by James McEwan
“Hey calm down in there.” it was Chief Case.
“Janis, thank God it’s you.” Thad said as he bounded to the cell door.
“Who else would it be?” She said confused by his excitement to see her.
“Look, we don’t have a lot of time, you have to trust me. Marcus killed a nurse and has Commander Hayes hostage and is planning on killing her too.” Thad stressed.
She walked over to the bent door and saw the spattering of blood on the walls and the floor. “What in the name of all that is holy happened in here?”
“Marcus shot me. He thinks I’m dead.”
Now really confused, Case could not understand what she was seeing. The amount of blood would suggest he had been shot, but looking at him, there was not a scratch on him. “But how?”
“I heal fast. Now never mind that. Let me out of here. We have to save her and stop him.”
Not sure of his motivations,she stood there thinking. “Why would you want to save her, after all, you are in here by her order.”
Thad put his head down and looked at the floor. “Because she is my mother, at least a version of her and that is good enough for me.”
“So, she told you then?”
Thad lifted his head and rattled the bars of the door. “Yes, now get me out of here.” However, before she could do anything Thad felt the tingling again. He watched his hands go transparent. When they were the most transparent, he held his breath and stepped through the bars.
He just cleared the bars when everything snapped back and the pain hit. He doubled over which gave the stunned Chief Case time to recover from what she had just seen and pull her side arm. Thad held up his arm while still bent over and said. “I’m not going to hurt you, I need your help.”
Chief Case was still holding the gun towards Thad when her comm chirped. “Chief Case?”
She pressed the comm. “Go ahead.”
“Chief, we have a problem in sickbay. The agent is gone, and we found his nurse dead. Someone snapped her neck” said the voice.
She lowered her gun. “Understood, I have information that it was the agent that did it. Under no circumstances does he leave.”
Thad recovered from the pain and stood up to his full height. “I’m sorry Chief, but they just took off do you want us to call them back?” the voice asked over the comm.
“No, it will do no good anyway. Let me get to my bike. I can save her.” Thad pleaded with her.
She waved towards the door. “Go!” Thad wasted no time. He took off a dead run. While she pushed her comm to answer. “No, let them go. But have Mr. Hammer’s grav-bike primed and ready for him.”
“Chief?” The startled voice asked.
“Just do it, damn it!” She stormed after Thad.
On the flight deck, the grav-bike was humming away floating a foot off the metal deck. The wind was welcome to help cool down the flight deck. Thad jumped onto the back of the bike. He quickly ran through the preflight checklist when he felt another body behind him. He didn’t have to look behind him to know who it was. “Case, I can do this alone.”
“I know you can, but until I get the order to let you free you are still my prisoner and I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
He didn’t look up from the control screen, but he did smile. “Suit yourself, hold on tight and I do mean tight.” She did exactly that, and Thad, satisfied that she was not going to fly off the back of the bike, he dropped the safety brakes and jammed the throttle to the max.
They flew out of the flight bay like a cannon shot. Case had never had a takeoff like that and despite her strong grip, she nearly came off the back anyway. As soon as they cleared the side of the vehicle, they dropped down to flight level a few meters off the ground. Thad figured that Marcus would not want to show up on anyone’s radar so he would be flying fast and low, right in the normal operating area of the grav-bike.
Marcus’s ship would normally be much faster in the upper atmosphere, but this low to the ground he would have to fly much slower which gave the speed advantage to the grav-bike. Thad was counting on that, as well as the fact that his own approach would go unnoticed due to him approaching from below and behind. They had a head start, but Thad knew he would be able to catch them, but what to do once he caught up, he was still working out.
Marcus had tied Commander Hayes up and left her in the cargo area of his ship while he went up to the cockpit area. After takeoff, he punched their destination into the flight computer and turned over the job of flying to the autopilot. He then went back down to the cargo area. “Okay behave, and I will kill you quick, try anything and I will make is slow and painful, understand?” She couldn’t answer as he had gagged her. So she nodded yes. “Good, normally this flight is only an hour or so, but because I have to fly low and slow as to avoid any attention since I have not filed a flight plan it will take a little longer. So we should be at the location of the Heavy Rollers in a few hours.”
Her eyes went wide when she heard the name Heavy Rollers. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you, I’m going to trade you for someone else. Now you stay here while I go get some sleep, my head is killing me.” He turned and left her. He disappeared through the door that led to the cockpit. Marcus sat down in the pilot’s chair and promptly fell asleep. Hayes was left alone to consider her fate.
Thad and Chief Case were pushing the old bike to itsmax. The bike rattled and vibrated a lot, but she held together. Thad found the heavy vibrating in the bike annoying, however, Chief Case found the ride quite pleasurable. After a few minutes out they spotted Marcus’s ship skimming along the grasslands a few meters off the ground.
Chief Case spoke loudly over the comm. “I see them dead ahead.”
“I see them too.” Thad replied.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Working on it.” Thad said. She rolled her eyes at the comment. They didn’t speak again until they were right behind the ship.
“How about that plan, cowboy?” she asked.
“Yeah, about that. Here is what we are going to do. You are going to swing around in front of me and take control, Then you are going to get us close enough for me to grab hold on his ship. Once on the ship I can make my way inside and then I will save her and all of us will escape before he knows what happened.”
“Oh. Is that all?” She asked.
“That’s the plan. Now swing around in front.”
* * *
She swung around him, but she landed so she was face to face with him. “Hey, the controls are that way.” Thad said, as he pointed the other way.
She grabbed him by the head, pulled herself up to him, and planted her lips to his. She kissed him long and deep. Thad was surprised by the kiss, but he had to admit he could be doing something that could get him killed, so getting a kiss just before, well it was not too bad, besides that he would never tell the twins about it. That is if he lived to tell them anything again.
She pulled back. “Just in case I never get another chance. Now go save my boss.” She twisted around and took control of the bike.
“Yes, Chief.” Thad said, before standing up on the back of the bike. Chief Case turned out to be really good at the controls and was able to pull the bike underneath the ship. She eased up until Thad could latch onto the ship.
Thad pulled himself up to the cargo area and was able to make his way over to the loading ramp and while holding on with one hand with his free hand he punched in the override code. The loading ramp dropped down and Thad crawled up onto it. Once he was sure of his footing, he ran up the ramp to the airlock. He punched in the open button and the door slid open. He was surprised the codes worked, but he was not complaining.
Commander Hayes was trying to figure out her next move when the airlock door to the loading ramp slid open and much to her surprise Thad stepped through. He spotted her right away and he ran to her side. He untied the gag first. “Thaddeus, but how? I watched him shoot you. You were dead on the floor.”
&n
bsp; “Yeah, I am kind of full of tricks, and that is one of my better ones.” he said, as he worked to untie her hands. “Where is Marcus?”
Rubbing her sore wrists she pointed to the cockpit area. “I think he is asleep in the cockpit.”
Thad quickly looked for something to jam the door with and could not find anything that would work. “Well can’t expect everything to go my way now, can I.” he said softly as he untied her feet.
Hayes didn’t quite hear all of his comment. “What?”
He helped her to her feet. “Never mind. Let’s just get out of here while we can.”
She offered no argument and followed him out the airlock and down the ramp. Thad let her go first. He wanted to make sure that she was able to get on the bike okay. Chief Case brought the bike in close and was moving into position next to the ramp. If she got in the right place, they could just step off the ramp and onto the bike easy.
In the cockpit, a warning light was busily blinking away, which was followed up with the soft beeping noise that brought Marcus out of his sleep. Groggy, he looked down at the control panel and noticed that the source of the irritation was the outer airlock open alarm beeping. At first, he thought it was a mere malfunction, then he looked at the ramp indicator and it showed it in the down position.
“What the fu---, he said, as he sat up in the chair. He punched the up the camera feed from the cargo area and he saw nothing but the untied straps he had used to tie up Hayes with. “What is that crazy woman up to?” He punched up the camera feed from the loading ramp and he saw the back of two people. “Now how did that happen? Well, mister, whoever you are, your valiant attempt at trying to save your Commander is about to end in the death of you both.” He rolled the craft hard to the left dropping the ramp out from under their feet.
Case was almost in position and had to drive hard to keep from getting crushed as the larger craft pitched suddenly toward her. Hayes screamed and Thad watched as Hayes fell forward and tumbled off the end of the ramp.
Chapter 23
Back on The Lightning, Doctor Hammer was exhausted. He had been working nonstop without sleep to find a cure for the commander’s mutation . It was not too hard to find and isolate the right gene. Then he engineered a virus to attack the problem gene and stop it. He was ready to give it to the commander.
He called for the guard, who was more than happy to take him to the commander because it meant that he was done, and now maybe he could get some rest. The guard walked Doctor Hammer straight to the Commander's quarters. He pushed the button on the outside wall. It buzzed and they waited.
Nothing happened so the guard buzzed again and this time an extremely angry sounding Commander shouted over the intercom. “This better be an emergency or someone better be dead or someone will be!”
“I’m sorry to disturb you Sir, but you wanted me to alert you as soon as the doctor had something for you.”
The voice over the intercom was a little more calm. “Oh, already? That was fast. I was expecting weeks ... not a day or so, sent him in.” The intercom went dead and the custom widened door slid open slowly.
The guard pointed to the door. “In you go, Doc.”
“Thank you” Doctor Hammer said, as past the guard.
Inside, the room was dimly lit, as it was still very early in the morning ship time. It took a few seconds for the doctor’s eyes to adjust to the low light. He could smell the Commander before he saw him. He was still in his chair. “So, Doctor, I hope that you have good news this early in the morning.”
“I do. It turns out that it was not quite as hard a problem as I thought it would be. The gene that was at fault was…”
The Commander cut him off mid-sentence. “I really don’t care about the technical mumbo-jumbo. Just tell me if this is going to cure me or not.”
Annoyed and tired, Doctor Hammer didn’t think much of being interrupted. He stayed silent just long enough to convey his displeasure with the man. “Yes. It will not only stop your further growth, but it should also reverse it as well.”
“Excellent, now give it to me.” He held his fat sausage-like fingers out like a child grabbing for a new toy.
Doctor Hammer handed the vial and the injector. “Now you need to inject...”
Again, the Commander interrupted him. “Damn it, man, I know how to give myself injections! I’m not a child.
Frustrated with the man, Doctor Hammer said. “Of course you’re not a child. You will have to forgive me. I have been working nonstop to make that for you, and I am just tired.”
“No harm done Doctor, now leave me. Go get some rest! You have earned it.” He waved the doctor out as he gave himself a massive injection.
Doctor Hammer said nothing, just turned and left the room. He thought 'the giant ass never let me tell him the instructions, oh well'. He passed the guard. “Take me to my room. I would like to sleep now.” The guard led Dr. Hammer to his room, then he went in search of his own bed.
Inside the room, Quincy was fast asleep, snoring away like a lumberjack’s chainsaw. Doctor Hammer crossed the room and dropped into his bunk. The motion woke Quincy. “Is that you Doc?”
“Yes, sorry to have awakened you” he said, as he pulled the blanket up and over himself.
“No problem. Did you finish your work?” Quincy asked.
“I did, I can fix him, but the jackass wouldn’t let me tell him any information about the drug so I suspect that in about four hours he will be nothing more than a giant puddle of gelatinized fat.”
“Did you create something to kill him? Because if you did, I’m okay with that.”
“I most certainly did not. I am a Doctor. I have taken an oath to do no harm, but I cannot be held responsible for a patient overdosing on his medication. You see the medication I gave him was to be taken in small doses over the next year. The dose he took, well let’s just say that you can’t fix a problem that took years to create overnight without serious consequences.” Doctor Hammer yawned, as he finished his sentence.
Quincy laid back in his bunk and closed his eyes. “However you have to justify it is fine by me. I think I will sleep well now that I know that fat prick is dead.” Doctor Hammer thought about his comment before drifting off to sleep.
About four hours later the Commander’s two stewards came to his quarters to wake him for breakfast and help him get ready for the day. They buzzed the commander’s door, but no answer came, which was not out of the ordinary. They buzzed again and nothing again. After a third buzz, they entered an override code into the door. It slid open and the stewards were shocked at what they saw.
The floor was covered in a white gelatinous-type substance about four inches deep. However, the Commander was nowhere to be seen. They entered the room and found the substance hard to walk on. It was a bit like walking in mud and it was incredibly slippery, so much so that one of them fell on his backside.
The steward lifted his hands and shook off the white substance. He held his hand up and smelled the stuff on his hands. “I smells a bit like pig fat.” he commented. The other steward helped him up and the two of them searched the room, but no Commander. Finally, they opened his bathroom door, which was not a place they normally would look because he had not been able to use the bathroom for years.
They opened the door and even more of the substance that covered the floor was now about waist deep. Not knowing what to do the stewards called for security and an engineer. The Commander’s quarters were now a buzz of activity. A sample of the substance was sent to the med lab for analysis, while the engineer brought in several large sump pumps to pump out the bathroom. By the time the room was cleared the results of the analysis came back as human fat.
The Security Chief opened the shower unit and it was completely filled with gelatinized fat. “What in the seven hells happened here?” he asked, floored by what he was seeing.
The engineer went to work and started sucking the fat out of the shower. “Talk about your liposuction.” he joked. The Secu
rity Chief was not amused. They continued to suck the fat out of the shower. Slowly the picture became clear that the Commander was the source of the fat. They found what was left of his body, and what was left was a mere sliver of a man. He looked more like an Egyptian mummy than the Commander. Once they got his body out of the shower, he was nothing, but bones and skin.
The Security Chief stood over the body, hands folded across his chest. “Somebody get Doctor Hammer up here now!”
Doctor Hammer was deep in a dream involving him with three exotic alien females, a lounge chair, and an endless bottle of Jack Daniels when he was torn from his dream by the same guard who had been with him for the last day. “Sorry to wake you Doc, but something has happened to the Commander and they want to see you right away.”
Doctor Hammer looked up at the red-eyed guard. “I see that I’m not the only one who was rousted from sleep.” The guard grunted. Doctor Hammer got out of his warm bunk and followed the guard out of the quarters. In all the excitement of the Commander’s death, no one came to get Quincy for his shift and he was left happily snoring away in his bunk.
Doctor Hammer felt like a condemned man walking the green mile as he was led to the Commander’s quarters. He was shown into the room when he came face to face with the security chief. “Well Doctor, it appears that your cure worked. Worked a little too well it would seem.”
“Yes about that, you see that I tried to instruct him on dosage, but he would not listen…” he didn’t get to finish his comment before the chief’s hand indicated he be silent.
“No need to explain, I just wanted to shake the hand of the man that freed us from his tyranny.” He held out his hand for Doctor Hammer to shake.
Doctor Hammer took his hand, but was confused. “I’m sorry, I am a bit confused. I thought you all served him without question and I thought that you were the enforcer of his power.”
The chief threw his head back and laughed. “God no. I hated that bastard from the moment he was put in power. No, he had what we called his personal guard. They are the ones that did his dirty work.”