Overdrive (32 page)

“So, is it still a
volatile situation down there?, asked Ram Terry, who had also turned away from
the screen. “I haven’t been here since the insurrection.”

Logan shrugged.
“Nah. Not really. Security’s pretty tight though. The powers that be aren’t
about to risk another incident. One thing though. I wouldn’t mention Unamuno
down there if I were you.”

Crystal stared at
him suspiciously. “Why?”

Logan looked
uncomfortable. “It seems that we accidentally took off with the Presidents
private stash of tobacco.”

Felix laughed.
Logan felt his spirits lift at that happy sound. They’d been precious little to
laugh about in the last few days and it was good to see his friend perking up a
little.

Further
interrogation of the matter was forestalled by the shuttle’s AI, reporting that
the ship was about to land. With a slight shudder, the ship settled into its
landing cradle and opened its hatch.

Logan turned to
Ram Terry. “So, what’s the plan?” 

Ram Terry hopped
off the couch. “We have a small following here and some resources that will
come in handy. A ship. Some Shepards. They are to meet us here.”

Logan nodded and
began moving towards the exit hatch.

“What happens if
we encounter some hostile forces?," asked Felix.

Logan turned and
looked at him. “Don’t you worry my friend,” he said winking. “I’ve got my
biodart in my little finger and a couple of these little beauties." He
rolled up his shirt and showed Felix a tattoo of a banana on his shoulder.

“How’s a tattoo of
a piece of fruit going to help us?” asked Crystal.

Logan looked smug.
“Because it isn’t a tattoo at all. Its a revolutionary piece of military
hardware designed by Unamuno’s military intelligence service. Turns into a bomb
and is completely undetectable. Only reason I haven’t used it yet is because it
hurts like buggery when you activate it.” He gestured towards Crystal and Ram
Terry.

“Besides," he
said, “chances are I won’t have to use it when we’ve got you two with us.”

Felix, hardly
reassured, shrugged and stepped out onto the shuttle’s exit ramp and into the
oppressive heat of Gitane.

Although Gauches
space port stretched for many kilometers in all directions it was only possible
to see a few hundred meters due to the thick brown tinged mist that covered
most of area. The impact resistant and heat hardened plasticrete surface was littered
with other ship cradles, some of which were occupied. The hum of anti-grav
drives could be heard as other ships arrived and departed around their small
shuttle.

A group of monk
like figures in brown robes stood huddled together at the bottom of the ramp.
Felix stood aside and allowed first Ram Terry and then Crystal and Logan to
exit the shuttle. At the appearance of Ram Terry, the huddled figures bowed low
and rushed to bring up a palanquin that was concealed in their midst. The
leader of the Shepards stepped forward, pulling up his cowl to reveal a bald,
heavily sweating and slightly chubby face.

“Your Raminess,"
he said in a thick French accent, bowing again. “It is an honor to receive you.
I am Senior Flock Master Horatio. Myself, my acolytes and our humble temple is
at your disposal. We have prepared a small service back at our temple. All our
loyal adherents are looking forward to…”

Ram Terry briefly
lowered his horned visage to cut short the obviously prepared speech. “Thank
you Horatio. We are laboring under some very serious time constraints and it is
with great regret that I must pass on the usual formalities. I mentioned in my
communiqué that we require a fast ship and a small flock of stout hearted
shepherds. Is all prepared?”

Horatio failed to
completely hide his disappointment but quickly rallied and regained his
composure. “Yes, your Raminess. Of course. Our ship is on the far side of the
port."

He gestured
towards a group of his men who brought the palanquin forward.

“Please place your
holy shanks in here and we will convey you and your companions to our vehicle
and then on to your ship."

“My thanks,"
said Ram Terry, hopping up into the palanquin. Immediately, the rest of the
Shepherds fell in around him. Horatio turned towards Crystal, Logan and Felix.
“If you would follow me…."

Without waiting
for a response, he set off, followed by his palanquin carrying followers.
Crystal shrugged and hurried to keep up. Felix and Logan exchanged curious
glances but followed without comment.

The party moved
through the mist. The unmistakable shape of a large AG vehicle slowly emerging
in front of them. The vehicle revealed itself to be a passenger truck; a
nondescript, fully automated oblong floating a few centimeters from the ground.

Horatio signaled a
halt and brought out a packet of cigarettes. His followers set Ram Terry on the
ground and followed suit.

Crystal moved to
stand beside Horatio. “What’s the matter?," she inquired.

Horatio indicated
the cigarettes. “Do you mind? Cigarette break.” He gave a respectful glance to
Ram Terry, who nodded his head in accent.

Crystal suppressed
a grin. “By all means," she said.

Horatio lit up and
his men, after waiting for their leader, did likewise, standing around in small
groups and talking in quiet undertones.

Ram Terry, who had
been to Gitane before, looked nonplussed by this behavior and settled more
comfortably into his palanquin. Crystal caught Felix’s eye and struggled not to
laugh after seeing the expression of disbelief on his face. Logan couldn’t have
been happier. He’d joined one of the groups of Shepherds and was happily
puffing away.

“Right," said
Horatio, dumping his cigarette on the ground and grinding it into the
plasticrete surface. “Shall we move on your Raminess?”

Ram Terry, who was
starting to doze off in the heat, gestured his acquiescence. A group of
Shepherds moved forward to pick up his palanquin, but stopped and gathered
protectively around Ram Terry and Horatio when they spotted another AG truck
moving towards them.

The truck pulled
up next to them and another group of Shepherds disembarked, pulling out plasma
charged staves, quickly surrounding their fellows. Horatio stepped forward and
addressed one the Shepherds.

“What’s the
meaning of this Tardieu?."

A tall, thin
Shepherd pulled down his hood to reveal a middle aged Shepherd with a large
broken nose.

“That’s Assistant
Flock Master Tardieu to you," he replied with a sneer. “Soon to be Flock
Master Tardieu.” He pulled out a cigarette, lit it and with the other hand
pulled out a large plasma pistol that he aimed at Horatio’s chubby face.

Ram Terry stood
up. “Tardieu, do you know who I am?”

Tardieu smiled
ingratiatingly. “Of course your Raminess.”

“Then what are you
doing?”

“I’m saving you
your Raminess," he said knowingly.

“Yes, that’s very
good. But who exactly are you saving me from?”

“Yourself,"
he said, puffing nervously on his cigarette. “The Areopagites have promised to
spare you and make a substantial donation if we hand over something called the
Overdrive. They also said that Horatio was a traitor and was planning on
kidnapping you.”

“That’s
preposterous," said Horatio. “A blatant lie." He turned beseechingly
towards Ram Terry.

“That’s alright
Horatio," said Ram Terry. “I believe you.” He turned to Tardieu.

“Now then, young
man, kindly put away your weapons and return to the temple.”

Tardieu had
another nervous puff of his cigarette.

“I can’t do that
your Raminess. I have to escort you to the ship, rendezvous with someone called
Princess Gabriella and give her the Overdrive device. If I don’t, she said
she’ll kill you and nuke the planet from orbit.”

He glanced at
Horatio and made a significant gesture with his pistol.

“Take us to the
ship Horatio."

Horatio shot a
glance at Ram Terry who nodded somewhat reluctantly. The Holy Ram was disturbed
but not wholly surprised by the Areopagite’s resourcefulness.

The palanquin
carriers resumed their positions and the whole party was forced into the truck
by Tardieu’s truncheon carrying Shepherds. One of the Shepherds relieved
Crystal of her sword before foolishly trying to prod her with his stave.
Without appearing to move, she unarmed him, swept his legs out and calmly
picked up the stave from the ground. More of Tardieu’s Shepherds moved in on
her, staves at the ready.

“I wouldn’t if I
were you," said Ram Terry mildly. Tardieu glanced at his Raminess, pausing
to consider the dark haired woman with a calculating gaze. He gave a quick
shake of his head. His men backed off and Crystal, with an elegant flick of her
hair and a sly grin, jumped up onto the truck.

Tardieu’s men
entered last and the AG truck set off for the far side of the spaceport. Logan,
wise in the ways of counter espionage, was at a loss to see how the Shepherds
failed to notice that he, Crystal, Ram Terry and Felix all communicating
through their AI’s.

The truck sped
through the spaceport at faster than recommended speeds, testified by numerous
near misses with docking cradles. At one point the truck was nearly crushed by
an incoming 700 meter long cargo freighter. Efforts by the Flock Master to talk
his erstwhile former assistant and colleague out of his ill advised kidnapping
failed, due largely to Horatio having his mouth taped shut. Conversation, as a
result, was reduced to worried muttering amongst the various contingents of
Shepherds.

After 10 minutes,
the AG truck finally reached the far side of the spaceport. A sleek, shark like
starship, 40 meters long and 10 in diameter, rested in a docking cradle before
them. Three large Ion thrusters jutted from the rear of the matt black ship,
giving the impression of predatory speed and strength. Logan, despite the
predicament they were in, couldn’t help but nod in approval.

The group was
herded out of the truck by Tardieu’s Shepherds. Horatio’s men were gathered
into a separate group and placed under heavy guard while Tardieu led the others
towards the ship. He stopped some meters short and turned to face his
prisoners, taking pains to ensure he was well out of reach of Crystal. His men
spread around the group with staves at the ready.

“Ok," he
said. “Slight change of plan. We head up to orbit, grab the Overdrive and hand
it and Ram Terry over to the Areopagites.”

“What?," said
the combined voices of the prisoners before him.

“Its simple,"
said Tardieu, addressing Ram Terry almost apologetically. “With yourself out of
the picture, the Areopagites have promised to make me head of the Church of the
Holy Ram.”

“But that’s
impossible," spluttered Horatio. “You have to be a Ram."

Tardieu smiled.
“Easily arranged. You’ve all heard of transplanters haven’t you?. I’ll just
take his place without anyone noticing."

He turned his gaze
on Horatio. “Thanks for the helpful advice Flock Master. I appreciate it.”

He brought his
pistol up, aimed it at Horatio’s head and fired. The Flock Master’s head disappeared
in a cloud of gore, splattering those next to him. His body toppled over with
an audible thump. Tardieu looked dispassionately down at the headless corpse.

“However, your
services are no longer required.”

He turned his
attention towards the others with the grin. “The same goes for the rest of
you…” He glanced down and for the first time noticed that there was a banana at
his feet. He picked it up and looked at it with some confusion. “I’m sure this
wasn’t here before.” He shrugged and let it fall to the ground.

When activated,
the tattoo bomb was entirely programmable, capable of shaping its detonation to
suit the needs of its user. Logan, through the use of his AI, had instructed
the device to use its lowest detonation sequence, blowing most of the plasma
charge upwards and away from himself. Secondary instructions gave the device
relative positions of other hostiles in the immediate vicinity. The subsequent
blast, combined with small pieces of charred Tardieu, knocked most of the
traitorous Shepherds off their feet. Felix, who had been forewarned by Logan’s
AI, had hit the ground just before the banana went off.

Logan had already
regained his feet, armed himself with a stave and was enthusiastically taking
on three Shepherds who were still standing. Crystal and Ram Terry had not
bothered ducking. Instead, they both activated their fields, shielding them
from the effects of the blastwave. Crystal liberated her sword from one of the
unconscious Shepherds and stood protectively over Ram Terry and Felix.

“Logan," she
shouted.

Logan, busily
caving in his last Shepherds head, looked over.

“Don’t worry about
that. Get to the ship.” Logan nodded, gave the already unconscious Shepherd he
was dealing with another blow for good measure and sprinted for the ship’s
ramp. Her blue nimbus still glowing, Crystal helped Felix up with one hand,
ignoring two timid blows from a disheartened Shepherd that bounced harmlessly
off her field. Some meters away, Horatio’s Shepherds were struggling with their
traitorous armed brethren.