The Jovian Conflict

Chapter 6

The Jovian Conflict

Death-Defying Acts

Romeo didn't move. He was frozen. The gun was trained at him and Simon was ready to pull the trigger. Well, this is it. It's been a good life. Hopefully this doesn't hurt too bad, he thought to himself as he physically braced his core for a sudden impact. He'd never been shot before, but he had a feeling it was going to be the most painful experience of his life. There was no way to outrun a bullet and no way to get to Simon before he fired the gun. It was completely hopeless, and for a moment, Romeo was completely content in that situation.

Ashley wasn't about to watch another member of her crew die. Simon was so focused on Romeo he didn't even notice her barreling towards him. By the time he saw her, it was too late. She tackled him. The momentum was enough to knock him off his feet and smash him into the table. He yelped at the pain when his lower back collided with the table's edge. The sight snapped Romeo out of his trance and now he was furious.

Small punches from Ashley had been hitting Simon's face but were doing little damage. When Romeo got to him, he pulled her off and landed a punch hard enough to send his head bouncing against the table. A few more hits like that and Simon was momentarily disorientated. Romeo snatched his wrist and pried the gun out from his grasps. Now armed, he felt ready to roll.

The others in the room were unarmed, and upon seeing their commander beat to hell they immediately threw their arms in the air and remained motionless. It was a good decision, because Romeo was ready to kill. He kept the pistol trained on them as Ashley tapped hurriedly through the computer's menu. After a few forever seconds, she found the map she was looking for. She traced the line from their current location to the vehicle room, memorized it, and then rushed to the exit.

Romeo had to hustle to catch up. Now his heart was pounding. The near-death experience was suddenly settling in. No time to panic, though. He had spent many years defying death while in space. How many times had he nearly been killed without even realizing it? It was time to focus. He followed Ashley as she ran through the grey hallways, even passed the JOC Patrol officers. No one seemed to pay them any mind. The ZLI uniforms they wore were seen everywhere and now a bulletin had been posted to look for a stocky man and lean woman. They were after the famed Doctor Kit Riedel and his strange companion, and both of them were currently locked in the vehicle bay.

Of course, that meant a squadron of JOC Patrol minions had gathered around the entrance to the said vehicle bay. No one had fired any shots. It was time to be diplomatic. With a map of the bay and a radio in hand, the woman in charge was trying to find a way to lure them out and get them cuffed without anyone being hurt or killed. Romeo and Ashley wiggled their way as close to this group as they could.

A man reported to the woman, "There's at least one dead inside. Apparently Doctor Riedel has some sort of… weapon. He's calling it the Buck Rogers."

"It's probably a ray gun," Romeo stated. It wasn't until Ashley elbowed him and he saw half a dozen JOC Patrol staring at him did he realize he had said it out loud.

The woman in charge swiftly approached them. She stood within striking distance of both and said, "I'm Hunt. What purpose do you have here?"

"We're here to help, cu - uh, I mean Hunt," Ashley said. The hostility between the two was thick. Ashley's lie was transparent and Hunt wasn't about to buy it.

Hunt's eyes narrowed into slits when she asked, "What is your connection with Doctor Riedel?"

"At one time, his p***s was in her v****a," Romeo answered. Again, another elbow, this one strong enough that it actually hurt and he was soon doubled over in pain.

Not amused, Hunt demanded, "Get these two ZLI lackeys out of here!"

They JOC Patrol snapped into a salute before they went to grab the newcomers. Romeo raised the pistol, ready to shoot, but never got the chance. From the doorway of the vehicle bay a string of bullets were shot. Many missed and ricocheted throughout the hall, sending everyone down to the cold floor. Freaked out, the JOC Patrol began to fire back at the origin of the bullets, but no one was there. Hunt had to scream at them to stop firing several times before they finally complied.

A heavy silence followed. Slowly, Romeo and Ashley raised their heads. The JOC Patrol were cautiously getting back to their feet. Then, one fell without a sound. A large chunk of skull was missing. The man next to him began to fret, which caused the rest of the squad to spiral out of control. This time, Hunt couldn't get them to cooperate. No matter how much she demanded they follow her orders, the JOC Patrol were quick to scurry away, leaving the dead body behind and saying to hell with the two nuts in the vehicle bay.

Romeo took this as his chance. He fired his gun at Hunt. No recoil, no sound, and nothing was fired. Yet, Hunt collapsed to the ground, a perfect hole in her back. Surprised, Romeo was gaping in awe at the weapon he possessed. Even Ashley was surprised; she traced the route from Romeo's gun, through Hunt and straight into the wall – where a small burn mark was present.

"It is a ray gun," she exhaled, shocked. "But, how?"

"Who gives a s**t? Let's get out of here," Romeo said. She didn't need to vocalize her agreement, as a nod would do just fine.

Fortunately, as the two rushed into the vehicle bay, they weren't shot. It was a large room full of several JOC Patrol vehicles, for land, air, and space. Unsure of where Shelton and Riedel were, they opted to carefully walk around the vehicles without shouting or running.

Shelton poked his head out from hiding and stared at them quietly until he knew for sure who they were. Romeo spotted him and dragged Ashley over. Finally reunited, Shelton dropped his weapon and immediately had his arms around both of his bosses. No one moved. No one dared break up that perfect moment.

"Guys. Guys. I have a ray gun! Check it! Look!" Riedel screeched in Ashley's ear. Her response was to pinch the back of his neck and force him down. The sudden pain had him thrash for a moment and then he stopped. He asked, "Where am I?"

By this point Shelton had pulled away from his bosses and was busy loading things into an all-terrain vehicle. He informed them, "Ignore him. He's been acting weird since he found me. He blacks out occasionally and acts like a moron."

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Ashley asked

"It doesn't matter. What matters is getting out of here, which is going to be a complete pain the ass. JOC Patrol's scouring over every inch of this base. We have to leave. Now," Shelton said.

"Why are we taking this piece of s**t and not an orbital vehicle?" Romeo inquired. He was looking around at the large assortment of vehicles available to them.

Ashley rolled her eyes, "Dumb question. We'd be sitting ducks until we were out of here. At least on the ground we can hide until help shows up."

"Can't we just hide on the base? At least it's warm here," Romeo argued.

As Ashley and Romeo continued to fight over whether they should stay or go, Shelton pushed the confused and injured Riedel into the vehicle. Then, the turned his attention to the computer on the wall next to them. He picked up the handheld device of a dead JOC Patrol guard, inspected it, and then went to work. A handful of easy modifications and he was able to plug it into the base's main computer. Being an engineer for ZLI and JOPA, he knew the ins and outs of every electronic device sanctioned for use on Jovian outposts. Fortunately, despite seemingly disregarding other "sanctions," JOC has kept their computer systems intact with minimal changes.

This meant it took Shelton less than a full minute to hack into their security systems and set off a false alarm on the other end of the base. In order to make it look more natural, he eased the alarm along. First, he set off warnings in a nearby maintenance bay, and then he waited fifteen seconds before releasing two more alarms in different sectors. He could only imagine how confused they were. He unplugged the handheld device and made a dash for the ATV.

"Come on, kids, stop fighting. Let's go. We still have to suit up once out there," he ordered to Ashley and Romeo. The debate was ended. The remaining three piled inside the vehicle. "Sarge, can you drive?"

"Dumb question. 'Course I can, kid."

Romeo made everyone shuffle around so he could position himself into the driver's seat. Ashley wasn't wasting anytime and was already trying to secure a space suit on. While the ATVs life support system was designed to keep them alive for months, anything could happen. Once the system was down, their only hope of staying alive was a good fitted and well-working suit. Romeo was too busy forcing the seemingly indestructible vehicle through the vehicle bay; Riedel had sprawled himself out in the back and refused to move; Shelton kept his hands on the handheld device.

Using it as a remote control, he popped open the bay doors. Afraid another alarm was about to sound, he quickly hacked into the security system remotely and turned it off. Now the JOC Patrol definitely knew what was happening. Romeo, aware of this, punched it. Through the vehicle exit shaft they rocketed; once the door to the outside world was within view, Shelton remotely opened it. Before them laid the icy ground of Callisto. Above them, they beautiful Jupiter took up seemingly the whole horizon. They four survivors prayed it wouldn't be the last thing they'd ever see.