Joker: Part 2
by Linda Garrick and Nancy Smith
Twelve hours ago:
Jason Llwelling glanced up as a knock sounded on the door of his room. Quickly, he extended a telepathic probe to the presence without and as quickly relaxed. "Come in, Tylla."
The door slid open, disclosing an attractive woman in the latter part of her first century. She looked worried, although she smiled warmly at Jason.
He rose from his seat on the double bed to greet her. "What's wrong?"
Tylla Wylie was second-in-command of the Troth station. Her worried frown eased somewhat at his inquiry. "You shouldn't be reading my mind, you know, Captain."
"I didn't," Jason said. "I could tell from your expression. What's the problem?"
"We've intercepted a transmission. Where's Lisa?"
"Here." Lisa Llwelling, Jason's wife, emerged from the bathroom in a bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a towel. "What's happened?"
"We're sending you to the Balka colony right away." Tylla spoke rapidly. "We picked up a Patrol transmission -- one of the most recent codes, but we broke it a couple of weeks ago. They're planning disposal of the colony."
Lisa went white. "When?"
"The Dragon is already on its way. It departed from Corala about two hours ago."
Lisa yanked the towel from her head and shook out her blond, wet hair. "We'll have to hurry. Aren't there any agents who are closer?"
"No." Tylla shook her head. "They called us because we were the closest. It was one of our people on Riskell who intercepted."
Jason was pulling on his boots. "No time to finish packing. Can you send the stuff along?"
"No problem. Just hurry. You'll find the report aboard the ship to fill in the rest of the details."
Lisa was pulling on her clothing. "You have a car?"
"I'll have it brought around front." Tylla went out, lifting her wrist communicator to her lips.
**********
Five minutes to sublight," Jason said. He glanced at his chronometer for the hundredth time in the last hour. "I hope we beat 'em."
Lisa didn't answer. Jason ran a hand through his dark, curly hair. "Halthzor better start taking it easier on these colony executions or he's going to trigger something he doesn't want."
Lisa settled into the copilot's seat and fastened her safety webbing. "Halthzor's no fool. Have you noticed he always picks on the farthest colonies that have been established for at least twenty years, that have almost no contact with Terra? He knows the Terran government would rather look the other way than potentially spark a war. If you want a gradual takeover, that's one of the ways to go about it."
"Yeah." Jason scowled at the control panel. "Let's hope we can do something to spoil their fun this time. I'd like to make them look like jackasses in front of the whole Sector, just like Bronson did when he rescued Alan and kidnapped the Viceroy on video." He turned his head at a low beep from the panel. "Sublight."
There was a jolt and the stars reappeared on the viewscreen. Ahead of them a planet floated, pale green and blue except for the polar caps which extended a third of the way from the poles to the equator. Balka was in the early stages of an ice age.
"There she is," Lisa said. "One point five Terran gravity, slightly higher oxygen content, one small satellite. The colony's on the larger continent, about a hundred miles inland, near a set of lakes about the size of Earth's Great Lakes. Plenty of wildlife, some of it dangerous, most of it not."
The planet grew swiftly in the viewscreens. Jason triggered the pre-programmed coordinates and sat back. "Okay, we'll come in through the southern aurora and stay low until we're close to the settlement. Half an hour. From what I can see, there's no sign of the Patrol. Yet."
"Not yet," Lisa agreed. "Let's hope we have time enough."
**********
Half an hour later, they disembarked from the little scout ship, leaving it parked beneath heavy greenery and spreading trees. Hopefully that, and its scanner-absorbent hull would be enough to conceal it from the Patrol scanners. Jason checked the compass on his wrist communicator. Like many colony worlds, Balka had no GPS satellites. They were an unnecessary luxury for a frontier colony on the edge of Terran space.
"Okay, honey, let's leg it. They can't be very far behind us."
They hurried toward the town, tearing their way through shrubbery and small trees. Lisa was dressed in work pants and a plaid shirt and Jason was similarly clad. Until they reached someone in authority, they had no desire to attract attention. Besides, if the Patrol showed up while they were here, it would be better to be mistaken for colonists.
The trees gave way suddenly to a narrow but well-beaten path. From then on their progress was more rapid. They trotted along the path, breathing hard. Jason glanced at his wife.
"How long do we have now?" he asked.
Lisa's strongest talent was precognition, although she possessed a smattering of other talents as well. Now she slowed to a walk, trying to catch her breath. "Not long. They'll be here soon."
Jason swore under his breath but maintained his steady walk for another minute to give them both time to recover their breath. Then he began to run.
Moments later, they rounded a bend in the path and came abruptly to the end of the trees. Tilled land spread out before them, and beyond it the buildings of a small town. Jason identified the inevitable general store, a church, the firehouse and the barber shop. Houses spread out away from the main cluster and he saw more fields of corn and grain, orchards stretching away on the eastern side, and animals grazing. The little town looked calm and sleepy in the morning light.
"Who do we look for?" Lisa panted.
"The sheriff's office, I guess. Come on."
They went briskly forward across a tilled field with its plants just beginning to poke their heads above the soil, toward the town. Smoke rose lazily from house chimneys and a young boy passed them, a dog running along beside him. The child glanced curiously at Jason and Lisa.
"H'lo!" he piped. "Who're you?"
Jason smiled. "Hi there! We're Jason and Lisa. Could you direct us to the sheriff's office?"
"Sure." The boy turned and pointed toward the town. "Little building, right next to the church. Is something wrong?"
Lisa glanced briefly at Jason and then back at the child. "Uh … little boy --"
"My name's Alan," he informed her. "I'm named after Alan Westover."
"Oh." Lisa gave him her best smile. "Look, Alan, there's going to be trouble here very soon. That's why we're here -- to warn the sheriff. You'd better head home right away."
"Why?" Alan asked. "What kind of trouble?"
"Bad trouble," Jason said. "The Patrol is coming." He threw a glance at Lisa. His wife was looking worried.
"We'd better hurry," she said.
They began to trot once more toward the town and the sheriff's office. Looking back, Jason saw that the boy and the dog were following them. Oh well; there was nothing they could do about it right now.
The sheriff's office was exactly where young Alan had said it would be. Jason opened the door and they stepped inside. A young man behind a narrow desk glanced up in surprise and stood up. "May I help you?"
Jason stopped before the desk, Lisa slightly to one side and behind him. She was breathing hard, and he heard her telepathic voice in his mind, speaking.
*You handle the talking. I'll take care of the backup.*
He acknowledged telepathically and looked straight at the Sheriff. "My name is Jason Miller, and this is my wife, Lisa. We have very serious news."
The Sheriff's eyebrows rose. "Oh?"
"The Viceregal Patrol is on its way here, sir. They've been ordered to execute the colony on the excuse that it's been infiltrated by the Terran Underground. Then the colony will be settled by the Jilectans, of course. The Jilectan colonists are already assembled and the preparation team is scheduled to arrive within days."
The Sheriff stared at them. "What are you saying? How do you know this?"
"We've been sent to warn you, unofficially," Jason said. "You need to spread the word as fast as you can. They'll be here in less than half an hour."
The Sheriff regarded them suspiciously. "Who are you? I can't just throw an announcement like that out without some kind of reliable source."
"Terran Underground," Jason said shortly. "Our superiors got the warning at the last minute. You may have only minutes to save your colony, Sheriff. The battlecruiser Dragon is only minutes behind us. It'll be here, soon."
The Sheriff stared at him. "You're from the Underground?"
"That's right. Are you going to spread the word or not?"
The Sheriff chewed his lower lip. "I don't want to panic people," he said. "Perhaps when the battlecruiser arrives I can talk to the Strike Commander -- tell him we'll leave peacefully if they just won't hurt anybody…"
"It won't work," Jason said, desperately. "We've seen this scenario before. They have their orders and they'll carry them out, no matter what you say. Now either do something or be responsible for the deaths of everybody in this colony."
"Jase!" Lisa said suddenly. "They're here!"
The Sheriff glanced uncertainly out the window. "Who's here? What does she mean?"
"The Dragon," Jason said. "They're landing." He glanced back at the Sheriff. "Where's the alarm system for the town? Quick!"
The Sheriff stared at him. "What are you going to do?"
"The fire station," Lisa said.
The Sheriff's jaw dropped. "She's a psychic! You're both psychics! Now just a second, you two --" His hand darted for his hip.
Lisa's blaster hummed and the Sheriff fell loosely to the floor. Together, the two psychics ran from the building.
The little boy they had encountered on their way was waiting for them, his eyes bright with curiosity. Jason turned to him. "Where's the fire station, Alan? Quick!"
He didn't question them. "I'll show you!" He turned and ran down the street.
It took them less than a minute to reach the building. Alan opened the door for them and they charged inside. The boy followed them.
A young man was straightening the room as they burst in and glanced up in surprise. Lisa looked frantically around.
"The general alarm!" she gasped. "Where is it?"
"Over there." The man pointed. "What the hell's going on?"
Jason ran toward it.
"Hey!" The man started after him. Lisa pulled her blaster from its shoulder holster under the checked cape she wore.
"Don't move," she warned. "The Patrol's coming. They'll be here in less than ten minutes to annihilate the colony and take possession of the planet. We've got to warn the citizens."
A loud whistle began to shriek as Jason triggered the alarm. The young fireman didn't appear to hear. "The Patrol! How do you know?"
"We're from the Terran Underground," Lisa said.
The man went stark white. "Let me go! I have to warn my family!"
Lisa nodded. "Go." She glanced at Alan. "You'd better go, too. Thanks for your help."
Alan nodded. "I'll spread the word."
"Good," Jason said. "Come on, Lisa."
They emerged from the firehouse. People were converging on them and questions were flung at the fireman and the boy. There was a babble of excited speech. Jason grasped Lisa's hand. "Let's get out of here."
"We've got to tell them!" Lisa said. "They might not believe one man and one little boy!"
"We can't! Somebody might get the idea of turning us in for their safety." He pulled her back toward the main street.
And then, from far away, but growing swiftly nearer, came the roar of the descending battlecruiser.
**********
tbc
