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Seattle studied the grim faces of the other fourteen occupants of the shuttle van. Faces too young, too innocent, too full of life to be so grim, so focused and so intense.
Each one in the van held a stun-beam in his hands and carried a stunwand strapped to their side. Half of them also carried backpacks filled with plastic explosives. The oldest one, besides Seattle, was seventeen; the youngest was Tinker at age twelve.
Up to the very last minute, Seattle had resisted allowing Tinker to come, but despite her reservations, she knew Tinker's knowledge was simply too vital to the mission. He had to be here, but she didn't have to like it.
Actually, if it were left up to her likes, none of them would be on their way to overthrow a Sleeper Station. The action would bring the Lion's Family into immediate public awareness and would result in a large bounty being placed on each of their heads. The fate of the entire family and what they were out to accomplish rode on this mission. No, as far as what she would like, she would much prefer having everyone stay hidden in the safe and secure underground passages of the Pipes where no one would pay them any attention and where they could stay warm, and close, and cozy.
The message they had received from Jason had been almost too much to believe. Although not all the pieces were in place yet, the evidence seemed irrefutable, and it all started to make sense. Earth had been under the domination of another race for hundreds of years with almost no one's knowledge.
This mission would end all of that if it were successful. A big if, Seattle thought, still studying her troops. Fourteen children and two adults against an entire civilization that had ruled Earth for hundreds of years. About the only thing they had going for them, as far as Seattle could see, was the element of surprise. She prayed that the hundreds of years of domination had lulled the aliens into complacency. That they would be asleep to any threat and that Seattle and her small band could attack with such force and with such speed that they could destroy the central portal system and cut off the aliens that were here from the rest of their world.
If not, these young faces would simply be additional fodder for a hungry alien world.
Wompun craned his neck around from the driver's seat. "We're almost there. I can see the Sleeper Station up ahead. Everything appears quiet."
Seattle nodded and gave Wompun a smile she did not feel. She turned to the two rows of children. What could she say at a moment like this? Every one of them knew that one day their mission in life might come down to this, but even during the months and months of training, it had appeared unreal—more an activity to pass the time.
There was no question the moment was here, and the future of millions of lives rested on these small shoulders.
Seattle could think of only one thing to say. "Follow orders, move swiftly, and know at every moment how much I love you."
––––––––
CARMIEL STARED DOWN at the gray coffin and the hinges of the trapdoor. There was no question that someone had infiltrated to the lower levels and had done so intentionally. The coffin was a customized job. He felt a growing pain in the pit of his stomach.
He had been the Archangel for less than two weeks and already one of the worst disasters of all time loomed before him. No other human besides the previous Archangels had ever been down here before, at least not alive. Even the few other ULC officials who knew of the aliens had never actually seen one. Only the three Archbishops who served under the Archangel even knew these passages existed.
How could someone from the surface have found out about this? Not since the close call with Jessie had anyone even suspected that such a conspiracy existed. Jessie. Her memory struck an uncomfortable chord in Carmiel's mind. Had she somehow kept her secret alive through all these years? It wasn't possible, was it?
But the evidence was right here in front of him. Someone knew. And if he had to guess who might have the means to figure all this out, only one name came to mind—Jason Joval.
Despite the dilemma he was now in because of Jason, Carmiel couldn't help but feel a momentary touch of pride. After all, Jason was his son as well as Jessie's. Misguided as Jason was, he was proving to be a most formidable opponent. It was unfortunate that Carmiel would have to have him killed.
"Are there any more of these?" He spoke into the translator, then paused for the high-pitched, nasal sound of his translation. Carmiel turned to the guard who made the discovery and made it a point to avoid Rengal's angry stare.
"This is the only one, thus far. I have most of my crew searching the area right now."
"It's no problem," Carmiel said, turning to Rengal and speaking with more assurance than he felt. "What can one lone intruder hope to accomplish? I'll notify all Stations to be on the lookout for him, and I'll let you know as soon as he is apprehended."
"We have never had an intruder – never!" Rengal shouted back. Carmiel didn't need to wait for the translation to know the gist of the statement. "It will go on your record, and unfortunately mine as well. I'm holding you completely responsible for this matter. You find this intruder, and you find him quickly. I want him alive, is that understood? Whoever it is, he doubtless has accomplices. This must be stopped right now."
Carmiel nodded, but didn't bother to say anything. He'd already learned in these first two weeks that the less said to Rengal, the better. His job as Archangel of the ULC was to keep the status quo, which meant keeping Rengal calm and passive. His training for this position had taught him that, as bad as the situation was, it was the best of the options available. Rengal's race wouldn't hesitate to annihilate the entire planet if humans became more trouble than they were worth.
In his younger days, Carmiel had prayed that it might someday be different. That one day, if he ever reached the office of Archangel, he would find a way to change the way it was. But through the years he had grown more hopeless. Now he rarely prayed for anything. Mostly he prayed that things wouldn't grow worse.
Glancing at the coffin one final time, he observed that even that simple prayer had not been answered. He turned and followed Rengal to the private shuttle that would take them back to the central offices. It would be easier to monitor the search from there. Once he was back in his office, he would send out a general alert to the Sleeper Stations, just to be on the safe side.
––––––––
SEATTLE AND THE CHILDREN entered the Sleeper Station in two groups, the first led by Seattle and the second by Wompun. They entered at the public viewing area, where the general public could come and watch a friend's final passage into the fires of the crematorium.
As Seattle watched the line of coffins disappear into the blue flames, it was hard for her to believe that they would come out the other end still intact. It's a good illusion, she thought. Good enough to fool an entire civilization. It took a fluke accident to uncover it.
She waited until the last viewer left the room before she signaled to Cinder to block the door. Cinder hung a sign indicating the viewing area was closed for maintenance, then bolted it shut from the inside.
As soon as the door was locked, her troops moved into action. Tinker attached a small pack of plastic explosive to the door that separated the public area from the rest of the Sleeper Station. As soon as the door was blown, the children swept through it. One team went straight to the computer and communication room, where they found three startled attendants who were quickly overwhelmed before they could get any message out.
In less than ten minutes, the Sleeper Station was in their hands.
"We need to find a way to turn those burners off," Seattle said.
Tinker nodded. "No problem. We'll have them off in just a few minutes." True to his word, less than five minutes later, the burners flickered a couple of times and then went off.
"Okay. We've got to move quickly. There's no telling whether the lower levels have any clue what is going on here, but if they call up and don't get a response, they'll get suspicious.
I want two of you in each coffin. Lower the lid, but keep it cracked open a bit. I'll go in the first one. Tinker, you'll come with me. Everyone else, keep your eyes on me or the coffin ahead of you. When I open the lid, be ready to do the same. Remember, our only advantage is to move quickly and with certainty. Ready?"
Everyone nodded and moved quickly to the line of coffins. They pulled several coffins off the line and pried them open. The next few minutes were gruesome as each coffin had to be emptied of its cargo. Despite the fact that most of the children had never seen a dead body, no one flinched. There just wasn't time for any queasy stomachs.
As each empty coffin was put back on the line, two children climbed into each one and lowered the lid. Then the most difficult part came—waiting and wondering what they would find at the end of the line.
––––––––
JASON FOUND A STORAGE area to hide in where he could still keep an eye on the main room. He spent part of his time counting the number of coffins that went through one of the portals, then calculated the number of human carcasses that were being supplied to the other world every hour. The number was staggering.
They truly have this down to a science, Jason thought, as he continued to watch for Carmiel's return or for any sign of Seattle and her troops. This isn't even the peak season, he remembered. If Tinker's calculations were accurate, in a couple of weeks, this place would be even busier. He noticed that not all the portal lines were currently being used. No doubt the spare lines would come into service to handle the increase.
But, if he had any say in the matter, those extra lines would never come online. He was here to shut them all down. Every one of them. Then what would happen? The question stunned Jason. How would human society adjust to such a radical change after so long? Every fabric of society would be stripped. No more life credits, no more Lottery, no more mandatory sentence of how long you had to live on the planet.
But what will we do with all the people? Jason realized he had never stopped to consider this. If the family were successful in shutting down Earth as a food plant for the mantis race, it would throw society into chaos. Could humankind survive on its own after so long under another's rule? Maybe, maybe not, Jason realized. But whether they did or not, humankind would be shaping its own destiny. And who knew what was possible from that? Perhaps it's our turn to reach for the stars.
Jason suddenly looked at the portal system in a new light. It was the weak link in the whole production line. The portal had to be taken out of the alien's control, but if it were destroyed, mankind's greatest opportunity to travel to the stars would be destroyed as well.
But what if the power supply could be interrupted without the entire system being destroyed? In that case, some day, maybe when humankind was ready, they could reconnect the system and re-introduce themselves to the rest of the galaxy. It was a dangerous thought, Jason realized, but he remembered back to Tinker's novel. The stars were a part of man's destiny. He would not allow himself to become known as the person who had shut and locked that door forever. They had to find a way to disable the portals without destroying them entirely.
Jason was still contemplating their choices when he noticed the smaller transport shuttle returning with Carmiel and the purple-robed mantis. As the two of them stepped out of the shuttle, it was apparent that they were arguing about something. Although Jason could hear their voices, he couldn't make out any of the words. Then he noticed Carmiel was speaking into a small apparatus that hung suspended around his neck and realized he was listening to a conversation in the alien's language.
I wonder what all the yelling is about. Seeing the two officials arguing made Jason uncomfortable. He would prefer everything stay quiet and the status quo. Anything other than that would suggest trouble was brewing. At the same time, if there was unrest in the ranks, there might be a way for him to capitalize on it.
As Jason watched from his vantage point, the purple-clad alien stomped off, leaving Carmiel still standing a few yards from the shuttle. Carmiel stood there several seconds looking around. It gave Jason the uncomfortable feeling that Carmiel was looking for something. Or someone.
He knows I'm here, Jason thought. Somehow he knows I've infiltrated his domain. But how was that possible? Had Seattle been captured? Had someone from the surface found out what they were doing? The image of the coffin lying there in the line of others with the trapdoor open flashed in Jason's mind. Shit! He'd forgotten to close the damn door. It was a sure giveaway.
As Jason watched, Carmiel motioned to several of the guards. They circled around Carmiel for several seconds, then suddenly scurried off in different directions. They've organized a search for me, Jason thought. I've got to find somewhere to hide until Seattle gets here, and that better be quick. Their advantage of surprise was now dangerously jeopardized, and it was going to take bold, swift action to pull their plan off.
Jason waited for an opportunity to slip out of the way and look for a better hiding spot. As he waited, it occurred to him that if Carmiel knew he was around, it also put Seattle's group in danger. They might already be walking into a trap, and if not yet, it wouldn't take long for Carmiel to organize one. Somehow, he had to create a diversion. Something that would keep Carmiel's attention, at least long enough to give Seattle a little time.
There was only one thing to do. He had to capture Carmiel and hold him long enough to give Seattle a chance to get here with the explosives. As he made his decision, he noticed Carmiel walking away from the group of guards and heading straight for where he was hiding.
He's coming here to send a message to the surface. Jason smiled, as he pulled his stunwand out. It's about time we had another father and son talk. Jason closed the door, turned the lights down and waited for Carmiel's arrival.