away from the site, six more pairs of modules were prepared. Then the process started over. When they were finished, a total of 18 pairs of ground transport modules were assembled.
Cort spoke to Kim. “If I’m right, you have three weeks to get all this gear out of here. Everything goes to Oxia Palus. If you approach and see a firefight going on, turn for the Aeolis site. Then come back for all the spares. How long do you think it will take you?”
“Four men are staying behind to continue loading. I’m leaving a MERV with them in case they have to run. The rest are moving out right behind you. I wish we didn’t have to leave so many good modules behind. We could use them if we’re about to be cut off from Earth,” Kim said. “I know you have to destroy whatever we can’t take, but I don’t like it.”
“Okay. Keep working. I’m leaving now. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Whatever we can save, we will. But I won’t let them take the facility. Under any circumstances.”
“Understood. And for what it’s worth, I agree,” Kim said.
Earth
“General Taps, will you come with us, sir?”
Taps looked up to see three security officers standing at his office door. He had been going over reports all morning. “What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”
“Come with us please, General Taps. It is my duty to place you under arrest.”
Oxia Palus
Cort arrived four days later in a MERV. The lighter and faster MELT wasn’t able to tow the HAWC suit safely. He arrived with just three hours to spare. “If this really is their target, I’ll be ready. But right now, I’m starving.”
Two hours later Rhodes commed him. “It looks like you were right, sir. The second module is in synchronous orbit above corridor three.”
“Okay. I’m suiting up. Get my people to all the airlocks.”
“Yes, sir.”
--
“Oh my Gods. What is that?” Keen asked, pointing at the monitor. The external camera from corridor three’s terminal module showed a man ten meters tall with a long spear like weapon mounted to his shoulder.
“I believe that is a ‘hawk’, Governor,” Rhodes said as the man looked up. The long weapon on the shoulder of the power suit grew much longer.
--
“Okay people. We’re going in hot. Prowlers only. No prisoners,” Captain Jon Tyre told his troops. Without having heard from Diomedes One, protocol required him to treat the landing zone as ‘extremely hostile’. That meant lethal force.
--
Kim Point was in the front passenger seat of the MELF when the Oxia colony came into sight. She saw Cort standing at the end of corridor three looking up at the sky. There was something on the shoulder of his HAWC suit. She followed the warrior’s gaze to the vessel that was slowly descending.
--
“Is the corridor three area evacuated, Rhodes?” Cort asked. The freighter module was approaching five kilometers altitude. Cort wasn’t going to let it transition to ‘colony module’.
“Yes. Everyone is moved to other quadrants. All airlocks are sealed. Hopefully it won’t matter though. If you can hit it as hard as you claim, any debris should land downwind of the colony.”
--
“Activate your atmosphere. We are at four kilometers,” Tyre said to his men in the descending module.
--
Cort acquired the freighter. His railgun was in Fractional -mode. The extended rails would accelerate the slug to a fraction of the speed of light, and once the round left the magnetic containment of the rails, it would convert to plasma. Cort fired the weapon.
--
Kim and her convoy had stopped one kilometer from the colony. The ones who were looking at the descending freighter were not able to see anything for several minutes. It was as if a sun had temporarily blinked into existence. The sky was pure white for thousands of meters in every direction. It would be an hour before the convoy could continue
Cort spoke to Kim. “If I’m right, you have three weeks to get all this gear out of here. Everything goes to Oxia Palus. If you approach and see a firefight going on, turn for the Aeolis site. Then come back for all the spares. How long do you think it will take you?”
“Four men are staying behind to continue loading. I’m leaving a MERV with them in case they have to run. The rest are moving out right behind you. I wish we didn’t have to leave so many good modules behind. We could use them if we’re about to be cut off from Earth,” Kim said. “I know you have to destroy whatever we can’t take, but I don’t like it.”
“Okay. Keep working. I’m leaving now. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Whatever we can save, we will. But I won’t let them take the facility. Under any circumstances.”
“Understood. And for what it’s worth, I agree,” Kim said.
Earth
“General Taps, will you come with us, sir?”
Taps looked up to see three security officers standing at his office door. He had been going over reports all morning. “What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”
“Come with us please, General Taps. It is my duty to place you under arrest.”
Oxia Palus
Cort arrived four days later in a MERV. The lighter and faster MELT wasn’t able to tow the HAWC suit safely. He arrived with just three hours to spare. “If this really is their target, I’ll be ready. But right now, I’m starving.”
Two hours later Rhodes commed him. “It looks like you were right, sir. The second module is in synchronous orbit above corridor three.”
“Okay. I’m suiting up. Get my people to all the airlocks.”
“Yes, sir.”
--
“Oh my Gods. What is that?” Keen asked, pointing at the monitor. The external camera from corridor three’s terminal module showed a man ten meters tall with a long spear like weapon mounted to his shoulder.
“I believe that is a ‘hawk’, Governor,” Rhodes said as the man looked up. The long weapon on the shoulder of the power suit grew much longer.
--
“Okay people. We’re going in hot. Prowlers only. No prisoners,” Captain Jon Tyre told his troops. Without having heard from Diomedes One, protocol required him to treat the landing zone as ‘extremely hostile’. That meant lethal force.
--
Kim Point was in the front passenger seat of the MELF when the Oxia colony came into sight. She saw Cort standing at the end of corridor three looking up at the sky. There was something on the shoulder of his HAWC suit. She followed the warrior’s gaze to the vessel that was slowly descending.
--
“Is the corridor three area evacuated, Rhodes?” Cort asked. The freighter module was approaching five kilometers altitude. Cort wasn’t going to let it transition to ‘colony module’.
“Yes. Everyone is moved to other quadrants. All airlocks are sealed. Hopefully it won’t matter though. If you can hit it as hard as you claim, any debris should land downwind of the colony.”
--
“Activate your atmosphere. We are at four kilometers,” Tyre said to his men in the descending module.
--
Cort acquired the freighter. His railgun was in Fractional -mode. The extended rails would accelerate the slug to a fraction of the speed of light, and once the round left the magnetic containment of the rails, it would convert to plasma. Cort fired the weapon.
--
Kim and her convoy had stopped one kilometer from the colony. The ones who were looking at the descending freighter were not able to see anything for several minutes. It was as if a sun had temporarily blinked into existence. The sky was pure white for thousands of meters in every direction. It would be an hour before the convoy could continue
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