New Sky: Eyes of the Watcher

by Jason Kent

  "The guards were a little more attentive than I would have liked," Dagger remarked. "Plus, this Tallinn is not afraid to use a top-of-the-line security system." She swung her eyes to Sparrow.

  "A smart Tallinn!" Sparrow exclaimed. She tilted her head to one side and rubbed her hands together. "About time they gave me a bit of a challenge. I don't suppose you got a make and model, did you?"

  "I was a little busy staying alive," Dagger said flatly.

  "So Sparrow takes out the security system, then what," Kate asked. She thought she now grasped the broad strokes of the plan forming in Georges' mind.

  "We land right here and do what we do," Garrett declared. He held up a sheet showing the entire villa complex. He tapped at the paved open area at the center surrounded on four sides by a roofed walkway.

  "The courtyard?" Kate frowned. "It's right in the middle of everything."

  "Exactly." Garrett smiled. "Who'd expect an angry ship to crash into their koi pond?"

  Georges nodded, agreeing with Garrett's plan. "Sparrow, do you need to get to a terminal to access the security system?"

  Sparrow puffed up her cheeks then blew out as she thought. "Won't know until we get there. Security systems are usually locked down pretty tight. If they aren't used to the regular install procedures, there's a good chance they missed something. Might be a wireless system or backdoor I can jack into. But, if you're going to land in the middle of the place, I'm not sure it makes any difference."

  "I want all their cameras, sensors, and alarms off before we land," Georges explained. "Off, or under our control."

  "Then I'll have to move in on foot before you get fancy with the landing," Sparrow stated. She nodded her head and the circuits in her scalp flashed in the bright light from the desert sun streaming in at a low angle through the cockpit windows. "I'll need help to get in if there's no wireless."

  "Sergeant Merrick will go with you," Georges said.

  Dagger grinned without any humor in her eyes.

  "Once the sprite clears us," Dagger added, "we'll drop down, pay the Scum a little visit, and snatch Andrea."

  "Simple," Sparrow declared.

  Georges was lost in thought for a long moment and finally shook his head. "Do you know where your sister will be? Do we need to search the entire place?"

  "Every second we spend on the ground doubles our risk," Garrett added. "The longer we sit there, the more time the guards will have to organize a counterstrike."

  "Leave that to me," Sparrow said. "I'll hijack the security protocols and use their own system to pinpoint her. You can make a beeline to and from her location. Fast and no fuss."

  Georges nodded, satisfied with the plan.

  Kate was not.

  "What about me?" Kate asked. "What do I do?" She did not want to be left out.

  "You're with Merrick and me," Sparrow stated. She linked her arm with Kate's. "Maybe we'll be lucky and the Tallinn will be using EMTEC gear. It'd be helpful to have our resident expert at hand for a quick consult."

  "Alright, Sparrow will take Kate and Merrick and get as close to the villa as possible." Georges agreed. He reached for the photos and pulled out one which showed the surrounding countryside and a nearby village. Georges held it up so it faced Dagger. "Any suggestions?"

  "Avoid the town," Dagger advised. "It's full of Tallinn sympathizers. They'd turn you in for the promise of a hot meal. Try one of these farms near the villa. The Scum cleared them out when he expanded the villa. Didn't want the sound of a hard day's work to disturb him."

  "Got it," Sparrow replied. She took the photo and studied it intently.

  "How are we getting there?" Kate asked.

  "There's a gully a few kilometers from the villa," Dagger explained. "We'll hide the Blade there until we're ready to go in. You circle around and find your quiet spot close to the villa."

  "When do we go?" Garrett asked.

  "Tonight," Georges announced. "We'll move to Dagger's gully as soon as it's dark. Sparrow's team will move in, assess the situation, and determine our search strategy."

  "Place looked pretty quiet after midnight every night from what I've seen," Dagger added.

  "Makes sense," Georges remarked and directed his gaze to Sparrow. "We'll tentatively plan for 0100. Make it happen or call the op off."

  "Yes sir," Sparrow responded.

  Kate was reminded of when they showed up together on the Tallinn ironclad. Georges and Sparrow were separated from their team and cut off from the second shuttle but not panicked. It was obvious they worked together well as a team. Sparrow needed only the barest outline of a plan then filled in the blanks. Kate realized she was a pro at this sort of thing. How many of these operations had Sparrow pulled off with Georges? Plenty, Kate theorized.

  "Any other comments?" Georges asked. He swept his eyes around the cramped bridge. No one offered up anything.

  Kate's eyes found Dagger's. The pilot's eyes glinted and the corner of her mouth tugged into a grim smile. Kate nodded. The team would be going after her sister. Kate wondered what revenge Dagger planned for the Tallinn who had taken her.

  Chapter 12

  Andrea

  Kate peered over the edge of the broken wall. Merrick had picked the spot on the abandoned farm adjacent to the Tallinn's villa. Kate was impressed. From here, they not only commanded a view of the compound, thanks to the small hill which the farm occupied, Sparrow was also close enough to put her embedded circuitry to use. Kate realized she should not be surprised. The selection of appropriate terrain was crucial to not only the success of Merrick's missions, but his survival was well. He had, after all, been extensively trained to operate as an effective SUMC sniper.

  And she was a highly trained communications expert with no working equipment. Kate's attempt to reset the gear she salvaged from their expedition on the ironclad so far proved unfruitful. Akil, the avatar resident of her data pad, continued to be unresponsive during the few flickering moments when she managed to bring the device to life. For now, she was on her own and relied on Sparrow to interface with the villa's security system. Once the link sprite accessed the system, Kate hoped she would be able to provide advice. Kate wanted desperately to help in some way besides being the team's guide to Knowl. She wanted to contribute and be more than the girl with the glowing eyes.

  "Not good," Merrick breathed. His eyes were glued to the powerful optics attached to the top of his long sniper rifle. He slowly scanned from one end of the villa to the other and back again. "Not good at all."

  "What is it?" Kate asked quietly. She raised the less-powerful binoculars borrowed from the Blade's gear locker. Kate focused on the front of the villa. At least twenty ground cars sprang into view. Bored drivers lounged against their vehicles or gathered in tight clumps where they smoked and spoke with animated gestures.

  "Are they seriously having a party?" Kate hissed, exasperated. "Tonight? Really!"

  Sparrow laughed and hunched down, her back to the stone wall. "And they didn't send us an invitation."

  Kate sagged down next to Sparrow. She looked at the farm behind them. Unlike the area around the mines, the town of Overlight where the farm and the villa were located was within the temperate band of the planet's northern hemisphere. Grasslands and forests of low trees which looked a little less cactus-like abounded. The colonists not interested in mineral wealth came to this area to scratch a living from the soil. When the Tallinns came, this farmer found out the newcomers craved more than Transom's mining industry. The Tallinns also wanted the sumptuous villas the colonial well-to-do built in the more accommodating zones of the planet where they could escape the blowing sand and heat of the equatorial regions. And if your farm intruded on the land the Tallinn's craved, you lost it, just like the villa owners lost their homes. The rich and poor alike suffered the same fate under their new masters.

  For a moment, Kate gazed at the empty farmhouse on the backside of the hill. Its dark windows stared back at her. She wondered about the fate of the former o
ccupants. She thought about it a moment longer and realized she probably did not want to know. Kate turned her attention back to Sparrow.

  "Can you get into the security system?"

  "Oh yeah," Sparrow responded. She looked at Kate but her eyes were slightly unfocused in the disconcerting way they did when she was cruising the inside of a network using her embedded circuits. "EMTEC gear, by the way. You should have done the install, though."

  Kate gave the sprite a quizzical look.

  Sparrow laughed again. "They set up the sensors, booted up the server, linked it all together, but forgot to seal the ports. Idiots."

  Kate shook her head. This Tallinn somehow got his hands on one of the best security systems available but did not know how to fully use it. By leaving the data ports open, he basically left his front door unlocked, electronically and literally, to someone with Sparrow's skills.

  "Well, so much for grabbing Dagger's sister," Sparrow sighed. "We can't go charging in there during a party, there are guaranteed to be people in every room."

  "We can't just leave her down there," Kate said.

  "Not safe," Merrick added. He still studied the villa with smooth front-to-back, back-to-front motions of his sights. "Forty or fifty guests, minimum."

  Kate peeked over the fence again. A few party-goers could be seen out on the various verandas on this side of the villa. Others wandered the gardens with their heads close together. Kate did not know what kind of party this was, but the sight of the evening dresses gave her a thought.

  "They probably aren't heavily armed," Kate suggested.

  Merrick paused in his study of the house and Sparrow looked her way.

  "What I mean," Kate hurried to explain, "is most of them would probably run away if someone started shooting." She shrugged. "At least long enough for us to get in, find Andrea, and get out."

  "It's not just the guards we have to worry about." Merrick explained, "The drivers are packing. Some of them have their jackets off. I counted at least seven handguns."

  "Those guys would probably just try and protect their employers," Kate surmised. "If the drivers are doubling as bodyguards, they would not stand and fight. At most, they would grab whichever rich Tallinn was assigned to them and rush them away to safety."

  Merrick mulled this possibility before he shook his head.

  "We should pull back. Watch for another opportunity," Merrick declared. "We need a new plan."

  "We may not have another chance," Kate objected. "We have got to get off Transom. Tonight. Knowl needs us as soon as possible."

  Merrick fell silent. He looked down at the party in full swing in the villa. The marine's expression did not change as he weighed their odds against the well-dressed crowd. Obviously, new mission constraints, even those which could get them all killed, came as no surprise to the veteran.

  Kate held her breath. If this mission could be completed, she knew Merrick would find a way.

  "I've got her!" Sparrow called out. She started to stand up in her excitement. Kate managed to grab her and kept the sprite from popping up from behind the wall's low cover.

  "You see her?" Merrick asked. He resumed his careful scan of the house through his scope. "Give me a heading."

  "Through the front door, thirty meters straight, take a left, ten meters, turn right, exit out into the courtyard," Sparrow rattled off the directions. When she focused again on her companions, the sprite found them both staring at her.

  "Say again?" Kate said.

  "It's the video surveillance," Sparrow explained. "EMTEC, like I told ya, good stuff!"

  "She's in the courtyard?" Merrick asked. His eyes swung back to the house. The sniper gazed intently at the center of the villa, as if his unaided Mark-One eyeballs could pierce the many thick walls standing between them and the sparkling fountain which they knew would be burbling in the center of the courtyard.

  "As a prisoner?" Kate asked. This new development surprised her. She expected to scour the large mansion only to find Andrea in a windowless basement room locked up in chains.

  Sparrow shook her head. "Most prisoners don't wear dresses."

  The trio sat silently under the stars. The only sounds were those which drifted up the hill from the party and the sigh of the wind through the tangles of the unkempt garden plot beside them.

  "Tral," Merrick cursed.

  "What?" Kate looked at the marine, unsure of what he meant.

  "Andrea's gone native and Dagger doesn't realize it," Sparrow answered before Merrick.

  "Maybe she's being forced to be the Tallinn's escort," Kate guessed. She looked from Merrick to Sparrow. "You know, arm candy."

  Sparrow's eyes became unfocused.

  "Maybe..." Kate began.

  "Shhh!" Sparrow hissed. Her eyes flicked back and forth as she poured over data only she could see.

  "Mech," Merrick reported.

  It took a second for the impact to hit Kate.

  "Tral." Kate put the binoculars to her eyes.

  "In the shadows," Merrick reported. "Twenty yards north of the main entrance."

  Kate swung her glasses to the point the sniper indicated. She saw the mech, but just barely. "Tral, Merrick, the thing is black against a black background."

  "How do you think I noticed it," Merrick stated. "It was like a hole in the night."

  "Sergeant," Sparrow rejoined them in the world, "I didn't know you could be so poetic."

  "What'd you find?" Kate asked Sparrow.

  "I checked some camera footage, great storage database, by the way."

  "Great," Kate sighed, "I'll pass your glowing recommendation to the appropriate EMTEC division if we ever get back to our own space." She gestured for the sprite to continue.

  "So, there are several functions where Andrea appears at the Tallinn's side." Sparrow looked at Kate.

  "Arm candy," both women remarked in unison.

  "Exactly," Sparrow continued. "And this Tallinn is nasty. Andrea is not the only girl in his, well, let's just call it a harem. It's hard to tell, but as far as I can tell, they are all his permanent guests. When they are not with him, the women are held in a secure area of the complex."

  "Secure?" Merrick interrupted.

  "Locks, guards, the whole gambit."

  "Cameras?" Kate ventured.

  "Oh yeah," Sparrow snorted and frowned. "He likes to keep an eye on them. Get it?"

  Kate got it. Any reservation she harbored about not going in evaporated. Party or not, they at least needed to try and grab Dagger's sister.

  "Okay," Kate breathed. "A gilded cage is still a cage. I vote we go in. The original plan is still good. She's right there where Garrett wanted to put down anyway."

  "I agree with Kate, the guests will probably run away from the commotion," Sparrow commented. "Let's do this."

  "The mech will take a few minutes to be able to get into a decent firing position," Merrick mused. He looked at Sparrow, "Did you detect evidence of any other mechs operating around the villa?"

  "Only ever the one," Sparrow replied.

  Merrick focused on the machine again. He switched over to the infra-red sensor he had been able to repair during their brief time onboard the Blade.

  "Heat plumes coming off the mech," Merrick reported. "The Tallinn may use it for show, but it's fully functional and heated up."

  "Can you take it out?" Kate asked. "I'd rather it not crash the party right behind us."

  "Yes," Merrick responded. He did not pull his eye from his scope. He was locked onto the mech, his new target.

  Kate turned to Sparrow. "Contact Georges, tell him about the party and Amanda's current location. Make sure he understands we need to act now."

  Sparrow gave Kate a crooked smile. "Oh, believe me, he'll know."

  Kate turned back to the villa and asked Merrick, "Once you take out the mech, what do we do?"

  "Go in."

  "Right," Kate laughed. She realized an instant later the marine was serious. "Oh! Right." She studied the sprawling ho
use with renewed interest. "Where?" Dagger had been right, the villa was not fortified and there were any number of approaches they could take. Most involved getting over fences or through gates which would slow them down.

  "Through the front door, thirty meters straight ahead, hard left, ten meters straight ahead, hard right, exit into the courtyard," Merrick said.

  "You want to go in the front door?" Kate asked. She smacked his shoulder. "That's insane!"

  A smile curved up on Merrick's face even though he did not take his eyes off the mech.

  Kate realized this plan was no more insane than when she convinced them to continue with the operation in the face a full-blown black-tie event. She turned back to look at the front door, crowded at the moment with guards, guests arriving and departing, oh, and the silent but extremely deadly mech. Going into crazy situations appeared to be their modus operandi.

  "Okay, we go in the front door." Kate shrugged. "Sounds fun."

  Now would have been a good time for Javin to offer some relevant tactical advice. But, to Kate's disappointment, she remained alone. No, she corrected and glanced at Merrick and Sparrow. They had each other.

  "The Blade is lifting," Sparrow reported. Her silent communication with Georges apparently at an end.

  "When?" Kate asked, a little surprised. Even though she hoped for a quick decision, this was ridiculous.

  "Now!" Sparrow exclaimed. "Merrick." She spoke the man's name like an order.

  Merrick pulled the trigger of his long gun. The silencer screwed onto the end of the barrel muffled the normal roar of the shot to a deep burp.

  Kate looked from Merrick quickly back to the mech's location. A stream of vapor was blasting from the machine's knee joint.

  "Tral," Kate noted appreciatively. "Knee shot."

  "Eight ball, corner pocket," Merrick announced, his voice unnaturally calm. He pulled the trigger. Another burp.

  The mech's optical sensors shattered. The Tallinns clustered nearby were slow to react to the malfunctioning battle mech. They cringed and watched the mech as it hissed and rattled but did not run. Either they were used to the machines breaking around them or they were afraid to draw its attention.