Children of the Void (Rogue Star Book 2) Page 9

  A few seconds later Vlad appeared at the rear of the truck. “We’re here, get out.”

  Oliver hopped out the back, unsteady with his hands bound. He reached back to help Celine. When all three of them were on the tarmac Vlad led them around to a sleek, blue and silver ship sporting a set of oversized thrusters and, unless Oliver was mistaken, a pair of concealed weapons ports. The boarding ramp was down, but Vlad made no move to board.

  Ten minutes later a hovercar pulled up and Adam climbed out, his hands cuffed the same as Oliver’s. He staggered then he stepped away from the car and Oliver saw a red welt on the side of his head. Two thugs got out of the front and walked up to Vlad. They moved a short ways off and Oliver went over to Adam.

  “I’m not sure this is an improvement, sir.”

  “If a Void ship arrives and you’re still here I promise you stun cuffs would be the least of your problems. What happened to your head?”

  Adam pointed at Vlad and his men. “Those goons don’t have a gentle touch. It’s nothing serious.”

  The two thugs walked back to the car and drove off. Vlad approached them. “We’re ready, everybody on board.”

  “Where are we going?” Oliver asked.

  “The hell out of here. I got word from a source I trust. The word is a pair of black warships attacked the Galactic Council’s asteroid.”

  Oliver shook his head. It wasn’t possible. Who could help them now?

  ***

  Oliver slumped in an overstuffed chair in the lounge of Vlad’s luxurious shuttle. The gangster had left them to their own devices with the parting warning that if they tried to leave the lounge the cuffs would activate and the next thing they felt would be their lungs bursting when they went out the airlock. Having watched Vlad splatter his guard’s head all over the floor Oliver had no doubt of his sincerity.

  “What now, Grandfather?” Celine sat on the arm of his chair.

  Oliver sighed. “We need to find out what’s happening on Earth. There’s a vid-screen built into the wall, see if you can find the news.”

  Celine went over and fiddled with the controls. When she stepped back the president’s face filed the screen. “We’ve been attacked in the vilest way possible. Terrorists have murder the commanders of the military. I have ordered all soldiers and reservists to assemble at their bases to prepare for more attacks. Rest assured we will learn who’s responsible for this atrocity and deal with them.”

  The president’s face faded away and a stunning brunette took his place. “You just heard from President Pierre Surinyac. Our reporters have seen signs that the armed forces have mustered at their bases around the world. We are now awaiting word of their mission when the muster is complete. Stay tuned to channel forty-seven for the latest updates.”

  Celine switched the screen off. “What do you think they’ll do next?”

  Oliver shook his head. “My dear, I simply don’t know.”

  They slept three times and ate seven meals provided by a silent thug. It appeared Vlad had no interest in them and that suited Oliver fine. He brooded incessantly about how Voidwalker had out maneuvered him. He couldn’t stomach such an insult. Celine sat near the screen, switching from one broadcast to the next. Max alternated between pacing and calisthenics. Adam curled in a nauseous heap on the couch.

  “Grandfather, they’ve completed the muster.”

  Oliver sat beside his Granddaughter. A shot of a military base, Oliver didn’t recognize which one, filled the screen. Soldiers in blue and gray Earth Force uniforms ran around or stood in formations. If they’d called out a full muster hundreds of thousands of soldiers and at dozens of bases all over the world would be gathering. Oliver didn’t care how advanced the Void’s weapons were, they didn’t have the numbers to defeat Earth Force.

  While they watched a sleek, black fighter streaked over the base. A fine gray mist fell on the facility and a few seconds later the soldiers fell. No! First one by one then by the handful men and women collapsed.

  Oliver sat back on the floor. “No.”

  If what they’d seen was happening at every base on Earth, which Oliver felt certain it was, the bulk of Earth Force’s fighters were dead or dying. The Void had replaced the president with a clone. He could think of no other explanation. He ordered the muster so all the soldiers would be gathered for the slaughter. How had it all gone so wrong so fast? Just over a week had passed since he got his new body and now Earth lay defenseless before the Void.

  Celine changed the channel. The brunette from the day before said, “We’ve gotten reports of a massive, black ship descending through the atmosphere.”

  The scene shifted to a black dot in a bright blue sky. It grew bigger by the moment until it filled the screen, like a great, black mountain bristling with weapon ports. It landed in a corn field, crushing the crops flat.

  “What the hell is that?” Adam asked. He and Max came over to watch. “And how did it get past both the home fleet and the planetary defenses?”

  “That is a Void processing ship,” Oliver spoke in a mechanical voice, his mind so overwhelmed he had no emotions left. “I saw the plans for it on Voidwalker’s computer during one of our meetings. I don’t know if he forgot to turn the screen off or simply didn’t care if I saw it. It’s a mobile lab. They can process hundreds of people at a time, transforming them into obedient cyborg soldiers.”

  “The fleet?” Adam asked again.

  “My guess, my old body used its access to corrupt the supercomputer in Washington H.Q. If Voidwalker got control of it he could shut down our defenses and deactivate all our ships’ systems except life support.”

  “Why not turn our weapons against us?” Max asked.

  Oliver shook his head. “The weapons can be deactivated remotely, but not fired. It was a failsafe. If a ship went rogue we could shut it down, but if someone got access to the network, not a possibility anyone considered likely, they couldn’t use our own weapons against us.”

  “At least something worked the way it was meant to,” Celine said.

  Oliver glared at the subtle rebuke, but said nothing. What could he say? Everything he’d plan had gone to shit.

  CHAPTER TEN

  A little shiver ran up Marcus’s spine when the Vencar warship emerged from hyperspace at the rendezvous point. It bristled with weapons yet still sported sleek, graceful lines. The massive warship dwarfed the star. He suspected it could go toe to toe with one of those ugly, black Void ships and hold its own. They docked so the councilor’s party could make their way across. Marcus stood with Solomon and Iaka watching them disembark. Iaka chewed her lip and Marcus watched her mind work.

  “If you don’t want to go I understand,” Marcus said. “I’m sure Dra’Kor can arrange transport for you back to Alpha 114.”

  Iaka’s face hardened. “No. The way they used that poor woman was inexcusable. I gave the first councilor David’s data chip. Now I mean to see this through to the end.”

  “Good.” Marcus squeezed her shoulder. “I wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet.”

  The airlock cycled shut and the warship retracted its docking tube. The three of them returned to the cockpit. Solomon tapped the flashing comm light. “Go ahead, sir.”

  “Councilor Tille lives in an orbital mansion above her home world,” Dra’Kor said. “Contact me when you learn something.”

  “You got it, boss.” Marcus said.

  Dra’Kor transmitted the access code for Tille’s mansion. Solomon laid in a course and they shot into hyperspace.

  Tille’s mansion gleamed like a glass and steel diamond where it orbited the blue-green sphere of her home world. Four days in hyperspace brought them here. They approached the mansion and Marcus expected the worst. A light flashed on the console.

  “Mansion security is requesting our access code,” Solomon said. He typed a command and the ship’s computer transmitted the code Dra’Kor had provided.

  Alarms screeched and Marcus rolled the ship right. A laser blast streaked past
. He kept up his evasive flying as more blast streaked through space toward them. A couple skipped off the shield. Thank the universe the techs had upgraded their shields along with everything else.

  “What the hell?” Marcus yanked the control yoke up to avoid a missile.

  “The mansion security system didn’t accept the code.” Solomon typed fast and furious.

  “Thank you for stating the obvious. What can we do about it?”

  “I’m trying to hack their system, but they have a really good firewall. I need more time.”

  “That place has the firepower of a warship,” Iaka said.

  The ship shook when a laser hit their shield full on. The weapons’ control system was getting better at predicting his moves.

  “Iaka, fire up the cannons and see if you can blast a few of their weapon emplacements.”

  Iaka shifted weapons’ control to her station and fired. Their shots deflected off the mansion’s shield. With no other choice Marcus flew beyond the range of their weapons.

  “I’m in,” Solomon said. “I knew it. It’s that weird code again. At least one of those masked guys is in there.”

  “We knew that. Can you shut down the weapons and shields?”

  “Sure, I’ll strip out that code so he can’t use the mansion’s cameras to track us.” Solomon worked a moment. “Done. You can dock now.”

  Marcus flipped the star around and flew full speed toward the mansion. He had full faith in Solomon, but saw no reason to risk the assassin regaining weapons’ control. There were two docking bays, one of which held a shiny black fighter. Marcus slipped into the other.

  “How many assassins can fit in one of those fighters?”

  “Two max,” Iaka said.

  Marcus landed the ship and when the scanners indicated a safe atmosphere he powered down the engines. He turned to Solomon. “Want to come along?”

  Solomon paled. “I’ll wait here; make sure the assassin doesn’t regain control of the mansion’s systems.”

  Marcus grinned. “Good idea. Does this place have cameras? It’d be nice to see what we’re up against.”

  Solomon shook his head. “External cameras only.”

  “Okay, we’ll have to be careful.” He stood up and looked at Iaka, eyebrow raised.

  She got up and followed him back to the hold. They reached the weapons' locker and Marcus opened it. “If there’s only two we shouldn’t have much trouble.”

  Iaka helped herself to a pair of ion grenades and buckled two holstered blaster pistols around her waist. Marcus took the same pistols he used at the asteroid, now fully charged. He had his gauntlet as well, though if they had to rely on the stunner, well, he didn’t like to think about it. He opened the ramp and they walked down into the docking bay.

  “How do you want to do this?” Iaka asked.

  “Carefully. I have no idea about the floor plan or where they might be hiding. We’ll have to clear each room until we find them.”

  She gestured toward the door leading into the main part of the mansion. Marcus grinned and led the way.

  ***

  They cleared the kitchen and moved deeper into the mansion. Marcus and Iaka had cleared six rooms so far and found no sign of the councilor’s family or the assassins. The door from the kitchen opened into a dining room. There was a long table set with what looked like way too many utensils, no family, no masked killers. Where the hell were they? Two doors exited the dining room.

  Marcus went to the left hand door and nudged it open. In the dim light he saw boxes and other containers filled with supplies, a closet, terrific. He closed the door and shook his head. Iaka led the way to the second door. She opened it a few inches, peaked in, and jerked her head back at once. She motioned Marcus over.

  He joined her by the door and she mouthed the word look. He peaked through the crack and froze. Three bodies lay in pools of blood. A new monstrosity towered over them. It stood at least seven feet tall and its shoulders looked to be five feet across. Jagged, shiny black armor covered its body and the familiar black mask covered its face.The Void had replaced it’s right hand with a weapons' module twice the size of the one used by the assassins. A massive gauntlet covered in sharp projections covered its left hand, the fingers ended in razor sharp talons. Marcus swallowed the lump in his throat. That wasn’t what he’d expected at all.

  He motioned Iaka back from the door and they tiptoed to the opposite side of the dining room. “They’re all dead. I’m inclined to make a run for it.”

  Iaka nodded at once, her eyes wide.

  An explosion rocked Marcus back on his heels. The living room door blew in to the dining room. The Void monster stood in the shattered doorway, smoke oozed out of the central barrel of its weapon, so much for sneaking away.

  Marcus grabbed Iaka’s hand and they ran for the door. They had to get back to the ship. The creature pointed its weapon at them and fired. A blinding streak of crimson energy blew a chunk out of the wall a few feet behind them, the heat seared Marcus’s back. They made it through the door and ran back toward the hanger.

  “It’s got a plasma cannon,” Iaka said.

  “I noticed. Why don’t you try one of those ion grenades?”

  Iaka pulled a grenade out of her pocket and skidded to a stop. Marcus turned in time to see the monster emerge from the dining room door. Iaka threw the grenade at it. Blue sparks ran up and down its armor, but it never flinched. The armor must have insulated it. Marcus pushed Iaka ahead of him and they ran for the hanger door. At least that thing wasn’t fast.

  They reached the hanger door well ahead of the monster. Marcus hit the open button. Nothing. He slammed his fist into it and got the same result.

  “Marcus, are you there?” Solomon’s voice came through his comm. “Someone uploaded more of that weird code. I’m completely locked out of the system. What’s going on in there?”

  “I need you to fire up the cannons and target the door to the mansion. Don’t shoot until I tell you, got it?”

  “Sure.” Silence for a few seconds. “Target locked, just say the word.”

  A balcony overlooked the entryway. They ran up the steps and crouched down. That thing would have to walk past the door to reach the stairs up and when it did, Marcus grinned. When it did they’d see how that thing’s armor held up to a cannon blast.

  They hid behind the railing listening for the monster’s footsteps, Marcus closed his eyes to better focus on his hearing. Iaka touched his arm. “Do you hear that?”

  Marcus held his breath, but couldn’t hear anything. He risked a peak over the railing, but saw no sign of the monster. Where the hell was it anyway?

  “I don’t and that monster isn’t in sight.”

  “No, not that, something up here. It sounds like a kid crying. Maybe that Void monster missed one.”

  “How many kids did the councilor have?” Marcus risked another glance over the rail, still nothing.

  “I don’t know, but if one of them survived we can’t here it here.”

  Damn it! Another complication, just what he needed. “Solomon, come in. Can you scan the mansion and give me a life sign count?”

  “No problem, why?”

  “I want to be sure we didn’t miss any survivors.”

  “Hang on, I need a couple minutes.” The comm went silent.

  Something crunched below them. Marcus peaked over the rail. The monster stepped in front of the door on its way to the stairs. Shit! He’d gotten distracted.

  “Fire! Solomon fire, now!”

  “What?”

  “Shoot the goddamn cannon!”

  The door, along with a four foot section of wall, blew inward, taking the monster with them. Marcus leapt up and looked down in time to see the juggernaut shrug off a steel girder and struggle to its feet through the rubble. The blast didn’t hit it square. Damn it!

  “You okay?” Iaka put a hand on his shoulder.

  “For a couple more minutes at least. We can’t stay here.” As if to reinforce h
is words a plasma blast blew a section of balcony to bits. “Where did the crying come from?”

  She gestured vaguely to the right and they ran. Marcus sent a silent prayer to the universe that they could find another way back downstairs. They left the balcony and ran down a short hall. Iaka stopped in the middle and cocked her head. All Marcus heard was the heavy clanking of the monster’s armored feet climbing the stairs.

  “I’m picking up four life signs. Marcus, do you hear me?”

  “Roger, we’ve got one survivor. We’re trying to find the kid now.”

  Iaka pressed her ear to the second door on the left. “This one.”

  The door control glowed red. The whole damn house was locked down. He pointed his ion blaster at the panel and fired. It sparked and slid open a fraction. He grabbed it and yanked the door three-quarters of the way open. Automatic lights flicked to life. In the distance the crunch of the monster’s steps got louder

  “Fast is good,” Marcus said.

  Iaka ducked inside. Marcus crouched beside the door. He typed a command into his gauntlet, the germ of an idea springing to mind. Voices inside the room, good, she’d found the kid. If Iaka hurried they might get out of sight before that thing arrived.

  Marcus blasted the control panels for every room in the hall, put away the ion pistol, and drew his blaster. He aimed at the joint where the hall joined the balcony. He fired, clustering his shots in a line, trying to weaken the connection. That thing had to weigh five hundred pounds. If he could weaken the floor enough maybe it would crash through. He kept firing until his power pack ran out. A moment later a black boot thumped down in sight.

  “We’re running out of time,” Marcus shouted into the room.

  Iaka walked up to the door. She carried a little stick figure of a girl in her arms. On the other end of the hall the Void monster stomped down on the perforation Marcus made in the floor. It quivered a little, but held. Damn it. It raised the plasma cannon. Marcus pushed Iaka back into the room and dived the opposite way. The blast screamed between them and blew a hole through the floor at the end of the hall.