Casserine

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “Great idea, Charlie,” Jake nodded. “Jas, you and Sara will have to work on the communications angle. They must have some kind of signal the others missed when they recorded everything. The detail’s there, but there has to be some kind of encoded signal getting through to their buddies holding the transport. We will have to have split second coordination between me, Alpha, and the Intrepid, to block and emulate their safe signal while we locate them. I have no doubt Charlie will find out where the transport is if we can get Hushanni alive.”

  “We’ve packed up what’s ours from the Passallion operation, General,” Peters said. “We can leave for the new gate whenever you wish.”

  “I’ll have a talk with Doug, and then let’s get underway. The Governor thinks we have time, but I’d rather be in position as early as we can get there. If Charlie and Tim don’t mind, maybe we can do a final test right on Casserine.”

  “Count me in,” Mercer replied. “Maybe Tim and I can prove to you we can be of help in the grav suits.”

  “I’ll be glad to do it, Jake,” Dougherty added. “We’ll be on board Alpha backing you up during the mission though, once Han Solo here finds out just how useless he’ll be in a grav suit.”

  Jake switched his night vision on, and left the cave to return to Alpha Drop Ship. Everything had been in the same place as the last time he had been there with Adrian. After making some tea from his supplies, Jake set up a communications relay outside the cave, in a direct line with the storage area. It was the third relay he had set up, leaving the one outside the cave for last. They now had triangulated the relays, for both scanning purposes, and communications.

  “How’s that, Sara?”

  “Oh Jake, we’ve got them good,” Corey answered. “I can tell when each one of them takes even a step. Tim’s isolating each of their auras, as he calls them, both in the storage area, and on their ship. He’ll know their names in a few more minutes.”

  “I only care about one name: Hushanni,” Jake replied.

  “I’ve got him zeroed, Jake,” Tim chimed in.

  “Outstanding, how’s Charlie feeling?”

  “He’s okay,” Tim laughed. “You warned him about taking off the grav suit out there, and I had already explained the suits would not work once they’re opened up. Charlie knew he wouldn’t be able to just seal it up without getting back into normal gravity. He told me the most embarrassing part was being carried back to Alpha like a grain sack.”

  “No big deal,” Jake replied. “It gave me a workout, and our trial run helped a lot. If the suit frustrated Charlie enough for him to take it off out here, you can bet those guards ain’t thrilled about them either.”

  “I never knew you were near me until you let me know, Jake,” Tim said. “Those boys in the storage area will never know what hit them.”

  “Hey Jake, how’re you doing,” Mercer came on line.

  “Fine, Charlie, the relays are all set. Tim says you’re doing okaytoo.”

  “I’m alright,” Mercer said sheepishly. “Sorry about pulling that stunt out there.”

  “You probably wouldn’t have believed me otherwise,” Jake replied. “Tim will need your help in there to isolate signals, and keep watch over their main ship. I don’t want Jas to chance doing much out in orbit. They’ll be scanning out there constantly, and if they pick up anything from the Intrepid, we’ll all be in trouble. You’ll be a lot more use to me on Alpha, than plodding around out here. If the variation you and Tim made up, using Mr. Snappy’s design, works as well as it did on the ship, I’ll have it made. You’re sure it will work right through the suit though, right?”

  “Jake, when that dart hits the outside of their suit, it will be the last thing they ever know,” Mercer said with obvious pride in his voice. “I don’t know why I never thought of working on it before.”

  “Make sure you don’t touch them for at least a minute, Jake,” Dougherty cautioned. “This ain’t no attitude adjustment jolt. That dart only does one thing: it kills. The residual will still be active on the suit, so you want to wait until it dissipates. It fries their suit com units too. You’ll be able to instantly set up the smaller relay in their spot. Charlie and I will take over from there.”

  “I’ll be on with you every step, Jake,” Corey added. ‘Your vid unit is working great, even in that gravity. If anybody moves somewhere they’re not supposed to, you’ll know about it. How do you plan to set up the containment fields for the explosives?”

  “I don’t know yet, Sara,” Jake admitted. “I’ll have to do a recon first. Thanks to you guys, I know right where they have them placed; but I’ll still have to see them, so I can tell how I will have to proceed.”

  “At least they were as lazy as you originally thought,” Dougherty said. “They don’t even have motion detectors for you to worry about.”

  “Well, I better get going. Let’s keep silence on the line unless something unforeseen comes up. Just give me a quick acknowledgement as I set up each relay.”

  “Will do, Jake,” Corey replied for all of them. “Good luck.”

  “If I’m right, luck won’t have anything to do with it.”

  Jake shouldered the MAG50 he and Adrian kept in the cave, along with his particle beam rifle. He checked the makeshift holster at his side, where he kept the redesigned sidearm. The hand blaster discharged a small blunt dart with multiple needles covering the nose of the projectile. Inside each dart, connected to the needles on the nose by a microscopic circuit board, was a small carbon copy of what worked Mercer’s neuralizer, called Mr. Snappy. Although much smaller, each dart had ten times the amplitude of the original torture device. The toned down pulse blast, which acted as the force behind the dart, was accurate up to twenty feet. Jake had no intention of firing it from more than half that distance.

  Jake next picked up the pack filled with containment field relays for containing the explosives. “Hey Tim, are you sure these things will neutralize the explosives rather than set them off?”

  “I know it sounds a little shaky, Jake,” Dougherty commiserated. “The containment field relays will not only shield the explosives, but they’ll zap any triggering devices too. If anything goes wrong, the explosion will still be contained. I’m anxious to see what they have rigged there. After you take care of the guards, give me a close look at what they have set up, okay?”

  “Sure, but I’ll still have to move fast, to get them all contained.”

  “How long will it take you to get to the storage area?” Mercerasked.

  “About half an hour,” Jake replied, as he began his trek towards the storage area. “My strength has really multiplied. This gravity hardly bothers me at all now. Adrian would be pissed if she had seen how easily I adapted back to Casserine’s surface.”

  “It’s scary watching you walk around out there like you’re back on the ship, you freak,” Mercer joked.

  Jake laughed with the rest of them on the line. “Acknowledged. Freak, out.”

  Even with all the equipment and weapons he carried, Jake made the journey to the storage area in just under half an hour. He stopped behind the rock formation, which had protected him while he shot down the fuel pirate’s ship what now seemed ages ago. Jake took off his pack, and set it down with his rifle. He carried the MAG50 to a place where he had a straight shot at Hushanni’s ship, and set it up.

  Taking off his helmet, Jake switched to a head hugging com rig, which also relayed video. “Back on, Sara, how’s the video?”

  “Crystal clear, Jake, at least as clear as that glittering night mist allows,” Corey replied. “They’ll be changing shifts in about an hour and forty minutes. Will that give you long enough to do your recon?”

  “Probably with an hour and twenty minutes to spare. I know that storage area so well I could probably get around in it blindfolded. Are any of the guards hanging out together?”

  “Nope,” Dougherty answered, “but they do have line of sight between two of them in the back. They’d have to be facing each o
ther’s face plate to do it though.”

  “Thanks, Tim, I’m on my way.”

  Jake used the jutting rock formations to move deliberately to the entrance of the storage area. He cursed Hushanni’s crew under his breath for leaving the larger retracting door open. Jake knew from experience the inside of the storage area would be coated with the grainy surface dirt, which blew around during the day. Although the grav suit hampered sight, hearing was not impaired. Jake leaned against the outside wall, and slipped off his boots and socks.

  The rows of storage shelves were filled with fuel cell containers. From the entrance, both aisles bordering the shelves could be seen clearly. Each shelving row extended upwards nearly thirty feet, and ran unbroken to the middle aisle, which cut through the center of the warehouse for fifty yards. After the center aisle, the shelving went another fifty yards. Jake could see straight through the storage area for a hundred yards down either outer aaisle. The area was well lit by illumination units running over each shelving aisle.

  “I’d suggest the one all the way down the aisle on the left. He’s right around the last corner unit,” Corey suggested.

  Jake looked down at his panel. “I see him. Just clue me in if any of the others move.”

  “Will do,” Corey replied.

  Jake moved quickly from the entrance to the first aisle of fuel cells, stopping to lean against the shelving frame. He shifted his grip on the pack of personnel relays, so he could hold them tighter to his body. Sticking close to the row of filled shelving, Jake jogged quietly to the center row, which intersected all the rows. Glancing quickly around the shelving, Jake checked for any movement or noise. A split second after making sure the aisle was clear, he sprinted across the open space.

  “You’ll be coming up to the first explosives in a moment, Jake,” Dougherty reminded him.

  “Acknowledged,” Jake whispered. He looked down at his panel display, and saw he was not more than a few feet away from the first explosive setup. A few steps later, he noticed one of the fuel cells had been taken out, and in its place was a triangular cased object. On its face display, a red beam blipped silently across a small rectangular screen.

  “No problem, Jake,” Dougherty said happily, looking at the picture from Jake’s vid unit. “They’re potent, but plain. There ain’t no dead man switch hooked up on that. They have to be switched on manually, and the timer set on the back panel. The beam just means its activated, and ready to go.”

  “Why wouldn’t that guard be right next to it?” Jake whispered. “What the hell’s he in here for if not to activate this mine? I.”

  “Shit, he’s nearing the corner of the aisle, coming right towards you,” Corey broke in. “He probably belongs right where you’re standing.”

  Jake glanced down, seeing the grainy surface mixture, covering the floor in front of the mine, showed evidence of Corey’s supposition.

  “Change of plan,” Jake whispered as he broke into a dead run towards the end of the aisle, drawing his sidearm as he ran. He dropped to one knee just fifteen feet from the end of the aisle, and waited. The moment the guard’s body began to plod around the corner, Jake fired his neuralizer dart. It struck the guard on his left arm, knocking him sideways slightly. The guard stopped, jerked slightly, and crumpled to the storage room floor. His body twitched slightly for a few seconds, and then lay still.

  Jake turned and ran back to where the guard’s duty post was, and tore off his relay pack. Moments later, he had one of the personnel relays out and on. Turning carefully, mindful of the gravity, Jake rushed back to the dead guard.

  “We’re on it, Jake, and monitoring conversations,” Dougherty told him quickly. “Take your time. No one’s moving.”

  “That was a close one,” Jake whispered, as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What a dummy I am. We knew the first explosive mine was close to the entrance. When I didn’t see the guard, I should have known he was out of position for some reason. Well, no turning back now boys and girls.”

  “Just make sure you take out the two with line of sight last, Jake,” Mercer cautioned. “They’re all the way in the back anyway.”

  “I will, Charlie,” Jake agreed as he moved on to the next guard. “So much for the recon.”

  “Hell, you ain’t no good at that anyway, Destructo,” Mercer replied.

  “I guess you’re right,” Jake whispered, turning the corner tightly, where he could see his next target leaning against the shelving, sideways to him, almost a hundred feet down the row.

  Inching along the row, Jake gently put one foot in front of the other, trying not to disrupt the Casserine soil blown over the floor. He took his shot at ten feet, dropping the guard with very little noise. After setting up the second relay, Jake waited for an acknowledgement from his crew before moving on to his third target. Over the next hour, Jake methodically took out the next two guards. He then moved all the way back to the outer aisle, separating the storage area wall from the storage rows, and walked quickly to the last aisle. Jake peaked around the last corner. Seeing the fifth guard looking directly in his direction, he cursed under his breath, and pulled back out of sight.

  “He’s not budging, Jake, so he didn’t see you,” Corey told him.

  “Is he standing right in front of where the mine has been placed? I can’t tell on my smaller panel.”

  “Tea, Jake, he’s right in front of it,” Dougherty answered.

  “I’ll go down the aisle in back of him, and take him out from behind,” Jake said. “Just keep an eye on that last jerk. If he glances over, things will be getting dicey.”

  “Jake, when you get the guy, and set up his relay, we’ll call for help from his friend,” Mercer suggested. “When he sees the guy lying on the floor, he’ll go over to help.”

  “Perfect, Charlie,” Jake replied. “I knew you’d be useful for something, Han, besides dead weight.”

  “Why you ungrateful…” Mercer blustered as Corey and Dougherty laughed in appreciation.

  Jake reached the shelf holding a fifth mine. He could see the guard on the other side, leaning sideways, so as to face the outer aisle Jake had tried to come around first. Jake quietly took out his fifth personnel relay, and set it down next to the mine without activating it. He shot the fifth guard in the side, and as the guard fell, Jake switched on the relay.

  “Jake, the guard keeps asking what’s wrong, but the prick won’t walk towards the dead one,” Corey said.

  “On my way,” Jake acknowledged, running for the center aisle, splitting the distance between the two guards. “Better lift off and get into position, Sara.”

  “Already on the move, Jake,” Corey replied. “He called it in to their ship already. We’ll take care of them. You worry about the last guard.”

  “Right,” Jake grunted, straining as he came around the center aisle corner, gasping as the day’s strenuous movement in Casserine’s gravity began to take its toll on him.

  “God Jake, would you quiet down the gasping, we’re trying to work here,” Mercer needled him.

  Jake grabbed hold of the corner shelving frame, pulling himself around to peek at the last guard. Seeing the guard facing towards the mine, Jake rounded the corner and started towards him, sidearm in hand. The guard was still almost forty feet away from him, when he turned to face

  Jake. Jake saw him jerk slightly in shock, and then reach for the weapon strapped to his side. Dropping the neuralizer dart gun, Jake reached into his tunic, and pulled out his gear knife. Even as the guard brought his sidearm up, firing the pulse weapon, Jake threw his gear knife with all of his enhanced strength. Such a throw, in regular gravity, would have passed right through the man. In Casserine’s gravity, it still burrowed to the hilt in the guards thigh, having dropped slightly off target.

  With the sudden introduction of Casserine’s gravity into his grav suit, the guard collapsed to the floor, screaming in pain and gripping his thigh. The guard had fired too quickly, causing his shot to deflect harmlessly of
f of the floor in front of Jake. When Jake reached the guard, he pulled out his gear knife, evoking more tortured screams from the guard. Quickly tearing off the guard’s helmet, Jake slapped him across the face. The man grimaced in pain, having to release his leg, and lay helplessly flat on his back because of the greatly increased pull of gravity. The guard’s head was shaven, but he wore a thick black beard, trimmed so as not to interfere with the helmet. Sweat poured down his swarthy face, as he rocked minutely in pain.

  “I’ll only ask this once,” Jake barked fiercely, showing the man his gear knife. “Do you know where the transport is being held?”

  “You. you are the Matthews,” the guard spoke, his eyes big as saucers. “How is it…how can you be here?”

  “Never mind how I got here. I am Matthews. Now answer me, or I will slice you up one piece at a time.”

  “I…I do not know.” The guard closed his eyes, cringing in anticipation of the torture to begin.

  Jake grabbed the front of the guard’s grav suit, pulling him up slightly, and put his knife under the man’s left ear.

  “Hold up there, Destructo,” Mercer urged. “Tim and I just finished off everyone on his ship except for Hushanni, we hope. Save the live one for Mr. Snappy, just in case. He can probably give us at least a lead as to where to start hunting. Nice throw, by the way. Were you aiming for the thigh?”

  “What do you think?” Jake chuckled, dropping the guard to the floor again. “I’m lucky I hit anything. You’re right as usual about cutting him up here. I’ll drag him over to the ship, and pop him into the decompression hatch.”

  “I guess you won’t need the containment fields for the explosives,” Dougherty added. “if you want to turn them off, and gather them up, Charlie and I will take pot shots at our guest in his ship whenever he moves. He won’t be doing much. Colonel Peters has all outgoing communications blocked for the time being, until we can find out what the code is, Hushanni uses.”

  “I’ll drag this one out to you, and then go get Sodom. The faster we learn what’s going on, the better. Will you open me up a way into their ship, Tim?”