Fire Team Echo: Taking the Pallas by John W McIntire

Author:John W McIntire [McIntire, John W]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2021-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

14

"I think that we've got this all wrong." Weber had taken the mapping utility from Markos and was reviewing the details of the Pallas as he thought out loud. "What did you say the man was wearing again?"

"I didn't get that good of a look," Bennett knew that he was going to keep asking her in case it helped her to remember a detail she hadn't thought important enough, "but I wouldn't call them rags. Maybe some kind of work utilities, but after years and years of work. The man was the same. Filthy, and I couldn't get a good look at his face beneath all of the muck."

"I refuse to say anything definitive, but I don't think that we're dealing with terrorists. There may be an armed threat yet, but I think a terrorist group that was able to orchestrate capturing a ship this close to the Station would be able to afford decent clothes." Bennett listened to Weber's words without emotion. She thought that he was probably right, but she didn't know. For now, she would have to accept things for what they were and focus on keeping her and the rest of Fire Team Echo safe.

Bennett looked around the newest cargo bay they found themselves in. Just as empty as the first two, she wondered why that man had been in here. She could think of two possibilities. Either he had been walking around the ship just exploring, or he was tracking their movements. Bennett remembered the metal crash from the second cargo bay. "Shit, what if this guy caused whatever that noise was? What if he was trying to distract us, or divert us?"

"It fits," Weber said, not looking up from the map. "The question is why? Are we walking into a trap, or are they just trying to buy enough time to get the ship to Luna?"

Bennett couldn't answer that. The only thing that she could say for certain about the man—apart from his disheveled appearance—was that he wasn't carrying a weapon. If he had been, she might have fired a warning shot. Bennett had considered it anyway, but with the rules of engagement as they were, she would have been raked over the coals had she done so.

"Corporal, if I may?" Markos had turned to face the pair. While they were going over the intel, Markos and Hernandez were standing watch over them.

"Always."

"We should double back and investigate the source of that noise. Even if whoever is on this ship didn't know about our presence before, that guy has already informed them. We should try to ascertain if they've already threatened us or not."

"To inform how we proceed?" Weber nodded slowly. Doubling back would cost them time, but it would be nice to know if they would or wouldn't be walking into any traps that had been set for them. "What do you two think?"

Hernandez and Bennett nodded their assent. Even if backtracking cost them time, it would only be a few minutes in the end.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.