by Knox, Barry
“Miner, I guess you’re on point,” Gideon said. “We’re going to go to camo mode, so you won’t be able to see us, but we’ll be right behind you.” Miner turned and started walking, and the marines followed in single file and disappeared in the moonlight one by one.
Marine Extract Team, Trade Town, Planet Corot
0223—February 26, 2372
The marines followed Miner to the outskirts of Trade Town. They’d been walking for about an hour, passing a few buildings and parked vehicles, and luckily they hadn’t encountered anyone. Now, Miner was taking them through streets and alleys, walking at a slower pace, and using hand signals to halt and start the marines to allow vehicles to pass or an early morning pedestrian to walk by. Ten minutes later Miner and the extract team were positioned behind a fleet of heavy-duty mining vehicles parked across the street from the apartment building where Dr. Bailey lived.
“Anna, contact Stephen and have him send a message to Doctor Bailey’s universal com address,” Gideon said aloud into his helmet.
“Stephen is attempting to contact now,” Anna responded, paused for just a second, and continued. “Doctor Bailey is located on the fifth floor, apartment five–two-three. I’ve uploaded the apartment location and layout of the building on your heads-up display.”
“Thank you, Anna. Send the layout to the rest of the extract team,” he requested.
“Information transmitted to the extract team,” Anna confirmed.
“Does everyone have the building layout?” Gideon asked over the platoon channel. Everyone sent an affirmative chime.
“Gunny, you’re on point. Sipes, you’re next. Mucha, cover our rear. Kindle, Manelly, stay with Miner and let me know if we have company. Move out,” Gideon ordered.
The invisible team of marines hurried across the street and leaned against the building a few meters from the entrance. Within a second the team’s external appearance merged into the wall behind them. As the rest of the team waited, Xia entered the unlocked large double doors in front of the building. Seconds later he opened the same doors and motioned for the team to follow. No guards were posted, and the lobby was empty.
“There’s an ID scanner used to secure access to the elevators and a key pad securing the stairs,” Xia reported as the team entered.
“We’ll take the stairs. Mucha, override the key pad,” Gideon said.
Mucha slung his weapon behind his back and locked it in place. He then used his electronic warfare scanner to access the code pad. Within milliseconds, the electronic warfare scanner had accessed the key pad’s wireless communications and was already executing a brute force attack by trying every combination of numbers to gain access to the stairs. A few seconds later the door opened, and the team hurried into the stairway.
“Gunny, lead the way. Sipes, follow me. Mucha, rear guard,” Gideon ordered. The team quietly walked up the stairs to the fifth floor.
Xia used his electronic warfare scanner to probe for alarms on the entrance door to the fifth floor. The scanner found and disabled a simple door alarm. He opened the door slowly and entered the hall. “Clear!” Xia said over the platoon channel.
“Mucha, stay here and keep this door secured,” Gideon ordered.
“Yes, sir,” Mucha said.
Xia, Gideon, and Joseph slowly walked down the hall to room 523. It was now 0245. Without an order Xia used his warfare scanner to open the locked apartment door and disable the alarm. The door opened, and the team entered a dark apartment. Their helmets automatically adjusted to the dark so they could see as if a light were on.
“I’m picking up two thermal body images in a room in the back of the apartment. It must be Doctor Bailey and her son,” Xia said.
Xia led the way again. The door to the room was open, and Gideon could see Dr. Bailey and her son sleeping in a bed. A night light was on in an adjoining bathroom, and his helmet adjusted to the dim light. Gideon secured his weapon on his back and disabled his armor camo. He then leaned over the bed and, using his right hand, quickly covered Dr. Bailey’s mouth. With his left hand he pulled her out of bed. He felt her begin to struggle as she awoke.
“Doctor, I’m Lieutenant Klaxton, a United States Marine. I’m not going to hurt you or your son. All I want to do is talk with you. If I remove my hand, will you remain quiet and talk to me?” Gideon asked.
Dr. Bailey slowed nodded yes, and he removed his hand from over her mouth but continued to hold her.
“How did you get in? And what are you doing here?” she demanded without shouting.
“Did you receive an invitation from the United States to join a scientific research mission?” Gideon asked.
“No. What’re you talking about?” she said sounding confused.
“The United States sent your government a request for you to join a scientific expedition. Doctor Seth Harper, Doctor Heli Jones, and Doctor Aaron Kastriva are also part of the expedition and are now in orbit aboard our starship, waiting for you,” Gideon said.
“I was never informed about the mission,” she said.
“Does that surprise you, given the way New Kalgoorlie treats its citizens?” Gideon asked.
Gideon could feel her body relax a bit but didn’t release his grip on her.
“No. No, not really. But I would have refused to be a part of the expedition anyway if given the choice; I have a baby to take care of now,” she answered.
“So you don’t want to come with us?” Gideon asked.
“No!” she yelled loudly enough to wake her baby. Gideon quickly placed his hand over her mouth again, and she again began to struggle. The baby started to cry, and Gideon felt her trying to pull away from him to get to her baby. The baby cried louder as she continued to struggle. She suddenly stopped struggling as she and Gideon watched her son, in the faint light, levitate from the bed and stop in midair. Joseph, his armor still in camo mode, had picked up her son to try and quite him. That was the last thing she saw before Xia injected her in the back of her neck, knocking her out.
“Sipes, put the baby back down on the bed and help me slip the spare armor on the doctor,” Gideon said as he slowly laid the doctor’s limp body onto the bed. Joseph laid the baby down, and it stopped crying. Xia automatically moved out of the bedroom and stationed himself at the apartment door, standing guard. Joseph removed the spare armor from his rucksack, and within minutes he and Gideon had Dr. Bailey in the suit.
“Anna, take control of Doctor Bailey’s armor and enable camo mode,” Gideon said. Anna acknowledged his command and enabled the armor’s camo. The baby started to cry again. This time, more loudly.
“Sipes, pick up the doctor, and let’s go!” Gideon ordered.
Joseph just stood there.
“Sipes, did you hear me? Pick up the doctor and let’s go,” Gideon said again.
“What about the baby, sir?” Joseph asked.
“What about the baby? We leave the baby here, and we take the doctor and go,” Gideon said.
“Sorry, sir, but that’s not right. We can’t leave the baby here to become an orphan like us,” Joseph explained. “Sir, do you want him to be an orphan?”
Gideon stood there, struggling with his emotions and trying to control his anger. Maybe everyone was right about Sipes. He was just a big, dumb man with the mind of a kid. He had no sense of duty or military respect.
“We have company,” Manelly reported over the platoon channel. “A security vehicle just pulled up in front of the building, and two armed men entered the front entrance.
“Everyone, verify your weapon is in particle-beam mode and fire only if you have to,” Gideon ordered. He didn’t want the loud sound of mag rounds accidently being fired.
“Sipes, I don’t have time to argue with you. Pick up the doctor and let’s go!” Gideon said, his voice laced with impatience.
“Sir, if we leave the baby here, it’ll cry louder and louder until his mom picks it up. The baby needs his mom, and he doesn’t want to be an orphan. Can’t we take him wit
h us, sir?” Joseph pleaded.
Gideon knew he had to hurry and didn’t have time for this. He quickly decided to just shoot and kill Joseph for disobeying an order, pick up the doctor himself, and go. Then a thought crossed his mind.
“Anna, are these apartments soundproof?” Gideon asked as he slowly began raising his weapon toward Joseph.
“The apartments are not soundproof per the layout and detailed building diagrams Stephen supplied,” Anna answered.
Gideon lowered his weapon; Joseph was oblivious to what Gideon had planned to do.
“We’ll wrap up the baby in a blanket and put him in your rucksack,” Gideon said as he looked around the room for a small blanket. He found a baby blanket lying on a nearby chair, picked up the baby, and wrapped the baby in the blanket. The baby stopped crying and was quietly whimpering as Gideon laid the baby in the bottom of Joseph’s armor rucksack.
“Sipes, use your heads-up display and soundproof your armor rucksack. There should be plenty if air for the baby in the sack until we get out of town,” Gideon said.
“Yes, sir,” Joseph said. It took a few seconds for Joseph to find the option on his heads-up display, and then he enabled it. “Done, sir.”
“Pick up the doctor, and let’s go!” Gideon ordered again.
This time Joseph picked up Dr. Bailey and draped her over his right shoulder.
“Two armed men just got off the elevator on the fifth floor,” Mucha reported from his stairway position. “They’re headed your way, LT.”
Xia stood ready behind the now-closed apartment door. Gideon and Joseph stood behind him, waiting.
“Mucha, if they stop at the apartment door, take ‘em out,” Gideon ordered as he heard their footsteps come down the hall.
***
Mucha watched as the armed men approached the apartment door and then passed it, walking farther down the hall. They suddenly stopped at another apartment and began beating on the door with the butts of their weapons.
“Open up! Open up!” one of the men shouted.
The door opened slowly, and an old woman stood there, shaking.
“Is your husband here? He’s three hours overdue reporting to mine three-four-A-F!” the man shouted.
“Yes, he’s in bed sick,” she answered, her voice laced with fear.
“Sick! Is he too sick to report to work?” he asked.
“Yes. He has a fever, and I don’t have anything to give him for it. He can hardly walk,” she answered.
“When did he go to the community medical center?” he asked.
“Last week. He’s been sick for five months, but they couldn’t see him until then,” the old woman answered, paused to swallow, and continued. “The medic said medicine would be sent once the test results came back, but we haven’t received anything yet. My husband is the shift manager and has been going to work every evening sick, but this evening he was just too sick.”
As the old lady was talking, one of the men detached a communications pad from his belt and began typing. Mucha looked as the man received some information a few seconds later. Mucha watched the man’s lips move as he read to himself, and placed the device back on his belt. “Help your husband to the door. I want to speak to him,” the man who used the communications device demanded.
The old women left the door open and went back into the apartment. A few minutes later the old woman and a skeleton of a man appeared.
“I checked with the community medical center and accessed your medical record,” the man who had used his communications pad said. “You have stage-four lung cancer, and it has been decided by the community medical managers that you’ll not be treated because you’re too old. We’ve been ordered to retire both of you. Thank you for your loyal service!”
The other man raised his weapon and shot the old woman and her husband in the head.
Mucha watched in horror as the men simply turned around and began walking back toward the elevator. One man pulled out his small handheld communications device as they walked. “This is security detail Gamma-Fourteen. We’ve retired two citizens, and they’re ready for pickup at this location.” Without another word the men entered the elevator, and the door closed.
Mucha, still shaken by what he’d seen, reported, “LT, we’re clear. The armed men are back on the elevator.”
“Was that weapons’ fire? What’s going on?” Gideon asked as Xia opened the apartment door and led the way back to the stairway.
“The men murdered an old couple just a few doors down from you,” Mucha said.
Mucha watched as the team walked towards him. Behind the team, the old couple lay on the floor by the open door to their apartment. Blood flowed from their head wounds and was pooling together in the hallway. Mucha heaved uncontrollable at the sight, but quickly refocused on the approaching team and opened the door to the stairway for the team to enter.
Marine Extract Team, En Route to LZ Omega, Planet Corot
0316-February 26, 2372
Miner led the extract team out of Trade Town without incident toward LZ Omega. Everyone was quiet as they walked. No one had said a word since they left the outskirts of town. Miner definitely knew the area and its activities.
“Miner, I need to stop the team for a few minutes when and where you think it’s safe,” Gideon transmitted.
“There’s a small crevasse up ahead. We can stop in there,” he responded.
Miner stopped the team, and everyone lay in a defensive circle on the ground, facing outward.
“Sipes, over here,” Gideon said as he walked to the middle of the defensive circle. Joseph followed.
“Lay the doctor on the ground, and use your heads-up display to open your armor rucksack,” Gideon said.
Joseph gently laid the doctor on the ground. The instant the rucksack was no longer soundproof, the team heard a baby’s cry. Confused by the sound, the marines turned to look.
“Watch your fire lanes!” Xia barked. The team quickly turned their heads to watch for anything that might be approaching them.
“Sir, what’s that?” Xia asked.
“It’s a baby, Gunny,” Gideon replied. “Anna told me the apartment wasn’t soundproof, and we had to do something about the noise, or those armed men may have found us.”
Hearing the crying baby, Miner walked over. “Doctor Bailey’s son, I presume?” he asked.
“Yes,” Gideon replied as he removed the baby and began rewrapping the blanket.
“I’m glad you decided to take the baby. He would’ve been killed because the New Kalgoorlie government doesn’t take care of babies that young. Only orphans old enough to work in the mines are allowed to live,” Miner said.
Shocked by what Miner had said, Gideon continued to wrap the baby and quiet it as best he could. He thought of how close he’d come to leaving the baby there and killing Joseph. He put the thoughts out of his mind for now since he still had to get his team safely back to the ship.
“That baby is hungry and probably has to be changed. I’d take care of that as soon as you can,” Miner said as Gideon placed the baby back into the rucksack on Joseph’s back.
***
The team continued their way to LZ Omega and arrived at 0547 as the eastern sky was just beginning to lighten. Sergeant Tidwell disabled Bernice’s stealth mode, and she appeared. In the early dawn light, Joseph noted that the ship looked like a large black beast waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting prey.
As the team waited to board, Miner walked up to Joseph, and spoke without a com link. “I know this might sound strange, but I had a dream a few weeks ago that I’d meet you and this team. I don’t recall the specifics about the dream, but I do remember that you gave me something really important. Do you have something for me?”
Joseph thought for a moment and remembered Carrie, on planet Gliese, had asked for something to read before they left. “I’ve got a book if you’d like to have it. I read it every day, and it has a lot of stories and things that keeps my mind off bad things a
nd makes me feel good. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand it all, but the more I read, the more I learn. Will that be okay?” Joseph asked.
“A book?” Miner said surprised, and then responded with a smile. “Yes, a book would be nice since there’s not a lot to read here.”
Joseph reached into a pouch on his utility belt with his left hand and pulled out a data card. He handed it to Miner. “Hope you enjoy it.”
“Thank you,” Miner said and then walked over to Gideon.
***
“Safe journey, Lieutenant. I hope you have what you need,” Miner said.
“I have what I came for and a baby to boot. Thank you for guiding us,” Gideon responded, paused for a second, and asked, “What were you and my big guy talking about?”
Miner smiled and answered. “Well, like I was telling him, I had a dream a few weeks ago about you and your team. He gave me something important in my dream, but I couldn’t remember what it was. I know it sounds silly, but I had to ask him.”
“What’d he give you?” Gideon asked.
“A book,” Miner answered.
“Oh, the book. That’s the book he takes everywhere,” Gideon said and then offered a hand to Miner. As the men shook hands, Gideon added, “Thanks again, and I wouldn’t get too excited about that book. I doubt it’s that interesting or important.”
***
“Do you have another copy of that book?” Mucha asked Joseph in a whisper while everyone was preparing to board Bernice. “I overheard what you told Miner about it making you feel good. I’d like to read it to take my mind off some things.”
Joseph smiled and handed Mucha a copy.
Sick Bay, SRS Stephen Hawking
0750—February 26, 2372
“Where’s my baby? I want my baby!” Dr. Bailey screamed from her bed when she awoke.
“Your baby’s fine, and here he is,” Dr. Pettway said as she placed the baby boy into Dr. Bailey’s arms. Dr. Bailey quickly examined the baby to make sure he was okay, wrapped both arms around him, and squeezed him gently.