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As soon as she had dressed, Christa contacted Staff Sgt. Burton.

"Sitrep," was all Christa said when Burton answered the radio call.

"All's quiet, Commander. The sentries on the Medical and Housing levels reported that no civilians have attempted to use the lift, and the sentry in the rotunda reports no sounds coming from the entry door."

"Excellent. Carver out."

Christa took a deep breath before she said to herself, "Maybe things aren't be as bad as I feared."

* * *

Admiral Holt smiled when he saw that his morning mail contained a message from Christa. As he listened, his smile turned into a scowl. He immediately prepared a message to Lt. Colonel Diminjik in which he stated most strongly that if Carver didn't get her Marines back immediately, Diminjik might learn firsthand what happens when the deca-sector's commanding officer is angered.

* * *

"Are they mad?" Captain Permenans of the destroyer Hell Fire said.

"I understand the order comes directly from the Chairman of the Lower Council," Commander Sivins said, "whoever that is."

"If we attack a freighter, Space Command won't stop chasing us until we run out of space. We gave up attacking freighters years ago because the Spaccs almost wiped us out for doing it. We're not going to start that war again, are we?"

"Space Command isn't going to mourn the loss of this ship. According to HQ, it's a pirate ship in disguise populated by a Nordakian crime syndicate. Their people have already attacked the Loudescott dig site on the planet and killed dozens of civilians. We had just begun to mount our operation when they showed up and began killing everyone they could. I saw the action first hand, and I can tell you they won't get any mercy from Space Command or the Galactic Alliance Council. The company doesn't need any competition from a bunch of flashing freaks, so the top brass wants them gone, permanently. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it. When am I supposed to do this?"

"You pick the time, but the sooner the better. That massacre on the planet hasn't been reported yet, but it won’t be long before someone wonders why they haven't heard from Loudescott and why they aren't getting any replies to their messages. When that happens, they'll send someone to investigate. I can't keep the Marines tied up forever at those three warehouses."

"Okay, we'll start getting ready. I only have two dozen fighters aboard, so I hope they don't have hidden laser weapons."

"Since the Spacs reinstituted the ban on mounting exterior weapons five years ago, the only thing you have to worry about is their fighters and whatever they might have hidden in the cargo containers. I've been told to warn you to watch out for torpedoes launched from specially rigged containers."

"Torpedoes? Great!"

"I didn't say they have them, just that you should watch out for them. Remember the way the Tsgardi and Milori used them?"

"Yeah, I read all about it at the time."

"If they don't have torpedoes, it should be a simple takeover. Wipe out the crew, then put your own people aboard and have them take the ship to Raider-Four."

"Yeah, if they don't wipe us out first."

"When that's done, stand by in case we need to hitch a ride. So far, no one from Loudescott has seen our faces, but if that changes this planet could suddenly become a little too hot for any of us."

"Right. Anything else?"

"That's all.

"I'll attack the freighter as soon as I can get there. Out."

"Out," Sivins said and ended the communication. The Hell Fire was so far distant from the planet that the conversation had taken twenty-five minutes from start to finish, but Sivins had wanted to ensure that the ship remained well outside DeTect range of the planet and approaching ships. The Hell Fire had only been intended as a means of escape for people participating in the ground operation, but it could also serve as a fighting resource in an emergency. Sivins had never really expected to involve it in the operation because the Lower Council originally said they wanted to minimize deaths. Now they were ordering a wholesale slaughter.

Chapter Seventeen

~ October 25
^th
, 2285 ~

"What's up first on the agenda," Carmoody asked Christa during breakfast, "and what are you going to do about Madu and her people?"

"If we operate on the assumption that the Dakistians can't leave the Vault level, we can ignore them for a while."

"But they'll need food and water."

"Yes, that's true, but Madu also deserves a lesson for her actions."

"But the people she awoke didn't do anything to deserve such treatment," Carmoody said.

Christa took a deep breath and released it. "You're right. They're innocent and don't deserve to suffer. The trouble is they outnumber us dramatically. If we release them, we won't be able to control them."

"It doesn't seem like we're going to be able to control things for long no matter what we do."

"Yes, and angering Madu and her people could make things worse. I guess we'll have to free them from the vault level and try to get them working with us instead of against us.

An hour later, Christa and Carmoody, supported by Staff Sgt. Burton and a fire team in their armor, descended to the Vault level. As the door opened, an angry Madu stood facing the two officers. Behind her were a dozen angry-looking Dakistians. Christa was glad the Marines behind her looked every bit as intimidating as the Dakistians.

"It was you," Madu said to Christa, "wasn't it?"

"If I knew what you were talking about, I could answer."

"You somehow locked me out of the system. I couldn't awaken any more of my people, and I couldn't open the lift doors."

"Guilty on both counts," Christa said. "I told you we would awaken all your people when the time was right. This isn't the time."

"Why not?" Madu asked angrily. "You've seen that I awakened without any medical complications. And you said you ordered enough food for a thousand of my people. The Housing level can easily accommodate ten times that number."

"Yes, you appear healthy and we have enough space and food for a thousand of your people, but there's one thing we don't have."

"And what's that?"

"We don’t have enough water for a thousand people."

"Water has always been abundant on my planet. Twenty thousand years shouldn't have changed that. The vegetation looked lush when I was outside."

"That's outside. We're inside and the water isn’t flowing in the pipes."

"So send some people to fill water containers."

"Um, that's not possible. Do you remember when all the medical people were suddenly called away last solar, giving you an opportunity to come down here?"

"Of course."

"They were called away because the dig site was attacked by an aerial fighter craft and then a ground assault. Dozens of people were killed and many were wounded. I had to seal the facility to keep them from getting in and continuing the carnage."

"Who would attack us?"

"I don’t know. All I know is that they made a formidable effort to kill everyone outside and apparently intended to continue those acts in here."

"You're lying," Madu said. "This is some sort of trick to have me agree to suspend awakening more of my people."

"You don't have to believe me. Come up to the Medical level."

"This is another trick— to separate me from my people."

"Bring as many as can fit into the lift. The doctors will want to check them all anyway."

Madu looked at Christa intently for a few seconds without speaking. "No, I'll bring just ten. The others will wait for me down here." Turning to one of the men behind her, she said, "If I don't return shortly, you know what to do."

A few minutes later, they entered the first ward on the Medical level. Madu was able to see with her own eyes that every bed contained a bandaged and ailing patient. Christa stopped at the bed containing Lt. Uronson. He was awake.

"How are you feeling, Lieutenant?" Christa asked.

"Better than yesterday, that's for sure, ma'am. The doc's got me loaded up with nano-bots. I don't know if it's the pain-killers or not, but I swear I can almost feel them patching me back together."

Christa smiled. "Maybe it's a little of both."

"How did we make out yesterday, ma'am? I was a little out of it."

"You were the only military casualty. As you can see, a lot of civilians were injured, and I believe several dozen were killed. There are a lot missing, but we don't know how many escaped into the woods instead of coming to the facility. We probably won't have an accurate count until we can get out of here."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't worry about anything except getting well, Lieutenant. The facility is sealed so we're perfectly safe for now."

"Yes, ma'am."

As they walked through the ward, Christa said to Madu, "Satisfied?"

Madu's eyes traveled over the prone bodies for a second before she said, "Yes. You were being truthful. I apologize— again."

"Again?"

"Each time I've doubted your word, I've found I was wrong for doing so."

"I realize it takes time to build trust. In time, I have no doubt you'll trust me implicitly."

"I've never trusted anyone implicitly."

"Then perhaps I'll be the first," Christa said with a smile.

While the doctors examined the newly awakened ancients, Madu, Christa, Carmoody and the Marines traveled back down to the Vault level.

"How did you do it?" Madu asked Christa.

"Do what?"

"Block me from accessing the console in the Vault and the lift. Neither will obey any of my instructions."

"I'm not an administrator."

"What does that mean?"

"You're adept at controlling people. I'm adept at controlling computers."

"From what little I've seen, you seem adept at both."

Christa smiled and said, "Spoken like a true administrator."

Madu returned her smile and said, "This time I'm being ingenuous."

Looking to change the subject, Christa said, "Do you have any engineers among the people you've awakened? We desperately need to get the water flowing. We can't last long with the meager supply we have,
especially
now that there are so many more of us."

"None listed that as a profession. We can ask if anyone is knowledgeable. Of course, if I had access to the computer I could perform a search."

"We'll see how things go."

"Christa, I promise I won't awaken anyone else without your approval. I didn't understand the real issue at the time."

"It goes beyond that, Madu. I promised you we would awaken everyone but according to a timetable that will allow for an orderly process. You choose to ignore my words."

"Yes, and I regret my actions. I promise you I won't go against you again."

We shall see
, Christa thought as she smiled politely.

* * *

"Just what the hell is going on," Lt. Col. Diminjik said loudly to his senior staff. "There's no reason for these protest marches. The rioters have good jobs. They're well paid and they have great living accommodations. So why are they picketing the warehouses? Not a single one is even carrying a sign. It's as if even they don’t know why they're protesting. I need some answers."

"I think you put your finger on it, sir," Marine Captain Verdeen said. "They
don’t
know why they're protesting."

"What are you saying, Captain?"

"One of my undercover people overheard two of the protestors talking in a bar last night. They were comparing notes on how much money they're being paid to march. Don't you see, sir? There's no real passion behind this movement. They're being paid to protest."

"Paid? Somebody's paying them to protest? Who?"

Verdeen shrugged. "Maybe some big corporation is looking to cash in on the security angle. If Anthius believes we can't protect the warehouses, they'll have to hire private security firms like Peabody."

"That's fine with me. We shouldn't be guarding private warehouses anyway— even if they are non-profit. The GAC ordered us here because they feared bad publicity from Raider robberies. If they got off their keesters and finally set up a government on this planet, planetary security would become responsible for police activities and we could get back to our real job."

"Since these protestors are doing it for the cash, it's doubtful any of the marches will turn violent. Shouldn't we send the extra personnel back to their regular duty assignments, sir? You said Carver was pretty upset about losing half her squad."

"She still has half a squad. That's more than enough to guard a single entrance to an underground bunker. She acts like she's expecting a Raider attack like the one she experienced fifteen years ago. That was before we had a Marine presence on this planet. It could never happen now."

* * *

"Listen up," Wing Commander Deel 'Death Dealer' Fowler said as the entire air wing of the destroyer Hell Fire approached the planet from the blind side. The base at North Pendleton would not be able to detect their presence unless they flew outside the line-of-sight umbra.

"You've all been briefed with every fact we know about the enemy, although the intelligence is sketchy at best. We know that that they have fighter aircraft operating from the old freighter. We don't know if the freighter has laser arrays or torpedoes, but just because you can't see them doesn't mean they ain't there. Our job is to take control of that freighter, leaving it intact enough to be space-worthy, although it's not necessary that it have an atmosphere inside. So don't target the engines. Just fill it full of holes and evacuate the air.

"I realize everyone is a bit out of practice since the company stopped attacking ships in space, but it'll come back real quick to you veterans of the old days. You new guys stay alert and don't be lulled into thinking an old freighter can't put up a fight. Jenetta Carver killed two of our better warships with an old freighter because they were careless and assumed the old bucket didn't really present a threat."