Mercenary

by Dennis Young

  The night carried on in food and drink and laughter. Talice waited impatiently for Mac to appear, or at least reply to the message sent earlier in the day. Nothing. She began to worry. Then, as she sat at the fireplace with Nikolay and Bělinka, the door opened, and in rolled Mac, with Major Fawkes at her side.

  The tavern was still half full. Patrons at the bar and tables ceased their talk for a moment, as Fawkes walked through in his Dress Blues.

  Talice motioned the team to the fireplace quickly. The dart game paused. Voices quieted. Niky, Bělinka, Ollie, and Junior stood at attention with Talice a step to their left. Briggs, Rory, and Dosu formed behind them like a wall. Talice beamed. They were still Marines. Always would be. Knew how to behave in the presence of a senior officer. She was proud.

  Mac’s eyes found Talice’s. They nodded to each other, not quite smiling, but understanding flowed. Talice held back a tear.

  Even the bartenders stopped their incessant prattle to watch. Fawkes stood before the team as the patrons gawked. He spoke, his voice soft and clear. “I just wanted to stop by and offer my sincere thanks for a job well done. The Corps appreciates your work and dedication. And I’m sure Talice will have further news for you later after you’ve had a chance to celebrate.”

  Talice waited for a beat, to be sure Fawkes was done speaking. “Thank you, Major. Your presence and your words are much appreciated. We’re happy to be part of the plan.” Holy crap, that was stiff! Why can’t I come up with better words when I’m on the spot?

  Talice drew a small box from her carryall. “In appreciation of your trust, we offer a small token of our gratitude.” She handed the box to Fawkes. “Don’t open it here, take it home and read the message inside,” she whispered.

  Fawkes nodded slightly. Talice came to attention, waiting. He smiled. “Well done, Captain.”

  Talice met Mac’s eyes once more. “Good to see you. Staying for a while?”

  Mac nodded. “We’ll talk later. For now, let’s have a drink together.”

  * * *

  Talice stood by the tavern door at closing time. As each of her team filed past, she gave them a hug and slid a small box into their hands. “Open this at home, read the note, and follow directions. We’ll meet later and talk about the upcoming mission.”

  While the looks she received were not unexpected, none were of confusion. Every team member knew things were moving in a new direction, just from small comments made during the evening conversation. They knew each other well enough to read into words and gestures and body language that something was up. And they all knew how to keep quiet when signals were given.

  Talice and Mac sat together once more. The bartender had announced last call, and Talice ordered tea for both of them.

  “I’m sure you’ve talked to the major?” Talice blew gently across her cup, then sipped the Earl Grey.

  Mac nodded. “I’m glad you were able to come to an agreement.”

  “With reservations. Mac, it’s my life. Let me have control. Please.”

  “Let’s not go over this again. We have a job to do, so let’s do it. Together. All of us.”

  “He told you about the mission?”

  Mac shook her head slightly. “No details, just general info. I know it’s going to be cold and far away.”

  Talice thought for a moment before continuing, then smiled. “By the time we get back, your new legs may be ready.”

  “And they might have a cure for you, too. I talked to Babs yesterday. They’re making progress.”

  “Yeah, I’ll probably die about a month before they find the answer.” Talice chuckled wryly.

  “No, you won’t. I’ll keep you alive. Besides… there’s another option.”

  Talice set down her cup. “What do you mean?”

  Mac leaned forward, closer. “If they’re getting close, but you’re running on empty… Babs said they could put you in medical stasis for up to six months without doing further damage.”

  Talice held her breath for a long moment. “She’s never mentioned this to me.”

  “That’s because she thought they’d have an answer by now. As I said, they’re making progress, but Babs said a year or more, at least.”

  Talice closed her eyes. So close… so damn close…

  “So you’ve got to stay alive, Princess. When we get back, you’ll be in year four of the five she gave you.”

  “Yes, but the new patches are helping… as long as I remember them, that is.”

  Mac nodded but didn’t smile. “But they’ll go toxic eventually, just like the Cemlac-12 did. And Babs doesn’t know if anything else will work.”

  Talice shook her head. “Why didn’t she tell me this? And why is she telling you?”

  “She asked me to talk to you. See what you wanted to do. She knew…” Mac hesitated, then continued. “She knew we had a… disagreement and wanted me to talk to you about this, to get us back together.”

  “That doesn’t even make sense. She’s my doctor!”

  “And your friend. Talice, you can’t do this alone. For the next year, you need all the support you can get.”

  “I… don’t like leaning on other people.”

  Mac nearly laughed. “You do it all the time in the field! It’s no different here! This is your life, girl! People love you. They want you to live.”

  Talice sat back and sighed. “Alright… I’ve been advised. Thanks. I may kill Babs, but thanks.” She looked at Mac. “What about you? Doing okay?”

  Mac raised her cup and nodded. “Yes. I’m much better now that we’re talking again. And I’ll be even better when we get this show on the road.”

  * * *

  Harvest Mountain Marine Training Facility…

  The gift boxes all contained new wristcoms as Talice and Fawkes had spoken of, and a hand-written note from Talice saying “don’t activate until we’ve had our briefing at the training center, or I’ll have to kill you.” Or something like that.

  The camp was high in the northern mountains, two hundred kilometers from Anchor Prime, and cold year-round. The closest town was called Halfway Up, for obvious reasons, and the training facility another five hundred meters higher. The peak itself was a thousand meters higher still. Halfway Up was a smalltime resort with a total population of less than a thousand, and basically served as a buffer between the lower elevations and the Marines. Anyone coming to the town for skiing or hiking was warned of lions and tigers and bears. And avalanches. Especially avalanches. Caused by Marine guards around the Base who had wicked senses of humor.

  Talice and Mac shared a room, the rest of the team split into pairs, with the engaged couple Niky and Bělinka getting the “honeymoon suite”, two interconnecting rooms usually reserved for officers. Fawkes had graciously offered it to them, as he would be at the base only every thirty days to check on progress.

  Gorg Evans, the operative and now their instructor, had separate quarters somewhere deep in the Base. Talice wondered of it, asked about it, and was told, in so many words, “none of your damn business”. Mac warned her not to pursue the matter. Avalanches. Of a different sort.

  No one ever mentioned the Braysons to Talice again. She wondered of them from time to time and wished them well.

  Talice called her first briefing the day after arrival. She was offered a shielded conference room, assured it could not be penetrated by any known hacking device on Theia.

  “Sounds like every virgin I’ve ever known,” she said to the lieutenant in charge. He blushed about as red as Talice had ever seen a man blush. She assumed he was a virgin, and shook her head as she walked away.

  The team filed into the room slowly. The walls were concrete and cold. The room was cold. Talice knew before this training session was over they’d all be frozen stiff.

  Abie and the flight crew were there, looking like they had just returned from a vacation.

  Probably did, thought Talice, with a chuckle. She greeted them warmly and handed their gift boxes to them with a wink.<
br />
  She quickly went over the rules for use of the new wristcoms. “Only official communiques. Use your old ones for personal stuff. We’re also going to set up a program of false intel to put out on those as well. Assuming they’re hacked, we can use them for misdirection.”

  “But who’s hacking them?” asked Abie. She, Will, and Jamal studied their new comm gear at one end of the table.

  “We have that intel, but it’s classified. Being worked on now.”

  “So how do we know these will not be hacked?” asked Nikolay.

  “Purchased double-blind,” replied Talice. “Bought through unofficial sources, no way to trace them to us. Keep them hidden. Don’t wear them anywhere.”

  “And how deep does this go?” Nikolay was studying the internal workings with a jeweler’s loupe. He’d already pried the back of his wristcom off.

  “I’d appreciate it if you don’t destroy Marine property, Niky.” Talice watched with a smile as he quietly reassembled the device.

  “Gorg Evans will be our class instructor. He has info about the layouts of the bases we’re to infiltrate, personnel, schedules, all the hard data. Marines will familiarize us with the indoor training facilities and the mountain camps. We’ll have a couple of guides the first few days, then on our own.”

  Mac operated the wall screen. “Here we are, here are the outdoor areas, here are the Base boundaries.” She moved her light pointer around the map. “Don’t go outside without a pass. Halfway Up is off limits until we’ve been here at least ten days.”

  A groan went up around the table. Talice held up a hand. “We’re going to be here for, well… a while. As intel comes in, we’ll adjust our schedule accordingly. First leave back to Anchor Prime will be thirty days from now. We don’t have to stay on the mountain during leave, but discretion is warranted if you go back home.”

  “Details about the mission, Captain?” asked Junior.

  Talice grinned. The kid is pretty sharp, bringing us back to the topic. “Right now, all I can say is, this is the Big One. We have a chance to put Nemesis Corp out of business. And it will involve working with the Marines. But we’ll be the sneaky guys, doing what we do best. And…” she looked to Mac, then back to the group. “We’ll have a new member coming on board. Not a newbie, and some of you might remember him. Martin Tanuu, served in the Red Raiders and was with us in the first Eos operation.” She watched as heads bobbed in recognition and agreement.

  “Just backup, or what?” asked Rory.

  Talice hesitated for only a moment. “Always a good idea on a mission like this, yes, but I may not be with you during the field operations. Our Corps management team wants me in TacOps with Mac. I’m getting training, too.”

  “I remember Martin. Good guy, crack shot, follows orders,” said Rory.

  Nods around the table. No one appeared to have objections.

  “We’re in a shielded room, so activate your new wristcoms now and get them set up with passwords as necessary. Again, these are official use only. Don’t get them mixed up with your personal ones.” Talice looked around the table. “Questions?”

  Abie raised her hand. “We’re here only for a few days. Anything we need to know before we take Bird One back home?”

  “We’ll get with you tomorrow,” said Mac. “Talice and I need to go over some things in the TacOps area before you depart.”

  Abie nodded.

  “What else?” Talice swept her eyes around the team once again. “Let’s get settled in. Classes start tomorrow and cold weather training in three days. New suits are on the way, and fittings will be done before we go outside.”

  “Cold as fuck out there,” muttered Briggs.

  “And it will get colder,” said Mac. “Hope you brought your footie pajamas.”

  * * *

  Training commenced. Thirty days quickly became sixty, with a five-day leave between. Classes with Gorg Evans began, with concern by Talice and Mac, to say nothing of the team. But Evans was a changed man. His lectures were dynamic, deep, and informative. As far as Talice could tell, and with her brief meetings with him individually, and those with Fawkes as well, he was holding back nothing.

  “I was wrong,” she admitted to Fawkes one evening at the Officer’s Club, basically a single small room with a makeshift bar. An ancient musicomp in the corner played soft jazz, likely requested by Fawkes himself, for his short stay.

  “We’re getting the intel you promised, and the team is loving it. We’re all back in training again, and it’s been a good change. It’s better than I anticipated, and everyone is responding.” She sipped her tea and waited for Fawkes reply.

  “How is your health?” he asked quietly. “Mac says you’ve gone out on a couple of the training missions. I’m assuming it’s simply to keep in shape, right?”

  “You have a problem with my shape?” Talice was almost enjoying his chagrin. “Yes, and no. I don’t want to leave training without knowing what to expect in the mission. If we’re going to be cold, I’m damn well gonna be cold with everyone else.”

  Fawkes nodded and sipped coffee. “The new suits working? Keeping everyone warm enough?”

  “Sure, but what happens when a heating unit fails? Or a powered joint seizes? We didn’t have to worry about this stuff with the old suits.”

  “You’d freeze to death in twenty minutes in the old suits.”

  Talice shrugged. “We could adapt the heaters internally where the tech is better protected. Or find a way to shield the wrist controls. Those things are a target waiting to be hit.”

  “Good point. I’ll have the suit-techs look into it. But how about you? Meds doing okay?”

  She nodded. “Well enough. Babs is here in three days and we’ll do a full scan. I’m good for inside or outside. I want to keep it that way.” She met Fawkes’s eyes sternly.

  “We have a deal, Talice. I want to keep it that way, too.”

  She sighed. “One question I keep forgetting to ask.” Talice sipped tea and motioned for more to the server. “Is Evans going with us? Sure would be nice to have his knowledge along with Mac, just in case.”

  Fawkes considered. “I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. I’ll talk to him and see what he thinks.” He paused. “How much longer do you think you’ll need to get the team ready? I need thirty days’ notice to prepare the battalion orders and get them organized.”

  “Give us another sixty, then we’ll evaluate again. Martin is integrating well. This team isn’t lacking in experience, but the cold is a new challenge. We should be ready soon.” She cocked her head. “Getting antsy?”

  “Command is getting that way, yes. Nemesis Corp isn’t waiting around, you know.”

  Talice thought for a moment. “This really is the big one, isn’t it? Damn near war.”

  “Yes, it is. We’ve got to put a stop to this, or it will spread all over Eos. Maybe even to Theia. We can’t allow that.”

  “Marines on guard, right?” She nodded grimly.

  “Right. Any further questions?”

  “Not at the moment. I’m sure I will later, though.”

  “In that case…” Fawkes looked to the musicomp, still playing soft jazz. “It’s been a while for both of us, I’m sure, but would you like to dance? For old time’s sake?”

  Talice shook her head. “You’re making a pass. Admit it.”

  “So? We’ve come this far together. Do you really want to go the rest of the way alone?”

  Talice shrugged. “I don’t know what to think sometimes. Entanglements are just… entangling.” She laughed.

  Fawkes rose and held his hand for her, smiling.

  She took it. And smiled as well.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Ready for the Big Time (Part One)

  Dead Cold

  “Danger has a bracing effect.”

  Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”

  Mission 327EKR - Code name: Thunderhead…

  All Talice knew was, the Third Marine Battalion, the one she a
nd her teammates had been part of in the Corps, had deployed to Eos. That was the only information she received from Fawkes. Knowing this, she understood the operation was underway, and soon they would be leaving Theia as well.

  Bird One was ready. Abie and her flight crew had made sure the assault craft was able to lift on a moment’s notice. Talice gathered her team as the ship was packed with gear and supplies, to say nothing of ordnance and ammunition. A thread of tense anticipation ran through her soul. This is it. This is the sort of mission we’ve trained for our entire lives. Now we get to find out if we’re really tough as we think we are.

  “Scarbach gave us a good deal,” said Will Thomas, as he and Rory hefted belts of ammunition into the feeders on the starboard side minigun. “Jamal and Dosu are loading the port side. Hellbores both have full ammo loads, and we’ve got four missiles and two spare tanks of oxygen on the underwing hardpoints.”

  Mac rolled her hoverchair up the loading ramp, a bulging duffle slung over one side. “All three drones are ready.” She glanced to Talice, watching. “We’ll go over the finer points of TacOps on the way, along with Evans.”

  “With all the gear, you’d think this was a year-long assignment,” said Rory, straightening and stretching.

  “It might be,” replied Talice. “If this turns into a siege, we may be screaming for resupply before it’s over. As it is, we’re on our own unless things get critical.”

  “No critical, please,” said Mac. “We’ve got enough to think about.”

  “Air and water won’t be an issue once we land.” Will closed and latched the ammo canisters. “We can scoop-dive a gas giant for hydrogen if necessary to replenish fuel. I’ve done it twice. It’s fun.” He grinned.