Recon Marines III: The Marine's Doctor (22 page)

Mak had sensed the spying as soon as
he exited the ship. Though he’d landed miles from the nearest
trees, someone had him in view. He dared not let his mind wander to
vicious killers like the giant that had battled Vin in the vid.
What would such a man do to someone soft and vulnerable like Molly
or any of the others in Mak’s charge?

He continued the inspection of the
ship, finding the usual scratches from space debris but nothing to
worry about beyond the one panel. Now a great dilemma faced him.
The best course would be for him to infiltrate the enemy position
by himself yet that would leave the ship virtually helpless. With
the right equipment and knowledge the science vessel could be
compromised in less than a minute.

Mak paused before reentering the ship,
surveying the rolling grasslands they’d landed in. A soft breeze
stirred the ankle-high grasses, carrying a vague scent of metal
that didn’t belong in an immaculate wilderness. Now he knew their
direction.

His men sat on the bridge, their
attention fixed on the scanners as they acknowledged Mak’s
entrance. The ship picked up nothing though Mak had adjusted the
filters through every setting possible.

“
How’s our outside look,
sir?” Pender asked.

“
Some damage. We can’t
chance the minefield again.”

“
So we can’t go back?”
Pender looked worried but not frightened. “What’s our plan,
sir?”

“
I’m going to infiltrate
their camp and find a way off of here for us.”

“
You figured out where
they are?” Box asked.

“
A general idea. It might
take me a few hours and the surface won’t be safe for you. Without
knowing their numbers or capabilities we can’t chance that they’ll
work their way around me to you.”

“
We’ll hold this ship,”
Box said.

“
They might have
camouflaged gear like mine. You won’t see them until they’re
blowing open the door. You two will take the ship into low orbit
until I signal you to return.”

“
It only takes one of us
to fly the ship,” Box said. “I’ll go with you, sir.”

“
You won’t be able to keep
up with me.” Mak realized he’d spoken a blunt truth so tried to
soften it with more truth. “It’s better if I go alone. If something
happens to me, the two of you need to navigate the minefield again.
You might have a chance with one of you calling out collision
dangers and handling damage control issues. Under no circumstances
should you confront anyone on this planet. If you don’t hear from
me within fifteen hours you will leave atmosphere and go for
help.”

“
You want us to leave you
here?” Pender asked.

“
I’m ordering you to leave
me here, and I’m counting on you to take the civilians to safety.”
Mak paused, struggling with indecision as his two men looked at him
with grim determination. “The mines were placed within the last
twenty-four hours. I have reason to believe a person from our ship
sent warning of our imminent arrival on Mossy. It gave them time to
prepare the defense.”

“
Sir, we would never….”
Pender started while Box’s lip curled in a way Mak hadn’t seen in a
while.

“
I know it wasn’t either
of you or Dr. Drant. I’m telling you so you’ll be prepared for
further traitorous actions. That’s another reason I want both of
you on this ship. For all I know I’m leaving you in greater peril
than where I’m going.”

“
We’ve traveled with the
other doctors before,” Box said. “I’ve never suspected either of
them of anything criminal.”

“
The corruption
surrounding this in the military and political field included
powerful people thought above reproach. You’re seen the evidence
with your own eyes of the many people involved in this scheme. Be
vigilant every minute. After I leave, turn on the internal sensors
so you know where everyone is at all times. Make sure no messages
are sent.”

“
Maybe we should lock them
both up,” Box muttered.

“
We don’t imprison
innocent people, corporal. Just follow your orders.”

“
Are you telling the plan
to the doctors?” Box asked.

“
Only to
Molly.”

Mak went to his room and dressed in
his camouflage before seeking out Molly. He filled his belt with
all the tools he might need along with a stunner and two pistols.
He slung a water bag and his rifle over his shoulder.

He found Molly in the lab with the
other doctors. They stuffed items into their backpacks as if they
were going exploring like on the other worlds. “Could I speak with
you alone, Molly?”

“
We should all know what’s
going on,” Dr. Loren said.

“
I’ll fill you in,” Molly
said as she followed Mak out into the hall.

Mak led her a few more steps toward
the bridge, listening for either of the doctors to follow and
eavesdrop on them. “We haven’t located any facilities. I’m going to
scout. Box and Pender are taking the ship to low atmosphere.
They’ll continue to scan as if we’re searching. This will keep them
focused on the ship and help me stay covert. Don’t tell the others
I’m not on the ship.”

“
You’re convinced this lab
is still manned?”

“
At the least it’s well
protected. First by the mines and now by a sophisticated camouflage
unit. I suspect more security awaits any attempt to
infiltrate.”

“
You shouldn’t be going
alone. I could….”

Mak put his hand on her arm. “This is
why your father wanted me along with you. You know what I am. While
this ship is flying around, you should compress all your data to
portable units and prepare to abandon ship.”

“
Abandon ship? What is
your plan?”

He didn’t want to lie to her so he
didn’t answer the question. “Keep an eye on your colleagues. One of
them is not on our side of this.”

She wrapped her hands around his neck
and pulled his head down to hers. His armor protected him from the
touch of her body, but his mind imagined it perfectly. Her kiss was
short and warm. “Be careful. Please.”

****

Molly did the data compilation
herself, hating that she couldn’t trust her friends. Helen puttered
away on her AI and frowned at the screen. Hector stared morosely at
a display of DNA comparisons on the large screen. They appeared as
the dedicated doctors she believed them to be. What did a spy look
like?

“
Ladies, look at this
strand of DNA.” Hector tapped his fingers on his AI and highlighted
a grouping of two genes. “We know these two influence personality
characteristics. See the added protein on this one? What
alterations in behavior and perception might that have
caused?”

Excitement coursed through Molly. This
was the exact kind of discovery she’d hoped for when she’d
convinced her father she was the scientist for this mission. She
pulled up the personality traits they’d identified as being
influenced by certain genes combined with specific environmental
issues. “Look at this, Hector. Those genes are the major
influencers for compassion and loyalty traits.”

Helen peered over Molly’s shoulder.
“Where did you get that data? Genetic links to personality studies
aren’t factual. It’s a guessing game, a soft science like
psychology.”

A day ago Molly would have told them
the data came from Recon Marine records. But now that she wasn’t
sure if she could trust them sharing anything about the marines
seemed a betrayal of Mak. “Psychology is a science. We can’t ignore
it because we think our fields of knowledge are
superior.”

Hector tapped again and changed the
screen to display multiple strands of DNA. “These are from the
samples we gathered on Arid Four. Because of the degradation caused
by the dry climate I don’t have all the samples ready for
comparison. But all the ones I’ve uploaded have the same protein
markers where the genes were manipulated. I think there are more
manual manipulations but I haven’t had the time to search them
out.”

“
So they not only trained
them to be a certain way, they rebuilt their genetic makeup to make
them a certain type of person.” Molly couldn’t imagine the mindset
that would lead a person to experiment on another human being in
such a way.”

Hector ran a hand over his face. “I
don’t know if I can do this anymore, Molly. I’m already having
nightmares. These people were monsters.”

He sounded so sincere that Molly’s
doubts that one of her friends could be a traitor strengthened. Mak
had to be wrong.

Helen put her hand on Hector’s
shoulder. “It’s tough on all of us. It will soon be
over.”

“
I can’t thank you two
enough for coming with me,” Molly said. They couldn’t be
traitors.

****

Mak waited until the ship took off,
using its distraction to move toward the scent of metal. After
traveling a few hundred yards, he caught a stronger scent of
burning crystallized iron. A herd of goat-like herbivores grazed on
the short grass a quarter of a mile away. The soft wind blew toward
Mak and masked his scent until he was among them.

The animals stirred in curiosity but
didn’t seem afraid of his alien scent. With gentle persuasion he
urged them to move in the direction he wanted them to go. He
crouched so the enemy sensors would see him as another of the
harmless fauna, assuming their tech could see through his
camouflage.

Modern stealth technology could hide
objects from the scanners of orbiting ships and even low flying
fighter cruisers. But the human eye would always be superior to
artificial eyes. Green patterned paint attempted to blend the
building rising in front of Mak into the grasslands.

The herd animals resisted his efforts
to get any closer when they had drifted to within fifty yards of a
thirty-foot high wall. Wide composite sheets stretched at least
five hundred yards from end to end. The only breaks in the wall
were grill-covered exhaust units spaced twenty yards apart near the
top of the wall. Not a single door to grant access for intruders.
He’d seen temporary hangars on other worlds. One of the other sides
would be open along its length to allow flying crafts to enter and
exit.

Like many inexperienced military
units, these people relied too much on technology to keep them
secure. Real guards would have spotted him on the open plain but
his gear and knowledge could fool cameras and motion detectors.
They hadn’t even planted tripwires near the wall. Though if the
mines had been placed only hours ago it followed that they hadn’t
expected anyone to find them.

He ran toward one end of the wall,
staying about five yards from the bottom. Before he took the last
few steps around the corner he knew the next side wasn’t the open
one. He continued and found the entrance on the side opposite his
approach.

Mak dropped to his stomach and
slithered to a spot where he could see the parking bay. Full. Three
small agile, star cruisers and a larger cargo hauler. Not a single
guard in sight but neither was there other buildings. Motion
sensors spanned the open entrance and motion activated video
scanners were spaced along the overhanging roof.

Mak recognized the vid units as the
newest technology available to the military. Only someone who had
used them before would know how to get around them. He stayed back,
deciding which cruiser he would take and plotting the path he would
travel to reach it. Seven seconds if the ship had a common code
access, twelve to fifteen if it was personalized. He took the buzz
maker from his belt and set it for fifteen seconds. It would create
video fuzziness and vibrations that would trick the motion sensors
into thinking there was a brisk gust of wind. The short duration
outage hopefully wouldn’t alarm anyone.

With a gentle flick of his wrist, Mak
rolled the buzzer precisely where he needed it. He moved as soon as
it settled inside the open doorway, silently counting off the
seconds to himself. He ran to the cruiser closest to him, noting
very little dust on its surface. Recent use then. The door
cooperated and opened as soon as he entered one of the universal
codes known to Recon Marines and engineered into every military
vehicle. At the end of the allotted fifteen seconds he sat in the
pilot’s seat. The controls responded to his coded commands, firing
up the engine and bringing the sensors online. Standard handling
for such a craft required a warm up period for the engines, but Mak
didn’t have that time.

The cruiser handled like the excellent
craft it was, gliding out of the hangar with nearly silent
propulsion. Like many star-capable ships it had cloaking
capabilities. Mak switched them on. But how long it took them to
realize he’d stolen a ship and locate it would depend more on the
experience of the humans interpreting their security channels than
on the technology they had available.

He used an encrypted channel to hail
Box. “Sending you coordinates, corporal. Set her down in exactly
seven minutes and twenty seconds. Weapon up with everything you can
carry and make sure the doctors are ready to evacuate the ship.
Only what they can carry in one trip. I want this craft back in the
air sixty seconds after I land. Don’t power down your
ship.”