“No, just to warn a command carrier in orbit that they're under attack. They've assumed control and according to this there's an invasion force on the way.”
“Oh great. Any idea how large the fleet is up there?”
“None, I don't even recognize the class of the command carrier, but it's Regent Galactic. The people down here might not have been experts on communications, but whoever's up on that carrier knows exactly what they're doing.”
“Charges are in place, counting down from one minute on your go,” Minh called up from downstairs.
“I've got an access port for the hypertransmitter in orbit, as soon as the jamming stops I can broadcast,” Jason said as he set the main terminal to go into standby mode.
“All right, lets go. Start the timers,” Ayan ordered as she lead the way out of the bunker at a dead run.
Jason was right behind her, closely followed by Oz and Minh. It had started to rain, giving the gravel a more slick quality, they took cover behind a half ruined four seater atmosphere car in the thickening downpour. The seconds ticked by quietly until there was a flash of light and a pop at the bunker doors followed by billowing, thick black smoke.
The group watched as Jason uplinked to the hypertransmitter in orbit, and sent the emergency message from Alaka to the Carthan Government successfully. “That's done, I even have a confirmation signal from the other side.” He pressed another icon on his command and control unit, sending their encoded mission complete signal to Roman and Alaka inside the mountain along with their status and location. “Too bad they can't get someone out here to help, there's a ton of traffic on the command line. Wait, what's this?”
He brought up a transmission that had just gone through the hypertransmitter from the planet and patched it in through their communicators. “Here it is from the beginning.”
Lalonde, Randolph
Spinward Fringe Frontline
“This is Captain Valance to Triton, I need a pickup in Damshir on Pandem. It's a war zone, there's a fleet in orbit, the Holocaust Virus has hit and the West Watch have taken control of all automated systems with support from Regent Galactic. I'm in the city south of the mountain, there must be someone alive up there behind energy shielding-” The static and wireless noise of aggressive jamming signals resumed, cutting Jacob off.
“What's with him not reporting his coordinates? How the hell are we supposed to get to him if we don't know where he is?” Oz exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration.
“He might have something after him. I don't know why he'd come alone, but at least the Triton will know what's going on soon. It sounds like he's headed for the mountain though, so he's going in the right direction,” Jason reassured him.
“How would he signal anyone in the mountain to let him through the shield? It's not like he could sneak in, they've got the whole place locked down.”
“Hopefully we can get to a wired connection to the mountain somewhere to tell Alaka or Roman to expect him.”
“I'm guessing the spaceport would be the most likely place to start looking for an intact-” Minh started but was interrupted as the sky lit up with the engine fire of dozens of drop ships.
“If we can't find an intact wire maybe the transit tunnels can get us back to the mountain. I told them we wouldn't be getting back, but if Jake is on his way there we should try to get him behind the shield and regroup.” Ayan said firmly, making sure her rifle was securely slung.
“Sounds like the best choice considering there's a fleet in orbit,” Oz said quietly. “Oh, and some of my stealth systems still haven't regenerated.”
“I know, your long range covert systems still work, right?”
“Yup, I won't show up on thermal or throw any EM.”
“Good, let's go,” Ayan said, starting off at a run between the rows of sugar cane.
“Are you all right?” Minh asked her privately.
“I'm fine, let's just get back in one piece and try to save Jake's butt along the way.”
Eve
The operating room was unlike anything Gabriel Meunez had ever seen. All the surfaces were a shade of red and covered with tacky, self sterilizing non-slip coating. Independent inertial dampeners, environmental systems and gravity management systems were behind a thick armoured curtain in one corner, available for servicing at a moment's notice. The lights projecting down from overhead were so bright and multi directional that the few shadows left stood out like stark black outlines on the various red surfaces.
The one they had augmented and rebuilt from human into a hybrid framework lay on the operating table under surgical covers. She was called Gloria, but in moments she would be no more. Her human brain, born of a mother like trillions of humans throughout history would be discarded like a waste product. All that work, moderating her tendencies through direct interface treatment, rehabilitation, all gone to waste. It's a shame, but the woman was so damaged that her mind couldn't be cleared without damaging it physically, permanently. At least there will be no pain.
“Anaesthesia is in full effect. Begin,” ordered the dispassionate lead surgeon. He was a specialist, Doctor Nevil Barnes, and he had spent months aboard his ship waiting to take on this one task. The kind of transplant that was about to occur was beyond rare, it was nigh unheard of outside of horror movies.
The initial crackle of a particle saw coming to life startled Gabriel and as he watched from behind the sterile shield at one end of the operating room the beam began cutting through skin and bone. He cringed and had to look away. The very nature of what was happening was at first fascinating, then he discovered how grisly the act would actually be and he found himself struggling to watch.
He had sent countless troopers to their deaths, onto battlefields that became graveyards, but he had never personally seen the gore. The blood that flowed in everyone's veins was a scarlet secret to him and even though the events transpiring in the room were of his doing it took all his bravery and fortitude to look back at the proceedings.
The lead surgeon, surrounded by other doctors who leapt at the chance to assist, was just about to finish cutting the top of the woman's skull off. The large three dimentional representation of what was happening inside the patient's head hovered in front of him, backed by another two dimensional display just past it, keeping all her vital readings and invisible details in easy view.
“All right, here we go,” announced Doctor Barnes in a whisper as he gently removed the top of Gloria's skull.
Unable to control himself any longer Gabriel spun around. A nurse was right behind him with a bucket, holding the self sealing lid open for him. His gelatinous brown synthetic breakfast came up in a violent surge. The sight of the substance his automated nutrient generator filled his stomach with several times a day urged another heave.
“Don't mind the man behind the curtain,” commented one of the Doctors as the skullcap was carefully laid in a container. There was some chuckling and head shaking, Gabriel could hear some and guess at the rest as he wiped his mouth with the towelette the nurse handed handed him.
He took several deep breaths and started to turn back to the ongoing surgery. Gabriel's stomach immediately threatened to revolt, to start heaving whatever was left and he faced forward once more. “They said this shouldn't happen, the nutrient delivery systems should manage any reaction,” he told the nurse, a hairy knuckled, thickly built man.
“It's nerves sir. Same thing happened to me in anatomy class. I have something that'll help,” he replied, holding up a small medical infuser.
“Please, I don't want to miss this, it's history you know.”
The nurse held the infuser next to Gabriel's cheek and pressed the small button on the other end, sending a mist of medication into his system through his skin. It felt like a mild, brief cold pinch. “You should feel that right away.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you very much, there'll be something extra in your next paycheck.”
