Waiting (18 page)

The technicians
were at work on the unnecessary replacement communication unit in
the laboratory, oblivious to the events going on in the Base.

'Listen up,
people. Our troops are on their way here. I have orders from Major
Gunther that you are to leave immediately. Gather up your personal
belongings and meet me by the exit.'

'What's going
on?' asked Caswell.

'More than any
of us need to know I suspect. You have just two minutes to gather
your things. Leave your weapons behind. Move it.'

Caswell and the
other technicians dropped what they were doing and scurried away to
their rooms. Staples met them at the small door by the exit.

'Stay calm.
Walk towards them and when you're close enough, wave your hands in
the air. You'll be ok.'

'I assisted
Salamandra in the operation,' said Caswell. 'Am I in trouble?'

Staples said,
'You were following Gunther's orders. Only tell them if they ask.
Don't go volunteering information.'

'What about
you?'

Staples looked
out across the desert and the cloud of dust being churned up by the
approaching troops. It was tempting to go with the others. 'I'll
take my chances here. Now go.'

Staples watched
the technicians walk slowly away, carrying their bags of belongings
then he closed and locked the heavy steel door.

Chapter 56

'If we
are
about to die, I'd appreciate it if I knew why,' said
Gunther with a wave of his rifle.

'You really
don't know?' said Loretti.

'All I know is
it's something to do with the mission, nothing more than that. I
found a partial communication between you Trish, and a man I
couldn't identify. Unknown to me, we picked up signals from a ship
outside Spero. They could not have been humans. You were warning
the man to keep out as you had the situation under control. Care to
elaborate?'

Loretti's head
was throbbing and thinking at all was difficult. 'There's something
waiting on Spero. Waiting for all those on the Goliath.'

'I don't like
where this is going, Loretti,' said Gunther. 'Something nasty about
to wipe out those on the mission?'

Loretti smiled.
'Not to kill them. To use their bodies. And not nasty.
Superior.'

'And you knew
about it?' said an incredulous Bridget. 'I knew you were evil, but
selling out all the human race is a new low even for you.'

'Not all of the
human race,' said Salamandra. 'She's cut a deal with them as long
as she plays a part in the take over.'

Gunther glared
at Loretti. 'Unbelievable. I knew you were ambitious, but to hand
over our last hope of survival to serve your own desires makes me
sick to my stomach. But Salamandra. How come you know of all
this?'

'Easy. The man
on the message? That was me. Loretti tried to get me on her side.
This was during the peace. Rather than keep the war going, she
wanted me to join forces with her and have enough of a world in one
piece worth her ruling over it.'

Loretti
snarled, 'But you were too self-righteous to accept. I had no
intention of letting you survive after that.'

Bridget said,
'Never mind all that now. We have to warn the Goliath.'

'Don't you
worry. I intend to do just that,' said Gunther.

'With a faulty
communication unit?' snarled Loretti.

Gunther said,
'For once, I'm one step ahead of you. Bridget. I need to warn the
Goliath urgently. Keep this rifle aimed at these two.'

'I'm your
mother, Bridget. Rule Earth with me. You can't shoot me.'

'I can't? Care
to put that theory to the test? If I were you, I'd just sit still
and keep very quiet.'

Chapter 57

General Su Kane
looked at the technicians with what she hoped was her most
intimidating stare, the one she practised in the mirror. She had
modelled herself on Loretti for many years.

'You lot have
had it too cosy for too long cocooned in that Base while the real
soldiers have been putting our lives on the line for your benefit.
Think the war is over now, do you? Safe for you to crawl out of
from under your little rock, do you think? Well let me tell you
there is still plenty going on and I'll make sure you get a taste
of it. You. Name.'

'Caswell,
sir.'

'Well,
Lieutenant Caswell. You have had a couple of recent arrivals I
believe. Captain Bridget Loretti and Salamandra. We believe they
have taken Commander General Loretti after they shot down her ship,
killing her crew in the process. Bridget Loretti helped Salamandra
escape from headquarters and she is now considered a traitor. It is
our intention to rescue General Loretti from them. What is the
status of General Loretti. And I warn you. Lie to me and you will
all be shot for helping a traitor and the enemy. Yes, Caswell?'

'It is true,
General. All three are there with Major Gunther.'

Kane said, 'Is
General Loretti alive?'

'The last time
I saw her, yes. She had been operated on by Salamandra.' Caswell
decided it prudent at that time to omit she had been the theatre
nurse for that operation. 'She had received a serious head-wound
requiring brain surgery.'

'And you say
Salamandra did this operation?'

Caswell nodded.
'Yes. General Loretti survived it and as far as I am aware, is
making a full recovery.'

'Can she be
moved?'

'Probably best
to let her recuperate for the time being. That's just my opinion,
sir.'

Kane said, 'Is
it indeed.' She paced up and down, considering this information.
'Salamandra. Is he now held prisoner by Major Gunther?'

'I do not know,
sir.'

'What about the
traitor Bridget Loretti?'

'Again I do not
know, sir.'

Kane stepped up
to Caswell and with her face just inches from the lieutenants. 'For
someone who has just come from the Base you seem to know precious
little as to what is happening in there.'

'Perhaps you
should ask Major Gunther, sir.'

'Oh, I intend
to do that. For now, keep out of my sight.'

* * *

Gunther was by
himself fitting the unit he had sabotaged on several occasions.
Leaving the cover off, Gunther was relieved to see the lights on
the control panel light up and the blue screen with the frequency
oscillations. He fine tuned it to locate the Goliath and he could
see they were open to his signals. He made the call.

'This is Major
Gunther at the Base. Repeat. This is Major Gunther of the Base. Are
you receiving me, over?'

He knew he
would have to wait for the time-delayed reply, if he got one. A
speaker crackled.

'So soon?

'This is is
General Kane. Major Gunther. You are to open up the Base at
once.'

'Crap!' It was
the radio used for communication on Earth between the Western
Tricor, not the dedicated frequency for the Goliath.

'Major? What
was that?'

'I
said...hello, General.'

'Open the main
door immediately, you hear me?'

'You're...breaking up, General. Can you...' Gunther flicked the
switch to cut the receiver off. He had to buy time to talk to the
Goliath. He knew Kane would soon be pounding on his door with a
barrage of missiles. 'Goliath. Come in.'

Nothing!

Sam Clifton had
the communications room to himself when the call came through. He
played the computer recording of it to confirm that after so long,
Earth had somehow found a way to call the Goliath. He hadn't
misheard or imagined it. It was indeed Earth. He replied.

'Chief
Satellite Engineer Sam Clifton here. Major Gunther?'

'Sam. No time
to chat. I'm taking a huge chance with this. This is going to sound
mad, but take it as true and from an impeccable source. There is
some kind of alien being, apparently with space technology, on
Spero. I have no idea how, but they have some way of taking over
the body of other species, including human.'

'Major Gunther.
We have seen nothing out here to be alarmed about.'

Gunther said,
'That's good news. It isn't too late. Alert everyone and stay away
from Spero until you know what you are dealing with. Are you
getting this, Sam?'

'Yes. I
understand perfectly. I'll be sure to pass this on to the captain
right away.'

'Good. But
another thing you need to be aware of...' There came an explosion
behind Gunther as a warning missile thudded into the Base just
above the door. The floor shook and a chunk of the rock roof fell
close by him, bouncing like a football along the grey concrete
floor. 'Somebody on the Goliath may be in on the plot, so be
careful.'

'What! Somebody
on the ship?'

'I've given you
all I can for now, Clifton. I'll try again later if...' Another
explosion.

* *
*

Twenty minutes
later, Captain Jacobs walked into the communications room. 'Are you
still
on duty, Sam?'

'I thought I
would have another go at calling Earth, Jay Jay. I really should
get a life.'

'No success I
presume?'

Clifton smiled
and said, 'Not a thing. I was just passing time. For once I'll be
glad to be in my pod for two weeks of not doing much.'

'One way to
spend the time, I suppose. Right. I'm just doing my captain's
rounds. Everything seems nice and quiet everywhere. Carry on,
Sam.'

Chapter 58

'It's simple,'
said Kane. 'Open the damn door in ten seconds or I'll blow it to
pieces and I'll be really annoyed if I have to waste the
missiles.'

Staples came
running towards Gunther. 'Major. Willis has itchy fingers. Do we
blast them?'

Gunther weighed
it all up and recognised defeat when it hit him. 'That will just
make it worse for you and Willis. All you two have ever been is
hard working technicians and great soldiers.' He flicked a switch
and said, 'General Kane. Hold your fire. We're coming out.'

'Sir,' said
Staples. 'Is this the way to do this?'

Gunther grinned
and said, 'Probably not. No need for you and Willis to suffer. I'll
tell Kane I ordered you to stay. Open the door.'

'Yes, sir.'
Staples yelled up to the laser cannon turret. 'Nathan. Leave the
cannon and get down here. It's all over.'

Willis had a
panoramic view of the scene before him. He figured five hundred
troops, all fully armed and armoured, and at least sixty assorted
military vehicles, most with missiles and lasers pointing his
way.

'Aw, shucks,
lieutenant. I was just itching for a good fight. Coming down.'

As the massive
steel door slid noisily to one side, Staples and Willis looked out
at the small army facing them. Flanked by a a dozen officers, Kane
stood with her fists on her hips.

'Out. I'll talk
to you two later. Where is Gunther?'

'I'm here.'
Behind Gunther came Bridget and Salamandra who propped up Loretti.
'We'll come peacefully.'

Kane scoffed,
'Like I leave you a choice. Look at you. What a nasty little nest
of vipers. I must admit I have no idea what sick plotting has been
going on here. You are coming with us to headquarters. We'll get to
the bottom of it there.' She said to soldiers either side of her,
'Get a medic and a stretcher for General Loretti. Keep an armed
guard with her at all times. Right now I don't trust any of them.
Go.'

Three minutes
later, Loretti was in an army medical ambulance and Gunther,
Bridget and Salamandra were handcuffed with ten armed guards
willing them to resist so they could take credit for killing the
three notorious traitors. Instead, the three despondent prisoner's
just sat and stared back.

Five hours
later, they were inside the forcefield and they were escorted to
the top level in the headquarters building where President Sol
Maxim waited for them.

'How
disappointing. You three are still alive. So very tedious.'

'I could have
them executed,' offered Kane.

Maxim said,
'Not only tempting, but expedient. But what would be the fun in
that? General Kane. Aren't you curious as to the relationship
between these three?'

Kane said,
'He's her father.'

'Oh, Kane. Not
the biological relationship. The...political relationship. Gunther
here ran the Base, in his ham-fisted way...'

'Hey. That
place ran pretty smoothly, I'll have you know.'

Maxim said,
'Lahdeelahdeelah. Salamandra. I expect truculence from you. After
all, you are the enemy. But you, Bridget. This intrigues me. What
on Earth possessed you to let our enemy free?'

'Probably my
devastating good looks,' said Salamandra.

'Silence! There
must be something rather significant to betray your mother...How is
General Loretti by the way?'

Kane said, 'In
our medical facility being cared for, President Maxim. Prognosis is
good.'

'Excellent
news. Back to you, Bridget. I'm missing something here. Why did you
free Salamandra?'

Bridget said,
'I didn't like the barbaric way he was being treated. That is not
an army I want to be associated with.'

'Ah! Do you
seriously expect me to accept you had a sudden rush of altruism?
No. I don't think so. You could have just let Salamandra go off to
his own people. Instead, you set off to the Base. Why? Of course.
You needed information. Very specific, important information. Care
to share?'

'The war is
over,' said Bridget. 'I didn't see the point in torturing
Salamandra for no good reason. I decided it was time to end such
barbaric practices.'

Maxim shook his
head. 'You are not fooling me. Kane. The cell is vacant at the
moment?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Then make
Bridget uncomfortable there. Bridget. You are far too pretty to
make ugly. Twenty-four hours to decide to tell me before the
over-eager Kane here gets an early birthday treat by me letting her
loose on you. Take her away, Kane. Oh. No food or water
tonight.'