Scorpion Relay - Part 27

“How’s the stealth field holding up?” Maxon asked directly. Aaen and Mason noticed a shift in her voice—she was starting to panic, Aaen noted.

Jensen checked his computer screen. . . “There was some disrupter damage to the aft outer hull—looks like the stealth field’s still operational. . .” The humming was getting louder. “We need to keep moving,” Jensen added.

Maxon turned around, “Aaen, plot a course back to Starbase One.”

Aaen was already working on that, keeping in mind the humming as he watched the sets of coordinates appear on his screen out of a seemingly scrambled grouping of decimal numbers. The coordinates appeared, and he immediately began making the changes to their heading. His computer chimed acknowledgment as the cabin felt like it was shifting position. The stars moved in the view screen—

—The crew noticed the humming gradually stopped. . .

“New course entered!” Aaen boldly declared.

“Maximum speed. Translight-nine!”

Aaen turned his head as if to silently correct the order, then looked over his left shoulder. “Maximum is Translight nine-point-nine-five.”

Maxon leaned over, “Do it!” she yelled over the alarms.

The impulse engines quickly powered down as Aaen watched the translight engine control instrumentation quickly respond to his carrying out the order. A raging roar filled the cabin as the stars turn into violent streaks of white light.

The alarms stopped, but the lights stayed red. Aaen noted the translight engine heat was on a gradual, steady climb. The translight coolant levels were. . .oh crap.

Jonathan’s screen flashed, accompanied by a brief alarm—a sensor alert, the crew noted.

“Jonathan, what’s wrong?” Jensen asked, noting a frustrated look on Jonathan’s face while he read some new information on his screen.

“I’m not sure. . . I’m getting some really weird readings from. . .” the look on his face suddenly changed to shock—

A blinding white light filled the view screen as the cabin suddenly began violently vibrating and rattling as the shuttle was engulfed in a high-voltage frenzy as the nose violently shot straight up; the crew snapped as they were pressed into their seats as they grabbed their stations and pushed away in hopes of physical stability while feeling as though they were suddenly thrown forward by a synchronized blow to the back. A flurry of alarms filled the cabin as the lights erratically flickered on and then off violently—the computer screens began flashed white.

“. . .REPORT!” Maxon commanded to the rest of the crew as she struggled to stay upright.

Jonathan was first, forcing his weight against a wall, “Sensor readings are sketchy! From what I can tell, hundreds of spacial warheads just detonated. .directly in our flight path!”

Aaen eyed his screen amid the flashing. “TRANSLIGHT ENGINES ARE OFFLINE!” he checked the navigational readings, “We’re tumbling through space!”

“There’s extensive damage to the primary stealth field assembly—URGH!—we’re losing main power! We’re not gonna have the stealth field for much longer! I’m also detecting damage to the translight nacelles. . .!”

The bridge lights began to gradually dim as green flashing lightning pulses filled the viewscreen. The flashes lit up the bridge. There was barely enough light from the overheads to see the floor. Judging by the number of pulses, Aaen guessed—

“Holy-cow. .there’s an entire fleet decloaking. .they’re flying all over the place.” The cabin started to mildly shudder with each flash. The shuddering varied with the brightness of each flash. “Looks like they still can’t get a weapon lock on us.”

“Yeah, but somehow they’re getting an idea of where we’re at.” Aaen quipped.

Maxon looked at Mason. “Jensen: shields up. Mason—quick, put all translight engine power in the impulse engines! Commander: make sure we’re on our original heading and engage full impulse.”

Aaen checked his instrumentation, made a few adjustments to their heading with the thrusters to get them back on course, then said, “Heading: confirmed. Increasing speed to full impulse!”

“. . .Good job.” Maxon said gratefully. Aaen noted her tone of voice calming. “Mason, start working on repairing the translight engines. Try to keep the stealth field online as long as you can.”

“Aye!”

The impulse engines quickly grumbled, the sound gradually turned to a mechanical whine then gradually faded out.

Another alert sounded—Mason snapped. “New long-range message! It’s from Admiral Carrell!” More green lightning pulses lit the bridge; the shuddering caused the crew to push against the walls for physical stability. Aaen sharply used the thrusters to maintain the shuttle’s heading.

Maxon leaned toward Mason. “What does the message say?”

“. . .Admiral Carrell got our mission status update. . . The sixth fleet is being dispatched to our neutral zone border at these coordinates.” Mason pointed at the coordinates. Aaen leaned over and read the coordinates—doubt about whether they would make it there at this speed immediately followed.

“Mason—I need translight engines back online as quick as you can.” Aaen declared directly.

“—Captain, I’m picking up a distress beacon, it has a Federation signature,” Jonathan announced.

Maxon turned around. “Where from?” More green lightning lit the bridge.

“The planet surface.”

“It might be our source,” Aaen suggested.

“Lock onto the signal with transporters and beam it into the transporter buffer. Jensen, work on finding a way to keep the source in the transporter buffer as long as you can.” Jonathan pointed and commanded. 

Jensen nodded and began working. The sound of the transporter filled the bridge about a minute later, Aaen guessed as he struggled to keep the shuttle on its heading.

“How are they even getting close?” Maxon asked.

. . .Aaen was lost-in-thought for a few seconds as he contemplated possible answers. . . Then he had a hunch and he turned around and glared at the ‘prize’ which was resting horizontally on the floor between Jonathan and Jensen. Another sharp hull shudder forced the crew forward against their stations. 

*****

Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."

DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers: 

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Scorpion Relay - Part 26

“THEY’RE OVER THERE!—FIRE!” a male voice growled from some fifty yards behind. This declaration followed by three non-sequential bright-green directed lightning bolts, the first exploding against a tall dark tree—the away team frantically ducked and covered their heads as they continued running; the second immediately struck the ground just behind Jensen’s feet; the third narrowly missed Maxon’s right shoulder, instead creating a splash in a large mud puddle ahead.

Jensen snapped and started running backwards, ignoring the sound of dirt crunching under his boots—he visually confirmed four hostiles were in immediate pursue, each roughly five feet tall and getting taller as they drew closer, carrying heavy particle rifles—he quickly took aim, adjusting for the fact this jungle seemed to be bouncing up and down, and returned fire with four shots in rapid succession. He noted he nearly knocked out the target on the far-right, but missed. NARROWLY, he pressed his jaws together in frustration. He anticipated where they were aiming next and snapped, ducking left, then right, feeling the warm scream of two green bolts, one narrowly missing his left shoulder, the other nearly took his left ear off. He felt the residual heat of the bolt on the left side of his face, but knew he was okay. He snapped and took aim again, and then a knee, and fired—a red-orange bolt struck the target squarely in the chest. The force of the bolt picked the target off the ground as they tumbled into the air like a rag doll, loosely dropping their rifle on the ground as they fell flat back-first unconscious on the ground. The target’s chest glowed a circular dull faint dark red coloration which quickly faded away. The other three pursuers raised their rifles and fired—Aaen heard the hiss of the bolt and narrowly avoided a direct hit to his upper back.

Jonathan snapped, took a knee behind a tree, leaned right, and fired back—the bolt struck its target in the upper shoulder and was instantly pulled off its feet as it jerked left and collapsed face-first in some dry dirt as its weapon loosely flew several feet away.

Jensen and Jonathan heard Aaen yell another direction he read from the scanner. They stood up and continued running with the rest of the away team. Two more green bolts narrowly took down Maxon and Aaen due to sheer distance, they both knew. Every member of the away team could hear an entire army now coming after them, both on the ground. . .and in the air.

Maxon activated her communicator and held it to her mouth, “Mason, open the loading hatch! HURRY!” she shouted. The cloaking device got a couple of extra hands to carry it the remaining distance to the shuttle. The hatch was already starting to open. They all noted more footsteps, from who-knows-how-many different directions! They all silently agreed—

—Maxon pointed to the hatch and snapped, “Okay, get the shuttle on-board and start working on find a way to secure it. We GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE! MOVE!” The away team reacted with speed and precision as bolts of lightning sounded from not-so-far-away. The cloaking device was quickly in the cabin as the away team took their seats.

“Computer! Close the hatch!” Maxon commanded. “Mason?” referred to what she was hearing on the comm channels.

Mason quickly turned around with a terrified look as numerous loud seemingly muffled communicator transmissions sounded like they were competing for the same target. “They’re calling-in everything they’ve got on this planet, and everything within high-translight distance.”

Oh, great—Aaen thought, withholding an exclamation, sitting upright while hovering over his computer controls and looking at the image of dense brush and shadows overcasting on the jungle surface in the viewscreen.

“WOAH! WE’VE GOT CONTACT. . .coming from ten o’clock to three—No. . .to TWO O’Clock! We’ve gotta get outta here, now!” Jonathan declared, appearing shocked. Green particle beams scored the image on the viewscreen—

—WE’RE UNDER FIRE! Aaen realized. He snapped. “Captain?” The bridge turned red with a flurry of alarms.

 “TAKE US UP, MAXIMUM SPEED!”

YOU GOT IT! Aaen silently zealously replied. Aaen wasn’t slow in carrying out the order. He brought the docking clamps up first, then abruptly leaned left, glaring at the computer screen to his immediate left. “Mason, make sure I’ve got power in the thrusters!” he commanded as a flurry of green bolts narrowly missed the hull—he noted the not-so-subtle sound of high-power particle beam explosions against the surrounding rocks and the larger trees that were visible, and multiple that were not. Aaen frantically adjusted the controls on his screen. . .quickly switching to the thrusters. The hull sharply lifted off in less than a second as Aaen noted the sound of brush slapping the hull as it climbed above the dark shade, then Aaen increased the shuttle’s speed to full-impulse and then immediately angled the nose to the sky. The only thing in the view screen was blue sky and distant faint white cloud cover. They could still hear the sharp, violent hiss of particle weapon fire from the surface. Aaen manipulated the thrusters to subtly maneuver around the incoming fire. . . And then there was none audible as the blue hue gradually turned a sharp black.

“Are we—?” Maxon asked as another alarm sounded.

“Holy-cow! They’ve got every ship within a half-parsec doing high-intensity scans for us!"

The sensor scans’ reverberating hum was getting louder by the second, Aaen noted, and he started wondering just how long the stealth field was going to keep them hidden. . .

*****

Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."

DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers: 

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Scorpion Relay - Part 25

Aaen executed the command on the scanner. A high-pitched whine—almost deafening—filled the room. The away team covered their ears and cringed tightly, and Aaen watched carefully as all four surveillance cameras began to spark violently, immediately followed by a thick plume of black smoke.

"NOW!" Maxon yelled in a whisper as the away team swarmed through the room. Maxon pointed around her, and then at the door as she commanded, "Jonathan, Jensen, watch the door!" There was only one door to this room, Aaen noted and quickly began working on collecting the prize.

This was one-sophisticated-piece of equipment, Aaen judged: a pristine crystal-like cylinder resembling a warp core with a deep, bright ocean-blue internal glow—only this thing was only three feet tall, and about six inches in diameter, and had more wires coming out of its three levels of multi-colored blinking circular external ports than the Voyager's main computer core. Scanner readings were going ballistic! Aaen noted, trying to wirelessly sever the connections so the device could be recovered and analyzed after returning it to Intelligence. . . His frantic efforts—

A glaring, intermittent alarm sounded from somewhere down the corridor, from the right—oh, crap, he thought, snapping, and then quickly going back to work. . . C'mon. .C'MON!. . . The device was fighting his every effort—URGH! "Captain!" Aaen started turning his head.

Maxon rushed to his side, "What is it?" she asked, noting the near-terror in his voice. "Is it ready to go?"

Aaen abruptly turned his head. "There's some kind of counter-measure in this thing's base unit that won't allow the scanner to interface with this thing. There's no way to sever it from his housing by scanner. First Officer! Jonathan!"

He snapped and then immediately, sharply, entered the room. "What?" he replied with an alarmed look on his face.

The lights in the corridor outside changed to a darker, deathlier shade of green. They had 30 seconds left before their faces would be all over every military network on this and every other planet under their control. They had to act—NOW!

The sound of indistinguishable orders being yelled echoed from down the corridor from the right.

"The cloaking device won't separate from its base. You need to take out the base with a cannon blast!"

"Whatever you're gonna do! Do it QUICK! We're gonna have company REAL-QUICK!" Jensen declared sharply.

Jonathan stepped behind the largest of the control panels in the room near a far wall and adjusted the power output on his sidearm, took aim as Aaen, Maxon, and Jensen ran for cover, and then fired! The beam was brighter and screamed louder than on standard setting—the base exploded instantly through the room, sending fine glass and metallic shrapnel fragments flying.

The away team could hear countless pairs of combat boots clashing against the metallic corridor floor outside—they were out of time, they each realized.

Aaen rushed to the cloaking device, holstered his scanner and then tried to pick up the device so the away team could start back for the shuttle. . . He quickly felt a flood of sharp pains domino down his back and abandoned his effort. . . A solo lifting effort was hopeless. This thing was just too darn heavy. He turned his head at the away team sharply.

"Jonathan and Jensen, you take the device. Aaen will get us back to the shuttle." Maxon's order was carried out immediately. They tilted the device toward the vent shaft and then carried it by the top and the bottom of the device. Aaen pulled out his scanner and they started back for the shuttle, twice as fast as they came in.

Maxon's communicator beeped. She retrieved the device and answered the hail. "Maxon,"

"Don't forget to close the vent cover!" Aaen whispered loudly back through the shaft.

"—Captain, this is Mason. You all need to get back here fast! Short-range communications are going crazy! And there's a lot more foot activity out here! There's gotta be at least a hundred security personnel out here, and there's more coming from underground and transporter signatures from ships in orbit!"

"WHERE IS IT?. . . LOOK OVER THERE!" a voice yelled from behind. Jensen was working on replacing the vent cover as two bright green particle rifles rose up. Jensen ducked as twin bright green directed particle bolts nearly scored the back of his head and then exploded against the metal vent lining. He dropped the vent cover and scrambled on three of his four back to the away team, returning fire twice—and missing as narrowly. The vent cover landed at an angle against the mouth of the vent.

"GO! GO! GO!" Maxon yelled.

They returned to the original tunnel in fifteen seconds—the doors were still open, and the sound of running boots smashing against dirt and wood were getting louder.

"The shuttle's a hundred meters that way!" Aaen declared, pointing the way.

"LET'S GO!" Maxon commanded. The sounds were getting louder. "—MOVE! MOVE! Jonathan, take point!" Jensen brings up the rear!"

Aaen led the away team running back up the ramp, sidearms-ready, a sharp slight left turn—ten seconds of sprinting later, Jensen snapped, and then roared, "—CONTACT-REAR!"

*****

Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."

DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers: 

smashwords.com (Remember to like and share!)

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Make sure to like the official StormTeam Simulations Facebook page for the latest, including when DANIEL STORM will be available on Amazon.com for Kindle eBook and softcover! Coming soon!

Scorpion Relay - Part 24

Mumbling from afar was gradually turning into faintly distinct chatter—the away team's pulses were almost in perfect sync, and getting faster with the sound of loose dead brush crackling under the building sound of boots walking closer. Aaen couldn't help but fathom what might happen in the next minute—or less—and his mind started racing with everything the academy had to say about how Rotelan treated their prisoners. . .and he wasn't eager to find out. Neither was the rest of the away team. C'MON, Mason! Let's GO! He frantically thought.

A dense mechanical grumble accompanied by a hiss sounded as the distortion gradually molded into a visible pentagon-shaped orifice resting on the dirt ground. Twin six-inch metal doors parted at the center—

The chatter was getting louder! Aaen noted. Maxon gestured to move forward, QUICK!

The semi-circle formation turned into more of a box shape twenty-five feet down a long, slightly dimly-lit metallic shaft. The top of the shaft was practically a spotlight from the bottom. Jonathan took a knee next to the far wall and took aim at the mouth of the shaft. Jensen aimed into the far length of the shaft. There was a high-power green force field blocking the turn about two hundred feet away—DANG!

Aaen looked around trying to find another way to get to the prize. One possibility caught his eye, but he had an immediate doubt about its feasibility, given the fact they were racing against having to make a decision about where and how they were going to move next, and realizing those footsteps were now loud enough that Aaen thought they were about to be the fish in the barrel. He frantically tapped various controls on the scanner, searching for an alternative route. . . Galileo doesn't have enough time to break into their larger computer network to disrupt the force field. . .there HAD to be another way. . . He was starting to sweat on his forehead, and his face was starting to burn. . .and—BINGO!  He tapped Maxon's shoulder and pointed to a closed ventilation duct to his right. Maxon gestured the rest of the away team's attention on that point and then they all gathered around. . .

Aaen waved the scanner over the mouth of the duct, and then he quickly and sharply pointed, "Cannon shots, here, here, and there. . .HURRY!" Aaen whispered sharply, frantically looking at the top of the shaft, and then at the duct. His heart started hurting from the stress.

Jonathan adjusted the setting on his sidearm, and then aimed and fired at each directed point. The fastening mechanisms quickly glowed and then abruptly exploded as the duct cover fell to the floor. Aaen and Jensen caught the metal fragment and rested it gently on the floor—

"Unit two, report-in," a communicator demanded from about 35 feet away.

"Unit two to Command, so far all-clear in this sector. The entrance to cargo loading area is no longer cloaked. Not sure why. We'll check it out and report,"

"Understood,"

Now they realized they were really in trouble. Aaen frantically gestured for the away team to get in and MOVE IT! Maxon ordered him through first, a decision he attributed to the fact he was carrying the map. He didn't know who was following him, although his gut told him Maxon was going in last, or maybe Jonathan insisted she go in first, and then either he or Jensen would bring up the rear? He looked over his shoulder to find the metal cover was quickly replaced as two tall shadows stretched into the shaft. He dismissed this and focused on the small screen on the scanner. After another one or two hundred yard crouched hike through the darkest tunnel Aaen had or the rest of the away team had traversed since year-two at the academy—or so it felt like to Aaen, but kept to himself despite a rapidly growing soreness in his feet and knees, and moisture beginning to build-up on his upper back and shoulders—the map declared their objective was about ten meters away, behind another vent shaft cover. The room ahead was dimly lit, almost identically to a movie theater just before the feature. The only immediate sound was the faint hum of computer terminals. "We need one of the cannons over here!" Aaen whispered.

"Here!" Jensen extended the sidearm in front of Maxon. The sidearm was set two settings above stun—should be enough, Aaen guessed. He aimed and fired at the cover's fastenings, and then rested it against the back of what appeared to be a tall computer terminal. The away team entered the room quickly, leaning against the terminal. Aaen gave the sidearm back as Jensen and Jonathan crouched and snapped to cover each side of the terminal.

"It's in the middle of this room," Aaen gently but directly whispered to Maxon. Maxon mouthed the question 'life signs?' to Aaen—he turned his head.

"I'll generate a dampening signal with the scanner, it'll knock out any surveillance equipment in this room for about a minute," he was already busy making the necessary modifications. "We'll have that long to snatch that thing and then get outta here!. . ." Maxon watched Aaen's cleverness with the scanner.

"Will that set off any alarms?"

Aaen only raised his eyebrows and looked at her through his left peripheral. . ."Well, as closely as this place is being protected, I'd say we're lucky they're not monitoring the air moisture. That would be one of the first tell-tale signs of an intruder. All-things-considered, I'd say we've got a good chance of either being caught quickly and facing a big welcoming party, heavily armed, or barely getting out of here alive and facing pretty much every ship they have in their fleet between here and our exit strategy," and neither of those possibilities sounded good to Maxon, but she had already learned to trust Aaen and was waiting for him to finish the scanner modifications—"okay, the disruption signal's ready."

"Do it."

*****

Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."

DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers: 

smashwords.com (Remember to like and share!)

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Make sure to like the official StormTeam Simulations Facebook page for the latest, including when DANIEL STORM will be available on Amazon.com for Kindle eBook and softcover! Coming soon!

Scorpion Relay - Part 19

"Alright, people, stay alert! They're staying uncloaked for some reason," Jonathan ordered.

"Maybe that's intentional?"

"They're flying in a straight line," he gasped.

"Are there any space stations or anything like that in orbit of that planet?" We're getting close, and fast. Aaen noted. His heart was gradually beginning to pound in his chest as he eyed the green towering mass flying on their port-bow. He realized his hands were hovering over the engine controls.

Maxon gasped—"Helm, steady as she goes,"

"I'd be willing to bet we're in their blind spot. If I can keep us there, it should be relatively smooth sailing—"

"The number of battleships on the outer perimeter of the satellite field has doubled," Jonathan announced.

Shoot. They're forming a blockade! Aaen guessed.

"I'm detecting additional traffic inbound in the solar system—"

"More battleships?" Maxon asked.

Jonathan turned his head, "No. Looks like scout ships and some cargo ships. The scout ships appear to be on some kind of patrol. . .the cargo ships are heading for the planet,"

"How far out are we from the planet?" Maxon asked Aaen.

"Closing. . .we're about 5 minutes out," The planet was about the size of a dollar coin. The sun in the solar system was getting brighter on the left side of the view screen—it gradually moved out of view.

"Captain," Mason's voice sounded distressed, "I decoded the message. . ."

"What?"

Mason turned around with a particular look on her face—"Command's lost contact with our source."

*****

Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."

DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers: 

smashwords.com (Remember to like and share!)

apple iBooks (This link is best viewed on iPhone or iPad)

barnesandnoble.com 

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Make sure to buy your copy today, and like and share!

Make sure to like the official StormTeam Simulations Facebook page for the latest, including when DANIEL STORM will be available on Amazon.com for Kindle eBook and softcover! Coming soon!

Scorpion Relay - Part 20

"Say again," Jonathan ordered.

"Confirmed—" Mason candidly replied, "'We have lost contact with our source,"

"What happened?" Aaen asked directly.

Mason shrugged her shoulders, "Command didn't say—only—"

Another alarm sounded. This one sounded like an echoing chirp.

Aaen remained focused on the engine controls. He guessed they had to be over half way there. "Mason?"

Mason looked at her screen with a puzzled look.

Aaen glanced at her screen and then looked back at the viewscreen.

"Captain. . .someone's hailing us,"

Aaen became stiff in his chair—Oh, great. His first question was whether or not to answer the hail. If the hail wasn't encrypted, answering would enable any eavesdropper to know that they were there and leave them open to being traced. He weighed the odds in his mind. . .his gut felt heavy. "Are we going to answer the hail?" the echoing chirp sounded again like a rolling wave.

Maxon leaned toward Mason, "Is the hail encrypted," the alert sounded again.

". . .Yes,"

"Open a channel," Maxon ordered. 

Sitting upright, Aaen thought, here goes! His gut told him the hail might be coming from their source . . .

*****

Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."

DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers: 

smashwords.com (Remember to like and share!)

apple iBooks (This link is best viewed on iPhone or iPad)

barnesandnoble.com 

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Make sure to buy your copy today, and like and share!

Make sure to like the official StormTeam Simulations Facebook page for the latest, including when DANIEL STORM will be available on Amazon.com for Kindle eBook and softcover! Coming soon!

Scorpion Relay - Part 23

"Captain, it would be a good idea to have one of the crew stay behind in the ship while the rest of us go after the module cloaking device. Having someone to monitor communications and the sensors while we're out—"

—Maxon knew where Aaen was going with this and extended her palm as she was visibly thinking . . .

. . . "Okay, Mason, you'll stay here in the ship and monitor planetary communications. If you hear that the away team's in trouble, you signal us and we evacuate immediately, cloaking device or no cloaking device. The away team will maintain an open comm link with Mason. Away team," she looked around as she spoke, "our objective is to infiltrate the facility to extract the cloaking device, and then we're gonna return to the shuttle and get the heck outta here!—Cannons!"

Mason turned and started tuning her station's instruments to needed frequencies. Jonathan leaned over entered a short series of codes into the control port of a hatch Aaen didn't notice before. Jensen, Maxon and Aaen watched as the hatch slid open, revealing a padded compartment housing two, grey-silver-green, long barreled pistol-shaped sidearm. Jonathan took one, held it at shoulder height and pointed it at the ceiling and then abruptly gave Mason the other sidearm. She needed to have some way of defending herself in case the shuttle comes under attack and there should be some uninvited guests. Jonathan checked his station—"Yep. Okay. Those life signs still aren't moving." he snapped to look at Maxon. "Now might be our chance!" Mason gave the sidearm to Jensen.

Maxon sharply turned to Mason. "Upload the map to the cloaking device to a scanner and then give it to Aaen." Aaen was a little put-off about not being given a sidearm on an away mission this deep into hostile territory. The task was completed in seconds. Aaen opened the device and observed the device's blinking functioning control pad. The map was displayed with crisp clarity. He nodded at Maxon.

"Okay! Move out!" Maxon commanded. The away team stood up in near-unison and gathered around Maxon. Maxon faced the viewscreen and said, "Computer! Open loading door. Standby to close and seal the door after we leave." A brief series of chirps and beeps sounded acknowledgment and then a wave of subtle metallic clicks sounded. The door gradually lowered to the ground with a subtle pneumatic hiss. Jonathan snapped to take aim out the right side of the hatch, Mason aimed opposite—both panned around, high and low, and then nodded at Maxon. Maxon gestured to move out.

Jonathan walked out first, then Maxon, Jensen, and then Aaen. Jonathan and Jensen quickly fanned out, took a knee and formed a perimeter. Jonathan signaled all-clear.

The hatch closed.

They looked at Aaen. He gestured to go left, leading them through moderately-dense brush, around a few creepy critters . . . to a large distortion surrounded by what looked like a plantation of tall, thick trees. They had crouched and ran nearly a hundred yards from the shuttle, Aaen guessed—

There was a noise . . . somewhere from the right! He snapped, gestured to stop and then to get low. They took a knee as he pointed in the direction of the noise. Jonathan and Jensen quickly took aim and panned back and forth for a few feet.

Maxon retrieved her communicator from her waist holster and tapped it. "Maxon to Mason," she whispered, "we've got some kind of movement out here. Two are talking to each other from about twenty meters out, and they sound like they're getting closer. There's some kind of shielding over the entrance to where the cloaking device's being kept. Can you break in the control computer and override it so we can get in?"

"Roger that! I'm on it!. . .Standby. . .Standby. . ."

*****

Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."

DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers: 

smashwords.com (Remember to like and share!)

apple iBooks (This link is best viewed on iPhone or iPad)

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Scorpion Relay - Part 22

"Take us in, Commander," Maxon commanded sharply.

Aaen felt a cold chill quickly, subtly climb his spine as he glared at the viewscreen, "Roger that," he replied sharply. His heart nearly beat its way out of his chest, and his hands and feet quickly felt chilled, a sensation that was trying to climb to his ankles. He adjusted the controls as the warbird flew out of sight across the terminator into night on the planet—and then the planet began to get bigger in the view screen.

"No indication they've detected us," Jonathan declared. The hull subtly began vibrating. The planet quickly filled the viewscreen.

The vibrations became more fierce.

"Everyone, hold on!" Fire quickly engulfed the bow as the hull pressed against the planet's atmosphere. Aaen gritted his teeth—the shuttle was getting harder to control—

"—The landing site's a-hundred-twenty-miles straight ahead! There's a freakin' TON of activity on the other side of the planet! I wouldn't recommend going beyond the terminator into night!"

"Agreed!" Maxon declared.

That WON'T HAPPEN! Turbulence, and it was getting more violent by the second. "I'm taking us in at a more steep angle! If we're lucky, I think we can dodge that group of scout ships to port!"

Maxon snapped at Jonathan. He nodded confirmation.

Aaen squinted. The turbulence became more violent, and the hull started vibrating from the sudden-onset external stress. "THERE IT IS!. . .I CAN SEE IT!" The landing site was surrounded by dense vegetation. The sun was going to be down soon. Aaen guessed that would somehow work to their advantage. . .he was already working on formulating an exit strategy. 

"THERE'S A METALLIC CONSTRUCT OF SOME KIND ABOUT TWENTY MILES ABOVE THE PRIZE!" Jonathan declared, yelling over the turbulence and the humming hull. The entire crew was struggling to stay upright. 

Aaen had a hunch—a big one. A few bursts from the reverse thrusters slowed them to a safe approach speed. He brought the shuttle around a large patch of tall trees and brush then hovered over the coordinates. The down thrusters did the rest. . . THUD. "Touchdown," Aaen declared.

"Just missed our friends upstairs. . ." Aaen detected a hint of assurance in Jonathan's voice. "I'm not detecting any life signs for six hundred meters. . . What is out there," he started turning his head sharply—"we don't want to find us,"

"Not likely with this little sunlight getting through," Aaen quipped.

"Transporters are struggling to get a lock on the prize, Captain," Jensen said. "

Maxon waved him off. "Don't bother. Gear-up. Computer: standby to lower the boarding ramp. Mason, you have a map of this place? Where's the prize?"

"About twenty stories below where we're sitting. It's not going to be easy to get to it."

"Good," Maxon said.

*****

Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."

DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers: 

smashwords.com (Remember to like and share!)

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Scorpion Relay - Part 21

Crackling static filled the cabin. Aaen's heart jumped and his feet started to tingle out of anticipation—his legs stiffened up and he felt his hands becoming clammy. He wondered what could be causing the static, attributing the distortion with active or directed interference. He didn't like what either would mean.

"Can you clear the line up at all?" Maxon asked.

Mason scanned the readouts on her screen and then turned her head. "There's some kind of interference at the source,"

Oh shoot. Aaen thought.

"Are you there? . . . Are you there?" a male voice asked in a panicked loud whisper. Abrupt mechanical sounds echoed in the background. He sounded almost completely out of breath. "Galileo! Respond!—GALILEO!" More panicked gasps.

Multiple sharp hand gestures from around the bridge encouraged Maxon to respond. Aaen watched as the planet was getting bigger. The battleship veered to port and began accelerating at a low angle. Aaen nodded as the battleship passed out of sight.

"Take us into a high orbit," Maxon commanded. Aaen nodded acknowledgement.

"Galileo! There's no time, they're onto me. You must listen closely!" the male voice said sharply. The planet was getting lower in the viewscreen.

Maxon leaned forward, coupling her hands in front of her. "Go ahead,"

"The Module Cloaking Device is ahead of schedule—"

SHOOT!

"They're already preparing it to be installed on a battleship to be tested on an unknown target. My cover was—" another loud mechanical sound echoed in the background, followed by a distant explosion, "You have to intercept the device before they get it installed on the battleship!" another explosion, this one much closer, and then the sounds of a coordinated search effort, getting louder by the second, "I'm transmitting its location to you know. You will only have minutes to intercept the device before we lost track of it. Channel: Murcury-Thirteen! I repeat: MURCURY-Thirteen! HURRY!"

Another explosion, and then the sound of a loud particle energy discharge tore through the bridge. Aaen's spine began to tingle. The planet was out of sight. Aaen turned and nodded with a serious look on his face at Maxon, who appeared concerned and distressed. . . Mason turned and nodded.

"Commander. We've got him. He was transmitting something. The transmitter was destroyed immediately after it was sent."

"Is he still alive?" a ghoulish female voice said sharply.

"No,"

. . .Man down.

Maxon tapped Mason on the shoulder and then pointed to the bottom of her screen.

"Increase security around this facility, and then—" Mason closed the channel, an action that was confirmed with three low beeping sounds.

"What are we gonna do now, Captain?" Aaen asked directly.

There was a near-silence in the cabin as Maxon looked at the darkness in the viewscreen. "Mason, pull up the coordinates of the cloaking device. Commander Aaen, prepare to land the shuttle—we're going on an away mission."

*****

Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."

DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers: 

smashwords.com (Remember to like and share!)

apple iBooks (This link is best viewed on iPhone or iPad)

barnesandnoble.com 

scribd.com 

kobo.com

blio.com

Make sure to buy your copy today, and like and share!

Make sure to like the official StormTeam Simulations Facebook page for the latest, including when DANIEL STORM will be available on Amazon.com for Kindle eBook and softcover! Coming soon!