Peter Prellwitz - Shards Book One

Dr. Barrett had told me I wasn't his first patient, and that it was unusual that there was only me at the time. His other comments had pointed to coordinated intelligence that anticipated or warned of raids, and this kind of equipment could be neither abandoned nor packed in an overnight bag. Yet it seemed they needed to change locations on occasion. That all pointed to an organization, and all organizations specializing in illegal activity always had violence as an aspect. Ergo, the weapons. This, I decided, would be the military leader's office. I carefully checked the weapons visually, hoping against hope I'd find one I could figure out.

Pay dirt. There appeared to be two types of sidearm, energy based and projectile based. High tech and low tech. I selected the low tech. I felt pretty low tech. I hefted the gun in my hand. Very big and very heavy. And fully loaded. Not as good as transportation, but maybe the keys to some. I checked the back room quietly, but while it was occupied, I could have been pounding a base drum and he'd have not heard it over his snores. He and the doctor really made the pair. I'd be worried of a cave-in due to sonic disruptions.

I went back into the hall and turned to my right, continuing down to the last light source, this time on the left. It wasn't a doorway but rather a long opening with half height walls and a double-wide door space in the middle. I crouched down to avoid being spotted. This left the gown gathered all over my feet, my rear end mooning anyone sneaking up on me. I stumbled and tripped my way to the doorway, doing the last ten feet on hands and knees, careful not to scrape the gun against the stone.

This one held promise. Instead of opening into another room, it opened to a massive cavern. The floor was some six feet below me, and the ceiling reached up at least twenty-five feet more. The floor surface itself was a rough rectangle and must have been 150 feet deep and 250 wide. The cavern opening ran the entire width, and was pitch black beyond. There was light and movement everywhere, though little noise.

Then I saw just what I needed: wheels.

More accurately, non-wheels. It was parked, twenty feet to my right, ten feet out from the wall, and three feet above the floor, resting on nothing. I shook my head and looked again. Yep, they had perfected anti-gravitational transportation. That probably meant easy controls. I hoped it did.

I watched about five minutes to get a feel for the type of activity going on in the cavern, to determine how to best take advantage of the patterns. It became fairly evident that they were loading, not unloading.

Maybe that false alarm from yesterday wasn't so false. Small vehicles were moving about, arriving full alongside larger vehicles, and leaving empty. I found it interesting that their illustrious commander would be asleep. Then I had it; they weren't evacuating. They were preparing. The activity was consistent with the preparation that goes into a raid. That made it even more important for the base commander to be here, which meant those probably weren't his quarters where I'd acquired my weapon. It didn't matter, really; I just didn't see how knowing would affect me. One thing, none of the activity was directed toward me. Chances were good I'd make it to the hover vehicle, and then they'd catch me. First things first.

There was a wide ramp that led down from the opening where I crouched. Beside it, a metal ladder with six steps down to the cavern floor. I went down the ladder quickly, this time careful not to hit the gun metal to the rail metal. I made it and crouched behind a largish container in the shadows to my right. I set the gun down momentarily and flexed my left hand. I couldn't believe how big and heavy it was. Before NATech, I had served in the military and had all the related training. I'd fired a lot of things, but this was the biggest sidearm I'd ever seen. A tiny alarm went off in the back of my head. I had missed something.

It was staring

I LOVE IT WHEN YOU STARE AT ME LIKE THAT! HERE, LET ME GET CLOSER. AAAHH! THAT FEELS SO NICE! CAN YOU DO IT AGAIN? PLEASE? I WANT TO MAKE YOU HAPPY! OH! THAT WAS WONDERFUL! I THINK THE BONE BROKE, BUT I'M NOT SURE. UHHH! THAT'S SO NICE! THANK YOU!

me in the face and I couldn't see it. I couldn't think what it could possibly be, and didn't have time for in-depth analysis. I picked up the gun and moved for the hover vehicle. Once in it, I'd have five, maybe ten seconds to start it. After that… well, I gripped the gun tighter.

I didn't even have two seconds. I placed my hands on the side of the vehicle, and it screamed. Not a siren. Not a klaxon. A human scream. For a deterrent, it was bone chillingly effective. I jumped back and dropped the gun as every face in the cavern turned toward me. I stooped and picked up the gun, fumbling with it. I snapped the safety off and backed up. The rear wall of the cavern was only ten feet behind me, so I put my back to it. A number of people, mostly men and mostly armed, were advancing carefully toward me. The hover continued its blood curdling wails. I was very scared.

They approached to where the hover vehicle stood. There was sweat all over my barely clad body, and I was breathing hard, but my gun hand was up, and they could see it. One man, he'd have to be an officer, stepped out from the crowd. This would probably be the Lieutenant Sanchez that Barrett had mentioned.

He spoke to the screaming craft, and it shut up. He then slowly walked around the hover, empty hands half raised. I lifted the gun and cocked it. It gave a half tone and an indicator light came on. A red bead of light settled on his head. He was less than ten feet from me.

"All right. That's close enough. You're Sanchez?? I wanted to sound cool, but sounded, and felt, sick.

He nodded slowly. I knew deep down that I could and would kill this man, and I hated the thought. But I was getting out of here.? If you want to say something, it had better be 'you're free to go'. Otherwise…"

He smiled pleasantly, his swarthy, Hispanic featured face showing confidence and sincerity.? If you wish to leave, you can. I am in no position to stop you, nor are any of my people. We would never see harm come to you."

He sounded like he meant it.? All right,? I said,? that sounds fine. Why don't you back it up by dropping those weapons?? The gun was getting very heavy, and the red dot now danced over his head and neck.

To my complete surprise, Sanchez spoke a quiet command and they dropped every weapon they had.

Some even pulled out side arms I hadn't seen and dropped them. He didn't bother turning to see if his order had been complied with, he just kept his gaze on me, softening his intense eyes with that pleasant smile of his.

"Done. Now, you may take this vehicle, or any other you wish, and leave. You can choose any of my men as chauffeur. I also have thirty-two women soldiers you can choose from, if you'd prefer. All I ask-"

"You're in no position to ask anything."

"True.? The soothing smile never wavered.? Nonetheless, all I ask is that you please talk to Doctor Barrett, if only to help you on your way. He'll be here in a moment."

"He's here already, thank you, Raul.? Dr. Barrett appeared in the opening on my left. He was nowhere near as big as he should have been. I'd pictured him over six and half feet. He didn't come close and even looked shorter than me. The alarm in the back of my head became more insistent. He glowered at me.?

I've no idea how you managed to waken yourself, but put that thing down and get back in bed,? he said irritably.

"Sorry, Doc, but back alley medicine doesn't suit me. Thanks for getting me back together, body and soul and mind. But I'm taking Sanchez up on his offer and taking a hover. I'll send you a Christmas card.

? I motioned them back from the hover and almost dropped the gun, it was so heavy. No one rushed me. Instead, they all stepped back as I'd wanted. I lifted the gun again, now using two hands. This was going to make for an interesting time, getting into a hovercraft while holding this cannon. I heard a scuff behind me and turned back to the ladder. Barrett had negotiated the last step and had approached me.