The Venerate Salvation

by Troy Dukart

  Next level of enemy?

  “The reason you'll be called “Angels,” is because the only way to escape this hell is to become one.”

  For the next few weeks, we spent half our time studying survival techniques like finding food in a desert, how to remain undetected in any situation and how to handle battlefield wounds. The other half we studied out in what she called “the field.” Aka, the forest next to our classroom. Captain Rollins and Flight Sergeant Guiwan taught us tracking, hunting, evasion techniques, and hand-to-hand combat.

  Here, we were in the shit. Messed up? That earned you a slap across the face. Couldn't remember how to skin an animal? Didn't eat. Beaten by another person in combat? Fight again.

  The physical, mental and emotional beatdown was intense.

  Call me weird, but I liked this.

  At night, we had personal time to gather firewood, go hunting or anything else we wished to do. We all kept to ourselves mostly, but Parker would always come to talk to me. I knew what he was trying to do, but getting into someone's pants were the least of my concerns at the moment.

  “Hey! We're halfway there,” he said as I was lighting a fire.

  The fire was dying so I threw some wood in the pit and said, “You would never think it by how many people still can't hunt here.”

  “This has all come naturally to you. You from a different planet or something?”

  “If only you knew.”

  “Here, let me help you with that,” Parker brought more firewood and piled it on.

  “Thanks, but I got this.”

  A bit of anger ran across his face but he controlled himself. No doubt he had a temper, but he didn't lose around me.

  He came down and sat beside me. Cohabitation was forbidden, aka “get friendly” as Captain Rollins said. It made me a little uneasy and excited at the same time.

  “You know, when I told my family about joining the SF, they couldn't believe it. They always wanted me to stay in the city, get married, and raise some kids. Couldn’t do it. I needed to escape New York for a while,” Parker divulged.

  “What took you so long to join?” I teased.

  “Ha, I was inspired to because of the traveling, but also because I see a lot of opportunity in International relations. I believe in ultimate order. The SF can take us places nobody else can Urena.”

  “Why not be a civilian pilot or work for an embassy? The SF isn't going to give you everything you desire, you realize that right?”

  “Well, it brought me here next to you, that's a start, right? The more I rank up, the more I'll be closer to keeping the world safe.”

  He grabbed my hand but I brushed it away,

  “We're both in deep shit if they catch us.”

  “You're slippin' to think they're faster than me,” Parker said as the firelight danced across his face.

  In the past few months, I had mentally moved on from Strafe. He didn't deserve what I did to him. No matter who you love now though, you never forget your first relationship.

  “I have a boyfriend,” I said instinctually.

  “Are you going to marry him?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Well, why don't you pretend like he just asked you to? What would you do?”

  His confidence was intoxicating, I'll give him that. He leaned in and kissed my lips. The fire, the night sky, the calmness of the forest all enhanced the moment. Kissing him made my mind at ease. His kiss differed from Strafe, which turned me on. I reveled in the momentary escape you get when your lips touch another's. It had been a long time since I felt, wonderful.

  “Such a naughty girl,” he smiled.

  Soon we got to the final day of school. Captain Rollins and Sergeant Guiwan rounded us up into formation before giving a speech.

  “Congratulations trainees! You have gotten this far without killing yourselves or someone else. The next part of your journey will not be easy, but stress and life will shape you into becoming what our country needs to stay strong,” she nodded to Sergeant Guiwan who brought over a black box, “You've earned these.”

  Every military member had their career field patch on their uniform to showcase their specialty.

  To earn one was a symbol of honor.

  Resting above the US Space Force tag on our left breast was a military tradition. The emblem itself was interactive. It glowed in the same white light as the outlines of our suits. A globe with lightning wings on each side of it. There was resemblance to an Angel, like Captain Rollins nicknamed us.

  “What we didn't tell you was your final test. We have a class of sixteen people here. There are only fifteen Recon badges available. Hidden across the training area you will find them. Upon recovering one, you will gain full access to your suit's functionality and receive your next assignment and base listing. If you don't find one, you will train for another month until we deem you worthy.”

  People were shaking with nervousness and excitement. Nobody wanted to be here any longer, and they never told us about this little scavenger hunt until now.

  “The badges are in no particular place. They can be anywhere. You will have until sundown. Good luck!” Sergeant Guiwan said.

  “BEGIN!”

  As soon as she released us, my fellow trainees and I ran as fast as the wind to find a badge. People were looking under rocks, climbing trees, looking down rabbit holes. Any bizarre act you could think of.

  Parker and I agreed to help each other find our badges. The entire search area was one-hundred acres of dense Montana forest. The smell of pine and the singing of the birds was something I never experienced back home. The air was so fresh here. I would miss it.

  Upon equipping my helmet, the tracking technology popped up on my HUD. The suit could identify heat signatures, provide us with locations of where we've been and a myriad of other applications to aid in our search. Moving along a river we made our way east of the school. By this time, nobody else was in sight.

  “Damn, where do we begin?”

  “I've tapped into the other trainees and am receiving their location data to my suit. It will also show us who found a badge and who hasn't,” Parker beamed.

  “Won’t that be cheating?”

  “Haven't you heard All's fair in love and war?” he chuckled, “Plus, they never said we couldn't.”

  “Let's hope they're cool with it,” I cautioned.

  Our hunt had us running deep into the forest. Two hours in, four people had already found badges, all in different locations. We kept our eyes open for footprints, disturbed grounds, and everything else we'd been trained to look for.

  After another three hours of searching, we had to find lunch. After catching some rabbits and making a stew, we continued on until it was almost sunset. By this time, there was only one other person besides us who hadn't found one yet. The sakes were higher than ever.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a waterfall. Something about it called out to me. It was about twenty feet high and small in size and strength. Jogging over to it, I saw a bunch of rocks at the bottom below the fall. Brushing them aside, slowly and delicately, I held my breath in anticipation. After removing the last stone, I found it! A Recon badge!

  “Hey! Look what I got!”

  “I am so jealous of you right now,” Parker said, “I suppose you're going to leave me hanging?”

  By placing it above the Space Force patch, it integrated and attached automatically, glowing bright.

  “No way, let's find that last one.”

  Just as I said that another trainee had walked up to us, holding the final badge.

  “Hey, you two manage to find one?” they asked.

  “Just one. You must've found the last one,” I reckoned.

  “Wow, makes me feel lucky. Well, best of luck to you both. I need to make it back and prepare to go to my next assignment.”

  Parker stood up and began to walk toward the guy, “Why don't you do the smart thing and
hand that over to me?”

  “What? No way bro. Get your own next time,” he objected as he turned and ran.

  With a shrug of his shoulders at me, he sneered, “I warned him.”

  Before I could tell him to stop, Parker chased after him. I sprinted to catch up but lost sight of them. The sound of sticks breaking and feet hitting the ground echoed in my helmet. Environmental volume control allowed us to hear a feather hit the floor if we so desired.

  After around five minutes of chase, I finally caught up to Parker. He had the other guy pinned down and in an arm-bar. He could've broken the other trainee's arm easily if he wanted to.

  “Now, if you want an arm that is functional, give me the damn badge!” Parker threatened.

  “No way you fucking asshole!” he shouted back. He was wincing his eyes in pain.

  “Stop this! You're hurting him!” I yelled.

  “You know our orders are the same right? This guy's on the other side of the world! Why do you care what happens to him?”

  To see someone being taken advantage of was something I couldn't stand for, even if Parker and I were becoming close.

  “If you have any feelings for me, you will let him go.”

  “Either way sweetheart, I'm not staying here any longer,” Parker responded.

  With a quick snap, he broke the guy's arm at the elbow and grabbed the badge. He shrieked as Parker walked away.

  “What the fuck!? How could you do that?”

  “This test was to separate the weak from the strong. Do you really think it was anything else?”

  “You're a scumbag. I can't believe you!” I shook my head.

  “Well, if you snitch, I'll have to confess that you gave yourself up to me, like a whore and...” he was saying before I ran up and punched him in the jaw. He stumbled over a branch backpedaling and fell on his ass.

  “I don't know who you are or what you're up to but you're not getting away with this.”

  Smiling while rubbing his lip, he got up and snickered, “Time's almost up Urena. I'll see you back at camp, bitch.”

  He ran so fast it reminded me of The Flash. I couldn't believe this bastard! The other trainee had fainted from the pain. Activating the suit's strength, I picked him up, put him over my shoulder, and chased after Parker. No easy feat, he zig-zagged through the trees to lose me. After a few minutes, he escaped. The weight of carrying this guy slowed me down.

  Once I got back, Sergeant Guiwan met me. I set the dude down and showed her my badge. She shook my hand. Before I could tell her what happened, Captain Rollins whisked us into the training room. Sergeant Guiwan bent down to care for the injured man.

  The others had begun celebrating and waved us both over for a drink. Captain Rollins stepped out of the room. When I looked at Parker, he flashed a devilish smirk across his face.

  Who the hell are you?

  CHAPTER 6

  Yessa

  The party lasted until the morning. I didn't sleep much, mostly because when I talked to Captain Rollins about the incident, she didn't believe me. She said they would talk to Parker and the other trainee at daybreak to confirm. That irked me.

  Gallow, who Parker assaulted, had not responded well to the treatment they provided him and needed rest. They said his condition worsened as the night went by. Damnit! I was so pissed! Betrayal can be insufferable.

  After waking up, they called us up to formation. Captain Rollins and Sergeant Guiwan wore their service uniform and had our orders ready. Before they issued them, we found out what happened to the Gallow.

  “Congratulations on completing your survival and recon training!” she applauded, “Your Space Suit's flight ability will now be restored and you can proceed to your next assignment. A few of you might be wondering but an unfortunate event occurred. Lt Gallow died this morning in his hospital bed. He had a heart attack yesterday during the test. We will be observing his transferal before his return to his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.”

  People gasped in shock at the news. I looked to Parker to see his reaction. Emotionless.

  You son of a bitch.

  “We will be letting his family know immediately. While we mourn for Lt Gallow, I need you to remember what we taught you. You are going to have people die around you. Things like this will occur. The mission is number one though, and you must do your best to accomplish it while ensuring the safety of your troops. Do not fail as we did here today.”

  “YES MA'AM!” we shouted.

  After the military honors for Gallow finished, dozens of lights in my suit's HUD lit up as flight functionality was returned to me. My orders displayed and my take-off coordinates programmed into my suit. I was flying to our European base in Germany to begin my reconnaissance work.

  “Good luck Angels!” Captain Rollins said.

  Just like back in basic, we all began to split off in different directions until it was just me and Parker. Being near him disgusted me. He tried to put his arm around me but I smacked it away. I muted communications with him.

  After we arrived at the landing zone, I confronted him right away, “You asshole! You killed him!”

  “Who's to say you didn't while carrying him back? That could've caused his heart to stop beating,” Parker chuckled.

  “Last time I checked, assaulting someone and leaving them to die can be considered manslaughter!”

  “Well,” he tapped his head with his index finger, “Last time I checked, there weren't any rules against brutality for the competition. You're lucky I didn't snap your arm and take your badge.”

  “You are such a creep! Assault is assault. Don't you ever speak to me again unless it's mission critical, you slimy bastard. This isn't over!” I said as I pushed him away in frustration. I felt like he abused me in a way, and it made me want to cry. Justice never rests though, and he would be brought to it.

  Gallow was slain by Parker in the night, but I couldn't prove it. I didn't buy for a second the SF condoned violence like that.

  I reported to my boss, Major Adams, and he informed me of my new task.

  “Urena, you will lead a small team of Recon Angels to track a group causing cybercrimes through-out Europe and the United States. They go by the name of The Salvators. They have a myriad of hideouts we've been trying to expose. Our friends in the CIA handed us new intel on their latest whereabouts. We are going to investigate. Report back to me tomorrow at 0700 hours. You're dismissed,” he instructed.

  “Yes sir, may I have a moment with you?” I asked.

  “Sure.”

  To the best of my recollection, I told him my story of what happened to Lt Gallow. His response was disheartening, to say the least, “I'll look into it. Your report will be filed and under review until further notice.”

  As I walked back to my room, I was so angry it was hard to think straight. Upon entering my room, I slammed the door, leaned against my wall, and slid down to the ground and closed my eyes. Hands on my head, knees to elbows, tears were forming in them but to my surprise, someone was in the room with me. It was Scotta.

  “YESSA!? Is that you girl?” she gushed in excitement.

  “Amy!” I ran over to give her a hug.

  With closer friends in the military, we would call each other by first names. It happened once you got to know them.

  “What are the odds of this? Mill' to one?” she smiled.

  “Thank god you're here,” I sighed, wiping the small tears away.

  “Why, something wrong hun?”

  “A whole bunch.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Strafe

  Yungbulakang Palace's majesty had no rival. Local lore stated it belonged to the first Tibetan King, in the second century BCE. Zixin and I began the long walk up the mountain to reach the palace. Along the way, the traditional colored flags waved in the calm wind. Esper, Goliath, and Pup accompanied us. It was funny to see the local's reactions to our Whiteclouds. Some got scared while the children wanted
to pet them. They liked the attention. Unfortunately, my brother got a few glares because of his missing arm. I hoped we could do something for him someday. Bio-mechanical arms had come a long way.

  The walk to the top was a spiritual experience; the sun shined bright, the weather remained cool, and a gentle breeze kissed my cheek ever so often. A smell of minted incense would come and go.

  There weren't many tourists because of winter but plenty of locals. Sometimes we would walk by monks on the way up. Customary etiquette encouraged us to bow to them, so we did. Goliath, Esper, and Pup would also bow their heads. They would smile at them and return the gesture.

  Upon reaching the summit, my body lost all tension and worry. Some people meditated in the hills. Wind chimes gently played beautiful melodies. Children chased each other in a game of tag. The palace took my breath away. I put my arm around Zixin. We walked toward the gates. The guards told us that the “large wolves” would have to stay outside. They didn't mind as the kids invited them to play. It was good for them to have some fun. We pushed open the gate and entered.

  By walking inside, you took a step back in time. Ancient golden Buddha statues and local art displayed everywhere I turned. Rugs in beautiful colors lined the floors. What an honor to be here. Despite the wonderful works, I had to remain focused on our mission, to find that secret chamber the Salvators spoke to me about. With the map unfolded, I tried to locate where we should go but didn't know how to decipher it.

  The map's directions stated to go to the highest level and look towards the sun. We managed to sneak past security, distracted by observing the Whiteclouds out the window. Creeping around as quiet as possible, we took the stairs to the top, which opened up to a view of the landscape. We could see for miles. Zixin took a seat in a chair, as he had gotten tired. I took a big breath of mountain air.