Attac of the Bounty Hunters

[This is not a "sex story". It is a story about a society where people have superfast reflexes... and guns.]

Chapter 11: Getting Answers on Greenfields

The small transport maneuvered into its final landing approach for the Command Carrier Glory.

"That's a big ship," said Tane, eyeing the large turrets on top.

"I hope you'll enjoy their fine dining and dancing facilities," said Croft, as he maneuvered the transport into the landing bay. Suddenly walls, floors, and ceiling rushed into the space around him.

"What does that mean?" said Tane.

"It means, in case you've forgotten, that you're going to stay here while I check out the situation on Greenfields," said Croft.

She objected immediately. "But I don't-"

"But you do," Croft corrected her.

Suddenly, he felt rather than saw the heat of a flame behind him.

"You can spontaneously combust all you like, but you're not going either," said Croft. The craft started to slow to a halt. "And I appreciate your not starting a fire while I'm landing the transport."

"You always leave us behind," came Red Sally's voice. "Why?" It came out as a pitiful plea of a child.

"Maybe because this time I really do need to travel in secret, and secrecy is not your specialty," said Croft.

"What about you?" said Sally. "You tried to pass for a Graftonite and they spotted you a mile away."

The transport was at a stop now. Croft turned to Sally and said simply, "That was because I was stuck with you and Tane. There was no reason to even try. You've never seen me in action for real. You have no idea what a fully trained Column Eight operative is capable of doing."

********

"Good to see you again, Clifford," said Battle Admiral Norman North, shaking his hand vigorously.

"Same here, Battle Admiral," said Croft. "I just missed you on Grafton; I hear you replaced Admiral Lillard right after I left."

"Yes," said North. He sighed. "It's a very difficult situation we're in. The Graftonites are very tough fighters." He gestured behind Croft. "I think you know Lieutenant Took."

Idaho Took nodded. Croft nodded fractionally. He wondered what Took was doing here. Maybe he was here to help the Battle Admiral brief him on the situation.

The Battle Admiral pressed a button and a holoimage of the Greenfields spaceport appeared. "As you may know, Greenfields has fallen to the Graftonites."

"Fallen?" said Croft, his mouth dropping open. Greenfields was a medium sized industrial planet. It had only been invaded a little less than two days ago.

The Battle Admiral nodded. "Our primary concern is to disable or destroy the Greenfields fleet."

"If it's still on the ground, why not just blast it from orbit?" Croft asked.

"That's what we did on Karis," said the Battle Admiral. "But they've learned from that mistake." He pressed a button and the image zoomed in. They could see several ships; and surrounding them were groups of people.

"Hostages," said Croft glumly.

The Battle Admiral nodded. "If we take out the ships, the hostages will be killed by our own fire. We need to disable those ships without blowing them up, in such a way that they will not be easy to repair."

"Is there such a way?" Croft asked.

The Battle Admiral nodded. "You'll need to knock out each ship's virtual integrator. That's in engineering. Lieutenant Took will be able to show you where they are."

"I appreciate the thought, but I'm working alone," said Croft. "I need to be able to convince people I'm a Graftonite, and I can't do that if I have to babysit--no offense, Lieutenant."

"None taken," said Took, rolling his eyes.

"If you go in alone, how will you know where to find the integrator?" said the Battle Admiral.

"Does Took know where to find the integrators?" Croft countered. "He's not an engineer; if you can tell him where to find it, you can tell me."

"Hey, I'm in the same room with you, there's no need to talk about me like I'm not here," said Idaho Took.

"You're correct in that you can be instructed as easily as Took," said the Battle Admiral. "But how will you carry the explosives?"

"In a briefcase," said Croft.

"Even using miniaturized explosives, it will take more than one case to carry enough explosives for 27 ships," said the Battle Admiral. "You need him."

"Took," said Took. "The name is Took."

"I can carry two cases," said Croft, purposely trying to be difficult.

"That will make you even more conspicuous," said the Battle Admiral.

"Or I can hide the second briefcase until I empty the first one," said Croft.

"And how do you suppose to plant the explosives?" said the Battle Admiral. "If they have guards or technicians in engineering, how do you propose to distract them while planting the explosives at the same time? Remember, you need to avoid raising suspicions until you have planted all the explosives."

"Oh," said Croft. He seemed to pause for a moment, thinking of alternatives. Then he turned and looked over Took critically.

"Why do I suddenly feel like someone's retarded younger brother?" Took asked.

Slowly, Croft turned back to the Battle Admiral and nodded, ever so slightly. Ideally, he would have a second Column operative accompany him. But he didn't. He looked at Took critically. "He'll do."

********

"All you have to do is be silent, can you manage that?" Croft said. He and Took were alone in a storage room.

"Silence? No problem. I majored in silence at the Academy," said Took.

"Then all we have to do is work on your look," said Croft.

"My look?" said Took. "I thought we were going to go down in typical Grafton clothes."

"We are but that's not what I was referring to. Stand straight."

Took stood straight.

"No, perfectly straight."

Took stood straighter.

"Now, walk across the room."

Took started to walk, but Croft stopped him halfway.

"No, no," said Croft. "You're walking like a starfighter pilot. You need to walk like a Graftonite."

Took frowned. "And that means...."

"Watch me." Croft walked across the room. "Note the relaxed way I'm walking, but with calm, wide strides."

"Are they going to spot me from the way I walk?"

"You bet," said Croft. "Now practice it."

Took spent the next half hour walking back and forth, receiving a steady stream of comments and criticisms from Croft. Finally Croft stopped him.

"Did I do it right?" Took asked.

Croft made a face but said, "It will have to do. Now, the last thing we have to work on is your expression."

"My expression?" Took said.

"You have to do something about that goofy look," said Croft.

Took looked hurt.

"I don't mean to offend you, but arching your eyebrows and giving a wide grin is the quickest route to getting us shot as spies," said Croft. "I want you to practice looking serious."

Took scrunched up his face.

"No, not in pain, merely serious," said Croft.

Took tried again.

"Not so intensely," said Croft. "We're looking for a bored kind of serious."

"Bored serious?" Took said.

"Watch me, and try."

Took worked with Croft for much of the next hour. They were interrupted, however, by a crewman who entered the storage room. He looked at Took, who had a deadly serious expression on his face.

"Sorry sir, I was just... I'll come back later," said the crewman, hastily leaving the way he had come.

Took turned to Croft, giving a wide grin.

"Now if you can just get the same reaction from the Graftonites, you'll be ready," said Croft.

********

The two seater Graftonite starfighter zoomed through the atmosphere towards the capitol, which was also named Greenfields. Took was piloting while Croft sat in the back. The League had specially procured a Graftonite starfighter. They had also obtained the trademark blue denim clothes that Took and Croft now wore.

"So let me get this straight," said Took. "I'm told you tried to impersonate a Graftonite on Grafton and failed. So what makes you think it will work here?"

"I didn't really try on Grafton," said Croft. "I had a lot of extra baggage with me that made an undercover role impractical."

"And what about me?"

"You're a smaller amount of baggage," said Croft.

"Very nice," said Took. Then, after a pause, "You know, if we're caught, they will probably do not very nice things to us."

"Probably," said Croft.

"Isn't it tough being an infiltrator, knowing that can happen to you at any time?"

Croft shrugged. "You try not to think about it; and if you're any good, it doesn't happen. I've been on so many missions, I've just stopped thinking about it."

"That's not very comforting."

"I don't work in the comfort department," said Croft.

They reduced altitude rapidly; it was only several minutes later when they could make out ground features, that Croft directed Took to land on a small road near the spaceport.

"Isn't this kind of conspicuous, landing on a road?" said Took.

"Graftonites land anywhere they want to," said Croft. "And today we're Graftonites."

They got out of the starfighter, making sure to carry their briefcases filled with explosives. If they were searched, they would quickly be discovered.

"For such a thin thing, this is pretty heavy," Took complained, hefting his.

"Pretty combustible, too," said Croft.

"You mean... it can be detonated by blaster fire?" Took asked.

"I wouldn't worry about that," said Croft. "If the Graftonites are shooting at you, they're unlikely to miss you and hit your briefcase."

"How reassuring," said Took.

The streets seemed almost empty. They could see a few people on the street, but they quickly turned away when they saw Croft and Took.

"Something's got them scared," said Took.

"Perhaps it's the invasion," said Croft dryly.

"I still don't believe that a handful of Graftonites could conquer an entire planet," said Took.

"Believe what you like," said Croft.

They walked to the edge of the spaceport, and then Croft turned abruptly away and headed in the opposite direction.

"What's going on?" Took asked.

"We need to get some information first," said Croft. He saw a single Grafton standing on guard at a street corner. Perfect.

"Where are we going to get this information from?"

"Don't ask any more stupid questions," said Croft. "Be absolutely quiet now and remember the facial expression I taught you."

"Yes sir," said Took. But his heart raced wildly. Croft had never before been successful in fooling the Graftonites. Would his act work now? Croft was supposed to be one of the best infiltrators. But could he pull this off?

The Graftonite saw them coming. He was armed not only with a blaster but a laser rifle as well.

He stared coldly at Croft. When they got close he said, "That's far enough. What are you doing here?"

"Special assignment," said Croft bluntly, speaking in a very matter-of-factly voice.

"What special assignment?" said the Graftonite skeptically.

Croft looked coldly at him for a moment, but gave no answer. Then he turned to Took, saying only two words. "Come on."

His attention shifted momentarily to Took, who hoped that he looked and walked like a Graftonite.

"Halt," said the Graftonite.

Croft stopped, and turned to face the Grafton again.

"You don't have clearance to be here. I'll have to check with the Captain," he said, reaching for his comm unit.

"Halt," said Croft, in an identical tone to the Graftonite. "We're on special assignment, direct from Mo Quandry himself. No one is to be notified." he said, nodding to a building in front of them.

"I'm going to need more than that," said the guard, his face etched with suspicion. He lowered his laser rifle, and quicker than Croft could see, drew his blaster. "Where's your authorization?"

Croft glanced at Took, and nodded. Took took a datapad out of his denim jacket, and slowly handed it over to the Graftonite.

"What's this?" said the Graftonite, looking down at the datapad with one hand while holding the blaster in the other.

At that moment Croft arched his foot upwards and pushed down hard with his heel. A needle shot out of the tip, catching the guard in the foot. He yelled and fell to the ground, firing his blaster.

The shot flew only inches above Took's right shoulder.

"That was too close!" said Took.

Croft paid him no attention; instead, he went rifling through the Graftonite's clothes until he found another datapad.

"All right," said Croft. "Get the body out of sight while I go through this." Even as he spoke he rapidly sifted through the information. It contained an organizational list of the invaders, a list of commanders.... Good. That should be enough.

After a short walk, Croft and Took approached the main gate to the Greenfields Spaceport.

"Let me do all the talking," said Croft calmly.

There were four guards at the main gate.

"Halt. Identify."

"Major Tan Zoo, Captain Philmert Roh, Zarias Company.."

One of the Graftonites looked suspiciously at Croft. "I'm in Zarias Company, and I don't know you."

Croft looked bored but maintained the calm detachment. "I'm part of a special team of internal security that's just been attached to your unit."

"What is your purpose here?" said the Graftonite.

"You don't have the clearance to know that," said Croft coldly. He started to walk past the Graftonite.

"Halt!" cried the guard.

Croft slowly halted and turned around. "You're starting to irritate me," he said in a deadly voice.

The sentry paused, considering. "I'll have to clear this with the Captain first," he finally said. He was apprehensive of Croft, but at the same time, he had his orders, too.

Croft slowly walked up to the guard, and now there was clear irritation in his features. "You will do no such thing. My orders are to check on security first, and then report to the Captain. If you alert him first, I'm not going to see how your security is organized. If I don't get a real picture of what's going on here I'll report it to my boss, and I report directly to Mr. Quandry."

The sentry paused, looking indecisive. "But my orders-"

"Son, let me give you a word of advice," said Croft. "Are you a gold medalist?"

"No," said the sentry.

"Silver?"

The sentry shook his head.

"Then I don't think you want to mess with me," said Croft. He turned to Took. "Come along."

Without waiting for a further answer, they started walking.

"What if they shoot us in the back?" said Took, as they walked.

"Shut up," Croft hissed.

"What if they alert their Captain?" Took wondered.

"Shut up," Croft said again. He didn't need this kind of doubt.

They made their way to the landing pads. They could see hostages under guard around each ship. The captives looked miserable. Croft didn't risk any eye contact with them. Croft made his way to the first ship, did the required bullying/intimidation, and got them on board. They headed directly to the engine room.

The first engine room was completely empty. Croft planted the first explosives.

So was the second. Croft worked quickly.

But there were two Graftonite techs in the third, and they were suspicious.

"I didn't hear anything about an inspection," said one of the techs.

Croft just gave him a cold glare. He started to move among the columns of machinery.

"What are you doing back there?" said the unhelpful technician, straining to see what Croft was doing.

Took suddenly spoke up. "I need your assistance," he said, pointing to one of the panels. "Why did you set the configuration this way?"

"Rogga can explain it to you," said the first technician, indicating the second technician, as he attempted to peer after Croft.

"Perhaps you weren't listening," said Took coldly. "I want you to explain it. Don't make me ask again."

The technician turned around to face Took. He was a technician, but he was also a Graftonite, and this was clearly a challenge. He seemed to consider his next move, eyeing Took as if measuring him up. Then he took a few steps towards Took.

Took tried hard to appear impassive.

The technician said, in a low voice. "What is your question?"

Croft safely planted the bomb while Took kept the technicians occupied.

When they got outside the ship, Croft muttered, "Good work."

"I think I'm going to collapse," said Took.

"Not until we get back to the Glory," said Croft as they walked.

"That man might have shot me."

"Very possibly," said Croft. "Now be quiet."

He hurried his step. They didn't have that much time.

The bombs couldn't be set off by remote control since there was too much metal for a signal to reach inside the engine rooms of those ships. Therefore they had to be set using timers. There were 29 ships on the field; figuring 15 minutes per ship, Croft had set the first bomb to go off in eight hours, and the second in 7 hours 45 minutes, reducing the timer for each bomb.

But although they moved quickly, sometimes they fell behind schedule. Once they were held up by an officious Graftonite as they tried to board a cruiser; another time it took several minutes to sufficiently distract an engineering officer so they could plant the bomb; a third time they simply got lost searching for engineering.

So with only twenty minutes left they still had five ships left to do.

"What do we do?" Took asked, well aware of the time limitation.

Croft looked at the five remaining ships. The largest was a heavy cruiser. "We go for that one," he said, still walking calmly.

"And the others?" Took wondered.

"Nothing we can do," said Croft.

"The War Admiral won't like it," said Took.

"Then he can come down here and plant the rest of the explosives himself," said Croft. Personally, he thought knocking out 25 out of 29 ships would be an amazing job, given the circumstances.

They entered the cruiser, went to engineering, and planted what was to be their last bomb. Then they started walking quickly to the exit.

"We have maybe seven or eight minutes before the first bomb goes off," said Croft. "We have to get off this base before then."

"Will that be enough time?" said Took. By the tone of his voice he didn't think so.

"Just barely enough, I think," said Croft, who thought so but wasn't certain.

But when they reached the ship's exit ramp, they found two Graftonites waiting for them. One of them wore a Captain's insignia.

"Who are you?" said the Captain bluntly.

"Identify yourself," Croft responded frigidly.

"I am Captain Ult Garrison, Commander, Zarias Company," said the Captain.

Croft responded with their cover names. Then, without further word, he started walking away.

"Just a moment, Major Zoo," said the Captain. "I've recently learned from my sentries that you've been attached to my company."

Croft stopped in his tracks.

"Rather odd that I wasn't notified, don't you think?" said Garrison.

Croft turned to face Garrison. "You were to be notified once I finished my inspection," he said, his face mottled with anger.

"And why is that, Major?" said Garrison. "And just what is it that caused you to inspect every ship?"

"I don't have to answer questions from a lower ranking officer," said Croft coldly.

"And I've never heard of a higher ranking officer being put under the command of a lower ranking one," said Garrison. "Why don't we walk back to my administrative building and verify your credentials?"

Croft peered harshly at Garrison. "Certainly. Once I've completed my inspection."

"NOW, Major," said Garrison.

A small smile appeared on Croft's lips. "Are you challenging me?"

Garrison paused, and gave a small nod.

"Very well," said Croft. "Please permit me a minute's delay while I hand my notes over to my subordinate." He indicated his briefcase, and motioned for Took to come over. Casually, and very slowly, Croft handed the briefcase to him and whispered, "Get ready to shoot them."