Merker's Outpost

by I. Christie

  "Guardian, do you see what I see?"

  Men dressed in uniforms that they now identified as Alan's metrasoldiers, were carrying a case between them that was clearly marked what its contents were…if they were to believe what was written on the outside of the container.

  "They set that off and you'll have firestorms within the city. Blasters! They should be evacuating this place and instead explosives and weapons of high intensity are being shipped down!" she shook her head perplexed. "It would be so like Alan, all or nothing. But why? Is he exacting revenge for Lord Chaney's death? Is he storing these weapons here to use on someone else? And why his soldiers? Or, is he setting up this place for his base? That would be crazy since it would be illegal and this place is no longer tactically tenable."

  Harriet ran her fingers through her hair. No matter Alan's tendency for the all or nothing, it was still too overkill with the explosives.

  Maybe…the soldiers are planning on placing each explosive weapon in different cities of the outpost, rendering them unlivable for a long time. "Guardian, how many cities are there here?"

  "Two hundred at one time; three are habitable now. Why?"

  The holograph showed fewer than fifteen. Must be part of Merker's security. "That would make more sense where Alan is concerned. Leave something in each city that could ignite its neighbor. That way he would leave nothing habitable." But why? The smugglers are moving out… He doesn't do something this big without a reason. Why, why, why?

  "Where are the captain and Carol?"

  "Midpoint to New Century City."

  "Well, I'll be joining them. Brief them and send a note to the admiral and whoever else you've been working with." She left the room quickly to suit up. "They need to know about the firepower being stored here," she called over her shoulder.

  They were going to have to neutralize the explosives before the soldiers moved them to their destinations, if her hunch was correct. And while they were at it, shaking up his group of soldiers would be rather fun.

  I do believe you are getting a bit cocky there, Lieutenant. Perhaps some of the Black Rose attitude is rubbing off on you, eh? She smirked to herself.

  ***

  Harriet was twenty minutes to her stop when Guardian contacted her.

  "Lieutenant, the captain is going to continue to get the meter and will meet you on the second level for conference."

  "Guardian, did you get a reading on that vial I had left with you?"

  "Yes. It is a derivative from a highly toxic and addictive drug. I didn't find anything in her bio readings that would indicate that it is in her."

  "Hmm. So, you think I got there just in time?" Harriet laughed shortly. "I'm just suspicious of Lord Chaney's presence in her room with a highly addictive drug and her sudden snappish behavior. It's just a thought." Hmm. He already had the information but did not pass it on to me. This tendency to practice 'on a need to know basis' will have to be brought up when I return.

  "I did a complete scan on her bios," Guardian sounded doubtful. "There was nothing that looked like a trigger for that drug."

  "There was nothing that looked...?" Harriet thought about how she knew another scientist that left so much out in sentences like that. "What was in her system that you could not identify?"

  "I have not quite been able to identify what is different only that there is a change in her chemistry than what it was when she was in the academy. If the captain is addicted to something what do you suggest we do with her?""

  "If she is on something, I somehow don't think she has been on it for long. She would have needed a fix sooner. Let her work off the effects, if that is what her sudden change of behavior is about. What about the rest of the Black Rose troop? Do you know what their status is?"

  "I keep them unconscious to avoid their attempts to escape. When the Respite's sister ship arrives, they will be turned over to the Yellow Rose Guard of Titon who are a lot tougher than they are. I will look closer at their bio readings until then."

  "Well, I won't be waiting for Capt. Zohra and Carol. I want to look at that far side of the supply corridor, without the captain's interference."

  "Maud is headed toward the station. She has finished administering to my guests. My monitors show the tube station is not secured."

  "Is there a way to stop this car past the station?"

  "Ah, to get into the closed part of the city. There is a side rail that will take you to a repair post. There is no support system or lights. I will disengage my barrier in the tube. You will have to open a door between the two parts of the city with an override, to prevent a breach. The code will be your birth mother's birthdate."

  "And that…hmmm," that took her by surprise but she moved on. "I can see in the city plan…" Harriet traced the image of the city's schematics that appeared on the car's wall, "there is a passage to the corridor that I want to get to. C4 is your code for that area."

  "Yes. That is the buffer zone between the occupied part of New Century City and where I have been keeping the rescued survivors. Stopping just past the station will be a sudden deceleration but I believe the suit can handle it. To start the deceleration in the terminal would be dangerous. So far, I see no one in the area, but that does not mean they will not be there when you arrive. Fifteen stan more minutes. Once you are past the terminal the speed will decrease. The car will return to its normal place once you have disembarked."

  "Good."

  Chapter 14

  Harriet's eyes scanned the walls and ceiling through the helmet visor of what to normal sight was a pitch-dark service tunnel. Equipment and cables were neatly stored out of the way of a service bot or anyone who needed to move quickly along its floor. Her running footsteps made familiar thuds in an oxygen-deprived atmosphere while the suit made it possible to move as if in a friendly environment. She checked the timer in the corner of her visor. Ten stan minutes had passed. Mentally she went over the layout of this part of the city. She had about one more minute of running before she would get to the first security gate Guardian erected.

  There was an absence of feeling in the tunnel, which caused her to suspect that all maintenance in this area was done by bots. What made her think that? Because, she told herself, it was not like the feeling she received when she first entered her quarters. Spaces that once were peopled retained some of the energy of its occupants…which was why those that read energy could tell something of what went on in the space.

  It took her all of twenty-five minutes to reach the WEB that Capt. Zohra had set up. Its purpose was to prevent anyone from the uninhabited part of the city from entering their territory unannounced. It took another five minutes to find out why Capt. Zohra did not think she would be able to get by.

  She is good.

  Grinning, Harriet rubbed her hands together and began to dismantle the complicated WEB. It was a skill she learned first as CO of the Degas Troop and had further honed by working with Lt. Commander Nilson who liked to set them in odd places during her training sessions with him. The Collective's police forces did not use them but the outlaws they hunted down did.

  After another twenty minutes, she wiped her tired fingers on her pants and then carefully pulled the WEB filament down. Nothing snagged, but she was still careful, not wanting to risk discovering too late that she had missed one. Finished, she laid a new trap, setting one of Guardian's stingers and sonic sounders in place. Shaking her tired arms and hands out she felt quite proud of herself.

  Score one point for the exSpartan. All right. Now the guard.

  She moved up the corridor, and just short of the bend in the hall found the wall panel that would give her access to the surveillance switches. It took her five minutes to reactivate the equipment. Since Guardian did not have any bots active in the city it would have been Maud that would be reactivating the equipment the smugglers and their allies had deactivated and Guardian did not want to risk her for something that other sensors could supply him with.

  "Guardian?"

&nbs
p; "I can see you and down the corridor. The connection you reestablished is reacquiring the other cameras as we speak."

  "What can you see on the other side of where I am?" She was still hesitant of using the Guardian's suits disappearing capability unless it was the only alternative.

  "I see one guard from the Spinner's Tale standing outside. Alan's soldiers have been moving weapons down and have left six Spartans to guard the supplies. I counted all five of Alan's team that entered the elevator has returned by it. They are on the second floor, conferring with others of their group. The Spartans inside the storage room are engaged in heavy betting; the card game they seem to always be playing."

  "This is a good time then to neutralize the explosive," Captain Zohra's voice came through Harriet's communicator. Suspiciously, Harriet looked around her.

  "We're in the opposite wall from you, Lieutenant." Harriet could hear the smile in her voice.

  Helga's moon. Blasted woman's got me jumpy.

  Then a small picture appeared in one corner of her visor.

  "You can control what camera you are seeing by tapping the blue dot on your left forearm," Guardian instructed.

  Ahh. Harriet tested it out, getting a view of Carol and then one of the captain. Tapping further gave her views of the corridor.

  "You have a gas that can neutralize one of the compounds in the explosive, Guardian. That done, the rest of the payload is worthless. It's pinkish, unless you have more than one pink shade," Zohra informed him.

  "I know which one and it would, but I don't have access to the morgue area with any gas. You will have to move the canisters with the explosives to another floor."

  "That can be arranged," the captain told him.

  Harriet meanwhile, studied the image of the guard that was watching this part of the hall.

  One lone guard playing a game and acting as if there was nothing to worry about. Hmmm. Well, I'm just a real suspicious prankster and believe it's best not to take situations at face value. So…can anything else be happening here?

  Harriet could hear the sounds from the game. Turning her head slightly she watched Captain Zohra and Carol moving toward her.

  "Nice work. I underestimated your skills," Zohra whispered softly. "It won't happen again," she added.

  Harriet tried not to grin, but she did feel that if she had a tail, it would be fully engaged, and she was not even annoyed with herself that she felt that way.

  "With the few soldiers they have at their disposal I guess one guard for this side of the corridor is not suspect, but…" the captain looked into Harriet's eyes but not for long, "something doesn't feel right."

  Harriet pulled a piranha star out of her utility pocket.

  "Nice toy," the captain murmured, and then returned her attention to the guard. The captain hesitated and shook her head. "Something is not right about this setup."

  Harriet leaned against the wall and tried not to think that the captain was having problems with divided loyalties.

  "That game is not making the sounds of someone who is serious about winning," Carol offered.

  "He keeps hitting the same button. Of course, he could be dreaming of his leave time and what he's going to do with his…" the captain paused and then cleared her throat, "with himself. Or, he could be a decoy."

  Harriet pursed her lips and refrained from telling her that she need not have changed her original remark. Who had not heard 'wang' or 'dong' before? That was an interesting side to the captain.

  "He's got a primer in his hand. Either he's nervous about some of his buddies that Carol and I took out of the action picture, or they expect trouble from this direction. I guess we'll just have to find out for ourselves. How fast can you two sprint?" Captain Zohra asked.

  "Fast enough," Carol returned.

  Harriet grinned and held up the star.

  "When you're ready, Lieutenant."

  The device the guard was holding reset to each new position he took but it needed him to press the button, otherwise an alarm would go off. Harriet watched the figure in her helmet screen, waiting for him to reset the small device in his hand.

  The three women sprinted toward the guard as soon as the star shot out from Harriet's hand. He was frozen in mid-fall when Captain Zohra caught him. Harriet made a diving grab of the device in the air before it hit the ground. Without pause, she rolled to her feet pulling out her sidearm and scanned the hall before them. Without looking her finger deactivated the rescued device.

  Captain Zohra sprinted further down the corridor and then disappeared. Carol did her part by placing a sleep patch on the unconscious man's neck.

  "Guardian, do you have someplace to lock him up in this city?" Harriet asked.

  "Well, yes. I could reactivate the holding cells. I had not thought of that. It is only one floor below the recreation area."

  "Do it," Captain Zohra ordered softly, and then her form reappeared next to Harriet and Carol. "And while you're at it, why don't you add the others we've stuffed bound and gagged in closets."

  "You put your holding cells below a recreation area?" Harriet asked unbelievingly.

  "I did not anticipate any crime in my cities. This was a research center, not a metropolis of nomads. The most serious problem was a tagerian adolescent who was bored. He became obnoxious more than violent.

  "Can your bots move him there?" Captain Zohra asked impatiently.

  "Yes. When I bring that levels environmental system back online, it will bring the bots on line too. It will take about thirty stan minutes. Then I will send them to gather up the rest you've been closeting away."

  "So, we need to find a place to dump him until your holding pens and bots are ready."

  "There is a cubby hole," Guardian started just as a long panel near the floor slid open and a bot rolled out, "that he can be stored in."

  "Lt. Montran, why don't you drag him to his temporary quarters? We'll meet you up the hall. Don't spend too much time making him comfortable, huh?" The Captain gestured to Carol towards the morgue entrance.

  Harriet dragged the unconscious guard towards the opened space. "What does this guy eat?" Harriet grunted as she shoved him into the space. Once the door closed over the unconscious man, she hurriedly jogged to the corner and hugged the wall, "Blend on," she whispered. Peering around the corner carefully, she did not want to run into any surprises. They were waiting on each side of the storage entrance to the morgue.

  "Blend off," she whispered.

  "You ready?" whispered Captain Zohra. "Both of you make sure your 'blend' is off. I don't want anyone to accidentally disappear if you're knocked on your butt and give away one of our advantages. Okay. Let's go."

  "It's already done," Harriet returned a little irritated at her thinking she was some noncom that did not know how to take care of herself.

  Captain Zohra gave her a quick look as she took her position.

  Bloody moon, Montran! She's acting just like a Sgt. Major. Babysitting her troops. Give her a break. She's the leader of this pack and it's her responsibility to see that we are tight.

  Harriet stood to one side of the door and Carol the other, as they prepared to step into the first containment space that led into the area. No one was in it nor were there any trips or traps. When the second door unsealed, the three were out quickly and took the soldiers on the inside by complete surprise. The guards on the inside were expecting one of their own and had continued their card game when the seal broke. It was a chance glance in the women's direction around one of the crates that brought a short cry from one of the players. The men slumped over stunned as the women hit them quickly and solidly with their stunners. Harriet and Carol found something to bind them up, and then pasted sleep patches on their necks, leaving them hidden behind storage equipment until the bots could collect them.

  Captain Zohra was hoping the bots got to them before their crewmates. She was trying to adjust to using a stunner over something more lethal. She would much rather take someone out once, and not have
to worry about them returning pissed off. Sometimes Spartan methods were better.

  The three women started to search the area for the explosive.

  "There is a group of five Spartans that just arrived with what appears to be a chatlin canon," Guardian informed them.

  "Damn! That makes three. That crazy Alan Fermin," Captain Zohra muttered exasperated. "Damn, damn. Well, let's find the explosives, dump what we find in a room Guardian can gas, and then we'll go and see if we can steal us a chatlin canon."

  The Captain slid a crate back into place with a grunt and went to another. "Damn, I sure could use a grav lifter. Bloody damn smugglers probably took them all with them." She let out a string of curses when the carton she was balancing dropped near her foot. Zohra dragged the canister and then two more out from behind some crates.