defuse. It looks like the transmitter has a laser weld on it, though, so we’ll need to cut it off and patch the hull. That will take a bit longer, or we might want to wait until we hit our next stop to cut it loose.”
Duv turned to see if Skeeter was paying attention. When he saw he wasn’t, he walked over and pulled the kid back over from watching the woods, then handed him a strange glowing device that looked like a small arch.
“What’s this for?”
“You’re going to defuse the bomb.”
“I am?”
“Yup. But I need you to focus on what I’m telling you so no one gets hurt. Alright, so take this and set one end here, where the detonator battery is. Now set the other end here on the hull in this sticky goop and wire it up.” He pointed to some clear glop he had applied to the hull, then handed Skeeter a small device that linked into the cables. “This tells you the frequencies that will set off the detonator, how much power the battery has left, and how the circuit works. So click here, and you see the link go red, right? Now hit this button, and…”
There was a quick sizzle, and the device spewed out some smoke. Skeeter jumped and then looked at the handheld, which showed the device as neutralized.
“Cool! So I can use this with any detonators?”
“Nope, just on the simple ones that use basic circuitry or frequencies. More complex ones may have secondary detonators, passive detection systems, or encrypted keys that require more sophisticated equipment. Not too bad for diffusing your first bomb, though!”
Skeeter grinned and moved to pull the detonator loose from the tracking device. Suddenly, there was a rising roar and the ground trembled. They both looked up to see two well-armed spacecraft break through the atmosphere and start skimming the tree line south of them. It only took Duv a minute to realize what they were doing.
He turned to Skeeter. “Get on the ship now and get to the bridge. Fire her up so she’s not cold, but keep it so the signature’s still low enough to not draw too much attention. Move!”
Skeeter was already running. He hit the ramp and ditched the tools, headed for the bridge. Duv cursed. Being away from the ISUs had allowed him to slack, and now they were going to pay for it. He had forgotten about checking for a burst transmission trigger. Deactivating the detonator must have tripped it providing a general location for the tracking ships to start looking for them. Duv grabbed the lightweight welder and dropped some goggles on as he sparked it to life. He turned the torch on the edge of the tracker and began cutting away the hull underneath. At the same time, he clicked his earpiece in place and flipped the mic on. “Captain, we’ve been had!”
—————
Reilly’s first sight as she came down the hall was of Ty backing out of a room half covered in blood. She automatically drew her weapons to cover him and Chang, but Chang shook his head and motioned towards the door instead. The view inside was gruesome. The sterile white walls were now splattered with red, spiraling out from a center point in the middle of the room where what was left of Errat Welch hung. Someone or something had thoroughly tortured him over a period of several hours before they finally slit his throat. She stepped into the room gingerly, so she didn’t slip on the blood pooled on the floor, and looked around. Whoever had done this had jerry-rigged the ropes using the large ceiling fan and some furniture to balance out Welch’s weight. The damage was very precise, so either a machine or an experienced interrogator with modern tools. Other than that, the house was untouched.
“Well so much for getting Welch to fill us in. Looks like we’re going to have to figure this one out on our own.” She paced the room, thinking. “Welch wasn’t deep in the market, didn’t have a record even. And he sure didn’t seem like a man living on the edge, no weapons, no real security.” She
Duv turned to see if Skeeter was paying attention. When he saw he wasn’t, he walked over and pulled the kid back over from watching the woods, then handed him a strange glowing device that looked like a small arch.
“What’s this for?”
“You’re going to defuse the bomb.”
“I am?”
“Yup. But I need you to focus on what I’m telling you so no one gets hurt. Alright, so take this and set one end here, where the detonator battery is. Now set the other end here on the hull in this sticky goop and wire it up.” He pointed to some clear glop he had applied to the hull, then handed Skeeter a small device that linked into the cables. “This tells you the frequencies that will set off the detonator, how much power the battery has left, and how the circuit works. So click here, and you see the link go red, right? Now hit this button, and…”
There was a quick sizzle, and the device spewed out some smoke. Skeeter jumped and then looked at the handheld, which showed the device as neutralized.
“Cool! So I can use this with any detonators?”
“Nope, just on the simple ones that use basic circuitry or frequencies. More complex ones may have secondary detonators, passive detection systems, or encrypted keys that require more sophisticated equipment. Not too bad for diffusing your first bomb, though!”
Skeeter grinned and moved to pull the detonator loose from the tracking device. Suddenly, there was a rising roar and the ground trembled. They both looked up to see two well-armed spacecraft break through the atmosphere and start skimming the tree line south of them. It only took Duv a minute to realize what they were doing.
He turned to Skeeter. “Get on the ship now and get to the bridge. Fire her up so she’s not cold, but keep it so the signature’s still low enough to not draw too much attention. Move!”
Skeeter was already running. He hit the ramp and ditched the tools, headed for the bridge. Duv cursed. Being away from the ISUs had allowed him to slack, and now they were going to pay for it. He had forgotten about checking for a burst transmission trigger. Deactivating the detonator must have tripped it providing a general location for the tracking ships to start looking for them. Duv grabbed the lightweight welder and dropped some goggles on as he sparked it to life. He turned the torch on the edge of the tracker and began cutting away the hull underneath. At the same time, he clicked his earpiece in place and flipped the mic on. “Captain, we’ve been had!”
—————
Reilly’s first sight as she came down the hall was of Ty backing out of a room half covered in blood. She automatically drew her weapons to cover him and Chang, but Chang shook his head and motioned towards the door instead. The view inside was gruesome. The sterile white walls were now splattered with red, spiraling out from a center point in the middle of the room where what was left of Errat Welch hung. Someone or something had thoroughly tortured him over a period of several hours before they finally slit his throat. She stepped into the room gingerly, so she didn’t slip on the blood pooled on the floor, and looked around. Whoever had done this had jerry-rigged the ropes using the large ceiling fan and some furniture to balance out Welch’s weight. The damage was very precise, so either a machine or an experienced interrogator with modern tools. Other than that, the house was untouched.
“Well so much for getting Welch to fill us in. Looks like we’re going to have to figure this one out on our own.” She paced the room, thinking. “Welch wasn’t deep in the market, didn’t have a record even. And he sure didn’t seem like a man living on the edge, no weapons, no real security.” She
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