by GARY DARBY
“No problem sir,” Shanon answered. “Just make sure it shows up on the next payday.”
“I’ll make a note of it,” Jadar replied. “Now, listen up. We’re almost to atmosphere, and they are most certainly going to have someone come up and take a look at us after that exchange. So, stick to the plan. Understood?”
“Understood,” both Dason and Brant replied.
Less than a minute later, Shanon tapped Dason on the shoulder. “We’ve got company. Two bogies on intercept course. Must’ve scrambled those guys pretty fast.”
Just then, Jadar spoke over the communicator, “Okay, they’ve sent up two. That’s too bad; I was hoping for only one.”
Crisply he gave his orders, “I’ll take the lead craft; Brant, you’ve got his wingman. Dason, it looks as though it’s up to you.”
Dason swallowed hard and replied, “Yes, sir, I understand.”
After a few seconds, Jadar said, “Stand by for breakaway . . . and . . . now!”
The three Zephyrs flashed apart with Jadar’s and Brant’s craft streaking right at the Planetary Guard ships. Dason rolled his vessel over in an inverted “J” maneuver that left the ship aimed straight at the surface.
He punched at the acceleration control and for an instant it seemed as if the Zephyr hung motionless in the night sky, with its nose directed at the Imperium capital’s glittering lights.
“Hang on!” Dason shouted at Shanon just as the main engine thrust slammed them downward in a screaming dive through Earth’s thick atmosphere.
Dason watched with grim eyes as the ship headed straight for the brightest structure in the nexus of lights, the Tanzdiele, or the Great Hall of the High Council.
Their course was set, there was no turning back. Rebels they had been unfairly labeled before. After tonight, they most certainly would have earned the title.
Chapter Thirty-One
Star date: 2443.109
Earth
Slicing through Earth’s upper atmosphere, the Zephyr accelerated with every passing second. Each moment bringing them closer to either solving the mystery of Tor’al or they would die in the attempt.
Dason knew they only had three things going for them: speed, surprise, and the fact that the array of laser cannons that ringed the capital were meant to deal with massive, ponderous warships.
On the laser’s targeting sensors, the Zephyr would appear as a flitting, tiny gnat. Though, Dason also knew that if the Planetary Guard lasers did manage to target them, their deaths would be neat, quick, and instantaneous.
“Is the evasive action program running?” Dason called out.
“Yes,” Shanon answered in a high voice, “the clock’s started. Ten seconds and counting.”
“Better hope we didn’t miscalculate,” Dason let out. “Or we’re going to make one big hole in the ground!”
Seconds later, the Zephyr started gyrating and dancing in wild fashion through the night sky.
And none too soon.
Thunderous laser bolts crisscrossed the sky, in front, and on all sides of the twisting vessel. Two laser charges collided just in front of the ship’s bow, exploding outward in a fiery eruption of charged particles that lit the sky up like a miniature star nova.
All Dason and Shanon could do was to hang on as they were slammed and bounced in all directions. A constant stream of scarlet laser beams dazzled Dason’s eyes and for several seconds all he saw were bright, colorful stars that sparkled and danced across his vision.
“Are they going to follow us all the way down?” Shanon cried out.
Dason managed to steal a glance at his navigational display. “Five klicks to the surface!” he yelled out. “On my count, disengage the program.”
The little ship continued to dance and dodge through what seemed to be a veritable curtain of flaming-hot laser bolts that lighted up the night sky. “Three . . . two . . . one . . . now!” Dason shouted.
Dason’s hands flew over the pilot’s display, trying to keep the ship a step ahead of the computer-controlled lasers. He dove the craft downward in a spiraling dive, pulling up at the very last second, mere meters above the multitude of domed, marbled buildings that marked the Imperium’s capital.
“The hall’s dead ahead, three kilometers,” Shanon declared. “I’m not sure what was worse, going through that asteroid field above Stygar Six or those laser shots.”
“I know, but we made it and that’s what counts,” Dason answered. “And, just to make sure that they stop shooting at us . . .”
He side-slipped the little vessel to the left and pushed her nose down until she skimmed just above the glittering way that marked the Grand Avenue of Planets that led straight to the Great Hall.
“Are you trying to make a ‘grand’ entrance?” Shanon asked coyly.
“You know me,” Dason returned with a small smile. “I like making a big splash when I bring the gang to town. Besides, it’ll give the locals something new to gossip about.”
His fingers flicked across the panel, keeping the Zephyr centered between the spotlighted building’s ornate facades. “What about the other two Zephyrs? Can you tell what’s happening up there?”
“No,” Shanon answered, a little too loudly and showing her nervousness. “The scope’s all over the place. I can’t get a bead on either of them. The guard must be jamming us.”
Dason stared ahead and then pointed. “Over there! That’s where we’ll set down.”
He slapped at the comms. “Coming up on our landing site,” he announced rapidly to his waiting team, “Alena, Nase, into the airlock!”
He brought the Zephyr into a careening bank to the right, leveled, and then yanked the nose up in a last-second flare with his belly and nose thrusters at full output.
Bringing the Zephyr to a full stop, hovering just off the ground, he shouted, “Now!”
On his panel, the airlock display showed the outer door opening. Dason turned to Shanon, who was looking out through the cockpit window toward the ship’s rear. “They’re out,” she called.
Dason brought the craft up several meters and spun it on its central axis, looking for any signs of aggressors. Shanon kept her hand over the weapons display, ready to fire the ion cannon at any would-be attacker.
“Dason, we’re in the airlock,” TJ called over the comm.
Dason lowered the Zephyr again, and moments later, Shanon gave a “thumbs up” that TJ and Sami were out of the craft and running toward cover.
Jerking his head toward Shanon, he ordered, “You and El’am! Go!”
Once again, Dason had the ship lightly kiss the ground. He watched the airlock sensor go from green to red and back again, indicating Shanon’s and El’am’s exit from the craft.
Dason rotated the scouter one last time, but seeing no threat, flew the ship toward a nearby grove of massive oak trees. He came close to the trees’ overhanging branches and then landed the vessel with a loud thump as the tripods touched down.
He was into the airlock even before the engines had time to whine down and cease operating. Seconds later, he leaped to the ground and with L-gun drawn, sprinted across the grassy field. Feet first, he slid to the earth next to his companions as they lay next to one of the smaller outer buildings of the capital grounds.
With weapons outstretched, the strike team lay silent and still on the soft grass. After several moments of watchful waiting, Dason whispered, “I don’t think they followed us down, looks quiet enough.”
“Yeah,” Alena replied next to him, “but it won’t be long until they have an air and ground search up and running.”
“Let’s move,” Dason ordered.
With Dason in the lead, the band of six humans and one Sha’anay sidled next to the building until they came to a heavy-looking metal door. Dason brought them to a halt and tried the door, only to find it locked.
Motioning to Sami, Dason directed, “Open it.”
Sami grinned and whispered, “One door-sized can opener coming right up, courtesy of t
he Space Marines.”
With a step, he moved to the door and rapidly adhered four small dull gray putty-like blocks to the lock and handle. He stepped back and applied a tiny amount of electrical charge to the little slabs.
A faint green glow accompanied by a sizzling sound came from the door, and a moment later, Sami reached over to pull out the locking mechanism. He swung the door open with a bow. “And for my next trick—”
“Later, Sami,” Dason muttered. “Let’s go.”
The small company spilled into the semidarkness of a bare corridor. Dason led them a short way down and then called a halt as he pulled out his palm-sized compu.
He inputted several commands and a holographic schematic of the outer capital buildings appeared midair with a tiny red dot showing the Zephyr’s location.
Dason narrowed the image’s focus until it displayed the Zephyr sitting close to the building that now held the strike team. “We hit it right on the money,” Dason whispered. “We’re in one of the outlying maintenance buildings.”
After examining the schematic intently, he waved a hand in the direction they faced. “We go down this corridor, and turn left at the first junction.
“Ten meters farther is a generator room. A floor access panel leads down to the underground service passageways. That’s how we’ll get into the hall.”
“Great,” Sami groused. “More skulking around like rats in—” A hard jab from TJ’s elbow shut him up with his mouth half-open.
Dason directed in a whisper, “We need to move fast. Those doors are probably wired into their security system, and somewhere there’s a red light blinking on someone’s monitoring board about now.”
“Path Finder?” Sami asked hopefully.
“Not this time, Sami,” Dason replied. “We stay together.”
With Dason in the lead, they rushed down the passageway and into the large generator room. Dason found the small control panel for the floor entryway, and seconds later the large metal floor doors opened clamshell style.
One by one, each clambered down the short ladder into the lighted plas-concrete passageway. Once down, Dason closed the hatch and took a quick look around.
Large and small conduits that carried everything from power to heat and air-conditioning to the Great Hall lined both walls and the overhead. Dason gestured to his right, and the team went into a half run, half walk.
A minute later, they came to an intersection. Dason held them there for a few seconds, consulted his schematic, and then waved them on straight ahead.
“This corridor dives down below the hall’s west end. That’s where the lower levels are,” he explained. “If Tor’al’s anywhere in this complex, I bet that’s where they’re keeping him.”
He caught their eyes and instructed, “From here on, weapons on free. Remember our orders, try to stun if you can, but we’re here to stop a war so do what you must.”
They hurried on and came to a long sloping incline that led deeper below ground. Other than a soft buzzing sound that came from several overhead conduits and their own hurried footsteps, the corridor was silent.
A bit farther, the floor leveled off, and they broke into a lope, hurrying, but still keeping a wary eye out, both visually and with their LifeSensors.
They came to a cluster of refrigeration and heater relay units that lined both walls and Dason brought them to a halt. “There should be a ladder nearby,” he whispered. “The display is showing an access hatch or cover along this stretch of tunnel.”
Alena, who had taken a few steps forward of the rest, snapped her fingers at the group. “Over here.”
Semi-hidden next to a maintenance locker was the ladder. Dason climbed up and reached for the closed hatch in the ceiling. He glanced down at Alena, who had followed behind him.
“Ready?” he asked. Alena wrapped one arm around a stanchion to steady herself and took aim at the metallic door.
She gave a quick nod. “Ready.”
Dason pushed the control button and the clamshell’s doors cranked open. With a wary eye, Dason poked his head up and scanned the surrounding area.
No one was in sight. He waved for the others to follow and stepped into the dimly lit corridor. The group swiftly reformed and Shanon, looking up and down the hallway asked, “Which way?”
Dason shook his head at her. “There are rooms off this corridor both ways, it could be either direction.”
“Can you tell what kind?” Alena asked.
“From their size, my guess is that they’re storage rooms,” Dason answered.
Reading the display, Dason then pointed down the corridor with one hand. “There are several larger rooms or compartments that way. We’ll head there.
“Spread out and stay quiet. Shanon, Alena, have your LifeSensors on free search at the high end of the alpha scale for humans. TJ, have yours set to Alpha Prime. Give us a heads-up if you three spot anything.”
The team split with half hugging one wall, and the other half up against the far wall. Dason would have preferred moving in complete darkness where their LSs and snoopers might give them an advantage.
However, laser shots at the overhead glow tubes to bring on darkness would alert anyone on this level that they had unwelcome company.
Dason tried to keep one eye on their forward movement and one eye on the schematic. They hadn’t gone far when he snapped shut his compu and with a quick wave of his arm ordered, “Get down!”
They slid to the floor with weapons trained down the corridor. Dason lay next to Alena and gestured toward her LS. She showed him the display that except for their small group didn’t show any hits.
Dason chewed on his lower lip and considered his next step. His “bush radar” had kicked in quite strong, and he felt danger somewhere ahead.
Peering down the darkened hallway, he wondered, why wasn’t there anything showing on the LifeSensor? Was he just imagining the whole thing or getting a bad case of the jumps?
Alena nudged him in the arm and held out her LS. Four targets, all humans, moved down the corridor toward them. They moved slowly and were hugging the walls. Apparently, they weren’t taking any chances of running into someone head-on.
Dason surveyed his team’s position. They were all belly flat in the shadow, and he couldn’t even hear their breathing. Unless the four approaching them had their own Life Sensors or the equivalent, it was doubtful they would see the scouts until they stumbled over them.
He glanced at the LS display again; the four had now aligned themselves in a loose skirmish line across the corridor and moved in a slow and deliberate fashion. That told Dason that they weren’t maintenance personnel or the night cleanup crew.
Nevertheless, the way they moved also told Dason that the four knew that something wasn’t right down here, they just didn’t know what.
Dason caught Shanon’s and Nase’s attention across from him. He signaled that there were four headed their way; they were to stun the two to the left, and he and Alena would take the two to the right.
Dason glanced at the LS display, waited a few seconds and then cut loose with his stunner. More shots rang out, followed by several dull thuds of bodies hitting the floor.
Dason dashed forward and spotlighted one of the stunned men with a vest light. “Imperium Guard!” he ground out to the others. “And all with cheek mikes.”
Her voice rising a notch, Alena declared, “That tears it, they’ll know something’s wrong in a few seconds.”
“Move!” Dason commanded.
He heeded his own order and sprinted away. The team leap-frogged down the corridor, covering for each other, aware that they were minutes or perhaps just seconds away from discovery.
A t-section in the corridor caused them to come to a halt. Dason began to peek around the corner when scarlet laser bolts blasted the wall, spraying plas-concrete fragments everywhere.
Dason jerked back and rubbed at his left eye. “You okay?” Sami asked.
“I’m good,” Dason answered in a ha
rd tone. “Just caught some dust in my eye. Sami, we need a distraction.”
Sami grinned broadly. “Got just the thing.” He reached deep into a side pocket and pulled out a dark green, fist-sized ball with pockmarks that resembled an oversized golf ball.
Dason took one look and asked, “Your idea of a distraction is to invite them to play golf?”
“Not even,” Sami replied. “Basketball is my game. But stand back and watch the bouncing ball.”
He touched several spots on the ball’s exterior. “Everyone get ready to unload on those guys because once this thing goes off, they should be ducking their heads and taking cover.”
A low whining sound came from the sphere that increased in volume until Sami flung it around the corner into the passageway. The orb started careening against the walls and ceiling until it began spinning.
Without warning, a multitude of explosions spewed out of the bounding ball reminding Dason of a huge fireworks display.
Dason glanced at Sami who held up a finger, waited until the blasts got louder and louder, and then yelped, “Now!”
The team sprang from their hiding places and fired volley after volley of stun shots through the mini-explosions’ smoke and haze.
Waiting for a few seconds, Dason gathered himself and rushed forward, ignoring the gyrating ball’s Mexican jumping bean antics. Several laser shots zipped by his head, and he returned fire.
He threw himself into a small anteroom, taking cover behind a sharply curved console. Laser shots hit the hard board sending showers of sparks and fragments of desk flying everywhere.
Dason scrambled to the end and fired at a figure who rose from the room’s other side. The man slumped forward, slid over a compu desk, and crashed to the floor.
Crouching, Dason surveyed the scene. He counted four bodies lying prone on the floor, but of more importance, no one seemed to be firing at them. Behind him, his team surged into the room, and he motioned for them to take cover.
Shanon motioned toward a dark passageway that angled down and away. “A guard or control room,” she whispered. “They must be guarding something that’s down there. We should take a look.”