by J. A. Scorch
Briggs chuckled. "Oh, man. Hell of a week, right? Well, let me try and help. I am your wingman after all."
"I think this goes beyond wingman duties. Sorry to lay it all on you. I'm sure you've got your own shit to deal with."
"Ah, screw that. No point sitting back and letting it all boil up. The assault is going to happen whether we like it or not. At least now you have a choice in how to fight it."
With a nod, Porter said, "I guess that's true. What would you do?"
Briggs smiled as he turned away. "Doesn't matter. You and I are two different people. I think you should do what you think is best for the assault. Where can you make the biggest difference against the Zeal?"
A puff of air escaped Porter's lips as the answer hit him hard in the face. "Dammit, you just gave me a solution."
"So, I guess I'll be needing a new wingman then?"
Lifting his head, Porter faced Briggs with a scrunched brow.
"You don't need to say anything, man. We both understand where you'll make the biggest difference. Sure, you'd take out plenty of Tritons inside a Stalker, but what are the chances any of us will survive the battle? I'll be glad to think you and Garcia are making the right calls instead of some MAF general."
A long moment of silence passed between them. "Thanks for the talk, Briggs. I better let you get back to your workout."
"Anytime, man."
The two pilots stood and straightened out their fatigues.
Porter moved up to Briggs and put out a hand. "It's been an honor, Lieutenant. You've saved my ass more times than I can count."
"Likewise, Lieutenant. Make sure you find me a decent replacement. Oh, and don't screw up the assault."
"No pressure," Porter said with a laugh.
"You got this."
With a slap on the back from Briggs, Porter left the gym and headed for bed. As he walked the five-minute journey, he thought about the countless missions they had flown together, somehow beating the odds each time to return. His mind drifted back to the beginning when the Zeal first entered the solar system.
Their ships came out of nowhere. None of Earth's long range systems registered the incoming carriers until it was too late to launch some sort of defense. The blue planet's scattered fleets fell quickly, destroyed with ease by the rolling Zeal charge in record time. That day was how the aliens earned their nickname.
Mars held on by a thread, pushing back a single Cyclone at the loss of over half of the MAF fleet. Porter and Briggs lost a lot of friends that day, seeing entire MAF ships destroyed in the blink of an eye. The Andromeda survived, using desperate tactics to fight back and kill several thousand Tritons at the cost of all but thirty of the ship's pilots.
Porter's mind snapped back to the present. The next stage of the war was at hand. When the assault launched, he had no idea how many pilots would survive the mission or if the fleet would push through and take control. He only hoped he didn't make the situation worse and allow the Zeal an easy victory.
Chapter Twenty-Five
"They're everywhere," Teve whispered as he spied on the approaching Stiltz, unsure if X understood his words. "I'm screwed."
"They want you bad, Tevey," X said from behind the stack of tables. "They want you alive and well for transformation."
Teve charged back to the barrier. "Bullshit. I'm not going down without a fight. I'll put a bullet through my skull before they get a chance."
X laughed, his shoulders jumping up and down. "They won't give you a chance, Tevey. The Zeal always win."
"No. You got away from them. You're proof they don't always come out on top."
"Who says I escaped?"
"I found you in the tunnel by yourself ... " Teve trailed off. Could X have been a trap set by the Zeal? The thought was impossible. How could they have known he would find the man there? "Get out of my head, dammit. You're not helping me think straight."
X laughed again. "Just trying to keep things interesting."
Teve slapped a hand to his own head and stomped back to the basement door. He creaked it open and tried to listen for any signs of the Zeal coming up from the sewers. "Stand up. We're leaving."
X rolled his head around toward the door. "Your idea won't work. They'll be waiting for us down there."
"Then what do you suggest, huh? Because up until now, you've been nothing but a pain in the ass."
X stood on two shaky feet and dusted himself off. The man needed to be put through a car wash, but for some reason, he felt the need to clean his pants. Without a care in the world, he strolled over to Teve and looked up into his eyes. "Why don't we make a run for it?" he asked, pointing a single finger at the front door.
"What do you mean? Just sprint out the door and don't look back?"
X shook his head as if Teve had failed to grasp the concept. "No. First, we make a noise. Then we run. Always in that order. Never the other way."
Teve rolled his eyes. X's erratic behavior was starting to wear him down, but he needed to stay focused. "Good idea. I've got a few explosives we could use to make a loud bang. I just—"
X grabbed Teve's arm. "No. Not noise. The sound never works. Explosions only send more Zeal. Need to give them something they want."
"What the hell—"
"I'll give them me," he said, jumping up on the spot to emphasize the idea.
With an audible sigh, Teve realized X was providing no help, so he checked the basement again for any indication the Zeal were waiting for him. It was still his best bet to escape.
"Here I go," X yelled as he approached the hole in the wall.
Teve turned around too late to witness X jump through and out to the street. "What are you doing?"
X stood upright and faced the Zeal outside. "I'm here. Time to wake up." He bolted away from the group in the opposite direction. Seconds later, the Stiltz reacted and gave chase. They didn't raise their weapons or fire a single shot as they stomped on after him. They truly wanted to capture him alive.
"God damn," Teve said to the empty room. By the time he realized what X had done, the clomping feet had begun to fade. Now was the time to escape to freedom. In a hurry, he climbed through the hole in the wall and brought his rifle around as he swept it left and right trying to scope out any threats. In the distance, he spotted X running through a slight clearing, drawing in a significant number of Zeal. The man sacrificed himself to save Teve, possibly not realizing it either. There was nothing he could do to help him now.
Finding his bearings, Teve kept quiet and moved from cover to cover between buildings, making his way back toward the Humvee. According to his e-slate, he still had time to reach the truck before Mish and Moreno gave up and headed home.
After an hour of slow, calculated movement, he finally caught sight of the truck in the distance. Moreno was up on the gun while Mish had two hands firmly gripped to the steering wheel. Teve let out a smile and continued.
"Where are you going, Tevey?" X asked from Teve's side.
Teve snapped his rifle around to the noise, "You can't be serious? How the hell did you escape?"
X stayed in a crouched position. "Easy when you know how."
Teve shook his head, not wanting to ask a follow-up question. He was aware that he would receive a string of madness in return. "We have to go. My ride is up ahead."
"I told you, I can't leave the city."
"I know you did. You also said a bunch of other crazy things I believed. Now come on. We have to go." Teve motioned for X to go with him but he moved back.
"No. I can't leave them behind. Not yet. I'm not ready ... " He trailed off and stared at something over Teve's shoulder.
With a quick turn, Teve dropped down and pointed his rifle out at the Humvee as it approached. Mish had spotted him and decided to move up to retrieve her sergeant. "It's okay. They're with me." He turned around to face an empty patch of ground where X had been standing. The half-human, half-Zeal had disappeared back into the city.
A door on the Humvee clicked
open before a pair of boots ran over to him. "Sarge, we gotta go. There's a crapload of Stiltz about to hit the area."
Teve lowered his weapon and faced Mish. "I don't understand."
"Don't understand what?"
Too many thoughts drove through his head to contemplate what had just happened. With a shake of his head, Teve muttered, "Never mind. Let's go."
The two moved back to the truck and climbed in. With only three soldiers in the fire team, Teve rode in the back again to protect Mish's sector. Moreno would need to cover the rest.
Mish caught his attention. "Did you find anything?"
"I found something big. Did you see that guy I was with?"
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't see him?"
Mish shook her head as she edged the truck over a large pile of debris. "I saw you standing by yourself. No one else. So, what happened?"
Teve stared out the window with his rifle sweeping left and right. He shifted his eyes to Mish's side mirror. "I don't even know where to begin."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Morning came. Porter woke up remembering his conversation with Briggs, in particular, the advice to join Garcia as her second-in-command for the assault against the Zeal. He needed to make his decision official, so he got up and left the room to find the newly appointed Commodore.
Garcia sat in her office going over some training notes. Porter knocked gently on the edge of her open door. "How are the cadets shaping up?"
She glanced sideways without lifting her head. "About as good as can be expected. If we weren't about to launch against the Zeal, I'd fail ninety percent of them without another thought."
"That many, huh?" Porter asked with a chuckle. "I would gladly fail 100 percent of my group alone."
Garcia smiled. "What are we going to do with this lot? The MAF wants to rush an assault on humanity's greatest threat, but they send us a bunch of useless cadets to fill the ranks."
Losing his grin, Porter stepped into the room. "It's going to be a bloodbath, isn't it?"
She turned away from her screen and stared into his eyes. "Not if we utilize a decent strategy. Have you thought about my offer?"
He sat down at a spare seat by her desk. "This is the hardest choice I've ever had to make, but I'm going to be by your side when we hit the three Cyclones."
Garcia's right arm shot out toward Porter. "Welcome aboard, Captain. I understand how hard this must be for you. Walking away from the fight as a pilot is not an easy task."
He let out a sigh. "Sure isn't. I feel like I'm betraying my fellow pilots and leaving them to die."
"You're not. They need you on this side of the plan. Your skills and experience will save more lives than you ever could by being out there on your own."
Her words reassured Porter for a few seconds, but he was never on his own during a mission. He had an elite wingman flying by his side. Now, he was abandoning his post and friend.
"Promise me something, Commodore: if I commit to this, I want Briggs to partner up with the best pilot available. I owe him that much."
Garcia straightened up to the sentiment. With a nod, she said, "I'll do what I can, but I doubt I'll find anyone worthy."
"I'm sure you will. The MAF is sending everyone. I don't care how many favors we need to call in; I want to afford Briggs the best chance of survival."
"About that," she said with a huff. "The MAF won't be sending every ship to the front. About a third will be staying behind in the event we fail. Command feels Mars should not be left defenseless."
"Are you serious? They can’t half-ass this. There's too much on the line."
Garcia closed her eyes and waved him off. "The plan is not ideal. And that piece of intel can never leave this room. If word got out about the assault not being executed at full strength, who knows what kind of mess would fall on our laps?"
Porter dropped back in his seat. It was a lot to take in. Knowing he was missing the big fight was one thing, but living with the knowledge his people would be heading into the most significant battle in human history ill prepared seemed like the worst bit of information he had to sit on.
"Why are they doing this?" he asked, raising his head. "If this assault fails, Mars will be wide open for the Zeal to attack. A small force won't stop their fleet from taking over. We should be committing every available ship to this fight."
"I know. Couldn't have put it better myself, but what can we do about it? We fight with what we have and make sure Mars never sees another Zeal ship on its horizon."
Porter shook his head. "This is bullshit, and you know it."
"No, Porter, this is war. Shit happens. Mistakes are made. People die. You need to get that through your head if you are going to be of any use to me. Now are you in or out?"
He stood in a flash and kicked the chair back. "In or out? This isn't a game. I won't sit back and watch our people all die because some asshole on Mars wants to safeguard their home and delay the inevitable. I'm out." He went to leave.
"Then consider yourself grounded, Lieutenant. You're off the mission."
"What? You can't do that. I'm—"
"I can do what I want, Porter. Leave my office and report to your cadets for training. Do not speak about the mission to anyone or I will put you out an airlock along with the first person you tell."
Porter fell silent, seeing just how dangerous Garcia had become in a short time.
"At the end of your shift, you are to report directly to the brig. Understand?"
He stood firm in her open doorway, fists clenched.
"Don't make me come and find you, either. Now get out of my sight before I send you on the next transporter out of here to an MAF prison ship." Garcia stared him down, not budging an inch.
With flaring nostrils and a snarly lip, Porter left her office and stormed off down the hall toward the training deck.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
"I swear that's what happened," Teve said to Mish before they got back to Phoenix. "I found a civilian covered in Zeal tech like he'd been experimented on for years. He told me the Zeal couldn't leave the city. I think it has something to do with their base."
"You sound insane," she said. "We've been fighting them for three long years. Why wouldn't we have encountered someone like this already?"
Teve sighed as he lowered his rifle from the car window. "I realize it doesn't make any sense, but that's what happened."
Mish glanced into the mirror and scrunched up her brows. "Watch your sector," she said.
"There's no point. The Zeal can't survive out here."
"So now you're quoting the crazy person you think you saw, the one who disappears as soon as we show up."
"It sounds weird but—"
"But what? You're talking about things based on little to no information. How can you trust what this guy said?"
"You didn't see it. There was something about his words that made sense."
Mish turned away from the mirror and hit the accelerator a little harder. "We weren't there because you sent us away."
Teve scoffed. "I was trying to protect you. After seeing Vargas drop dead in a flash, I didn't want to be responsible for your deaths as well."
She rolled her eyes. "Are you going to watch my sector or do I have to get out my sidearm while I drive?"
Teve lifted his rifle back up to the open window of the Humvee. He knew he didn't need to check her sector but did so out of habit.
As the truck eased up to the base entrance, he couldn't help but wonder what the hell he was going to say to Miller when the general demanded a reason as to why they were back so soon. Adams was a lost cause if X was telling the truth. The thought left him more conflicted than he had ever been in his life. He believed what X said, but at the same time, it meant Adams and the rest of the captured soldiers would become his enemy.
"What are you going to say about Vargas?" Mish asked.
Teve kept his eyes on the road, refusing to give her his full attention. "The trut
h. He died covering our withdrawal. Why?"
"No reason. Just checking the mental state of my sergeant."
"I haven't lost it. Not yet."
"I'm sure the general will be happy to hear your report on the human-Zeal army waiting to attack."
Her words hung in the air for a moment before Teve could work them out. "X said he wasn't ready to come with me, that he couldn't leave the city, yet."
"What are you on about?"
Teve's mouth fell open as his mind worked out a dangerous possibly. "I think the human-Zeal hybrids are being created so they can attack us away from the Zeal bases. X kept saying he couldn't leave the others behind. Maybe the transition takes time."
Mish shook her head and muttered.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing ... Please don't talk about this to anyone. They won't believe you."
Her words stuck in his head for a moment. "You're right. Stop the truck. Turn around."
Mish scoffed. "Why?" The Humvee was only a short distance away from the entrance to Phoenix.
"We need to find him. No one is going to accept a word I have to say without proof. You said so yourself."
"I was only trying to shut you up. You can't expect us to go back out there after we've already lost someone."
Teve gritted his teeth. It was a fair objection. Vargas barely survived a few hours under his command. He was now asking them to risk their lives after narrowly escaping certain death.
"Fine. Take us home, but we're going back out there to rescue X. The UEF needs this man found if we are ever going to understand the Zeal and prevent a new kind of attack."
Mish hit the accelerator and headed for the entry. The two guards opened the hidden door and allowed her to roll into the tunnel. After a few minutes of winding down to the docking station, she pulled the Humvee to a stop. She climbed out and met Teve head on as he exited the truck, pulling him aside by the elbow.
"Listen up. I still don't fully believe you, but ... "