OMEGA Allegiance (19 page)

Joni tapped me on the shoulder. "What now?"

I replied, "Now, we go explore the area in and around that fourth power source. If we end up in a fight we are going to want to know the territory. We look for a spot where we can defend ourselves, or where we can take refuge."

The next half hour was spent walking the halls and inspecting the rooms in and around the fourth power source. After discussing several fallback options, it was time to make a move on the door. I positioned Joni on one side as I took the other. I reached out and knocked. The sound of a foot stomping came from within. I turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"Dovit? Tobik? You in there?" I said.

Again the only sound was that of a boot stomping on the ground. I poked my head out to have a look and pulled it back quickly.

Joni pointed with her blaster rifle. "Well? Are they in there?"

I replied, "They are sitting in the center of the floor. The power in that room looks to be like our generator room. I suspect this whole floor has power, even if the lighting is off."

Before Joni had a chance to respond I stepped fully into the doorway.

When no response came from within, Joni slapped me on the back. "That wasn't a smart move! What if they had been waiting for you?"

I shook my head as I entered the room, looking around to verify there was no one else there. Dovit continued to slam his foot on the floor. His helmet was on, but tape covered his mouth.

I pulled Joni from the doorway. "Untie them."

As Joni got to work I poked my head out into the hallway, pulling it back as a bright burst of light and the unmistakable hiss of a laser weapon being fired filled the hallway with light. I held my blaster just outside of the door and squeezed off two bolts.

Dovit grabbed me by the shoulder, pulling me in and shutting the door behind me. After sitting at a console and pressing several buttons, air began to rush into the room. Just before the safe alarm chimed, Dovit removed his helmet and pulled the tape from his mouth.

Dovit rushed over to check the lock on the door. "There's at least a half dozen of them. They're locals. I have to guess they have been up here since this place was destroyed, living off the supplies that remained. That has probably been three years."

Joni winced. "Three years? I would go nuts trapped here that long."

Dovit replied, "I can assure you they are quite sane. I believe they mean to steal the shuttle in an attempt to return to the planet's surface.

Joni shook her head. "That's a suicide run. The Grumar would be all over that ship before it hits the atmosphere."

Dovit grabbed my arm. "We can't let them take the shuttle!"

I nodded. "Put your helmet back on. If we lose pressure you and Tobik are dead. What weapons do they have?"

Tobik snapped his helmet in place. They have laser rifles, and our pistols."

Joni moved over beside the door, attempting to turn the knob. "What's the plan? The door is locked from the outside."

I paced the room in thought. We were trapped in a hostile room, on a hostile moon, in a hostile galaxy. Our ship was bugged, our almost every move watched. We needed a plan. A plan that would take us to Garrett and the
Jess
. But we also needed our supplies. Without them, we would starve before the portal gate was once again opened.

Commotion could be heard just outside of the door.

I said, "I don't like the sound of that! I think they dropped something out there. Could be explosives. We need to get out of this room!"

Joni looked at a far wall. "Take cover! This may throw off some shrapnel!"

We moved behind a counter. Joni took aim at the wall and fired a single bolt. The wall rumbled and sparked, but held firm.

I took aim. "Everyone, switch from your comms to external speakers. Joni, keep pulling that trigger. The steel will give way."

Joni and I fired repeatedly. The wall rattled and hummed, sparks flew. After a dozen shots the red-hot wall shattered, spewing out superheated pieces of steel. As the wall failed, the pressure escaping the room pushed the blast outward.

I stood and yelled over my external speaker. "Joni, you first! Secure that room. Dovit, you and Tobik follow!"

As we moved into the second room I rushed to the back, opening a door leading to a back hallway. "Through here!"

Only seconds after I pulled the door shut, a concussion rocked the hallways as the a bomb left by the locals detonated. A partial imprint of the door that had previously enclosed the room we had occupied was clearly visible in the bowed out wall of the back hall. We had escaped the trap.

I yelled. "Follow me!"

We raced down several halls before emerging from the building. "Dovit, Tobik, you need weapons. I came across several while exploring. Find a couple that work and we'll head for the shuttle."

Joni gestured with her head. "What about the other stuff?"

"We check the shuttle first. If it's all good, we head for the other."

Dovit spoke as he ran. "What other stuff? Are you talking the supplies? If we need to, we can return to the planet for more. That storage area in that hangar was over half full."

As we entered a room that had seen a previous firefight, Dovit stopped and shuddered. "What the ... there must be a hundred dead in here!"

I yelled as I began turning over bodies. "Just find yourselves some weapons. I remember seeing at least one in here."

Joni spoke. "Got it! Laser pistol. Half a charge remaining!"

Tobik continued. "Here! This one is still in the holster! Full charge!"

I looked at Dovit. "Let's get back to that shuttle and see what they are planning. That ship is a commercial shuttle. I closed the door last we were on there, but I didn't set any kind of lock. If they figure that out, and if at least one of them knows how to fly it, it may already be lifting off by the time we get there."

Dovit shook his head. "Would be just my luck. We get off that planet only to get stranded on this moon. I knew we shouldn't have come here."

I replied as we ran: "We can't leave in that shuttle without the Grumar following. We needed another way out. The exploration of this complex was imperative. Without alternate transportation we can't escape them."

As we came up the stairwell the locals were moving in on the shuttle.

I shouted. "Hey! Step back!"

The laser pulses began to fly.

As we moved back down the stairs, I looked at Dovit. "Take Tobik, circle around to that other stairwell. Don't kill them. I want to see if they will talk with us.

Dovit shook his head. "Forget the negotiations! That is our shuttle! We can't let them have it!"

Dovit turned and sprinted down the stairs with Tobik following after. When the laser blasts stopped I poked my head out of the stairwell.

Joni inched closer. "What's happening?"

I replied, "That shuttle wasn't one of theirs. They are probably trying to figure out how to open the hatch."

Joni shook her head. "How dense can they be? It's the only handle right there on the hatch!"

I again shouted. "We can help you!"

Joni tapped on my back. "Ah, what makes you think they understand you?"

I replied, "I hoped they might have interacted with our forces back when all this started. Looks like they didn't."

Joni leaned against a wall. "Why aren't we just leaving?"

I turned towards her. "Don't speak of that. For the moment you will just have to trust that I have good reason. I just hope we can talk them down before Dovit makes a mess of this."

Twenty seconds later, Dovit and Tobik emerged from the other stairwell with their laser pistols firing. Two of the locals fell immediately. I stepped up out of the stairwell and raced towards them in a full sprint. The four remaining locals ran for cover as they fired back at Dovit and Tobik. My advance went unnoticed.

A third and a fourth local fell as they ran for the cover of a short wall. Dovit and Tobik were excellent shots. The fifth local dove over the short wall, out of the line of sight of the Moddles. As the sixth reached the wall, a well placed laser pulse entered his back, exiting out of his chest. I arrived at the short wall, diving over onto the remaining local before he could react.

I wrapped my arms around him, immobilizing his weapon before pulling it from his terrified hand. It was then that I realized it was a woman. Slender of build but fast on her feet. A knife, after being removed from her boot, sliced across the back of my Green battle-suit with little effect. The local was quickly disarmed.

I held her to the ground. "Do you understand my language?"

Her returned gaze was a mix of terror, confusion, and anger. I had a sudden respect for the woman as she struggled to free herself.

Dovit was soon standing over me. "Stand back and I'll finish her!"

I replied with an angry tone. "Put down that weapon. We need information and she is going to give it to us!"

Joni stood behind them and gestured with her blaster rifle. "Anybody who shoots anybody gets shot. So back off!"

Dovit and Tobik stepped back. I picked up the still struggling woman and began to walk towards the stairwell.

Dovit raised his hands. "Where are you going?"

I replied, "Just follow me. All three of you. I'll explain what I'm doing when I get there!"

Dovit protested. "We're checking out the shuttle for damage."

I stopped and turned. "Unless you want to make enemies of us, you will follow me. They never made it aboard."

Dovit hesitated, then turned our way. "What is so urgent?"

"I'll show you when we get there."

When we reached the storage room I had to turn towards Joni and smile.

Dovit hurried to the door, pushing it open before I could dissuade him. "The supplies are gone!"

I pursed my lips. "Follow me and I'll take you to them."

As we walked, Dovit became increasingly agitated. "We are supposed to be partners in this!"

"Just keep moving."

Dovit stopped. "Look, you practically allowed the locals to take that shuttle. I demand to know what's going on!"

Garrett stepped around the corner with his blaster raised. "You have ten seconds to decide if you want to get off of this rock or stay here with the Grumar. That count starts now!"

I hurried past Garrett with Joni following. Dovit stood in indecision for several seconds before shaking his head. "You Alliance people are not instilling me with a lot of trust in this relationship."

I yelled back as I ran. "Garrett! Out front! Lead the way! Dovit, if you want to live, and if you want our forces to join yours, you will follow my every command until we are safely away from here! I'm calling the shots! This is not a democracy!"

The alert from the shuttle's nav system rang in my ear. "The Grumar are on the way! We have about five minutes to get out of here!"

The final run to the
Jess
took nearly a minute. When we arrived a number of the supply boxes were sitting on the ground just outside the ship.

I hurried through the gravity wall and up the rampway, setting the local woman on the deck. "Joni! Watch her! Dovit! Tobik! Start shoving those boxes up the ramp! Garrett, get this thing powered up and ready to run!"

Raptor stepped up and leaned against the woman. As the supply boxes came up the rampway I shoved them forward. "Keep them coming! I don't care if we have nowhere to stand. We have to have those supplies!"

Garrett called back. "We'll be ready to fly in about fifteen seconds! Just say the word!"

When the last of the boxes was aboard, there was standing room only.

"Get us out of here!" I yelled.

Garrett reached for the throttle and then pulled back. "Too late. They are here. Five ships. Another six just left the surface."

I replied, "Too late? We have to run!"

Garrett shook his head. "Hold on. I'm letting them settle at that port. We're tucked in pretty good here. As soon as they start to unload we move. Oh, and the three of you need to shed those bio-suits. They are bugged. Just toss them down the ramp onto the ground. And you better make it fast!"

Four of the five ships landed. Soldiers piled out and began to head our way. The moment the last bio-suit went through the gravity wall, Garrett pulled the ramp closed and lifted off. Several seconds later the
Jess
came screaming out of a tunnel, moving rapidly up and away from the complex ruins.

Garrett yelled. "Find something to grab on to! If we take a few hits it could get real bumpy in here!"

I looked over at the local we had taken captive. She was looking with suspicion at the Rottweiler that had his head sitting on her leg. As she looked my way, her eye locked on my face and she began screaming and thrashing about. At the same moment, a laser bolt from the ship on our tail struck the heavy armor plating on the back of the
Jess
. The heat of the laser transferred directly to the rest of the hull as a physical impact, slamming all who were not belted down towards a side wall.

Garrett looked over his shoulder. "We're good! But we can only take a couple more hits like that!"

Joni and Dovit subdued the local as she yelled and screamed at the Grunta in the battle-suit. For a moment the chaos came to an end as she stared through me with a look of hatred.

Garrett spun the
Jess
around. "I can't shake this guy! Gonna have to kill him!"

As we raced back towards the enemy ship, Garrett fired the
Jess
's ion cannon repeatedly. As we drew within two kilometers of the enemy fighter, a bright blue explosion told of its fate.

Garrett again yelled as the
Jess
accelerated towards the moon. "The other four are lifting off! Deep scans show the surrounding space as clear!"

Joni shouted, "Why are you heading towards them?"

Garrett began firing ion bolts in an attempt to scatter the enemy. "If we can get past them we can use the gravity of that moon to slingshot us out of here. Otherwise they are going to be on our tail whichever way we head."

The
Jess
ducked, jutted to a side and spiraled as the lasers from the four Grumar ships flashed past us.

Garrett glanced at the nav screen. "We have another dozen ships heading this way from the surface. It looks like the teardrops!"

Gruntas were not ones to get nervous, but with the laser fire, the crowded cabin, the alien captive, and the approaching ships, I could feel my heart racing in my chest.

Two laser bolts clipped our wings, throwing the
Jess
into a spin as we rapidly closed on the moon. I could see the others beginning to get queasy as the images of outside swirled past the viewports in front of Garrett. The captive struggled, Raptor barked, and the laser lights flashed across the viewports. In what I would later consider as one of the most impressive feats of flying I had ever seen, Garrett righted the ship and brought her down to the deck, only a few hundred meters off the moon's surface.

Garrett remarked. "Oh, yeah! We are in the sweet spot! Just another second!"

As the
Jess
broke away from the moon she rapidly passed light speed.

Garrett set the autopilot for the next closest star system and stood with a grin. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are free! Out front! Pulling away!"

The enemy ships soon faded from our scans. We now had the whole of space in which to hide. And months to kill before attempting a trip back through the wormhole portal to the Triangulum.