phil jones2 (12 page)

Chapter 14

Armoury! Crowbar! Gravimetric!

T
he strange harnesses slowly disengaged with the reverse of the noise they had previously made, Phil stood abruptly and waited for the rest of the crew to file out of the ship.

Except none of them moved, even though they were no longer impeded by the safety devices.

'Are we not heading out to the planet to begin a rescue operation?' Phil asked. 'there could still be survivors out there.'

Annika tapped at her console a few times and waited patiently. 'I'm just running some final checks on the atmosphere and doing a heat signature scan before we leave, there's no telling what's out there.'

It seemed that Smith's correct assessment of the crash landing of the Scavenger had caused her to rethink some of her misconceptions. Phil couldn't afford to have what he assumed was his Lieutenant second guessing herself on account of that sneering idiot he regretfully called his number one.

'Annika is correct in her caution, Mr... Captain Jones.' Smith said, closing down his own console and then making his way to the exit of the cockpit. 'There is no telling what manner of ferocious beings lie outside in wait for us.'

Since nobody else seemed to be actively disagreeing with Smith, Phil assumed that the Agent was correct. He may not like the man but he had been terribly efficient so far and he had no reason to doubt that, considering it was also his life on the line as well as the rest of the crew.

'How long will the scans take, Annika?'

'They'll be complete in a matter of minutes, Captain. In the meantime you should pick a search party and head to the armoury to equip yourselves.'

'We have an armoury?' Phil asked.

Smith smiled coldly, as if acknowledging a small child. 'That is correct, every Star Command vessel comes fully equipped with a small selection of weaponry and appropriate attire for potentially hostile environments. I shall give you the tour as soon as you're finished picking your crew.'

Phil gazed out over the potential choices, in truth he had no idea who to select. The glove gave him a faint squeeze and suddenly the question came to his lips unbidden. 'How many of you have experience on hostile worlds?'

They all raised their hands, then the crackling of the communications system interrupted. 'I have no practical experience in hostile situations Captain, perhaps it would be best if I stayed with the ship.'

Well, that made his choice easy enough.

'RJ, Annika and Smith, you're with me. Hanniman, you stay and guard the ship.'

'Aye Captain.' came the assenting voices of everyone but Smith.

A faint chime came from Annika's holo-terminal and she nodded at Phil. 'The planet checks out as suitable for boarding. Only standard hostile environment attire will be needed and there are no large heat signals within range of the ship's sensors.'

Phil nodded at her, not knowing exactly what to say to that and feeling like events were unfolding that he seemed to have no control over. Personally he didn't like how they all kept referring to it as a hostile planet.

'If you'd like to follow me, Captain Jones. We shall make our way to the armoury and equip ourselves suitably for the task at hand.'

Phil had seen enough sci-fi action movies to know that being properly equipped was the perfect way to get yourself killed. Nevertheless he had also seen enough sci-fi movies to know that being without equipment was also a tremendous way of getting yourself killed. The thought of trusting the suspect Agent Smith with his life seemed a foolish one at best.

Smith led the rest of the crew as they filed down into a room just off the main corridor of the ship. Phil hadn't known what to expect at the mention of this armoury but considering the ship's size it couldn't be overly extensive.

A large rack stood in the middle of the room with several lockers behind it. On the rack were mounted a series of what looked to be rifles and pistols.

'Standard issue.' Smith remarked, picking one of the pistols up and twirling it nonchalantly. 'It has a two mile range and is accurate to within six millimetres per blast. There are no rounds and the battery life gives you about eight hundred shots before needing recharged. The solar panels mounted near the base can also be used in an emergency.'

He proceeded to hand a pistol to everyone but Phil before hefting one of the rifles. 'The plasma rifle is a much more dangerous device, only to be used in the most severe of circumstances and with the most deadly of foes. It had a shorter range and will only contain thirty blasts before being expended.'

Phil had to give it to the man, as snide and demeaning as he had been in the cockpit, he seemed much more animated and had taken control of the situation now that he was in more familiar territory.

'Inside each of the lockers is a durasteel fibre hazard vest, it should protect you against all but the most corrosive of materials and may deflect projectiles if they are sent from a suitable distance.'

He tapped a small keypad beside the lockers and they swung open, revealing what looked like white plastic armour with matching helmets in a uniform size and style.

'The rest of you have already been in hazardous environments before so suit up and get ready. I shall coach Mr. Jones... our Captain, on the finer points of his equipment.'

Phil watched the others as they donned the equipment over their uniforms and clipped rifles and pistols in place with a strange sucking click, then Smith promptly obscured his view.

'Your crew are capable enough that they won't blow their arms off with the weaponry they've been given. I have no such qualms about your capability of doing so... Captain.'

For once, Phil didn't argue with him. If the time came to use the plasma rifle he fully expected to blow himself into pieces long before any threat could.

'That is why I shall be taking command of the rescue mission and also appropriating your plasma rifle.' he handed him the pistol only after touching a number of buttons on it. 'The safety on this pistol has been engaged to protect the livelihood of those around you. Should you need to arm the device simply call for me and I shall do so.'

Phil nodded, there had been no tightening of the glove in warning, apparently this was a sound decision from his security officer. Given his track record with every mechanical device outside of his own computer, Phil felt inclined to agree with this assessment.

'The durasteel fibre hazard vest will swell to accommodate a man of your... girth. If you ask Annika politely she will make sure it fits you appropriately.'

Phil nodded once again, not really knowing what else to say to the man. He knew what he was talking about, there was no question of that.

Waddling over to Annika, he tapped her on the shoulder as she faced the locker. There was no response.

'Annika?'

She turned and offered him a smile. 'Yes Captain?' her voice sounded vaguely metallic now that her helmet was on.

'Can you help dress me?'

She looked at him quizzically.

'I mean... that is... can you help me get my clothes on.'

A silence seemed to have descended upon the armoury.

'I... er... the armour, can you put the armour on me?'

She let out a brief exhalation, which Phil didn't understand at all, before smiling at him once more. 'Certainly Captain, these are really quite simple to put on.'

Mere moments later, Phil was holding his breath and listening to the familiar sound of the computer.

'Compensating.'

Black spots were starting to appear in front of his eyes.

'Compensating.'

The world seemed rather dizzy and darkness had started encroaching upon his vision in a most disturbing manner.

'Compensating.' the voice in his helmet infuriatingly repeated to him.

He couldn't stand it any longer, compensation or not. Letting out a sigh he gulped in another breath of air, this time however the confines of the suit were no longer crushing his ribs.

'Compensation complete. Enjoy your durasteel fibre hazard vest protective system... Mark II.'

Phil faintly wondered if they kept a crowbar in the armoury.

His thoughts were interrupted by Smith beckoning them all out of the armoury and leading them to the exit ramp, which also seemed to be keyed to a small panel barely visible to the side.

'The way ahead will be fraught with danger.' Smith said to him. 'I will take point, follow me with caution.'

Phil and his crew disembarked down the descending ramp of the ship, in spite of the scanners not picking up danger in the immediate area, Smith had his gun trained on the horizon as if he expected it to jump out and murder him.

'The sensors said that there were no heat signatures nearby, don't you think you're being a bit... paranoid?' Annika asked.

'You can never be too careful on a hostile planet.' the voice on the intercom crackled in response, Phil was still getting used to the signal coming through his helmet.

It wasn't Smith who had responded, it was RJ.

'It's nice to see that at least one member of our intrepid group sees the sense in being prepared.' Smith quipped, before dropping back into his more serious tone. 'Be on the look out all the same, there may be things out here that not even our sensors can detect.'

The dense tree-line had been demolished by the impact of the Scavanger, leaving a trail of broken trunks and scattered planet-life strewn across the floor of their landing site. It was clear to all concerned that this hadn't been a prepared landing, yet as they drew closer to the wreckage it appeared that the hull had maintained its integrity even after impact.

'The ship's scanners were useless at detecting life inside the vessel as the gravimetric hull plating reflected their attempts.' Annika told Phil as they steadily made their way closer to the hulking mass of metal.

'So there could still be people alive in there?'

'Technically it's possible Captain, and it's certainly what I'm hoping for.'

'I wouldn't hope too much, Lieutenant.' Smith cut in. 'The impact alone may have been more than their bracing for it could take, it may look very... distasteful inside.'

Annika attempted a shrug, which wasn't easy with the new suits they had been encased in. 'Alive or dead, we need to make the attempt.'

'That much is evident, now keep your eyes open.'

Annika muttered something in response but it wasn't picked up by her helmet.

The sheer size and ponderous tilt of the craft as it lay there immobilised on the jungle floor reminded Phil of a documentary he had seen on beached whales. He hoped the entrance hadn't been concealed and they wouldn't have to blast their way in. There was no telling what strange creatures such a noise would attract from this planet teeming with life.

His fears were proven unfounded in a short space of time as Smith signalled up ahead. There was a small opening within the hull that led into a darkness that didn't look at all inviting.

Unhooking one of the plasma rifles from his back, Smith touched a few buttons and a white beam of light designed to alleviate fright rather than cause it shot forth. He pointed this squarely at the entrance and drew steadily closer, beckoning Annika to follow him and the others to stay where they were. He had to make this motion several times before Phil understood, lacking Smith's extensive military background.

'Place your scanner inside the vessel, that should bypass the hull plating and tell us if there were any survivors.' Smith instructed her.

Annika seemed less than enamoured at being told how to do her job, her scanner was already out before Smith had said as much. Nevertheless she complied, easing her way into the now-illuminated entrance and scanning the area while tapping a few buttons.

'There are...no life signs, Agent Smith. You were correct, they're all dead.'

'It is as I feared then, we shall have to send a signal back to Admiral Burroughs and let him know of this Voravian mother ship, then we need to figure out how to get off this planet without it pursuing us right back to Earth.'

They started to head back to the ship, and had nearly made it to the ramp when they realised they were a man short.

'RJ? What is your position? Come in, RJ.'

A brief silence had them worried, then the familiar crackling of the communications system came in. 'Captain, I think you might want to see this, I'm just south of your position on the edges of the jungle.'

Phil hurried over when he spotted him. Well, relatively hurried, in that he arrived a minute after everyone else and panting like a dog in a hot car.

'What is it... RJ?' He asked between breaths, noticing that the pilot still wore his hat underneath his helmet.

'While you were scanning with your sensors and determining that there was no life nearby, I used my peepers the old fashioned way and spotted myself some footprints leading on into the jungle.'

'So some of the crew could still be alive?' Annika trilled, her enthusiasm bubbling over.

'Not just that, take a look at this.'

He gestured to his right, and there was no mistaking it. A second set of footprints, that certainly didn't look human.

Chapter 15

Waffles! Anchovy! Ummph!

T
rigger watched on as Captain Darwin attempted to adjust his belt and once again rediscovered that he was tied up.

'My, my me. We are in a dilly of a pickle now, aren't we Cadet? I can see why those chaps we sent to scout before didn't fare so well.'

The oft-mistaken Ensign sighed as much as he could given his bound and precarious situation. He had long since given up the pretence of the command structure with the Captain but his words still seemed to have no effect on the man. Darwin heard what he wanted to and that was that.

'You there, Waffles! Let me down from this blasted thing this instance!'

The creature that Darwin had decided to call 'Waffles' looked up at the man and grunted. It had gone from standing stolidly at its post to increasingly vocal irritation at the Captain's attempts to communicate with it.