Earth-Net

by David J. Garrett

  CHAPTER 31

  Dane’s runner returned a couple of hours later with a message from Rose. “She’ll meet us,” Dane reported to Ray. “Luckily they haven’t taken her to the barracks with the others. She is still living in the CDSE compound. We managed to sneak in a message. She’s gonna sneak out to the forest trail in the back of the meeting glade. The one where we used to go when we were teenagers to hide from work.” Ray nodded that she understood.

  “When?”

  “Four thirty, which is forty-five minutes from now. We’d better get a move on.”

  “Nettle and Sparks have gone with the marines to look at Town Hall, so I guess it’s down to us. Can you grab me something a bit more camo than this?” Ray asked Dane.

  “Yep, the marines managed to bring a few extra sets of their camo gear. I got one and I’m sure someone else will lend you theirs. Dane skipped out returning after five or so minutes with two long jackets, covered in familiar forest camouflage, slung over his shoulder. “Don’t know who’s this is. Found it on a cot. I guess we’ll return it when we get back.”

  Ray shrugged into the gear. Too big but good enough. “Let’s go then.”

  They exited the cave and traversed the valley floor staying under dense forest canopy as much as they could. Ray had no idea what the range of the thermal cameras on the shuttles was, but she figured there was no reason to take chances.

  They moved slowly, trying to be as quiet as they could and checking the way ahead often. The two days of Haemo-Tabs that Ray had enjoyed since being picked up by Jonah were kicking in now and her wounds were starting to heal. The regen gel worked pretty well even though the stuff Ray had was not personalized with her stem cells.

  It felt good to be back outside and moving despite her stiffness and sore gut. The sky was bright, generating high contrast shadows for them to move between. Letting their camouflage jackets do their work. Ray felt like a ninja from one of her movies. Nettle was right, it felt good to be doing something other than running.

  They travelled that way for thirty minutes, finally intercepting the walking trail that meandered out the back of the glade. It was overgrown. Clearly the population of Atlas had other things on their minds and little opportunity for recreational walking.

  They stopped at the trail and listened for movement or the sounds of machinery or shuttles. The trees rustled back at them, lush leaves rattling quietly against one another in the gentle breeze. No other sounds interrupted the forest noises, so they carefully continued, shadowing the trail some distance into the trees. Rose came into view soon after.

  She was dressed in tight white pants and a loose top with flared sleeves. White strappy high heeled sandals poked out from the cuff of her pants. She looked like she was about to meet somebody for an afternoon of sailing or polo rather than a clandestine meeting with rebels. Rose glanced around furtively as Ray and Dane approached. She couldn’t have looked more out of place if she were wearing a clown costume. They got remarkably close before she saw them, making her jump and clutch at her chest in fright.

  “Shit you scared me,” She signed. “You could have made a noise or something.”

  “Sorry Rose, practicing our ninja skills.” Ray quipped wryly which drew a hint of a smile from Rose. “Good to see you.”

  Now that they were closer Ray could see that Rose had lost weight. Her cheeks were more prominent than she remembered, and her hips bones stood out plainly against the seams of her fitted pants. Her right cheek bone hinted at an old bruise, faded to yellow now and covered with makeup which Rose wore in abundance.

  “We haven’t got long,” Rose signed, “I’m supposed to be meeting my boyfriend. We sometimes meet at one of the empty homes in Atlas. Gives us a little more privacy and all that.” Rose winced apologetically, “He’s expecting me in thirty minutes.”

  Ray looked at Dane and made a decision.

  “We need your help. CDSE tried to kill me and we think they are trying to kill all of us.”

  Ray waited to gauge Rose’s reaction.

  Rose’s chin dropped forward, and Ray noticed her hands were shaking violently.

  “There’s definitely something going on…” She admitted reluctantly, “I heard Mike…my boyfriend…talking the other night. The Life2s have been evacuated to the Golden Hind. I guess that means they are expecting trouble. Then he said something about hitting the forest with bug bombs. What does that mean?” Dane and Ray exchanged glances.

  “I don’t know Ray answered but I’m sure Jonah will…Rose…we need your boyfriend’s access codes to get into the mainframe in Town Hall. We have a way to take back control. Level the playing field.”

  Rose was shaking her head to herself. “He sometimes logs on at home, usually when he thinks I’m asleep. I could get up and try and look over his should I suppose. If he suspected me though…” Rose’s hand subconsciously moved towards her bruised cheek and tears threatened to overflow the corners of her eyes.”

  “Could you bait him? Get him to show you something about the nets or the Golden Hind?” Dane asked. Ray detected a hitch in his voice as he spoke and his look bored into Rose, full of jealousy and regret. Rose wouldn’t fully meet his eyes. Glancing at him only occasionally as she answered.

  “I…I could try…Look I’ve got to go. Send that runner again in about four hours. I’ll be home by then…” Rose’s mouth twitched with anxiety and she jumped as a gust of wind moved the bushes around them. She walked a couple of stiff steps down the path and tugged at her sleeve nervously. She turned one last time and looked straight at Dane.

  “Dane…I sorry…I’m such a fool.” And she turned and walked down the path as well as could be expected in the inappropriate shoes. Dane stared after her longingly his face full of mixed despair and hope at her last words.

  “Come on Dane, let’s go,” Ray signed and gently pulled Dane around by his upper arm. Dane nodded but his eyes followed Rose until she disappeared around a bend in the forest trail.

  Back at the cave, Ray and Dane waited until the marines plus Nettle and Sparks returned from Atlas. They were all in good spirits and confident they had not been spotted. Jonah filled Ray in briefly. They had staked out a good position to watch Town Hall and had good information on numbers of guards and access points. Ray filled in Jonah on their rendezvous with Rose. He was annoyed that she had gone out without him but pleased with the outcome.

  “Let’s hope she comes through.” He signed.

  “There was something else,” Ray added. “Rose heard her boyfriend say that the Life2s are being evacuated and she thought she heard him say bug bomb.”

  Jonah’s face fell as soon as the words were out of Ray’s hands.

  He bit his lip pensively and shook his head looking despondent.

  “Well I guess it makes sense considering how illegal everything else they are doing is. Bug Bombs are long range gas weapons. They are high altitude cluster bombs that spread gas canisters over a huge area, just one will kill everybody within a five click radius. Like the bug bombs you put in your house for ants on Earth. We have no gas masks and neither do the people remaining in Atlas. There will be very few survivors if they use a few of them. Did she say when?”

  Ray shook her head, fear spiraling up into her gut.

  “Would they do that?”

  If they are evacuating the Life2s then my guess is yes…they would. They will spin some bullshit story about an uprising or else just pretend that everything is fine. If we can’t communicate, then how would Earth know any different?”

  “If Rose is with her boyfriend now, at least we know they are not planning to bomb this afternoon, but I don’t think we can afford to wait. Perhaps we go for Town Hall tonight. Hope that Rose comes through with a code and be ready to go in immediately.”

  Jonah nodded. “I can’t see that we have any choice. As soon as the last of their troops are off the ground they could attack almost immediately. Within half an hour probably.”

  Jonah and Ray looked at e
ach other sharing the fear the both felt.

  “What do we tell the others?” Ray asked.

  “Nothing… when we are about to hit Town Hall we tell the marines and Nettle and Sparks but nobody else. If we fail, there will be nothing anybody can do to stop it.”

  “Ok,” signed Ray, “I feel like I’m betraying them all, but I think you’re right. What now?”

  “Now I go talk to Pham, get the marines ready and you should tell Nettle and Sparks. After that, unless there is something you need to do, encryption wise, then we wait.”

  “Go talk to Pham then,” Ray agreed. “But come straight back, “There is something we need to do before we go.”

  Jonah gave Ray a speculative look and then nodded. He held Ray’s hand for a second and then exited turning left into the main cave corridor, towards the communal area. Ray headed the other way towards the kitchens, guessing that given a choice Sparks would be eating. Her assumption proved correct as she brushed the fabric curtain aside and entered the makeshift kitchen.

  Sparks and Nettle were both hunched over small plates of food, eating with determination. Ray sat beside Nettle opposite Sparks and waited till they had cleared their plates enough to engage in conversation.

  Ray broke the ice, “Jonah tells me you have a plan of attack for Town Hall?”

  Sparks nodded, “Hit both the front and back doors simultaneously taking out the patrol guards and storm the place. Jonah is confident the marines can do it. As long as they don’t get many reinforcements from the compound we should be able to hold it long enough for the three of us to do our jobs.”

  “Good,” Ray offered. “My news is, we are going in four hours.” Nettle and Sparks looked up surprised.

  Ray related her news about Rose and the possibility that a catastrophic gas attack could be imminent.

  “Jonah thinks we can’t wait. We need to take Town Hall and close down shuttle access quickly. Before CDSE know what’s happening. They only have to effectively drop a few of these bug bombs and we are all dead and Diana is theirs to do with as they wish.

  Ray could see the hollow fear she felt reflected on the faces of Nettle and Ray.

  “You read about things like this in history books,” Nettle observed, her eyes wide, “They could kill all of us and nobody would ever know. It’s hard to conceive how humans can be so brutal. So cruel. It’s horrifying.”

  Nettle and Sparks looked at each other and Sparks reached across the table to hold both of Nettle’s hands.

  “You guys look after each other, we leave in two hours. I’m going to spend that time with Jonah. It may be the last chance we get.”

  Nettle nodded, her face serious and her eyes full of compassion. No ribald comments or crass jokes this time. Ray placed her own hands on top of Spark’s and Nettle’s and then made her way back out the curtain.

  Jonah returned less than thirty minutes later. Ray had strung a towel across the entrance to the small room for privacy which Jonah moved to the side as he ducked through the low stone arch. He pulled the curtain closed and smiled at Ray who was dozing on a blanket she had lain out on the sandy floor. Jonah walked over and sat cross legged next to her on the sand.

  Ray had planned a little speech for him but now that it came to it, she didn’t want to talk at all. She was frightened, tired and sore and Jonah was here.

  Ray reached up and pulled him down so that he lay beside her. He draped his arm loosely across, careful not to press on any injuries. She clung to his arm and they stayed that way for the longest time. Ray’s eyes closed tight, and her face pressed into Jonah’s chest.

  Nothing needed saying. Eventually they both gave way to sleep. A last sleep before they fought a final fight to save their home.

  CHAPTER 32

  When Ray and Jonah woke they made their way to the food cave where the majority of the fighters were gathering. The cave simmered slowly as groups of marines and Dianians sat or lay around. The whispered conversations were punctuated by the clicking and rattling of marines field stripping their weapons and checking every pin and rod. Ray nodded at the soup pot and Jonah followed her over. Pham stood up from his perch by the wall and came over to join them. Jonah nodded a greeting.

  “All set?” he inquired.

  Pham nodded and watched as Jonah filled his bowl. Pham was in charge of the unit that would take Sparks’ communicator out and tight beam a message to Earth. His group was heavy with marines. Their instructions were to relay the message and then engage incoming CDSE forces in a fighting retreat. Try to keep them busy for as long as possible without getting everybody killed. They would likely be outnumbered three to one.

  “What message are we sending?” Ray asked Jonah.

  Jonah translated for Pham who answered.

  “It’s an S.O.S basically. CDSE hierarchy have gone rogue. Dianians are being murdered. CDSE planning on hitting Dianian population with a bug bomb.”

  “Nothing about the cloning?”

  Jonah answered for Pham. “We thought that all sounded too farfetched. They might read a message like that as some sort of hoax.”

  Ray couldn’t argue with that. She had been there and seen it all and still felt like she might have made the whole thing up. It was all so outrageous.

  Pham checked the time on his weapon display and toggled through the firing modes making sure for the umpteenth time that it was working. He looked up and puffed his breath out. “Thirty minutes. Better gear up.”

  Jonah reached out with both hands and grabbed the shoulders of Pham’s body armor. “No heroics,” he instructed. Just keep them coming. Stay out of close skirmish.”

  Pham grinned. “I’d say the same to you, but I don’t think that’ll work in Town Hall.”

  Jonah grinned back. “No, probably not,” he agreed.

  Thirty minutes later Ray, Sparks, Dane, Nettle, and Jonah’s troops watched Pham’s unit disappearing into the bush lugging the rough metal scaffold of Spark’s communicator. The marines had no spare assault rifles for the Dianians, but they had all been given side arms. Pham had given them a brief lesson on how to use them, but Ray still felt like she was carrying a grenade with a loose pin. None of them had a chance to actually fire one because Pham fearing that a stray patrol might hear the noise.

  “This would be so much easier if we had been given G-Port communicators right from the start,” Sparks signed to Ray.

  As the last of Pham’s unit disappeared quietly Jonah gave the order to head out. They had a good hour to walk before hitting the edge of town. There was no reason to suspect that anybody would be lying in wait but still they were all on edge. Even the marines were jumpy. Flicking the barrels of their weapons at moving branches and scanning the tree tops for movement. They made steady progress along the forest trails until the signs of heavier traffic began to appear.

  “Ok, we go quietly from here, Jonah spoke in a low voice. There is every chance we could encounter patrols out here. If we do, no gunfire. That will just bring more troops and we need surprise for Town Hall. Dane; you head out with Carl there, “Jonah pointed out a slim marine. Go and meet your contact and see if she managed to get the code. Without that there is no reason to go in, right?” Nettle shook her head in response.

  The group split, Jonah and the team heading to the north end of town where the approach to Town Hall was shortest, and Dane heading to the east where he had arranged to meet Rose.

  As they moved quietly through the forest skirting Atlas’s eastern and then northern extent they began to hear the distant crackle of gunfire.

  “And so, it begins,” Nettle signed to Ray.

  “It’s lucky they don’t have gunships,” Jonah observed. “At least this way they are forced to land and deploy ground troops. On Earth we would simply track them from the air, mostly with drones, and blow them to hell with missiles. This sort of combat is almost unheard of anymore.”

  From this distance the clatter of gunfire almost sounded cheerful. Like the fireworks Ray had only ever seen on
video or via the nets. Ray could see the outskirts of Atlas from where they sat and waited. Nothing moved, and she almost felt like she was looking at a premonition of what would happen if CDSE managed to drop their horrifying bug bombs.

  Clearly any remaining Dianians that were not being held in the barracks had been instructed or were smart enough to stay indoors. A few minutes after the distant crackle of gunfire began, patrols started crisscrossing the streets into town.

  Unlike the lazy patrol that had ambled past chatting twenty minutes ago, they were now alert, their weapons in hand.

  “Smart enough to know we might be coming,” Sparks commented. “I hope Dane and Rose can get back out.”

  As Sparks made the comment Ray detected a flicker of movement behind one of the outbuildings on the perimeter of Atlas. Dane’s blond head peaked around the corner looking wide eyed into the forest, searching for signs of the team.

  Jonah took a small mirror out of his pocket and reflected the sun in Dane’s direction. Ray watched Dane’s searching head zero in on their location. He needed to make a dash of around two hundred yards across open ground to make the safety of the trees.

  Nettle tapped Ray’s shoulder and pointed. Around the edge of one of the houses to the south a pair of black clad CDSE security emerged. Weapons held loose but ready. There was no way that they would not see Dane sprint across the bare dirt. Ray’s heart rate leapt. There was no way to warn him. His view of the CDSE patrol was completely occluded.

  Ray felt movement behind her as Dane started to move. To her horror, a second figure emerged from behind the building. Rose’s unmistakable figure ran barefoot behind Dane, a pair of heels clutched in her right hand. Ray grabbed Nettle’s arm, watching the inevitable unfold. Dane and Rose ran, Rose in her white pant suit standing out like a signal flare. The CDSE patrol men reacted immediately as they crested the edge of the buildings and arrived directly in the view of the soldiers.