Earth United

Even though they couldn’t use quantum drive close to a planet’s surface, it was a short flight for Jake and Cal from Sector Four headquarters to EarthNX, located in a remote region of former southern Spain. Due to the top secret nature of its work, EarthNX was located away from any other buildings or industry.

Jake could see the EarthNX complex lit up on their scanners as they approached. It covered nearly forty acres and consisted of at least twenty different buildings. At least that’s what was picked up by the scanners, visible above ground. “This complex is huge.”

“Yeah,” Cal replied. “And the Legion granted the company a no-fly zone covering almost ten square miles, including the complex. What the scanners don’t pick up are the company’s numerous underground facilities and testing areas which are connected to the above-ground complex.”

“The information Frank gave us said that the complex is heavily guarded twenty-four/seven by an elite group of guards,” Jake said. “And since EarthNX makes most of the Legion’s weapons, it equips its guards with the best and most current technology. I even saw where it is believed that the company has its own fleet of quantum light fighters.”

With the night vision on the video screen, Jake could see the large, thick green concrete poles surrounding the complex. Each one was about ten feet high and placed about twenty yards apart. An invisible shield, Frank had said, based on the same technology as Earth’s defense shield, ran between each pole, forming a wall around the complex. He thought back some more as to what Frank had told them before they left. Attached to every tenth pole were two small black boxes, one on the inside and one on the outside of the shield, that operated the shield between those ten poles within the boxes’ grid. The shield was never set at its maximum strength; therefore, if a person were to walk into it, it would not necessarily kill him. It would give him a good jolt and knock him backward. Of course, if he were to insist on continuing to run through the shield, it would eventually kill him. Or if a vehicle were to run into the shield hard enough, it would explode the vehicle.

Jake set their quantum fighter down in a small clearing in the woods just outside the no-fly zone. They would have to go on foot from there. Jake helped Cal slip on the large backpack that Frank had stocked with everything they would need to gain access to the complex and try to locate the main terminal.

* * * *

Jake and Cal had met Frank back in the hangar after a few hours of sleep, or attempted sleep. True to his word, Frank had a quantum light fighter waiting in the hangar for them, and there was not another soul in sight.

“What’s all of that?” Jake had asked as he surveyed a large table beside the quantum fighter. Numerous gadgets and small weapons were laid out on it, in addition to two sepders.

“This is what you’re going to need to get in and out of EarthNX alive,” Frank replied.

“I thought it was a corporation, not a military complex,” Jake said as he looked closer at all the high tech equipment.

“It’s both,” Frank said. “I want you two cowboys to get in and out of Dodge in one piece, preferably without needing to use most of this. Now listen up. Here’s what you have.” He held up a small, square, flat transponder device that fit in the palm of his hand. It had a few keys on a small keypad and a larger screen than a typical transponder. Frank continued, “This contains a map of the EarthNX complex. It identifies all above-ground buildings, and what is known of the below-ground buildings. I have marked two possible locations for the main computer terminal. Hopefully, one of them is it. You need to head to these two buildings first.”

“Why can’t we just hack into any old computer on site?” Jake asked.

Cal answered, “Because we won’t be able to, at least not in the time we’ll have. That’s what this is for. Right, Frank?” Cal picked up a small black box with several wires hanging out of it and a screen on one side.

“Exactly,” Frank replied. “You’ll need to find the main terminal. With a little luck, Cal will be able to figure out where to connect these rerouting wires. Once connected, Cal will be able to access the entire computer system through the monitor in the main terminal. You’ll be able to download any information you need onto this chip.” Frank ejected a microchip from the black box. “This rerouting device will only work at the main terminal.”

“Oh, right,” Jake said. “We just waltz into the main terminal, hook up a few wires, download to the chip, and walk out. It’s as simple as that.” When it came to computers and technology, Jake had his doubts. He knew that if anyone could pull this off, Cal could. But he also knew that when computers were involved, something would always go wrong. Guaranteed. Why would this mission be any different?

“One more thing,” Frank added. “You’ll need this to deactivate the fence shield.” Frank help up a blue square object. If the object had been round, it could have passed for a very soft bouncing ball, except that once squished, it took a few minutes for it to return to its original form. Frank went on to describe what the fence shield was and how it worked. “Locate one of the boxes on every tenth pole. Put this over the box.” Frank showed them how one side of the square had a slit in it. “Push it down and mold it onto the box. This will activate a metallic chemical compound mixture that will seep into the shield box. It’ll take about five minutes. After five minutes, test out the shield. The compound blocks the shield frequency temporarily so you can pass through, but it doesn’t trip the detection signal, so the guards won’t be alerted to a shield failure.”

“You said temporarily?” Jake questioned. More technology gadgets. More things to go wrong, especially when the word ‘temporarily’ was used. He preferred to just blow up the fence, but he knew that they needed stealth this time.

“Yes,” Frank answered. “This blue square you see here is the compound. It will eventually dissolve after it slowly seeps into the box. Once it’s gone, the box will return to its normal operation. It should keep the shield down for five minutes or so. Plenty of time to walk through.”

“And how do we get out?” Jake asked. He knew there was always a catch to these types of gadgets. The more gadgets you used, the more you needed, and the more plumbing you had, the easier it was to clog the drain.

“The same way you get in,” Frank said. “I was able to get you two.” He held up another blue rubbery square. “But only two. So don’t mess one up.”

Oh, great, Jake thought. One shot to get out, then they were stuck. But enough pessimism. Frank had done the best he could and this mission already had enough question marks and risks involved. Jake looked over the table a little longer, then he felt a rush of adrenaline when he saw what was at the end of the table. “Frank, are we playing cowboys and Indians? Cool!” Jake reached down and picked up what looked like a longbow, but was made out of a dark silver metallic substance. The string looked like a thin cable wire. Beside the bow was a belt containing several arrows. But the arrows had no feathers on the end. They just flattened out like a putty knife, with a small groove in the middle. The arrows didn’t have normal tips. Rather, on the end of each arrow was a small dart. Now this was his type of gadget. Technologically advanced, no doubt, but no computers or dissolving substances involved. Just a good old bow and arrow.

“You’ll probably need to knock out a few guards from a distance,” Frank said. “Too far for hand to hand, and any of these guns could be too loud. This, my friend, is silent.” Frank touched the bow. “It looks different from the old-fashioned longbow that I taught you to shoot, Jake, but it shoots the same, with three times the distance and accuracy. I’ve been making it myself for years, using materials imported from the planet Bernasia. I know it looks like nothing more than a stiff metal rod, with arrows that won’t fly, but give it a try. It’s as light as a feather, and you can hardly feel the string on your fingers.”

Jack picked up an arrow, set it in place, and aimed at the hangar door keypad at the far end of the hangar, about seventy yards away. The bow felt comfortable, very comfortable, balanced and light. He pulled the string. The string was stiff, but surprisingly flexible and easy to pull back. He loved the feel. He let the arrow fly. The arrow nailed the center of the pad. Sparks flew. The door opened a couple of feet, then stopped, short-circuited.

“Nice,” Jake said, satisfied with both the feel of the bow and its accuracy.

“Nice?” Cal questioned. “Now we can’t get out of here.”

Frank didn’t laugh or even smile. “The darts will just knock the target out for a few hours. That’s all these guns will do as well.” He ran his hand over three different-sized guns. “They’re the Legion’s latest in what you could call stun guns. They work off of plasma technology, but they won’t kill. They only knock out. But they do it instantly. The darts work just as quickly. The sepders are normal though, so no shooting with them. Remember, no matter what corner you get backed into, you cannot kill anyone, or we’re no better than Dietrich and Ramirez. Now, you two need to get going.”

Frank loaded all the equipment and weapons into the backpack. Jake kept the bow and strapped the belt full of arrows around his waist. That was the last time they would see Frank until they found something to clear themselves. If not, it would be the last time ever.

* * * *

Jake and Cal made their way through the woods. Jake could see the lights of the EarthNX complex off in the distance. He didn’t need the transponder to find the complex. The lights led the way.

Jake and Cal approached the fence shield. They were on the edge of the forest. Jake surveyed the area. There was about ten feet of open ground between them and the shield. Once through the shield, they would have to cross about fifty more yards of open fields before they would be able to reach the nearest building for cover. Seeing what they were doing would not be a problem, as the entire complex was well lit. The problem would be moving undetected by the guards. There were two guards visible from where they lay in the woods, one on each side of the nearest building. Cal looked at Jake and pointed to the closest pole containing a black box. Jake nodded. Jake likewise pointed out the two guards and Cal nodded.

They crawled on their stomachs through the grass, slowly covering the ten feet from the cover of the trees to the pole. Jake readied his bow and pulled two arrows from his belt. He placed one in the bow and nodded to Cal. Both men were still lying as close to the ground as possible. Cal placed the blue rubber square over the outer box and pressed it down hard, molding it to the shape of the box. The rubber immediately started to disappear as it dissolved into the box. Jake watched as Cal marked his watch, and the two of them lay motionless for five minutes. All right. Here we go. This better work, Jake thought. He had no doubt that he could knock out the guards with Frank’s high tech bow and arrows, but would the fence shield deactivate, and stay deactivated long enough?

Cal looked at his watch and nodded to Jake. Jake slowly moved the end of his bow toward the shield. If the shield was still active when he hit it with the bow, a detection signal would go off inside the complex and their mission would immediately end. And if they waited too long to move, the shield might reactivate before they downed the two guards and passed through. Jake slowly moved the bow past the pole. Nothing happened. Jake sighed. He rose to his knees and aimed at the guard on his right, slowly pulling the bow wire back. He let the arrow fly. The dart-tipped arrow struck the guard’s neck. The guard grabbed at it. Before he could utter a sound, he dropped. The second guard turned toward the first guard. The second dart-tipped arrow struck the second guard in the neck. He dropped just as quickly as the first. Jake nodded to Cal and they both crouched low and sprinted to the side of the building for cover. Jake held up his hand, signaling Cal to pause. Jake looked around. No noise and nobody in sight. They had made it in, undetected.

* * * *

“Veneto’s residence,” Frank heard as he watched the housekeeper appear on the video com.

“This is Commander Frank Cantor calling for Mr. Veneto. Is he in?” Frank asked.

“Let me see if he’s available, Commander,” she replied.

Frank watched the video com. The picture on the other end was of a desk and the back wall of Marco Veneto’s home study. From this view, it was a study filled with only the highest quality furnishings, and very meticulously maintained. Mr. Veneto had expensive taste, which was a bit surprising for a career Legion man. He was also meticulous in his organization and maintenance of his property. That quality in a Legion soldier was not surprising.

It seemed to Frank like it was taking forever. He looked at his timepiece, then at the video com. Come on, come on, he thought. He wondered how things were going for Cal and Jake. Did they make it in? If Veneto wasn’t home, was he at Legion headquarters because Cal and Jake were caught, or worse? He couldn’t be having those thoughts. He had to remain positive. Stay focused on the objective.

Marco Veneto appeared in front of the video com. “Frank Cantor, it’s good to see you. I understand that you are doing a bang-up job commanding Sector Four. That doesn’t surprise me one bit. That’s why I wanted you there.”

“Thank you, sir,” Frank replied. He kept his tone circumspect and respectful. He needed to break the ice and build trust, quickly. “So what has you calling at this hour?” Marco asked.

“Well, sir, I was wondering if I could talk to you—face to face that is?” Frank said. “Not over the com.”

“It’s getting pretty late, Frank,” Marco replied, “but I assume you wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t urgent.”

“Yes, sir, it is urgent,” Frank said. “It’s regarding Armin Dietrich. I think you will want to hear what I have to say.”

There was a long pause. Frank tapped his foot repeatedly. If he couldn’t get an audience with Veneto, what chance would their plan have?

Marco’s voice came over the com. “How soon can you be here?”

Frank sighed with relief. “Within the hour, sir,” Frank said. “I’ll come by aircraft.”

“That’ll work,” Marco replied, “but my landing pad is being resurfaced. You’ll have to use the pad at the park across the street. You’ll see my aircraft parked there. There’s a small coffee shop nearby. I’ll meet you there in an hour.”

“Thank you, sir,” Frank responded. Over the first hurdle. Marco Veneto was his first and last option for trying to save Jake, Cal, and Diane. If Marco wouldn’t hear him out, and then convince the president, nobody else would. “I’ll see you soon.”

* * * *

Jake looked down at the transponder in Cal’s hand. Cal pointed to the closer of the two buildings that Frank had marked as the best possibilities for housing the main computer terminal. Jake nodded. Jake knew where they were on the map, and where the targeted building was on the map. Now if they could just get there, undetected.

They slowly eased their way along the back side of the building that they had run to. Jake noticed that, unlike the dome-shaped buildings found in most towns and cities, the EarthNX buildings were square or rectangular, with the tallest being no more than four or five stories. As they reached the edge of the building, Jake popped his head around the corner, then jerked it back quickly. One guard, not looking in their direction. Jake looked at Cal and put his fingers to his eyes, and then held up one finger. Cal nodded. Jake loaded an arrow in the bow. He would have to be quick, and he would have only one shot. Even with the quiet arrows, a miss would surely alert the guard. By the time he could get off a second shot, the guard surely would raise an alarm. In one quick, smooth motion, Jake stepped around the corner, aimed, and released the bow wire. Good, another perfect shot in the neck.

Jake and Cal sprinted to the next building. The targeted building was one more over. They edged to the corner of the current building and Jake did another check. This time one guard, but he was on the roof of the targeted building, out of arrow range.

Jake whispered, “I’ll shoot two arrows into those barrels over there.” He pointed to a stack of barrels off to the side of the targeted building. “When he walks to the far edge to look down, we can make a run for that door on the other side. It should be out of his view.”

Cal nodded.

Jake pulled out two arrows. He put the nocks together, but slightly angled the dart tips so that one would hit slightly above the other. He wanted to make noise this time. Enough noise to draw the guard’s attention, but not enough noise to attract any other guards.

Jake aimed and let the arrows fly. The plan worked perfectly. They were at the doorway, undetected, in no time.

Cal pulled what looked like a ball of clay out of the backpack and molded it to the door keypad. “These doors are high-tech. The decoder won’t work on them, but Frank gave us this.” He pulled out a small laser, the size of a pencil, and clicked the back. A red light hit the clay-like substance. The substance smoked a little, then the keypad made a very faint ‘pop’ and the door opened. They quickly ducked inside. Cal pressed the door close button.

Jake turned on his light rod and whispered, “Now where? We don’t have interior building maps.”

“If the main terminal is in here,” Cal said, “it’ll be on the lowest level. Let’s go down.”

Ahead and to their right Jake saw a vertical transportation unit. It was an open air unit, using the same technology as the sides of skyscrapers. In fact, it was the same unit as used in skyscrapers to reach the top floors in seconds. EarthNX did have money, if it could afford such units in buildings no taller than these. It would be quick, but the stairs were the safer option. Jake tapped Cal on the shoulder and pointed to a service stairwell near the transportation unit. They took the stairs down as far as they could go, two flights.

“This looks like the basement,” Cal said. “Good.”

They exited the stairwell into a long, dimly lit hall. Jake liked the looks of it. Enough light to see what they were doing, but not enough to easily give them away.

“The lights are a good sign,” Cal said. “Power must have to stay on down here twenty-four/seven for some reason. Hopefully, it’s for the terminal.”

Looking down the hall, there were several doors on either side. Older doors with knobs. At the end of the hall were two large doors. They proceeded down the hall. Jake turned the handle on the first door. It wasn’t locked. He opened the door and held up his light rod. It looked like a storage area. It was full of old and new computer equipment. Cal did the same with the next door. It contained backup heating and cooling units.

“More good signs,” Cal said. “I bet the terminal is in the room at the end.”

They quickly made their way to the double doors. Jake turned the handle. It was locked. Jake watched as Cal proceeded to disable the lock in the same manner he had before.

As Jake reached to open the door, a deep voice shouted from the other end of the hall behind them. “You two, stop where you are. Get your hands where I can see them and slowly turn around.”

Jake and Cal raised their hands. Jake was wondering if it would be an army of guards standing there. If so, this would be the end. He and Cal turned slowly. Good, it was one guard, armed with a long plasma rifle. They had a chance. Not a good one, but a chance.

“That’s far enough,” the guard said. He approached them. The guard pressed the com button on his belt. “This is F4306. I have a situation in building eight, basement level.”

A response came over the com immediately. “Copy that, F4306. We are proceeding to your destination. ETA, seven minutes.”

The guard looked at Jake and Cal. “Okay, slowly lay down the backpack and the bow, and also those.” He paused and looked closer. “Sepders? What are you guys, Legion?”

Neither of them spoke.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” the guard asked.

Jake and Cal just stared at him. Jake thought, I need to do something. They only had seven minutes. Actually, less. But what? Think, Jake, think.

“Look,” the guard said, his voice louder, “you can tell me now, or when my company gets here, we can beat it out of you. Your choice.”

Cal stepped in front of and a little to the right of Jake and spoke. “Okay, we were hired by Edgardo Ramirez to infiltrate the complex and reach the main computer terminal. It was a test. He wanted to test his guards to see if you could stop an infiltration.”

What are you up to, Cal? Jake thought. I need to play along, but what’s my move?

As Cal raised his hands a little higher, his jacket pulled up and Jake could see one of Frank’s plasma stun guns tucked into Cal’s belt at the small of his back. Cal, you sly dog. Good move.

Cal continued, “You caught us, so you passed. We’ll give a full report to Mr. Ramirez, with a glowing review of you, officer…” Cal stopped for a moment. “What’s your name?”

The guard didn’t move. “You’re not going anywhere until I say so,” the guard said.

Jake could see that the guard was focused on Cal now. This was his opportunity. He pulled the gun from Cal’s belt with his right hand. As he raised it up toward Cal’s left shoulder, Cal ducked. That gave just enough clearance over Cal. Jake fired.

Before the guard could react, the plasma blast hit him directly in the chest, and he dropped instantly. His plasma rifle fell to the ground and he toppled over backward. He fell so quickly that Jake thought for a moment that maybe it was a regular plasma gun and he had killed the guard. But from what he could see, there were no burns.

“Nice shot,” Cal said.

Jake immediately ran to the guard and felt for a pulse. He found one. Good, he thought. He quickly pressed the com button on the guard’s belt, and with the best imitation of the guard’s voice that he could muster up, he spoke deeply. “This is F4306. The situation has been neutralized. No further need of assistance.”

He waited. No way this would work. Surely they were either already so close that they heard the blast, or would continue on anyway. Or they would recognize that it was a different voice. A voice came over the com. “Copy that F4306. Returning to our posts.”

“That was close,” Cal said.

Jake sighed. “Too close.”

They hid the guard in a closet and headed through the double doors. The room was dimly lit as well. Jake held up his light rod. He could see all sorts of machines and equipment in the room. They appeared to be computer terminals. All right, they’d found it. The main terminal.

Cal slammed his backpack on the floor. “All that for nothing.”

“What do you mean?” Jake asked. “Isn’t this the main terminal?”

Cal shook his head. “No, it’s the backup center. And the main terminal is never in the same vicinity as the backup terminal. The main terminal must be in the other building.”

Jake shook his head. What else could go wrong? But hey, they had come this far, and as far as he knew, they were still undetected by anyone currently conscious. So why couldn’t they get to the other building and locate the terminal there? He pulled the transponder out of the backpack and spoke. “Okay then, here’s the other building. Let’s get going.”

* * * *

Frank landed his aircraft on the park’s landing pad. There was only one other aircraft there. That must be Marco’s, Frank thought. Frank looked around and spotted the coffee shop down the street.

Frank entered the shop. He saw Marco seated in a booth in the far corner. There were a couple of other people at the counter seats, but nobody else in the shop. That was perfect. They would have privacy.

Marco set down his coffee cup, stood and shook Frank’s hand. “You look good, Frank.”

“Thank you,” Frank replied. “As do you, sir.”

The waitress approached and looked at Frank. “Coffee, sir?”

“Yes, please.” He felt like he needed the whole pot, but he would start with one cup.

She poured Frank a cup and warmed up Marco’s.

Frank said to Marco, “Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, and at this hour of the night.”

“Don’t even think about it, Frank,” Marco replied. “It must be important or you wouldn’t be going to all this trouble. What’s up?” Marco scooped a little sugar into his coffee.

Frank poured cream into his coffee. “Well, sir, I’m not sure where to begin or how to say this. It’s about those two Legion privates accused of various crimes, including dealing in black market hilaetite crystals.”

Marco scooted up to the table and set down his cup. “You mean Jake Saunders and Cal Danielson?”

Frank nodded and continued, “And I know you aren’t a big fan of Armin Dietrich. I mean, I don’t want to put words in your mouth or anything, but the way you two feel about each other isn’t any secret.”

“No, it isn’t,” Marco replied. “But I don’t think you came all the way over here at this hour of the night to discuss my relationship with the president’s chief of staff. And what does my relationship with him have to do with Saunders and Danielson anyway?”

Frank paused for a moment. Maybe he should stop. Accusing someone at Dietrich’s level of, among other things, conspiracy and treason, wasn’t something to be done lightly. And what if Veneto felt that such an accusation was also an accusation against the president? What if Veneto went to the president immediately? He could be reading Veneto entirely wrong. Veneto might not have that much of a vendetta against Dietrich. If Frank continued, and if he was wrong about Veneto, then everything could be over for Jake and Cal right then and there. But wasn’t everything over for Jake and Cal if he didn’t make the attempt? There was no other way to get the president to listen to the evidence. He had come this far, and disclosing what he knew to Veneto was the plan he, Jake, and Cal had agreed on. He had to continue.

Frank took a sip of coffee, cleared his throat, then spoke. “As soon as I received the report on Saunders and Danielson, about their crimes and their death, I started doing some digging. I didn’t believe for a moment that Saunders and Danielson were guilty. I’ve known them too long. I had to clear their names. So I started putting two and two together.” Frank paused again and took another drink. “Sir, I have very strong reason to believe that Armin Dietrich, not Saunders and Danielson, is behind the transfer of a hilaetite crystal to Romalor. Not the little crystal that Romalor returned. That was just so Dietrich could set up Saunders and Danielson. But I mean the large crystal taken from Sector Four headquarters eight years ago. It was sold to Romalor for use in some kind of super weapon. When Vernius recently detected the crystal on Craton, the setup was needed to cover up the transaction of eight years ago. The setup not only explained Vernius’s detection, but also drew any attention away from anyone in Earth’s government being involved, namely Dietrich.”

Marco sat up straight. Frank could tell he had Veneto’s attention, one hundred percent.

Marco put his hands on the table, leaned forward, and spoke softly. “Frank, do you know what you’re saying? This is the president’s chief of staff you are accusing. I would like nothing more than to get him out of the president’s inner circle, but accusing him of conspiracy, treason, involvement in an attack on Earth? I don’t know. And why would Dietrich help Romalor develop a super weapon that presumably could be used against Earth?”

“That part, sir,” Frank replied, “I haven’t figured out, but I think I will, once I have the hard evidence in hand.”

“What hard evidence?” Marco replied. “What do you have that proves all of this?”

Before Frank could go on, the waitress returned. “Can I get you gentlemen anything else? Would you like more coffee?”

“I’m fine,” Marco said, not looking up.

Frank looked at the waitress and scooted his cup toward her. “Yes, please. Thanks.”

* * * *

Jake and Cal made their way up and out of the building the same way they had come in. Once out the door, they hung tight to the side of the building. Jake wanted to be careful to stay out of view of the guard on the roof. Jake looked at the transponder again. The new target building was three buildings to the left and one building up from where they were. A diagonal path across the open alley was the most direct route and would put them up against the building just to the right of the target building. He could easily scout out the path from their current vantage point to determine if any guards were in sight. However, they would have to cross the main street in the complex, which was the widest. It would put them in the open longer than Jake liked. But it was still their best option, Jake thought.

Jake motioned to Cal, pointing out the path they would take. Cal nodded. Jake then slowly moved along the edge of the building and checked around the near corner to survey for guards. Jake spotted two guards who would be able to see them make their next move. One was on top of the adjacent building. The other was around the corner from their present location. That guard was close. The two guards would have to be knocked out simultaneously, or one would see the other and signal. Because of their locations, Jake could not use the bow on both. There would be too much time between shots. He signaled to Cal and Cal gave him an understanding nod. Jake would knock out the guard on the roof with the bow while Cal struck the other with his sepder. They crept to the edge of the building. Jake loaded his bow with another arrow while Cal readied his sepder. The timing would have to be perfect. They worked on simultaneous takedowns in the Legion all the time. Just for this purpose. But never when one soldier was using a bow and arrow. Such primitive weapons were unheard of in the Legion. Well, it’s now or never, Jake thought. Jake nodded and they both moved in unison. Jake’s arrow hit its target in the back of the neck. The guard dropped almost immediately. At the same time, Cal struck the other guard on the side of the head with the broad side of his sepder, so as to not kill him. He also dropped.

They both ran low and fast diagonally across the open street to the cover of the building as planned. The target building was now the next building over, with a door facing them. Jake surveyed again. He gave the all-clear sign and they both darted to the door. Cal quickly disabled the keypad and they were in. They wasted no time finding the stairwell and descending to the basement. Like the last building they were in, they exited the stairwell into a long, dimly lit hall. Also like the other building, a double door was at the far end of the hall. Just in case of a patrol guard like the last building, Jake thought he better stay by the stairwell, where he could see down the hall. “I’ll wait here until you get inside.”

Cal nodded and quickly went to the other end of the hall and disabled the door keypad. Once Cal was inside, Jake followed.

“Bingo,” Cal said. “This is it. The main computer terminal. Now, let me see.”

Cal played around with various controls for a few minutes, and searched the room. Finally, he smiled and sat behind a glass-topped table. He touched the table in a couple of spots and it lit up. The entire table was the computer screen, with touch screen controls. Cal pulled the rerouting box from the backpack and inserted the microchip. Jake watched as Cal crawled under the table where the main terminal monitor was located. After a few minutes of connecting the rerouting wires to various terminal wires, Cal crawled back out.

“There, that should do it,” Cal said.

Jake continued to watch Cal and occasionally looked out one of the double doors down the hall to make sure no guards were coming.

Cal sat down and started working the computer. To Jake, the computer seemed fast and easy. Or maybe Cal just made it seem that way.

“Here’s something,” Cal said. “It’s as top secret as you can get, with more firewalls and blocks than I’ve ever seen. I guess we’ll see how well Frank’s box works.”

“Is it letting you in?” Jake said after only a few seconds. Then he looked out the door again.

“Patience, my friend,” Cal answered. A moment later, Cal spoke again. “Yes, we’re in. Wow, would you look at this. This is a whole new design for the defense shield.”

“You mean the EarthNX fence?” Jake asked.

“No,” Cal replied. “The Earth defense shield. It looks like it’s being designed as a proposal to the Legion. The Legion doesn’t know about it yet.” Cal paused for a moment, then jumped out of his seat, still looking at the computer table. “Look at this! It’s being designed as a defense against a super weapon, possibly in the possession of Craton.”

Before Cal could go on, Jake interrupted, “That explains the missing piece. That’s why Dietrich and Ramirez had no problem selling the hilaetite crystal to Romalor. They probably also designed and sold him the plans for the super weapon as well. Then, once the weapon becomes functional, they plan on selling the Legion this new defense shield. Romalor gets what he wants, the galaxy’s most powerful weapon, and Earth is safe from Romalor.”

Cal finished Jake’s thought. “And Dietrich, Ramirez, and this Sloan guy walk off with trillions of quads. Unbelievable.”

Jake left the door and walked toward Cal. “And in the meantime, Legion soldiers, an ambassador, and who knows how many other people are killed. All for greed.”

“Well, it’s going to stop now,” Cal said. “Let me download this onto the microchip. Now we just need to find the evidence connecting Dietrich to all of this.”

Cal sat back down and started flipping through files on the computer.

Jake peeked out the door. “Let’s pick it up. The patrol guard just came out of the stairwell. He’s probably just doing routine checks, but he’ll look in here once he sees the keypad disabled.”

“I think I found it,” Cal said. “Money transfers.”

“Hurry it up,” Jake said. He knew Cal was going as fast as he could, and he trusted nobody to work a computer faster, but he didn’t want to risk yet another confrontation. Sooner or later the whole complex would be alerted.

“I just need a couple more minutes,” Cal answered. “Here it is. Transfers coming into EarthNX from Romalor. Probably in payment for the crystal. Yes, the first was eight years ago. And also for the weapon plans. And here are the transfers out. They go to three different accounts. The name on the first account is, let me see, Edgardo Ramirez. Of course, he takes a share off the top. Why wait for a dividend from the company? The second account is titled to…” Cal paused for a moment, then continued, “It takes a minute. Here it comes. Sloan.”

“Okay,” Jake said as he peeked out the door again. “The pieces are fitting together. But the guard is still coming. He’s checking in the other rooms on his way. There’s only one more room before he gets to this one.”

“I’m accessing the last account now,” Cal said. “It should be Dietrich’s. Then we can download them to the microchip and get out of here. Here it comes now. The name on the last account is…” Cal paused again.

Jake took a couple of steps toward Cal and the computer table. He looked at the table and could see the computer trying to access the account. As the name appeared on the screen, Jake looked at Cal. Cal’s eyes widened and he looked at Jake. Jake looked back at the screen. The name on the screen read, ‘Marco Veneto.’

“We have to contact Frank. Now.”

* * * *

“Now where was I?” Frank asked after the waitress had left them.

“What evidence do you have for all of this?” Marco replied.

“Yes,” Frank said. “That’s right.” He slowly looked around the room to make sure nobody had sat down within hearing range of them. He was safe. There were now two other tables occupied. And both of those were occupied by young couples, probably topping off a late date. He took a drink of coffee and puckered. He realized he hadn’t added cream. “Well, through my investigation, I found a number of leads connecting Dietrich to Romalor. And Jake and Cal were able to connect Romalor to a man named Sloan and to EarthNX. That completes…”

Marco interrupted Frank in the middle of the sentence. “Jake and Cal? You mean Jake Saunders and Cal Danielson? You’ve talked to them?” Marco added some more sugar to his coffee and stirred.

“Yes, sir,” said Frank. “They’re alive, and are back here on Earth.”

“Impossible,” Marco said. His eyes widened.

“What’s that, sir?” Frank asked.

“Well, I mean, that’s great news. Are they okay? How about the ambassador?”

“They’re fine,” Frank replied. “A few bumps and bruises, but they’ll live. Romalor still has the ambassador. And that’s part of the reason why I am here. As I was saying, now that we have connected the triangle, Romalor, Dietrich, and EarthNX, plus this Sloan, whom I assume is the middle man that brought them all together, we need to find the hard evidence connecting Dietrich to the group. I believe that evidence is at EarthNX. Jake and Cal are there right now searching the main computer terminal to see what they can find.”

Marco straightened up, took a drink of coffee, then scooped in more sugar. “They’re at EarthNX right now? Have you heard from them yet? Have they found anything?”

“No,” Frank said. “We agreed to go silent, figuring the Legion would be monitoring the airways.”

“Good thinking,” Marco replied. “Who else knows of this?”

“Nobody,” Frank said. “Just Jake, Cal and me, and now you.” Frank couldn’t read Veneto. He was asking lots of questions, which made it seem like he was believing Frank. Yet, he seemed apprehensive, worried. But maybe he was just mulling it over. Trying to figure out what to believe. Yet, Veneto’s questions weren’t the questions Frank expected.

“Good. I think we should keep it that way for now,” Marco replied.

“That’s what we thought too, sir,” Frank said. “We figured that the president wouldn’t listen to me with it being his chief of staff that’s involved, unless we had hard evidence. And even then, I’m skeptical that he will listen. We figured our best option was to bring you up to date, hoping that you would have no problem speaking out against Dietrich, and that you could get the president’s ear. Assuming, of course, we provide you with the evidence first. Once the president is involved, I assume you and he will have no problem reversing the report on Jake and Cal, dropping the charges, and sending the Legion after Diane, not to mention stopping Romalor from developing this super weapon.” Frank hesitated. He hated to be direct and ask the decisive question, but he was running out of time. He had to find out where Veneto stood. “Can we count on you, sir?”

Marco looked at his coffee, stirred it some more, then took a drink.

Good, Frank thought. He’s really thinking on it. Just maybe Veneto would see it his way.

Marco cupped his coffee cup with both hands, leaned forward, and spoke softly. “Frank, you are one of the best commanders, if not the best, that I’ve known. Even with my history with Dietrich, I am hesitant to go after him, for fear of what the president will do. But if everything you say is true, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, then our planet is in grave danger, some very good people have been killed, and some very good soldiers have been wronged. Frank, you get me that evidence, and I promise you I will take it to the president and put an end to all of this.”

Frank felt like hugging him. They had just cleared one of the biggest hurdles in their plan. Now, if Jake and Cal could just come up with the evidence and make it out of EarthNX safely. “Sir,” Frank said, “you don’t know how much this means to me. Thank you, sir. Thank you.”

“I’d best be getting home now,” Marco said. “You contact me the second you hear from your guys. Okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Frank said.

* * * *

“Get this downloaded to the chip, quickly,” Jake said. He peered out the door again. “The guard’s almost here.”

“It’s loading,” Cal said. “I can’t make it go any faster.”

Jake could hear the guard’s footsteps. Jake motioned for Cal to hide. Jake left the door cracked open a bit. He could now see the guard through the crack where the door met the wall. Jake flattened himself against the wall next to the door on the guard’s right. He pulled out his sepder. He could see the guard examine the disabled keypad, pull out his plasma gun, and slowly open the right side door. The computer was running, but Cal was gone. The guard moved to the right of the door and continued to open it. Jake slowly raised his sepder, with the flat edge of the blade toward the guard. He swung. The guard ducked. The guard immediately came up with an elbow into Jake’s face. Jake stumbled backward against the wall. Jake could taste blood in his mouth. The guard was quick, and Jake could tell that he was well trained. Jake started to bring his sepder up, but the guard got his plasma gun up first, aimed at Jake’s head. Jake froze.

The guard spoke in a husky voice. “All right. I can’t stand punks like you. You have three seconds to start telling me who you are and what you’re doing here, or I burn a hole in your head.” Without a pause, the guard started counting. “One, two, three!”

Jake heard a plasma gun fire. He cringed, expecting to feel a burning blast in his face. But everything was silent. He felt nothing. He relaxed his face and looked at the guard. The guard’s face was frozen for a second, then his eyes rolled back. The guard’s plasma gun dropped to the floor, and he fell forward, just missing Jake’s feet. Jake looked up, and there was Cal facing him with his plasma stun gun still pointed to where the guard had been standing.

“Thanks, buddy,” Jake said.

Cal nodded. “I think it’s all downloaded. Let’s get out of here and get hold of Frank.”

“Can we call him now?” Jake asked. “If he hasn’t talked to Veneto yet, then we might as well risk being overheard. It’s our best chance. And if he has talked to Veneto, then it won’t matter. Veneto will have men all over us in no time.”

“Yes,” Cal said, “but we can’t here. The basement is too heavily shielded because of the main terminal. We can’t get a signal out.”

Cal dropped the microchip in his coat pocket and they proceeded out the door, down the hall, and up the stairs. As they approached the door where they’d entered the building, they could hear hover vehicles stopping outside. Jake peeked through a small window by the door. It was still dark out, but Jake could clearly see the tanks and guards circling the building.

“Looks like we’re too late to warn Frank,” Jake said. “Hover tanks. Five of them, plus twenty or thirty guards. It looks like they’re trying to surround the building.”

“Yeah,” Cal replied, “and it sure didn’t take Veneto long to tell Ramirez and Ramirez’s guards where we are. Any ideas?”

Jake tried Frank on the com, but he still couldn’t get a signal. “The com’s dead.”

“EarthNX must keep the signals jammed in the complex,” Cal said. “They probably have a sub-tronic frequency that they use. There’s no way we could duplicate it with our coms even if we knew what it was. We’re going to have to clear the fence shield before we can get Frank.”

A guard shouted from outside, “Saunders and Danielson, we know you’re in there. Come out with your weapons down and we won’t fire. Mr. Ramirez just wants to talk to you. If you don’t come out, we’re coming in, full fire.”

Jake looked at Cal. “They won’t fire, he says. Sure, and John Wayne isn’t the Duke.”

“Now you sound like Frank,” Cal replied. “But you’re right. Veneto wants us nothing but dead.”

“I have an idea,” Jake said. “Let me see the backpack. Frank said he gave us a few extras just in case.” Jake pulled out a few gadgets that Frank had stuck in the backpack. “Now let me have your plasma gun.”

Jake pulled wires from a transponder and hooked them to a backup com. He then opened the backup com and reconfigured it. He cracked the plasma gun with his sepder and stuck one wire into the cracked gun. As soon as he did so, the gun started to slowly charge.

“The gun’s charging,” Cal said.

“Yep,” Jake replied. “The same thing a plasma gun does when the trigger is pulled, except then it’s instantaneous. I read how to do this in a Legion survival manual. Hope it works.”

“I didn’t know you read,” Cal said.

Jake looked at Cal and grinned slightly, then laid the contraption by the front door.

“We have about ten minutes, in my estimation,” Jake said. “Once the gun hits full charge, the makeshift reactor will detonate, blowing a sizeable hole in the front door. It shouldn’t be enough to blow up anyone or anything nearby, but it should distract them for a moment. Follow me.”

Jake headed into a large conference room to their right.

“Help me stack these chairs,” Jake said as he grabbed a couple. “Put them under that ceiling vent.”

“Okay, but why?” Cal asked.

“I noticed the vent in a room earlier,” Jake said. “If I’m not mistaken, this is the same vent design that I crawled in eight years ago in Sector Four headquarters that led me to the ceiling where I saw it all happen. If we go backward through the vent system, it should lead us out and to the ground. We bust open a grate and we’re gone. The explosion should give us enough time to run clear before they see us, if we time it right.”

“There’s a lot of ‘ifs’ in what you just said,” Cal said as they continued to stack chairs. “I hope you’re right.”

The guard shouted again. “That’s it! We’re coming in! Men, move forward. Bring those tanks up.”

Jake and Cal quickly climbed the stack of chairs, removed the vent cover and crawled into the air duct. Cal turned on his light rod and they crawled. Jake could hear the hover tanks move into position to blast the door. As they descended down the final air duct to ground level Jake heard the makeshift bomb explode. It worked, he thought. But would it buy them enough time? When they reached the end of the air duct, Jake could hear the chaos and noise at the front of the building. The noise should be loud enough to drown out a sepder blast, he thought. He fired, blasting open the grate at the end of the air duct. They were at the back of the building. Fortunately, the guards hadn’t made it all the way to the back yet, or they had, but moved to the front when they heard the explosion. Jake and Cal ran clear of the building.

They were on the opposite side of the complex from where they’d entered, but they ran directly toward the fence shield on that side anyway. “Let’s get out of the complex,” Jake said, “then we can make our way back to the quantum fighter.” Jake kept scanning for guards as they ran from building to building. None were in sight. They all must have been sent to close in on us at the target building, he thought. When they had cleared the last building, there was only the grass field between them and the fence shield. They ran for it, side by side. Jake heard a plasma gun fire and saw Cal go down, clutching his side. Jake stopped instantly, turned toward the shot and raised his plasma stun gun. Another plasma blast whizzed by Jake’s head. That gave him his target. He saw the guard near the next building over, fired, and the guard dropped. Jake quickly surveyed the area. No other guards in sight. He grabbed Cal by the arm, swung the arm around his neck and dragged Cal to the fence. “Hang on, buddy. Let’s get into the woods, then I’ll take a look at you.”

Jake was glad he had watched Cal disable the fence shield the first time. He got what he needed out of the backpack and did it himself this time. They were through the shield and into the woods in no time. The pitch black night would help them. That, along with the dense forest, should get them back to the quantum fighter safely, if Cal didn’t die first.

Jack laid Cal down and pulled off his burned jacket. Jake was half afraid to look. He had seen the damage that a plasma gun could do.

Cal grimaced. “How bad is it?”

Jake looked down at the spot, then let out a sigh and smiled.

“What are you smiling at?” Cal said. “I’ve just been shot.”

“Cal, you wore one,” Jake said, still smiling.

“Wore what?” Cal asked.

“A vest,” Jake said. “You wore a protective vest. The plasma didn’t get through it.” Jake dropped to the ground on his knees, finally able to relax a bit. He felt exhausted all of a sudden.

Cal sat up. “Ouch, my side burns, though.”

“That’s just from the impact,” Jake said. “It’ll stop soon. You’re fine.”

Cal’s eyes suddenly widened. He jumped up and grabbed his jacket and started searching frantically through the pockets.

“What’s wrong?” Jake asked.

“The chip!” Cal replied. “I put the microchip in my pocket.”

Cal froze as quickly as he had started the search. Jake looked. Cal was slowly pulling his hand out of the pocket of the jacket. Cal opened his hand. There was the chip—melted, destroyed, useless. Jake felt the exhaustion really hit him now. All that work, and defeated again.

“That was all we had,” Cal said solemnly. “That was our only chance to clear our names, be free, and…” He paused for a moment, then continued, “and get the Legion to save Diane. She’s as good as dead. We’re as good as dead.”

They both just sat there, silent, staring at the ground.

Jake thought about Diane, his Uncle Ben, Romalor, and now Frank. What had Veneto done with him? Jake’s whole adult life had been spent on a quest to figure out and expose the cover-up around his uncle’s death, and make those involved pay, especially Romalor. Now, he had no place to turn, no place to run, and every single friend he had was either dead, or close to it. He took a deep breath and thought of Uncle Ben again. No, it wasn’t going to end like this. Not here, not yet. He and Cal were still mobile, and they still had a quantum light fighter. He wasn’t going to quit. He stood up, picked up his sepder, and looked at Cal. “No, we’re not giving up. Diane’s not going to die. We’re not going to die. We have a quantum fighter now and we know where Diane is. We’re going to get her ourselves. And get the crystal. Then with that, we’re going to expose Veneto. We can and we will still do this. First we need to contact Frank and warn him. As soon as Veneto knows that we’ve escaped, microchip or not, he’ll need to contain all three of us. He’ll have Frank locked down immediately.”

Cal slowly nodded and stood up, picking up his own sepder. Jake noticed a different look on Cal’s face. It wasn’t the childlike, computer game geek that he was used to. Cal looked more mature, more determined, more like a battle-tested Legion soldier. Jake felt a warmth come over him. He felt more confident, seeing that look on Cal’s face.

Jake and Cal started making their way to the quantum fighter. Jake hailed Frank on the com.

“I thought we agreed to go dark,” Frank said. “We shouldn’t be talking on the com.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Jake replied.

“Why? What do you mean?” Frank asked. “Everything is going as planned on my end. Does that mean you found something?”

“Yes,” Jake said. “You could say that. But it’s not what we thought. We were wrong. Dietrich’s not the government mole. Frank, it’s Veneto.” The com was silent. “Are you still there, Frank?”

“Yes, I am,” Frank replied. “I’m so sorry, guys. I’ve already told Veneto everything. He sure did play it cool. He played right along and finessed everything out of me. Man, I’m such a fool. How could I have misread him? How could I have been so narrow-minded?”

“Frank,” Jake said, “don’t worry about it. We all were convinced it was Dietrich.”

“Are you two all right?” Frank asked. “Where are you? Veneto’s going to have Ramirez’s men all over you.”

“He already has,” Jake answered, “but we’re fine. We made it out, but we lost the evidence. We have nothing to prove Veneto’s involvement, or anything else that these guys have done.”

Jake went on to explain Veneto’s, Ramirez’s, and Sloan’s plan dating back to the attack on Sector Four headquarters eight years ago, the development and sale to Romalor of the super weapon, and the plan to sell Earth a defense system to protect Earth against the weapon.

“Frank,” Jake continued, “Cal and I have to try to get Diane out. It’s her only chance now. And we have to try to get the crystal before Romalor uses it. You need to get someplace safe. It won’t be long before Veneto knows we’ve escaped. He’ll assume we talked to you and told you everything. That makes you a threat to him. He’ll have you locked down, or worse.”

“Don’t you cowboys go fretting about me. I can handle the outlaws just fine. You’re right. You need to get out of here and go get Diane and the crystal. That has to be your first priority now. I’m going to clear you through the Sector Four defense station right now, before Veneto shuts everything down. You won’t have long. Don’t stop. Use B16 for clearance.”

“Okay, got it,” Jake replied.

It was silent for a moment. Jake knew there was little chance to escape the Legion, make it through Romalor’s troops, and rescue Diane. It was a hopeless mission for two men and one quantum light fighter. And even if they somehow made it through all that, where would they go? They would still be wanted by the Legion. Veneto would have every planet in the galaxy looking for them. If Frank stayed alive, they would likely never see him again. He knew they all three were thinking the same thing. Nothing more needed to be said. They had to try. He had to stay confident.

The silence was broken by Frank’s voice. It cracked. “Jake, Cal…” He paused for a moment, then continued. “Boys, I just want to say that…”

Jake interrupted before Frank could finish. “Don’t say it, Frank. You and I still have that new John Wayne movie to watch together. Cal and I will be back.”