by Terry Mixon
Once they’d digested that, he continued. “So, now that we all know that I’m not going to rush off to save my retiring flower of a wife, what’s the plan?”
“We’re going to head down into the tunnels and move to an observation site across from the new ambush zone,” Lydia said. “The setup is going to be very similar to the one your wife was just at. They’ll be inside a building so that the horde can’t see them and will attack them just like this last time.
“I’ve made arrangements to have access to more weapons at this location so that we can utilize your specific talents more effectively. The plan for the ambush is going to be modified so that the engagement time is shorter for the people on the ground. They’re also going to use heavier firepower to kill more of the invaders and keep additional distance between the groups so that they can escape more readily.
“Our job will be to provide both a distraction and kill off as many of the enemy as possible before they can get into the building. We’re going to be the people that make sure your wife and the rest can effectively disengage when they’re ready to.”
Talbot slowly nodded. “That sounds like a serviceable plan, but I’d have to see the specific layout before I can make any suggestions for improvement. If you have any explosives that can be thrown, I’m pretty accurate with those as well. In any case, whatever you’ve got, I can probably use it better than whoever you originally planned to fire it.”
She smiled at his response. “I’ve already taken that into account. We’re gathering everything we can think of to take advantage of your specific skills and abilities. Unlike this observation post, others are going to be adding their fire to yours at this new site, so your friend doesn’t have to feel like a third wheel this time.”
“Chloe is used to me hogging all the glory.”
His subordinate punched him in the arm. Hard. “Don’t listen to this guy. I want my turn. Big guns for the win!”
“Then we’d best be about it,” Richard said. “We don’t want to be late to the party.”
In the end, it took them about twenty minutes to get into position in the new building, and Talbot was both impressed and satisfied with the arsenal they’d gathered. Not only were there sniper rifles, he now had access to primitive grenades and even some rocket launchers.
Those would be an ugly surprise for the horde warriors, though how he was going to fire them effectively remained a mystery. He’d seen weapons like them in use in some of the vids that Kelsey insisted that he watch from prespaceflight Terra. An era called World War II.
This kind of weapon funneled burning propellant out the rear of the tube, and the exhaust would be lethal. As he was inside a building, Talbot wasn’t sure how he’d make that work.
He supposed that they wouldn’t have brought the weapons if they didn’t have a plan. He’d just have to wait for them to explain it to him.
Chloe took her share of the weapons and went to a different section of the building. She’d be providing support in much the same way he would, he was sure. She might not have Raider augmentation, but her implants and experience would be more than enough to make her lethal at this range.
The ambush hadn’t kicked off yet, though Richard assured him that the horde was very close. The building across what was like a deep valley from the building he was in rose five stories from the ground before it had any windows. The lower levels appeared to be natural stone. It was beautiful and would make excellent shrapnel when it fragmented.
Like the rest of the city, many windows were shattered, though there was more intact glass than he’d expected. Perhaps that was because the lower levels were closer to the ground and better shielded by the buildings around them.
Lydia had explained how the ambush group would use explosive charges to knock holes in the wall so that their people could fire through them at the enemy. There were also explosives buried in the ground just in front of the ambush site to take out any of the invaders unlucky enough to be caught in the blast area.
Based on how the horde had reacted the last time, that wasn’t going to be as effective as the defenders had hoped. The horde warriors would countercharge and get in among the ambushers as quickly as they possibly could. Engagement time might be minimal.
Well, then, he’d just have to make the most of the opportunity. His efforts might mean the difference between life and death for the ambushers, including his wife. He’d damned well do whatever it took to see this work, no matter how dangerous it was.
Julia and the rest had finally decided that they’d gathered all the information that they were going to get and made their way back to the lift. Once they’d affixed their air, they boarded and began the ride back up. It only took a couple of seconds for the atmospheric readout equipment to start announcing that the air had grown toxic.
Arriving safely on the level the fusion plant had been taken from, they walked to the other set of stairs and began the long trek back to the occupied levels. By the time they reached breathable atmosphere again, they’d used up about two-thirds of the air bottles they’d brought with them.
They found a group of guards waiting for them, and Julia asked to be taken to see Leader Mordechai. Thankfully, they didn’t have to go to the stupid building where they’d visited him the last time. Even with her Marine Raider augmentation, she’d done a lot of climbing today and wasn’t in the mood to do any more.
Instead, they met the man in the air handler room. Seated beside him was his son Jebediah.
The older man leaned forward expectantly. “We were beginning to worry. I hope you have good news. What is the condition of the fusion plant?”
“Missing,” she said flatly. “Somebody stole it.”
The two men across the table blinked at one another before Jebediah frowned at her, his voice a low rumble filled with disapproval. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that the fusion plant and all of it shielding aren’t there anymore. Someone disassembled it, dragged the pieces to a maintenance lift, and took it down to the very lowest level.
“The lift still had power, so we took it down and discovered that they’d stripped the lower levels. They stashed a lot of equipment and parts in various rooms, but they took the fusion plant to a maglev train station on the lowest level.
“There weren’t any trains present, so I have to assume that they just left the power on in case they wanted to come back and pick up more stuff. They also fixed the life-support systems on those lowest levels.”
Everyone sat in silence for a full minute as they digested what she’d said.
Finally, Mordechai leaned forward. “How did they manage any of this?”
Julia shrugged. “Whoever they were, they obviously had some level of training with Imperial equipment. Disassembling a fusion plant isn’t something that just anybody off the street is going to do, even on a world that hasn’t lost access to technology. Someone knew exactly what they were doing.”
“It looks like they took the fusion plant sometime between six months ago and a couple of years ago,” Carl said. “The rooms on the lowest level are stuffed full of boxes and salvaged equipment. The places we checked had supplies and spare parts.
“It’s obvious that they were systematically stripping as many levels of your city as they could. They wouldn’t have just left the train system powered unless they intended to return for everything at some point.”
Mordechai leaned back in his seat. “If this is true, it’s extremely disturbing. Jebediah, I want you to accompany them back down and discover the truth of the situation for me.
“I want the rest of you to know that it’s not that I doubt your word, but I want to hear that this terrible thing has happened from a source that I trust completely. Once my son has verified what you say—which I have no doubt that he’ll do—then I’ll decide what needs to be done next.”
“We don’t have enough air to take us all back down,” Carl said with a shake of his head. “If you want the entire group to g
o, we’ll have to gather some more before we start.”
“Then don’t take everyone,” Mordechai said evenly. “It’s not as if you’re repairing anything at this point, so it seems that Julia could accompany my son.”
“I’d like to go as well,” Mertz said from the door behind Julia.
“Why?” Mordechai asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Because if that’s the direction we’re going to have to go, I want to see what it looks like for myself.”
Mordechai considered Mertz’s words for a few seconds and then nodded. “Very well. The three of you shall depart immediately if you have enough air to see you through.”
Julia shot a questioning look at Carl.
The young man frowned slightly, thought for a few seconds, and then nodded slowly. “If Julia takes the partially filled bottles that we left here in the air handler room, that should be enough for the three of them to make the trip down and back, so long as they don’t dawdle.”
“Excellent,” Mordechai said. “Then I won’t delay you any longer.”
Before they started down, Jebediah led Mertz and Julia to an area where they could eat. Once they’d done so and secured extra water for the journey, the three of them retraced the path to the stairs that led down.
Without any of the others to tell her when the air got bad, Julia relied on her olfactory augmentation to continuously sample the air quality and have her implants keep a running tally so that she could see what they were dealing with. When it became necessary, she told the others to don their masks.
She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t thought of using her built-in equipment the last time. Perhaps it was because she just wasn’t used to using the implants and augmentation at all. She had to keep reminding herself that she was capable of doing a lot of things if she just thought about how she could use her equipment.
Once they reached the level the fusion plant had been taken from, Jebediah insisted that they spend some time examining the reactor room. After a few minutes, he grunted and slowly nodded his head.
“The evidence here fully backs up what you’ve said. I can see where a large machine was removed, and it’s evident to me that it could not have been done just by the four of you in the short amount of time that you were gone.
“Also, the scratches on the metal plate where it rested have rusted. Trust me when I say that I have an excellent idea of how long it takes something to rust. Based on the level of corrosion, your guess of between six months and two years seems plausible.
“Now, let’s go see what they’ve done below. I have to admit that I’m very interested in seeing this lift. None of the ones in the city above have been functional for a century, and I’m curious what the experience of traveling in one will be like.”
Julia led the man to the lift and pressed the button. Since the lift car was on this level, the doors promptly slid open.
Jebediah stepped into the center of the lift and turned in a slow circle, examining everything under the artificial lights in the ceiling above his head.
“The light seems unnatural,” he finally said. “Too steady, and it almost wavers in my vision. It’s definitely not like sunlight or torchlight. I have to admit that this experience is somewhat disconcerting.”
She grinned at him. “If you think that’s disconcerting now, just wait until the lift car starts going down. You’re going to feel a sense of motion. It’s not going to be too bad, but you need to be aware in advance that it’s going to happen. The trip will take a minute.”
Once he’d nodded, she and Mertz piled into the lift behind him, and she pressed the button to take them to the lowest level. The doors slid shut, and down they went. No one said anything until they arrived at their destination.
When the doors slid open again, Jebediah stepped out and looked back into the lift. “That was an amazing experience,” he admitted. “I can only imagine how much time and effort something like this would save me on my daily climb to the top of my father’s building. I’m a fit man, but all those stairs wear on a person. I can’t imagine how the old man does it every day.”
Julia laughed. “That’s just how old men are, vexing us young people. Come on. I’ll show you a couple of the rooms where they stored some of the salvaged gear so that you can see what they’ve been up to.”
She proceeded down the hall, opening doors and showing the two men all the boxed goods and salvaged equipment. Ten minutes later, they stood on the platform at the maglev station.
Jebediah put his hands on his hips and scowled. The overhead lights here were much brighter than in the lift or the hallway. Even he had to see that there was no way that they’d missed anything.
“Everything you said is true,” he growled. “Someone has stolen from us. My father will not stand for that. I can assure you that he’s going to make absolutely certain that whoever did this pays. Come, we must return to the surface.”
They retraced their steps to the lift, and Julia pressed the button to take them back up.
Nothing happened.
Frowning, she pressed the button again. Still nothing. It illuminated when she pressed it but went dark as soon as she removed the pressure. Only the overhead lights indicated the lift still had power.
“That doesn’t seem very promising,” Mertz said.
What had started as a short jaunt was now a survival situation.
“It looks like we’ve got a lot of walking to do,” she said, pressing the button to open the doors again and gesturing at the stairway door to the right. “It’s a good thing you’ve gotten all that practice in, Jebediah. We’re going to have to get through the toxic air in a hurry, so all that exercise is now going to save your life.”
With her augmentation, she wasn’t going to have any trouble making the trip. If anyone was going to slow them down, it was going to be Mertz. She hoped he could keep up because she wasn’t looking forward to having to carry the man.
Yet if that was what it took, she’d do it. For whatever reason, Kelsey loved him, so Julia wouldn’t leave Mertz behind.
As much as part of her really wanted to.
She sighed. Maybe one day she’d get used to him. Unlikely, but possible.
With that, she opened the stairwell door. The sooner started, the sooner done. At least so long as nothing else went wrong.
17
“Hold up,” Jared said. “We should salvage air bottles from this level before we try heading up, just to make sure we’ve got enough.”
If they ran out of air, they’d die. There were dozens of levels above them with bad air, and that was only to the old fusion plant room. There were even more above that. They could breathe now. Best to gather what they could while they had time.
“Good idea,” Julia said with a nod, though her tone was grudging.
They headed back toward the maglev station. Unfortunately for them, the first safety compartment they opened was empty. So was the second. And the third.
Whoever had stripped this level had taken everything. The missing air bottles were likely in one of the rooms around them. He couldn’t imagine them being worth hauling off for these people.
Jared passed along his thoughts and then considered their options. If they spent the time looking for the air, they were extending their stay in the area that was subject to dangers that they might not understand.
Even if they decided to search for air in the extended stash, only pure luck would allow them to find it. Nothing was labeled, and the rooms were stacked deep, with almost everything small placed into boxes.
“I understand what you’re saying,” Jebediah said when Jared explained his thoughts. “Even so, we’re not going to get another chance once we start back up. Let’s at least look into every single room and see if we get lucky.”
Giving in to the inevitable, Jared acquiesced. A quick search of all the rooms along the corridor leading to the maglev station didn’t find anything that they could use. It was mostly salvaged equipment that wasn’t labeled. Non
e of the boxes had anything on them to identify their contents.
They were going to have to do this the hard way.
“We’re going to have to make a try,” Jared said grimly. “If we can get part way up into the area where the atmosphere is bad, we might be able to find some air bottles they didn’t take. Or we could just do the smart thing and send Julia up with all of the ones we have and let her bring back help.”
Jebediah shook his head. “I don’t believe any of us should go off alone. There’s no telling what she’ll find on her way up. If there is some kind of trouble, she’d need someone to help pull her out of it.”
Julia’s eyes narrowed. “Not to be a pain in the ass, but that’s a sexist comment. I can extract myself from any kind of trouble that you can, probably even better than you.”
The large man raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Giving that impression was not my intention. I simply meant that any one of us can fall victim to a situation where two people would allow survival for both. What I said about you I hold equally true for myself or Admiral Mertz.”
The prickly princess gave the man a long, hard look before she nodded curtly and opened the stairwell door. It was lit, which was good, though they had a hand light for when the air became too foul to allow for the torches.
They made it up five levels before the lights no longer worked. This must be the boundary for the power the thieves had linked into the city.
He turned the hand light on, and they made it two more levels before they had to switch to bottled air. Once they were safely protected, they resumed their trek and almost immediately ran into their first roadblock.
In this case, roadblock was the perfect word for the situation. The stairwell was closed off by a metal door with a mechanical lock.