The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #4, Retribution (15 page)

            
 “
That would be the third group to fal
l
…
fergiving
  the pun and al
l
… fer the same trap. Ya sure tha
t’
s the way ya wan
t’
a play it Sir
?
”

            
 “
Hey when a plans working why change it
?
”

            
 “
Roger that sir. Give us five to git read
y
…
I’
ll give ya a shout out when we got her rigged
.
”

            
 “
Take your time Mike
y
… its only sixteen against one
.
”

            
 “
Si
r
… i
f’
n I were the suspicious type
I’
d be thin
k’
n ya were being sarcastic-like
.
”

            
 “
Perish the thought Sergean
t
… perish the though
t
”

***

                 General Moss scanned the tactical readouts. He was back aboard his flagship having turned the ground assault back over to his commanders on the planet surface. The energy shield that protected the planet was unidirectional in that it allowed ships to leave but not enter the planet's atmosphere.

             
Much to his surprise the Modos home office near the galactic core had a small but well-armed contingency fleet in system. He had a suspicion that this was a force pulled from a pool of ships that the chairmen was unaware existed. Certainly the general had been unaware they existed. How they knew to deploy to the Naanac was another mystery. Unfortunately despite the addition of a sizable number of new ships they were still in a
swagger-fish
standoff. The massive weapo
n’
s platform in orbit around the planet greatly curtailed their ability to land additional troops. Any attempt to engage the platform was met with seeming distain. The platfor
m’
s shielding was too strong.

            
 “
Get me Captain Dry-Bait back onlin
e
” he barked to his communications officer.

            
 “
The Captain is on comms Si
r
” the young lieutenant answered promptly.

            
 “
Genera
l
… how can I be of assistance
?
”

            
 “
Have you given any thought to what we talked about earlier
?
”

            
 “
I have Sir. Unfortunately my answer is still the same
.
”

            
 “
Captai
n
” General Moss said slowly as if he were talking to a child
.“
You acknowledge I have operational command of this secto
r
… yes
?
”

            
 “
I do Sir
.
”

            
 “
Then I order you to engage the enemy as per our previous discussion
.
”

            
 “I’
m afraid si
r
” Captain Dry-Bait said with equal patienc
e“
that you are not in my current chain of command
.
”

            
 “
And you still refuse to tell me who is your chain of command
?
”

            
 “
My orders specifically preclude that yes sir. That said there is something I can do to help with the current situation. Perhaps if you will invite me onboard your ship we can discuss it
.
”

Chapter Twelv
e
–
Nothing Like a Good Soak...

Cat shifted in her seat. This was the third tram they had boarded. She estimated they had travelled a good two thirds of the way to their target. They were making better time than she had anticipated. The tram tunnels were in better shape than anyone had a right to expect. She and the Private, a young man named Anthony, had been forced to clear debris only once and in another instance they had been forced to board another tram one track over. Private Stone had been relieved that she had not been serious about pushing. The induction motors on the trams required a minimal charge in order to push the vehicles forward. Cat had been able to wire one of the Privat
e’
s remaining spare energy packs to provide the necessary electric current.

Debbu chewed softly on a third spicy bug bar. It had been days since he had eaten a proper meal. His sister would be mad if she knew he was gorging on junk food but given what was happening he supposed she would make allowances. He tried not to think about where she might be or what may have happened to her over the course of the fighting in the city. As he chewed, he continued to watch the system display. The track ahead continued to show clear.

“
So tell me agai
n,
” Private Stone asked the Naanac professor
,
“
how getting to this observatory is going to help us beat the Modos
?
”

Debbu turned to look at the younger human
.“
We are fighting the Modos Syndicat
e
… not the Modos. In truth, it will not. What it will do is help us preserve any victory we manage to secure. It is common knowledge among the acquisition worlds within the Syndicate that worlds such as ours that attempt to leave the Syndicate have a bad habit of becoming lifeless. We would like to avoid that fate if we can
.
”

“
And getting to the observatory will help you do this
?
”

Debbu nodded
.“
Years ago we discovered a series of thermonuclear devices buried under every major population center. The devices are protected from tampering. That protection is extremely sophisticated
.
”

Cat leaned forward to wipe a bit of condensation off the window she was peering out
.“
Our friends here on Naanac made contact with the Modos Liberation Fron
t,
” Cat added from her seat
.“
They have experience disabling these systems using computer generated code
s
… however since the disable codes expire within a few hours of being generated it was important to develop a mechanism for requesting and generating valid codes on an as needed basis. Tha
t’
s where the hidden facility at JasNair comes in
.
”

“
Correc
t
” Debbu agreed
.“
But there is one problem wit
h…,
” Debbu began before pausing to look at a flashing light on his control board. The track was no longer clear. There was something massive coming their way. He looked up in sudden terror.

“
Admiral
!
” Debbu screamed at the exact same moment the tram they were riding in slammed into a wall of water rushing down the tunnel. The three were immediately thrown off their feet as the cabin began to roll sideways. Ca
t’
s faster reactions allowed her to launch herself across the intervening space and grab Debbu before he could crash into the forward bulkhead. Private Stone grabbed at a rail as the change in momentum caused him to fly by. The rail snapped and he careened off a wall as the tram continued to roll. Only his Mark Six saved him from being snapped in two as he hit a forward panel awkwardly.

After several moments of mayhem, the tra
m’
s tumbling slowed. At this point however water began rushing into the cabin from every available opening.

“
Somewhere along the line a water main or aquifer ruptured
!
” Cat yelled
.“
Private seal up your Stark
.
”

“
Negative, m
a’
am
,
” the Private yelled back over the sound of water rushing in
.“
If w
e’
re quick I can get you into my suit. I
t’
s more important you survive
.
”

Recognizing the cause for his concern Cat immediately silvered her previously invisible facemask so he could see she was protected
.“
Anthon
y
… I appreciate the thought but I am in no danger. Seal your faceplate now. That is an order
!
”

Before he could respond she turned her attention to the Naan she was holding
.“
What about you? Am I right in assuming water is not much of an obstacle for your species
?
”

Debbu gulped as he tried to slow his racing heart. In response to the Admiral he opened his breathing slits and partially unfurled his purplish external gills
.“
I can do quite fine in wate
r
… so long as there are
n’
t too many toxic contaminants
.
”

At this point the water was well above chest height in the compartment but the inrush had slowed. The tram was bumping along the tunnel wall as the flow continued to push against it. With a final grinding crunch the tram stopped as it became wedged again something in the tunnels.

“
This is apparently where we get off boys
,
” Cat said, as she attached a lanyard between herself and the Private
.“
Anthony, if you would be so good as to hold on to the professor for me. If we somehow get separated head topside and seek cover until we can rendezvous. Clear
?
”

“
Yes, m
a’
am
,
” the Private said, while hooking a utility belt around Debb
u’
s torso. He clipped a second lanyard to this belt and then gently wrapped a metallic arm around the alie
n’
s midsection.

“
Right, then
,
” Cat said, as she tore the exit door off its track in preparation for leaving
.“
Here we go
.
”

***

The last twenty minutes had been rough ones. Cat reached a hand down and pulled Debbu up the last few feet up and out of the tunnel they had been swimming through. The Harromag tram system was ruined. Somewhere an aquifer had been breached and as a result the entire system was now flooded. Private Stone joined Cat and the professor a few seconds later. In truth the Private had had the worst of it. His Mark Six combat suit while water-tight was not buoyant. He had been forced to pull himself along the bottom.

Cat made a mental note to herself to review the Mark Si
x’
s design specifications. The Encounter suits used by the GCP had Higgs Field nullifiers which could be used to artificially reduce the suits mass. She was using the same thing embedded within her nanite-based second skin. There really was no good reason why the Mark Six could
n’
t employ the same technology.

“
Well that was fu
n,
” Private Stone said, sarcastically as he opened his faceplate. He looked around. They seemed to be in a burnt out park or playground. The grass, shrubs and trees were all charred and burnt. In the distance he could see the shattered remains of what must have once been a decorative wall surrounding the park.

“
I enjoyed it to
o,
” Debbu said from where he was sitting. He seemed totally unaware of the human's sarcasm
.“
Nothing like a good soaking to limber up the old joints
!
” He said, cheerfully.

Cat saw the Private purse his lips to respond but shook her head to cut him off. There were more important things to discuss.

Cat waved an arm around them
.“
Any clue where we are
?
”

Debbu made a strange chortling sound that seemed to emanate from an air pouch in his throat
.“
I grew up near here. We are about five stone measures from the observatory
.
”