Merkiaari Wars Series: Books 1-3

by Mark E. Cooper

Eric looked around the server room and nodded. It had power and he saw a pair of doors at the far end marked with the familiar signs for restrooms.

  “Water?” Eric said.

  “The facilities work if that’s what you mean. I wouldn’t trust the water to drink, but we have purifiers. With supplies we can hold out a few weeks. Won’t be comfortable mind you, but we can do it.”

  “Geothermal you said. Not here surely?”

  Liz shook her head. “We’ve traced the incoming power and water lines to a service tunnel. We haven’t followed it very far. It’s too narrow. No idea how far it goes, but my guess would be a long way from here. I’ve rarely seen any power station or pumping station built within city limits. Power stations can be dangerous in uncontrolled situations. That’s one thing. And pumping stations are ugly buggers. No way to make recycling look or smell nice.”

  Eric grinned.

  He wandered over to what appeared to be the centre of attention. Some of Liz’s people were sitting amongst piles of equipment working with the servers. They already had everything up and running. Liz followed and pointed out this thing or that, but what had Eric’s interest was the data displayed upon multiple screens.

  “How long?”

  Liz shrugged. “How long do we have?”

  “Don’t play with me, Liz. You know we’re here for however long it takes.”

  “Then there’s your answer. We might find it in ten minutes or ten days. No way to be sure.”

  “But you think it’s here?”

  “I hope it’s here,” Liz stressed. “But I really think it probably is. Gina gave me a copy of that file header she found, and she’s right that it came from Landing. Probably from right here. Then there’s the nature of all this,” she waved a hand around. “This facility is hardened against shock and EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse). It has earthquake countermeasures—it’s built on springs to you amateurs.” She grinned at him. “It’s isolated within its own Faraday cage, just like a military grade facility. I think it’s here.”

  Eric nodded. “Good enough for me, Liz. All we have to do now is find it, copy it, and get it home.”

  Liz pursed her lips. “About that—”

  “Working on it,” Eric said. “Gina is collecting supplies for you. We hold here and defend this place if necessary. The stairwell is the only way down?”

  Liz nodded.

  “You’re absolutely sure?”

  She nodded again and then frowned. “There’s the service tunnel, but like I said it’s too narrow.”

  “Good. One of us will defend the stairs at all times.”

  “And the other?”

  “The other goes to war,” he said grimly, already planning his battles. He would put Gina on the stairs with plenty of ammo and tell her to hold until relieved. “All fucking hell is going to break loose.”

  His face must have been something, because Liz paled. The death of Hobbs and her crew would not stand un-avenged.

  The first hour went by with Eric helping to unload his shuttle and then moving it to a better protected and more remote location. He didn’t want to see it damaged or destroyed, but more than that, he didn’t want it attracting an air strike and perhaps having collateral damage to the crane or stairwell. He used the APC to return, and stashed it close by with overhead protection. It wouldn’t be detected.

  He spent the next hour in the server room eagerly watching for a breakthrough that didn’t come. Most of the engineers weren’t involved in this part of the work. Everyone was waiting for someone to find the answer. Is it here? They were keeping busy setting up places to sleep and eat. Empty crates were made into makeshift tables. Food was prepared with an autochef. Its power filched from the emergency lighting, and its ingredients poured into its guts directly from other open containers as necessary. It was a lash up with only one redeeming feature... it worked.

  The third hour came and went, and Eric’s vague uneasiness became alarm. Three hours was more than long enough for Gina to start back and contact him, but maybe she got carried away and decided to fill the shuttle to the brim. She had to know that he wouldn’t allow a third trip, so maybe she was just being greedy. He didn’t believe it. Gina would be aware of the risk of staying too long. She wouldn’t risk half of their defence like that.

  Something was wrong.

  Liz suddenly shouted and everyone hurried to her. She was leaning over the shoulder of one of her people and pointing excitedly at something on one of the displays. Everyone began asking questions and clapping each other on the back.

  Eric hurried over to get the news, but Liz was too busy to explain. He paced to and fro waiting for good news, and grabbed Liz’s attention the moment she was free.

  “Tell me,” Eric said.

  “We found it. The backup is here, but Eric...” she lowered her voice. “I think the A.I is still operating! The file was updated the day we entered the system. That means Sebastian is alive somewhere! We have to get him... I mean rescue him.”

  Eric took a deep breath. “Get the backup copied. Multiple copies for safety, and designate a few people to carry them for you.”

  “But!”

  “That’s the mission,” Eric said in a hard voice, but then softened it. “Get that done first. I don’t have to tell you the kind of shit we’re in. We have no ship, we have no idea where the A.I is, and we have no way to transport him off world even if we did know. I’m not saying we won’t try. I’m saying we have other priorities. Mine is getting you and the file off this planet in one piece.”

  Liz nodded reluctantly. “Any word from Gina?”

  “No,” Eric said grimly. “And that’s not good. She should have been on her way back by now. I’ll have to go find her, and that means leaving you vulnerable here. I can’t be in both places.”

  Liz shrugged. “We’re fine here.”

  Eric didn’t disagree, but that assumed the raiders hadn’t located them. He wasn’t sure what they had come for. Precious metals was a good bet but he wasn’t sure. If all they wanted was gold and platinum, then they wouldn’t come to Landing. They would take on the mines, and other industrial areas where those metals would have been stored and used. Banks as well, but Landing only had a small one and it didn’t have a platinum reserve. But did the raiders know the bank here was empty?

  Again, he didn’t know.

  Anything he did now was a huge risk. If they had somehow taken Gina out, he was on his own. That meant he had no choice but to risk Liz and her people while he tried to gain a way off planet. He hated to do it, but he needed to wait long enough for the first copy of the backup. He would carry one in case he was the only survivor... again. The thought was a grim one, but the mission was all that mattered in the end. Burgton would agree. Liz would be a huge loss to them, but there were other engineers on Snakeholme who could take over. Give them the file, and any losses here wouldn’t be in vain.

  “I’ll take the first copy with me.”

  Liz looked surprised for a moment, but then her eyes clouded. She nodded grimly and hurried away to supervise its creation. Eric watched the process impatiently, wanting to be on his way. He wanted... needed to know what had happened to Gina.

  The copying process seemed to take forever. At least it felt that way to him, but in the end Liz handed him a case containing six innocent seeming teardrop-shaped crystals each one containing googlebytes of precious data. He held the case in his hand briefly, noting that every eye in the room followed it, before opening his suit to put it safely away in his top pocket. He coughed a little but ignored the warnings flashing upon his internal display.

  He sealed his suit and turned toward the exit.

  Everyone was in the server room now, including the crane driver. The bucket was hanging high above the shaft in the open air. He ran up the stairs, glad he had insisted they be cleared all the way up. It had been more effort for the engineers, but a hit upon the crane would have been a serious inconvenience without another way up. It took him barely two minute
s to reach the top, and another fifteen to reach and ready the shuttle for takeoff.

  He chose a different route than before. More direct, but not a straight line. He was aware it was probably wasted effort, but it had to be made. He needed to maximise even a tiny chance. He had so few advantages. As before he hugged the terrain flying manually, and used his enhanced reflexes to avoid collisions. He was so close to the ground, he had to shut off the proximity alarm. It kept squawking at him. He glanced at one of his monitors showing an external view. It was set to warn him of anything behind him. All he saw was snow sucked up from the ground and towed behind him in his wake. He was too close to the ground. He increased altitude by a small amount, enough to prevent the hole in the air he was making vacuuming the snow, and grunted approval. He needed to be certain his six was secure.

  Sensors showed no hostiles, but he was moving too fast for viper sensors to be reliable. He linked into the shuttle systems directly and set an alarm to warn him. He couldn’t afford to take his attention from his piloting. Mach two was about as fast as he dared at this altitude. Viper systems couldn’t react in time if he tried for more. Besides, he was driving a cargo shuttle. Another name for cargo shuttles was brick. Its maximum velocity in atmosphere wasn’t much greater than this.

  Flight time was less than two hours.

  He slowed his approach when his sensors came within range of the base and his pulse sped at what was reported. Gina’s shuttle was parked close enough to dome three for ease of loading cargo. So much wasn’t a surprise. What had his pulse speeding was the other shuttle. His sensors at this range couldn’t tell him much more.

  The three domes and two shuttles were the only clear details. It was enough to make him wary. He wouldn’t overfly the base for fear of fire from the ground. One rocket up his arse was all it would take to ground him, and maybe damage him beyond repair if he was unlucky.

  He wouldn’t risk it. He chose to land and hike in.

  “Terrain, terrain, terrain,” Eric mused. “I need some.”

  He adjusted the shuttle’s sensors and digested what they reported to him of the topography. There were some hills to the east, but he wasn’t happy with them. They were distant. It would take him quite a while to hike that distance and Gina might need him right now. He checked his own sensors for a moment, but he was out of range without the boost he was getting from the shuttle. Unfortunately, the shuttle was a civ design and wouldn’t pick up her signal... or her beacon if she was down. He tried not to assume anything, but she had to be down. Her shuttle was still parked and she hadn’t tried to comm him. She had to be down.

  He landed in the hills. Anything else risked the shuttle. Besides, he could use Gina’s for the trip back. He was careful to use GPR to test the ice before landing, but as soon as he knew it could take his weight he slammed the shuttle onto the ice, almost powering down before it had fully settled. He grabbed his rifle from the co-pilot’s seat and sealed his suit. He was out and running toward the domes in less than a minute, his sensors reaching out ahead of him and his optics dialled up to X2.

  The smoke rising above the base had him slowing his approach. “Gina?” No reply, but her icon glowed steadily blue within the base. “Come on, girl, don’t do this to me. You’re alive. Answer!”

  Nothing.

  He crouched and paused to survey the base at X4. The two shuttles appeared undamaged. He could see Gina’s shuttle had its ramp down and he could make out some of the cargo inside. There wasn’t enough of it. Nowhere near fully loaded. Whatever had happened to her, it had happened before she could fill her ship. Probably not long after her arrival.

  “God damn it, Gina! Answer me... please.” Nothing. Viper comm remained silent. She wasn’t dead. Her beacon would be pulsing its distress call. She wasn’t in hibernation either for the same reason, so what was left? He tried helmet comm in case she had damage to her internal comm. “Gina?”

  Still nothing.

  Eric’s lips thinned and his grip upon his rifle tightened. He was going to fucking kill the bastards. They were fucking dead! All of them. He took a moment to reign in his rage at the thought of the raiders hurting Gina. She was family, the only family on this world. His brothers and sisters in the regiment were all he lived for. The mission? Yes that too, but it was the people that kept him breathing and going back for more. He had to fight for them. It was what you did—fight for those who were fighting for you.

  He dialled his optics, his eyes, back to X1 and advanced warily. He had no hostiles on sensors. He should have by now. He theorised they were in one of the domes, but his sensors shouldn’t have been spoofed by the flimsy walls so easily. He was picking up Gina’s icon just fine. The raiders had to be in a dome though. Their shuttle was right there. He advanced in a crouch with his rifle firmly against his shoulder and aimed.

  Smoke was rising into the leaden air from dome three, but he couldn’t hear anything. His helmet did reduce his ability there, but not by much. He raised the gain to max briefly then back to normal. All was quiet. He had the feeling that he’d missed the party entirely. Whatever had happened was probably over, but he didn’t take chances. Worst case scenario hadn’t happened. Gina lived. Her steady blue icon on his sensors reassured him that was the case, but she must be damaged and that meant he was their only defence. He had to ensure that he remained that way.

  He was careful.

  He entered the dome fast and low and almost fell over the first body. Gina had put a round into his helmet. Good. One less bastard for him to deal with. The smoke was coming from the smoldering boxes and crates in the stacks. There had been one hell of a firefight. There was debris scattered all over. He found three more bodies as he made his way toward Gina. All had been taken apart with rifle fire. He had seen it often enough to recognise viper gunnery. She had taken all three dead centre of mass. Millimetre perfect as vipers tended to be. No hostiles on sensors. He abandoned his caution and hurried to find what was left of Gina and give aid.

  He found her slumped forward. She looked dead, and Eric had a procession of flashbacks. He had seen so many bodies like this, not all of them friends. She wasn’t dead, he made himself remember that. He forced the memories away with his certainty that she was repairable. Her reassuring presence on his sensors made it certain.

  She was sitting propped against a crate. Other crates near her were shattered and their contents were all around. Liquids had frozen into shiny icicles and runnels. Gina was covered in the stuff. He noted the pile of trash and frowned wondering what the hell had happened. She looked up as he approached.

  “Ah hell, Gina, what did they do to you?” he said in shock. Her face looked black through her shattered helmet visor. Frostbite. She smiled and her lips split. Blood ran down her chin. “You didn’t invite me to the party.”

  Gina raised a hand holding a viper smoothie. “Here. I saved this one for you,” she croaked and coughed, wracking her chest.

  “How bad are you hurt?”

  “I’m not hurt.”

  Eric sighed. “How bad?”

  Gina shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt.”

  Eric ignored her and pulled her hand away from her belly. He winced when he saw the hole in her suit, but probing through it with his fingers he found new pink skin. Huh, she really wasn’t hurt. The wound was healed. That was when he realised something wasn’t right about her suit. Bad enough her helmet was compromised, but she was sitting against a crate. What the hell? Her PLSS shouldn’t allow that. They were too bulky. He realised it was completely missing.

  He pulled her upper body toward him and she slumped bonelessly forward against his chest. He held her there so that he could see what was going on and hissed in dismay. Her back was... it was... gone? Cratered? Holy shit, he could see her spine and it didn’t look right. He stared and shivered as he watched it repairing itself. No one should ever see that sparkly shimmery shit that nannies did when they worked, not in a body this way. It was just not right. Her spine was damaged. He could bloo
dy see it! Why could he see it when her gut wound was as good as new? He certainly could have done without another horror in his head.

  He eased her back to a sitting position. “It doesn’t hurt?”

  “Nope, why? How does it look?” Gina said, starting to sound scared.

  He didn’t answer. He’d just had a revelation. “You had to top up IMS.”

  “Yeah. Eating all that made me feel sick,” she said gesturing at the pile of empty bottles and cans. “I still do, but it kept me alive I guess. They shot me in the back but didn’t finish me. Probably thought the blast was enough. I went directly into hibernation, didn’t pass go or collect my two hundred credits,” she said with a laugh. “But main power failed and IMS shut down. My processor decided it was wakey-wakey time. I crawled in here to stock up and get IMS back.”

  “Good thinking, but you need real food for your... for the bio-systems. You have frostbite. You might lose your nose and lips, Gina.” He wouldn’t tell her how bad her back was. “They’ll grow back,” he said hastily when she looked horrified. What woman wouldn’t? “I’ll grab you some MREs.”

  Gina grimaced but nodded. Meals ready to eat might be factually correct, but no one would ever admit to liking them. Some were better than others, but the hot ones were off the menu right now. They didn’t have time to boil and add water. She would have to make do with the crackers and biscuits.

  Eric consulted his database and quickly navigated the stacks. He found the boxes containing what he needed and grabbed two. Another box caught his eye and he grabbed that as well. He wasn’t a fan of peanut butter, but it had calories and Gina needed that more than anything. Her body was burning fat at a ferocious rate in an effort to heal, and she hadn’t been heavy in the first place. No viper was ever overweight. Their systems were regulated to keep them in top fighting trim at all times.

  He opened a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers and offered them to Gina. She used a cracker as a spoon to scoop out the nutty paste and ate it. He winced as her lips bled at the movement. He watched her for a few minutes and then hurried away. He would finish loading her shuttle as fast as he could, and use it to take her back to Liz. He didn’t want the raiders to catch him here, but if they did they would regret it. He had more than Hobbs to avenge now.