by Don Viecelli
Vice Leader Di powered up the spacecraft’s zero point energy engine and said to the team, “I am ready to leave this cave.”
Doug and the rest of the group were all strapped in ready to go. Di gently lifted the spacecraft off the ground and effortlessly glided the spacecraft through the lava tube to the entrance of the cave and departed. He flew just above the ground down the center of the Valles Marineris canyon with its cloaking energy shield turned on. The spacecraft was invisible to all known human scanning and detection systems except one; infrared radar. Even then the heat signature of this spacecraft was very low and it would take numerous hits while moving to determine what the object was before identification could be made. By that time Di would be at the destination point before anyone would find out.
It was still dark outside. The time was 3:33 am in the morning. The dust storm reduced visibility to a few yards. The destination was the Haffen City Spaceport. Di planned to land just outside the dome area and let Doug and his team off. Then Di would head back to the canyon to await further instructions.
“We have arrived at the spaceport. Get ready to depart,” Di said as he landed the spacecraft and waited for everyone to leave the ship.
Doug got up first. “Follow me. Make sure you have everything. We won’t be coming back.”
All eight members put on their helmets and checked their suits. Then Doug led them to the exit compartment and waited until everyone was inside. He pushed the button and the outside door opened and they ran down the ramp to the side of the spacecraft. Once they moved away from the spacecraft, Di took off again.
Doug could barely make out the nearest spaceport entry door. Spaceships landed next to the dome covered spaceport and rolled inside large doorways to the hangars for unloading. Supplies were loaded onto space shuttles inside the hangars for transport and then the vessels rolled outside the dome for takeoff. Doug’s plan was to get inside the spaceport and locate the shuttlecraft designated to take off at 6:00 am for the starship.
They made it to the side door of the dome without detection. Di had provided everyone with special devices the Holtu soldiers use to make themselves invisible. Doug could see everyone through the HUD with his camera lens mounted on his helmet. He could also communicate with everyone over their comlink. “Okay, everyone. Here is where we split up. Gwen, you and Chuck come with me. The rest of you follow Captain Tills. We’ll meet at Hangar 3. The shuttlecraft should be in the hangar fully loaded with supplies. We’ll get on board first and wait for the crew to arrive. Then we’ll take control of the shuttlecraft. There will be two or three guards outside walking around. They are not armed, so if you have to shoot them, use the stun guns we were given. Watch out for any workers that may be inside the hangars.”
Doug opened the door and looked inside. He didn’t see anyone on the ground, but he knew there were people in the tower. “Make sure your cloaking devices are on. We’re going to enter the dome now. My team will go left. The rest go right. Meet us at Hangar 3.”
The Spaceport contained two large hangars and one small hangar. Hangar 3 was 100 meters inside the dome area. Several large transport vehicles were parked next to the hangars as well as half a dozen various sized shuttlecrafts waiting outside the hangars for loading. Some of the shuttles were for passenger use, but all passenger flights had been cancelled now that the infection had spread outside the city. Doug’s primary concern was running into a security guard or even one of Colonel Jackson’s Marine Peace Keepers.
Thanks to the cloaking devices, all eight team members made it to Hangar 3 without incident. However, when they looked through an open door they could see several workers still loading supplies on the shuttlecraft. Doug motioned for everyone to slip inside and hide behind some empty packing crates. They waited quietly for the work crew to finish loading the last of the repair supplies and finally leave the hangar.
The last worker closed the hangar door on his way out and turned off the lights. Doug could still see his team through his night vision lens. He opened his visor and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. There was enough light coming through the hangar windows above that he could see the shuttlecraft. He motioned for the team to move towards the shuttlecraft and they climbed inside.
Doug settled in one of the seats while Captain Tills posted two men outside to wait for the flight crew to arrive.
“How do we handle the crew?” Captain Tills asked as she sat down beside Doug and removed her gloves.
“There should only be two of them. We knock them unconscious and take them with us. I don’t think the starship can tell who is operating the shuttlecraft even if the pilots are infected, so I should be able to get us to the starship without a problem. The space coordinates are already preloaded before takeoff and everything is controlled using automatic pilot. They have human pilots only for backup purposes. We shouldn’t have any problems.” Doug sounded more confident than he really felt.
“Okay, then we wait. Shouldn’t be too long now.” Captain Tills looked confident. She obviously was used to missions like this. Doug was thankful for having her and the Marines on his side.
The time passed quickly. The two pilots walked into the hangar at precisely 5:45 am. They walked up to the shuttlecraft and climbed aboard. As soon as they entered the main cabin, Doug shot them both with his stun gun. The pilots dropped to the floor unconscious. The two Marines guarding outside followed the crew inside and helped tie them up.
Doug walked over and picked up the log book the first pilot dropped to the floor. Inside were the flight instructions and codes. He carried them to the pilot seat and reviewed them as he prepared the shuttlecraft for takeoff.
Doug fired up the shuttle was ready to leave. “Tower Control, Shuttle Nine-Zero-Nine ready for departure.”
“Shuttle Nine-Zero-Nine, you are cleared for departure,” the voice in the tower said.
Doug slowly backed the shuttle out of Hangar 3 and turned around to exit the Spaceport. He was too far away for anyone in the tower to recognize him. He was just another pilot doing his job.
Once the shuttle cleared the dome and reached the takeoff pad, Doug powered the engines and lifted straight up into the sky. In a matter of minutes he was in space and headed straight for the alien starship still orbiting at one thousand kilometers above Mars moving along the equator at 22,000 km/h. He would meet up with the starship in one hour.
Doug let the autopilot adjust engine power to match orbit speed and altitude and gain on the starship. He turned around and spoke to the team already divided into two groups.
“Once we land inside the starship hangar bay, we must move fast. We’ll use our stun guns to knock out the Qumru who greet us. Utor will know what happens within minutes, so we have to exit the hangar bay and make our way to the Command Center Bridge.”
Captain Tills followed Doug with more instructions. “My team will open the hangar bay doors for Vice Leader Di to land his spacecraft. Once Di lands we all exit the hangar bay. Di will take two of you to the place where the passenger minds are stored. Once that is secured, Di will join the rest of us to take control of the Command Center.”
Doug continued the plan. “There will be at least ten Qumru in the Command Center. Utor will probably be up on the Bridge in the Control Room. Me, Gwen and Chuck will try to take out Utor and anyone else on the Bridge. Di will join up with my team as soon as he can.
“Captain Tills’ team will concentrate on taking control of the lower level of the Command Center. We have the element of surprise, but it won’t last long. Keep your cloaking devices on and that should give us the advantage we need to take control of this starship. Any questions?”
No one raised their hands. They knew the plan by heart. It was just a question of following it through no matter what.
The giant starship loomed ahead. Doug entered the clearance codes and pushed the ID button to prepare for the automatic landing approach. There were no alarms. Everything appeared normal. The starship hangar bay doo
rs opened on schedule and the shuttlecraft glided inside.
Doug dimmed the lights and pulled down his visor. They were ready to fight back. No one said a word. The shuttlecraft landed gently on the floor as the hangar bays door closed behind them.
Doug led the way to the exit hatch. There were only eight humans plus one Holtu android soldier that stood in the way of the Yoyka invasion. Doug felt like he was back in his old Marine Company leading a new squad to battle. It’s a war, he thought, and this fight was just the beginning. He pushed the exit button and stepped outside.
Chapter 35
Take Control
Doug spotted two Qumru approaching the shuttlecraft to start unloading the supplies. They heard the hatch door open and sounds of footsteps walking down the ramp, but did not see anyone. Before either Qumru realized what was happening, Doug shot the first Qumru with his stun gun. The second crewmember tried to send a warning to the ship’s Command Center. Doug shot again. Both Qumru collapsed at the foot of the ramp.
“Keep your eyes out for others!” Doug said over his comlink. He bent down to make sure the Qumru were knocked out; then turned them over and tied their hands behind their backs with plastic tie wraps.
“Alright, let’s move. We’ll take the stairs in Quadrant 1 up to the Command Center Bridge in case they know we’re here and lock down the elevators.”
Captain Tills walked over to the control panel near the hangar doors. She made sure everyone was out of the hangar bay when she pressed the button to open the outside doors. As soon as they opened, Vice Leader Di flew his spacecraft inside and landed. A few minutes later he emerged fully armed.
Tills assigned two Marines to follow Di while she led the others down the hallway to the stairwell in Quadrant 2. Doug and his team were on their way up. Tills followed five minutes behind. They were on the Level 15 when they exited the hangar bay. The Command Center Bridge was on Level 1. Tills’ mission was the Command Center on Level 2. Di was headed to Level 12 where the Passenger Minds were stored.
Doug’s team made it to Level 6 when several Qumru appeared above them coming down the steps and opened fire with energy beam weapons. Doug, Gwen and Chuck all had their cloaking devices turned on, but it did not appear to make a difference. The Qumru officers were wearing some sort of device attached to their helmets that definitely allowed them to see Doug’s team.
“They can see us!” Doug shouted over his comlink as he fired his stun gun back at the Qumru.
Doug ducked into a doorway on Level 6 with Gwen and Chuck right behind him. They ran halfway into a large dimly lit room that looked like it was a dining area. Doug signaled for Gwen to hide on the left and Chuck on the right behind some sort of counters. Doug continued to run further down the center of the room until he heard the Qumru run into the room firing their weapons at him.
It was the oldest trick in the book. Doug dived behind some counters and waited two seconds before firing back. By that time the four Qumru were between Doug and his two team members. Two Qumru kneeled on the floor firing at Doug to keep him pinned down while the other two quickly moved toward Doug. They seemed to forget the other two humans that popped up behind them and shot them down. Gwen and Chuck had switched to energy rifles that had more power. So far everyone was using the stun settings on their weapons, which was okay with Doug.
Doug checked the Qumru to see if they were out, removed their weapons and tied them up. “Okay, these guys are down. Let’s keep going up another stairwell over there. He pointed to a stairwell in Quadrant 3.
Captain Tills’ team of three Marines made it to Level 2 without interference. They burst into the Command Center and found ten Qumru officers waiting for them. Fortunately, the Qumru only had sidearms on them and were quickly overcome by Captain Tills’ expertly trained Marines with heavy energy rifle weapons provided by Vice Leader Di. Captain Tills, Lieutenant Sanchez and Corporal Dimitar quickly stunned four Qumru before the others surrendered and stood up with their hands is the air.
Doug, Gwen and Chuck burst through the stairwell door on Level 1 just as Captain Tills started firing their weapons on Level 2. Doug was surprised when he saw the Bridge was empty. Utor was not there or any other Qumru officers. Doug stepped over to the glass railing on the Bridge and noticed the Qumru below had surrendered.
“Doug spoke to everyone over his comlink, “Utor is not on the Bridge! We have control of the starship!”
Captain Tills said, “These aliens have surrendered! How many left?”
Doug quickly added up all the Qumru captured so far. He counted sixteen in his head. That left 4 Qumru crewmembers including Utor who remained missing.
“Utor and three others are still on the loose,” Doug said over his comlink.
Vice Leader Di walked up the stairwell from Quadrant 1 to the Bridge. He was alone. “Do we know where Utor is?”
“No, he’s missing,” Doug said. Then he thought of something. “Shonya, are you here?”
“I am,” the AI replied with her hologram appearing next to the pedestal on the Bridge.
“Will you answer our questions, Shonya? We have control of your starship,” Doug declared.
“It appears so, Director Douglas Martin,” Shonya acknowledged remembering Doug from his previous visit. She looked at Di. “I see you found our Intruder.”
Doug smiled. “He found us, Shonya. His story is different than Utor’s. May I ask where your First Leader is at this moment?”
Shonya paused for a second before answering. “First Leader Utor went to the hangar bay along with Second Leader Seeto, Third Leader Coltron and Third Leader Binto. They are escaping to Mars in one of our spacecraft.”
Doug was alarmed. “Damn it!” he shouted. “Is there any way to stop them?”
Shonya checked a monitoring device. “It is too late. They exited the hangar bay and are on their way to Mars now.”
Doug calmed his nerves down and thought what needed to be done now. He checked in with Captain Tills below who asked. “What should I do with these prisoners?”
“Tie them up and put them in a room for now. We’ll deal with them later.”
Vice Leader Di made a suggestion. “Since they are all infected, I think they should be put back into cryosleep as soon as possible.”
It seemed like a good suggestion to Doug. “Shonya, how long before the starship is fully repaired?”
“The outer hull is completely repaired. The maintenance drones are working on the interior control links. The starship should be fully repaired in seven Mars days.”
“That means we can fly this starship out of here if we wish?” Doug was thinking ahead.
“That is correct, Director.”
Doug turned to Di. “What happens next?”
“My soldiers will be here in fourteen days. However, the Yoyka may be here sooner. When the Yoyka arrive and see we have control of the starship they will try to recapture it or destroy it.”
“You think the Yoyka know what just happened here?” Captain Tills asked considering the possibility.
“Utor sent a message over the quantum transponder as he was leaving the starship,” Shonya answered without waiting for someone to ask her.
“This is how the Yoyka control their infected races?” Doug needed clarification.
“Yes. Quantum communications is instant and unbreakable, but a transponder with the correct code keys is required at both ends.
“Is there any way to take control of our people on Mars away from the Yoyka?” Doug asked.
“No, the nanomachines have their own quantum code built into their design. They respond to all long distant commands from the Yoyka, but can only send messages if quantum transponders like the one on this starship are available.”
“Maybe we should destroy the transponder,” Captain Tills suggested.
Doug thought the same thing, but Di interrupted to say, “The transponder may be important to us. We may be able to use it to receive their messages.”
“Is there any w
ay to interfere or block the Yoyka messages?” Doug asked Shonya.
“No. If you try to interfere, the Yoyka will send a command and all the humans on Mars will die.”
Doug was stunned. “You mean they have a kill switch built into their nanomachines?”
Di answered for Shonya, “The Yoyka has destroyed whole races this way. The nanomachines can kill their hosts on command.”
Doug paused trying to take it all in. He looked at Di, “Where are the two Marines Captain Tills sent with you?”
“They are in the quantum computer bay room on Level 12 guarding the Passenger Minds.
“Can any of the Qumru Passenger Minds help us? You said they may have found a solution to defeating the nanomachines.”
“I believe some of their scientists can help us. I started the body regeneration process with two of the Passengers Minds. The new bodies will be ready for mind upload in twenty-four of your hours.”
Doug need more time to process everything that was happening. Now that they were in control of the Qumru starship, maybe, just maybe, the human race would have a better chance at survival.
Chapter 36
Situation On Mars
The situation on Mars was critical. Doctor Janice Martin, Doctor Chang-Woo Mun and Doctor James Colbert were all sitting in the small cramped MCDC office in Mars City drinking coffee and discussing the latest news around Mars.
“I heard Haffen City was completely infected this morning on one of the news channels still operating,” Doctor Mun said between sips of coffee.
“It’s bad everywhere. It won’t be long before all the cities on Mars will be completely lost,” Doctor Colbert said dolefully.