Raid: Rise Of Mankind Book 3

by John Walker

  “The signals are all the same but are they going at the same time?”

  “I don’t follow you.”

  Olly brought all the devices up on his scanner, showing their signals. “Watch as they begin to transmit.” Each one started at a different time, emitting its message for half a second before the next began. They found there were thirty-two total devices, all going at different times. He smiled. Now we’re getting somewhere!

  Clea narrowed her eyes. “You think that while the signals all appear the same, together they’re transmitting a complete set of instructions, is that it?”

  Olly nodded. “Timing is the key, not specifically what they’re currently saying. As they ping the computer, it essentially is checking boxes. I think I’ve got the first one so I’m going to compile the entire message and see if we’re still missing anything.”

  “Excellent work, Lieutenant but we need to hurry.”

  “Oh, I feel it.” Olly nodded. “Here we go.”

  ***

  Timothy was watching the scans while Olly occupied himself with the bigger problem. His eyes widened as he caught a large ship departing the station at a rapid clip. He zeroed in and did a check against the database. It was a large, modified freighter…the pirate ship finally revealed itself and it had indeed been responsible for the broken seal.

  “Sir, the pirates are leaving the station,” Timothy said. “They managed to tear themselves free after all.”

  “They’re getting away?” Adam frowned. “We don’t really have the time to pursue them.”

  “Sir,” Agatha announced. “I have the Aguna Spear on com. They’re saying they can pursue the pirates and take care of them.”

  Gray nodded. “They have a score to settle so let them do it. Tell them to keep us informed of their progress but I’m pretty sure those criminals are heading for a minimum safe distance to jump.”

  “Looks like it,” Timothy said. “I’m tracking their course and they’re putting as much stuff between us and them as they can. I estimate they’ll make it to their destination in less than three minutes at current speed.”

  “We also know they don’t care about safety,” Adam said. “They just ripped free of docking clamps after all.”

  “Warn the Aguna Spear.” Gray scowled. “The fact that they had their ship taken makes me want to give them any advantage we might be able to afford.”

  “On it, sir.” Agatha paused. “They say they’re on a pursuit course and will report back soon.”

  ***

  Hoffner sent the other marines to sweep and clear to eliminate or capture the remaining pirates. When the entire station began to shake, he leaned against the wall. An alarm went off overhead and a computer shouted something about a hull breach and how it was initiating a containment field.

  He patched his com into the control center. “Ander, what the hell just happened?”

  “I think the pirates just yanked themselves free of the station,” Ander replied. “They destroyed a wall in the process! Wow…they didn’t want to say.”

  “I guess I can’t blame them,” Hoffner said. “I need your help. We have to track this Thantis guy down. My men are looking for pirates. You and I need to get him. I’m relying on you to know this place better than me. Where would he go? Do you think he’s trying to kill himself?”

  “Hm…all shuttles and escape pods are locked down…wait!” Ander grunted. “One of the hangars…someone just broke a seal down there. He must be in there!”

  “I’ll meet you in the promenade.” Hoffner began to run. “Catch up to me there and lead me to this place. We’ll take care of him together.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  “Interrogation…and hopefully, negotiation. Hurry.”

  Marine chatter over his com indicated they located additional enemy forces. Most of them surrendered. The few who had any fight in them took some shots but they were quickly overwhelmed. When he arrived at the promenade, Ander hustled up to him and pointed down the hallway. They moved off together at a steady run.

  Ander tapped Hoffner on the shoulder and slowed down, gesturing to a large set of doors just ahead of them. They were easily big enough to bring in heavy cargo, the types of lifters and burrowers they used deep in the mine shaft. Perhaps freighters docked there as well to load up Ulem for transport.

  “This is it.” Ander tapped at the console and the door started to open. “Oops! I didn’t mean to open it right away!”

  “We don’t have time for subtlety so don’t worry about it.” Hoffner raised his weapon and stepped inside. There were a few shuttles scattered about but the one in the center took his attention. Their man stood beneath it, performing a preflight check. He didn’t seem to notice them, which seemed odd. The doors weren’t exactly quiet. “Hey there!”

  Thantis turned to them, stumbling back in shock. “How? How did you find me?”

  “You broke in here,” Ander said, pointing his own gun at the man. “I caught it on the security scans.”

  “You’re the one who warned the Earth ship, aren’t you?”

  Ander nodded. “I am. I only wish I would’ve caught you sooner before you sabotaged the station.”

  Thantis shrugged. “You didn’t. Now you get to die here…and me too if you don’t let me go.”

  “You say that like there’s a remote possibility I’ll let you go,” Hoffner said. “I’m going to tell you this just once. If you help us, you live. Otherwise, I’m taking your head off. Sure, other people might die, but you are guaranteed to go down.”

  “Is your human bravado supposed to scare me?” Thantis spat. “Because if so, I’m not impressed. You don’t think I came here prepared to die?”

  “No, I don’t.” Hoffner shook his head. “If you were, you wouldn’t be trying to get out of here. You’d sit here and enjoy a front row seat to the mass murder you’re about to commit. So let’s cut the crap and get to the point. I know you can stop this insanity so let’s get to it.”

  “Do you have any idea what these people did to me?” Thantis shouted, his eyes blazing with rage. “How they humiliated me? Then, I returned to a dead family, killed by the carelessness of my own people! This is the very least I can do to repay them for all that they’ve done to me. Hit them where it will hurt. In the financials.”

  “Do any of the people on this station deserve to go through what you did?” Ander asked. “The civilians? How about Tierna? I know she sold you drinks all the time. She didn’t have anything to do with you being let go or your family dying yet you’re going to kill her! She has family too and you’re going to make them suffer.”

  “Everyone should suffer the way I did.”

  “Yes, it’s all very tragic.” Hoffner took a step forward. “Tell us the secret of how you’re taking this place down. Let us help you. Lord knows the kielan way of rehabilitating criminals is different from ours. From my understanding, they’ll get you some help.”

  “Forget it.” Thantis turned away and continued his preflight check. “I won’t help you. You’ll just have to shoot me.”

  Ander put his hand on Hoffner’s arm. “Wait! Let me…let me try one more time.”

  “Hurry.” Hoffner said. “We’re dramatically short on time here.”

  “Thantis, please…” Ander advanced on him. “You can’t pretend you don’t care about anyone at all. What you’ve been through, I agree, it’s awful. I came here because I was tired of the killing, tired of the war but I didn’t take it out on civilians. I helped them. You can do the same. Just…join me and the Captain. Put a stop to this plan and I’ll be sure you get treatment.”

  Thantis paused, glaring at the security guard. Hoffner thought, for a brief moment, that the man may actually come around. He seemed to falter in his convictions, if only for a moment. Unfortunately, it didn’t last and the crazed expression conquered the placid one quickly. Luckily, Ander kept his gun poised or Hoffner figured Thantis would’ve tackled him.

  “Enough of this!” Thantis cried
. “I will not be swayed by your sentimentality. I have fostered this revenge for long enough. None of you can stop me. It’s over! For you and these people!”

  “He won’t break,” Hoffner said. “This is your last warning, Thantis. If I have to let these people die, you don’t get to be around to enjoy it. Tell us what we want to know or I fire.”

  “I’ll make it easy for you, human scum!” Thantis reached into his jacket and Hoffner pulled the trigger, popping a single shot that connected with his target’s forehead. Thantis’s eyes widened in shock and he died long before he hit the ground.

  Ander rushed to the body and searched his pockets. “He was going for his tablet. Here it is.”

  “Is it doing anything?”

  Ander admired it for a moment and nodded. “Yes, it’s definitely working on something. Like…like an application is running but I have no idea what any of this means.”

  “Behemoth, come in. This is Hoffner.”

  Agatha answered. “We read you, Captain. Report.”

  “We’ve had to kill the terrorist but we have his computer. It’s running an application of some sort. Can you tie in to us and get what you need off of it?”

  “Patching you through to Lieutenant Darnell.”

  A moment later, Olly came on. “What’ve you got?”

  “The terrorist’s tablet. It’s running some kind of application. Can you get to it from there?”

  “Maybe. Um…have yours scan it and I’ll do what I can remotely.”

  Hoffner set them down on a nearby crate, side by side. “Okay, do your magic.”

  He watched as his own tablet was remotely controlled from the Behemoth and a few moments later, it began a scan he didn’t know it was capable of. He turned to Ander while he waited. “Did you find anything else?”

  “Personal items,” Ander replied. “An image of his family…identification…nothing of consequence.”

  “You sure? Keep looking.”

  “I’ll let you know…”

  Hoffner paced, a sense of urgency biting into his gut. They were so short on time but he couldn’t really hurry the bridge crew of the Behemoth. If anyone could solve it, their tech officer would find a way…but would he manage to pull it off before it was too late? The few moments they had left would tell.

  ***

  “Clea, check this out!” Olly gestured wildly. “First, I was right. They’re working in tandem to send several messages…like…each one is essentially changing the numbers in a binary code. Until right now, I couldn’t have told you what they were altering but now, we have the guy’s tablet and the key is here! I know the sequence it’s using and what it said.”

  “Can we reverse it?” Clea asked. “What do you have to do?”

  “Now that we have the key, I can alter the course of the station, get it back on track. Timothy, can you plot the course for me? Show me what I should have it at?”

  “One second.” Timothy tapped away at his console and nodded. “You ready?”

  “Send them over, I don’t want to make a mistake.”

  “Incoming.”

  Olly received the new coordinates and frowned. They were dramatically different than the end result of where Thantis wanted the station. He took a quick moment to run a test, to see if his new signal would do what he wanted. The computer suggested it would but he needed someone to manually enter the information.

  “Okay, Hoffner, I need you to enter this code I’m sending over. It will alter the course of the station but…you’re going to get pretty damn close to the planetoid before it’s fully corrected.”

  “Sounds like a fun ride,” Hoffner muttered. “Just get it over here.”

  Olly sent the information and sat on the edge of his seat, tapping his foot nervously. If Timothy was wrong or Olly somehow screwed up sending the information, a lot of people would be dead. The tension weighed on his shoulders and made his hands shake. They’d been through a lot of crazy situations but this one, with so many civilians at stake, really bothered him.

  “Keep us informed,” Olly said, turning an anxious look to Clea. She nodded once which he assumed was a kielan way of offering him some comfort. It didn’t work but he took a deep breath, crossed his fingers and hoped.

  ***

  Hoffner looked at the information and frowned. Really, Oliver? That’s…not a simple five digit number. The readout he received was a long line of code, probably thirty characters. And I’ve probably only got one shot to get it right. Seriously, why couldn’t this guy just have planted a freakin’ bomb?

  “Are you sure about those?” Ander asked. The station shook, a clear indication that orbit was decaying quickly. It might not stop the next time it started. Hoffner shrugged at Ander.

  “I don’t think we have a choice. Here we go.”

  He began to pound the digits in, one at a time, verifying each. There wasn’t time for much caution but screwing up would be just as bad as not finishing. The first ten went quick but then he started to get nervous. His mind made him second guess and teased him about failure. As many missions as he’d run, he never felt quite so much weight as putting in a bunch of characters in a tablet.

  The last five came and he held his breath. Ander went tense beside him. The station began to rumble. Screams sounded in the hallway beyond the hangar. He knew people were panicking, probably looking out viewports or looking at scanners to see what was happening. They all knew what was at stake but they didn’t realize a single man might well save their lives…or condemn them completely.

  He finished the last character and hit commit, stepping backward to watch the results. An alarm went off but he had no idea what it was calling out specifically. Proximity? A dramatic course change? It didn’t matter, the damn thing started blaring just as the new code went into effect.

  Likely, the modified signal needed to force the station to dramatically correct course and that probably set the computer off. That’s why Thantis made it gradual, because the computer wouldn’t bother with it until the situation was too late. Olly didn’t care if the people had to deal with a little siren for a few minutes if it meant saving their lives.

  At least, that’s what Hoffner believed. The station rumbled again, this time shaking so badly they almost lost their footing. Hoffner grabbed Ander and steadied him and they grabbed the tablets to move closer to the walls. There, they leaned and kept themselves aloft all while the station did a dance around the planetoid.

  “Is it working?” Hoffner called into his com. “Behemoth, are we correcting course?”

  “Yes!” Olly’s voice came through, a shout of excitement. “Yes, we did it! Good work, Captain! We’re good! The station’s coming back to a regular course and speed!”

  Hoffner slumped and turned to Ander. The two men smiled as a sense of relaxation came over them. The station, and everyone on board was safe. Thantis’s crazy plan failed and now, they could get back to business as usual. After countless missions, Hoffner could definitely say this was the one that left him with the most relief and definitely thankful for his backup on the Behemoth.

  ***

  Rathe took the scanners and cursed. “Hannah, our alliance ship is following us.”

  “Okay,” Hannah said. “They won’t catch up in time. We’re about to jump.”

  “You’d better make it damn fast!” Jordan shouted. “Because they’re liable to shoot first and ask questions later.”

  “They want us alive,” Hannah replied. “Because if they kill us, they can’t save face for being commandeered. Besides, prisoners are worth more than bodies. Don’t worry, they’ll go for disabling shots long before—”

  A pulse blast nearly hit them dead on but grazed their shields. The ship was jostled and Rathe barely kept from falling over. He turned and glared at the pilot, seething that he’d gone along with her plan.

  “You were saying? That felt pretty damn close to a full on attack!”

  “Relax, will you?” Hannah shook her head. “They’re just trying to sc
are us.”

  “Now they’re hailing us,” Jordan said. Rathe looked at his friend as the man listened to the com. “They’re basically telling us to surrender or they’ll blow us out of the sky. I think you’ve bluffed enough, Hannah! Can you please stop putting all our lives at risk because you don’t want to go to jail?”

  “What do you propose? That we give up?”

  Rathe and Jordan replied together, “Yes!”

  “Well, I won’t do it.” Hannah hit the throttle and the ship rocketed forward. Rathe had had enough. He left his station and grabbed her from behind, roughly throwing her from the seat. She hit the deck and rolled, slamming into the wall. He took her seat and slowed them down.

  “Jordan, get a gun on her!”

  Jordan aimed his weapon as Hannah took her feet. Rathe killed the engines and connected to the Alliance ship, signaling their surrender. Once they messaged back that they would bring them aboard, he turned to his former pilot and shook his head. She sure as hell didn’t give up, he had to give her that.

  “There’s a point when you can’t win anymore,” Rathe said. “That’s when you have to be smart or you’ll just be dead. Remember this: no second chances if you’re a corpse.”

  “You think you’ll ever get out of prison, Rathe?” Hannah asked. “Because you won’t. I swear to you, none of us will see the light of day again.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Jordan added. “This way we have a chance to get out someday. Right now…well, you nearly got us all killed. I think you’re ready for a time out, girl.”

  “You should at least let me get out of here with my fighter. I can elude them.”

  “I don’t know why you’re so set on this, but no, I’m not letting you. If you jeopardize our chance to live through this, I can’t let you do it.” Rathe shrugged. “Relax. We’ll have our chance…another day in the sun but now, we have to acknowledge defeat.”

  “You craven bastards deserve what you get.” Hannah leaned against the wall. “I can’t believe you. We could’ve gotten away. You should’ve let me try.”