by Jerry Aubin
“Good morning, cadets. Marines—we’re being joined by two Flight cadets this morning. You should treat them the exact same way you would treat any Marine cadet. The officer who is with them saved my life a few years ago. I will be extremely disappointed if any of you hurt either of her cadets to any extent greater than I would expect you to harm anyone from your own cadre.”
After all of the training images Mikedo had shown them yesterday, Zax didn’t know whether to be afraid or comforted by the instructor’s order. What really caught his attention, though, was hearing a second Marine instructor who expressed a level of respect for Mikedo. The relationship between the Marines and Flight was almost universally contentious, and Zax’s appreciation for Mikedo was enhanced even more given what she must have done to bridge the divide.
The instructor walked over to the bulkhead and a hidden compartment opened to reveal a rack of weapons. The rack didn’t contain laser pinkies, thought Zax with a smile, but rather standard issue blasters like those he had used previously.
“Cadets—before you is a rack of blasters. Other than a few minor modifications these are the exact same weapons Marines have carried into the field for thousands of years. The modifications are simple and there are only three of them.”
This was the third time a Marine instructor had referenced the number three. Perhaps Sergeant Quentor hadn’t been kidding yesterday when he joked about their counting skills. Zax fought off another smile and focused back on the instructor’s words.
“First, the blasters will automatically assign you into random teams, blue and red, for today’s competition. The second modification is these are carrying non-lethal stun ammunition rather than lethal blast loads. There is one important thing to note. Non-lethal does not mean non-painful.” The instructor smirked at her turn of phrase and continued.
“When you get shot it’s going to hurt like hell. Get hit in the extremities and it will sting for a few mins. Take a shot in the torso and you’ll be sore for a few hours. If you’re unlucky enough to experience a headshot, we’ll be dragging you out of here on a stretcher and you’ll suffer well into the night.” There was a sprinkling of groans along with some knowing laughter among the Marine cadets.
“The last modification is your weapon will cease to function once you’ve been hit. You don’t have to exit the battle zone, but you only risk getting shot again without having any ability to fight back.
“I’ve got a sim designed for this battle that I think you’re all going to really enjoy. Please be sure to stay on this side of the red line while it configures.” The instructor closed her eyes and focused on her Plug.
Zax eagerly anticipated what might happen next and for almost a min was sorely disappointed. Then, slowly, the space beyond the red line shimmered. The shimmering became more and more intense until it resolved into a billion points of golden light and coalesced into shapes. The shapes started off as unidentifiable blobs but became more and more defined as the secs ticked past. A golden jungle finally materialized within the previously empty space. It did not retain its golden hue but shifted color until it sported all manner of blacks and browns and greens.
The environmental system must have also spiked the temperature and humidity because beads of sweat suddenly formed on Zax’s skin. He caught Kalare’s attention and silently mouthed “wow” and she nodded in wide-eyed agreement.
The instructor opened her eyes and spoke. “There are five hectares of simulated jungle in front of you. The rules of today’s match are as follows. You will choose a blaster and get sorted into Red Force and Blue Force. The Blue Force will have a sixty min head start to disperse, and the Red Force must then track them down. The winning team will be whichever one has at least one cadet with a functional blaster at the end. The losing team will not be allowed into any mess hall for twenty-four hours. Go!”
The cadets broke ranks and plucked weapons off the rack. The barrel of each blaster changed color to either blue or red when it was activated. Zax grabbed one which turned blue and was relieved when Kalare wound up on the same team. A moment later a loud voice called out, “Blue Force—form up on me.”
Zax and Kalare followed the other cadets with blue weapons and gathered into a semicircle around the tallest Marine cadet. His name was Jacen according to the tag on his uniform. Zax didn’t know why the boy took charge and why everyone else went along with it, but he wasn’t about to ask any questions.
“I’m splitting us up into two squads. I’ll take command of the larger squad and Taron will lead the smaller one. Check your Plugs because I’m sending each of you an encryption key so we can communicate privately.”
Zax and Kalare glanced at each other quizzically. Neither of them were Plugged In yet, and there weren’t any of the subvoc devices around like those used in Flight Ops for cadets without implants. Zax was about to ask for assistance when Jacen approached them.
“You two are on your own. There’s no way I’m going to risk twenty-four hours without food by dragging around a couple of Flight pukes. I’m tempted to shoot both of you here and now to put you out of your misery, but I’m hoping you’ll provide a nice distraction for at least a few mins while the Red Force hunts you down. If I were you, I’d keep your heads low because I’d bet anything they’re all over there right now agreeing no one shoots you unless they have a clear headshot.”
Jacen spun around without waiting for a reply and disappeared into the jungle. Kalare turned to Zax with a huge grin and said, “Their loss. Hide and seek was my favorite game whenever we had free time back in Delta. I was always one of the last kids found. Let’s go!”
Kalare sprinted into the jungle and Zax immediately followed rather than let her get too far ahead. If nothing else, he wanted to put the starting line as far behind them as possible before their sixty mins elapsed. The first fifty meters of battle zone was low brush, but they soon encountered trees with massive trunks. Zax trampled through it all without worrying about leaving a trail because he assumed they would slow down and be stealthier once they were deeper into the jungle. He suddenly experienced a moment of inspiration and yelled for Kalare to wait.
She stopped, and Zax caught up and spoke. “What just happened there? We were so excited we just took off and left a trail any two-year-old could follow.”
“I know,” Kalare said, “but I just wanted to run for a few mins and get away from the starting line. I figured we would eventually slow down and be more careful.”
“Exactly!” Zax got excited. “The cadets on the Red Force will act the same way. They’ll have a burst of energy at the beginning and will assume we’ve gone deep into the jungle. Especially when they find the huge, crazy trail we’ve left behind. What if we double back and wait for them right inside the tree line? They will come charging in at full speed and we can mow them down before they know what hit ‘em!”
Kalare was quiet for a sec but then shook her head. “I like the idea, but I don’t think we can pull it off. These trees have thick trunks and will provide good cover, but a firefight between the two of us and a much larger group of Marine cadets is going to end badly. We might pick off a couple, or maybe even three or four with the initial surprise, but they’re going to hit the ground as soon as they hear the first shots. All of this thick brush means we won’t have good targets.”
Zax understood her concerns, but something nagged at him about the idea. He worked back through the plan and surveyed the various trees they could hide behind until it finally hit him. “I got it! We both assumed we would try to attack from behind the trees, right? They’ll worry about it as well. We aren’t going to hide behind the trees—we’re going to hide on top of them!”
“Brilliant!” exclaimed Kalare. “I bet there’s no way new Marine cadets will be thinking about attacks from above just yet. We’ll nail as many as we can with our first couple of shots and they won’t know where the shots are coming from. They’ll react by getting flat on the ground and will assume we won’t be able to spot the
m, but if we’re high enough up they’ll still be easy targets. Of course, this only works if you weren’t making up stories and really are the best shot in Zeta.”
“Hah!” Zax said. “I was about to say the same to you. I think we should head back a few meters. Our best chance will be the first group of trees right after the jungle gets thicker. There were a couple big enough for us get up high and be nicely hidden, but still close enough to the edge of the jungle there won’t be as many places for the Marines to take cover.”
They picked their way back until they reached the tree line. The Marines would have no choice but to make their way through this chokepoint as they entered the jungle. Zax identified which two trees made the best sniper perches and pointed them out to Kalare.
“I’ll take the one on the left and I want you to take the one on the right. We can’t communicate up there other than simple hand signals, so we should agree on a plan now. I say we watch each other as the Marines approach. We want to let as many of them get as close as possible. As soon as I show five fingers, you should countdown and then shoot as many as you can.”
Zax got more and more excited about the plan as he explained it to Kalare. “You focus on the Marines on that side, and I will focus on this side. One last thing—when we first shoot, start off with the Marines who are farthest away. The ones who are closest will be easiest to hit from above, so let’s knock out the ones who are farther back with our initial surprise attack.”
Kalare nodded in agreement and extended her hand for a high five. “This is a great plan, Zax. I’m really excited to work with someone as smart as you.”
Zax’s face burned under the glare of Kalare’s smile as he awkwardly returned the high five. The camaraderie of teamwork was not anything he had much experience with. “Thank you. Let’s get up and shoot some Marines!”
Only five mins remained from their head start by the time Zax picked his way as high as the tree’s branches allowed. Something caught Zax’s eye as Kalare climbed the last few branches to her perch. The “sky” in the compartment was a massive display which showed pictures of each cadet and identified them as either Red Force or Blue Force. A timer above the pictures counted down—4:58, 4:57, 4:56...
Zax gestured for Kalare to check out the display and she did so. She flashed a thumbs up signal which he returned to confirm he was also ready for action. The timer reached zero and a loud horn blew. The clock started counting up to track how much time had elapsed in the contest.
A short time after the horn, Zax heard the Red Force approach. As predicted, they moved quickly and noisily with the excitement of getting started still fresh. They slowed and quieted as they approached the tree line where Zax was ready to pounce, but it didn’t matter as he had already eyeballed every member of their squad. He checked on Kalare and she pointed at her eyes to signal she was doing the same. He grinned and showed her all five fingers to start their countdown.
The group was larger than expected. The entire Red Force approached their position as a single unit. The plan would still work as long as Zax and Kalare shot quickly and accurately. Zax identified the two cadets he intended to shoot first and hoped the second would be slow to react and remain standing after the shooting started. He hesitated for a moment as he spotted the cadet leading the squad. Zax considered dispatching him first, but decided to stick with the plan and instead set the squad leader to be hit third.
Zax kept his target in his sights as he counted down the final secs. He pulled the trigger and his first target collapsed as Zax swiveled his rifle to the second target. A second shot and a second Marine was on the ground. He pivoted his rifle to find the squad leader, but that target was a lost cause. The leader did not hit the deck like all of the other cadets, but instead took off at a full sprint past Zax’s tree and into the jungle. Zax fired once, but the jungle was too thick beyond their position and his shot hit only branches.
Zax disregarded the leader and turned back to the where the rest of the squad had flattened out on the ground. As expected, they assumed their enemy was on the same vertical plane and vainly hoped getting low would protect them.
Trigger—shot—hit.
Trigger—shot—hit.
He aimed for extremities wherever he could out of a desire to not inflict too much pain on the cadets, but there were plenty of targets where center mass was his best option and he took it. Fortunately for the Marines, Zax was able to avoid any head shots.
What felt like a split sec later, there was no movement on the ground other than Marines who writhed in various levels of pain. Zax checked on Kalare and she pumped her fist in exultation. The sky display revealed that thirty secs had elapsed since they sprang their trap. It also showed who was still in the contest. The entire Red Force was marked as “dead” with the exception of the squad leader who ran away.
The display also identified which person from Blue Force was responsible for shooting each Red Force cadet. Kalare took down three more Marines than Zax had. That must have happened when he targeted the departing squad leader for too long.
Zax caught Kalare’s eye and signaled to climb down. A few mins later he jumped the last couple meters down from the tree and ran over to meet her with another high five. “Great shooting! We got all of them but one. I wonder how his squad will feel about their leader bolting off into the jungle at the first sign of danger?”
Kalare grinned. “I bet he’ll say he was trying to find a tactical advantage. Hearing myself say that, we should get moving in case that really was his plan. He might be circling back right now. Into the jungle!”
Kalare ran off in the direction where the rest of the Blue Force had originally gone. She moved at a quick pace, but slow enough she could still be deliberate about not making excessive noise or leaving a clear trail in her wake. Zax followed a few meters behind. After a half klick of distance, he caught up and tapped Kalare’s shoulder to signal a stop.
“OK,” he whispered, “what do you think we should do now?”
“I say we keep on this heading and try to join up with the rest of Blue Force.” Kalare pointed at the overhead display. “They can see for themselves we took out almost the entire opposing team—that has to buy us some credibility with them, right?”
Zax was about to agree when they were startled by movement in the jungle. He pointed for Kalare to take cover behind one tree while he jumped behind another. He tensed as the noise got closer and closer only to relax a couple secs later when Jacen appeared and strolled towards their position. Zax stepped out from behind the tree and Jacen grinned and called out.
“We were shocked when we heard the shots so quickly after the contest started. We were twice as shocked when we saw the entire Red Force marked as hit by the two of you! Good work! We headed back to find you, but I managed to get hit by the one you guys didn’t take out. He only grazed my arm, though, so it didn’t hurt too much. The squad went to hunt him down and I offered to find you two.”
Zax bursted with pride about impressing the Marine cadets. An hour ago they wanted nothing to do with him and Kalare, but now the leader of their group was congratulating them on their efforts. Since Jacen had been shot, Zax could also be proud about outlasting the self-appointed squad leader in the contest.
Jacen smiled at Zax, but then his expression changed. “Hey, wait a sec—I think there might be something wrong with your blaster. Let me check it out.”
Zax’s head still spun from the adrenalin of the battle so he didn’t think twice about handing over his weapon to the Marine. Jacen peered at it for a sec, but then aimed it at Kalare’s head and pulled the trigger before Zax could process what was happening. She fell to the ground and screamed in agony. Zax looked up into the barrel of his own blaster and Jacen grinned at him.
“You didn’t think we would really let you get away with making any of us Marines look bad, did you?”
Jacen fired before Zax could say a word in reply. The pain was unimaginably intense, but only for the moment before he l
ost consciousness.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Weapon malfunction.
Zax drifted in and out of reality for the next eleven hours. The periods of blackness provided welcome relief from the excruciating pain that otherwise dominated his existence. His lone memory from the immediate period after Jacen shot him was a hazy one of being carried through the passageways on a stretcher and being dumped into his bunk to ride out the aftermath.
He gradually spent more and more time awake, though Zax often yearned for the unconsciousness to return and dull his agony. The pain eventually diminished, and by the time everyone else had settled into their bunks around him, Zax’s discomfort receded enough that he found a fitful sleep.
The night went on forever, but reveille still arrived far too quickly the next morning. Zax allowed himself an extra few mins in his bunk to clear the mental cobwebs and then gingerly climbed down to make his way to the showers. He passed Kalare heading in the opposite direction and spoke before she got a word out.
“Don’t even ask. I’ll swing by your bunk in a few min, and we can walk to breakfast together. Hopefully, a hot shower and decent meal will get me out of this fog.”
After Zax’s shower, the two walked to the mess hall together in mutually-desired silence and found Mikedo waiting at the entrance. She held a couple of small bags and appeared solemn.
“Glad you two are up and about. You were both in pretty rough shape when they pulled you out of that sim room yesterday. I’ve been shot with stun rounds before and know it hurts, but I didn’t get it in the head like both of you and can only imagine how much worse you’re feeling. I’ve got bad news—you aren’t allowed in the mess hall for another few hours.”
Kalare all but screamed. “What! I thought that only applied to the losing team!”
“The Blue Force was the losing team. You two took out all of the Red Force except one, but that lone survivor returned the favor and eventually shot everyone on your team. Well, everyone except the two of you that is. You were both shot with Zax’s blaster though I assume you were already aware of that fact.”