DusktoDust_Final3 (24 page)

The bomb had been six sticks of EL-6 plastique they had stolen from one of the weapons lockers. Avoiding the eyes of the raiders, Letsego had attached the explosives to the hulls of the ships and affixed them with wireless timers.

To his dismay, he had set the timers too short. Now, he found himself only halfway to the bay control room with the entire base rushing past him towards the sounds of the explosions. He did the best he could to fight against the crowd, only receiving a handful of questionable glances from raiders.

He rounded a corner and found himself at the doors to the control room. He gripped his rifle tightly, hoping that the raiders who were supposed to be manning the room had been drawn away by the explosions. He wasn
’
t so lucky.

There were three men in the room when the doors hissed open. All turned with surprise when he entered.
“
Who the hell are you? This is a restricted area.
”

Letsego didn
’
t bother responding. Seizing the element of surprise, he raised his rifle and fired. As one of the raiders dropped, the other two dove for cover while reaching for their own weapons. Letsego quickly ducked behind a desk, just in time to avoid a hail of bullets.

He returned fire, but soon found himself effectively pinned by the raiders
’
assault. He glanced around the control room for a way out. The room was small with a large window on the far side overlooking the bay. He wouldn
’
t be able to use a frag grenade without injuring himself in the blast. But there was ample cover. If he could move from behind the desk he might be able to outflank the assailants.

As the bullets chipped away at the ceramic desk, Letsego reached into his pocket and retrieved a smoke grenade. Thumbing the safety, he rolled the device across the floor. Gray smoke soon began to billow, encompassing the tight space.

The raiders began coughing.
“
What the hell?
”
one of them shouted. Their firing became erratic.

Letsego stayed low, and using the concealment of the smoke, moved out from behind the desk and attempted to flank the raiders. The smoke worked both ways. The only way he was able to locate the men was by their muzzle flashes. He reached a position perpendicular to where he had been and opened fire.

He dropped the raiders in two quick bursts. The room fell silent with the lack of gunfire. He stood up cautiously. Walking slowly over to the raiders, he checked the bodies. They were dead.

Letsego didn
’
t find pleasure in taking life, but this had been necessary, just like killing the troopers had been. He put the thoughts out of his mind and moved toward the control panels.

Finding the bay door controls was not easy. The smoke still lingered in the room and Letsego could hardly see a foot in front of his face. He carefully inspected all of the controls. They were labeled in Arabic, which made the search even more difficult. Eventually, he found them.

He scrolled through the control screen until he found the correct menu and then initiated it. Outside the window, the giant doors at the far end of the bay began opening. Even through the smoke, Letsego could make out the distinct green hue of the energy field. It would hold in the atmosphere, but only for a limited time. Now, he had to get to back to Carpenter so they could get off this rock.

Letsego heard the doors slide open behind him. Someone stepped into the room and then they hissed closed again.

“
Hey, who
’
s in here?
”
a voice said.

Letsego aimed on what he thought was the source and fired.

“
Shit!
”
the voice exclaimed.
“
Get a team to the control room right now!
”

Damnit
! Letsego had missed. It sounded like the raider was calling for backup.

Crack-crack-crack!

The raider was firing blindly through the smoke. Letsego instinctually ducked. He was in the completely opposite position of where he had been before. If he had had time he might have chuckled.

The next burst from the raider impacted against the bay window. Letsego listened as cracks in the glass continued to spiral. Then it shattered.

With the window shattered, the smoke quickly dissipated. Soon he could see fully out into the bay. From behind cover, he heard the door hissed open again.

“
Where is he?
”
a voice said.

“
Behind the main console.
”

Letsego didn
’
t have much time. He fired blindly over the top of the desk, hoping that would keep the raiders
’
heads down for an extra second. Then, without looking at the attackers, he climbed up onto the control console and jumped. In the back of his mind he mused that for the second time in less than a week he found himself jumping out of a perfectly good window.

The control room was higher off the ground than he had thought. It had to be at least fifteen meters. Gravity seized Letsego and pulled him down.

His fall was broken by the hull of a starship. It probably saved his life, the metal being a more forgiving surface than the hard concrete floor of the landing pad. He tucked and rolled, but found himself in the air once again as he fell off the hull onto the ground.

He landed on his feet, but pain shot up his right leg. He stood up, testing it to see if he could walk. It was painful, but he could make it.

Suddenly, bullets stitched the pavement in front of him. He ducked for cover and looked back up at the window. The raiders were firing down on him. He looked to his right, where two starships were still blazing as raiders continued to fight the inferno. Some were looking in his direction after hearing the gunshots.

Letsego looked at the far corner of bay. He could see an interceptor spooling up. That had to be Carpenter. It looked like the ship was ready to go. But how was Letsego going to get there with a bum leg and the raiders on his tail.

Just then, Letsego saw muzzle flashes from the interceptor. He glanced back up at the window. Carpenter was suppressing the raiders.

“
Run!
”
Carpenter
’
s voice echoed through the large cavern. Letsego didn
’
t need to be told twice. He ignored the pain and took off sprinting across the pavement, weaving through the starships. It was at least two hundred meters to Carpenter
’
s ship.

David held the rifle against his cheek and continued to place well aimed shots downrange from his seat in the cockpit. He had to conserve his ammunition. He only had two magazines left. He watched Letsego run across the bay. The raiders were coming at him from two directions now. They were closing fast.

David dropped another five raiders. But they kept coming, some toting guns, others wielding melee weapons. They continued to close the gap with the Peacekeeper.

When Letsego was within forty meters of the interceptor, David put down his rifle and pulled out two grenades from his pocket. With all his might, he heaved each grenade into the air. The dual detonations sent the raiders diving for cover.

With the raiders stalled, Letsego was able to cover the final distance to the interceptor unimpeded. He climbed up into the cockpit and strapped in.

“
Took your damn time,
”
David commented dryly.

Letsego pulled the hatch closed behind him.
“
I took care of my part. Now get us out of here.
”

David was in complete concurrence. He initiated the repulsors and then pushed the throttle into the red. The craft leapt forward, passing the bay doors, through the energy field and into the vacuum of space.

They were not home free yet. They couldn
’
t launch to hyperspace until they cleared the Belt. And it would take some fancy flying from David to get there.

An alarm went off on the copilot
’
s console. Letsego leaned over to inspect it.

“
Do you know what you
’
re doing?
”
David demanded.

Letsego nodded.
“
Crescent just launched fighters. They
’
re closing in.
”

“
Not for long.
”
David redlined the engines. The space outside passed by even faster.

Letsego braced himself.
“
Are you crazy?! You can
’
t navigate an asteroid field at this speed.
”

“
They
’
ll never be able to keep up. We can
’
t fight them. We have no weapons.
”

“
You picked a ship with no weapons! You have got to be the dumbest criminal ever!
”

“
Stow it,
”
David snarled.
“
Can you navigate?
”
He clenched the steering yoke as the interceptor barreled hazardously through the Belt.

Letsego nodded.
“
What do you need?
”

“
Pull up the nav computer. I need you to plot a solution back to Prospect.
”

The Peacekeeper started working on the console. David hoped he actually knew what he was doing. Once again, memories of Alana flashed through his mind but he choked them back. He needed to focus all his efforts on dodging the giant rocks outside.

He continued flying the interceptor out of the Belt. At the speed they were going even David was feeling uncomfortable, but the distance between the interceptor and the raiders continued to grow. Soon they were two thirds of the way out of the field. David glanced over Letsego.
“
How
’
re we doing?
”

Letsego continued to work.
“
Almost there. I set the launch point just outside the Belt.
”

David nodded.
“
We
’
re almost out. Guide me in.
”

They broke into open space a few minutes later. Their pursuers had fallen off the sensors long ago. David eased back on the throttle and let Letsego walk him onto the launch point. Once he was at the right coordinates he slowed the ship to a stop. They were going to do the launch right this time.

“
You ready?
”
Letsego checked his webbing and nodded.
“
Alright, here we go.
”
David punched the hyperspace controls and the interceptor launched forward towards the stars.

He lay on the soft sand, basking in the sunshine. The sky was royal blue, pristine, unpolluted. He glanced to his left and admired the woman lying next to him. She wore a bikini that left little to the imagination. Her body was damp with sea water, but unnaturally pale. He didn’t mind. The rest of her was perfect.

She caught him looking. “Like what you see?”

He snapped his eyes forward, slightly embarrassed. They were only friends. That’s all they could ever be.

She saw his discomfort and laughed, standing up on the beach. “Alright, enough lounging around. Let’
s go.
” She ran toward the water and crashed through the surf.

He hesitated, but then followed. She was always more wild than him, more rash, more spontaneous. He preferred to approach situations more cautiously, using reason.

The water was cold. He was not prepared for it and his muscles immediately clenched up. The tide sucked him out and he started kicking and moving his arms, trying to get the blood flowing.

She yelled at him. “
Hey!
” She was already thirty meters farther out. “
It
’s a race and you’
re losing, D.
”

“Where are we going?”

She simply pointed at an island across the channel and then took off swimming.

He swam too, trying to keep up. He couldn’t. He had grown up not experiencing the ocean. He was not used to the currents and the waves. Before long he was near exhaustion.

But he kept going. She was far ahead by now. He kept his arms and legs moving and slowly the island grew closer. Finally, he could feel land once again. He crawled up on the beach, breathing hard. He collapsed on the sand face down. He just lay there feeling the sun beat against his back, the wind blow through his hair, and the rhythmic beat of his heart vibrate through his body.

He felt the soft touch of a hand upon his back. It was her hand.

“
Hey, wake up.
” He didn’t move. “
Wake up, Carpenter
…
Wake up, Carpenter
…”

“…
Wake up, Carpenter!
”

David snapped awake, an alarm blaring and Letsego
’
s voice berating him. Suddenly, he was no longer on an island paradise, but back in the cockpit of the interceptor, the gray swirl of hyperspace passing by outside of the viewport.

The alarm was the hyperspace timer. David hit the silencer.
“
One minute till drop,
”
he said groggily.

Letsego glanced over at him.
“
You awake?
”

“
Yep.
”

“
Must have been a good dream. I was practically screaming at you.
”

David didn
’
t say anything. It wasn
’
t a dream. It was a memory. That had been a couple days before he and Alana had left Earth for Prospect. They had decided to splurge and take a couple of days
’
vacation in New Zealand, one of the few non-urbanized regions left on the planet. On the Tasman Bay, they had relaxed and unwound, enjoying the sunshine, wilderness, and solitude.

He remembered how beautiful Alana had looked. When she had pulled him out of the water that day he remembered the thoughts of wanting to be with her. She had been a sister to him, but in the back of his mind he had always wanted more. He had never truly admitted it to himself. Until now.

She would never know how he felt. It was too late. She was dead. Up to this point he had been able to contain the pain, keeping it superficial, using the adrenalin to suppress it. But the long, quiet flight from the Belt had let the pain emerge. It crept through his mind like a poison, distracting his thoughts, ruining his concentration. He wanted to see her one more time, if for nothing else than to say he was sorry.

But he couldn
’
t go back. He would never be able to apologize. And the best he could do to ease his pain was to focus on the task at hand.

David watched the timer count down. The flight had been quick, the interceptor being much faster than
Catalyst
had been. They had made it back to Prospect in less than twenty hours.

“
How do you think your friends are going to welcome us?
”
David asked.

Letsego hesitated.
“
Like I said, I didn
’
t exactly have orders for this mission. We should be ready for anything.
”

Great
, David thought.
And us without weapons to fight back
. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

The timer reached zero and David
’
s hands flew over the controls. The familiar sensation of rapid deceleration crushed his body against the restraint webbing. The gray swirl of hyperspace flared. Ten seconds later it was replaced by the stars of real space.

David brought the ship about until Prospect filled the viewport.
“
Home sweet home,
”
he said.
“
How do the sensors look?
”

Letsego inspected his console.
“
I
’
m tracking the Skylift and a few cruisers out there. They haven
’
t spotted us yet.
”

“
Not for long.
”
He pushed the engines to full throttle. For the first time in his life he was actually
trying
to get caught by the Peacekeepers.

The interceptor rocketed toward Prospect.
“
Shit. Okay, good, they
’
ve seen us,
”
Letsego said.
“
We
’
ve got two gunships inbound.
”

The comm system crackled to life.
“
Unidentified vessel. You are entering United Nations space. Identify yourself or be fired upon.
”

“
Looks like I got their attention.
”

Letsego picked up the handset.
“
This is Staff Sergeant Letsego, Peacekeeper Intelligence. I have credible information regarding a direct threat to UNEC interests on Prospect. Requesting permission to dock at the Skylift.
”

“
Letsego?
”
The voice paused.
“
I have an open warrant for the arrest of a Staff Sergeant Nic Lesego. Are you him, and if so are you surrendering to the Peacekeepers?
”

David grinned at Letsego. He enjoyed seeing the Peacekeeper squirm. The man must have left Prospect on worse circumstances than he had implied.
“
Yes, this is him,
”
Letsego responded.
“
I am surrendering peacefully. Please take us aboard immediately.
”

“
Acknowledge,
”
the speaker blared.
“
I am transmitting an approach vector to you. Follow it in. If you deviate from it at all you will be fired upon.
”

The approach vector didn
’
t direct them to the Skylift. It directed them to a cruiser. Letsego recognized it. It was the
Defiance
, the flagship of the Tango Fleet. It was painted in the blue and gray markings of the Peacekeepers. Letsego had been on it once before, a couple of months ago when he and Captain Burleigh had had to brief the command. If they were being taken on board this ship the warrant for his arrest must be pretty important.

“
I
’
ve got a bad feeling about this,
”
Carpenter said, uncomfortably.

The smuggler was worried about his own future.
“
Rest easy,
”
Letsego said.
“
I
’
ll let them know how you helped me, and that you didn
’
t know what was really going on. They
’
ll give you amnesty.
”

“
I appreciate the sentiment, but I get the feeling you aren
’
t on the best terms with your Peak friends.
”

He was probably right. Captain Burleigh would be irate when he saw Letsego. On a good day it was difficult to reason with the man. Now it would be nearly impossible. But Letsego didn
’
t need to reason with the man. He just needed to show him the recording on the helmet. It would tell the entire story for him.

The gunships escorted the interceptor in.
Defiance
loomed ominously in the viewport. Ahead of them the docking bay doors opened. As the interceptor entered the gunships broke off. There was only one open landing pad. Carpenter set the ship down on it expertly.

As the smuggler shut the interceptor down, Letsego looked outside. There was already a sizable crowd gathering, both Peacekeeper soldiers and uniformed officers. Anyone who had a weapon had it at the ready.

“
Open the hatch,
”
Letsego directed to Carpenter.

Carpenter glanced up, but continued his power down process.
“
What? You in a hurry to get put in cuffs?
”

There was banging on the hatch.
“
Open up now!
”
a muffled voice said. Letsego reached across Carpenter and pressed the release. The hatch swung open.

They were greeted by rifles.
“
Hands up!
”

They both complied.
“
Easy, guys,
”
Carpenter said.
“
He
’
s the one you want.
”

The Peacekeepers yanked them both out of the cockpit. Letsego slid down the hull and landed on the pavement. As he stood up he felt the muzzle of a rifle on his back. Carpenter was now standing next to him.

“
Is this the welcome you were expecting?
”
the smuggler quipped.

Just
about
, Letsego thought. He scanned the crowd for a familiar face. He found one and it was coming towards him.

“
So this is why you escaped custody.
”
Captain Burleigh marched up to him.
“
These men are criminals. Why are they not in cuffs?
”
On cue, a Peacekeeper grabbed Letsego
’
s wrists and secured them behind his back.

“
Sir, I know you
’
re pissed, but I have vital intel about Wind-
”

“
Shut up!
”
Burleigh spat.
“
You will only speak when spoken to. I wondered how the smugglers evaded your team so easily. To think that you let one of your own men die to help this scum.
”

The words cut deeper than any knife could. Letsego exploded.
“
Are you kidding me?! You have no idea what is really going on!
”

Burleigh laughed.
“
Oh, I think I do.
”

“
Captain, you need to listen to him,
”
Carpenter cut in.
“
The Federation is about to attack Prospect.
”

“
Attack Prospect!
”
the captain mused.
“
Why in the stars would they attack Prospect?
”

“
It
’
s all on the-
“

“
That was rhetorical,
”
Burleigh interrupted. He looked up to the cockpit.
“
Is there anyone else in there?
”

“
No one, sir,
”
a Peacekeeper responded.
“
Just this.
”
Letsego craned his head. The soldier was holding up Carpenter
’
s pack and the Windcorp helmet.

“
That
’
s it, sir,
”
he said.
“
It
’
s all on there. You need to watch the recording on that helmet.
”

“
I don
’
t
need
to do anything, Staff Sergeant. However, you need to be locked up
…
for treason. Take them away.
”

Letsego resisted.
“
Wait! Captain! I don
’
t care what you do to us. But watch the recording. The entire galaxy is in danger!
”
It was no use. The soldiers dragged him and Carpenter out of the docking bay.

David and Letsego were a spectacle as they were ushered through the
Defiance
, still in their raider attire. Once in the detention area they were allowed to change into grey jumpsuits, those meant for prisoners. Then they were placed in a cell that had as much character and cheer as a mortuary. The walls, floor, and ceiling were smooth, gray metal and the only furniture in the room was a pair of metal bunks.

David let the soldiers remove his cuffs and then flinched as the cell door slammed shut behind him. He decided to make himself at home and walked over and sat down on one of the bunks. Letsego had already made himself comfortable on the other one.

David laid back and stretched out. This was what he feared, being alone with his thoughts. He had slept the entire flight from the Belt and could not force himself to do so any more. The events of the past few days had happened so quickly that he hadn
’
t had a chance to really think about them. But now there was no other choice. Still, he resisted.