by James McEwan
Doctor Hammer folded his arms. “So, what about them, won’t they be seeking some kind of retribution?”
“I thought of that, and as it turns out once I gave the order to arrest all of them, most left The Lightning like rats fleeing a sinking ship. Those who didn’t escape in time should be sitting in our brig by now.”
“So I guess the question is what now?” Doctor Hammer asked, wanting to know what would become of him and Quincy, not to mention Thad if he ever made it back.
The Chief understood what he was getting at. “Don’t worry Doctor. You and your friends are in no danger. In fact, your friend Quincy will be happy to learn that his days of cleaning out sump pumps are over.”
“I’m sure he will be happy to hear the news indeed. However, what is next for your people?”
The Chief ran his fingers through his soft brown hair. “For now, I’m in charge until Vergil gets back. He is favored for command, but if he doesn’t return, or chooses not to command, then we will choose a new commander by vote. That's something that has not happened in many years.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Doctor Hammer smiled.
Chapter 24
Just as Thad watched Commander Hayes fall, he felt the ramp abandon him. In free fall, everything seemed to slow to a crawl. Thad was powerless to do anything to help himself let alone Commander Hayes. Satisfied that he had killed them, Marcus rolled the ship level again. Thad had not yet cleared the end of the ramp when it slammed into him.
Located at the end of the ramp were two hydraulic struts that enabled the ramp to be lifted or lowered. Thad, whose momentum kept him sliding forward kicked both feet outwards. His feet found the struts, he stopped sliding, and his upper body was now hanging off the edge of the ramp.
Amanda Hayes watched as her life flashed before her eyes, in all a good life she thought. She had always tried to do what she believed to be to the right thing. Now, as she prepared to die, the world stared up at her, but for some reason, it just stared at her and never got any closer. Confused at why she was not plummeting to a most painful death, she craned her neck to look down, which in her position she was really looking up, to see Thad hanging halfway off the ramp holding her by one ankle.
Marcus watched the amazing catch by the mystery man on his ramp. “Oh that was just plain luck. Let’s see how you deal with this.” His hand flew over the controls and the ramp started to close.
Thad had no leverage and could not pull himself or Hayes up. All he could do is hold on to her and hope that Case didn’t get knocked out of the air. Oh crap, Thad thought as he felt the ramp moving. “Hang on!” He shouted over the noise of the air rushing by.
“No, you hang on!” she shouted back.
The ramp was closing fast and Thad knew that his enhanced bones could take a lot, but he was not sure that they could withstand the tons of crushing force the hydraulics could produce. The ramp was almost closed and he figured he was about to lose his feet. He couldn’t help but wonder if his feet were cut off would the Nano protein in his blood heal him in time for him to splat on the grasslands whipping by below?
The rampclosed on Thad, and the mind-crushing pain never came. The ship’s safety sensor detected something in the way of the ramp, so instead of completely closing and cutting off his feet, it reversed and opened. In the cockpit, Marcus was cursing the automated safety systems.
Marcus was determined to see these two dead. He rolled the craft back-and-forth rapidly until Thad finally could not hold on any longer. Hayes was torn from his grip, and this time, she fell. She fell, but not far. Chief Case had returned and placed the bike just under the commander. Case caught her, but it wasn’t pretty. She landed so her shoulder hit the bikes rear seat. She spun sideways and would have fallen off the bike if she had not wrapped her legs around Chief Case’s head. The move made Case pitch and dive out of sight.
Thad pulled himself back up and stood on the ramp. Marcus had given up trying to shake them from the ship so he exited the cockpit and ran to the ramp. Marcus stepped onto the ramp and for the first time ever he hesitated. He did not fire his weapon, but instead, called out. “Stop, turn around!”
Thad thought about just jumping off the end of the ramp, but couldn’t help himself. He wanted to see the look on Marcus’s face when he saw that Thad was alive. Marcus called to him again. “I said, ‘turn around’!” Thad held his hands up and slowly turned around. “It can’t be! I shot you! I saw you die!”
Thad smiled at the shocked look on his face. He knew that Marcus would not stay stunned for long. He stepped backward, his heels just over the edge of the ramp. He hoped that Case was back in position. He waved goodbye to Marcus then spun around and stepped off the ramp. Marcus didn’t know why, but he found himself running to the edge of the ramp. He looked down expecting to see Thad’s body bouncing off the ground in a hail of dust, grass, and twisted bones.
What he saw was not the death of Thad, but the three very much alive people waving at him from the back of grav-bike. Anger of took control Marcus and it was no longer about the mission, it was personal now. A point of pride for him, he was not about to quit until they were all dead. He stormed back into the craft. He jumped through the door to the cockpit and into the pilot seat.
Thad was in the back with Hayes in the middle so he had to relay information through Hayes. He knew that Marcus was not just going to let them go and he could see him already veering off to the right to try to get position on them. Thad scanned the ground looking for something, something that would help them.
It didn’t take Marcus long to swing his craft around to get a shot at them. Even though his craft was lightly armed, it wouldn’t take more than one burst from one of his lasers to kill them all. Marcus got them in his sights and pulled the trigger on his control stick. Two bursts of super-heated light flashed past them and struck the ground where the heat flashed the grass causing a steam explosion that kicked up a mass of dirt and dust.
With Case at the controls, they twisted and turned, dove and ducked. The grav-bike was an exceptionally small target and its maneuverability was the only thing keeping them alive, but Thad knew that if they didn’t find a way out they would be dead sooner than later. It would only take one lucky hit to end them. A few more blasts streaked by them and Thad was starting to worry that their luck was about to run out when he spotted what he was looking for. He had to yell to Hayes who in turn had to yell to Case. He just had to hope that she understood what he wanted her to do. Otherwise, they were dead one way or the other.
Marcus finally had them. He lined up and squeezed the trigger again and again. He watched as his first shots missed and hit the ground just in front and to the sides of them. Marcus saw his second shots disappear into the dust cloud as well as his prey. He flew over his target through the dust cloud and then he circled back around several times until the dust cloud dissipated. He could find no wreckage or bodies, just a smoking burning hole in the ground. Satisfied that he had indeed killed them, he set his course for The Lightning and departed.
Amanda Hayes and Janis Case sat on the back of the powered down grav-bike in the darkness waiting for Thad to return, hoping that he would be the one to come back before the crab spider whose home they had borrowed to hide out in returned. It wasn’t long before Thad came walking back. “It worked, he thinks we’re dead and has moved off.”
“Good, now we can get out of here.” Hayes said.
Case powered up the bike and Thad got on the back. Case thought since it was his bike he should be one to drive it. “You want to take the controls?”
“Not really, you proved yourself quite the pilot back there and besides with my little problem that seems to be happening at random, it would not be a good idea for me to be at the controls when I go transparent again, don’t you think?” Thad replied.
“Suit yourself.” Case said, as she punched the throttle. They shot out of the hole just in time. As they rocketed out of the hole, they nearly smashed into the crab spider w
ho was returning with a kill.
Marcus was a few minutes out from the position of The Lightning. He transmitted his authority codes and his intent to land. After the transmission was received, he received an incoming video transmission. He put it on his screen. “This is Commander Stevens. We have received your request for landing, may I ask the nature of your visit, Agent?”
Marcus hated dealing with these people, but the mission had to be completed and he was down to his last hurdle, so he played along. “Commander Stevens, I’m after a wanted fugitive, and I have reason to believe that he is on your convoy.”
“Ah I see, can I ask the name of your wanted fugitive?”
“Doctor Hammer.” Marcus answered.
Acting Commander Stevens frowned. “I’m sorry to inform you that Doctor Hammer was indeed a guest with us, however, there was a lab accident.”
“What do you mean, an accident?” Marcus asked, hoping things were finally going his way.
“Yes, he was here and wanted access to our lab to work on a cure for an ailment for his traveling companion. However, one of our lab assistants helping Doctor Hammer accidently mixed the wrong chemicals that resulted in an explosion and fire that killed the assistant and Doctor Hammer. Unfortunately, the fire burned their bodies so badly that we had to dispose of their ashes.”
Marcus’s head was swimming in pain from his injury, and hearing that his target was finally dead made his day. He wanted to know about the other man. “And what of his traveling companion?”
“Ah yes, due to the accident, the cure for his ailment was never completed and he succumbed to his ailment.”
Marcus could not believe his luck, finally after all the problems, things turned in his favor. “I am sorry to hear about your lost crewmen, but the other two were dangerous and will not be missed. Thank you for your information. In light of this information, I will not be landing.”
Before Stevens could answer, the transmission ended. Stevens turned to Doctor Hammer, who was standing just outside of the camera’s view. “I think he bought it.”
Doctor Hammer was a little confused about why Stevens had lied on his behalf. “Can I ask why you just lied to a government official on my behalf?”
Stevens smiled. “Well, first I don’t buy for one second that you and Mr. Jones are dangerous fugitives and something was off with that guy. Did you see the bandages on his head? No government agent would show up wounded looking for dangerous fugitives. That guy was lying through his perfect teeth. Oh, and it may have to do with the fact that I can’t stand big brother government types.”
“Well, luckily for me, you were promoted to acting commander just in time then.” Doctor Hammer noted.
Marcus changed his course and headed for home. Feeling the job was done, he contacted Thorne. Thorne’s secretary answered and once the proper codes were given, the call was transferred to Thorne. His 3D hologram image appeared just above the control console. He did not look happy, but Thorne rarely did. “What happened to you? You look like you had a disagreement with an Orillia and lost.”
“Sir, it was a rough mission, but the target is terminated, as well as the men who were helping him.” Marcus reported.
“Good! Now you get back here and report to the medics. I have feeling you are going to need to spend some time in a healing tank by the look of your injuries.”
“Yes Sir, I think you are right. I do feel that I might need some time to heal up. My melon took quite a thumping, this time out.” Marcus said.
Thorne raised an eyebrow. “I see. You must have taken quite a hit to your, as you say, melon. Get back here and get some rest, you have earned it.”
Chapter 25
St. Claire found himself wandering the area of New Houston known as Casino Alley. Of course, it was not an alley at all, but several streets lined with every type and size of casino. There were ones that re-created places from Earth throughout the ages, as well as ones that were geared for other races, like one that looked like a jungle that the Orillia frequented. It was made to look like their jungle homeworld.
Even though there were people on the street, and cabs whipping by at high speeds, St. Claire felt alone. It was not the first time he was left to his own devices, but this was the first time that he was completely on his own with no backup coming ... no chain of command to rely on. He had been hunted before; however, the hunters in the past had always been the enemy, not his own people.
After wandering for what seemed like hours, it was late and he was tired. St. Claire made his way to a grand hotel and casino known as the Galaxy Star. He was impressed, as the casino and hotel looked like a spiral galaxy and each room blazed away as if it was a star. The casino itself was the main cluster of stars in the middle of the galaxy. It was a grand sight to behold, however, the coolest part was the fact that the whole thing was rotating giving each room a great 360 degree view of the city around it.
He made his way through the crowd of people and entered the hotel. It was extremely impressive as he walked down the hall towards his room. The hallway was a transparent tube that was somehow cloaked on the outside so no one from the outside could see any of the guests walking to or from their rooms. He looked down on the people below and wondered how many of them knew that this wonder of technology and architecture was built with blood money. He reached his room, slid the card into the lock, and got a red light followed by a buzzing sound. “I knew it was too good to be true.” He slid the card in, again and again, red light and buzzing sound. “Damn it! Now, what?”
Before he could do anything a hologram of pretty, young desk clerk appeared in front of the door. “I’m sorry Sir, but that key card will no longer work on that door.”
He rolled his eyes at the obvious statement. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
The clerk was obviously an AI because she kept on talking as if he had never made a comment. “Mr. White, Mr. Black would like you to know that no guest of his stays in the normal rooms. Your room has been upgraded to one of the Star Suites. If you would please reinsert your keycard I will code it for your room.”
“Okay.” he placed the card into the reader. The light flashed yellow, then green, and then blinked out.
“Your card is now coded. If you would like to follow the courtesy line it will lead you to your room” the clerk said, as a light blue line appeared on the wall next to him.
“Well okay, thank you” St. Claire said, and took off following the line to his new suite.
St. Claire found the courtesy line helpful in finding his new room. The hotel was immense, and the hallways seemed to go on forever. Finally, he reached the door and slid the card into the lock. The light flashed green and the lock clicked. It really didn’t click. That sound was just added for the guests. The hotel industry found that people felt safer when locks make that metal on metal clicking sound even though the locks were all magnetic, and made no sounds.
The door slid open and “wow” was all he could think. The suite was huge and had every comfort one could ever need. He was met at the door by a lovely large-breasted blond love bot dressed in a gold-colored bikini. The suite was equipped with both male and female love bots, as well as a few alien ones as well. The AI made the assumption that he was into females and he was glad she picked right. The last thing he wanted right now was to be met by a perfectly chiseled bronze male sporting a banana hammock.
The love bot was incredibly attentive, but he asked her to shut down and let him sleep. After his long day, he laid down on the perfect Comfort Bed 3000, the top of the line in sleep comfort. This was the first time since he went on the call that changed his life that he felt he could sleep, and sleep he did.
In the morning, St. Claire awoke, showered, and got dressed, all while dodging the constant advances of the love bot. It was not that he didn’t find the bot lovely, which she was; it was just that he liked the feel of real flesh over plasta flesh. The suit that was laid out for him was of the finest quality, and as he straightened his tie i
n the mirror, he spoke to himself. “careful Dom, one could get used to all this.”
As he walked out the door, the love bot reminded him. “Mr. Black opened a large line of credit for you to enjoy the facilities here at the Galaxy Star.”
St. Claire said over his shoulder. “I will have to remember to thank Mr. Black for his hospitality.” He made his way to the casino floor, where every type of gambling game in the known universe was ready to take your credits like a hungry Falcainan beetle.
St. Claire wandered through the tables for some time before finding an old Earth favorite, poker. He paid his buy-in fee and sat down. He played a few hands winning most of them. He took his winnings and left the table in search of something to eat. There were several bars and two five-star restaurants. He was tempted to try one of the restaurants, but the bars were more his style. He ducked into the nearest one, sat down at the bar, and waited.
He didn’t wait long before a perfect looking woman with overly large breasts, which were barely contained in her small and tight shirt, appeared from the back. “What can I get for you, honey?”
Great, another bot, are there any live staff in this place, he thought. “Two eggs over easy, a rasher of bacon, hash browns, browned all the way through, don’t bring me mush browned on both sides. Also toast, sourdough, and coffee, black.”
She smiled. “Got it, be back in a flash.” She was gone again. He looked around the bar and there were only a few people in there, as most people were either on the floor gambling or still asleep. But there was one man that caught his attention. He was a big man with a square head and a large scar that went from the bottom of his chin up his face to the top of his ear. Strange that the man would choose to keep a scar like that in this day and age. With plastic surgery, they could erase the scar like one erases a line in adrawing.