Three seconds had elapsed since the four men started into the room.
Each two-man team continued right and left around the room. Walters, still number two, focused ahead and left while number three followed some three feet behind, focused toward the center and left side of the room. Number three also focused high and low, but there were no balconies.
The center of the room held a circle of workstations, and numbers three and four broadened their focus to include the far side of the room, the oblique angles, where they had a better angle on anyone hiding. Number four, just behind Walters, spotted the top of a white head on the floor behind a work station across the room, just ahead of number one, Hodgson. He took three shots and didn’t miss. The same happened on his side of the room: number three took out that Chessori. Hodgson fired at a head peering out from behind a console six feet in front of him, and he didn’t miss either.
More men from the second squad entered and moved to the sides, clearing the center of the room as they did so. “Clear,” Sergeant Walters called as he reached the far side of the room. Lieutenant Stephens, the last one in, broke a fluorescent light and threw it to the floor at the entrance to the room.
Walters and his three men lined up on each side of the rear exit from the room. They did their dance again, moving up the stairway as Stephens called the men outside to let them know they might have friendlies coming out. Walters reached the rear exit without further incident, and he tossed a fluorescent marker at the door to indicate the exit was secure. He turned around and went back into the control room.
His gaze met Stephens.’ “How long?”
Stephens’ eyes lowered. “You know, I was so worried about you that I forgot to time us.”
A tight grin flitted across Walters’ face as his adrenalin high started abating. “Any casualties?”
“None. The building is secure. We’ll make another sweep just to be certain, but it’s clear. There were quite a few Empire soldiers, most of them in a break room. They’re all secure.”
Stephens reported in to his captain, then turned to Walters. “We’re needed elsewhere. You stay here with squad one to secure the building. I’m taking squads two, three, and four with me.”
Walters’ eyes roamed the control room in thought. “Mind if we try to figure out how this stuff works?” he asked.
“Have at it, as long as you keep the place secure. I’ll be busy elsewhere. Report anything to Captain Jordan.”
“Yes, sir.”
Walters set security at both entrances, then he huddled together with Hodgson in conversation. While they had no clue what the various workstations were for, each station had a helmet just like what they’d used aboard ships to enter the net. He looked a question at Hodgson, who waved his hand nonchalantly.
“Be my guest, Walters.”
Walters pulled the helmet over his head. Nothing happened for a while, but then he felt the net coming alive, just as he had on ships. He experimented for a while, then found a mental switch and talked to his men.
“Hey, this is pretty cool. Hodgson, get in here with me.”
He and Hodgson met on the net and carefully waded their way through various channels. They eventually located targeting computers, shield controls, and firing commands, then they figured out how to open the firing ports.
“I need two more of you in here with me,” he called to his men.
It took a while to get the newcomers up to speed, but he soon had them aboard. Then he sent a thought to the AI. “We need some training.”
The AI responded instantly. The scene outside changed to simulation, then targets appeared. The AI carefully led them through the necessary processes to control shields, identify targets, track them, and fire when ready. After three hours, Walters felt ready. The AI wanted to tie him into the rest of the net guarding the spaceport, but Walters hesitated. He didn’t know if those guns were secure yet. He assigned two men to keep an eye out for real targets, then he and Hodgson exited the net.
“Captain Jordan,” he said into his communicator, “we’re secure here, and we think we know how to work the guns. How are things out there?”
“One building at a time. You know how it is. We haven’t found many Chessori, and the scree is still sounding, so they’re out here somewhere. We’ve taken two more gun positions, but we can’t get into the last one. The door is locked, and no one’s available with the codes to open it. Stay where you are, and I’ll pass the word that your cannons are manned. We might be able to do the same with the others. Good job, Walters.”
“Can you send some back-up? I’d like to get all my men into the net here.”
“I’ll detail squad two back to you. I might need them back later.”
Waverly was advised of the situation, and he smiled. “Pretty sharp guys, huh?” he said to Reba.
“I didn’t know they were so creative,” she said. “I’m worried about that last gun emplacement. If there are Chessori in there, they might shoot me down if I have to use a ship. I wonder if we can take it out with Walters’ gun?”
Waverly’s lips pursed. “You might lose Walters and his men in the process. The guns are probably evenly matched.”
“Then maybe we need to tilt the scales a little. See if your men can get up to speed on the other two guns. I’m going to talk to Walters. Which one is he in?”
“That one,” Waverly said, pointing. The fighting had been going on for hours, and Reba was exhausted, but she left in a hurry, limping as fast as she could. Val was never far from her thoughts, and she knew he was suffering from the scree, but the only thing she could do to help him was try to end it.
Then she had a thought. She spoke into her communicator to Waverly. “Do you think you could send someone to find Val and stun him?”
Waverly understood instantly. “He’s at headquarters. I’ll see it gets taken care of. We might do the same for Korban and his men.”
When she reached the gun emplacement, she had no idea how to get in. Waverly, though, had anticipated her need and called ahead. The door opened, and she stared into the muzzles of two blasters.
“Sergeant Walters at your service, Ma’am.”
“Walters, you deserve a medal,” she announced. “I expect I’ll be taking a ship up soon, and I don’t want the last gun emplacement shooting me down. Think you can take it out?”
His eyebrows rose in surprise. “I don’t know!” He considered, then said, “We’ll have to see if this thing can fire that low. The AI is probably programmed to prevent shooting its own facilities.”
“Let’s find out,” she invited.
The gun could angle itself low enough, but the AI was programmed to prevent shooting its own guns on the space port. Reba went into the net with Walters and worked with the AI. It was not in the same class as the AI’s on ships, but the job was not nearly as complex, so it didn’t have to be. Nevertheless, it was still a computer, and it could not overcome its programming. Reba tried another tack.
“Computer, it’s time for maintenance. You’re going to shut yourself down. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
“Can we use the gun while you’re shut down?”
“Yes, but only under manual control.”
“Okay, I want you to aim at the gun emplacement we’ve been talking about. You are not going to fire.”
“Done.”
“Okay, you’re going to shut down, but bring yourself back in five minutes. Can you do that?”