Fatal Boarding

by E. R. Mason

  Chapter 25

 

 

  It was a party. The ugliest party I had ever seen. There were quite a few of them, maybe thirty or forty. Somehow, they had masked the fact this ship was fully manned. They were sitting at tables or milling around doing things we didn't understand. It was a macabre, festive atmosphere.

  The main attraction was at on one side of the room. Oversized, gray environmental-type suits hung from stanchions attached to the wall. They were not space suits. They were permanently attached to their stations by firehose-size cables. The party guests were taking turns putting them on, spending time in them, and then leaving for other interests. Some of them seemed more anxious for the treatment than others.

  We watched for several minutes until something strange caught my eye. I unsnapped the scope from my weapon, set it to high power, and positioned myself so I could watch one suit close up.

  A particularly old-looking little man climbed into a suit. After ten or fifteen minutes the suit opened, and to my shock, a much younger, ugly little man emerged. I looked up to find Perk watching the same event. We stared at each other in disbelief.

  It was a rejuvenation party. Somehow they were infusing life into themselves. It couldn’t be a coincidence this was happening just at the time they were raiding Electra. I didn’t want to believe that the victims from our crew were the source of their physical restoration, but the thought persisted in my mind. What had they wanted our people for? It couldn’t be this.

  I slumped down and tried to get a grip. Perk looked at me and shook his head in disbelief. My anger was so great it was paralyzing. I wanted to scream and curse, but we were precariously perched above them. Slowly, the tidal wave of hatred morphed into a steady stream called revenge. It was the only comforting thought. I wanted to trip those big rocket motors and send their ship to hell, but we weren’t ready. Cold determination checked in to cover the revenge request. It was there in Perk’s eyes, as well.

  We pushed ourselves up in unison and quietly continued down the grated passageway.

  The passageway ended at a large vertical tunnel. Warm air was rising from below. A ladder on the right provided access. Without speaking, we swung around and started down.

  Three levels down the warm turned to heat. Our only option was a circular, horizontal ventilation tunnel. I had to slide my weapon and satchel in before pulling in on hands and knees. We were blindly trying to find our way in the bowels of an alien ship, and we didn’t care. No force on Earth or in space could have robbed us of our revenge. We would search relentlessly like wolves. Our lives were funded by vengeance.

  We began to find vents in the sides of the duct work. Through the first, we could see support equipment for a reactor system. It gave us new hope.

  The third vent was pay-dirt. There was a control room with big switches and levers, the kind you see for power systems. Perk tapped on my shoulder and pointed. A second later an ugly little man walked past below us.

  When the room looked clear, we switched on a weapon light and took a close look at how the grill was fastened to the duct work. It was a simple snap-in with a turn-lock. We needed to unlatch and punch out one corner at a time, but not allow it to fall. Perk worked his weapon around and undid the strap. With a quick check outside, he worked the strap through the grill and caught it lower down with his knife blade and worked it back in. He gripped the two pieces, unlatched the grill, and waited. Before I could set up to palm heel the first corner, the little ugly man walked past once more. Perk rolled his eyes.

  We waited, but he did not return. I hit the nearest top corner as hard as I could. It popped out easily. The next top corner came out the same way. Perk lowered the grill and let it swing aside. I had to go out head first. There was a desk below us. As quietly as possible, I landed on my hands and folded up to hit the desktop sideways. The commotion was minimal. Standing on the desk, I held the grill and braced so Perk could climb down me. Quickly, I pulled down the weapons and satchel and replaced the grill. We crouched behind the desk and got our bearings.

  It was definitely the main power control room. The cooling monitors and distribution panels were all there. We couldn’t read the Arabic-like markings, but the layout was unmistakable. We hadn’t found propulsion, but power generation was almost as good. The key to it was power control areas are never very far from the actual generators. We had no way to understand what kind of system they were using, but there was no doubt we could do great harm.

  I leaned over to whisper to Perk but a beeping alarm interrupted me. A second later, the little ugly man went racing by. After a few moments, he raced back in the other direction. The alarm continued to beep. We sat with our backs against the desk and looked at each other dejectedly. The alarm had to be about us.

  Perk leaned over and spoke in a whisper, “We’re screwed.”

  I dared a look over the desk. There was no one. “Actually, my friend, we’ve won.”

  “Won what?”

  “The motors are waiting to go. They burn for five to seven minutes. If we plant the two big explosives in this control room and set the timers for say, four minutes, we could fire the motors, drive this scow away, and then the bricks would wipe out this room and the power systems forever; maybe even more damage than that if there was a cascade. I’d say we have them just about where we want them.”

  “I see your point. We weren’t in a hurry to get back, anyway.”

  "We need to set up without alerting the nervous guy who keeps running back and forth. We don’t want them swarming down here just yet.”

  Perk looked at me with a smirk. “Kind of ironic, isn’t it? Not long ago, we were racing around in confusion trying to find intruders on Electra, now they’re having to do it.”

  “Goes around, comes around, I guess.”

  “You realize this will ruin the party.”

  “I just wonder if this guy is the only one, or if there’s more. I can’t tell the bastards apart.”

  “I’m betting most of them are at the party, getting youth-inized.”

  “Nice play on words. Set up the charges and I’ll see if I can get a better look.”

  “Let me have the remotes for the motors. I’ll set them up so either unit will light up both with a single button.”

  I handed him the satchel and staying low, worked my way around the desk, daring another peek over the top. The room was clear. There was a door at either end. I strained to see through the one on my left, but only a portion of more control consoles was visible. On my right, the other door led to a short connecting corridor.

  We needed a place to hide the charges after the timers were set. One of the consoles nearby had what appeared to be a storage drawer in the very bottom slot. I quietly stepped forward, grabbed the handles and opened it. Some kind of manual took up a small portion of the space inside. It was a perfect place for a bomb. I gently shut the drawer and turned to creep back, when something in the distance to my left set little bells off in my head. I hurried back behind the desk and sat back down.

  “I just saw something that blew my mind.”

  “Nice play on words.”

  I opened my mouth to reply when the footsteps of the ugly little man made me freeze up. He entered the control room from the left, paused, and then raced away. We continued, keeping our voices low.

  “Didn’t see you, did they?”

  “No, I watched in both directions. They’re all upset, running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

  ”Well, that’s what they’re gonna be. What’d you see?”

  “You’re not going to believe this, but about three hundred feet off to the left there’s an empty elevator that looks just like the one we came in on.”

  “No shit?”

  “Problem is, if we try to leave, we can’t be discovered here. They’d search the place.”

  The footsteps returned once again, but raced quickly by and faded away.

 
“Two choices.”

  “What?”

  “Kill everyone in this area, or depart without being seen.”

  “That first one’s messy.”

  “If we tried for the elevator, and they came and found it gone, that wouldn’t be a problem. They’d think it was just called to another level.”

  “We’ll have to set timers on the big charges. It’d be a wild guess. Then we’d need to fire those rocket motors four or five minutes before the blast, no matter where we were at the time.”

  “It’s a long shot, no matter which way you go.”

  “So, option one, we set the big charges for four minutes, plant them as far apart as possible, then immediately set off the motors, and go along for the ride.”

  “Yep.”

  “Or, option two, we set the big charges with maybe enough time to get out of here, and try to make the elevator without being seen.”

  “You have an excellent grasp of the situation, my friend. Hold up, here comes our guy.”

  Once again, the little old man went rushing by, disappearing into the next chamber.

  “I’ve been timing him. He’s always been gone at least three minutes.”

  “That would do it. I plant in this room, at the same time you plant in the next. First guy in the elevator stands by the up button.”

  I looked around the corner of the desk, but still saw no one. “You know what would be good? A distraction on a different level to help keep them away from here.”

  Perk smiled. “I know one. How many of the small charges left?”

  “Five.”

  “Let me have one.”

  I dug in the satchel and handed it to him.

  Perk separated the remote control from the charge and put it in his breast pocket. “As we pass up through one of the other floors, I’ll chuck the charge as far as I can throw it. If nobody’s there, it will attract all kinds of attention. If there are creepo’s there, it will shut them up.”

  “Works for me. Now, how much time do we give ourselves?”

  “Plant charges, ride the elevator, get into space suits, hope that hatch is still open. Ten minutes would be cutting it close.”

  “Let’s be extravagant and make it fifteen, in case they’ve closed the front door.”

  “Yeah, no way they’ll find the big charges by then.”

  “So fifteen for us, plus four to let the big motors burn them away from here, nineteen minutes.”

  “Nineteen minutes.”

  We unpacked the big charges and set nineteen minutes on the timers, then waited for the little man to go by again. We sat with the explosives in our laps, staring at the arm and execute buttons, silently wondering about our chances. We didn’t have to wait long. Ugly little man trotted by even more quickly, as though he was actually going somewhere this time.

  We dashed out, lugging our weapons, satchel, and charges. I went directly to the door and carefully peered around the corner. There was no one in sight.

  I charged over to my target console and pulled the lower drawer open. Perk was already working on one in the next chamber. I hit the buttons on my charge, watched the timer start counting down, and placed it gently under the queer looking manual in the drawer.

  We sprinted to the elevator and arrived at the same time. Within its open framework, I hit the up button as Perk pulled the detonator out of his pocket and took the best position to toss the charge. The elevator was only moderately fast. We passed up through the next level unseen, nothing but cables and junk scattered around a loading area.

  The third level up, trouble was waiting. A group of four of them, their backs to us, stood together working on something. One of them heard the elevator and looked up. With a look of alarm, he raised one three-fingered hand to point. His comrades turned abruptly, just as Perk’s charge slid across the floor beside them. The charge exploded with our feet still exposed to that level, and with the loud boom, we felt concussion and debris blast past.

  The next level was a huge, two or three-story chamber with the elevator loading area in an adjoining alcove. As we rose higher, I realized we had just passed the party.

  With more alarms blaring around us, we silently rejoiced as we emerged up to our point of entry. As we stepped off, I used the butt of my weapon to smash the elevator control panel, hoping to disable it. We looked hurriedly around, praying our suits were still there. I glanced back and watched disappointedly as the elevator headed back down.

  “Perk, they’ll be coming.”

  “Yeah, have you noticed the hatch is closed and sealed, with keypad?”

  “Crap.”

  We scurried around and found our suits. In the mad scramble to get them out and set up, we got tangled up with each other’s gear. Perk gave me the finger. Only with great conscious effort, was I able to sit on the floor and get my legs in. Perk continued to struggle with his.

  He asked worriedly, “Time?”

  “We may have been too generous. We still have ten minutes.”

  “You know we’ve got to blow that hatch.”

  “Four charges should be plenty.”

  “I’ll set two remotes to blow all four charges. Either of us will be able to do it with one button.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  We stood and pull our suits up and wrestled into the arms and gloves. I closed and sealed Perk’s backpack, turned, and he sealed mine. He reached down, opened the satchel, and drew out two remotes. After setting them, he handed me one. “Wait til I’m clear, okay?”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “I’ve got to place these before I pressurize. It’ll be a whole lot faster.” He gathered up the four remaining charges and headed for the hatch.

  I drew out the two rocket motor remotes, tucked them into a Velcro pocket on my suit leg, and kicked the empty satchel away. It was a pleasure to twist the helmet on. With my visor up, I took a position between Perk and the elevator and got ready to fire.

  “That’s the last one.” He picked up his helmet, and hurriedly pulled it on. “We’ll need to get back behind the elevator shaft for a shield.”

  We both reached up to pull down our visors but never made it. The top of the elevator suddenly shot up through the floor.

  They had somehow squeezed four onto the small, round platform. The controls on the elevator were still smashed, but the thing came up through the floor like a torpedo. They leaped off in a controlled crash. They were not the usual ugly little men. They wore combat-styled suits and carried much larger weapons. They were visible, probably because the weapons were too large to conceal. They opened fire as they came up and immediately began to scatter. The continuous blaster fire echoed off the walls at a mind-numbing level.

  My first shot caught one of them square in the chest. It knocked him over backward, but the bastard got right back up. I hit him again with rapid fire until one shot caught him square in those yellow teeth and he stayed down.

  Perk put three shots into two of them. It knocked them around but not down. To my horror, I saw him get hit in the chest. He flailed over backward and did not get back up.

  I stepped behind a short partition off to the right, held my gun around the corner and laid down half a dozen rounds of blind fire. The strap on Perk’s weapon was down around his waist with part of it near me. With another round of blind fire, I dared to step out and back, grabbing it as I went. More blind fire and I dragged his body behind the partition with me.

  I listened. There was not a sound.

  I kneeled and worked Perk’s gun off of him, but I took too long. When I stood, there was a barrel at the side of my head. I stiffened as one of the creatures moved around in front of me, keeping his weapon pointed at my forehead. The ugly little man gave me another of those smiles I had grown so very tired of. He lowered the barrel of the gun so that it was pointed at my heart. I was afraid to raise my hands for fear it would set him off.

  Still smiling, he abruptly
threw his head back as though to laugh out loud. But no laugh came. Instead, the sharp, pointed end of a knife blade emerged from his throat. The creature fell back onto Perk, kneeling behind him.

  I dropped to the floor and out into the open, thinking the other two must be just around the corner. The closer of the two had moved in front of the big, center table.

  We both fired. His went high, but three of mine hit him square in the chest, sending him flying backward over the table. Like everything else, he went down into it. He caught the edge and seemed desperate to hang on. His partner on the other side stood aghast at the sight, as though it was the worst possible thing that could have happened. The little man struggled but slipped farther down as if some heavy force was pulling him in. He dropped his weapon onto the floor and grabbed at the edge with both three-fingered hands. His eyes were wide and he opened his mouth to scream, but was yanked down still further so that only his hands were left grasping the edge of the tabletop. One hand slipped away, soon followed by the other, and he was gone.

  His partner was infuriated. He opened fire but only got off two shots before Perk, still laid out on the floor, blew the hatch. Once again I was too damned close. I was slammed up and back into the wall and hit my head so hard inside the padded helmet the world went black. Not wanting to miss anything, I quickly willed myself back to consciousness. When the light refocused Perk, the dead alien, and I were in a pile on the floor.

  My first thought was to wonder if my helmet was cracked, but it didn’t matter. Immediately it felt like the air was being sucked out of my lungs. Anything not fastened down in the chamber was being dragged or blown out the open door. The alien ship had been in a low-pressure atmosphere, but it had a lot of it to back that up. Perk and I were lifted up and began drifting toward the exit. I managed to grab him, and at the same time snag the edge of the alcove. I pulled him in, held him with one leg, and slapped his visor down. As soon as it sealed I felt his suit kick on automatically, a side benefit of a pilot’s suit. I let go of the wall and slapped my own visor down. We were dragged across the room and reached the open hatch just in time to meet the last of the little old men. The three of us hit the door together, too much of a crowd to fit through, and the suit-less alien, wide-eyed, grabbed onto me for dear life.

  With sincere conviction, I hit him with the hardest right hook I had left. It knocked him silly just long enough to break free. We went out the hatch in single file, the ET, Perk, and yours truly. Our momentum carried us too fast toward Electra, skipping along the gangway handrails. As I kicked and struggled to get into position, off to my right the ET went twirling away. For just an instant, he caught my eye. He'd lost everything. There would be no return to pirate-port with the spoils. No more infinite future sucking the life out of other life. He fell toward the stars, wrestling hopelessly as he went, disappearing into the cold darkness.

  An instant before we rammed into Electra’s superstructure, I caught a glimpse of Perk’s suit bleeding both air and frozen blood. I clamped my glove over the hole and a split second later took the impact on my right side. We bounced off like wrestlers hitting a matt, and the recoil turned us to face the alien ship. With my hand still patching Perk’s suit, I looked at the countdown timer on my sleeve. Three minutes until the big charges went off. I let go of him, tore a remote out of my leg pocket and hit the arm button. At the first instant the armed light illuminated, I hit the fire button and looked up.

  For some reason that will never be known, the left motor fired first. With that first blast of light, I grabbed Perk and held on tight. The motor took only a second to move the large, bug-like silhouette away from us. The gangway tore lose, pitching and twisting, still anchored at our end. The mass of the vehicle must have been much less than we anticipated because that single motor would have been plenty. The fringe of thrust pushed us against Electra and held us there.

  The lighted motor drove the thing up and off to the right, tipping it over in a clockwise roll. It must have been hell inside. The right motor finally came on with a burst of crap from the nozzle, and then tried to fight the roll and rightward yaw. The vehicle flipped, and looped, and twirled its way off into distant space like a top fuel dragster that had hit the rail. It became smaller and smaller, picking up speed as it went.

  We had been so, so lucky. The firing of the first motor had pushed us back into Electra, and Electra herself had shifted and moved, but it had forced the alien ship upward, pointing the rocket exhausts away from us.

  The scene was so surreal I had forgotten about the big charges. I looked at the timer. It had passed zero and was now at plus-one. A pang of fear rose up within me. Either the explosion had been contained within their ship, or it had not gone off.

  Suddenly there was light. Like a new star in the distance, it beamed on, followed by streaks of white shooting off in every direction.

  An instant later came something totally unexpected, nothing at all. Suddenly black, empty space, as though it all had been an illusion. But, it only took a second to understand. They had been running with antimatter. With the destruction of their antimatter containment, the antimatter had been let loose to devour everything. Mutual annihilation. Neutralization of all matter in equal proportion.

  Like an injured chimp, I managed to get a handhold on Electra and drag us down to the open airlock. The lights within were dreamlike. Perk’s suit was softening. He was either unconscious or gone, I couldn’t tell which. I had to lay him on the floor in Electra’s gravity to shut the outer door. I hit the emergency pressurization control, knowing we would both have to remain in our suits for a while, regardless. There would be no emergency techs to greet us. For all we knew, everyone on Electra was captive by now. I held Perk with one arm and opened an emergency kit on the wall. I broke out a large patch and stuck it over the hole in his suit, then plugged him into an umbilical, hoping his backpack was still functioning well enough to manage his atmosphere.

  When the inner door finally opened, it made me want to cry like a baby. There stood R.J. and the Doctor, loaded down with med kits and ready to go.