AMP Siege (13 page)

I replied to Frig, "We aren't leaving them tech that they can somehow make use of, are we?"

Frig spoke. "Each sensor has a proximity switch that will set off a small charge if movement is sensed within ten meters of its location. The scanners are equivalent to those on your arm pads, so the sensors can be placed at large intervals. If more are needed, we should be able to drop another satchel of them. Please make use of them to keep yourself safe, Sir. We will be needing your help to free the Grid."

I replied, "You are a good friend, Frig. Keep working on that portal. This red planet is not the vacation we thought it was going to be. Give us a call if you have anything new for us. We will do the same here."

Frig spoke. "Very well, Sir. I will do my best."

Two kilometers’ distance later found us standing over new battle suits for the Gontas, fresh power packs, and a bag full of sensors. The captain and his men took fifteen minutes to squeeze into the flexible suits and set the environmental controls to their liking. Within a few hundred meters, we were bounding along at twenty meters per step. The Targs, if they were still in pursuit, would be falling behind at a rapid pace.

As we reached the hills at the far side of the plateau, York received a signal on her arm pad. "This is the Gonta Federation ship
Malbus
. Are you able to communicate?"

I looked at the captain and pointed to his arm pad.

Meecha pressed the comm button and replied, "This is Captain Meecha of the
Jaarke
. Thank you for coming, Captain; we await a shuttle."

The Gonta captain spoke. "Captain Meecha, this is Tarfu Dek. How many are in your party? Do you require medical assistance?"

Meecha replied, "We are in good health, Tarfu. The Targ are in pursuit, but we have the advantage at the moment. How soon can you have a shuttle to our location?"

The captain replied, "You will have to be patient, Captain Meecha. Your beacon is not originating from a standard transponder. Your identity must be verified before a shuttle is sent to the surface. We cannot risk interaction with the native species."

Meecha sighed. "The local species is already aware of our existence, Captain. We crashed two shuttles and nearly a third, and we have been warring with them for four days. Please conduct your security analysis as soon as possible, Captain. Conditions on this planet are apt to change at a moment’s notice."

I spoke quietly. "Tell him you have another species with you that would be willing to help in your fight with the Colossuns."

Meecha held up his hand as a gesture for me to be silent. "Captain, there are twelve of us that are being pursued by millions of angry Targs. We also have information that may be helpful in our fight with the Colossus Empire. Please expedite your security protocols and get us a shuttle down here as soon as is possible."

The captain replied, "Your request is noted, Captain. Please stand by."

I looked at Meecha. "I don't know about you, but I would prefer that we continue to move while they are making a decision."

Meecha concurred, and we were once again bounding towards the hills.

As we ran, Frig once again signaled me over the comm.

"What is it, Frig? The Gonta ship is here, and I would rather not do anything that would spook them."

Frig replied, "Sir, I was performing a scan of the Gonta ship and—"

I spoke with an angry voice. "Are you nuts? If they detect that, we get left here or at best locked up! Don't get us—"

Frig interrupted. "Sir, four starships just dropped through light speed and are fast approaching the Gonta ship. I only have a minimal signature, Sir, but they appear to be Colossun."

I stopped and spoke. "What? Captain! Signal your ship! Colossuns are coming!"

Meecha opened his comm and hailed the Gonta ship. There was no response, as the Gonta vessel was already preparing for a fight. The evening sky was soon alight with ion bolts. I flipped my scanner to full active and watched on my arm pad as the nearby battle began to unfold. Frost and York instructed the captain and his men how to do the same.

Emotions ran high as the first of the Colossun raiders took a heavy Gonta bolt and began to break apart. The somewhat-intact but damaged sections found their way into the Targ atmosphere after passing the Gontas’ position. Bright fireballs lit up the darkening sky.

As the second and third Colossun ships engaged in combat with the Gontas, I raised Frig on the comm. "Tell me we at least have a slim chance of getting out of here, Frig! I don't think the Duke's men will be all that kind to us this time around. Figure out how to get us through that portal!"

As we continued to watch, it became evident that the Gonta ship would be no match for the three Colossun attackers. The tremendous hits its ultrathick hull was taking could not be sustained. Scans soon showed another five Colossuns dropping through light speed.

Frig spoke. "Sir, I will be opening a portal fifteen meters from your position. It will be open for four seconds at best. You must mark its exact position."

I replied, "Tell me what you have in mind, Frig! We are running out of time!"

Several seconds passed before Frig responded. "Sir, precisely mark the portal's position. In order to pass through it, you will be required to run and dive forward. If your attempt is not precise, you will not be making it through intact."

I grimaced. "Not intact. I don't know that I like the sound of that. But get that thing opened, and we will give it a shot. The Gontas are not doing well up there."

A portal opened for four seconds and no more. Frost and York drew lines in the red dirt of the plateau, forming a runway of sorts for our attempted escape.

I spoke. "That hole did not look big enough to fit us through, Frig. Tell me you have something better planned!"

Frig replied, "The portal diameter should reach sixty centimeters at its peak. That is slightly larger than the width of your shoulders, Don. From my scan, it appears that you will be the outlier of the group. We are crafting a collar to shove through the portal to assist in protecting you from bumping the side of the wormhole."

I nodded. "So, you will have me jumping through hoops like some trained Bantis. I'm wondering if you are not just doing this for your own entertainment."

Frig spoke in a gruff voice. "I assure you, Sir, we are taking every precaution we can to ensure your safety. My entertainment has nothing to do with this."

I replied with a sarcastic voice, "Relax. Don't get your Gambit panties in a wad. I'm just pulling your chain. Has it been so long that you can no longer pick up on my sarcasm?"

Frig was quiet for a moment. "I am sorry, Sir. The situation is critical and extremely dangerous. The moment does not warrant your levity."

I spoke. "OK. OK. I'll shut my trap. Just get that hole open so we can get out of here."

I turned to the captain. "Meecha, you want to go first?"

Meecha replied, "I appreciate the opportunity, Mr. Grange. Perhaps you should show us the way."

York stepped up. "Stand back, you two. All that bravery is going to make you too big to get through. Frig, I am eight meters from the marked spot. I just took three practice leaps, and it looks like I averaged 2.4 seconds per lunge to get to the spot. Tell me when to set and then give me the signal to run."

Frig replied, "Thank you, Miss York. A single tone will signal your set position followed by four tones at one-second intervals. On the fourth tone, make your attempt. And please, make your body as horizontal as possible. If your jump is not clean, you risk not making it all the way through. Any portion of your body that remains in the portal as it closes will be chopped off and frozen."

York spoke. "You are making it sound too fun, Frig. I am set. Start your count."

Several seconds passed before the single tone sounded. Soon after, the four tones followed and York lunged forward towards the marked spot. A single step was taken followed by a dive forward. The portal opened, with the collar being shoved through just as York reached the marked position. In two seconds she was through to the other side.

York's voice came over the comm. "Piece of cake, Mr. Grange! Just go horizontal and you will slip right through!"

I ordered Frost to follow. Several seconds passed before a second precise dive carried her through to the safety of the other side.

I again gestured to the captain. "Show your men the way, Captain."

Meecha looked longingly at his arm pad as his rescue ship took increasingly hard fire, and began to run. He then looked up at the marked position.

Meecha spoke. "Crewman Yolo. Take position and transfer through the portal as instructed."

As the Gonta crewman lined up for his lunge, I winced at the thought of his name. The old saying swept through my brain.
You only live once!

The tones sounded, and the Gonta crewman raced forward. His dive was off center and his fate was sealed. His right shoulder grazed the collar, throwing his torso and legs out of alignment. The crewman's left hip slammed the collar, bringing his forward momentum to a stop. The Gonta knew of his mistake and let out a squeal just as the portal closed around his midsection. His lower half dropped to the red ground, freezing from his hips down to the tips of his boots in a slow and steady advance.

Frig spoke. "I am sorry, Captain. Crewman Yolo did not make it. If it is any consolation, I believe his outburst was one of frustration, as he gave a nod of thanks just before the freezing overtook him."

The captain gave the order to his next crewman, who followed up with another perfect dive. The remaining Gonta crewmen passed through the narrow portal without incident.

I placed my hand on the captain’s shoulder. "Perhaps Captain Dek managed to slip away. Keep this in mind as you dive through that hole: the Federation still requires your assistance."

Meecha responded, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Grange. I do not require inspiration. Those two approaching Colossun ships are inspiration enough."

The captain set and the tones signaled his time. Six seconds passed, and the captain was through the portal. As I crouched down for my run, I could see the penlights of a sighting taking place on my position. The Colossuns were preparing to fire!

The tones sounded and I lunged forward. "Arrrggghhhh!"

My shoulders passed perfectly, but my hips were slightly off center to the left. I banged the side of the collar hard, causing my right leg to rise up at the knee. I attempted to pull both legs forward in a crunch, but my right heel had snagged the outer edge of the collar. As the portal closed around me, my right leg was cut in two, halfway down my calf.

I rolled out on the floor of Frig's lab and looked down in horror at my severed leg. Shock fell over me as my new stump froze. The freezing quickly began to advance up my leg. Before I could react, Frig was standing over me with a laser pistol. I reached up for his arm as he fired. My leg, now severed just below the right hip, froze solid and then shattered with an eerie cracking sound.

The laser cut was clean. Frig had saved my life.

I looked up and was certain I could almost see a smirk on his face. "You! You did that on purpose!"

Frig replied, "Yes, Sir. I did indeed do that on purpose. That purpose was to save your life, Sir. You would have otherwise frozen solid!"

I looked down at the mound of shattered leg on the floor before me. It was beginning to thaw and melt into a gruesome lump of flesh and bone.

I spoke. "How did you cut through my suit?"

Frig replied, "I have the laser tuned to the exact frequency that will cause that suit to separate. It is a flaw in the suit that we have yet to correct."

I shook my head. "Well, you could have at least done it without liking it so much!"

Frig smiled and replied, "No, Sir. I could not. I will have to admit that this episode, aside from Crewman Yolo's demise of course, has been quite entertaining! George will get you fitted for a prosthetic, Sir. He is preparing for you in the medical lab as we speak."

Two days after our narrow escape, I stood from my bed on my new leg as George entered the room. "Don, you need another day for that bond to heal properly. If you walk on that in its current state, you run the risk of damaging the seal. That would require the removal of another two centimeters of your leg."

I clumsily attempted a first step. "I'll risk it. I can't sit in that bed for another minute. There is just too much that we have to do."

George replied, "Too much? What exactly are you planning to do that you can't do from that bed? We are months away from a return to the Grid, if the Grid even remains under our control. No, as your doctor, I think it best that you get that final day of mending done right there in that bed. In fact, I insist!"

The doc was right. I had nowhere to go. Everything I was in need of could be brought to me. I was soon discussing our options with Frig, the Gonta captain, York, and Frost.

I spoke. "Captain, if you would be willing to give Frig the coordinates of your home planet, we could establish communications with your people. If we can coordinate strategies, I think we both stand a better chance against the Duke."

The captain replied, "I am in agreement with you, Mr. Grange, but our protocols direct us to not give out information such as this without having approval from an officer that ranks well above me. A fleet admiral's approval is required."

I shook my head. "Why is it that some people don't know when to say when? Look, you are trapped on an alien ship, light-years from your own world, and another alien species that you are at war with is attacking your systems. Are you going to tell me that protocol dictates that you sit on your hands and wait? If you give us the coordinates, we can contact your people and get you all the permission you need!"

I took a deep breath and continued, "Captain, you are a smart guy. Your people are in need. Are you going to just sit around when you can take action to assist them?"

The captain had a frustrated look on his face. "I don't make the rules, Mr. Grange, but I am expected to follow them. They were put in place for a reason, a reason that is not always apparent to the man in the field, or in space, for our situation. It is not the Gonta way to question orders."

I threw my hands in the air. "It's like talking to a wall! Captain, you have a family, a wife, little Gontas running around. In your heart, don't you feel that you are putting them at greater risk by not acting? We can warn your people about the Colossuns, tell them that they are on the move."

The captain replied, "I have three wives and sixteen little Gontas running around, as you call it. Perhaps Captain Dek escaped and has warned our defense force."

I grumbled and spoke. "Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. I will say this, Captain: you Gontas are stubborn."

I looked at Frig. "We have a scan of a Gonta system. See if you can identify a military outpost and establish communications with them."

The captain hesitated and replied, "How did you obtain that scan, Mr. Grange? Were you being untruthful about your exploratory visit to Targ? And what of the portal that we came through? How is that possible?"

I sighed. "OK. Here is the whole of it, Captain. We need iron; Targ has iron. We sent our mining craft down to the surface to obtain the iron that we needed. Once those harvesters were operational, we were going to go looking for your worlds. Not as a hostile gesture, just for the purposes of discovery, and for our own defense."

I continued, "The portal itself is technology that we came across in our travels. We don't yet fully understand it, and therefore we only have limited use. With the distance we are from Targ, Frig was only able to open that small portal for a few seconds. As we grow closer, the portal can grow in size to a full meter in diameter and we can hold it in an open state. You already know of our best and most prized secret, Captain. Let me ask you, is this a technology that your people would want? Because cooperation and trust are the foundations for the free exchange of ideas. Give us those coordinates, Captain. Take the risk and help protect your people!"

The captain raised his hand and began to scratch the side of his short snout. "The coordinates you seek are 12.208.334.8.14 from this position. Will I be allowed to speak with the officer in charge?"

I replied, "I would be OK with you doing all of the speaking, Meecha. I only ask that the conversation be open so that we all may hear."

Frig returned to his lab and opened a microportal to the coordinates that had been given. Several seconds passed before the officer in charge could be heard over the comm.

Meecha spoke. "This is Captain Harrel Meecha of the Federation cruiser
Jaarke
. With whom am I speaking?"

The officer replied, "Captain Meecha, this is a highly unusual comm signal. Where is your ship? Our scans are not detecting the
Jaarke
."

Meecha repeated his request with a stern voice. "My identification and voice print check out, or you would not have opened the channel for this comm session. With whom am I speaking? What is your name and rank?"

The officer hesitated before replying, "This is Major Rothe Higga, Captain. I apologize, as no disrespect was intended. Your comm is not over the Gonta defense network, and yet you have a link to this outpost. Please explain these abnormalities, Captain."

Meecha spoke. "I do not have time to explain, Major. I need you to broadcast a warning to Federation Command that the Colossuns have attacked Captain Dek of the
Malbus
at Targ. We do not know if he was able to escape. And Major, the
Jaarke
and the
Friza
have been destroyed. All but myself and seven crewmen are dead."

The major replied, "Are you certain it was the Colossuns, Captain? They have not ventured that deep into Gonta space before."

Meecha glanced my way as he spoke. "I am certain, Major. Pass on this alert. And Major, what is the normal response time of a return command to your position from Central?"

The major pressed the button on his mic. "We are eight hours twelve minutes out, Captain. Can we offer you any assistance?"

Meecha replied, "In addition to the warning, I would request that Central allow me to contact them directly. I have the means to do so; I only require their permission."

The major relayed the message. We had eight hours to kill. I suggested that York and Frost take Meecha and his men on a tour of the
Suppressor
. The security officer for the watch was standing in the corner shaking his head.

I looked directly at him. "What is it, Major?"

Major Devin spoke. "Sir, I have not had a chance to vet the Gonta. I believe it to be ill advised on our part to show them the ship before that process takes place."

I replied, "Your concern is noted, Major. I, however, am overriding your authority. I believe these Gonta to be trustworthy. But, given your level of concern, I would ask that you follow along as an additional escort to them. That will allow you to keep a suspicious eye on them as they are being shown around."

The major shook his head and spoke. "I am not concerned about any immediate action being taken, Sir. What troubles me is the fact that what they learn cannot be unlearned. They will take that knowledge with them when they leave. I believe that to be our biggest threat, Sir."

I glanced around at the captain and his men. "Ordinarily I would fully agree with you, Major. In this instance, however, we need the assistance of the captain and his people. See to it that they have full access to whatever we have. And Major, you may use your discretion on items such as how to disable our weapons or access our computer systems. Use your common sense. Just see to it that they have a good understanding of what we are about."

With that the major escorted York, Frost, and Meecha and his crewmen out of my room. Gy and Rita entered as the others left.

Gy spoke. "Mr. Grange! Good to have you back aboard!"

I replied as I looked down at my leg, "Well, at least part of me made it back."

Gy chuckled as Rita began to speak. "If it makes you feel any better, Sir, we had to replace Gy from the waist down. We had a gravity jack fail while he was working a replating issue on the bottom side of one of the Wrens. Crushed his lower half. The good doctor was able to patch him up."

Gy cut in. "You are going to love that leg, Sir. Once you have it trained, that is. No more aches and pains, no soreness from overexertion, and forget about gravity assist from your battle suit, Sir. These legs are powerful enough on their own."

I replied, "Yeah, I've seen what they can do. I would still prefer my own, though, if it's all the same. But, if my wife can be a cyborg, I guess I can be one as well. How long was it before you forgot it was there?"

Gy smirked. "Oh, you don't forget it is there, Sir, but you get used to it."

Gy continued to talk about his leg as he and Rita filled me in on the time away from the Grid from their perspective. Neither one thought they would evade the Durian fleet, but somehow they had managed. As we continued to discuss the size of the Durian fleet, Frig entered the room.

Frig spoke. "Sir, I have received a message from the Wren that was sent to gather information on the Human broadcast that we picked up. The message is a simple repeat of '
Are you out there?
' However, the Wren returned a full scan of the surrounding system. There appear to be thousands of destroyed ships in the space surrounding this small planet."

I replied, "Have you pinpointed the signal’s origination point?"

Frig held up a display pad. "The signal originates from the surface, Sir."

I took the display and, with a flip of my fingers, zoomed in on the debris from the various ships.

Frig spoke. "What is it that you are looking for, Sir?"

I replied, "If this is a Human message, I am looking for evidence of the other Grid. What if these are survivors from Grid-1? What if this is from our missing people from the archives? Can you order the Wren to send a response using the same comm channel?"

Frig reclaimed the display. "I have a message already prepared, Sir. Shall I send it?"

I again grabbed the display. "Well, yes! See if we can open up a comm with whatever this is!"

Frig gazed upon me angrily and then changed his expression as he looked towards my side table. "Does that belong to you, Sir?"

I turned my head to see what it was that he was referring to, only to have the display again snatched away from my hands.

Frig spoke. "Really, Sir. I don't understand how Humans can regard you as a leader when you fall for the simplest of dupery."

I scowled as Frig poked away at the display. A message was sent with a distinctly Human reply.

We are here, ’sup?

I spoke. "’Sup? Really? Where did you even get that?"

Frig replied, "I have had full access to a copy of the archives, Sir. It has been a long journey with many hours of time to spare. I will have to admit, Sir, I find much of your recorded culture and history fascinating. One aspect of your history that I find interesting is the presence of music in your culture. As a young Gambit, I remember music as being pervasive in our culture as well. Perhaps it is a sign of an advanced species."

I replied, "It's a sign of something, but who really cares right now. Tell me why that display is flashing. Did we get a response?"

Frig punched away at the display with his long, thin, nimble fingers. "It appears that the broadcast has terminated, Sir. However, that may be because of the presence of five large vessels that just dropped from light speed. Three of the vessels appear to be probing for the Wren while the other two are heading for the planet."

I spoke. "Tell me that you at least have the image projectors running on the Wren. And tell me that you have an autodestruct running in case it gets found out."

Frig replied, "Both scenarios have been accommodated, Sir."

I waved my hand. "Well, either bring that display over here where I can see what's going on or else have the common courtesy to turn on the wall projector!"

As the lights in the room dimmed, the wall in front of my bed sprang to life with three images: the Wren, which appeared as a dashed line on the otherwise black screen, the three ships that searched for her, and the two ships that moved into orbit over the planet.

I spoke. "Those look like some mighty big ion cannons on those ships. If those are power scaled to what a standard cannon will do, that Wren would be vaporized with one shot."

The invading ships were long and sleek with rounded gun rails that ran the length of each side, holding in place the massive ion cannons. Twin tails rose up from the backs like that of a scorpion from the archives. The shining chrome exteriors gave the impression that the huge ships would slide through an atmosphere and perform well in a near-surface fight.

As we watched, the two ships in orbit began to descend towards the origin point of the Human signal. The great ships settled at one kilometer above the surface, where they began to scan with any number of sensors. The Wren detected sweeps of all of the known signal spectrums. Whatever had broadcast the message remained both silent and hidden.

The three ships in search of the Wren were probing dangerously close to her location. I took note of Frig working the controls on his display.

Frig spoke. "I believe I can draw them away with a small signal through the portal, Sir. I can emit it, shut it down, and reestablish it in a new location. That should keep them guessing for a while."

Several seconds later, the three ships turned in a new direction. Frig worked his magic, and the Wren was quickly out of danger. On the surface, five shuttlecraft had landed and a multitude of crewmen had embarked on a hunt of their own.

I pointed to the surface image. "Zoom in on those shuttles. I want to see who is flying them."

The image grew, and in a few short seconds I was looking at the species that had undoubtedly been camped out nearby, waiting on a sign to make a move on the planet.

I spoke. "Battle suits look a lot like our old ones. At least that gives us something. Do we have a perspective for scale?"