Con-Red: Recourse (39 page)

Under those orders Stripes and Joker ran towards the double open side hatches and leapt through them.  There was no hesitation or second thoughts as they hurled their heavy bodies from the drifting cargo transport as it slid over the downed enemy walker.
  Sailing through the air the pair descended rapidly on top of the unshielded Thumper’s main body.  At ten meters from their target both soldiers activated their repulsor fields, which almost instantly decelerated them to a desired speed.  At such a rate of decent they were able to drop on top of the walker directly on their feet as if they had jumped from only a few meters up.

Duntan kept his eyes on Stripes and Jokers just long enough to watch them cut a large hole within the top armor and jump into the vehicle itself.  Their mission was to get as much technical data as possible from the downed beast
.  It would hopefully prove effective and provide some assistance in beating this alien invasion force.  Praying they find something of use Duntan turned away from the open hatch and allowed it to seal up behind him.

“Proceed to
Howler One,” he ordered and the craft quickly took off towards the site of General Stelle’s downed Centaur.

RAZOR
One banked sharply starboard as another beam of defensive fire reached out towards him and his wingman from the damaged alien ship now moving slowly away from its previous position. His partner, Griz, rolled the opposite way in time to avoid another barrage.  Both Serti and Griz were starting their second run at the damaged ship, trying to destroy it before it was able to meet up with enemy reinforcements.  These incoming gunships and fighter craft had been detected only seconds before the connection to the TechNet was lost.

The area wide link had lasted just long enough for the waves of Adino missiles to drastically reduce
their numbers.  At the moment only approximately a handful of the small craft remained.  That act alone had sealed the fate of the missile batteries that had launched the Adino’s.  With each subsequent launch they had revealed their locations and as such had been destroyed from orbit or through counterstrikes by the remaining fighters.  Each batteries command vehicle and staff had escaped, however, thanks to their separation from the missile launcher sites since the first orbital strike on Crossbow Three.

As he brought the Cyclone around on
ce more Serti studied the rear of the large enemy ship that now appeared in front of him.  Much of the hull was now scared and cratered from the many Adino missile strikes that had descended upon it in the first wave.  The second barrage of warheads would have finished off the vessel, but all of their tracking data had been lost as soon as the orbiting satellite stopped functioning.  He had watched them separate wildly almost immediately in all directions before detonating in midair when no other targets were located.  While they hadn’t been able to destroy the craft, the first missiles had damaged it considerably.  It was then that Serti realized that the ship was linked to the mental assault he had been sustaining.  He noticed that as soon as the lower dome section had taken a direct hit all of the headaches and tragic thoughts he had been experiencing ceased.

Mentally and somewhat physically drained, but now with a clear heads One and Nine had dove in on the enemy like angry hornets
.  What they quickly found out, however, was that the large ship, termed Kilo by Serti, was well designed and could take a considerable amount of damage.  Their first pass did nothing except create more incisions in the Kilo’s hull and probably cause some damage to the dorsal dome array.  What he did find out on that single pass was how the enemy beam projection worked.  Their defensive fire helped him locate the narrow reflective-like strips that ran horizontally around the ship’s body.  Each time the Kilo would fire a series of lights would ignite along different sections of each strip before coming together as a certain point to discharge that energy into a solid beam of deadly light.  Before completing their first pass, Serti and Griz had targeted some of these projector sections with their particle cannons, disabling some of the ones that curved towards the rear of the vessel.

It was thanks to this that the beam fire directed at him and his wingmen almost completely ceased when they both settled in directly behind the damaged ship.  A trail of dark smoke
from multiple locations flowing out behind the Kappa engulfed his Cyclone as the interceptor drifted slightly from side to side.  Serti quickly stabilized his craft and looked out towards the two rear engine banks facing him, one on either side of the Kilo.    He knew the only way to bring down the large ship would be to disable its thrusters.

“
Beams and missiles,” Serti ordered and triggered his own particle cannons.

He held down the trigger and let a continuous barrage of particle beams lance out at the Kilo.  These beams slammed into the rear shields without pause, dete
riorating the already weakened shields further, while Griz in Razor Nine did the same to the other side of the craft.  At the same time he activated the interceptor’s missile system, which instantly brought up a new circular reticle in his vision.  The semitransparent reticle followed his eyes and moved over the bank of three engines on his own side of the ship.  He held it there for a second and only had to form a single thought to activate the target lock.  Another thought triggered the launch sequence and Razor One’s last two missiles dropped down from their internal bays.

These two projectiles raced forward, following
a pair of targeting lasers emanating from the Cyclone’s nose.  Serti watched the missiles pass straight through the heavily strained shields flickering over the rear of the vessel before striking the areas right between two of the thrusters.  Each warhead punched through the minimal armor plating in that area and fragmented inside the ship itself.  He released the trigger on the particle cannons as the entire engine bank exploded from the inside out.  All three of the engines detached from their mounts and fell away from the alien ship, greatly decreasing its rate of climb.

“Direct hit, sir,” Nine reported as a
nother shudder ran through the ship.

A large fireball at the edge of Serti’s visual field confirmed
Lieutenant Kovolanchuk’s statement.  He eased off the throttle slightly and let the enemy’s inertia carry it forward just a little further.  After a moment, however, the ship slowed its ascent to a stop and pitched down at the front towards the ground.  It was then that the entire aft section fragmented into multiple pieces as tremendous blast blossomed out from inside the ship.  The stricken ship began to slow twisting spin during its descent with a thick cloud of black smoke trailing behind it from the gaping hole that now occupied its aft.

Serti pulled back on the control stick and brought the interceptor back around, pointing it towards the center of what used to be Secturo base.
  Over top of him flew Razor Nine, lazily rotating around its axis, before settling in at the colonel’s port side.  Together they flew on in order to provide as much fighter cover as they would for the remainder of the retraining army units.  As they continued on their course Serti watched a number of enemy shuttles lift off the forest and proceed to accelerate at high speeds towards the sky.  His ground scanning sensor array displayed dozens of Federation vehicles moving through the dense forest away from the base as more orbital strikes touched down in different areas, sending up large columns of smoke and fire.  Judging by the number of army units evacuating Secturo Serti guessed that the majority of the military manpower assembled at the base was on its way to safer ground.  Griz and he would stay in the vicinity for another few moments before flying off to rendezvous with the rest of the Razors and their two dropships.

The Imtera Aeromotive Corporation IC-7
came in at high speed, but slowed to a complete stop in midair with extreme precision before drifting down into one of the many empty parking spaces.  There was a second of pause before the security clamps engaged underneath the sleek aerocar.  With that the large blue and green Express TransCo colored driver side door popped out from the body, distorting the flowing lines, and slid out towards the front of the car.  Out of the cabin Xander Wietzhausen finally stepped out and adjusted his uniform while look up at the tall twisting tower that was the regional headquarters of Telcore Security Force.

His training kicked in instantly and Xand
er’s eyes quickly scanned over the twisted, triangle shaped build, and over the surrounding rooftops.  Ever vigilant he assessed the threat level around him with each forward step and heard the soft sound of his aero’s door locking closed behind him.  As he walked his eyes took in everything around him.  No small detail was overlooked and all of it was instantly put away into his memory.  Surprisingly there were very few people around.  Only approximately a dozen individuals could be seen walking in and out of the building’s multiple front entrances.  Xander also noticed a pair of uniformed TelSec officers standing outside conversing with each other. 

Being a govern
ment and more so a law enforcement building, Xander had to walk a small distance from the parking lot in order to reach the tower itself.  Above him traffic flowed at a less than usual pace because of the holiday, with a minimal amount of aerocars speeding between the surrounding building in neat lines and corridors.  A siren went off somewhere over his head before receding into the distance as a Security vehicle took off in response to one call or another.  The world around him disappeared a moment later, however, when he entered the immense lobby of the TelSec tower and the blast-proof doors closed behind him.  Without needing to be told he knew that already his face and body had been scanned even before his entry into the building; his face in order to compare with a database of past and current criminals, as well as for any signs of criminal intent that the programing could recognize and his body for weapons, explosives, and felonious mannerisms.

“Mr. Grissom,” someone called out to his side when he was halfway through the expansive Yolinos marble lined lobby.

Xander made a small smile and turned towards the sound.  He watched as a tall man dressed in a
striped navy colored suit strode out towards him and out stretched his hand.

Shaking hands firmly he looked up straight into the taller man’s eyes, “Detective Bask
ier, thank you for meeting me in person, especially on Christmas Day.”

“No problem, I had a few minutes to spare
and I don’t really do holidays,” the detective said and turned to start walking towards one of the building’s secure gravlifts, “oh and don’t worry about your sidearm.  I’ve cleared you to carry it inside the Department.”

“
Much appreciated, thank you,” Xander expressed and lightly touched the pistol holstered on his right hip.

The Detective nodded and reached out to press his palm against the lift activation switch, “
so you really think you’ll find something we missed?”

“I’m not entirely certain,” Xander said as the double doors on the lift opened, “but I know a fresh pair of eyes on a stale case is always helpful.  If I find something, great, if not at least I tried.  The victim and his family deserve that I think.”

“Yes, I agree with that.  It never hurts to have someone with a new perspective help out.  Who knows, maybe you’ll find something we missed and we can catch the bastards.”

Baskier motioned
Xander forward into the gravity lift and followed him inside.  The lift was smaller than others in the building, but had much tighter security inside.  In order to use it the detective had to punch in a special code on the holographic number pad that appeared on the left hand side, this one happened to be for the fifteenth floor.  The whole holographic image turned green with the last number entered and the doors quickly shut in front of them.  Xander barely felt the downward force as the lift’s dampeners engaged and it accelerated straight up.

“What made you get into private security Mr. Grissom?  You file says you were a rapidly rising star at the IDA.  You could have been leading an entire team within a few years,” the detective recalled as he turned his head towards Xander just as the lift came to a soft stop.

Smirking slightly at the mention of his cover history at the Intelligent Directorate of the Army, Xander paused while the lift doors slid open, “I guess I just got tired of dealing with the bureaucracy built into the system.  It’s very hard to get some things accomplished when you have a lot of people breathing down your back and watching everything you do.  Things had a way of becoming very complicated, as I’m sure you know.  Plus, the pay incentive of the private sector doesn’t hurt either.”

Together they laughed at the last part of the statement and walked out onto the hallway in front of them.  In front of the lift doors Xander noticed a security symbol hanging on the
light green colored wall.  The symbol let everyone know that this was a highly restricted area and it was for authorized personnel only.  To Xander the warning was somewhat redundant as there was almost no way for ordinary citizens to wonder onto the floor.  There were only two gravlifts that stopped at this floor and both were for authorized security officers only.

“This way please,” Baskier said and waved his hand to the right, “I agree about all of the hoops they place in our ways and still
expect us to get the job done as fast as possible.  Perhaps I will look into contracting when I retire.”

Xander smiled and nodded at the detective as they continued down the slightly curved corridor.
  Unlike other floors in the building this one had very few doors, all of which were also windowless and unmarked.  Another thing he noticed was there they were alone in the whole hallway.  There was not a single soul visible along their whole walk, but that didn’t mean that people weren’t keeping track of them.  Having been technologically modified during his service to the SIS, Xander’s internal receivers quickly picked up signals from cameras hidden throughout the entire hallway.  Many of these surveillance devices were hidden inside the flat ceiling or situated within the curvature of the walls.  Every movement and sound either of them made were being monitored and recorded for security reasons.

After a few moments of walking Detective Baskier came to a stop and placed his palm against another reader beside a large entrance door, “
here we are Mr. Grissom, Evidence Storage and Holding.”

There was a slight pause as his hand was scanned before the internal locks disengaged and the whole door lifted into the ceiling to grant entry.  Baskier stood off to the side and waved Xander through, “I’ll be out here if you need me.  Take as much time as you need.  If you need any assistance, however, Office
r Rasport will be more than happy to help you.”

Acknowledging the courteous gesture by the detective Xander gave him a small nod before walk
ing into the brightly lit evidence room.  He took a look around and quickly noticed the semicircular security station on the left side of the room.  Officer Rasport rose from her previous sitting position just as he entered the room and watched him intensely.  She studied his every expression and movement with her hands hidden behind the desk and a stern hard expression on her face.  Xander knew that she had one hand on an alarm button, while the other held a submachine gun, probably a G-44 as they were the standard issue SMG weapon for the TelSec.  It was her job to keep everything within the room safe and Xander respected her for it.

He gave her a quick smile before looking away. 
On the other side of the room were lines of examination booths.  Each was a private, fully enclosed station that allowed an individual to inspect sensitive evidence without others looking in.  The entire room, however, was completely covered in surveillance so that one was never truly alone nor in complete privacy.  Officer Rasport would be watching everything that he did, making sure that he never tampered with any of the evidence within holding.

That evidence was held inside the wall opposite that of the entrance.  The wall was much thicker and heavily reinforced than the others in order to hold off most attempts
at breaching the sensitive material held within without authorization.  A further layer of protection was implemented a few meters from the wall itself by a glowing field barrier.  The energy barrier was designed to keep physical objects and beings from getting too close to the storage containers located within the wall. 

Taking note of that vault like storage protection, Xander made his way quickly to one of the private examination booths.  He sat down at the table and
waved a hand over its smooth surface.  As he did so the entire tabletop lit up with a holographic keyboard and control interface projection.  From the rear edge of the table another small projector powered up and activated a display monitor.  Within the blinking search field Xander typed in the case number he had been given earlier.  When Elfonso Capratti’s file appeared on the screen he selected the view evidence tab.

Receiving the order, a robotic arm dropped out of the ceiling and moved towards the
wall of storage containers.  It stopped just before reaching the barrier field and waited while the rows of storage units rearranged in order to let a batch of deep units move towards the front.  As they finally rotated into the proper up front position a blue field appeared around the mechanical arm before it continued on its way. The new field countered that of the protective one around the evidence wall and allowed the arm to pass straight through the barrier.  It quickly descended down the rows of containers and located the proper on.  With robotic precision it attached to the front of the needed unit and pulled it out of the wall once its locking mechanisms disengaged.  Effortlessly the carrier arm lifted the evidence box into the air and sped away towards Xander’s booth.

Through the semi-transparent booth top Xander watched the robotic appendage approach.  It came to stop directly over him and waited a second for the top to slide open.  Once the top stopped moving the container
descended through the opening to get deposited on the side of Xander’s desk.  Before the arm even had a chance to clear the top on its way back out an attachment emerged from the underside of the booth’s table and latched onto the front of the rectangular storage box.  An inductive charge passed through the attachment into the storage unit’s locking mechanism and allowed it to open.  Xander heard a soft ‘click’ a second before the table piece disengaged and retracted back into the table.  At that time the front of the case receded a few centimeters into the box and then opened into the top.

Reaching inside he extracted all of the contents, laying each out individually in front of him on top of the holographic keyboard.  Small circles appeared around every item as the table recognized their imbedded tags and projected labels for each one.  This allowed him to see a good amount of data about the items at a quick glance.
  It didn’t take him a long time, however, to notice that one piece was missing.  The necklace that he had caught during his thorough examination of the compiled video feeds was nowhere to be seen.  A quick recheck of the TelSec database confirmed that no so such necklace was ever recovered from Elfonso’s dead body, or what remained of it.

To Xander this occurrence was actually a blessing in disguise. 
Evidence missing from a criminal investigation could only be so from physical tampering.  This tampering could have only occurred at a certain point along the chain of evidence, ensuring that there were a limited number of people involved.  After activating his computer station and doing a quick search, Xander found that only a dozen or so individuals were responsible for the Elfonso case.  Narrowing those results down further by specific criteria he received a single flashing name.  That name was of someone that had actually been involved in two other unsolved murders on a similar number of planets.  After each investigation that person had proceeded to request transfers to other departments throughout Federation space.  Putting all of the evidence items back into their storage container Xander now knew exactly what he had to do.