DusktoDust_Final3 (17 page)

The blow had knocked David back, but he didn
’
t go down. He could taste the sweetness of blood in his mouth but it didn
’
t matter. Castle may have landed the punch, but David was the one who had won the confrontation.

He looked up at Castle and smiled. Castle pushed his men back.
“
Get off of me! I
’
m fine.
”
He regained his composure.

“
Lieutenant, please get your men on board,
”
David said cordially.
“
We
’
ll be lifting off soon.
”

Castle didn
’
t acknowledge him.
“
Let
’
s go.
”
He turned and headed up the gangplank.

“
Sir, we
’
re still short one,
”
one of the troopers called after him.

Castle turned around, annoyed.
“
Who?
”

“
That new guy, sir. Johnson. No one has seen him this morning.
”

Castle paced back down the ramp.
“
Well, someone go find him!
”
His temper was building again.
“
I
’
ll be damned if one specialist is going to cause this mission to take off late.
”

David ignored the exchange. He pushed past Castle and headed up into the ship. He wasn
’
t waiting. If some troopers got left behind, oh well. Once Mr. Black was onboard
Catalyst
was leaving.

After leaving Lieutenant Castle
’
s office, Letsego had been shown around by the first sergeant. He had introduced him to the members of Castle
’
s handpicked team. For the most part he didn
’
t care for any of them. They all reminded him of Castle, pretentious and overly cruel. In Letsego
’
s military career he had seen every type of soldier imaginable. The genre of trooper that made up Castle
’
s squad, in Letsego
’
s experience, was the kind that would subdue a riot with a machinegun.

There was one member of the squad that Letsego actually respected. The senior enlisted man was Staff Sergeant Chavez. He was American, but after talking with the man for ten minutes Letsego actually liked the guy. He took pride in his position. He showed genuine care for his men and didn
’
t give off the macho vibe that most of the other troopers had. Letsego wondered how he had fallen into Castle
’
s favor.

Chavez had briefed Letsego on what he knew about the mission. The squad was providing security for an off planet shipment. They would be twelve troopers strong, plus two pilots and a Windcorp executive. Letsego guessed that the pilots were Carpenter and Ramirez. He hoped he was right.

Other than that, Chavez couldn
’
t tell him much about the mission. No cargo. No destination. And Letsego didn
’
t think he was holding anything back. It looked like Windcorp was playing this game very close to the vest. He guessed that the only person who knew the whole story was Castle.

Once Chavez was done briefing Letsego, he told him to get some rest and be at the mining facility
’
s hangar bay at zero six in the morning ready for the mission. Then Letsego was dismissed.

Letsego had gotten a small amount of sleep during the night in the bunk he had been given in Constellation Company. He really did need the rest, but there was still a lot he had to do before takeoff.

He woke up at zero four and got his kit together. It was all the standard issue gear that he had stolen from Johnson. Along with that he had stuffed his street clothes and PK gear into the top of his trooper ruck. When he had everything he needed he slung the ruck across his back, picked up his assault rifle, and made his way out of the company area.

He needed to get to the mining facility
’
s communications center. It was time to call home and his mobile didn
’
t work at all under all the rock. Conway probably thought he was dead and Burleigh probably hoped he was dead. And even though it was pride that had driven Letsego this far, he knew that he couldn
’
t bring down Windcorp on his own.

Other than the garrison, Letsego still had little knowledge of the layout or even the size of the mining facility. Without anything else to go on he headed up. A communications center would need to have its antennas above ground, and even a rich corporation like Windcorp would be practical when it came to a floor plan.

He moved quickly. Even at four in the morning the corridors were busy with workers who were tasked with the night shift. But it wasn
’
t the miners Letsego was worried about. Even though they outnumbered troopers ten to one, they were still afraid of the brutes. With his helmet on and rifle cradled in his arms none of the miners dared even look at him. Letsego was able to move about freely.

It was the other troopers that threatened to blow his cover. As he travelled through the tunnels and stairways and turbo lifts he tried to avoid the security checkpoints. The last thing he needed was a trooper who actually knew Johnson to call his bluff.

It took nearly an hour of wandering before Letsego found the comm center. As he expected, it was ten levels above the garrison. There were two troopers standing guard at the entrance. He walked up to them casually, pulling out Johnson
’
s ID.

The troopers stepped out to block his path.
“
Whoa, buddy. Where do you think you
’
re going?
”

Letsego held up the ID.
“
Just gotta make a call.
”

The senior trooper shook his head.
“
Official calls only. Commander
’
s orders. Sorry, man.
”

“
Come on. It
’
s my wife
’
s birthday. I just want to make a quick call.
”
Letsego waited for a response, but the trooper wasn
’
t budging.
“
Alright, what
’
s it worth to you?
”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of cash.

The troopers looked at each other and then back at Letsego. It didn
’
t take long for them to decide. The lead trooper reached out and grabbed the notes.
“
Make it quick.
”
They stepped back to let him pass.

The comm center was busy but everyone there was focused on their own tasks. Letsego sat down at a call booth in a secluded corner and pulled up the screen. From memory he punched in a number. The screen rang several times before someone on the end picked up.

“
Hello?
”
Letsego was greeted by the face of a groggy and unshaven Conway.

“
Conway, it
’
s Lets.
”
He kept his voice low.

Conway
’
s eyes widened when he recognized his friend
’
s face on the screen.
“
Shit, Staff Sergeant. We thought you were dead. Where are you?
”

“
A lot
’
s happened, Conway. But I don
’
t have much time. I need you to patch me through to Captain Burleigh. You can listen in.
”

Conway could sense the urgency in Letsego
’
s voice.
“
One second.
”
He started punching commands into his console and thirty seconds later a vid feed of the captain popped up onto Letsego
’
s screen next to Conway.

“
What
’
s so damn important, Sergeant?
”

“
Sir, I have Staff Sergeant Letsego on the line for you.
”

“
What?!
”
Burleigh
’
s face contorted in rage.

Conway tried to calm him.
“
Sir, he really needs to talk to you and I think you should listen.
”

Letsego cut in.
“
Sir, I know I
’
m the last person you want to hear from right now but you need to hear this.
”

The captain was anything but patient.
“
Where the hell are you, and why are you in that uniform?
”

“
I
’
m at a Windcorp mining facility somewhere on the light side. I tailed Carpenter here. Sir, he
’
s about to make a run off planet for Windcorp.
”

Burleigh was confused.
“
Who the hell is Carpenter?
”

“
I
’
m sorry, sir.
”
Letsego had forgotten that he didn
’
t know who the smugglers really were.
“
Michael Dominguez is really David Carpenter, a smuggler just like we thought. The woman posing as his wife is really someone called Ramirez. They are making a run this morning, sir. We need to act now.
”

“
Do you know what they are carrying
…
or where they are going?
”

The man was exasperating.
“
Sir, I don
’
t know the answer to either of those questions. But if we catch them we will have solid proof that we can nail Windcorp to the wall.
”

“
And how do you know that if we catch Carpenter
’
s ship that there will be anything on it tying it to Windcorp?
”

“
Because there is a detail of troopers escorting the cargo.
”

“
And how do you know this?
”

“
Because
I
am on the detail, sir.
”
Letsego watched Burleigh
’
s face as that sunk in.
“
Sir, this is happening. I need you to put all ships-
”

“
You do not give me orders,
Staff Sergeant
!
”

“
I
’
m sorry, sir.
”
The only way for Letsego to control the captain was to play to his ego.
“
I would appreciate it if you would recommend to the fleet to put all ships on alert. Then
you
can catch these smugglers red handed.
”

Burleigh was still not convinced. Letsego knew what the man was thinking. Pulling all of the orbital patrols out of sector on a hunch was a gamble. And if the maneuver failed it was likely to be a career ending gamble. And the career to be ended would likely be Burleigh
’
s.

“
Sir, I promise you everything I
’
m telling you is true. And if you make this happen you will be the one who brings down Windcorp.
”
That thought brought a twinkle to Burleigh
’
s eyes.

“
Okay, Staff Sergeant,
”
he said reluctantly.
“
I will start things rolling up here. But if you screw this up I am going to can your ass.
”

“
Understood, sir.
”
Then Letsego had one last thought.
“
And sir, I just wanted to remind you that the plan calls for capturing the ship, not destroying.
”

“
Of course. We need evidence to pin on those bastards.
”
With that the captain terminated his side of the call.

And also because I will be on the ship when you blow it up
, Letsego thought to himself.

“
You
’
ve been busy, Lets,
”
Conway said from on the screen.

“
Did you get all that?
”
Letsego asked.

“
And then some. I
’
ll head up to the station and get to work. It looks like we are finally going to have something to stick on Windcorp.
”

Letsego nodded.
“
I hope so, Conway. Do me a favor and don
’
t let that careerist blow me up.
”

“
I
’
ll do my best, boss.
”

Letsego terminated the call and left the comm center. His watch said it was already five after six. He was late.

He half walked half ran through the mining facility as he navigated to the hangar bay. Staff Sergeant Chavez had given him directions to it but they started from the garrison. Still, Letsego managed to find it after only making a few wrong turns.

As he entered the bay he noted that the ship
’
s engines were already burning red. He was cutting his timeline very close. It was now six forty. He headed for the gangplank under the hull. As he approached a trooper ran up to him.

“
Where the hell have you been, Johnson?!
”
It was Chavez.
“
The lieutenant is pissed.
”

“
I
’
m here, aren
’
t I?
”
Letsego said defensively.

“
Stow the attitude!
”
The staff sergeant shook his head.
“
Not a good start, Johnson. Now get your ass on the ship!
”

Letsego was literally kicked and shoved up the gangplank.

“
Control, this is
Catalyst
requesting permission for departure.
”

“
Stand by,
Catalyst
. We are waiting for the hangar to clear before we open the bay doors.
”

David was strapped in to the pilot
’
s seat looking out the viewport at the closed hangar bay doors. He thought it was funny that Windcorp employed an air traffic control team for its illegal flights. He actually had to wait for clearance before taking off.

It took another minute for the flight hands to vacate the hangar.
“
Okay,
Catalyst
. We
’
re clear. Opening the bay doors.
”
On cue, the enormous wall in front of the ship started to slide open. For a split second David was blinded by the intense sunshine of the light side, but the viewport autotinting quickly kicked in.
“
Catalyst
. You are cleared for departure. Good skies.
”

“
Thanks, control.
”
David turned to Alana.
“
You ready for this?
”

She nodded with a grin.
“
Once more into the fray, D.
”

“
Once more.
”
And hopefully we live to see another
. David felt a chill run down his spine. It was the same sensation he always felt before a run. He welcomed it and hated it at the same time. The feeling was why he did what he did. It was the rush, the adrenaline. Something a pilot couldn
’
t get flying a normal transport ship. But today the feeling was different. David couldn
’
t pinpoint it but something felt off.

Get your head in the game,
he told himself. He looked down at the controls.
“
Alright, activating repulsors.
”
He pushed a button and felt the ship drop slightly as
Catalyst
’
s landing gear retracted. The ship now hovered under the power of her gravity repulsors.
“
I hope all the passengers are strapped in. Hit it.
”

Alana grabbed the throttle.
“
Taking engines to fifty percent.
”
David was slammed against his seat as the ship leapt forward out of the hangar. The desolate landscape of the light side passed under them. As David checked his displays, he received a call over the comm system. It was Mr. Black.

“
Mr. Carpenter, it would have been nice to have some warning before we got under way.
”

“
Sorry, Mr. Black. I
’
m not used to carrying passengers. Everyone okay back there?
”
David hoped that Castle had taken a blow to the head.

“
We are all fine. Is there anything I can help with on the flight?
”

“
Mr. Black, just leave the flying to us. I
’
ll let you know when we
’
re through.
”
He terminated the call.
“
How are we looking, Alana?
”

“
Nothing yet,
”
she said as she studied the sensor read outs.
“
The skies look clear.
”

“
Okay, I
’
m taking her up.
”
He pulled back on the yoke and
Catalyst
shot up through the atmosphere.

The Peacekeepers kept a standard patrol in the space above Prospect. Their fleet was large. They had enough ships to cover all sectors with their sensors. That was what made a smuggler
’
s job so difficult.

Some smugglers chose to defeat the PK fleet using brute force. Armed with missiles and cannons, they chose to attack and outrun the PKs. That was called a smash run and David thought the concept was insane. It was a good way for a smuggler to get blown out of the sky.

He preferred the subtler and more challenging method. He and Alana chose to avoid the PKs sensors all together. Using frequency jammers and very delicate piloting skills, they were going to sneak past the Peacekeeper ships as if they were invisible

Catalyst
passed through the scattered clouds. Now all that was left in front of them was open space.
“
We should be coming up on the picket line. Got that jammer ready?
”

“
It
’
s all spun up. I
’
ve got no contacts yet.
”
Alana continued to monitor the sensor panel.
“
Okay, we
’
re picking them up now
…
Holy shit.
”

David didn
’
t like her tone.
“
What is it?
”

“
This can
’
t be right. There
’
s no way. Look at this.
”

David leaned over to look at her display.
“
What!?
”
The sensors were saying that there were twice as many Peacekeeper ships in orbit as he had ever seen before. Something was wrong. He grabbed the throttle and cut their speed in half.
“
Restart the sensor cluster.
”

Alana did so.
“
It
’
s saying the same thing. Did the Peaks up the size of the garrison?
”

“
I don
’
t think so.
”
David
’
s mind raced as he contemplated their options.

“
What do we do?
”

There was only one option.
“
We go through.
”
He didn
’
t like the idea, but with the pressure Windcorp was putting on the run they could not turn around. And the longer they hung around in the atmosphere the higher the chances were that
Catalyst
would be spotted.
“
We take it slow. Plot a lane through the coverage.
”

“
It
’
s going to be tight,
”
Alana said, plotting a course in the nav console.
“
Here it is.
”
It showed up on one of David
’
s displays. He studied it and nodded.

“
Okay. I can make that work. There
’
s a bit of overlap. You
’
ll need to pick those bogies up with the Wavebow.
”

David increased speed. Following Alana
’
s course he started navigating
Catalyst
through the hundreds of Peacekeeper ships that lay between them and open space. The ship
’
s static jammer should keep them invisible to anyone outside of one hundred kilometers. Anything that came closer in Alana would take care of with the Wavebow acute area jammer. The device played havoc with a ship
’
s sensor array when targeted accurately.

“
We
’
re coming up on the first overlap,
”
David alerted.
“
Interdictor at bearing zero-three-seven, takeoff six-zero. Closing in on one hundred and ten klicks.
”

Alana used a joystick to move the Wavebow onto target.
“
Solid lock. Initiating.
”
She punched a button, sending ten thousand watts of static noise straight to the interdictors sensor array.
“
Bam! He
’
s no longer a problem.
”
The commander of the ship wouldn
’
t know what was going on. Now he was blind. By the time they realized it was jamming and not a mechanical problem,
Catalyst
would be long gone.

David smiled. Maybe this would work. He and Alana were the best smugglers out there. If there was a team that could sneak through a sky full of Peacekeepers it was them.

Letsego felt helpless. He sat strapped in a chair in the passenger lounge with the rest of the troopers and Mr. Black. They had been flying for twenty minutes now. They should be in the middle of the Peacekeeper space patrol, unless Carpenter had done something out of the ordinary. It was only a matter of time before Carpenter realized that getting through the blockade was not an option.

The minutes ticked by. Letsego could feel the transport making gradual, controlled maneuvers, nothing that would suggest Carpenter was trying to evade. Something was wrong.

Letsego needed to do something to develop the situation. He undid his crash webbing and stood up.

“
Sit down, Johnson,
”
Staff Sergeant Chavez ordered from across the cabin.
“
No one goes anywhere until we are in hyperspace.
”

“
Sorry, sarge. I need to use the head.
”

Chavez hesitated and then nodded.
“
Make it quick.
”

Outside the cabin Letsego headed aft. He made sure to keep his full face helmet on just in case he ran into Carpenter while he was moving about. He didn
’
t know all the ins and outs of starship engineering, but he figured that all the import parts of the ship would be found near the engines. The transport was not a large ship but it still took some getting used to. It took him about five minutes to find the engine room.

The compartment was adorned with all types of lights, readouts, and switches. He didn
’
t even know where to begin, or what he was even trying to do. Right now it appeared that the transport was sneaking past the Peacekeeper pickets unseen. Carpenter must be using some type of jammer to mask the ship
’
s movements. He needed to shut it down.

He went to a display that read
“
SENSORS
”
. With any luck the controls for the jammer were located here. He punched a button on the display. A prompt popped up requesting an access code. Letsego tried entering a few generic ones without success. He was going to have to find another way in.

Everything was going well or at least as well as could be hoped.
Catalyst
had snuck past a dozen Peacekeeper vessels already, include a few fighter patrols. But compared to all of the other runs David and Alana had made, the space around the light side was swarming with bogies. They still had a ways to go and it was going to take some skill and a good amount of luck to give the PKs the slip.

“
Cruiser to our front,
”
Alana announced, reading from her console.
“
Come about to bearing three-two-four, takeoff tac-one-two, on my mark
…”

David nodded, holding the yoke steady. The course the nav computer had calculated was holding true. He prepped for the next turn.

“
Mark.
”

David pushed the yoke down and to the left, watching the gyroscope until he was on the right heading.
“
Turn complete.
”
He brought the yoke back to neutral.
“
How much longer on this heading?
”

Alana checked the route.
“
About one hundred and twenty klicks.
”

David did the math. This leg would take them about five minutes. After that their route was just less than a thousand kilometers and then the space would be clear. From there they could jump to the safety of hyperspace.

An alarm went off on Alana
’
s console.
“
Shit, we
’
ve got two new bogies.
”
She studied the display.
“
Looks like two zoomies moving fast.

Two enemy fighters. Where had they come from?
“
Are they headed for us?
”

“
No. Looks like a CAP. They
’
re a little more than a century and a half out. The closest we
’
ll come to them is fifty. I
’
ll cover them with the
‘
bow.
”

David breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a standard combat air patrol.
“
Sounds good. Let me know when they
’
re clear.
”

The engine room computer was locked down too tight. Letsego was not going to be able to access the ship’s controls. He looked around for another option. Every minute that passed meant that Carpenter was that much closer to successfully navigating the pickets.

He moved to the communications systems. All of the components were labeled but only with their technical classifications. Letsego scanned through the label names looking for something that looked familiar. He recognized the name of an intersystem communications laser, but disabling that wouldn
’
t do any good. He needed to find a jammer.

Then he saw it. WAVEBOW 17B. He
’
d heard of that before. It could be used to confuse a ship
’
s sensor array. Reaching between two pillars of communications equipment, he grabbed a handful of wires leading into the jammer and pulled down. The wires popped out and all of the lights on the component winked out.

Hopefully that works
. His task complete, Letsego left the engine room and hustled back to the passenger cabin.

“
What the hell!
”

David looked over at Alana.
“
What is it?
”

She slapped her console.
“
The
‘
bow. It just went off line.
”

“
What do you mean it went
offline
?!
”
Jammers didn
’
t just go offline.
“
How far out are the zoomies?
”