One Last Blast
A beam of pure hellfire erupted from the belly of the ship.
It struck the asteroid not quite at its center, obliterating all but one small fragment, which fell to the planet below with devastating force. It created an immense fireball which spread for almost a hundred kilometres, and snuffed out any living thing caught within a much larger area.
But he did not witness the destruction as it occurred. Rather, he was watching a holo-tape reproduction of the event. As the tape played to its end, he was muttering under his breath.
"Such power." he said to no one in particular. "Such destructive energy. Never in the history of warfare has there been a weapon of such purely devastating potential. It makes my own arsenal seem petty and worthless by comparison. Amazing..."
The tape ended, and the projector froze on the requested image, that of the ship that had performed that feat. He turned his chair around to face his desk, and activated his office intercom.
"Miss Adams, I want you to get me full operational data on a certain spacecraft, and a complete dossier on whoever owns it."
"At once, sir." came the slightly artificial reply.
"Good. The name of the ship in question is..." He touched a key, and a magnified image of the front of the ship floated before him.
"...The STAR SEEKER."
Kei and Yuri were on their way to the firing range.
Although there was really no need for them to practice their marksmanship (they practised all the time on missions), WWWA regulations clearly stated that all trouble consultants had to have a minimum of time spent on the practice range - and they were far below that required minimum.
They signed in at the range office and made for their preferred choices. Yuri picked a pistol that looked more like an antique Colt .45 projectile gun than a laser pistol, while Kei slung her 'dream' gun over her shoulder - a Neutral-Particle Projector whose size suggested that it be mounted on a hoverJeep rather than being carried.
"You know, Kei, I don't think you'll really ever get a chance to use that monster anywhere except here." Yuri told her partner as she poked an elbow into her ribs.
Kei almost lost her balance at that, the cannon threatening to topple backwards at any second. "Sure, sure." she grunted, "But it DOES feel good, watching those great big targets getting turned into little piles of dust when I pull the trigger." While I imagine that they're some of the creeps we've put away over the years. She dropped the monster onto its bipod and sighted...
From somewhere behind them, a pencil-thin bolt shot onto the range. It struck the 500-meter target, there was a blue-green flash, and the target was gone. No smoke, no debris - just GONE!
Kei was beside herself with fury. "Who the HELL did that?! What KIND OF GUN did that!?" And where can I get one? She whirled, ready to kill, and saw the shadow advancing towards them.
Who?
A lighthearted chuckle greeted them. "Afternoon, ladies." He hefted a machine-laser-sized weapon with a VERY strange-looking emitter cone.
"BILL!" That was Yuri. Her eyes sparkled as she recognized the voice. She ran towards him as he went to place his gun on a nearby table. "What are YOU doing here? And what is THAT? I thought you didn't do weapons!"
"Slow down - one question at a time.. I - WHOOOOF!" Yuri collided with him and they both tumbled to the ground in a tangled mass of arms, legs, and hair.
Kei stared scornfully at their semi-public display of affection. "If you're QUITE finished.." She had nothing against Bill personally, but Yuri was fawning over him like a lovesick schoolgirl, and that she didn't approve of. Unless it's ME doing to fawning... "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
Bill got disentangled enough to lever himself up on his elbows. "I try." he laughed, giving her a grin, "Can't let myself get into a rut, now, can I? Helps keep others on their toes too, eh?"
"Rrrrrrgh" she growled, for lack of something scalding to say. He was right, and it seemed to work for him, but there was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her admit defeat.
He straightened up and helped Yuri to her feet. "ANYway, I heard you were coming here, and figured I'd give you a thrill." He grasped the gun he had carried in and showed it to them. "It's a little something I started on after our encounter with that space-case in the rock-ship. You remember that one, don't you?"
They remembered. Some yahoo had designed a space drive capable of warping asteroids from system to system, and had decided to prove its worth by destroying the planet Doros with it. Bill had created a super-weapon to stop it. But while it turned most of the asteroid to sub-atomic dust, one large fragment had survived, and had struck the planet, killing millions.
"Well, I wanted to see if I could develop something to use as a defence against similar circumstances. This is the prototype." He handed it to Kei. "It has a range of almost a kilometre, and can completely atomize a target massing up to a hundred tons. Larger ones, based on the same design, would be effective for defending planets against any conceivable threat, including falling asteroids." He winked at Kei. "Merry Christmas."
"For ME? Are you SURE?" Kei was thrilled. The man was handsome, talented, AND generous. If he hadn't been involved with Yuri, she would have made a move on him herself.
But Yuri was pouting. Bill gave her a playful smirk. "Awwwww – no new toys for little Yuri?" He dug into his pocket, and produced a device the size and shape of a disc-recorder. He flipped its switch. "Kei, try firing at that target." He pointed to the 800-meter mound. Kei aimed and pulled the trigger..
Nothing happened...
What? It worked for him.. "Some new toy. Damn thing doesn't work!"
"Sure it does." He flipped the switch in his hand a second time. "Try it now."
She carefully aimed and pulled the trigger...
The thin orange beam erupted from the gun, obliterating the mound in a flash of blue fire.
"Personal energy damper.. alters the flow of any electromagnetic current, including visible light. Prevents it from being used the way it's supposed to. Has an effective range of about fifty meters." He flipped it over to Yuri. "For you, my dear." he said as she deftly picked it out of the air. "Those will be issued to all criminal consultants in the near future, but you get to be the first on your block to own one."
That brought Yuri out of her mood. She smiled up at him. "Thank you, Bill. Now, I'll have to return the favour." She kissed him, Kei strategically looking the other way.
Bill laughed. "Just call me 'Q'."
Kei and Yuri looked at each other for a moment. "'Q' who?"
He sighed inwardly. Action-thriller movies had gone out of style, so few people knew of James Bond and his inventor-friend. "Never mind. I'll have to take you both to one of those video revival festivals one of these days."
Miss Adams handed him the file. "The dossier you requested, sir. The Star Seeker is a scout-size vessel. It's registered owner is a Dr. William Galet, one of the WWWA's top experimental development engineers."
That struck him as strange - research techs usually didn't require personal starships. But there was something else... "Galet. Galet. I know that name. Give me his personal data."
She scanned the noteboard. "Doctor William Daniel Galet. Age twenty-five. Recruited by the 3WA early this year, after... Sir, this can't be right - it says he was recruited after being involved in an accident which resulted from his experiment with a prototype for the first warp-style propulsion device."
So, it WAS him! He nodded. "That's correct. He was testing the first warp drive ever built. Fifty-one years ago. I remember my grandfather talking about him - a brilliant man. Would have been able to have his name mentioned along with Newton, Einstein, and others. But he had some ideas that he shouldn't have spread around, and his 'superiors' decided to have his experiment fail. They would have succeeded if Galet didn't build things so damn well." He stood up and strode out of the room. "I have to think about this. Think ...think..." he was muttering as the door closed behind him, leaving Miss Adams alone in his office.
"What's gotten into him, now? What's he got against that man?" She picked up the noteboard and looked through the file some more.
Oh. I see.
Bill slept on his couch.
He couldn't sleep on his bed unless he was practically dead on his feet. With all the advances of this world, they STILL can't make a mattress that's both firm AND comfortable! The sofa was the only piece of furniture in his apartment that he could get a decent nights' sleep on.
Usually. Tonight was different.
Tonight he stirred restlessly as the images of his past crept into his subconscious to torment him again. Visions of his family - Janie, his sister-in-law, sister in all but biology - Mike, the nephew he had treated as a son. He first saw them as he had known them, Janie the dark-haired beauty - Mike the energetic nine-year-old. But no sooner did he enjoy the scene when it changed - they became old and frail. Then he imagined the shuttle crash that had taken their lives - the flaming arrowhead shape that burrowed into the ground, spraying bits of metal and plastic for miles around. In his tortured mind, he heard them screaming as the flames engulfed them, and the ground rose to crush them.
NO! Please! STOP IT! JANIE!
"JANIE!" He screamed as he jerked upright, sweat beading down his nose.
Yuri chose that moment to walk in. She heard him scream, saw his terrified look. "Bill? Are you all right?" She sat down beside him and reached for his hand.
He pulled her close and rested his chin on her shoulder as tears began to form. "Oh God, Yuri. I saw it again. I had to watch Janie and Mikey die in that crash, and I was helpless! I wanted to help them, but I couldn't... I couldn't do a single damned thing!"
She absently rubbed his shoulders as she held him. "I know, Bill. It was just a dream. It's all right now. I'm here." She could feel him sobbing as she tightened her grip. "Everything is going to be fine."
He broke their mutual hold and looked into her eyes. "Thank you, Yuri. Thank you for being here for me. I never said that to you, did I?"
"You don't have to say it, Bill..."
"I DO have to. I never told you how much I appreciated you when we first met. When you told me how Janie and Mike died, I felt so alone that I would have died as well. You were there to help me through it - you supported me, you helped me start to live again. You'll never know how much that means to me."
"Bill, I..." she started, but something caught her eye. Out the window, from a nearby building, she noticed the telltale red glow of a laser sight.
Aiming into this room!
"BILL! Get down!" She yelled as she shoved him onto the floor. A second later the window shattered and a head-sized hole was blown into the sofa where they were just sitting.
Yuri, gun in hand, crawled to the window. She poked her head up, searching for the sniper. No luck. Must have wanted only one shot. Pretty self-confident. She sat down on the floor. "Bill, are you all right?"
"Oh, Jeez! Oh, man! That hurts!"
Hurts!? "Bill! Are you hit?"
"No, but I just bought that sofa, dammit!"
"Who would want you dead?"
Yuri had told Kei what had happened, and they went to Director Goulet with their report.
"Be damned if I know, boss. All the people who hated me enough to plot my death have to be dead by now - most of them were rather old when I knew them - in 2090. HyperTech's gone, so no grudges there."
"No family rivalries?" A slim chance, but one that had to be explored.
"None that I'm aware of. Everyone in my family was pretty well-liked."
Kei wrapped her finger in Yuris' hair. "Jealous ex-boyfriend or angry father?"
Yuri slapped Keis' hand away. "Right! REAL funny, sourpuss!"
Kei stuck her tongue out, then went on. "Maybe it wasn't meant to kill you. Maybe somebody wants to scare you or something."
Goulet nodded. "It's possible. But the questions remain - Who, and why?"
"And again, I can't think of anything. Someone may want me to keep the Quantum Thruster secret," his reactionless spacedrive was what had placed him here in the first place - HyperTech had tried to kill him to keep it from being used. "But that's already been released into the general market, so no-one would stand to profit from having me withhold information on it. Everything else I've developed has been released, with the exception of..."
"Your asteroid-smashing cannon." Yuri finished.
Oh, Damn! "But that's worthless to just about everyone - except maybe the Crushers, and they already have their own asteroid-smashers."
"Most of which are quicker to use and less power-consuming." Kei added. "On top of which, the Crushers don't steal technology or have people bumped off for it."
Bill shrugged. "Look, maybe it was just a case of mistaken identity. They wanted somebody else, but they got the apartment number wrong. End of problem."
Goulet looked unconvinced. "Perhaps. I admit, it sounds like a reasonable supposition, but let's take no chances. Bill, I'd like to move you to a safe zone for the time being. You'll have 'round the clock protection there, and in a few days we should know for sure if this was a mistake or not. Yuri, you'll escort him there and take first shift."
"Yes, sir. I'll see to it that he's well taken care of."
The trio turned and left.
He answered his intercom. "Yes, Miss Adams?"
"Sir. He's on the move. They are taking him to a safe house, where he'll be staying for several days."
He smiled. "Good. Everything is proceeding as planned. Thank you." He shut off the intercom and picked up a phone. He informed the person on the other end of the line, "Proceed with Phase Two."
The Spaceport hangar was dark and empty as the guard made his rounds. He looked around, yawning, when something bit him in the back of his neck. Damn insects. he thought as he rubbed the welt. As he was rubbing, his fingers grabbed something - he pulled it out and examined it.
It was a dart.
Seconds later, the drug took effect. Every blood vessel within his lungs burst open, and he collapsed onto the tarmac, drowning in his own blood. He did not see the two figures in the shadows trot into the hangar, nor did he see the ship that they had come to steal.
They arrived at the safe house in record time.
Driving like a proverbial bat out of hell, Kei wasted no time with such mundane things as traffic laws. Running lights, swerving and skidding, doing (Bill felt) Mach One, their car didn't have a single scratch on it, considering the fact that they had caused several pileups along the way. Yuri and Bill almost ended up in the front seat when she braked to a screeching halt at the end of the walkway. "Well, here you are. Home sweet home for the next week."
The small wood-sided bungalow looked somehow out of place, placed between shining skyscrapers of metal and glass. "Some home." Bill muttered. "You think the neighbours will mind that I snore?"
Yuri smirked at him. "Come on, don't be like that. It's only temporary, after all. Let's just make the best of it."
The two of them walked up to the door. Yuri opened a panel at its side and punched in a code. But, rather than the door opening, a small tube projected from the wall and sprayed them with smoke. Two seconds later, the floor dropped out from under them, but they did not notice - they were almost unconscious.
Kei saw them drop. "Bill! YURI!" She drew her gun and vaulted over the car as the earth below her started to tremble.
The house exploded!
Trying to protect herself from the shards of glass that rained on her, Kei looked up. She saw a trail of fire making for the sky.
It had been a trap all along! She signalled Mugi in the Angel to pick her up.
Bill stirred and looked around. He had a sinking feeling of deja-vu.
The room he found himself in was little more that six feet square. No windows. He saw a small air vent, and heard the steady throb of life-support machinery.
So, I'm on some spacecraft. What gives? Then he noticed the inert form beside him was stirring.
"Yuri! Yuri, are you OK?" This was starting to get ridiculous.
Yuri moaned and sat up. "What happened?"
Simple question. "It was a trap. The whole thing, I'll bet. Somebody went to a great deal of trouble to get us."
"VERY GOOD, DOCTOR!"
They both jumped at the voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. "All right. So I'm bright. Who are you? And what do you want?"
"ALL IN GOOD TIME, DOCTOR. MY MEN ARE COMING TO BRING YOU TO ME. BE PATIENT, AND ALL WILL BECOME CLEAR TO YOU."
"Oh, great. This is just wonderful. Makes my day complete. Trapped by another madman. Once wasn't bad enough. I wonder what this fool wants?"
The door opened and two guards walked in. "Hands at your sides." one of them said. "One funny move and you're dead!"
They put their arms to their sides, and the guard placed a small box on each arm. The boxes began to glow, and Bill found that he couldn't move his arms anymore. "Magnetic Force Bindings." he whispered to Yuri. "Do you have your new toy on you?"
"Yes, but I can't reach it. It's in my right-hand pouch."
"Okay. We can't try anything yet - I want to find out what's going on. We'll wait for an opportunity."
They were led to a plush office and thrown into seats.
Bill looked out the window onto a desolate, black landscape. A moon-base. he observed. Might make rescue difficult.
Their captor entered the room. He was a heavy man, in his fortys, and he looked familiar to Bill. He spoke. "Greetings, Doctor Galet. It seems that we have an old score to settle."
Yuri was looking wide-eyed at Bill. "An old score? You're joking; I don't even know you."
The man laughed. "Of course not! But you know someone very close to me. Look closely at me, and remember."
He did. "Al? Al Davis? It can't be - you're supposed to be dead!"
Again the man laughed. "No, doctor. Not Al. Richard. I'm Als' grandson, and I run this place."
Bill looked at him sideways. "Fine. You run a moonbase. What's that got to do with me and this 'score' to mentioned?"
"My grandfather was sent to prison for killing you fifty years ago. He died there because of you. I intend to get even for that!"
"Get even? What are you talking about? Al sabotaged the Jump Drive I was testing. He tried to blow me to kingdom come! Don't tell me you're trying to rationalize what he did!"
"Hardly. What I AM going to do is make the Davis family proud again. You're going to give me your asteroid cannon, so that I can perfect it and sell it."
Not Again! "You're crazy! There's no way I'd give someone like you something that powerful! You'll see me dead before I'll help you!" Geez! I'm doing it again! Too many movies!
Richard chuckled. "Perhaps, but your friend here." He pointed his pistol at Yuri. "If you don't help me, I'll kill her. Death by vacuum exposure is long, painful, and not very pretty."
He had Bill. "All right. I'll show you how to operate the cannon."
Yuri was astonished. "Bill? Are you serious?"
At that moment, Bill noticed a tiny flash on Yuri's earring. He understood the signal. "But she comes with us. I want to make sure you keep your word and don't kill her behind my back."
Davis grinned. "Trusting soul, aren't you?" He signalled for the guards and they made their way to the landing bay.
Yuri looked at him while they were walking. "Bill, what are you doing? You're not going to give him the cannon, are you?"
He grinned at her and said, "Just wait," and started counting in his head. Three...Two...One...
The bulkhead ahead of them blew open with a trace of blue fire. Keis' voice bellowed "WWWA! FREEZE!"
In the confusion, Bill reached into Yuris' pouch and activated the energy damper. Instantly, their bonds were deactivated. He tore them off his arms and grabbed Yuri. "Come on! We're getting out of here!" They ran to where Kei was standing, blaster at the ready.
As Bill ran past, he said to Kei "What took you so long?"
She smiled and opened up with her brand-new tank-stopper. The orange beam lanced through the hallway, blasting the far wall into orbit. "Never mind that! Let's go!"
"He's still got the Seeker! We can't let him have it!"
"I know! The Angel came in right beside it! Now MOVE!" She shoved him between his shoulder blades and they ran for the hangar.
They made it to the hangar, but Davis had managed to sound the alert. They were met by a squad of guards. Both sides opened fire at once.
Yuri snatched the Bloody Card out of her pouch and heaved with all her might. Three of the five guards went down. Kei shot another. Yuri popped up to catch the card.
The remaining guard saw her and fired..
"YURI!" Bill cried as he dove for her.
He knocked her out of the way, but the laser beam lanced into his shoulder, almost severing the bone.
Kei took out the last remaining guard and ran to them. "Bill!" she shouted.
Yuri cradled his head in her hands. She was crying softly. "Bill, please don't die on me now. Not like this."
He looked up and smiled. "Not just yet. It's just a flesh wound." He gazed down at the hole in his arm. Flesh wound - sure! "I'll be all right. Help me into the Seeker."
With Yuri supporting his right shoulder, and Kei behind him, they made it to the ship. A random shot had sealed them into the hangar, so they were home free.
Davis was screaming over the commlink. "GALET! I know you can hear me! I'll chase you around the galaxy for my revenge! I'll kill your girlfriend, too! It won't be nice, I assure you! I'll..."
Bill cut him off. He was shaking. "Kei. Get Yuri into the Angel. Get as far away from here as you can, as fast as you can!"
Yuri stared at him, her mouth wide. "Bill, what...?"
He was starting to punch the controls. "KEI! Get her out of here!"
But Yuri didn't want to leave. Kei solved that problem by picking up her partner and carrying her over her shoulder. She ran for the Angel.
The two ships took off together. They were a million kilometres away when Bill turned back.
Yuri was crying for him. "Bill! Don't do this! It's over!"
Bill's face showed sadness. "I'm sorry, Yuri. You heard what he said. It won't be over, ever - until we're both dead."
"Bill, please..." Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she fought to find the words.
He cut the connection.
"BILL!"
The Seeker rapidly grew in his screen.
Davis alternated between rage and panic. "He's going to kill us all! Fire! Throw everything we have at that ship!"
Missile batteries opened up in the rock. Hundreds of projectiles were launched towards their attacker, only to fade and vanish before reaching the ship.
Bill steadily accelerated towards the base. The missiles were not getting through - he could do what had to be done. He armed the cannon.
The protests of the fusion reactor were overwhelming. It had too many demands placed on it. It cut back on other demands.
The missiles started to get closer as the gun charged. Within moments, they were reaching to within ten meters of the ship. But he was almost there. He muttered to himself, "You want the cannon, Davis? Here it comes!"
At the last moment, he re-opened the channel to the Angel. He was seconds away from impacting the surface.
What to say?
His ship started to tunnel into the base, the shield coming dangerously close to the skin of the ship...
Janie. Mikey. Forgive me.
"I love you, Yuri."
He hit the control...
The universe flared...
They saw the ship bury itself into the moon, where it exploded.
Seconds later, the entire planetoid was engulfed in a ball of fire.
"NOOOOOO! BILLLLLYYYYYYY!" Yuri wailed as she watched the searing image fade from the screen. When nothing was left, she covered her face and started to cry.
Kei was in tears, as well. She went over to comfort her friend. Mugi plodded over to do what he could, too. He was the one who noticed something strange on the scanner. He yowled and stuck his muzzle to the screen.
Kei, wondering what had gotten him so upset, turned to look.
It was very faint, but it was there. She screamed and grabbed Yuri.
Yuri recognized the signal, too.
An old-style emergency beacon!
Boosting the Angel to its limits, they streaked over to where the Seeker drifted...
This time, he spent two months in Intensive Care.
When he was put in Recovery, Yuri was with him every day until he woke. Bill came to with a throb in his shoulder and a weight on his chest.
His vision was blurred, but he knew who would be there. "Yuri.."
"Hi, Bill." She lifted her head from his chest and smiled at him.
"Oh, boy. I've really done it this time, haven't I?"
"At least you're alive. What happened?"
"Stupid computer! It wouldn't let me kill it. Instead of blowing the cannon, it released it and jumped. I think it thinks too much."
Just then, Kei and Goulet entered the room. Kei had a big bouquet of flowers for him. "For being such a pain." She told him.
"Yeah, sure." He could tease her better now that she couldn't retaliate. "You're just sore 'cause you lost our bet. I DID tunnel into the moon with my shield, and it ticks you off no end, right?"
Kei crossed her arms and snorted. Yuri giggled. Goulet looked at him thoughtfully. "Well, I see that you're almost fully recovered here. Can we expect you to return to work soon?"
"You bet! Get out of here and back into the action again!"
They stared at him.
Whoops! If looks could kill! "Well, maybe not QUITE so much action eh?"
-FIN-
