Clidepp Deja Vu

by Thomas DePrima

  Winston scowled and said, "Okay, Captain, you win. I'll prepare a full report for SHQ."

  "Good. Once that's done you'll be free to participate in the mission to recover the people still on the surface."

  "And when will that be?"

  "One step at a time, Winston. I'm just as anxious to be done here and leave the solar system as you, but I have to find a way to rescue your people and complete my original mission without exposing our presence to the Yolongi. For now, just get your report filed."

  * * *

  "Captain," Lieutenant(jg) Templeton, the first watch Tac officer, said to Sydnee the next day as she sat in her command chair on the bridge, "I'm picking up a ship on the DeTect system. It's heading this way. It seems to be on the same course as the Patoosch the first time we encountered it."

  The Justice hadn't used any exterior lights since entering Clidepp space, and the Dakinium didn't reflect radar signals, so Sydnee said, "Helm, build our double envelope so the Patoosch doesn't accidently hit us. Also, turn us so our starboard side is facing them so they can't get any kind of radar reflection from the shuttle surface we modified."

  "Aye, Captain," Lt.(jg) Caruthers said as he touched several spots on the helm console in front of him. "Envelope forming, and I'm using thrusters to turn the ship."

  "Com," Sydnee said, "monitor the Patoosch communications and tell me if they do anything different than the last time they approached Yolongus."

  *

  After the Patoosch had entered orbit and descended to the surface of Yolongus, Chief Lemela said, "No change, Captain. They requested and received permission to descend to the planet and were cleared without any delay and without giving any recognition code. The signals picked up by one of the new satellites we put into orbit allowed me to identify their destination when they requested landing permission at a shuttle port named Magomca."

  "Tac?" Sydnee said.

  "One second, Captain. I'm checking." After a slight pause, Templeton said, "Yes, here it is. It's a small shuttle port that's registered to the Nugowlo-3 Mining Cooperative."

  * * *

  Following breakfast the next day, Sydnee held a briefing in the Marine mess hall. Only Blade, Dennier, Winston, MacDonald, and the flight officers involved in the shuttle operations had been invited.

  "I've decided we'll try to pass ourselves off as the Patoosch one more time," Sydnee said. "We got away with it once, so we might be lucky again. We know the real Patoosch is presently still on the surface. The communication records during our time in Clidepp Empire space show that the shuttle has remained here anywhere from one day to four days and has returned anywhere from two days to ten days after departure. Obviously, there are no scheduled arrival or departure times. We estimate that their flight time to Nugowlo is about ten GST hours, so we'll begin our next operation one full day after the shuttle departs. As before, Weems and DiRoma will take the modified shuttle, designated as Shuttle One, and fly to the new location where the Terran slaves are waiting. Winston has given us the coordinates, and that information has been loaded into the flight computers. Because the number of people waiting to be picked up exceeds what one shuttle can accommodate, we'll need two shuttles. Caruthers and Burns will take the second shuttle, designated as Shuttle Two, and follow in the exact flight path ten seconds later. Shuttle Two will be invisible to radar, and anyone spotting its dark shape will hopefully assume it's the Patoosch— or a reflection. On the way down to the planet, both shuttles will have an engineer suited up in an EVA suit and waiting in the stern airlock. On command, the engineers will simultaneously open the outer hatch and deploy the remaining communication satellites.

  "Arriving at the pickup location, Major Blade will deploy with his people and secure the ground area while Winston makes contact with the people waiting there and brings half of them to Shuttle One. Shuttle Two will hover nearby and watch for approaching craft. After loading its passengers, Shuttle One will rise and hover while watching for approaching craft as Shuttle Two lands to pick up the remaining passengers. Our Marines, led by Lieutenant MacDonald, will deploy and secure the area as the remainder of the people are loaded. The package will be in Shuttle Two, and when the pickup is complete, Shuttle One will return to the Justice while the package is taken to the drop point. Shuttle Two will then return to the Justice. Any questions?"

  "Why can't we load both shuttles simultaneously?" Caruthers asked.

  "Winston says there isn't room for two shuttles in the narrow canyon outside the cave where the people are waiting. And the nearest clearing is too far to walk even during daylight hours."

  "What's this package you mentioned?" Winston asked.

  "That was our primary mission until we were ordered to recover you. It's need to know, and you don't need to know more than that."

  "Is there a role for my people in this?" Colonel Dennier asked.

  "I hope not, Colonel. I'm hoping we can do this without a fight. But I wanted you to be aware of what was happening in case we need your help."

  "Is that all?" Blade asked after a minute of silence.

  "There's one more thing. The four adults and children we picked up have been sleeping in Shuttle One until now. We have to move them out so we can use that ship. Space is very limited, but we have to find space in one of the habitat containers. We have six units to choose from. Any suggestions?"

  "We're shoehorned in pretty tight as it is," Dennier said. "The only open space is in the corridors, and our people use those as exercise areas."

  "I agree," Blade said. "There's no unused space in the habitat units."

  Sydnee looked around the table. "We have one option, but it'll require quite a bit of work. We can move the satellites stored on one level of a habitat container to another level, then use that cleared space for the children and the others coming aboard. Presently, the satellite containers are only piled one layer high on each level, but they can be stacked right up to the overhead. The cases are strong enough to support the weight. I suppose they had so much space in the container that there was no need to economize.

  "If Major Blade and Colonel Dennier can have their people take responsibility for moving those satellites, we can preserve the corridors as exercise areas."

  Sydnee waited for protests that never came. Both officers just looked at her for a few seconds and then nodded.

  "Okay, it's decided then. We add the satellites on the top level of the container to those on the lowest storage level and use the freed space for the newcomers. My engineers and the Colonel's mechanics can supervise to ensure that the satellites are moved with the utmost care."

  "What do we use for bedding?" MacDonald asked.

  "That's a problem. We don't have any extra mattresses and only a few extra blankets. We just weren't prepared for passengers."

  "Tugs usually carry gravity-shielding pads so the tug operators have a place to sleep on long hauls." Winston said. "Don't you have any of those?"

  "I say this ship is like a tug on steroids because the main ship is almost entirely devoted to the power plant, but it's not actually a tug. We have twenty-four regular berths, and all are assigned to crewmembers. We have no gravity-shielding pads in our stores because we didn't anticipate a need for them."

  "My people can sleep on the deck until we get back to GA space. They'll use their extra clothing for bedding. At Light-9790 it should only take a month to get back to GA space."

  "Except we can't return to GA space until we complete our mission here."

  "How long will that be?"

  "SCI told me it could take as long as two years."

  "Two years? Two years? GST years?"

  "Yes."

  "What kind of mission takes two years?"

  "It's those satellites I was just talking about. SCI came up with a plan to seed communication satellites around every occupied planet, moon, and space station in the Clidepp Empire."

  "Good Lord. That sounds like the crazy plan Captain Hellman dreamed up a decade ago."

>   "I don't know who initiated it. All I know is that we've been assigned to make it a reality. In any event, the extra mouths mean we'll only have enough food for fourteen months, so we may have to cut the mission short."

  "I want to send a request to SHQ that this ship be recalled to GA space immediately to unload all passengers."

  "You have my permission to make such a request, Winston, but let's complete this mission before we begin making other plans. Is there anything else to discuss? Anyone?"

  After looking around the table and not receiving any answers, Sydnee said, "Okay. This meeting is adjourned. Our first task is to move those satellites."

  * * *

  Chapter Eight

  ~ January 20th, 2287 ~

  Sydnee was alerted when the Patoosch left Yolongus a few days later. Its course as it left orbit indicated it was headed for Nugowlo. She immediately established a schedule for the final operations on Yolongus and authorized Winston to send a message to his people so they would have the precise timetable and be prepared for evacuation from the planet.

  Fully one-quarter of the small satellites in one of the habitat containers beneath the Justice had been moved, clearing an entire nine-by-twenty-meter area for the children and four adults who had been staying in Shuttle One. The pintsized occupants were less than overjoyed at surrendering their comfortable beds in the shuttle, but the older children understood the reason and looked forward to seeing their parents again. The shuttle's rear cabin area was rearranged for seating only, and the small ship was made ready for departure. The lowest level in the habitat container used for storing the satellites was now half-filled with crates containing satellites, and Sydney hoped they wouldn't have to access any of the bottom row until they had been able to reduce the number of satellites through the seeding process.

  At the designated time, Blade and his Special Ops team entered Shuttle One while Lt. MacDonald and two of the Denver's fire teams assigned to the Justice entered Shuttle Two. The 'package,' released from his special holding area for the first time since coming aboard the Justice, was placed in Shuttle Two. An opaque hood covered his head so he wouldn't see his surroundings and no one other than his guards could later recognize him. Although his movement aboard ship had been restricted to the special brig and his guards weren't permitted to converse with him, he had been well fed and was in the best of health. He had been provided with a viewpad that contained an enormous collection of music, books, and videos from Yolongus to keep him entertained, but he hadn't received any news regarding the situation on his home world since being abducted by the Special Ops team on the first incursion by the Justice into Clidepp space.

  As each shuttle prepared for departure, an engineer suited in EVA gear entered the airlock at the back of the rear cabin. Several of the tiny DS satellites, programmed with their location coordinates and ready to be deployed, had already been placed in each of the airlocks. After ejecting the satellites and closing the hatch, the engineers would move back into the rear cabin, remove their EVA suits and don their personal armor, as required by Sydnee to help avoid the kind of problems they'd experienced on the previous mission while performing tasks outside the scope of the original parameters. Winston, aboard Shuttle Two, was without personal armor, as was the 'package' aboard Shuttle Two. All personal armor had to be custom-fit to the wearer's body, so there was no extra aboard the Justice.

  Shuttle One left on schedule, with Shuttle Two exactly ten seconds behind on the same course. Sydnee was seated in her bridge command chair when Chief Lemela reported that Shuttle One had been cleared to enter the planet's atmosphere. No alarm was raised, suggesting that Shuttle Two had either not been observed or that the ruse of having it seem to be either the approved flight or merely a shadowy reflection of the approved flight had worked.

  *

  Once a ship entered a planet's troposphere, only the ship's oh-gee capability was used for flight, except where massive propulsion was required to respond to an emergency condition. Shuttle One gently touched down at the coordinates provided by Winston a few seconds before Shuttle Two arrived overhead and assumed a stationary position a hundred meters above ground level. Floating overhead on a cushion of opposed-gravity waves, Shuttle Two had a perfect view of the narrow ravine where Shuttle One rested.

  As Shuttle One came to a complete stop, the Special Ops team deployed in seconds and took up positions in the ravine. They were in unknown territory and therefore on high alert as Winston sauntered out of the ship as if on holiday and began walking away. It was already dark on this part of the planet, so the SCI agent was using a tiny flashlight to light his path. The people wearing armor had the benefit of infrared and thermal imaging in their helmets, so the time of day made no difference to them.

  "Winston," Blade called abruptly, and the SCI officer stopped and returned to where Blade was standing. "What's your plan now that we're down?"

  "I'm going to get my people and bring them to the shuttles."

  "How many men do you want to accompany you?"

  "None. It will only frighten my people until they get used to those black-on-black suits of protective armor. You look pretty intimidating because the secret police on Yolongus all wear black uniforms."

  "We're only here to provide protection."

  "I know, but my people don't. You have to realize how oppressive and repressive the government is here. Let them get used to the idea that men in black armor aren't here to hurt them before you storm into their presence."

  "Okay. We'll wait here. Contact me via CT when you're ready to return."

  "I don't have a CT. It was removed before I first went undercover on this planet in case I was ever captured and medically examined for espionage technology."

  Reaching into a pouch on his belt, Blade produced a small earpiece. After depressing a tiny raised dot on the side, he held it out to Winston. "Put this into either ear. I'll be able to hear you through my CT, and you'll be able to hear me."

  "Can it pick up the voices of others?"

  "If they're close enough to you. It will pick up all conversations within a roughly three-meter range."

  Winston took the small device and looked at it. "Can I accidentally deactivate it?"

  "No. It's always on once activated and can only be deactivated by a tech with the proper tool. But no one else will be able to hear me while you have it in your ear."

  Winston looked at Blade skeptically, then placed the small earpiece in his left ear. It was virtually invisible. "Can you hear me in your CT?" he asked.

  "Five by five," Blade said.

  "Okay, I'm going to get my people. They probably don't know we've arrived because the camp is so far inside the mountain. It's an abandoned mine shaft leading to an enormous natural cavern."

  "We'll be waiting, and we'll load them aboard the shuttle as they arrive. Don't bring more than twenty-eight in the first group. That's the most adults we can take. After the second shuttle is able to land, I'll notify you to bring the rest."

  "Got it. Be right back."

  Blade heard Winston's respiration noises for perhaps a minute, and then the signal terminated. He was tempted to go see what happened but held off because Winston had been so adamant about him not interfering.

  "Lt. Weems, are you picking up anything from the earpiece I gave to Winston?"

  "Negative, Major. The audio terminated a minute or so after Winston began walking towards the cavern."

  "How about the tracking signal? Is that still coming through strong?"

  "Negative. That ended at the same time the audio signal stopped."

  "Damn."

  *

  Another ten minutes passed without a sound from Winston or any indication that everything was well. Blade was about to take four of his people and go search for Winston when three Terran women, who appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties, suddenly appeared on the path Winston had traveled. Like Winston, they each had one of the tiny flashlights.

  The women appear
ed leery of the armored soldiers and halted but then approached slowly. Until then, the image on Blade's faceplate was blank, but he changed it to show his true image. Once they realized he was a Terran, the women seemed less frightened. "Please step into the shuttle and take seats, ladies," Blade said through the speaker in his chest armor, but the women didn't appear to understand, so he set the translator output to Yolongi. When he repeated the message, they nodded and moved towards the ramp.

  Another five minutes passed without anyone else appearing. Blade heard Weems say over the CT command frequency, "Major, what's happening? We've only had three women come aboard."

  "I don't know any more than you, Lieutenant. Winston told me he had to do this alone. Wait, I see more people coming."

  "Friendlies?"

  "They appear to be. I see light weapons, but none are being held in a threatening manner."

  A total of eighteen people filed past Blade and entered the shuttle, then another six appeared a couple of minutes later and entered the shuttle. Of the twenty-seven who had entered the shuttle, all were Yolongi except for the first three.

  "Major, what's going on?" Weems said. "I'm looking at the monitor that shows the rear cabin, and all I see are Yolongi except for the first three girls. I thought we were here to rescue Terran slaves."

  "I'm as much in the dark as you, Lieutenant. We'll let the captain straighten it out."

  "We can only take one more adult passenger. Tell Winston to come back so we can lift off and let Shuttle Two land to pick up the rest."