Tides of Mars (Omnibus Version) Read online

  A small remote exited Cole and moved over to Ariel. It carried clip on holsters for the guns as well as a strange looking knife for each of them. Ariel clipped the holsters on and picked up the resblade to examine it. Resblade is short for a resonance-enhanced knife. There was a longer name for it that the eggheads had come up with, but what it boiled down to was a knife that could basically cut through just about anything that didn’t have the correct harmonic frequency to cancel the blade’s out. That frequency was imparted to the wielder as soon as the blade was drawn from the sheath provided it was attached to the wielder in some form.

  Ariel clipped the knife to the rear of her harness and felt it snap into place. She moved over to where Bri’tell was getting the weapons out of a locker against one wall.

  “You know Highness, you have lovely blonde hair and beautiful white skin; they’ll make great targets for the shooters,” Bri’tell said, grinning, and pointing to the helmet she had left sitting on Cole’s right main wing. He was referring to her predilection for ‘forgetting’ it whenever they had practiced assaults.

  “So you keep reminding me, Master Chief. Don’t worry, I’m not planning on ‘forgetting’ it this time,” she replied.

  Wendy grabbed her weapons, kissed Ariel and Taylor on the cheeks, said good luck, and ran down the tunnel back to the house.

  Once she had her weapons, she grabbed her helmet and walked over to the lift. She pulled her helmet on, being careful to tuck her hair up into it, and then sealed it to her suit. Soon the rest of the small team joined her.

  “Okay Cole, where are they right now?” Ariel asked.

  Once again the overlay filled her vision. This time there were a lot more red dots, and they were closer to the house. The ones that were approaching from the park were almost right outside the hanger. “Cole, if we capture any of these idiots, do you think you could hold them in the garage upstairs?”

  “No problem, Ariel. Just get them through the door, and I can take it from there,” Cole replied.

  “Okay, that takes care of that. Now, Bri’tell and I will head into the park to get behind the ones closest to us. I’d like Taylor and Thorn to try to work your way to the right from here around the property. Cole will have to send remotes to clean up any messes we make, so if you have to kill one of them, try to make it as close to the hanger as you can,” Ariel joked. “Any questions?”

  “If we do get caught by the police, what do we do?” Taylor asked.

  “Run. They can’t hurt you, but they can hurt the people around you. Try not to give them much of a target. Do not shoot back. The police are not our enemy here; they are just ignorant bystanders with guns. We also need to try to protect as many civilians as we can. I’m willing to bet these assholes work for the slavers, so they don’t really care who they hurt to get to us. Hell, I’m surprised they just didn’t try to nuke me from orbit,” Ariel said.

  “They couldn’t. It would kill too many potential slaves, it would also be detectable long before it actually detonated, and the Divine Light would blow them out of space before the missile entered the atmosphere,” Bri’tell answered. “With this much security here, the only way to pull this off would be this kind of assault. Even this is risky because there is so much potential for us to capture one of them for questioning.”

  Thorn nodded in agreement. “Which also means that our friends out there probably have suicide plans if they fail. If you do capture one, make damn sure they are unconscious before bringing them back here.”

  “Maybe we should just take remotes with us; it sounds like either way, we’re going to need them to drag a body back here,” Taylor said.

  “Can you pull it off and still keep them hidden, Cole?” Ariel asked.

  “Yes I can. Just don’t be surprised if you see a dog or two following you,” Cole said as six remotes scrambled into the lift with them. Ariel chuckled as each one appeared to change into a large dog, each of a different breed; complete with collar and license tag.

  “Okay, it should be just about full dark outside, let’s get this show on the road,” Ariel said as Cole engaged the lift.

  “Master Chief, there’s a couple right at the edge of the orchard that look like they are there to watch the fireworks. However, Cole has them pegged as two of our bad guys and the enhancers agree. They each have a laser rifle beside them. But what’s in the big bag? I don’t get a reading on it,” Ariel asked.

  “It’s shielded. Some kind of lining would be my guess. What do you say we go up and ask them?” Bri’tell’s voice was hushed even though he could yell and no one would hear him but those on his channel. Cole had moved two of his remotes up to within twenty feet of the pair, and they hadn’t noticed them. Ariel and Bri’tell were almost as close, but off to each side. Ariel sighted her gun at the closest one’s head and slowly side-stepped to get behind the reclining couple. She noticed on her display that Bri’tell was doing much the same thing.

  As she got closer, she made out the form of a female as the closest to her, and drew the taser wand to stun the woman. Just as Ariel was about to tag the woman, the man she was with turned slightly and saw her. He yelled and made a grab for something at his waist as Bri’tell shot him in the head.

  The woman lunged for the bag that Ariel had noticed, but she was hit with the stun wand before she reached it and fell over it. Cole’s remotes came out of the woods and began dragging the bodies back the way they had come. As the remote removed the woman, Ariel noticed a small control panel that was obscured on the side of the bag. It had a digital read out that was counting down. She quickly opened the top of the canvas bag and got her first good look at a tactical anti-matter bomb.

  At first, she had no idea what it was, since all she could really see was a shiny silver metal tube surrounded by several smaller tubes of the same metal. However, the alarms going off in her helmet told her this was not something she wanted to be this close too.

  “Cole! How do I disarm it?” she screamed at her ship.

  “You can’t! Get clear of it! I’m coming to get it! Hopefully, I can get out of the atmosphere before it detonates,” Cole replied over the comm.

  “Can’t you put a shield around it? Contain the explosion?” Ariel asked as she ran back toward the hanger with Bri’tell.

  “Not with an anti-matter detonation. That would only amplify it,” Cole explained. “What the...”

  “ATTENTION ALL ALLIANCE CRAFT AND PERSONNEL! Clear the area of the potential A-M event. Righteous Fire is on approach! I say again, clear the area immediately!” A voice bellowed in Ariel’s ears.

  “Cole?” Ariel asked as Bri’tell was frantically pulling her up.

  “Run Ariel! Righteous Fire is a Barntak medium cruiser; she’s not an atmospheric ship!” Cole said frantically. “She’s on a near-pass course that will pull the bomb, and anything else not firmly anchored to the ground along with her. ETA is two minutes!”

  Ariel stopped in her tracks. “That park is full of people! We have to get them out of there!” She screamed as the ground began to shake, and the sky was suddenly getting brighter.

  Bri’tell bodily picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and ran as fast as he could back for the hanger. “I’m sorry, Highness, but they’re already dead. Even with an hour's notice they wouldn’t make it clear in time. We have to get under cover, now!”

  They had caught up to the remotes that were pulling the unconscious woman. The remote pulling the dead man dropped him to help with the one that was still alive, and they had her suspended between them.

  They burst from the trees of the orchard to see that Cole had opened the big garage door for them. Thorn and Taylor were also running up the road toward the garage as Bri’tell ran into the edifice, and into the office that was the lift. He gently set a weeping Ariel down on one of the desks and returned to the big door to urge the remaining pair to hurry.

  “Cole? Is the household secure?” Ariel asked as she removed her helmet and wiped her eyes. Cole started closing
the big door as Thorn and Taylor pounded through it and into the office. Bri’tell had followed them, and the lift immediately began to descend. The ground was shaking violently now, and it was becoming hard to stand. Outside the sky was almost as bright as daytime as the ship came closer than it was ever supposed to get to a planet.

  “All personnel are in the shelter of the control center. I’m sorry, but I don’t think the mansion will survive this, Ariel,” Cole said sadly through her implant.

  “How much of the city will be destroyed, Cole?” Ariel asked out loud.

  “Initial estimates are around ten to twelve percent of structures. Thirty-one percent of the personnel will be either killed or severely wounded,” Cole reported sadly. “Ariel, you have to weigh that against what would have happened if that bomb had been allowed to detonate. The entire southwest would be gone. Hundreds of millions dead all around the world, catastrophic global weather changes, eventually, it could have killed every person on this planet. That bomb had enough power to destabilize this tectonic plate, and that could potentially start a chain reaction of volcanic activity all over the planet.”

  The shaking was still worse, and had no signs of stopping. “It feels like we are getting plenty destabilized now as it is,” Ariel said as she bounced off the wall while trying to get over to Cole.

  “That’s pretty much what’s happening, but it should pass before any permanent damage is done to the planetary crust,” Cole replied as Ariel reached him. He opened the door and she stumbled in; Taylor was right behind her. The remotes kept the prisoner in the lift, but covered themselves and her in a shield in case the lift tunnel collapsed.

  “Shields engaged. Anti-grav engaged,” Cole said to the women on the floor.

  “Cole, how is the control center holding up?” Ariel asked as she got up.

  “Structural integrity is still at one hundred percent. However, the mansion has collapsed,” Cole said sadly. “Righteous Fire passed at an altitude of fifteen hundred feet and at a speed of roughly mach twenty-seven. Her shields are down to fourteen percent, and structural integrity is at forty-two percent and falling, she has multiple hull breaches and is venting atmosphere. Currently, she is at full power and climbing out of the gravity well. They managed to lock a tractor onto the bomb and are taking it out of the atmosphere. If they have time, they plan to spin the ship and slingshot the bomb out into space. Divine Light and several other ships are preparing SAR teams in case the ship breaks up.”

  “How big... How many people are on her?” Ariel asked as fresh tears fell down her cheeks.

  “Righteous Fire is a medium cruiser; she has a crew of thirteen-hundred, and twenty four humans, and one AI,” Cole reported.

  “What’s our status down here? The Admiral will want a report.”

  “As I said, the mansion is gone, but the underground control center is intact. The exit tunnel from the hanger has caved in near the exit. Las Vegas has been hurt badly. The park, the lake where the exit tunnel came out, and all the people that were there are gone.

  “The building above us is the only structure still standing, but I am receiving multiple malfunction indicators from it. In downtown several of the taller buildings sustained heavy damage and The Palms hotel tower has collapsed. I estimate the death toll to be in the hundreds of thousands. Hoover Dam has also sustained some structural failures, but it will hold long enough to be repaired.

  “I recommend we evacuate to the Divine Light until the other house is finished, and destroy these tunnels,” Cole said. “We must leave before the local authorities discover the tunnel leading to this hanger. Which, they will if they investigate the area at all.”

  “Please request the appropriate amount of shuttles from the fleet as soon as they can spare them. Can we get the people out using the lift, or do we need to walk them down the access tunnel?” Ariel asked woodenly.

  “I have a remote repairing the lift, and ten more will be working to clear the tunnel. We should be able to get out in a couple of hours. If the tunnel were clear, it would be best to use that, but under the circumstances, I think haste would be wise. Several helicopters are being dispatched to this area to search for survivors. In fact, it will be extremely difficult for the shuttles to avoid detection if they don’t look elsewhere soon,” Cole replied.

  “Are there any survivors in the area?” Ariel asked.

  “A few; located farther away, but this half mile or so where the ship was the closest; no.” Cole paused. “The Righteous Fire is about to try the sling-shot maneuver.”

  “Can you show us?” Ariel asked.

  The lights dimmed and a hologram of a badly wounded ship appeared in the center of the room. “They are at point seven-three percent of light speed. The bomb is at the maximum reach of the tractor; about two miles behind it,” Cole intoned as the ship started what looked like a painfully slow turn.

  “How badly damaged are they, Cole?” Taylor asked.

  “Shields are gone. Hull integrity is at thirty nine percent, structural integrity is at twenty six percent. Life support is failing, and the inertial dampeners are fluctuating dangerously. If they fail during this turn... they are currently under almost a thousand gravities; the ship will simply disintegrate. All non-essential personnel were evacuated in the life pods and shuttles shortly after they left the atmosphere and are being picked up by the other ships. There are still over a hundred left on board.”

  As they watched a red flashing dot sped past the crippled ship and shot away on the original course. “Bomb has attained terminal velocity and is far enough away to detonate safely. Righteous Fire reports her structural integrity is down to...” Cole was interrupted by the ship exploding in a bright fire ball only to be eclipsed twenty seconds later by an even brighter flash from outside of the viewing area.

  “No life signs detected. No emergency beacons detected. The Righteous Fire has been completely destroyed,” Cole reported quietly.

  “Bring that bitch on board, and strap her ass down in the galley. She can wait until we reach the Divine Light to talk; if I tried to question her now, I’d probably kill her,” Ariel said.

  “Independent Wisdom is sending two shuttles down for our people. Tewney and I should be able to carry the rest,” Cole reported. “Ariel, we might have a problem; at least two of those ‘rescue’ helicopters being sent to this area are not rescuers at all, they are NSA as far as I can tell. From their conversations, they don’t seem to believe that was a meteor.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Just what I needed right now; a visit from one of our friendly, three-letter intelligence agencies. I’m half temped to shoot the idiots down,” Ariel said.

  “Well, they’re going to be right in the way; they’re wondering how the building above us survived. I doubt they’ll simply get out of our way and let us leave,”

  “Sure they will. I’ll just ask them nicely and they’ll toddle off like good little government flunkies,” Ariel said sarcastically. “And if they don’t then I’ll blast their asses out of the sky!”

  “It won’t work, Ariel,” Alex said as she exited the tunnel to the command center. “If someone saw the Righteous Fire as she passed by, I doubt those people are really from the NSA. They’re most likely from Groom Lake, and I highly doubt they will even listen to you. They will simply put you in cuffs, and haul you away.”

  “Do you really think I’d let them do that? Besides, I’m still in the armor; it's not like they can shoot me,” Ariel replied.

  “No, but they will be able to identify you. Do you really think they will simply leave us alone if you manage to get them out of here?” Alex said reasonably.

  “So, do you have any ideas how to get them out of the way?” Ariel asked.

  “Either scare them away; something I don’t think would actually work, or give them something else to chase,” Taylor suggested.

  “Did you have something in mind?” Ariel asked impatiently.

  “Have Tabitha or one of her folks come dow
n and play tag with them. It should distract them long enough for us to get out of here,” Taylor said. “I’m sure Tabby would love it.”

  “Cole? What’s the status of Tabitha’s fighters?” Ariel asked.

  “Currently, they are split up; six fighters are chasing ion disturbances reported by Denise in the control center. The rest are still in orbit scanning for more ships,” Cole reported.

  “Is the Divine Light involved in the rescue ops for the Righteous Fire?” Ariel asked.

  “Affirmative Ariel. The Divine Light has the most ESAR resources in the fleet,” Cole reported.

  Ariel nodded agreement with that and glanced at Thorn and Bri’tell. “I’m about to order one of Tabitha’s people to violate an Imperial Decree. Do either of you have any other suggestions for me before I do?”

  Bri’tell looked uncomfortable, but Thorn smiled. “No Ariel, but will the fighters distract these agents, or will others be dispatched?”

  “Most likely these agents will spot our fighters and call in for support. Two F-22s will be launched to shoot our fighters down. There will have to be agents on scene when that happens but it’s a toss-up whether these agents will join the chase,” Alex said.

  “Well, we don’t have much choice. It’s either this, or we kill these two to get rid of them. I’d rather not have to kill them just for following orders,” Ariel replied.

  “I’d have no problem with that,” Bri’tell said quietly.

  “Hold it every one! Cole? Do you have all of the radio channels for all the aircraft outside?” Ariel asked.

  “Yes I do, Ariel,” Cole answered reasonably.

  “So, why can’t we just warn everyone off? Tell them the area is radioactive or something? We can tell the NSA boys that there is a confirmed report of an alien craft on the ground someplace else,” Ariel said. “Otherwise I just might be tempted to shoot the stupid bastards in the head.” She turned back to Alex and grinned. “I must be PMS-ing, ‘cause right now, I’m so pissed off that I really do want to shoot somebody; preferably a Baron somebody!”