DusktoDust_Final3 (36 page)

“
Affirmative,
”
Gnasher responded.
“
But we don
’
t have control yet. How far out are they?
”

“
Close enough to be on my sensors but out of comm range. I don
’
t see missile pods deploying from the facility yet.
”

Letsego looked at Avery, his question unspoken. Avery shook his head.
“
The missiles
’
sensors haven
’
t picked them up yet. They
’
re still out of range.
”

“
Two-two, attempt to establish comm with
Defiance
,
”
Gnasher directed.
“
The fleet is out of range but won
’
t be for long. You need to get them to hold position.
”

“
Copy all, two-two out.
”
The circuit clicked off.

Gnasher turned to Avery.
“
Specialist, we need to take control now or thousands of people are going to die.
”

Avery kept working.
“
On it, El-tee.
”

Suddenly, an alarm went off on the missile console.
“
The missile sensors have identified the fleet,
”
Letsego said as he inspected the readouts.
“
Shit, the automated systems are engaging.
”

“
Do something, Avery,
”
Gnasher urged.

“
I
’
m doing everything I can!
”

Without warning, the room rumbled violently.
“
We have five missiles in the air.
”
Letsego
’
s throat was dry.
“
Time to target is two minutes. Avery, can you kill these missiles once you have control?
”

“
I can do whatever I want once I have control, so stop bothering me!
”

“
Two-actual, two-actual,
”
Weilbacher cut in.
“
I have five birds in the air. I say again, five missiles have launched.
”

Gnasher responded.
“
Copy, we
’
re working on it.
”

Behind Letsego, the control room doors slid open.

“
What is going on!?
”
Mr. Black marched into the room with two troopers in tow. The three were promptly cut down by the Death Diver sentries.

Gnasher sprang into action.
“
Alright people. They know we
’
re here. Avery, stay on that console. Everyone else find some cover. It
’
s time to go to work.
”
The Peacekeepers positioned themselves and made the control room doorway and hallway into an engagement area. Anyone who entered would be cut down.

Letsego crouched next to Gnasher.
“
What now?
”

“
We wait. Is there any other way in or out of this room?
”

Letsego checked the tablet.
“
No, the ducts in here are sealed.
”

“
Okay, let’s see how this develops. Avery?
”

“
I got it!
”
the specialist said victoriously.

“
Good. Divert those missiles.
”

Letsego cut in, his heart dropping as he made his report.
“
It
’
s too late. The missiles just impacted.
”
On the screen he saw the transponders for one Peacekeeper cruiser and four interdictors wink out of existence.

“
Damnit!
”
Gnasher cursed. Letsego knew those deaths would sit heavily on the young officer
’
s mind.
“
Avery, tell me you have full control of those missiles now. We are not losing any more ships.
”

“
I
’
ve got it, sir. Tell me what you need.
”

Before Gnasher could answer Weilbacher was on the comm.
“
Two-actual, this is two-two. I have Defiance-actual on the hook for you from orbit.
”

Gnasher keyed his mic.
“
Patch her through. Defiance-actual, this is ICARUS-two.
”

“
What the hell is going on down there?
”
Commodore Long
’
s voice demanded.

“
Ma
’
am, as of a few seconds ago I have full control of the Fed
’
s planetary missiles.
”

“
Is your intel friend there?
”

“
Here, ma
’
am,
”
Letsego responded.

“
And the smuggler?
”

“
He
’
s unavailable right now,
”
Gnasher said.

Long didn
’
t pursue further.
“
I just had five ships shot out of the sky with Ferenic tipped missiles. Please tell me that wasn
’
t you.
”

“
I
’
m sorry we couldn
’
t stop them sooner, ma
’
am. We didn
’
t get here in time. We
’
re inside the mining facility Dee-six-alpha.
”

She was surprised.
“
Inside? And the Feds?
”

“
We
’
re holding them at bay for now.
”

“
I can have a team to you in thirty minutes.
”

“
Roger, ma
’
am. We
’
ll hold until they get here.
”
Gnasher killed the link.

Letsego looked at the ICARUs officer.
“
Sir, they know we
’
re here. How are we supposed to hold for half an hour?
”

Gnasher betrayed uncertainty.
“
I don
’
t know. But if we surrender this room the Feds will have access to the missiles again. We have to hold or else the fleet doesn
’
t have a chance.
”

He was right, Letsego admitted. If they evacuated the control room now the Feds would just reactivate the missile system. They had to wait for reinforcements. But ten men against a battalion of Windcorp troopers and who knows how many Feds did not strike Letsego as good odds.

Gnasher cautiously approached to doors.
“
Any movement?
”
He asked one of his men.

“
I
’
ve seen some movement but they
’
re holding back. I don
’
t think they want to risk damaging anything in the control room.
”

As if on cue, a screen above Letsego flickered on.
“
Peacekeepers,
”
a commanding voice announced throughout the rooms speakers.
“
This is Titus Windham. Please respond.
”

Gnasher joined Letsego at the main console. On the screen was the president of the Windham Corporation. His face told them he wasn
’
t happy.

Letsego reached across the controls and toggled the communicator camera on.

“
Ah, my guess was right,
”
Windham said now that he could see his adversaries.
“
I do have a couple of Peacekeepers in my facility operating far outside of their jurisdiction.
”

“
We
’
ve disabled your missiles, Mr. Windham,
”
Letsego said.

The man nodded.
“
I know.
”

“
If you try and come in here your men will die. We have the only entrance covered.
”

“
I know,
”
Windham repeated.

Letsego had expected more of a conversation. He was now lost for words.

After a ten second silence Windham spoke.
“
What do you want?
”

“
What?
”

“
You heard me. You have infiltrated this facility. I can assume it
’
s for more than just disabling a few missiles. If you and your team want any chance of getting out of this alive, you will tell me what you want.
”

Letsego hesitated.
“
Mr. Windham do you know what you
’
re doing? This Rockworm technology is far more dangerous than you think.
”

“
Ferenic technology is the future,
”
Windham stated.
“
Windcorp and the Asiatic Federation are going to bring forth the next age of humanity with it. I
’
m sorry, but the Peacekeepers are not going to have a part in this future.
”

“
You should not trust the Federation. And you should not trust Rockworm.
”

“‘
Trust Rockworm
’
?
”
Windham laughed.
“
My friend, you have been told some fairy tales about what this substance really is.
”

“
If you believe that, Mr. Windham, you
’
re dumber than your multitrillion dollar company would have the world believe.
”
Letsego had struck a chord with the man.
“
If you surrender your forces now and aid the Peacekeepers in defeating the Federation, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you corporation survives this.
”

Windham considered his words for a moment. He glanced off screen and then back.
“
We need to talk face to face.
”

Letsego glanced at Gnasher. He could tell the man was not a fan of the idea. But if this bought them some time for the cavalry to arrive
… “
Alright,
”
he finally said.
“
But my men still have full control of the missiles. If you double cross us they start dropping Federation ships from orbit.
”
It was an empty threat. If what the archeologist had said about Ferenic dust was true then taking out Federation ships with Ferenic tipped missiles would only increase the Rockworm
’
s energy. Letsego was already worried about the damage the first five missiles had caused when they took out the Peacekeeper capital ships.

Through the video feed, Letsego felt Windham
’
s eyes on him, analyzing the situation and searching for any insidious intentions. At last he spoke.
“
Very well.
”

“You need to leave me,” he pleaded, the pain in his abdomen worsening by the second. “The Peaks will be here any minute.” He felt the blood seep through his fingers as he put pressure on his own wound. The Peacekeepers had been waiting for them. There was no way they would get the intel now. Tyrus would be pissed.

“Shut up, D.” She said as she pulled his hands out of the way. With no bedside manner whatsoever, she sprayed surgical foam into the gunshot wound. He winced in pain as the coagulate hardened. “Shut up, you baby.”

“You’re not the one with a bullet in his gut,” he grunted in response.

They had taken cover in an alley. The streets around them alive with activity. Apparently, when you try and steal classified military information from the largest Peacekeeper garrison in the galaxy you raise some alarms.

She continued to dress his wound, calm in the face of chaos. He hated how stubborn she was. She probably would say the same thing about him.

He continued to protest. “I’m not kidding. You need to get out of here. The
Katana
is five klicks from here and you’ll never make it with me.”

She wrapped a self compressing bandage around his abdomen. “This isn’t a discussion, D. Now get up.”

She helped him to his feet. The pain was unbearable. He staggered two steps and then dropped to the ground. He wasn’t going anywhere. “Damnit! Leave me!” The PKs could be here any minute.

“I’m not leaving you and that’s final. I’ll carry you if I have to. Don’t bring it up again.”

“I’m two hundred pounds. You’re one forty soaking wet. You’ll never ma-”

Before he could finish his sentence she reached back and swung.

The slap brought him back to reality. The sting on his cheek pulled him far away from that perilous day on Corsica. Alana had carried him five kilometers through what amounted to a combat zone, all the way back to the sanctuary of the
Katana
. Now, David found himself in an even more perilous situation.

“
Having a good dream, Carp?
”

He was greeted by the face of the devil as he came to. Castle stood over him with a huge grin across his face.
“
I thought the chance to kill you myself had been robbed from me,
”
the Windcorp lackey said.
“
But I
’
m in luck. You
’
re still breathing, and I can still have my fun.
”

David spat a mouthful of blood in the man
’
s face. He was rewarded with a stern kick to his ribcage. David could immediately tell that some of his ribs were broken. The grenade blast had knocked him three meters across the room.

Castle reached down and grabbed him.
“
Get up!
”
he ordered.

David, Washington and two other Divers were dragged by the troopers to the base of the power source. Their hands were bound and then the troopers pushed them to the ground. David scanned the chamber and his eyes fell on the body of another Diver. His body had been torn to shreds by the grenade.

David didn
’
t have long to mourn the Peacekeeper
’
s death. Castle reached down and grabbed him by the neck.

“
We need to stop running into each other like this, Carp. Don
’
t worry, I can arrange that.
”

“
I
’
m going to kill you, Castle.
”

“
No, you're not.
”
The trooper cocked his arm and then punched David in the gut. The pain in his ribs flared. He stared at Castle, wishing hate and discontent upon the man. The whole time he could not get Alana
’
s face out of his mind. Castle was going to pay for taking her from him.

“
Now, you
’
re going to tell me what you are doing down here,
”
Castle continued.

David gritted through the pain.
“
You don
’
t know what you
’
re dealing with, Castle. You don
’
t know what this is.
”

Castle laughed.
“
This?
”
He pointed at the Ferenic power source.
“
This is the future. This is what is going to catapult humanity into the dawn of a new era. Too bad you won
’
t be around to see it.
”

“
It
’
s not what you think it is. This thing is going to kill us all.
”

Castle grinned, skeptically.
“
Is that right?
”
Beside him another trooper approached.
“
What is it?
”

“
We found this, sir.
”
The trooper handed Castle the Comp M detonator. Castle looked at it quizzically.

“
Are you trying to blow it up, Carp? Is that why you and your gang of do-gooders are here?
”

“
It
’
s not what you think it is, Castle. If you let the Federation use Rockworm to wage its war, all of humanity is at risk. What do you think happened to the Titans?
”

“
I don
’
t care about the history of an inferior race two thousand years ago.
”

The man was incorrigible.
“
You should," David said flatly.

Suddenly, the whole mountain shook. Castle smiled.
“
That must be the orbital missile system. Were you expecting someone was coming to rescue you?
”
David
’
s face stayed expressionless.
“
If you are, I
’
d guess you only have a few minutes before those missiles make their day very bad.
”

Damn it
. What had happened to Letsego and Gnasher? They were supposed to stop the missiles. Something had gone wrong. Now more than ever he had to blow those power absorbers up in the hopes that the power failure would prevent the Peacekeeper Fleet from being cut to pieces. He eyed the detonator in Castle
’
s hand.

“
What do you think this is going to do?
”
Castle said when he noticed the smuggler
’
s gaze.
“
Blowing up this isn
’
t going to change a thing. The Federation is still going to destroy the Peacekeeper Fleet. And you are still going to die
…
alone
…
in this place.
”

“
Well, maybe I
’
ll get the satisfaction of pissing you off again.
”

Castle swiftly raised his pistol and fired. A bullet tore through the helmet of the Diver laying next to David. The man
’
s head slumped to his chest.

A smile now danced across Castle
’
s face.
“
You mean that kind of satisfaction? Did that piss you off?
”

David squirmed against his restraints, irate.
“
You
’
re going to die, Castle!
”

“
Stop making promises you can
’
t keep.
”

That
’
s when it happened. Through the rock walls of the cavern a stream of crimson mist flowed into the room. It swirled and then disappeared into the Ferenic power source.

“
What the hell was that?!
”
Castle exclaimed.

Without warning, red tentacles of mist burst forth from the power source along with an earth shattering blast of energy. David was thrown halfway across the room.

He landed on his right shoulder. Pain shot through his body. His ribs ached even more than before. With his hands still bound he rolled onto his back. The scene that welcomed him took his breath away.

Above him, the cavern was full of swirling Ferenic dust. The air was tinted red and the epicenter of all of it was the power source. The Rockworm- he thought of it as a single entity now- was gaining power. David could only imagine from what. Had the missiles found their mark?

Both troopers and Divers were strewn about the floor of the cavern. A handful of the bodies were gray and disfigured. The Rockworm had sucked the life out of them. To his right, David saw Washington attempt to get up but stumble. Castle was to David
’
s left. He looked disoriented. Half way between them lay the detonator.

David crawled, ignoring the pain. When the device was within reach, he snatched it up, flicked off the safety cover and punched the single button.

The lighting in the hallway Letsego and Gnasher were being escorted through flickered for a few seconds and then came back on. Letsego looked at Gnasher. He hoped that meant that Carpenter was still alive and kicking.

Troopers were escorting the two of them through the Windcorp office spaces. They had been sure to relieve the Peacekeepers of their weapons but had overlooked removing their comm units. Letsego could still receive transmissions from orbit via the Divers
’
observation post.

The updates from Commodore Long were grim. Despite being safe from planetary missiles, the Federation Fleet continued to pick the Peacekeepers apart with their Ferenic weapons, even when the Peacekeeper ships now outnumbered the Feds two to one. That ratio was dropping fast.

Soon the party reached an ornate pair of double doors. The troopers led Letsego and Gnasher in.

Letsego had expected to find Titus Windham on the other side of the doors. He had not expected to find Prime Minister Chen as well.

The corporate executive read the surprise on the man
’
s face.
“
I
’
m sorry. I invited Prime Minister Chen to join us. I figured I might as well allow both parties to present their offers before I pledge Windcorp
’
s allegiance.
”
Chen smiled. Windham continued.
“
First things first. You know who we are. Who do I have the pleasure of hosting?
”

Letsego hesitated, still uneasy.
“
I am Nic Letsego of Peacekeeper Intelligence. This is Lieutenant Gnasher.
”

“
Ah, Staff Sergeant Letsego if I am correct,
”
Windham said.
“
Clearly, you are a qualified diplomatic representative for the Peacekeepers. So tell me, what is your offer?
”

As Letsego tried to figure out how he was going to stall for time without being executed on the spot, his earpiece crackled to life.

“
Two-actual, this is two-two.
”
It was Carpenter. When neither Letsego nor Gnasher answered, he called again.
“
Two-actual, if you can hear me, I
’
m about to turn off the power.
”

Letsego glanced at Gnasher and then at Windham and Chen. They hadn
’
t heard the transmission. Carpenter better hurry up.

The first four detonations had done something. David had seen the lights flicker. Eliminating the facility
’
s link to the power source should sever all power to them. That left three power absorbers left to destroy.

Staying low, he grabbed the pack containing the explosives and he and Washington went to work. The other two Divers had been killed by the Ferenic flare as had many of the Windcorp troopers. Unfortunately, Castle had not been one of them, but a swift kick by David to the man
’
s temple put the trooper out of commission again.

David and Washington worked quickly, attaching plastique explosives and wiring mechanisms to the remaining absorbers. After completing the second another burst of Ferenic energy flared in the cavern. David ducked and looked up to see another stream of red mist flow through the cavern wall. The Rockworm must be gaining energy from the battle raging in the space above Prospect.

They moved to the third and final power absorber. Washington set the charge in place and David configured the wiring. When the control panel showed that it was armed the two sprinted for cover behind the power source.

David keyed his mike.
“
Two-actual, this is two-two
…
Two-actual, if you can hear me, I
’
m about to turn off the power.
”
He gripped the detonator in his hand and looked at Washington.
“
Fire in the hole.
”

Letsego and Gnasher were prepared for the blackout. The troopers and Feds were not.

In the glow of emergency lights, the two Peacekeepers moved quickly. In practiced lethality, Gnasher leg swept the two troopers behind him, retrieved one of their side arms and placed controlled pairs in each one of their chests. Letsego
’
s actions were not as graceful but equally as effective. With all his might, he flipped over the mahogany desk that Windham stood behind. It knocked the man over, pinning him to the floor.

With the executive incapacitated, Letsego moved on to Chen. The man had drawn a small blade and held it in a warriors stance. Letsego was not prepared for this, but thanks to Gnasher the man posed no threat. With a flash, a bullet tore into the man
’
s head. He dropped to the floor, dead.

As fast as the conflict had started, it was over.

“
Cover the door,
”
Letsego directed to Gnasher. Without waiting he made his way to Windham, who was still pinned under the desk.
“
I guess you only have one offer to consider, now.
”
He glanced at Chen
’
s body.