The last thing Jarneux saw was what appeared to be a satisfied glint in the red eyes. Then he realized that it was his own reflection he was seeing, and that it was wide-eyed and screaming.
***
Sarah watched the men below as they entered the first structure. It was covered by a roof, so she tensed when the two-man team entered.
As she watched, her COM system sprang to life and the voice of the French colonel burst through her speakers in her helmet. She jumped at the loudness of the transmission.
“Did you understand that?” she asked, turning to face General Kwan and Will Mendenhall.
“Something about an attack,” Will said, as he turned and looked to the north, where they had left the first team. “Think it’s the Russians?” he asked.
“No, the Russians are a day out. And besides, they’re a part of the Arizona treaty and are acceptable to Case Blue. And-”
The two men-Mendenhall and Kwan-looked at Sarah when she stopped talking. She bit her lip, knowing she had said too much, but that was something she would have to answer for later. Right now she knew she had an unseen problem on her hands.
“You men, cover the north. We may have an unknown element breaking through the first team perimeter.”
Sarah swallowed as she watched the men covering the crater floor bring their weapons to bear in the direction of the crashed warship. Will Mendenhall rechecked his kinetic weapon and watched with wide eyes. The general went to one knee and aimed his own shorter version of the same rifle at a spot that covered the top of the small ridgeline.
“All of a sudden this place has gotten damn crowded. Who else could be here on the Moon that we don’t know about?” Mendenhall asked.
Sarah was breathing way too hard. She had to force herself to calm down as she scanned the area to the north.
“Do you feel it?” she asked, without looking at the two men on either side of her.
“Yes, something is coming this way,” Kwan said as he sighted his weapon.
“Jesus, what is it?” Will asked. He too went to one knee for a steadier aim.
As they all watched, the advance team inside the crater babbled excitedly about something, but no one was listening. Sarah moved her weight from one foot to the other as she strained her eyes to see what was coming at them. That was when the first few ESA team members broke from the ridge, bounding and hopping, using the light gravity to speed away from something. Sarah counted only three, plus one straggler.
“Jesus,” she mumbled.
“Easy men, easy,” General Kwan said. “Aim carefully and cover these men.”
As they watched the men scramble toward them they all froze. That was when the first of the three giants made its appearance. Several of the men who were supposed to be covering the retreating ESA men stood and lowered their weapons when they saw what was chasing the men.
“Remain in your positions!” Kwan called out.
The mechanical giants stopped and surveyed the situation along the rim of the crater. They seemed to be scanning for threats. The general saw what amounted to giant Erector Sets standing and looking down on the smaller humans they confronted.
The first of the ESA men stumbled and fell three feet in front of Sarah, Mendenhall, and Kwan. She stepped forward and pulled the man encased in his bulky suit upward.
“Where’s Captain Jarneux?” she asked.
“Dead. We’re all that’s left. These things came from the wreckage near the downed craft. They’re killers.”
Sarah pushed the man to the side just as General Kwan opened fire from his kneeling position. Sarah flinched as the first kinetic rounds left the barrels of several men at once. The hardened rounds struck the metal monsters in several places and the men who fired saw their spiked bulletlike bolts bounce off, causing no discernible damage.
“We may be outgunned here,” Will said. He fired a burst of three rounds toward the head of the leading robot. The rounds struck, forcing the giant’s head back. It shook off the assault and started forward again, with the other two also moving.
As General Kwan and the others opened up with a withering fire at the oncoming assault, Sarah reached took the general by the shoulder. He finally looked at her.
“I think we’d better get to cover,” she said.
The general looked around and saw that there was only one place to go.
“Yes, that is a good suggestion, Lieutenant,” Kwan answered, and turned Sarah around to face the open crater of Shackleton. “Lead the way.”
Sarah didn’t hesitate, nor did she take one of the dangling ropes. She hopped into the crater and started sliding down its steep incline, falling faster and faster as the others started sliding down the edges behind her.
Will Mendenhall and General Kwan continued to fire their kinetic rounds at the three brutes coming straight at them on a run. When they saw that no damage was being inflicted, they turned and leaped into the dark void of the crater.
After several commands were shouted through their COM systems, the ground team looked up and saw a terrifying sight. They had progressed down the dangerous and very steep slope being cautious for safety reasons, but now they were witnessing a full-fledged retreat from the crater’s rim. Men in bulky suits were sliding on their backs and even a few on their stomachs. Some were in danger of ripping the vital life-sustaining material of their suits as they crashed, crawled, and hopped down the crater’s side. The men had started running from the confined spaces of the bunkers when they all came to a dead stop as the first of the giant robots made its appearance at the rim. The men froze as they saw for the first time what had forced the men to flee.
The men were in desperate flight to get to cover as the first of the three robots jumped into the crater. It didn’t hit the slope on its way down. It landed on Shackleton’s floor well ahead of the retreating astronauts.
17
GALLERY NUMBER TWO, MUELLER AND SANTIAGO MINING CONCERN, 100 MILES
EAST OF QUITO
The mine forces learned the hard way that they had failed to destroy one of the mortar tubes. Jack, Everett, Sebastian, and the scientists ran from the blockhouse into a murderous crossfire. An erratic defense had been mounted, but Jack was sure that whoever was firing on them was going to concentrate on one pocket of resistance at a time.
“I don’t see ’em, Jack,” Everett called out. He dared to raise his head. Just as he ducked back, a series of bullets stitched the hardened lava of the ridge, sending chips flying in all directions.
Collins turned slightly to make sure the five scientists were keeping low. He knew he had to get them away from the German blockhouse, which was an easy target for the mortar team.
“Well, we sure as hell can’t stay here. Whoever it is has the advantage of an elevated position,” Jack said. He rose and fired toward the sound of the mortar tube discharging. He ducked back. “Sebastian, we have to get a fire team organized and do it fast.”
“I have men over in the next series of buildings, assuming they’re still alive.”
Before Jack could say more, the German commando turned and ran to the right in search of men he could corral.
“Mr. Everett, we have to ditch these guys,” Jack said, nodding toward Niles and the others.
Charlie Ellenshaw crawled forward with his M-16 and looked straight at Jack.
“I heard that, Colonel. You’re not leaving me with these guys.”
“Yes I am, Charlie. You’re going to keep them together and defend them with your little gun-that’s an order.”
Ellenshaw frowned and then ducked his head when gunfire erupted, closer than before.
“Whoever these assholes are, they’re aggressive,” Everett said. He popped up and returned fire. “Charlie, get your ass back to Niles. Get them to the far side of the blockhouse and hunker down low along the strongest part-that would be its base. Do not go inside,” Everett said. “We’ll cover you the best we can.”
Ellenshaw finally nodded.
“Rea
dy, Jack?” Everett shouted.
Collins nodded.
As one, Jack and Carl rose up and started firing. To their shock they saw ten men running at them, firing their weapons. They had gotten far closer than either man realized before they made up their makeshift plan for getting Niles and the others to safety. Jack knew immediately that their attackers would be on them soon. Still, he and Carl placed a withering fire on the ten men as they zigzagged through the ancient colony buildings. As Everett’s M-16 hammered on an empty receiver, Collins knew that was it. As he aimed at the five men who were only six feet from their hidden position, three of them fell almost immediately. Not waiting for another miracle, Jack opened up on the last two. He missed the second as the man screamed and made the last push for their position. As Collins aimed, the man suddenly straightened and fell to the left, unmoving. Jack turned and slid back down under cover.
“Damn, that guy is downright handy,” Everett said, slamming another thirty-round magazine into his weapon.
Collins looked around and saw Vietnamese Private Tram as he quickly slipped another magazine into the old M-14. He looked around and pointed at Jack and Everett, then moved to another position.
“Yeah, I’d pick him for my kickball team any day,” Jack said, as a mortar round landed fifty yards to their front.
“These guys are serious, Jack,” Carl said, joining them.
The gallery became deathly silent except for the men firing sporadically from various defensive positions. Soon even these shooters stopped and listened.
“Colonel Collins, I assume I have your attention.”
Jack looked over at Carl and raised his brows.
“If it’s the cops, I’m going to be seriously pissed off,” he said, trying his best to figure out who was speaking through the bullhorn. The voice echoed off the giant cavern walls that housed the buried colony.
“You could have called me on your cell phone if that’s all you wanted,” Collins yelled, at the same time looking to make sure that Ellenshaw had the others hidden as best he could. Then he silently cursed as he saw the scientists do exactly what he had ordered them not to do-turn and enter the blockhouse once more. “You know, after this we’re going to have to get a new director, because I’m going to kill this one!”
Everett turned and saw what Jack was talking about. He cursed as well.
“Colonel, a few well-chosen words and a small exchange, and then we will leave you to your task here. We wish you well in your endeavors.”
“What the hell is this?” Everett whispered.
“You have the stage, for the moment at least,” Collins called out over the lip of the ancient lava flow.
“We want a few items from that blockhouse, and then we will leave you to do your country’s dirty business.”
“What could be in there that you would want?”
“Colonel, I have heard of you, and because of your duty in Iraq and Afghanistan you have most assuredly heard of me. I am Azim Quaida.”
Jack looked at Everett and shook his head. Carl also knew the name also knew that the man speaking was a formidable commander of men-especially when he didn’t care who lived or died.
“I thought you had turned to the money end of your business,” Jack called out. “Made crazy new friends in California-good, honest, hardworking church folk.”
“Ah, the Reverend Rawlins. He and I had a small falling-out. As did I and an old friend of yours. You can say I saved you the trouble of tracking down and killing James McCabe.”
Jack took a deep breath and hoped that Sebastian was utilizing this break to get a fix on the mortar.
“Okay, for that I’m grateful, enough so that if you turn around and leave right now, I promise that we’ll finish our business another day. What do you say, Mechanic?”
There was a momentary silence as Jack’s insult sank into the Saudi’s thoughts.
“Colonel, to show you I have more cards than you do in this game, I have someone who would like to speak to you.”
Jack closed his eyes and cursed himself. He knew without thinking what the Mechanic was referring to.
“Jack, if you trade me for anything in this gallery, I’ll shoot you myself!”
“Damn it,” Collins said. He finally looked up at Everett, who slid down the lava wall next to the colonel as he recognized Alice’s voice.
“This is a brave if difficult woman, Colonel. It would be a shame for her to die this day. Even though she is a woman who needs to be beaten on a regular basis, I’m sure she’s dear to someone. Come and take this black-hearted woman from my hands.”
“That son of a bitch doesn’t know the half of it,” Jack said, Alice being one of the most difficult women he had ever known. He closed his eyes to think. He partially raised his head and found Tram. He signaled to the sniper by raising his chin in a quick motion. Tram knew immediately what the colonel wanted to know. The small private shook his head, telling Jack that he did not have a shot. Collins turned back.
“The senator, is he alive?” Jack asked, fighting for time on Sebastian’s behalf.
There was no answer.
“Damn it, Sebastian, find them,” he said beneath his breath.
“Colonel, no more talk. I see your rather large friend, who I recognize from Germany. Tell him to stop or you can collect Mrs. Hamilton at the bottom of this rise.”
Jack assumed Sebastian had heard.
“All right, what do you want?”
“Just five of the weapons inside the blockhouse. Then you can have Mrs. Hamilton and we’ll leave. That is as simple as it can get, Colonel.”
“Deal.”
Everett looked at Jack and slowly nodded his head. It was an exchange that was well worth it.
“Good, Colonel, good. Now I am going to send Mrs. Hamilton out in five minutes with a transponder beacon and a tracking locator. If the exchange is interfered with I will have the woman pinpointed by mortar fire. You will not find enough of her to bury.” The echo rebounded several times.
“Okay, five minutes. I will be making the exchange.”
Suddenly the strange vibration started again. None of them noticed as Collins rose and ran to the blockhouse, followed by Everett and Tram. As they entered, Jack saw the five scientists working frantically around the table.
There was a line connecting the weapon to Europa.
“I’ll speak to all of you later about the dangers of not following a field commander’s orders.”
Niles looked up with sweat running down his face. He fixed Jack with his thick glasses and nodded his head to indicate that he understood. He watched as the colonel removed five of the light weapons from the rack.
“I heard. Get Alice back, Jack, and hopefully we can have you some help soon,” Niles said. He bent back over the large tabletop just as Appleby cursed and slammed a pair of needle-nosed pliers against the wall.
“Jack, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that damn vibration has started again,” Pete said. “Europa says that it’s not geological. There’s a mechanical pattern.”
Collins nodded. His arms full of alien weaponry, he dashed through the door.
As Collins and Everett stepped out from the side of the blockhouse, the earth trembled.
“Okay, what now?” Everett asked.
That was when the roof of the giant cavern opened.
Two copper capsules fell into the center of the long dead colony.
The civil war that began more than 700 million years before was about to conclude.
***
Garrison Lee stumbled and almost fell as he entered Gallery Two. He heard the detonations of the mortar rounds and knew the men who had taken Alice were somewhere on the high rubble ahead of him. He also knew that the men had spread out in a semicircle and were laying down a withering fire on Jack and his men.
As he tried to catch his breath, Lee felt dizzy and started coughing. He could feel the stickiness of his own blood when he placed his hand over his mouth. He began to feel bette
r after the coughing spell had ended. He removed the old fedora and wiped the sweat from his brow. The Ingram submachine gun was feeling quite a bit heavier than it had only minutes before. As he looked around at the hanging lights in the high-ceilinged gallery, the shooting and explosions finally stopped. He leaned against the rubble and listened, placing his hat back on his head. There was someone speaking through a bullhorn, but try as he might he couldn’t catch the words. The echo confused them and bounced them around the chamber.
Lee looked up toward the upper reaches of the rubble and saw that it would be impossible for him to climb. He shook his head in frustration and cursed his failing body. Alice was up on the precipice and there was nothing he could do about it. Garrison checked the thirty-round magazine in the Ingram for the fourth time and made a decision. He placed one boot on the rubble and carefully moved the other next to it. He felt the rubble, formed by an explosion seventy years before, shift under his weight, but still he persisted in moving his right foot up. The rocks and rubble gave way and he fell to his knees. He lay down and tried to catch his breath, finally rolling to one side and placing the Ingram’s strap over his shoulder. He rested once more and rolled onto his stomach, then forced his knees up and under him. He felt the sharp stones tear away his skin through his pants, but still he pushed.
He glanced upward with his lone eye and saw shadows moving underneath the high hanging lights. Then he heard the bullhorn again. This spurred him forward. Lee set his mouth in a straight line and cursed his dying body one more time, but still he climbed. For every five steps he managed, he would slip back three, but he had never been as determined in his life to overcome the obstacles ahead to get to Alice. She would not be joining him in that final adventure he knew he was going to take that day.
Garrison Lee dug his heels in the mountain of rubble and climbed.
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