SIEGE (TRAMPS Book 1)
Page 4
Unknowingly, his little metal pets went to the next machine. Bells started ringing next to him.
The manager came up to Aaron to congratulate him on his big win along with two security men.
“Great job”, said the manager. We just need to make sure your I.d. is correct and then get your picture for the lobby winners.”
“Sure, let’s go,” Aaron said impatiently.
He handed the manager his Identification when the lady next to him hit another big win.
“Oh my’” she said as her bells started ringing more.
The manager looked at the little old lady. “Well, this is certainly a surprise,” he smiled.
The manager handed Aaron his identification back and Aaron started sweating. The manager, Aaron and the two security guards started walking toward the center information center as the drunk took over Aarons warm seat.
They made it only a quarter of the way when a jackpot hit behind them. Bells, lights and faeries were dancing again.
‘Oh god’, Aaron’s heart sank. ‘I am so seriously fucked.’
Just then another jackpot hit and the voice from the little woman cackled. “OH oh oh oh!”!!!
The managers face went from a smile to a deep maroon scowl that belonged to a rabid junkyard dog.
The manager ordered the security men, “Hold him1” he barked.
Both grabbed for for the black haired Asian kid but Aaron dropped below their reach and jumped like a rabbit. Aaron was fast but not faster than a radio signal.
He dodged everyone he could but in desperation he had to knock a few over. He was running so fast he could feel the wind on his face as his adrenalin flooded his veins. His heart was pounding in his chest as his sight narrowed. He pulled his broken chronometer from his wrist and threw it in a gold trash receptacle as he ran by it.
Overhead red sirens swirled as an emergency alarm over-screamed the regular casino sounds. Players and by-standers stepped aside as the crowd became less dense toward the front lobby.
Aaron made it to the lobby with 6 bulls in hot pursuit. He could hear their feet and somewhere in the recesses of his mind he could swear he felt their footsteps echoing his own. Just ahead the lobby doors awaited. Shimmering glass in 15 foot brass fixtures. He knew he could beat them to the main doors. If he only had enough time for the doors to slide open for him to get free of the building. His identification was made by the manager but that would be secondary.
He was 20, 15 10 feet from the doors. They weren’t opening. Then in a flash he realized the casino was in lock-down. He slammed into the doors like a frightened bird smashing a window pane. Aaron felt his body flatten against the thick reinforced glass and he bounced backward falling flat on his back.
In a daze and blurred vision he saw the, over 200 pound each, bulls falling on top of his wiry 130 pound frame. This was going to hurt more than the glass.
#####
SO IT BEGINS
Two lines of orange clad prisoners were led to a docking bay. Each line had ten prisoners attached to each other by their ankles. The steel cable alloy was hardened but set with spring couplings to allow some flexibility in the event someone’s step was irregular with others.
They were ushered by Republican Security guards into the back of a Prison Transport scheduled for an outbound trip to a penal metal refinery located nearby in the Alpha Centauri system.
All judicial systems for long term incarceration were handled on Luna (the Moon) to keep undesirables from Earth’s surface. The Terran Republic keeping it’s home system shiny and sterile in accordance with it’s fake facade of peace and tranquility.
Each row of prisoners were ordered to opposite sides of the small bay where two rows of seats faced each other. Off to the side and next to the door leading into the ship was a small toilet facility. Apparently the trip could take a while. The small chamber was bleak, and in keeping with it’s bleakness it was colored in primer gray. The seats were gray. as well as the seat frames. Everything was gray except for their brilliant, happy, cheerful fluorescent orange jumpsuits. Some things never change.
Once they were seated an unarmed security soldier removed their ankle bracelets while an armed guard watched them closely.
He then spoke to them indirectly glancing at heir faces while avoiding direct eye contact.
“You are now all wards of the state. I don’t care what you did or did not do. While we are in travel mode you are free to walk about your current confines. The restroom is not to pleasure yourself in; make sure it is used for it’s intended purpose”. His voice was monotone and this probably wasn’t his first speech. He continued, “I and my companions will be just outside the door. You will be welcome to talk normally after my departure. Any aggression will not be tolerated and we will monitor your activities. If you need the facility step up to the small window, press the buzzer and an officer will assist you. You will be instructed to turn around and your wristcuffs will be removed. Once you are done, return to the window and your cuffs will be replaced. Are there any question?”
Cuffs were still standard as their old counterparts. Two exceptions being they were connected by a short strand of high tensile cable and the latching system was improved to keep from being shimmed.
Mitchell nodded, “What’s on the in-flight movie?” He asked.
The Guard answered just as wise. “Your entertainment will be my boot in your ass, any other questions?”
The remaining passenger kept quiet and a couple shook their heads no. The guard opened the door and his counterpart and he left, then locked the door behind them.
Rand looked two seats down from him and surmised Mitchell was a smart ass.
Next to Rand, between Rand and Mitchell sat Serena. She sat motionless and avoided everyone’s eye contact. She was scared and rightly so due to her size and gender. Next to Mitchell was Perry. Perry sat looking extremely sad and his bottom lip quivered. Perry stared at the palm s of his hands silently cursing them for hurting someone. Next to Perry sat Terri Hades. Terri was the only one that Rand recognized even though three coalition soldiers sat on the opposite side that were involved in the same conflict. Aaron was on the opposite row, his eyes wide and looking at everything. Even the chip paints and grease spots drew his attention. Anything to keep his mind moving. Anything to keep his mind occupied to keep him from negative thoughts. His so-called freedom was severely hampered and incarceration as well as slave labor was unconscionable. Everything Aaron detested was now in his lap.
Rand observed everyone to see how they were handling their misfortune and even Rand realized he was occupying his own mind. For without direct thought the mind starts wandering and rummaging through the past. You begin thinking of whether you made a wrong turn in life. Wrong decisions, and now it was too late to make reparations or change one’s life direction.
The passengers felt a jolt through the floor as the transport broke free from the dock. A slow gradual movement indicated they were leaving the lunar surface. Once they were relatively clear of the moon the hyper-drive would be engaged and their fate assured.
Rand leaned forward and looked at Mitchell. “Hey kid, smart shit like that isn’t going to help.”
Mitch only glanced at Rand, “Like it’s going to hurt?”
“I’m not the one that’s getting my caps’ busted, so knock yourself out.”
Mitch smiled, “If you don’t mouth off at ‘em they’ll find something to bitch about.”
Rand smiled back, “You might be right kid, you might be right”.
“So what are you doing here?”
“Caught stealing a shuttle” Mitch answered.
“How many”?
“How many shuttles’ have I stole”?
“Yea”.
“Well, that would have been my Thirtee....nth”, Mitchell paused. “Holy fecal”! “Thirteen is unlucky.”
The passengers couldn’t feel the time-space compression but they felt the humming noise vibrate through the bulkheads.
The guy looked as though he was baptized by boiling water. Every line in his face was harsh and heavily creased.And the wrinkles of laughter and sunny smiles were unfamiliar to him.
Rand felt sorry for Aaron who was setting next to the supposed or assumed killer.The only thing that emanated from him was darkness and death. Aaron on the other hand emanated life and fun which was currently under suspension.
Rand had run across the killer types before. They were not prone to light chatter and forget pleading for your life. Rand laughed inwardly imagining this brooding character probably raped little kittens.
But Rand’s inward laughter stopped when he realized this cold-blooded animal was staring directly at Serena. Staring at her or through her, Rand wasn’t sure which, and the man’s gaze never wavered. Rand with his kinder but serious look gazed right back. That was one little kitten he wasn’t going to touch. Rand wasn’t the hero type but there were some thing’s he couldn’t let go without a challenge.
He turned his eyes to Rand. It must have been instinct. Rand didn’t shy away and Serena could feel the tension. She looked at Rand and without saying a word Rand could see with his peripheral vision a look of gratitude. Already she liked Rand and didn’t know the man. Then it flashed, he reminded her of Toloc.
Meanwhile Terri was trying to pry words from Perry and he answered in one or two word sentences. Terri was a good judge of character and while the black giant next to her was wrist-cuffed and wearing penal clothing, she felt there was a gentleness about him. His large dark brown puppy eyes only showed sadness and remorse. He never used any curse words and often just shook his head yes or no to her quarry. She finally surmised he was not ‘all there’. But his crime seemed to afflict him deeply. And there was something about a Numitz but she didn’t quite catch the connection.
The soft chatting continued as well as Rand and the killer’s staring contest when the ship suddenly jerked and began drifting in a left rotation. The transport immediately went out of control. In the corridors and quarters, items flung across rooms, breaking or splattering. Plates and glasses, that were neatly stacked, lost composure and were busted and strewn across the gray metal floor.
Up in the cabin, crewmen were scrambling for control.
“Pilot, status now”! The Captain barked.
Red and amber lights flashed across the board. Each set of warning lights setting off another combination of lights.
“Capt’n, looks like we blew a port capacitor”.
“How bad is it”?
“Don’t know sir!” said the stressed pilot.
“We have minimal control, let me see if I can get us out of this spin”
He manipulated the thrusters’ and switched to emergency life support. Then, he shut down the main power grid.
The transport was brought under control and sat motionless a light year from any help.
The captain turned his attention to his navigator.
“Wesley, send out an S.O.S. And try to reach the nearest base. Tell ‘em our situation and request support. I don’t feel like being stuck here with hungry convicts”.
“Aye sir”.
“Pilot, suit up. Gonna have to check it out.”
“Yes sir.”
The pilot left the cabin and went to the environmental locker room to don a spacesuit.Next to that was an airlock and before he suited up he pressurized the airlock.
In the cabin the captain got up. “Wesley, I’m gonna check on our guests, you sit tight and wait for a response. Be back in a flicker,” and the captain left.
Captain Lucas walked quickly under the red emergency lights to the rear of the ship and slid the small door open and peeked in at the prisoners. All of the prisoners stared back at him except Rand and the killer. He slid the small door shut.
“They behaving in there”? He asked one of the two guards.
“Yes sir, they seem pretty quiet”.
The captain nodded then pressed the intercom button. “This is the captain. As you may have guessed we had a mechanical failure. We’re currently assessing the damage so just tight and we’ll let you know when we know”.
He looked down at his two seated security guards. “Don’t fall asleep”. H
Two hours later and the distress beacon was answered.
After a half hour the pilot, Anson Radcliffe, closed down the airlock after re-entering the ship and re-pressurized the lock. He started climbing out of the bulky suit as the captain came in.
“What’s the good word Radcliffe”?
“Ain’t got one sir”. Anson breathed heavily.
He continued his report, “Number 3 blew out in both directions and took out 1, 2, and 4 through 6.”. He paused. “We’re dead in the void”.
Captain Lucas and the Pilot both returned to the bridge.
After two hours a message returned via comm. buoy.
“Sir, helps on the way. They’ve dispatched 3 Banshee’s to pick up the prisoners and sending a support tender”, he smiled.
“ETA?”
“They didn’t say but I’m guessing 4 hours tops.”
“Great, now I can walk back again. Ahh, the joys of command.”
“Yes sir”, Wesley giggled inside but the captain was in no mood for humor currently.
‘Wake the rest of the crew, I don’t wanna look like all we do is slouch around; especially when battle rigs are around”.
“Yes sir”.
“Captain, looks like we’re gonna get some shore leave”?
“HAAHAAAA, Nope. Looks like you boys are gonna get some scrub time”. The captain grinned at Radcliffe. “What, you didn’t think I noticed the stencil scribbling or the lovely art drawing of me in the galley cabinets?” The captain stared to the side like he was trying to recall something. “What was it that one said”? The captain paused sarcastically. “Ohhhh yeah, Captain Lucas eats his mucus”.
Anson winced, ‘Damn, he saw that.’
The captain laughed harder, “HAAHAAAHAAAA, one of you rats is a real poet, and I’m going to watch all of you scrub every inch while I sip coffee and slurp really loud”
Sheepishly depressed , Anson replied, “Yes sir”.
TRANSFER
Three Republic Banshees’ surrounded the prisoner transport. Two were standard ‘D’ models with twin machine guns mounted top and bottom with full 360 degree field of fire. The ‘E’ model was newest with nearly the same configuration but replaced the bottom turret with an EMP cannon that drew power from the jump batteries. It was a new technological advancement as the electronic magnetic pulse was directional and was contained in a narrow carrier wave.
The Banshee was bulky but official in design. From the top it had a primary diamond shaped hull with short pylons that ran mostly the length of the hull that mounted two outer hulls that contained the thrust and maneuver plates and a small maintenance shop in each outer hull..
Under the rights hands the Banshee was maneuverable and nimble. The standard crew of a Banshee was six but on long patrols they could carry a medic. The commanding officer, two pilots, two navigators and one engineer although the Banshee had an extra stateroom for guests or dignitaries. All the crew were police/military and were trained in weapons proficiency as well as regulation academics. Banshee’s were the working horse of the Terran Republic Security Force and were primarily designed for long range patrol and combat.
A light hissing sound came over the transports speaker and one of the Banshee officers sounded authoritarian .
“Transport seven seven tree niner, this is Banshee B N S 4 2 4 5, are you receiving?”
“Affirmative B N S 4 2 4 5. This is
Captain Lucas. Identification is 5 6 3 0 7 2 L L 0 0 4.”
There was a brief pause as his identity was being reviewed.
“Confirmed prison transport; we understand you have a full compliment of
prisoners to transfer?”
“That’s affirmative.”
“The first two of us will receive seven prisoners and six on the last,” another pause, “please make sure they are restrained at all times.”
“Cuffed and stuffed,” Captain Lucas replied.
“We’re coming along your starboard for first arrivals, please extend your docking port.”
“We’re on it.”
“Wesley, do as the man says.”
“Aye sir, dock extending.” Wesley got to push more buttons.
The transport jerked as the Banshee locked in.
Captain Lucas left to meet the new arrivals.
Through the hallway toward the airlock, Captain Lucas was washed in the glow of the red emergency lights. His dark blue uniform looked black and he wore a frown of dismay. Having a busted ship was stressing enough but this was the first time he couldn’t complete the job without outside help.
He pressed a button and entered the airlock port. On the far side, he approached the airlock door handle. Another button and pulled out the white handle and gave it a half turn to the left. A whoosh of air filled the lock. Once the pressure stabilized the door on the Banshee swished open and in entered the Banshee commander.
The commander stepped briskly offering his right hand, “Lieutenant Commander Davis, permission to come aboard?”
“Commander, good to meet you. I’m Captain Lucas and this is my piece of shit; permission granted.”
“No worries Captain, a tug will be here shortly.”
“A tug?”
“The tender wasn’t ready or some minor set back. You’re going to be towed.”
That made Lucas even more upset.
“Well, guess we better get the children to school,” Lucas laughed halfheartedly..“If you’ll follow me sirs.”
The Commander and another shorter officer followed Lucas to the brig bay.