Ice and Peace (16 page)

***

“Slow us down. We can’t fight at this speed!” Keegan ordered as the ship lurched once again. “Tac Officer, launch a full spread of Slayers and get those cannons fired up!”

“Aye, sir!” the Tac Officer responded over the loudspeaker.

“On a dime, do it!”

“Full stop, aye, sir!”

His heartbeat accelerated. “Everybody hold on.”

***

Caitlin slammed into the corridor wall outside the infirmary.

“Shit!” Her sentiments were echoed throughout the hall as the ship came to a full stop.

She regained her footing and pushed herself away from the wall, resolute in her mission to catch the spy who had been running rampant aboard the ship.

A woman eased out of the infirmary, gripping an older woman with silver hair and a terrified expression. The first woman held a small gun to the elder’s head. They had located their wayward spy.

Bishop followed, keeping his gaze on the pair. “Doctor Rimmer, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied in breathy tone. Her captor tightened her grip.

An alarm blared in the distance, signaling general quarters.

“All right, drop it.” Caitlin pointed her weapon. “You are not getting out alive.”

The ship lurched and jerked. Falling forward, the younger woman loosened her grip on Doctor Rimmer. Jesswan fired, just barely missing the doctor.

The young woman regained her footing and pointed the gun at Rimmer’s head, eyes filled with fear and desperation. Caitlin could not risk Rimmer’s life.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Safe passage out of here,” she answered, waving the gun at the doctor.

“I can’t let you have that.”

“If you don’t, the doctor dies.”

“Matilda,” Bishop said, moving closer. He reached out to Doctor Rimmer, stared up at her captor.

Panic settled on Bishop’s face. Now wasn’t the time to consider Bishop’s feelings for Rimmer, but Caitlin felt sympathy for him. If she lost Keegan, she would have no reason to exist. Her resolve faded as she focused on the younger woman again. “Don’t hurt her, and we will let you go.”

“Are you nuts?” Jesswan exclaimed.

Caitlin shot him a warning look. She was contradicting her own orders, but her team wouldn’t know that.

“Ma’am. I mean why, ma’am?” he asked, flustered.

“Now is not the time to question.”

The thing gave a hoarse laugh. “It’s too late.” She moved closer to Rimmer.

Doctor Bishop lurched toward Doctor Rimmer, but Caitlin stepped between them. “No. Don’t.”

The young woman warned, “She’ll be dead before I go down.”

Caitlin drew in a deep breath and gestured for the soldiers opposite her to move away from the trapped spy and to lower their weapons. “I know. Just let her go, and you can leave unharmed.”

Releasing her captive, the young woman made her way down the corridor, pointing her gun at them as she passed.

Her team raised their weapons. Bishop rushed to Rimmer’s side.

“Hold your fire,” Caitlin shouted.

“Chief, what’s going on?” Jesswan stood next to her.

She watched the young woman disappear around the corner. “Don’t worry. She won’t get far.”

***

“What the hell’s going on here?” Hollis asked, entering the infirmary.

“The spy escaped,” Bishop said with frustration.

“How did that happen?” Keegan rushed in.

Caitlin swallowed hard. “I let her go,” she said calmly.

“What?” Keegan approached her.

“It was the only way.” She looked him square in the eye. “I need you to trust me on this.”

“Colonel.” Doctor Rimmer stood from her seat, looking tired. Her disheveled silver hair gave only a hint of the hell she had just gone through. “She saved my life.”

“You’re okay?”

“Yes. Surprisingly enough, she just let me go.”

“We’re not being fired upon,” Caitlin added. No doubt she’d have to pay the consequences of letting the thing get away, but why couldn’t her husband see that the doctor’s safety had come first?

“All right, what do you suggest?” Keegan glared.

“We go get her. This time on our terms.”

“Why? What’s the point? Doctor Rimmer is here,” Bishop asked.

Keegan shook his head. “She’s been on the ship for God knows how long. And she’s had access to valuable information. We don’t know what she has on her person.”

“We cracked some of the code on that cipher. It also transmitted information, signals, codes, things we don’t want falling into their hands.”

Hollis called into conn. “Tracking, this is Hollis.”

“Tracking.”

“Are you tracking the pod?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Where’s it headed?”

“Toward the planet Sira.”

They all stared at each other, surprise registering on each of their faces. Why Sira? The planet had been lifeless for centuries.

Hollis clicked her com again. “Keep us posted.”

“Aye, aye ma’am.”

“At least we know where she’s headed.”

Caitlin smiled. “They’re gonna have to pick her up. I say we get to her before they do.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“We scanned the planet. It’s completely frozen and desolate. So far it shows no native life forms, so it’ll be easy to track her,” Keegan said to the team of cryos as they geared up for the mission. “Based on coordinates of the pod’s landing site, there are no geologic formations and a blizzard is coming, so you’ll have no cover. Take your survival gear. We’ll get you as close to the pod as possible. But if she’s on foot, there’s no telling where she could be. With this weather, you’ll have about ten feet of visibility, radio communication will be weak at best in this climate, so when you call, make sure you’re ready to come home. We’ll keep them off your back and make sure none of her friends try to help her out. Until then you know what to do.”

“Yes, sir,” they responded and filed out the room. Caitlin followed.

“Where are you going?” Keegan asked, pulling her aside.

“With them. They’ve never done this before. And this mission is too important to fail.”

A hint of fear flashed in his eyes, and her heart tightened. “I’ll be back. Just don’t leave me down there.”

He nodded. As much as she wanted to hug him and give him a kiss, she had to finish her mission first. She gave him a smile and left.

***

The shuttle door opened to a haze of wind and blowing snow. Caitlin and her team hopped out of the hovering transport and gave the pilot the high sign. The craft rose into the air and disappeared into the distance. Covered from head to toe in cold weather gear, her team signaled they were all right.

“This ain’t hell,” Caitlin muttered, “but you can certainly see it from here.”

They readied themselves for their trek. The howling wind and whirling snow masked her voice, making verbal communication difficult. No matter how much they had trained, none of them were prepared for this. Pulling out a small locator, they went about tracking their quarry.

***

The ship lurched and groaned under the intense bombardment, but Keegan knew she would hold together.

“Sir, they’ve released fighters!”

“Take evasive measures! Move us out of the way!” Keegan commanded.

Berger stepped forward. “They’re trying to get us out of here so they can go pick her up.”

“Looks like it,” Keegan replied. “Scramble a squadron of fighters to get those bastards on the double!”

“Colonel!” Gadison rushed onto the bridge. “I spoke to Wacian Command. They’d be willing to help, if we were in their territory.”

“We don’t need them there, we need them here.”

“I realize this, Colonel, but technically it is not their fight. It would be if it we were in their territory.”

Keegan flexed his fingers. The urge to punch the younger man tore through him. What did it matter if the Wacians would help them if they weren’t willing to do so where the fight was occurring? “I have people on that planet I have no desire to abandon.”

“Colonel, we can’t forget our primary mission. We need to get the doctor to Wacia. We have an opportunity. Let’s not waste it.”

Leaving Caitlin behind until Doctor Rimmer was safely handed over to the Wacians. He’d sworn to her he would always be there to protect her and that he would never abandon her. Now he had to do just that. The crew awaited his response. Staring at their faces, he was reminded of the oath he had taken, the duty he’d sworn to perform. But where did the line between duty to one’s country and fidelity to one’s family lie? He had to make a choice, and he had to make it quickly.

He glanced at the stars through the open shield, praying for his wife’s safety. She was the best in her field, and he had complete faith she’d succeed on any mission. Reluctance clogged his throat.

Cate
. “All right, let’s do it. Close the blast shield.”

I will be back
.

“What about the fighters?” Berger asked.

“If we draw them away, they won’t need to use the fighters on the planet,” Keegan said.

***

Caitlin and her team tracked the thing through the snow. Her footsteps led in one direction. The harsh open terrain gave her no place to hide. Caitlin hoped she would tire soon.

“Do you have anything?” she asked Jesswan, who scanned the area. She lifted her snow goggles to have a better look around.

Jesswan held up the tracking device. “No, but this thing’s range isn’t that good anyway.”

“At least she won’t be able to sneak up on us.”

“True,” he agreed, placing the device in the pocket of his coat.

“But put them in a leap frog formation, in case she gets some help from above.”

Caitlin checked the clip on her weapon. It was fully loaded and charged. Gazing up at the sky, she saw a yellow sun directly overhead. It was the middle of the day, and they had some time before nightfall.

“All right, keep low and move out,” she ordered.

***

“Colonel, they’re responding!” Berger said. “They’ve pulled their fighters and are following us.”

“I thought they’d like that.” Keegan nodded. He needed to get back to pick up his wife as soon as possible, and for that to happen, he needed everything to fall into place.

The plan was simple. Broadcast a false message over an open channel that they were pulling out while calling all the fighters back on board. The enemy bought it hook, line, and sinker. “Okay, now get us out of here but not too fast…we don’t want to lose them.”

***

Ominous clouds appeared over the horizon and began gathering overhead. Caitlin could tell what it meant from the change in temperature.

“Dammit, where is she?” she grumbled.

A shot whizzed past her head. She fell to the ground and rolled to remove herself from the angle of fire. Waiting for a break, she paused then swiveled onto to her stomach and peeled off two shots in the general direction of the initial attack. She waited for a response. Nothing. She checked her left and right flank. Her team members gave the all clear. In response, she belly-crawled forward, careful to keep the tip of the rifle free from the ice and snow.

As she advanced slowly, she saw no evidence of the younger woman or her presence until she smelled it. An odorous aroma emanated from the direction of the shots. And then she saw it, reflecting in the snow. Pink fluids.

I got her. Not bad for a blind shot
.

Now Caitlin they had time on their side. The wound would make it much easier to track their quarry, if she even survived the extreme cold long enough to make that necessary.

As the sun made its way across the sky, the wind suddenly stilled. Bringing up the rear, Caitlin kneeled down in the snow and examined the pink bloodstains. They became fewer and farther apart. How was that possible? She lowered her scarf and sniffed the air.

She detected nothing.

“Something’s not right,” she whispered.

“What is it?” Jesswan asked, coming back to stand beside her.

“Something’s up. I know it. Keep your eyes peeled.”

More thick gray clouds gathered above. They bunched on top of each other like cars in a traffic jam. A strange sense of dread welled up from the pit of her stomach. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck.

“Get down,” she yelled just as a volley shots came at them over the horizon.

“Shit,” Jesswan swore, hitting the snow face first.

One after another, the shots came at them. Pinning them down in the snow.

“Dammit!” Caitlin growled.

***

The ship continued to rock as the enemy craft fired on their tail. Bolstered by the confidence that help was on the way, they continued toward their destination, the Wacian home world.

“The Wacians are half a sector away, Colonel,” Berger said.

“Very well. Charge the cannons and raise the shields. We’re gonna have to fight our way to port,” Keegan ordered.

A sense of urgency suffused the bridge. They had cut and run, leaving their comrades on planet in the hopes of leading their enemies into a trap. This had to work.

“Slowing down as we near Wacian territory. Preparing to engage,” Berger informed.

“All right, get me some plasma torpedoes just to piss them off.”

As the ship took a direct hit, it gave him comfort that whoever it was, was too busy to bother his wife and her team on the planet.

“Done!” Berger relayed the order down the line.

“Firing plasma torpedoes, aye, sir!” the weapons officer shouted.

“Colonel,” the communications officer interrupted, “the Wacians have us on their scope, and they are on their way!”

“Don’t stop now! Keep heading in!” he yelled. Triumph was close. He could almost taste it.

***

Pinned down and helpless, she’d had enough.

“We’ve got to get these assholes off our backs,” Caitlin yelled to Jesswan over the continuing barrage of gunfire.

“No shit!”