Chrome Symphony - Chapter 4

Dr. Camay Thameh reviewed the shipping schedule in her office. She traced the users who had entered data and checked the time stamps on everything scheduled in the past week.

The shuttle leaving today with the fuel shipment was actually at NEA726 two days ago, she thought. It departed from Earth around noon, docked at the asteroid on time, and then returned to the colony.

"How could I have missed that," she said to herself. Camay still occupied her proxy android at her desk but her mind was inside the colony's local network. "Dr. Heimborem was in EMA's captivity at the time."

She called Duncan.

"Mr. Sorenson," she said, "We've decided not to have a pilot operate the shuttle."

"Oh?" replied Duncan, sounding a bit worried.

"I'm going to operate the shuttle remotely. I'll have a comprehensive view of the security systems on the asteroid, so I'll be able to give you real time backup once you're inside... as long as they don't jam communications," said Camay.

"Much appreciated," said Duncan. "Every little bit helps, especially when it doesn't involve further risk to any lives."

Camay sent Duncan a map of the colony's dock, with the location of the cargo shuttle marked. She quietly laughed, knowing that he and Shell had likely already hacked around and obtained the information on their own.

"As you and I discussed yesterday, Dr. Heimborem arranged a concert by Eclair Antares. Their guys are expecting to welcome Eclair when the shuttle arrives but the rest of you need to stay hidden until the concert," said Camay.

"What?" snapped Duncan. "I thought the whole concert thing was a joke!"

"The Herei Mob staff won't think it's a joke if they don't get some entertainment on that drab rock. Eclair is expected to rock and not be drab," Camay replied, making it clear that she wasn't kidding, despite the pun.

"Is this really necessary," asked Duncan.

"Once the cargo shuttle is docked, if the guards don't have a distraction to end all distractions, they're going to search the shuttle, unload their stuff, and immediately send it out. You won't have an opportunity to exit the shuttle unless the concert pulls all of the guards away from the docking area."

"No time to even rehearse, then," muttered Duncan.

"The music is pre-recorded. You all just have to fake it. Their auditorium already has instruments and Eclair... I mean, Sophia, or whatever name she goes by... she'll immediately recognize the tune and know what to sing," said Camay.

"So, Eclair starts the concert by greeting her fans, then we have to high-tail it backstage as soon as the dock is free of guards, then after the concert...?" Duncan asked.

"Then the rest is up to all of you."

"I really don't like just being a distraction, even if it's probably the easiest approach," Elise said and sighed. "Doesn't mean I won't do it, though. It better not be stuff from her newest album. I wasn't involved in that one."

Dr. Thameh nodded. "We can certainly work around that."

"Good," Elise said. "I might be able to work a few surprises into some of the act, too." She looked around at the others, taking a few moments to study each of them.

"Okay," she finally said. "I'm not one for inspiring speeches, so I'm not going to make one. We're going to be pretty much alone and without support, and it's going to be a hell of a risky plan. So, first off, I can certainly provide a diversion. Any luck and I can at least get one of you guys on with me. Second, if you do wander around where the guards can see you, keep your gear hidden. I'll drag mine along in a suitcase; any luck and they won't think it odd that I take some costumes with me. And if they do try to search my stuff..." She shrugs. "We might have to start improvising earlier than planned."

"Let's hope they don't do that," Jess said, obviously nervous with her father's life on the line.

"No kidding," Elise continued. "I'll try to get everyone I can into some sort of makeshift auditorium, and leave your with a skeleton crew to deal with in the meantime. If you need to take someone down, try to do it quietly." She looked at the two hackers. "If either of your two can lock everyone in whatever ends up my performance space, that should buy a little more time, too."

"Would that be dangerous," Duncan asked. "That's probably a lot of fans to deal with."

"I've dealt with rough fans before. And as much as I'd want to joke about them being locked in with me, I'd really appreciate it if I had a way to get back out if s*** hits the fan."

She paused again. "So, that's about it for what I can think of. Stay quiet, stay careful, bulls*** a reason to be there if you have to. Oh yeah, and if anyone can steal some intel on what the hell they're even doing on that rock, it'll probably be valuable to somebody. Let's go."

Camay led everyone to the cargo shuttle docks and brought them inside.

Duncan looked around the interior of the shuttle. "There are plenty of places to hide in here," he commented. "I guess, if they are expecting Eclair to arrive, Elise should greet the crew and the rest of us should stay hidden until right before the concert starts."

The shuttle doors closed. As the docking area depressurized, the cargo shuttle detached from the docking apparatus and slowly departed from the colony into space.

"Just like the good old days," chuckled Renk. It was obvious that he was used to missions like this. Atlas checked his gear while Shell and Duncan reviewed the data for the asteroid, including the maps that Shell had made earlier.

"After Elise exits, I'll jam the dock security cameras," said Duncan. "We'll have a narrow window of opportunity before they noticed the cameras are jammed, so we'll have to move very quickly."

After a while, the asteroid came within view. Its orbit brought it into reasonable proximity to the colony. The cargo shuttle approached the asteroid and slowed down as it came near a large manufacturing facility on its surface.

There was some uncomfortable tugging in various directions as the artificial gravity on the shuttle adapted to the gravity of the asteroid and then again as it changed to the artificial gravity of the facility. The shuttle glided into the docking area and landed.

Everyone else got inside some shipping containers while Elise stood in front of the shuttle's cargo doors as they opened.

The guards ran up to the shuttle with their guns at the ready. At first, it appeared as if they were about to attack.

One of the guards shouted, "Miss Antares! We're honored by your presence here! I love your music!"

Another guard squealed, "I have all of your albums! Would you sign one of them?"

Elise signed the guard's album and smiled. She pulled along a couple of suitcases as the guards escorted her to a backstage dressing room and left her alone to prepare.

Shortly after Elise left the shuttle, Duncan accessed the security cameras for the dock and jammed them. Looking at the map, he chose a path that would take them through some of the back hallways, toward the backstage area of the auditorium.

"Stay sharp, folks," whispered Duncan. Atlas, Renk, Jess, Shell, and Duncan carefully sneaked out of the shuttle and ran into the narrow hallway.

Shell checked the map.

"Those of us who are going to help with the concert should get back stage now," whispered Shell.

Watching carefully for guards, Shell, Jess, Duncan, Renk, and Atlas quickly walked into the backstage area. Elise emerged from the dressing room in her performance outfit, giving a "the coast is clear" gesture and led the group onstage, behind the back curtain.

Renk started setting up a drum kit. Atlas picked up a bass guitar and started tuning it. Duncan walked over to a rack of synths and inspected the piano.

Jess walked over to Atlas and opened his backpack. "Hey!" Atlas shrieked, confused as to what she was doing.

Jess pulled out a pair of Groucho Marx glasses and put them on. Atlas turned around, looked at her, and stifled a laugh the best he could. Shell began to chuckle. She couldn't believe that Jess bothered to save those from earlier.

"I know, I know but if I don't put on something they're going to recognize me and blow this whole act," hissed Jess.

Shell nodded. "Better than nothing," she whispered.

The excited Herei Mob Army staff started to gather in the auditorium. Shell peeked around the curtain, seeing a few hundred men and women gathering and taking their seats. It struck her odd that a terrorist organization would have such ordinary looking people in its membership. By all appearances, this was like any other small concert's crowd.

The asteroid base was, after all, like a small city. Shell knew from the maps that there were various businesses set up on the asteroid to support its semi-permanent population. Most of the people in the crowd were, however, dressed in guard uniforms, so they had their target audience right where they wanted them.

The house lights dimmed. The stage lights came on. Everyone prepared to play along with the pre-recorded music as Elise, known to the crowd as Eclair Antares, walked to the front of the stage and grabbed the microphone.

It was showtime.

Jess picked up the guitar as the curtain lifted. Elise greeted the cheering audience as the blinding stage lights lit the group.

Some people in the crowd laughed when they saw Jess take the stage, wearing her goofy disguise. As expected, they thought it was all part of the act.

"Yeah, yeah, you schmucks..." grumbled Jess, under her breath.

Renk smacked his drumsticks together as the beat started. The pre-recorded music began to play and Jess began strumming along with the chords. Duncan, Atlas, and Shell began to fake it along with the music.

Elise's demeanor change was startling to Jess. The hardened, professional criminal had become a bubbly, friendly idol on stage as she sang the lyrics to the song.

Halfway through the first song, Jess began communicating with the rest of the group through nonverbal cues. They had decided that the first song would be a band performance while the second song would be a typical idol performance without the band. This would allow the group to be in the area with reduced suspicion if they were seen by the guards backstage or in the hallway.

Jess turned up the volume on her guitar amp and played an actual guitar solo during the song's bridge. She hadn't been in the mood to goof around, considering what was at stake, but she decided that anything worth doing was worth doing right. After her guitar solo, Elise continued to sing until the first song was over. Shell apparently recognized the song and sang backup vocals.

After the song, Elise started her second song as the stage lights went down and the spotlight focused on Elise. Everyone else was able to quietly leave the stage during her performance and they met out in the hallway, by the dressing room door.

"Okay, Duncan and Shell, can you lock all of the doors to the auditorium, so no one can get in or out?" asked Jess.

Duncan and Shell nodded. "They're all sealed shut," replied Duncan. "No one can open them from either side," added Shell.

"Good, good," replied Jess, keeping her voice just barely above the music.

Jess rummaged around in Atlas's backpack and took out a handful of smoke grenades. A couple of them were flash-bang grenades but she hadn't quite noticed. She gently grabbed Atlas's arm. "Let's do this," she whispered to him.

Atlas and Jess opened the backstage door, which was the only one not remotely locked by Duncan and Shell. At Elise finished singing, they darted back to the rear part of the stage, keeping behind the side curtains. Elise saw them and she nodded back at them, giving them their cue.

Loud feedback suddenly squealed from the PA system, startling Jess. She automatically unsheathed her sword and swung it around, as a matter of reflex. Her sword slashed a couple of pipes on the wall. Jess thought there was a strange odor coming from them but, given that she didn't have much time, didn't bother to investigate the damage she had done.

Elise bowed to the audience as they cheered wildly. On this cue, Atlas and Jess quickly chucked several smoke grenades in the crowd. They exploded into thick clouds of black smoke that rapidly filled the entire auditorium. The strange odor that Jess had smelled earlier became far more intense. It's probably from the smoke grenades, she thought.

Atlas ran over to Jess. "What the hell is that weird stink," he asked her. "Smoke grenades aren't supposed to smell like that."

Elise motioned the two of them back toward the door. "We have to get out, now!" yelled Elise.

Jess chucked a few more smoke grenades into the crowd but a couple of them made a very loud sound and flashed brightly in the smoke-filled seating area. The crowd began to panic and the guards drew their weapons.

The odor in the auditorium became unbearable as Jess, Atlas, and Elise ran out the back door.

Duncan sent a locking code through the network and the automatic bolt on the backstage door kerchunked loudly as it locked.

The group had successfully trapped the facility guards and security staff in the auditorium and made haste down the hallway toward the dressing room. After unpacking the luggage cases that Elise had brought in, everyone donned their equipment and rushed further down the hallway to a stairwell.

A few floors down the stairwell, a deafening explosion rang out. The entire building shook as if a large magnitude quake had shaken the asteroid.

"What the HELL was THAT?!" shouted Jess, frightened by the unexpected blast. Her right eye widened in fear as she tried to figure out the direction from which the explosion came. The power flickered and the emergency lights came on.

"We have to keep moving," said Renk. "There's no time to investigate."