by T. R. Harris
Adam also had his ATD up and active, searching for any concentrations of energy signals coming from the starships.
After an hour, they’d identified two rogue transponder codes and approached the ships with caution. Adam scanned the interiors and found no excess energy signals or weapons signatures. After flashing his Enforcer ID, they demanded access to the vessels.
Both were tramp steamers, hauling contraband throughout the Zone. But after a search of Summer’s Priority Acquisitions database, none of the crew members had outstanding warrants that paid a bounty. They let them go. They had bigger fish to fry, and the paperwork surrounding the arrests would take up the rest of the day and into the evening.
They continued their search.
After a while, Adam brought up the elephant in the room.
“You seem different, Summer,” he said gently. “Are you okay?”
“Of course, I’m okay,” she snapped, expecting the question for some time. “Haven’t you ever been nearly killed—oh, yeah, you have. I’ve seen it.”
“That’s not fair. I was trained to accept this level of danger. You weren’t. It had to be more traumatic for you.”
“Why, because you’re the great Adam Cain, and I’m just a weak little female way in over her head?”
“Have I done something to piss you off?” Adam barked, growing angry with Summer’s attitude. He winced. And this coming from a guy whose call sign in the SEALs was BA—for Bad Attitude. “I think you know what I’m getting at. Is J’nae still under control? Is that what’s got you so worried?”
“Don’t worry about that. J’nae is right where she needs to be.”
“No complications from the coma?”
“No, we were both under. Now stop it. I get the same thing from Monty and Tidus all the time. I wish everyone would leave me alone. I’m working through this the best I can. Everyone needs to just back off.”
“Okay, whatever. Have it your way. It’s just that people are worried about you, people who care. You’ve always had a temper. Don’t let it push people away.”
“Yes, sir, Captain Cain, sir.”
“Play nice—”
Summer stopped and looked at her screen, turning toward a ship on their right. They were near the end of their row. Riyad and Monty had taken another row, while Tidus had one of this own.
“Here’s another one. It’s a big one.”
Adam made a scan of the ship’s interior. There was a hell of a lot of electronic activity inside, especially for a ship sitting dormant in port. Then he focused on the security cameras. They were active, which wasn’t unusual, but unnecessary in the spaceport. Security was pretty good these days.
“We’re being watched,” Adam said while covering his mouth. “There are also two large energy sources inside, and not related to the gravity gens. The chem engines are cold, so the ship has been here for several days. Not sure what would be putting out such energy if not part of the propulsion system.”
“I’m calling in the others,” Summer said.
“Good idea.”
Adam chanced a look directly into the closest security camera, locking his eyes on the lens for only a second before breaking away.
Chapter 14
“Dammit, he knows!” Mike Hannon growled.
His two Gracilian partners were huddled over Mike’s shoulder, watching the screen with him. They knew Adam, all too well. They knew what he was capable of.
“Who is the female with him?” Kovach asked.
“I don’t know, but that datapad she’s carrying is important. I think this is it, boys. Time to bug out.”
“Mr. Hannon, please! This is not the time to lapse into Human-speak.”
“We’re leaving, that’s what it means.”
“But the engines are cold, and we are not allowed to lift from this spot.”
“And we’re also not allowed to rob Expansion Banks! But that hasn’t stopped us, has it? But we’re not lifting off. We don’t have time.”
“Then what are we to do?”
“I’ve planned for this. Get the beam generators ready.”
“For what?”
“For a grab.”
“We are going to teleport Adam Cain?” Vodenik exclaimed. His voice had a tinge of excitement in it. The Human and the Gracilians had a history together, and it hadn’t always been pleasant.
“No, I’m not. Set me a transfer point here, depth forty feet.” He pointed at an expanded view of the area surrounding the starship on the security screen. They were close enough that an anchor point wasn’t needed. The spot was only about fifty feet outside the ship.
“To where?” Vodenik asked as he took a seat at the beam controls and set to work.
“A couple of hundred feet above the ship.”
The aliens looked at Mike in shock.
“Why would we do that?” Kovach stammered. “Such a volume of mass would not have time to reassemble. That would take nearly an hour as the transfer sphere would be full of material.”
“I need a distraction. What would happen to the dirt if it doesn’t reassemble?”
The aliens looked at each other.
“That we do not know,” Kovach answered. “It would still be in a quantum state.”
“Well then, we’re about to find out. Now, grab your go-bags—the emergency kits I prepared for you—and get to the cart. Take as many of the loose credits as you can, but don’t take too long. I’ll open the rear hatch at the right moment, and we’ll get out that way.”
Mike jumped out of the chair and ran to the table stacked high with Juirean credit chips. He shoved piles of them into a bag and set off toward one of the atmosphere evacuation stations in the cargo hold. Such stations could be found throughout the ship, designed to dump the atmosphere in case of a fire. In space, the pressure differential was enough to cause the venting. In port, Mike would have to crank up the air pressure. He did that at a side control. The aliens screamed in pain before the pressure equalized in their inner ears.
Mike dumped the loose credits into the venting tube and then pressed the button. A sudden flow of air streamed past him, sucking a lot of the atmosphere out of the room. He ran back to the monitor.
The effect was immediate and satisfying.
A geyser of colorful confetti shot out from the top of the starship and then cascaded away in a plume, sprinkling the area around the ship with millions in Juirean credits. There were dozens of dockworkers and crew nearby who recognized the chips instantly and began racing in to get their share. It was mayhem outside the ship.
“The points are set,” Vodenik reported.
“All right, get to the transport. I’ll be right behind you.”
Adam and Summer watched in fascination at the column of tiny objects shooting out from the starship. As they flittered to the ground, Adam recognized them for what they were.
“Run!” he yelled. “They’re setting an anchor point, probably coming after us.”
Summer didn’t hesitate; in fact, she sprinted off at blazing speed, leaving Adam behind. As he ran, he shoved aliens out of the way. He didn’t bother warning them; after all, they were just aliens. The pair ran until no chips were on the ground that could be used as an anchor point. Meanwhile, word continued to spread like wildfire throughout the spaceport about the free money. Even more people now fought for their share of the bounty.
A circular section of the asphalt-covered ground suddenly collapsed inward, opening up a deep spherical void that began a few feet below the surface. Adam knew what happened. Fortunately, the giant pit was far enough away that they weren’t affected. But would Hannon do it again, manifesting Lila’s battlefield scenario to whisk way hundreds of the workers to certain death? Hannon was a killer, but was he that cold-blooded? Adam shrugged. Desperate people made desperate decisions.
After initiating the grab, Mike flicked the switches on the timed explosives he’d placed within the beam generators and computers. As a Delta Force, was trained to always pl
an for an emergency evac, complete with go-bags and escape routes. In space, he had a Blitz-speeder, a bare-bones dart of a starship faster than just about anything in the galaxy. It didn’t have a lot of range, but it could get them out of an area in a hurry. On land, he had a quad-wheeled transport loaded with weapons, clothing and emergency rations. And to keep the authorities from learning the secrets of the beam technology, explosives were placed within the equipment. The charges weren’t that powerful, but when combined with the liquid propellant aboard, they would do the job.
Mike hoped Adam would be far enough away when the show started. He liked him. He wasn’t anxious to be the cause of his death.
Adam met up with Summer at the side of a swept-winged starship about a hundred yards from the freighter. It was a madhouse in the spaceport, although few realized the danger. The large pit in the ground caused little concern; more annoyance than anything else as scavengers had to go around it to get to the cash.
Just then, a brilliant flash lit up the sky above the starship. It was an eerie scene, as everyone stopped what they were doing, turned silent and then looked up. That’s when the sky exploded.
It was like the largest firework show Adam had ever seen set off at once. Blinding streaks of colored light shot off in all directions before quickly fading from existence. None of these flashes reached the ground, but something else did. Sparkling, crystalline objects pelted the ground, with most no larger than a pebble. They pinged off the hulls of the nearby ships and bounced on the ground. Adam caught one in his hand.
It looked like a large grain of salt, but upon closer inspection, it resembled a dull clump of glass. But that wasn’t right. Glass would be too ordinary in a teleportation event such as this. This had to be diamond.
He looked into the sky again, seeing the streaks of light still radiating out from a point a few hundred feet above the starship. He knew Hannon cut out a large volume of dirt from the spaceport. Is that where it went into the sky to create a giant cloud of fire and brimstone?
So, this is what an unassembled mass of dirt looks like, he thought, broken down into its basic elements before it could reform. Carbon became diamonds, hydrogen became streaks of fire, while the other elements became part of the delicate, dusty mist settling over everything nearby.
And then the starship exploded.
Adam and Summer were thrown back by the concussion of what was a powerful second blast. The first one was strong enough to get his attention and deform the hull of the freighters. The second explosion followed a split second later and blasted the tail end of the ship into billions of knife-like fragments and killing dozens of the aliens nearby.
The starship near Adam and Summer tilted over from the blast, while a long stabilizing wing angled down on the pair. Adam watched in horror as the large sheet of metal fell toward him. But then the wingtip hit the ground, stopping the fall moments before crushing them. A loud popping sound followed.
Adam was on the ground, relieved to be alive until he realized weld seams were cracking. The wing was about to break off from the fuselage.
Something incredibly strong gripped his arm and yanked him away. He grimaced in pain as he was pulled across the rough tarmac, now littered with sharp diamond fragments. The wing broke loose a second later and slapped the ground with a dull thud where Adam had been lying a moment earlier.
Adam rolled over and looked into the emotionless blue eyes of his savior. Summer released his arm. At that moment, Adam knew the truth.
Chapter 15
The four-wheeled transport shot out the back of the freighter only moments before it exploded. It barreled through a crowd of aliens, many of whom were either staring into the sky or on their knees scooping up credits. Mike was at the controls with Vodenik and Kovach in the seat behind him. They clutched their precious go-bags along with a couple of bundles of Juirean credits. Although most of the money from the Balamar heist was lost, they managed to save ten million or so. The bulk of their money was hidden away on an unnamed asteroid in another star system, along with the three back-up starships.
That was all well and good, but what Mike needed at the moment was a way off Navarus. And he needed it now.
As expected, once the freighter exploded protocol at the spaceport went out the window. Regulations about lifting off from parking pads were ignored as a dozen ships were in the process of taking off. Like sailors everywhere, they were more comfortable being in space when trouble arose, and at the moment, the Kanac Spaceport was a mess. No one knew what was happening, from the sudden panic on the ground, to the strange firework show in the sky, and now an exploding starship. There was too much uncertainty to remain planet-bound.
Mike spotted a crew of four racing for a small starship. The side hatch was open, and there were signs the ship was getting ready to lift. Once the remaining crew was aboard, it would be off.
He brought the quad up to the hatchway and jumped out, an MK-17 in his hand.
“Get aboard,” he yelled back at the Gracilians before barreling through the doorway, shoving two of the tall crew members to the side before heading for the bridge. Screams of protest followed, but being a Human, he ignored them.
A green-skinned alien was at the pilot controls, going through his pre-liftoff routine. Three other aliens were in the room.
Mike placed the barrel of the MK against the pilot’s head. “We’re going with you. Now take off.”
“Are you willing to kill the pilot?” the alien asked. “Then you will be left to fly the vessel. In that case, why do you not remove me from the chair and take over? We know the answer. Now, I demand you leave the ship immediately.”
Mike could probably figure out the controls … if he had time. But he didn’t. Cain and his people would be looking for him in the spaceport. Mike scanned the bridge before taking one of the other aliens by the neck. He placed the barrel of his weapon against the head of the hairless, grey creature.
“Liftoff … or I’ll kill your friend.”
“He is not my friend. He is only a crew member. Kill him if you must.”
Mike placed the barrel once again against the pilot’s head.
The alien grinned. “Now, you are in a quandary, I see.”
Vodenik and Kovach stood at the entrance to the bridge, looking at Mike, unsure what to do next: stay there or leave the ship?
Mike pursed his lips, frustrated that he had just met the one alien with a fucking backbone.
“Doesn’t anyone else aboard know how to fly the ship?” he yelled out.
“I do,” said a demure voice at the other side of the bridge. A small, hairy creature barely four feet tall cowered against the bulkhead.
Mike grinned and turned back to the pilot.
“It’s up to you, buddy. Fly or die?”
The alien swallowed hard before turning to his controls.
“Prepare for liftoff. Everyone buckle in.”
Adam climbed to his feet, towering over the five-foot-tall blonde, but feeling small by comparison.
“How long?” he asked.
“Since the attack,” J’nae answered. “It was because of me that the body survived; the injuries were that extensive. While in the coma, I was able to gain control, of which I exert to this day. It is greater control than I have ever had.”
“Is Summer still in there; is she okay?”
“She is fine. We converse frequently. She has come to accept her situation.”
“Yeah, I’m sure she does. Do Monty and Tidus know?”
J’nae/Summer shook her head. “I have assured them I am still Summer, and only dealing with the trauma of the attack. They’ve accepted the lie because they want to.”
Adam looked back at the collapsed wing of the starship. “Why did you save me? Our history together isn’t that good.”
“I don’t fault you for what you have done. Nor do I blame Summer. Contrary to your belief, I do not want to remain in this body. It is fragile and inefficient, and I am in constant fear of being trap
ped in a corpse until it wastes away, and I become absorbed into the lifeless ground. I cannot accept that future. Panur has the means to free me; however, he refuses.”
“Because Summer’s body wouldn’t survive the extraction process. You know that. He’s not going to sacrifice Summer for you.”
J’nae’s blue eyes flared.
“But he should! He created me. I am his child. My needs should take priority over those of a stranger.”
“Fortunately, that’s not how he sees it.”
J’nae turned away and gazed out at the chaos around them. People were running away in panic while starships lifted off next to other vessels, their fiery exhaust destroying lives and property. It was every alien for themselves. Adam and Summer were a quiet oasis in the tumult, two people standing calm within the storm.
J’nae suddenly turned back to Adam. “I need you to take me to Panur. I have been considering something for a long time. I wish to discuss it with him. It may be a way to save both Summer and me.”
“Bullshit,” Adam said. “You’ve only ever cared about yourself.”
“That is still true; however, I know that the only way to save myself is by saving Summer as well. There may be a way.”
Adam looked up at the steady stream of exhaust jets reaching for space. Mike Hannon would be among one of them by now. He wasn’t the type to blow himself up with his ship. This was all part of a contingency plan should he get found out. It was too organized, too layered for it to be a spontaneous response to Adam’s arrival. Mike would have another way off the planet. Adam even doubted this meant the end of the robberies. It was just a hiccup in an ongoing operation.