Rescue Mission
Chapter 5

Copyright© 2009 by Duke of Ramus

"Alpha Base, we are two minutes from your location."

Bert heard the pilot's words in his ear and automatically began checking over his own equipment. This wasn't meant to be a hot landing but habits are hard to break, especially ones that have kept you alive when faced with the death and destruction that usually accompanied the assault landings he was normally involved in.

Along side him the two pretend marines he'd created saw what he was doing and did their best to copy his actions.

Both of them looked the part now, their bodies had been resized to the two metre tall standard of the Confederacy Space Marines and their body mass had increased to match their impressive height. Dressed as they were in the Marine skinsuits it would be almost impossible for the casual observer to tell they weren't the real things.

Like Bert, Yvonne was carrying the standard laser-based assault rifle. Bert had spent an hour teaching her the basics of the weapon, loading and unloading and more importantly safety. Beside her sat David who was carrying a stinger, not the lightweight model the Marines used during extractions back on Earth but a heavy model that looked like a support weapon and was used to control rioting crowds aboard colony ships.

"Remember what I said earlier," said Bert. "Stick with me and try to remain silent. If there is a problem I'll try to deal with it but if I need someone stunned, do it. Don't hesitate or we could all be in trouble."

David nodded in understanding.

Bert turned to Yvonne, "I'll keep my rifle slung over my shoulder so that it is out of the way. You keep yours in hand. We'll only use them as a last resort." He shrugged, "We're here to help these people and as long as we all keep that in mind there shouldn't be any need for us to do anything other than point and smile." He shrugged, "I'm sure they are going to be as anxious to get away from this moon as we are."

Bert took a deep breath to steady his own nerves, "One minute," he called, echoing the pilot's report to the base they were approaching.

"Commander, this is Gerry Stevens."

"Go ahead," said Bert.

"There's a Sa'arm column heading your way," reported the Eddie Stobart's systems officer.

"How big is it?" asked Bert calmly though his heart rate climbed.

"About three hundred bodies but it's hard to be accurate. If they maintain their current speed and direction they'll get to the base in approximately six hours."

"Are they using any vehicles?" asked Bert.

"None that I can detect," replied the man in space.

"Right, let me know if they speed up," said Bert.

"Will do."

The connection in his ear went silent and Bert hissed, "Shit."

Neither of the concubines heard him and he decided it would be better for all concerned if they didn't know what was coming. He reviewed the operation and concluded that it was still a runner, it just had a definite end time now.

The shuttle came in hard and low, the pilot enjoying having a responsive craft to play with. The undercarriage compressed as the craft was set down firmly and the rear ramp dropped, revealing the entrance to the base.

Although Bert kept quiet he was impressed with how close the pilot had set down the shuttle. He released his harness and stood up, behind him the two concubines did the same. As the Marine headed quickly for the ramp they followed along obediently, the noise levels making normal speech impossible.

The door to the base slid open and a statuesque woman stepped out, she had a mask in her hand but simply held it there. Bert's implant informed him that this was Professor Teresa Porter, who headed up this part of the research team.

As the pilot spooled down the engines Bert headed straight for the professor and held out his hand, "Professor Porter, I'm Commander Bert Murray. If your people are ready we'll get them aboard and be on our way."

"We're ready, Commander," replied the professor, giving his hand a perfunctory shake. "We'll begin loading immediately."

She stepped back into the base and waved to a man by the door. He was already wearing his environmental helmet and as soon as the doorway was clear he picked up a silver packing box and headed out.

Bert looked at the array of equipment lined against the wall and winced, It was going to take some time to get that aboard. Hopefully the people in the shuttle would be able to get things stowed away quickly.

"How many people do you have?" asked Bert.

"There's just a dozen of us," replied the professor, leading the rescue party deeper into the base. In the canteen area she waved towards one of the tables, "The replicators are still working in here so make yourselves comfortable and we'll call you when everything is loaded."

"How long do you think that's going to take?" asked Bert.

"It took us a couple of days to unload when we got here but that was because we were using the Galileo shuttle. With that thing you've got it shouldn't take us more than five or six hours to get everything aboard."

"Professor," said Bert firmly, "You haven't got that long. We need to be out of here in three hours, tops."

"Why?" she asked, her lips compressing as she stared at the marine.

Bert took her arm, not brutally but she wasn't going to go anywhere he didn't want her to and moved to one side of the room and spoke quietly, "Because there is a Sa'arm column heading this way. If they continue as they are they will be here in six hours but that could change at any moment."

The professor looked shocked, then her demeanour changed from belligerent to worried in an instance.

"We need to be out of here in three hours," repeated Bert. "So I'd suggest that you prioritise your loading schedule and get your people to hustle."

Teresa Porter didn't say a word, just turned and rushed back the way she'd come.

Bert returned to the concubines and grinned, "Let's have a coffee then see what we can do to help get these people out of here."


Bert took his time over his coffee, he figured it was going to take some time for the professor to get herself in order and then to pass on the good news to her people. Only then was he likely to be needed to provide a little guidance or, if push came to shove crack the whip.

He was mildly amused when he noticed that David hadn't touched his coffee and Yvonne had barely made a dent in hers. He'd been fighting that long that those little signs of nerves didn't appear anymore. They were still there but they were buried under the need to get the job done. As an officer he was aware that they would need to be dealt with but not until he had the time.

"Relax," he said softly. "No matter how these people react we will be safe. If they don't get their shit together we will simply hop back on the shuttle and return to the ship without them."

Yvonne's eyes went wide as she realised the implication of his words, "But they'll get, you know, eaten by the dickheads," she said.

"True," said Bert, "and then they'll get blown to pieces when we destroy the base. But that won't be our problem." He took a sip of his coffee, "So, tell me, what's it like practically living on a ship?"

Yvonne shook her head, a little confused at the sudden change of subject. "Boring," she said after a moments consideration. "It's comfortable but there is nothing to do. There is no where to walk and nothing to see that you haven't seen a million times before." She looked at the coffee in her cup and then ignored it, "You don't get to meet people, not even when we visit the different colonies. We're only in orbit for a matter of hours before we're off again so we never get to go planet-side."

David nodded, "I know we're slaves but on the ship it doesn't seem like that," he said. "We all have responsibilities and, other than occasionally in the bedroom, we're treated the same as everyone else. I'm not sure if that would happen if we were living on one of the planets we visit."

"It might," said Bert, "or it might not. The colonies vary tremendously in the way they treat people. Some, like Demeter, have a fairly laid back approach but others." He shrugged, "You'd think you were back in ancient Rome or something the way they abuse the concubines."

"What about you, where do you live?" asked Yvonne.

"Me? I don't," said Bert. "No, that's not true is it? Nominally I do have a home on Frick but it has been a couple of years since I was back there. My concubines were returned to the Civil Service after the first nine months of separation. It wasn't fair to keep them locked up and I wasn't there to look after them."

He finished his coffee in a swallow, "I'm sort of hoping that I'll find myself somewhere a little more settled after staff college but I'll worry about it when the time comes." He looked at the two concubines and grinned, "Come on then, that's enough swinging the lead. Let's go get these academics moving, before they become swarm bait."


The three of them arrived back at the entrance to a scene of chaos. The neatly stacked boxes were spread out all over the place, both inside and outside of the base. People were moving around aimlessly, picking up boxes and moving them around before dropping them back where they'd found them.

The professor was standing to one side staring off into space, a display tablet in her hand.

Bert took one look, crossed to stand beside the professor and yelled, "Stand still!"

 
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