by Ryk Brown
The hangar was dark, empty, and just as dusty as the planes outside. There were several large crates lying about, some under protective covers. Jessica continued deeper into the hangar, shining her light from side to side as she examined the empty building. Tony and Synda followed her closely.
“It looks like there is nobody here,” Synda said. “Maybe we’re early.”
“No, we’re right on time,” Jessica said. “They’re probably watching us from somewhere, waiting to see what we do. The whole hangar may even be bugged.”
“So what do we do?” Tony asked.
“We wait,” Jessica said.
“Where does that door go?” Synda asked, pointing to the door on the far wall.
“The next hangar, maybe?” Tony suggested.
“I thought they were all separate.”
“A storeroom?”
“Might as well take a look,” Jessica said. She walked over and tested the doorknob, finding it unlocked as well. She opened the door and stepped through. She found herself in another hangar, only this one was not empty.
Jessica pointed her light at the unusual ship. It was large, barely able to fit in the hangar. It was painted flat black and had strange markings on the side. It had four massive engines, one on each corner of its rectangular fuselage. They appeared to be gimbaled and were all currently oriented with their thrust ports pointing straight down. “What the hell is this?”
Tony came in just behind Jessica, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw the ship. “Oh, fuck,” he said.
Jessica spun around, shining the light at Tony’s face. His complexion had gone pale and fear had filled his eyes. “What?”
“That’s a Jung combat lander,” Tony said, his voice almost a whisper.
Jessica spun back around, looking at the markings on the side of the ship again. They looked remarkably similar to those on the credit chips in her pocket, as well as those she had seen on the Jung gunboat over four months ago. “Fuck.” She turned back around and pushed Tony toward the door behind him. “Time to go.”
Synda screamed as hangar eighteen filled with the sound of scuffling boots and a display of red, laser-sighting dots dancing across the floors and walls. The dots quickly found their way to her head and chest.
Tony emerged from the doorway a moment later as several more red dots found his chest. “What the…”
“Get down!” Jessica ordered as she came from behind them, her stolen Jung weapon in her hand. The red dots found her body just as quickly. As she charged forward and brought her weapon up, she heard several soft pops, like shots of compressed air. She felt a sudden stinging sensation in her right thigh, then another in her belly, followed by one more in her right shoulder. Her right hand went limp, and her weapon fell free. She felt her legs giving up on her as she fell forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tony going down in similar fashion.
Jessica hit the floor hard, smacking her face against the cold, smooth hangar floor. She blacked out for a second, then her vision returned. A myriad of black boots scuffled about in front of her face, blocking her view of Synda lying a few meters away. A moment later, someone was pulling a cloth bag over her head and binding her hands and feet. She tried with all her might to resist, but her arms and legs were not responding. She was limp and completely helpless, paralyzed by whatever nerve agent they had shot her with from a distance.
Jessica’s mind raced as several men scooped her up and carried her into the other hangar. She could hear turbines turning over. She could hear hangar doors being rolled open. What she didn’t hear was anyone speaking—not in Jung, not in English, nothing.
Jessica felt herself being lifted up into what she assumed was the Jung ship they had seen in the next hangar. The engines rapidly came to life, rising in pitch in near unison. She felt another body being placed on the floor of the ship next to her. The body didn’t move at first but then jiggled slightly as another body was placed next to it. The other two bodies had to be Tony and Synda. Jessica was sure of it.
She could feel the ship rolling out of the hangar. A moment later, the side door of the ship slammed shut, and the noise of the four turbines was dramatically reduced. A low rumble began to build, and she felt the ship lift upward as it took off. Then she felt another pinprick. This time it was in her left thigh. Her head began to swim. She could feel herself losing consciousness. She struggled to stay awake, trying to pick up any information she could: their direction, the amount of time in flight, changes in altitude, anything that might be useful. Her head was spinning even faster with each passing moment, and within seconds, she was unconscious.
* * *
Major Waddell and Loki crouched behind a cluster of rocks perched on a small rise along the forest bed. The trail they had been using was only ten meters away, and the major could just make out the heads of lead members of the Jung patrol as they came around the turn in the distance.
Major Waddell could also see Garrett perched about eight meters behind a large, fallen tree on the far side of the trail. His weapon was held close to his body, and he appeared ready for action. The major hoped Garrett would be wise enough to wait and see if the patrol passed without noticing them. Major Waddell’s orders were clear, and he intended to follow them.
One by one, the Jung troops came around the bend in the trail, moving closer to Garrett and Waddell with each step. The Jung were dressed in uniforms and body armor painted with colors similar to those found in the forest around them. Each of them carried an energy rifle, a sidearm, and a combat knife. They also carried small backpacks with stubby black antennas sticking out of them. The packs were connected to their helmets with small, coiled wires. Oddly enough, the Jung soldiers appeared relaxed and confident, as if they expected no danger. One of them even pulled a snack out of the side pouch hanging on his utility belt.
Major Waddell glanced over at Garrett’s position, being careful to remain low and out of sight of the approaching soldiers. Garrett appeared to be tensing up as if getting ready for action. Waddell glanced at Loki, who was squatting on the ground behind the rocks next to the major and staying low and completely out of sight. Loki had no interest in watching the Jung troops as they approached—so little interest, in fact, that he was facing the opposite direction with his eyes closed.
The group of six Jung soldiers passed their position. As they did so, Garrett rose from behind the fallen tree he had been using as cover and raised his weapon as if preparing to fire. Major Waddell watched Garrett with both astonishment and concern as he wondered if the man were really that stupid.
Garrett took aim at the departing soldiers, forcing Waddell to do the same. The major’s eyes continuously darted back and forth from his weapon scope trained on the Jung soldier closest to him, to Garrett on the other side of the trail.
Garrett continued to stand motionless, his rifle trained on the departing Jung soldiers, until they disappeared around the next turn in the trail. Once they were gone, he lowered his rifle and settled back down behind his fallen tree.
Major Waddell looked at Garrett, a puzzled expression on his face, and settled back down behind his own cover.
Loki sensed the major settling back down next to him and opened his eyes. He, too, got a confused look on his face. “What’s happening?” he whispered almost inaudibly. “Are they gone?”
“Yes,” the major whispered back.
Loki’s eyes looked left and right, his expression becoming even more confused. “Then why are we still sitting here?”
“Because Garrett has chosen to remain hidden as well.”
“You think he knows something we don’t?” Loki asked, continuing in the same hushed tones.
“I suspect he is waiting to make sure the patrol does not double back,” the major said. “We will remain hidden for now.”
“O
kay by me,” Loki whispered.
They continued to wait for several more minutes. Palmot and his cohort appeared on the trail from the same direction that the Jung patrol had originally come. Major Waddell looked over at Garrett, who stood up from behind his cover and appeared much more relaxed. As he stepped out from behind the fallen tree, he waved at Major Waddell to come out from his hiding place as well.
“Come,” the major told Loki as he rose.
“They’re gone?” Loki asked.
“Apparently so.”
Loki followed Major Waddell to join Garrett and the others on the trail.
“I apologize for the delay,” Garrett told him as they approached. “I was waiting for my men to return. I sent them well behind the patrol to ensure there was not a second contingent following on the same trail. It is another tactic they sometimes use.”
“I assumed you had good reason to remain hidden,” the major said. “I also assume it is safe to continue toward the extraction point.”
“Yes, we still have some distance to travel.” Garrett spoke commands to his men in his language. Palmot headed back up the trail to take point as the other man moved behind them to assume a rear-guard position. “Shall we?” Garrett invited, gesturing for them to proceed.
Loki started down the trail again with Major Waddell stepping in behind him next to Garrett.
“Do you see many patrols this deep into the canyons?” the major asked.
“Once, maybe twice, per week the Jung patrol the loop,” Garrett explained.
“The loop?” the major asked.
“This trail goes down this side of the canyon, for several kilometers. Eventually the terrain becomes impassable, and the trail turns eastward, crosses the river over a footbridge, then comes back along the far side of the canyon toward the valley.”
“Seems odd to patrol a wilderness area so frequently.”
“Not really,” Garrett explained. “We routinely set up fake encampments just off these trails. It leads the Jung to believe that the resistance lives in the wilderness and not in the towns. That is why we usually wear dirty clothing that appears well worn.”
“To give the impression that you live in the woods,” the major surmised.
“Precisely.”
“And this works?”
“So far,” Garrett said. “We even engage them in the woods on occasion, just to make them think they are accomplishing something.”
“That’s what I thought you were about to do with that patrol,” the major admitted.
“That would threaten today’s mission,” Garrett explained, “and as I said, I very much want to meet this Captain Scott, the man who defeated twenty warships with but a single ship.”
“That’s good to know. For a moment, I was sure you were going to attack them.”
“Yes, well, I very much wanted to, I must admit. It would have been an easy kill. They were quite relaxed, probably because they have not been challenged out here in many weeks.”
“How long have your people been running this deception?” the major asked.
“For over a decade now,” Garrett said. “Ever since the Jung invaded our world.”
“So you are from this world?”
“I am, yes, but many are not. Many were brought here from other worlds as laborers.”
“How many men have you lost running this game?”
“There have been many, I admit,” Garrett said, melancholy in his voice. “We take such risks, however, knowing that the ongoing deception keeps our families safer than they would otherwise be.”
“How so?” the major asked.
“As long as the Jung believe that the resistance lives in the canyons, their suspicions are diverted from those living in the valley.”
“But these dead men of yours, surely the Jung can identify at least some of them. Would that not lead them back to the valley?”
“We do not leave our fallen behind for the Jung to identify.”
“And this actually works?” the major asked, finding it difficult to believe.
“Not completely,” Garrett admitted. “The Jung still conduct random searches in the cities and villages of the valley. However, they are few and far between, and we are quite careful not to provide them with evidence to support any suspicions.”
“How many are you?” the major asked. “How many cells do you operate?”
“There are four cells in this area. I have heard there are others elsewhere on Tanna, but the Jung do not allow communication between the few remaining pockets of civilization on our world.”
“The few remaining pockets?”
“Most of our world was destroyed during the invasion.”
“How many of your people were lost?”
“Several million. Our world was still sparsely populated. The plague that devastated our original settlements a millennium ago left only a few hundred people alive. They existed in small villages that were spread few and far between. Over the centuries, those villages grew into cities, then nations. When the Jung came, we had only just begun to reach orbit again. We were not prepared to defend our world against aggressors from space.”
“Then why did they strike with such force?” the major wondered.
“It is the way of the Jung,” Garrett said with a shrug. “I have heard similar stories from many of the men brought over from other worlds the Jung have conquered.”
“We experienced similar aggression on my world,” Major Waddell told him. “Had it not been for Captain Scott and the Aurora, my world would have suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Ta’Akar.”
“Then you and your people were fortunate indeed,” Garrett said. He laughed. “And now, I really want to meet this man.”
* * *
Jessica’s head throbbed in pain as she woke. She opened her eyes and looked around. Other than a small amount of light spilling out from beneath a door on the far side the room, she saw nothing but darkness.
It wasn’t only her head. It was her gut as well. She was nauseated. She figured it was from whatever they had used to knock her out in the hangar.
Jessica cursed herself for being taken so easily. She had been trained well, but these people also had training; of that she was sure. Using the hangar to store their shuttle, and using an airport out in the middle of nowhere, where no one would notice them coming and going, was smart. They had managed to capture Jessica and the other two, and had probably even loaded them into the shuttle, all from within the hangar. Then they had just rolled out and lifted off to disappear into the night.
Shuttles don’t just disappear, Jessica thought. They can be tracked, even when flying low to the ground. She doubted the shuttle could have traveled far before seeking cover. Otherwise, the Jung would have intercepted them. Unless, of course, they are the Jung.
It was a frightening thought, albeit an unlikely one. The Jung would have no need for a quick, covert getaway. They also would have no need to keep her and her companions from knowing where they were being taken. Unless they are the Jung, and they are pretending to be the resistance in order to obtain information from her.
Jessica dismissed that thought as well. There were too many indicators to the contrary. The weapons they used, the way they moved… it was all straight from the spec-ops rulebook. If these people were the Jung pretending to be the resistance, they were really good at it.
Sooner or later, whoever they were, they would interrogate her. That would be when she would learn their identity. Two months was not adequate time for the Jung to learn enough about EDF special operations techniques to be convincing. In addition, from what they had learned from the Jung-controlled news broadcasts emanating from Earth, the resistance had only been in operation for about a month, which definitely was not enough time. Without ha
ving seen their faces or spoken a word with them, she was convinced they were not Jung. The question was, Who exactly were they? Part of an organized resistance operating under the control of some global command authority? A local rogue cell of spec-ops regulars? Or another bunch of civilians, but with better training and equipment?
Jessica sat up slowly. She was lying on a hard floor, probably concrete. Her head spun as she came upright, requiring her concentration to overcome the sensation. It took nearly a minute but, eventually, the feeling subsided. She looked around the darkened room. It wasn’t a large room, maybe three by four meters. As best she could tell, there were no windows, and the room was completely empty.
Jessica managed to stand, though she was wobbly. She ran her hands over herself. She was still wearing the same clothes, except her belt, jacket, and shoes had all been removed. They had taken her backpack, and her pockets were empty as well.
She made her way to the door, gently testing the doorknob and finding it locked. The door felt solid with a metallic surface. She thought of rapping on it with her knuckles to see if it was, in fact, a solid door but decided it might be better not to alert her captors that she was awake. She placed her ear to the door but heard nothing from the other side.
Jessica got down on the floor and peered out under the door. The floors were smooth, definitely concrete. She could make out a hallway on the other side, but she could not determine its length or the position of her door in relation to either end of the corridor. She thought she could see another door across the hall and down a few meters, but stacked boxes in the hall blocked her view. She could not make out the feet of a guard, nor could she hear anything that would indicate that someone was out there standing watch over her. She wanted to call out to Synda and Tony to see if they were within earshot. She wanted to know if they were all right, but more importantly, she wanted to warn them of what might come.