The Soldier: Final Odyssey Page 15

  “The cyborg relics stashed at the Pit are about to vanish,” Drang said.

  “Arbiter, I-I hardly know what to say. I thought this was an emergency. Now, you’re talking about relics. I imagine you mean the artifacts the scientists are digging out of the earth.”

  Drang kept herself from laughing at his sorry attempt to pretend he didn’t know what was going on. She said, “The smugglers have military vessels. Were you aware of that?”

  “Now…now see here, Arbiter.” Williams frowned as if he was confused. “This is a—”

  “The Sub-Protector tried to buy me off,” Drang said, interrupting. “I let him believe he’d succeeded. He has not. That means your conspiracy is blown. Furthermore, there is an ancient cyborg lurker in the system hiding in the Asteroids. I believe it will strike after your treachery diminishes our military strength in the system.”

  Williams stared at her, but instead of appearing more tired and weak, molten steel seemed to pour from somewhere into his eyes, giving them hot power. It seemed he was going to drop the act.

  “You’ve badly miscalculated by calling me,” Williams said in steely voice.

  “No. I don’t think I have.”

  “We control space. You’re stranded on the planet, at our mercy.”

  “That’s the thing. You don’t control space. Didn’t you hear me? A cyborg lurker is out there. It might be the ship that gives the smugglers the critical advantage.”

  “Nonsense,” Williams said. “Old myths have no power to affect reality. I’m surprised you’re trying this.”

  “Senior Commandant Estevan and I both saw the lurker with the station’s new sensor nodes. The cyborg vessel vanished afterward, but it’s still out there. Ask Krenz to ask Estevan what we saw. You’ll be astonished at the truth.”

  “Bah. What could you possibly know about ancient lurkers? You’re making up problems to try to frighten me into helping you.”

  “An Ultra from the Cyborg War is here with me. He named the vessel for us.”

  Williams sneered. “This is a pathetic attempt at subterfuge. I expected better from you.”

  “Group Six of Earth has found a cache of Ultras from an ancient sleeper ship,” Drang said. “I do not lie. I am speaking the truth. Sub-Protector Krenz is failing badly. The best relics are about to disappear, meaning there will be much less to split between all of you. My professional advice, sir, is to switch back to our side and follow your oath. Join the destroyer and the stings. Lure the enemy vessels to the space station and finish them for good. Afterward, we might destroy or capture the lurker and save the Concord grave future harm.”

  “This is too ludicrous to countenance. I’m cutting the connection, Arbiter. I have work to do.”

  “You’re signing your death warrant if you do that. Your conspiracy has been shattered. I’ve already sent a message with a robot drone to the nearest Patrol base.”

  “I know that’s a lie. Nothing has left the system since the Descartes docked at the station. My people have been watching for exactly that.”

  The last statement was a lie, but Drang merely shook her head.

  At that point, a terrific planetary explosion broke the connection between the comm shack and cruiser. Drang felt the room shake. She stood, and sat back down, drained of energy.

  A man opened the door. Drang turned to him. “The nuclear device just went off,” he said. “There is no more Pit.”

  A cold feeling worked through Ira Drang. She hoped the convoy had been far enough away from the blast to survive. She hoped the Diggers and their mutant troops had been there, consumed in the nuclear holocaust. Whatever relics had been there were gone. That should severely cut into any profits the conspirators hoped to gain.

  The radiation and other interference from the blast made it impossible to regain any comm connection for the moment—to say nothing of the continuing jamming. What would Captain Williams be thinking now? He and his people would have seen the explosion from space. What was Krenz thinking? Was he speaking to Williams about it, reconsidering their options?

  The captain of the Illustrious had had a point, though. The conspirators owned the high ground, space. Just what sort of military vessels did the smugglers have? Was the lurker capable of offensive action?

  Drang exhaled. There were too many imponderables. The space station had weaponry. Combined with the cruiser, destroyer and stings, they should be able to defeat whatever the smugglers had slipped into the Asteroids. Even if the lurker joined the smugglers, Patrol firepower should be enough to face them all and survive. It was the same old story, united we stand and divided we fall.

  “Stand with us Captain Williams,” Drang whispered under her breath. “Recalculate the odds and do the right thing.”

  She looked up at the ceiling, wondering what was going on up there.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  In the space station infirmary, Dr. Halifax moaned in pain. He was vaguely aware of someone stepping away from him, holding a hypogun.

  Orderlies approached, big ugly suckers in white uniforms. They laid beefy hands on him, and the waves of pain caused Halifax to cry out in agony. The orderlies paid no heed, lifting him from the medical cot and depositing him in a wheelchair. Wherever they’d touched his bandages, his skin felt as if it was on fire again.

  Halifax panted as he bent over. He still wore the healing bandages head to toe. That he could sit here like this at all was a marvel. That he could think in the slightest was a testimony to Concord medical advances. The painkiller an orderly had shot into his system was probably helping as well.

  One of the orderlies pushed his wheelchair. The man walked quickly and jerked the wheelchair every time he took a corridor turn. Ten minutes later, the orderly exited an elevator, bringing Halifax to the space station’s Operational Center. The man wheeled Halifax to a large screen.

  Sub-Protector Krenz stood there, shoulders hunched as he watched a recording of a strange shark-like spaceship with seeming fish scales for hull plating. Small Krenz turned to Halifax, although the Sub-Protector pointed at the screen.

  “Do you know what that is?” Krenz asked.

  Halifax eyed the vessel. “A ship,” he said.

  “What kind of ship?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Come, come, Doctor. That isn’t going to help you. I happen to know you’re a case officer for Group Six.”

  “I was but not anymore.”

  “Is Marcus Cade an Ultra?”

  “Uh…yes. I should think that obvious.”

  “How do you know he’s an Ultra and not just a big human with speeded reflexes?”

  Halifax tried to reason what he should say to give him the greatest advantage. His discomfort made it hard to plot, however, as his skin had started to itch all over.

  “Do you need another painkiller?” Krenz asked.

  Halifax thought about that. Too many powerful painkillers might hurt his organs. But he needed his wits. The sharper his wits, the greater the chance he could outsmart these backwater hillbillies.

  “My mind is feeling groggy,” Halifax said.

  Krenz motioned to the burly nurse standing behind the wheelchair.

  There was pressure on Halifax’s neck, a hiss as air injected the painkiller through the bandages and the skin and fat of his neck. It was a hot and then cooling sensation. Almost immediately, the fog in his thoughts dissipated.

  Halifax looked around. Why was he in the Operational Center anyway? It made no sense. The personnel seemed subdued. A few looked edgy, worried perhaps.

  Krenz was snapping his fingers. “Doctor, if I could have your attention.”

  “Certainly, Sub-Protector,” Halifax said as he faced the man.

  “Do you see that vessel?” Krenz pointed at a still-shot of the shark-like ship.

  Halifax studied it. He’d never seen anything like it before. Then, he sucked in his breath sharply.

  “Ah,” Krenz said. “You recognize it, don’t you?”

&nb
sp; “Is it an Ultra attack ship?”

  Krenz glared at him. “Don’t waste my time, Doctor. You know it’s a cyborg ship from the ancient war.”

  The revelation stunned Halifax. He thought fast, trying to see how he could use this to his advantage. Ah! He had an idea. “I, ah, didn’t know you knew enough to know that.”

  “Enough of your games. Is it a lurker?”

  “Yes.”

  Krenz stared up at the ceiling as he clenched and unclenched his fingers. He turned to someone Halifax couldn’t see. “Get Estevan up here fast,” the Sub-Protector said.

  A person hurried away.

  Krenz turned back to Halifax. “Why did Group Six send you and Cade here?”

  In order to understand the situation better, Halifax said, “I’m surprised Arbiter Drang isn’t questioning me.”

  “Don’t be coy. You know she’s on the planet. You probably told her about me. I don’t see how she could have figured everything out so quickly otherwise.”

  “You have been busy,” Halifax said, deciding vague comments would be wisest until he figured out exactly what was going on.

  Krenz stared at the lurker on the screen. “According to my data, Group Six has revived Ultras. Is Earth Intelligence also working with cyborgs?”

  “No, no. Cyborgs…are intensely xenophobic. They turn their captives into cyborgs and destroy the rest.” Halifax had learned that from Cade’s hints dropped during their many months together.

  “You don’t believe I can strike a deal with the cyborg captain?” Krenz asked.

  “Not unless they’ve shoved an obedience chip into your brain. Why? Have you spoken with the lurker captain?”

  “I’m asking the questions.” Krenz motioned to someone unseen. A new still-shot appeared on the screen. It showed a visible surface explosion in Therduim III’s ubiquitous jungle. “What do you make of that?”

  “A nuclear or antimatter explosion,” Halifax said.

  “Was that planned?”

  Halifax was confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I doubt that’s true. I think if you can’t acquire the relics, no one can. Is that it?”

  Halifax stared at the screen, trying to put the pieces together. The nuclear or antimatter explosion must have occurred on Therduim III. The Sub-Protector must mean the Pit where people dug up ancient cyborg relics. Clearly, Krenz thought this was some sort of Group Six plot. What was the best way to use that?

  “Are some of the smugglers Group Six operatives?” Krenz asked.

  There was the answer, and Halifax now realized exactly how to do this. “If I knew a little more, I could tell you.”

  “Meaning what?” Krenz said angrily.

  “That Group Six compartmentalizes its missions. I don’t know about the smugglers, but given enough information I could tell you if they’re working for Director G.T. Titus or not.”

  “This Director Titus runs Group Six?”

  “Quite effectively, as I think you’re finding out.”

  Krenz grunted as he scratched one of the tufts of white hair sticking up from his head. “The smugglers are headed here,” the Sub-Protector said abruptly. “They’re creating a mass aerosol field before their ships as protection.”

  “I’m not sure I understand that,” Halifax said.

  Krenz snapped his fingers. The scene changed on the main screen, moving again. It no longer showed the explosion on the planet, but a growing space cloud. “The smugglers are spraying the cloud into existence before their ships. I don’t know their numbers or kind because of that. It’s more than an informational shield, however, but also a laser block.”

  “Oh,” Halifax said, understanding. A laser beam would take time burning through an aerosol cloud. The cloud would also help block radiation or a warhead blast and might retard missiles too.

  “Your Director Titus is shrewd,” Krenz said. “Cade is trying to make me believe that he destroyed the cyborg relics at the Pit.”

  “You don’t buy that?”

  “A convoy has fought its way from the Pit and is approaching the Spaceport. One of the few reasons I haven’t ordered the Illustrious to launch space-to-surface missiles at the convoy is that I believe Cade took the relics for Group Six and is trying to hide that fact through the nuclear explosion.”

  “Hmm,” Halifax said, as if that revealed something.

  “The Diggers have taken a heavy blow, and much of their gathered mutant horde is gone, both because of the Pit blast and from fighting the convoy. Doctor, I’m willing to make a deal.”

  “It’s that bad, huh?”

  Krenz looked as if he was going to shout at Halifax. Instead, the Sub-Protector contained his emotions. “Yes. It is that bad. Here’s the thing. I want the rest of the relics. I need them. I freely admit that to you. What I want to know is your price for helping me acquire them.”

  “What if I said I wanted the lurker as my price?” Halifax asked.

  “I would know that you weren’t serious. Surely, you realize we haven’t been able to find the lurker again.”

  “I figured as much,” Halifax said.

  “Of course, if you prove too stubborn of a bargainer, I could have you shot as a spymaster.”

  “No need for threats, Sub-Protector. We can work something out.”

  “Doctor, it’s time to lay down your cards. You’ve been vague because you’re trying to sound me out. I can destroy your smuggling vessels. That might cost me some of the space station, and that might cost me some of the relics stored here. Or…”

  “Or Group Six could buy the relics from you,” Halifax said.

  Krenz nodded slowly. “That would give both of us what we want, yes?”

  “Yes indeed,” Halifax said.

  “The critical aspect of this would be the transfer of funds.”

  “And the price,” Halifax said.

  “Yes, and the price,” Krenz agreed. “First, how can we make a money transfer?”

  Halifax had no idea. But then, he didn’t have any money. He needed time, however, and that meant… “We would transfer the funds on Bremen.”

  Krenz raised his eyebrows.

  “Naturally, Cade and I, and the relics, would have to travel there first.”

  “I see. And how do you propose I lift Cade and the relics from the surface while the smuggling task force nears the space station?”

  “You have it wrong. I’ll go down with a shuttle—”

  “You mean the lifter,” Krenz said, interrupting. “A shuttle would be too small to carry the relics.”

  “I wasn’t attempting to be precise, but yes, I’d go down with the lifter. After talking with Cade, we would load up the relics and return upstairs to you.”

  Krenz stared at him suspiciously. “What would prevent me from simply taking the relics at that point?”

  “The same thing that stopped you at the Pit,” Halifax said.

  “You’d willingly commit suicide by blowing yourselves and the relics up with atomics?”

  “You misunderstand the situation, sir. Cade is a fanatic. He will do anything to succeed. It’s part of his Ultra makeup. On the other hand, money is no object to me, although it is to Director Titus. Still, the Director wants the relics and Cade wishes to bring them home.”

  Krenz studied Halifax. “I wish I could believe you. Convince me you’re telling the truth.”

  “What’s to convince?” asked Halifax. “You know it’s the truth. Send down the lifter. What do you have to lose?”

  “The relics, my hold over you,” Krenz said. “Who knows what else?”

  “You’re wrong. You hold the high ground. All we hold are the relics.”

  “Drang is down there.”

  “I know how to deal with Drang,” Halifax said.

  “Is that why your skin is burned?”

  “A small miscalculation,” Halifax said blandly.

  Krenz turned away and then turned back as he exhaled hard. “You’re a cagey, sneaky bastard
. You almost convinced me earlier that you two were on the run from Group Six. I read the report regarding the intelligence interrogation. Killing Monitor Varo—that was the master move. It made me think for a time you were what you said you were. After the detonation at the Pit—then I saw the truth. You turned Drang and staged a little play. That’s the only explanation that makes sense. Is Drang a Group Six double agent?”

  “Not yet.”

  “I’m not sure I believe that,” Krenz said. “Very well. I’ll send you down with the lifter. As you say, what can I lose? But if you try to double cross me, Doctor…”

  “Please,” Halifax said. “I came here for one purpose only: gaining the cyborg relics. Once we reach Bremen, I think you’ll find my offer for them quite generous.”

  Krenz grunted noncommittally. “When do you want to leave for the planet?”

  “The sooner the better,” Halifax said.

  “Yes, I agree. Therefore, now is as good a time as any. Remember, though, some of the crew will be my people. You won’t know who, but they’ll be watching, with guns aimed at your back.”

  “Tut, tut,” Halifax said. “We’re both getting what we want. Thus, your threats are merely adding unneeded complications to the situation.”

  “Unneeded or not, I feel better knowing my people will kill you if you try anything tricky.”

  Halifax shrugged. “Do what you must, sir. Just make sure the smugglers and/or the lurker doesn’t defeat you and ruin everything.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The nuclear explosion at the Pit sent a mushroom cloud into the air, but one much smaller than it could have been. The cloud signaled a change on the planet that only slowly dawned upon those in the convoy and at the Spaceport.

  The long snaking line of vehicles traveled the remaining distance on the black road without any interference from the mutants. There were no more sniping attacks, no more RPGs popping tires. For whatever reason, the nuclear explosion signaled the end of mutant harassment—at least, for the present.

  Cade’s armored car halted outside the electric fence of the Spaceport. No one came out from the gate, though. Finally, Godfrey established harshly static radio contact with those inside.