by Terry Mixon
He played his bright light over the hatch. “Is it an airlock?”
“Probably. Even so, there has to be a way to open it from the outside.”
Harry examined the area around the hatch. He pointed to a dimple on the hull to the left of the handle. “What’s that?”
She examined it closely. “I’m not sure.” It looked like a fold of metal in the hull. She pushed on it with her finger. It opened a little. “Good eye. Maybe it’s some kind of keyhole. Too bad we don’t have the key.”
He frowned. “It’s reminding me of something I found in the well.” He set his pack on the floor and dug around inside it. After a few minutes searching, he produced a flat strip of metal about the size of a data chip. It gleamed with a sheen that told her it was made of something from the platinum group.
Jess took it from him. “You found this little thing in the water? I’m impressed. Definitely not something produced by the Mayans. Unfortunately, I’m certain that any power supply for the hatch is long dead. We can see if it fits, though.”
The tip of the strip fit into the dimple and she slipped it in with a click. The hatch moved slowly to the right. She jumped back in shock.
Harry raised his rifle and covered the newly exposed area. “I think it still has power.”
“Thanks, Captain Obvious. I’m pretty sure that we don’t have to worry about live threats inside this thing, though.”
“I wouldn’t be so certain. If the hatch works, any internal defenses might work, too. That does kind of look like an airlock.”
The ones on Liberty Station weren’t very different. Some of the equipment inside looked like oxygen containers and spacesuits.
The suits looked more like coveralls than true vacuum gear. The fabric had rotted, of course, but she was already salivating over the construction techniques she might be able to learn from them.
At the far side of the compartment, the other hatch was open. Not surprising, as they were in a breathable atmosphere. She hopped into the airlock and aimed her light inside. A fine layer of dust covered everything.
The rear area looked more suited to cargo, but the forward section had bulky acceleration couches. The most forward of those had a wide, wrap around control console, similar in appearance to the tablet she’d recovered. The rear of the cargo area had an interior hatch. Two long bags lay on the floor of the cargo area.
Harry jumped in beside her and lowered his weapon so that it hung on his chest by a strap. “I suppose it does look fairly safe in here. Considering the condition of the exterior, things are in amazing condition. Our ride gets here in an hour, so you might want to pick up the pace.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I give this a thorough look,” she said firmly.
“Don’t touch those.”
Jess looked up from the long bag she’d been about to open. “Why not?”
“Because, unless I miss my guess, those are body bags. They don’t look empty. Unless your plan is to dump some poor bastard’s remains on the deck, you’d best steer clear of them.”
She pulled her hand back. “Thanks. No, that wasn’t on my list of things to do. These must be the man’s crewmates.”
He peered into the front of the craft. “The interior of this thing looks remarkably intact.”
Jess tried the hatch at the rear of the cargo area and it opened without problem. The inside, as she’d expected, was stuffed full of equipment. Most of it was engines, she thought. They didn’t look like anything she’d ever seen before. She wasted no time getting her camera into action.
“Do you think this is the power supply?”
She looked over at where Harry was pointing. A cube about three inches across sat behind a clear panel. It glowed a soft blue. Jess took some pictures.
“Maybe. I can’t imagine how any of this still works. Any kind of battery should be long dead. Also, there’s no indication of reaction mass.”
“Excuse me?”
“A spaceship gets thrust by igniting flammable fuels or heating something to high temperatures and letting it escape in the opposite direction from where they want to go. There’s nothing like that on this ship. How did it fly?”
The mercenary shrugged. “Magic? Little blue elves? Black holes? Does it matter?”
“Yeah, kind of.” She examined the cover over the cube. It didn’t seem heavily shielded or all that secure. A simple latch kept it closed. It looked as though a tug was all it took to remove it.
Once she finished taking pictures of the engineering space, she led the way to the front of the cabin. She couldn’t pilot a spaceship, but she knew acceleration couches. These could handle three or more gravities, she guessed.
The restraints looked heavy duty. It would’ve taken a very bad crash to kill someone strapped into one. She was willing to wager that the people in those bags hadn’t died in these couches.
Gingerly, she sat in front of what she guessed was the pilot’s console. The curved panel in front of her was dark and covered with dust. She swiped her hand across it. That cleared a swath of the surface and caused it to light up. Another curved panel at window level lit up, too, showing the room outside. Since it was pitch dark in reality, there must’ve been some kind of enhancement taking place.
“Holy crap,” Harry muttered. “That looks like something out of a movie.”
It sure did. The controls were incomprehensible to her, but she recognized the writing as similar to the script from the book. She kept her hands far away from the glowing icons and graphs, afraid she’d activate the engines if she touched anything.
Jess looked up at Harry. “Call your father again. Tell him to speed things up.”
* * * * *
Nathan ran the drone down the stairs as far as he dared. Communications were getting spotty and he didn’t want to lose control of it. That’s when he saw what looked like the bottom of the stairs.
He gnawed his lip. To chance it or not? If he lost the drone, they’d probably find it. That wouldn’t be good. Still, he needed to know what they were doing.
Deciding to risk it, he nudged the drone deeper into the underground area. It still had communication with the controller unit when he reached the bottom, but only just. He didn’t dare go any further than the bottom of the stairs.
The room was darker than the pit of Hades. Where were they? In some other part of an underground maze? He flipped the visual to mixed mode. Two bodies appeared in the infrared spectrum. One of them was sitting and the other was looking over the first one’s shoulder. They were somewhat indistinct. There was a significant barrier between the drone and them.
He activated the small UV spotlight. For a moment, he didn’t understand what he was seeing. Then he almost dropped the controller.
That couldn’t be right. Was that some kind of aircraft? In the bottom of a Mayan tomb?
Nathan stared at the image for several moments, not really comprehending what he was seeing. Where had that thing come from? Who’d put it there? Why were his idiot brother and that bimbo looking around inside it when they should’ve been getting the hell out of here?
With a shake of his head, he decided that he’d better pull the drone out before someone came down the stairs behind it. He goosed it straight up when he reached open air.
His timing was good. One of Harry’s men ran from the trees and down the underground stairs moments later. He looked a little panicked. Curious, he scanned around the area.
His brother’s mercenaries were still out there, but they weren’t alone anymore. Dozens of people were creeping in from the east. Nathan smiled. His brother was about to be ambushed. Oh, this was going to be good. He wished he’d brought popcorn.
Chapter Nine
Possible hostiles inbound,” Rex said over the radio. “Estimate thirty plus.”
Harry cursed and keyed his microphone. “Copy. I want visual confirmation. Pull back to the prepared positions.”
He turned to Jess. “Get ready to leave at a moment’s notice, but stay
down here. If these are locals, we should be able to drive them off.”
“And if they’re more of your brother’s men?” she asked.
“Then we’re in serious trouble. Hang tight and don’t do anything until I call for you to come out. If someone else comes down, shoot them.”
“That’s a bit hasty.”
“You can comfort yourself with the thought that you’ll probably miss.”
Jess gave him a steady look. “That’s not comforting.”
He headed toward the hatch. “Keep your head down.”
It only took a minute to run up the steps and meet up with Rex. “Status?”
“I’d say they’re locals. They’re using the terrain very well, but they don’t move like trained fighters. If so, that means no body armor and probably no heavy weapons. We should be able to turn them around without killing the lot of them.”
“Unless this is a religious site. We both know that changes things.”
Rex’s expression soured. “Yeah. Let’s hope they aren’t as fanatical as those buggers in the sandbox. I figure we have about ten minutes before they think they’re close enough to attack.”
Harry went to the position they’d dug for him. He didn’t like having his people scattered on all sides of the clearing, but he’d had no way of knowing which direction an enemy would come from. They’d consolidate quickly if things went into the crapper.
“Liberty Six, Long Gun.” It was Sandra.
“Go Long Gun.”
“I have eyes on the intruders. They look like locals. No armor. Some guns. Some machetes. They’re sending scouts toward the clearing. Orders?”
“Do not engage unless they make the first move. I’d prefer we scare them off.”
“Copy. Shoot to defecate.”
He smiled. “Orders confirmed.”
Harry settled in to wait.
* * * * *
Nathan watched the primitives come closer and considered his options. He grinned and brought the drone’s explosive package online. If he used it just right, he might be able to screw his brother over. It wouldn’t stop him in the end, but he owed the bastard.
He sent the drone slowly down.
* * * * *
Jess finished taking pictures of everything she thought was interesting. The pilot’s console had gone dark again, so she brought it to life once more and took detailed close ups. Maybe one of the mission pilots could help her make sense of the icons and graphs.
She’d just finished when a sharp explosion went off somewhere above her. The ship didn’t move, so it couldn’t have been too bad. She stood there listening, dreading. If the ceiling collapsed, it would probably crush the ship and her.
Something small bounced off the hull. She waited in dread, but that was it.
Once she was relatively certain that she wasn’t going to die, she ventured to the hatch and looked out. Her light showed she was in trouble again. Rocks covered the stairs leading up. Perfect. She scanned the ceiling with her light and it looked intact. Jess hoped it stayed that way.
“Harry,” she said over the radio. “Can you hear me?”
No response.
She ran her hand over her face. Now what?
* * * * *
The unexpected explosion made Harry throw himself down. There wasn’t any follow up gunfire, so he peeked over the log behind him. It had come from somewhere back toward the clearing.
Shit.
He ran back as fast as he could. The trapdoor had fallen into the stairwell. He skidded to a halt and stared at the damage with dismay. Only a small opening remained. The entrance had collapsed.
Harry keyed his radio. “Jess, are you okay? Jess?”
No response. The ceiling was obviously intact, so she was probably safe. As long as he could get her out before her air went bad. Or the roof really did collapse.
Where had the explosion come from? Did the locals have a mortar? He doubted it. He’d have heard the round on the way in and the damage would’ve been significantly worse. This was a surgical strike.
If it wasn’t the locals, odds were it was Nathan. His father’s men hadn’t arrived. He’d have heard the helicopter. That little bastard was still around here somewhere.
“Liberty Team, this is Liberty Six,” he said over the radio. “Be advised we have advanced hostiles in the area. If you see someone, light them up. Long Gun, what is the status of the locals?”
“Holding position and conferring,” Sandra said. “I don’t think they liked the sound of that explosion. Some of them seem to be circling around, maybe to get a look from the other side of the clearing.”
“Keep the main group in sight. I’m going after the client.”
“Scout to Liberty Six, you need to charge extra.”
As if he wouldn’t make his father pay through the nose for everything. “I will. Go find that bastard, Rex. Bring me his head.”
“Copy that.”
The opening looked wide enough for Harry to wiggle into. Hopefully the slab wouldn’t shift and crush him.
* * * * *
Jess looked at the rock pile with dismay. It completely cut off the stairs and there was no telling how much rubble was there. If she started digging, it would continue to fall out. All she had were her hands, anyway.
A few minutes later, the sound of stone scraping stone startled her. That wasn’t falling rock. It came from the other side of the chamber from the collapsed stairway.
The sound was too steady to be natural. It was as though someone was dragging a rock across the floor every few seconds. She jogged to the side of the spacecraft and aimed her light over at the wall.
Part of it was open a little. It slid an inch more as she watched. Its jerky movement gave her the idea that it was almost jammed. She couldn’t see inside it, but it had to be some kind of hidden entrance. That meant there was a way out.
And that someone was sneaking in, probably to do bad things to her.
What should she do? Hide in the ship? If she closed the hatch, she’d probably be safe for the time being. And trapped. If she stayed outside the ship, they’d see her.
She could try to bluff them with the gun, but that seemed stupid. What would she do if they called her on it? Give up, most likely. She didn’t see herself getting into a gunfight.
Jess decided stealth was her best course of action. She ran back into the ship, ducked into the engineering space, and chewed her lip. Taking a deep breath, she opened the cover shielding the glowing cube and yanked it out.
Nothing terrible happened. Hopefully, she wasn’t getting soaked in lethal radiation. She couldn’t leave this for them to find. She stuffed it into her pack.
She raced back out of the ship and yanked the key from the lock. The hatch slowly slid shut. The cube must not be its only power source. It didn’t budge when she tugged on it.
Most people were right handed and they tended to go around things on their dominant side. She slid to the other side of the ship and turned off her light.
The door scraped along for another minute and stopped. She knew her eyes would reflect any light they carried, so she looked at the ceiling. There was one source of light moving toward the other side of the ship.
So far, so good.
Once she judged that they were rounding the ship, she started around her side. With the bulk of the vessel between them, they’d be none the wiser as long as she didn’t give herself away.
The reflections of their light were just strong enough for her to see the door. Refusing to run, she walked toward it as quietly as she could.
The door opened onto a dirty chamber scarcely three feet across. A passage led straight up from there with holes cut into the rock for climbing. Dim light filtered in from somewhere above.
She considered closing the door, but even if she could move it, she might be trapping those people down here to die. She’d just have to take the chance that they wouldn’t come up and catch her in the act of escaping.
Jess made it abou
t two thirds of the way up when someone shouted below her. A glance down showed someone climbing rapidly toward her while a second person shined a bright light upward.
Time to pick up the pace.
She threw caution to the wind and raced toward the surface. If she fell now, they’d kill or capture her, so she jammed her boots into the holes as deeply as she could.
Which, in hindsight, might have been a mistake. Her foot got stuck just shy of the surface.
Jess cursed and wiggled her foot. When she felt it give, she yanked hard. Her boot came loose, and so did the stone. It fell straight down and smashed into the man behind her. Much screaming ensued.
“Sorry,” she said as she pulled herself up to the surface. Hopefully it didn’t kill either of them.
She came out into the dim light filtering through the trees and jumped to her feet. It looked as though they’d rolled a rock out of the way to gain access to the passage.
“Well, well. It looks like I get a second chance after all. There must be a god.”
Jess whirled and stared at the man in camouflage leaning against a tree. He had a pistol held loosely in his hand. “Come along quietly and I won’t have to use this. Resist and my idiot brother can carry your corpse home in a body bag.”
* * * * *
Harry was still trying to widen the hole enough to wedge himself inside when shots rang out to the west. A lot of shots. He sprang to his feet and headed for the tree line at a jog.
“Shots fired,” Rex said. “Somewhere back toward the clearing.”
“Who’s engaged?” Harry asked.
A chorus of negatives came back.
He looked around the tree he’d chosen for cover. “Enough of this crap. Pop smoke and drive our visitors back. Rex, you and I will find the source of those shots.”