Impulse, page 18
part #12 of First Colony Series
Isaac climbed into the front seat, which was much easier said than done because the rover was still speeding down the street.
“What about the others? Shouldn’t we go back and help?” Ella asked.
“She’s right,” Jordan said. “Someone could be hurt. That construction hauler slammed right into them.”
“Negative,” Reznick replied.
The others started to protest.
“Guys!” Isaac said and turned toward them. “His orders are to get us to safety. There will be response teams dispatched to help the other rover.”
“How the hell do you know that?” Curtis asked.
“Because the rovers have trackers on them, and the onboard systems will register the impact.”
“Isaac’s right,” Reznick said. “My orders are to get you to safety. No rescue missions.”
The others went quiet for a few moments.
“I saw Mekaal coming out of that hauler,” Ella said.
Isaac opened the storage container in front of him and retrieved a predator pistol. There was a small ammunition block next to it. He loaded the gun and kept the safety on.
Julian leaned forward and looked at the weapon. “Since when do you know how to use military sidearms?”
Isaac swallowed hard. “My father taught me. He taught all of us.”
“Are you sure they were Mekaal coming out of that hauler?” Curtis asked.
“Who else would it be?” Ella replied.
“Seriously? The Konus are here. It could have been them,” Curtis said.
“That’s crazy,” Julian said. “They only brought a diplomatic envoy.”
Jordan and Kanin agreed.
Isaac looked out the front of the rover, scanning for anything suspicious. He didn’t see anything, which made everything look wrong.
“Do you guys have a better explanation,” Curtis said. “Anyone?”
Isaac pressed his lips together for a moment. “We don’t know who did this, but if the Konus are involved, they must’ve had help.”
The others went quiet for a few moments.
“All right, listen up,” Reznick said. “I want everyone to keep their eyes open. Let me know if you see anything suspicious.”
“Uh, Corporal Reznick,” Julian said, “if Isaac is right and this is some kind of inside job, then couldn’t they be tracking the rover?”
“The Konus can’t break our encryption,” Reznick said.
“That’s just it. What if someone else is doing this? Someone with knowledge of how we operate,” Julian said.
Isaac felt a wave of panic seize his guts.
Reznick looked at him. “Isaac, can you disable the tracker?”
Isaac accessed the rover’s computer systems and began navigating the interface. Each option he selected led him to another subsystem. The rover’s designers hadn’t made it easy.
“I think we’re far enough away that we can start heading back to the embassy,” Reznick said.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, that’s where the attack came from—uh, the area that was attacked,” Julian said.
Isaac was listening while trying to disable the tracker. “The vehicle’s communications systems are disconnected from the embassy.”
“What!” Reznick shouted.
“The comlink went down almost ten minutes ago,” Isaac said and brought up the timestamp for the loss-of-signal-status message.
“Wouldn’t it have warned us? An error message or something?” Reznick asked.
Isaac shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Curtis groaned.
“I don’t know. I didn’t design the damn system,” Isaac snapped.
Reznick tried to open a comlink to the embassy. “I can’t reach anyone. Do your comlinks work?”
Isaac couldn’t get his to connect either. None of them could.
A smaller gray rover sped up behind them and then pulled alongside. Isaac recognized the driver.
“I know him,” Isaac said. “That’s Cohsora. He’s been part of our protective detail before. Our local guide.”
He waved toward him and Cohsora returned the wave. Then the Mekaal gestured ahead of them.
“He wants us to follow him,” Isaac said.
A message appeared on the rover’s HUD for a short-range comlink from the other rover.
“Embassy is not safe. Will guide you to secondary safe-house location,” Cohsora said.
Some kind of alphanumeric code appeared below the message.
Isaac frowned. “What is that?”
Reznick read it and nodded. “Authentication code. It’s part of our security protocols,” he said and gestured for Cohsora to take the lead.
The smaller, two-seat rover sped ahead of them.
“Are there any other weapons in here?” Julian asked.
Reznick scanned the area for a few seconds before answering. “Not that I know of, but you could look around.”
The others started searching. Isaac checked the storage container and the other compartments in the front, but there wasn’t anything for them to use.
“There’s nothing back here. What about you guys?” Julian asked.
“The only thing here is the field lab equipment in these containers. Looks like they restocked them for some reason,” Ella said.
“What about you, Curtis?” Julian asked.
Curtis didn’t reply. He kept looking out the window, his body rigid.
“Curtis, are you okay?” Ella asked. She’d leaned forward. “Hey,” she said, calmly.
Curtis blinked several times. “No, I’m not. None of this is okay. Who the hell decides to blow shit up? We’re cut off from the embassy. Fuck, we don’t even know if there is an embassy anymore. What if they blew it up? What if everyone who was left there is dead? What if—”
“Curtis!” Isaac said. “Keep it together.”
Curtis glared at him. “Why do you get the gun?”
“Because I told him to take it,” Reznick said.
Curtis shook his head and muttered something under his breath.
“This isn’t helping,” Ella said.
Curtis whirled toward her. “Who the hell cares? Do you think you can help? I saw the Ovarrow that came out of that hauler. They were armed. Dr. Rostova, Solomon, and Townsend were in there. They’re all dead.”
“You don’t know that,” Ella replied.
“Don’t be so naive. You know, not everyone supported us being here. What if they were right?” Curtis swore again and shook his head. “Stuck here. We don’t know what’s going on.”
“Shut him up,” Reznick said.
“Come back here and make me.”
“Curtis,” Isaac said.
“Oh, what the hell do you want? Are you going to tell me to calm down?” he sneered.
“Think it through. Even if you saw armed Ovarrow, it doesn’t mean the others are dead.”
“Sure, because you’re the expert on everything. You’re never getting into the Sierra medical program.”
Isaac ignored the jab. “Think about it. Whoever was driving that hauler took out the third rover so they could cut us and the rover ahead of us off. If they wanted to kill us, they wouldn’t go through the trouble.”
“He’s right,” Reznick said. “Sounds like a surgical operation if I’ve ever heard of one.”
Curtis inhaled deeply and then seemed more in control of himself. Ella leaned forward and spoke softly to him. He nodded a few times, and Isaac turned back around to face forward.
Reznick glanced at him. “Good job.”
It didn’t feel good. Curtis was saying what they were all thinking, even if only in part.
“Thanks,” Isaac said.
Cohsora led them farther into the city. Isaac tried to reach Dr. Rostova through a short-range comlink but couldn’t. He was unable to reach anyone, and he couldn’t figure out why. He tried the emergency channels to reach Agent Franklin, and that failed as well. He frowned in thought. No one could block communications over the entire city, so it had to be something else. Something local, but he couldn’t think what.
Cohsora turned off the road they were on and took another that began to descend toward a tunnel. Reznick followed. Isaac had no idea where the safe house was or what the protocol was for it. He thought about asking Reznick, but the CDF soldier seemed fine with where they were going, and he didn’t want to distract him.
The rover’s headlights became brighter, piercing the dark tunnel. Isaac glanced behind them as the light from the entrance faded. The city had an extensive network of tunnels, but Isaac didn’t know anything about them. Reznick drove them past construction equipment. There must have been a restoration effort going on. How long had the Mekaal been working down here?
“This has to be some kind of shortcut, but where are they taking us?” Isaac asked.
Reznick shook his head. “I don’t know. I was assigned just a few minutes before we left.”
They reached a cross-section of tunnels, and Cohsora stopped. There was green lighting that kept the chamber from total darkness. Isaac had seen similar lighting at the Ovarrow archives in Sanctuary. The Mekaal used chemical illumination in emergencies when there was a loss of power. As long as the light casings remained intact, they worked just fine.
Reznick stopped the rover and scanned the area in front of them. There wasn’t much to see.
“Isn’t there anyone else here?” Julian asked.
“Maybe we’re the first ones to arrive,” Isaac replied.
Cohsora stepped out of the rover.
“I’m going to go see what’s going on,” Reznick said.
“Should I come along?” Isaac asked. “Give you some backup?”
Reznick considered it for a second and shook his head. “No, stay here.” He looked at the others. “That goes for all of you. Stay in the rover. I’m going to see if I can find out what’s going on.”
Reznick opened the door and stepped out of the rover. He unholstered his weapon and walked toward Cohsora.
“Isaac,” Ella said. He turned toward her. “Can you hear what they’re saying?”
“Maybe you should roll down the windows,” Julian suggested.
Isaac turned back toward the front. “Let’s just wait.” He peered ahead. Reznick was speaking with Cohsora.
“I still can’t reach anyone on the comlink,” Jordan said.
“Neither can I,” Julian added.
Isaac checked his again and it was the same. The CDF had ways to suppress communications, but there was always a limit to how far a suppressor worked.
“How could they jam our comlinks here?” Ella asked.
Isaac frowned. They were underground and well away from the attack. “They shouldn’t be able to.”
“This is bullshit,” Curtis said. “What’s the matter, Isaac, can’t figure out why our comlinks don’t work. You’ve got the military family. How would the CDF do it?”
“I don’t know. Some kind of suppression field, but we should be beyond it by now. Especially down here.”
“Why wouldn’t the field extend down here?” Julian asked.
“It would have to penetrate the ground, which absorbs the signal,” Isaac replied, and a thought came to him. “Unless there’s something on the rover that’s preventing our comlinks from getting out.”
“Holy shit! Can they do that?” Julian asked.
“I don’t know. I guess they could. It’s not like I’m trained in any of this stuff.”
“Maybe we should ask Corporal Reznick,” Ella said.
“He told us to stay in the rover,” Curtis said.
Isaac rubbed his chin for a few moments. “Take a look around inside. Is there anything that looks like it could interfere with our comlinks?”
“Could you be more vague?” Julian said.
“Look for something small. Doesn’t need to be big. It would need some kind of power.”
Isaac looked around at the vehicle’s controls. He didn’t see anything. The others didn’t either.
Bright lights shone from ahead of them, coming from farther down one of the adjacent tunnels.
“I see something,” Ella said.
“Duh, it’s the lights from over there,” Curtis said.
“No, it’s just under the window here.”
“What’s it look like?” Isaac asked.
Ella knelt on the seat and turned toward the back of the rover. “I can’t get a good look at it. It’s small.”
Isaac puffed out a breath. “I’m going to take a look.”
“But Reznick said to stay here,” Julian said.
“I’ll be quick,” he replied.
He opened his door a little and watched to see if Reznick or Cohsora heard. They didn’t. He quickly slipped out of the rover and carefully closed the door, hastening toward the back of the rover. Ella gestured toward where she’d seen the device.
Isaac circled around to the back of the rover and squatted down. A circular mechanism looked as if it had simply been pressed into place with some kind of adhesive. He didn’t recognize it. He felt around the smooth edges and pulled. After a few seconds, it came loose. It felt warm in his hand. He lifted it near one of the rover’s lights to get a better look at it. There was a seam along the middle. When he twisted it, something clicked inside. All at once, his comlink came to life with a barrage of messages and connection attempts. Flashing lights came from inside the rover as the others’ comlinks began working.
Isaac smiled and began walking back toward the front.
“Hey, Reznick,” Isaac said.
As the CDF soldier turned toward him, bright lights pierced the darkness all around them and the chamber was awash in it. Isaac squeezed his eyes shut and put his hand on the rover to brace himself. He blinked several times and looked away from the lights.
Reznick began shouting. Isaac held his hand up and tried to see in front of the rover but couldn’t.
There was a little phunt sound, followed by several others. Reznick screamed and Isaac heard shots being fired from a CDF predator pistol.
Isaac gripped his pistol, but he couldn’t see anything, and he wasn’t going to fire his weapon blindly. He scrambled to his door and climbed back inside the rover. The windows of the rover were polarized to filter out the bright lights.
“Someone shot him!” Julian said.
Isaac peered ahead and saw Reznick sink to the ground. He couldn’t tell where the shooting was coming from. Small impacts clipped the ground near the fallen CDF soldier.
Isaac scrambled over to the driver’s seat and put the vehicle into drive, pulling around Reznick to give him some cover. The others ducked. He looked for Cohsora but couldn’t find him.
Reznick had blood leaking from a wound in his middle. Isaac opened the door and squatted down by the CDF soldier. Reznick looked up at him. “Run!” he hissed. “Don’t stop. Run!”
Isaac tried to lift him up, but his hands kept slipping. The soldier was too heavy for him to lift alone. He turned toward the rover. “Help me get him inside.”
Julian and Curtis opened their doors and came over to him.
Whoever had been shooting at them had stopped. A half-strangled cry came from beyond the rover, and Cohsora landed nearby in a tangled heap. The Mekaal’s lifeless eyes stared up at them.
A large figure walked in front of the bright lights, casting an imposing shadow. Isaac heard the foot stomps of others approaching.
He gritted his teeth and picked up Reznick’s pistol, aiming it.
“Go ahead, human,” the figure said. He was an Ovarrow.
Isaac saw others—a lot of them. There were so many. He froze, unable to think, and the pistol he held sank a little. The Ovarrow came closer, and others surrounded them. They wore green metallic armor.
Konus!
The lead Konus walked up to Reznick and shot him in the head. A bright plasma bolt and there was nothing left above the shoulder.
Isaac’s eyes widened and a cry caught in his throat. He started to raise his weapon, but the Konus aimed at Isaac. The other soldiers readied their weapons, aiming them at the rover. Isaac heard someone sobbing from behind him.
“Just put down the pistol, Isaac,” Julian said, his voice shaking.
Isaac stared at the pistol in his hand. They’d just killed Reznick right there in front of him. He was dead. The Konus commander stepped toward him and grabbed the pistol from his hand.
“You’re no soldier,” he said.
“Commander Koukax,” a Konus soldier said, “they’ve disabled the jammer. We have to get them out of here.”
Isaac looked at Koukax, but the Konus commander was looking at the others in the vehicle. “Anyone still inside the rover by the time Strovax reaches me will be shot.”
The Konus soldier began walking around the rover.
“Come on, we have to get out of here,” Ella said.
Isaac looked at his wrist computer and started entering a message, but just as he was about to send it, Koukax struck him with the butt of his long rifle.
Isaac staggered and fell to a knee. He looked up in time to catch a stomping kick to the sternum that knocked him back in a short, brutal arc to the ground. Stars exploded in his vision and something in his head felt loose and hot. The breath was gone from his lungs. He tried to inhale but couldn’t. He coughed and someone grabbed him, lifting him up.
“On your feet,” Koukax growled.
Isaac watched as the Konus soldiers dragged the others from the rover, pushing them toward the bright lights. He heard Ella cry out and tried to turn toward her, but a strong hand shoved him forward and it took everything he had to keep his feet under him.
18
The vibrations spreading throughout the bunker were reported by all teams. Lenora looked at Connor, and he gestured for her and Noah to hurry.
“Repeat the last,” Connor said into his comlink.
“The seismic activity appears to be concentrated in the vicinity of the bunker,” Specialist Weps said. “I’ve routed sensor data back to the Hercules and the waves are just here. I don’t have the equipment to determine whether there’s other activity a few kilometers away.”
“Understood. Start making your way back to the main entrance,” Connor said.
He walked over to Lenora and Noah. “How long is this going to take?”
