Ephialtes (Ephialtes Trilogy Book 1) (55 page)

Now his
security clearance had been revoked.  The silent alarm sounded as soon as
he was within thirty metres of the main gate.  Automated radio messages
were relayed to the security staff on the door, and one stepped in front of
White as he tried to enter.

“I’m sorry,
sir, but you do not have clearance to enter this building.”

“What are you
talking about?” said White, “I’m the vice president.  Of course I can
enter the White House.”

The security
guard held out a hand.  “I’m sorry, sir, my instructions are quite
clear.  Please turn around and leave.”

“This must be
a mistake.  Let me in.”

“Sir.” 
The guard gestured for White to leave.

White looked
through the
iron gate
at the New White House.  When
the old White House had been destroyed back in 2087 this new one had been built
here as an exact replica.  The original site was still considered a hot
zone at that time, but it was thought that a new location, with the old design,
would represent a kind of continuity, and that was believed to be
important.  The White House, they seemed to be saying, is not a place but
a concept.  It is the seat of the president and it will always exist,
withstanding even nuclear attack.  Knock it down and it will just rise
back up.  He had always liked that idea when he believed that his country
had the finest constitution in the world, and that it had a government of the
people, by the people, for the people.

The thought
of that resilience, allied now to the eighty-ninth president, filled him
with a foreboding fear.  He turned and walked away.

With his
commander mech programmed Steiner had little to do for the two days it took to
walk to Marineris.  The cockpit was comfortable enough and could be set to
a sitting position when the drone was on autopilot.  Steiner slept a lot
of the way, occasionally waking to take sustenance.  The other mechs under
his command were handling well.  Their data suggested they had not been
damaged in the crash.  Steiner was confident he had enough of a squad to
mount a successful attack on any Martian installation he chose.

The
installation he had chosen to attack first was the Parry base to the west of
Marineris.  It was on the outskirts of the city, near the Allentown space
port.  It was just dumb luck that Steiner had crash-landed on that
side of the city, but it presented a great opportunity.  He would be able
to neutralize the missile base and take control of the port, the single most
important communications link on the planet.  From that position he would
be able to dictate terms and maybe arrange a relay so he could communicate with
Earth to get further orders.  It seemed like a great plan and eminently doable. 
He had practiced ground based assaults on the missile batteries repeatedly on
the journey to Mars.  Now all that practice was about to pay off.

In the
simulations he had made use of the aerial capabilities of the dropship. 
He had used it for reconnaissance and as a distraction.  In those
scenarios he had a full squad of eleven mechs under his command.  Here he
only had four.  He still felt capable of succeeding.  He would use
the landscape to hide from the battery, which was primarily looking to the sky,
and he would disable it from a distance with his laser.  Following that it
would be a simple case of advancing on the installation and dealing with any
resistance as and when it arose.

He programmed
the specifics of the plan into the other mechs and checked on his ETA. 
Seven hours to go.  He went back to sleep.

Steiner was
startled awake by an alarm.  ‘Warning,’ it repeated, ‘hostile
inbound.’  He immediately turned on his HUD to check.  About twenty
kilometres distant there was an aircraft approaching.  He commanded his
mechs to stop.

Looking at
the display he guessed the aircraft might be an observation drone.  It was
headed on a vector that would intersect with the crash site of his
dropship.  It was possible that, now the storm had cleared, the Martians were
sending an aircraft for a look-see.

He thought
about programming the damaged mech he had left on guard to shoot it down if and
when it got there.  That way the Martians might think his force was still
out there, and it would throw them off his tracks.  However, if they then
sent another force to take them on where they supposed they were, at the
landing site, they would have to pass right through where they actually
were.  He thought the best course of action would be to take the aircraft
out himself.

If he fired a
missile the aircraft would detect it before it got hit.  Even if he took
it out with his first shot it would relay that information back to base; that
there was a hostile force firing missiles to the west of the city.  He
wanted to take it out instantly, so as to give no clue to his presence. 
That would still strongly suggest deliberate action, but would at least allow
the possibility of mechanical or software failure.

The only
method available to him for achieving such an end was his laser.  The
greater the distance the less accurate his laser was likely to be.  He
thought he should wait until the aircraft was nearer - say five
kilometres or so.  That way he had the highest possibility of
success.  The risk, though, was that he didn’t know what type of
monitoring equipment might be aboard the aircraft.  There was nothing he
could do about that.  As in all battles he had to make do with limited
information, working on assumptions and best guesses.

He programmed
his laser to fire in a zigzag pattern, starting ahead of the aircraft and
running down the length of its fuselage, then back up.  He hoped this
would be enough to destroy it, but couldn’t be sure if it would be carrying any
armour.  He was working on the assumption it would be an intelligence
gathering drone with no armour at all.

When the
aircraft was a few kilometres out he got a visual on it.  The cameras
mounted on his mech were able to zoom in and reveal that it was, indeed, a
standard information gathering drone aircraft, blithely flying along in a
straight line at a steady speed.  Steiner readied his laser.

When the
drone was in range Steiner fired.  Watching the visual feed on his HUD he
saw the drone suddenly engulfed in a grey cloud, which quickly
dissipated.  The drone rapidly lost height and any semblance of stable
flight.  Steiner followed its course all the way to the ground.

Steiner was
satisfied with the takedown.  He thought he had executed the stealth kill
well but even if the drone didn’t see it coming, had it seen him and his mechs
before then?  Maybe it was headed to the crash site and was reserving
power for its monitoring equipment until it got there.  Or maybe it was
monitoring all the way.  It was quite possible that, as far as the drone’s
masters were concerned, it was on a routine mission and had suddenly gone dark
for no discernible reason.  That was what he hoped, but he couldn’t know.

He didn’t
know if his enemies had any idea he was coming for them.  With no other
options open he pressed on toward the missile base.

“You’re
approximately fifteen minutes away from
Ephialtes
,” said Kostovich.

“Okay,” said
Bobby.

“The docking
procedure is entirely automated.  If there are any difficulties with the
hatch just cut through it with the laser
drill.
”

“Just cut
through it?  A
hatch
?”

“Well,”
conceded Kostovich, “it might take a little while, and it might get a little
hot, but you should be able to, if you have to.  I don’t see there being a
problem.  Anyway, you should just be able to open up the hatch and float
right in.”

“I hope so,”
said Bobby.

“I’ve asked
the pilot to do a full sweep around the ship when you get there.  Get as
much visual information as you can.  We’re assuming full integrity of the
hull, but it would be good to confirm that if we can.  Who knows what
might have happened?  Maybe they’ve tried to scuttle her, or maybe tried
to manually launch escape pods.”

“Manually
launch escape pods?  Would that work?”

“Of course
not.  But we don’t know what they might have done, is the point I’m trying
to make.  That’s why we need as much additional information as we can get,
hence the sweep.  Visual information is still information.”

“Is Foveaux
with you?”

“She’s right
here,” said Kostovich.

“Hello,” said
Foveaux.

“Hi,” said
Bobby, “I’m just trying to remember; did we discuss my compensation the other
day?”

Foveaux
smiled.  “We didn’t.  Put in a good showing today and I’ll be able to
make a case for starting you on a higher grade.”

“Okay,” said
Bobby, “so this is like a probationary task?”

“Something
like that.”

The solid
clunk of two large vessels joining in space reverberated through them
both.  As soon as the connection was made Bobby and his team released
themselves from their harnesses and made their way to the hatch.

The pilot
gave clearance and Bobby opened the shuttle’s hatch.  Below it was the
hatch to
Ephialtes
.

Bobby turned
to one of his team.  “Prepare the drone,” he said and turned back to begin
the process of opening the hatch.  Eventually the hatch fell away inwards
revealing the cold, black interior of
Ephialtes
.

Bobby nodded
at the team member with the drone.  “Send it in,” he said.

The woman
with the drone launched it like she might have thrown a dove into the
air.  In the zero gravity environment the drone halted for a moment and
spun round, orienting itself to its surroundings.  Once it appeared happy
it disappeared into the darkness, and after a few seconds the whir of its
guidance fans had faded.

“It’s them,” said
Lund as she half heard, half felt the reverberation of the shuttle docking.

“Everybody,
stay right here,” said Lucero.  “If they’re coming in I want them to come
and find us here, in one place.  Everyone stay put.”  Although she
had always known they were coming, she hadn’t
really
known it until
now.  She kept up the facade of cool control but inside she was filled
with relief.  From internally questioning whether they would actually
come, she now found herself questioning their motive.  What if they had
come with weapons to finish them off?  What if they had used the EMP not
in order to save their lives but to save the ship for themselves?  Maybe
their plan was to simply capture the ship and now all they needed to do was
wipe out the remaining unarmed survivors.  She put all those thoughts to
one side as she said, “Keep quiet and await contact.”

“This is it.”
said Lund.  “We’re safe.  They’ve come to rescue us.”

“We don’t
know that for sure,” said Lucero.  “Let’s just wait and see.”

When the drone
appeared the crew scrabbled away from it like primitives before a totem. 
People pushed and pulled their way as far from the drone as possible.  As
it moved around the bridge people made way, like it was repelling them.

“Crew of
Ephialtes
.” 
The sound came from the drone, causing some in the bridge to actually gasp and
others to hush them so they could better hear the message being
delivered.  “This is Bobby Karjalainen of the shuttle ‘
Europa
.’ 
We are about to board your ship.  Please do not be alarmed.  We have
the capacity to take all of you to the Martian surface, where you will be
treated fairly and courteously.  We are here to help you.  Do you
understand this message?”

A very low
murmur of whispered conversation spread about the bridge.  Askel barely
heard it, reeling as she was at the sound of the voice coming from the
drone. 
Bobby Karjalainen?
  She wondered for a second if the
oxygen was running out and she was starting to hallucinate.  A small
floating robot claiming it was Bobby Karjalainen coming to rescue her? 
Surely that couldn’t be real.

Lucero spoke
up.  “Karjalainen,” she said, and the drone turned toward her like a
little terrier.  It floated through the bridge toward her, stopping a
metre or so away from her face.  “I’m Commodore Lucero, I’m in command of
this ship.”

A video
screen flickered to life on the front of the drone, and Lucero could see
Bobby.  He was flanked by a group of people who seemed to be crowding
round him to look at his screen.

“Hello,” said
Bobby, “how are you today?”

“Been
better,” said Lucero.  “You’re going to get us all off here, is that
right?”

“That’s the
plan,” said Bobby.  “You just stay put and we’ll come to you.  We
have flashlights and food.  We’ll lead you back to our ship.”

“Understood,”
said Lucero.

“Are there
any injured amongst you?  Any one there need medical help?”

“Negative.”

“Listen,”
said Bobby, “I need to know that you’re not going to try anything stupid. 
All of my people are armed and we’re prepared to put you down if we have
to.  I would very much appreciate your cooperation, Commodore
Lucero.  When we get to you, I’d like you to tell your people to come with
us in an orderly fashion.  We’ll escort you back to the shuttle in groups
of ten, okay?  If anyone gives us any trouble, any trouble at all, we’re
out of here.”

“Understood,
I guarantee you our full cooperation.”

“Okay, we’re
coming in.”

Bobby had
left four of his team on the shuttle.  Two were guarding the hatch-bay
entrance and the others were guarding the main passenger area.  The three
with him were bouncing and pulling their way through corridors and stairwells
towards the bridge.  Their HUDs were providing guidance.

The number of
people crammed into the bridge surprised Bobby when he got there.  It was
brighter than he expected, but still dim, and it seemed oddly surreal that
these people were in mortal danger.  The floating gave the whole thing the
air of fun, when in fact the situation was imminently life threatening.

Bobby
recognised Lucero from the video feed.  He made his way to her.  As
he approached she held out her hand.

“Welcome
aboard
Ephialtes
,” she said.

“Thank you,”
said Bobby.  “It’s great to be here.”  Looking over Lucero’s shoulder
he said, “Hi, Askel.  You turn up in the damnedest of places.”

Askel wanted
to launch herself at Bobby and squeeze him until he squeaked.  “Hi,
Bobby,” she said casually, like she had just noticed a neighbour at the
supermarket.

“Commodore
Lucero, I’d like the first ten people please,” said Bobby.

“Yes,” said
Lucero.  She pointed out ten people, “You, you,
you .
 . .”

“We’ll be
back in a few minutes.  Do you need anything?”

“We’re fine
here,” said Lucero.

“Okay,” said
Bobby, “don’t go anywhere.”

Bobby and his
team ferried the crew in groups of ten back to the shuttle.  At the hatch
they handed them over to the team on
Europa
, who then handed them off to
the team in the passenger area.  At the passenger area they were asked to
find seats and strap themselves in, and then wait.

Lund and
Lucero had remained at the bridge and were taken back with the last group.

At the hatch
Bobby waited, floating, to guide the last of his charges through.  He saw
Askel into the hatch and finally only Lucero remained.

“Up you go,
Commodore,” said Bobby.

Lucero
gestured for Bobby to go first.  “After you, if you don’t mind.  I’d
like to be the last to leave.”

Bobby
wondered if Lucero may be playing some angle, and he was tempted to insist that
she go ahead of him.  He decided to let it go.  “Okay,” he said, and he
pulled himself aboard the shuttle.

Lucero took a
look around, though there was little she could see in the scant amount of light
available from the hatch.  The drone made its way past her and back
through the hatch.  She heard it report to its masters, “There are no
further personnel aboard
Ephialtes
apart from Commodore Lucero, who is
boarding
Europa
now.”

Lucero tugged
on the hatch rim and glided effortlessly into the shuttle.  She patted the
hatch as she passed, saying, “She was a good ship.”

Bobby
personally oversaw the sealing of the hatches, both on
Ephialtes
and
Europa
. 
He messaged the pilot that it was safe to disengage and the pilot acknowledged
him.  “We have a few more things to do then we’ll disengage and head
home,” she said.

“Okay,” said
Bobby.  “We’ll move back to the passenger area.”

“Do that,”
said the pilot.  “Strap yourselves in.”

In the
passenger section Bobby scanned the rows of seats for Askel.  At first he
couldn’t see her and he didn’t want to be seen to be looking, so he was relieved
when he noticed her and saw that she hadn’t noticed him.

Bobby’s seat
was at the front of the cabin.  He had two of his team with him, with the
rest sat along the back of the cabin where they could observe those in front of
them.  Bobby didn’t expect any trouble.  He thought Lucero seemed
like a straight-up sort of character and he could sense the relief in the
cabin.  However humiliating it might have been to have been defeated, he
knew the crew were glad to be alive.

Bobby was about
to float over to Askel.  He had decided to ask her something technical
about
Ephialtes
 - about what might happen to her over
time as she remained in lonely orbit slowly atrophying - just
as an in.  But as he went to unbuckle his harness he heard the pilot’s
voice over the cabin’s strange omnidirectional speaker system.

“This is your
captain speaking.  We are about to disengage from
Ephialtes.
 
We will then manoeuvre to a position ready for descent.  Please remain in
your seats until further notice.”

Kostovich had
been so engrossed in the live feeds from
Ephialtes
and
Europa
that he hadn’t given much time to the data from the drone he had sent to
investigate the crashed dropship.

The data he
had suggested that while
Parry 5
’s missiles hadn’t totally destroyed
the only dropship to make it into the Martian atmosphere, they had damaged it
enough that gravity would do the rest.  The ship had crashed at a safe
distance, anyway, so there seemed to be no hurry to investigate.  Soon
after the crash a sandstorm had swept the area making any recon impossible at
that time.  The drone had only been launched that morning, when weather
conditions were more favourable.

The feeds
from the helmet mounted cameras of Bobby’s team and the rescue drone were
fascinating. 
Ephialtes
was in much better shape than Kostovich
would have predicted.  He thought that, judging by what he had seen, they
may have been able to survive much longer than he had predicted.  He
marvelled at human resilience.

As the feeds
showed an external view of
Ephialtes
from
Europa
, still looking
mighty as she receded into the distance, Kostovich glanced at the terminal
displaying data from his own recon drone.  None of the feeds were updating
and in the corner of the screen the words ‘Data Interrupted’ slowly flashed in
amber.

He looked at
the time on the screen.  There had been no new data for forty
minutes.  He tried a few things to communicate with the drone - manually
contacting the auxiliary coms system, sending a soft reset command - but
nothing worked.  He ran the data back to the moment he had stopped
receiving transmissions and looked for any anomalies.  There were
none.  The drone had simply and suddenly stopped.