Crystal Conquest (18 page)

“Yes,” Crispin stood and resumed walking.

“Do you think they’re searching for him? Or are they
providing cover for Kardish already on the ground?”

“I do not know.”

The drones returned once more during their trek. With their
schedule so regular, Juice felt a growing dread that they were patrolling and
not searching. Her fears were confirmed when they reached the farmhouse
property.

Standing inside the edge of the forest next to Crispin, she
surveyed the clearing from behind majestic oak trees sprouting up through a
tangle of underbrush. A cute little home sat on the near side of the plot of
land about a hundred paces from where they hid. The barn that held the secure
entryway down to Criss’s bunker sat past the farmhouse on the far side of the plot.

A small Kardish transport craft rested in the expansive back
field. Two Kardish soldiers, with their long blond hair and thick muscled
bodies, stood on the ground outside it.

“Track that on visual,” Sid called
to Lucy. His intuition told him that the white glob of energy from the Kardish
vessel was destined for Lunar Base.

Lenny helped Lucy interpret Sid’s vague command, and a vivid
three-dimensional image of the quivering mass projected forward of the ops
bench. The image, showing the glob’s path and destination, transitioned Sid’s
intuition into certainty. His mouth went dry as his heart filled with dread.

“Impact in ten seconds,” said Lenny, studying the displays
around him.

“Why hasn’t the defense array engaged?” Sid asked, though
neither Lenny nor Lucy understood his question. A freakish alien weapon targeted
the woman he loved, his three comrades, and a thousand other souls. He moved
his hands back and forth on the armrests as his mind scrambled for ideas, yet
he couldn’t think of any way to protect the base or stop the assault. He did
the only thing he could. He watched.

As the glowing mass closed on Lunar Base, it began to
stretch, morphing into a luminous white sheet. The expanse of energy aligned
itself from corner to corner and edge to edge, and lay down across the surface
of the base like a formfitting cover.

Tucked into place, the sheet pulsed and then erupted. They watched
in silence as a violent explosion engulfed Lunar Base, forcing a dense fountain
of moondust upward. With no atmosphere and weak gravity, the dust climbed like
a pillar, forming an impenetrable cloud above the remains of the human colony.

Sid stared at the massive cloud and imagined the devastation
beneath. His mind swirled, honing his anguish and fury into a perfect rage.
This was the second time in as many years his personal world had been shattered
by Kardish aggression.

Before sorrow could complicate his certainty, he promised
himself a personal, likely final, mission. He would deliver a vengeance of
annihilation and accept nothing less. And to the extent possible, his
retribution would include as much physical and emotional pain as he could
deliver to every Kardish inhabitant on that vessel.

“Do you hear any chatter from Lunar
Base?” Sid asked.

Criss remained silent, and Lenny
sat unmoving, staring at the pillar of dust.

After seeing what happened to Lunar Base, Sid toyed with the
idea that Criss was dead or disabled.
“Len,” he
barked.

Lenny shook his head. “Holy hell.
I was playing a game. Is this real or are you toying with me?”

Sid needed him fully engaged and
giving his all. “Look at me.”

Lenny swiveled slowly in his chair.
From his white face, Sid thought he looked like he might puke. He tried to
recall the “let’s get out there and win” locker-room speeches he’d heard years
ago.

“This is something like a sim game,
Len. You use the same skills and decision processes. Dig deep and organize your
strategy.” Sid nodded the whole time he spoke, and Lenny started to nod along
with him. “People are depending on us. We need to play hard and play for
keeps.”

Lenny turned forward, and his animation
increased as he reengaged with the ops bench.

“Where’re the Kardish now? What’re they doing?” Sid asked.

Lenny glanced at Lucy’s console housing, waited a few moments,
and turned back to his floating displays. He leaned forward, squinting at one, then
touched something, and the image projection of the huge Kardish vessel taking up
orbit above Earth replaced the image of Lunar Base.

As Lenny reviewed the record, he said, “I can find five
pulses fired at Earth like the one shot at the moon. I’m not sure if that’s
everything, though.”

“Where did they land?”

Lenny paused again, this time staring directly at the
crystal housing. He shook his head and, muttering, started flipping through
displays.

“That crystal you’re so proud of seems to have lost its
edge.” He leaned forward and squinted at something. “What’s it so busy with
that it can’t answer these questions?”

Sid looked at Lenny, then over at the console covering the
two crystals.
Where are you, Criss
?

“Anyway, I can’t tell you about Earth without a fair
investment of time. Communication is spotty, and the subsystems won’t let me
through to the tools I need.”

Lenny sat back in his chair, swiveled toward Sid, and
studied him. “We’re in this together, Sid. If we’re going to win, and I don’t
even know what that means in this context, you need to level with me.”

Sid glared, expecting Lenny to back down. When he didn’t,
Sid decided to unbalance him with a changeup. “We’re going to look for
survivors on Lunar Base.”

“Wait. What?” Lenny looked around the small command bridge.
“How many injured can we take on?” He waved his hand in the general direction
of Earth. “And how do we get them home with that alien dreadnaught in the way?”
Lenny leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and rubbed his temples.
“And how come the Kardish didn’t vaporize us?” He glanced at the crystal
console. “And your magic crystal is a joke. It’s just you and me out here.”

He’s right
, Sid thought, conceding he’d
underestimated the man. The two had common goals and needed to work together.
He mulled where to start and how much to admit. “I intended to unveil certain information
as our mission progressed. What’s happening here was never part of the script.”

He stood and waved for Lenny to follow. Walking into the
passageway, he opened the door across from his cabin and gestured for Lenny to
look.

“Whoa,” said Lenny, taking tentative steps into the room.
Sid followed him in, the oily smell again assaulting his senses.

“Our original mission was to find asteroid caverns that
could hide thousands of these drones. They’d sit there at the ready, and if the
Kardish ever returned, they’d serve as a secondary strike force for Earth’s
defense.”

Lenny studied the drone sitting on one of the two matching
raceways. “It’s kind of moot at this point, but I’m pretty sure a few thousand
of these wouldn’t present much of an obstacle to them.”

He walked over and squatted in front of the access hatch in
the floor. “So they slide down through here. What’s below?”

Sid struggled, trying to decide how much to admit. The
improviser in him pared his options, and every one of them included Lenny as a
central player. “I don’t know.”

Like Sid had done with Criss watching, Lenny traced the edges
of the hatch with his fingers. He looked up at Sid, and his quizzical
expression spoke volumes.

Sid swept his arm to encompass the ship and, as he did, he
elevated the stakes. “This scout is a prototype that’s testing new
technologies. One of them is a cloak that makes us invisible to every beam or
ray we know of. The scout actually has two crystals on board, and one is
dedicated full time to our cloak.”

“I saw there were two crystals as soon as I sat in the
pilot’s chair. I’ve been trying to figure out what that one was spending all
its time on. Good thing I never got around to experimenting, because it was
definitely on my to-do list.”

“Apparently the cloak works, because the Kardish didn’t see
us.”

“Or they think we’re too puny to bother with.” Lenny walked to
one of the box-like cases holding additional drones and looked up inside.

“Each of these drones has a crystal just like the two
running the scout.” He hoped Lenny could use the information to generate ideas.
“They’re the smartest weapons I know of.”

Lenny seemed unimpressed. Squatting to study the drone on
the raceway, he said, “We lost contact with Earth, and suddenly both you and Lucy
are dumber. No offense, but you both were crisp and knowledgeable when we took
off.” He looked over his shoulder at Sid. “Now, not so much.”

Sid’s mind raced. “We’ve been testing direct ground support
for onboard activities. We can’t carry a dozen people and a dozen crystals.
It’s an old idea that’s making a comeback because instant communication offers
the option.”

“I think you mean coincident communication,” said Lenny,
rising upright. “From what I know, that’s still just a theory.”

Sid had been winging it and was glad he’d hit pay dirt.
“Well, you know the government doesn’t always keep the populace up to date on
sensitive issues.”

Lenny stared at him and Sid didn’t flinch. Bullshitting was
his sweet spot, and he’d ride it out.

“How’s that working out for you?” Lenny edged past him and moved
toward the bridge. Sid followed behind. “Was that ‘looking for survivors’ thing
real, or was that more of your crap?”

“There are only two people with military training who’ve
ever been on a Kardish vessel.” As Sid said the words, he tried to make himself
believe he had no ulterior motive. “Me. And a Fleet captain who’s somewhere in
those ruins.”

Lenny called up his pilot’s displays and, using his finger,
traced a looping arc on one of the charts. “Lucy, please calculate that.”

A graceful looping path appeared on the chart that was much
like Lenny’s, except it had the perfection of machine-drawn symmetry. He leaned
in to study it, then slid another frame over and considered the display. “At
least she can do simple orbital mechanics.” Lenny flipped through a few more
items, and the projected image changed to the moon’s surface near the wreckage
of the Lunar Base.

“Execute when the big man’s in his seat.” Lenny turned to
look at Sid, who sat in his chair and engaged his restraints. A gentle pressure
on their bodies confirmed they’d begun moving.

“Why the big loop?” asked Sid, trying to maintain some sense
of leadership.

“Cloak or no, if we’re going down there, I want that cloud
of dust between us and the Kardish dreadnaught. We’re coming in from the far
side.”

Sid studied the displays and saw that the scout moved
slowly. It was a delicate maneuver, and he chose not to intervene.

Lenny spoke without taking his eyes off his work. “Someone
with that kind of experience has value only if you’re thinking of sneaking onto
their ship. What’re you planning to do, scowl them to death when you get there?”

Irritated by Lenny’s flippant attitude, Sid found himself doing
just that. “In truth, I could use some ideas. I’m guessing the resources on
Earth are pinned down right now. This scout can’t hurt them. If we’re going to
do something, it’ll have to be from the inside. I need to find a way on board
their vessel, and then I need a way to inflict serious damage.” He slouched
back in his seat and tucked his fingers into the top of his pants, waiting for
his improviser instincts to provide him a plan.

“How we gonna find him?”

“Find who?”

Lenny turned toward Sid and glowered. Pointing at the image in
front of them, he said, “We’re headed into that mess to rescue your buddy and
you forget?”

“Oh. He’s a she. You’ll like her.” He went back to
brainstorming, then lifted his head. “Len, when she’s here, if you do anything
that seems even a little bit creepy, you’ll be floating home.” He put his head
back and closed his eyes.

* * *

Cheryl surfaced to complete darkness
and quiet. She lay still for a moment, fighting disorientation, then reached up
with her right hand and felt around to see if she was enclosed in something.
Sensing her body was inclined at a slight angle, she probed the floor on either
side of her. The ground was cold and cracked, and she touched what felt like
chunks of rock.
Probably what’s jabbing me in the back
.

Her head hurt like hell. She touched her face and couldn’t
feel any soreness until she reached her jaw, and then she winced. Something or
someone had delivered a solid blow. She explored her gum line with her tongue
but couldn’t find any damage inside her mouth that matched the ache on her
chin.

A throb radiated through her head that pulsed with each beat
of her heart. Exploring with her fingers, she found a swollen knot at the back
of her skull. It seemed huge to the touch, and she entertained the thought of a
concussion.

Completing her inventory of injuries, she wiggled her feet
and bent her knees, ran her hands over her stomach and chest, and rotated her
arms and flexed her hands. Other than the protestations from her head and jaw,
no other parts signaled with pain.

She lay still and listened, hearing only the sounds of air
passing in and out of her own lungs. Memories started to drift back. She last
remembered being in an underground tunnel beneath Lunar Base. She’d been down
in the cage, interrogating that slimeball lieutenant.

Fishing for her com, she powered the light function. With
her vision in play, she understood she was flat on her back in the hall tunnel.
The walls and ceiling were cracked and twisted, and large chunks were missing
everywhere she looked. She wondered if a falling chunk had hit her jaw.

Then she remembered she wasn’t alone. “Grace. You okay?”

She struggled to a sitting position. Her head screamed in
protest, and she used her grit and determination to force herself up. “Grace,”
she called again.

Looking left, she saw a door.
That’s the one out to the
stairwell and Sergeant What’s-his-name.

She looked to the right, and her anxiety surged. A pile of
rubble filled the hall from floor to ceiling, and she couldn’t see any sign of
her partner.

Cheryl shifted her weight and made it to her hands and
knees. Crawling to the mound, she sat down in front of it and tried to lift a
chunk from the pile. Unable to budge the mass from a sitting position, she
struggled to her feet, placing a hand on the heap to steady herself. She stayed
motionless for the better part of a minute before rising to her full height.

She felt woozy and checked her pockets for meds she knew she
didn’t have, wishing she’d find a stray pill designed to reduce swelling and relieve
pain. This time she shouted, “Grace!”