“We don’t know what their intentions are,” Markus said. “They’ve been damned unfriendly, so far.”
“No,” Dr McInness said. “They’ve only tried to stop us getting too close. For all we know, they’ve quarantined us, for our own safety.”
“Or it’s a colony ship,” Markus countered, “That can’t reach its destination, and has decided to set up house here.”
“They wouldn’t do that!” Dr McInness spluttered. “Earth is already inhabited.”
Markus gave him an ironic look. “So were the Americas and Australia when Europeans arrived. Now who’s running things?”
“Found something!” Timer declared from beside a featureless wall. When he saw they were looking at him, he said, “Now you see me,” then he took a step and vanished. A moment later he reappeared and pointed at a slightly darker area on the floor. “It’s another elevator.”
“Where does it go to?” Beckman asked.
“To a . . . subway station.”
Beckman approached the elevator panel curiously. “OK, we’ll check it out while the others finish up here,” he said, then stepped onto the floor plate.
In a blink, he was standing in a cavernous chamber hewn from the bedrock, next to a row of squat gray machines. Several small, orange-tinted lights mounted high in the smooth rock walls were all that prevented the chamber from being drowned in darkness. The wall on the far side of the chamber was dominated by two circular tunnels, and a line of transport capsules parked in front of the left tunnel. The capsules were the size of small trucks, with open hatches revealing empty cargo bays running the length of each vehicle.
Beckman drew his Beretta as he took several wary steps into the underground chamber. A panel slid open on one of the machines to his left and a metallic cube sixty centimeters across floated out. The floor illuminated beneath the cube as it glided across the chamber, reminding Beckman of a conveyor belt, without the belt. A light flashed on the far wall at the cube’s height, stopping its horizontal movement, then another flickered on the left wall pushing the cube toward the first capsule in line. Beckman followed the cube, watching the floor lights glow beneath it as it drifted toward the cargo capsule. A yellow beam inside the capsule caught the cube and placed it on a stack of identical cubes.
Markus, Dr McInness and Timer emerged from the elevator’s alcove as Beckman touched the metal cube that had just been stowed aboard the first transport capsule. It was almost hot enough to burn his fingers, while the cubes alongside it, Beckman quickly discovered, were much cooler. He holstered his pistol, then struggled to lift one of the cold cubes.
“Heavy?” Dr McInness asked as he approached.
“Oh yeah,” Beckman said, dropping the heavy metal cube back in place.
The scientist examined the metallic blocks curiously. “It explains this facility.”
“It does?”
“If you drill through the Earth’s crust, to the mantle or even to the core,” Dr McInness said, “You’ve got access to vast mineral wealth, and can produce metal ingots like these.” He touched several cubes curiously. “The drill vaporizes everything it touches, then they extract minerals from the gases and vent the moisture and waste products as superheated steam. Fast and efficient.”
“OK, so they’re down, damaged, and digging for metal,” Beckman said, gazing thoughtfully at the tunnels, the empty transport capsules and the row of refining machines along the wall, trying to imagine how much the mining facility could produce once it was at full capacity. “Judging by its size, this place could pump out a lot of metal.” He frowned, troubled. “So are they trying to repair their ship, or build a new one?”
“Depends how bad the damage is. It explains why Laura’s station was destroyed. They were scavenging for minerals, perhaps to help build this place.”
“They must be desperate,” Beckman said.
“They’re obviously not expecting a rescue,” Markus said. “Whatever’s gone wrong, they have to fix it themselves.”
Beckman watched the row of refining machines, waiting for the next ingot to appear, but none did. “So what’s taking so long? This place is built for mass production, but it’s made one ingot since we got here.”
“They couldn’t haven’t reached the mantle yet,” Dr McInness said.
“And where the hell are the guards? Why only one lousy gun to protect all of this, if they need it so badly to repair their ship?”
Their earpieces hissed with Hooper’s voice, his signal breaking up from the interference of the surrounding rock. “Air veh . . . incoming . . . a transport.”
“Acknowledged. Xeno, you get that?”
“Yes sir,” she replied from the control room above.
Beckman turned toward the elevator when Hooper’s voice sounded again. “It’s unload– . . . looks . . . dirt.”
They heard the sound of the harvester’s cargo rumbling down a chute nearby, then a moment later, an outlet panel on one of the refining machines slid open and a cube floated out. It glided over the relay of floor lights into the transport capsule. When the ingot had taken the last place in the cargo bay, the hatch closed and the capsule glided silently into the tunnel. It then sped away, perfectly positioned in the center of the subway tunnel with barely a centimeter separating it from the tunnel walls. Behind it, the next capsule in line crept forward into its place, ready to begin loading.
Beckman relaxed, thumbing his mike, “Stand down. It was a dump truck.” He looked into the tunnel after the departed cargo capsule, now invisible in the darkness, realizing what had just happened.
They got another full load of metal! His instincts told him he should have destroyed the capsule to ensure those minerals couldn’t be used against them. Too late now!
Hooper’s voice sounded again. “It’s mov … north eas . . .”
“Understood,” Beckman acknowledged as a blast of air burst into the chamber from the second tunnel, then a capsule emerged from it. The capsule floated to a halt, then drifted across and joined the queue of empty transport capsules waiting to be loaded.
Timer watched the transport capsule thoughtfully. “We could use that tunnel as a short cut to the ship.”
“No,” Beckman said without hesitation. “It’d be too easy to get trapped in there.”
“If that’s the same capsule that just left here,” Markus observed, “It’s a fast turnaround.”
“Too fast.” Beckman said uncomfortably. “We need to slow them down a little. Timer, can you collapse the roof onto the drill?”
“What!” Dr McInness exploded.
Timer nodded, “If it’s anything like the wall we blew in, no problem.”
Dr McInness looked from Timer to Beckman with a horrified look. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Put a few charges down here too,” Beckman said, “Just in case we fail to take out the drill.”
Timer nodded and moved off to set his explosives on every third machine.
If you destroy this installation,” Dr McInness said, “It’ll be an act of war!”
Beckman turned to the scientist, suppressing his irritation. I’m not letting them have those minerals until I know what they’re using them for. And they say ‘please’.”
“You’ll ruin any chance we have of establishing friendly relations with them!”
“If they want friendly relations with us, they can damn well ask for them.”
Dr McInness turned to Markus. “You can’t let him do this. It’s insane.”
Markus’ face was stone. “It’s the smart thing to do.”
“For God’s sake, you could be getting us into a war we have no hope of winning. Of even surviving!”
“They’ve got a weakness,” Beckman said, “And I’m not about to let them fix it, until I know what they’re up to. Now, do you need to be helped into the elevator?”
The scientist glowered at Beckman, then stormed to the elevator.
When he vanished, Markus said, “We are taking a risk.”
“You could have told him that.”
“I don’t have to explain my orders.”
“It could all be for nothing, if they can repair this place as fast as they built it.”
“Depends on how many drills they’ve got,” Beckman said, hoping they had no spares.
Markus stepped onto the elevator and vanished while Beckman waited for Timer to finish, then they took the gravity lift back to the control room.
“Time’s up, people,” Beckman said as he stepped off the subway elevator.
Dr McInness watched with rising anger as Timer set shaped charges around the floor window and at the base of the domed ceiling, then placed a satchel charge in the center of the window.
Timer turned to Beckman when he’d finished. “All charges are on the same circuit,” He said, holding up his radio detonator. “When I hit this, the floor and ceiling will blow together, dropping the ceiling and this satchel onto the drill head.” He pointed to the bag of explosives at his feet. “This bad boy’s on a ten second delay, enough time for it to fall onto the drill head. Can’t guarantee it’ll survive the heat down there, but if it does, adios muchachos. The machines downstairs are rigged to blow when the main charges trigger up here.”
Beckman nodded approvingly. “Good job. Let’s move.”
Xeno and Markus disappeared onto the elevator. Beckman was about to follow when Vamp yelled out behind him. He turned to see her staring at the empty gravity lift.
“McInness went back down!” she said.
“We don’t have time for this shit!” Beckman snapped. “Go get him. Knock him out if you have to. We’ll wait for you at the entry point. Timer, go with her. Check he hasn’t damaged your charges.”
Timer and Vamp took the gravity lift down to the cargo terminal, while Beckman took the other lift down to the ground floor, wondering what the scientist thought he would achieve. He should have known Beckman would never let him interfere with his orders.
God damned eggheads!
* * * *
Timer stepped off the elevator plate in the underground chamber as Dr McInness pulled a C4 charge away from the nearest refining machine. The scientist turned when he heard Timer’s footsteps approaching, then a moment later, Vamp appeared in the lift alcove.
Dr McInness started backing away. “I’m not going to let you do this!”
Timer held out his hand for the explosive. “Give it to me, Doc.”
“This is madness!” The scientist declared as he pulled the detonator pin out of the explosive. “We can’t afford to make enemies of these people!”
“We don’t want to hurt you, Doc,” Vamp said as she circled around to the left.
Dr McInness reached for another explosive, then Vamp darted forward and kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over, gasping for air while she relieved him of the explosive and tossed it to Timer. She took him by the shoulders and guided him to onto his knees where he wheezed for air.
“Breathe,” she said with a hint of sympathy.
Timer reinserted the detonator pins and reattached the explosives to the machines. Before he’d finished, the master sergeant’s voice, distorted by interference and distance, sounded in their ears.
* * * *
“Air vehicle inbound,” Hooper reported calmly.
Beckman activated his mike as he jogged along the passageway towards the hole in the outer wall. “Acknowledged. We’ll extract when it’s clear.”
Markus and Xeno waited at the opening, inhaling the fresh air flooding in from outside. They coughed and wiped away tears, expelling the alien atmosphere’s irritants from their lungs and eyes. When Beckman joined them, he felt fresh, humid air wash over him with relief.
“Good, huh?” Xeno said.
Beckman nodded, wiping his eyes.
“It’s approaching the central structure,” Hooper said. “It’s not a dump truck.” From his vantage point among the trees, he watched a small rectangular craft circle the billowing column of steam, then nose in toward the roof. Boiling white clouds swirled around the craft, partly obscuring it from sight, then two slender shapes leapt from an open rear hatch.
“Two runners have jumped onto the roof!” Hooper reported.
“I guess the red golf ball was a warning system,” Xeno said. “That’s why there’re no guards.”
Beckman thumbed his mike. “Timer, have you got him?”
“Affirmative,” Timer’s voice crackled back as he finished securing an explosive. “No permanent damage done. Fixing it now.”
Beckman’s mind raced. The two seekers landing on the roof could only mean there was access to the control room from up there. He wondered whether they’d arrived to repair the hole they’d blasted through the wall, or hunt down the intruders? Apprehensively, he thumbed his mike. “Hold your position, the control room is compromised.”
“Understood,” Timer replied.
“How are they going to get out?” Xeno asked.
Beckman hesitated, wondering how far below ground the cargo terminal was? Five meters? Fifty kilometers? Could they survive the blast down there? He knew they couldn’t afford to be trapped in a fire fight inside the building, or allow the explosives to be disarmed.
“The vehicle is landing on the east side,” Hooper reported, “Under the gun emplacement.”
Where it’s protected! Beckman realized, now certain this was not a maintenance team. “Can we extract?”
“Negative. The golf ball is covering the entrance.”
“What about the runners on the roof?”
There was a moment’s silence as Hooper scanned the column of steam masking the roof with his binoculars. “I got zero visibility. Enemy position unknown.”
Enemy! Beckman thought, thinking how quickly Hooper had instinctively classified the seekers. “Cougar, take out the sensor.”
“Affirmative.” A few seconds later, they heard the clang of metal striking metal, then Cougar’s clinical voice sounded in their ear pieces. “The target is down!”
“The machines on the roof could be waiting for us to step outside.” Markus warned.
Beckman shook his head. “No, they’ll try to protect the drill. They need it.” He knew every second counted now. The transport outside could be unloading a combat force, cutting off their escape, while the seekers in the control room disarmed the demolition charges. He glanced at Markus, who had already guessed his dilemma. “You’ve got to do it.”
“Do what?” Xeno asked, puzzled.
Beckman looked away, hating himself for the order he had to give.
“Do what, Major?” Xeno demanded anxiously.
“We’ve got to blow it. Now!” Markus said, “Before they disarm the charges.”
Xeno looked shocked. “Our people are still in there!” She turned to Beckman, “Sir, you can’t!”
“I don’t have a choice,” Beckman snapped, then thumbed his mike. “Timer, we can’t get you out. Hostiles are enroute to the control room. Blow the charges in thirty seconds.”
There was a moment’s silence as Timer processed the order, then the combat engineer’s voice sounded calmly over the radio. “Roger that, detonate in three zero seconds.”
“They’ll be killed!” Xeno declared angrily.
Beckman ignored her. “Head for the tree line, western side. Go!”
Xeno hesitated, then seeing Beckman had made his decision, she led the way through the hole in the wall. As they ran toward the trees, Beckman glanced up at the top of the building, checking for incoming fire, but there was none.
The runners are going for the control room!
* * * *
“Don’t . . . do it!” Dr McInness wheezed.
Vamp grabbed the scientist and dragged him to his feet. “Run or die!”
“We can reason . . . with them,” he said, resisting her.
“Oh
for God’s sake,” she said, lifting him onto her shoulder and starting for the subway tunnel with the scientist struggling to break free.
Timer glanced from the elevator plate to Vamp and Dr McInness, seeing they were already halfway to the tunnel entrance. “We’ll be trapped in there!”
“Better trapped in there, than dead out here!” she yelled without looking back.
“Oh crap,” Timer muttered, resigned to his fate. He unclipped a hand grenade from his belt, pulled the pin and rolled it onto the elevator plate. It instantly vanished when the gravity lift carried it up to the control room, buying them a few more seconds, then he turned and sprinted for the subway tunnel, pulling the aerial out on the remote detonator as he ran.
* * * *
When they were halfway to the tree line, Beckman spotted Steamer kneeling at the edge of the forest with one of the two Predator missiles on his shoulder. He knew the rest of Hooper’s squad lay camouflaged in their firing positions nearby.
“Contact! South side,” Hooper’s voice sounded with professional coolness.
Beckman had heard that tone before. The master sergeant had slipped into the controlled, urgent mindset of a professional warrior entering battle. Beckman glanced over his shoulder to see a large black machine almost twice the height of a man rounding the central tower’s southern wall. It floated off the ground on two glowing sled-like supports that reminded Beckman of tank tracks. Mounted on the sleds was a thick black cylindrical torso encircled by two rings. The lower ring mounted eight short flexible arms, each fitted with a silver dish-like device. The upper ring had eight long snaking arms, each tipped with a slender pyramidal device. The arms aimed the apexes of the pyramids in a manner Beckman immediately knew meant they were weapons. Mounted atop the torso was a sensor disk unlike any he’d seen so far. Its edge was no more than a slit sandwiched between thick casings which extended beyond the disk’s edge. Certain the machine was armed, he knew at a glance its bulky torso was heavily armored. It meant the lumbering black machine was purpose built for war.
The Mothership Page 18