The Orion Deception (19 page)

"We need more plasma coils," said the alien, changing the subject.

"They’re coming," said the PM, waving his hand dismissively. "They can only be fabricated in certain places on Earth, it takes time."

"Time that holds up our mutual plans."

"When you are finished, what will you do with all the scientists you have abducted from me?"

"We are taking them with us!"

"That wasn't part of the bargain, alien."

"Hmm. It wasn't expressly stipulated that they had to be returned either."

"Let the aliens have them, sir," offered Vladimir. Arnold raised an eyebrow at him. "It would not be wise to have their brilliant minds working against you after your rise to power."

Arnold changed the subject, appearing to grow bored. "What brought you here today, Orion?"

D'mal stood and tossed something on the table, then stood and left the PM's office without a word. Arnold picked up the small drive and placed it on the interface panel of his desktop. Instantly a holographic display of the Fleet Long Range Starship he loaned to Orion's Sword appeared before him, rotating this way and that before his eyes. The data streams below the holographic image showed that the starship had been outfitted with plasma cannons as well as plasma shielding that could be sustained for long periods of time, unlike the current Phalanx models employed by the Fleet that could only operate in small bursts.

Then the image changed and a data stream below the image narrated what was about to happen. A cloud of plasma vented from ports on the ship's hull and appeared to cling tightly to the ship. Then rods protruded from openings in the hull and charged the plasma with energy. The ship began to move forward slowly, then disappeared.

"Where did it go?" asked Vladimir.

Then the data stream flashed:
FTL engine active.

"My God! Is that what it purports to be, sir?" Vladimir was awed by the display. The time clock on the data stream advanced forward an hour and the starship returned to sight in a blinding flash. The rods then retracted inside the hull and the plasma cloud was successfully recovered by its attraction to the charged coils placed about this ship’s hull. "Did they really do it?"

FTL engine functional.

"I think they did," whispered Arnold in awe. "That starship just made the first successful Faster Than Light journey in our history! Nothing can stop us now! The entire Solar System and beyond is ours for the taking!" said Arnold.

"Plasma weapons and FTL engines. We will have the Solar System under our thumb within days. Everything. Inner System, Asteroid Belt, even the vermin in the Outer System."

"What will you do when you have conquered the System?"

"We are obliged to aid our new allies and help them regain control of their world."

"Horatio, I will need the intelligence on the Centauran society if we are going to prepare."

"So soon?"

"Not soon enough, sir."

"They have a small populace, numbering a few million I am told. They will be of no consequence considering our new firepower and speed."

"I am as confident as you, sir. But we must still plan for all contingencies. What if the Centaurans have weaponry superior to these Orion aliens?"

"Fine, you will have your intelligence. I will set up a meeting for you, pick them clean."

"Indeed sir."

"One question, Vladimir."

"Sir?"

"Who is your assassin?"

"My assassin?"

"Don't be coy, Vladimir. I've known you for too long. Clearly you had no faith in Orion's Sword to eliminate Heck Thomas, so you sent your own assassin. Who is he?"

"Would it be better for you not to know?"

"Perhaps," said the PM pensively. "While I appreciate the sentiment, Vladimir, please don't go behind my back again."

"Yes, sir. Shall I call the assassin in?"

"No," the PM stood up. "No. Somehow I don't think our alien friends are as concerned with my priorities as I am."

"Why should they be, sir? When they return to their world, it is you and I who will remain to deal with the fallout if Heck Thomas talks."

"As it stands, the alien is right. We have too much to gain from their technology to risk losing it over Thomas. The alien showed us that data for a reason. They have a starship, our starship, and a fully functional FTL engine. They could leave us now."

"What about their experimental drift? We could exploit their research for ourselves."

"I think if we cross them they will see to it that we don't."

"So we are to simply trust their word? We just believe that they will follow through on their promises?"

"No. We need assurances."

"What did you have in mind?"

"A special project for your assassin."

Chapter

Eight

~

Roosevelt Orbital Station, or ROS as it was commonly referred to, was in permanent orbit around the Moon. It was a city unto itself, with its own municipal government and public services. It was the main platform from which all flights between Earth and the Moon were managed and it was a crucial station in the Commonwealth Fleet for security around Earth.

Heck knew that getting onto ROS with his escape craft was going to be more difficult than if he had simply docked with the rest of the passengers, but it would not be impossible. Their luck held and whoever was responsible for the boarding of the spaceliner had not gone to any great lengths to follow the escape craft. Heck was confidant in the false trail he created for any would-be pursuers, but it still seemed that there should have been some activity. Did that mean that he was allowed to escape? What was Dooly's role in that? He found it unlikely that Dooly would be kind enough to give Heck a pass, considering the formerly dead man's parting sentiment. Unless he meant to have his revenge on Heck without interference.

As the small craft neared the Moon, Heck took a lengthy detour above the shadowy recesses the Moon's South Pole. The South Pole was sparsely populated and boasted no resources of value so the chances of detection there were slim. In order to breach the security of the orbiting station, his timing would need to be perfect. Dozens of security cruisers patrolled the station's periphery and at any given time it was monitored by a plethora of sensor arrays. He would need a magnificent distraction in order to accomplish what he needed to do.

And so Heck Thomas watched the solar flare data streams and solar weather forecasts intently. Any minute a significant solar flare would erupt on the blazing ball of fire and gas at the center of the Solar System and provide Heck with the distraction he needed.

The Moon's surface was beginning to lighten in the view screen before him, he always enjoyed the zero gravity view of a world above his head. For the moment he was out of range of even the orbital security satellites but that would only last another moment. As soon as the black and gray shuttle glided out of the shadows and into the sun's rays, he would be detected. If there were any Commonwealth Guard Cutters in the area, he would be captured or killed.

The flight path had been programmed into the small drive he had given Lainne by the nice back-alley folks he met on Earth. The same ones who provided him with his ID cloakers, false identities with biographical data and an array of security sensor-proof weapons. So far Heck felt that his money had been well spent and he had not been disappointed with his purchase. The only glitch in the plan had come from the mysterious reappearance of ex-Deputy Marshal Stephen Doolin.

Heck scowled as the image of his old friend and partner entered his mind. Then the irony made him laugh. Dooly might have returned from the dead, but the traitor was still a traitor, and now he had to be as highly wanted as Heck Thomas.

An alarm chimed to Heck's left side, the solar flare activity was about to pick up significantly. He slowed the craft's velocity down with forward steering thrusters, waiting for the eruption that would bring just enough natural disturbance to the communications spectrum to quiet his own scan signature. And then it happened, all of his controls went haywire. He quickly disabled all gauges and monitoring systems and flew the spacecraft completely by sight and instinct. Inexperienced fliers, like the younger types employed by the Commonwealth Guard, would likely panic or be distracted by the disorienting effects of the solar flare. But Heck Thomas was a veteran pilot and had flown combat missions with the Marines in his younger days; this was nothing.

When Heck had disabled the automation of the craft, he had inadvertently disabled the craft's automatic window shielding. He reached over and flicked a holographic control on a nearby console and the view screen dimmed drastically. The light absorbing resin filled an empty space between the outer and inner glass panels, filtering the harmful radiation from the sun and helping to absorb inbound scanning signals.

He glanced over at Lainne and was pleased to see the young woman was still sleeping peacefully, her head lolled to one side. He smirked as he looked back out at the sights before him, knowing the woman was going to wake with a terribly stiff neck. As they left the South Pole of the Moon behind, the terrain of the terraformed world became rapidly greener and more lush. If he hadn't seen evidence that the Moon was once a ball of dead rock and dust floating beside Earth, he would never have believed it. Even now the Moon's temperate zones were blessed with vast lakes that had once been craters. Thanks to artificial gravity plates buried beneath lush pastureland, farmers were now able to manage herds of livestock for beef, swine, and poultry markets on nearby drifts.

Heck continued to fly the craft, using landmarks that he recognized on the Moon's surface, scanning communications receivers to judge the longevity of the solar flare. It seemed to Heck that he had some time. Long range sensors mounted on various places of the hull allowed Heck to visually check the nearby airspace for dangers. He had indeed seen a few Commonwealth Guard patrols but none of them acted as though they had been able to identify his craft for what it was, meaning the solar flares were doing their job.

Soon the great dark underbelly of ROS was in view and Heck steered the craft past a Guard fighter, aiming toward his destination. The fighter continued on past Heck and his craft, as though he the pilot were unaware of his existence. In another three minutes, Heck and Lainne would be safely inside ROS with none the wiser for it.

And then a warning chime blared to his right. The solar flare was weakening prematurely and communications systems were gradually coming back online. It would be a sporadic process, and any nearby Guard craft might have moments of total functionality of their scanning systems between periods of weakening interference.

He could be discovered at any time.

There was nothing he could do now but watch. If the Guard fighter's scanners came to life, so would his. The entry tube he was going to infiltrate was right before him now. It was open but still about a minute away and he had to pass thousands of sensors just to reach it.

Suddenly all of his sensors came back online! Meaning the defensive scanners aboard ROS were back online. His own craft was receiving and responding to scans for identity and purpose. An automated communication message with ROS standard approach protocol appeared at the communications station where Lainne was sleeping. Then the signals began to weaken even as emergency lights around the bay doors flared to life, bathing the craft in blue and red and amber lights.

"What's happening?" Lainne asked, sleepily. The sudden activity at her comm station roused her from slumber.

"We're almost aboard ROS."

"Good."

"But it seems we've been identified," he added in a dread-filled whisper. "There was a moment of clarity in the solar radiation just now and ROS scanners picked us up."

"Damn," she answered quietly.

"Damn," he agreed.

During that moment of clarity ROS sensors had properly identified the craft that Heck and Lainne were now riding in as an escape craft from a spaceliner of unknown origin before going offline again. By now ROS security officials would know of the hijacking of the inbound spaceliner from Earth and that there had been a deployment of one of its escape craft. As a result of the impending arrival of an inbound emergency escape craft, emergency protocols were activated. Fire and medical crews were now on standby for Heck and Lainne's arrival.