Casserine by Bernard Lee DeLeo Read Free Book Online Page A

can.”
    Jake put on his helmet, and with a little wave back at Adrian, he went out into the Casserine darkness. Resetting his vision to low light, he retraced his path back to where he had left the bulky launcher. He checked the power pack on it, and then set it upright against the outcropping he had hidden behind to wait for the pirate cruiser.
    Taking his time, and stopping every hundred yards or so, he traveled to within sight of the storage area. Jake switched the viewer on his helmet lens for distance. After making sure none of the pirates were wandering around outside, he closed to within fifty yards of the storage area. They had left the hatch open, and Jake could only see darkness beyond the entrance.
    He then traversed the pathway leading to their living quarters. He saw the lights through the windowed structure. Jake could see the fuel thieves clearly. He smiled knowingly. Every one of them within his sight was laid out. An idea formed in his head, which he chuckled at, as he thought of what Adrian’s reaction would be to it.
    Jake went back to where he had left the MAG50, and then returned to the solid fuel storage area. He went inside and buzzed the living quarters. He kept buzzing for a few minutes, as he imagined one of them crawling over to the communications counsel.
    “Who is this?” A gruff voice demanded.
    “Jake Matthews, Captain of Marines, and you would be?”
    “Never mind who I am, wise ass. What the hell did you do to myship?”
    “MAG50”
    “Shit,” the man exclaimed in fury. “We’re going to cut you up into little pieces for that, you prick.”
    “You couldn’t cut your fingernails in this gravity. If you have any brains at all, you will listen closely to a deal I have worked up.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “You and your buds there just enjoy your stay in my living quarters, and I will call down a Force Cruiser to pick you up. I’ll see if I can get you a reduced sentence if all of you cooperate.”
    “No way in hell are we going to Tannengate Penal Colony. We’ll blow this planet up before we take a deal like that.”
    “You couldn’t blow your nose from where you are. I’m in solid fuels right now, and I have the MAG50 with me. I can vaporize the living quarters if you all don’t come along quietly. If I see even one of you slow motion toads move towards the entrance, I’ll turn the living quarters into the same shape your ship’s in. Now, how about it, Brainiac?”
    “Damn it,” the man hissed. “I know you guys from base don’t execute people. You wouldn’t fire on the living quarters.”
    “I served on Omaha mining colony during the Bug war there. You little weenies would do well not to trust in my generous nature. Talk it over with your friends. I’ll call you back in fifteen minutes. Remember, I have the MAG50 trained on you.”
    “I’ll tell ‘em.”
    As soon as Jake heard him disconnect, he grabbed up a portable unit and headed for a position where he had a clear shot at the living quarters. He set up the MAG50 on its portable base, and zeroed in on his target. Jake saw a couple of them moving a little; but even news of going to Tannengate probably seemed preferable to Casserine’s gravity, and then death. He called at the appointed time.
    “What guarantees do we have you won’t let them kill us all when the Force Cruiser gets here?”
    “My word, and the fact I could kill you all right now.”
    There was a lengthy pause. “Okay, what do you want us to do?”
    “Stay put,” Jake ordered. “I’ll have my assistant call the base. When they get here I will need you all to come out of there with hands up or on all fours. Leave everything you have inside. Are we clear.”
    ‘Tea, I understand.”
    “Okay then, relax until I contact you again.”
    The man grunted out his acknowledgment and hung up.
    Jake called the refuge. A few minutes passed there, and Jake imagined happily a hobbled Adrian hopping over to the communicator.
    “Jake?” Adrian asked