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  Chapter 3 Retribution

  Jasper groaned and rolled over rubbing the back of his hand against the rough stubble on his chin. The incessant bleeping of the intercom had roused him from the climax of a particularly erotic dream and he was far from happy. He hit the button that activated the view screen. The scar running down the right side of his face, from his forehead to his jaw, twitched uncomfortably as the cybernetic implant that substituted for his right eye clicked and whirred and brought the image into focus. Any half decent physician with a tissue tank and the ability to program a few medical nanobots could have replaced the eye and repaired the cosmetic damage in a matter of hours, but he knew how uncomfortable it made those around him feel and he liked it that way. It also gave him the added advantage that no one was ever sure just how much he could actually see with that eye. He surveyed the rather nervous looking image of his first officer Wilkes that appeared on the screen.

  “Have you any idea what the penalty is for waking a senior officer when he's having an erotic dream?” he growled.

  A confused, slightly embarrassed, look came over Wilkes face. The man needed to grow a spine, for that matter most of Malstrom's military did. Incapable of acting on initiative, paralysed by the chain of command, bound by rules and regulations, they were easy meat for a resistance movement that though on its feet.

  “Spit it out for god's sake man.”

  “We lost contact with the Angel-1 facility five minutes ago.”

  He sat up and picked up his crimson command top, the gold braid around the cuffs and pips on his shoulders indicating his rank. His nose wrinkled slightly as he raised his arms and pulled it over his head, the shower would have to wait. “Anything on gold channel?”

  “No sir, we picked up some internal comm traffic about a power surge in the comm relay shortly before we lost contact.”

  “Have you scanned the area for unusual activity?” he asked pulling on his crimson trousers and slipping into his black shoes.

  “No sir, all indications are it’s an equipment failure. However protocol dictates that the senior officer be informed when a gold channel facility goes off-line.”

  “Fool. Ready the planetary defence grid and I want a full scan of the northern hemisphere. If a penguin so much as farts, I want to know about it.”

  He didn't heard Wilkes reply. He was already out of the door and into the corridor, bundling over a couple of grunts in the process, as he made the short jog down it to the bridge. The steel doors slid smoothly aside as he entered. The raised dais in the centre of the room that held his padded leather chair was empty. Wilkes was standing off to the left leaning over the sensor stations discussing something with the staff. To the right of the dais were the communication and security stations and forward of it the weapons control and flight deck command. At the rear were a bank of engineering and various subsidiary stations responsible for the smooth running of the orbital command station that was the nerve centre of Malstrom's occupation.

  “Commander on the deck.” Wilkes called snapping to attention.

  “Bullshit.” rasped Jasper as he strolled across the cold metal floor and settled into his chair. “Put the sensor grid on the main display show me what you've got.”

  He stroked his stubble irritably, glaring at anyone who dared look at him, his mechanical eye clicked and whirred menacingly. His unkempt black hair only added to the impression that he was indeed the merciless one eyed demon that the resistance and many Malstrom employees knew him as. The space above the consoles that sat in front of and below his dais was filled with a richly detailed three dimensional display of the planets northern hemisphere. Several bright flashes were visible in the general area of Angel-1. He transferred control of the sensor array to his chair and using hand gestures spun the holographic projection above their heads round and zoomed in on Angel-1.

  “As far as we can tell the fire-fight began shortly after we lost contact.” added Wilkes. “There appears to be heavy fighting on the perimeter, but the facility itself has not been breached.”

  Just then there was a particularly intense flash on the projection that caused them all to flinch. Jasper zeroed in his cybernetic eye on Wilkes and raised his eyebrow quizzically.

  “It appears the main reactor has just detonated we're recalibrating the sensors to compensate for the distortion now.”

  “Any comms traffic?” ignoring Wilkes he turned to the lieutenant controlling the comm station.

  “No sir we've been unable to re-establish contact with the facility.”

  “What about this?” he snapped pointing at the steady hypnotic bleep of a transponder.

  The lieutenant shrugged. “That? It’s just the routine supply shuttle, returning to base.”

  He manipulated the touch screen built into his right armrest and brought up the transponders log on his private terminal. “According to these records its behind scheduled and off course.”

  “Engine failure they reported making emergency landing to recalibrate the primary fuel injection matrix 2 hours ago. Looks like they've fixed it. Shall I hail them?”

  “NO. I've a better idea.” he turned to the gunnery Sergeant on weapons control. “Give me a firing solution on that transponder and blow it out of the sky.”

  Aye sir, target acquired firing in three, two, one.”

  They watched in silence as the orbital defence platform seven opened fire with a deadly beam of energy.

  “Sensors confirm direct hit, target destroyed sir.”

  “Well we'll see about that. Wilkes scramble a couple of ground based search and destroy teams. They’re to investigate those co-ordinates and eliminate any survivors.”

  He absent mindedly traced the line of the scar down his face. If that old Delware freighter really was their exit strategy, on route to a prearranged pick-up point, it had all been just a little too easy. He was missing a piece of the jigsaw somewhere.

  “Search teams away, ETA to crash site five minutes.” confirmed Wilkes.

  “The refinery has activated a distress beacon sir. They're reporting significant above surface damage. Primary power plant off-line, operating on emergency reserve power, numerous casualties, requesting immediate assistance. Angel-1 facility appears to be intact.” added the lieutenant at the comm station.

  He held his hand up and gesture to him to be silent. “Thank you lieutenant, but I'm sure Commander Anderson is more than capable of clearing up the mess he's created down there, but do me a favour. ” his voice began to rise as the anger welled up within him. “Tell him we're a little busy ourselves right now doing his job for him and if he and his men are worried about freezing to death without power to get creative.” he was on feet, almost shouting. “Tell him to burn the damn corpses. Hell he can even burn the wounded for all I care. Do I make myself clear?”

  The lieutenant nodded nervously, and licked his lips which had suddenly become very dry. Two new blips had appeared on the holographic projection closing rapidly on the last reported position of the supply freighter. The bridge was engulfed in a tense silence as they watched the search teams make their final approach.

  “Team one deploying on site, team two making an airborne scan.” reported Wilkes cocking his head slightly to one side as he monitored their progress. Resting the first two fingers of his right hand on the subdermal transceiver embedded just under his right ear. The thin filaments radiating out from it into the flesh under his jaw and above his larynx were invisible to the naked eye excepted when they glowed. He looked across to the Gunnery Sergeant. “Can you confirm and retransmit the co-ordinates.”

  The Sergeant grunted affirmatively and turned to his controls.

  Wilkes shook his head. “No wreckage, no corpses and no survivors. They've drawn a blank.” he paused. “Wait a minute they've picked up a residual energy reading. It’s a drone. The transponder was attached to an unmanned drone.”

  Jasper’s face was purple with rage. He slammed his clenched fist into his chair “Find tha
t damned freighter or I'll court-martial the lot of you.”

  The tension broke as bridge burst back into life, buzzing with noise as everyone frantically busied themselves at their terminals. No one was quite sure what they were looking for, but hoped that if they looked busy enough Jasper wouldn’t notice them.

  “Sir we’re picking up a faint residual ion trail heading south, south, east, but it fades out towards the ocean.” the trace came up on screen. “I'm extrapolating its trajectory, based on the freighters performance characteristics, the optimal kill box should be coming up now.” a red kill box flashed over a section of ocean above their heads.

  Jasper smiled at the young woman, her short jet black hair slicked back in the style typical of Malstrom's female personnel. “Good work...”

  “Alice sir, Private Alice.”

  “Good work 'Sergeant' Alice, as of now your promoted.”

  “Yes sir, thank you sir” she allowed a brief smile to cross the firm, angular, but not unattractive lines of her face.

  Jasper made a private note to pay her special attention in the future. “Unfortunately I'm sure our friends in the resistance have been clever enough to vary their speed and course. Nevertheless we may get lucky. Let’s put a random fire pattern on that kill box and see what happens.”

  He spun the holographic sphere idly round while they carried out his orders, stopped and zoomed in on a collection buildings a few kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. “Alice what's this?”

  “New Hope, the northern most settlement established by Delware, now it’s mainly a transit camp for the indentured labourers heading for the mines to the north.”

  He zoomed in some more. “And this building would be?”

  “The New Hope Infirmary.”

  “An infirmary for indentured labour? Malstrom must be going soft.”

  “More a case of culling the herd, only those fit enough to make a significant economic contribution make it to the mine.”

  The more he spoke to her the more he liked her. She was ruthless, dedicated. She not only recited the Malstrom liturgy, he could see from the look in cold blue eyes she believed it as well. There was no mercy or compassion for the weak, only the spoils of victory for the strong, as it was meant to be. “Well I think we should speed the process up a bit don't you?”

  She nodded.

  He turned to the Gunnery Sergeant, “Anything to report?”

  “Negative sir. No hits reported in the 'kill box'.” he almost spat the last two words out as he shot a sidelong glance at Alice.

  “Very well ceasefire. I have a new target. Destroy the buildings at these co-ordinates.”

  “Aye...sir, sensors indicate it's a hospital.”

  “Yes Sergeant, the New Hope Infirmary, your point being?”

  “It’s not a military target sir.”

  Jasper transferred control of the orbital defence platform to his chair and ripped the hospital apart with surgical precision. The beam weapons cutting through its steel and concrete structure like a scalpel through flesh. He smiled at Alice then turned to the Gunnery Sergeant. “Better Sergeant? Your conscience eased? Well as of now your relieved of duty. Security get him off my bridge.” he addressed Wilkes as two armed security officers, stationed by the steels blast doors behind them, escorted him off the bridge. “Get me a replacement who knows how to follow orders.” then turned to the rest of the bridge crew. “And while we're at it anyone else care to join him?”

  The crew adverted his gaze and shook their heads.

  “Good.” he turned the senior communications officer. “I want a propaganda broadcast running on all channels about the brutal terrorist attack on the New Hope Infirmary within the next 20 minutes.” he pulled himself up out of the seat and without looking round snapped his fingers in the general direction of Wilkes. “Prep my shuttle, we're leaving in an hour to personally debrief Commander Anderson, I'll be in my quarters. Oh, and while you’re at it bring Sergeant Alice along.”