by S D Taylor
Erin thought back in return. “When we left, you were in trouble. I wanted to rescue the older Doug and help out. I thought a few guns might help. And besides, I think you have some greater complications than me. Those guys in full combat gear with the big guns seem to be a pretty significant complication. They are ready to defend this place.”
“You have a point. And you are here now, so we have to make the best of it. You can wait in the hover vehicle and guard the boat until we can join you and leave.”
“Why are you here at the compound? What is Dara planning?”
“She wanted to return here and try to knock out their systems for good. If we can’t do that, the rebellion will fail. So we have to at least try. And we need to move quickly. No more time for thoughtlinking.”
Jelk smiled as he let go of Erin’s arm, closed the door and headed to the control room. “You better sit down.”
They lifted off and Jelk flew north in a gradual left turn that would bring him over the harbor. A red flashing light on the panel indicated airborne targets about eighty miles away but he didn’t pay much attention to it. He was looking at the Yir-Lak boats in the harbor. Originally there were six of the Skimmer class boats that had the time/space locators installed in them. Jelk had stolen two of them for the two hover vehicles and replaced them with non-working simulators. One of the boats, Skimmer 3, was out of service for maintenance and Skimmer 6 was his and Dara’s. Those locators wouldn’t be missed immediately. But the other four posed a threat to any escape plan. If the Yir-Lak could trace their group of rebels to any location in time and space, their escape was meaningless. They would be on the run forever.
Dara’s plan was to use baby salmon implanted with tiny samples of DNA from Peter, Gaby, Erin and Doug. They tiny salmon, thousands of them, would be distributed in various time/space locations to be a source of the confusion to their pursuers. The salmon would act like temporal chaff, overwhelming the locator searches with excessive results of out of place organic material. Simultaneously, she hoped to reduce the Yir-Lak Command’s ability to travel through time and space by disabling all the time/space locators except for the two that Jelk had stolen. If they could destroy the four remaining locators, then go to Erin and Doug’s time/space location, they might be safe. Jelk saw five Skimmer-class boats tied up to the Yir-Lak dock, but one boat was missing. At least he could reduce the threat of being followed by eliminating three of the remaining four remaining ones.
He set the craft to hover in place and went back to where Erin was sitting. She got up when he entered the passenger compartment. “Come with me.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “We need to disable the time locator capability on three boats down there. Can you help me?”
Erin thought back quickly. “What do I need to do?”
“I have these little vials of metal fusing liquid. If we pour one on each of the locators, it will melt the components into a single useless mass of metal. They won’t be able to rebuild them after that. New ones will take a long time to build. If they can recreate them at all.”
“Why? They built them once.” Erin had come to believe that in Transarctica any technical magic was possible.
“Many of the components came from the Asian Alliance factories and the Yir-Lak are not on friendly terms with them right now.”
Jelk and Erin returned to the control center and looked out through the viewport. You take number 1. I will take care of 2 and 4.”
“Ok. No problem. What about the others?’
Jelk turned toward her. “Number 5 must be out to sea or on a mission, and I already disabled numbers 3 and 6 by removing their locators.” He laughed. “Where do you think we got the locators for the two hover vehicles?”
Erin finally understood how the pieces fit together. After all the questions and doubts, Dara’s plan was turning out to be completely real and pretty well conceived.
“It’s too bad we couldn’t take care of Skimmer 5 as well.” Erin knew that until they did, they would always have the potential threat of the Yir-Lak trying to track them down. She wondered where it was and who was on board.
“Where are you going to land?” Erin thought it would be tight to land on the dock. Before he could answer, she pointed to the console. “Hey, Jelk, what is this red light flashing here?”
Jelk glanced at the console and then the display screen. Without warning, he pushed the control stick forward and to the right in an evasive maneuver that sent Erin sprawling across the floor.
“What is happening?” Erin yelled as she struggled to get up in the rapidly moving and wildly gyrating hover vehicle.
Jelk didn’t have time to answer before the first missile from the Asian Alliance attack fleet struck the north wing of the compound with a vicious explosion that knocked the hover vehicle sideways and nearly caused Jelk to lose control.
“We are under attack. We need to get out of here.” Jelk said it as a fact with the calm focus of a combat veteran.
“What about Doug, Dara and the rest? We can’t abandon them here?”
“I agree, but we don’t have much time for a rescue. If we sit here, we will be shot down. There are twenty targets flying this way and I am betting they are Asian Alliance attack fighters. They are only sixty miles away and heading this way fast. We might get one or two, but this hover vehicle will be simple pickings for a real war craft. We need to find some other time and space and jump on out of here. Any ideas?” The north wing of the compound was burning from the missile strike and there was a gaping hole in the section where Erin’s room had been.
“Where did they take Doug, Peter and Gaby? Is Dara with them?”
“They were headed to the interrogation room. You will remember it as the one where you got zapped when you first got here.”
Erin remembered the interrogation room all too well. “Isn’t it right there?” She pointed to the southwest corner of the compound that was undamaged by the initial missile strike. “Can the weapon on this thing poke a hole in that wall without killing everyone inside the room?”
“Yes. I can set it to decompose the material in the wall without causing an explosion.”
“Do it. Then land on the dock. Or at least hover at a low altitude.” Erin was surprised at the words she was hearing come out of her mouth. She seemed to have adopted Doug’s command voice.
Jelk looked at the intensity in her face and nodded. He adjusted the beam weapon and fired a short burst. The wall of the compound crumbled and opened a ten foot wide gap. Within seconds, Doug, Peter and Gaby were looking out of the gap. The hover vehicle descended to the dock and Jelk opened the door. Erin was there, holding a machine pistol and waving to a very surprised Doug. The three escapees ran across the dock and jumped into the open door. The hover vehicle was only a foot above the dock.”
Doug grabbed Erin by the shoulders. “Great timing. That explosion sort of changed our thinking about next steps. Do you know what is happening?”
Jelk called out from the control room. “We are under attack. It is likely the Asian Alliance. A war has started. They are trying to take advantage of the chaos caused by the earthquake. We need to leave quickly. But we need to get Dara. We can’t leave her here.”
“I will take care of it. Get everyone else to safety.” Doug jumped out of the open door and started to leave but Erin followed right behind him and grabbed his arm. “Not so fast. I am coming with you.” She handed him the extra machine pistol she brought with her and turned back towards the open door of the hover vehicle. “Get out of here, Jelk. If you can lock in on our time, do it and take Peter and Gaby back there. Doug and I will follow with Dara.”
Peter turned towards her. “What about us?” He almost threw in ‘sir’ but thought better of it when he saw the intensity in her eyes.
“If you don’t see us in a few days, come back and rescue us. Ying will explain her improved approach to the vortex. Now, go. Quickly!”
Doug and Erin ran back to the Yir-Lak Command Building. “How are we go
ing to follow them? With what?” Doug looked at her like she had lost her mind. Was this his Erin, or was is some new version of her that he hadn’t met yet? Was it a commando, special forces Erin from a parallel universe? He was amazed by the transformation.
“We will borrow one of these boats and disable the rest.” She held up the small vials of metal fuser but he had no idea what she was referring to. “And don’t give me that look. You were ready to risk everything to save the dog. There is even more at stake here.”
Erin took his arm and pulled him closer to the compound wall. “Get out of here, Jelk! You only have a few minutes before they get here.”
Jelk knew she was right. Peter started to say something more but Jelk shut the door and took off so quickly that he and Gaby were barely able to grab something to hold onto. “What just happened?” He said it to Gaby as if she might have an idea.
“I think Erin decided that Doug would probably propose some heroic scheme to save Dara and she wanted to be part of it this time rather than watch him run off into danger while she was left alone. She seems to have taken charge of the operation.”
“So she’s become as crazy as he is. They make a good pair.”
“Just like us, huh?”
Peter smiled as he put his arm around Gaby. “Yes, just like us. We are a good pair.”
Chapter 48
Doug and Erin ran quickly to the main entrance of the Yir-Lak compound and crouched next to it as if it could somehow offer them protection from the incoming missiles.
“You may have gotten us killed with this plan.” Doug looked at her with a mixture of love, admiration and consternation. He checked the clip on the machine pistol and chambered a round just in case. “But I love this new kick ass and take names version of you.”
“Then kiss me one more time before we die.” Erin leaned forward and put her arm around Doug. He obliged with a quick kiss and then released her. “Let’s find Dara and hit the road. Any second one of those missiles is going to leave a smoking hole where we are standing.”
The main door to the compound was closed, but to their surprise, it opened when they approached. Doug thought it must be due to the total security systems failure. The hallway was deserted. “I think most of the command center is underground. That’s where Dara was heading after she dropped us off. If she made it there, we may have to leave without her. If we try to go in, they will zap us just like any other intruder. They must be on full war footing after that missile strike.”
The main hallway turned to the left and led towards the north wing, site of the damage from the missile. Smoke was starting to fill the air but they could still see and breathe reasonably well. Doug and Erin kept next to the wall and moved forward slowly. They could hear voices ahead but it was too far away to make out what they were saying.
There were two large elevators with the Yir-Lak symbol on the doors. “This must be the main entrance to the command center down below. Dara said it was eight floors down. They are set up to resist an attack but with problems caused by the earthquake, they may have been caught unaware. There must be some stairs that go down there as well. If we can just find them.”
“The attackers were about sixty miles away five minutes ago. That’s what Jelk could tell from the display screen on the hover vehicle. We don’t have much time.”
The elevators required a special security code so they passed by them. “Let’s check up ahead and see if we can find a stairway. If we can’t locate one, we will have to leave.. I don’t want to leave her here, but if we get blown to pieces it won’t do her any good anyway.”
Erin stayed by the elevator door to provide cover as Doug moved forward in the main hallway. The smoke got thicker as he went and it caused him to cough. A cough he couldn’t quite stifle. The sound brought an immediate challenge. “Who’s there? Answer quickly!”
“We are looking for Commander Dara?”
“What do you want with her?”
Doug considered what to say. He hadn’t expected that question. After Dara had taken them to the interrogation room, she had left with two of the soldiers. Doug thought that he noticed the two men exchange glances and his sixth sense told him there may be danger for her. Doug thought the soldiers may have suspected that she was up to something and she may be in trouble now. He decided to play his hunch.
“We are here to arrest her. She is suspected of disloyalty.”
There was a short pause. “It’s about time. We have been waiting for you to get here and take this trash off our hands. We need to get to the shelter.”
The smoke gave Doug an advantage. He put the machine pistol on automatic, stood up with his best military posture and walked around the corner into the hallway. In the smoke, he hoped he looked enough like a soldier to fool them for a couple of seconds. That was the time he would need to eliminate the threat. Straight ahead he could just make out three standing figures holding stunrifles and what appeared to be someone sitting on the ground against wall. Doug didn’t hesitate. Knowing that the Yir-Lak troops had body armor he ran forward quickly and fired at their heads and necks. Short bursts at each target, then duck down and move in hard and fast. None of the three knew what hit them and there was no return fire. Doug found Dara sitting cross-legged on the floor, her back against the wall. Her hands were tied behind her back and her head was slumped on her chest. She had been severely beaten and there was blood on her face and in her hair.
Doug was shocked by what he saw. The world of Transarctica had abusive policies and the government treated their people horribly but there was little physical violence that he had witnessed. Doug wondered what went on behind the scenes based on how these three men had abused Dara when she was their prisoner and unable to defend herself. He quickly checked her pulse as Erin joined him. “I came as soon as I heard the gunfire. Are you ok? Is she?”
“She’s alive but they beat her up pretty bad. Watch the hallway while I lift her up. We need to get on one of those boats and leave now.”
Doug put his arms around Dara and lifted her up and over his shoulder. He was surprised at how small and light she seemed. And how helpless and vulnerable. She groaned as he picked her up but didn’t fully revive. There was no sign of other soldiers above ground but Erin grabbed one of the stunrifles just in case. Together they went back to the main entrance as fast as they could while carrying Dara. There was another explosion but it was in the distance, from the direction of Selenton. Doug suspected that the Yir-Lak compound may not be the actual headquarters. He wondered if Dara’s rebellion had ever had any real hope of success. There seemed to be layers upon layers of deception that even she wasn’t aware of.
They chose Skimmer 1 as their escape boat. It was one of the three docked vessels that Jelk had identified as still having a working time/space locator. Erin helped Doug carry Dara onto the deck and through the door onto the bridge. For now, they strapped her into the captain’s chair and Doug tried to revive her.
“Do I have time to disable the other two boats?”
Doug looked at her and then looked away to the west. “Yes, we have to. But hurry. And on Skimmer 6 there is a white plastic cooler on the bridge. Run and get it on your way back from the other boats. I will get her on the boat then power up and get ready.”
“What’s in the cooler?”
“It’s the baby salmon. Now go! I’ll explain later.”
“I already heard about them. See you in a minute.” Erin ran quickly to get the cooler while Doug turned to Dara. She was stirring but barely able to open her swollen eyes.
“Dara. Can you hear me? C’mon, wake up. Please. We need your help with the time/space locator. I don’t know how to work it.”
Another missile hit the compound. It hit the north wing close enough to their boat that the shock wave rocked the boat and cracked one of the windows. Doug quickly glanced up and saw that Erin was onboard the Skimmer 6 and protected from the blast. She quickly got the cooler and was running back with it as quickly as practical.
Dara tried to speak, but was weak. She finally held up her hand. Doug didn’t understand at first but then she said “Thoughtlink” out loud and he grabbed her hand.
“Thank you. Thank you for saving me. They would have finished me in a couple more minutes. Did you kill them all?”
Doug pushed his thoughts into her head. “Yes. I took care of them. Now, Dara, I need your help. How do I work the time/space locator? We need to open a vortex and get out of here before the next missile kills us.”
“Ok. Locator. Green button turns it on. Enter code 13150. Dial to preselected addresses. Doesn’t matter which. This boat doesn’t have your time in its system, so just pick one and push down on the dial. Vortex opens in about twenty seconds. Boat must be moving at least five knots but not more than twelve.” Dara paused, struggling to speak. “Thanks, Doug.”
Doug released her hand gently. “Just rest, Dara. We will get you out of here.”
Erin was breathless from running back with the cooler after she poured the metal fuser on the locators on boats 2 and 4. “Here you go. Are we leaving?”
“Yes. We’re ready. Go release the ropes.”
“I already did. You’re good to go. While you do that, I am going to get in the Hover Vehicle.”
“Why? What do you have in mind?”
“Why not blast the other boats so they can’t follow us?”
“Do you really think there will be anything left of those boats an hour from now?”
Erin started to say something as yet another Asian Alliance missile hit the front of the compound, nearly entering through the hole in the wall that Jelk had created to spring the prisoners. The resulting explosion shattered that corner of building and would have meant certain death for Doug, Gaby and Peter if they were still in that room.
“You just earned your combat medal for best rescue, Erin. If you and Jelk hadn’t gotten us out of there, we would be dead. I guess I owe you my life now. I hope you will give me a long time to pay you back.”