The Fifth Column Boxed Set

by J. N. Chaney

  “Alright,” I said. “Time to get to work.”

  The first thing we did was locate Kaska’s residence. Vice-Admirals’ private home coordinates were not available to the general public. As Mack said, you couldn’t just look them up in the local directory. Added to that, any searches for them would send up a red flag.

  “I don’t get it,” Calliope said after she’d been at it a few hours. “Can’t you just find a backdoor into their network?”

  The hacker looked up slowly from her station and fixed a withering stare at the girl that could have rivaled any drill instructor. “That’s not how it works. Don’t believe everything you see in the holo vids.”

  After that, Calliope didn’t ask any more questions and Mack worked her magic before the day was out.

  “Got it,” she said, slapping a hand down in triumph.

  The property began to render on the holo display, finishing in a few spare seconds.

  “It looks big,” Farah said as the rest of our little team crowded around to see.

  She was right. The house alone looked like a mansion and I was reminded of the wealthy community on Sobek. It rose two sweeping stories off the ground with elegant stonework. The open rooftop was swathed in drapes of fabric to stave off the suns.

  The house sat in the middle of the property, surrounded by trees on two sides and an outbuilding on the east facing side. The entry road circled around to the only open side that faced north.

  “It is,” Mack confirmed. “He’s got ten acres there, located about 40 kilometers from the palace.”

  “Lots of space and privacy,” I commented. “Can we pick up what’s in outbuilding with a scan?”

  Mack tapped on her data pad a few times and came up with a rough image, then made a “huh” noise. “I have no idea,” she said.

  Three silhouettes were lined up neatly, their bulk taking up most of the structure. I thought they might have four metal legs with a round drum in the middle, but I couldn’t be certain. They looked to be machinery, but nothing I recognized.

  “Me either,” I said, giving up.

  Farah squinted at the image and tilted her head. “Is that some kind of farm equipment, Cal?”

  Calliope made a face and shrugged. “It doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen,” she admitted. “Though I suppose it could be a planter or something.”

  “Kaska doesn’t strike me as the manual labor type, and I don’t see any fields,” I reasoned.

  Lieutenant Tyndell nodded. “It’s probably left over from the previous owner or used for landscaping. I say we move on. Aaron, where do you want to set up?”

  “I need to do some research before I can say,” he said, pulling out a data pad and holding it up.

  “Go ahead,” I said, sending him off. “Mack, did you get any schematics?”

  She shook her head. “Sorry, no. The location was hard enough. Maybe if I had more time…”

  I waved that away. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve worked with less before.”

  “How do we get in?” Calliope asked.

  “I propose a night operation,” I said, looking to see if anyone had an idea.

  “It’s what we do best,” Farah agreed.

  “Any intel on security?” the lieutenant asked, directing the question at Mack.

  “Nada,” she answered, curling her hand to make a zero. “Vega might be able to pick up something with her scanners, but more than likely you’ll have to get in close.”

  If the elder Tyndell noticed Mack’s informal response, he didn’t show it.

  As for the lack of intel? Well, I hadn’t expected anything less. That was just the way things went sometimes. Or, as we often found out, in most cases.

  “I’d rather get as close as we can, then hunker down until he leaves for the meeting,” I said. “If we try to mess with his security, we run the risk of setting something off. If that happens before he’s with the Emperor, he’ll bring everything down on us that he can.”

  “I agree,” Tyndell said. “If the alarm is tripped while he’s indisposed, no one will interrupt the meeting.”

  “I’ve been timing travel,” Mack chimed in. “It’s going to take him at least twenty minutes to get to or from the palace to his place. Approximately.”

  I played it out in my head. “The foundation is good. Now we just need to tweak until it’s perfect.”

  “That’s about what we need,” Farah said dryly.

  19

  Sarkon was plentiful in two things: sand and mountains. The terrain gave us plenty of pockets where the Genesis could set down long enough to drop us off, then take off again. Even if someone noticed the disruption of dirt from the engines, they’d likely write it off as one of the many wind funnels that started and stopped sporadically.

  Once on the ground, we moved by foot toward our first destination: a cave that Mack had pointed out as a good place to stay out of sight and out of the sun until we could move under the cover of night.

  Mack stayed behind so she could monitor things from the sky and not get pulled into combat, if it came down to that. She’d balked at first, but Farah and I had finally convinced her that we needed her in the sky keeping an eye out for us.

  It was nearly dusk. The twin suns beat down on us as we walked, getting in their last licks before night could fall and grant some relief. The sweltering heat made the hike uncomfortable and it was compounded by the heavy packs we carried.

  “Jeez,” Calliope complained, wiping sweat from her brow. “You could’ve warned me about the heat.”

  “At least it’s a dry heat,” I said then chuckled. “It could be humid too. Besides, we grew up here. It doesn’t really bother us. Well, me at least.”

  Farah, Lieutenant Tyndell, and Aaron all murmured their assent.

  I wasn’t exaggerating. Every Sarkonian trained here throughout academy and precursor training. We built up a tolerance to the heat which helped for ops like this. The flip side of that credit chip was that we didn’t do so well in the cold.

  “Not that I blame you,” I continued. “Believe me, I’ll take the starry ocean any day. The Genesis is always temp controlled.”

  Calliope didn’t respond, just pulled out a bottle of water and took a big gulp.

  I paused to give her a minute and used the time to survey our surroundings and check them with my wrist unit. A quick glance told me we were still headed in the right direction.

  Directly ahead lay an expanse of rock that rose up to form a ridge. It wasn’t particularly high, unlike the mountains behind us, but Aaron had chosen it for his high ground. Once night hit, he would separate from us and go stake out a spot to hunker down until the op started.

  The plan for the rest of us was to scout the perimeter of Kaska’s property and identify where his security system might be most vulnerable. When that was done or dawn arrived, whichever came first, we would return to the cave.

  Mack would watch from above and let us know when Kaska left for his meeting with the Emperor. We knew exactly what pace was needed to reach the property. From there, we would wait until the meeting started, then breach the house. If all went well, we’d be in and out before either a patrol or Kaska could get there.

  “You good?” I asked Calliope.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I think I’m getting used to it.”

  We crossed the rock and sand filled terrain, careful not to disturb any animals. Many were harmless, but there were plenty that could take out a full-grown human.

  Just about everyone I knew had been stung at least once by a sand hornet. Vicious little things the size of a baby’s fist, the venom in their stingers felt like a bullet wound.

  Growlers also roamed these parts. They maxed out at knee height but had a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth that could slice through flesh and rend muscles from bone in a single bite. Known to travel in packs, the small animal had four legs and moved fast. If you wanted to keep your limbs, then you better be a good shot.

  Some animals didn’t
attack unless they were provoked, like the sand serpent, but its venom was deadly. One bite could kill a person if they didn’t have a way to get medical aid quickly.

  Yet more reasons to prefer the ship to being planet side. The worst thing you could get on a ship was rats, and cats took care of those. The Ambiana had even had a cattery to deal with the rat problem.

  Thankfully, we didn’t see any of the vermin that could have made for a rough hike and we reached the crepuscular cave without issue. It didn’t connect to a system and was therefore shallow—more of a rock shelter than cave.

  That was just fine with me. I considered myself a good soldier. Going up against enemies that outsized or outnumbered me didn’t bother me, but the dark did. Not enough that I couldn’t do what needed done, but it still made me uncomfortable.

  This cave’s mouth opened wide in a permanent yawn, letting plenty of light in. Much to Calliope’s relief, it was still cool inside and relatively clean. We did clear away a few piles of dried leaves and sticks, which I concluded used to be part of a den. Whatever had used the cave was long gone though, and we settled in to hydrate and eat an MRE until dusk came.

  “What did you get?” Farah asked me, jerking her chin at the package in my hand.

  I checked the bag and grinned. “Pepperoni pizza. You?”

  She studied her meal and grimaced.

  “C’mon, it can’t be that bad,” I teased.

  We both knew that wasn’t true. Especially when you bought them in bulk, as we did. The sellers more often than not threw in packages at random. The upside was that there was a variety, the downside being that you might get something gross.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” she replied. “It’s a surprise.”

  “What kind? I usually like tuna myself. We can trade if you want,” Aaron offered.

  She held out the package and pointed at the name. “It seriously just says ‘Surprise.’”

  Aaron laughed. “I’m still okay with it. Mine is shredded meat in sweet sauce.”

  Farah wrinkled her nose. “No, that’s okay. I’m sure it’s fine.”

  It turned out to be meatball surprise, which she actually liked, so that worked out well. The four of us swapped mission stories to pass the time and I couldn’t help but feel pretty good inside.

  The lieutenant told us about the time his jump rig had malfunctioned during a training exercise.

  “So, I was flipping through the air while trying to get the stupid wings to come out,” he said, motioning with hands to demonstrate. “I thought for sure I was dead. That’s when I spotted only thing close enough to aim for. The women’s barracks.”

  “I’ve heard this story a million times,” Aaron said, leaning over to whisper so he didn’t interrupt.

  “And as you know,” Tyndell continued, “those buildings are for shit. Built cheap as the government can get them. Anyway, the wings finally decide to open, but by then it’s too late. The most they did was break my fall and I crashed right through the roof! Of course, lucky me, I landed in the shower room. Gave all the girls a good scare. That’s the last thing you expect to happen when you’re naked. Most of them went running for towels.”

  Aaron groaned. “I hate this part. Watch, he’s going to wink at me in a second.”

  I was smirking, trying to keep from laughing out loud at his commentary.

  The lieutenant got a dreamy look on his face. “All but one. The most beautiful soldier I’d ever seen. She walked over without a stitch on and checked on me like an angel. Your mother,” he said to Aaron.

  Right on cue, he winked, and I lost it.

  By that time everyone was laughing, and Farah decided to tell them the tale from academy. An older girl had picked a fight with me trying to impress her friends. I remembered the incident vividly. I’d tried to deescalate the situation, but the girl wouldn’t leave it alone.

  “There’s Alyss, a whole head shorter than this broad, telling her all calm-like ‘if you don’t back off, I’m going to expect a thank you when you get a week off of studies in the infirmary.” Farah was holding her stomach and struggling to finish the story because she was laughing so hard.

  “I warned her,” I said with a shrug. “Besides, it didn’t end up being a whole week. Like four days or something.”

  Everyone had a good chuckle at that and I grinned at the scene. As much as I’d hated being a pawn for the government, I liked being a soldier. I was good at it. Moments like this, when a team came together and just shot the shit for a while before an op went down made for the best memories.

  The light coming in began to wane, stretching the shadows until they disappeared. With the onset of twilight, the temperature dropped to more acceptable levels and we packed up our little camp.

  “Mack, do you read me?” I said into the comm, hefting my pack and signaling to the others it was time to move out.

  “Loud and clear,” she responded.

  “Anything new show up on the scans?” I asked, adjusting my visor before switching it on.

  “Not yet. If anything starts to come your way, I'll give you a shout.”

  I liked knowing she was our eye in the sky. Vega could warn us of potential issues on the ground and monitor the skies, but she lacked the human component. Even when she ran probabilities, it only gave her estimations on the best scenario based on mathematics.

  Not that I was complaining. The computer saved our butts on a regular basis and made for a remarkably good travel companion. Even if she did rat me out to Farah occasionally. The point was, I felt better knowing she had Mack as a counterpart to watch our backs.

  We filed out of the cave and picked our way through a dry ravine in the last of the fast fading light. Two of Sarkon’s three moons hung in the sky, both crescents. My visor automatically adjusted to night mode, so I didn’t fall on my ass or twist an ankle.

  The city was too far for its light pollution to be seen, and the only sounds came from us and the surrounding nature. It was peaceful. That wouldn’t last much longer, I mused. Not that peace usually did.

  Just before we crested the sand ridge that would take us to the edge of Kaska’s property I signaled everyone to stop. Standing at the top of the ridge would have given us a decent view, but we’d have been visible as well. There was always the off chance that we’d missed a well-placed guard and I didn’t want to tempt fate.

  “This is your stop,” I told Aaron. “Happy hunting.”

  The sniper nodded. He moved silently into the dark, almost seeming to meld with the terrain. Not quite like Dolph, the Void operative who disappeared with such ease that he could have been a ghost, but close.

  All business, I thought to myself.

  The rest of us continued to the top of the ridge and took up prone positions to get a feel for the land with our own eyes instead of a holo image. The house itself lay less than a kilometer away.

  “V, show me everything,” I instructed.

  My HUD lit up instantly. A line of green started below us and continued, highlighting the perimeter of the property in squarish shape. Small tags hovered over the house and outbuilding, along with color markers for terrain.

  “Looks dark,” Tyndell said. “Still no sign of movement since the cleaning crew left.”

  “Alleged cleaning crew,” I murmured.

  Earlier that day a group of people in professional uniforms had come to the house. From the scans, we surmised they were there to get the house in order.

  “Man, you really are paranoid,” Calliope said lightly.

  “No, she’s right,” Farah interjected. “We’ve used that tactic more than a few times, and it works. Most rich people don’t give servants a second look.”

  That had been the reason behind my thinking too. A spec ops team disguised as the cleaners would have no problem at all getting in and setting up additional security measures. Hell, I’d seen one of them roll a cart into the house plenty big enough to hide a person. Calliope might be right about my paranoia, but she’d be than
king me if it saved her ass.

  “Watchbird to command, I’m in the first position with a clear view,” Aaron said over the comm.

  As the night progressed, he would find vantage points along the ridge and earmark them with notes on what each had to offer.

  “Copy that,” I told him, then to the others I said, “let’s go. Stick to the plan. Don’t cross the perimeter, and if you’re not sure about something, err on the side of caution.”

  At everyone’s acknowledgement, I started down the hill to Vice-Admiral-Kaska’s property.

  20

  I stopped just outside the green perimeter marking on the east portion of the property. Lieutenant Tyndell stood next to me with a scanner in hand while I kept watch.

  We were looking for any sign of equipment Kaska may have set up to protect the place, but so far, we hadn’t found anything.

  Farah and Calliope were on the other side doing the same thing. If anyone got a hit, they would mark the area to alert the other team, then send the scan to Mack for analysis. The scanners only had a few meters worth of range, so we would have to keep doubling back to make sure we got everything. As the area was cleared, the green perimeter widened to mark it safe.

  Sarkonian landscaping usually stayed simple and ranged from keeping the sand at bay to strategically placing the more aesthetically pleasing rocks. Kaska’s land was mostly flat and covered in rocky patches to offset the shifting layers of sand that created miniature dunes. The trees we saw on the holo rendering made up the largest natural landscape, but they were of typical Sarkonian-native variety. Rough and hardy to withstand the dry climate of the planet, with dark green foliage that no one would accuse of being lush.

  Tyndell and I rotated positions every fifteen minutes to stay sharp, and I took the scanner before crossing the last of our section’s outward perimeter. I stepped carefully, as though it were an enemy tripwire, and hesitated on the other side, but nothing happened.