Chapter 5
Mars
Amanda Keyes was sweating profusely as Mars loomed large in the Selene’s windows. Since Amanda’s request to rescue Terri, Kendrick allowed her to sit in one of the empty chairs on the bridge, mainly to have some variety in conversation. He found that in spite of himself, he liked her. His initial mistrust had all but faded, though Kendrick occasionally wondered if her damsel in distress routine was part of some elaborate trap. He looked over at Keyes and saw how anxious she was, deciding the agent was on the level.
“We’ll get there,” the captain assured, reaching across to touch her shoulder. It had been just under three months since leaving Venus and Kendrick had managed to break his own speed record, though he and Heather agreed that this was a one-time event, as the rest of the ship was not up for that kind of strain.
“I can’t believe they’d stoop to this,” Amanda said nervously. “Or maybe, they always have; but it never bothered me until now. I’ve investigated as much as I dare of the Luna Tower crew, Terri’s the only one left.”
“You didn’t call them about this, did you?” Wanting to fly under Alliance radar, Kendrick hoped that the answer was no.
“Of course not! I used several dummy accounts and hacked into some others to send from remote locations. My contacts tell me that Xing just vanished. I’ve been tracking Terri’s ship, the Romania, and it’s docking as we speak. I hope we get to her before they do.”
“You know we’ve got a medical situation we need to address, so I have a plan.”
“Captain, I’m the agent. I should be the one coming up with the …”
“Amanda, I can’t just grab your friend and bug out,” Kendrick said, cutting her off. “And you may be an agent, but this is my ship. I can work with you on this, but Mun gets to a hospital in Phoenix Station A.S.A.P.”
“What did you have in mind?” Amanda resigned herself to working with Royce.
“You got any contacts in Columbia?”
“Spice Randall. She’s not Alliance; she runs a … small organization and she’s done a lot of work for me.”
“I’ve actually heard of her. She have access to a shuttle?”
“I would think.”
“Contact her,” Kendrick ordered. “Coordinate a meeting place and get Terri to it. I’ll lend you some muscle. Once you have her, he’ll contact me. Spice will need to get y’all to Phoenix. I’ll give you an exact location once I hear from him.”
“Ronan?”
“Yeah,” Kendrick confirmed. “I figure you two get along well enough and he can handle himself. I have to be at Phoenix; my contact won’t talk to nobody else.”
“I really appreciate you helping me on this, Captain.”
“My pleasure, Amanda. My pleasure.”
Terri disembarked, dutifully remaining in the space port, just as Amanda had ordered. In spite of the progressive gravitational adjustments made by the ship to the spin to bring passengers up to the heavier Martian gravity and Terri’s taking the recommended supplements religiously, the heavier gravity pulled at her. She felt weighted down, her energy sapped immediately. The preparations had done their job; she was not immobilized, but she still would have to adjust. Terri wondered what it would be like to return to Earth. She had been away less than a year after taking the job on Luna, but Earth’s gravity was double that of Mars and several times that of the Moon. Sitting down with a cup of coffee, Terri opened her datapad, hoping to see new messages from Amanda. Almost as soon as she turned it on, the screen went black and a message scrolled up from the bottom.
Go to the bus terminal and wait for further instructions – A
She wondered why Amanda would send the message like that, but she did as she was told. Once she arrived at the terminal, her datapad flashed another message, scrolling up the black screen.
Board bus S-14, market street – A
She waited for roughly ten minutes and saw the bus coming. As she picked up her suitcase, she felt fabric brushing her as something pressed into the small of her back. It felt like a gun barrel. Terri froze.
“Do not move,” ordered a low, muffled voice. “And do not scream.”
She watched the bus stop, people board, then leave, her heart sinking as it vanished from the terminal.
“Please don’t kill me,” Terri begged.
“Speak only when spoken to, woman. Now come with me.”
Terri began moving as she was directed, when she heard a shout.
“Terri!”
Both Terri and her captor turned in the direction of the voice. Amanda Keyes, in full uniform, strode towards her.
“Alliance Intelligence! Let her go, Velos!” Amanda flashed a badge with one hand and trained a pistol on Terri’s captor with the other. The crowd dispersed as Amanda brandished her pistol.
Velos, wrapped his left arm around Terri’s neck, pointing his gun at Amanda. Terri could see that he was garbed in black.
“Lower your weapon, woman.” Velos’ low muffled voice had an unearthly quality to it. “I have backing from your organization to kill her.”
Terri was sobbing, repeating, “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!”
A gunshot sounded and Velos’ weapon hand was struck, knocking it to the left. The gunshot had pierced Velos’ gauntlet, but he still held onto his weapon. From out of nowhere, a large man plowed into Terri’s captor, grabbing the wounded weapon arm and keeping it pointed at the floor as Amanda fired her pistol. Terri felt her captor’s head jerk back behind her, as the other man … a Catholic priest, she realized … stepped back, twisting Velos’ hand up and back, causing the gun to fall, while the priest proceeded to pistol whip the stunned man.
Terri found herself free, and Amanda rushed in and grabbed her arm with one hand, and her luggage with the other, wresting her from Velos’ grip.
“Come on!”
Amanda seemed impossibly strong, moving with boundless energy, and hauling Terri and her suitcase as though they were helium filled balloons. Her grip was like iron, clamping down on Terri’s arm like a vice. The priest emptied the clip of his large pistol into Velos. Now that she could see her would be kidnapper, the man was tall, garbed head to toe in black and wore a breather over his mouth and nose. Reddish eyes glared out from pasty white skin, blood from a head wound inflicted by Amanda streamed down his face. The man staggered back from the priest’s shots, but instead of dying, he began regrouping as the priest loaded a fresh clip.
“We’ve fought this guy before,” the priest shouted. “He won’t stay down. Come on!”
The priest was right. As Amanda and the priest hustled Terri away, she saw the man rising up, spreading his arms out, his cloak billowing like the wings of a giant bat. Security streamed in past them, occupying Velos, as Amanda and the priest led Terri back to the space port.
Cyrus Freeman ran for his life, pursued by at least two W.M.S. security agents. There had been more at the outset, but he had managed to kill three of them right away and two more as the pursuit had moved from the hotel to the street. The hustle and bustle of Columbia Station made pursuit difficult and the agents could no longer shoot at him without endangering civilians. He seemed to have lost the two men, but now what?
It began with a job had been done for one of the big mega-corps, but being hired by an intermediary, he did not know which one. What he did know, was that after the job of industrial sabotage of a Weigert-Massey Semiconductor plant was completed without a hitch, one of the mercs got sloppy, boasting about the job over drinks to a woman who worked for Weigert-Massey’s corporate security department. Cyrus and his entire team had been ratted out.
Thankfully, Cyrus never used his real name in the field and the rat was new enough not to know it, though he was well enough known that it was wise to disappear for a while. W.M.S., Weigert-Massey Semiconductor, Security was much more than just building security. They were more like a miniature K.G.B. and were quite capable of putting the pieces together. Cyrus covered his tracks well e
nough that he hoped that they would be focused on whoever hired the team.
As he pondered his fortunes, he became aware of the two men tailing him. Cyrus was not about to be caught. He saw a large hover-cart crossing his path and made sure to get it between him and the men tailing him. The merc then got into the thoroughfare and threaded his way through the various small ‘cars’ that roamed the station. Staying low, he lost them. Or so he hoped. By the time he got out of the commercial district and to the port, he thought he was in the clear. Cyrus saw a baggage cart coming towards him, its driver not paying attention and nearly hitting him. He ducked out of the way quickly. He had already booked passage to Earth on a T.W.S. commercial space plane, but when he saw the two men again, he ducked behind the baggage cart. Unfortunately, the cart was moving away from the dock he needed to be going to. Of course, he would have to wait for close to an hour before boarding; and even longer before leaving. He had to keep moving. Damn, he thought. I knew I shouldn’t have taken that job.
Then, he saw the opportunity he needed: Captain Kendrick Royce’s silver liner, the fastest ship known to exist, was in port. He already had a ticket but he was willing to take the loss on the ticket and take Kendrick Royce’s luxurious liner instead. It looked like the Selene was fueled up and ready to go. The docking clamps were released, but fortune smiled upon him; the docking tube was still open and Royce himself stood in front, gun drawn. Cyrus observed a group coming from the bus terminal area; a priest, brandishing a pistol openly, an Alliance officer and a civilian woman. He had to act fast.
The three made it back to the space port, where the silver liner of Kendrick Royce awaited them, the rock and roll captain himself at the docking tube, brandishing a large caliber pistol.
“Come on, come on, come on,” he shouted as he provided cover fire.
Amanda pushed Terri forward and Royce grabbed her hand, pulling her into the docking tube. Terri looked back and was gripped with fear. Velos was still after them and a group of black clad soldiers with Alliance insignia were with him. Royce, Amanda and the priest were covering the tube. Out of nowhere, a large black man ran across the space port, shooting at the soldiers, and joining Royce at the docking tube.
“Don’t look back! Run!”
Terri heeded Amanda’s order with haste, hearing the gunfire intensify behind her. She could hardly believe that any of this was happening. What reason would anyone possibly have to want her dead? It made no sense, but the ghoulish creature that had tried to take her was proof enough that it was real; and the Alliance soldiers joining him were proof that Amanda was right about the U.P.A. wanting her dead. In the back of her mind, a voice told her that it was all because of that O.S.D. that Amanda had given her a year ago, containing the files that Terri attached to the command codes she sent to the Selene and the Fujin. Amanda had seduced her in order to gain her cooperation; and against Terri’s better judgement, she had done what Amanda had asked of her. Now, the fallout from Amanda’s operation, whatever it was, threatened to kill them both.
Cyrus Freeman deduced that the best way to get aboard the Selene was to join her captain in the fight against … a vampire? No, not a vampire; Cyrus knew exactly the black cloaked man was and it had nothing to do with myth and legend.
“Need a hand, Captain?” He had to hand it to the rock and roll captain; the man was good in a firefight and a hotshot pilot to boot. Cyrus saw his own pursuers get lost in the melee as port security spilled into the area.
The captain nodded to Cyrus, not taking his eye off of the enemy. “Take all the help I can get!” Royce nodded to the U.P.A. agent and she fired off one last burst before disappearing into the tube. “Father, get on board!” He looked at Cyrus and added, “You too!”
Cyrus had an assault rifle with a grenade launcher attachment, so he fired off a sustained burst along with some well-placed grenades, then boarded; Royce right behind him. Now this is the kind of group I should have signed on with!
Royce wasted no time entering the docking tube right behind Cyrus. “Well, shucks,” he exclaimed. “That didn’t go as planned!”
“You won,” Cyrus reminded him. “And we’re alive. A plan can be an evolving, living thing, rather than a static, point by point list, you know?”
“I’m stealing that line from you the next time I’m accused of not planning,” Royce replied, closing the hatch behind them as they stepped into the airlock. “Now, let’s get airborne; and fast, before the local security forces can mobilize.”
“Agreed, though I fear that my boarding may put you at risk; I too was being chased; just not by the same people.”
“You workin’ with the U.S. government, the Alliance, Gemini VanHorne, NessCorp, or anyone else already chasin’ me?”
Cyrus raised his eyebrows and made a whistle. “That’s quite a colorful list, but no.”
“Then, welcome aboard!”
Terri hurried aboard the Selene, Amanda and the priest right behind her. The large black man who had joined the fray was behind them, but the captain pushed past everyone, heading to the bow of the ship.
“Get her to the Med Bay, Keyes,” he shouted as he ran. “We’re outta here!”
“Yes, sir!” Amanda dutifully did as Kendrick ordered, the priest close behind. Terri felt the ship lift off and begin moving as they ran. She almost fell, but Amanda righted her, then passed her, leading her down a side corridor. “This way, Terri!”
The ship’s main engines roared to life and the Selene jumped to supersonic speeds in an instant, pinning them to the bulkhead. As the acceleration ceased, they were thrown to the other side, Terri falling down and banging her shoulder hard. Amanda landed on top of her, clearly unprepared for the ship’s sudden movement. The priest seemed to be able to break the impact, keeping his head away from any solid objects and remained standing after hitting the forward bulkhead.
“God damn, this thing is fast,” Amanda gasped.
Terri broke down sobbing, Amanda’s arms encircling her.
“We’re safe, baby,” the agent said softly. “I won’t let anything harm you, you hear me? You’re safe.”
With Terri safe in the Med Bay, Amanda joined Kendrick and Lena on the bridge. The agent had planted spyware in Terri’s datapad on Luna a year ago and was monitoring it when Velos took it over, sending Terri false messages signed, “A.” Amanda had been unable to reach Spice and feared that it would all fall apart. Kendrick surprised her when he landed the ship at Columbia and told her to get Terri aboard while he waited. But firefights in a Mars space port had consequences and Selene was now marked. While he could outrun local forces easily enough, unless he planned to leave Mars immediately, they would still be in danger from agents and mercs. Velos was still alive; and either Xing or his replacement was working with the foul creature, evidenced by Velos having a platoon of U.P.A. agents working with him.
Amanda sat, out of breath from having run to the bridge; under Martian gravity, there was no floating in the docking tubes. The captain looked as flustered as she was winded and would likely grill her about being placed into a firefight on Terri’s behalf.
“Thank you, Captain,” she gasped, still trying to catch her breath. Too much leisure time, she thought.
“So; about that Dracula lookin’ guy,” Kendrick began. “Any idea what the hell he is? I’ve faced him before; tough son-of-a-gun.”
“He’s called Velos,” Amanda explained.
“Yeah, but what is he?”
“A Chiropteran,” she replied with a sigh.
“You wouldn’t mind repeating that, would you?”
“Chiropteran,” Lena interjected. “Greek, meaning bat-like, and in this case, a vampire bat.”
“You mean it’s … a vampire?” Kendrick looked with disbelief at Amanda.
Keyes shook her head. “No, but it is a hemovore.”
“A blood drinker,” Lena clarified.
“Yes,” Amanda continued, “They drink human blood, though there’s nothing supernatural about it; li
ke the Zduhać, they were cooked up in a lab, either by the government or some defense contractor. Aside from toughness and rapid healing, I have no idea what they were going for when they engineered these things. Unlike the Zduhać, Chiropterans are likely made specifically for military and black ops applications, not for advancing space exploration.”
“You mean, there’s more of them?” Captain Royce had been a cool customer from day one, and from what she could tell, nothing flustered him. The man was unflappable, but today, Velos had visibly shaken the normally cool captain.
“Yes, though I don’t have numbers,” Amanda confirmed. “Only that they got out of the lab. They depended on a lab supplied solution to live. The first step taken to containing them was to deny them that solution, but unfortunately, the Chiropterans figured out that human blood works just as well, hence the hemovore part. They tend to be more subtle than Zduhać and don’t operate openly most of the time. That exhausts my knowledge of them, other than to say that they’re damn near impossible to kill.”
“I encountered this Velos last year,” Kendrick said, shaking his head. “He’s the one who shot Lena.”
“I, myself, was unaware of them,” Lena added. “There was nothing in the Enigma’s databanks, or on Venus relating to them.”
Kendrick reclined, pondering the revelation for a few moments. “We’ll pick this up later, Keyes. Right now, I gotta make sure we don’t get captured and thrown into prison; and that Lena and Fiona ain’t sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed.”
“I do have contacts in the U.P.A,” Amanda reminded him. “They don’t know how much I’ve found out about their activities and they’d make a nice buffer against the local agencies.”
Royce was silent for a few moments, finally replying, “All right; I’m game.”
Amanda tuned into the priority frequency that she used and keyed up the mic, hoping that this was the right thing to do.
No Safe Harbor: The Silver Liner Page 6