Dawn came, and in all directions fires burned. The sky was blue and grey, factory and refinery complexes had been made into raging infernos during the night and it satisfied him deeply. Something had been taken from him by these people, the man who was so proud of him was gone, and it was all their fault.
“The man who stokes too many fires may set alight that which should not burn,” said a shorter man in combat armour to his left.
“Do you have an expression for everything Minh?” He asked his friend.
The air became thick, he couldn't move. There was some kind of halo around his forehead and shadows lurking outside. “A bird does not sing because it has an answer,” said the shorter fellow from somewhere behind him.
“It sings because it has a song,” Jake finished, though the viscus liquid didn't permit the sound to travel.
A man with a grey beard knocked on the transparent barrier and Jake woke up so utterly furious he twisted his blankets in his hands. He was breathless, sweating, his head felt like it was on fire.
Jacob's eye was drawn to the love seat in his ready quarters, where he had left his long coat and long white silken scarf. Just seeing them there calmed him down. He got up and picked up the scarf. Jake held it gently in his hand, evoking memories of the petite fiery haired woman standing at the window. “It sings because it has a song,” he said to himself in a whisper.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared out the transparent hull above the loveseat for a time before his subdermal communicator beeped quietly. “Go ahead.”
“This is Andy, I'm on shift in communications tonight. Sorry to contact you so late, Captain.”
“I'm awake, what's this about?”
“Someone's fixed our main transmitter array and we found them sending encrypted messages. Jane Eccleston went town to check the terminal with a squad. There was an explosion, we lost contact.”
“I'm on my way. Tell security not to send anyone in. Just have them seal and guard that section until I arrive.”
“Yes sir.”
“Oh, and did someone assign quarters to Alice?”
There was a delay as the comms crewman looked it up or asked someone else. “Security reports that she's been given temporary quarters, they're listed in the ship manifest.”
“Thank you, Valance out.”
Captain Valance laid the scarf down with care across the loveseat and got dressed. As he made his way to the aft section of deck three he checked the deck blueprints. It was packed with sensitive systems, there was no way he could disable whoever was in there with an electromagnetic grenade. There were maintenance hatches, even a few small access passages, but he couldn't judge how packed in they were with cabling. I need to learn more about this ship. My engineering knowledge gives me an advantage, but before now I've never even seen a Sol carrier.
Jake stepped into an express tube that would take him to the hallway leading directly into that section and nodded at the pair of soldiers there. They both saluted. “Captain.”
“At ease. You're headed aft?”
“Aye sir.”
The express car moved upward then horizontally at great speed, its independent gravity systems protected the occupants from any stress. It was as though they weren't moving at all. The tall windows to their right and left showed the opaque and transparent sections of the express tunnel.
The car came to a halt and its doors opened. Captain Valance stepped out first and looked down the three hallways. There were a pair of soldiers guarding a doorway leading into the section in question, but he didn't see anyone else. “You two will guard this expressway. If the doors open or anything strange happens, fire stun shots in every direction for ten seconds.”
“Sir?” one of them questioned.
“I've boarded a ship in a stealth suit before. If it weren't damaged by an EMP bomb I'd be wearing it now. I want you to assume you're guarding against someone as well or more well equipped than I am. Besides, it's easier to stun first and apologize later.”
“Yes sir,” The soldier said as they took positions in front of the closed express shaft doors.
Captain Valance walked down the center hallway to the pair of soldiers guarding the interior of the locked section.
“This area is off limits. Please move on,” ordered one of them.
“I know, those were my orders. Where did the Chief and her squad get hit?”
“Um, just inside sir,” the other soldier reported. “I'm sorry Captain, we haven't all seen the press on you yet sir. There's been a lot going on.”
“That's all right. I'll be going in alone.”
“Is that wise sir? I mean, pardon me for saying so, but it sounds like whoever is inside is well armed and-” the burly guard managed before he was interrupted.
“You're speaking out of turn soldier. Step aside,” Captain Valance ordered flatly.
The guards moved to the side and Captain Valance motioned for them to move back further. “Get to the end of the corridor. Keep your weapons trained on this hatch until I give the all clear.”
“Yes sir.”
He waited for them to get in position before he stood beside the door and deactivated the lock. The smell of burned flesh filled the corridor and Jake sealed his headpiece. With his arm command unit he turned up the density of the suit, just in case there was an explosion and his suit didn't have time to adjust on its own.
Captain Valance stepped into the hall and carefully moved forward, watching the transparent overlay on his visor as it scanned all wavelengths of light, displayed thermal and electromagnetic profiles and the results of the sonar and motion detection data. It was all stacked up on little squares along the bottom of his visor, just out of his line of sight. If he wanted to enlarge a reading he only had to look directly at it.
He could see the explosion occurred just down to the first four way intersection and to the right. He focused on the electromagnetic sensors and it transparently overlaid everything in sight. There was a small source of electromagnetism just past the intersection that wasn't connected to any ship systems. The computer enhanced its shape in the complete darkness and he verified it was a high intensity proximity mine.
Using a combination of detection technologies the hall soon looked perfectly lit with extra information over top through his blackened visor, and he stepped around the corner. The remains of Chief Eccleston and her team were scattered everywhere for the next twelve meters. They didn't see what hit them. Their vacsuits were well beneath the quality that he wore, and the mine had a brain intelligent enough to let them get right next to it before it blew. It also fit right against the wall, only three millimetres thick and ten centimetres by ten centimetres. Its colour changed to match whatever surface it was attached to, expensive technology. The physically small explosive was enough to do incredible damage. There was nothing intact to save, and the medical readings confirmed it. There wasn't a single snapping synapse in the charred hallway.
He continued on, double checking everything. If I were the one setting traps, the first thing I would have done is gone back and put a mine right in the middle of this mess. Jake thought to himself. Something caught his eye and he stopped.
A smaller proximity mine was rolled up and tucked into the remains of one soldier, almost completely shielded from his sensor suite. He shook his head and carefully stepped back.
Staring at the remains harbouring the deadly surprise, he thought about what he had brought with him and anything he could pull out of the walls or use in his surroundings to deactivate the device. I can't believe I have absolutely nothing that can deal with this discreetly. He thought to himself, shaking his head. While I consider the problem this saboteur is trying just as hard to find a way out or coming closer to their endgame.
Jake drew his sidearm and stepped back to the corner. He took aim and fired, setting the mine off. The hall was filled with debris instantly, the deck shook and he heard a secondary explosion further off. He hadn't come to any harm, and he checked the active blueprint of the deck to ensure the corridors hadn't been breached. It marked minor damage on two parts of the deck and some tearing at the next corner, but other than that the damage was superficial. “They don't make 'em like this anymore,” he said to himself.
“What was that sir?” asked someone on the security channel.
“Those detonations were intentional. Make no entry,” he ordered. “Keep the channel clear please.”
