by Ben Wolf
As Sever finished speaking, the asset emerged from the armory door and stood before Commander Falstaff, who gawked at the sight.
“Commander, meet the newest soldier under your command. His name is Vesh.”
Vesh stood close to seven feet tall. His violet skin was translucent enough to show off his dark, bulging veins, and he had raven-black hair, slicked back. His eyes were black like the void of space, yet they somehow shined like twin blazing stars. Layers upon layers of muscle sheathed his body, and he wore a perpetual scowl on his half-tattooed face.
“What in God’s name…?” Falstaff managed to say.
“I assure you, God has nothing to do with it,” Sever said.
Vesh wore special black-and-blue armor across his chest and midsection, and it wrapped around his back. It also covered his legs but left his arms bare, and he wore no helmet.
Rather than a standard-issue pulse rifle, Sever had granted Vesh access to his private armory, and he’d rightfully selected a handheld rapid-fire pulse cannon. It was meant to be wielded with two hands and a torso harness due to its weight, but Vesh held it solely in his right hand as if it weighed nothing.
“Several months back, we received a specialized pod containing Vesh, who has been in an induced hibernation for close to a full year,” Sever explained. “The contents of that pod were a strict company secret, one I had to conceal from everyone but Captain Gable, whose rank and clearance authorized him to know about it.
“Vesh is a prototype soldier created at Andridge’s secret genetic engineering facility on a small moon in the Zhevalia System. While he has had extensive training, he has never seen real combat or performed in any real mission. We have been granted the opportunity to field-test him, so to speak.”
Falstaff blinked. “Aye… Admiral.”
“Have no fear, Commander,” Sever continued. “He is perfectly loyal, capable, and effective… or at least that’s what corporate has assured me. You have only to set him loose in the city and allow him to do his work. He will help root out our quarry, or aid you in suppressing insurgents, or do whatever you command him to do.”
Falstaff straightened his back. He was fairly tall, but no matter how much he straightened his spine, Vesh still dwarfed him and always would.
“Very well, Admiral,” he said. “Thank you for the additional help.”
“Use him to end this quickly so we can be on our way. When we retrieve what we came for, we will deal with the cleanup and then promptly return to the core Coalition planets to pass off what we’ve found to them, along with Vesh.”
“Aye, sir.” Falstaff nodded to Sever and then looked at Vesh again. “Follow me, soldier.”
“Commander,” Sever said as Vesh thumped across the room and took his place at Falstaff’s side, “do not squander this resource. I’m told he is capable of things you couldn’t even imagine. Use him wisely.”
“Aye, sir,” Falstaff repeated. Then he turned and left, and Vesh followed him.
Sever grinned again, and he closed the armory door via the screen mounted next to it. Wherever the crew of that science vessel was hiding, Vesh would find them. Of that, Sever had no doubt.
“Hey,” Hallie said from the kitchen door.
Justin turned away from the refrigeration unit and looked at her. Damn, she looked good.
“Hey!” He cleared his throat and made his voice deeper. “I mean, hey.”
[Nice save, JB,] Keontae quipped.
She giggled. “A little excited?”
“More hungry than excited.” He held up a Plastrex package of sliced roast beef. “You think this is real beef or the stuff they grow in labs?”
Hallie headed in closer, her arms crossed and hands tucked into the extra-long sleeves of her shirt. “The stuff they grow in labs is real beef. They grow it from the cells of prime eatin’ cows. There’s nothing artificial about it.”
“Did you just say ‘prime eatin’ cows?’” Justin chuckled at her.
“Well, if they’re not called that, then what do you call them?” she pushed back. “Dairy cows produce milk for dairy products, so that’s not accurate.”
Justin thought about it, but he couldn’t think of the term either. “I got nothin’.”
“I figured. Make me a sandwich, too?” she asked.
[Oooh. That’s a good sign. Work your mojo, son.]
Justin wished he’d made Keontae head into the house’s security system for the night, but he hadn’t. Now would’ve been the perfect chance for some actual alone time.
“Sure.” Justin set the package of roast beef on the kitchen island’s granite countertop. A package of cheddar cheese lay nearby, along with the bread and mayonnaise. The tomatoes and lettuce were still in the sink. He’d already rinsed them off.
Truth be told, he didn’t even like making sandwiches. For all the trouble it took to make one, the end result was pretty much always lackluster, at best. But he didn’t feel like trying to figure out how to cook anything in this fancy kitchen, and he didn’t want to make a huge mess and have to clean it up.
Plus, now that Hallie was there to keep him company, maybe he might actually enjoy making sandwiches for once.
Justin pulled out four slices of bread and set them on the counter.
“Want plates?” Hallie asked.
“Uh… yeah. I didn’t want to go digging for anything and be noisy while people are trying to rest.”
Hallie retrieved two ornately painted ceramic plates from one of the cabinets and set them on the countertop.
“What brings you to this ‘valley of plenty’ at such a late hour?” Justin asked as he laid the bread out on the plates and popped open the package of roast beef.
Everyone else had decided to call it a night early since they didn’t know when they’d next get a chance to rest. That is, everyone except Bryant and Arlie, both of whom had insisted on keeping watch in addition to relying on the house’s security system. Captain Marlowe was due to switch out with Arlie in a few hours after he’d gotten some sleep.
“I wanted to catch up with you,” she said. “We missed our dinner date because of the invasion, so this is a makeup date.”
“How romantic.”
[I like the way this girl thinks. She’s makin’ it easy for you.]
Hallie leaned on the counter with her elbows and rested her chin on her hands, which were still covered by her extra-long sleeves. “I don’t think we’re quite at the romance stage yet, stalker.”
“And we won’t be as long as you keep calling me that.” Justin plopped a generous helping of roast beef on the first sandwich and then matched it on the second. Hallie didn’t say anything, so he assumed he was doing well.
“Does it bother you?” she asked.
“I mean, I deserve it. I definitely was stalking you.” Justin opened the package of cheddar cheese.
[Damn right you were.]
Justin gritted his teeth and ignored Keontae’s extra commentary. He added a slice of cheese to each sandwich. “But we need to move past that at some point, don’t you think?”
“That depends.” Hallie straightened up, her fabric-covered palms flat on the countertop. “Are you going to keep stalking me?”
“Of course not.” Justin sealed up the cheese and the roast beef and tossed both to the other side of the counter.
“Yet I find you here, in my rented house, eating my food.”
[She’s got a point.]
Whose side are you on? Justin wanted to say it aloud, because Keontae couldn’t read his thoughts, but Justin restrained himself. Instead he refocused on Hallie.
“I mean… there are only two things I can say in my defense…” he began, “and at least one of them is true.”
“Alright.” Hallie nodded, feigning extreme interest. “Please go on.”
“First of all, after the invasion, we had nowhere else to go. Literally, we were on our own and had no other options.”
“Mhmm.” She nodded with exaggerated concern on her face.
“Second… cutting board?”
“What?”
“For the tomato. It’s not the second thing. I just need a cutting board and a knife.”
“Ah.” Hallie abandoned her post at the end of the counter and dug out a Plastrex cutting board and a sharp carving knife for Justin.
He set to work on cutting the tomato, and its red juices briefly reminded him of some of the carnage he’d seen back at ACM-1134. When the little green seeds popped out the side of the tomato, he thought they looked like guts.
Morbid imagery, but easy enough to push away. He kept slicing.
“Second,” Justin continued, “you’re irresistible.”
“Oh.” Hallie’s posture straightened. “Am I?”
“Completely and absolutely,” Justin confirmed.
Hallie tilted her head and smiled. “While I appreciate the compliment, that’s exactly the type of thing a stalker would say.”
“Or someone with eyes. You know… basically everyone,” Justin said. “Hell, I’d bet blind people even know you’re gorgeous when you walk by.”
[Nice line. Did I teach you that one?]
Justin considered it. Actually, Keontae might’ve said that one first. Justin could hear his telltale deep voice saying it in some distant memory.
“Uh-huh.” Hallie folded her arms and leaned up against the refrigeration unit, now much closer to him than she’d been since they’d arrived at the house that afternoon. “So let me get this straight: you came here because you had nowhere else to go and because I’m irresistible?”
“Yep.” Justin added a slice of tomato onto both sandwiches and then moved on to the lettuce.
“So which of them is true?” she asked.
“Hm? Oh. Right.” Justin pretended to have to think about it. “Tough choice, but… they both are, I suppose.”
“You’re not sure?”
“Not sure that we had nowhere else to go? Yeah. We probably could’ve found somewhere else if we’d looked a bit harder. As for you being irresistible, though… that one is definitely true.” As Hallie’s cheeks turned tomato red, Justin held up the mayonnaise jar. “Mayo?”
“Are you having some?” she asked, still red.
“Yeah.”
“Then go for it.”
Two identical sandwiches. At least she was easy to please.
[You’re just gonna leave it there? Bro, you got ’er on the hook. Reel ’er in!]
“Easy,” Justin muttered.
“What?” Hallie asked.
“Huh?” Justin looked up at her. “Oh. Nothing. Just making sure I don’t put too much mayo on the sandwich.”
“You’re weird,” Hallie said.
“And your…” Justin crowned the sandwich with the other piece of bread and picked up Hallie’s plate. He held it out for her. “…sandwich is ready.”
“Thanks.” She shook her head. “But I’m not hungry.”
Justin’s sense of satisfaction at having nailed that sandwich fizzled to nothing. Why the hell had he just made a sandwich for her if she wasn’t going to eat it?
“I figured you’d want two.”
Justin looked down at her sandwich and then back at his, which still sat on its plate on the counter. Actually, he did want both.
“Well… alright.” He set her plate next to his and picked up her sandwich first.
But before he could take a bite, Hallie was there with her hand on his chest, freezing him still, looking up at him with those light-blue eyes with rings of green around her irises.
Justin’s mind went blank. He couldn’t move. Had she somehow stunned him again, like she had in the street?
No… he was still standing. Still holding the sandwich in the air, too.
She was up on her tippy-toes, leaning in toward him, her lips getting closer and closer to his.
Was this actually happening?
[What the hell are you waitin’ for?] Keontae shouted at him.
He was right. This was Justin’s chance. He leaned in, too, ready to kiss her.
And then, as their lips were about to meet, she turned her head away and bit down hard on the sandwich in his hand.
When she faced him again, it was with a mouthful of sandwich, which she was chewing with one hand covering her mouth.
Justin just stared at her in disbelief.
[What the hell just happened?] Keontae’s question was the same as Justin’s.
“Sorry,” she said amid her chewing. “Changed my mind. It just looked so delicious.”
Justin exhaled a quiet, tense breath to chill his heated blood. His voice flat, he said, “No problem.”
“Ohhhh. Sorry!” She swallowed her bite of sandwich, and her eyes widened. “Did you think…?”
Justin frowned. She was toying with him.
But maybe he deserved it.
He sighed and lifted the sandwich to his mouth.
[Damn. Maybe next time, JB.]
Again, Hallie stopped him from taking a bite. She blocked his hand with her wrist, leaned into him, and kissed him full on his lips.
She tasted like sunshine—and a roast beef sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cheddar, and mayo. But Justin could’ve stayed in that moment all day.
[Oh, FUCK YEAH!] Keontae let out a whoop. [My man finally scored! Look at you!]
Hallie ended the kiss less than two seconds after it had started, leaving the inside of Justin’s chest a flurry of dragon riders at war.
[What? Why’d she stop?]
“Have to be brief,” she said. “That way, you’ll want more.”
“Huh?” He gawked at her. Why couldn’t he have more now?
“That way, you’ll survive your asinine plan and come back to me,” she added.
[Put that sandwich down already. You look like a damn fool.]
Justin set it on the plate and looked back at Hallie, still trying to process what had just happened. The girl sure knew how to mess him up in the head.
“You don’t think it’ll work?” he asked.
She shrugged and leaned against the refrigeration unit again. “It might. But it’s so risky. Anything could go wrong.”
“I think it’s our only shot,” he said.
“I know. And I hate to agree with you, at least about this, but I think you’re right.”
“But you’re… looking forward to me coming back?”
“If it works, I definitely want to see you again,” she said. “Yes.”
“I want that, too,” he said.
“So don’t get yourself killed, alright? I’m hoping for an encore later on.” She gave him a wink.
“You got it,” he said.
They talked and flirted some more while Justin scarfed down both sandwiches. Turned out, he was more than hungry enough to eat both. He was considering making a third when Bryant stormed into the kitchen, stopped, and stared at them both.
Then his stare became a scowl directed solely at Justin.
“Hi, Bryant.” Hallie waved to him. “What’s up?”
Bryant cleared his throat and shifted his attention to her. “The soldiers are close. We don’t have much time.”
So much for that third sandwich.
Bryant looked back to Justin. “You ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Pack your things,” Bryant said to Hallie. “We’re leaving in ten.”
With that, he shot Justin another glare, and then he left the kitchen.
“I don’t think he likes me,” Justin told Hallie, his voice low and quiet.
“I know he doesn’t,” she countered, her voice also low and quiet. “He told me as much.”
“Well, what’d I ever do to him?”
“He’s jealous. I think he knows I like you.”
Getting kissed had been a great experience, but hearing Hallie say that out loud sparked a joy in Justin’s chest that he hadn’t felt in years.
More importantly, it filled him with renewed determination to succeed. Having a real sh
ot with someone like Hallie was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. He had to make it out of this drama alive so he could see where this little flirtation was going.
“Well, he’s just gonna have to deal with it,” Justin said.
“That’s more or less what I told him.” She touched his arm with her hand, now out of its sleeve. “Hey, I have to go get ready to leave, but I’m serious—come back alive, okay?”
“I will,” Justin said. “Probably. Maybe. Well… I’ll do my best.”
She gave his arm a squeeze.
“You do your part, too, and make sure you come back,” Justin said.
“I’ve got the easy part. I’ll be fine.” She gave him a wink and then left him in the kitchen with a final wave.
Justin exhaled a long sigh as he brushed breadcrumbs from the countertop into his hand and deposited them in the sink.
[JB,] Keontae said, [I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of you, man.]
“I survived a mine infected with radiation-mutated monsters, malfunctioning killer androids, and a vengeful tech ghost out for blood,” Justin said, “but this is the proudest you’ve ever been of me?”
[Absolutely,] Keontae said with a smile in his voice. [You just charmed the most dangerous creature mankind has ever known, and you did it like a damned pro.]
Justin grinned. “Thanks, man.”
[You’d better drop me in the security system before those soldiers reach this house. You’re gonna need me.]
Keontae was right, so Justin headed downstairs to the main screen once again.
From his vantage point at the end of the hovertram line, high above most of the buildings, Vesh could freely scan Nidus City with his augmented eyes.
It had taken him awhile to reacclimate to his enhanced body, but he’d rediscovered his stride, remembered his training. As promised, he couldn’t remember any of the gene therapy treatments that had transformed him into… whatever it was that he’d become. He figured that was for the best. He doubted it had been a pleasant experience.
Something behind his eyes burned and tingled, but he blinked hard, and the sensation faded.
Vesh’s vision cycled through a variety of types as he scrutinized the cityscape before him.
Infrared. 40x zoom. Ultraviolet. 60x zoom. Biometric. 100x zoom. Night vision.