BlackStar, page 35
He watched as the two astronauts helped each other place the various layers of the protective suit on and attach the EKG pads, communications pack and all the other equipment to keep them safe from the sun’s intense radiation.
The general passed the time by humming ‘she’ll be commin’ around the mountain when she comes’ which was getting on Gimbel’s nerves with each orbit. On the forth orbit they were ready
“Thor, we are ready to initiate EVA.”
“Gentlemen, good luck. Watch the Rovkis. It might be a bit tricky to use with such a tight fit. If you don’t like the way it’s going you can always change to the MMUs without it. Take all the time you need. Those solar panels are critical,” the general said.
Gimbel was just shaking his head ‘yes’.
“Understand Thor. Initiating EVA,” he said and pressed the release button and watched as the gauge went to zero and a green light flashed on. He pushed the hydraulic release clamp start button and the door began to swing open. They both pulled down the gold shields that would protect their eyes. They quickly went over each other’s equipment and stepped through the opening.
After floating over to the MMUs and getting them on, they opened the cargo bay doors. Sunlight flooded the compartment and the general could see a clear view of the earth.
They were drifting one hundred and ninety miles above the earth and the general could see the eastern seaboard and Atlantic Ocean. The two astronauts looked at the sight for a few moments and then set about the task of detaching the BlackStar from its docking station and getting it clear of the cargo bay.
The general watched as the two men maneuvered around the weapon often within inches of touching it. Gimbel was holding his breath at times as he watched, and at other times, looked away and closed his eyes.
It took three orbits before all of the tethers, straps, and retaining bolts were removed and safely stored. Using the robotic arms, they slowly started inching the BlackStar from its docking station. It was a slow arduous process as the two astronauts performed their intricate ballet almost two hundred miles above General Devin and Doctor Gimbel. They listened as the two men went about the task.
“First side clear.”
The general didn’t respond. He didn’t want to interfere with their concentration. One orbit later they reported the BlackStar was clear and they were bringing out the rest of the payload. Once it out of the bay, the rest would be relatively simple.
“Thor, the package is clear. Current position is three meters from the bay.”
“Stupendous. Standby for uplink to move it ten meters from the shuttle.”
“Standing by.”
Gimbel flipped two switches quickly on and off. They watched as a short burst of nitrogen exhausted from nozzles at the base of the BlackStar. It slowly started to drift away from the Fastmover shuttle.
“Opening panels doors,” Gimbel said.
“Roger. Standing by.”
Gimbel pushed a button on the console and they watched as the doors started to open from the sides of the weapon. Eleven of the panels showed open. One light remained red. Gimbel pushed the button again and it moved a few inches before stopping once more.
“What’s wrong?” the general asked.
“I don’t know. Everything seems right but it simply won’t extend.”
“Try it again.”
“I did.”
“Do it again,” the general said through clenched teeth.
Gimbel pressed the button but the panel door refused to budge.
“Thor, Fastmover. You want me to maneuver over and see if I can figure out the problem?”
“Yes. That seems like the only option at this point. It has to be fully open to function properly,” the general said.
“Roger.”
Devin and Gimbel watched as he used the MMU to position himself just a foot from the panel.
“One of the cables is off the track. It is caught behind the pulley wheel. I can’t get my hand in the opening. I will need to rig something to pry up on the cable,” he reported.
Gimbel was pacing frantically back and forth.
“If they break that cable the arm will just hang and won’t rotate properly,” Gimbel muttered.
“Well doctor, if they do nothing it won’t work properly either, will it?” the general responded.
“Thor. Do you want me to try?” at astronaut asked.
“Yes. Do what you can. If the cable breaks it will cause the door to drop down and be useless. Do the best you can. It isn’t going to do us much good like it is,” the general said.
“Roger. I think it will take both of us to get this done. I will need some help with leverage.”
“Do whatever it takes. Good luck,” the general said.
It was out of his hands. Now everything hung on the ability of the two astronauts to find a way to rectify the situation. The general didn’t believe in religion but he was tempted to ask for help this one time, instead he chewed on his thumb nail.
Gimbel paced the floor and mumbled at such a rate it was making the general nauseous. Finally he told him to sit down and shut up.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
- GROOM LAKE -
Number one was ready to brace the Desert Eagle against the elevator opening as soon as the doors slid back.
“Standby,” he said as the doors started to slide open.
As soon as they were fully opened, he braced his arm on the frame of the elevator opening and placed the Eagle over his forearm. He could see the two guards talking; neither was looking toward the elevator. He placed the crosshairs so the shot would go through one man and hitting the second man in the chest. He squeezed the trigger and the big bore weapon fired a round, slicing through the bulletproof glass and striking the first guard in the middle of the back. The bullet blew out the front of his chest and slammed into the base of the throat of the second guard.
Both were dead before the roar of the gun had dissipated. The rest of the team rushed out and started methodically taking out the other guards around the hanger. One after another they fell as they started to panic because of the sudden attack from within the building.
They rushed the security room and took out the three guards watching the monitors.
“Clear,” came the responses from the team members as the main hanger level was secured.
“Some of the guards could be in the bays. We will need to clear them as well,” Miller said looking around at the large numbers painted on the bay doors.
“I’ll handle Bay-1,” Eller said.
“Fine but Six, you go with him,” Miller ordered.
The two men ran toward the bay door. Eller looked through the glass and saw a guard leaning against the U-5 ship. Damn, he should have told them more about what they were getting ready to find in the bays, the thought. It was too late now. He could see them all in position, ready to rush the bay doors. He opened the door and the guard looked over at him.
He placed his hand on his sidearm and said, “Who are you?”
“Raymond Eller.”
“Eller’s dead,” he said and started to draw his Glock from the holster. He heard a familiar spiting noise behind him and saw the guard thrown back and crumple to the floor. He quickly scanned the room and then ran over to the isolation booth.
Lynn was in the isolation booth at Bay-1 setting up for test of the control nozzles now that they had solved the problem of the coupling interference. They ground the opening but it still would not let the nozzles rotate in all directions. Finally one of the team members designed a new coupling that would allow the necessary clearance for proper movement.
This would be the first real test to see if they could control the anti-mater flux field reactor. She had just started to power up the reactor up when the door to the lab burst open. She turned and saw a man in dirty military clothes standing in the doorway.
“Get the hell out of here. I’ve started the reactor,” she yelled.
“Lynn. It’s Raymond,” he shouted and closed the door.
Raymond? It couldn’t be. This man had a full beard and Raymond was locked up in some cell, she thought. She turned and hit the power button and the reactor stated to shut down. She waited until the green safety light went on and then took off her hood.
She threw open the door and there stood Raymond, beard and all. He looked a little worse for wear, but it was definitely him.
“Raymond” she said and rushed to his arms. They just hugged for several seconds.
“How? I don’t understand. I thought you were in a cell being held by Devin,” she said and buried her face in his chest.
“You can’t believe everything you hear,” he said with a big smile on his face.
“I didn’t know if I would ever see you again. Angie must have figured out my message and notified the authorities,” she said, her eyes were welling up and a tear rolled down her cheek.
“I don’t know how I got rescued, but here I am. You sent for the authorities?”
She gave him a quick recap of what she and Angie had discovered and how they had gone about trying to get a message to the Department of Homeland Security that you were alive.
“Do you know any way to get to the 10th level?”
“No. I honestly don’t know anything about it but I don’t think you need to,” she said.
“Why? We need to destroy any weapon that crazy Devlin is developing,”
“Two nights ago, we were up in the lab working and we were ordered back to our facilities on Level-5. We were told to stay away from that area until after 3:00 a.m. They made it clear that anyone caught on the main level would have to deal with the general personally.”
“That means they took it to hanger 18 where the Su-12 is,’ he said. “Have you heard anything about a shuttle mission?”
“Just the rumors floating around. According to the rumor mill it was scheduled to happen yesterday in the early morning hours.”
“Damn. Now we have to go to the main base,” Raymond said.
“It’s too dangerous. You don’t have enough people to take on the general,” she insisted.
“We have to try.”
“Mr. Eller. We need to get moving,” Six said finally.
“I know. Lynn, go down to your place and wait. Don’t leave. Don’t let anyone in unless they are from the Strike-1 team. They will identify themselves. Here,” he said, handing her the gun that he had been given earlier, “Use it if someone tries to force their way in,” Raymond told her.
“I don’t know how to use a gun.”
“Just aim at the middle of them and pull the trigger. Keep pulling it until it stops making a loud noise. It is loaded and one is in the chamber. Don’t pull the trigger until you are ready to use it,” he said.
“Mr. Eller. We have to go. Time is running out.”
“Okay,” he said and kissed Lynn before running down the bay and through the open door.
The team had gathered in the hanger, waiting for Eller.
“Mr. Eller,” Number One said.
“I know. I know. Were those real spacecraft and where did they come from? That’s what you want to know, right?”
“That and a thousand other things,” Miller added.
“Understood. But for now you are just going to have to concentrate on the job at hand. In a word, yes, they are real and yes, they came from some other planet.”
They all had a look of amazement and most had their mouths hanging open. Eller wondered if he looked that way when he first saw them.
“We need to focus. I know it’s damned hard but we have to keep moving.”
Raymond briefed them on the latest developments he had learned from Lynn. It meant an assault on the main base and the potential for the general to do something insane. They all knew what had to be done. Raymond told them about the two guards who would be outside the entrance. They would have M-16s and since the hanger was soundproof, they wouldn’t be alerted to what was happening.
Number one assigned Miller and Number Four to handle disposing of the guards. A few minutes later they got the signal that they could move out. The plan was to take two Hummers and head to the main base. They would neutralize the main guard building first and then locate the general and take him into custody.
They commandeered two Hummers and were soon racing down the main road toward home plate. They pulled up to the main security building and rushed the front door. They immediately started to methodically eliminate any resistance they met.
During one savage exchange of gunfire, Number One was struck in the shoulder and toppled. All the Strike-1 members stopped shooting for a second. Number four crawled over and checked for a pulse. He was alive and he started medical treatment immediately. He was definitely out of action.
The others knew nothing more could be done right then except to continue with the mission.
It would all be on Miller’s shoulders now. During the raging battle that went on inside the building one of the security guards was able to get to the security system console and issue a 405, ambush/intruder alarm.
The 405 would trigger a full lock down and security alert to all sectors. Guards from other areas of the base started to rush to the security center and the battle intensified further. Miller peeked out one of the windows and could see eight or nine of the guards crouched behind one of the Hummers.
“Four, bring the Thumper and take out that Hummer over there,” he said pointing.
He chambered a round in the M-80 and fired, striking the Hummer in the middle of the hood. It exploded in a huge fireball. All nine lay dead at the edge of the burning hulk. Miller quickly aimed the Eagle and picked off three more guards before having to reload.
We can’t stay here. Eventually someone will come up with the idea of burning us out. We need to break out and take the fight to them,” Miller said.
“Yeah, sure. What? There are only like, two hundred of them left,” Eller said.
“You want me to send for some more to help them out?” Miller quipped giving him a quick smile.
“Cute. Very glib. What do we do next?”
“We are going to head out and make our way to that brick building over there. We can pick them off a few at a time. Then, when we feel the time is right, we will make a run for hanger 18. You will have to lead the way for that” Miller said.
Raymond just shook his head and took a deep breath. These guys were crazy.
“Let’s do it” he said at last.
Everyone reloaded and each unpinned a fragment grenade. They handed one to Raymond with instructions on what to do when he released the spoon.
“Ready? Now,” Miller said, charging out the door first.
Each man followed firing his machine gun and tossing his grenade. Eller had taken Number One’s weapon and was firing as he ran, trying to keep up with the other Strike-1 members. They reached the building and scrambled inside.
“Anyone hit?” Miller asked.
A little,” Number Three said, “Arm. Not bad.”
One of the others went to work on his arm, placing a compression bandage over the wound.
‘It missed the bone. It’s gonna hurt like hell but nothing is broken.”
While that was going on the others were firing at the guards, taking out a few at a time. Miller was the most effective with the big bore .50 Cal. His rounds could pierce the Hummers and come out the other side, taking a man down each time.
“Ammo check,” Miller called and each man searched the backpacks and piled the ammunition on the floor.
“Divide it up and stash it, leave the packs. We are going to need to travel fast and light,” he said. “Mr. Eller, I’ll be right alongside of you but you will need to lead the way. Are you up to it?”
“Sure. I’ve got nothing better to do,” he said.
“Good man. We might have to make you an honorary member of Strike-1 team when this over,” Miller joked.
“Oh great, go from one bunch of crazies to another. I gotta get better assignments,” he shot back.
Miller made one last check before they dashed out of the building, guns firing. They ran from one bit of cover to another while Raymond led them to the hanger. They had managed to kill or wound several more of the security guards before they reached the objective. They burst inside but the Su-12 was gone.
The rumors were right. It was already in orbit. That meant the weapon was either deployed or about to be. They searched the hanger and found the technicians in one of the rooms, hiding behind overturned tables.
“Where is the shuttle?” Eller asked.
“In orbit. It went up yesterday,” one of them spoke up.
“Was anything aboard it?” Raymond asked.
“Something must have been. They brought in a special crew to load it and we weren’t allowed back until it was stored in the cargo bay.”
“Do you know what it was?”
“No. We never saw it.”
“Where is the general?”
“Probably in the control tower,” one of them offered.
“No. He will be in the Su-12 control center,” a woman spoke up.
“Where is that?” Miller and Eller ask in unison.
“In the base of the QKR,” she said.
“What is that?”
“Quick Kill Radar. The big dish by the tower. I’ve seen him go in after a launch.”
“Thanks,” Raymond said.
“Do you know where it is?” Miller asked.
“Not far from here. The guards will probably figure out that we will be heading there. It isn’t going to be easy.”
Miller looked around and saw a motorized cart used to pull the Fastmover out of the hanger. It was big enough to hold three people.
“Six, with me and Mr. Eller,” Miller said.
“Look, if we are going to go out there and get killed, would you mind calling me Ray or Raymond.”
“I can do that Mr. Eller,” Miller said grinning.
Raymond shook his head.
“Ray. You, Six and I are going to make a dash for the radar dish on the cart. Once we clear the building, the guards will try to follow us and pick us off. Three, Four and Five will come after we have cleared them and take them out from behind. They won’t be expecting two waves,” he said.
