by Jan Domagala
Having no portable scanner with him he was unable to tell if Norsky was already there, but one question arose in his mind, if he wasn’t already there then where was he? The area was barren, long since abandoned and impossible to approach without being seen. It was a large hole cut from the side of a long, slow incline and was two hundred feet from top to bottom. Where he sat in his ATV was the only road into or out of it. The headlights of his vehicle illuminated the small portion in front, the rest remaining in almost total darkness.
“Okay Pavel, I’m here, where the hell are you?” he said out loud.
He checked his Sig for a full load then, tucking it into the waistband at the small of his back, slowly got out of his vehicle.
* * * * *
High above the quarry sitting in the pilot’s seat of his shuttle, Norsky scanned Stryder. He’d seen him arrive and knew he was alone.
His scans showed he had one weapon with him as he got out of the ATV and that he’d made no calls on any of the open frequencies. If he’d used the combat channel to receive any messages it wouldn’t do him any good because if his back-up was waiting outside of scanner range, ready to move in once Hardy was released, then they were in for a disappointment and were too far away to lend any assistance anyway.
He still held all the cards.
* * * * *
Sinclair was parading up and down the width of the bridge of the starship in orbit around Celeron, occasionally stopping behind the Op’s station where the officer was keeping a constant lock on Stryder.
“Any change?” he asked on his latest flyby.
“None, sir, lock still holding. Captain Stryder is at the rendezvous point,” replied the officer.
“Is there still no sign of anyone approaching, from any direction, in any form of transport?” Sinclair asked, frustration giving his voice a certain edge.
“None, sir,” came the reply. “Nothing on the ground for a radius of at least ten clicks and the skies above are clear also, except for authorised traffic in the commercial lanes,” he replied.
“Okay, you let me know the moment anything alters,” Sinclair said. Then turning to Captain Reynolds in the command chair in the centre of the bridge he added, “There’s almost half an hour before the deadline, I’ll be in my quarters. Keep me informed of any new developments Captain. My presence here seems to be adding to the tension, so I’ll allow your men to get on with their jobs.”
“Aye, sir, we’ll inform you the moment Norsky makes an appearance,” Reynolds replied. Sinclair gave a nod of his head then marched off the bridge.
This had always been the worst part of any mission for him, the waiting before the balloon went up. Remaining detached had never been a problem. Sending men to their deaths was just part of the job, something he had had to learn to deal with in order to survive in the military. That didn’t mean that he liked it, or that he forgot about those who had died, quite the contrary in fact. The faces of the soldiers who had lost their lives were engraved on his memory and he, personally, contacted the relatives to inform them. It might not have helped the relatives who received the news, but he felt that it was the least he could do. To be able to do that meant he had to learn as much about them as he could and although the men under his command were unaware, he actually knew more about them than they realised.
It was because of this that his agitation levels had gone through the roof. He knew the project on Research Station Five had altered Stryder. He also knew it was his decision to go ahead with the project which cost the lives of four of his best men and changed the fifth forever. In spite of Stryder’s protestations to the contrary he suspected the changes in him were as projected, perhaps even more so. Unfortunately he had to wait for Stryder to come to terms with those changes, accept them for what they were before he would be of any use to him.
He would be an incredible asset to the Confederation but conversely, if the Alliance got hold of him, he could also be a weapon to be feared.
As he returned to his quarters to await further updates on the present situation he said a silent prayer that Stryder would make the right decision.
* * * * *
Norsky watched as Stryder sat in his vehicle and waited. He’d had him on his scope since he’d arrived and was just waiting to see if he’d kept his word. If his actions so far had been any indication of the man’s true personality, then he would keep to his word and come alone.
When Stryder got out of the ATV he knew it was time to make his move. There was nothing within a radius of three hundred clicks of them and anyone outside that limit, who wanted to help, would not reach them in time anyway.
He still had the winning hand because his ace in the hole, Hardy, was held in reserve.
Activating his NI he called Stryder through a combat channel. The frequencies were slightly different from Alliance to Confederation but he was sure he would make contact.
“Nice to see you kept your word Captain,” he said.
Stryder looked around and could see no one even with his improved vision. He could see as well, if not better, than if he was using the latest generation of night vision lenses, a fact he’d only just begun to appreciate.
“Oh there’s no need to look around for me, you won’t be able to see me,” Norsky said with a hint of glee in his voice. He was enjoying himself immensely, especially at how silly Stryder looked trying to see where he was.
“Okay Pavel, I’m here, what now? Where’s Hardy?” Stryder asked not hiding his frustration very well. Then a thought struck him, if Norsky was in a position to approach him in order to pick him up but was out of sight, then it left only one possible location. He looked straight up and said, “Have you got enough landing room, I mean, I don’t want you landing your shuttle on my head now, do I? It would sort of defeat the object of this whole exercise now, wouldn’t it?”
There was a pause before Norsky could compose himself once more. When he’d watched Stryder look straight up it was almost like he was looking directly at him, as if he knew he was there, but that wasn’t possible, was it?
“Very good Captain, it seems there is no limit to your talents. You have no need to worry though; you’ll be quite safe, that I can assure you.”
“That’s nice to know,” Stryder said, and he meant it because he knew it gave him some leeway. He was sure that the Alliance wanted him alive so that meant Norsky would have to ensure his safety. If it came down to a straight confrontation between the two of them, which he was sure it would, he knew he would have an edge over the other man because of his extra abilities. Norsky wanted him alive and that could make him hesitate, just enough to give Stryder an extra edge.
Norsky broke the connection and took the shuttle into a tight nosedive. The small, yet sleek, craft was equally at home flying either within an atmosphere or in deep space. It came soaring through the still night air at a hair-raising speed, until the very last minute when Norsky pulled it out of the dive, activating the landing thrusters to cushion the impact.
Stryder watched the craft come hurtling towards the quarry from high above, taking a keen interest in how it was handled upon approach. He hoped to learn as much about his adversary as was possible and seeing how he handled the shuttle, the aggressive way he brought her in to land, told him he liked to prove he was in charge. Perhaps Stryder’s latest comments had rattled him slightly.
The door to the shuttle slid open revealing the aft section. No one was visible even to his enhanced vision, which meant that Norsky had reneged on his end of the bargain.
“Where’s Hardy?” Stryder shouted.
Norsky appeared in the doorway with gun in hand.
“Lose the gun Captain,” he commanded, his gun hand steadily keeping the pistol aimed directly at Stryder’s chest. At that range he could hardly miss.
Reaching behind him Stryder brought the Sig into view.
“Slowly Captain, you don’t want to make me nervous now do you? That way you’ll never get to see the young lady again,” Norsk
y said.
“Where is she? You said if I came alone you’d let her go,” Stryder said striving to contain his anger.
“And I will, the moment you and I are safely away from here.”
“So you’re going back on your word then.”
“Come now Captain, are you trying to tell me that if the roles were reversed, you would give up your insurance at the first opportunity? I think not, and by your expression I know I’m right. So, we go to my ship and I send her back down in the shuttle. That way you get to see her and know she’s okay, and I get what I came for, so we’re all happy. Now toss the gun.”
Stryder did as he was told and waited for the next command.
“Slowly, come towards me.”
Stryder thought about trying to jump him, wrestle the gun from his hand and take control of the shuttle, but he had no idea where his ship would be. Whether it would be cloaked, if there would be anyone else on board guarding Hardy, or any of the other variables that could endanger both their lives, so he decided to go along with him for the time being until he could get a better picture of what was going to happen. Then hopefully, he could come up with some sort of counter measure.
* * * * *
The Op’s officer said, “Sir, a shuttle has just come out of the authorised lanes and landed near Captain Stryder’s location.”
Reynolds asked, “Have you a fix on Hardy’s location?”
“Not yet sir,” came the reply from the officer without looking up from his console.
“Keep me informed,” Reynolds replied then said, “Captain Reynolds to General Sinclair, looks like the pickup is going ahead, sir. So far we’ve not confirmed the location of Hardy. How should we proceed?”
“Do nothing until Hardy is released then move in,” Sinclair ordered.
“Ops, can you pick up anything on her whereabouts yet?” Reynolds wanted to know.
“Sorry, sir, there’s no sign of her signature anywhere. If her tracker’s active then she’s either out of range, or dead.”
“Let’s hope for their sake that she’s out of range, because I would not like to think what Stryder will do if they’ve killed her.”
“There is one other possibility, sir.”
“Are you gonna keep me waiting or do I have to guess?”
“Sorry, sir, the tracker might not be showing up if she’s held in a ship with stealth. The cloak could mask the signal, sir.”
“Is there any way for us to determine whether there’s a cloaked ship out there in orbit somewhere before it’s too late?”
“I very much doubt it, sir. By the time we’d reconfigured the sensors to search for a particular signature, and that’s assuming we had the signature to search for in the first place, they’d be long gone.”
“Okay, just keep a tight lock on Stryder and hopefully he’ll take us to where the action is.”
* * * * *
Stryder walked towards the shuttle his mind racing; formulating then disregarding options open to him. He realised that if he wanted to ensure the safety of Hardy he would have to go along with whatever Norsky had in mind, for the moment anyway.
Walking up the small ramp he entered the shuttle and the door ‘whooshed’ closed behind him, trapping him inside.
There was a sudden lurch as the thrusters lifted the small, sleek craft off the ground and into the air.
“Take a seat, this could get a little bumpy,” Norsky said as he dropped into a seat across from him. A harness automatically strapped him in as the ship piloted herself.
Stryder took the seat across from Norsky and the harness secured him in place as the shuttle banked steeply into an almost vertical incline, her speed increasing to reach escape velocity.
Norsky never took his eyes from those of Stryder nor did the muzzle waver from the centre of his chest. He had seen the Marine in action and he was not taking the chance of him getting an advantage.
“Obviously you came down here on your own, hoping that I would keep to my side of the bargain even if you had no intention of keeping to yours,” Stryder said. “Which begs the question, are you alone? You possibly have one other with you who would be guarding your prisoner, that’s assuming you haven’t killed her.”
“You’re assuming an awful lot Captain. You insult my intelligence if you insist that you would not do the same if circumstances were reversed.”
“Perhaps, but let me reiterate that if any harm has come to her then I will kill you,” Stryder said, with a hard edge to his voice.
“You are in no position to make any threats Captain so just sit tight and enjoy the ride, it’ll soon be over,” replied Norsky calmly.
Stryder had no alternative but to do as he was told. He didn’t have to wait much longer as the shuttle exited the planet’s atmosphere and was in space moments after, at which time the craft’s speed slowed considerably. The automatic pilot began docking manoeuvres as it approached a craft that suddenly appeared on the shuttle’s scanners having dropped its cloak.
“You do realise that Col Sec is probably watching this, now that we’ve met up with your ship,” Stryder said trying once more to rattle his captor.
“Yes, but I’m banking on them waiting for the shuttle to leave again with your Miss Hardy on board before they make their move,” replied Norsky with a hint of a smile.
Stryder knew then what was about to happen. Norsky was right in assuming no one would make a move until they were assured of Hardy’s safety. He’d made Sinclair promise that himself, and because of that, he’d sealed both their fates. Norsky had no intention of releasing her, because after all, she was his trump card and while they were waiting for her release, he could make his escape.
All this was his fault.
The outer hull doors clanged shut, the sound travelling even inside the shuttle, as they closed behind the smaller craft, hemming it inside the small docking bay and with it any hope Stryder had of escape.
“Okay Captain, I’ll take you to your friend now,” Norsky said as his seat released him. He still had his pistol trained on Stryder as he motioned for him to move out of his seat.
Stryder got to his feet and left the shuttle followed closely by the Black Knight. Even though he was behind him, Norsky led Stryder towards the room in which Hardy had been imprisoned.
“You’ll find, my dear friend, that I kept my word about your lady friend. She is unharmed as I assured you she would be. It is unfortunate that it has to end like this but in every conflict there has to be a winner and a loser,” Norsky said as they pulled up outside the room where he had left Hardy.
Operating the door release, Norsky opened the door and as it slid to the side revealing the room beyond, he said, “You’ll find her in there.”
Stryder took one step inside the room and as he saw Hardy sprawled out on the floor, turned in time to see Norsky aim his pistol and fire.
The blast, at close range again, sent him staggering inside the room to trip over the prone form of Zara Hardy. He hit the floor hard and lay there, unconscious.
“I’m truly sorry my friend, if it hadn’t been for where we were both born, we could’ve been friends,” he said as he left the room, closing and sealing the door with them inside.
Accessing the ship’s computer through his NI, Norsky gave the autopilot a command to leave orbit and return to Alliance space after engaging their stealth mode.
The ship banked sharply away from the planet, jumped into hyperspace and was gone.
* * * * *
“Any news of Hardy?” Reynolds asked the ops officer.
“None at all, sir. Norsky’s shuttle has entered the ship which suddenly appeared on our sensors, sir,” replied ops.
“Keep a close lock on that ship. The second that shuttle leaves her I want a blast aimed at their engines. I don’t want her going anywhere.”
“Sir, they’re gone,” said the ops officer flabbergasted.
“What do you mean, gone?”
“Just that, sir, it was there one second and
the next it’d gone. It made the jump to hyperspace, sir, we’ve lost it.”
“Oh Christ!” Reynolds exclaimed as the importance of what he’d just been told sunk in. He thought for a second then said, “I want that entire section of space scanned for any residual energy signatures. We may be able to locate them if we know what to look for. I’m going to inform the General in person.”
“Sir, you do realise that no one has ever been able to track a ship through hyperspace, don’t you?”
“Yes damn it, but we have to try. We may just get lucky.”
“Aye, sir,” replied the officer as the Captain left the bridge. They both knew that all hope of finding Stryder and Hardy had vanished along with the starship, when it made the jump to hyperspace. He didn’t envy his captain the task of informing General Sinclair of the fact.
19
Stryder woke up to find he was lying next to Hardy on the floor of the room he’d been forced to enter at gunpoint.
He looked across at her and instantly knew that she was all right, unconscious but okay. She was close to coming round. He had no idea how he knew that, he just did, another indicator of the changes his body and mind had undergone.
He got to his feet and crossed the room to the door in a few strides. A quick inspection told him it was locked and secure, he wouldn’t be getting out of there in a hurry.
He went back to Hardy and knelt beside her placing two fingers against the carotid artery and was pleased to feel the pulse, steady and pronounced. She would be fine.
She opened her eyes then and sat up quickly instantly regretting the swift movement.
“Ouch!” she said placing a hand on her head, “That hurt.”
“Take it easy. If what happened to me is anything to go by, you were hit with a stun blast,” Stryder said as he steadied her. She was a little shaky, having risen so suddenly.
“Wow, thanks,” she said as she regained her equilibrium and felt better. He released her and asked, “You okay?” concerned for her wellbeing. He knew that for them to escape they would both have to be at their best with no injuries. He knew that wouldn’t be a problem for himself, but Hardy was another matter.