The Fifth Column Boxed Set

by J. N. Chaney

  That finally did it.

  “Oh,” was all she said, her eyes going wide.

  “Yeah. I didn’t want to get you involved and make things hard for you,” I explained. “Or your family,” I added.

  Sophie stared at me with something like guilt in her expression before it turned unreadable and she punched me on the shoulder with considerable force.

  “You only get one of those,” I warned, rubbing at the sore spot.

  “You know, for an elite operative, you sure can be an idiot.”

  Suddenly feeling drained, I sank onto the bed. “Continue,” I said, fanning a hand for her to keep talking.

  “I would never betray you.”

  I couldn’t take the pain in her voice anymore and told her everything.

  “Well, I have to admit it’s a solid plan,” Sophie commented when I’d finished.

  “Sergeant, if the feeds are disabled for much longer, I anticipate it will draw attention.”

  “Shut it down,” I ordered.

  “Well, I’m glad that’s cleared up,” declared Sophie. “You want a sleeping pill?”

  “Not yet. I need a shower.” I sat up, ready to do just that, when I remembered what she’d said about having access to medical records. “Can you look up Dolph’s information?”

  Sophie looked at me quizzically but pulled out her pad. “Yeah, but I can’t tell you much.”

  “Not even his rank?” I asked. Then recalling his words in the fitness room, I added, “He told me he’s cybernetically enhanced. I think it’s his eye.”

  “You caught that too, eh? Huh, that’s odd,” she said, furrowing her brows.

  “What is?” I asked.

  “There’s no rank listed. No other name besides ‘Dolph.’ Who only has one name?” she wondered.

  “I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “Does it say anything else?”

  “Nothing besides height, weight, and stats for the mission. Which makes no sense,” she said, sounding annoyed. “There isn’t even a birthday listed.”

  “I guess it’s like people say,” I remarked.

  “What?” demanded Sophie.

  “Once you go into the Void, you’re gone forever.” I paused, considering. “It makes sense. If they work the kind of ops we think they do, Sarkon would want untraceable soldiers and deniability.”

  She ignored my pointed look.

  “Still weird. Anyway, take your shower. I’ll be back in an hour with the sleep meds.” Sophie stood up and stretched.

  “Sounds good. Soph, I’m sorry for what I said and being an asshole,” I said.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you told me.”

  I had to agree. It was like half of the weight I’d been carrying was gone and things seemed just a little brighter.

  As we began our final approach to Sobek, which looked about the size of a fist and getting larger every second, I couldn’t help but stare at the Union planet with a sense of awe.

  Half of its surface was made up of water, and most of that looked bright green, even from this distance. This occurred from a heavy concentration of algae. Green water shone green on the daylit side of the planet, while its counterparts in the night shaded half dazzled in a show of neon purple.

  Of the thirty-two known systems, only Nephthys and a handful of others had planets that didn’t require atmospheric generators. Sobek was one of those, which is why the Union considered it one of their more important territories.

  That alone made it valuable enough to boast its own Union defense fleet. Enough ship traffic crossed the upper atmosphere to give me pause, but nobody hailed us or demanded to know who we were.

  The LZ was exactly what we’d anticipated, a large clearing concealed on all sides by dense woodland. Z9 set the ship down a few hours before Sobek’s sunrise. Given the way our last mission turned out, the fact that no one immediately stormed our position did nothing to ease my apprehension.

  Navari’s flimsy excuses didn’t set right with me. Sure, I could see how the Dreadnight would be necessary, but why not hand it over to the Void?

  I’d come up with two theories, neither of them good.

  First, the failure we’d experienced at the research station had marked us—or at least me—as expendable. This seemed unlikely, though, because the Sarkonian Empire wouldn’t want to lose something as valuable as the ship.

  The second involved Dolph and Navari leaving the rest of us as unwitting sacrifices. Since they were the only two among us with full details, even under torture we couldn’t reveal the true purpose of the mission. If something went wrong, it would be a lot easier to get two evacuated than five.

  A week ago, I’d have been hard pressed to believe that of my Commander. Now, I couldn’t read Navari. She had a smug air about her, but then again, she usually did. That could easily be due to my recent stint in solitary.

  Then I had Dolph to consider. We hadn’t spoken since our encounter in the fitness room and that conversation hadn’t left me with any illusions about the man. Sure, he appeared to have some empathy, but that only made him human. He was still a member of the Void and the mission would always come first.

  I stowed the mental baggage as we loaded two all-terrain hoverquads with our gear. Since it would be too dangerous to travel during daylight, we’d need them to traverse the four kilometers to our target while we had concealment in the dark. We wouldn’t make fast enough time without them.

  They didn’t make much noise and sported stealth tech, so we’d be okay for standard security scans.

  Navari helmed one with Haas riding bitch and Dolph in a gunner’s seat. I drove the other one with Sophie at my back and supplies in a compartment behind her.

  The vegetation grew thick here and the going went a little slower than we’d planned, though it was still faster than walking with the extra gear.

  I’d seen a fair number of planets in the time since my enlistment and they each had one unifying element: something there wanted to kill you. Occasionally, that something ended up being an animal or plant.

  Nothing on the gal-net or Sarkon’s data suggested killer fauna resided here, but I’d still asked Z to run a scan. No reason to take a chance. I was woman enough to admit that death by foliage terrified me. Especially after the abandoned colony in the Gato system.

  Before my transfer to this unit, the Empire had sent my platoon, along with a few others, to investigate the surface of a tropical world called Audrey III. Only a few of us made it out of the jungle that day.

  I could still hear the screams of our people being liquefied alive. The carnivorous plants had looked like twisted tree trunks a meter wide. Too late, we’d realized they weren’t trees at all. They’d unfurled and bloomed, revealing space large enough for a human. Inexplicably, the soldiers had calmly walked inside before the opening closed again, trapping its victims within.

  We’d found out later that the plants were triggered by touch and reacted by releasing a neurotoxin that reversed a person’s survival instinct.

  The memory made me shudder, but according to Z, nothing like that grew here. That didn’t stop me from keeping my eyes peeled.

  In front of us, the commander slowed to a crawl. The space between the trees began to get wider and thinned out as we neared the edge of the woods.

  “We’ll stop here and hide the quads,” Navari said over the comm.

  She slowed to let Haas and Dolph dismount before maneuvering the ATH into some bushes. I followed suit, leaving mine in low-power mode, then threw some branches on top of both.

  The five of us set up the camp in silence. It didn’t take long, since we didn’t build a fire or set up shelter to avoid the risk of being seen during the day.

  That meant roughing it, but we were all used to that. Two people would act as scouts for three hours while the remaining three got rest time, then swapped.

  Navari and Dolph went first and took two different vantage points. For an extra layer of security, Z9 surveyed the perimeter.
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  I lay on my rolled-out mat and listened to the surroundings. It didn’t take me long to notice the quiet. Not like the utter stillness before the ambush, but peaceful. Stars dotted the sky above like a brightly lit holomap and a single moon cast a luminescent glow that filtered gently down to the forest floor.

  A warm, dry planet with lots of sand, Sarkon didn’t have lush forests, and most of the oxygen came from atmosphere generators. It had been seeded well-enough, but only produced foliage robust enough to handle the arid climate. More often than not, they were dull green and sported thorns, although some could bear fruit.

  Suffice to say that when the Sarkonian Empire was finally at my back, I wouldn’t be missing anything.

  Sobek’s night sky, though beautiful, wasn’t the first I’d seen, but something about it nagged at me. I knew without question that I’d never been here before but couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity.

  I studied the constellations, trying to shake it loose, when one in particular caught my eye. Three stars, in the form of a cup.

  “And what about that one?” my father asked, pointing up at the bright trio.

  “I know it, Papa.” I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated, then opened them triumphantly. “Protias’ Cup! He stole the cup from his brother, Thados.”

  “Decias,” my father corrected. “Thados is the golden ship that belongs to Decias.”

  “Oh. I forgot that part, I guess,” I said sheepishly.

  He tousled my hair. “You know far more than other six-year-olds. I predict that one day you’ll be the most famous scientist in the Union, exploring unknown systems and naming planets!”

  I beamed with pride.

  “Only if you and Mama come with me,” I declared. “You will, won't you?”

  “Of course, child! Unless you get tired of us by then,” he teased.

  “I won’t, Papa!” I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly until he chuckled.

  “Calm yourself, love. We’ll always be with you.”

  The memory faded, leaving a lump of raw emotion in my chest. I’d had occasional flashes over the years, but none had ever been that clear.

  My father, my real father, not the general. I didn’t know how long after that the Sarkonian Empire had claimed our planet, but it stung.

  “Sergeant, I am contacting you privately.” Z9 interrupted my thoughts, coming over the comm. “I noticed a significant increase in heart rate. Are you in need of assistance?”

  I checked Haas to find him snoring and Sophie had her back to me. Since the other two were out of earshot, I risked answering.

  “No, Z. Pre-mission jitters, that’s all,” I whispered.

  After that, I pushed everything unrelated to the operation from my mind and willed my body to sleep.

  10

  The dossier stated that Sobek was in the middle of its mild season. Lucky for us, that meant less chance of rain or scorching heat.

  We each snagged a ready meal from the back of the hoverquad for breakfast, careful not to leave any trash. The label read egg-meat scramble, but the yellow mush of the contents disagreed.

  I had to admit it was still a whole lot better than the slop in the hole and only slightly worse than what they served in the mess hall. Tipping the package back, I downed it like a shot, then chased it with water.

  Sophie made a face at hers, then did the same.

  Dolph had disappeared just before dawn, a few hours ago. Navari didn’t comment on or seem concerned by his absence, so I didn’t bring it up.

  Although we’d stopped at a point of the forest’s edge that overlooked the town in a valley below, it spanned for miles in either direction. Our target was located in a small community that bordered the woods on one side and a mountain on the other.

  The town had a quaint look to it, but I had the feeling it catered to the wealthy. The roads leading in looked almost new and the residences sprawled grandly with lavish landscaping.

  Even with the unlikelihood of being discovered, we erred on the side of caution, communicating with hand signals or whispers.

  Dolph finally arrived back at the camp in the middle of the day and huddled up with Navari. I wanted to know what they were saying, but neither spoke or transferred any comments to our pads.

  The rest of the day crawled by uneventfully. I passed the time by observing what I could see of the town through my rifle scope and making notes.

  Foot traffic was modest, mostly housewives and spoiled children flitting from store to store. They shopped and ate, walked and laughed. These people donned wealth like I did my armor. Jewelry winked at their ears, hands, and anywhere else it would make an impression. The women wore their hair in a dizzying variety of styles, and I amused myself by coming up with names for all of them.

  The Horbee Nest for the lady whose hair was wrapped into a giant cone-shaped bun.

  Rainbow Blitz for hair that boasted every color in neon.

  One woman had decorated her locks with so much jewelry, I wondered how much hair she even possessed.

  I did that until I got bored, which didn’t take long.

  Underneath all the gilding, it was still just a town, and the people were just people. Fashion might not be my thing, but I’d grown up for all intents and purposes the daughter of a general. I knew wealth when I saw it, and the inhabitants reeked of it. No one stood out as a threat. The opposite, actually.

  Their clothing looked fine versus sturdy and popped wildly in bright hues. I sneered inwardly at the impracticality of the complicated outfits. Tops so thin and sheer that one careless touch of a manicured fingernail could cause damage. I’d seen more than one person drop trash on the ground and not bother to pick it up. At first I thought it was just laziness, but now I wondered if they couldn’t bend properly in some of the tighter clothing.

  No, thanks. I’d take my patchwork tacsuit any standard day.

  Two women, arm in arm, walked through my crosshairs. Both wore easy smiles and were carefree. I found myself wondering about their lives. Were they lovers, friends, or sisters? I would never know.

  I’d never thought about what life would be like outside of the military. Not since I had been little.

  I stole a glance at Sophie and imagined we probably looked the same. Her long hair was messy, dirt streaked her face, and litter from the forest floor stuck to her clothes.

  Like me, she hadn’t chosen this life. The Sarkonian Empire had forced us into it, and I couldn’t help but wonder where we both might be if there had been a choice.

  Would we still be best friends? Maybe, maybe not.

  Sophie could take care of herself. The countless hours we’d spent training together had made sure of it. Even so, it occurred to me that taking off was a selfish act.

  It’s not like you can help anyone if you stay, I chided myself. Trying to help has only ever ended badly. The guard from Q-2790B that I’d failed to save came to mind.

  My wrist unit buzzed, pulling me away from that line of thought.

  Prepare to move out in ten, it read.

  I hadn’t even noticed that dusk had fallen around our little camp. I rolled up the sleeping mat and put it back in the ATH along with the others.

  We traveled light this time and shed anything we didn’t need. I still had my tactical skinsuit under my black uniform but only carried one pistol and the rifle for firepower.

  Another buzz at my wrist showed the coordinates of our target, along with a route to get there. I noticed it was different from the brief and realized that must have been what Dolph had been up to.

  We moved in single file down the edge of the treeline with Dolph in the lead. Navari followed him, then Sophie, Haas, and finally, me.

  Lights had turned on in the town at some point, but hardly any people were out. Instead, they moved around in their fancy houses, and I found it odd that they didn’t cover their windows.

  A glimpse inside showed wide open spaces and ornate furnishings. I realized then that they wanted other
s to see inside. It was an exclamation of their wealth.

  To each their own, I mused. I liked my privacy but that was the beauty of freedom.

  By the time we reached the final coordinates, night had completely fallen over our location.

  Dolph gestured at one of the residences to indicate it was our target and we each nodded our acknowledgement.

  More buzzing from our wrist units showed a message from him.

  After the last light turns out, we wait one hour, then move. There’s been a small change in plans. Sgt-Delgado and Cpl-Singh, post up outside. Haas, you’re with Cmndr-Navari and me in case we need help with tech.

  If it bothered Navari that Dolph appeared to have taken control of the op, she didn’t show it. Instead, the commander looked as calm as I’d ever seen her.

  For me, standing watch meant less chance that I’d have to fire my weapon. Operations like this one were all about stealth—interacting with the enemy only happened as a last resort. I didn’t see the ritzy townspeople as the enemy though. They were just unsuspecting civilians and I hoped they all stayed asleep.

  I studied the house while we waited. It looked big, but data had been somewhat sparse, and we only had this angle for a visual. One of the windows darkened after almost an hour of waiting. Another fifteen minutes later, the last light went out.

  We followed Dolph’s orders and held position for another hour, then moved through toward the egress he indicated. A large section of grass covered the area behind the house and a miniature climbing structure had been erected in the middle. I gave it a curious glance when we passed, unsure what in the system it would be used for as I’d never seen anything like it before.

  Both of the houses on either side were also dark, but when we reached the breach site, I took point on surveilling the one with a better line of sight. Haas started his work on breaking through the security while Sophie covered behind me.

  So far, I had to say, the mission had gone smoothly. I didn’t quite relax, though. Our last mission hadn’t been the first to go wrong. Far from it, in fact. It only took one thing to completely fuck even the most carefully planned operation.