by Gary Weston
'Heading south, I think,' said Clifton.
The shuttle seemed to have a life of its own, Clifton trying to coax obedience from it with only partial success. Close to the undulating ground, the cloud cover varied considerably and their visibility ranged from zero to almost nothing. The shuttle headed towards the warmer equator, in and out of the raging storms.
'I'm putting us down while I still can,' said Clifton. 'Brace yourselves.' Clifton searched desperately for any level ground, and after passing low undulating valleys slowed the shuttle down. 'Preparing to land.'
As Clifton slowed the vessel down to almost a landing speed, they plunged into heavy yellow clouds again and was struck by lightning which blacked out the shuttle and down they went.
Chapter 16
'Remember. No killing. Naylor. Are you listening to me?'
'Err, Yes sir, Captain. Try not to kill them.'
Five-feet-four Captain Bridget Loretti reached up and grabbed the straps of the shoulder utility belt of six feet five Corporal Stan Naylor. 'I mean it, corporal. We need these alive to screw info out of them. They're worth more alive than dead, so no going in all lasers blasting.'
'But we gotta defend ourselves, captain.'
It was like talking to a plank, thought Loretti. 'Sergeant Villiers. I'm relying on you to stick with Naylor. Keep him on a short leash.'
Sergeant Natalie Villiers was almost as tall as Naylor, with the toughness and experience to match. 'Yes, captain. Naylor. I will break something of yours if you don't behave. Get me?'
'But what if I wound one of them? They shoot at me, I'm entitled to defend myself.'
Loretti said, 'Go for any of their limbs if you really have to. Hit anything life-threatening and you'll find yourself in big trouble. Ok?'
A huge grin spread across Naylor's face, apparently happy with what he considered to be a reasonable compromise. So far he had a perfect record of doing harm to the enemy and although he preferred clean kills, slicing off legs and arms with lasers still counted.
'Ok, captain, sir.'
Still doubtful of Naylor, Loretti said, 'Ok. Mount up.'
In the underbelly of the spider class fighter were five stingers, jet propelled individual machines armed with missiles and twin lasers. Loretti, Villiers and Naylor sat on one each, leaving her pilot Jan Sparrow and two laser cannon shooters in charge of the ship.
Loretti said, 'Lieutenant Sparrow. Be ready to grab us out of here. You know what to do. On three.'
On three, the stingers dropped out of the bottom of the fighter. Their jets took the highly manoeuvrable machines through the air away from the fighter and towards the intended target. From the rooftop of the seriously damaged building, a lone marksman was firing at them. The distance was still too great for the sniper to hit the fast moving targets, but Loretti, Villiers and Naylor took a zigzagging course to make sure they weren't hit by fluky shots.
The marksman was an expendable item so Sergeant Villiers fired her missiles at the enemy hidden from sight. Her shots weren't expected to be direct hits but to strike the building where he lay with the intention of burying him in the rubble. Large fragments of concrete and glass were blasted away and rained down on the war battered streets below. A final shot from the marksman streaked high in the sky as the falling masonry cascaded onto the man, a cloud of dust signalling his death.
Loretti ignored that and dipped her stinger low, only to find further laser power lashing the sky towards her from two different directions on different levels of the building. The spider's thermal imaging sensors had already located the targets so Loretti knew exactly where she had to go.
'Get in a line behind me,' said Loretti. 'Give them less of a target.'
Villiers fell in just a couple of yards behind her captain with Naylor lining up precisely behind his sergeant. At two hundred miles per hour, Loretti aimed for the huge darkened plate glass window, one of few still intact, smashed it into a million pieces with a shot from her lasers, showering those inside with the shards.
They entered through the space where the window once was, into the huge open-plan office space. A red laser shot missed Loretti's head by a whisker, but caught Villiers stinger, sending it and the sergeant crashing into a wall. Loretti and Naylor fired warning shots at the barricade their enemy hid behind. Naylor landed his stinger, dived off it and raced to Villiers, grabbing her hand and dragging her away to the back of a steel and concrete support pillar.
'Are you ok?'
'I'll live. Nice job, Naylor.'
Ignoring her bruises, Villiers took up a kneeling position with both hands around her laser but she had only a rough bearing on the enemy. Bringing the roof down on them would be self-defeating as they wanted them alive and it would also probably bury themselves, too. She could see Loretti was also taking cover behind a similar pillar and appeared to be unharmed. It was a stand-off with nobody going anywhere.
'I could try a stun grenade,' suggested Naylor taking one from his shoulder utility belt.
'We're too close to them. We'll be knocked out as well.'
Naylor said, 'Then we need to draw them out.'
'Good idea. I'll ask them nicely shall I?'
Naylor shrugged. 'It was just a suggestion.'
A laser rifle shot struck the corner of the pillar above Villiers' head showering dust over her. 'We have each other pinned down.'
'No shit, sergeant.' Naylor returned a single shot at the barricade.
'And that achieved what exactly?' asked Villiers.
'It made me feel better.'
'Well do it again. The captain wants to join us here.'
Loretti made a running dive as several shots narrowly missed her, and she rolled to the back of the pillar as Naylor distracted the enemy with a few shots of his own.
'Enough, corporal.'
'Yes, sir,' said Naylor putting his weapon away.
Loretti said, 'We need these alive. Three of them if we got it right.'
'Plus four more two floors above us,' said Villiers.
'Salamandra is the man we want and he should be here with us on this floor behind that rubble,' said Villiers. 'We established that from his D N A profile on the ship's sensors. The others are just his personal bodyguards. If we get all three, great, but concentrate on Salamandra. '
'So how do we winkle him out?' said Naylor.
Another shot singed Loretti's thigh. 'Shit! I may just go over and drag the bastard out. What the hell was that?'
The noise above their heads shook what remained of the building.
'Hey,' said Naylor. 'Don't look at me. I never moved a muscle.'
'There it goes again,'said Villiers.
Now the noise wasn't above them but closer to home. In the far corner of the huge room to the side of the rubble shielded enemy, the door shattered into a thousand pieces. A smoke grenade was dropped and the thick fog obliterated everything.
'What the...?' said Loretti.
Two indistinct shapes, low to the floor, rolled over and laser rifles scattered beams of death all around them. One shot his weapon through the smoke above the barricade as the other wriggled his way to the front, reached over the rubble, grabbed somebody and dragged him over, dropping him heavily on the floor holding a weapon to his head.
'Party-time over. This one yours?'
'I'll sign for the package,' said Loretti. She grabbed the hapless general by the ears and smacked him solidly on the nose to render him unconscious. 'I'll open it later. And you are?'
'Lieutenant Staples. The one pointing his rifle at our enemy is my good friend, Sergeant Willis. Do we wipe them out?'
'Unnecessary,' said Loretti. 'Those guards will do nothing as long as we have Salamandra.'
'Nice to know.' Staples got to his feet and slowly walked over to where Willis held Salamandra's guards on their knees with their hands on their heads. 'You lot. I give you a choice. Stay here and play with us on our terms, or go out minus your weapons into the big wide world and take your chances.'
/> 'Or I could just put holes in your heads,' said Willis.
That was as much encouragement as they needed. They made a dash to the exit and disappeared through it.
Willis put his rifle on safety and strode over to the others. 'Hi. So. How's it going?'
'Better for seeing you two,' admitted Loretti. 'Where the hell did you two come from?'
Staples laughed. 'We were just passing. May I suggest we go to your ship and talk it over with a beer?
Willis asked, 'You do have beer, right?'
'Beer can be arranged.'
Staples said, 'Time to go, then. Your place or mine?'
'That depends on our stingers. One took a hit so it depends on the damage.' The buckled stinger seemed to warm up normally. 'So far so good. Strap our esteemed guest to the saddle and we'll return to the ship.'
'Kill me now,' demanded a groggy Salamandra. 'I'll never talk.'
'Sounds like a challenge to me,' said Naylor. 'But I do take a professional pride in my work.'
'He does,' affirmed Villiers. 'He wrote a book on it called "torture and its applications". Going to be a best seller, I gather.'
Captain Loretti said, 'Thanks for dropping by, lieutenant.'
'Happy to help out, Captain. But to be honest with you, helping you out was by default, not design. Do what you will with Salamandra. This is what I wanted to discuss with you.'
Staples took a tiny disc from a pocket and handed it to Loretti.
'And this is...?' demanded Loretti.
'A message. I have no idea what is on it. You are Captain Bridget Loretti?'
'I think you know that to be true.'
'Right. Your mother is...'
'Commander General Loretti as you are well aware. But who the hell are you two jokers.
'I'm Lieutenant Giles Staples and this is Sergeant Nathan Willis.'
Willis looked to Staples and said, 'So this is what this is all about? Captain Loretti?'
'You just found out?' said Loretti.
'Yeah,' confessed Willis. 'My lieutenant, bless him, forgot to mention it.'
From outside came the sound of laser rifle fire hitting the building.
'Enemy on the ground,' said Villiers. 'Time to get out of here.'
Their prisoner was coming round about to call to his men outside but Villiers drove a fist hard into Salamandra's face, rendering him unconscious again. She heaved him to his feet, draped him over her shoulders and carried him to a stinger, strapping him onto the back seat. Staples sat behind Loretti and Willis hitched a ride with Naylor. Led by Loretti, the stingers flew through the window they had entered by, racing towards the spider.
From the rubble strewn ground came streams of laser rifle fire, perilously close to the three stingers. Villiers' stinger took a hit and smoke poured from the engine cowl, but the machine refused to die. A much more powerful blast split the air, but this was from the ship, and the resistance on the ground was no more.
The airlock of the fighter opened wide to receive them and with Villiers' stinger spluttering badly, they entered the ship, the damaged machine crashing against the inner wall. As Villiers shook herself free from the wreckage, she unfastened Salamandra and threw him to one side as the stinger burst into flames. As the airlock was closing up, Villiers dragged the burning stinger to the edge and hurled it outside.
'Now that's my kinda woman,' said Willis.
'In your dreams,' said Villiers. 'She'd have you for breakfast.'
'Yeah, but what a way to go.'
Sparrow had the fighter at close to top speed heading away from the battle battered city. Naylor dragged Salamandra away for a "little chat" and Loretti had the undivided attention of Staples.
'Time to play that disc,' said Loretti.
Instead of the ship's disc players, Loretti used her personal one as she lay in the cramped bunk room. She had put the latch on the door to avoid interruptions and pressed play. A tiny three dimensional image of a man she hardly recognised appeared.
'Bridget. You seeing this message means Lieutenant Staples was successful in delivering this to you. I need you to come here to the Base with Staples and Willis. I'll explain it all to you when you get here. Oh. Not a word to your mother. That's vital. Find a way of leaving your command so as not to reveal you are coming here. I can't risk your mother finding out. That's very important. Everything depends on it and I mean everything. Over. Oh. One last thing. I love you, Bridget.' The message ended.
'Bastard!'
Loretti swallowed the tiny disc and left the bunk room and found Staples.
'Not bad news I hope?' asked Staples.
'I doubt if it's good.' She checked they were out of earshot of the others and said, 'I need to go to the Base with you and Willis and without the others knowing about it.'
'Oh. Ok. A little unexpected. I suppose you were off to headquarters with Salamandra?'
'Yes. This mission to capture him was a direct order from General Loretti. She's expecting us.'
'She's expecting Salamandra, not necessarily you. As long as he's delivered, I assume that concludes the mission?'
'It does. What are you thinking?'
Staples said, 'We need to find you a valid reason for you not going on to headquarters with the ship. We must also not take the ship too close to the Base, otherwise your people will suspect that's our destination. Remind me. What is the range of a fully-charged up stinger?'
'At full speed, about one hundred and fifty miles.'
'That's what I thought. Have three fuelled up and ready to go. Then wait here.'
Staples went to the small galley kitchen and found the door locked. Muffled screams were coming from inside. Staples knocked hard on the door. 'Naylor. Open up.'
Staples heard the door being unlocked and Naylor not looking too happy about being interrupted.
'I'm busy,' said Naylor, wiping blood on a cloth.
'Say sir when you address a superior officer, Corporal Naylor.' Staples could see Salamandra slumped in a chair with his arms and legs tied behind him. Blood dripped from his fingers where two fingernails had been pulled out with a pair of pliers. 'Crude.'
'But usually effective.'
'Has he talked yet?'
Naylor shrugged. 'I've not asked him to talk. I'm still warming up.'
'I want ten minutes alone with him. Something I need to ask him.'
'But I could do...'
'Alone, I said, corporal. Wait outside.'
Naylor obeyed and stepped outside and Staples locked the door. A groggy Salamandra raised his head and stared at Staples, wondering what new variety of hell was coming his way.
'I have nothing to say to you, scum.'
Staples said nothing, but picked up the bloody pliers off the galley table and Salamandra flinched back in the chair. Instead of working on the prisoner's hands, Staples applied the pliers to the right earlobe. He clamped the pliers together with all his strength and Salamandra's screams were burnt indelibly into his memories. Staples was certain Naylor would be listening and he let the screams continue for a full minute before putting the pliers back on the table. Standing behind Salamandra, Staples used both hands around the neck and applied a choke-hold until the man passed out. He checked the pulse to make sure he hadn't overdone it. The man was still alive. Staples unlocked the door.
'Damn it, you've killed him,' cursed Naylor.
'No. He's alive. Leave him for an hour and you can work on him again.'
Naylor said, 'Ok. I'll go eat. But if he dies in the meantime, you can explain it to Captain Loretti.'
'I'm just off to see her now. I've some vital information from Salamandra for her.'
'How did you get that?'
Staples grinned. 'I always go for the earlobes. Works every time. You should make a note of that, corporal.'
'Ears. Ok. Got that,' said Naylor with a new respect for Staples. 'I'll keep an eye on him as I eat.'
'You do that,' said Staples, away to talk to Loretti.
Loretti joined him a q
uiet corner and said, 'Well?'
'We need to get a move on. Are the stingers fuelled up?'
'Yes. They're ready to go.'
'In that case, tell Villiers I've discovered information from Salamandra and we need to leave the ship to check it out. Tell her she's to continue to headquarters and hand the prisoner over. No need to say more than that, but hurry or we'll be out of range to reach the Base on the stingers.'
'Nice work, lieutenant.'
Loretti went to the flight-deck where she found Villiers with Sparrow. She told them just enough to make leaving the ship plausible, instructing them to continue to headquarters. Back in the hold she found Staples and Willis already to go on their stingers, and Loretti sat astride the third machine.
'Lieutenant Sparrow. Open the airlock.'
The airlock opened and the three stingers dropped out of the ship.
Chapter 17
'Jay Jay. Are you ok?'
'Pleased to still be alive and in one piece, Sam. You?'
'Same as you. Pleasantly surprised to still be breathing. Anne?'
Lee said, 'Make that three of us. How bad is the shuttle?'
'I'm about to find out,' said Clifton, bringing everything back on line. 'No pressure leaks. One electrical system fried. Other two seem to be fully functional. One of the plasma drive exhausts has been damaged. Happened on landing. We'll need to go outside and see.'
'Now is as good a time as any,' said Jacobs, unstrapping himself from his seat. 'Anne. Looking at the screen all I see is low cloud cover. Not much lightning going on in this region. Maybe a good time to locate the terraformers. By the way, Sam. Where is here, exactly?'
'According to the readouts we are on the main land mass, twelve hundred miles from the equator.'
'At least we won't freeze to death. One of my least preferred options of my way to go.'