"As long as they can follow orders, Raemond," said Erion. "A disorganised rabble will only get themselves killed." Rigondal stepped forward, her head held high.
"But they'll die with honour." Erion sighed and looked skyward and it was left to Raan to speak. He didn't address the Princess, but spoke to Raemond.
"This is the stupid kind of talk that's going to get us all killed, Rae," he said softly. "I know she's your Princess, but it's you the men look to. I need to know that you'll work with us here."
"What do you mean?" asked Raemond, although he had already guessed the answer.
"We need a good Lieutenant in the field. Someone who we can trust to carry out orders without going all out for glory. We won't be here comes the time for action so it'll be up to you. Thing is," Raan took a dramatic suck on his cigarillo and blew the smoke out slowly, "Can you do it?"
"Sure," began Raemond, but Raan held up his hand to stem the words.
"Can you do it even if your Princess here has other ideas?" Rigondal opened her mouth to speak but Raemond glared her into silence.
"Yes, I'll do what I have to. And so will she."
"Good," gritted Raan, "because we don't want anyone dying with honour here. We don't want anyone dying at all, but we know that isn't going to happen. Now you have to remember that this is your only hope of getting away from the Federation." He threw Rigondal a hard look. "Right now I don't thing either of you are up to it and I don't like the idea of trusting my life to a couple of stupid kids."
"I said you could rely on us, Captain," said Raemond firmly. "I'll make sure your orders are carried out."
"Good," said Erion, "Then we won't have anyone questioning my orders or saying stupid things about dying with honour." Her point made, Erion continued. "Now, I want three small strike teams. I'll lead one; try and cause as much hassle as I can inside the palace; Raemond, you'll pose as Del and lead another to destroy as many ground weapons as you can outside in the palace compound; Raan, you'll go back to Pinnacle Point and take out the Port Com building. They're using that to channel all their communications so an attack there should slow them down."
"I'll get some men together," said Raemond, eagerly.
"Tell them to get some rest first," said Erion. "Ask for your volunteers, but don't tell them anything about the targets just yet. Tell them to ready themselves for some more raiding and leave it at that."
"Yes, Major." Raemond and Rigondal left the room and Erion sighed heavily.
"I wish Starfire and Hal were here."
"I know what you mean," Raan went back to looking at the plans of the Palace and Town. "Hal might have been damn irritating at times but he was good in a fight." He sighed and looked up from the console. "And Starfire . . . ." Raan shook his head sadly. "Do you think you can ever get used to losing comrades?"
"The day you start to do that is the day you turn into Rimek," said Erion with a wry smile. High above them, on the top of the pillar, Tomas raised his ear from the ground, knuckled the tears from his eyes and firmed his jaw.
"So, you can't risk your mission for just one man, Major!" he hissed. "Well, let's see what Prince Farrell has to say about that. I think he will gladly give my brother medical attention in exchange for the information I have."
Chapter 17
"This is Norbus Alpha Port Control. Please relinquish control of your craft for automated landing." Delta Ten lifted his hands from the landing controls and placed them in his lap. The small craft glided gently downward on a fixed beam, the clouds parted and tiny boxes below gradually turned into buildings as they approached. It was dawn and the sun cast an orange glow over the domes and rooftops of the Norbus Alpha Starport. The main control tower stood taller than the other buildings and a rotating green navigation light flickered on and off as they passed over it. The shuttle flew over the civilian spaceport and touched down with a slight jolt in the military compound, the grey concrete and metallic buildings making a stark contrast to the white and glass of the public buildings.
An honour guard of six troopers rushed towards them, standing three abreast at the foot of the ramp as it lowered. Thirty Seven left the shuttle first, followed by Hal and Starfire, who still wore their thick, sturdy wrist binders, and finally by Delta Ten. As Thirty Seven's feet clanked down the ramp, the guard shouldered their laser rifles and stood smartly to attention, shouldering their rifles with well practiced moves in perfect unison. Thirty Seven walked straight past them without acknowledgement and strode purposely towards the largest building in the courtyard. Hal and Starfire shuffled behind him, now linked together by a thick chain and prodded onward by Delta Ten.
"Refuel the Commissioner's ship immediately," he addressed the last guard on his right.
"Yes, sir." The guard spoke hurriedly into his wrist link and a fuel tanker started its way across the compound before they had reached the main building. The doors swished aside and they entered a spacious, well lit room. An arrogant General with dark, slicked back copper hair and pale amber eyes strode towards Thirty Seven and saluted. He had small, weak features and he studied Hal and Starfire as though they were stray dogs that had messed on his carpet.
"Welcome back to our facility, Commissioner. I thought you were not returning here for two more cycles."
"I had no idea that I should have cleared my plans with you," Thirty Seven droned on in Rimek's metallic tones. "I shall apologise to High Commander Roland for my oversight."
"Oh, no, Sir... I didn't mean.... I was only making conversation, Sir." All the pomposity oozed out of the general as he walked hurriedly at Thirty Seven's side. They reached the semi circular desk and the smart young woman who sat behind it in the uniform of an Ensign, stood to attention as Thirty Seven approached.
"I shall be leaving for Auria in six hours," droned Thirty Seven. "I require a room with a computer terminal and rest facilities for my aide, Captain Ryden. These prisoners must be placed in a holding pen. I want you to attend to it personally," he leaned forward slightly so that he could read her i.d. badge, "Ensign Mear."
"Yes, Sir." She snapped to a brace and saluted.
"Do not process these prisoners or give them food or medical attention. They are en route to High Commander Roland and he will want to interrogate them himself." He loomed above the young woman, who swallowed and ran the tip of her tongue around her lips as Thirty Seven bent at the neck and looked down at her. "I may wish to pay them a visit later." He swivelled his black metal head around to stare directly at Starfire and his eyes glowed deep red. She stepped hurriedly backward until she was stopped by Hal's body and looked terrified.
"Yes, Sir." Ensign Mear's voice was almost a whisper as her imagination did all the rest.
"Do not allow anyone else access to them and make no attempt to communicate with them. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir." The young woman beckoned two burly guards, who came forward and grasped Hal and Starfire by their upper arms and followed the young woman to a door set into the wall behind her desk. It whooshed open as she slid a thin metal card through a slot on the wall nearby to reveal a long, white corridor with several doors along each side. Starfire and Hal stumbled along in the grasp of the guards with Thirty Seven, Delta Ten and the General walking behind them. At the first junction, Thirty Seven and Del carried straight on, with General Colfax, chatting amiably. Ensign Mear, the guards and their prisoners turned right through a set of grey, metal, automatic doors.
The floor here was bare of carpet and painted gun metal grey. The walls were white half way up with a thin red stripe and then the same dark grey as the floor. The area smelled of damp concrete and dirty oil with dim bulkhead lighting providing the only illumination. It grew colder the further down they went and Hal and Starfire began to shiver as they wore no outside clothing. They turned left down another corridor and came to a circular area. There was a small podium in the centre and as they approached it, a silver, one metre high, cigar shaped robot rose from it and spoke to them.
"I am rob
o twelve. You are about to enter a secure area. Please state your business and confirm your i.d." Several glowing red eyes on its upper body flashed in synchronisation with its low, tinny voice, which seemed to come from a small, oblong grille near the top of it.
"I am Ensign Mear." The young woman unclipped her i.d. badge and handed it to the robot. It extended a long, thin arm and Starfire was put in mind of a spider as it took the card in a pincer grip and placed it into a slot on the console in front of it."
"Step forward and place your hand on the circle." Ensign Mear stood in front of the robot, which raised itself until its glowing red eyes were level with her face. A red beam emitted from it and scanned her head while she pressed her palm against the stylised drawing of a hand on the front of the podium. "Your identification has been conformed, Ensign Mear. What is your purpose here?"
"I have two prisoners for short term confinement." Hal and Starfire were hustled forward to stand in front of the machine. Hal kept his breathing low and shallow and Starfire blurted,
"He's hurt! He needs medical attention." The robot left its podium, approached Hal and the red beam criss-crossed over his body.
"This Terrellian is damaged. It requires remedial surgery. There is a facility here for that purpose."
"No!" Ensign Mear looked straight ahead, avoiding the gaze of the two guards. She was no stranger to the harsh ways of the Galactic Police, but refusing medical attention to an injured prisoner seemed a bit much, even for them. "My orders are that they should be placed in confinement without food or water. They will be collected within a few hours for the remainder of their journey."
"I will process them immediately."
"They are not to be processed through the system." Mear leaned forward and placed her mouth close to one of the little circular grilles on the robot's head. "I know who they are; you know who they are, but as far as you are concerned, they have no names or classification. When they leave, you will erase all records of their visit here. Is that understood?"
"It is understood perfectly, Ensign Mear."
"Very well," began the young woman. "You have your orders; carry them out." She turned to face the two grinning guards. "These prisoners are on route to the High Commander himself." Two grins slowly subsided. "You understand what this means, don't you? They are not to be injured further. Just put them in the nearest cell and leave them there. I will call you when they are to be returned to Commissioner Rimek."
"Do you wish me to search them or post a guard?" asked the robot. Ensign Mear stared at a bruised and bloodied Hal, who looked as if every breath was painful and then at Starfire, similarly battered, who trembled slightly in her guard's grasp."
"No, they've already been searched and they can hardly stand as it is. I can't see them heading up an escape group, can you? Leave their wrist binders on though. The Commissioner may be returning to question the prisoners later."
"Right, Sir." The guard holding Hal unclipped the chain that linked his binders to Starfire's, guided him forward and spoke to the robot. "Open the nearest vacant cell. Come on, Terrellian." He half dragged Hal down one of the corridors that led away from the central hall and pushed him inside a small, metal room. Starfire was bundled in after him and the door slid silently shut.
As soon as they were alone, Hal and Starfire walked to the door and listened to the fading footsteps. All traces of fatigue and pain vanished from their faces and Hal nodded grimly as silence descended. Making sure his back was towards the camera, high up in the corner of the cell, he raised his bound wrists and Starfire triggered a hidden switch. The binders looked thick and heavy, but were actually hollow and Hal carefully removed them, handing them to Starfire. He pressed a panel in the centre bar of the binders opened to reveal a small, glass box. Hal turned slowly, activated it and life sized holographic images of Hal and Starfire appeared. Not knowing if there would be a bunk in their cell, they had pre-recorded themselves sitting on a floor, leaning against a wall. Hal quickly placed the box on the floor and positioned it with his foot until it was lined up correctly with the cell wall.
He joined Starfire, who had removed a similar device from her cuffs and erected a force wall, which effectively hid them from view of the camera. If their cell was checked, it would look like the two of them had slid to the floor to lean against the wall and sleep. The power would last for two hours; more than enough time for them to accomplish their task.
"How are we doing for time?" asked Hal as he squatted on the floor in the corner of their cell, taking the wrist binders apart.
"Three hours to go," she answered, still listening at the door. Hal worked quickly and it wasn't long before he stood back and gave Starfire a brief grin. He passed her the deactivated hilt of her own laser dagger and she took it gratefully. She wore a beaded leather thong around her neck and dropped the hilt into the pouch at the front, then twisted it round until the hilt hung at the back of her neck, under her hair where it couldn't be seen.
"How are you doing?" she asked, clearly relieved to have a weapon at her disposal. Hal answered her by brandishing a small hand laser, which he thrust into his waist band. He picked up another part of the binders, placed it over the door locking mechanism and activated it. Lights glowed and it emitted a high pitched whine, then the door slid open, just enough for them to squeeze through. Hal cautiously poked his head out and glanced both ways down the corridor. It was empty. He ducked back into the cell and removed the box from the lock.
"All clear," he murmured softly. "Come on." Once outside, Hal pressed the manual close button on their cell door and it slid shut. He waved the metal box about, clearing scanning for some sort of signal. "This way," he grunted, and they set off away from the central hall and the robot guard, which gently hummed on its podium, unaware that its prisoners had escaped.
Half a mile away on the other side of the complex, Delta Ten and Thirty Seven stood beside General Colfax, looking down on one of the subterranean cargo bays from a gantry high above its floor. Workers scurried about far below them, conscious of their Commissioner watching them, but hesitant to look up in his direction in case it drew his attention upon them.
"How long will it take to get the weapon airborne?" droned Thirty Seven in his guise of Rimek.
"If we had known you were coming, Commissioner, we would have had the Planet Killer waiting in orbit for you..."
"How long?"
"Two hours at least, Sir." The General looked as if he was trying to swallow something that had stuck in his throat." Thirty Seven swivelled his black, ovoid head and tilted it at the neck to look down on the sweating General.
"I will expect the launch to take place in less than ninety minutes," he droned. Thirty Seven had been painted with a shiny, black metal head, glowing red eye sockets and a round, black hole for a mouth. Apart from looking like every child's nightmare, he could portray no visual emotions, but his monotone metallic voice seemed to carry with it subtle undertones of menace and the General swallowed with difficulty again.
"Of course, Commissioner. We shall make every effort to be ready. May I have your permission to lead the team?"
"Do whatever is necessary to carry out my orders," answered Thirty Seven. "I will retire to my quarters. Have someone guide us to them."
"Certainly Sir. General Colfax turned smartly and marched to the lift doors showing none of the relief that he felt to be leaving Rimek's company. He sent back a young tech, who approached them and spoke in a shaky, high pitched voice to Delta Ten.
"General Colfax has asked me to show you to your rooms," he began. "Please follow me."
"Lead on," ordered Delta Ten, who barred his teeth and twisted his mouth into what he thought was a polite smile but in fact looked like the grin of a skull. Instead of calming the young man, all this achieved was to push him further into a state of terror and he rushed forward, pointing out things of interest like a possessed tour guide. Delta Ten and Thirty Seven exchanged looks and quickened their pace to keep up with the lad, who wa
s about to hurtle down another corridor when Delta Ten barred his way with an out flung arm.
"Give me the location of our rooms. We have visited this base before and we will find our own way. We have no wish to detain you from your duties." The young man paled,
"If I have done anything wrong..."
"You have been most efficient," put in Thirty Seven. Give us the location of our suite."
"Its room 24 Beta, on the second floor. Go to the main reception hub and follow Beta corridor. The doors will open at your voice command, Sir."
"Very well. Please ensure that General Colfax alerts me the second my weapon is ready for lift off."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." The young man saluted, turned smartly and almost fell before lurching off towards the hangar.
"Do you think our location is being tracked, Captain Ryden?" Thirty Seven continued walking at a brisk pace.
"Impossible to be certain, Commissioner," answered Delta Ten. "However, I would recommend that we visit the rooms. Once inside, I doubt that the base personnel would dare to use surveillance devises on you, Commissioner."
"That is what I thought, Captain." They continued to walk briskly along the corridors, seemingly oblivious to the worried glances thrown their way by the base personnel, until they reached their designated quarters and walked inside. While Delta Ten checked the apartment for listening devices, Thirty Seven opened a compartment in his upper leg and removed a small, closed circuit communicator. As soon as Delta Ten informed him that they were not under surveillance, he turned on the device.
"This is Mother to Little Dragon, come in, please." Almost immediately, they heard Starfire's voice.
"Little Dragon to Mother, we are on route to the big cave. Can you guide us?"
"I have sent the relevant co-ordinates to your locater, Little Dragon. Have you received them?" asked Thirty Seven.
"Affirmative, Mother. What's our timescale?"
Starfire and The Planet Killer Page 19