The Search for Gram (28 page)

“
Yeah, we felt it,
” said Night as the ramp started down. “
Those of us who survived the ‘landing’ are proceeding on mission.
”

Night looked into the shuttle bay and could see two of the freighter’s crewmen waiting beside several large piles of boxes and equipment. He had already noted the crewmen had helmets on, but now he could also see they were walking normally. “
No air,
” he commed, “
but it looks like there’s gravity at least.
” The ramp grounded onto the deck. “
Let’s go!
”

He led the troops down the ramp, and they spread out, looking for adversaries and defensible positions. The Efreet remained in place, waiting for the crew of the shuttle to disembark, unable to see the Terrans in their suits.

Night scanned the loading bay. The Terrans were in luck; although there were cameras mounted in a couple of places, there didn’t appear to be a manned control room overseeing the bay’s operations. Two other Efreet drove forklift-like conveyances toward the piles of equipment.

“
Cameras located
here
and
here,” he commed, marking them on the tactical map which showed on all the troopers’ heads-up displays.

“
I’ve got one more,
” said Sergeant Jones. A number “3” illuminated on the map on the other side of the shuttle where Night couldn’t see it.

Night trusted the former CIA agent to know what he was looking at. “
Okay,
” Night said. “
You’ve got that one, Jones. Corporal Burke’s got the first one and Sergeant Lancaster’s got the second. We’ll wait for the forklifts to stop, and then we’ll go on my command.
”

“
How are we doing?
” asked Calvin. Night’s suit showed his CO was on the shuttle ramp. Good; they wouldn’t have to wait for him. A green light lit up on his display. Sergeant Graham was ready.

“
Good, sir,
” replied Night as he sent out targeting instructions to his troops. Each soldier received a primary and a secondary target, based on their weapons and positioning. “
We’re just about ready to go. Just waiting for the forklifts to stop.
”

“
Stand by,
” he said as the forklifts neared the piles of gear. The waiting Efreet were starting to look a little antsy. The forklifts stopped. “
Fire!
” he commed.

A massive blast rocked the shuttle bay as the explosives Sergeant Graham had placed on the airlock door detonated. The door came off its hinges and fell toward the deck. The cameras exploded, and the four Efreet died before it hit.

“
Get the next set of charges ready!
” ordered Night. “
Now!
”

“What in the five hells was that?” asked the Efreeti CO as the ship shuddered.

“I do not know,” said the intelligence officer, who monitored status both inside and outside the ship. “It appears there was an explosion in Landing Bay Three. It must have been a big one; all the cameras in the bay are out.”

“Call the loading bay supervisor,” said the CO. “Find out what happened.”

“I have been trying to contact the loading bay supervisor,” said the intelligence officer. “He isn’t responding.”

“As badly as the shuttle was flying, I’ll bet it crashed,” commented the shuttle control officer. “Its fuel must have exploded.”

The ship shuddered again.

“Hull breach!” called the engineering officer. “Hull breach in the area of Landing Bay Three.”

“Battle Stations,” ordered the CO. “Get a damage control crew down there
now!
”

In deciding their final battle plan, Calvin and Night had discussed whether to “go loud” or try to sneak their way into the ship. They had come to the conclusion there would likely be a control room or cameras which would give them away; “going loud” at least gave them the initiative. The plan would only work, though, if they could make it to the bridge before the Efreet realized there were intruders on the ship.

The race was on.

“
I’ve got a map,
” said Sergeant Tomaselli for the second time that day. Calvin and Night raced to his side to look at the diagram.

“
Got it,
” said Calvin, transmitting the intended route of travel to the group. “
Let’s go!
”

A voice began talking on the ship’s intercom, and Efreet surged into the passageways as they responded to the emergency.

“
Contact,
” said Sergeant Lancaster, who had point. “
Two tangos down,
” he added, indicating he had killed two of the enemy.

“Damn,” said Calvin. Dead Efreet meant bodies that could be discovered. He had hoped to avoid that. “
Roger,
” he commed. “
Pick it up; we’ve got to get to the bridge
now!”

“Captain, I am getting strange power readings from the interior of the ship,” said the intelligence officer. “I am also showing doors opening where no one can be seen on the cameras.”

“What is happening in the loading bay where the shuttle landed?”

“There is nothing going on there,” said the damage control officer. “My team just arrived, and there is no one there. The airlock doors have been destroyed, but there are no signs of life. Even our loading crew is gone.”

“This is obviously a security test by the
Incinerator,
” said the captain. “Initiate all security protocols. Alert the troops.”

“
Run!
” Calvin ordered as the green lights began flashing. By his estimation, they were about halfway to the bridge. They had been balancing the need for speed with the need to stay undetected. If the lights were flashing, only the need for speed remained.

“
Guards at the next stairwell,
” said Wraith, who was on point.

“
Kill them,
” Night ordered. “
Keep moving!
”

Calvin passed the guards moments later. Both had been shot through the head at close range.

The race to the bridge continued.

“I’ve got them,” said the intelligence officer. “The intruders appear to be heading for the bridge.”

“Do you mean the security team from the
Incinerator?
” asked the captain.

“I do not believe the intruders are from the
Incinerator,
” replied the intelligence officer. “They appear to be killing our guards, not incapacitating them. We are being invaded by an unknown force. The only group which matches the capabilities demonstrated by this group is an Alliance force wearing combat suits. We were warned about them by the Jotunn.”

“But they are in the other universe, not ours,” said the captain. “How did they get here?”

“That is unknown,” said the intelligence officer. “All I can tell you, sir, is they are here, and they are rapidly approaching the bridge.”

“Lock the doors,” ordered the captain, “and get the marines up here
now!
”

“
I am at the bridge door,
” reported Wraith.

“
Stack up and get ready to enter,
” said Night; “
we’re right behind you.
”

The troops made two lines and prepared to enter the bridge. “
Go!
” Night ordered when he saw everyone was ready.

Wraith pushed the button to open the door, but it remained closed. She pushed it several more times in rapid succession. It stayed shut.

“
Jones, Lancaster, get up here and see if you can rewire the door panel,
” said Night. “
Graham, start cutting the door in case they can’t. They obviously know we’re here; there’s no need for subtlety.
”

The squad made room for the cyborg to get to the door, and her laser snapped on in welding mode. Visors dimmed for the troops facing the door as their suits dealt with its actinic glare.

“
Movement from the rear!
” called Corporal Pat “Ostrich” Burke. He began firing down the corridor. “
Different troops,
” he added. “
These guys are dressed in green.
”

“
Holy shit!
” added Sergeant Nicholas Tomaselli. “
They’re better armed too. They’ve got lasers as good as ours. Look out Ostrich!
” He dove to the floor and returned fire. Burke crashed to the deck next to him and became visible, a laser hole through his visor. “
Ostrich is down! Medic!
”

“
They can’t see us,
” growled Night, “
it was just a lucky shot. Everyone get down and return fire.
”

The Terrans dove to the deck, unable to find any cover in the empty passageway.

They were trapped.

Jotunn Jail, 14 Herculis ‘a,’ Unknown Date/Time

“More of them coming this time,” said Rock from the door of the cell. “Fuck!” he yelled as he dove to the side. Several laser bolts hit the bars near where he had been standing.

Rock stood up and crossed the cell to where the group waited behind their makeshift barricade. “This group is armed,” he added.

“I saw that,” said Chomper. He squatted down behind the only cover they had, the bodies of the fallen giants. “How many are there?”

“Too many,” replied Rock. “K-Mart better get back soon.”

“The marines are asking for permission to use the device,” said the intelligence officer.

“Will that affect us in here?” asked the captain, looking at the cut in the door. It was growing at an alarming rate.

“The bridge is shielded; it shouldn’t affect us,” said the intelligence officer.

“Kill the power to the rest of the ship,” said the captain. “Tell the marines to proceed.”

“
Shit,
” said several voices simultaneously as the lights went out.

“
Switch to infrared and keep up the fire support,
” said Night. “
Graham is over halfway through the door.
”

Calvin switched his visor to infrared. The Efreet didn’t show up as brightly as humans did, but they could be seen well enough. He fired a couple of shots then turned to see how far Graham still had to cut. 

“
What the hell’s that?
” asked Sergeant Tomaselli.

Calvin turned back just in time to see the dim outline of a barrel-shaped object come to a stop in the middle of the passageway. It was about three feet in diameter and four feet high, with something small sticking up several feet from its center. A light snapped on at the top that was too bright to look at, causing all of the Terrans’ visors to darken. The device started humming with a low electronic vibration which raised the hair on the back of the Terrans’ necks.

The barrel looked familiar, Calvin thought. It took him a second, but then he remembered. “
Down!
” he yelled.

The noise from the barrel grew both louder and higher in pitch.

“
Should we shoot it?
” asked Sergeant Tomaselli.

Before Calvin could answer, the barrel detonated.