how to work the Marid weapons
on a recent mission. Their new models. My own disruptor is one of those, taken
from a downed soldier. They just have a hidden safety. It has nothing to do
with genetics.”
“Since when?” Grady asked.
“I don’t know exactly. Like I said, it’s a
new model.”
Grady rushed over beside Torque and helped
him clear the containers in front of the tube. They’d uncovered the duct and
stuffed the bodies back into the heating line to try to control the smell.
“Oh, that’s rank!” Jaeda complained,
covering her nose.
“They smell bad alive, worse dead, and even
worse the deader they get.” Grady pulled out one body.
Torque pulled out the next then checked the
creature’s belt. He grabbed the disruptor from the minion’s holster. “Yep. It’s
a new model.”
Grady checked the other body. “Here’s
another one. Is it a new model too? They look just like they always did.
Identical to ours.”
Torque glanced over. “It’s the new model.”
“How can you tell? Power gauge indicates
it’s full. How do you work it?”
“See the outline here. Flip open this
chamber and keep your thumb pressed to the unlock mechanism on the handle while
you fire.”
“And you’re sure it’ll fire?”
“I’m sure.”
“Why would they switch models?” Grady studied
the weapon’s controls. “Genetic compatibility is more secure.”
“Convenience would be my guess, given that
they have to arm their non-Egesa assassins. Those numbers started to grow at a
pretty fast rate there for a while. Access to Xylon weaponry, that would be
usable by the highbred traitors and other humanoids serving Daegal, is not as
readily available as it used to be.”
“But they haven’t switched their
trans-conns. Or have they?”
“No. Not yet. As far as we know. That would
be trickier technologically and take a hell of a lot of reprogramming since the
entire process is based on genetic reformation. On the weapons, they just had
to design a model without the genetic sensor and whatever security they
normally had in place protecting it.”
Grady fiddled with the settings then
pointed the weapon at the wall and squeezed the trigger. A large portion of the
wall fell down and part of the ceiling. Everyone ducked.
“Son of a bitch!” Jaeda stepped back. “Did
you really have to do that?”
“I had to test it. Damn, that’s powerful.”
“Readjust the setting,” Torque told him.
“Everyone in the facility had to have felt that.”
Kirk came rushing in. “What happened?”
“Dumbass happened,” Torque answered.
Everyone paused and the silence in the room
became palpable. Then they all laughed. Jaeda welcomed the release. Even Grady laughed,
not taking offense.
Kirk stepped forward. “Look what you opened
up.”
Jaeda moved toward the hole. “Is that an
elevator shaft?”
Kirk looked down and then up the shaft.
“It’s the old freight elevator that I mentioned earlier.”
“So we can get to the armory through there
then?” Torque asked. “I see ladders on the sides.”
“Yeah, but we can’t get through the old doors
unless we blast them. They were all sealed except the one in the basement. The
Egesa will hear any explosions.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jaeda said. “The control
room is blocked from outside video access, so they won’t know what’s going on.
And they can’t get in to find out. If we blast the doors into the armory, same
story.”
“Only if they were able to close up the
armory before the Egesa got to it,” Grady said. “Otherwise we might find
ourselves walking right into their hands.”
“Armory security is computer controlled.”
Kirk turned to look at the group of them. “It would have activated automatically.”
“Like the auto-activated security in here
that failed?” Grady questioned. “Excuse me if I’m skeptical.”
“That was just one system of many. The
others worked,” Kirk explained, a snap in his voice.
“We’ll take the chance,” Torque
interrupted. “It’s our best option. Certainly better than opening the main door
and facing the Egesa head on.” He moved away from the shaft. “The problem is
that they now know a blast occurred on this level.” He frowned. “When they hear
another blast on the armory level, it won’t take a genius to figure things out,
whether they can get in or not. If they think we’re going for the armory to
secure weapons and they can’t contain the area, they might just destroy the
facility.”
“Wait.” Kirk moved to examine the shaft.
“If they don’t know about the freight elevator, instead of figuring out our
plans, they might just think the facility is breaking down, especially if we
help that concept seem reasonable.”
“What do you mean?” Jaeda asked, not sure
where Kirk was going with this idea.
“Sections of this facility are rigged to
implode to destroy its technology and data from getting into the hands of our
enemies. It’s a last resort kind of thing. We can blow various areas and cause
enough confusion that they’d never be able to figure out our movements,
especially since we can do it from right here.”
“What?” Jaeda shook her head. “Why didn’t I
know any of this? I’m in charge of this fucking place, you know.”
“You didn’t have the scientific clearance.
Sorry, Jaeda. The destruct decision fell on me as lead technologist.”
She frowned. “How many people know about
this? Will Daegal have access to the information through someone else?”
“Doubtful. General Adair knows. I know. The
armory chief knows. That’s all, as far as I’m aware. The armory chief is the
one who rigged the whole facility.”
“By himself?” Torque questioned, looking doubtful.
“He had to have had a team. So they would know. If any of them were captured—”
“It was team C-618.”
“Damn,” Jaeda whispered.
“What?” Grady asked.
“C-618 was blown up during a test run of an
experimental weapon.” Jaeda approached Kirk. She stared right into his eyes.
“That was an accident, right? Not a way to get rid of people who knew too
much.”
Kirk’s eyes widened. “Yes, of course, it
was an accident. You don’t really think—”
“Just checking.” She glanced at Torque, who
also glanced at Grady. She believed that Kirk believed it was an accident. The
reality? She wasn’t so sure.
“All right,” Torque began, grabbing
everyone’s attention. “Let’s put together a plan to get to the armory.”
* * * * *
Planet Earth, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Temporary Military Command Center
“We’ve received a report that there’s been
a massive explosion in the tracking facility in Colorado,” a soldier reported
to General Adair. “We’re trying to gather details now. Most communications are
still down. We found an old satellite-feed system that is still partially
operational, so we’re using that to gather our intel, but it’s patchy at best.”
The general nodded. “Update me when you know
more.”
Brianna paced as she moved around the
warehouse. “I don’t like sitting here and waiting.” They’d set up a
substation—or command center, as the humans called it—within an abandoned
supply area. Most of the other military facilities had already been overrun by
the Egesa. She was tired and irritable and wanted to get back to the tracking
facility in Colorado. With virtually no communication, she felt especially
worried about Torque and Leila.
“We’re trying to arrange a helicopter to
pick you up, but everything’s being shot down. As it stands, I think it’s best
for the both of you to remain here right now. It’s too dangerous. I’ll send
extra troops to the tracking facility. It’s important that we secure that area
and everything there.” The general turned to talk to another soldier.
She approached Sam. “This is ridiculous. We
need to get back to Colorado. We’re of no use here anymore. The serum is being
distributed. The virus delivery system is in place. And the military units are
coordinated. We need to coordinate with the on-planet warriors and get back up
to the ship to offer air support. Halah can’t do that alone. Two preferably
three are needed to pilot, handle the weapon controls, and be available for
in-flight repairs.”
Sam wrapped his hand around her arm and leaned
in close. “Then let’s go. We’ll grab a truck and drive. If we stay off the main
roads, the Egesa might not even bother us. It’ll take longer, but we’ll get
there.”
“The general will never let us go. Though
he’s apparently concerned about securing the tracking facility, he’s already
said that he thinks it’s too dangerous for us to try to get to it.”
“The facility is important. It houses
information and technology that can’t fall into enemy hands. And we need to
save the people inside. Our people. This may be a military operation, Brianna.
But now it’s personal too. Follow my lead.”
She nodded and trusted in Sam. This was his
planet, his people, his rules. For now. Once among the Xylons, she would again
take the lead.
Sam stepped away from her. “General, we’re
going over to the mess to get something to eat. We’ll be back.”
“Make it quick. As soon as we get
communications fully restored, we’ll be able to launch a coordinated global
attack, instead of the small raids that are taking place now. I’ll want both
your inputs.”
“Yes, Sir.” Sam turned and headed out of
the building.
Brianna trailed him. He snatched an assault
rifle and a small box off a table on the way out and she did the same. She
still had her disruptor with her, but more weapons never hurt. Sam slung the
gun over his shoulder and stuffed the box into his jacket pocket. She glanced
around then followed his lead, hoping not to look out of place.
He headed toward a large black vehicle.
“Get in on the other side,” he told her as he handed her his rifle. “Stow the
weapons in the back.”
“You’re going to lose your rank for this.”
“Probably.” Once in the vehicle, he looked
around, pulled down a flap, opened a compartment. “Damn it.” Then he pulled
down a flap in front and above her. Something fell and he caught it in his
hands. “Yes. Keys.” He pulled a belt across his chest. “Strap in.”
She grabbed the strap on her side and
locked it into a mechanism on the other side, as she’d seen him do. He pushed
one of the keys into a slot, turned it, and the engine roared to life.
A soldier came rushing at them, waving his
arms.
“Hold on,” Sam said as he put the vehicle
into gear and pulled away at a high rate of speed, the tires screeching.
Brianna looked behind them. “He’s on some
sort of comm device.”
Sam glanced in the side mirror. “He’ll be
contacting the gate, if the device is functional.” He took them around one of
the abandoned warehouses into an unmanned area. “We’ll plow through one of
these fences instead.”
“Can they track this vehicle?”
“I don’t know. With everything going on,
let’s hope they don’t think it’s worth their time and resources. Despite what
the general said about our input here, we’re more useful in the field.”
“I agree. But he’s not just going to let us
go.”
“We’ll find out soon enough. I’m more
worried about the Egesa than my own military. Brace yourself.”
Brianna held onto the sidearm as Sam drove
the vehicle right through the wire fence. It scraped along the vehicle and made
a horrendous noise but then they were clear. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“How long will it take to get there?”
“A couple of days if we don’t run into any
problems, depending on how fast we go and what the condition of the roads are.”
“Go as fast as you can. If the facility is
under attack, they might not have that long.” Worry filled Brianna. If she
could just contact Halah, then she could have them all materialized back to the
orbiter. But her vid-cell had stopped working and Sam hadn’t been able to get
through to Jaeda with any of the Earth-based units at the command center. She
looked up at the ships in the sky. Where were their people? Earth needed help.
Now.
* * * * *
Planet Earth, State of Colorado, U.S.A.
Underground Tracking Facility
Torque examined the energy levels on their
weapons. He turned when he felt a presence in the room. Jaeda. “Hey. Is Kirk
setting up the charge sequence?”
“Yes. He said that the monitors—the ones
that weren’t destroyed—have been switched back on throughout the facility. But
not by him.”