Asteroid Return: An Arek Lancer Novella Page 10

The others were spread out, Carleton standing behind Sweet ready to relieve him. Right now Sweet was the only one able to fire at the Tiat. One weapon but it was better than nothing. Gilbert and Fortin were leaning against a set of cabinets, comparing blaster wounds. Harrow had a bunch of stuff spread out before her, pawing through it.

  “Anything good,” I asked coming alongside.

  “Not that I know,” she replied indicating the pile of what I assumed was data chips and readers. “And we’re out of time.”

  All heads, except Sweets, turned towards her at that. None of us had forgotten the impending arrival of the bombers but we had been a bit preoccupied.

  “How the hell we getting out of here,” Carleton asked. “The Tiat have us pinned down pretty damn good.”

  “Through the wall,” Harrow replied calmly, like it was her plan all along. Probably was.

  She had done the same mental mapping that I was doing currently. The wall opposite the door should have been an exterior wall.

  “The breacher strong enough to make a hole through that,” Gilbert asked running his gloved hand over the metal surface of the wall, reaching over the cabinets that were mounted against it.

  “Sure,” I replied. “That wall is probably pretty thin and cheaply made.”

  “You remember that from last time you were here?,” Gilbert asked.

  “No,” I answered with a shrug. “This is a military installation. Sure, might be Tiat, but the military mindset is always the same. Big budgets but spend it all on weapons and ships and none on buildings.” I tapped the wall, it made a nice metallic echo. “This’ll come down easy.”

  I hoped and they all hoped.

  They all knew I was making it up. I had no clue how thick the exterior wall would be. No military installation was the same across the planets and asteroids. Each place was different. Different gravity, different radiation, different weather and so on. Each facility was designed for that specific planet.

  We all knew we were in it deep.

  Also knew we could have been out of here, on the drop ship, and heading back to Rewe. We’d set the beacon, our job was essentially done. But we had gone for more. The discovery of the bodies had pushed us for more still.

  None of us would ever second guess that decision. The risk was worth it.

  Or would be if we could escape.

  “Get Sweet’s breacher,” Harrow ordered. “ Move those cabinets.”

  Gilbert and I studied the cabinets. Metal, about fifty inches high. Higher than Terran cabinets, accounting for the Tiat’s greater height. There was a counter, made of some weird plastic material and the metal cabinets themselves. The counter was attached to the cabinets, the cabinets to the wall. Opening the doors we tried to find the attachment points.

  Couldn’t.

  Gilbert was banging against the back wall of the cabinets, trying to find some way of pulling it off to get at the attachment points. I looked around the room for anything useful and found it. I kicked apart a piece of lab equipment. It hurt, that stuff was solid, but I got a strip of thick metal about an inch wide and two feet long.

  Back at the cabinets I motioned for Gilbert to move and set my new pry bar in the seam between counter and wall. Jamming it in, I pulled and pushed. Quickly, but it felt so slow, I managed to pull the counter and cabinet away from the wall. Another metal pry bar joined mine and a couple minutes later we were pulling a set of cabinets away from the wall.

  By the time we were done the makeshift pry bars were bent and twisted but the cabinet was moved and the wall was clear.

  “Get the breacher,” Harrow ordered.

  Gilbert ran over to Sweet, who adjusted his positioning so Gilbert could grab the breacher from Sweet’s vest. Running back, Gilbert squeezed around the cabinet, Treuto grabbing and pulling it further away. The metal of the cabinet screeched across the metal floor.

  Tracing a large rectangle on the wall with the breacher, Gilbert stuck the unit in the middle.

  “Everyone check your suits,” Harrow said.

  I looked the read-outs over in my heads up display. Everything still looked good. Plenty of air, no leakages. Good to go. The guys that had taken hits had others look over the exterior of their suits, checking for any damage that the built-in sensors couldn’t pick up. Everyone checked out.

  Harrow gave Gilbert the thumbs up and he hit the button, stepping back.

  “Everyone grab on,” Gilbert said.

  Even though there was some gravity on the asteroid, there wasn’t enough to match the artificial inside the station. There was going to be a big change in pressure when the room was exposed to the atmosphere.

  We, except for Sweet who continued to fire down the corridor, all watched the breacher go to work. The lines of energy snaked out from the device and followed the path Gilbert had traced out. Connecting, the lines flared and started burning.

  They burned for awhile.

  The wall was thick.

  Still burned and finally the glow faded, the lights dying out.

  We waited for the section to fall.

  It didn’t.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  We all stared at the wall. The breacher had burned through it or through most of it.

  “Well damn,” Fortin said.

  The same thing we were all thinking.

  I glanced at Harrow. Couldn’t see much of her face through the helmet’s darkened visor but could tell she was fuming. Mad at herself. That was the one shot we had at escape. Now we just had to wait for the bombers.

  Not the way I thought I’d go.

  I thought about Kaylia. She’d be okay with Kristin. Maybe it would be for the best. Flying round the galaxy hauling freight, barely scraping by, that was no way for a kid to grow up. She needed stability and that was not something I could provide. Not that Kristin would be any safer. She was a cop, Territorial Protectorate, on a new colony world.

  My biggest regret was not seeing the kid one last time. She had grown on me. I knew there were better places for her but I wanted her with me.

  I stared at the burn mark in the wall, the breacher out of power.

  “What’s the max thickness a breacher can go through,” I asked, suddenly not wanting to just sit down and give up. I had told Kaylia I was coming back and I was going to fight to my last to make that happen.

  “Depends on the material, usage and lots of other conditions,” Fortin answered.

  “Rough idea,” I prompted.

  I knew the variables probably better than he did. I had one of my own that I’d needed to use now and then. I wasn’t going to mention that since I wasn’t supposed to have it.

  “Two feet,” Harrow answered starting to catch on to what I was thinking.

  What were the chances the wall was over two feet thick? We’d already used the breacher once. They cut through the material using the power stored in the device. The thicker and harder the material, the more power was used. So when Gilbert used it, the breacher was not at full strength.

  How much wall remained? That was the question. There could be air leakage now and we wouldn’t know it because of our suits. Or there may not have been and there was still feet of wall to go.

  Only one way to find out.

  “Treuto,” Harrow pointed at the wall. “You’re up.”

  We all backed away, Fortin and Gilbert pushing the cabinet further out of the way to give the Europan completely clear access. Bending over, unsheathing his climbing claws. Treuto stuck one into the gap burned by the breacher. It disappeared but that really didn’t tell us anything. The claw was only nine inches long or so.

  Pulling the claw out, the Europan leaned against the section of wall. He pushed at it, testing the strength. Stepping back, he leaned into it with force. We could all see the section shake a little.

  He slammed into it harder, the wall seemed to slide forward a bit. Treuto slammed his shoulder into it again, the wall did move this time. It started to shake, vibrating, as the pressure difference started to mov
e it.

  We could see the wall shift with each hit from the big Europan. Again and again he slammed it, the sound of him striking the metal mixing with the continuing blaster fire from Sweet and the Tiat.

  Taking a step back, Treuto ran at the wall, slamming into it full force.

  The section of metal didn’t fall, it was ripped from the wall. The pressure change pulled it out, sending it flying across the asteroid propelled by the Europans hit. Treuto stumbled and fell, half in and half out. We could see the surface of the asteroid through the opening, feel the pull against us. Small objects started flying through the air and out the opening.

  “GO!,” Harrow yelled.

  We were already moving. Treuto lifted himself up and stepped outside, feeling and looking over his biosuit for damage. I watched Gilbert step over the thick threshold, awkwardly bending his body. As he stepped onto the asteroid he was pushed up into the air and slammed down as he adjusted his boots.

  My turn came. The wall was a little under two feet thick, the opening only six foot or so tall. Too wide to step over in one move so had to step halfway through, which meant bending the body and sliding all the way through. Not quick, but I stepped out onto the rock of the asteroid. I adjusted my boots and ran a couple steps away.

  Treuto and Gilbert were facing away from the opening but at the building, watching the corners. I raised my rifle to my shoulder and took aim at the roof. The others joined us. Sweet was last and he had the hardest part.

  Tall, big, he’d have the hardest time getting through the opening. But he was also going to have the Tiat on his back. The second he stopped firing and ran for the opening, the Tiat were going to rush down the hall.

  We waited.

  A shadow filled the opening, Sweet stepping through. He was pretty much diving through, landing outside and slamming against the ground. Reaching down, Fortin and Harrow pulled him through and helped him up. We all moved away from the opening as blaster fire quickly followed.

  “Run,” Harrow ordered and we did.

  *****

  We spread out to make it harder for any pursuit to take shots at us. No evasive maneuvers though, just straight running towards the spiked rock hills ahead. The Tiat in the corridor wouldn’t be able to chase us, not with their atmosphere leaking out. The facility might have had automatic airlocks as well. Just meant pursuit would be delayed but it was coming. We needed to get into the cover of the hills before it happened.

  Also wanted some distance between us and the facility before the bombers got here.

  Halfway across the expansive open space between the wall and the rocky hills, blaster bolts started hitting the ground. I looked back over my shoulder, turning and firing back. A couple Tiat had gotten on the roof. They had enviro suits and long range blasters.

  That had been quicker than I thought.

  The range wasn’t good, we were moving quickly and spread out. The Tiat had to choose their shots. Bolts came close, throwing up bits of sharp rock, but none hit. Not yet. It was only a matter of time.

  They didn’t even need to hit us directly to take us out. If any of those rock shards punctured one of our enviro suits, we’d be dead pretty quick.

  I hated fighting out in the open on non-earth-like planets. Blaster fights were dangerous enough without the element of having to protect your suit.

  We were too far away for my blaster to do any damage. I was just firing wildly, trying to keep them pinned down. So were the others. Run, stop, shoot, run. Rinse and repeat.

  The low gravity helped us, pushed us along faster.

  But the further away we got, the less impact our return fire was doing. Our blasters weren’t long range. The Tiat’s were.

  It didn’t end up mattering.

  I fired off two quick shots, turned and started running, seeing four dark specks coming in low over the asteroid. Just high enough to avoid the rock outcroppings. Coming in fast. They got closer and I recognized the shapes.

  The two Raptors led. Starfighters, they were fast and deadly. Two engine pods sat out on long wings, the cockpit in the middle. It was sleek, mostly canopy, just big enough for a pilot and gunner. Two lasers were mounted on either side, two more cannons extended out from the front. The ships were kind of blocky and bulky, but I knew how fast and deadly they could be. They were easily a match for the Tiat XTs.

  Opening fire with the large forward plasma cannons, the Raptors strafed the top of the building. The Tiat that were attacking us either got killed or ducked out of the way. Either way they were out of the fight and we were able to find cover behind the jagged outcroppings of rock. The Raptors banked and turned around, strafing the building again. The plasma bursts tore up the roof, sending large chunks of the metal material flying into space.

  They peeled away, turning in opposite directions, and clearing a path for the bombers.

  Hammers were small ships, long and skinny. All black, the canopy was up front with two small cannons that were pretty ineffective. The ship was all body, small wings for in-atmo travel, mounted on either side of the canopy and two more small multi-directional ones mounted on either side of the rear engine pod. The entire middle was taken up with the bomb bays. A slow ship, not very maneuverable, it was very ungainly in space and in-atmo. But it wasn’t there to be quick or look flashy. A Hammer’s only job was to destroy whatever it flew over.

  And they were good at their job.

  The two ships flew in low and slow, one after the other. The Raptors had returned, taking up position on either side of the Hammers, between the two, to provide cover fire if needed.

  We watched the bombers level off and the first fly over the building. The bay doors in the middle of the ship opened and we saw a half dozen small canisters fall out. The doors closed and the ship quickly, for a Hammer, headed sharply away from the asteroid. The other ship was above the building, higher than the leader, before the first canisters struck. It opened it’s bomb bay doors and dropped it’s half dozen canisters, before angling up and away.

  The plasma bombs fell in a line across the top of the building. We saw the explosion as the first hit. No sound but we could feel the pressure. A large funnel of red flames shot up from the gray metal building, followed by six more. The structure shook, the concussive blast from each bomb sending shockwaves throughout the building.

  Then the second wave hit, falling through the gaps in the roof made by the first salvo. These hit the second floor, some falling to the first. We saw smaller fountains of fire as those struck. But the sides of the building flexed out, bursting at the seams.

  And then it did.

  The entire building shook and the walls exploded outward. Great balls of flame erupted into the air, metal sections sent flying. We ducked behind the rocks as smaller pieces were flung even this far.

  A minute later it was over. The Raptors flew over the debris to make sure the building was completely destroyed. It was. Just a large pile of rubble. Even the flames had died out in the thin atmosphere of the asteroid.

  Mission accomplished.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  A bit anticlimactic.

  But that’s a good thing.

  *****

  That was it. Mission over.

  The dropship came about ten minutes later, flying in from where it had been waiting outside the asteroid ring. It landed in the open space between the debris and us, we wearily boarded and within five minutes were were spaceborne and heading back to Rewe.

  There were congratulations passed around inside the hold and I was included. Fortin pulled a bottle of whiskey from somewhere and we all shared a shot, even Treuto.

  I’d forgotten what that felt like. Enjoying a successful mission. No wounded or dead. We’d accomplished our goal. I remembered plenty of missions that had failed, or someone had died. There wasn’t any celebration then so the rare ones that were no dead and a success, those got celebrated.

  None of us mentioned what we had found and what we hadn’t found.

  That w
ould be for the debrief back on the still nameless station.

  Now was just for being thankful we were all still alive.

  “We’re making the hop,” the pilots voice came across the loud speaker about forty five or so minutes later.

  The small ship shook and made its first hop.

  *****

  We felt the small ship shift as it turned to back into a docking slot. We heard the clang of the dock maglocks clamp onto the hull and the swish of air being blown into the airlock.

  “Welcome back to Rewe.”

  The rear door slid open and we all groaned. Inside the airlock were a half dozen 2E techs dressed in white hazmat suits and carrying assorted equipment that they were setting up in the corner of the airlock.

  Portable decontamination showers.

  I’d forgotten how much fun those could be.

  Treuto moaned. It was going to be even worse for him.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  After decontamination was debrief time. I spent an hour, if not more, in a small room with three uniformed 2E officers. They asked me question after question, trying to trip me up and get me to tell the sequence of events differently.

  I was an expert at these. They hadn’t changed techniques in five years.

  Bored after the first five minutes I started playing with them, purposefully changing things in noticeable ways. They got on another five minutes later and we were able to get down to business.

  The real debrief.

  *****

  I walked out of the small conference room and saw Colonel Jessups in the hallway waiting for me.

  “Thank you,” Jessups said.

  Nodding I shook his hand. He turned and kept pace with me as we walked.

  “You’ll find some credits added to your account.”

  I glanced sharply at him, biting back an angry jab. I hadn’t done this for money.

  “We reinstated you in the Expeditionary Forces for the mission duration,” he said raising his hand to calm me down. “Also some back pay and Contractor payout.”

  “Seriously?” I asked, part annoyed and part incredulous.