Mako (The Mako Saga: Book 1) (12 page)

“I might’ve taken a few… creative liberties,” she grinned.

“Listen, jokes aside, that was some nice work. Really nice.”

“Like you’ve ever gotten anything less from me,” Mac smirked. “You do realize that, one day, there is going to come a time when you’ll be forced to actually take me seriously for a change, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he dismissed with a chuckle. “BTW, Janis sucks. Just sayin’.”

Mac shot him a glare. “You shut your mouth!”

With that, the picture in Lee’s view faded to black with another theatrical transition as the massive, egg-shaped transport ship lifted gingerly off of its platform, tilted to port; then veered in an effortless swoon toward the magnificent peach florescence of the rising Morrius sun.

Chapter 7: Best-Laid Plans

Knifing through the cloud cover of the planet’s atmosphere, the ship finished its slow ascent back into the familiar black vastness of space and leveled out onto its final heading. Staring into the distance, Lee watched as a large, spiral-shaped structure gradually drew into focus, several kilometers off of the port bow.

Comprised of five elaborately constructed, rim-shaped platforms—all encircling a gigantic gray torso—the depot was divided into four, three-story sections, giving it a total of 19 levels in all.

Scanning every inch of the structure as it grew nearer in his goggles, Lee studied its layout carefully.

Each platform showcased three exterior refueling stations which consisted of docking clamps, retractable moorings, the refueling umbilical itself and a retractable jet-way for passenger disembarkation. Furthermore, from initial docking to umbilical disconnect and vessel release, each station was capable of replenishing a near 100% fuel load in just under five minutes, providing, of course, that no maintenance or repairs were needed. Taken into account that this could be done with up to 15 ships at a time, with virtually every model ship in the fleet outside of carriers (those were covered via the four mobile refueling shuttles housed in the depot’s central interior docking bay) and the potential threat of this installation was undeniable.

“Check it out,” Link mumbled from the seat behind Danny. “Looks like an evil corkscrew!”

As the station came closer into view, much of the facility appeared to be complete—evidenced by the pristine shape of its finished paneling and the buzz of activity behind its honeycomb of illuminated windows. Still, several of its lower sections were noticeably unfinished with their skeleton-like steel struts and matted wads of exposed cables. Ultimately however, it wouldn’t be long before this installation became fully operational, and while initially their mission had seemed desperate at best, Lee knew now that the ASC brass had been right to order it.

Passing through the pressurization tunnel at the docking bay’s entrance, the transport taxied its way through the traffic and blue lighting of the cavernous, four-story hangar before coming to a gentle rest on one of the corner platforms. Hearing the hum of the thrusters subside once more, Lee watched as the view in his goggles shifted back to player mode; and not wanting to waste any time, he rose from his seat in the cabin, glanced back to make sure the others were in tow, and headed straight for the exit into the sea of scurrying personnel outside.

“Alright, bro, where are we headed from here?” Danny asked beside him as Lee locked eyes with one of the half-dozen traffic control officers in the tower overhead. Looking away, so as not to arouse suspicion, Lee’s eyes found their way to an oddly shaped hatch beside the tower, though at the moment, its purpose was of little consequence.

“Not here,” Lee instructed, gesturing to the hallway at the far end of the hangar.

Veering to the right of the long white corridor, Lee rounded the corner, past a pair of preoccupied soldiers, and ushered the group into a supply closet at the end of the hall.

“Okay,” he began, closing the door behind them and giving a quick check to make sure they were alone. “Right now we’re just outside the central hangar bay on the tenth level. Danny, Hamish, and I will proceed to main engineering, which is located seven levels down in the depot core. Mac, you and Link head back to the bay and get to work on how we’re gonna get off this thing.”

“No problem,” she acknowledged. “I’m thinking one of those idle refueling shuttles will do nicely. Link, you good with that?”

“Dig it,” Link agreed.

“Perfect,” Lee continued. “It’ll take us a few minutes to lift down to the core and get into position for Hamish to do his thing. Hamish, how much time are you gonna need?”

“Depends on how new the tech is,” said Lunley. “Theoretically, it shouldn’t take me any more than three or four minutes to set the charge and route the detonator through the injection ports, but I haven’t done anything like this since our mission on E-14, so the specs might’ve changed slightly… in which case, it may take me a wee bit longer, but not much.”

Lee returned to Mac and Link. “Once the charge has been set, we’ll radio you on the comm. When we do, have that shuttle as prepped for launch as you can without drawin’ attention to yourselves. Once we’re onboard, Hamish will detonate the charge, and that’ll start the chain reaction. At that point, we’ll have 90 seconds to get outta here before the main reactor goes up, or else we die along with everyone else aboard. Ruah?”

“Ruah.”

“Good. Let’s roll.”

Maintaining their discreet facade as they exited back into the hall, Mac and Link took their leave toward the hangar bay while Lee and the others headed for the lift that would take them down to main engineering. Moments later, the slender metal doors to the small, confined space slid open, and the three were met by the booming sounds of heavy equipment, hissing hydraulics, and humming coolant fans at the end of the corridor outside.

“Sounds like we’re in the right place,” Danny noted as the group stepped off the lift.

Rounding the corner to main engineering, the trio halted at the security station just outside the entrance where they were met by three guards; two at the door and one behind a computer terminal, just as Mac had predicted.

“Can we help you, sir?” asked the guard on the left—a casual hand rested atop the rifle dangling from his right shoulder.

“Gilmore, Waters, and Mason,” said Lee, gesturing to the others. “We got a maintenance report that you fellas might be havin’ some issues with one of the injection systems in the reactor core. We’re here to take a look.”

The guard motioned to the man behind the computer whose fingers were already fast at work to verify their story. A few nervewracking moments later, he responded with a compliant nod.

“Thank you, sirs” the guard acknowledged, stepping aside to allow them passage.

The depot’s main engineering section was nothing short of enormous. Rising nearly three stories in height and spanning roughly 180 meters wide by 250 meters deep, its walls were lined with an array of tall, boxy equipment towers—each one covered in blinking lights, dancing needles, and multicolored measurement counters. Down on the floor—amid a labyrinth of desks, terminals, and workstations—a handful of technicians migrated from display to display, diligently penciling information on their computer tablets as they monitored the core’s activity which, for all intents and purposes, served as the heart of the installation itself.

Surveying the area around him, Lee’s eyes eventually came to rest on their objective—a giant metallic dome, covered in lights and located directly at the center of the room.

“Alright, Hamish,” he mumbled, marveling at the machine’s awesome scale as it continued to churn out power with a steady, rolling hum. “Showtime.”

Navigating the maze toward the core, Hamish selected the dome’s farside control panel to conduct his work, and kneeling down behind the cover of his friends, he lifted his shirt to reveal the vest containing the handful of components he’d need that couldn’t exactly be carried in a standard issue toolbox. Then, unscrewing the grate at the base of the console, he went to work on the spaghetti-like wad of wires inside; meanwhile Danny and Lee did their best to look busy.

“How’s it goin’ down there, Hoss?” Lee asked nervously, feeling a bit exposed as the time continued to pass.

“Don’t rush me,” Hamish grumbled. “I’m not wiring a bloody home theater system here. It takes time.”

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, bro,” Danny added, watching the guards from the corner of his eye as their attention grew noticeably more fixed in their direction. “Just wire the thing up as best you can, and let’s get gone, okay? The natives are getting restless.”

Another minute ticked by and Lee gulped hard when one of the techs (a middle-aged man who’d seemingly taken a keen interest in their activities over the last few minutes) stepped away from his terminal and approached the guards. Following a brief conversation, one of them broke ranks and headed their way.

“Oh, this can’t be good,” Lee thought.

“Is there a problem here, gentlemen?” the guard asked in a firm voice, rounding the desk toward them. Before he could respond, a loud thud reverberated through the console below.

“Aye, you’re damn right there’s a bloody problem!” Hamish snarled, rubbing the back of his avatar’s throbbing head as he jumped to his feet. “And it’s standing right in front of me with its stinking breath and silly-looking hat!”

Taken aback by the tech’s strange accent and ornery tone, the guard’s face went pale as the large, menacing figure leaned in to look him in the eye.

“What seems to be the issue here?” he stuttered, rushing to recollect his authoritative composure.

“
Issues
, plural, and I have two of them,” Hamish mocked with a pair of thick fingers. “Issue number one: Ya’ve got a significant amount of Caldrasite residue built up over the loading ports of the main injection system; and when that happens, it has a nasty tendency to gum up the works. Bear in mind,” he added, “that’s the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario occurs when the ports go too long without proper cleaning, thus causing the entire system to overheat, short out, and eventually—oh, I dunno—
explode
, blowing us all to kingdom come and thereby causing lots of gore, guts, death, and bloody mayhem to ensue. That brings me to issue number two, which is that I feel like a dog’s breakfast this morning after the night of complete debauchery that me and ma lads here had last evening, and frankly,
sir
, I’d rather not have to stand here and be subjected to the types of idiotic questions that you’re wasting ma valuable time with right now! So, how about ya run along like a good little soldier boy and go play with yar guns whilst the experts handle the science-type work? Is that okay with ya, or would ya like to personally explain to the commandant why a complete imbecile—such as yarself—felt it necessary to singlehandedly destroy the most strategically crucial installation of this war?”

Watching the guard’s mortified expression over Lunley’s grim assessment of the situation, Lee and Danny fought hard to hold their respective poker faces. Meanwhile, Hamish held his loom over the subject of his ire.

“Well then,” the soldier blurted awkwardly. “Carry on.” And with that, he was gone.

“Bloody Numpty,” Hamish sneered, and returned to his work.

“Mac, you got a copy?” Lee asked, stifling a grin.

“Go ahead.”

“How’s it comin’ on that transpo?”

“Good to go,” she answered, “for the moment, anyway. We’re the second one from the left along the north wall. Link’s running through the pre-flight now. How’s it going with you?”

“Aside from the guard that’s cryin’ in a corner right now, thanks to Hamish, we’re almost there. Just a few more minutes.”

“Ahhhhh, guys?” Link interrupted—fresh nerves in his voice. “We might have a bit of a problem here.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Danny agreed, and peering over his friend’s shoulder, Lee spotted Lunley’s whipping boy huddled up with his cohorts, pointing a rather unnerving finger in their general direction.

“Hamish?” Lee said with a hint of anxiety. “Don’t take my head off for this, but we really need to go. Like, now.”

“One more minute. I’m almost there!”

“We don’t have a minute,” Lee said through his teeth as the huddle broke and the guards started toward them—rifles raised.

“This little piggy went to market,” Hamish murmured, wrapping the small red wire clasped between his thumb and index finger into the charge and splicing them together. “This little piggy stayed home…”

“Hey Dr. Seuss, can we drop the nursery rhymes and get the hell outta here already?” Danny growled, removing the pistol from his shirt and draping it out of sight beside his hip while Lee did the same.

“Both little piggies cried ‘wee wee wee’ when Hamish smoked ribs on the bone…”

Then, tucking the charge back into the port to conceal it among the boundless cluster of wires, circuit boards, and microprocessors inside, Hamish snapped the panel back into place and jumped to his feet.

“Put ‘em away, lads. We’re all done here.”

“Ahh, guys?” Link asked again through the comm.

“Stand by, Link,” Lee mumbled, shoving the pistol back into his shirt and turning for the door.

“Alright, gentlemen, everything appears to be ship-shape once again,” Hamish assured them, dusting off his hands and maintaining as much calm as possible en route behind his friends to the exit. “Many thanks for yar patience, and we bid ya a good morning.”

Picking up their pace toward the lift, Lee glanced back just in time to see a sudden look of revelation rip across the face of the terminal guard, and leaping from his seat, he lunged for his holster.

“Ah hell,” Lee blurted and with that, both he and his digital counterpart whirled around on their heels—their hands flowing with an almost effortless fluidity past the holster in his shirt and out into the familiar, broken triangular shape of the modified weaver firing position. With a light vibration through the gun in his hands, three precise shots erupted from the weapon’s virtual barrel, bristling down the hall in silent, muted pops before landing in a tightly packed cluster atop of the man’s chest and head. As he fell to the floor, the other two guards joined him there—each one struck with similar precision by Danny and Hamish who’d also recognized the threat. At that instant, the lights in the corridor slammed from white to hot orange as the security alert rang out.