Long Shot

by Christopher Williams

Aaron was silent for a moment, considering how best to ask his next question. “What would have happened if we had been able to turn the tide of the war? If the Commonwealth had won, would we still have been executed?”

  Dr. Moore didn’t answer, not with words anyway but his dropping of his eyes to the floor was answer enough.

  A feeling of depression settled on Aaron’s shoulders. He had been used by his own country and the government had planned to simply discard him and the other volunteers when they were done with them.

  He took a deep breath, steadying himself. “How many of us are still alive?” His words were calm but there was a fierceness in the quiet tone that seemed to scare Dr. Moore even worse than the shouting.

  “I don’t know,” the doctor answered, shaking his head. “I,” he paused before continuing in a rush, “I was sent to handle your squad and three others.”

  The volunteers had been divided into squads, each of five members. They had been grouped together based on their abilities and had been training together for nearly six months. “How many of the twenty that you were sent to kill are still alive?”

  Moore swallowed hard. “Just your squad.”

  Aaron stared down at the cringing doctor, forcing himself to resist the urge to kill the man right out. “Get up,” he motioned towards the door, “open it.”

  Dr. Moore climbed slowly to his feet, a little unsteady. He reached out a shaking hand to the keypad.

  Aaron stepped up close. “Don’t do anything stupid; you’ll be dead before you hit the floor.”

  The doctor nodded and punched in a six digit code causing the door to slide open. Aaron followed him closely into the next room.

  When they had been assigned to squads, their living arrangements were changed, grouping squad members together. Aaron’s door opened into a common living area that had six other doors besides Aaron’s. One of those doors led to the hallway and out of their living area, a second door led to a shared shower, and the other four doors opened into cells just like Aaron’s. His four fellow squad members should be behind those doors. For the doctor’s sake, his fellow squad members had better be alive.

  He pointed to the nearest door. “Open it.”

  The doctor hesitated. “You can’t get away. There is no escape.”

  Aaron leaned close. “You had better hope you’re mistaken, because if we die, then you die with us.”

  Sweating now, Moore moved up close to the second door. In moments, the door slid open and a woman stood just inside the door. Her arms were crossed and her face was an angry mask. As soon as the door opened, she stepped through and slapped Dr. Moore across the face.

  The doctor stepped backwards, nearly falling over. Aaron quickly interjected himself between the two. “At ease, Major.”

  Major Susan Ingram turned her glare on him. She was of average height and slim, but in good physical shape. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore no makeup. She wouldn’t be called attractive, although she wasn’t un-attractive either. She was plain and didn’t seem to try overly hard. Her nose was perhaps a little too wide for her face and her hair pulled back tight gave her a masculine look. “They were going to kill us,” she said simply.

  Aaron nodded. “I know.” He held up the laser needle, showing it to her. “Poison,” he said simply. He wasn’t surprised that Susan already knew about the government’s plan for them, no matter what talent she had come in with, the experiments had turned her into a telepath. Telepaths were far more rare than empaths. While empaths could sense a person’s emotions, a telepath could actually hear the thoughts of other people. “How long have you known?”

  “Almost a day,” she replied simply. “I could sense the feelings of rage and betrayal as they started killing the patients.”

  Aaron didn’t respond right away; he could only imagine the feeling of helplessness that must have threatened to overwhelm Susan as she sensed what was going on around them. He had only suspected that something horrible was going on, but she had actually known.

  “I’ll be okay,” Susan said, as if reading his thoughts. She was staring at him intently.

  “Come on then,” Aaron said, giving her a small smile. “Let’s see if we can get away from this awful place.” He hadn’t known Susan before they had been assigned to this squad, but she had been easy to like. She was cool, unemotional, and very dedicated to her job. She was also his second-in-command.

  “And if we can’t get away,” Susan asked, continuing to watch him.

  He probably didn’t need to verbalize his answer to a telepath, but he did anyway. “Then we die trying.”

  They moved on, opening the other doors. First out was Captain Russell Hicks. He was in his mid-thirties and in excellent physical conditioning. His brown hair was cut short as befitting a military man and there was a touch of grey scattered through the sides above the ears. He had been a weapons officer in the army and followed orders well during their training together. The experimentation had given him telekinetic abilities, allowing him to move physical objects just by thinking about it. He was not a telepath and the questions began almost as soon as the door opened. “What the fuck is going on?” He opened his mouth to speak again but froze at the sight of Dr. Moore cringing back behind Aaron.

  Aaron held up a hand. “In a minute. Let’s get the rest out before answering questions.”

  Next up was Lieutenant Jessica Lyter. She was a young woman in her early thirties, with shoulder length blond hair and a thin face. She was somewhat pretty but there was a bookish look about her. In her prior life, she had been a ship’s medical doctor.

  Aaron had been concerned with Jessica’s initial assignment to his group and the truth be told, he still was concerned. Most members of the military tended to be pretty good at following orders, but in his experience, if there was going to be someone resisting orders, it would be a member of the medical staff.

  Her newly found talent had no name that Aaron was aware of; he called her an illusionist. Somehow, she was able to project sights and sounds to those around her. She was able to cause distractions at will, truly a great skill to have on a team.

  The last team member to be released was Lieutenant Adam Campbell. He was the youngest of the group, just twenty-eight years old. He also was the cockiest. In Aaron’s experience, pilots, especially young ones, were always cocky. He was close to average height, maybe five foot ten, and in good shape; women tended to find him attractive. The experiments had given him heightened reflexes and senses. His reflexes bordered on being precognitive. His brown hair was cut short and he too wore an angry look. “Bout fucking time.” His eyes quickly scanned the group coming to rest on the cowering doctor. His face seemed to lose some of its anger. “What’s going on?”

  “Good fucking question.” Russell was eyeing the doctor with obvious distaste.

  “They were going to kill us,” Aaron said simply—no reason to sugarcoat it for them.

  “What?” Jessica burst out, her brow pulled down in confusion “That can’t be right. Why would they kill us?”

  Aaron pushed the doctor into the middle of the group. “Start talking.”

  Hesitantly at first, the doctor repeated everything he had already told Aaron. Russell and Adam both seemed to get angrier with every word, but Jessica simply looked disbelieving.

  “I can’t believe that the Commonwealth would do such a thing. Surely they wouldn’t kill us. We’re their soldiers.”

  Russell glanced at Susan. After a moment, she nodded and he turned his attention back to the cowering doctor. “It’s simple. I say we give him the shot of poison that he intended for us.”

  Adam looked agreeable, Jessica looked troubled, and Susan looked like she could care less what happened.

  “No,” Aaron said simply. “If he helps us escape, then we’ll let him live.”

  “What can I do?” Dr. Moore asked quietly.

  Chapter 2

  “What’s the personnel situation on the station?” Aaron asked.
He pointed at Susan, “Remember, she’ll know if you lie.”

  “Most have already been removed. There’s only a skeleton crew left.” Dr. Moore answered quickly, his eyes darting around at the angry faces staring at him.

  “Are the cameras being watched?” Russell asked.

  “Yes, but only in the corridors around the patient quarters.”

  Made sense. They wanted to make sure that none of them escaped. Aaron glanced at Jessica. “Can you mask us? Project an image of an empty hallway?”

  Jessica nodded. “Yes, but not for long.”

  “Okay,” Aaron said after a moment, “then we run.” He looked at Dr. Moore. “If you lag behind–” He didn’t finish the sentence, instead he hefted the shock stick and pointed to the doctor’s head.

  Dr. Moore went white. “I’ll go as fast as I can.”

  Aaron tossed the shock stick to Adam. “Stay with him, only use the stick if he doesn’t cooperate.”

  Adam caught the stick out of the air and grinned. If possible, the doctor went even paler.

  “Where are we running to?” Russell asked, looking Aaron’s way.

  “Power plant,” Aaron answered.

  This station, where the medical experiments and subsequent training had taken place, was on a small barren moon that orbited a gas giant planet. The moon had no atmosphere and was completely inhospitable; it probably had been an asteroid that the gas giant’s gravity had captured. There weren’t any habitable planets in this system and it was removed from trade routes. In other words, it was an out of the way system and the perfect place to go unnoticed. The station had been built by the military to withstand an attack and even though it was a small station, it had been given a rather oversized power plant. The plant generated the electricity for the station, but more importantly, it powered the shields and tractor beams. If they were going to get away, then they had to find a way to shut down the tractor beams.

  “Does the station have any weapon systems?” Russell asked, scowling at the doctor.

  Dr. Moore shook his head quickly. “No. We’re a research facility. We rely on the shielding to protect us long enough for reinforcements to reach us.”

  That made sense too. If someone attacked, then the Commonwealth could rightly claim that an unarmed research outpost had been attacked—that would look bad for the attackers. On the other hand, with the shielding available they should be able to outlast all but the most determined of attacks.

  Aaron motioned to Susan. “You’re in the front with me. Let me know if you sense anyone.” Being a telepath, she would be able to tell if there was anyone in their vicinity before they ran up on them. He glanced around at his squad, pleased to see determination on their faces. Dr. Moore simply looked terrified. “Ready?”

  “Yes, sir,” they answered as one.

  He pointed at the doctor who quickly entered a code for the last door. It opened and they sprinted into the hallway beyond.

  Several minutes later they stopped their mad dash, just outside the living quarters section of the station. They stopped in the middle of a tee junction. The station had brightly lit hallways, just like a hospital should. The walls were grey with a vertical light running from floor to ceiling every ten feet or so. In addition, there was an unbroken ceiling light running the length of the passage. They hadn’t spotted anyone else. Dr. Moore was breathing hard and leaning forward, resting his hands on his knees.

  “Did you sense anybody alive in those rooms?” Aaron asked Susan, motioning back the way they had come. He still held out hope that some of the other volunteers were still alive.

  She shook her head. “No, I haven’t sensed anyone.” That was depressing news. All, or at least most of their fellow volunteers must already be dead.

  Turning his attention to the doctor, Aaron had to resist the urge to throttle the man. “Doctor, which way to the power plant?”

  Dr. Moore looked up, already starting to breathe easier. He motioned to the hallway to the right. “That way. It’s not far.”

  Aaron nodded. “Come up here with me. You can lead the way.” The doctor slowly obeyed and Aaron glanced over at Jessica. “You okay?” he asked. Jessica nodded but he wasn’t sure that he believed her. She was pale and sweaty, and looked like she might be sick at any moment. Creating the image of an empty hallway must have taken more out her than he had suspected.

  Russell moved over and stood beside her. “I’ll watch her.” Jessica hesitantly smiled up at him, still looking like she might get sick.

  Aaron motioned for Dr. Moore to lead on and they began moving through the passages. The doctor, Susan, and Aaron walked in the front, while Adam walked immediately behind. Russell and Jessica brought up the rear. Unlike their run from their quarters, they were moving now at a brisk walk. These passages all looked the same, except when a doorway broke the otherwise sterile smoothness of the walls. They turned first left, and then right, right again, and then left, and they kept turning. Most people would have lost track of their directions but Aaron knew exactly the way they had come. He wondered if that was due to his being a cyborg.

  “How much farther?” Adam asked from just behind the doctor.

  Dr. Moore raised his right hand and pointed, they were approaching a four way intersection of the corridors. “We’ll turn left and it’s immediately on the right.”

  “Good,” Aaron started to say, but Susan spoke over him.

  “There’s two people around the corner. They’re not aware of us yet. I think they’re guards.”

  Aaron turned, looking back at Russell and Jessica. “Jessica, you up to causing a disturbance?”

  She hesitated and then shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

  “Okay,” Aaron said after a moment of quiet consideration. “Susan, you and Jessica keep an eye on the good doc. Russell, you and Adam are going to take the farthest guard and I’ll take the nearest. Got it?” Both men nodded. “Russell, you have to make sure that neither of those men raise the alarm. It should be clipped to the shoulder of the uniforms.”

  Russell nodded again. “Understood.” He turned his attention to Adam, “If these are guards, then they’ll have shock sticks. You get in close and I’ll keep him from using it. Okay?” Adam only nodded.

  “Good,” Aaron said. “Let’s go.”

  They approached the corridor slowly and quietly, not wanting their footfalls to give them away. They were counting on surprise to help them.

  Motioning for Russell and Adam to wait, Aaron moved right up to the edge of the corner and then he began slowly leaning forward. Inch by slow inch, until he could make out the form of the nearest guard. Just like the doctor had said, there was a doorway on the right side of the passage. Two men, in guard’s uniforms, stood to either side; they both held a shock stick. The farthest one was staring at the floor, while the nearest was absently fiddling with the shock stick. They were maybe ten yards down the hall. Aaron leaned back away from the opening and retreated to where Adam and Russell still waited. “Two guards, ten yards down the hall, on the right.” They both nodded. “Count of three.” Both men nodded again.

  They approached the opening and stopped. Adam and Russell on the left, with Aaron on the right. He held up one finger, then two fingers, and then three fingers.

  Adam and Aaron sprinted around the corner of the passage and Russell jogged behind them. His job didn’t require speed.

  The two guards jerked in surprise at the sight of two men charging them, but true to their training, their first response was to hit the alarm button on the small communications devices clipped to their shoulders. Their hands had barely moved, when both communication devices pulled loose of their uniforms and flew down the hall. Russell grinned, appearing to enjoy his telekinetic abilities. The first part of his mission was done, now to help Adam.

  Aaron slowed as he approached the nearest security guard. The guard, who hardly seemed taken aback by his communicator flying away, now held the shock stick out in front of him, eyeing Aaron wa
rily.

  “It won’t work,” the guard said, betraying his fear by swallowing hard. “I’m armed and you’re not. You’ll only get hurt if you try this.”

  Aaron didn’t answer, instead he moved forward slowly. As he walked, he assumed a Telithian fighting stance. The humans on Telith had developed their own powerfully quick form of martial arts and even though Aaron had never studied it, or if the truth be told, he had never even heard of it, he knew exactly what to do—the details being supplied by the organic program in his head.

  He edged closer to the guard and suddenly the guard lunged forward, trying to hit him with the bulbous end of the shock stick. Blindingly fast, Aaron’s left foot shot up and to the left before sweeping back in and arc. His foot caught the shock stick on the far side of the bulbous end, right where the guard’s hand was holding the handle. The guard cursed as the shock stick went flying, but Aaron had already leaped forward. The guard threw up his left arm trying to shield his face, but it didn’t help. Aaron caught him with a vicious left handed blow to the throat, three times in quick succession. The guard fell to his knees, grasping his throat. His eyes looked like they might pop out of their sockets and the only sound he could make was a choking gasp. Aaron scooped up the fallen shock stick and touched it to the man’s head, mercifully putting an end to the drowning gurgles.

  The guard that Adam had fought was also on the ground and unconscious, but he did appear to be in better shape than the one that Aaron had taken out. Adam was staring at the man, frowning.

  “What’s the matter?” Aaron asked, afraid that something had gone wrong.

  Adam glanced back at him. “I don’t know. It just seemed too easy.”

  Russell joined them and grinned. “These aren’t soldiers, they’re just orderlies. Count your blessings.”

  Bending down, Aaron grabbed the right arm of the guard he had disabled and pulled him over to the door. Just to the right of the door was a small electronic device that served as a door lock. The small device was a fingerprint reader, with a small red light on the right side. Aaron took the man’s hand and placed the guard’s thumb in the reader; after a moment the light turned green and the door slid open. “Quick, get them inside.”