by J. N. Chaney
Dolph and Navari covered Haas’ back so they could enter as soon as he gave the signal. Despite my personal feelings for the guy, he knew his shit. His nimble fingers flew over his pad, then the small security screen fixed to the house.
It didn’t take long. A quick beep sounded, and I turned to make sure it had been our doing. Haas nodded at Navari and Dolph, then stood, pointing to something on the pad.
She and Dolph indicated that they understood, then Navari sent another message to our wrist units.
Five minutes. If we don’t come out, follow procedure.
Procedure in this case meant for Sophie and me to return to the rendezvous point—the quads—and await word. If none came, then our orders were to leave and return to the Ambiana.
Her message gave me a moment of pause. Not that I wouldn’t love to leave her prickly ass behind, but what if she purposely stayed behind? She could accuse me of mutiny, then all my escape plans would be out the airlock.
I dismissed the thought. Navari might be a lot of things, but I couldn’t see her lying to the Sarkonian Empire. Not even to stick it to me. Added to that, the order could easily be extracted from our pads, wrist units, and Z9’s logs.
The three of them disappeared into the inky black beyond the door, leaving me and Sophie alone. I kept her in my peripheral in case she tried to get my attention, but otherwise, I scanned for threats with laser focus.
I might not love my job, but I was good at it. A certain intensity came over me when I worked and reminded me of an animal we’d studied at the academy. Our studies always centered around combat and this had been no different.
Dogs were rare and I’d only seen them a few times. Each time, they’d been barking like mad and looked ready to tear someone apart.
We’d learned that when predators are hunting, they experience tunnel vision. If other prey gets in their way, their focus might shift.
It was the same for us, or at least it was for me. I never touched the trigger unless I was ready to fire, but if I was looking for movement… Let’s just say the Sarkon military taught us to shoot first and not ask questions.
I kept an eye on the time through my scope, noting every minute that ticked by. At the ten-second mark, I started to get antsy but didn’t move from my position.
With less than five seconds to go, I detected movement in the residence and shifted my focus to the door. Haas came out first, followed by Navari, then Dolph.
They came out looking empty-handed but Navari nodded and pointed at Dolph’s chest pocket to tell me they had what we’d come for.
I shot a glance in Sophie’s direction, then back at Navari. For the first time in a long while, I nearly jumped. In the half second I’d looked away, Dolph had disappeared. I don’t mean in a stealthy, blend-into-your-surroundings way. I mean he poofed. My gaze had only shifted away for an instant before coming back and somehow the man had ghosted.
Navari looked just as shocked as I felt and whipped her head left and right, scanning for any sign of the Void operative. After a few seconds, she recovered and gestured it was time for us to move out behind her.
Haas shouldered his gear kit and Sophie vacated her post to join me bringing up the rear to cover our backs. Before we could make our exit, the door made a whirring sound.
I whipped my rifle up and aimed it at the door. Light spilled out, swathing the steps in its glow and framing a small figure.
It was a young boy, maybe seven or eight. He wore pale blue, or maybe white, night clothes with a large dark stain on the front. Blood, I realized. He sniffled and I could tell he’d been crying.
“Mommy?” he sobbed, looking right at me and the weapon pointed at him. I dropped it immediately. “Daddy?”
I looked at Navari to see how the hell we were supposed to handle this one.
“Take care of it,” she said in a low voice.
“No. I’m not killing a fucking child,” I said, not believing what I’d heard.
“So you’re already defying another order. Good,” said Navari.
The kid’s sobs rose to a wail and Navari pulled her pistol out of its holster. Before she could level it, I moved and stepped in front of the boy.
Out of the corner of my eye, Haas moved slowly, reaching for his own weapon. He stopped short when he felt Sophie press a gun barrel into the back of his head.
“Hands up,” she ordered. “Slowly.”
He obeyed, allowing me to focus on the commander.
“Taking Singh down with you now?” she mocked, twisting her lips into a grim smile. “I knew it wouldn’t take you long to mess up.”
“Commander,” I pleaded. “See reason. If we start shooting out here, security forces will swarm the area.”
“Excellent point.” She holstered the weapon.
I’d sparred with the woman on a number of occasions. She’d always been a formidable opponent, but I’d come out on top every time but one.
The one time I lost had been at Sophie’s insistence. She thought if Navari could beat me that she might hate me less.
Spoiler alert, it didn’t work.
It had, however, given me valuable insight into Navari’s strong and weak points. Her right side was her strong side and she usually relied on that, along with a tendency to rush her opponent.
The Commander’s lips twisted into an ugly smile and I had a second to appreciate that this had been what she wanted all along before she charged.
Having already predicting the move, I sidestepped, angling away. Navari was fast though, so her outstretched fist grazed my cheek and her shoulder hit hard enough to knock the rifle from my grasp.
I seized her arm and pulled her off balance, then shoved her to the ground. She didn’t stay there long enough for me to gain the advantage and was back on her feet in the next instant.
She lunged again and I saw something glint in the starlight.
There was only enough time to think fuck, and throw my arm to block the blade arcing toward my face. The knife found purchase in the thinner material of my left forearm and I grunted.
Unwilling to give in to the pain, I kicked out at Navari’s left inside knee. The strike landed with a thud and I followed through with a punishing jab to her nose. I had to acknowledge the woman’s grit. She took the hit without crying out even though I was certain something had crunched.
We broke apart, panting hard, and each regarded the other with calculating eyes. I hadn’t noticed that the kid had shut up and the night had gone still.
Then we leaped at each other again, but this time I was prepared for the slashing motion and thrust an elbow into her knife arm. The weapon flipped out of her grip and landed somewhere in the darkness.
I grabbed her by the neck before she could twist away and rammed my fist into her face twice in quick succession. Navari’s eyes went unfocused, then fluttered closed, and she slid to the ground.
The sudden shift in weight unbalanced me as I tried to catch her, and too late I realized my mistake. She had gone for her pistol on the way down and now leered at me as she raised the weapon with a triumphant smile.
I dove into a forward roll as a bullet whooshed past my ear and came up with my own sidearm. It only took one shot and Navari pitched backward from the force of the impact.
Not taking any chances, I stood and cautiously crossed to her. My round had found its mark and Navari was dead.
“Well that’s going to complicate things,” I said dryly.
“What have you done?” asked Haas.
I’d forgotten all about him and Sophie and turned to see that they both looked confused as to what had just played out in front of them.
Now that I had time to react, I picked up my fallen rifle and moved to stand in front of the Ensign looking up at me with hateful eyes. As much as I didn’t want to leave him for the Union to sweep up, he couldn’t come with us.
I brought the weapon up and hit him hard with the rifle stock. His eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped down, but unlike Navari,
it wasn’t an act.
“Get the kid inside,” I told Sophie, who was still staring at me with a mixed expression of awe and horror. “See if he knows how to contact someone.”
She finally snapped out of it and approached the kid. He must have still been in shock because he went in with her willingly.
I took everything out of his pockets, then did the same with Navari. I ignored the fact that half her face had been blown to a pulp and came up with nothing but a data stick.
Sophie came out a few seconds later with a grim look.
“What is it?” I asked, already sure I knew the answer.
“It’s his parents,” she replied. “They’re dead. A near surgical slash to the carotid.”
“And the boy?”
“He didn’t have a comm and Haas blocked the transmission signal,” she replied.
I looked toward the house where the boy had gone in.
“Where is he?” I hated the thought of him alone in there with the corpses of his dead parents.
“He’s just inside the door. I blocked the room his parents are in, just in case he tried to go back.”
It was a damn shame. No kid should have to witness what the poor boy had here tonight.
“Okay, let’s roll out before the Union shows up and we’re completely screwed,” I said. “Someone will have heard all the commotion by now.”
“Too late for that,” replied Sophie.
As if on cue, a light in the neighbor’s house flicked on and the sound of sirens wailed in the distance.
11
Neither Sophie nor I spoke during our return to the quads. Part of that was standard protocol. Talking or making unnecessary noise would only make us an easy target. The other, much more obvious reason had to do with the fact that I’d just made brainburger out of my superior officer.
I had no regrets over the decision. Navari had crossed a line and forced me into action. It didn’t matter what came next, and if I had the chance, I’d do it again without hesitation.
As I navigated through the darkened forest, the image of the boy, drenched in his parent’s blood, came to mind. We weren’t so different, he and I. The Sarkonians had made us both orphans, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of implications that would have on his future.
Would he know who was responsible and grow up harboring a grudge like I had? His life wouldn’t be easy from here, but at least he was still with his own people. Perhaps the boy had family that could take him in.
I pushed thoughts of the kid away. I’d done what I could for him and set things in motion before I was ready. And like it or not, now Sophie was involved. We had to get the hell off this planet.
Then there was Haas. I did feel some remorse for leaving him behind at an assassination scene for the Union to find. Haas was far from a friend, but he’d been following orders and only moved to protect his commander. It was hard to fault the ensign for that.
In any case, there had been no way to get him to the quads while unconscious and tied up before someone found our trail in the woods. It was the most logical choice for an escape route and, if they were smart, the first place law enforcement would look.
The ATHs were right where we had left them, and Sophie and I made quick work of removing the branches concealing them. I’d climbed onto mine and powered it up when a concerning thought came to me.
“Z, you copy?” I asked over the comm, more than a little nervous that the AI wouldn’t respond.
“Of course, Sergeant,” Z9 answered immediately.
“The corporal and I are headed back,” I said slowly, wanting to choose my next words carefully. “Alone. Will there be any issues without Commander-Navari aboard?”
“None whatsoever, Sergeant-Delgado,” Z replied. I thought I’d detected a hint of reassurance from the computer, but it was probably just a combination of the stress and my imagination going off base.
“Good. Prepare for immediate takeoff when we arrive,” I ordered. “Keep an ear out for transmissions that might pertain to us.”
“Acknowledged. Law enforcement have responded to the location, but no alert has been issued. Due to the nature of the mission, I believe Union forces are being contacted on an encrypted transmission.”
“Shit, that’s what I was afraid of. Let’s go,” I told Sophie, who nodded in furtive agreement but still didn’t say anything.
She looked a lot calmer than I would have expected. Though I might have problems with authority, she didn’t. Going against the grain had never been her thing. But she’d just put a gun to our teammate’s head and watched while her friend took out our CO. The woman should be showing some kind of response to that, but I saw nothing save for her cool demeanor.
Deal with that later, I told myself, then urged the vehicle forward. We sped back in the direction of the Dreadnight as fast as we could without face planting into one of the trees.
It didn’t take long to get back to the clearing, especially since the quads now only carried two people instead of five. With the lighter load they were quicker and more agile.
Since the ship didn’t need to be uncloaked to leave, Z9 hadn’t bothered, and at first glance the clearing looked empty.
Then the ramp yawned open, creating an ethereal pool of light in the otherwise darkened forest. For an instant, I was back on that abandoned moon running for my life while Mateo was losing his somewhere behind me. The memory passed when we reached the opening and I waved Sophie up the ramp first.
I didn’t waste any time and followed her inside the cargo bay, then I jerked the quad to a stop and vaulted off. Not bothering to secure it, I made for the bridge at a dead run. Still silent, Sophie ran with me.
The pounding of our boots hitting the floor echoed hollowly through the empty ship. I had a passing thought that the ship already felt abnormal even though three people shouldn’t have made such a difference. I’d been here alone before to grab gear or because I’d been the first to arrive, but this time it felt surreal, like Navari or Haas might be in their usual seats, waiting.
We burst onto the bridge and I was relieved to find it empty. I’d half expected Dolph to be there.
Sophie didn’t question it when I took the captain’s chair and snapped my harness into place. Her face and behavior exuded calm as she sat in her own seat then indicated she was ready.
“Z, get us out of here,” I said, putting my hand on the command center’s bio scanner.
“Unable to comply. Incorrect credentials,” replied the AI almost instantly.
Shit. I threw a glance at Sophie in alarm. Her brows knitted together in concern, finally showing some emotion. She shrugged helplessly. Clearly, she didn’t know what to do either.
“Please complete—”
“Z9, how do I override previous credentials if the commander is dead?” I asked, interrupting.
“There is no need, Sergeant. In the event that the ranking officer is unable to fulfill their post, protocol dictates that I am to replace Commander-Navari with the next highest-ranking person aboard the ship.”
“Oh. I guess that’s me.”
“Correct, Sergeant. Please scan your palm again to complete the information handshake,” requested Z.
Her voice sounded different. Lighter, somehow. Almost like she was pleased to have a new captain, but that couldn’t be.
I slapped my hand to the scanner again.
It chirped merrily as if our lives weren’t hanging in the balance and depending on my ability to control the ship.
“Personnel update complete,” announced the computer a few seconds later.
“Great, now get us the fuck out of here,” I ordered, hoping like hell that the handshake didn’t comprise of a detailed report being sent immediately back to the Sarkonian Empire.
“Affirmative. Initiating takeoff.”
The Dreadnight lifted away from Sobek and I let the Gs push me back into my seat as we ascended with enough velocity to enter parabolic orbit. Take off was typically one of my favo
rite parts of travelling in a star ship. The intense speed with which we rose caused my stomach to drop, but the usual thrill was dampened by the urgency of our escape. Once we were far from the planet and the Union fleet that protected it, I’d feel better, at least as much as I could.
“Sergeant, I assume you do not wish to return to the Ambiana at this time,” said Z as we hit upper orbit. “What is our destination?”
Something was definitely up with the computer. Z had also said “our,” including herself with me and Sophie. Not returning immediately after a mission was a direct violation of orders and not something I’d have thought possible from a military artificial intelligence.
I filed that under more shit to deal with later and focused on the problem at hand. For this short window in time, no one knew who we were, what we had done, or where to find us. We had this one free moment to make a choice, then everything would be a series of running, hiding, and fighting. The calm before the proverbial storm.
Assuming Sophie decided to join me.
“What do you want to do?” I asked, fixing my gaze on my friend.
“I’m with you, all the way,” she replied.
“Are...are you sure?” I was torn between wanting her safe and wanting her to stay with me. “There’s still time to come up with a plan. You haven’t done anything unforgivable yet,” I reasoned, even though I knew it wasn’t true.
Sophie snorted. “Except hold a gun on Haas. Going back isn’t an option. I don’t want to go back, believe me.”
Her tone sound earnest but there was also a hint of desperation. I chalked it up to wanting to get as far from Sobek as we could, because I felt the same way.
I still balked at the idea of dragging her into my mess and we stared at each for a few more seconds. Sophie didn’t blink or break eye contact, so I shrugged and turned to the command module.
“Okay, I guess we’re about to be fugitives. We need somewhere neither the Union nor Sarkon have under strict control.”
“Pardon the interruption, but you may want to choose soon. Sobek has just gone on high alert. Travel to and from the planet is now restricted. We should move quickly,” advised Z.