by Rod Porter
Behind them, the guards had finally begun escorting the passengers off the submarine. The couple of dozen individuals who accompanied the pious elder came forward to greet them. They carried pails of water, which they used to clean the passengers faces. They had bits of food for them to eat and water to drink. They spoke of the Lord Jesus and how he had delivered them from evil, mentioning the Holy Catholic Church of Jade that was run by the elderly man in the fine purple clothing.
Jackson did not like these people being exposed to the religious leader’s power upon their arrival, but there was nothing he could do about it. “You don’t waste any time, do you, Demoskeena?”
“I am but a shepherd tending his flock,” the elderly man replied. “These are potential children of the Holy Catholic Church of Jade.” He paused. “Also, the Quorum has summoned your presence.” Troy noticed a thin, wry smile cross the man’s face. “As has the War Council. There are many questions for you to answer. Some think that you are of the mind that Jade’s military is solely yours to command.”
“Like I have told you, the Quorum, and everyone else who thinks it’s their business: the Unconformed are a resistance force, not a political army.”
Jackson stepped toward the man. Gone was the air of false politeness. “And it is under my command.”
“Of course,” Demoskeena said slyly. “But the Lord works in mysterious ways.”
Jackson had had enough. He nudged the elder man to the side and walked towards the entrance to the city.
“Who were those people?” asked Troy as they left.
“Clerics,” Jackson spat. “If we were to win this war tomorrow, they would be humanity’s newest number one threat.”
Troy gave him a look like he did not understand how that could be possible. “They’re just religious is all. They seem harmless enough.”
“I know something about history, my friend. Religion has claimed more human lives than the plague could in a lifetime.”
***
Troy had thought that his ordeal with the prison camp was over and done with but he was wrong. Removing the shock device from his back was every bit as painful as Jade’s surgeons had assured him it would be. Hard liquor served as an anesthetic. The medical staff had their hands full for the following days, as they had to remove hundreds of the devices. After a matter of minutes, each of which seemed like an hour, they finally separated Troy from the device. He screamed out loudly when they pried it loose, much to the dismay of the other patients outside in the waiting area.
The city of Jade was not much to look at, but it was huge. There were different districts, each split into sectors. There were the residential districts, municipal districts, restricted zones, public zones, military, recreational zones. There was an active economy and commerce, which produced a class society to some extent. There were nicer sectors and there were poorer sectors, just like on the surface before the nuclear wars.
What Troy had been most impressed by was the construction, particularly the insides, of the buildings. They had solid walls and floors. Some were even built with brick and wood. He had been astonished when he saw with his own eyes what was called the jungle. It was a patch of land-about a fourth of an acre-of living plants, soil and all. Crops were even harvested during the proper season. How they managed to keep these plants alive and green without sunlight he did not know, but they had done it somehow. The underground city of Jade was enormous. It must have spanned city blocks upon blocks. The massive ceilings rose as high as five hundred fifty feet, which explained the forest-like construction of the majority of the city.
There were many giant pillars, in some cases hundreds of feet in width and hundreds of feet high. They were connected by long, roped-off wooden link bridges, much like a society that lived up high among dozens of connected mammoth oak trees. Jade was beautiful, Troy thought. He only wished his beloved Kara could have been there to see it. Her free, spontaneous spirit could not have waited to try out the foreboding-looking high bridges above.
The city always seemed busy and it agreed with Troy very much.
Troy had been nervous when Jackson stepped into the conference chamber. It was the largest structure in Jade. Constructed like a large yet modest amphitheater, it sat at least four hundred people, and today the chamber was full. There were two long tables up on a stage. Behind one table sat ten men and women who made up the Quorum. Next to their table was a second, where the War Council sat.
As Troy understood it, the Quorum was basically the equivalent of a president. In theory, it was one governing body that represented the people of each of the ten districts of Jade. The Quorum settled disputes and set regulations, rules, policy, and law. Their word was final. The War Council had the final say on all military matters and decisions. Yet even with the War Council and Quorum present, it was easy to see who really wielded the power in Jade, and that was Jackson Anderson. This was not a civilian government; it was a military one. Jackson had all the guns, therefore, he was the Quorum and the War Council.
“As I have already told the council, the rescue operation was not my call. I was rotting in a cell with no way of communicating with my troops.” Everyone in the room knew that Jackson was speaking in half-truths, but he did not really seem to care.
It had come as no surprise to Troy that Demoskeena, the elder priest from the docks, sat behind the War Council table. Nor was it a surprise that the man refused to let Jackson off the hook with his vague answers.
“We find it hard to believe, General,” the priest said, “that a massive rescue operation involving all our highest, most advanced military technology had nothing to do with you. There must have been prior consent from you to a rescue mission, should you be captured. Yet there is not one single officer who claims to know how this mission got off the ground. What do you say to that?”
Jackson thought for a moment. “I say that we rescued hundreds of innocent enslaved people. We scouted locations of potential major targets, not to mention got our hands on some very useful intelligence.”
“Yes, but as we know for a fact, General, the aliens advance their technology through the research of our own. Whatever weapon they see us use, they take it and increase its lethality ten times over. We revealed tanks, helicopters, humvees, grenades. Thankfully, we were able to keep our submarines from them. If they were to develop methods for underwater travel, they could potentially find this city.”
“I don’t think you’re listening very well. It was not just a rescue mission. While the enemy was engaged, our tech experts were able to learn a bit about their defense systems, about their culture and hierarchy, what makes them tick.”
It was another council member’s turn to speak. “General, we applaud your soldiers’ accomplishment in rescuing the prisoners, and we are thankful to have our military leader back, but I am going to have to hear better results. Do you have anything tangible? What of the rumors that you were able to take one of the plague as a prisoner?”
If Jackson was surprised at the councilwoman’s statement, he did not let on. “Ma’am, we do not have any alien life forms in custody. You and the War Council no doubt, would be the first to know of such a development.”
“Then you won’t mind a government inspection of your army’s military facilities,” Demoskeena chimed in.
“The Council and the Quorum are well aware that those restricted areas are off limits to any nonmilitary personnel.”
The priest stood up. “You have gone on long enough with this attitude of superiority. This Council has indulged you for the last time. We will send inspectors to your storage sites and you will admit them.”
“Or what?” said Jackson, stunning the crowd into silence. “You can send your inspectors, but no one gets into those areas without my authorization. And I will remind you that it is the other way around: it’s the Unconformed that are indulging the Council and the Quorum. I did not have to come here and speak to you today. And I do not have to stand here and listen to your accusations
and demands.”
With that, Jackson stepped down from the podium that was facing the delegates and walked right out of the room. The delegates were furious, but they could do nothing. They had no firepower, no leverage. Troy thought that Jackson could have handled that situation a little better.
Troy could not believe what he was seeing. Despite what Jackson had said at the conference, the Unconformed had taken a soldier alien into custody during the prison break. It was laid out on a table with its hideous spider legs hanging over the edge. Troy and Jackson stood in a viewing room behind a thick two-way mirror. They looked on as, on the other side, a small group of five scientists busied themselves with tasks related to the alien subject on their operating table. The alien was encased in the armor suits that the invaders always wore. The suit had marks on it where the scientists had been trying-unsuccessfully-to penetrate it.
“But you told the Council you didn’t have any prisoner,” Troy said.
Jackson was a little surprised by Troy’s tone. “The Council and the Quorum are a bunch of bureaucratic fools. They care nothing about the safety of our race when compared to their own ambitions. Every member of Jade’s government has their own personal political agenda, and Demoskeena is the worst of them.”
Troy was not entirely convinced. “But they are a governing body like the ones in those history books of yours. It just seems like they. Like the people of Jade should have a right to know. I think knowledge of an alien prisoner would boost the people’s spirits.”
“You’re right; it would. But their spirits are sky high already. The resistance has always been very popular, but today even more so. Keep in mind, Troy, we just successfully destroyed one of the alien prison camps, freeing hundreds of slaves in the process. We have struck an enormous blow in the people’s eyes and scored a great victory. There is one thing that gains favor and support like nothing else.” Jackson made sure Troy was listening. “Victory.”
Troy was learning fast. The whole time, Jackson had appeared to be burning bridges, playing bad politics, and weakening his position of power, when in fact he had been strengthening it. Jackson’s logic was brilliant-simple, but brilliant. He alone wanted the power to excite the people, and he had gotten that with a successful mission and blatant defiance of an increasingly unpopular Quorum. News of a prisoner would produce the same effect, but why use it now? Keep that card tucked into one’s pocket and pull it out at a later time when it was needed to once again gain the people’s favor.
Jackson smiled when Troy had finished explaining his thoughts. “I knew I was right about you, Troy. You understand how the game works. That’s all politics is: a game. War is not, and we are at war. You must always keep the two separate. Politics is a simple game, and once you understand how simple it is, you begin to understand its complications.”
Troy nodded.
“You follow me?” Jackson asked.
“I just nodded my head, didn’t I?” Troy felt confident that Jackson would have control of this city for some time to come.
They turned back to the operating room. Troy took particular notice of the marks on the alien’s armor. “Have we learned anything useful yet?”
“Nope,” Jackson said, slightly irritated. “We’ve been trying for hours, but we cannot get the damn suit off. We’ve tried saws, blow torches, everything.”
Troy rubbed his face thinking. “Have we at least learned anything about the armor?”
“Just that it’s powered by a separate source. Other than that, nothing. We think it simulates a certain type of weather pattern, probably of their home world. All we know is, it’s strong as steel, and we cannot get it off.”
“He saved my life.”
Young Mickey from the prison camp work pits had never looked this dejected in all the time Troy had known him. As soon as Jackson got word to Troy that Mickey and Tommy had survived and escaped the camp, he went right to sick bay, where they were being held for observation. Mickey had acquired a mild form of sickness from his time at the camp, but it had been treated, and he was making a full recovery. Tommy’s condition was not so favorable.
Tommy’s naked body floated in a large horizontal tube filled with water, connected to dozens of tubes and wires. There was an oxygen mask over his face to prevent him from drowning. His eyes were closed, and he was unconscious.
“How long has he been out?” Troy asked Mickey.
“Ever since we got here, so about a week.”
“How did you guys get out? Jacks said you two never made it out of the cell blocks.”
“The prisoners on our cell block that were being left behind…When we ran from our cells, a group of them caught hold of me through the cell bars. During the struggle, I took a nasty shot to the head that made me a little woozy. Tommy must have doubled back when he noticed I wasn’t with the rescue party. He turned and came back to the cell block for me. I was still a little disoriented when he pulled me free of the prisoners, so he tried to escape with me flung over his shoulder, but the doors closed before we could get out. He…umm…” Mickey chuckled.
“Remember the ropes the Unconformed rappelled in on?”
Troy nodded.
“With me clinging to him for dear life, he climbed all the way up one of the ropes to the top of the compound. Then he dragged my ass through the snow all the way to the Humvees. The soldiers said we collapsed once we had made it to them. Tommy hasn’t woken up since.”
“God.” Troy could not believe it. “He climbed all that way? It must have been several stories!”
“You know Tommy. Stubborn as a mule.”
They shared a laugh.
“He’s going to be fine, Mick,” Troy said reassuringly. “We’re lucky to have a friend like him. We’re going to need more, I think.”
BOOT CAMP
“Out of your racks! Get your asses out of those racks right now!”
It was the third time that week that Drill Sergeant Moynahan had disturbed troop 211 while they tried to get their much-needed rest from a full day’s work of combat training. Moments like these made Troy question whether he really wanted to be a soldier or not, but that feeling of groaning doubt that is natural when just rolling out of bed quickly vanished. Before he knew it, he was standing by his bunk at attention. Troy was all too happy to train in the ways of killing aliens. So were the rest of the recruits. The hatred for the invaders was more intense among the Unconformed than any other group of individuals Troy had ever been around. One thing he didn’t like was his drill sergeant, but nobody did.
“We are going to run twenty miles in full gear,” Sergeant Moynahan announced. “See you in the quad in five minutes, facing north!”
The past few weeks had transformed Troy. Physically, he was toning up and getting stronger. He had shown a very high aptitude in combat training, particularly with explosives. It had been a great honor when he qualified to receive additional special-forces training. When he was not training in combat, he was educating himself. Jackson had an impressive collection of old books that covered a wide range of topics, from textbooks on math and science to politics and history. It was no secret that Troy carried favor with the leader of the resistance, but he managed to earn everyone’s liking mostly because he kept to himself.
He diligently completed the eight-week boot camp, and became an official member of the resistance at just the perfect time. The word around Jade was that the Unconformed were planning a massive offensive to strike another blow at the aliens, based on intelligence they had gathered from the prison break.
Photographs were laid out in front of each of the seven individuals sitting at the table.
“These are the recon images taken over the past two months,” an aide said as he passed the photos to Jackson and the rest of the brass. “As you can see, there is a great deal of activity on this particular island. We’ve been taking aerial shots from recon choppers for quite some time, and now, with the intel gathered from the prison site, we can confirm that the aliens are u
sing this island to mass produce a type of biological weapon.”
Troy sat behind Jackson. He leaned in and took notice of the recon photos and compared them with the intelligence files from the prison break. Sure enough, they confirmed both that this island was home to an absurd amount of activity and that the activity was related to the construction of a very powerful weapon.
Jackson went around and stood in front of the assembled officers. He used an old chalkboard behind him as a visual aid. On it was a likeness of the island and scribbled notes and designs, outlining a plan of attack.
“We know that this target, if left unattended, will produce something that could take out this entire city if they were ever to find it. This island holds facilities that are the key to the aliens’ greatest weapon yet, and we cannot afford to ignore it.”
A representative from the War Council was sitting at the table as well, and she could not help but interrupt. “General Anderson, you have always had the support of the War Council. You have been the driving force behind building this great city, establishing a society again, and protecting its people. I know that we supported the possibility of taking this island originally, but the Council now has doubts. Is taking out this island really worth the risk? Are they even building a weapon, and if so, is it really that big a threat? They have no real target.”
“Let me assure the Council,” Jackson said. “This threat is very real. The enemy would not be building a massive weapon of destruction without an equally significant target. We just have no way of knowing what that target is. This is a very real, very serious threat, Councilor. And if we can commandeer this weapon, our scientists could study it with the hopes of replication.”
“General, let’s be realistic. As I said, we supported this idea initially, but there have been several key developments since, not the least of them being that you have no idea what to expect in the form of resistance.”