Starforce Ganymede II

by Nick S. Thomas

  “Zaya was a good officer,” said Davis.

  Lin would hear no more of it. There had been enough pain and suffering for the day. She sprung from her chair.

  “I want to know where Kaufman is and what he is doing.”

  “Why?” Wilson asked.

  “Because he is our last chance of getting us out of this mess. They are just five officers working to save us all. Will we stay out here being bossed around by that moron Desal, or will we help our friends?”

  Wilson nodded in agreement.

  “If we breach our orders, it will all be over,” said Davis.

  “Look around you. Look at the news each day. If we don’t put an end to this now, we are all finished anyway. Get me their location!”

  “They are completely unreachable. They have long since turned off their comms. They don’t want to be found,” said Davis.

  “I don’t care what you have to do, you find them!”

  * * *

  Kaufman’s team still sat in his hotel room as Denton took point.

  “Caral is actually a vast freight ship that is used as a star base, and its position changes at least twice a year. This is to ensure its existence remains uncertain. Those who control the base use many means of deflection. They fan rumours around the colonies to the point that nobody is certain whether it exists or not.”

  “Where is it right now, Sir?”

  “At a location within the main asteroid belt. I have the exact co-ordinates.”

  “Right then, how do we do this?” asked Barski.

  Denton reached into his jacket and pulled out a tiny storage device.

  “I have here the layout the ship as well as Doyle’s cell location.”

  “How did you get this information, Sir?”

  “Not through any means I am too proud of, Morrison, but it is reliable.”

  Kaufman pulled out his datapad and plugged the device in. He flicked through the information on the display until he found the model of the ship. He tapped a few buttons and placed the device down on the middle of the table. A second later the model was projected before them.

  “Caral holds thousands of prisoners, perhaps even tens of thousands. Many of them are hardened criminals where the isolation is necessary, but some of the unlucky ones far from deserve it. Doyle is in cell 604B. As a man of higher status, and with family backing, he gets to live in more luxurious quarters than many. This means a view out to the stars,” said Denton.

  “That’s convenient,” said Morrison.

  “Such a massive high security facility must have no end of guards and security measures,” said Kaufman.

  “Thousands of security staff that are well training and armed. Cameras are in place throughout almost every part of the vessel. Fighters carry out flybys at regular intervals.”

  “Let me get this straight, we are going to break someone out of what is probably the highest security prison in the System?” asked Wells.

  The others turned to him; surprised he even had to ask.

  “None of us like it, son, but we are fighting for our very lives here,” said Denton.

  “There are only six of us. We need you, Wells.”

  “I’m not saying I won’t do it, Captain. It just seems crazy.”

  “It is crazy, but so is the predicament we are in. Malory is using every official channel against us, so we can no longer play by the rules. He certainly doesn’t,” replied Kaufman.

  They looked back at the projected model. Kaufman stared at the fighters that patrolled the model.

  “What kind of window do we have to get in and out?” asked Kaufman.

  “I have organised an interference code which will disguise our approach, providing we time it between the patrols. However, the second we hit the exterior wall they will be onto us. I estimate that we will have no more than thirty seconds. The proximity sensors on the plates will alert any craft nearby. I hope you have a fast ship.”

  “We certainly got that part covered,” said Barski.

  “Thirty seconds from landing? Damn that’s tight. What about fixed defence weapons?”

  “It is true that they have a defence grid, Kaufman. However, it takes two minutes to power up. It is only intended for the unlikely event of having to face large military type vessels.”

  “You think we can get out before it’s active?”

  “I hope so.”

  “Hope?” asked Morrison.

  “Sorry, but it’s the best I can do. Nothing is ever certain in this work, and you should know that,” said Denton.

  “Alright, how certain are we that Doyle will come willingly and want to help us?”

  “He’s condemned to life in that hell hole. Now he has witnessed first hand what that can be like, what would you do?”

  Kaufman nodded. It was good enough for him.

  “This is a joint decision. Are we all agreed that it is the way forward?”

  He looked around at the other five. None looked confident or especially happy about the situation, except Barski. He was the only one who thought of it as an adventure.

  “Okay. Morrison, we need a way in through that wall of the cell. Noise doesn’t matter, but we need something that will not cause any damage to our ship or to Doyle.”

  “I’ll get on it, Sir.”

  “Wells, I want you working with Denton on getting that camera interference working. The rest of us will prep equipment and figure out the timing for our approach. Let’s get back to the ship. Morrison, we leave in three hours, so you’d better be there.”

  * * *

  It was an eighteen hour journey to their location, and the planning had taken them little over two. After getting what little sleep they could, they lay about with little to say. On any other day any one of them would have called the mission insane, perhaps even suicidal. As they drew closer, Kaufman finally spoke.

  “You think we can get out before those fighters are on us?”

  “They are L41s. It was good technology about twenty years ago. They are still pretty quick by today’s standards, but this baby we have right here will leave them in the dust. The timing is all that matters in this operation,” said Morrison.

  “What are the range on their guns?” asked Wells.

  “A fair way, but don’t you worry about that. We’ll escape across the Asteroid Belt, so they’ll quickly lose line of sight,” said Barski.

  “We’ll continue until we reach the Mars-Jupiter main shipping line and then simply blend in,” said Kaufman.

  “Then what?” asked Wells.

  “We nail the Senator’s ass,” said Kaminski.

  “Amen to that,” said Kaufman.

  “I have no doubt that Doyle will have a wealth of information to take Malory down for good. We still have a friend in Senator Wilks. He helped set up this organisation and the last thing he wants is to see his pet project go south. If nothing else, it will only damage his reputation.”

  “I don’t want any live ammunition used during this operation. We use electro rounds only. I will not have our people blamed for unnecessary death,” said Kaufman.

  Denton agreed.

  “Do you believe we can do this, Sir?” Barski asked of Denton.

  “This operation?”

  “No, redeem ourselves. We’ve been crapped on from high. The public are treating us like dogs for fighting and dying for their benefit.”

  “We’ll make it, Lieutenant. We’ll make it because we are the best, because we are right, and because we have what it takes.”

  Barski smiled, he was glad of the reassurance, though far from convinced. Nobody could tell him it was going to be alright. They all hoped as much as each other, but they harboured their greatest fear of spending the rest of their lives behind bars.

  “Suit up with pressure suits, air tanks and electro rounds. Morrison, make sure your charges are set to go. Barski, you stay at the helm while we get ready.”

  They set off to prepare for what they all prayed would not be their last missio
n. The ship had just three bedrooms that they now shared between them. Kaufman naturally shared with Barski. Sharing a room through sleepless and stressful nights was nothing new to the former detectives.

  Kaufman pulled off his shirt and opened the wardrobe. Compression suits were supplied in every vessel, as required by law. They would not provide the sort of protection that Kaufman had become so reliant of in the MILAL suits, but it would at least protect against any risk of decompression. As he pulled out the suit, the door to his room opened behind him.

  “Barski, I told you to stay on watch.”

  When he heard no response, he turned to find out why. Only to be met by Kaminski. She stood very close to him; her almost silent footsteps had gone unnoticed.

  “What is it?”

  She said nothing and stepped closer until they were almost touching.

  “In case we don’t make it back or we never see each other again.”

  She reached up and kissed him with her beautifully smooth lips. Kaufman instinctively embraced her. He’d wanted nothing more since the first time he saw her but would never have said so. She was warm and comforting against his body. It was a feeling he had almost forgotten. He let her go. She took a step back and smiled with a slight blush.

  “We are going to make it through this,” he said.

  She continued smiling back at him. He couldn’t tell whether she just agreed to humour him or if she genuinely had hope.

  “Nowak would be proud of you. You have become a fine officer.”

  Her face tightened and her smile faded away into a grim reminder.

  “If we fail and this organisation dies in shame, then so does my uncle’s reputation. You cannot let that happen.”

  It was a fact he had not even considered. All this time they had been fighting to stay alive, but the reputation of those who had served and fallen had slipped his mind.

  “I will not let that happen. Nowak was a brave man who served an honourable organisation. He will always be remembered as such. Let’s get to work. I’ve never busted someone out of prison before.”

  “How many prison breaks ever work, Sir?”

  “Very few, but this is no amateur bungled operation. We are officers of the IBI, so let’s do it right!”

  She smiled. Despite all her fears, she could not hide the excitement of the job they were about to do. She turned to leave. As she reached the door, Kaufman spoke once again.

  “It’s been an honour, Cheryl.”

  She quietly left the room. Kaufman reached into the wardrobe with a broad grin on his face. He put on the suit with the slimline oxygen tank that fitted the contour of his back underneath his clothes. He pulled on his protective vest, but he knew it would be the only area protected against a suit breach in the event of combat.

  He finally strapped on his belt and holster. He took out the Hogswell & Simms T141, wondering if it would be the last time he ever held it. He sat down at the bedside table and slipped the magazine out of the weapon. He clicked out the bullets individually until it was empty and reloaded it with the electro rounds.

  It had seemed like a week to get to the Main Asteroid Belt. But now they were almost on it and it felt like they had no time in the world. Kaufman slammed the magazine into his pistol, holstered it and stepped casually back out onto the bridge. He looked out at the vast cluster of rock they were approaching.

  “Barski, I’ll take it from here. Get ready for action!”

  They traded places. Kaufman took up the helm and Denton sat next to him.

  “How far is it?” Denton asked.

  “We’re just ten minutes out.”

  “The timing right for our approach?”

  “Yes.”

  “Morrison, you got your charges ready?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Everyone got the e-rounds loaded?”

  They all nodded. Everything was on schedule and as planned, but it didn’t make him feel any less uneasy.

  “Once we hit this place, there is no going back. We are criminals in the eyes of the authorities until we prove ourselves otherwise. I want masks worn at all times during the operation. They will eventually trace our identities, but let’s at least buy ourselves as much time as possible,” said Kaufman.

  Denton was loading rounds into the magazine of his pistol, so he was equipped the same as the rest of them.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

  Kaufman looked at him uneasily. The Commander had never made such a request.

  “I want you aboard, Sir. You are to monitor all channels and have our backs. Wells, you are to stay at the helm at all times. You will take us out the second I give you the command, no later!”

  Barski strolled back into the room.

  “Ready to bust this guy out?”

  He had a big grin on his face. Only Barski was amused by it all after seeing too many over glamorised prison breakout movies. It was the sort of high stakes and high adrenaline rush he only dreamed he could ever experience.

  “Never thought I’d get to do this without going to prison.”

  Kaufman smiled.

  “There’s time for that yet,” said Denton.

  “This is it,” said Wells.

  They turned and looked out as they passed an asteroid as large as some of the cities they had visited. A vast silhouette appeared. It was almost like a hidden city within the asteroids. Lights were visible only at certain points. They were the luxury rooms Denton had mentioned.

  “Take us in,” said Kaufman.

  They could just make out the flare of the fighter engines reaching the far end of the vessel. The prison had surprisingly little perimeter security. They clearly thought no one would be stupid enough to try to break anyone out.

  “This is crazy. We shouldn’t be doing this,” said Wells.

  The rookie’s voice was shaky. Kaufman was used to that when he was a detective, but none of the IBI recruits were raw. He had studied the files of every recruit and interviewed and tested them thoroughly, so he had no doubt that he had chosen the right people for the job.

  “Keep it together. We’ll be in and out before you know it,” said Kaufman.

  “I know this isn’t what you signed up for, but it will get better. This is the only way,” said Denton.

  “Come on, rookie, someday you’ll look back on this and laugh. Who else gets the opportunity to do something so crazy?” asked Barski.

  “Anyone with a ship and a stupid idea,” Kaminski added.

  “Enough talk, get your game face on. Masks on at all times,” said Kaufman.

  He looked at the hulking monster they were approaching. It was an evil looking vessel, black against the shadows of the asteroids and the space around them. He knew that it could be the end of them. But it was better to try to do the right thing than be killed by Malory’s goons.

  “Reduce power, Wells. We want this to be subtle right up to the point we breach.”

  Despite the rookie’s reluctance to continue their mission, he was a competent pilot. As long as Kaufman and Denton agreed that it was the right course of action, he would follow it. He cut the power to the main engines but they still approached at a frightening speed. Just a couple of hundred metres out he put the forward boosters onto full power and swung the back end around. It would likely create enough noise to alert security to their presence, but it no longer mattered.

  They hit the dimming switches on their masks. They would conceal their identities to any potential cameras when the ship clamped onto the hull of the vast vessel. Kaufman turned to bark his orders but Morrison already had the plasma drill and their door was open. It exposed the metalwork of Caral. The former soldier did not wait for the command and he slammed the drill into position. It pushed through in seconds. Yanking it back he shouted through the small hole.

  “Doyle! Get to the side wall! Get to the sidewall! Fire in the hole!”

  He picked up a large magnetic charge and threw it against the metalwork. He ducked down and cli
cked the button of his handheld receiver. A loud charge blasted a man size hole through the thick steel wall.

  Kaufman leapt through the gap with his pistol at the ready. He could see a prisoner crouched in the corner, but his attention was drawn to the door of the cell sliding open. A guard appeared in the doorway. Not hesitating for a second, Kaufman fired two rounds. The man spasmed then dropped unconscious to the ground. Three further rounds followed from Barski to his flank, and they took the second target down.

  As he looked at the prisoner huddling by the wall, Kaufman prayed that they had got it right. The man lifted his head to look at the men who had breached the cell. His face was wrought with fear, and it was clear that he was expecting to die at the hands of Malory’s assassins. He went up to the man and lowered his pistol.

  “Agent Doyle?”

  The man was pale but nodded a hesitant response. Kaufman’s face was still hidden by the chemically dimmed glass of his sealed mask.

  “You once asked me for protection. Do you still want it?”

  Colour flooded back into the man’s face as he realised that he was not only safe, but that he had a way out. He nodded quickly and repeatedly. The days he had spent in the facility had been a grim awakener as to why he would be better off with Kaufman. The Captain outstretched his hand and hauled the man to his feet.

  “No time to waste, Doyle. Get aboard!” he shouted.

  They rushed back through the breach to their ship as the other three officers covered them. The lightning attack against the ship had caught the staff off guard. Footsteps rang out from down the corridors as re-enforcements trampled towards them, but it was too late. They leapt aboard the ship and Morrison quickly sealed the door.

  “Wells! Go!” shouted Kaufman.

  He slid the clamp lever back to release their ship and immediately put full power to the engines. They soared forward and quickly peeled away from Caral.

  “Their weapons grid is powering up, Sir,” Wells said worriedly.

  “We’ll be long gone before its up and running,” said Denton.

  As they turned away from the vessel, Kaufman could just make out two incoming fighters approaching at high speed.