Escape 2: Fight the Aliens (8 page)

“Everyone, grab a taser tube, a laser tube and two magfield disruptor boxes. Stuff them in your backpack,” he said, walking to the right toward the back wall line of dumpsters. He lifted the lid on one dumpster, leaned it against the wall and faced the spread out teams. “People, inside these dumpsters you will find golden globes, yellow globes, white globes and blocks that resemble bars of gold. Grab one of each. Team leaders grab double.” He looked up at the room’s ceiling, then recalled the AI could hear him over his helmet’s comlink. “Star Traveler, tell everyone what the globes and bars are.”

“All items in the dumpsters are explosives,” the AI hummed. “In human terms, each golden globe is equal to ten sticks of TNT. Each yellow globe has the power of a hundred sticks of TNT. The white globes have a thousand TNT sticks impact. The golden bars are the most dangerous. Each bar has within it explosive power equal to a five kiloton nuclear device.”

“Are the bars nuclear devices?” called Alicia, who had already stowed her tube weapons and disruptors in her pack and was looking at the dumpster innards.

“They are,” the AI said. “Each bar weighs one-fifth the weight of a human male. Its nuclear charge is a simple atomic device that explodes when two segments of highly enriched uranium are explosively combined. Be careful when transporting them.”

His volunteers opened nearby bins and moved very, very carefully as they pulled out globes and bars to stuff into their packs. He added to the AI’s data dump. “As for how to activate the globes and bars, that is similar to activating the disruptors,” he said. “However, to avoid any accidental use of the explosives, the exact activation codes will be told you over your suit comlink just before you enter your collector pod.”

Frank gave him a quick nod of acknowledgment, as did Alicia. Stefano gave a quick ASL hand sign meaning
All Okay
. The three MacDill SEAL team leaders gave him a SEAL gesture meaning the same thing. Stefano walked toward him, his backpack full and his manner operational.

“Bill, can we do our target practice while carrying out our Op Force fights?”

Stefano’s tone was calm, casual and matter-of-fact. Which was something Bill had always liked about his fellow SEAL. That, and the fact he never made any demand for special treatment due to his Hispanic heritage. Plus, Stefano had shared a few homemade fly lures with him that had helped him catch some brook trout on one of their mountain fishing trips. His request was a reasonable adaptation of the training regime Bill had outlined earlier.

“Sure. We can do that. Makes sense.” He turned to face the other boarders, who had clustered nearby. “Rules of engagement are these. First, no one uses a laser on this ship without my spoken permission. Second, we use the taser tubes in the Op Force battles. Third, with the tasers, shoot
only
at the chests or backs of your opponent. Hit the vest plates. You hit the vacsuit anywhere else and that person will be out for nine hours. And need a change of underwear.” Several of his buddies grinned, while the MacDill people were all serious focused. “Fourth, anyone hit by a taser beam is counted as being unconscious and unable to help their team. You stay where you were hit. Fifth, if you use an explosive ball, nothing will happen without activation. Sixth, any combatant can verbally ask Star Traveler to change the gravity level in the hallway section they are traveling, or in any side room they may be accessing. Seventh, be aware that on the enemy Collector ships the Alien crew and captain will hear everything you say and understand it all thanks to instant translation done by that ship’s AI. Feel free to come up with alternate non-verbal com modes. Eighth, I am now ordering our ship mind to change the gravity everywhere in the ship to one-half gee and to change the lighting to red. As you saw in the holo, the Alien crew of this ship preferred red illumination and lighter gravity. Ninth,
winning
an Op Force fight means the boarders disable all crew opponents and take over the Command Bridge room. Or the Alien team disables all three boarders before that happens. Our Engine Chamber is now designated as the alternate Command Bridge. Which fits since there really is a backup Command function pedestal in that room. Tenth, I will designate which team is boarding and which team is acting as Alien crew in opposition.” He headed for the chamber’s exit door. “Now, let’s get the hell out of here.”

In seconds there were 18 people in the hallway, each one wearing a green BDU under the clear skin of their vacsuit. Some had tightened the straps of the chest and back plates they wore over the suits. Backpacks hung over back plates. Everyone had a white tube in hand. All were looking at him.

“First boarding team leader is Janice and two people she picks. The Op Force Alien team leader is Frank and two folks he taps. The rest of you join me in the Collector Pods Chamber and watch the live action holo of these two teams doing their thing.” He pointed his red cube at the oval door. It slid open, giving access to the airlock room they’d just left. “Teams, go for it!”

♦   ♦   ♦

Thirty-five hours later Bill hovered near the ceiling of the short central hallway that led to the Engine Chamber, its gravity nullified thanks to an order from the Op Force team below. That team included the MacDill SEAL Jake Slowzenski, a PJ pararescue man and a disabled Green Beret guy. All the teams had learned the value of varying, or killing, the gravity in whatever hallway they encountered an opposing team. Jake had moments earlier ordered null gravity, so his people floated to either side of the access door, while he floated near the hallway ceiling. Behind them was the sealed door giving access to the Engine Room. Each of them huddled behind dismounted backpacks, having learned from prior Op Force battles that the metal-laden packs could absorb a taser beam. While an earlier Alien team had co-opted a laser wielding robot to use as a defensive aid, thanks to asking the ship mind for that help, no such robots were present below.

Jake’s team knew that being on the defensive, which had happened as a result of three earlier encounters with the boarding team led by Stefano, meant they were at a disadvantage. Still, they like all the teams now knew every detail of the right and left side main hallways, and the chamber doors that opened off of them. They knew that Stefano would be approaching from the right side, as he and his team came down the cross hallway in front of Jake. Bill liked a subterfuge of Jake’s. The man had taken his Green Beret buddy, who was disabled due to an earlier taser hit, and had pulled the buddy to a placement on one side of the central hallway. With the man’s white tube taser lying atop his backpack, Jake hoped the immobile trooper would serve to distract Stefano’s team long enough for Jake and the PJ to taser Stefano and Cassandra. The Denver SEAL also had a disabled team member, Bob Milley, thanks to earlier taser fire exchanges.

“Bomb!” came a yell over the vacsuit comlink.

A suited hand briefly showed at the junction of the central and side hallways as it loosed a golden globe toward Jake’s team.

“You scared?” Jake called over the comlink. “You humans are primitives! You do not deserve—”

Three vacsuited forms suddenly filled the top part of the hallway junction. Two of them kicked the side hallway wall to launch themselves toward Jake’s team. Who fired red taser beams at the boarding team.

One red beam hit the disabled body of Bob, whose chest plate absorbed the beam. Stefano had used Bob’s body as a shield held in front of him. The PJ fired at Cassandra Welsh, but the beam was absorbed by two backpacks held in front of her. Cassandra fired her taser at the PJ. It hit the man’s backpack. But even as she fired Cassandra had kicked sideways to change her angle of approach. It gave her a clear shot at the PJ’s chest plate. She took it. The red beam hit the PJ’s chest.

But Jake’s counterfire beam now hit Cassandra, causing her to go immobile. It was one on one, Stefano versus Jake.

“You Aliens are arrogant,” Stefano yelled, kicking over to grab Cassandra’s immobile body. Holding Bob with one hand and Cassandra with his right leg, Stefano hit the central hallway ceiling with his white tube taser. That moved him below Jake, who was already turning in midair to keep his backpack in front of his chest plate.

Freefall maneuvering by two SEALs who had long practiced such maneuvers while doing high altitude chute jumps made for a twisting contortion of bodies, packs, white tubes, red beams flaring and silent aggression.

Stefano had the better shielding thanks to the two immobile bodies of his team that he held in front of him. Those buddies absorbed every red taser shot from Jake.

Jake was flying sideways toward his immobile PJ ally when an angle opened up his chest plate.

“Got you,” Stefano said softly as the red beam from his taser hit Jake on the side of his chest plate, rendering the fellow SEAL out of action.

Jake glared but held still.

Stefano ignored Jake, let go of Bill and Cassandra, and pulled his own backpack around to his front. Reaching inside he grabbed the black box and dome of a magnetic disruptor. Kicking forward to reach the Engine Chamber access door, the SEAL code-tapped the top of the dome, then turned it so the bottom of the box faced the oval door. He slammed it against the left side of the door, knowing from watching Bill’s holo that that location would disable the door electronics.

Yellow electrical light flared around the black box.

The Engine Chamber door slid right into the wall.

Holding his taser front and ready, Stefano kicked at the ceiling of the central hallway, aiming for the open door. As his vacsuited form neared the opening his fellow SEAL twisted in midair so his boots faced the floor.

“Thump!”

Stefano landed hard in the half gee gravity of the Engine Chamber. Keeping his balance with widespread arms, the man spoke.

“Ship mind, the captain of this Collector ship is disabled and not aware. Transfer control of ship operations to me.”

“Understood. Accepted. Shifting control to you, per the game instructions of Executive Officer MacCarthy,” the AI hummed low.

Bill kicked at the hallway ceiling, twisted in air and landed hard on his boots just behind where Stefano stood.

“You won this round,” he said, slapping his friend on the right shoulder. “Nice decision to use the bodies of your teammates as shields against Op Force taser fire.”

Stefano gave him a quick nod, his look serious. “It served the mission. Control of the Alien Collector ship is now mine. Uh, when it happens for real, what do I tell the ship mind to do?”

“Star Traveler, slowly restore one gee gravity to this room and to the outside hallway. Return all illumination to yellow normal.” Bill gestured at the four immobile teammates floating in the hallway. “Come in here after you regain your footing.”

In seconds the six team members were gathered around him. None of them were looking around at the giant tubes of two Magfield spacedrives, or at the six foot high silver command pedestal that occupied a nearby corner of the room. Good. Mission focus was what should always dominate. Leastwise until the last functions were carried out.

“All teams now watching this holo, and you six here, when you do gain control of the Command Bridge of the Collector ship, do just what Stefano did,” he said over the vacsuit comlink. “First, taser zap the ship captain if the critter is not already disabled. Second, transfer ship control to your team leader the way Stefano did. Third, tell the ship mind to move the Collector ship to a holding station at the L4 Lagrange point ahead of the Moon. That position will take your ship out of the live fire fight between our fleet and the remaining Collector ships.”

The Air Force PJ, whose first name was Alonzo, spoke. “XO, what do we do with the taser zapped bodies of the Alien crew? And how do we handle any boarding crew person who is hurt? Laser wounded or hit by shrapnel?”

Medical aid was of course the principle purpose of a PJ. While every PJ had chute drop and other training similar to a SEAL or Delta Force member, it was their year-long medical training to be a field doctor when a flight crew person was badly hurt that had always been valued by every SEAL team he’d served on. PJs always went into the field with any SEAL team. And while they could fire a weapon as well as any SEAL, still, medical rescue was their primary objective. Which was why Alonzo was asking his question.

Bill gave the man a thumbs-up. “Good question. And exactly right. Even though you and other teams may use taser zapped teammates as shields in order to complete the mission, never forget that they need help. Ship map, Star Traveler.” A holo took shape between him and the six team members. He pointed. “Take the taser zapped bodies of the ship crew and captain to the Containment Cell Chamber. Use your red cube to open a cell. Put them inside, one crewman to one cell. They’ll recover in nine hours and have food and water available.” He pointed to another part of the ship cross-section. “Any team member with a wound of any sort, take them to the Med Hall here. Inside you will find clamshell healer units, like those you saw earlier in this ship’s Med Hall. Make your teammate naked, put them inside a clamshell and close its top. The machine will start up automatically and begin healing your teammate. Believe me, these clamshells are extraordinary in what they can heal! Your ship mind will tell you when the healing is completed.” He looked around. “Anyone with other mission relevant questions?”

“Yes,” called the Green Beret, whose name was Francis. “What does a boarding team do if they hit a stalemate in their efforts to capture ship control?”