by Dean, Warren
But what if something had gone wrong? What if they had called for help and Chang had elected not to respond? For reasons of his own, it may have suited him to be rid of them.
Her nagging doubts made the first two days she spent in the brig almost unbearable. If something had happened to the two men, it was her fault. She could easily have told them that there was no way to get onto the ship without being seen. Of course, they might have tried anyway. Then they would almost definitely have been captured, but at least they would be alive.
She had warned Carson not to say anything about their plan to the other inmates of the brig. She was sure that they wouldn't be able to help discussing it amongst themselves and would be overheard. So she and Carson kept what they knew to themselves and concentrated on appearing frustrated and angry, as captives with no hope of rescue would.
On the second day the hatch opened and half a dozen armed soldiers entered, motioning the inmates to move back.
Chang followed them in. "I am sorry general, I don't mean to tread on your toes," he said sarcastically to Armitage. "However, my country's need is greater than yours; it has the biggest population on the planet. I assure you that, once we have completed the project and begun our programme of extra-terrestrial colonisation, we will make the star drive available to the rest of the world."
"That will take years, you bastard." Armitage's rage was alive and well. "Meanwhile the rest of the world will suffer."
"The rest of the world is not my responsibility." Chang turned to Katya. "Where did you think you were going when you were apprehended, Colonel?"
She shrugged. "The captain and I were going to try to sneak on board the shuttle. We were hoping to get back to Earth without your knowledge. It might have worked if my suit hadn't malfunctioned."
Chang's face betrayed no reaction to her explanation. "To ensure the co-operation of your governments, you will be our guests until we have finished the project." He ignored the loud snort from Armitage. "Provided you behave sensibly, you will not be harmed."
Having delivered his implied threat, he turned and walked out, accompanied by his soldiers. The hatch was shut and the lock re-activated. He made no mention of Hans and Harry, which Katya decided to take as a good sign.
The inmates were left alone after that, and there was nothing to do but watch the news channels on the wall-screen. That turned out to be a dubious distraction, however. All they saw was a seemingly never-ending series of confrontations, riots and fire fights. The worst was what had happened in Russia.
Despite Yashin's assurances, Belanov's arsenal had not been found. At first, it seemed to have been an idle threat; the ramblings of a madman. The deadline came and went without any attack on Moscow. But, just when the Russians were breathing a sigh of relief, the city of Yekaterinburg, south of the Urals, was hit by a series of missiles. The attack was sudden, unexpected and devastating. The Russian military had concentrated its defences around Moscow and the smaller city was completely unprotected.
Unable to watch the scenes of death and destruction any longer, Katya switched the channel to CNN. In disbelief, she watched footage of a mob rampaging through Washington DC. The people were not heavily armed and were not doing any significant damage, but somehow the sight seemed more shocking than the burning buildings in Yekaterinburg. If the West's superpower was unable to control its people, what hope did the rest of the world have?
No-one objected when she switched off the wall-screen. She walked over to a bunk bed and lay down, facing the wall. She had no intention of sleeping; she just wanted to concentrate on nursing the anger that was building within her. Anger at what was happening to millions of innocent people on Earth; and anger at Chang's actions. If he was to have his way, the world would be denied technology which might save it from anarchy.
For some people, anger was a distraction which prevented them from thinking rationally. Not Katya. She used it to fuel her creativity. The angrier she became, the less chance her enemies had of withstanding her plan of action. She couldn't speak to anyone about the unscheduled launch of Earthworm, but that didn't matter. She was used to relying on her own initiative.
On the morning of her third day in the brig, she decided that it was time to enlist the help of the other inmates. She waited until after breakfast had been delivered before subtly indicating to Armitage, Carson, Vitaly and Heller that she wanted to have a discussion in the bathroom. Vitaly and Heller made a show of getting ready to take showers, and then went into the shower room. They turned on the hot water, creating as much noise and steam as possible, so that it would be difficult for whoever was monitoring the surveillance cameras to see and hear them. The general and Carson joined them, creating even more steam, while Katya slipped into an adjacent lavatory cubicle.
Raising her voice over the noise of the showers, she hoped it was not loud enough for the surveillance cameras to pick up. She quickly outlined where Hans and Harry had gone and what they were intending to do.
"They're crazy," grumbled Armitage.
She ignored the comment. "At ten o'clock the electronic lock on the main hatch will release."
"How do you know that?" asked the general.
"I have positioned a stun-grenade in the electronics recess behind the ops room. It is powerful enough to knock out the systems inside, one of which controls the lock. The lock itself is programmed to open automatically if its system fails."
"Is it?" The general was surprised.
"It is a safety feature. If the base is damaged to the extent that its systems fail, people won't be trapped in the brig. You should read your own base manual."
"How are we going to get to the ship?" Carson interrupted.
"The grenade will knock out more than just the lock, so the ops room will have quite a few systems failures to contend with. That should give us a chance to get clear before anyone realises what is happening. The critical thing will be for us to silence the guards outside the hatch before they can sound the alarm. From what I have seen at mealtimes, there are two stationed there at all times, armed with laser-repeaters. When the food is delivered, they stand back from the hatch and cover it. They won't be expecting the lock to fail, so they are unlikely to be fully alert when it does."
"We have no weapons, how are we going to silence them?"
"The explosion of the grenade should distract them for a moment, which should give two of us enough time to get through the hatch and take them out."
"Which two?"
"Heller and I will do it."
"You?" interjected Armitage. "Heller I can understand, but you are..."
"A woman?" she finished for him.
"That is not what I meant; those are Special Forces soldiers out there."
Vitaly coughed apologetically before speaking. "Do not worry, general, I have seen Colonel Kasparova in action. She could disable both of those soldiers by herself in the blink of an eye."
"There is one more thing," Katya broke in impatiently. "The grenade will get us out of the brig, but the Chinese will soon spot us if we simply head for the hangar bay. We are going to need a diversion."
There was a moment of silence.
"I'll do it," growled an unexpected volunteer. Katya was as surprised as the others to hear Armitage's voice.
Carson objected immediately. "No sir, you must come with us. I won't leave you in Chang's clutches. If we succeed in getting away, he may decide to take it out on you."
"I won't abandon my base to that usurper," snarled the general. "No, it seems to me that the best diversion would be for me to make a lot of noise when we escape. Chang will concentrate his efforts on re-capturing me and the rest of you may be able to get away." He paused. "But I will only do it on one condition; Carson must go with you."
"No sir! I won't desert you."
"That is an order, Captain. The only way Chang could get me to co-operate with him would be to put a gun to your head. If you escape on the ship, he will have no control over me. Don't worry; he is not g
oing to kill me. He needs me as a hostage."
They quickly discussed who would make for the ship and who would join Armitage's diversion. Then Katya left her cubicle and the men finished their showers.
By then, there wasn't much time until the grenade was due to detonate. Katya hoped fervently that it wouldn't malfunction. She would look pretty silly if nothing happened at ten o'clock and the hatch remained locked.
She sat, still and calm, subtly watching the others for signs of nervousness. Vitaly was tense, occasionally biting his nails. She caught his eye and shook her head slightly. He understood and relaxed, at least outwardly. Carson and Heller distracted themselves by playing an apparently intense game of electronic hockey on the table top touchscreen. Armitage betrayed no signs of stress. It seemed that he had some steel buried deep within his generally cantankerous temperament.
By now, the others had been brought up to speed on what was about to happen and each had been assigned a part to play. None of them were particularly adept at hiding their anxiety, but the occasional ferocious glare from Armitage helped to stiffen their backbones. For the first time since her arrival at the moonbase Katya felt a glimmer of respect for the American general.
A few minutes before ten, Heller stood up and went over to the wall-screen above the hatch. He switched it on and flicked through channels as if trying to decide which one to watch. She was sure he was the right choice to accompany her out into the corridor. He was young and athletic and had been in the Northern European armed forces since he was eighteen. He had seen action as part of a United Nations force which had intervened in the fierce border war between Ethiopia and Sudan a few years ago. He had also served two tours in the Fifty Years war in Afghanistan. He would understand what had to be done. It was not their intention to kill the guards, but if there was no choice he wouldn't hesitate.
She remained slumped in her chair a few feet from the hatch. The plan was for Heller to go through it first. She let him think it was so that he could take out the first guard and then be able to help her despatch the second. The real reason was because what Vitaly had said about her was true. She was so quick she could afford to give Heller a head start and still hit her target first.
Ten o'clock came and went, and nothing happened. She wasn't sure whether they would be able to hear the explosion in the electronics recess, so the signal to move was the release of the lock. The time ticked by and her heart sank. The timers on Russian stun-grenades were not completely accurate, especially over a period of three days, but the more seconds and minutes went by, the less likely it became that the grenade would detonate.
She saw the tension go out of Heller's shoulders as he decided that nothing was going to happen. He glanced at her, but she remained still. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Armitage's face reddening. Not the most patient of characters at the best of times, he had held it together for a full three minutes. But that was his limit and he opened his mouth, presumably to start blasting her for her incompetence.
And then they heard the lock release. To his credit, Heller didn't hesitate. He sprang forward instantly, ripped the hatch open and leapt into the corridor. She didn't have time to worry about why the lock had released; whether it was because the grenade had done its work, or because someone had chosen that moment to visit the brig. She exploded forward, hot on the German lieutenant's heels.
She saw him go left and her first glance was to the right. She saw no-one and whipped around to follow him. Two soldiers were about ten yards away on the left; one sitting on a stool and the other on his feet lounging against the opposite wall. Heller went for the latter, crossing the distance in a split second.
Although they had both been momentarily distracted by the explosion, the soldiers were well trained and reacted quickly. The one on his feet was the more alert of the two and he managed to get his laser-repeater up to partially block Heller's charge. The German countered by smoothly sweeping his adversary's feet out from under him, but on hitting the floor the soldier rolled expertly away and bounded back up, still trying to get his repeater to bear.
Katya reached the second soldier as he began to stand up from his stool. Without slowing, she used the sole of her left foot to smash into the side of his knee. Its ligaments gave way with a hollow snapping sound and he hit the floor with an agonised shriek. She stamped hard on his temple with her other heel, leaving him senseless.
Heller had flung himself bodily at the other soldier, bearing him to the ground and trapping the rifle between them. But the soldier was surprisingly strong and managed to wriggle halfway out from under him, wrestling so desperately that the German began to lose his grip.
Katya skipped across the corridor and drove the toe of her right boot into the second soldier's abdomen, just below his ribcage. The kick drove the breath out of him and, as he doubled up, she kicked him again, this time on the point of his jaw. He collapsed like boiled spaghetti and Heller was able to scramble to his feet.
The altercation had taken no more than a few seconds. In that time the others had come out of the brig. She could see Carson and Vitaly hurrying away down the corridor. Without a word, she and Heller picked up the soldiers' laser-repeaters and sprinted off in the other direction. The others waited until they were clear before moving away from the brig more slowly.
They had decided that it would look foolish for Armitage and the others to try to evade capture. There was nowhere for them to go and Chang would probably smell a rat. So the plan was for them to march straight towards the ops room. As soon as they were seen, Armitage would loudly demand to see General Chang. That would give the Chinese soldiers a focal point to converge on, distracting them from the four who had been chosen to make for the ship. It wouldn't take long for Chang to realise that some of the prisoners were missing, but the hangar bay wasn't far from the brig and the escapees should have enough time to get there before the alarm was raised.
Their main goal was to make sure that at least one of the cosmonauts got onto the ship. So they had decided to split up and double their chances of success. Vitaly had teamed up with Carson, and Katya with Heller. Each pair would take a different route to the hangar bay so that, if one pair was caught, the other might still make it.
Katya and Heller didn't bother trying to keep out of sight. Their biggest advantage was the element of surprise, so they simply ran. She checked to make sure that the laser-repeater she was carrying was set to stun. She did not want to kill anyone, but anyone who tried to get in her way would be regret it.
Within a few minutes of leaving the brig, they neared the hangar bay. With Katya in the lead, they rounded the corner without slowing. Two soldiers were standing guard at the hatch and, without hesitation, she scythed them down with a burst of laser fire. She and Heller raced past the twitching bodies and then slowed to a walk, hiding the repeaters behind their backs. They walked nonchalantly into the hangar bay on the off chance that they wouldn't be noticed.
It was a vain hope. There were two more soldiers stationed at the loading bay ramp of the ship, and they had been alerted by the burst of laser fire. They caught sight of the escapees and opened fire. Katya reacted by throwing herself behind a cargo crate, but Heller wasn't so lucky. A laser burst hit him squarely in the chest and he went down, jerking spasmodically. She hoped he had been stunned rather than killed, but either way she couldn't help him. She heard the soldiers calling for back-up and knew that the bay would be crawling with reinforcements in seconds.
The soldiers were experienced veterans; they didn't make the mistake of approaching her position, giving her easy targets to hit. Instead, they took cover and waited for help.
While they remained where they were, it would be very difficult for anyone to get onto the ship. And time was running out fast. She wasn't prepared to sit idly by and watch their escape plan fail. She decided to charge the soldiers, drawing their fire. If she was quick, she should be able to hit at least one of them before they got her. Then Carson and Vitaly would have a b
etter chance of reaching the ship. They had better have made it to the hangar bay by now, or she was going to be making a pointless sacrifice.
She got into a crouch, took a deep breath, and sprang away from the crate. She sprinted towards the ship, jinking and swerving. The first burst of laser fire missed her, whipping past her left ear and giving away the position of one of the soldiers. She dived to the right, rolled, and came up firing. She had the satisfaction of seeing him go flying backwards, but now she was a sitting duck. She threw herself to the ground as the other soldier opened fire, missing with his first volley. She tensed for the shock of being hit.
Instead, she heard the crack of a gunshot and the laser fire ceased abruptly. She realised instantly what must have happened. Carson had retrieved his sidearm and used it to shoot the second soldier. She looked up to see him racing into the bay from a hatch on her left hand side. She was relieved to see Vitaly following a step behind. They had almost reached the loading bay ramp when a squad of soldiers boiled out of the hatch behind them and opened fire.
She wasted no more time and sprang to her feet, firing at the incoming soldiers. They dived for cover and she used the opportunity to sprint for the ship. By the time she got there the other two were already aboard.
"Close it!" she screamed at them as she hurled herself onto the ramp. She carried on firing at the soldiers, forcing them to stay behind cover, and hoping that her repeater had been fully charged by its erstwhile owner. She risked a glance into the loading bay, where Carson and Vitaly were hunting frantically for the control panel which operated the ramp.
"On the bulkhead to your left!" she yelled at Carson. "Does no-one read the manuals in this place?"