Attack of the Bounty Hunters Ch. 11a

[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."

"They're Graftonites," Took whispered. "We don't have a chance!"

Croft glanced at his watch. "In eight seconds....."

"What's going on there?" said Captain Garrison.

"Nothing," said Croft, turning to face Garrison. Took stood to the side, both briefcases by his feet, leaving his hands free.

Garrison faced him, ready to draw.

"I'll count to five," said Croft. "Will that suffice?"

"Fine," said Garrison.

"One... two... three...."

Where was the explosion? Why wasn't it going off?

Garrison stood, watching expectantly. "Shouldn't four come next?"

"Quite right," said Croft. "But I seem to have lost my momentum." If those explosions didn't go off, he wouldn't have any chance of distracting the Graftonites, and they would shoot him dead.

"One...."

Garrison waited expectantly.

"Two..." said Croft, waiting as long as he dared.

Garrison waited again.

"Three...."

Finally, as the pauses got longer, Garrison lost patience. "Enough of this-"

Suddenly, the ground shook all around them; Garrison and his aide stumbled, momentarily losing their balance.

But Took and Croft had been expecting this. They drew their blasters and fired. Even though they were off balance, Garrison and his aide drew their blasters, and they fired too.

Croft hit Garrison with the first shot, just as a shot whizzed by him; and then his aide, already having fired once, turned to orient on Croft. But the aide was slowed by his attempt to maintain his balance, and his second shot went wild; Croft squeezed off a second shot, hitting the aide, who fell to the ground.

What had happened to Took? Croft looked around to find Took on the ground, bleeding.

"I'm hit," said Took, grabbing his side. Croft quickly went to his side and saw where he was hit. It looked bad.

The sounds of explosions could be heard all throughout the spaceport. Graftonites were running around looking confused. But that wouldn't last long.

"Leave me," said Took. "There's no way you're going to get out of here with me."

"Shut up," said Croft. "Can you walk?"

"No," said Took.

"I'll take that for a yes," said Croft. "Get on your feet!" He pulled Took up. Slowly they hobbled away. Took gritted his teeth against the pain.

"We're not going to the front gate," Took gasped.

"No we're not."

"I'm too weak to get over the fence," said Took.

"We're not going that way either," said Croft.

They hobbled painstakingly to one of the few remaining ships they hadn't sabotaged, a medium sized transport. But as they got to the ramp a Graftonite came running up to them. "Everyone is to report to their duty post," said the Graftonite. He looked at Took. "You have wounded?"

"Yes," said Croft. "Get a medic."

"Will do," said the Graftonite. Suddenly he paused. "Why were you trying to get into the ship?"

"Medical kit," said Croft, still dragging Took.

"All right," said the Graftonite, suddenly understanding. He took off at a run.

"We'd better get out of here now," said Croft. He closed the airlock, dropped Took on the deck, and ran for the cockpit.

Croft had the ship in space in several moments. There was no ground fire; the only question was whether there would be any airborne pursuit. He checked the sensors as the ship gained altitude... and then heaved a sigh of relief. Only when he had set a course for the orbiting Glory and made contact with the fleet did he go back to Took.

Took was bleeding away, and unconscious. Croft bandaged him up as best he could.

"Hold on, hold on," he muttered.

He ran back to the control room and signaled the Glory. "We need medics to meet us on arrival, we have a medical emergency."

Croft landed the small ship in one of the Glory's landing bays as quickly as he could. A medical team rushed into the ship as soon as he landed. He watched with concern as Took was taken out on a hoverbed; they were pumping new blood into him even as he was being transported.

"Will he make it?" Croft asked one of the medics.

The medic shook his head. "He lost a lot of blood. It's too soon to tell."

********

Croft made his way to the bridge, where the Battle Admiral awaited him.

"25 out of 29 ships," said the Battle Admiral. "You did a good job."

"Tell that to Lieutenant Took," said Croft.

"He knew the risks when he volunteered for the mission," said the Battle Admiral.

Croft looked surprised.

"That's right; he was a volunteer. Didn't you know?" the Battle Admiral asked.

Croft shook his head.

"That Took, he's a real adventurous one. He'll be a real fine starfighter commander when he makes captain, one of these days," said the Battle Admiral.

"Assuming he survives the night," said Croft.

The Battle Admiral pressed a button. "Doctor Farb? This is Admiral North. What's the situation on Iday?"

"He's lost a lot of blood," said Farb.

"Is he going to make it?" the Battle Admiral asked, keeping his tone neutral.

"I think so," said Farb. "We've given him a transfusion and are sealing his wounds now. His condition is starting to stabilize, but I'll know more in a few hours."

"Keep me posted," said the Battle Admiral. He closed the comm, and turned back to Croft. "Get some rest, Clifford."

"A short rest," Croft said. "I have to go back down there again."

"So soon?" the Battle Admiral looked surprised.

"The Chief wants to know how they conquer planets so easily."

"But they'll be doubly alert after this attack," said the Battle Admiral. "They may even have holos of your face."

"Do you know who I am?" said Croft. "Do you really, really know?"

Battle Admiral Normal North looked at Croft. "You're one of the Column Eight."

"But what does that mean?" Croft asked.

The Battle Admiral was silent.

"We do all sorts of things in the Column: surveillance, spying, and more. But our highest mission is infiltrating. I can go down there again and again and again, no matter how alert they are," said Croft. "It's what I was trained for. It's why I'm one of the Eight."

The Battle Admiral stared at him, with wonderment and respect in his eyes.

********

As it turned out, however, Croft didn't have to go back to Greenfields the next day. The orders came from the Chief herself, in a secure line in the War Admiral's office.

"I have been ordered to delay your mission," said the Chief. She looked irritated, as if she didn't like getting orders from others.

"I thought you wanted me to find out how the armed forces of Greenfields were conquered so quickly," said Croft.

"We do," said the Chief. "But an expeditionary force of five thousand League marines arrived in orbit around Greenfields a few hours ago, and the President wants to send them down to retake the planet. I can't expect you to go down in the middle of a shooting war."

"I just received the notification less than an hour ago," the Battle Admiral confirmed.

"Just a moment," said Croft. "According to the intel I received, Greenfields had an armed forces of some 40,000 troops, not counting another 40,000 reservists. And they were conquered by the Graftonites."

"Apparently so," said the Chief.

"So can you explain to me how 5,000 marines are going to succeed where 80,000 troops failed?" Croft asked. He didn't understand the logic behind it.

"It is believed that there are only a few hundred Graftonites on Greenfields," said the Chief. "Since we have total air and space superiority, as well as ten to one odds, it is believed that the marines can retake the planet."

"All very nice... but you didn't answer my question," said Croft. "Wouldn't it be nice to find out what happened to the other troops before we send in more?" He turned to the Battle Admiral. Wasn't he talking sense? Could the others understand him?

The Battle Admiral nodded. "That's just the argument I made to the Joint Chiefs."

"And?"

"They decided otherwise," said the Battle Admiral simply.

"The Graftonites have just launched an invasion of Mezzanine," said the Chief. "At this rate, they'll conquer the League in two months. It was decided that we can't afford to wait."

"All right," said Croft, throwing up his hands. He turned to the Battle Admiral. "I'll simply enjoy your fine dining and dancing facilities until I'm needed again."

********

General Morgan Pottan listened to the reports of the first landings on Greenfields. He had sent in an expeditionary battalion to secure a landing area. What he got was a surprise, even to him.

"Report," he said, speaking to the major in charge via holocom.

"Area secure," said the Major.

"Casualties?" General Pottan asked.

"None."

"Resistance?" Pottan asked.

"None."

General Pottan thought this extremely unlikely. They had landed near the capital, where the concentration of Graftonites was said to be greatest. So the Graftonites hadn't resisted their landing at all? They must be planning to ambush them on the ground. Well, he wasn't going to play into their hands.

"Your orders, sir?" the Major asked.

"Hold and wait," said Pottan. "I'm bringing down the entire division. When we're all down, we'll move together." After all, there was safety in numbers.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what the Graftonites wanted. They wanted all the troops on the ground. Or rather, to be more specific, General Pottan; he was the key to their victory.

Once the division had grounded, Pottan ordered company sized units to branch out. He monitored the situation from a command post in the center of their landing area, a field a few miles south of the capital.

********

"I hear you're recovering," said Croft, eyeing the bandages wrapped around Took's ribcage.

"Rumors of my recovery are vastly exaggerated," Took groaned. "What happened?"

"We got them."

"You mean, you got them," said Took. "I think he hit me and I missed, even though I knew what was coming and he didn't."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," said Croft. "You faced off two Graftonites and lived to tell about it."

"How did you know we would be able to take on those two Graftonites when the ordinance exploded?" said Took. "It only threw them off balance for a second or two."

"I didn't know we could take them," said Croft.

"Really?"

"Really," said Croft. "But we didn't have a lot of choices at that moment."

"Oh," said Took, absorbing that information. Suddenly he felt glad just to be alive. "What's going on now?" he asked.

"A League force has landed on Greenfields to try and retake the planet," Croft said.

"What do you think will happen?" Took asked.

Croft shrugged. "They'll die, probably."

Battle Admiral Norman North monitored the battle from his ready room, just off the main bridge of the Glory. His face looked tense as he sat silently. Captain Harkness sat at his side.

Technically the Glory was supposed to be in position to lend air support to the marines, but so far, they needed none of it. All they could do was sit and wait.

********

A squad of marines circumnavigated a city block. It all seemed empty. Too empty. Then, all of a sudden, two figures approached them. The marines relaxed when they saw that the newcomers were also marines, in the same uniforms they wore.

"Where did you come from?" the squad leader asked.

"Delta company," said one of the newcomers. "We have to deliver a message to your captain."

"Why not use the comms?"

"They could be monitored; this message has to be delivered personally," said the newcomer. "Can you detail one of your men to take us there?"

"Sure," said the squad leader.

********

Croft entered the Battle Admiral's office. "Any news yet?"

The Battle Admiral shook his head. "We're still waiting."

Croft sighed. "I've never been good at waiting."

"Me neither," said Captain Harkness.

"Why don't we spend the time trying to figure out how a few hundred Graftonites conquered an army of 80,000 soldiers?" Croft said.

********

"Just a moment," said the company commander, a Captain, as the three men entered his tent. He was busy studying a datapad so he didn't look up until he heard a thunk and saw one of the three men drop to the ground. "What is this?" said the Captain..

The two men drew blasters. "Don't move unless you want a big hole in your ugly chest."

"What do you want?" the Captain asked.

"Take us to see your colonel," said one of the men.

********

"I mean, a few hundred Graftonites can't physically kill 80,000 men, can they?" Croft said.

"Not unless they have some kind of super weapon," said the Battle Admiral.

"Super weapons have never been the Graftonite style," said Croft.

"Still, if they have invented a weapon that can immobilize large numbers of soldiers-"

"Then why haven't we heard of this weapon before?" said Croft. He shook his head. "No, I've got a gut feeling that this is something decidedly low tech."

********

The two men guarding the Captain entered the Colonel's headquarters. There were four men in the room, including the Colonel; in seconds, only the Colonel was conscious.

"Who are you? What do you want?" the Colonel sputtered.

"We have a special message for General Pottan," said one of the men.

********

"I mean, even Graftonites can't beat 80,000 men in open combat," said Croft.

"Perhaps they did it stealthily," said the Battle Admiral. "Using ambushes."

"That would take a long time," said Croft.

"Keep in mind that that 80,000 figure includes reserves," said Harkness. "If you give the Graftonites the advantage of surprise, perhaps the Greenfielders couldn't mobilize their reserves. That reduces their base numbers to 40,000."

"Which still gives them something like 80 to one odds against the Graftonites," said Croft.

********

The two Graftonites escorting the Captain and the Colonel had been joined by three other Graftonites leading a pair of majors, so by the time they entered the General's headquarters there were nine of them.

"What is this?" said Pottan, as his men were quickly disarmed.

"It's very simple," said the Graftonite leader. He stood close to Pottan. "This war is over."

"What do you mean?" Pottan said.

"You are going to order your men to surrender," said the Graftonite.

Pottan gave a bitter laugh. "You must be joking."

The Graftonite casually aimed and shot a hole in the captain's chest.

General Pottan froze.

"And that was just the Captain," said the Graftonite. "We have a few majors and a colonel in this room. How much do you value them?"

********

"I don't know either," said the Battle Admiral. "We have too little information." He checked his chrono and frowned. "We should have heard back from General Pottan by now." He activated the comm. "General? This is the Battle Admiral."

There was silence for a moment.

The Battle Admiral spoke again. "General Pottan?" He pressed another button. "This is the Battle Admiral. I'm having trouble contacting the surface. Check the comm."

The Battle Admiral looked up.

"Not a troubling sign, one would hope," said Croft.

"One would hope," said the Battle Admiral grimly. They waited a minute before the report came back.

"Sir, there's nothing wrong with the comm. They're just not answering."

"A comm failure?" said Captain Harkness.

The Battle Admiral looked cynically at Harkness.

"Don't look at me for answers," said Harkness. "I was sitting here with you the entire time." He paused. "We could send a recon squad down to investigate."

The Battle Admiral pressed another button. "Sensors. I want a real-time sensor image of the marine landing area."

The holoimage came in a few minutes later.

The encampment was empty.

Completely empty.

"All gone," said the Battle Admiral.

"Maybe they used some kind of weapon that vaporized our troops," said Harkness.

Croft eyed the holoimage closely. "No battle."

"What?" said Harkness.

"There's no sign of a battle. No bodies, no damage to any of the equipment or tents or buildings. It's simply as if everyone walked away."

"It must be some kind of new weapon," said Harkness. "Maybe something that disorients the troops."

The Battle Admiral studied the image. Then he said, "Nothing's changed. We still don't know what's going on down there."

"We could send a team of our own," said Harkness.

"So far there's only been one person who's gone down there and come back to tell about it," said the Battle Admiral.

"Is this the part where I volunteer?" Croft asked. "All right, all right. But first we need to do a little contingency planning. I have a feeling that this time getting in will be a lot easier than getting out."

The Battle Admiral raised his eyebrows.

********

"Take us with you!" said Red Sally. Tane looked pensive. The Clapper was jumping up and down.

"This isn't going to be a picnic," said Croft. "While Grafton II nominally wasn't hostile territory, this planet is a war zone. We'll be shot on sight."

"That's only if they get the chance," said Sally. She had been cooped up on the Glory for several days, and was frustrated.

"All right," said Croft. "You can come."

"Can I (clap) come too (clap)?" the Clapper eagerly asked.

"Yes, of course, the more the merrier," said Croft. He looked at Tane. "But you'd better stay here."

"For once, I agree with you," said Tane. She didn't want to go into a war zone.

"Good," said Croft. He turned to the Clapper. "But before we go, there's a small routine we need to work out. Are you any good at jabbing?"

They took a small transport down to the planet. As they landed, the Clapper said, "Hee hee! Your face looks funny, Croft!"

"Thanks," said Croft, trying hard not to sweat under the plastiform that remolded his face. "Your analytical comments and opinions are always appreciated."

Red Sally had a thought. "After your first bit of espionage, and the subsequent marine landing, how do you know the Graftonites won't track our landing and arrange a hostile reception?"

Croft's only answer was to raise an eyebrow as he drew his blaster and opened the hatch to the outside.

Outside, a half dozen Graftonites stood there, with blasters raised.

"All right," said Croft. "Get moving!"

The Clapper and Red Sally, looking surprised, headed down the ramp.

The Graftonites looked confused.

"Surrender," their leader said

"No," said Croft. "I'm not surrendering my prisoners. I won't let you take the bounty for them."

The leader did a double take. "Who are you?"

"Plo Lake," said Croft. "Zarias Company."

The leader checked a datapad. There was indeed a Plo Lake in Zarias company. Croft knew it too; that was one of the names he had taken from the stolen datapad.

"Identification."

Croft handed over a datapad. The leader checked it, nodded, and handed it back.

"What happened to you?" said the leader. He thought it a bit odd that this Graftonite was all alone, separated from his unit.

"I was taken prisoner," said Croft, saying as little as possible.

The Graftonites looked surprised. "The sheep took you prisoner?"

"They hit me from behind," said Croft coldly.

"All right," said the leader. "That's more understandable. What happened then?"

"I escaped," said Croft simply. Again, the less said, the better. He abruptly changed the subject. "These sheep are senior diplomats. There should be a good bounty on them."

"These are diplomats?" said the leader, eyeing Sally and the even more eccentric looking Clapper.

"Yes," said Croft. "And I want to take them in myself."

"All right," said the leader. "You can turn them in at our division HQ. It's moved. I'll give you the new coordinates." He punched in a set of coordinates in Croft's datapad, and handed it back.

"Thanks," said Croft coolly. That was nice of the Graftonite, to let him know the location of their headquarters. "All right, you two, get moving!"

"Just one more thing," said the leader.

"Yes," said Croft, getting a chill down his spine.

"When you were captured, did you see this man?" said the leader. He held up a datapad, which displayed Croft's face.

Croft looked at the face closely. "No," he shrugged. "Why, is he important?"

"He is a wanted spy," said the leader. "The award for his capture, dead or alive, is now 50,000 credits."

"Dead or alive?" said Croft.

The leader nodded.

"Then I'll be on the lookout for him," said Croft.

Croft marched Sally and the Clapper off at gunpoint. When they had gotten far enough away, Croft said to the Clapper, "You don't think I look so ridiculous now, do you?"

"I didn't know you were trying to disguise yourself," said the Clapper. "I just thought you were trying to look better."

"Speaking of faces, the next time we're surrounded by Graftonites, can you try not to look so happy at the thought of being captured?" Croft said.

The Clapper put on an exaggerated weepy face. "Is this better?"

Croft sighed. "I suppose anything is."

"When are we going to stop skulking around and fight?" Red Sally asked.

"Uh, I don't know if you were paying attention during the mission summary, but we're here to gather information, not fight," said Croft. "Or have you forgotten how fast these Graftonite reflexes are?"

"They can't shoot if they're on fire," said Red Sally smugly.

"What a team," Croft said.

They went to the Graftonite's administrative headquarters. Croft assumed that some of the prisoners were being held there, or at least someone there would know where the prisoners were being held. All he would have to do is be officious and ask for directions.

And if Croft had encountered an ordinary Graftonite, he might have succeeded. Unfortunately, Croft ran into Billy Kanner.

Billy was a 17 year old Graftonite who hadn't quite grown up yet. He loved shootings, and competitions, and challenges, and it was just pure luck that he hadn't been killed in a duel yet. He considered fighting a game, a sport to be enjoyed, which is why, had he stayed on Grafton, he probably would've been dead within a year.

As chance happened, Billy signed up with Quandry's mercenaries to get action on other planets, channeling his aggressive energies away from challenging other Graftonites and probably saving his life.

His superiors had quickly noticed Billy's frivolous attitude and penchance for picking fights, and had placed him on administrative duty, figuring he was more of a danger to their own troops than the enemy. Billy hated administrative duty; it made him restless for action.

So when Croft went up to Billy and asked him where the prisoners were kept, Billy was primed for action.

"Did you capture these yourself?" he said eagerly.

Croft nodded.

"Do you mind if I have fun with one of them?" said Billy. "The blonde, maybe?"

Red Sally boiled with rage. Her hair started to turn a light red.

"No," said Croft quickly. "Which way to the detention facilities?"

Billy looked at Croft. "They don't look so tough. What's the matter, can't capture any of the tough ones?"

Croft looked coldly at Billy. He had no idea what kind of game this kid was playing.

"Come on," he said, gesturing for Sally and the Clapper to walk away with him.

"Don't turn your back on me!" Billy yelled.

Croft slowly turned around. Several other Graftonites, attracted by the volume of Billy's voice, were gathering. A fight seemed to be in the offing, and Graftonites loved to witness fights.

"You seem awfully soft for a Graftonite. Turn your prisoners over to me!" said Billy.

"I don't have time for this," said Croft coldly. He looked to the other Graftonites for support, but they weren't getting involved. That was the Graftonite code; one-on-one, a fair fight.

"Didn't you hear me?" said Billy. He suddenly stood up. "I'm challenging you!"

Croft stood speechless for a moment. He didn't know what to do. There was no way he could take Billy. His only chance was to bluff it out.

"Come on," said Croft, gesturing for the Clapper and Sally to go.

Suddenly, moving almost faster than Croft could see, Billy reached over and plucked the blaster from Croft's holster.

"You're no Graftonite!" said Billy. "He's an imposter!"

Other Graftonites, already coming to this conclusion, raised their blasters and closed in. There was no way they could escape now.

Croft, sighing, raised his hands. So did Sally. So did the Clapper (though even above his head, he clapped his).

********

"So you are the Clifford Croft spy," said his interrogator. "I have heard a lot about you."

Croft picked the remaining bits of plastiform from his face. His disguise hadn't been meant to stand up to close inspection. The Graftonites evidently had been impressed by his reputation; his interrogator was Colonel Chapman, one of the senior leaders of the Greenfields invasion.

"I can't say I've heard anything about you," said Croft. "Maybe you need a better publicist. Would you like the name of mine?"

"You have caused us a lot of trouble," said Colonel Chapman. "There is a general liquidate on sight order concerning you."

"Is there any chance all of you will just close your eyes?" Croft asked.

"Joke all you like," said Chapman. "You won't joke when you're in front of the firing squad."

"Why aren't I in front of one now?" said Croft.

"First I wanted to find out something about you," said Chapman. "You are the first worthy adversary we've encountered."

"Worthy non-Grafton adversary, you mean," said Croft. While he idly fenced with the Colonel, his mind was racing, thinking about possibilities for escape.

"Yes, that's what I meant," said Chapman. He gave Croft a steady look. "I was... curious. I can't help but wonder if you have some partial Graftonite genetic heritage that explains your abilities."

"Sorry!" said Croft. "I hate to put a crimp in your eugenics theory, but genetics have nothing to do with your abilities. Anyone who goes to Grafton and spends enough time there gets the speeded up reflexes. If they ever figure out how to export whatever's in the air or water that does that to other planets, everyone will have the ability."

"Yes, well, those who are actually born there seem to have a higher level of ability," said Chapman. "I thought perhaps your bloodline--well, never mind." He paused. "What of your grotesque companions?"

"What about them?" said Croft.

"The woman, and the retarded anorexic?" the Colonel asked.

"Oh, you mean the Clapper," said Croft. "He's just a little slow."

"What purpose do they serve?" Chapman asked.

"Mostly, comic relief," said Croft.

"You know, I could turn you over to one of our real interrogators," said Chapman.

"You could," said Croft. "But that wouldn't be nice to do to an adversary you respect, would it?"

"No," said Chapman. "It wouldn't." He poured himself a drink. Croft understood him only too well, and Chapman respected that. "Don't get me wrong, Croft. We're not equals. But you do seem to have a superior ability, for your race. It is just a pity for your side that there are so few of you."

"You think you're going to win, do you?"

"It is inevitable," said Chapman.

"Are you quite sure? It might be merely evitable," said Croft.

Chapman looked confused.

"You are few, and we are many," said Croft. "What would happen if we cluster bomb the entire surface of the planet Grafton?"

"Our population is very spread out," said Chapman. "It would require a tremendous amount of ordinance."

"Give us the incentive and we'll do it," said Croft.

"By the time you act, we will be spread out on all your planets," said Chapman.

"Yes," said Croft. "Actually, I'm curious how a few hundred of you can control a planet of millions."

"It's not so difficult," said Chapman. He paused. "It will not reveal any special secret to let you know that we have recruited mercenaries in support positions."

"Mercenaries?" said Croft. "You mean, more Graftonites?"

Chapman shook his head. "Non-Graftonites. We have already recruited thousands on the planets we have acquired. They are maintaining law and order."

"Why don't you just use Graftonites?" Croft asked.

Chapman grinned. "Graftonites are more expensive."

"Meaning you still have supply problems," said Croft. "Is that how you conquer these planets? Using these non-Grafton mercenaries? When you invade a planet, our sensors show that you send in just a few hundred soldiers at a time."

Chapman smiled again, but said nothing.

"Unless... the non-Grafton mercenaries are already in place before you land on the planet," said Croft. "Is that how you do it?"

Chapman continued to smile enigmatically and sip his drink.

"No," Croft decided. "Even a few thousand non-Graftonites couldn't take over an entire planet. And you said before that you were forming these non-Grafton units on planets after you had already taken them over."

"Did I?" said Chapman. He gave a small smile.

"So how do you do it?" Croft asked. "How are you conquering these planets?"

"I'm afraid there are some secrets that must be kept even from you, Mr. Croft," said Chapman.

"Why?" said Croft. "If I'm about to be executed, what does it matter?" He was pressing the matter as best he could.

Chapman paused, as if considering, weighing the possibilities, and then shook his head in the negative.

"Why not?" Croft persisted.

"If I tell you, there are only two possible outcomes," said Chapman. "Either you'll die with the knowledge, in which case there is no harm done. Or else you'll escape, and tell your sheep friends, in which case there is harm done. I don't see what I have to gain from either outcome; therefore, I decline to tell you."

"Do you really think I can escape from here? Surrounded by Graftonites?" Croft tried to sound reasonable.

"Probably not," said Chapman, checking his chrono. "And you are scheduled to be executed in less than an hour. But still, it's not good to take even small chances. Guard!"

A Graftonite entered. "Take Mr. Croft to a cell." He turned to Croft. "The safest thing to do would be to execute you right now, of course. But I'm recalling some of my troops in the field to witness your execution. It's for the morale, you understand. But don't worry, you won't have to wait more than a few minutes."

"You're very comforting," said Croft.

Chapman turned to the guard. "I want him physically guarded, and I want him behind a secure force field. If you fail, I'll call you out myself."

The guard nodded.

Croft slowly let himself be marched to the detention area. Each step marched him to an area that would be difficult, if not impossible, to escape from.

Sure, Croft was an expert infiltrator. Given enough time, he could escape from any prison. But could he escape from behind a force field, guarded by a Graftonite with super reflexes, in the space of only a few minutes? That was expecting a lot, even from him.

Could he try to overpower the guard marching behind him? It was chancy under normal circumstances; the guard had a blaster pointed at him. But this wasn't just any guard; this was a Graftonite, with super reflexes. His chances of overpowering him were... small.

They had stripped him of most of his devices. That was one of the reasons he was barefoot; they had discovered the needle gun in his boot.

As Croft marched closer and closer to the detention area he realized he was running out of options.

He felt a little cheer, however, when he saw several cells sealed behind force fields. There were several civilians in one cell, and in the second were Red Sally and the Clapper.

The Clapper gave a squeal as the field was lowered and Croft was shoved into the cell. The field was immediately raised again. A guard stood watch over them.

"So how do we escape, how do we escape?" the Clapper yelled.

Croft glanced at the guard. "A little louder please, in case he didn't hear you."

"HOW DO WE ESCAPE?" the Clapper screamed.

Sally said, "Quiet!" and the Clapper shrank back. Sally turned to Croft. "What do we do now?" She asked, in a low voice. "I warn you, I'm getting restless."

"I'm sorry you're uncomfortable," said Croft. "But I've got bigger problems. I'm scheduled to be executed in a few minutes."

Sally made a dismissive noise.

"What?" said Croft.

"You're not really going to let them do that, are you?"

Croft looked at Sally. For just a split second, her degree of confidence in him astonished him. They were locked behind a forcefield, surrounded by Graftonites, and Sally expected him to escape. Not just escape, but escape easily.

Did she expect too much of him? Had she overestimated his abilities?

Croft gave Sally a withering look. She was still awaiting an answer to her question....

"No, of course not," said Croft.

In the blink of an eye the entire situation had changed.

Even before they had been captured Croft had anticipated the possibility of capture, and had role-played through the permutations in his mind. He knew that he might be searched for his devices. Therefore, he needed another method of escape. That's why he had rehearsed one such scenario with the Clapper before they had left the Glory.

Croft turned to the Clapper. "I need you to act normally," he said, in a low voice.

The Clapper acted confused.

"I mean, to act like you're not doing anything," said Croft.

"I'm not doing anything," said the Clapper.

"You will be, ok? I just want you to act like you're not," Croft whispered.

Looking confused, the Clapper nodded.

"Now you see that force field control? There, against the wall?" Croft asked.

The Clapper nodded.

"You see the second blue button?" Croft had been watching when the force field was activated; and the controls resembled others he had seen in the past.

"Yes," said the Clapper.

"Get ready to press it," said Croft. "But before you do, do you remember the thing we rehearsed?"

The Clapper nodded.

"You think you can do it?" Croft said.

The Clapper shrugged. Whether that was a yes shrug, a no shrug, a I-don't-know shrug, or a shrug for a completely different question he had asked yesterday or last week, Croft couldn't be sure.

"Very inspiring," said Croft dryly. "All right, press the button."

Reaching out, the Clapper used his ability to press the button.

Immediately, the forcefield blocking their cell dropped.

The Graftonite on guard noticed this immediately and had his blaster out. "What's going on?"

"One of my friends dropped the force field," said Croft, gesturing into the room beyond the cell.

"What friends?" said the Graftonite, quickly looking around while keeping his weapon pointed at Croft.

Croft took a step out of the cell.

"Don't take another step!" said the Graftonite.

"Give up," said Croft. "You're surrounded."

"By whom?" said the Graftonite.

"Invisible troopers," said Croft. "Elite League Commandos."

"Invisible? I never heard of such a thing," said the Graftonite.

"Of course you haven't; they're top secret," said Croft. "They're using a new form of cammo armor that renders them invisible."

"I don't believe you," said the Graftonite. "I'm going to call for help." He reached over for the control panel.

"Halt!" said Croft, giving the Clapper a meaningful look.

The Graftonite froze in midstep. Something had just jabbed him in the back.

"Don't move," said Croft, taking another step forward. "He has a blaster on you."

The Graftonite slowly started to turn around to see who had a gun on him, but the jab came stronger this time.

"If you turn again, he'll shoot," said Croft. He moved forward to the nervous Graftonite. Would the Graftonite be so nervous as to shoot?

Time to find out. Croft plucked the weapon from his hand. He reset the blaster to stun.

"Tell him not to fire," said the Graftonite.

"Don't fire," said Croft, to no one in particular. Then he fired on the Graftonite, who slumped to the ground.

"All right," said Croft. "There are still guards beyond this room, and we have to figure a way out of here."

"Croft," said Red Sally.

"They're going to come for me in a few minutes, and we have to be gone from here," said Croft.

"Croft," said Sally.

"I have to think of a plan-"

"Croft!" Sally yelled.

"What?" said Croft.

"One of the men, in the other cell," said Sally. "I think he's important."

"How important could he be?" said Croft irritably.

"He told me he was the President of Greenfields."

Oh.

Croft focused on the four men in the other cell. The President? He would certainly know how his planet had been conquered so quickly. Croft dropped the forcefield.

"Thank you!" said one of the men. Croft wasn't sure which was the President. There would be time to sort that out later.

Croft considered the possibilities. He could try to cut through one of the walls. But the chances were good that there would be a Graftonite on the other side. No, the only way out was the way they had come.

"All right," said Croft. "We're going out the way we came. Sally, I want you to handle everything in front of us."

"Handle?" said Sally, her eyebrows raised.

"Burn," said Croft. "You do know how to burn things, don't you?" Without waiting for the obvious answer he turned to the Clapper. "You handle anything behind us we miss."

The Clapper opened his mouth-

"Push them off balance. I'll do the rest," said Croft. He turned to the four men. "You! Politicians! No talking, no speeches, just stay in the middle of our little convoy, and keep up if you want to live."

They started walking. As soon as they entered the next room, they saw two very surprised looking Graftonites.

"What-" one of them started to say.

Red Sally sent forth a burst of flame that burned them where they stood. There wasn't time to be gentle, and they had to get out of there. Her blonde hair started to turn red.

They went through another room and ran down a corridor. Sally launched bursts of flame to send Graftonites ducking for cover. That's what worried Croft. Graftonites who ducked into side rooms could come back out when they had passed and shoot them from behind. So Croft kept concentrating on the rear. When two Graftonites emerged from rooms behind them, he shouted, "Now!"

The Clapper looked tense and both Graftonites went spinning to the ground as if pushed by an invisible force. Croft shot them and moved on, always keeping an eye in front of him to make sure that Sally was going in the right direction. She was perspiring heavily now, her hair color a solid red.

Although the Graftonites had faster reflexes, Croft and his people had the advantage of surprise. The Graftonites had never seen a woman shooting bursts of flame, and the sight of it sent them running for cover. They moved quickly in the narrow enclosed space of corridors where Sally could focus her flame better.

But Sally was getting tired. Her hair, now a bright red, was steaming.

As they made it to the entrance, they saw a squad of Graftonites running towards them from a few hundred feet away.

"Come on!" said Croft, running in the opposite direction. He looked up at a nearby building, and saw something that caught his eye. Perfect.

They entered the adjacent building; Sally had to give a blast twice to get people scrambling out of the way, but generally this building seemed less populated then the Graftonite administrative HQ. Croft headed for the stairs.

"Up?" gasped Red Sally. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Come on!" said Croft.

They started climbing. They had only reached the third flight, however, when the politicians, huffing, said they couldn't go anymore.

"Would you rather die?" said Croft sharply. "Come on, it's only two more flights, come on!"

Luckily, it was a low lying building. But that wasn't the reason Croft had picked it.

They got up to the roof, even as they could hear sounds of pursuit on the stairwell.

"Why didn't we take the lift?" Sally gasped.

"Too dangerous," Croft snapped, running to the edge of the building.

Good. Exactly as he thought.

This was the downtown area of Greenfields. There was a network of elevated forceways that connected buildings to each other. This building connected to another building which in turn connected others. They would use these forceways to escape.

"Come on, get over the forceway," said Croft.

The others started scrambling over. Below them, on the ground, Graftonites fired up at them. But their blaster bolts, while accurate, only scattered under the forcefield underneath their feet.

Just as they crossed over to the other side their pursuers broke out onto the roof they had just left.

Croft rapidly looked around for the controls to terminate the forceway. But they weren't there.

In a split second that made sense; they had just left a government building; surely the controls for the forceway would be on the other side, for security reasons. The side they had just left.

Croft had planned to cut the force field to prevent their pursuers from following. This would put a minor crimp in his plan.

Or maybe not. Croft grabbed the Clapper, who squealed. "See those forceway controls?" he said, pointing to a small panel on the edge of the rooftop they had just left.

"Uh..."

"Press the button to shut it down!"

The Graftonites were scrambling towards the edge of the roof where the forceway was.

"Which button?" The Clapper asked.

"All of them!" said Croft.

The Graftonites, four of them, were scrambling over the bridge. In seconds they would be on the other side. On the same roof, with them.

The Clapper scrunched his face. Nothing visibly happened.

"Hurry..." said Croft, just as the first Graftonite was seconds away from crossing their end of the forceway.

Suddenly, the forceway flickered and faded. The expression on the face of the closest Graftonite turned into one of amazement. Both his arms and his feet started to flounder. The last thing they saw was a shocked look he gave them as he fell to the ground.

"He he he, he tried to fly," said the Clapper.

"It's only five stories, maybe they survived," said Croft. What was he saying? Why should he care--those Graftonites were coming to kill him. He turned to the others. "Come on, rest time is over. Let's get going."

They kept running for nearly an hour. Eventually, they found themselves in a city park where they hid behind some bushes.

"Why don't we head back to the transport?" said Sally.

"Undoubtedly that's the first place they'll be waiting for us," said Croft. "No, I think we need to be a little less predictable." He unrolled the cuff of his sleeve, revealing a small electrical device. One of the few things the Graftonites had missed.

Croft pressed a button, and said exactly one word. "Pickup."

He waited, then there was a staticy reply. "Location."

Croft pressed another button, sending a quickburst that would enable the Glory to lock onto their location, but hopefully not sustained enough to enable the Graftonites to do the same. The Glory was expecting it; the Graftonites weren't.

"What do we do now?" said Sally.

"Now, we wait," said Croft. He said it nonchalantly, but Croft hated waiting. He wasn't any good at waiting. He was fidgeting already.

"If you had that device, why didn't you call for help when we were locked up?" said Sally.

"I wasn't sure that help could reach us in time," said Croft. "Or even if the Battle Admiral's troops could shoot their way in without getting us all killed." He turned to the four politicians, who looked exhausted. "All right, which one of you is the President of Greenfields?"

One of the men nodded slightly. "I am Zun Buchot."

"Nice name," said Croft. Politicians didn't impress him. "Would you mind telling me how a few hundred Graftonites conquered your entire planet in a few days?"

Buchot nodded. "They took over!"

"Uh, can you be any more specific?" Croft said, working hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, at least until Buchot gave him the information he needed.

"They took us hostage."

When he saw a similar lack of comprehension, Buchot elaborated, slightly. "They sent undercover hostage takers."

"Undercover hostage takers?"

"They disguised themselves as common citizens, or even as our own soldiers, and took our senior government officials and military officers hostage. Then they forced our surrender."

"That's it?" said Croft. He had been hoping for something more elaborate. "No super weapon? No fifth column activists?"

"They used their skill and speed to defeat our security. Since they could get in anywhere, they could capture us with ease," said Buchot.

"And your troops?"

"Disarmed, and confined to barracks," said Buchot. "They have started bringing in non-Graftonite mercenaries to replace them."

"They must have done the same to the marines we sent in," Croft mused. "Well, that's an important piece of information, to be sure. Our only remaining task now is to survive long enough for pickup and to live to tell it."

Chapman paced back and forth furiously. Seven men were dead, four seriously injured, and he had already commed Quandry to let him know that Croft had been executed! Now Croft had escaped with the President of Greenfields, one of their most prized prisoners. The information he had surely acquired could never be allowed to make its way back to the League.

"Sensors detect a transport," said one of his officers.

"Where?"

"Looks like... three miles south of the capital."

"Deploy all available forces there! I want that transport taken!" Chapman said. It seemed they were coming to pick Croft up. Well, Chapman would have a surprise in place for him.

They could hear the sound of the transport heading over the city park and then moving farther away.

"They're going the wrong way!" said President Buchot.

"Quiet," Croft hissed. "There may still be patrols in the area."

The transport settled down in an abandoned lot just a few miles south of the city. In just a few minutes a squad of Graftonites arrived.

"Looks like we got here ahead of the spy," said the squad leader. He drew his blaster. "All right, let's take the transport." His men moved forward cautiously. The minute the Graftonites came into contact with the transport, an internal sensor bleeped, and-

The transport blew up.

"What happened?" Colonel Chapman snapped.

"I don't know... sensors are registering an explosion," said his officer.

"Verify!"

"I can't," said the officer. "I've lost contact with the squad. Wait, I'm getting a connection with new troopers who just arrived on the scene." The officer listened for a moment.

"They say the transport is totally destroyed."

"Good," said Chapman with satisfaction.

"Sir, but I'm reading a shuttle, coming in fast."

"Where?"

"Several miles north of us."

And his forces were clustering south of the city. Suddenly it became clear to Chapman. The transport had been a decoy. "Redeploy the troops! And get me air command."

The shuttle touched down on a lawn just feet away from their concealed location. The ramp opened and four heavily armed troopers jumped out, weapons at the ready.

"Run!" said Croft.

They sprinted for the shuttle. It seemed to take forever for them to get fifty feet. The troops held their fire as they ran forward.

Croft was the first in the shuttle, followed by Red Sally, the Clapper, and the politicians. The marines efficiently closed the hatch behind them.

"We made it!" said President Buchot.

Croft turned to the pilot. "Get us out of here, fast."

The shuttle lifted off.

Even as they were clearing the atmosphere they could detect signs of pursuit. More than fifteen enemy starfighters. The Graftonite starfighters were faster than the shuttle. Quick calculations showed that in about two minutes they would be firing range.

And it would take ten minutes to get back to the Glory.

Croft signaled the Battle Admiral from the shuttle. "We're in trouble," he said.

"Help is on the way," said the holoimage of the Battle Admiral.

Even as he spoke, two squadrons of Wildcats streaked past the shuttle, heading deeper into the atmosphere. But the Wildcats would be no match for the Graftonites.

"Battle Admiral, in case we don't make it, they're using hostage taking teams to decapitate the leadership to force their troops to surrender," said Croft.

"Acknowledged," said the Battle Admiral.

Whatever the Wildcats were doing, they did it quickly. Thirty seconds later, the Wildcats were streaking in the other direction, retreating back past the shuttle, heading back into orbit.

"They're running away?" said President Buchot incredulously. He saw that Croft had felt compelled to report to the Battle Admiral immediately. Maybe the Battle Admiral, now having the information he needed, had decided that they were expendable.

"We'll be in enemy weapons range in 60 seconds," said the shuttle pilot.

Croft said nothing, studying his fingernails. One of them needed a little trimming.

"Can't you go any faster?" said Buchot.

"No," said the pilot. A few seconds later he studied the sensors and said, "30 seconds." And then, "Wait. They're veering off."

"What?"

"I'm detecting new sensor blips."

"Homing mines," said Croft. "But they won't hold them more than a minute or two. Just enough for us to get a good lead again. Gun it as fast as you can."

"I am," said the pilot. He noticed several new blips on the sensors, coming from the fleet. "What are those?"

"Don't worry about those," said Croft. "Just get us back. The Glory is coming in on a low orbital approach."

After about four minutes of silence the pilot reported, "They're coming after us again."

"They've destroyed the homing mines," said Croft. "Still, we've bought another four minutes."

"We're still four minutes from the Glory," said the pilot.

Suddenly, several large shapes flew past the shuttle. "What were those?" said the pilot.

"D-34 shipkillers," said Croft. He turned to the passengers. "I suggest you hold on to something."

"They'll shoot them down," said the pilot.

"No they won't," said Croft.

The D-34's detonated just before they came within weapons range of the Graftonite fighters. They weren't close enough to destroy the fighters, but were close enough to shake them up. Even the shuttle, which was farther away from the impact, was quite rattled up.

"That should buy us another two minutes," said Croft, feeling the lesser shockwave of another explosion."

"We're still three minutes from the Glory," said the pilot.

"Then it will be a race, won't it?"

The Wildcats had reformed around the shuttle to protect it, trimming their speed to match the shuttle's.

Croft watched a speck grow bigger on the screen. It was the Glory!

"They're closing in again!" said the pilot. "Interception in thirty seconds!"

The Glory was larger on the screen now. But all a Graftonite would need was a shot or two to take out the shuttle.

"Twenty seconds!" said the pilot.

The Wildcat escorts veered off to intercept the Graftonite fighters. But the Graftonite fighters didn't even react.

"Ten seconds!" said the pilot.

Suddenly, they heard/felt a big rumble around them. From behind them came a huge ship. The Battleship Majestic! It had positioned itself between the shuttle and the approaching Graftonite fighters, guns blazing.

That was something even the Graftonites had to notice. They veered off to avoid crashing into the battleship, and scrambled to reorganize themselves.

In those remaining seconds, the shuttle touched down in the Glory's landing bay.

For a moment, the shuttle was silent. Then, over the comm, they heard, "Croft? Croft?"

"Just like clockwork, Battle Admiral," said Croft. "Exactly as we planned it."