The Fifth Column Boxed Set

by J. N. Chaney

  That did it. Sophie turned and hurried down the corridor to her own room.

  The door closed and I secured my belongs, acting for all the worlds as though I hadn’t just destroyed what remained of my heart. If I broke down now, I wouldn’t be able to keep up the facade.

  I could take mood stabilizers to take the edge off, but that required a sign-off from Sophie. No way I could ask her now. I deserved it anyway.

  “Sergeant-Delgado,” Z9 said over the room’s comm. “That was highly irregular. Is something the matter?”

  “No.”

  “The corporal is currently crying in her quarters,” replied the computer in a tone reminiscent of a disapproving parent.

  I thought I detected a hint of snark too but dismissed it.

  “She’ll get over it,” I snapped, moving to the door. When it didn’t slide open, I waved a hand. “Hello, trying to exit here.”

  It didn’t budge.

  “Z9, there’s something wrong—”

  Before I could finish, the door slid open.

  “Godsdamn malfunctions,” I growled.

  Back on the bridge, Navari, Haas, and Dolph were already seated.

  Sophie trailed in a minute or so behind me, keeping her gaze straight. I stole a glance when she sat down, expecting to see evidence of tears, but her face was blank. Too blank. I realized that she must have taken the mood stabilizers. Probably the best course of action and I wondered if she would be too pissed to give me some. I quickly dismissed the idea though. I shouldn’t get the easy way out.

  “Take us out, Z9,” Navari ordered once everyone had strapped in.

  “Acknowledged,” replied the computer immediately. “We are cleared for departure.”

  After entering slipspace, Navari went over the mission details. What precious few there were of them anyway.

  A holodisplay showed a star map, and the commander pointed to a cluster of stars on it.

  “We’re headed to the Nephthys system this time,” she said. “Specifically, Sobek.”

  Nobody said a word as Navari let that sink in.

  The Nephthys system lay deep in Union controlled space and Sobek happened to be one of their main luxoplanets. Luxoplanets were filled with rich homesteaders and those with enough credits to vacation there. To my knowledge, no one had ever even attempted to attack the planet. Not only was it deep in Union territory, but it had no resources or anything of value besides nice views.

  I glanced around the table to gauge the others’ reactions. Sophie seemed unfazed; her blocker must have still been working. Dolph looked unbothered, but in a way that suggested he already knew where we were headed.

  Only Haas looked really stunned. “Sir, that’s suicide,” he said.

  “We have an agent there,” she explained. “They have provided safe landing coordinates, along with a window in which to arrive.”

  “What are we stealing?” asked Sophie in a bland voice.

  “That’s need-to-know, Corporal-Singh. You, along with Sergeant-Delgado and Ensign-Haas, will escort Dolph and me to the target,” she said. “Once the objective is complete, Dolph will not return with us.”

  “How will he get off Sobek?” asked Haas.

  He had a good point. I’d never been there, but the planet was bound to be well-protected. I didn’t see how we were going to get one ship in and out, much less two.

  Navari glanced at Dolph, who nodded slightly.

  “He’s a member of the Void,” she said. “But that is all you need to know. And that information never leaves this ship.”

  The commander couldn’t have shocked me more if she’d stripped naked and danced on the table.

  Like everyone else, I had heard the rumors about the Void. They were supposedly made up of the most brutal soldiers the Sarkonian Empire possessed. The ones called in to do the work that broke every sanction outlined in the Androsia Convention.

  If we were helping the Void with a mission, that meant we were in some deep shit. If any of us were caught or killed, Sarkon would deny knowing anything about us. We’d be completely on our own.

  “This ship is unique,” said Dolph, speaking for the first time. “The cloak allows us to get close without detection. I’m just hitching a ride with you.”

  I stole a glance at the commander. So much for our “new team member.” Of course, she’d been lying.

  “We’ll be landing here—” Navari pointed to a marker on the holomap of Sobek. “In a stretch of woods about four klicks from the target site. We will arrive a few hours before daybreak, make our way to an observational position, then wait out the next day until it's safe to move at night again.’”

  “What kind of building is it?” I asked, leaning forward. “Another underground facility?”

  In focus mode now, both Navari and I put everything but the mission aside.

  “No,” she replied. “A residence. But the security is top of the line. Purchase records provided the security contractor, along with specifics to the physical system and schematics to the house. Haas has been practicing over the last week with a copy we obtained from the manufacturer and is confident he can break it.”

  “What about guards?” asked Sophie, finally sounding a little more awake.

  “Our man says there aren’t any,” answered Navari.

  I barely repressed the snort of disbelief. If the Union had something the Sarkonian Empire thought would be worth stealing, there was no way it wouldn’t be highly protected.

  “Sobek is the last place the Union would expect us to hit,” said Dolph with a shrug, as if reading my thoughts.

  The logic made sense, I’d give them that, but it was still a suicide mission.

  “Sergeant-Delgado and Corporal-Singh, you’ll be on lookout while Ensign-Haas monitors the security,” continued Navari. “Too many bodies inside could be a liability. Here’s the route provided by our agent.”

  The holo switched to a map displaying the landing and target coordinates, a highlighted course connecting the points. Alternate paths appeared in lighter colors in case we had to make last-minute changes.

  The whole operation gave me pause, even more than our last. I knew better than to speak up, though. For the Void to be here, Sarkon would have unofficially sanctioned it. Kaska’s warning reverberated in my head and I kept my concerns to myself this time.

  “We’ll be there in approximately one standard day,” announced Navari. “You know the drill. Plan rest accordingly. If everything goes right, we’ll be in and out without the Union ever being the wiser.”

  “Yes, sir,” everyone but Dolph said.

  “Study your dossiers. Once we exit the Dreadnight, they’ll be wiped of any mission information,” she said with one final sweeping gaze. “Dismissed.”

  The five of us stood up and left, each leaving the bridge and branching out to different areas of the ship. I needed some alone time but didn’t want to be cooped up in my room, so I planned to hit the training room. Cardio was always good for clearing my mind.

  Dolph had headed in the same direction as me, leading back to our quarters, and I was only a few meters behind him. I almost stopped short when the bastard badged himself into Mateo’s room, but I forced myself to keep walking.

  I knew it was the only open space on the ship, but it still irked me. I’d held my shit together fairly well so far, but, between Sophie and now this, I didn’t know how much more I could take.

  Inside my own room, I pulled out some exercise clothes but paused before heading out the door.

  “Z, where is Corporal-Singh?” I asked.

  “In the mess bay,” answered the A.I. a few seconds later. “Would you like me to contact her to apologize?”

  “No,” I said, hesitating. “Look, Z, I’m sorry about before. It’s been a rough couple of weeks.”

  When the computer didn’t respond, I thought she had malfunctioned again. Sighing, I moved toward the door.

  “No human has ever apologized to me before,” she said suddenly. “Whi
le I appreciate the gesture, Sergeant, it isn’t necessary. My data indicates that grief can be exhibited in many forms, including unprovoked anger. My condolences on Lieutenant-Kamal. He was a fine soldier.”

  For the second time that day, I was stunned. Z had never spoken more than one or two sentences at a time before, and then only in response to orders and giving data.

  It was oddly heartwarming to hear the computer speak of a human that way. She was right in any case. Our personal relationship aside, Mateo had been one of the best grunts I’d ever had the pleasure to be stationed with. It would be hard to build that kind of trust with another teammate, though I didn’t plan on sticking around long enough to get to that point with one.

  “Yeah, he was,” I said when I could talk again. “Z, can you tell when people are lying?”

  “Potentially,” replied the computer. “I can monitor body functions and compare them to attributes associated with deception.”

  “That’s very interesting,” I said, wondering if I could use that somehow. I didn’t know how much the ship’s computer could share with me, but I doubted Navari would ever give me the proper access.

  “I would be happy to explain you were lying to Corporal-Singh,” Z offered helpfully.

  “What?” Alarmed, I snapped to attention.

  “Pardon my assumption, Sergeant. When you and the corporal spoke earlier, your vitals indicated major levels of stress and discomfort. I assumed you wanted me to communicate this.”

  “Even if you did tell her, I don’t think she’d forgive me,” I said. “Not that I’d blame her.”

  I shoved the memory of Sophie’s face and the pain I’d caused away.

  “Respectfully, Sergeant, I must disagree.” Z sounded pretty confident—for an A.I. at least.

  “You won’t share the thing about my scans, will you?” I asked.

  “Of course not, Sergeant-Delgado. Sharing personal medical information is against protocol,” Z9 assured me.

  Now Z9 sounded almost miffed. I was really going to have to dig into her manual later.

  “One last thing, Z.” I had a theory that needed testing.

  “Of course, Sergeant, how can I be of assistance?” The computer had a habit of sounding almost friendly and I wondered again if it was because of the updated programming or something else. Or maybe the Union just liked A.I.s with a more friendly demeanor. It was hard to say.

  “Do you not like the commander?” I asked easily.

  There was a slight pause before Z responded.

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand the question, Sergeant.” As I’d expected, the friendliness was gone, replaced by a more formal tone.

  I smirked.

  “It just seems to me that whenever you have a minor malfunction, it’s around Navari. Commander-Navari,” I corrected.

  “I assure you, Sergeant, that is simply coincidence,” replied Z. “My programming would not allow for direct disobedience.”

  It didn’t escape my notice that she didn’t fully answer.

  “Of course not, Z. You’re one of the best computers I’ve ever worked with, so don’t ever change,” I ordered.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” she replied, the warmth back in her voice. “You are a fine soldier as well, Sergeant.”

  Interesting, I thought as I left the room and went to the fitness room.

  At least it seemed I hadn’t pushed away all of my friends.

  9

  The workout room was one of my favorite places on the Dreadnight, only a close second to the solitude of my own quarters. Just as good, if not better than the exercise facilities on the Ambiana, though not as big.

  Unlike other vessels of similar size, this one boasted sleek, high-end equipment and the newest exercise programs. Large, mirrored panels covered two of the walls in sections of three. If a user wanted, they could display a different backdrop. The dimensions of the room even allowed for our entire unit to utilize it at one time without running into one other, though I preferred to sweat my demons out in private.

  I started with a light jog on the treadmill, running in a peaceful forest setting. When my muscles had warmed up the program gradually increased, and I pumped my legs until the muscles burned and I gasped for air.

  The cardio felt good after being cooped up for more than a week. I hadn’t had a good workout since before the disaster on Harah, and I welcomed the familiar ache.

  Stepping off the machine I eyed the electromagnetic weights with some trepidation. I’d seen cheap Sarkonian equipment malfunction before and didn’t relish the thought of getting smashed in the face with nearly ten kilos of faulty weight. Every inch of this ship was new so I figured they would be safe enough to chance.

  I was just finishing the last set of a demanding routine when the door slid open and Dolph strode in wearing a sleeveless shirt and sweats. No doubt about it, the guy was built, a stack of muscles from head to toe.

  Damn, I thought. At least he’d come in at the end, when I was more clear headed. If it had been in the middle, I might not have been able to conceal my reaction. I’d even almost succeeded at distracting my thoughts, but seeing him here was a stark reminder of Mateo’s absence.

  As I toweled off the sweat, I snuck a glance at Dolph. Scars peppered the visible parts of his exposed torso as if to say don’t fuck with me. Despite my irritation over his use of Mat’s room and place on the team, I had to admit he impressed me, even scared me a little. I’d be stupid to not be.

  Becoming a member of the Void was no easy feat. Even though special ops teams like ours consisted of highly skilled and trained individuals, we didn’t compare.

  I’d heard a handful of stories from other soldiers over the years, but each one seemed less believable than the last. To hear some people tell it, Void soldiers were outfitted with cybernetic enhancements that allowed them to crush skulls with their bare hands, stood three meters tall, and ate babies for snacks.

  Dolph had plenty of muscle to be sure, but I saw no reason to believe he could actually crush skulls. I judged his height at only a few centimeters taller than Mateo and, though he looked fearsome, somehow I didn’t think his palate included children.

  Still, I gave him a wide berth on my way out.

  “Sergeant-Delgado, right?” he asked when I paused to toss my towel in the dirty laundry bin.

  When I turned back, he held out a bottle of water.

  “Yeah,” I said, nodding and taking the water gratefully. “Thanks.”

  “I heard what happened. Sorry about your team member. It’s a hard experience and it never gets any easier.” Dolph didn’t look any less intimidating, but I got the sense he spoke from experience.

  “You’ve lost someone?” I guessed.

  He nodded, confirming my suspicions. “More than a few,” he said. Something passed in his eyes but disappeared so fast I thought I’d imagined it.

  “Sorry to hear that,” I said, meaning it. The man had just become a lot more intriguing. “It hasn’t been easy.”

  “It never is,” he said in a somber tone. “I know what they say about us and a lot of it’s true. But we bleed and die, same as anyone else, even if our death’s go unrecorded and unnoticed.”

  He didn’t seem bothered by that fact, more like he was simply stating a fact of life. I nodded in agreement.

  “Thanks,” I said, turning toward the door. It opened and I started to leave, then paused. “Which rumors are true?”

  “Cybernetics,” he said, not smiling. Then his single blue eye blinked and he lifted one of the electromagnetic weights. It didn’t escape me that he had it set to twenty-three kilograms.

  I left thinking there was more to Dolph than I’d originally thought.

  As I walked back to my room, I decided to take a shower, then see what more I could dig up on the Void. Those plans immediately went on hold when I walked in to see Sophie sitting on my bed, an angry expression on her face.

  “What are you doing here?” I said, too tired to put any bite
into my words. “I thought I told you—”

  “Shut the hell up,” she said, surging to her feet.

  “Watch yourself,” I said darkly. “Now is not the time to push me.”

  “What about how you pushed me?” she retorted, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

  “You want to go down that road?” I asked her, balling my fists in preparation for round two.

  Instead of stepping back like I’d expected, Sophie got in my face and poked me in the chest, throwing me off guard. I couldn’t remember a single instance outside of sparring where she’d gotten physical with me.

  “Stop with the bullshit. Z already told me about your vitals,” she accused.

  I glared at the ceiling in hopes that the A.I. could see my wrath and know how close I was to rewiring her circuits completely.

  “Z, what the fuck happened to not sharing my personal details?” I snapped, wishing the computer had a physical neck for me to strangle.

  She stayed predictably silent.

  “I’m the medic,” Sophie answered for her. “I can access anyone’s history on the ship. Z9 alerted me that your readings were out of normal range. When I asked for an analysis, she explained why.”

  So much for having a friend.

  “Just tell me what’s going on, Eva.” Her green eyes stared into mine with concern.

  I didn’t have the heart to tear into her again and crossed my arms, opting for truthful evasiveness. “I can’t. Gods, I want to, Soph, but talking about it isn’t an option.”

  Z took advantage of the silence to add her two credits. “Sergeant, I have disabled audio and video surveillance of this room. You may speak freely.”

  “You guys aren’t making this easy on me,” I complained.

  Sophie planted her hands on her hips and stared me down.

  I sighed. “I’m done with all this,” I said, waving at the room.

  “So am I,” she said with a snort, cutting me off. “That doesn’t explain—”

  “With the Sarkonian Empire.”