Ice and Peace

by Clare Dargin

  The thing gave a hoarse laugh. “It’s too late.” She moved closer to Rimmer.

  Doctor Bishop lurched toward Doctor Rimmer, but Caitlin stepped between them. “No. Don’t.”

  The young woman warned, “She’ll be dead before I go down.”

  Caitlin drew in a deep breath and gestured for the soldiers opposite her to move away from the trapped spy and to lower their weapons. “I know. Just let her go, and you can leave unharmed.”

  Releasing her captive, the young woman made her way down the corridor, pointing her gun at them as she passed.

  Her team raised their weapons. Bishop rushed to Rimmer’s side.

  “Hold your fire,” Caitlin shouted.

  “Chief, what’s going on?” Jesswan stood next to her.

  She watched the young woman disappear around the corner. “Don’t worry. She won’t get far.”

  ***

  “What the hell’s going on here?” Hollis asked, entering the infirmary.

  “The spy escaped,” Bishop said with frustration.

  “How did that happen?” Keegan rushed in.

  Caitlin swallowed hard. “I let her go,” she said calmly.

  “What?” Keegan approached her.

  “It was the only way.” She looked him square in the eye. “I need you to trust me on this.”

  “Colonel.” Doctor Rimmer stood from her seat, looking tired. Her disheveled silver hair gave only a hint of the hell she had just gone through. “She saved my life.”

  “You’re okay?”

  “Yes. Surprisingly enough, she just let me go.”

  “We’re not being fired upon,” Caitlin added. No doubt she’d have to pay the consequences of letting the thing get away, but why couldn’t her husband see that the doctor’s safety had come first?

  “All right, what do you suggest?” Keegan glared.

  “We go get her. This time on our terms.”

  “Why? What’s the point? Doctor Rimmer is here,” Bishop asked.

  Keegan shook his head. “She’s been on the ship for God knows how long. And she’s had access to valuable information. We don’t know what she has on her person.”

  “We cracked some of the code on that cipher. It also transmitted information, signals, codes, things we don’t want falling into their hands.”

  Hollis called into conn. “Tracking, this is Hollis.”

  “Tracking.”

  “Are you tracking the pod?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Where’s it headed?”

  “Toward the planet Sira.”

  They all stared at each other, surprise registering on each of their faces. Why Sira? The planet had been lifeless for centuries.

  Hollis clicked her com again. “Keep us posted.”

  “Aye, aye ma’am.”

  “At least we know where she’s headed.”

  Caitlin smiled. “They’re gonna have to pick her up. I say we get to her before they do.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “We scanned the planet. It’s completely frozen and desolate. So far it shows no native life forms, so it’ll be easy to track her,” Keegan said to the team of cryos as they geared up for the mission. “Based on coordinates of the pod’s landing site, there are no geologic formations and a blizzard is coming, so you’ll have no cover. Take your survival gear. We’ll get you as close to the pod as possible. But if she’s on foot, there’s no telling where she could be. With this weather, you’ll have about ten feet of visibility, radio communication will be weak at best in this climate, so when you call, make sure you’re ready to come home. We’ll keep them off your back and make sure none of her friends try to help her out. Until then you know what to do.”

  “Yes, sir,” they responded and filed out the room. Caitlin followed.

  “Where are you going?” Keegan asked, pulling her aside.

  “With them. They’ve never done this before. And this mission is too important to fail.”

  A hint of fear flashed in his eyes, and her heart tightened. “I’ll be back. Just don’t leave me down there.”

  He nodded. As much as she wanted to hug him and give him a kiss, she had to finish her mission first. She gave him a smile and left.

  ***

  The shuttle door opened to a haze of wind and blowing snow. Caitlin and her team hopped out of the hovering transport and gave the pilot the high sign. The craft rose into the air and disappeared into the distance. Covered from head to toe in cold weather gear, her team signaled they were all right.

  “This ain’t hell,” Caitlin muttered, “but you can certainly see it from here.”

  They readied themselves for their trek. The howling wind and whirling snow masked her voice, making verbal communication difficult. No matter how much they had trained, none of them were prepared for this. Pulling out a small locator, they went about tracking their quarry.

  ***

  The ship lurched and groaned under the intense bombardment, but Keegan knew she would hold together.

  “Sir, they’ve released fighters!”

  “Take evasive measures! Move us out of the way!” Keegan commanded.

  Berger stepped forward. “They’re trying to get us out of here so they can go pick her up.”

  “Looks like it,” Keegan replied. “Scramble a squadron of fighters to get those bastards on the double!”

  “Colonel!” Gadison rushed onto the bridge. “I spoke to Wacian Command. They’d be willing to help, if we were in their territory.”

  “We don’t need them there, we need them here.”

  “I realize this, Colonel, but technically it is not their fight. It would be if it we were in their territory.”

  Keegan flexed his fingers. The urge to punch the younger man tore through him. What did it matter if the Wacians would help them if they weren’t willing to do so where the fight was occurring? “I have people on that planet I have no desire to abandon.”

  “Colonel, we can’t forget our primary mission. We need to get the doctor to Wacia. We have an opportunity. Let’s not waste it.”

  Leaving Caitlin behind until Doctor Rimmer was safely handed over to the Wacians. He’d sworn to her he would always be there to protect her and that he would never abandon her. Now he had to do just that. The crew awaited his response. Staring at their faces, he was reminded of the oath he had taken, the duty he’d sworn to perform. But where did the line between duty to one’s country and fidelity to one’s family lie? He had to make a choice, and he had to make it quickly.

  He glanced at the stars through the open shield, praying for his wife’s safety. She was the best in her field, and he had complete faith she’d succeed on any mission. Reluctance clogged his throat.

  Cate. “All right, let’s do it. Close the blast shield.”

  I will be back.

  “What about the fighters?” Berger asked.

  “If we draw them away, they won’t need to use the fighters on the planet,” Keegan said.

  ***

  Caitlin and her team tracked the thing through the snow. Her footsteps led in one direction. The harsh open terrain gave her no place to hide. Caitlin hoped she would tire soon.

  “Do you have anything?” she asked Jesswan, who scanned the area. She lifted her snow goggles to have a better look around.

  Jesswan held up the tracking device. “No, but this thing’s range isn’t that good anyway.”

  “At least she won’t be able to sneak up on us.”

  “True,” he agreed, placing the device in the pocket of his coat.

  “But put them in a leap frog formation, in case she gets some help from above.”

  Caitlin checked the clip on her weapon. It was fully loaded and charged. Gazing up at the sky, she saw a yellow sun directly overhead. It was the middle of the day, and they had some time before nightfall.

  “All right, keep low and move out,” she ordered.

  ***

  “Colonel, they’re responding!” Berger said. “They’ve pul
led their fighters and are following us.”

  “I thought they’d like that.” Keegan nodded. He needed to get back to pick up his wife as soon as possible, and for that to happen, he needed everything to fall into place.

  The plan was simple. Broadcast a false message over an open channel that they were pulling out while calling all the fighters back on board. The enemy bought it hook, line, and sinker. “Okay, now get us out of here but not too fast…we don’t want to lose them.”

  ***

  Ominous clouds appeared over the horizon and began gathering overhead. Caitlin could tell what it meant from the change in temperature.

  “Dammit, where is she?” she grumbled.

  A shot whizzed past her head. She fell to the ground and rolled to remove herself from the angle of fire. Waiting for a break, she paused then swiveled onto to her stomach and peeled off two shots in the general direction of the initial attack. She waited for a response. Nothing. She checked her left and right flank. Her team members gave the all clear. In response, she belly-crawled forward, careful to keep the tip of the rifle free from the ice and snow.

  As she advanced slowly, she saw no evidence of the younger woman or her presence until she smelled it. An odorous aroma emanated from the direction of the shots. And then she saw it, reflecting in the snow. Pink fluids.

  I got her. Not bad for a blind shot.

  Now Caitlin they had time on their side. The wound would make it much easier to track their quarry, if she even survived the extreme cold long enough to make that necessary.

  As the sun made its way across the sky, the wind suddenly stilled. Bringing up the rear, Caitlin kneeled down in the snow and examined the pink bloodstains. They became fewer and farther apart. How was that possible? She lowered her scarf and sniffed the air.

  She detected nothing.

  “Something’s not right,” she whispered.

  “What is it?” Jesswan asked, coming back to stand beside her.

  “Something’s up. I know it. Keep your eyes peeled.”

  More thick gray clouds gathered above. They bunched on top of each other like cars in a traffic jam. A strange sense of dread welled up from the pit of her stomach. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck.

  “Get down,” she yelled just as a volley shots came at them over the horizon.

  “Shit,” Jesswan swore, hitting the snow face first.

  One after another, the shots came at them. Pinning them down in the snow.

  “Dammit!” Caitlin growled.

  ***

  The ship continued to rock as the enemy craft fired on their tail. Bolstered by the confidence that help was on the way, they continued toward their destination, the Wacian home world.

  “The Wacians are half a sector away, Colonel,” Berger said.

  “Very well. Charge the cannons and raise the shields. We’re gonna have to fight our way to port,” Keegan ordered.

  A sense of urgency suffused the bridge. They had cut and run, leaving their comrades on planet in the hopes of leading their enemies into a trap. This had to work.

  “Slowing down as we near Wacian territory. Preparing to engage,” Berger informed.

  “All right, get me some plasma torpedoes just to piss them off.”

  As the ship took a direct hit, it gave him comfort that whoever it was, was too busy to bother his wife and her team on the planet.

  “Done!” Berger relayed the order down the line.

  “Firing plasma torpedoes, aye, sir!” the weapons officer shouted.

  “Colonel,” the communications officer interrupted, “the Wacians have us on their scope, and they are on their way!”

  “Don’t stop now! Keep heading in!” he yelled. Triumph was close. He could almost taste it.

  ***

  Pinned down and helpless, she’d had enough.

  “We’ve got to get these assholes off our backs,” Caitlin yelled to Jesswan over the continuing barrage of gunfire.

  “No shit!”

  She pulled out a grenade. Jesswan smiled and did the same.

  “On my count!”

  “One.” she said, rolling onto her stomach. “Two.”

  She raised her arm and popped the pin. “Three!”

  She threw it as hard as she could as did Jesswan.

  ***

  The Blanchard lurched and listed to the side as it took evasive maneuvers under the heavy fire.

  “Fire aft cannons and launch aft plasma torpedoes.” Keegan ordered.

  “Sir, we have an unidentified ship in area. It is engaging the enemy full blast!” Berger called out over the noise of activity.

  “Is it the Wacians?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  The crew cheered.

  “They said they will escort us all the way through!” the communications officer called out.

  “All right, take us farther in.”

  Keegan allowed himself to relax a bit. Going in with full cannons blazing would make for a hell of an entrance, but it was better than getting blown to bits.

  ***

  Caitlin and her team fought it out with their human-like foes. The snow covered the scene like a blanket as the sun sank beneath the horizon. Gouging one in the chest and another in the neck, Caitlin fought for her life as well as for her team’s.

  One by one, the enemy fell. Panting heavily, her white Arctic geared soiled pink, she surveyed the devastation.

  “Where is she?” Jesswan asked, as the falling snow covered the lifeless beings.

  Caitlin drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know. She cannot be far. Look around.”

  They searched the area for the thing. This far out, they were not going to give up.

  “I found her,” Mosely called out. He waved at them and pointed in front of him.

  Quickly bounding over, Caitlin found the young woman face-down in the snow, dead. Not wasting anytime, she searched the corpse’s pockets for any information she could have taken from the ship.

  “There’s nothing on her.” She shook her head, frustration building once again. Then it occurred to her. If the others were sent to pick her up, and she was already dead, then….

  “Search the rest of them. One of them has to have it on ’em.”

  They searched the bodies of the aliens. One she thought to be the leader by the elaborate markings on its clothing. Rolling over the dead body with her foot, Caitlin removed her gloves and reached into one of its pockets. She smiled when she found what she was looking for. Pulling out the penny-sized data chip, she placed it inside her coat and stood up. “I got it. Let’s go.”

  “Are we done?” Jesswan asked, as the snow began to fall harder.

  “We need to get out of here as soon as possible. If they radioed their position, we don’t want to be here in case someone returns for them.”

  ***

  “Status?” Caitlin asked, completing her makeshift snow shelter.

  “We got two wounded. Looks pretty bad,” Jesswan answered. “But got them fixed up as best as we can. The rest are okay.”

  “What about communications?” She clapped her hands together to clean off her gloves.

  “Nothing. There’s nothing. It’s like they’re not there.”

  Caitlin glanced up. The sky was no longer visible, as it was saturated with snow. Light was fading fast. She frowned and shook her head. Where had the Blanchard gone? Where the hell was Keegan? She let out a deep breath and glanced at her team, finishing up several other snow shelters. She had no choice. It was time to give the order. “Shelters ready?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Shove the wounded in with a healthy one. Everyone else by twos and tell them to turn on their transmitters because it’s time to go to sleep.”

  Jesswan paused as if startled by her remark.

  Caitlin kept her composure, even though her chest tightened. She knew they had never thought they would come to this state, but they had no choice. There was no one but them out here, and she was not going to let her team die. �
��Got it?”

  “Yes, Chief,” he replied.

  “Good. Now go do it.” Caitlin looked inside her shelter, small, with a rounded ceiling and close to the ground. It was big enough to fit two. It would keep them from the elements and give them enough time to go into hibernation without freezing to death. She pulled off her pack and weapon and shoved them inside. At the rate the snow was falling, the small mounds that dotted the area would be covered. Their transmitters and the implanted ImSensor Device her husband had given her so many years ago would be the only things visible.

  “All right, they’re in,” Jesswan said, returning to her.

  “Good. Now get inside.”

  Jesswan obeyed, leaving Caitlin to herself. She glanced skyward one more time and said a quick prayer before crawling inside. As she closed the entrance to the shelter with snow, she cleared the opening near the top, allowing air to circulate. She then lay down and closed her eyes to relax. Calming her breathing, she cleared her mind. The cold began to overtake her, causing her limbs to tingle. Her mind calmed, as her body began to respond automatically. First, her heart rate slowed as her body became paralyzed. Her breaths became fewer and fewer. As her mind drifted off, one last thought entered her consciousness.

  Medoro, don’t forget about me.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Sir, the doctor is safely on board the Wacian vessel,” Berger said.

  Keegan calmed himself. He rubbed his palms against the leg of his pants and nodded at his XO. It was finally time to pick up his wife and her team. “Navigation. Set your course for Sira.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “And Berger”

  “Sir?”

  “Have ’em step on it.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Keegan hurried to the main sick bay. Upon entering the facility, he found the place geared up and ready to go. But it didn’t help the anxiety eating away at him. He worried about his wife, worried he was too late, but he couldn’t think that way. She had to be fine.