Nova Romae (The Adventures of Christopher Slone Book 2)

by Donald Nicklas

  “’Afraid not. They set up tents there. No idea why,” Roger Umgabe reported after magnifying the area to his console. “There is a spot to the east of the city that is clear.”

  “Tavia, any idea about that area?” Alaya asked.

  The teenager came over to Roger’s console and had a look. “That was a baseball field, but it is abandoned. I think we can land there. The resistance is actually on the eastern side of the city, so it is closer to them than our old spot.”

  “Allen, set us down in that clearing,” Alaya indicated the old sports field to her copilot. “Sly, keep us invisible while on the ground.”

  The serpent signified she understood and the ship came out of orbit and entered the atmosphere. Invisible or not, they could not hide the telltale effects on the surrounding areas. To avert this, Farnsworth kept the ship out of any cloud formations that would give away their position. Before landing, they all did a quick visual check to make sure no one was around, and then landed on the old baseball field. Umgabe probed out for a distance of one kilometer in all directions and his sensors showed all clear. Since all hell was going to break loose in 9 hours, Alaya still thought it prudent they stay aboard and only the group of four leaves the ship for the mission. As soon as everything was shut down, Alaya and the others left the ship through the small bridge door. When they were all out, the door was closed and the interior again became invisible. Alaya looked at the ship and had to admit, it was invisible. On their last visit, they did not take the precaution of invisibility and the Romani squad was arrayed around the vessel. This time they kept it hidden, since the Petrov forces were alerted to trouble. They may assume any strangers are resistance, especially if they have a ship. Alaya wanted to keep everyone out of sight.

  Tavia led the way through the jungle. This time they kept off the main road into the eastern part of the city. They were wearing uniforms and did not intend to be caught as spies. If captured they wanted it clear they were combatants and expected to be treated as prisoners of war. They reached the road that circumnavigates the city and the chain-link fence that blocks all of the minor streets and alleys leading into the city. These fences were new looking and Alaya had no doubt the Petrov occupation placed them to limit access to the capital. They reached a fence leading into an alley and checked it with a small scanner.

  “It’s electrified,” Marcus reported. “We can’t cut through it without alerting the Pets.”

  Alaya looked up at the sky. The system star was nearing the horizon. “Let’s get back into the jungle and move around to the main road. We’ll wait till dark and try to sneak past the guard post.”

  “That won’t be easy,” Decanus Marshal pointed out. “On our last visit, the checkpoints were inside the city flanked by structures. No way to sneak past.”

  “I know a way in,” Tavia said in a quiet whisper. “Come with me.”

  They followed the teenager deeper into the jungle. They were actually moving away from the city when they suddenly came to a small shack surrounded by jungle that overgrew the land around the structure. The building itself looked dilapidated and was close to collapsing. Without a moment’s hesitation, Tavia entered the shack and signaled the others to follow. Despite the outside appearance, the inside looked even worse, except for a modern, electronic hatch on the floor.

  Alaya looked at the hatch and asked, “What is this place?”

  “It’s an access shaft to our intercity tube system,” Tavia responded. “High speed travel from the capital to the other cities on the planet. This is a maintenance access point. When the Pets invaded, they shut down the system, so we can use it to get into the city on foot.”

  Alaya looked closely at the shack. Though the walls looked dilapidated, the shack framing was sturdy. “The shack is just for show, to cover the hatch. But why? If you know it’s here, so do others.”

  “It’s meant for our military to do what we are doing, in case of an invasion. This way they can get the corporate leaders out and our troops in to liberate the city. I know it’s here only because my uncle is head of the resistance and was part of the corporate leadership. Very few know about these access hatches.”

  “Well then, again we’re lucky to have you with us,” Alaya said. “Why didn’t your military use this to take back the city?”

  Tavia looked back at them in all seriousness and replied, “Because they are all cowards. Once the CEO left, they all dissolved into the civilian population and left the few of us to carry on the fight.”

  “So far I have only seen you carrying on the fight,” Marcus suddenly responded, and startled the others. Alaya doesn’t think she ever heard him talk. His admiration for Tavia must be great.

  “I know, Marcus, I hope the resistance will do what you need. I’ll stay with them to make sure they do,” Tavia said and again was elevated in the eyes of the Romani. Under the Romani system, the least tolerated action was cowardice and Tavia showed nothing but courage in one so young. She went over to the keypad on the hatch and pushed in a four-digit code. There was a sudden escape of air as the hatch slowly opened. The Decanus signaled Marcus to follow him and they both went down a ladder. At the bottom, they found themselves on the side of the transport tube, in front of a door. This one was not locked and they opened it to find themselves in a large, tubular tunnel with maglev pads running along the top, bottom and sides for propulsion. They could walk a small ledge single file. A quick check showed the coast was clear and Marcus signaled Tavia and Alaya to come down. They did so and Tavia was careful to close and lock the latch behind them. This way, no one would know anyone had entered.

  Tavia knew they were in the outbound tube, therefore she indicated the direction of the city and they followed her lead. They came to the first station after one and a half kilometers in the tube and it was deserted. Tavia was correct the Petrov forces had locked down the system. What they neglected to do was pull up the schematics that would have shown the hatch access or they did not consider it a threat. The latter suggests the stations accesses are blocked at street level and that could present a problem. They passed four more stations and then came to a fifth, where Tavia mounted the platform and indicated the others should follow. As the group neared the rear of the platform, they came to a janitor’s closet. Tavia opened this with her key code and walked in. The others followed and the door closed as the lights came on. Low and behold, they found themselves in a janitor’s closet.

  “Nice place,” Alaya said. “Is there a reason we came in here, or did we need a broom?”

  Tavia looked back at her and smiled at the attempt at humor. “Watch,” Tavia said as she moved some boxes aside and found another keypad. She then keyed in her code and the rear wall of the closet opened into a spacious room, filled with monitors and people. They all walked in and the wall closed behind them. They immediately had a dozen guns pointed at them. Tavia held up a hand and the others took their hands off their short swords and held them out in front.

  A person who appeared to be in charge came over and asked, “Who are you and how did you know about that entrance.”

  Tavia stepped forward and said, “I am Tavia MacDougal. Please notify my uncle Ian that I have returned with important information that concerns the resistance.”

  Tavia and the others all wore the standard Romani uniform with body armor and the legion and cohort designations. The Romani reliance on swords and daggers seemed to fascinate more than a few in the room as the party was told to sit on some chairs that were brought out. They were kept under guard with weapons pointed at them. What seemed to Tavia like an eternity, but was only a half hour, passed when her uncle came into the room and walked over to her. He ordered the guards to put down their weapons and return to their posts. He then extended his arms to his niece and they embraced as only loving family members do. He welcomed Marcus back, and Tavia introduced him to Alaya and Decanus Marshal.

  “Welcome back, my friends, though I am surprised. I have not seen Petrov ships falling from the sky
yet.”

  “All in good time, you will see that soon enough,” the Decanus responded.

  Ian nodded. He then took a good look at his niece. “Look at you, Tavia. I sent you with these people to keep you safe and here you are in uniform and body armor, right back in the middle of danger.”

  Tavia looked at her Uncle and he could see she grew up more than usual in the short time she was away. “The Romani have been good to me and accepted me as one of their own. I’m here to help liberate my people, but I plan to return with the Romani and live among them. They’re also my people now.”

  “Well said, Tavia. You’re an adult now. This is no place for children. Things have deteriorated since you left. The Pets started wholesale arrests and executions. Apparently, they had caught some of your people and were interrogating them when they escaped. They killed the chief of the Petrov secret police and one of their best torture techs. They made it out of the city and then they lost the trail. The Pets assume the resistance is hiding them and they have been torturing anybody they remotely suspected of being a resistance member.”

  “I’m sorry for that,” Alaya said. “I am one of those they captured, but it was imperative we return to our people with the information.”

  “I think what has the Pets more spooked than your escape, is the fact that whoever helped you literally tore the guards and others apart. Care to tell me how you do that?”

  “We have swords, and they do a lot of dismembering,” Alaya responded, being careful not to mention Sly’s part in the escape. To Tavia’s credit, she didn’t bat an eye or spill the beans about the Serpents. “We have limited time so let’s get down to business.”

  “Quite right,” Ian replied and ushered them to a conference table on the other side of the room. There were a large number of monitors present and people were in front of them watching the street through the normal surveillance cameras. The streets were empty of people and only Petrov guards could be seen.

  “What’s the status of the city as a whole,” the Decanus asked.

  “We are under Petrov marshal law and there is a curfew that only allows people out for two hours a day to pick up food and other perishables. They get them from the Pets; our stores are closed since the invasion and the looting following our desertion by Balin Corp. The resistance has hit the Pets where we can, but our arms are limited and every attempt to damage them, results in massive retaliation on the citizens. So as not to lose the support of the population, we now limit our attacks to liberating food that we can use to increase the rations of the city’s inhabitants.”

  After they were seated and given some refreshments, Alaya passed Ian the letters and documents from Consul Lorenzo. They waited patiently as he read over them and called over some of his lieutenants to have a look. Their faces were grave, but resigned to the task. Finally, Ian put down the documents and looked at Alaya, whom he assumed to be the leader of the mission.

  “We can do this, but if you’re not here on time to take the pressure off, this will be a suicide mission for all of us.”

  “If you wait for the proper signal and don’t jump the gun, then you’ll have our support,” Alaya responded to the concerns.

  “It looks so easy on paper, but that facility is heavily guarded. No idea how we’ll get in there.”

  Decanus Marshal answered that question, “Alaya and Tavia will be with you all the way and help take out the guards. Their lives will be as dependent on our forces delivering as yours are.”

  Suddenly a red light started flashing. One of the techs at the consoles said, “We have company. A large unit of Petrov troops is entering the station.”

  “For what purpose?” Ian asked no one in particular.

  “They’re heavily armed. This is not a routine sweep. We are betrayed.”

  Alaya looked at the others then back at Ian, “You have a rat in your midst. I assure you; no one knew about us or has found our ship.”

  “I don’t know how you can be so sure about that, but I’ll take your word for it. Where’s Jones?” Ian asked, referring to the tech in charge of base access.

  Some quick checking by the other techs and the response from one of them, “He ducked out into the station through a small access door. He also unlocked access to the base and locked his station so we can’t reverse it.”

  Ian hesitated a moment as he watched the Petrov troops cautiously coming down the stairs and meeting up with their agent, Jones. “Evacuate into the tunnels,” he ordered and the room began to clear out quickly.

  “What about your terminals and the information in them?” Alaya asked.

  “Don’t worry about that, I have contingencies that not even the techs know about.”

  Alaya and the mission group left along with the resistance techs. Ian was the last to exit and seemed to wait until the intruders saw where he was going. As they looked to fire at him, he quickly closed and locked the steel door granting access to the tunnels.

  “Not a bright idea, letting them see where we went. It won’t take them long to cut open that door,” Decanus Marshal said.

  As the Romani pulled out their handguns and swords for a close quarters fight, Ian pulled a device from his jacket. Once activated it gave them all a view of the interior of the room they had just left. They could see the traitor going to his terminal to unlock it as the rest of the Petrov forces entered. When the last trooper was inside and some progressed to the back door with cutting torches, Ian pushed a button and the door they had come in, slammed shut. As the startled troops looked at where the noise of the slamming door came from, Ian pushed another button, plugs fell off holes in the walls, and flamethrowers arched burning napalm across the room from all sides. There was nowhere to run and, very quickly, the Petrov forces went from screams to ashes. All of the equipment and terminals became puddles of plastic and metal.

  Ian calmly replaced the device in his pocket and said, “Don’t touch the door, its hot.”

  Alaya and the Romani looked at each other and she saw the admiration in their eyes. When Tavia saw how the Romani reacted to her uncle’s actions, she puffed up a little with pride. This is how people are supposed to deal with an enemy. The resistance group now went through the tunnels and soon came to another room, similar to the one they left. They all settled in as if nothing had happened and Ian took the mission group over to another conference table and returned to looking at the papers and maps he was given. “What’s the remaining timetable we have to work with?” Ian asked.

  Alaya looked at her watch. Just less than three hours had elapsed. Since the fleet was nine hours behind them and there was just over 5 hours of system transit, they were one hour from the fleet entering the system and just over six hours to the fleet arrival at the planet. “The fleet will be here in seven hours. They are one hour from system entry. Now I have a question for you, Ian.”

  “Ok, what is it.”

  “These safe rooms and all of the underground tunnels along with the flame throwers in the wall, these things were not put here in the several months you’ve been occupied. There is no way this could be kept a secret.”

  “You are absolutely right, Alaya,” Ian responded. “There has been an underground movement here for generations, trying to loosen the grasp of the corrupt Balin Corp. The CEO’s and their cronies live high while there is a lot of poverty in our cities. We have been building this underground complex for several centuries in our seemingly endless battle against the corporation. We are not entirely happy with your plans to put them back in power, but the Pets are much worse, so we’ll take back the devil we know.”

  “That answers a lot. I’ll talk it over with the Romani leaders to see what can be done, but first we have to drive the Petrov forces out. Do your people have any idea of the present troop strength of the Petrov invasion force?”

  “By our count, there are between 15 and 18 thousand troops with most of them in the capital. They only have police forces in the other cities on the planet. Balin has everything centrali
zed here in the capital so the Pets don’t need any further occupation to keep everything under control. They do have a rapid deployment force they use to quell any resistance in the cities, but until now, we have been well behaved and biding our time. There is one disturbing activity, they are bringing mostly women and children in from the outskirts and transporting them into orbit. We suspect they will be held as hostages against our obedience.”

  “That’s troubling. We detect two large freighters in orbit. That must be where they’re taking them. Tavia and I will stay here, as the Decanus said, and coordinate with our forces’ Decanus Marshal and Marcus will return with our ship to await the fleet and give them the information you gave us.” Alaya pointed to a spot on the map, “Our ship is parked here. How long to get my men to that point?”

  “About a half hour if we take a direct route.”

  Alaya turned to the Decanus, “I need you and Marcus to leave now. I want the ship off this planet before the fleet is detected in system and they close off New Wales.”

  Ian waved over a young man, “Paul here will take you back to your ship.” He pointed out where the ship was and they left with the young man. They were anxious to get back to their unit for the ground conflict. Their mission had been to get Alaya and Tavia to the resistance and that was accomplished.”

  After they left, Alaya and Tavia returned to their discussions with Ian and an evaluation of how feasible their sabotage mission was. They were tasked with knocking out the Petrov command and control communications just as the Romani Legion arrived on planet. Timing was critical. Do it too early and they will reestablish communications; do it too late and it won’t matter. Alaya was surprised that the Romani would entrust such a critical mission to two newcomers to their ranks. An indication of what an impression both Alaya and Tavia have made in their short contact with the Romani.

  Paul led Decanus Marshal and Marcus rapidly through the tunnel system. They covered the distance in a jog and were soon out of the city limits and back at the hatch in the shack. They did not reenter the maglev tube until they passed the previous safe room. The platform was still swarming with troops, but the room itself was too hot for them to enter, and the doors were fused.