“Fine. You’ll have your passage to the settlement,” Jason answered. “As for our qualifications, know that this is what we do and what we have been trained for.” Jason waited for Ricket to translate.
With that understanding, the young Craing commander withdrew into the cockpit and sat at the controls. She had pulled her long black hair into a ponytail and it swung back and forth as she moved. After several false starts, the main drive caught and noisily droned in the background. The vessel shook and the drives kicked into a high-pitched whirling sound. Through a small window on the hatch, Jason could see the ship had left the ground, but it seemed to momentarily stall. Then, with a jolt, the craft lifted higher and was headed in the direction of the laser.
Having to yell over the noise and looking at the three male Craings, Jason asked Ricket, “What can they tell us about the location? What’s security like?” The three Craings talked amongst themselves and Ricket for a brief spell. While they conversed, Jason huddled close with Billy and Orion. “What are our weapons, our multi-guns, capable of now that we’re on Halimar?” Jason asked.
“Captain, our weapons have a full load of rail and missile projectile munitions,” Orion replied, “but they are finite. Once you’re out, you’re out. Energy weapon settings will operate same as before.”
Turning his attention back to Ricket and the three Craings, Jason enquired again about the layout. Ricket explained, “It’s commonly referred to as the Loop sub-station. Although the numbers can vary, there are never less than seventy-five armed guards or sentries within and around the outer perimeter. The compound itself is fortified behind sixty-foot-high concrete walls and multiple turret-mounted plasma cannons.”
“Any weaknesses?” Jason asked.
“None that they are aware of,” Ricket said. “They again asked if we are confident we will have success?”
Billy spoke up, “Just tell them not to worry. We have been trained for this type of thing,” Jason looked at the young Craing dissidents and tried to look as confident as possible. He glanced at his HUD’s mission countdown readout. Time was quickly running out. They now had less than three hours. Jason suspected the Emperor’s Guard would be making preparations or already underway to enter the worm hole. “How close are we?” he asked.
The cabin noise changed pitch. They were descending. Looking out the hatch window, the Loop sub-station was clearly in view. The laser was massive. A consistent hum and vibration filled the air. Then it stopped.
He looked again through the window. The bright blue beam of the laser was gone. “What the hell happened? Why’s it off?” Jason asked, alarm in his voice.
The three Craing males looked to one another, confused, then spoke rapidly to Ricket.
“They said this is common and not to worry. The laser is turned off for maintenance at least once a day,” Ricket replied.
“Then how will destroying it make any damn difference?”
Ricket listened to them, spoke back a few short sentences, and turned to Jason. “They are unsure what the problem is, but Glenn was well aware of it. They’re not sure why we are just learning of this shutdown now—they want to know how it will impact our mission,” Ricket said, translating their comments to Jason.
“What mission? Obviously, not all the lasers need to be operational simultaneously. And the truth is, that actually makes sense. Of course they would need to have the ability to make repairs, do maintenance work, or have a back-up at the ready in case someone does something like we’re planning to do,” Jason said.
The hatch slid open and everyone scrambled out of the tight compartment. They had set down in a rural farm area—what looked to be some kind of vegetable field. At no more than five miles away, the grey Loop sub-station compound loomed nearby. The sky was bright with three neighboring planets suspended overhead.
Jason walked several paces into the field, still looking up, “Those lasers, they’re not stationary?”
“No. Even though we are at the planet’s southern-most pole, the laser, all their lasers, are always tracking the convergence point in space. They constantly move, rotating and pivoting.”
Jason said, “What if we don’t destroy this facility?”
Ricket was now looking up as well.
“What if we use this laser to destroy the others? Use it as a weapon. Would that be possible?” Jason asked.
“No. Couldn’t destroy them all, but perhaps several,” Ricket replied. “I would need the specific coordinates of each of the seven planet sub-stations. I would also need access to their overall system control AI,” Ricket said, looking back up at Jason. Behind his helmet’s visor, his illuminated-face again revealed more expression than Jason was used to.
“You’d need to hack their network.”
“Yes, and most assuredly they will have numerous safeguards in place.”
“Can you do it?”
“I designed it.”
“What do you mean you designed it?” Jason asked. The rest of the group had migrated over to where they were standing.
“Captain, I believe I was the scientist, the one who designed this system in the first place.”
“That must have been hundreds of years ago, Ricket. How—”
“Two hundred and thirty, to be exact. My memories, for the most part, have been wiped. With that said, it was necessary to leave core-level sub-routines—required for me to maintain a minimal sense of continuity and time. Although specific events, memories, are gone, I have been able to build new logic paths and make qualified assumptions about my past. In all likelihood, it was my work as a scientist, and the eventual construction of the Loop, that subsequently lead to me becoming emperor.”
“Everyone knows this. Emperor Reechet, of course, was the Loop scientist,” Gatty interjected. “Your story is taught to our young in school at early age.”
Jason, at this point, was not surprised by news of another incredible Ricket accomplishment. He found it interesting how quickly Gatty picked up their language, and again, how Ricket’s expression was becoming more animated. “The Craing have a unique aptitude for languages, Captain … they are highly-intelligent people. Back on board Craing warships, I learned they typically speak hundreds of languages—it comes easily for them.” Ricket turned his attention back to the sub-station.
“Gatty, what do you know about the inside layout of the sub-station?” Jason asked. “I questioned Glenn if facility schematics could be provided.”
Gatty looked perplexed and crossed her arms under her breast. “No, we have nothing like that. How could we? A stupid question.”
Rizzo, off to the side of the group, chuckled—quieting when Jason glanced his way.
Speaking to the group, Jason said, “We need to get in closer before we phase-shift. We’ll go in with a small team, do some reconnaissance. Ricket, my HUD’s picking up several large crafts in the area, perhaps Craing battle cruisers?”
“Correct, Captain. My long-range sensors, which I might add operate quite effectively here, tell me there is a military base less than twenty miles from our current position. Stationed there are eight light-destroyers and three heavy battle cruisers—not to mention an array of many smaller vessels. There are fifteen thousand, two hundred three combat-capable vessels in Craing space, including three warships, and although smaller, they have similar signatures to
The Lilly
. They comprise, undoubtedly, the Emperor’s Guard.”
“Cap, we have little more than minutes before all hell drops down on us,” Billy said. “And it sounds like you, Ricket, will need time to interface with their network. How’s this going to work?”
Jason looked in the direction of the sub-station. Using his HUD’s zoom optics, he could make out more detail. Overall it appeared to be about the size of the U.S. Pentagon building—an immense structure. Octagonal in shape, there were four outside wall watch-tower turrets; each was covered and had some sort of pivoting energy weapon. A fifth watch tower rose from the back of the compound, nearly twice as high as all the others. It also had its own compliment of independent energy weapons. “Billy, Orion, Ricket, you’re with me. Traveler, sorry, you’re in no shape for this.”
“My legs are fine, Captain,” he replied.
Jason looked to Dira.
She shrugged. “No way, he’s got some kind of infection. He can barely walk.” Dira looked apologetically over to Traveler.
“Okay, Stands in Storm, you’re with us. Traveler—hang back with the team here. Rizzo, you’re team leader—stay on comms and let me know what’s happening if the shit hits the fan.”
“Aye, Cap.”
“I go with you,” Gatty said with her hands on her hips.
“No, too dangerous. We have battle suits and are trained for this stuff. Stay with your ship, be prepared to get out of here at a moment’s notice,” Jason said, but liking the little Craing woman’s moxie. With that said, he and his small team headed off across the open field in the direction of the sub-station. Jason received a hail.
“Go for Captain.”
“How come you never say goodbye, Jason?”
Jason was caught off-guard by how much he enjoyed the sound of her voice. “I’ll see you soon, Dira.”
The ground started to vibrate again. Ozone filled the air. In a burst, the laser shot up towards the heavens.
Jason opened a channel to his group. “Ricket, can your sensors provide some kind of facility layout?”
“Somewhat, Captain … nowhere near what
The Lilly
would be capable of, but I can detect walls and open areas.”
“We’ll need a drop location. Somewhere that’s not showing a lot of traffic,” Jason said. At three miles out, Jason signaled for them to hold up.
“I’ve forwarded a virtual layout,” Ricket said. “It’s an approximation of the facility. I’ve gone ahead and marked the probable location where the facility’s network communications hub most likely is. Massive amounts of data are being funneled through there.”
“I see it. I also see a hell of a lot of Craing. What’s this area you’ve outlined in blue—looks to be subterranean?” Jason asked.
“I don’t know for sure, but it gets virtually no traffic and it’s fairly close to the network hub,” Ricket replied.
“Guess there’s only one way to find out. Can you provide me coordinates specific enough that I don’t phase-shift into a wall or something else?”
“I believe so, Captain; I’ve already configured your HUD settings.”
“Got it. You hang tight here until you hear from me. If everything’s clear, the rest of you can follow.” Jason phase-shifted away.
Chapter 24
It was pitch black. Jason’s HUD strobed a warning, along with an accompanying audio alarm. Radiation levels were high. Jason hailed Ricket.
“Go for Ricket.”
“There’s radiation here.”
“Your battle suit will shield most of it—you should be fine.”
“That doesn’t give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, Ricket. Do I need to get out of here?”
“Unless your suit is damaged, you are protected,” Ricket replied.
“I’ll do some exploring. Continue to hold there.” Jason increased the amount of light emitting from his head lamp. Walking slowly, he found that the room was large and the vibration was stronger. He guessed it was some kind of pump room. He was reminded of the Craing Battle Cruisers, with their strange mix of older outdated machinery on one hand and highly-advanced technology on the other. At the far end of the football field-sized room, eight gargantuan dark- green containers that looked to be big boilers or holding tanks stood against the back wall. Upon further inspection, they towered at least fifty feet high. Jason walked to a side wall and hailed Billy. “Come on over.”
The first to arrive was Billy, then Orion, Stands in Storm, and Ricket. As if on cue, the pumps in the room activated and the noise increased, even through their helmets’ insulation, to a near-deafening level.
Billy yelled into his comms, “I guess we know why nobody hangs around in this area.”
Jason was on the move. “There’s a doorway over here. Stay together.” He’d seen this type before. The Craing had a unique latching system for doorways. Nothing like what you’d find on Earth. Theirs had an indentation at the middle of the door, lower down to accommodate their height, and a lever mechanism that swiveled left or right. Definitely not an improvement; if anything, more cumbersome. He swiveled the lever to the left and leaned his weight into the door. Heavy, as expected, it moved slowly on well-lubricated hinges. Bright light streamed in from a corridor. The door, as well as the surrounding walls, was easily three feet thick. The last one out, Stands in Storm, had difficulty maneuvering through the door’s narrow opening. Fortunately, the ceilings were close to ten feet high. They came to a juncture where three corridors converged. Ricket took point and headed off down the middle hall. Jason glanced at his mission countdown readout on his HUD; the Emperor’s Guard would be leaving the star system at any time.
He let his thoughts wonder to the plight of Mollie and Nan and the rest of the crew aboard his pirated ship
.
Damn,
w
e really need to hurry things up here.
“They will have safeguards,” Ricket said, “most likely imbedded in their code, as well as real physical barriers to keep us from repositioning their lasers. That’s the way I’d do it.”
Billy responded, “Well, it’s probably the way you
did
do it. You just don’t remember.”
At the next junction, three Craing males turned the corner and walked into Ricket. Irritated at first, they froze, paralyzed in shock seeing their emperor standing before them. But it was seeing Stands in Storm that triggered a fear response. Billy was ready. Three quick pulses from his multi-gun sent the three Craings to the floor. Each was wearing a white uniform, and a clip-on type metallic tag.
“They’ll wake up with a bad headache in about four hours,” Billy said.
“Good—grab those tags,” Jason said, “We may need them.”
Ricket moved down the corridor again, with Jason and the team following.
“Captain,” Ricket said, “I believe the network control hub is at the end of this corridor.” He stopped and turned towards Jason. “Unfortunately, I’m detecting other readings as well. Security hover drones. Thirty of them and they are moving.”