Ronin

by Jan Domagala

  Once the room had been evacuated Hardy asked, “What do you intend to do now?”

  “Destroy this serum and any means of replicating it in the future,” he replied as he looked around the room for the best means of accomplishing that task.

  “How?”

  “Fire is usually the best method. We set fire to this entire complex and destroy all evidence of the programme and the serum, everything, and then we get the hell out.”

  “Well, let’s just hope that the knowledge isn’t still with those lab techs you just let go,” Hardy said.

  Stryder glanced at the door they had just run through and realised his potential mistake.

  “We’ll just have to hope they were working from notes rather than from memory or knowledge they already had.”

  With that he set about erasing the records of the research in the main computer whilst Hardy went to where the samples of the serum were being replicated and increased the temperature in the chamber to dangerous levels. Within a few short moments the remaining samples were destroyed and all that remained to do was destroy the equipment.

  “All done?” he asked when Hardy came to stand next to him.

  “Yes, the samples are destroyed; we just need to destroy their ability to replicate anymore,” she replied urgently.

  He got up from the computer terminal and, picking up his assault rifle, sent a few well-aimed full power plasma bolts into the equipment around the room. After a short while the room was in a blaze from all the explosions erupting as a result of his shots.

  As they watched the fire engulf the room, taking with it the Alliance’s last chance of replicating the serum, they made their way to the exit.

  “C’mon let’s get the hell out, those plasma bolts will alert someone to what’s just happened and bring the guards down on us,” Stryder said. The two of them ran from the room, that part of their mission completed.

  “How are we going to get out of here?” Hardy asked once they were free of the main lab.

  “We need a different route that will bypass the guards surrounding us,” replied Stryder thoughtfully.

  “Well, if you’ve any suggestions you’d better make them fast because I’ve got a bad feeling that those guards you mentioned are gonna be all over us real soon,” she pleaded.

  Stryder’s eyes glazed over, all colour bleaching from them for just a second as he accessed the files from the computer pertaining to the blueprints of the complex through his NI; areas he knew nothing about.

  “I think we may have something,” he said as his eyes regained their natural colour. Hardy didn’t say anything, as she had never seen that phenomenon before when he used his NI in that way.

  “This way,” he said and led her down a different part of the complex towards the lower levels, going deeper inside instead of towards the exits. Pulling up short she stood, unsure of what to do. Stryder turned to face her and said, “You wanted a way out around the guards, and this is it, but you have to trust me.” Holding out his hand to her he waited for her decision.

  She looked behind her to where the obvious exits were. They were close but probably blocked by most of the security staff expecting them to go that way. If she followed him farther into the complex what would she be going in to? Only he knew.

  Stryder waited for her to make her mind up. He needed her to be with him and not to question every decision he made, so he waited.

  There really was no choice for her, he had been right on all the decisions he had made so far, so she just had to trust him once more. There was no way either of them could make it out of the complex alone but together they had a chance, a slim one, but a chance nonetheless, so she chose to go along with him.

  With a sigh of relief he watched as she came towards him. He knew she would follow because as she had decided, there was a better chance for them together than alone.

  As he turned back to face the way they were headed he was suddenly halted in his tracks by the voice of a guard who appeared from around the corner aiming an assault rifle in their direction.

  “Freeze! Stand where you are!” the guard shouted.

  23

  Matt Hawk had made all the necessary calls. He’d brought General Sinclair up to speed on what was happening and what he hoped to achieve and had received the man’s blessing.

  Once that was done he went directly to the morgue to retrieve the NI from Doctor Randolph.

  “Here it is but I’m not sure it’ll do you any good. It was close to the damaged area of the brain, what was left of it,” Randolph said as Hawk entered the morgue.

  “Thanks, Doc, it’s up to me now to see if I can extract any data from it,” Hawk replied gratefully.

  “You can use that terminal over there; you’ll need the nanoscope anyway to be able to read any data from something that small,” Randolph said, indicating the terminal in question next to a piece of equipment that resembled a proton microscope.

  Placing the slide with the Neural Interface containing all the encoded data into the nanoscope, Hawk waited while the information was downloaded onto the hard drive. Some of the data was corrupted due to the damage from the plasma bolt but there was some he could use. After a while he had what he wanted, the call logs. Scanning through them he found what he was looking for, the record of the call to Captain Nokorovic who Norsky passed the NI tracking codes to. Nokorovic was an aide to General Solon himself.

  Turning to the ME he said, “Thanks, Doc, I’ve got everything that I need.” He left the morgue and headed straight for Gemmell’s office. This news he wanted to deliver in person.

  “Sir, I think we may have something,” Hawk said as he entered the office. Gemmell looked up from his screen saying, “Okay, tell me.”

  Hawk hastily went through everything he’d done with the NI to extract the data and his conclusions.

  “And that helps us how?” Gemmell asked.

  Hawk smiled. “Well, sir, I played a hunch and while I waited for the ME to extract the NI I placed a call to our closest monitoring station to Alliance space. As you know they monitor the comings and goings of all their top brass much the same as I’m sure, they do with us.”

  “Go on,” Gemmell said, still not exactly sure where this was heading.

  “Sir, the tracking codes were passed on to Captain Nokorovic who is listed as an aide to General Solon himself,” Hawk said his smile still in place.

  “But how does that help us in our present situation?” Gemmell asked.

  “Shortly after the codes were passed on, the General made a trip to a small planet where they have a research facility. Now why would the man in charge of the Alliance Special Forces go to a research facility do you think?” Hawk saw the realisation dawn on Gemmell’s face.

  “He’s gone to oversee what they can extract from Stryder,” he said, adding, “Where’s this planet?”

  That’s when the smile faded from Hawk’s face a little.

  “It’s Toldax, sir, well inside Alliance space, they chose well.”

  “Right, well we’ve come this far and just because the destination is a little tricky doesn’t mean we give up, there’s just too much at stake here. I want you on the first available transport to Celeron where you’ll rendezvous with General Sinclair. We can commandeer a freighter from local sources and refit her with stealth shields for your trip into Alliance space. We’re going to do this Captain.” Gemmell’s enthusiasm was rising and contagious. Hawk had thought that once the destination was known the plan might have been vetoed and yet there he was standing in the office of his superior officer hearing that the plan was going to go ahead.

  “Thank you, sir, I’m on my way,” Hawk said as he turned to go.

  “Good work Matt, and bring them back. Okay?” Gemmell said with a smile.

  “You can count on it, sir.”

  “Your travel arrangements have been made and your transport is waiting in orbit as we speak. There’s a shuttle powered up ready for take-off on the rooftop landing pad,” Gemmell
said. Hawk realised then that he’d had more faith in him coming up with the goods than he had himself. He left the office and headed straight for the elevator that would take him straight to the rooftop landing pad and his next mission. He dared not fail for too much was at stake. Not just the lives of the two soldiers he was going to help rescue, but possibly the lives of countless others including innocent bystanders who might get caught up in the conflagration should the Alliance manage to reproduce the serum that made Stryder so important to both sides. He didn’t know what that was yet but he did know it must be important to warrant all this attention. The responsibility of the success of this mission therefore, lay squarely on his shoulders. If he failed now then everything he feared would come to pass.

  So, no pressure then!

  STRYDER HAD TO MAKE his move and do it fast. He brought up his own assault rifle and fired as he moved to the side.

  The guard tracked his movement and opened fire at the same time.

  Stryder’s burst of plasma fire raked across the guard’s chest sending him flying backwards whilst the guard’s salvo went past Stryder harmlessly.

  Hardy saw the movement, brought up her assault rifle and fired at two more guards as they appeared round the corner. Their attention had been on Stryder. Hardy’s burst of plasma fire raked across their bodies sending them crashing backwards, their limbs askew as their torsos were blasted open by the salvo.

  “C’mon we haven’t got much time,” Stryder said as he got up and continued down the corridor.

  “Where the hell are we going?” Hardy asked, the recent bloodshed already a distant memory.

  “Grab as many battery clips as you can,” Stryder said as he raided the dead guards’ pockets for more ammunition.

  “That doesn’t answer my question,” she said as she stooped to the task as well.

  “We’re going farther into the complex,” he said.

  “I can fucking see that Kurt!” she answered him angrily. She was getting rather pissed off at his apparent reluctance to inform her of anything.

  “Okay, well down in the bowels of this complex will be the Life Support section of engineering. If we can access one of the tunnels there should be a way to the outside.”

  “‘If we ‘can’ and ‘should be’? Those are phrases I’m not sure I want to hear in an escape plan thank you very fucking much.”

  “C’mon, what do you expect here, I’m making this up as I go along; cut me some slack why don’t you.”

  Just then they ran headlong into three more guards who appeared from around another corner. They collided and all ended up on the floor.

  They all eyed one another before realising their weapons were scattered on the floor and that the first person to retrieve one of them would most likely be the victor.

  Stryder kicked out at the nearest guard catching him full in the face, breaking his nose in a spurt of blood. He was on his feet in a flash followed by Hardy and the other two guards.

  Hardy took the one on her right with a right cross to the jaw, snapping his head viciously to the side causing him to stagger slightly. She followed up with a kick to his midriff, which bent him double, then brought her right knee up to his face with such force it actually lifted him off his feet. He landed on his back, blood from his shattered nose leaving a trail in the air tracing his flight path.

  Stryder watched this from the corner of his eye, assured she didn’t need any assistance while he dealt with the other guard. The first attack was anything but subtle. The guard came rushing at him with his head down trying to take him across the midriff in a tackle. Stryder sidestepped out of range as the guard rushed past then came up short behind him. Stryder spun around to face him as the guard also turned and Stryder hit him with a back fist that had so much force behind it the guard was sent spinning through the air and landed heavily on his back temporarily winded.

  Hardy was ready for her next challenge as the guard she had decked flipped onto his feet, rage clearing showing in his eyes. He wiped blood from his face and snarled in fury at her before rushing forwards. He swung a haymaker right cross at her head, which she easily ducked beneath, ramming her right fist into his unprotected stomach. A left cross to his ribs caused him to buckle so she followed with a right uppercut to his chin. As his head came up she sent her fist smashing into the side of his chin in a left cross, snapping his head sideways with such force that he left the ground and landed on the floor face first. He would not be rejoining the fight after that.

  Stryder turning to watch and smiling at her technique and power was almost caught unawares by the first guard who had received the kick to the face. He’d regained his feet and was about to attack, when Stryder heard his approach from behind.

  The punch from behind sailed over his head harmlessly and Stryder, ducking slightly, rammed an elbow into the man’s midriff. All the air was expelled from his lungs by the blow and Stryder simply brought his fist up into the guard’s face further damaging it. Broken teeth and blood were spat out from the blow and then Stryder spun around and smashed his left fist into the guard’s face sending the man flying onto his back out cold.

  The second guard was on his feet by this time and ready to continue the fight. Stryder saw his advance and, jabbing him to the face with his left, which stopped him in his tracks, he then finished him with a right cross to the jaw sending him to the floor also out cold.

  “Cool,” Stryder said to Hardy.

  “Well, as much fun as that was, we still have to get the hell out of here,” she replied with a hint of a smile because despite, or perhaps because of, the danger they were in she had enjoyed the brief struggle.

  Stryder picked up both their weapons, tossed Hardy’s to her which she caught effortlessly then, smiling, said, “Let’s go then, oh and remind me never to piss you off, okay?”

  GENERAL SOLON HEARD the gunfire from his office. His NI was tied into the computer monitoring the facility’s activities and he learned that a fire had broken out in the main lab area.

  “Not again!” he snarled and he asked the computer to verify the incident, which it did by relaying real time video display to a monitor in his office.

  When he saw the blaze, which by this time had completely engulfed the room, he was furious. Seeing all his plans literally go up in flames before his eyes was too much for him to bear.

  Grabbing an assault rifle from a cabinet by the wall he stormed out of his office. Using a combat channel via his NI he called Captain Anders.

  “Captain, are you any closer to finding Captain Stryder?” he barked.

  “Not yet, sir,” came the reply.

  “I’m not surprised; he’s just been back into the lab and destroyed all the serum and everything else there. I suggest you tap into those enhanced abilities of yours and get me some results.” His voice was infused with anger and, ending the call abruptly, he left the captain in no doubt as to his mood.

  Rage gripped him so fiercely that he couldn’t think straight. He wandered the corridor looking for something to vent his anger on but when nothing presented itself he returned to his office. The blaze in the main lab was growing, but because he wasn’t thinking clearly escape was not even something he considered. How could he rectify the situation, drag success from the very embers of defeat? There was only one way and that was to recapture Stryder and glean some more samples from him to reconstitute the serum and start all over again. There was only one flaw with that plan which was that he had already issued orders for the death of the very man in question.

  “Captain Anders there has been a change in your orders,” he said through the combat channel via his NI.

  “Copy that, sir, I am ready to receive new orders,” replied Anders.

  “We need Captain Stryder alive. Your orders now are to capture him at all costs, but he must be alive, is that clear Captain?” Solon said.

  “As crystal, sir. Does it matter if he’s a little damaged, sir?” asked Anders. Solon could almost see the smile on the captain’s fa
ce as he asked the question.

  “As long as he’s breathing I don’t care if he’s banged up any, just make sure you get him and quickly, this place is going up in flames and we’re going to have to evacuate it very soon.”

  “Copy that, sir, we’re on it. We’ll keep you informed of our progress.”

  As his anger abated and clarity of thought returned, Solon had an idea. He said, “I’m inputting the tracking codes for the Recon Delta NIs into the facility’s main computer which will be uploaded directly to your NI. Using these codes and the facility’s interior sensors you should be able to pinpoint Stryder’s location and find him.”

  Anders felt the tingle as his NI accessed the incoming data, and he smiled.

  “Data received, sir. Copy your instructions. Will inform you when the target has been acquired.”

  “Good luck Captain and no slip ups,” Solon said breaking the connection to leave the team to get on with their mission.

  Smiling, he sat back and thought that perhaps he just might get a result from this after all. He had a team of enhanced soldiers looking for the source of the serum. If they didn’t manage to capture Stryder he still had them. It might take a little longer to fabricate the serum from them, instead of from its pure form via Stryder’s blood, but it could be done just the same. It was not a total loss after all, and this little exercise would prove the worth of the programme, demonstrating how the elite team performed.

  HAWK HAD ARRIVED AT Celeron and was greeted by General Sinclair himself on the starship still in orbit around the planet.

  The briefing had been simple and to the point.

  “Bring them back, Captain,” was all Sinclair had said. Everything else had already been stated, they all knew the vital importance of this mission and time was of the essence, so no one wanted to waste any more on pointless speeches.