"Medical reports Yosef poisoned."
The four words sent a shiver over her frame. Possibilities bombarded her, but Van quickly sifted through them and centered on one. Someone had wanted to keep Yosef from joining the rescue detail. Yugi's serene blue face came to mind. She had wanted to come on this mission, been adamant that Van let her join. In the face of her captain's refusal, Yugi had taken the matter into her own hands. The incident explained why Yugi had been off the bridge and away from her post just before deployment. The real question was, did Yugi's motive stop at wanting to join the rescue? She had said she needed the mission experience, but what officer would deliberately poison a crewmate just to gain some tactical training?
As a military commander and an intelligence officer as well, Van had to consider all sides of the question. "Prognosis?"
"Full recovery."
At least there was that. "You know what to do." Her tone was resolute, as hard as granite.
"Search already in progress."
"Swann out."
The communiqué lasted less than a minute and both parties had kept their comments short. Van prayed the Gothoans hadn't picked up the signal, but she understood why Byra broke protocol. He'd also inherently understood that Yugi was the only person it could have been and acted to warn her that she might have a rogue crew member on an enemy planet with her. Van truly hoped that was the end of it, that Yugi acted impulsively out of some desire to impress her commanding officer and hadn't fully comprehended the consequences of her actions. Until Van made it back to Pandora and learned what searching Yugi's quarters revealed, there was very little she could do. The evidence against the young woman was circumstantial at best.
Van felt as though a net was dropping around her shoulders. She closed her eyes, hoping she was about to make the right move. Contacting Lieutenant Bjorg now, without knowing his location or who might be within his proximity, was a dangerous proposition. Yet, if she didn't, she might unwittingly place the man in a perilous position.
Tapping her ear bud, Van heard the beep of an established communications channel. While she was sure Paul had isolated only her com device for the previous transmission, Van didn't have that luxury from the ground. All of her team would hear the conversation.
"Swann to Bjorg. Clear?"
After only a second's pause, Van heard his breathless whisper. "Here, Captain. I'm clear, at least for the moment."
"Understood. Status?"
Aware that the simple question would sound suspicious given the circumstances, Van couldn't come right out and ask if Yugi had done anything to give away their presence to the enemy. As expected, she could hear the question in Bjorg's voice when he replied, even if he didn't ask.
"Markers planted along the north. Yugi split up from me and said she was taking the west. Haven't heard from her since we landed."
"Understood. Carry on. Yugi, respond."
Though she tried twice more, Van was unable to raise Yugi. Van wanted to believe the navigator was in a place that wouldn't allow her to receive the signal. At any rate, she couldn't afford to keep trying. Eventually, the Gothoans would notice all the communications chatter and decide to investigate. Van grasped either side of the opening on the water tank and lowered herself inside.
Enough ambient light filtered through the hatch to allow the goggles to continue functioning and Van looked around for any sign that Cade had been there. The inky blackness would have been complete if not for military technology, yet shadows prevailed, making progress slow. When her eyes began to adjust to the new lighting, Van realized she'd been right all along. Though Cade was nowhere in sight, there could only be one reason for the stockpile of ammunition inside an abandoned water truck.
Feeling almost lightheaded with relief, Van had a silly grin on her face. There was only one person who would have stacked munitions in a hidden location. But where was she? Van only had to ask herself what she would do if she were in Cade's shoes.
If it were Van, she'd go where she could inflict the most damage before finding a way out. But Cade had been on the planet for so long now. Why hadn't she already put a plan in motion? Finally, she decided it must have taken Cade a while to gather enough explosives.
Whatever the reason, Van knew the best place to create a nuisance was in the munitions depot. Rather than alert her rescue team to the possibility that they might run into Cade, Van climbed out of the tanker and headed toward the light side of the terminus line. She couldn't keep jumping on the communications system every time there was a development. Everyone would know Cade was fine when they gathered back at the Pemberton. Van had ten more hours to find her and rendezvous back at the lifeboat.
Setting off at a steady jog, Van proceeded toward the Gothoan base.
SHIVERING DESPITE THE heat-baked air inside the ammunition depot, Cade lurked behind a heavy beam as the sentries passed. Infection caused bullets of sweat to pop from her skin and trickle down the back of her neck. On the light side of Gothos Prime and inside a metal warehouse, Cade had expected stifling heat. Instead, her body trembled continually and her hands shook. She rested her forehead against a strong support beam, panting quietly, until the pair's footsteps faded out of range. Cade took a breath and hobbled toward a stack of crates near the rear of the building.
Her left thigh alternately throbbed and burned. Sometimes it did both at the same time. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out without proper nutrition or medical care, but she was determined to cause as much damage as possible to the Gothoan rebel military. To implement her plan, she required high-yield explosives. The munitions she'd hoarded in the water truck simply wouldn't do the trick.
Looking around for a tool to open the crates, Cade suddenly realized that each chest had a digital packing list attached to its side. Her Gothoan was rusty so she didn't think she'd be able to read the inventory, the supplies had to come from somewhere. Cade was willing to bet the ones who provided the weaponry probably dealt with other species in the galaxy. If she could hack into each miniature microprocessor, she might be able to convert the data to Coalition standard.
She didn't expect the sentries to return for at least seventeen minutes. Watching from the shadows earlier, she'd determined they patrolled on a twenty-minute rotation. Fighting against the pain in her thigh and her vision that swam from fever, Cade squatted near a wooden box. She felt the scab covering her wound stretch. The strip of cloth that bound the injury was thoroughly saturated and blood soaked into her uniform trousers. She ignored the pain and slid aside the covering on the packing list. Cade didn't expect to find an encryption preventing her from assessing the contents and she was right, but it would still take a few minutes to convert the data.
Sweat dripped into her eyes and her hands were unsteady. Cade swiped at her forehead with her arm and tapped the buttons on the pad. She was a little surprised when familiar words ran across the tiny screen after only a few seconds. Unfortunately, the contents of the crate weren't worth breaking into. Electronic fuses weren't very useful without the plasma torpedoes to go with them. Cade sat back with a sigh, wondering how much time she'd wasted. She wasn't in any condition for a hand-to-hand struggle with the guards if they suddenly returned.
Resolved to slink back into the shadows and wait for the cycle of the patrols so that she could start over, Cade struggled to her feet. She had just reached the deepest shadows when she heard the sentries. Voices raised in alarm, they ran in her direction. Cade pressed back into a corner of the wall and crouched down in an effort to hide. She was worried that she'd triggered an alarm somehow when she accessed the crate. When the troops passed her position and kept running, relief hit her so hard that Cade sagged against the floor. Whatever was going on had nothing to do with her.
Gathering her reserves, Cade climbed to her feet and stumbled back into the main munitions chamber. She didn't know how much time she had before the sentries returned, but she planned to make the most of it. Systematically, Cade started at the end whe
re she'd found the torpedo fuses. Box by box, she moved along until she began to wonder if there was anything useful in this section of the warehouse. Swiping a hand across her damp face, Cade headed toward another compartment.
Over the course of her exile on Gothos Prime, Cade had carefully scouted the region. Movement was slow on the perpetually light side of the planet, the threat of discovery ever present. That threat was real enough that she'd never before moved on the ammunition site. All of what she had stored at the water truck was taken directly from the sentries as they explored the dark side. Cade only did so now because she felt she was running out of time. With iron resolve, she passed through the hatchway with a heavy limp. This chamber was large, all the crates of various sizes neatly stacked and organized. Though this sector offered many more choices than the previous, there was a very good reason Cade had avoided it.
There was nowhere to hide if the goon squad returned.
Thirty minutes later, the security patrol still hadn't returned. Cade worried she might be pressing her luck, but continued on while straining to hear any sound indicating she had company. The current objective lay low to the ground. Long and half again as wide, the crate was the first of its kind she had found. Cade tapped in the now-familiar sequence and read the nomenclature as it lit the screen. She blinked and then read the information again, convinced her mind had started playing tricks on her.
Anti-Spacecraft Rocket
Five Neutron Yield
No Time Delay
A five-neutron explosion would leave a sizeable crater on the surface of Gothos Prime and destroy everything within a seventy-kilometer radius. Cade swallowed hard and began searching for a way to open the box. Her plans for this brutal enemy had just changed. Senator Mentis's warship currently sat on the eastern landing pad near the headquarters. It had left once after Cade escaped from the cargo hold and only returned recently. She didn't know how long the senator would stay, but now she'd be ready for when he decided to leave again.
Opening the crate proved more difficult than hacking into the inventory list. She had almost given up when the lid hissed and popped up. Refrigerated preservative gas wafted out, surrounding Cade with the lingering scent of gun oil. She raised the top and carefully placed it on the floor. The rocket was a weapon any able-bodied soldier could use. By resting the weapon on the shoulder, the user sighted in at the target through a built in scope. A trigger housing resembling the ones utilized on a blaster rifle would fire the device. It was perfect.
Cade reached inside and tried to lift the rocket. It was heavier than she had expected. Frowning, she had to use both hands to pull the weapon from the crate. Cade sat the rocket on the ground and replaced the lid, ensuring that it sealed in place before she pushed the box back into position. There was no sense being careless and advertising that someone had broken into the armory.
The sentries still hadn't returned but they would eventually and Cade thought she'd probably worn out her welcome. Now she had to find a place to wait and watch. It didn't matter that when she fired on the Gothoan warship. She'd be signing her own death warrant. Without the hope of rescue, slowly starving to death and with a fever raging from an untreated infection it was only a matter of time. This way, her death would mean something.
Chapter Twenty-one
VAN HAD JUST crossed the terminator line and stuffed her night vision goggles into the rucksack when the alarm sounded. Crouching next to the garbage dump, Van felt betrayal and disappointment wash through her in equal measure. Though it was possible one of her people had encountered a Gothoan patrol and caused the alert, instinctively she knew that wasn't the answer. Yugi hadn't made Chief Yosef sick just to gain some tactical experience. Van didn't have the luxury of second-guessing her conclusions. Yugi's treachery would ensure people died.
Expression grim, Van double-checked her map coordinates on the scanner. She'd passed through the line from darkness into light near the outer edge of the Gothoan installation. She was between the garbage processing facility and an imposing, four-story building with a lot of windows. Whatever the structure's intended purpose, it wasn't the storage of ammunition. Any munitions holding facility would have the appearance of a bunker. Additional reinforcements and possibly even a dampening shield would prevent catastrophic damage in case of an accidental explosion. To carry out their plans of destroying the base, someone had to first ensure that any shields were disabled. Her expression tightened further when she realized that task was something Bjorg and Yugi would have performed.
Van didn't know if that part of their assignment was complete. She wanted to continue with her own plan to find Cade, but now she was torn. Van wasn't even sure Cade was on the planet. Her belief that the woman was alive might stem from wishful thinking. The blaster fire she heard coming from nearby told her that her people were in trouble. That was fact. She had to make a decision. Van dashed to the side of another small structure, holding her rifle in one hand by the pistol grip. She still carried the scanner in the other. A quick look at the readout told her she stood very near a building with a dampening field. This was the ammunition warehouse, her original destination. The dampening field was an electromagnetic barrier designed to contain an explosion, but it wouldn't keep people in or out. Since she didn't know what Bjorg and Yugi had accomplished, she wanted to ensure a marker was in place for Pandora to target from space, along with all the other markers. However, with the enemy alerted to their presence, the munitions depot might as well be three parsecs away rather than the thirty meters the scanner indicated.
She would have to settle for any intel already gathered by her team and the buoys they'd managed to set in place. Worry for Cade clashed with the desire to rush to her crew's defense. Van barely heard the whimper that issued from her throat as she dashed from the side of the building. Running toward the nearest area of recent blaster fire, Van realized the need for radio silence had passed. The Gothoans knew they were here.
Opening a communications channel, Van shouted, "Everyone bug out. Rendezvous at the prearranged coordinates."
Van spotted the Gothoan headquarters just ahead and dove behind a cooling unit before someone spotted her. She counted twenty-three black-helmeted soldiers in various postures of readiness, weapons raised. As they were scattered over the steps of the building and dispersed throughout the immediate grounds, Van couldn't see any of the troops actively engaged in fighting. Weapons fire still sounded from the far side of the fortified structure though it had greatly diminished. Her worry for her people went up another notch. She had to find another way around.
Her only solace was that the blaster fire was coming from the northwest side of the installation, the area assigned to Lieutenant Bjorg and Ensign Yugi. Yugi had disappeared almost immediately upon landing so Van was pretty sure which crew member was in trouble. Since the encounter continued, Bjorg was still alive.
Van's eyes tracked to the left. The large open parade ground in front of headquarters was filled with spacecraft, the perfect camouflage for her to make it past enemy soldiers. They were either engaged on the far side of the compound or protecting the large administrative structure. Without a second thought, Van crouched and ran from object to object until she reached the airfield. Moving as quickly and covertly as possible she traversed the area, taking advantage of ships of various sizes and shapes. Near the far north side of the fleet Van squatted down, preparing to dash to the vessel at the extreme outer edge. She had taken a step toward her objective when she saw movement from the corner of her eye. Van could see only the lower legs and black boots of a uniformed soldier and judging by the colors, this person wasn't a member of the Coalition.
Swallowing hard, Van held her ground and waited for the sentry to move away. After a few minutes, Van was clear but realized the weapons fire had stopped. Was Bjorg all right? Had he somehow evaded the Gothoans? As soon as it was safe, she left the fleet grounds and navigated her way toward her crewman. As she moved, Van noticed the Gothoan troops had started
to disperse. Not good.
Apparently, the enemy had decided they'd eliminated the threat but would undoubtedly increase patrols. What had begun as a dangerous mission was now too hazardous to continue. Van would collect Bjorg and get back to the lifeboat. Her heart cried out for Cade and ached over Yugi's betrayal but duty dictated she place the safety of her crew as the top priority.
Taking advantage of the delay required for the Gothoans to organize heavier patrols, Van scooted past headquarters without incident, relying on various terrain features to provide cover. When she'd cleared the main area she spotted a smaller landing pad previously concealed by the structure. The ship resting there made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. She identified the vessel on sight, unable to vanquish the memory of this ship firing on and destroying the captain's yacht, Prometheus, and possibly killing Cade in the process.
Heartbeat thudding in her ears, Van slowly approached the spacecraft. Instinct and the damage from blaster fire covering the ship's hull, told her Bjorg had encountered a patrol here. No Gothoans were present. Van circled the ship, holding out hope that Bjorg had somehow escaped. She carried her rifle at the ready, finger on the trigger. Cursing the perpetual daylight that refused to offer her natural cover, Van didn't blink when she rounded the far side of Senator Mentis's ship. Van knew she wasn't alone before she ever saw the other person, and she knew it wasn't her erstwhile crewman. Anger over the circumstances and the Coalition's refusal to take action against Senator Mentis caused her finger to tense. By the thinnest of margins, she didn't fire.
In a split second, Van registered every detail of the scene. Lieutenant Jason Bjorg lay unmoving on the rocky ground with a large blast wound in the center of his chest. From the way his eyes stared blankly into the sky, he wasn't meditating. To further complicate the issue, Van found herself staring down the barrel of a shoulder-held anti-spacecraft rocket. Cade Meryan held the weapon.
Destination Alara Page 20