Alien Enigma (36 page)

She touched him again and again, kissing him at the same time. He knew the feeling. She was hardly daring to believe he was with her.

"Now tell me your secret, Sweetie. I know you have one."

"I do. You're not the only one that made another excursion. I didn't but one of my guys did. Doug, I think he found the central intelligence node for the whole city. It's a huge room. There was this big round dome in the room. It had cables running from it into the walls as if they penetrated and went to other areas. It had what looked like antennas and ten or twelve of the same type of com nodes all the robots have, only a bit larger. They were spotted over its surface. And then ...Doug, there were dozens, maybe even more, of the small robots. They all seemed to be servicing that giant dome in one way or another. And that's not all. At places near all the entrances-and there were lots of them-he saw weapon sites equipped with big guns, what looked like larger versions of their hand weapons."

He could hardly believe it. If Clemmie's scout had truly discovered the central node of the city, they had to let the ship from home know about it. "Did he get an approximation of the location?'

"Uh huh." She withdrew a crumpled map from her pouch. "In fact, I compared it to the lab you found and they're not too far apart, as near as we can judge. They are pretty deep, but the central node is below both of them. All the ramps leading into it were coming from a higher level. He said that was easy enough to see even from his vantage point."

"We need to let that ship know. Let's get back outside."

"What if we're caught?"

"We have to take a chance. Maybe the robots and Sinchik will all be busy fighting with the ship. Damn, I sure hope they don't manage to shoot it down after all these years." He stepped through the exit and Clemmie closed it behind them.

"They haven't got it yet, Doug," Clemmie said. "I still hear explosions. And they're all centered on where we know the rail guns and laser cannons are. Hey! I bet your message did get through!"

"So long as the ship stays ready to travel the hell away from here. I think we ought to call out your wing and get them organized to help fight when the rescuers come."

"What if they don't? What if this is just a fight between the ship and the city?"

"We've been over that before, Clemmie. Remember, we decided that when a new ship appeared, the underground was going to fight. Let's do it."

"Okay. There's no Sinchiks or robots around right now. Let's head for the gathering point. I'll notify a few friends along the way, if they don't get caught they'll begin spreading the word. We'll head directly to where the radio is hidden and see if we can contact the ship."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Get all your gear. We may not ever be back."

As they traveled away from Clemmie's
Wah
, the explosions in the city and overhead died away. He had no idea whether the ship had been destroyed or the city's defenses had been neutralized. Hell, he didn't even know if they'd gotten the recorded message sent to the old Wannstead satellite! Their only option was to continue with the original plan of getting to the hidden radio and attempt contact, and hope that the ship was in range.

***

"Ah, shit!" Doug said with pure undiluted exasperation when a shuttle, obviously from the new ship, flew almost directly overhead but apparently either didn't see them or didn't want to land. Probably it couldn't right then, he thought. It circled then flew back out of sight, away from the city. Disheartened but not dispirited, they went on.

Despite it being mid-morning there were few robots about and most of those were the larger ones. On the other hand, Sinchiks were abundant but they were ignoring humans. All appeared to be headed in one direction, toward the edges of the city, as if expecting an invasion. Perhaps they are, Doug thought, but didn't mention it to Clemmie for fear of it not happening and upsetting her. Along the way she met other people she knew. Some she merely greeted but most she stopped and talked to, giving them instructions to pass the word on that the time had come to fight. She specified three different gathering places, all near the edge of the city where they could hide from sight for the time being.

"It's on the other side," Clemmie said. They had come to the wall encircling the city. It was only a meter and a half tall and the only purpose anyone had ever figured out for its existence was simply to delineate the city's boundaries. She climbed over with ease and the others followed.

The radio was hidden inside a cluster of trees that were stubby and spread long arms filled with heavy green fuzzy leaves. The growth was tangled and well suited for concealment. Clemmie led him and several others of the wing they had picked up along a narrow, barely negotiable trail through the trees into a cleared spot. All of her comrades had been dressed in the same kind of rags he and Clemmie wore.

"We always had to be damned careful going over the wall but it makes a good place to meet, and it'll do for broadcasting just as well."

The technician dug up the radio and power source. She unwrapped them from their waterproof cases and hooked them together. Glowing lights came on as she ran it through a series of tests. Finally, she shrugged. "It's ready. I've set it to broadcast on several frequencies at once. Here." She handed the set to Doug. "You've already sent them one message. You talk. Maybe they'll recognize your voice. See this dial here? It'll give you a number if anyone answers. If so, turn this knob until the numbers match. Press here to talk, release it to listen. That's it."

He took the set and began speaking. They had no method for recording so he had to go over the same material again and again. Suddenly the answer light came on. Quickly he twisted the knob to match frequencies and spoke again.

"This is Douglas Trevanne. I am a survivor of the Wannstead ship
Jeane Baptiste.
Answer on this frequency."

He held his breath for a second in anticipation. Then there was a radio static crackle. "We ...," said someone with the sound dying off. It came back a few seconds later. "Yes, we hear you ...our NavCom had to be set to emulate the old system, we had to switch to the old com signals. We no longer use that one. Can you read me?" Doug thought the voice had to be the most beautiful in the galaxy.

"We read you loud and clear. Did you receive any of my previous messages just now?"

"This is Marine Captain Cindy Cantrell, of the
USSS Doc Travis
. Mr. Trevanne, please be informed that we have taken out the city's defenses and will shortly be assaulting with marines. The
Doc Travis
is a Space Navy warship. We appreciate the intelligence and want to meet you soonest."

A Space Navy warship!
Thought Doug all excited.
We might actually make it home!

"I have what I think may be vital information for you, Captain. Can you triangulate if I send a steady signal?" Doug asked. His breathing was ragged with the adrenalin surging through his body.

"Go ahead. Give me a steady signal for four minutes then I'll call back."

"Beginning. I'll hum loudly." Doug held down the spring loaded button and began humming an old tune he knew by heart. He timed it with his thumb watch, giving it an extra thirty seconds just to be sure. His finger was beginning to get tired by the time he lifted it.

"Got it, Mr. Trevanne. Remain where you are. I'm going to land a shuttle nearby and pick you up. Be ready to move quickly. Advise me if there are any robot or Worm defenders nearby."

"Worms?

"The ten legged creatures."

"Oh. Good name for them, I guess. We have to refer to them as Sinchik. No, there are no defenses near here nor any robots or Sinchik around. The Sinchik all appeared to be heading toward the part of the city where you were bombing."

"We've just noticed. Watch for the shuttle. We're approaching."

***

Doug watched apprehensively as the shuttle came toward them, flying very low. It touched down lightly, assisted by its anti-gravity flanges. A squad of heavily armed men, marines he thought, exited the ramps smartly and spread out in a defensive formation. He raised his hand and yelled.

"Over here! We're Americans!"

"Come on," one of the marines called back.

"Everyone but Clemmie and I, hang loose. We're free but don't let down your guard, either. Come on Clemmie, let's go." He led the way at a dead run, holding her hand. The marines all grinned and motioned them on past. A few shook their heads at the sight of the rags they were clad in. They reached the shuttle ramp and were urged forward by a petite, auburn haired woman in uniform with Marine Captain's insignia on the collar, if he remembered right. She held out her hand, shook both of theirs briefly and urged them toward the cabin of the shuttle.

"Welcome aboard. Come forward with me, quickly. You said you had vital information but we need it in a hurry. We're getting ready to begin an assault on the city."

As soon as they were seated in the forward cabin, Doug began explaining. "Captain, we've discovered what I believe to be the central intelligence node for the entire city. I could be wrong but it's a good bet. We're ready to lead your marines there. We also have hand drawn maps of a lot of the tunnel systems, if that'll help. The distances are only approximations but we did our best." He paused to let her write down what he'd said so far but she motioned him impatiently to continue.

"I'm recording. In fact, this is patched through to my commander and the ship. Go on, what else?"

"Um, okay. The tunnel systems on this side of the city are mapped more thoroughly than the other side, where my wing of the underground is. Clemmie here was ahead of us on discovering them. However, I have a limited map of the other side."

"How about the underground defenses?"

"I can't tell you for sure other than that the robots are more likely to be found underground than Sinchiks. Or ...Worms, did you call them?"

"Yes. What else?"

"Captain, if you're assaulting I'd suggest you do it from each direction, using agents from the two underground wings to guide you. Clemmie and I will do it from this side. You need to contact Mario Luna on the other side of the city. He's waiting and ready. We have weapons of sorts but could use some additional equipment if you can spare it."

"We can. The defenses?"

"Anywhere in the tunnels you'll find little alcoves where you can hide two people temporarily. Clemmie, demonstrate the door opener, please."

She showed her telescoping rod and told of how to locate the handles to open new paths.

"Also, when you come to a dead end, if it's guarding anything, I've found there'll be a foot switch about two feet back and on the right. Just stamp it hard with your foot and the door will slide into a recess. Inside, press the same sort of switch to leave. The doors close automatically after a minute of two.

"Now for the main intelligence node. It's in a giant room. We counted eight wide tunnels leading into it but I believe all of them have little alcoves troops can use for temporary cover. Each of the tunnels is guarded by a weapons site inside the big room which we think are heavy energy guns. The same type as their hand weapons but more powerful. The node is a big dome with lots of cables snaking from it to walls. It has antennas, looks like, and also a lot of com nodes on its surface, similar to the ones you'll see on all the robots. You know about those?"

"Right. We've learned."

"And the small robots are the most dangerous, the larger ones less so and the ...Worms are dumb but they will fight."

"Okay, got all that."

"Last thing, Captain. Our underground has never been very large, main reason being that anyone caught conspiring against them was skinned alive."

"Good God!"

"Yeah. Now the two wings are all we have, about fifteen men and women in each. All the rest of the humans are scattered about on the surface in their
Wahs
, which are just their living quarters, situated inside Sinchik ...ah...I mean Worm family quarters. We've tried to pass the word for them to congregate here and at the similar site across the city but most of them are scared. They probably won't move until they see armed marines come to rescue them. Anything else you can think of, Clemmie?"

"No, you've covered it, Doug. God, I wish we could just go home now."

"Me, too but we owe these people our help. By the way, Captain, tell your people to shoot for the com domes on the robots first. It slows them down, especially the large ones. It's hard to kill them otherwise. Huh! Maybe that's why they use them, so accidents don't happen with the Sinchik."

"It doesn't matter now. I have to get back into the air right smartly. Let's get you outside now and hooked up with the assault party." They had barely exited the shuttle when a second one came in for a landing. Marines began pouring from it, running toward the wall of the city, spreading out and organizing for a major assault. Two of them hurried toward her.

"This is First Sergeant Watkins. He's been listening. He'll take over here now. Thanks for the intelligence and I hope to see you aboard the
Doc Travis
when this is over. We'll have a drink together." She smiled at him and was gone.

"Back up," the sergeant ordered. "She's taking off now."

***

"Captain Keane, this is how we're going to do it, with your approval," Rambling said, speaking from an assembly point near where Doug had passed on all the data he had. He was patched in to all the platoon and squad leaders as well as the control room. "I'm going to have Cantrell and another shuttle make a number of passes over the city while the
Doc Travis
hovers overhead. She'll call down plasma cannon fire on any concentrations of Worms or robots. So long as she sees any of either on the surface, we're going to hold off the assault.

"Once the surface is clear we're going to attack from both points where the former captives are assembled. The objective is the central node that you want captured whole. We'd like you to put down rail gun fire heavy enough to collapse tunnels all around the objective but don't get too close because the coordinates aren't precise. Once you've done that our demolition teams will move forward under cover to blast our way down to any tunnel we can't find an entrance to.