"I'd volunteer to go myself," said Gertrude, "but I really need to stay here to consult with Won, Arnold and Salix about what we're going to do next."
During the next hour and a half, the three Soviet marines, with a full set of battle gear and weapons for each, transferred over to Warbird Three. At the same time, down on Deimos, Zack and Ariane collected Malus and retrieved their own battle gear from Capri. Cliff was there, down in the suit prep area next to the airlock, to see his new friend off. Cliff extended his arm, and Malus wrapped one of his manipulator tentacles around it. The two of them maintained the pose for several seconds before breaking contact.
"You be careful down there, you hear?" said the engineer. "I still got a lot to show you about how this ship works. We ain't even got to the weapons system yet. Besides, you need to take me on another tour of your ship."
"I shall return as soon as possible, Cliff Barnard," replied Malus. "My time with you has not only been very educational but pleasurable as well. I look forward to continuing our interactions when I return."
With that, Zack, Ariane and Malus transferred over to the Viking shuttle where they joined Gertrude, who would be piloting the shuttle, and her father who needed to return to his own ship, Warbird One. Ariane stowed the all-important Amalgamated tracking device in one of her coverall pockets. The shuttle lifted off from Deimos and headed for the Viking ship, arriving just a few minutes after the Soviets.
Gertrude spent most of the time while the shuttle was docked with her husband Erik. With the demands on both of them dictated by the current situation, they hadn't had any time together since she departed with Zack and Ariane on the Hordean first contact mission. When all members of the expedition had boarded, been introduced to one another and stowed their gear, a process taking about ten minutes, she shared a long embrace with Erik before bidding everyone farewell, returning to the shuttle and heading back to Deimos. Warbird Three swiveled around and boosted towards Earth.
The Sol System had a justly-deserved reputation as being one of the most dangerous places in all of Human space. The planet Earth itself was a couple of magnitudes worse. As soon as Warbird Three phased into sublight, Zack and Ariane sought out Erik who, as the pilot, remained on station on the bridge of the Viking ship.
"Erik?" said Zack. "Have you got a few minutes? We need to talk to you."
"Of course, what can I do for you?"
"Gertrude says you've been down on Earth a few times," said Ariane. "What can we expect when we get down there?"
"Things are pretty grim on the surface," replied Erik. "Ruins everywhere you look and danger at every turn. You can't let your guard down at all, not for a second."
"Tell us what you know about the natives," said Ariane.
"Outside of the tribes living near Keeling's compounds, I haven't had much contact with them. I did go out into the ruins of My-a-mee with a rescue team to help extricate a group of Keeling's men who had been taken by the local boss."
"What was that like?" asked Zack.
"Tense. The boss had cooked up some half-baked plan to hold Keeling's men as hostages and sell them back for a hefty ransom."
"How did that go?"
"Keeling doesn't negotiate with kidnappers. We gave them one chance to reconsider, but the idiots didn't take it. We opened fire and took out the boss and a couple of his lieutenants, but the rest of them fought like demons. We were in battle armor and they weren't, but none of them seemed to care. Since they've got nothing to lose, I suppose they have little regard for their lives. Men like that are almost impossible to fight because they'll do things you don't expect normal people to do. We had to take down about half of the tribe before the rest them broke and ran."
"Were you able to rescue the hostages?"
"We were, but they were in pretty bad shape. The natives don't value their own lives. You can imagine how they feel about someone they consider to be an enemy. None of them have tried that kidnapping trick again, but you never know what they'll do next."
"So basically you're saying we need to stay on high alert down there?"
"We're going to have to keep a close watch on one another every second."
"Thanks for the info, Erik."
"No problem, my backside will be on the line down there too, you know."
Zachary Lynton was a brave man who'd faced danger on over half a dozen planets, but even he couldn't suppress a feeling of dread at what was to come. Natives that were cunning, suicidal and completely unpredictable with extensive ruins for their home turf? He and his companions were going down there, down to the surface of the Earth. They had no choice.
At least they were going in heavily armed.
Chapter 47. Keeling's Orbital Station.
Sol System, Earth Orbit, October 14, 2676.
Warbird Three approached the orbital base of Keeling's Shuttle Services. Up on the bridge, Zack watched the monitors with interest as the station steadily grew in size.
"What kind of a facility is that?" he asked.
"A long time ago it was a factory for manufacturing goods under weightless conditions," replied Erik. "As you've probably guessed, it was pretty well constructed in the first place to survive this long. Even so, Cyrus and his crew are still performing maintenance almost constantly."
"The thing is huge," Zack observed. "How many personnel are on it?"
"There aren't more than ninety or a hundred people onboard at any time. They only need to keep a portion of the station pressurized, and they've modernized the life support and the structural integrity in those parts of the station. The rest is either empty or used for cold storage."
"Any idea where we'll land when we go down to the planet?'
"Probably on Key West Island," said Erik, "that's where Cyrus has his headquarters."
"Headquarters?" asked Zack. "How many facilities does he have down there?"
"At last count he had four landing compounds scattered in strategic locations. All of them are heavily armed. "
"Looks like he's found a niche for himself."
"We think he does pretty well," replied Erik. "We get most of our fresh food and a lot of other goods from him. We do get a discount for providing him and his people with protection, but we still pay through the nose for all of it. Excuse me, Zack, I need to get this ship docked."
"No problem," said Zack, though he stayed on the bridge to observe the procedure.
Having once been a manufacturing facility, the old station was equipped with several generous docking bays, and Warbird Three, with Erik's expert piloting skills, slipped easily into one of them. The inhabitants of the station had outfitted the receiving area with modern docking tubes so the travelers were able to board the station without the need for spacesuits. The expedition members filed out into the receiving area of the docking bay where they were met by a stout, balding man of medium height with blue eyes and a scraggly beard. Behind him, four armed guards stood at the ready. Even though friends were coming to call, the proprietor of the station appeared to be taking no chances.
"I'm Cyrus Keeling," said the grizzled old man. "Owner and operator of Keeling's Shuttle Services. I'll be taking you down to the surface."
"Pleased to meet you Mr. Keeling. I'm Zack Lynton, and this is Ariane MacPherson. I think you know Erik and the rest of the Vikings."
"Yes, I do," replied Keeling. "Good to see you Erik. You and your crew are always welcome here."
"And this is Sergeant Zlotnik, Corporal Pasternak and Private Yashkin of the Soviet Navy."
"Soviet navy?" said Keeling. "You boys are a long way from home. Welcome to Sol."
"It is our pleasure, Comrade Keeling," said Zlotnik.
"Now where's this alien you were telling me about?"
"Malus?" said Ariane, "You can come out now."
The shuttle owner's eyes grew wide as the Hordean glided from the Viking Warbird and out onto the docking station platform.
"Well I'll be..." said Keeling, staring at the alien in unabashed astonishme
nt.
"It is pleasurable to meet you, Mr. Cyrus Keeling," said Malus, through his translation device.
"Um...likewise," replied the shuttle owner. "You'll have to excuse me, I've never met an honest-to-god alien before."
"Your reaction is understandable," said Malus, "though I think you'll find my species to be quite compatible with your own."
"I'll keep that in mind," said Keeling.
"How soon can we head down?" asked Zack.
"Depends on where you're going," replied Cyrus. "Erik said something about Washington DC?"
Ariane pulled Symantia's tracking device out of her coverall pocket. "Right here, specifically," she said, showing Keeling the location on the display.
"That's a pretty fancy gadget," said Keeling.
"We got it from another one of our alien friends."
"Another one?" said Keeling, his attention split between the alien device and the alien creature. "You folks are just full of surprises, aren't you?"
"We haven't had a lot of choice in the matter," said Zack.
"These are the coordinates," said Ariane, tapping the screen.
"If that's where you want to go," said Cyrus, "we can leave first thing in the morning; but we might as well get your stuff loaded up right now."
The small band of adventurers moved their gear from Warbird Three into Keeling's shuttle, a process that took no more than ten minutes. Cyrus supervised the loading to make sure the additional cargo was properly balanced, shifting a few of the larger items. When he was satisfied, he said, "Why don't we all have a bite to eat? My treat."
"You're too generous," said Erik, "but we'll be glad to take you up on your offer."
It turned out to be a very good decision. Cyrus set at least as good a table as Holger did. Zack realized part of the reason for this was that Holger got most of his special supplies from Cyrus in the first place. Malus joined them by parking himself in an open space Keeling had cleared for him at the table. There was no need for him to take nourishment with them, Hordea essentially fed at night during their quiescent time. He did, however wish to attend the meal with the others, to learn from them and to help put them at ease about him and others of his kind, if nothing else.
Zack waited until they were just finishing up with the meal before addressing Keeling. "Cyrus? Can I ask a favor?"
"You can ask..."
"We'd also like to take Malus with us down to the surface tomorrow," said Zack. "He's a scientist and wants study Earth plants in the environment where they actually grow."
"You don't mean to take him with you on this suicide mission do you?"
"I thought about it for about five seconds but, no, that would be way too dangerous. Would he be safe enough in one of your compounds?"
"As safe as anywhere on the surface," replied Cyrus. "We also have good-sized orchards and some pretty extensive gardens in all of our compounds. There'd be plenty to keep him busy."
"I thank you, Cyrus Keeling," said Malus. "I shall do my best not to be a burden."
"No burden," said Keeling. "It might turn out to be kind of fun."
"So you have farms inside all of your compounds?" asked Zack.
"In the compounds or close by, if we get along well enough with the local tribes. Even then we can only produce a fraction of what would be needed to feed the entire solar system. Having said that, the arrangement provides us with way more foodstuffs than we can boost into orbit. We use the extra production to keep on the good side of our native allies. By the way, the vegetables we're having right now came from my compound in Florida."
"I was wondering about the food," said Zack. "It really is top notch."
"We try," said Cyrus.
"So you'd be willing to keep an eye on Malus while the rest of us go on this mission?"
"Shouldn't be too much trouble. The compound is walled and I've got armed guards all over the place. I'd be more than happy to guide him around myself. As I said, it might be kind of fun."
"That would be most satisfactory," said Malus. "I look forward to it."
"As do I," replied Cyrus.
As the meal went on, it became readily apparent that Keeling was also rather smitten by Ariane, probably because he didn't really get a chance to interact with very many human females from outside the Sol system. The fact that she was also beautiful and intelligent didn't hurt.
"So I hear tell you're a pretty good pilot, Ensign MacPherson."
"Ariane is fine, Cyrus," she replied, "and yes, I'm a pilot though I wouldn't venture to say how good I am at it."
"She's being way too modest," said Zack. "She took us into sublight while we were still in the Hawking zone, and we survived."
Cyrus looked at her wide-eyed. "What kind of ship?"
"Bombardier Mark II."
Erik, who was an accomplished pilot in his own right, chimed in. "A Mark II Bombardier? You must mean Capri. Those are pretty tough ships, but why in all of space would you go early into sublight? Only a handful of pilots have tried that and survived."
Ariane, obviously embarrassed by all of the attention replied, "Desperation. We were being chased down by a Soviet courier." She looked over at Zack. "I wouldn't have been able to do it without Zack's help on the reaction engines."
"This just keeps getting better," said Erik. "You used reaction engines in the Hawking zone?"
"Not continuously. We fired them up when the sublight currents started to pull too hard towards the void, it was the only thing I could think of. With our inertial dampers on overload most of the time, it was a pretty rough ride. Believe me, once was quite enough, I'll never try that again unless it's a dire emergency. Even then I'd have to think about it. Zack can tell you how much it took out of me."
Zack nodded. "She was totally wiped out. Slept for almost twelve hours."
"Obviously you escaped?" said Cyrus.
"Just barely," said Ariane. "The Soviets copied the maneuver when it became obvious what we'd done. I think their insertion point was just enough farther away from the hyperzone that they had a little bit easier go of it."
"So that didn't shake them off your tail?"
"No, it didn't. They had more thrust than we did and finally chased us down after we returned to normal space. If we'd had ten more minutes we could have made the Beta hyperzone of the system we were going through and escaped to the Central Planets. They could have followed, but they wouldn't have dared to try anything there."
"So how'd you get away?"
"We had to fight them," said Ariane.
"You fought off an armed Soviet courier with that old Bombardier?"
"My uncle had her outfitted with a twin-beam Lockheed pulse turret," said Zack. "They could have easily blown us out of space, but they wanted us alive. That and they were way overconfident. I waited until I couldn't miss and hit them with two pulses while their shields were down. With their ship out of commission, we hightailed it for the hyperzone and transferred out."
"What happened to them?" asked Erik.
"They were able to limp in to Nova York and make repairs," said Ariane. "After that, they followed us here into the Sol system."
"Why were they chasing you in the first place?" asked Cyrus.
"We didn't know it at the time," said Zack, "but we were transporting something called the 'Galactic Sentinel Key.'" He looked at Erik. "It was the same Soviet ship that went Nova in the space above Deimos."
"The one that disabled our weapons and attacked our Warbirds?"
"The same," said Ariane.
Erik looked at his two companions with new respect.
"What is this 'Sentinel Key' thing?" asked Cyrus.
Zack went on to explain what the Galactic Amalgamation of Civilized Planets was and how Mankind had been offered citizenship in the organization, provided they could meet certain requirements. The older man nodded his head in understanding as Zack related the series of events that brought them to Deimos and finally to Earth. He finished up by explaining how important this mission
was to their success.
"That's a hell of a story," said Cyrus. "How much of it is true?"
Zack looked him straight in the eye and said, "Every bit of it."
Cyrus looked over at Malus and nodded his head. "As fantastic as it sounds, I'm inclined to believe you, though it would be a damned sight harder to swallow if you hadn't brought a genuine alien with you."
"We're still coming to grips with it ourselves," said Zack.
When the remains of the meal had been cleared away, the members of the group continued to talk among themselves. The three pilots got into a discussion about the various ship types they'd piloted and the merits of each. Zack and the three Soviet marines gathered at the other end of the table to talk about the coming mission.
Malus didn't actively participate in either discussion, but he observed the proceedings with keen interest. He was on the mission to learn as much about Human culture as he could. Information about military matters, which were utterly foreign to his race, were near the top of his list.
On their end of the table, the four marines began their discussion. "So you too are a marine, Lieutenant Lynton?" said Zlotnik.
"Please call me Zack, and yes I am...or I was...a marine. Now that I've been chosen to be a Sentinel Guardian, I'm not really sure my rank means anything anymore."
"For the duration of this mission, I think it would be best if we maintained military protocols...Lieutenant. From everything I've heard, we are heading into some very dangerous territory."
"I completely agree about the protocols," said Zack. "As for heading into danger, at least Erik has been down to the surface a few times, so we won't go in completely unprepared."
Zlotnik thought for a couple of moments and added, "You say you are confused about your position and your rank. On Lenin we are dealing with the same problem. The corrupt political officer on our ship with his pet Custodian, and the situation in the New Belgrade system means we don't know who to trust in our own government anymore. It seems we too are part of something bigger since we found those creatures on our ship."
"I guess you could say we're all part of the 'Army of Mankind' now," said Zack. "I assume you've all been briefed on what kind of enemy the Custodians are?"
The Archeon Codex: Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel Book 2 Page 24