Mission Origin View (Final Days Trilogy) (20 page)

“
Yes, sir, and if my math is correct, we’re still going to be short a few environmental suits,” Kindle added.

“
Maybe so, but hopefully Commander Steward and Lieutenant Klaxton have already thought of that,” Neubauer said.

Kindle, kneeling b
eside Joseph, materialized. “Sipes, I’m taking Doctor Kastriva to
Bernice
. Stay here and wait for orders.”

“
Got it. Stay here and wait for orders,” Joseph repeated.

Kindle walked to the breach
, opened the breach hatch outer door, and helped Dr. Kastriva out.

“
Doctor, can you follow me on your own, or do you need assistance?” Kindle asked over a private com channel to the doctor’s environmental suit.

“
I can make it,” Kastriva responded.

Kindle led the way
, and they started toward
Bernice
. “Captain, we’re headed to
Bernice
,” Kindle reported.

“
Good. Get back as soon as possible. Hopefully the envoy team will be here by then,” Neubauer said.
Joseph, realizing he was alone, became a little
nervous. He closed his eyes and remembered his dream. He was there to save people, and that was what he was going to do.

***

“Gunny, how long are we gonna wait for the envoy team?” Gault asked.

“
Till they get here, Gault!” Xia responded with a hint of annoyance in his voice. “You know better than to use the communications channel to ask stupid questions. Maintain combat silence!”

Captain
Neubauer overheard Gault and couldn’t help but ask the same question himself. How long should he wait? He thought for a few moments and knew he’d wait until Captain Bowser ordered him back. He wasn’t going to leave one of his marines behind unless ordered, and then he would have to convince Xia to leave. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

Science Division Building Basement, Canton Mie Biosphere

1900
—
February 21, 2372

The envoy team made their way down the cable maintenance shaft into the basement. The basement was packed with CTU vehicles parked in a row
and neatly packed pallets of various type of equipment. The ceiling was crisscrossed with pipes and cables. No CTU soldier or citizen seemed to be in their general vicinity of the basement.

“
What next?” Gideon asked Carrie in a whisper.

“
There’s a ramp leading to an environmental support building. In that building there’s an outside exit,” she answered.

“
Okay, we’ll go there,” Gideon said.

“
You know…,” Carrie began, paused, and continued, “if we run into anyone down here, it’ll look strange that you, a mere CTU civilian, have a weapon and I don’t.”

Gideon thought for a moment, pulled the power pack from the weapon
, and handed the unpowered weapon to Carrie. Carrie smiled as she took the weapon. “I guess you don’t trust me?”

“
Not yet, and by the way, if we run into trouble, I want the weapon back,” Gideon said.

“
Sure,” Carrie responded with a grin, and started walking toward the environmental building ramp.

They walked several meters until they reached the ramp. No one seemed to be in the basement
, which surprised Gideon. He checked his watch, and it would be twenty minutes until the S-TIC would start reporting false locations of the team. As they walked up the ramp, the team heard faint voices behind them in the basement and then the sound of a vehicle starting up. Gideon nudged Carrie in the back with his hand to pick up the pace, and a few minutes later they were at the door of the environmental building.

Carrie used her forearm
-access chip again, the door slid open, and there stood several CTU civilians. They were watching another civilian working on some equipment.

“
What’re you doing here?” Carrie said, using her helmet speaker.

“
We were told to report here and remain here in case any of the equipment unexpectedly went down during the current security alert,” one of the civilians answered, began to tremble, and lowered his head.

“
Very well,” Carrie said. Then she asked, “Is anyone else in here?”

“
No one,” he answered.

“
Carry on,” Carrie said to the civilian and motioned to the envoy team to follow her. They followed her through a maze of air conditioners and emergency power units until they reached the outdoor exit.

“
There’ll be soldiers and police posted around the building,” Carrie told Gideon. “I said I could get you out of the building, but I’m not sure how to get you where you want to go now.”

Gideon looked at his watch.
There were seven minutes until the first false report would be transmitted. A few seconds later he heard the entrance to the environmental-support building slide open. He looked up and saw at least three CTU-armored soldiers enter. He could hear them talking to the maintenance civilians but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Gideon motioned for the envoy team and Carrie to lie down. A few seconds later he heard footsteps heading their way. Gideon reached his right arm toward Carrie and motioned for her to pass him the weapon. She hesitantly complied, and Gideon pushed the weapon’s power pack in place and locked it.

As the soldiers neared
, he and Commander Steward aimed their weapons in that direction. Seconds later the soldiers, five of them, rounded a power unit and saw the envoy team lying on the floor with a soldier and a civilian pointing weapons at them.

Before they could react to the threat, Gideon and Commander Steward opened fire. Three soldiers fell
, and two took cover behind some nearby equipment.

“
Over here!” Carrie yelled. She crawled behind some metal pipes for protection. Dr. Jones and Dr. Harper followed her as Gideon and the Commander continued to fire. Gideon stopped firing for a second and looked over his shoulder. The doctors were now safe behind the pipes.

“
Commander, behind the pipes with the rest of the team. I’ll cover you,” Gideon yelled and continued firing. The commander stopped firing and crawled past Gideon toward the safety of the pipes. The two CTU soldiers were now returning fire and were firing well above the team. As soon as Commander Steward was behind the pipes, he started firing again. Gideon, now the closest to the door, decided to stay where he was. The two soldiers would have to expose themselves to get a good shot at him, and he was ready for them to try it.

The firefight continued for another minute
, and then one of the soldiers leaned from behind an equipment support beam to get a clear shot at Gideon. Gideon saw him before he fired, and he rolled to his right as a blast of laser burned the floor where he’d been lying. Gideon stopped rolling and quickly aimed his weapon at the exposed soldier and fired. The soldier fell. Gideon then started crawling toward the door. The other soldier saw Gideon and stood to fire as Gideon crawled. A second later a shot sounded from behind Gideon.

“
Got him!” Commander Steward yelled after he eliminated the last soldier. It was quiet again except for the hum of the equipment in the room.

When he reached the exit door,
Gideon glanced as his watch. One minute. Close enough, he thought. Reinforcements would arrive in the environmental room any moment. “Let’s get out of here!” Gideon yelled at the team. The team stood from behind the safety of the pipes and hurried to the door.

“
Open the door, Sergeant,” Gideon said as he again pulled the power pack from the weapon and handed the weapon back to Carrie.

Carrie opened the door using her access chip
. The team exited the building and stood along the outside wall. Carrie was right; soldiers and police were everywhere.

Gideon not
ed the structures around him, recalled the buildings he had seen when he arrived and quickly determined the way they needed to go.

Alarms suddenly went off again, but this time
the sound was from the building across the street. The S-TIC had set the alarms off in the building and reported that the escaped envoy team was spotted there.

“
This way!” Gideon said over the blare of the alarms. The team followed him as he rounded the building, going in the opposite direction of the alarms. He started toward the closest proposed breach point.

Science Division Building, Canton Mie Biosphere

1915
—
February 21, 2372

“
Director, I received a report that a patrol is being fired upon in the basement,” Assistant Leeward reported to Buru.

“
We have ‘em!” he replied with a smile then asked, “Has Doctor Kastriva been found yet?”

“
No reports yet, Director, I will—” Assistant Leeward paused as another report came in on another channel. “Director, the Commerce Building’s security alarm has just gone off. There’re reports of the escaped Earthers there, and shots have been fired.”

“
How did they get through our outside security net?” he asked, appalled.

“
I don’t know, Director,” she answered, bowing her head in shame.

“
I know how they got away.” Buru answered his own question. “They’re being assisted by the resistance! Call in more police and CTU regulars from nearby stations. I want them caught now!”

“
Immediately, Director,” she said.

Buru terminated his conversation with Assistant Leeward and brought up another communication link to contact Captain Bowser. I
won’t wait until tomorrow. I’ll get to the bottom of this right now and get what I want, or I’ll destroy their ship, he thought.

“
Director, I hope you have come to your senses and have decided to release the envoy team,” Mary said before Buru could speak once the communications link was established.

Buru, annoyed by the statement, calmed himself before he spoke
. “On the contrary, Captain. I’ve decided to keep the envoy team and also take your ship. I know you’re working with the resistance or the so-called GFF.”

“
What are you talking about, Director?” Mary asked.

“
Don’t play dumb with me, Captain. I’ve captured a GFF operative who helped kidnap Doctor Kastriva. He told me everything-how your government has been assisting the GFF and how you’ll pay the GFF billions for Kastriva,” Buru bluffed.

Mary
said, “Director, I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re here on a peaceful mission, trying to reestablish a meaningful relation with the CTU. Again, I demand that you release the envoy team!”

“
So you’re sticking to your story,” Buru said and smiled. “Very well, Captain. You have until zero six hundred tomorrow morning to turn over your ship and crew. Refusal to do so will result in your destruction. On the other hand, if you decide to cooperate, I can assure you that your crew will be treated well and you’ll personally be granted special privileges and be given compensation. And I can help you become a fleet officer in the CTU Navy. Think it over, Captain, before it’s too late.”

Buru cut the transmissio
n, then contacted Assistant Leeward and had her order several more fighters and a CTU space command troop assault ship to the Earth ship.

***

“Stephen, has the S-TIC reported anything about a GFF?” Mary asked.

“
Yes, Captain. It is the Gliese Freedom Fighters resistance,” Stephen said, “Sir we just received an encrypted transmission from the S-TIC. It’s from Lieutenant Klaxton.”

“
Read it.”

“
‘Have escaped and have programmed S-TIC to report false escape route back to envoy VTOL. Proceeding to predefined breach points to rendezvous with extract team. Klaxton out,’
”
Stephen reported.

“
Now I know why Buru contacted me. He thinks we’ve been working with this GFF group and wants me to believe I’m running out of options. He also wants to bribe me to give up my ship and crew.” Mary said.

“
With respect, Captain, I’m confused. What does Director Buru really want? He seems, sir…well, sir, deranged,” Ensign Young said.

“
Simple, Ensign. He wants power over others so he can do as he pleases with them. The capture of this ship and its technology would benefit a man like him. He lives in a corrupt socialistic society where he believes the elite, including himself, are some type of deity who controls the destiny of their people. He also believes that everyone has a price, including me,” Mary answered, took a breath, and smiled. “What he doesn’t realize is I still have a sense of duty, morals, and honor. He’s not a divine being, and before we leave here, he’ll know that.”