GALACTIC MARSHAL
by Hilltopper

CHAPTER 12

“Now, don’t panic. Karen said that a special event was about to happen and she needs more security right away. She said you could come to the base on the regular transport in two days. As a matter of fact, she wants me to come with you.”

“Uh oh! That means things are happening faster than we thought.

God, Mary-----I mean Matt is not ready. What did Matt say? If Karen finds out who she is, it will be very bad. I was hoping to be with her to help out.”

“Don’t worry, Matt will be fine. He is a big girl----I mean boy. This is very confusing. Anyway, we will be there in two days.”

“Yeah, I guess. Have you seen George today?”

“No, he must still be in is room.”

“OK, I’m going up to talk to him. We have a lot of planning to do.”

I went upstairs. This was not supposed to happen. Matt could be in serious trouble. I walked up to George’s door and knocked. He opened it and waved me in.

“Hey George, we have a big problem.”

“What now?”

“Karen has taken Matt to the base and indicated to Linda that something big is about to happen.”

“I guess we know what that means. I didn’t think she was this close to being ready.”

“Neither did I. It may mean something else but we can’t bank on it. Linda and I are to go in two days. We have to be ready.”

“I agree. We also need to figure some way for me to tag along. It is not going to be easy to knock out that laser.”

“Yeah”

Suddenly, I felt something buzzing at my waist. It was, of course, my transceiver which I had never used.

“This must be Matt.”

I took out the unit and thumbed the transmit button.

“Go ahead.”

“Oh, Rusty, I am so sorry. What are we to do?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m in our apartment which is just a large room with a bath. Karen will be back to get me in a couple of hours.”

“OK, just hang on. I’m going to talk to Mr. Cooper. I’ll call you back in one hour. We better close down.”

“Alright”

I turned to George.

“I had almost forgotten about that thing. I guess yours is intradermal.”

“Yep! They’ve heard everything we have talked about. It’s your mission, by the way. You’re lead marshal.”

I laughed.

“No shit! Well, I’m going to Cooper’s room. Be back in a few.”

I went to Mr. Cooper’s door and knocked. I guess he recognized my knock because he just yelled for me to come in.

“Hey James, things have started. Matt’s already at the base and the rest of us follow in two days. Matt just called me on the transceiver.”

He looked worried.

“That was probably not a good idea. It might have been detected.”

“Hmmm, well, I am to call him back in a little bit. What should I pass on?”

“Until you can get there, he will just have to follow Karen’s bidding. Tell him to get rid of that transceiver and make your call as brief as possible. Have you looked at the map and schematics?”

“Yes, I pretty much have them memorized.”

“Good, come back this evening and we will go over what you need to do to sabotage the laser.”

“OK, see you then.”

I walked back to George’s room.

“Cooper has a plan to take down that laser. He will show us this evening.”

“Great! Well, I’m going to eat. See you then.”

I went back to my room and called Matt.

“Everything OK?”

“So far.”

“I really miss you. I can’t believe that this has happened. Mr. Cooper says to just do what Karen wants until we get there. He also said to destroy that transceiver as soon as we sign off. I’ll see you in two days.”

“I hope so. I love you, Jonnie.”

“I love you too. Be careful.”

With that, I shut down the unit. I just hope it had not been intercepted.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Rusty signed off, I threw the transceiver into the disposal. I had mixed feelings about that. I now was truly on my own with a person that hated me. I did not like to admit it but I was scared to death. I washed up and waited for Karen to arrive. About 30 minutes later, she knocked.

“Are you ready for me to show you around, Matt?”

“Sure thing, Miss Littleton.”

“Please, it’s Karen. Come on.”

We got into a hovercraft. The base wasn’t that big but we were apparently going clear across to the other side.

“The building we are going to houses our project ship. We plan to launch in 3 days and I have decided that we need additional security. That is where you come in. I like the way you handle yourself. You will stay by my side during the next days. In other words, you are now my bodyguard. I have put my former guards around the ship. We don’t want anything to happen at this late date. Alright?”

“I will give you my best.”

We walked through the building with her telling me what everything was and introducing me to the staff. Then we entered the hanger bay. The ship standing there was like nothing I had seen before. It looked like it was all engine and laser. This was a ship of war. A small compartment on one side held the crew which was mainly technicians. The ship obviously needed no pilot. Karen looked over the ship and smiled.

“This is my crowning achievement. It is going to change things for good.”

She did not elaborate but I knew what she was talking about. That evening, she took me back to my room.

“I think this is going to work out fine, Matt. I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

“OK, I’ll be ready.”

I walked into my room, closed the door, and collapsed. This had been the hardest day of my life. I thought that any minute Karen would suss me. The only consolation is that I now have access to that hanger. I ate and went to bed. I dropped into a fitful sleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After supper, George and I went to see Mr. Cooper again. I brought the map and schematics with me. He seemed to be all business tonight.

“Have you memorized those.”

“Yes but I will continue going over them tomorrow.”

“Good, good. I’m going to show you how to enter the ship and fix the laser so it blows up when it is fired in space. It has to be that way. Anything else will just delay it.”

I nodded my head in agreement.

“I can see that. Plus, no collateral damage that way.”

Cooper smiled.

“My thoughts exactly.”

We spent the next two hours going over his instructions. They shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish if we can get to the ship in the first place.

“It will be a very tight fit getting to that valve. Just take your time and don’t touch anything else. I can’t help you with getting access to the ship. I am sure security is better now around it. Your best bet would be if Matt can get you there.”

“OK, thanks for everything. By the way, when our marshal team swoops in, do you want off this moon?”

“I don’t know. I have no place to go.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. Fledora needs a defense against threats like this. How about building a system for them?”

“I like the idea but they might not want me.”

I laughed.

“Yeah, it will be a unique situation for them but it is something they need.”

“OK, when the team comes in, get me out of here.”

“Will do.”

I ate supper and went to bed. The next morning, I went to see Linda.

“Hey, Linda, things are progressing. Mr. Cooper gave us a plan to destroy that laser in space. We need to some how stow George away on that transport tomorrow. It will be better to have us both there at the base.”

“Yes, maybe I can get him on board as my assistant. When we get to the base, take him with you. If you are with Matt, perhaps no one will question it.”

“Sounds iffy but I can’t think of anything better. OK, we will try it.”

“How’s Matt doing?”

“Scared to death but holding up I think.”

She looked pensive.

“I have a bad feeling about this. I think Karen’s planning to leave this moon soon.”

“Yeah, I agree. Things are going to get sticky.”

We went to the kitchen and ate breakfast. Afterwards, I went back to my room. There really wasn’t anything else to do until tomorrow morning when the transport arrives. I packed our things and spent the rest of the day going over the maps and Mr. Coopers plans. Around supper time, George came to my room.

“The marshal team is ready to go in as soon as I call them. They will also pick up Mr. Cooper and myself if I can’t get on that transport.”

“Linda seems to think she can get you on it. We will have to play things by ear when we get to the base.”

“Yeah but if things go sour, the team is going to come in fast.”

“Well, let’s get some sleep and hope for the best.”

George left and I dropped into bed. I should eat but I was just not hungry. My thoughts went out to Mary and what she is going through. I just hope she can hold on until I get there. Sleep came slowly but I finally dropped off.

I woke up with a sense of dread. I couldn’t put my finger on it. After dressing, I gathered our things and headed to breakfast. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Linda came over to me.

“The transport is here. It will leave in about an hour. George is already in the kitchen. Go eat and then come to my office.”

“OK, is everything alright?”

“I don’t see any problems.”

“Good, see you in a few.”

I went into the kitchen and grabbed a plate of food. Spotting George at a back table, I joined him.

“Big day, huh?”

“I just hope it’s not too big. Is Linda going to be able to get you on the transport?”

“Yeah, they seemed to have no problem with me going with her.”

I nodded and dove into my food. Not having eaten last night, I was famished. After we finished, we went to Linda’s office. She stood up.

“Are you both ready?”

I laughed.

“Sure, let’s go.”

She led the way out her back door. The transport was a rather large hovercraft. We walked up to a soldier standing in front of the entry way. Linda pointed to George.

“This is my assistant and Rusty here is Matt Browning’s spouse.”

The soldier did a double take at me and then smirked. He stepped aside and we entered the craft. The trip to the base was long and noisy. We did not say much since we were surrounded by the military. After about 4 hours, we arrived at a fence gate. We were let through and continued on for another couple of kilometers when we saw some buildings come into view. The transport pulled up to a portico and everyone was ordered off. As I walked out the door, I spotted Matt off to the side. She waved me over. Linda and George walked with me.

“God, I am glad to see you!”

I grinned.

“Not half as much as I am to see you.”

Linda shook her head.

“OK, we need to separate. Matt, can you take George with you and Rusty without raising any suspicions?”

“Sure, no one will ask questions.”

“Great, I’m going to find Karen.”

Matt led the way through a series of doors. We came to a hallway and she stopped in front of a door marked #10.

“This is our apartment, Rusty.”

She unlocked the door and we went in. Since George was present, Matt and I had to control ourselves but I had to have a hug.

“I was really worried.”

Matt could not hold back the tears. George tried not to watch us. I did not know what he was thinking.

“It’s OK, we made it.”

She sighed.

“Good to see you, George. As much as I want to stay, I must get back to Karen. I am her new body guard.”

That caught me completely by surprise.

“You have got to be kidding.”

She just shrugged.

“Just stay here. I should be back in a few hours.”

She left and I plopped down in a chair.

“I guess we wait.”

When Matt came back, she looked tense.

“Well, it happens tomorrow.”

“What happens?”

“They are going to launch the laser ship for a test. If it is successful, the ship will head on to Fledora. Karen is going to fly her ship there later in the day.”

“Shit! I guess we only have tonight then.”

Matt turned to George.

“There has been no mention of you so I guess you have been forgotten. That is some good news at least.”

“Matt, can you get us to that ship tonight?”

“That won’t be a problem. Anyone walking with me will not be questioned. The hard part will be entering the ship.”

I spoke up.

“Cooper told us how to get into the ship. There is a maintenance hatch we can use. We only need a few seconds with no one watching.”

“Hmm, I think I can distract the guards that long. The best time will be after midnight. How long will it take to do your thing to the laser?”

I laughed.

“You won’t believe it. I only have to turn a valve. It will cause the unit to quickly over heat when it is fired. The hard part will be snaking my way to it. Hopefully, it will only take a few minutes.”

“OK, there is a cafeteria in the building beside the hanger. Let’s go there and eat. It’s open all the time.”

“Sounds good.”

We followed her out of the building. There were several small vehicles parked next to it.

“These are used by the staff to get around. Hop in.”

She drove to the cafeteria building and we went in to eat. There were only a few people there and no one paid us any mind. Matt looked worried.

“Rusty, you know that when that thing blows, it won’t take them long to realize we were here tonight.”

“Don’t worry, as soon as the laser ship is destroyed, a whole company of marshals and support officers are going to land here.”

“Yeah, but I will be with Karen and, I guess, so will Linda.”

“That is a problem. You have to try to get away from her when it happens. Maybe she will be mad and distracted.”

Matt looked dubious.

“Well, there’s nothing else for it.”

She looked at her watch.

“OK, it’s now or never.”

We walked out of the cafeteria and up to the hanger. The guard at the door just nodded to Matt and we went in. I had to admit, that ship was something else. I spotted the hatch we needed to use. Luckily, it was in a blind spot for the guards. Matt walked over to the guards while George and I kind of shuffled to the side admiring the ship. I don’t know what Matt said to the guards, but they laughed and followed her over to what looked like a concession area. We scurried over to the hatch. It opened easily using Cooper’s instructions and we entered the ship. George stood guard at the door while I made my way to the valve. It was a very tight squeeze as Cooper indicated it would be. I ran into my first problem as I tried to negotiate a turn. I am not small and I became stuck. My arms were out in front of me so I could only push with my toes. After a lot of straining, I managed to push through. I reached the valve after a couple more minutes. The only problem was there were two valves. Great! I tried to visualize the schematics drawn by Cooper. It showed only one valve. Now what? The valve on the right seemed to be the one involved with the cooling system. I could not justify turning both valves. Who knows what the other one did so I went ahead and closed the right one. It took me just a couple of minutes to go back to the hatch. That turn was no problem going the other way. We exited and went around the ship like we had been looking it over. We joined up with Matt at that concession stand as the guards were going back to their posts. They just nodded to us and otherwise ignored our presence. Matt motioned us to follow her and we went back outside. We got into her vehicle and headed back to our apartment. Matt turned to me.

“Well?”

“I had a little trouble getting to the valve, plus there were two of them. I’m pretty sure that I turned the right one.”

We entered our apartment.

“We better try to get some sleep. George, when Karen comes for me in the morning, you need to hide.”

“Gotcha”

George took the couch and Matt and I lay down in the bed. With George here, we could not do what we wanted to do. I did not sleep much. Before I knew it, there was a knock on the door. Matt raised up.

“Shit, she’s early.”

George sprung up and went into the bathroom. Matt pulled on a robe and opened the door.

“Sorry to be here so early but we need to get started. Did your spouse settle in OK?”

“Yes, give me about 10 minutes and I will join you.”

Karen looked over to the bed slyly.

“I’ll wait outside.”

Matt quickly dressed and hugged me.

“You both better stay here. I don’t know when the launch is scheduled to take place. You will just have to sit back and wait.”

“OK, George is in touch with the marshal team. They will give us the go when that ship goes up.”

Matt held my hands.

“See you in a little bit, I hope.”

She walked out the door and joined Karen. George and I sat at the table after dressing.

“Where should we go when this starts?”

I thought a second.

“Well, I’m sure Karen, Matt and Linda will be over at that hanger. I guess we will just have to wait until a marshal vehicle can take us over there. I sure feel helpless.”

“Yeah”

About 2 hours later, George suddenly perked up.

“It’s a go.”