Having made her point, Marion stopped to inhale.
“Well and good, but what does that have to do with us?”
“We assumed the mineral wealth was the prize. It might just be the Gene Section, trying to cover up one of their mistakes.”
“You want to go up against the Combined Worlds Gene Section? They’re mightier than God and answer to no one. Damn, I think I need a drink.”
“Not so fast.” She said, sitting on the drinks locker “We’re going out today, Junior also.”
I shrugged, “He might as well die among the stars as anywhere. When the LST gets here, they’ll land and grid the planet. A mouse won’t escape attention.”
“Quite so. We leave at midday. I’m going back to my ship shortly. On my signal follow me. I have a plan.”
I choked back half a dozen snide remarks about plans; especially since I didn’t have one, “Lead on.”
We ate breakfast in silence. I felt a tremendous sense of impending doom. Boy, I was getting morose.
Marion departed for her ship. I went to make sure the inertia dampeners were working on Junior's deck. Otherwise he would be mashed when we lifted off, despite his great strength. I ran diagnostics on every circuit. All flowed properly. In the Habitat control room, I spoke the familiar morning greeting over the P A system. He’d become used to voices popping out of nowhere and answered saying, “Marion say go today?”
“Yes, we do. There’s danger, but we go.”
“Danger ever, stand here, sleep in mountains with long before elders when die, come back again, done before.”
“I’ll be back.”
He waved in the direction of the speakers and went back to rearranging the items in the Habitat. He spent a lot of time doing that. Maybe he was still thinking about our walk.
On the way to the Bridge, I wondered whether the simple of mind one's weren’t the lucky ones. I considered Marion’s contention and how it would affect us if it were true. I probably was on a level with Junior in comprehension, when I considered what the Galaxy wide power wielders were up to.
I sat in the Captains chair and put on my helmet.
“Jill here.”
“Marion ready. Submerge to ten meters from the bottom when you come out. I’ll set a random route to the South Pole. If their sensors can read underwater, we’ll appear like a school of fish.”
Chapter 27
Jill
Eight days later we stopped at a point seven hundred kilometers from the Geographic South Pole. The rest of the way was ice. We’d listened to the arrival of the LST. It had taken up a position in orbit, directly opposite around the planet, from the station. After twenty-four hours of attempting to hail us the Marines had gone down in their skimmers to search the planet. We had no way to know whether they were confronting the natives, or not. My knowledge of Marine SOP led me to think not. That would come later.
Marion’s ship stood off from me a distance of three hundred meters. We were holding a depth of 500 meters. I’d remarked to myself the first time I’d seen it how plain it looked. It resembled a ball, somewhat flattened. Nothing stuck out anywhere.
Marion’s voice came over the PA system as I’d laid my helmet aside to exercise, as well as I could without leaving the Bridge.
“Now comes the fun part. We’re going to attack the LST, then the station. Maybe by attacking from here we could fool the Cousin’s people into believing we’d had nothing to do with the natives. Maybe we’ll buy time to get to C/W Headquarters and find someone to listen to us. My people are singling out the right person.”
“I copy the attack plan, and about C/W HQ. But directly after the attack, what then?”
“Link up and jump.”
“Junior is not going to like jumping.”
“Who does? I’ve been in direct contact with him. He knows what to expect.”
I didn’t ask how. Maybe I didn’t want to know. Maybe I was overloaded on how my life had changed and wanted no more.
“Give me an hour. I’ll be ready.”
I spent my hour writing letters to my parents. I knew they wouldn’t get them. It was my way of saying goodbye to my past. They had expected so much of me, being an only child.
I resumed my perch in the Captains chair and commed my readiness.
Marion came back with, “Stick to me, with a kilometer stand off. Target the weapons and comm. arrays. Full acceleration, let’s go!”
We broke the water surface at 400 KMH. Then we accelerated to 7,000 KMH as we curved around the planet toward the LST. I pitied the radar operator who questioned the function of the equipment long enough for us to get into range. Automatic Defenses had lasers lined up but there is that split second warm up. We zipped around the LST like angry hornets taking out the navigation and comm arrays. When their lasers started, my reverse beam equipment reacted and sent enough of the beam back to melt the automatic turrets onto the hull. I had a split second to realize Marion’s ship appeared, and disappeared in no predictable trajectory. We picked off the hull mounted missile tubes before they could be fired.
Marion commed, “Station next.”
The station had noticed and met us with a missile barrage.
Marion commanded, “Get behind me.”
She projected a wall of energy before her, which deflected or destroyed most of the barrage. The missiles which survived my anti-missile defenses turned back toward us, the operators had to blow them for fear of them hitting the station. The Stations lasers weren’t effective either and were soon melted to slag. In the end, maybe two minutes, the station, which resembled a ball with a belt around it, was shorn as if it had been to a barbershop.
Marion called, “Follow me.” And sped for outer space. We were unchallenged.
Beyond the system’s fifth and last planet, we matched velocity and Marion extended various clamps from her ship to mine, one a walkway. She came aboard and headed straight for the maintenance station. After looking at stress dials, she said, “We’re clamped together securely. I’ll use my engines to power the jump. Stand by.”
That familiar disorientation, sick in stomach, formless, body less, feeling came over me and we were across the boundary to Negative Space. I stabilized and thought ‘we’d come out of it somewhere’. Marion didn’t appear bothered.
I was finishing my daily exercise routine when Marion’s voice came over the PA system.
“Meet me in the Mess. I have news.”
High damn time. It had been ten days since we left Bren. About time something happened. While it had been liberating to not be holed up in a cave anymore, it was no progress to be just sitting here in space.
I hauled my coveralls on and ran to the Mess. I noticed that Marion was her usual ‘ready for parade ground self'. How does she do it I thought, nothing ever out of place?
She had already poured me rum.
“Sit, drink. Through several intermediaries I have arranged a meeting with a Josua Bilik. He owns so many communication outlets on so many worlds; I doubt even he can count them. If public opinion can be rallied behind us, he can tell us how to do it. We’re to meet him, in a warehouse he owns in the old Exchange Complex near Wiltorne City.”
I knew the area. It contained a vast number of unused store houses.
I said, “When do we start?”
“Actually we’re already here. I’ve kept a screen around both our ships. You would have noticed otherwise that we were in the Wiltorne system. You wouldn’t have done anything impulsive, like calling your family, would you?”
This was one devious woman.
“I kept my comments to myself and just said, “Of course not, but it wouldn't have drawn any attention. With the new screens you installed, I doubt anyone would have caught me at it.”
Marion spouted off like an older sister, “The enemy doesn’t need to catch us, only lay a minefield in our path. That’s why we’re going to approach Wiltorne slowly. With us destroyed, they win. Then Junior and his kin will be a blip in the march of h
istory.”
I thought of Junior doing his daily routines, most likely to hold onto his self-image, “No matter how they came into being they deserve better.”
“Exactly. They deserve a chance to play out their hand.”
We moved in system to Wiltorne’s orbit cautiously, escaping notice as far as we could tell. Then we waited for Wiltorne City to rotate around to us, figuring we’d more likely escape notice that way. Marion said no one could detect us behind Ranger screens, but one never knew.
Wiltorne City reached us on schedule. The orbital warehouses arrived first. Marion convinced the automated landing system that we were a couple of transports with surface goods.
We landed about a kilometer from Josua Bilik’s warehouse. Leaving the ships on full power, we exited and began walking toward our meeting place.
We turned a corner and found the warehouse entrance directly in front of us.
I was doing my walk/wait/observe routine varying the pauses and I got lucky. Marion was just walking along as if out for a stroll. That’s when they hit us.
The blaster beam burned the air in front of me and I burned someone in a doorway about fifty meters away.
Marion wasn’t lucky. Another blast cut off both of her legs mid thigh. She got off a shot while falling but to no result that I could see.
I heard a voice in my helmet on the multi scanner saying, “I got the Ranger bitch! Cut her legs right off.”
I sprang to Marion catching her shoulder harness as I went by. Dragging her, I shot the nearest door away from in front of us as we went through. Marion wasn’t bleeding; the blaster beam had cauterized her stumps. I blazed through four more doors of an old administrative complex before stopping. Laying Marion gently on the floor and I turned to confront our attackers.
Waiting in an armored executive van at the far side warehouse meeting point, Josua Bilik heard his radio operator say, “Someone’s saying he shot the Ranger.” Josua screamed into his face microphone, “All units, all units, execute a 180, flank speed departure, now!”
I glanced at Marion, “We’ll make it out. They’re a bunch of amateurs, or else we’d be both dead already.”
“Probably, but I won’t make it. No don’t argue. You have to do what I say. Your life depends on it, and a planet. This is going to be Ground Zero in ten minutes, I’m carrying an Atomic”
She unbuckled her gun belt, grabbed my free hand, and pressed it to the belt while doing something inside the buckle.
“Take yours off. Put mine on. My automatics are twice as powerful as your Blaster. Shoot your way out of here. Get to the ships and off planet immediately.”
I put her belt on and mine around my neck. I felt a tingle all over like being slightly electrified.
“The belt has an anti-grav feature, among other things. You’ll know how to use it. Leave! Now!
She shrieked the last and I sprang down a corridor. When it didn’t go in my direction I blasted through walls, working in the ship’s direction. No one could have followed me but I heard noises just behind me. Must be a full Mech Strider. I dialed Marion’s automatics to High Explosive Penetrator and headed toward the Strider. Die, or live.
The din increased until it stood in front of me, four meters tall, mechanized arms tearing at the walls impeding its progress. I centered on its servomechanism flipped to full auto and held both triggers all the way back. The intensity of the explosive rounds surprised me. The Mech started for me after its initial hesitation. Whoever was inside wasn’t used to being opposed. It made two strides and froze, its box melted. For spite I put two rounds where the operators head should be. Turning, I sprinted along the corridors now going in my direction, the anti-grav making me almost weightless. I blasted through the last wall and the ships were fifty meters in front of me.
Movement to my right caught my eye--a group closing in-- and I turned toward them. I needn’t have bothered. Dozens of beams shot out from Marion’s ship at targets. After the screams, silence descended.
Harkness’s voice came from the ships loudspeakers. “Get aboard your ship. I’ll slave you once you’re in. Get to the Bridge as soon as you can. Move! Move!
I moved, disregarding for the moment that the dead were playing a hand also. The lock door opened, I dove through, and it shut behind me. The moment it sealed we blasted off. I was slammed against the deck, a true emergency blast off. Despite my strength, Marion’s belt, and the inertia dampeners I could barely crawl. I cycled through the inner lock and moved along the corridors, both arms on the safety bar, to the Bridge as fast as I could.
I took off my battle helmet and donned Marion’s pilot helmet. As I sank into the Captains chair, I felt a great weight ease. Harkness’s voice came through my comm. to me, “Do not, not, open your aft viewers. Ready weapons. We have potential interceptors.”
I felt a rage like I’d never felt before. I wanted to kill all of them. I switched on weapons with a thought, and sure enough, people were trying to get between outer space and us. I targeted a ship and was about to launch missiles when a flickering light touched it and it exploded. I don’t know what was chasing us from below but it would sure have to be fast to catch up. I glanced at the dial mentally, 57,000 KMH and climbing steadily. I forgot about someone catching up and concentrated on overhead. Three more ships tried to block our exit, same result, flickering light, and explosions. I could only think that there were more Ranger ships here.
Someone must have decided to quit loosing ships, as nothing else appeared. The orbital Forts sent a missile barrage in our direction but they ran into some kind of a wall and exploded.
We jumped into N Space as soon as we cleared the systems matrix and were gone.
I called to Harkness wanting to strangle him at least, “Why didn’t Marion try to get off the planet? We could have brought her back to the ship?”
“Whenever a Ranger is severely wounded, or killed, an internal count down starts. Marion couldn’t do anything but dial it down from a hundred, to a five-kiloton blast. It’s neutron encased so it still takes out a thirty kilometer area as far as people are concerned.”
“She was a bomb?”
“She’s a lot of things. But in the end she was also a bomb. That’s why those with long memories made laws about Rangers never being hindered from doing their jobs.
“I’ll be damned, never knew.” That knowledge seemed to take the pressure out of me
“Few do.”
“What now? We can’t go back to Wiltorne, maybe Bilik has influence elsewhere.”
“True, don’t count Bilik out. Marion and I discussed this probable scenario. You and I are going to do something even most Rangers dimly remember.”
“What’s that?”
“If you knew, you would just worry too much. I’ll explain as we go along. And thanks for your concern.”
“Not fair. But I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in person.”
“That will keep. The Mission! For starters, we need a young sun.”
“Young sun? You’re crazy! Young suns are near the center of the universe. Hell, why not, let’s find one.”
We searched for over two months jumping around in the inner galaxies before we found a sun, Harkness’s sun. We parked our ships far out from the sun in question because it was still giving off planet sized balls of plasma. Some might eventually form into planets. Harkness tried to interest me in the variables. I told him I would rather study fly specs. He took it literally and actually scanned my ship for flies. Boy, he was turning stranger and stranger.
His final instructions before heading in system were concise.
“Wait four months from today. If we don’t return, you’re on your own. I’d suggest turning to Bilik. The frequencies he monitors are in your computer.”
I interrupted, “What’s this we stuff?”
He ignored my question.
“If we come back, you’ll be a very important step in the process. If we don’t succeed, I’ve put a time delay explanation in your
logs system. Just continue your routine with Junior. Only don’t forget, he’s a savage. Don’t let your guard down.”
“I know. I’ll keep him in his belt, and maybe establish a fail-safe if it’s necessary.”
“Fine, I’m off.” Marion’s ship shimmered and was gone.
Months passed and Junior and I became closer. My guilt evaporated as I learned how his lifetimes spanned some two hundred plus years, most of which he remembered. His remembering was all the more remarkable since he had so little variance in his daily life. I tested his location ability on a galactic level and when he understood the map system he pinpointed the sun where we were parked. I couldn’t account for it. Maybe the gift just happened, as they grew older.
I learned his language for use in the best plan I could come up with on my own. If Harkness didn’t return I figured to jump back to our region of space. Then I would find an arms merchant, buy enough gear for an army, or what the ship would hold. Cousin had left enough money and precious gems around. Maybe Cousin had had a secret agenda. I’d never know. I planned to shoot him on sight if I ever got the opportunity.
Once armed I’d try to land on Bren unnoticed, recruit an army and wait for the invaders, providing they weren’t already there, amid trying to keep the Brenesi safe from Bio/Chem warfare. Not much of a plan, and I’d probably die short of its implementation but it was the only plan I had.
Chapter 28
Jill
Two weeks short of the four-month mark, I was planning jump points in the Nav room when my long-range sensors chimed. I switched on the screen and there it was, a ball of blackness moving toward my location. No mistaking it against the background of the usually sparkling show the sun gave off.
Over the next week I watched it grow in size. It was coming directly from the sun towards me. Jumping out of the system occurred to me but it went against my grain. No, I’d stand fast.
Greener Green I: Where Does the Circle Begin Page 19