by Jan Domagala
“Too old indeed,” Sinclair derided and stepped forward to finish it off. Wilde had other ideas meanwhile, and lashed out with his right foot from his prone position on the deck, catching Sinclair fully in the groin with his heel. The General almost puked from the intense pain as it doubled him over and he collapsed onto the deck in the foetal position, hands clutching his vitals.
Wilde slowly, and with deliberate calm, got to his feet, wiped blood from his damaged nose then retrieved the Sig from the deck. Standing over the General aiming the pistol at him he said, “Yes, General, too old and now I think it’s time for you to retire.”
* * * * *
Hawk made a show of struggling to his feet. “We’re tough enough,” he said as he stood in front of the sneering Rygar. “Well, I’ll show you what tough looks like,” Rygar said and he aimed a straight right at Hawk’s face.
Having tasted what Rygar had to offer, Hawk decided to join the fight instead of being a bystander. He caught the fist in the palm of his right hand, a hair’s breadth away from his face. Calmly he forced the hand down away from its intended target and with a slight smile said, “Okay, when you’re ready.”
Rygar couldn’t believe what had just happened. The man was beaten, and now he was standing there as if nothing had happened. What the hell was going on?
Hawk smashed his left fist into the befuddled expression on Rygar’s face sending him staggering backwards.
Shaking his head in disbelief, sending bloody spittle flying from his cut lips, Rygar charged at Hawk in a blinding rage.
Hawk sidestepped to the left blocking a punch with his right forearm, forcing his attacker to keep that arm extended giving him the opportunity to smash his left fist into Rygar’s unprotected ribs.
To retaliate, Rygar brought his right fist back, hoping to smash it into Hawk’s skull but it swept harmlessly across empty air as Hawk ducked beneath it.
Using a palm heel strike with his right hand, Hawk aimed the blow from his stooped position to come up at an angle of forty-five degrees and impact on the point of Rygar’s nose forcing that small strip of bone to travel up at the same angle.
Hawk came up, using the power of his legs and a twist of his hips at the last second to add power to the strike and his hand shot out at almost blinding speed.
Rygar had no idea what had hit him. He saw the hand come towards him, felt a sharp pain from the impact, then his brain shut down as the bone pierced his brain killing him. He fell to his knees, his eyes blankly staring ahead, before falling forwards onto his face.
Tanya rushed forwards, hurling herself into Hawk’s strong arms.
“Is, he… er… dead?” she stammered, choking back tears of relief.
“I sure hope so,” Hawk replied.
A quick glance told him all he needed to know. “C’mon we’ve got to get on that transport to help the General,” he said, pushing Tanya away just enough so he could look her in the eye, “We can pick this up later, when it’s all over.”
26
Hawk entered the transport holding his retrieved Sig out in front of him. In the corridor ahead he saw Jonas Wilde standing over the prone form of General Sinclair aiming a Sig P996 at him. He looked ready kill the General, which was something Hawk just wouldn’t allow to happen.
“Freeze, Wilde, or I fire and at this range I won’t miss,” Hawk said, his voice stern in the narrow corridor.
“And neither will I, so I suggest you do nothing if you value this man’s life,” Wilde replied without taking his eyes off Sinclair.
Slowly he raised his eyes from the prone form below him to that of the man challenging him, his aim unwavering. His intense gaze took in the situation with that first second: the tall muscular man with the cold hard eyes holding the pistol expertly aimed at him and just behind him the frightened form of his daughter.
“I take it that you left Tanis out there somewhere?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yep, he won’t be joining us, ever,” Hawk replied. He knew he would have to wait and see what Wilde was going to do. There was no way he was about to shoot Wilde, not in front of his daughter and besides if he did shoot him he didn’t want to risk him shooting the General in a reflex action. He would just have to allow this scene to play out and see where it took them.
“You’re not going to do anything stupid now are you, whoever you are, and risk me shooting the General here,” Wilde said. When no reply was forthcoming other than the intimidating stare he added, “No, thought not, now here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to keep this Sig trained on the General here as I back away towards the flight deck and you’ll continue to do nothing because if you do…”
“Let me guess, you’ll kill the General, how original,” Hawk interrupted sarcastically.
“You won’t goad me into doing anything foolish you know, that’s because I hold all the cards,” Wilde stated calmly.
“Now you’re beginning to sound like a bad comic book villain,” Hawk said, wishing that Wilde would move his pistol away from the General just enough so he could take the shot and end this, but that wasn’t going to happen. Whatever Wilde had become since leaving Col Sec he hadn’t forgotten his training and he kept the Sig aimed unerringly at his target as he backed away down the corridor.
The moment Wilde went through the door at the bottom of the corridor Hawk holstered the Sig and rushed to the aid of the General who was still curled up in agony on the deck.
“Why didn’t you take the shot?” Tanya asked from the doorway. As she moved forward the door closed behind her and they all heard the sound of the engines firing up.
“Excuse me?” asked Hawk as he knelt by Sinclair’s side.
“Why didn’t you shoot him, my father, when you had the chance?” she reiterated.
“Because he’s your father,” Hawk snapped back.
“Well, you should have,” she replied tersely.
Hawk looked at her not knowing what to say and before he could think of something, anything, Sinclair said, “Yes, you should have,” in a voice that was gravelly and still full of pain.
“Well, I couldn’t,” Hawk said finally, softly, for he knew his failure to act could have cost them all dearly.
“Matt, if you get the chance again don’t hesitate, shoot. You have to stop him,” Tanya said and Hawk looked at her to see if she meant it.
Could he shoot him? Well of course he could shoot him, he’d done that more times than he cared to recall, but could he kill a man in front of his daughter? No matter what that man had done, no matter how many lives he’d taken or would take, should he be allowed to continue? That man was still her father and seeing him shot dead in front of her would have an untold effect on her.
During this mission he’d grown closer to her and now he found himself thrust into an intolerable situation. He wanted, more than anything he could imagine, to try and build a relationship with her, but how would that be possible should he take the action she told him he must and that he knew he must?
Simple answer, it wouldn’t be possible.
He would do what he knew he had to do to safeguard the lives of Tanya, the General and the possible millions of other lives put at risk by her father’s actions should he continue down the path he was on. He would kill Wilde at the first opportunity and he would never see her again, for if he did all she would see would be the man who had killed her father.
Glancing at her he simply nodded his head and said, “Okay.”
The transport lurched off the pad, spun on its axis horizontally then powered out of the open docking bay out into space. Almost immediately a hyperspace window opened and the sleek craft shot through it seeming to stretch out to infinity then vanish, the window collapsing in on itself as it closed.
Inside the transport the inertial dampeners prevented the passengers from being splattered across the bulkheads but they were aware of what had happened.
The internal speakers came to life as the intership com. unit was activated
and they heard Wilde say, “Well, gentlemen and daughter of mine, we have made our escape from Earth and within a few moments we’ll be met by more of my men so please make yourselves comfortable while you can.”
Hawk helped Sinclair to his feet supporting his arm, which the General yanked away from him angrily.
“I do hope your inability to act earlier hasn’t cost us dearly, Matt,” he said fairly spitting the words at Hawk.
“We’re not dead yet, General, so just hold tight,” Hawk replied with altogether too much confidence for Sinclair’s taste.
“Hold tight?” Sinclair muttered as he watched Hawk grab hold of Tanya and brace her against him, almost as if…
A sudden explosion erupted in the rear quarter of the craft throwing it into a spin.
Hawk held Tanya tightly as the three of them went sprawling across the deck of the corridor.
“What the hell just happened?” Sinclair asked as he leant against the bulkhead.
“I’ll explain later, sir, now I’ve got to get to Wilde,” Hawk said as he headed towards the flight deck, gun drawn and ready to use.
Once within sight of the door he started to blast away at the locking panel at the side which, after being hit by a couple of pulsed plasma bolts, burst into flames and blew apart opening the doors.
Hawk entered the flight deck, his Sig held out in front in a two-handed grip moving from left to right as he swept the small room for his target.
Jonas Wilde was just pulling himself back into the pilot’s chair as Hawk burst into the room. He saw the tall agent over the back of the chair and quickly reached for his Sig and fired.
Hawk caught the movement in his peripheral vision and dived into a roll just as Wilde snapped a frantic shot at him.
Rolling straight into a crouch and still holding the Sig, Hawk returned fire at the pilot’s chair, his first two shots striking the back smashing it to pieces, but Wilde had already moved.
Quickly searching for Wilde and at the same time aware that his present position was unprotected, Hawk dived for cover just as Wilde fired another couple of shots at him, each bolt striking the deck where he’d been just moments before.
Seeing the muzzle flashes gave him a better idea where his attacker was and in which direction he was moving. He fired a snap shot off at where the muzzle flashes had been then anticipated where the next ones would come from and aimed there.
Wilde appeared from behind a workstation to the left of where Hawk had last fired.
Seeing him just in time Hawk quickly readjusted his aim slightly and fired again.
The pulsed plasma bolt struck Wilde in the centre of his forehead exploding his head in a spray of blood and gore.
Wilde was sent flying backwards hitting the deck hard. He was dead before landing.
Rising to his feet, the Sig aimed at the ceiling, Hawk’s eyes never wandered from where Wilde lay. He knew the shot was good after seeing the result of the impact, but at this late stage in the game he was taking nothing for granted. As that thought was running through his mind a warning siren echoed throughout the ship.
“What’s that?” asked Sinclair from the doorway to the flight deck.
Hawk was searching the controls for any sign of what it could be and then saw a digital readout with a warning light flashing above it.
The readout was counting down.
“Somehow a self-destruct has been activated, must’ve been wired into Wilde’s life signs,” Hawk said as an explanation.
“You mean he was fitted with a bio monitor?” Sinclair asked.
“Yes, all the top executives at MaxCorp had them fitted to keep an eye on them should they fall sick or be injured,” explained Tanya from behind the General.
“This one must’ve been tied into a self-destruct, probably one on board the Nemesis too,” Hawk said as he looked around for a way to terminate it.
From the door Sinclair asked, “How long do we have?”
Calmly Hawk looked at him and replied, “One minute twenty-nine seconds.”
Putting an arm around Tanya’s shoulders to comfort her Sinclair said, “I’m sorry, my dear.”
“For what?” Hawk asked then he keyed his ear bug and said, “Captain Jefferson, when you’re ready sir, make it quick please, we have less than a minute before this ship blows.”
“Jefferson, on the Valkyrie?” Sinclair said in surprise.
“Who else do you think attacked us, sir? I’ll explain fully once we’re aboard the Valkyrie, right now we need to move.”
The three of them quickly left the flight deck and headed towards the docking hatch where a green light was flashing showing that the Valkyrie had docked and ready for them to board her.
Opening the hatch Hawk bustled the other two through, then followed closing the hatch after him.
“Okay Cap, take us away from here as fast as you can,” Hawk said through the ear bug com. The Valkyrie was moving away on full thrust as Sinclair asked Hawk, “How long?”
Hawk glanced at his chronometer and said, “Any second now.”
The shockwave from the blast struck the escaping craft but luckily her shields were able to protect her so she sustained no damage.
By the time the trio reached the bridge it was all over. Captain Jefferson rose from the command chair when he saw them enter and stood to attention.
“Officer on deck,” he said and the rest of the bridge crew did likewise.
“As you were, gentlemen,” Sinclair said and as they returned to their duty posts he asked, “Now would someone please explain to me what just happened?”
“Simple really, sir, when Colonel De Boer was en route to the Nemesis he contacted me and I gave him a sit-rep. He’d already alerted Captain Jefferson that he may be needed to help evacuate us from the Nemesis, but when I told him of Wilde’s plan to escape he told me he would gain control of the Nemesis and make her captain tell him the location Wilde would be escaping to, then pass that on to Jefferson so he could jump ahead. It was the Valkyrie who attacked and disabled us after we escaped from the Nemesis,” Hawk explained.
“Congratulations Captain, you did good work. Please relay my thanks to the rest of your crew. Contact Colonel De Boer on the Nemesis and tell him to get a ship here ASAP to investigate the wreckage of that transport. I want the entire area searched thoroughly, if Wilde had a base out here anywhere I want it found and destroyed,” Sinclair said.
“Right away, sir,” Jefferson said.
“Now, we head home and start to rebuild.”
“What about Tanya, sir?”
“I’ll do what I can to ensure she is looked after. There will be no charges brought against her, she was completely innocent of her father’s actions and therefore is free to go on her way. I’ll see about freeing her father’s assets for her personal use so she is financially solvent when she begins her new life, that’s the least we can do after all we put her through.”
“Thank you, sir,” Hawk said. He looked at her; she was standing slightly apart from them. It was already starting, he thought, the distancing herself from him after he had killed her father.
“Sir, Colonel De Boer reports the Nemesis secure and the Odyssey and Atlantis are en route here to begin the investigation of the wreckage site and start the search for the hidden base. They’ll be here in less than an hour,” ops said.
“Why the delay?” Sinclair enquired.
“They’re waiting for more marines to arrive from Fort Bragg and Ford Trenton, sir. He says that he wants a full battalion ready to go if a ground assault is called for.”
“That’s fine, just tell him that time is at a premium here and we don’t want to give them time to evacuate. If they’re here I want them found and dealt with. I won’t have them coming back to bite us on the ass again because we were lax.”
“Aye, sir, relaying message now.”
“General, Matt and Miss, would you care to wait in my quarters until it’s time for us to leave? It’s not much, as you can imagine, but at lea
st you can relax for a while,” Jefferson said.
“Thank you, Captain, most generous, but I see no point in us waiting around. If a base is nearby we’re ill equipped to do anything about it and we would only be subjecting ourselves to needless danger. This location has been forwarded onto Earth and cruisers are en route so let’s just leave it to them shall we. Our time can best be served back on Earth.”
“As you wish, sir,” Jefferson replied then turning to the pilot said, “Take us home.”
27
Upon arriving back on Earth, General Sinclair met with Colonel De Boer for a quick debrief of the actions up to and after the taking of the Nemesis. Once he had all the available facts he set about securing the area.
The Nemesis was placed away from shipping lanes with a ship stationed nearby as guard to prevent any unauthorised access, while a repair crew went to work restoring her systems and extracting data from her computer logs. There was still so much about OMEGA they didn’t know and needed to know if they were to combat it, should it still prove to be a viable threat.
Work on the Confederation Headquarters building was started, clearing the site and identifying all the remains.
This had to be done first before it could be made safe. What to do after would be a decision for when all the dead had been properly identified and their relatives notified of the tragedy.
Hawk took Tanya to a safe location until everything had been settled and he left her in the capable hands of two Col Sec agents with orders to keep her safe, twenty-four seven. That having been done he returned to Col Sec HQ to continue his work.
Colonel De Boer returned to command the marines who went on the Atlantis and Odyssey to search for any signs of a hidden base in the area near where the transport exploded with Jonas Wilde on board. There was a solar system close by with at least five planets that could have a hidden base. None were E class planets but that didn’t preclude them from being host to a structure that could sustain life. On the one hand, it would be a good idea to have a base on a planet where no one would think to look. On the other hand, it would make the task of locating it that much harder because nowhere could be discounted from the search area.