by Amy DuBoff
“I wish we were going to head away from the danger, rather than toward it.”
Ava patted his knee. “An FDG warrior is almost always running toward the conflict.”
“I’m sure I’ll get used to it.”
Ava looked up at him. “We should probably talk about this, once we’re not in immediate fear for our lives.”
He dropped his arm from around her. “Yeah, of course. I didn’t mean—”
She found his hand and entwined her fingers in his. “Just because I can’t think about it right this second doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”
Luke relaxed. “Good.”
“Our priority is to stay out of NTech’s sight and get to that rendezvous.”
He shook his head. “I can’t believe I ever trusted NTech.”
“I would have, too, in your position. We grew up with their tech keeping us safe from the time we were kids. And I doubt the entire organization is corrupt—most of the people working at the local lab here are probably doing good work that will help people across the galaxy.”
“While a handful are hurting hundreds instead. And now they may have gone after our friends and family…”
Ava placed her hand on the side of his face and gazed into his eyes. “We’ll get them back. Don’t worry.”
He nodded and took a deep breath.
She stood. “We should get closer to the Force’s landing site. We can find another place to hide once we arrive.”
“Right.” Luke rose to his feet and brushed off some moss from his pants. “We should be able to make it in two or three hours. The path I’m thinking is the long way around, but I’d rather not come face-to-face with one of those mechs.”
“I fully endorse this plan. I’ve already been shot at once this week, so my quota is filled.”
Luke shook his head and set out into the dark.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Karen reviewed the latest coded message that had arrived while she slept: >>It is almost time. Soon the FDG will move against Nezar, and you will have your opportunity to take action against the Alucian president. Be ready.<<
She cleared the sleep from her eyes and sat up in bed. The years of preparation had all come down to the coming moments.
Her stomach lurched with the thought she’d soon kill a man who’d been a leader and mentor to her, but she knew it was for the greater good. She needed to protect her home at any cost.
***
Luke’s route through the back roads proved to be a more strenuous slog than Ava had anticipated. Three hours passed under the moonlight while they hiked along the side of the road, ready to dive into the bushes and tall grass a pace away if they spotted anyone approaching from across the valley’s flat terrain.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Ava grumbled, swatting an insect that had been circling her for the past kilometer.
“Yes, we’re almost there,” he insisted.
“That’s what you said an hour ago.”
“This time I mean it and I’m not just saying it to placate you.”
Touché. Ava shut her mouth—more to keep the bug from flying in than because she was done grousing.
They tramped along in silence for another half hour before Luke finally halted. “That clearing over there,” he pointed toward a field on a low hill half a kilometer to their right, “is the location indicated on your map.”
“Finally!” Ava checked the time on the comm; it was coming up on 03:30. “And with more than an hour to spare.”
“You should never doubt my punctuality.” Luke smiled, but it was clear he was tired.
“Let’s find a little hollow where we can rest,” Ava suggested. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea of going into a combat scenario on no sleep, but that’s what stims were for. Even a short nap was better than nothing, though.
“That should be a good spot up ahead.” Luke indicated a grove of trees one hundred fifty meters from the landing area.
“Perfect.”
They left the side of the road and slipped into the trees. A small interior clearing offered just enough room for them to lie down on the ground.
“You rest, I’ll keep watch,” Luke told her.
“You really don’t have to—”
“I’ll get to kick back and watch everyone else do all the work once the FDG arrives. Rest.” He sat down cross-legged.
Ava dropped her bag next to him, and she positioned herself with her head propped on the bag. Luke stroked the top of her head while she got settled on the uneven ground, and then allowed her to nap undisturbed.
She drifted in and out of consciousness while she struggled to filter out the unfamiliar sounds of nighttime Coraxan wildlife, but she bolted awake the moment she heard the rumble of approaching engines.
“That sounds like an FDG landing craft,” Ava said, shaking off her grogginess.
Luke was on his feet, gazing up at the sky. “It’s big.”
She rose and stood next to him, following his sightline to the craft descending through the wispy cloud cover. “A big craft to hold the big guns.”
After checking to make sure no items had dropped out of their pockets while they had been seated on the ground, they left the grove of trees and headed for the vessel coming in for a landing. Output from the ship’s thrusters flattened the surrounding grass, and Ava held Luke back until the engines wound down.
Within a minute, a broad door in the side of the craft dropped open. The first people to emerge—already adorned in powered armor—were Ava’s team.
She beamed at them. “About time you showed up! I’ve had an insufficient dose of minion-bossing in my diet.”
Seeing that the surroundings were safe, Samantha removed her helmet. “That would explain why I’ve been feeling so empowered…”
Edwin and Nick slipped off their own helmets.
“Sounds like you got yourself in the middle of a right proper mess,” Edwin commented, eyeing Ava.
“Yeah, well, things were going too well. Had to tend to our job security needs.” She grinned at him.
“Who’s your friend?” Samantha asked while looking past Ava.
“Right.” Ava waved Luke forward. “This is Luke Carter, my local contact for the op. We go back a long way.”
“Uh huh…” Samantha cast her a knowing look, a smirk playing on her lips. “Well, nice to meet you, Luke. Samantha.”
Edwin and Nick introduced themselves in turn.
“Fair warning,” Ava said, “the three of them are Weres, so if one of them calls dibs on the last piece of cake, let them have it.”
Luke swallowed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Samantha smiled sweetly, but some yellow crept into her eyes. “And it goes without saying that we protect our pack. Ava’s one of us, so if you mess with her, we’ll take it very personally.”
“Yay, everyone’s met and we’re all best friends!” Ava held up her hands in a mock cheer before turning serious. “I need to talk with the colonel.” She headed for the landing craft’s door.
Luke cautiously passed between the Were warriors as he followed Ava. They sniffed him as he passed by, and he picked up his pace. “Are they always that intense?” he whispered to Ava while they walked up the ramp.
“What, that? That was nothing. They must get a good feeling from you—the last guy they thought was trying to get into my pants ended up cowering in a corner within thirty seconds.”
“Holy shit…”.
Ava shrugged. “Yeah, didn’t work out.”
At the top of the ramp, she spotted Colonel Kurtz and Major Widmore going over orders for a group of forty warriors in powered armor.
“…and remember, there are civilians in there, so be selective with your fire,” Kurtz was instructing. “We risk our lives so others may live in peace. Let’s get Coraxa back into the rightful hands of its people.”
“Sir,” Ava greeted.
“Lieutenant, I’m glad you made it,” Kurtz replied with a nod, tu
rning toward her.
“It’s been a crazy night.” Ava sighed. “There was some sort of raid on the town. Not sure if it was NTech or Nezaran military, but we think they took additional civilians—either as hostages because they knew you were coming, or as test subjects.”
Widmore scowled. “They must be desperate, to make that kind of public move.”
Ava nodded. “The captives they have in there—we can’t assume they’ll all be friendlies.”
Kurtz took a deep breath. “Understood. The order is non-lethal force wherever possible.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll get my gear on.” Ava said. She awkwardly reached into her bra. “Oh, and this is the physical sample of the nanocytes I collected from the lab.” She handed it to Kurtz.
“Thank you,” Kurtz acknowledged, tucking it into a compartment on his armor.
“What about him?” Widmore asked while examining Luke. “We could use his insights into the facility layout.”
“Oh, I really don’t—” Luke began.
“The facility is very segmented,” Ava cut in. “I’ve probably been to more areas than Luke at this point. I suggest he waits back here, and let the warriors handle it.”
“Very well, but gear up,” Widmore instructed. “I won’t have a stray blast take anyone out if one of the teams brings any action back this way.”
Luke took an unsteady breath. “Right, of course.”
“Everything’s in here.” Ava passed by the rows of armed warriors, toward the craft’s prep area, and Luke followed her.
“I didn’t think I’d be anywhere near the fighting,” Luke said.
“If we do our job well, you won’t be. Armor is just a precaution.” She checked that no one was nearby, then whispered, “I would like to keep you in one piece.”
“I’ll do anything that helps me stay that way.” He smiled back.
Ava found her newest set of powered armor propped in a nearly empty rack inside the prep area. There were six other backup suits, and she found one that would be the best fit for Luke. She detached the weapons, since he wasn’t rated to fire them, just leaving the armored body shell and helmet.
“You ever been in something like this before?” she asked him.
“No, never.”
“Well, it’s straightforward. It’ll augment anything you do. The pressure sensors for grip are pretty smart, so you don’t have to worry about accidently crushing bones if you go to shake someone’s hand—unless you push it. When you make a movement, if the sensors detect excessive force, they’ll automatically stop. You can override them by continuing the action, but it will stop at each step.”
“Got it,” Luke acknowledged.
“Walking is easy—just take a natural stride and the gyros will balance the suit. If you break into a flat-out sprint, a spring system will kick in to boost your speed—your legs won’t actually move any faster, but each stride will cover a lot of distance. I wouldn’t recommend trying that on your first go around.”
“Considering my plan was to sit quietly in the corner, I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“Sounds good to me.” Ava popped off the helmet and pressed the load button on the armor’s chest plate. The torso, arms, and legs split open to receive an occupant. “Come on, step in.”
Luke slowly backed into the armor, positioning his arms and legs to match the angle of the suit’s limbs. When he made contact with the back interior, the armored plates folded around him. “Whoa!”
“Oh, yeah. Should have warned you that it pressurizes. These work as EVA suits in a pinch, but they’re not rated for long-term vacuum exposure.”
“It… tingles.” Luke stood still with his arms out at an awkward angle from his sides.
She mounted the helmet to its holding clip on his left shoulder. “Move around. The pressure will adjust.”
He circled his arms and took a cautious step. Then another. “Okay, this really isn’t that bad.”
Ava smiled. “That’s the spirit.”
She hurriedly donned her own armor, which had been custom-fitted for her. The suit included some stealth tech that wasn’t standard on all combat armor, though it was looking like she wouldn’t get to put that to use until the next op. This one was going to be a firefight, despite their best intentions. She checked the charge on her plasma rifle and stowed it in the designated slot on her back, and then grabbed a multi-handgun for the holster on her thigh—one of her favorite weapons, capable of firing kinetic rounds and sonic blasts to daze enemies. Two concussion grenades in her belt and some extra kinetic rounds completed her loadout.
“Ready?” Ava asked Luke. She mounted her own helmet to her shoulder until she got the comm frequency for the op from her team.
“Good to go.”
They exited the prep area. Upon returning to the open space at the top of the ramp, they found it empty. Kurtz’s voice carried from outside, so they descended the ramp.
“Ready for duty,” Ava said to Kurtz and Widmore when she spotted them on the grass several meters from the landing craft.
“Good, almost ready to make our move,” Widmore replied.
“What do we know about the situation, sir?” Ava asked.
“It looks like this might be related to a larger political move. Someone seems to want a conflict to escalate between Nezar and Alucia,” Kurtz explained. “The Nezaran government is taking the FDG’s presence here as a sign that the Alucians are only signing a vassal agreement with the Etheric Federation so that we’ll take out Nezar and claim this whole system for ourselves.” He paused, a grimace flitting across his face. “While we were landing, I received a confidential tip that Nezar has launched a battleship toward Alucia.”
Widmore looked at the colonel, eyes wide. “I’m shocked they’d do that.”
“How long before it arrives?” Ava asked.
“At its current speed, seven hours. But that trip can be made in far less if they boost hard,” Kurtz said.
“Oh, shit, I have to warn Karen!” Luke exclaimed. “Have you told Alucia about the ship?”
“Until their vassal agreement is signed, we can take no official military action. We’re skirting the rules enough by being here on Coraxa.” Kurtz shook his head.
“What about an unofficial notice?” Luke pressed. “My sister works in the president’s office.”
“Their people deserve time to prepare for an attack, if there is going to be one,” Widmore said. “I think a tip like that is just what’s in order.”
Kurtz deliberated for longer than Ava would have expected, but he eventually nodded. “Do it. You may use the comm room on the landing vessel, but be sure to tie the message to a local civilian code.”
“Yes, sir!” Ava raced with Luke back up the ramp.
“I never wanted her to take that job,” Luke muttered. “Politics in this system are such a mess.”
“That’s probably why she took it, you know. She wants to make a difference.”
“I guess you two always did have that in common.”
When they reached the communications room, Ava dismissed the comm tech and created a civilian-coded feed, like Kurtz had instructed. “Do you know your sister’s direct contact?”
“Yeah.” Luke entered the necessary information on the screen.
“Okay, this should just take a minute to connect.” Ava initiated a video call. She checked the local time in the Alucian capital; it was 10:15 local time, so she should be available.
After thirty seconds the call connected, and a woman in her early thirties matching Luke’s hair and eye coloration answered. “Hello, this is— Wait, Luke? Is that you?”
“Hey, Sis,” he greeted with a smile. “Remember Ava?”
“Wow, yeah… What are you doing back on Coraxa?” Karen asked.
“Long story,” Ava replied. “We’re calling to pass on some information that you need to get to the president. It didn’t officially come from us.”
Luke’s tone turned solemn. “The Nezaran Coalit
ion launched a battleship that’s headed for Alucia.”
Karen’s face drained. “No, that’s not possible. This isn’t how it was supposed to go…”
“I know it’s difficult to believe that it’s come to this after years of trying to find peace, but you need to have the people of Alucia prepare for a potential attack,” Ava urged.
“No, you don’t understand…” Karen shook her head.
“Karen, the media has it wrong,” Luke told her. “Whatever you think you know about what’s been going on the past few days, it’s not the whole story.”
Her brow knit. “What do you mean?”
“The FDG isn’t making a military move against Nezar,” he explained. “They’re only concerned with NTech.”
“The research company?”
“Yes. They’ve been working on genetic experiments.”
Her face paled. “Regarding what?”
“Super-soldiers,” Ava replied. “NTech has been working for someone. We don’t know who, but they’re powerful—powerful enough that they’ve been able to get away with keeping more than a hundred people captive for experimentation. The FDG is moving in, but it’s to shut the lab down and get those people out of there. Now that we’ve forced their hand, NTech has convinced the Nezaran government to take preemptive action.”
“My god.” Tears filled Karen’s violet eyes.
“Sis, are you okay?” Luke asked.
“I think I’ve been played,” she murmured.
Ava examined the other woman on the screen. “What are you talking about?”
“I was sent to Alucia to get close to the government.” Karen wiped a tear from her cheek. “My… my role was to take out the Alucian president.”
“What?!” Ava and Luke shouted simultaneously.
“I’m not going to go through with it now, obviously. But the plan was to assassinate him and blame it on the FDG, undermining the vassal agreement and keeping the entire Alaxar Trinary out of the Federation.”
Ava’s stomach turned over. “That’s a pretty fucked up plan.”
Karen ignored the comment. “I’ll talk with the president and see if we can stave off an attack and keep things from spiraling into a political shit-show.”