by David Byrd
“The lift is now open to your quarters but I assume you will want to work here as hard and fast as you can because I intend to inject both of those two gentlemen two days from now with my latest work.” Gorman said as she left the lab.
Julia looked at Jevin and Nash helpless in the cubes. She had to find a way to free them or to comply with Gorman’s request and only forty eight hours to do it.
Julia slowly beat her head against the wall of the cube, not hurting herself but thinking…She had to think her way out of this. She tapped on her forehead…her temples…just trying to keep thinking clearly and not getting emotional about the situation. She absently tapped her neck but couldn’t keep from thinking about what would happen.
“I just wish Zara was here,” she said quietly.
“I’m here Doc…and I’m really glad to hear your voice.” Zara said through the DT.
Julia gasped and snapped upright.
“Zara! How…Where are you,” Julia cried out.
“Calm down Julia geez…you’ll wake the dead. Jevin and Nash didn’t check in on time so I figured something fouled up. I brought the StarSeeker down on the surface above the crater and used a suit and pack to get into the base. So here’s what we are going to do.”
Chapter 26
Henry J. Nash arrived at the headquarters of Paxton Bio and wasted no time in demanding to see Burke. After a short delay he was admitted into the man’s office.
“Henry…always an unexpected pleasure to see you.” Burke said. “But I’m very busy as you know with all the talk going on. Very exciting I must say but I’m sure you know all about it.”
“Yes Burke I know a great deal about a lot of subjects,” Henry Nash said. “We could start with the fake alien infection on RanClor IV that you were behind. Or we could start with your top researcher, I believe her name is Julia Danforth that you sent to investigate and has mysteriously disappeared. We could talk about the multiple attempts on my son’s life by that cowardly, entitled dolt you call a son.”
Burke’s face flared in anger at the last barb but he held it in.
“Your son destroyed Caldwell’s future. He would have performed military service and then been elevated quickly into the Earth Council and would have held a high post by now but because of Quintin Nash, he was drummed out of the service. You have no idea how much I hate your son Henry. I’m only too happy that he seems to have gone missing.” Burke said.
“I can understand your vendetta against my son Burke, I really do in a way. You never were able to join the service yourself…I believe it had something to do with a rather embarrassing medical condition you have. So you tried to live your dreams through your son but I guess the genes were just too similar.” Henry Nash said.
Burke rose from his desk leering back at Nash. “I have the pleasure of knowing that your son is soon going to be a worm or a hideous monstrosity. I just wish we could send him to you after he’s been injected with the alien serum. I’d love to see your face.” Burke said.
“Thank you Burke I think that about does it to hang you for treason.” Henry Nash said raising his left arm where a flexible gauntlet band was affixed broadcasting every moment of the conversation.
At the same time two officers entered the room placing Burke under arrest. As he was led out he continued to shout. “You’ll never see your son again as a human Nash! And if you think this is the end of the program…think again!”
Chapter 27
Brielle Gorman was running out of time. Her office had a series of rooms for her quarters off the main office and she was standing in front of a full length mirror seeing how far the discoloration had spread. What was once a marvelous discovery creating smooth young flesh had turned her into a scaly monster. Not only the left hand, but her leg and abdomen had the greenish tinge that would soon follow with scales. She knew Danforth was correct about the DNA, her own research had led her to the same conclusions but she couldn’t accept it at the time. But the work had to continue so if Danforth could not find a way to stop the progression she would have to de-commission this station and continue her work elsewhere for there were certainly more black operation stations scattered about. The military was careful not to place all the eggs in one basket and as long as those few generals could keep the programs a secret she would have plenty of work.
An explosion sounded which shook the mirror slightly. She hurried to her desk and palmed the console to the garrison.
“What was that?” she asked as a man appeared on the screen.
“We’re not sure Ma’am,” the man said. “It was an explosion of some kind in dome 4. We’re moving out to check on it now. “
Gorman switched off the console and thought for a minute. She was a survivor and had a keen sense of danger that kept her alive longer than many of her peers. Concerned that her contacts in Earth government had not been communicating with her in the last week coupled with the unexpected break in by Captain Nash she had to wonder if this complex had been compromised and was being scrubbed. Gorman made a quick decision and went to a secure closet where she pulled out a “bug out bag”. A carefully packed emergency pack with everything she needed.
Zara waited until the men had entered the airlock for the abandoned dome and after counting to fifty, she moved to the outer hatch and using a few of Jevin’s control modules, shorted the connection to the inside release effectively locking the guards in the dome. She then made her way cautiously around the garrison quarters and down the hallway to the main complex. Zara looked around the office and even the freight lift but reasoned that Nash and Jevin had been surprised somehow which was a difficult thing to pull off unless there was a trap. The most likely place being the easy to access lift. So she skirted the lift taking the stairs up to the next level. Julia had described the level of the director’s office and her quarters plus the lift to the lower lab. Zara recognized the hallway and made her way silently to the lift. Inside she attached a module to the hand plate. Her gauntlet displayed the schematic and wiring diagram and the controls. “Hmm biometrics she said quietly. This is really Jevin’s job so I better not screw this up.”
Manipulating the safety systems, Zara instructed the lift to enter into admin mode. This was a standard lift from a well-known manufacturer so it would have a training and a safety menu. She accessed the training menu and instructed the lift to move to the lower level. In training mode the passwords and biometrics were ignored. The lift double doors closed and silently moved downward.
When the doors opened Julia was waiting and rushed into the lift hugging Zara so hard she though a rib might break.
“Zara I’m so glad to see you,” Julia said.
“Same here Doc, I really missed you. And we have you to thank for saving us back on RanClor IV. If not for your warning we would have been killed there.” Zara said. “So let’s get our boys and get the hell out of here.”
Zara followed Julia through the lab to the last containment cubes.
“Wow that’s some piece of work running this place. It’s gonna give me bad dreams for sure,” Zara said.
She attached a module to the side of the containment cube and consulted her gauntlet. It was a simple cypher lock phrase that she fed back to the cube which immediately dissolved one end. Julia rushed in and checked Nash’s vitals.
“He’s fine just sedated. I need to get an auto-injector and stimulants.” Julia said as she hurried off to another part of the lab. Meanwhile Zara repeated the procedure on the other cube and went in to check Jevin who seemed to be out of it but snoring loudly.
Julia was back in a minute with two injectors giving one to Zara. They each injected their patients bringing both men back to consciousness within a few seconds.
Jevin revived first looking up at Zara’s concerned face.
“Is that an angel or am I dreaming?” He said.
“Glad your back big guy, now ogle me later…we’ve got to get out of here,” Zara said with a smile.
Letting out a deep breath
Jevin got up following Zara out of the cube.
The group had a joyful moment reuniting and then immediately set about to effect escape.
“Zara this is your baby,” Nash said. “How do we get out of this place?”
“There’s only one way up other than that freight lift trap you two managed to get caught in and that’s the other lift,” she said. “I managed to use a few of Jevin’s tricks to hard wire it.”
“Wait…I need a minute to download all the data here. Ms. Frankenstein upstairs has created some truly horrible things here but there is also data on the alien parasite and some references to the military. I’ll just be 5 minutes,” she said hurrying off to the office with the information console.
Nash turned to Zara and Jevin when Julia left.
“If the Military is somehow involved in this then we have to assume that they’ll do anything to keep it a secret.” Nash said.
“And that means that even when we get off this rock, we will be a target.” Jevin said. “Unless…”
“Unless? What’s in that oversized brain of yours Jev?” Zara asked.
“Unless we can get some of this information Julia is gathering out to the media services.” Jevin said. “We’ll be on the run as assuming we can get out of here and then we need to find a safe place to upload the data.”
“Where would that be Jev?” Nash asked.
“Well…I’m still working on that,” he replied.
Julia rushed back moments later pocketing a data cube.
“Got it…everything related to the experiments here, the parasite and some of the projects they were working towards.” Julia said.
“Alright Zara, you’re on.” Nash said.
Chapter 28
“Commander, we have a priority incoming message from Earth Force Alliance Command.” The communications officer said.
“Authenticated?” Commander Mackson replied.
“Yes sir, operational codes verified.” The officer said.
Mackson pursed his lips in thought. Flash directives in the start of a campaign were always problematic.
“Alright let’s have it.” Mackson said.
“EFA Commander Mackson from EFA Command, Special forces unit will be arriving shortly in your rendezvous waypoint. Unit designated Tango Sierra 7 with classified mission in nearby space. Do not attempt to contact or interfere with TS7 mission. EFA Command, Message Ends.” The communication officer replied and looked at the Commander for orders.
Mackson was lost in thought for a moment. A Special Forces unit he was not made aware of just before a major operation launched. Well as long as it didn’t interfere with his mission parameters he would log it as a concern and move on.
“Send reply acknowledgement and then file the message.” Mackson said.
“Roger Sir.” The officer replied.
Five minutes later a ship entered normal space from FTL into the area near the taskforce sending identifying codes as Tango Sierra Seven. The taskforce monitored the ship alter heading away from the fleet towards the no fly zone red line.
Zara activated the lift bringing the group up to the living quarters. By agreement they felt that Dr. Gorman had to be taken so they carefully approached the office.
Nash moved to the door drawing his weapon but then motioned the others forward because the door was partially open. Entering the office they searched the empty rooms already realizing that Gorman had escaped. A rumble could be heard and slightly felt vibrating through the walls and floor. They knew immediately what that meant and hastily rushed out and towards the landing bay but they were too late as the freighter lifted clear of the complex and headed up into space.
“Zara, you’re the only one with a suit. You’ll have to go back and bring the ship in.” Nash said.
Zara quickly put on the external suit she left in the hallway and took off immediately for the StarSeeker. Jevin, Nash and Julia made their way over to the garrison to see if there was any data they could glean that might be left behind. It was a certainty that the stationed troops had left with the freighter.
“They left in a hurry,” Jevin said. “There is still hot coffee in the galley back there.”
“That’s what worries me,” Nash said. “This place could be wired. They might only need to send a signal to purge it.”
The DT’s chimed twice and Zara practically shouted. “Head’s up we’ve got incoming traffic!”
Nash looked out the garrison window to see a sleek black ship entering the bay and settling down on the landing pad.
“Dammit…we’re out of time here. Zara, get moving, we’ll hold out here.” Nash said.
“What do you think that ship is here for?” Julia asked.
“It’s the cleanup crew Doc,” Jevin said. They are here to sanitize this base and everything in it.”
“Jev, the troops here left in a hurry so there may be ordinance left…see what you can find larger than our pulse pistols.” Nash said.
Soon after, Jevin found a couple of pulse rifles from an armory cabinet passing one over to Nash.
“Julia I need for you to go find an interior room and stay there,” Nash said. “This is going to be a firefight.”
Julia looked at Nash and Jevin and with a frown and a hard set to her face she reached over and pulled out Nash’s pulse pistol and clicked off the safety.
“On no…I’m not separating from you guys again and I’ve already told you Quintin J. Nash that I can handle myself with a gun.” Julia said firmly planting her hands on her hips.
Jevin couldn’t keep the grin off his face and Nash had to concede the argument.
“Ok…well I guess I lost that one,” Nash said.
“Damn right, now where do you want me?” she replied.
“Down behind that heavy desk for the moment. You’ll cover us.” He said secretly admiring her grit and not for the first time.
Jevin and Nash watched covertly as three men emerged from the ship. They were wearing black body armor with full darkened face shields. The men headed directly for the hallway to the inner offices and laboratories.
“Whew…this is bigger than we thought Nash.” Jevin said.
“Yep…that’s a standard elite unit…a five man team so two are still in the ship. It’s straight out of the training manuals.” Nash replied. “Our best bet might be to try and take the ship. What do you estimate for the mission time?”
“I’d say standard fifteen minutes to purge data and set charges. They won’t find anyone in the lab areas so it could be sooner.” Jevin replied.
“It’ll have to do but I sure wish we knew how many were still on the ship,” Nash said.
“Gentlemen, do the women in your lives have to do all the work around here?” Julia said from behind. As the men turned they could see that she was holding three exo suits in her arms.
“This is a base in space you know so it stands to reason they would need to go on the surface of this place sometime right?” Julia said.
“I think I’m in love,” Jevin said appreciatively.
“You amaze me Julia Danforth,” Nash said grinning. “Let’s get the hell out of here before the fireworks start.”
Donning the suits, they silently made their way out of the garrison and to an external bay airlock used for maintenance access. The same hatch Zara entered from. Fortunately they were not detected and were soon bounding over the surface. Zara gave the StarSeeker’s position over DT and soon all three were in the ship. After changing out of the exo suits all four strapped in on the bridge.
“Alright everyone what’s your opinion? Blast off under full stealth or wait until they leave first?” Nash asked.
“They could have set enough explosives to blow this place apart. If we wait we might be caught in the blast.” Zara said.
“But even though we are in electronic stealth mode, they might be able to detect our engines when we liftoff.” Jevin said.
“We can’t risk staying so we’ll blast off and energize the hull plating but
we need a short jump vector that ship won’t be expecting if they detect us.” Nash said.
“I’ve got it covered,” Jevin replied. “Entering coordinates now. We need about thirty seconds to clear the planetoid before the jump. Hopefully that crew is not as on the ball as our lovely Zara.”
“OK hit it Zara,” Nash said.
Zara expertly lifted off and headed in the opposite direction from the base. Jevin had active scanning on the hanger and noticed the blip taking off followed by a massive explosion from the planetoid just before the stars blurred and they entered FTL.
A short time later they emerged from FTL and came to a stop with full stealth active. They all held their breath for at least 30 seconds before relaxing. It seemed their ploy worked and they were not detected.
Zara was frowning checking the star charts and current coordinates.
“Jev, where the hell did you send us?” she asked.
“Why the last place anyone would think to look…Deeper into Telvari space.” He replied. “They wouldn’t believe anyone would jump further into Telvari space and the normal FTL waypoints could have been under surveillance.”
“Wow…really Jev, you put us into Telvari space…” Zara started.
“Hold on…Getting a lot of contacts suddenly,” Jevin said. “Bearing 327, I count thirty…no sixty ships. It’s…holy crap…It has to be the fleet and they are heading directly into Telvari homeworld space!”
“But why would the fleet be here? Julia asked.
Nash turned to look at her and she could see the grave import this news had on him. Zara and Jevin were also visibly upset which was unusual for this group.
“Because…it means war!” Nash said quietly.
Chapter 29
“Jev can you plot a heading to Earth from here in the fewest jumps possible?” Nash asked.
“Earth! Are you kidding me, we’ll be shot down as soon as we make the system.” Jevin replied. “Why Earth?”