Resist the Red Battlenaut (17 page)

 

*****

 

 

A day later, as the
Sun Tzu
approached Oberon's home system, Scott found himself back in the conference room with the Diamondback senior officers--Perseid, Rexis, Abby, Trane, Feinberg, Khalil, Beauchamp, Fong, García, and Azimuth. Perseid had called one last briefing to update the team on the latest developments before everyone launched into final preps for the mission ahead.

"We are thirteen hours out from Oberon," said Perseid, "and we have no idea what to expect." Standing at the head of the long table beside Rexis, he looked grim. "Sensors have not picked up any signs of unusual activity."

"What about Cairn Barrie?" said Khalil. "Has he given us any insight?" He looked across the table at Scott when he said it.

"Negative," said Scott. "Cairn refuses to cooperate."

"So our blindness continues," said García.

"Not quite," said Rexis. "Trane and his team have had some success opening our eyes for this mission." She gestured at Trane, who sat at the opposite end of the table.

"That's right." Trane stood. "We've developed an inoculation that kills the firewall virus." Reaching into a hip pocket of his black uniform, he drew out a hypodermic filled with bright green liquid. "It should enable us to see Red materiel and personnel."

"It was quite a challenge," said Beauchamp. "We had to draw the firewall virus out of its dormant state by exposing subjects to the catalyst virus from pieces of Red wreckage. Once we had samples of the activated firewall virus, it took a while to analyze its structure and develop an antiviral countermeasure."

"It's a tremendous advantage," said Perseid. "Assuming we encounter Reds at Oberon, they won't expect us to be able to see them."

"Great work," said Fong. "I guess this means Commandant Chalice got the data blocks lifted?"

"Negative," said Trane. "Corporal Scott didn't come through for us."

"Not yet, anyway," said Scott. "I'm still waiting to hear back from the Commandant. She's been off the grid the past few days."

"Doesn't much matter at this point," said Trane. "She isn't part of the equation anymore."

Scott bristled. "Don't write her off. She'll come through for us, wait and see."

"Sure she will." Trane sneered. "Clearly, we're not at the top of Granny's list of fish to fry."

Perseid cleared his throat loudly. "Moving on..." He gave Trane a meaningful stare. "We've got another surprise in store for the Reds."

"If there
are
any Reds at Oberon," added Rexis.

"Exactly." Perseid gestured at Beauchamp. "Doctor, if you will?"

Beauchamp nodded and stood. When she touched the edge of the table, a hologram appeared before her--the computer-rendered image of Cairn based on Scott's descriptions. "Meet our Trojan Horse."

Scott frowned. He knew what a Trojan Horse was but didn't understand how the reference applied to Cairn.

"Mr. Barrie has a quantum bomb in his head." Beauchamp touched the table again, and a midsagittal view of a human brain appeared beside the image of Cairn. A spiky red crystalline object pulsated along the midline. "This is a computer rendering of Cairn's brain with the bomb inside, based on the data reported by Corporal Scott. The explosive is actually quite powerful, in spite of its small size. Mr. Barrie claims it can destroy this entire ship, but we estimate it can destroy much more than that. A
fleet
of ships, perhaps."

"And this walking bomb is still aboard
this
ship
why?
" said García.

"Because we might be able to use him," interjected Perseid. "We could hand him over to the Reds, then trigger the bomb remotely."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Fong. "Surely, we can't control the bomb trigger mechanism."

"Surely we
can
." Beauchamp put up a third image above the first two--a series of overlapping jagged lines plotted on a chart. "Since Corporal Scott could find no trigger device anywhere on Mr. Barrie's person, we concluded that the device must respond to his thoughts. After Corporal Scott mapped Mr. Barrie's brain activity, we were able to construct a device that will block his neural impulses and substitute our own commands, broadcast at the same frequency. In short, we can make the bomb do what we want, using a signal disguised as Mr. Barrie's own thoughts."

"And you say this thing could knock out a
fleet
?" said García.

"That's just a guess on our part," said Rexis. "We haven't been able to view the bomb's interior with holo tomography, so we can't determine its capacity that way."

"And there's no record of Commonwealth forces encountering a quantum bomb this small before," said Perseid. "Larger versions have been extraordinarily destructive, but this one might be more advanced and just as powerful."

Scott frowned. "So you'll just hand him over and blow him up?"

Beauchamp held up her left wrist and pointed at the oblong device strapped around it like a chronometer. "This remote control will trigger the bomb." She tapped the surface of the gleaming silver oval mounted on the strap, and it swirled. "Press it three times, and the final signal will be sent."

"And Cairn will be blown to smithereens," said Scott.

"He would've done the same to us," said Trane. "He
tried
, didn't he?"

Scott didn't answer. He didn't like the direction the briefing was taking. It was true Cairn had said he'd tried to blow up the
Sun Tzu
, but did that make it right to detonate Cairn by remote control?

"Anyway, we'll only use the quantum bomb as a last resort," said Perseid. "It's just another weapon in our arsenal."

Scott still didn't like what he was hearing...but why? Had Cairn succeeded in making him feel guilty about what had happened at Iridess Chasm? Or was something else affecting him? Was it possible he felt some connection to Cairn, though the man clearly hated him and wanted to see him suffer?

Scott would have to think about it later. Perseid was wrapping up the briefing.

"That brings us all up to speed for now." Perseid clapped his hands together. "Until we know more, let's get ready for our arrival at Oberon. Prepare all Battlenauts for planetfall, though armored deployment is not a certainty at this time."

Everyone at the table nodded.

"We know so little, we need to be ready for anything," said Perseid. "Not that we aren't
always
ready for anything."

Everyone in the room jumped out of their chairs and shouted "Hoo-aah!" as one.

"Dismissed!" said Perseid, and the Diamondbacks charged toward the door.

 

*****

 

Seven hours later, when Scott had finished prepping his Battlenaut, he headed to the medicenter for one last visit with Donna before Oberon.

Unfortunately, the medicenter was crazier than usual when he arrived. There were dozens of Diamondbacks standing in a line that snaked down the corridor, all waiting to get their inoculations of the firewall virus counteragent.

Marching past the waiting Diamondbacks, Scott zipped into the medicenter and made a beeline for Donna's bed. Beauchamp and Tourmal, who were giving the crew their shots, looked up when he passed...then returned their full attention to the bare biceps they were injecting.

At least they'd pulled a curtain around Donna's bed. The room was still noisy, but Scott had a modicum of privacy for his visit.

Standing beside Donna's bed, he took her hand. "Looks like it's time for another mission," he told her. "So how much longer are you going to lie there and keep slacking?"

Donna gave no response. If anything, her body seemed more still than ever.

"Well, you better get up off your lazy ass soon," said Scott. "The squad needs you.
I
need you." He squeezed her hand. "So get a move on."

Just then, Beauchamp pushed through the curtain. "Her condition has not changed, Corporal. No improvement."

"But she's not getting worse?" said Scott.

Beauchamp shook her head sadly. "I do wish we would see more responsiveness, though. I wish she would squeeze someone's hand again soon. The longer she remains comatose..."

"I understand." Scott gently touched Donna's forehead. "At least you don't need to inoculate her."

Suddenly, Beauchamp frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe I do." Reaching up, she stroked her lower lip with one fingertip. "Maybe that is not such a bad idea, actually. She could awaken at any time, in which case she should be prepared to identify the enemy." Without another word, she flowed back through the curtain and was gone.

Scott bent down and kissed Donna's cheek. "Take care of yourself, okay? I'll see you as soon as I can." He kissed her other cheek, too. "Who knows? Maybe next time I see you, you'll be up and around. Maybe you'll dance your way right out of here."

Scott walked out through the curtain just in time to see Perseid getting his shot, which surprised him.

"Hello, Corporal." Perseid smiled as Tourmal held up a loaded hypodermic.

Scott frowned. "You weren't in line, were you?" He wondered if he'd walked past Perseid in the corridor without noticing him.

Perseid shook his head. "I
cut
line. One of the perks of command." Just then, the hypo hit his bicep, and he winced. "But medicine is still the great equalizer, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir." Scott managed a smile.

"How is she?" Perseid bobbed his head toward Donna. "Any improvement?"

"Negative," said Scott. "But at least she hasn't taken a turn for the worse."

"Damn." Perseid rolled his sleeve down and stepped away from Tourmal, making room for the next man in line. "I know Beauchamp's doing everything she can for her."

"I think she might have just gotten an idea," said Scott. "She said something about giving Donna the antiviral inoculation."

"But how would that..."

Perseid was interrupted by Rexis' voice over the P.A. "Major Perseid, report to the Command Deck. Major Perseid, report to the Command Deck
immediately
."

Perseid's manner changed instantly from easygoing to intense. He stiffened, standing straighter, and his friendly smile became a grim stare. "Corporal Scott, you're with me." Spinning on his heel, he headed for the door.

Scott did as he was told, falling in step behind Perseid. When they reached the corridor, they both broke into a run.

En route, Perseid didn't say a word--and didn't have to. The way he'd been summoned suggested that something serious had happened. Speculating about what it might be would be a waste of time.

There was also no need for Perseid to explain to Scott why he needed him along. Scott was still the only person aboard the
Sun Tzu
who could see one hundred percent of Red materiel and personnel all of the time. If the Reds had made a move, of course Perseid would need his only certified Red spotter at his side.

There was nothing to say until they reached the Command Deck and saw what awaited them. It was that simple.

 

*****

 

The door to the Command Deck swept open, and Perseid ran right through. "Report!" he snapped in mid-stride, before his feet had stopped moving.

Scott ran in next and stopped sooner, hanging back to assess the situation. In the view ahead, visible through the transparent prow of the ship, he saw the orange and yellow sphere of Oberon, poised between the binary stars that kept it bathed in perpetual daylight. The planet was still small, in the distance, hours away.

"Sir!" Rexis, who was standing up front with hands clasped behind her back, looked tenser than Scott had ever seen her. "We've detected a vessel in orbit around Oberon." She paused. "A
Commonwealth
vessel."

Perseid came to a stop in the middle of the deck and planted his hands on his hips. "
Which
Commonwealth vessel?"

"The
Samuel Nicholas
," said Rexis.

Scott was surprised. The
Samuel Nicholas
--named for the ancient founder of the United States Marine Corps--was the flagship of the Commonwealth Marines.

Perseid scowled. "What the hell is the
Sam Nicholas
doing here? It wasn't mentioned in any of the fleet movement bulletins."

"Unknown." Rexis' voice tightened. "But it shows signs of having taken heavy fire. So does the Rightful ship orbiting nearby."

"Holy flux." Perseid blew out his breath and ran a hand over the black bristle on his scalp. "Have we hailed the
Sam Nicholas
?"

"Yes, sir," said Rexis. "No reply. No transmissions of any kind."

"You said she shows signs of taking heavy fire," said Perseid.

Rexis raised her voice to be heard clearly by the Command Deck control A.I. "Maximum magnification on the
Samuel Nicholas
."

As soon as she called out the order, the view zoomed in on a wedge of Oberon. The massive bulk of the
Samuel Nicholas
drifted at the edge of the atmosphere, listing precariously to one side and spilling black clouds into space from gashes in her hull.

Without thinking, Scott stepped forward, mesmerized by the sight. The flagship was the mightiest vessel in the Commonwealth fleet; it must have taken extraordinary firepower to wreck it like that.

One thing was clear to him: the Rightful ship had not done the damage. It was smaller than the flagship and looked like it was in far worse shape. Something had snapped it in two down the middle, leaving splintered halves open to the vacuum of space, barely held together on one side.

"They didn't do that to each other," said Rexis. "Damage patterns aren't consistent with Commonwealth or Rightful weaponry. The sheer scope of the destruction suggests an overwhelming ambush by superior forces."

"What the hell are we flying into?" said Perseid. "These ships shouldn't
be
here, and they
sure
as hell shouldn't be blown apart like that."

"Looks like Cairn gave us accurate information." Rexis looked at Scott when she said it.

Scott nodded.

"Smashing up the
Sam Nicholas
like that would be next to impossible," said Perseid, "unless the attackers were undetectable."

"Like the Reds," said Rexis.

"Which still doesn't explain why these ships were here at all." Perseid frowned and rubbed his chin. "Why would the flagship of the Commonwealth Marines be in the same place as a Rightful vessel if they weren't shooting at each other?"

"I wish I knew," said Rexis. "Marine H.Q. has no comment."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." Perseid clapped his hands together and spoke loud enough for everyone on the Command Deck to hear. "Has everyone been inoculated against the firewall virus?"

His question was greeted by a chorus of affirmatives. Scott was the only one who didn't join in, since he had no need for the antivirus countermeasure.

"That's good, because we're going in." He turned in a circle, surveying his crew in their antigrav harnesses, surrounded by holographic controls. "Be alert to
any
sign of Red activity, no matter how small. Don't hesitate to issue an
instantaneous
warning. If the bastards come at us like they did the
Sam Nicholas
, every second will mean the difference between life and death." He stopped turning when he got to Scott. "In fact, I want
you
on the Command Deck from this moment on, Corporal, just in case the viral countermeasure takes a while to kick in. You're the only one aboard guaranteed to spot Reds without delay or distortion whether you've had an inoculation or not."

"Aye, sir," said Scott.

"Set him up with full access to visual feeds and sensor data," Perseid told Rexis.

"Yes, sir," said Rexis.

"Now then." Perseid flung out an arm and pointed at Fong the helmsman. "How fast can you get us to Oberon?"

Fong manipulated holo controls and checked readouts. "Just under five hours, if I step on it."

"Then do it," said Perseid. "Direct heading for the
Sam Nicholas
."

"So we're going straight in?" said Fong. "No roundabout approach in case the Reds are waiting?"

"Absolutely not," said Perseid. "I've got a feeling time is of the essence. There might be survivors in need of help." He glared at the view of the devastated ships in orbit. "If the damned Reds want us, let them come and get us. We're ready for them this time."