Shadow Force 1: the Garden Planet (6 page)

We fell asleep like that just holding one another. It was the best sleep I had gotten in years.

“We have dropped out of hyperspace.” Shadow announced, awaking both Sara and me. It should have felt awkward but it didn’t. It just felt right. Sara kissed me on the cheek and then scurried back to her own room to shower and change. I did the same and shortly thereafter we met with Max and Izzy on the bridge where I explained my change of plans.

“So, Jonnie boy wants to flex some muscle.” Max said.

“Any objections?” There were none. So I immediately set my ship to destroyer configuration, energizing the defensive shields and opening all weapons portals. I suggested that my “crew” engage the restraint fields on their respective seats. This would effectively keep them in one piece if the shit hit the fan, which is exactly what happened as we approached the spaceport.

We were met with armed suborbital fighters whose first transmission gave us the needed proof that our mission had been compromised. “You are ordered to land your craft at the spot we will lead you to.” A man’s voice heavily accented in Russian said. “Now!” and to accent his point he took the proverbial shot across our bow.

I decided to play along for the moment and act terrified.

“We are the pleasure ship Intangible. We are here as tourists, why are you pointing guns at us?”

“You are no pleasure ship! We have been informed of your mission and you may now consider yourselves prisoners of the Russian Federation of Planets.”

I knew as well as they did that this was a base for the Russian mob, not the Russian Federation. Still I decided to play along.

“I’m sorry about the misunderstanding. We are prepared to follow you now.”

I was surely glad that our weapons and shields could not be detected as we followed the escorting fighters to their main base. It wasn’t until we were ordered to land that I decided to flex our muscles a little bit.

“Shadow,” I ordered, “Take out all the escort fighters now.” Thirty seconds later all five ships were heaps of wreckage on the ground. That was when the first shot from their main batteries shook us, but the shields held, no problem. “All right level the place, we still have a mission to accomplish.” Suddenly we were exposed to all the firepower that Shadow had. It was an awesome sight, as the plasma torpedoes and the phase guns did their thing, all guided automatically by our super yacht. I looked at Max who had a look of pride, then at Sara who just looked stunned. She had been told of Shadow’s power, but to actually see it was entirely a different thing. It took about a minute to destroy the base, and all the while Shadow had jammed all the frequencies so no message of the attack could get out. I immediately set course for the base carrying the Carliteume with the greatest speed possible. We arrived there within minutes. Then using a wide field disruptor we stunned all the personnel there, after which we picked up the Carliteume canisters and deposited the dummies.

“Set course for New Libya. Take evasive maneuvers. We don’t want any pursuit to know where we are going. Engage now; maximum pursuit mode.” This little command sent our ship into a series of maneuvers that were designed to confuse any pursuit.

We cleared Barlow’s world atmosphere in just about ten seconds, then engaging the twin GE subspace motors we reached the first jump point in under two minutes, leaving any pursuit far behind as we approached the speed of light. Then Shadow put us through a series of jumps that were almost instantaneous; the end result of which we screamed into the atmosphere of New Libya where Shadow’s landing jets were powered to maximum. As we approached the pad everything that wasn’t nailed down went flying. We landed in a cloud of dust in the exact spot we needed to be to transfer our cargo to the tarmac. It was now clear to everyone that we were to be taken seriously. And our usefulness to this group was now proven, or so we thought.

“Explain yourself.” We heard Mohammed’s angry voice blurt from the com-unit.

“Mission accomplished!” I replied quickly.

“Permission to come aboard.” The still flustered Mohammed said in way of an answer.

“Permission granted.” I replied, as my “crew” looked on quizzically.

“What was that all about?” Sara asked.

“I just thought it was time to prove that we are not to be toyed with.” I answered her, still feeling the rush of adrenalin.
 

“I understand that, but did we show them too much?”

“I hope not, but I believe we have proven ourselves. A show of force was the most likely way to achieve this.”

“I guess we'll find out soon enough.” Max added as we observed Mohammed, Rashid and our old friend GI Joe leave the protection of the main building and head in our direction.

I asked Max to join me and we headed down to the airlock. I couldn’t help but think of how many changes to my life had been made recently at this portal; first Sara’s little strip-tease, then the arrival of Max and his revelations. It was a busy place.

“Shadow, cycle lock.” I commanded when the indicator showed green.

We were confronted with an extremely aggravated GI Joe, a perturbed looking Mohammed and a satisfied Rashid.

“What have you done?!” Exclaimed Joe.

“Accomplished our mission, as instructed.” I replied, adding, “No thanks to you!”

“Why, you insolent infidel, I ought to kill you right here!” He answered, going for his sidearm.

“Enough!” Mohammed said with such steely resolve that Joe stopped and looked surprised. Even Rashid looked at him with a gaze of wonder. “You’ve done well, you have passed our test. I now believe I can find a use for you and your crew. Where can we deposit your fee?”

“The Aareal Bank on New Zurich.” I replied. “And the second part we already have.” meaning of course, Izzy.

“It shall be as you say.” Mohammed replied. “Why don’t you take a few days while I determine your next mission?”

“Gladly.” I answered as they reentered the airlock, and I quickly cycled it closed.

Chapter Four

We reconvened on the bridge to discuss where we would go to decompress while Mohammed decided our next mission.

“What are your thoughts, Max?” I asked once we were settled into our seats.

“Why don’t we go explore this lake, because I for one have had enough of the casino scene for a while?”

I asked around and no one objected so I ordered Shadow to take us to the opposite shore, and then find us a secluded beach at which we could spend a day or two, forgetting for a while the problems we faced.

We traveled at a leisurely pace, checking out the scenery along the shore. I was convinced that soon this shore would be covered with high end residences.

We found our sought after beach after about two hours of searching. It was set in a secluded bay, surrounded by palm trees and other tropical vegetation. The beach area was large and shaped like a horseshoe. We sat down on a nice level stretch of beach and had Shadow encompass the area in a force field.

Max and I went out to set up the shelters Shadow had in a small section of the hull. We arrived outside and walked to an area on the ship marked Emergency Survival Only. We accessed the hatch, only to bring an immediate protest from my faithful ship. I guess computers don’t understand the need for rest and recreation. We set up an awning canopy as well as a few cabin style tents. We then proceeded to set up a grill, just as Sara and Izzy came down with two coolers filled with food and cold beer.

Now I’m sure that a lot of foods and drink have come and gone over the last thousand or so years, still I’m truly glad that beer made the journey. There is nothing like a cold beer on a hot day at the beach. Well, almost nothing, I thought as Sara and Izzy pulled off their flight suits. I guess my shock was mainly due to my upbringing. I was born on a rural farming world to strict parents. To say I had led a sheltered life would be putting it mildly. Apparently my reaction was obvious to everyone.

“What’s the matter, Jon? Haven’t you ever seen a nude girl on the beach before?” Sara asked giggling.

“Of course.“ a statement that was true, nude bathing being the norm on most planets with a suitable climate, so I was not reacting to nudity, but to Sara’s nudity, a telltale sign that something was going on inside of me that I really didn’t want to acknowledge.

“May I have a beer, please?” I asked as Sara bent over getting one for herself. “And maybe a sandwich too.” I added.

“Tuna or roast beef?” She asked while giving her bottom a playful wiggle, this brought about a predictable, and yet unwelcome reaction. I was sure that Sara noticed, but kept any comment to herself as she handed me my beer and offered one of each of the sandwiches.

I took the proffered beer and a roast beef sandwich and quickly looking away; I noticed Max, and Izzy, both naked of course, heading down to the water. “What is this contagious, or what?” I exclaimed before I could control my mouth.

“Lighten up Jonny boy, we’re here to have fun or have you forgotten?” She was right of course, so without further ado I shucked myself out of my flight suit and settled down on the lounge chair. Sara settled next to me.

Turning, she said; “This was a great idea. I haven’t relaxed; in I don’t know how long, what about you?”

“No, I haven’t, not since I can remember.” That was a lie, I hadn’t relaxed like this since the murder of my family, and I felt a little guilty.

Sara quickly saw the look of pain on my face, and reacting to it she gently caressed my cheek. I couldn’t stop the tears that started to well up. So I just let them flow, while Sara took me in her arms and held me tight. It felt good and right with her arms around me. Soon the tears stopped. My good mood returning, I suggested that we join Max and Izzy in the water. Sara readily agreed.

I awoke late the next morning having spent the rest of the day and most of the night eating, swimming, and drinking, not necessarily in that order. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn’t in my cabin. The second was, I still wasn’t dressed. The third was, that I wasn’t alone. Staring up at me from under the covers was Sara!

“Shit!” I said. “Sara I’m sorry I must have had too much to drink, I didn’t mean...”

“My,” she interrupted, “Don’t you know how to make a girl feel good in the morning.”
 

At my look of shock, she got serious and said, “Nothing happened, Jon. You said you were tired and came in here to lie down. Max and Izzy went back up to the ship. I stayed down by the water, drinking beers and watching the stars until I was tired too. Yet I wanted to sleep outside, so I came in here with you. After all, who knows when we will get a chance to sleep out in the fresh air again? Yet if I had realized that you found my company so unbearable, I would have slept in one of the other tents or just under the stars.”

“Sara, I love having you around, and I certainly have no objection to you coming in here. It’s just that when I saw you I assumed, well... well you know...”

“Oh Johnny, I know what you were thinking, but believe me if we ever do make love I promise you won’t wake up wondering!”

“No, I guess I wouldn’t.” I admitted, thinking that was an understatement.

“Let's go up to the ship and have some breakfast and see how our partners are doing.” She suggested. Something I readily agreed to. We dressed in silence, each lost in thought.

We entered the lounge area on Shadow just as Max and Izzy came strolling in wearing bathrobes. We all ordered coffee (another gift from the gods) and settled into chairs around the holo screen which I tuned to the all-news Fox network.

“In other news;” the network reporter said. “The Russian Federation today lodged a protest against the Irish Democratic Union, claiming an unprovoked attack on their settlement of Barlow’s World, as well as the murder of over two hundred military servicemen and civilians. There has been no reaction other than a quick denial from the Irish. Now onto today’s... ”

I muted the broadcast after that, imagining we might have started a war, a feeling I did not relish.

“What do you make of that Max?” I asked worriedly.

“Looks like we might have started something we didn’t intend to.”

“How could this have happened?” Sara added. “We were supposed to be ripping off a syndicate disguised as another syndicate.”

I was getting angry, two hundred innocent people. I couldn’t imagine that, had we been fooled, had we unwittingly killed all those people?

“Shadow, what is the nature of Barlow’s world?”

“It is a Russian Federation Settlement, but controlled primarily by a group of criminals and terrorists calling themselves the Russian Liberation Front.”

“Who launched the sub-orbital fighters that we shot down?” Max asked.

“None were broadcasting a transponder signal.”

“Well, that leaves out the official government military. So I feel better.” Sara added.

I felt better too, yet I knew I would have to be far more careful in the future. The need to be sure we didn’t inadvertently kill or injure innocents would need to be paramount from here on.

Chapter Five

 
“Incoming transmission.” Shadow announced.

“Audio only.” I commanded.

“Good morning.” we heard Rashid’s voice say.

“And to you.”

“Mohammad has asked if you and your associates could meet back at the station at five pm local time.”

“That would be fine.” I replied and disconnected the feed.

“Well, what do you think they’ll have for us?” Max asked the group in general.

“Who knows?” Sara said. “Any thoughts, Izzy you’re our resident expert on these people.”

“Not really Sara, I’ve been kept at the casino most of the time. I never even met Mohammed, or the others before. Only Rashid the pig have I knowledge of and he doesn’t seem to be that high up on the food chain so to speak.”

“No, I guess he is not, still I think he knows more than he has let on.” I said. “I think it’s time for you to make your secret report to him anyway, don’t you?”

“I will do it after we eat and get dressed. What should I report?”

“Tell him that all is going according to plan, and they should use us with confidence. Tell him we have no morals and no conscience. That we are game for anything.”