2026.
A Maian saucer is streaking past the orbit of Mars. Inside, the two CI agents clad in spacesuits went over Carrington's briefing.
"The Microsoft Corporation has contacted the Institute with a problem of an extraterrestrial nature. One of their AstroCartography Satellite was launched to the asteriod belt for the purpose of scouting out probable asteroids for colonization or mining purposes. It was also equipped with the standard radio telescope. They picked up transmissions which, after some analysis, indicate that the Skedar may have an outpost on an asteroid out there. We shortly lost contact with the satellite. The Maians have given us permission to use one of their saucers to more closely examine the asteroid in question - Ceres, one of the biggest ones out there. Good luck, Agents Dark and Easton."
The agents piloted the craft to a tiny asteroid near their objective - only about 200 feet wide. They left the craft and prepared to use their second generaton MMUs, much smaller than the ones used with the old shuttle missions and with more 'oomph'. They held down the boosters for three seconds, aimed toward the asteroid. They were going 60 MPH.
About a hundred feet off the surface of the asteroid, they hit the emergency brake button on their packs. Then, they carefully maneuvered to the asteroid's surface. "I've got 78% fuel. You, Trent?" asked the first pressure suit.
"Eh, I've got 60%."
"That's what you get for not paying attention in training."
Trent waved Joanna off. They both tuned their radios to receive transmissions from any frequency. Immediately their radios filled with the familiar growls and hisses of the Skedar race. Joanna sent a transmission on a secure frequency. "Daniel, this is a freaking Skedar nest. Please advise."
After the delay of several minutes, Daniel's message came back. "It's a good thing we arranged for that package, Jo, because you're going to need it."
Joanna fingered the bundle on her side. It would have weighed about fifty pounds on Earth. Trent had questioned why they should even bring it, in case it killed them on the way. "We're taking a Maian saucer. That'll get us there in twelve hours. It wouldn't affect us even if it was cracked wide open in that amount of the time."
Joanna turned to Trent. "We still have to get this near the core of the asteroid, else it'll just be a fancy show. Plus, we've got to gather intelligence on why the Skedar are even here."
Trent nodded. "Give me the package then, Jo. You've got more experience at combat against these bastards than I do, and you've had more experience in zero-g."
Jo nodded and handed off the package. "How's oxygen, by the way?"
"54%"
"Same here."
Trent pulled himself along the surface of the asteroid while examining the map the satellite had sent. A really big cave was near the edge of the known asteroid. Trent didn't want to waste his fuel. He pulled himself along faster.
~~~
Joanna was prepared for vacuum combat. Her pressure suit had a double layer of Kevlar as well as the special fabric that kept air in. She also had a triple laser mounted on her wrist. It was twice as powerful as a Falcon bullet.
She used her Data Uplink to trace the source of the transmissions. It was a camouflage obelisk, like the ones she had helped destroy on the holy Skedar planet. This one matched the hue of the nearby landscape, though. Joanna took a small chunk of plastique from her belt and affixed it to the obelisk. She then checked her map for any irregularities. A perfectly square 5 by 5 plate of iron was nearby. Joanna pulled herself towards it, wanting to conserve fuel herself. The plate was quite clearly a hatch. It easily lifted up. Inside was an outer airlock door. Joanna glided into the airlock. She sealed the outer door and enacted the cycling process. When it was almost over, she hit the detonator for the plastique. Much of the Skedar noise traffic disappeared instantly, but what remained seemed to sound extremely agitated.
Immediately inside was a floor plan of the whole base pasted on the wall. "Small," Joanna commented. She noticed that the area was pressurized. She removed her helmet, which conveniently hung off the back. She took a snapshot of the floor plan with the minicam stored in her belt. The snapshot began its several minute journey to Earth. She noted a data center, a barracks, and a hangar.
Data center first. She jogged through the corridors for a few minutes, encountering no resistance. The data center had about four mainframes. Joanna knew that it would take about an hour to download all the information, and she didn't have that much time. She jammed the Uplink into the terminal and blew it a kiss goodbye. She heard a roar behind her. Swirling, she saw a Skedar fire three shots at her from a Mauler. Her arm was up instantly, and after two quick blasts from the laser, the creature was history. She looked down. Damn! Her suit was breached. "Oh shit." An idea - very farfetched - struck her.
~~~
Trent finally reached the large cave. He pulled himself in and shoved himself to the bottom of the cave. He took the package off of his side and opened it. Inside was a 50 kiloton atomic bomb. He tucked it into a crevasse and flicked the On switch. The bomb had a ten minute timer. "That was damn easy," he said. He looked up. On the ceiling was a flat concrete surface and several Skedar ships. "Hell, I'm in a hangar."
Trent pushed himself to - well, the floor now. He had brought his trademark customized Magnum, tethered to his waist so it wouldn't float off. He also had some easy reload cartridges in his belt. He brought his Magnum to bear now. He twisted his way through the various Skedar craft. He saw one shuttle was being worked on by three Skedar in pressure suits. Their suits looked rather funny, as they conformed to the peculiar shape of the Skedar biomechanical suit. Trent launched himself toward the nearby airlock. One Skedar turned and noticed him. Trent lifted his gun and fired. In the airless environment, there was no bang, but Trent flew back to the wall from the recoil. The Skedar quickly expired from the hole in its suit. Trent righted himself and launched toward the airlock again. The second Skedar noticed the first was dead and turned toward Trent. It gestured towards the last remaining Skedar, and they both glided toward Trent, tools at the ready. Trent waited…waited…waited…FIRED! The bullet went through both creatures and their pressure suits. Trent shoved himself into the airlock at last.
A Maian saucer is streaking past the orbit of Mars. Inside, the two CI agents clad in spacesuits went over Carrington's briefing.
"The Microsoft Corporation has contacted the Institute with a problem of an extraterrestrial nature. One of their AstroCartography Satellite was launched to the asteriod belt for the purpose of scouting out probable asteroids for colonization or mining purposes. It was also equipped with the standard radio telescope. They picked up transmissions which, after some analysis, indicate that the Skedar may have an outpost on an asteroid out there. We shortly lost contact with the satellite. The Maians have given us permission to use one of their saucers to more closely examine the asteroid in question - Ceres, one of the biggest ones out there. Good luck, Agents Dark and Easton."
The agents piloted the craft to a tiny asteroid near their objective - only about 200 feet wide. They left the craft and prepared to use their second generaton MMUs, much smaller than the ones used with the old shuttle missions and with more 'oomph'. They held down the boosters for three seconds, aimed toward the asteroid. They were going 60 MPH.
About a hundred feet off the surface of the asteroid, they hit the emergency brake button on their packs. Then, they carefully maneuvered to the asteroid's surface. "I've got 78% fuel. You, Trent?" asked the first pressure suit.
"Eh, I've got 60%."
"That's what you get for not paying attention in training."
Trent waved Joanna off. They both tuned their radios to receive transmissions from any frequency. Immediately their radios filled with the familiar growls and hisses of the Skedar race. Joanna sent a transmission on a secure frequency. "Daniel, this is a freaking Skedar nest. Please advise."
After the delay of several minutes, Daniel's message came back. "It's a good thing we arranged for that package, Jo, because you're going to need it."
Joanna fingered the bundle on her side. It would have weighed about fifty pounds on Earth. Trent had questioned why they should even bring it, in case it killed them on the way. "We're taking a Maian saucer. That'll get us there in twelve hours. It wouldn't affect us even if it was cracked wide open in that amount of the time."
Joanna turned to Trent. "We still have to get this near the core of the asteroid, else it'll just be a fancy show. Plus, we've got to gather intelligence on why the Skedar are even here."
Trent nodded. "Give me the package then, Jo. You've got more experience at combat against these bastards than I do, and you've had more experience in zero-g."
Jo nodded and handed off the package. "How's oxygen, by the way?"
"54%"
"Same here."
Trent pulled himself along the surface of the asteroid while examining the map the satellite had sent. A really big cave was near the edge of the known asteroid. Trent didn't want to waste his fuel. He pulled himself along faster.
~~~
Joanna was prepared for vacuum combat. Her pressure suit had a double layer of Kevlar as well as the special fabric that kept air in. She also had a triple laser mounted on her wrist. It was twice as powerful as a Falcon bullet.
She used her Data Uplink to trace the source of the transmissions. It was a camouflage obelisk, like the ones she had helped destroy on the holy Skedar planet. This one matched the hue of the nearby landscape, though. Joanna took a small chunk of plastique from her belt and affixed it to the obelisk. She then checked her map for any irregularities. A perfectly square 5 by 5 plate of iron was nearby. Joanna pulled herself towards it, wanting to conserve fuel herself. The plate was quite clearly a hatch. It easily lifted up. Inside was an outer airlock door. Joanna glided into the airlock. She sealed the outer door and enacted the cycling process. When it was almost over, she hit the detonator for the plastique. Much of the Skedar noise traffic disappeared instantly, but what remained seemed to sound extremely agitated.
Immediately inside was a floor plan of the whole base pasted on the wall. "Small," Joanna commented. She noticed that the area was pressurized. She removed her helmet, which conveniently hung off the back. She took a snapshot of the floor plan with the minicam stored in her belt. The snapshot began its several minute journey to Earth. She noted a data center, a barracks, and a hangar.
Data center first. She jogged through the corridors for a few minutes, encountering no resistance. The data center had about four mainframes. Joanna knew that it would take about an hour to download all the information, and she didn't have that much time. She jammed the Uplink into the terminal and blew it a kiss goodbye. She heard a roar behind her. Swirling, she saw a Skedar fire three shots at her from a Mauler. Her arm was up instantly, and after two quick blasts from the laser, the creature was history. She looked down. Damn! Her suit was breached. "Oh shit." An idea - very farfetched - struck her.
~~~
Trent finally reached the large cave. He pulled himself in and shoved himself to the bottom of the cave. He took the package off of his side and opened it. Inside was a 50 kiloton atomic bomb. He tucked it into a crevasse and flicked the On switch. The bomb had a ten minute timer. "That was damn easy," he said. He looked up. On the ceiling was a flat concrete surface and several Skedar ships. "Hell, I'm in a hangar."
Trent pushed himself to - well, the floor now. He had brought his trademark customized Magnum, tethered to his waist so it wouldn't float off. He also had some easy reload cartridges in his belt. He brought his Magnum to bear now. He twisted his way through the various Skedar craft. He saw one shuttle was being worked on by three Skedar in pressure suits. Their suits looked rather funny, as they conformed to the peculiar shape of the Skedar biomechanical suit. Trent launched himself toward the nearby airlock. One Skedar turned and noticed him. Trent lifted his gun and fired. In the airless environment, there was no bang, but Trent flew back to the wall from the recoil. The Skedar quickly expired from the hole in its suit. Trent righted himself and launched toward the airlock again. The second Skedar noticed the first was dead and turned toward Trent. It gestured towards the last remaining Skedar, and they both glided toward Trent, tools at the ready. Trent waited…waited…waited…FIRED! The bullet went through both creatures and their pressure suits. Trent shoved himself into the airlock at last.