Isra pressed Cronus harder against the bars. “Who are you working for? What is your relationship with Vince Laban?”
Cronus struggled against Isra’s grip and he croaked, “We are an organization of slicers. The Truth of the Fall has been denied to the people…. They must know…. We can't let it be destroyed! Somebody help!”
The commotion caught the attention of some marines nearby. Viekko heard shouts and footsteps heading their direction.
Isra pressed harder. “Liar. Why did you betray me to Laban?”
Cronus croaked. “Not…intentional. Your wars were going to destroy the mainframe. Laban gave me a safe place to upload it. I didn't…he turned on me.”
The same four marines from earlier ran up to the door of the brig. They each cradled an electronic rifle in their arms and watched Isra and Cronus with a certain amount of bemusement.
Althea whipped around and hissed at the soldiers. “Don’t just stand there, help! Before she kills him.”
One of the soldiers laughed. That was as much help as he was prepared to offer.
Meanwhile, Cronus started to turn blue. Isra added more weight. “What can Laban do with the data you gave to him? What are you so afraid of?”
Cronus was past the point of answering. All he could do was gasp in pain.
In that moment, Althea tapped Viekko on the shoulder and tilted her head at the door of the brig. The key card was still in the space. All it needed was a good whack and the door should fly open… right into the marines standing on the other side.
He’d have to move fast. He pushed back and hit the card with a side kick. There was a flash of bright white sparks and the door flew open and, with Viekko’s kick, did so with enough force to smash into two of the marines.
Before the other two could get any sense of what was happening, Viekko bolted out of the cage. One of the marines had his electric rifle charged but, before he could fire, Viekko grabbed the barrel and pulled it toward him. The marine stumbled forward and Viekko threw a crushing punch to the man’s face. He staggered backward and released the rifle. Viekko spun around and fired a bolt of electricity at the other marine still standing. The man screamed as he crumpled backward, his muscles painfully contracting.
The marine he just punched in the face was up and getting ready to rush his position. The rifle needed several minutes to charge and was useless until then. Well… more or less. Viekko took it by the barrel and swung at the man’s head. The butt of it connected and the whole thing exploded in a shower of sparks and plastic shards. The marine crumpled to the ground.
“Cheap Corporate us uukh,” muttered Viekko, turning his attention to the two marines he smashed with the door. They both were coming to their senses now. One had a broken nose, the other a nasty gash in his head.
The one with the broken nose went for his weapon. Viekko ran forward and kicked the man in the stomach before he could reach it and dropped him to the ground with a jab across the jaw.
Viekko picked up the rifle himself. It was charged and ready. Viekko aimed it at the marine with the gash in his head and pulled the trigger. A flash of electricity and a scream and the last marine fell to the ground twitching.
Isra shook her head and let Cronus fall. “About time. What do I need to do, broadcast it for you?”
Viekko glanced at the aftermath. “You could have told me you were running a distraction.”
“If I had the marines would have known it was a distraction, and it wouldn’t have worked would it?” She turned her attention to Cronus gasping on the bench. “How can we stop Halifaco from destroying the refineries?”
Cronus gasped, “Near the center…main junction system. He would need to open the right valves, send the volatiles back into the boilers.”
Isra knelt beside him. “And how do we find that?”
Cronus got up. “The communicator. If he has it with him, it is linked to the satellite network. If he intends to destroy the refineries, he will be there. Find him, find the junction station. If he is not there, then there is nothing to fear.”
“Then we will need to work fast,” said Isra.
Viekko prodded one of the fallen soldiers with his foot to see if he was still stunned, “Fast would be good. We need to be gettin’ ourselves out of here before these boys go and wake up.”
“I will need my equipment,” said Cronus, starting for the open door. “I can run scans of the refineries and…”
Cronus stopped short when Isra stepped into his path. “Not you, Cronus. You have done enough damage. When we get to Earth there is going to be a lot of talk about what you did. Falsifying official documents, illegal use of Neuvonet, interfering with official business, destruction of protected Ministry territory and anything else I can think of between now and then. When we get to Earth, I will make sure they put you in a dungeon so deep they will be shipping light to you in jars. Now get out of my way.”
One of the marines on the ground started stirring. Viekko fired a blast from the electric rifle, causing the man to convulse and stop moving. “Not to belabor the point, but time is a factor.”
Isra turned and lead the way out of the cargo bay followed by Viekko and Althea. Viekko glanced back over his shoulder to see Cronus standing alone among the fallen bodies.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Once the Corporation was no longer a player on the world stage, people’s hearts turned again to deep, ancient hatreds. They looked on their allies, not as new friends, but as old enemies.
In its signature flash of opportunism and ingenuity, the Corporation sold off their weapons to the highest bidder and stoked an inferno that made the Global Revolution look like a dying campfire by comparison.
-from The Fall: The Decline and Failure of 21st Century Civilization by Martin Raffe.
Viekko peeked his head out of the cargo bay door of the ship. The camp was all but deserted now as was the shuttle. A breeze blew off the Ligeia Mare with a strange, otherworldly whistle and blew dead leaves from the surrounding forest through the camp. A few uniformed runners scrambled through the temporary shelters on some mission or another, but it was abandoned otherwise. It was as if the humanity had just been swept away in the night and left the remains to be consumed by nature.
Once he was sure that they could move through the camp in relative safety, Viekko motioned for Isra and Althea to join him. Isra pressed against him—too close for his comfort—and said, “They most likely took that crate to the armory. It will not be hard to retrieve. I will grab our things. Althea, come with me, I will need your help collecting it all. Viekko, we need transportation.”
The hovercrafts, troop transports and lifters parked by the sea were mostly gone, taken out to ship more men to some horrific fate on this moon. There were only a couple left, but one in particular caught Viekko’s eye. It wasn’t much, just a small loader with space for four passengers, a small cargo bed and a grabbing arm built on one corner.
Viekko made one more scan of the area. “Okay, I see somethin’. Do what you need to do and meet me by the coast.”
With that, he bolted from the cargo bay at a dead run toward the vehicle he selected resting on a platform by the sea. It was an older model with a few patches of fading paint clinging to a rusted frame. The engine mounted on back was attached; that was all Viekko could say with certainty about it. Viekko plopped himself behind the controls and started the warm-up sequence. The engine whined and the hovercraft shuttered and rose a meter or so off the pad.
Some distance away, an irritated voice called, “Hey! What the hell do you think you are doing?”
A marine rushed toward the hovercraft pointing a rifle—a real one this time with real bullets—aimed at Viekko’s head. “Sir, who are you? You are not authorized—”
Viekko flipped a switch to heat up the thrusters. “It’s okay. Laban said I could borrow it. I’m with the Human Reconnection Project. We’re helping each other. Just one big team. Haven’t you heard?”
>
The marine stepped in front of the loader. “Sir, I cannot let you leave until I receive official verification.”
Viekko flipped another switch to activate the stabilizers. “Well by all means, call him up and verify. Verify to your little procedure-filling heart’s content, but I’m takin’ this.”
The marine continued to hold the gun on Viekko and flicked his arm to expose the screen on his own EROS suit. Viekko pretended to pay him no attention as he worked through the checklist but his eyes were already looking for a quick way out if needed.
The marine tried to use the radio when movement in Viekko’s peripheral caught his eye and Isra’s deadly serious voice said, “Nothing sudden, please. Lower your weapon and move out of our way.”
Isra approached with a small arsenal of three automatic rifles and Viekko’s shoulder holster slung over her shoulder. She held a fourth rifle trained on the marine. Althea ignored the gunplay and tossed her black medical bag in the back seat before climbing in herself. She sat low in the seat in case Isra and the marine started swapping slugs.
The marine bared his teeth at Isra while holding the rifle at Viekko. “I can’t do that. That is Corporation property. Tell your man to stand down.
Viekko stood up in his seat with his hands in the air. “All right, let’s just calm down. Nobody do nothin’ permanent here.”
They all stood in that silent standoff for a few moments. The marine aimed a shaking rifle at Viekko while Isra stood ready to send a head-shot through the marine’s brain. Another marine jogged up from the direction of the camp. His uniform, age and the brisk pace made Viekko think ‘officer class’. As he approached, the unfortunate grunt nodded toward Isra. “Captain. These people are attempting to steal one of our vehicles.”
The captain scowled at Viekko in the loader. “Who are you? Get out of there.”
Viekko eased himself back in the seat and flicked a few switches on the control panel for dramatic effect. “Captain. Glad you’re here. I need a quick word.”
The Captain pulled a sidearm. “Get the hell out of that vehicle!”
Viekko examined the officer for a moment. Deep lines in the man’s face and greying hair suggested a man in his fifties. If he had served his time in the Corporation marines, it meant that he might have some intelligence. Independent thought and common sense were a rare commodity in the marines, but there was just enough to keep the whole operation from falling apart. And it tended to be concentrated in a select few.
“Captain, listen to me,” said Viekko leaning over the side. “That attack that Laban’s got going? It’s gonna to be a disaster. I’m talkin’ a force five baas storm.”
The Captain eyed Viekko for a moment and then the two women and back to Viekko. “What makes you say that?”
Viekko motioned out over the water. “By now you heard about the city on the other side of the sea and you’ve heard that the marines already got pushed out. What you haven’t heard is that civilization is fixin' to self-destruct, and I ain’t talkin’ metaphorical. They are currently sitting on enough fuel to shoot a hundred ships off this moon and there’s at least one man interested in blast off. Trust me, you don’t wanna be here when that happens.”
The captain looked at Isra as if for confirmation and said, “Go on.”
Viekko continued, “We’ve got a narrow window to try and stop it. It’s a long shot but I need this vehicle. Either way, I would spend less time worrying about us and more time worrying about an emergency evacuation. I’d say the chances are better than good that we don’t come back from this.”
The captain considered this. “Marine. Stand down. Report to the shuttle and order an evacuation sequence.”
“Sir?” said the marine.
“Do it.”
The soldier hesitated for a moment before running toward the shuttle.
Althea and Isra boarded the loader while the captain watched. “I couldn’t say anything to Laban but the amphibious assault was as brash as it was ill-planned. How bad is it going to be?”
Isra handed Viekko his shoulder holster with his two guns and he took off his jacket. “You ever see what a proximity mine does to a squad? Well multiply the explosive by several million tons and see what it does to an entire army.”
“How much time would you estimate we have?” the officer asked.
Viekko slipped on the shoulder holsters. “Hard to say. Be on the safe side and get ready to hit sky five minutes ago.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
Viekko pulled his white khaki jacket back on. “If I’m wrong, there will be plenty lining up to take their piece of me. Tell you what, I’ll make sure you get first in line. Avoid the rush, as they say.”
Viekko gunned the engine and left the captain behind. Viekko steered the vehicle over the waves of the sea and in the direction of the City.
He pushed the throttle on the hovercraft as hard as it would go. The engines whined and shuttered like they could blow out the back at any minute. Droplets from the super-cooled water of the Ligeia Mare sprayed up and stung his face. He squinted at the sun just a few degrees above the Western horizon. He didn’t even bother to inform the officer about the Venganto. Well, he was likely to find out in due time.
Isra sat next to Viekko in the passenger side using her EROS computer to hail Halifaco. She repeated the call, “Halifaco or any member of the Perfiduloi. This is Isra Jicarrio. If you or your people are in the refineries, you must fall back. A major Corporation force is descending on your position now. Repeat. This is Isra Jicarrio. Your position is not safe. The Outsiders are coming to force you out and the refineries are growing unstable. Repeat…”
The first indication that they were close was when the refinery smokestacks started popping up above the horizon obscuring the setting sun. When the rest of the complex started to come into view, Viekko could see the full magnitude of Laban’s insanity. Virtually everything the Corporation had on Titan was parked just off the coast. At least ten troop transports, a few heavy cargo movers and several medium to light gunships all hovered above the water less than a kilometer from the beach.
Althea shielded her eyes from the spraying water. “Are we too late?”
Viekko turned the wheel to veer the hovercraft to the left. “For those poor bastards, yes.”
They made a wide arc to avoid the Corporate fleet. Viekko throttled down and brought the loader onto dry ground. He drove along the coast for a kilometer or so and turned toward the refineries until he brought it alongside the grey wall surrounding the compound. He throttled down farther and moved just above a walking pace near the barrier.
Althea stood up and looked at the refineries beyond the wall through a set of binoculars. “I can’t see anyone there.”
Isra stopped transmitting. “There is no answer from Halifaco.” She tapped some icons on her screen. “If he has his transmitter, it is linked to the satellite network. We can find his location inside the refineries…Yes, he is there.”
Viekko jumped out of the loader and unholstered his gun. “Can we get to him before somethin’ terrible happens?”
Isra stepped out and picked up an automatic rifle. “Depends on how long he has been in there. We need to confront him. Althea, stay here. If this ends poorly, there may be need for emergency medical care.”
Althea took a seat in the driver's side and nodded. “Okay.”
Viekko ran his hand along the wall. “Keep close to this. If the worst should happen, it will stop the worst of the shock wave. Isra. Let’s go.”
Viekko took a step back, jumped, and scrambled over the wall. Isra had more difficulty but she fell to the ground on the other side not long after him. They sprinted across the open ground into the tangled mix of steel and Viekko stopped to scan the area through the sights of his weapon. “Any clue where he might be?”
“Near the center of the complex,” said Isra in between gasps of air.
“Okay, lead the way. But be carefu
l. This place was a death trap when everyone thought it was working perfectly. No tellin’ what kind of hell it has become since.”
Viekko felt even more unease walking between the tanks and through the maze of steel pipes. The entire apparatus groaned with increased strain. Pops and hisses became more frequent than they were in the past. Every time Viekko stepped next to or over a pipe or moving piece of machinery, he listened close for any sign that he would have to jump out of the way.
Isra crept forward with her rifle raised. She occasionally stopped to consult the readout on her arm computer. Viekko, meanwhile, watched for an attack on their flanks. Far away, beyond the straining, hissing and cracking machinery, he noticed the smell of hundreds of Corporation marines sweating in their EROS suits beneath Corporation Blue uniforms getting stronger with each passing moment.
They came to a spot where the narrow walkways opened up to a passage where Viekko and Isra could walk side-by-side with room to spare. They moved a few meters before Viekko heard voices through the constant mechanical cacophony. He raised his hand to indicate to Isra that they should pause.
Isra checked her EROS computer and nodded. They agreed without saying a word: Halifaco was just up ahead. Viekko unholstered his second handgun, Isra shouldered her rifle, and they continued with an added measure of caution.
They found Halifaco shouting orders to six Perfiduloi warriors. There were rows and rows of rusty metal wheels and the forest people ran back and forth turning them according to some order that was out of Viekko’s understanding. It had been a while since these valves had been manipulated; it often took two or more warriors to turn the ancient valves. Halifaco watched and consulted the device Cronus gave him at the dinner. It projected a smaller version of the hologram, just a few centimeters from the leader’s face.
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