by Ken Lozito
Connor glared at him, losing his patience. “Are you done?”
Diaz smoothed his features, feigning disinterest. “I’m done. Let’s get back to work.”
Connor glanced in the direction the ship had gone and spied a creature beyond the fence near the forest line. He stopped moving and peered in that direction, trying to decide whether it was just a trick of the light or something else. The forest line was a mass of overgrowth, with thorny vines and large leaves, but mixed in with all the foliage were the thick, bloody red protrusions on the elongated head of a ryklar. Within the thick, muscular folds were dark slits for the creature’s eyes.
“Diaz, follow my line of sight toward those trees over there beyond the fence. About seven feet off the ground mixed in with that thorny mess. Do you see anything?” Connor asked.
Diaz peered in the direction. “I don’t see anything, but I haven’t got eyes like yours.”
Connor used his implants to recall the nearest drone and sent it toward the target location. “I think it’s a ryklar, but I only see one of them.”
He headed toward the fencing and Diaz walked beside him. Connor heard the drone zooming over the camp and looked back to the creature, but it was gone, so he brought up the drone’s feeds on his internal heads-up display and set it to pursue. The drone plunged into the forest, and Connor had a bird’s-eye view of the ground. He saw the swaying of plants that marked the creature’s passing and he had the drone move forward around the corner of a large tree, but there was nothing there. He engaged the drone’s other cameras, giving him a three-hundred-sixty-degree visual of the area, but there was nothing there. Switching the view to infrared, he looked for a heat signature.
“Did you find it?” Diaz said.
Connor shook his head and released his control of the drone, setting it on patrol mode. “No. Let’s grab some gear and go check it out.”
“Are you sure? We have to debrief the recruits in fifteen minutes,” Diaz said.
“I just want to go out into that area and see if there are any tracks,” Connor said.
Connor went over to their armor depot and retrieved his AR-71. Donna Marten caught sight of them and jogged over. She was already carrying her weapon.
“Need some help, sir?” Marten asked.
Connor waved her over and they headed toward the gate. “Yeah, I thought I saw a ryklar across the way over there. I just want to see if there are any tracks.”
Nate Poe and the other recruits saw them leaving and raced over to them, wondering what was happening.
“We’re just going to check something out. Poe, why don’t you and Bling get up on the observation platform with your Vipers. The rest of you man the gates,” Connor said.
The recruits deployed, following his orders without question. Sean Quinn and Nate Poe retrieved their M-Viper sniper rifles and were climbing the observation platform soon after Connor and the others left the gate.
Connor focused on the way ahead of them while Diaz and Marten divided their attention between the sides and the front. As Connor closed in on the area, he wondered how the creature would have been able to climb up the dense thorny mess just to take a look at them.
Connor made a circling gesture, and they moved around the thicket. The drones hadn’t detected anything and there didn’t seem to be anything around. They went a short distance beyond the tree line, and Connor looked on the ground for some evidence of clawed footprints.
“Sir, I think I found something,” Marten said.
Connor turned around and headed toward Marten, who was looking at the area behind the thicket. She squatted down and gestured toward a shallow slash in the soft ground. It was just a single slash, with only the shallow impressions of two prongs from the creature’s other foot.
“I don’t get it. Why is there only one track?” Diaz asked.
“Because this is where it could have leaped down from up there,” Marten said and gestured toward the overgrowth that Connor could now see covered the remnant of a log. “It wouldn’t be all that comfortable, but it would give a nice view into our camp while providing excellent coverage.”
Connor glanced at the area where the creature had been and then down at the shallow track, trying to determine where it had gone and why there were no other tracks. The recent rainfall had the plants swelling with water, so there would be nothing broken to mark the creature’s passing.
“Could you track it?” Connor asked.
Marten stood up and took an appraising look around. “I could search the area for more tracks and maybe I could track it then.”
Connor nodded, considering.
“What do you want to do, sir?” Diaz asked.
“Let’s go back. If the drones pick it up, we’ll investigate,” Connor said.
They headed back to camp, Connor deep in contemplation. Since ryklars were ambush hunters, why would a single one come near the camp? A scout perhaps, but even scouts didn’t venture far from the pack. Maybe he hadn’t seen what he thought he had after all.
They reentered the camp, and Diaz announced it had been a false alarm. Poe and Sean hadn’t seen anything from the observation platform. As the recruits gathered in the assembly area for debriefing and classroom instruction, Connor and Diaz moved to the front.
Connor took a moment to look at all of them, and his eyes lingered on Blake, a.k.a. Babyface. She now carried herself with a sense of confidence that he’d only seen her exhibit when doing medical examinations before, and he saw the same confidence gleaming from the other recruits. At this point in their training, they had a better idea of their capabilities and knew where their weaknesses were.
“Welcome to the final week of training. You’ve all worked very hard and have come a long way from where you were just six short weeks ago,” Connor said.
There were several chuckles from them and Connor knew that none of them had thought any part of their training had been short or easy. They’d taken the brunt of breaking in a new training program, and they were the first class of what he hoped would be many. And as with many of life’s circumstances, the first was always most memorable.
“This final week is a make-or-break moment for you, a culmination of all you’ve learned. To prove that you’ve mastered what’s required of you and that you can function as effective teams, you’ll be divided into two groups and flown out to two remote locations. You’ll need to work your way to a different location for extraction, and you’ll have four days to complete this exercise,” Connor said.
Amy Owens raised her hand. “Why four days, sir?”
“If you can survive out there for four days, there’s no reason to believe you couldn’t survive together for longer periods of time. Other climates may require different skill sets, but the basics are the same—water, shelter, food. Those are priorities. You’ll be required to function as a team and use the skills you’ve learned here, putting them to practical application. Let me be clear on one thing. You either pass this exercise as a group or you fail it as a group. This survival training exercise is not a graded exercise. It’s strictly pass or fail and is required to earn your badges,” Connor said.
Ramirez raised his hand.
“Go ahead, Bones.”
“What happens if we fail, sir?” Ramirez asked.
Connor fixed them all with a hard stare. “Then you would have failed basic Search and Rescue training.”
Ramirez swallowed hard. “Sir—”
“One second, Bones—and this is for the rest of you as well—Sergeant Diaz and I will be monitoring your progress, and if you fail to reach your objective, your performance will be evaluated as a group,” Connor said.
There were no other questions, so Connor continued. “You’ll also be required to locate several victims in your area. Somewhere between your drop-off point and the extraction point, you’ll receive a distress call and you’ll investigate. Could be more than one. You’ll need to determine how best to proceed,” Connor said and gave them a knowing smile, somet
hing the recruits had come to dread. “The purpose of this is to give you a taste of what we’ll be called upon to do. Sergeant Diaz and I have reviewed the records for rescues that Field Operations has on file. They range from minor injuries to vehicle breakdowns, people getting lost, and serious injury. It will be up to you and your team leader as to how best to deal with it. I’ve selected two team leaders for this exercise, but before I tell you who they are, I want to make a few more points. One, any one of you may be called upon to step into the role of team leader. Two, this isn’t a popularity contest. And three, you will respect the chain of command. For the purposes of this exercise, the team leaders have operational authority. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” the recruits replied in unison.
“Okay, since Noah had to leave, the teams will be split evenly. Team Alpha will be the following: Owens, Winters, Deacon, Poe, Jackson, and Compton. Your team leader will be Winters,” Connor said.
Those recruits glanced at each other and gave an acknowledging nod.
“Team Bravo will be the following: Ramirez, Allison, Marten, Cooper, Randle, and Quinn. Your team leader will be Randle,” Connor said and gave them a moment. “You’re all aware of the dangers waiting for you out on the frontier, and this entire planet is the frontier. I expect daily reports to be sent back to camp from the team leaders.”
Randle raised his hand. The big man appeared extremely uncomfortable. “Sir, what do we do with the victims we find?”
“What do you think, recruit?” Diaz said. “We’re Search and Rescue. Treat this exercise as a live simulation.”
Randle shook his head and quickly apologized.
“As I said before, Sergeant Diaz and I will be observing your progress and will not be far. We’ll also function as COMCENT for this exercise. The team that finishes first gets the honor of setting the camp record,” Connor said.
Winters narrowed her gaze. “Will you be out in the field with us, sir?”
“Perhaps, recruit,” Connor said. “The official kickoff for this exercise is at oh six hundred. Dismissed.”
The recruits stood up and snapped a salute. The remainder of the day was spent with the recruits gathering the equipment they’d need for deployment. Connor shared a knowing look with Diaz. They’d spent much of the last six weeks doing everything in their power to keep the recruits on their toes, and this would be no different.
When Connor noticed Sean Quinn watching him, the recruit went inside his tent to get some rack time.
Chapter Twenty
Connor met Diaz outside the command center at oh one hundred hours. They wore full combat gear and green camouflage uniforms.
“Almost go time,” Connor said.
“If they thought we were going to let them have a full night’s sleep, we may not have done our jobs,” Diaz said.
“I think some of them suspect something,” Connor said and glanced toward the observation tower where Randle and Jackson were on watch.
Connor and Diaz received an updated ETA for the two transport ships coming from the compound.
“They’re twenty minutes out,” Diaz said and gave Connor a sidelong look. “You’re looking forward to this, aren’t you?”
Connor nodded enthusiastically. “This is the fun part—deployment out in the field, where we can observe them and put a few obstacles in their way. I ran a check on the distress beacons and they’re all ready.”
“Then it’s time to sound the alarm,” Diaz said with a hearty laugh.
Klaxon alarms blared and the exterior lights for the camp came on simultaneously. Connor and Diaz went into the recruits’ tents, yelling for them to wake up.
A few minutes later the recruits were lined up in full combat gear with their weapons ready for inspection. Connor and Diaz walked among them, checking that their equipment was ready. None of them failed the inspection, and they shouldn’t because Connor had drilled them for this.
“In the next few minutes, troop carrier ships will be here to take you away and this exercise will officially have begun. The mission for Team Alpha: An expedition exploring mineral deposits has become overdue, and their last known position will be transmitted to your PDA. Your job is to sweep the area and look for any survivors. Time is of the essence since we’ve already received two distress beacons,” Connor said, transferring the mission brief to Elyse Winters.
“Sir, I’ve received mission details,” Winters acknowledged.
“Fall out, Team Alpha. Your ride is here. Make us proud,” Connor said.
Winters led her team over to the landing area, where a troop transport was coming in for a landing. Diaz followed at a short distance behind to observe.
“Team Bravo: A downed survey ship is reported in zeta quadrant. There were four members of the survey team on that ship. Your job is to find out what happened to them,” Connor said and transferred the mission brief to Wayne Randle.
“Sir, I’ve received mission details,” Randle said and read the information on his PDA.
The second troop carrier ship was approaching the landing area, and Randle called for his team to head over to the landing zone.
Sean Quinn lagged behind for a moment. “Sir, are you coming with us?” he asked.
“You’re focusing on the wrong thing, recruit. You have a job to do. Now go do it,” Connor replied.
Sean Quinn sprinted over to the rest of Team Bravo and Connor walked over. He watched as Randle ordered his group to double-check their equipment, particularly their ammunition, food and water rations, and their medical supplies. He assigned individuals specific jobs. Randle looked at Sean Quinn’s equipment and noted that he had the M-Viper with him.
“There’s no need for two people on the team to have that rifle for this mission. Go get the AR-71 and put a scope on it. You can multipurpose with that setup, alright, Bling?” Randle said.
Sean Quinn saluted the Team Bravo leader and ran off to exchange his weapon. Connor made a note on his tablet computer regarding Randle’s forethought into how his team was equipped before embarking on the four-day mission. It played to the recruits’ strengths.
Connor headed over to Diaz. Team Alpha was climbing aboard the troop carrier. Winters stood at attention and saluted Connor, then followed her team into the ship.
“Everything checks out for Team Alpha, sir,” Diaz said.
Connor nodded. “Good. I expect Winters will do a good job leading them.”
“That she will,” Diaz said and frowned.
“You have doubts?” Connor asked.
Diaz shook his head quickly. “No, I have no doubts about what any of the recruits can do. It’s just that . . .”
Connor smiled. Diaz had never trained a platoon before. “I see. We train them and teach them as best we can. Now it’s up to them to put it to use.”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be out there with them.”
“Me too. Soon. This is for them to prove themselves, and there will come a time when neither you nor I will be there for them to lean on,” Connor said.
The first troop carrier ship rose into the air and headed off into the northeast. The second ship took off soon after that, heading in a different direction. The sounds of the engines faded and all was quiet but for the nightly hum of New Earth. Connor glanced over at the Hellcat. Their gear was already on board, but they wouldn’t be flying out just yet. He and Diaz would be monitoring the two teams from the command center for a time and then head out after that. None of the recruits knew for sure whether Connor or Diaz would be out in the field with them, but Connor suspected they knew there’d be a good chance they would be.
They walked back to the command center and Connor brought up a map on the main holoscreen, then launched a secondary window to run a check through the automated protocols Noah had set up for him. He’d dispatched a trio of drones to monitor the two quadrants where his recruits would be. As part of the standard deployment, Connor had equipped both teams with a drone of their own to use as
they saw fit, but the tactical drones the teams were using were smaller and didn’t have the range that Connor’s patrol drones had.
Diaz poured them both a cup of coffee that they drank while watching the progress the two troop carriers made as they approached their destinations. Connor uploaded a report back to Field Operations so the monitoring division was aware that the scheduled training mission had begun. They monitored each of the troop carrier’s comlinks, and Team Alpha had just reached their drop-off location. The drop feed showed each of the recruits’ heat signatures on the ground. Their names appeared on screen as their locators transmitted their position to the GPS satellites in orbit. Winters had Compton and Jackson on point, and Connor brought up the output from Winter’s PDA. She already had the location of the expedition marked on their map, and a few minutes later they started heading toward it. The second distress beacon call was also designated in the vicinity of the last known location of the expedition.
“There they go,” Diaz said.
“We’ve run enough nighttime exercises for them to function in those conditions,” Connor said.
Team Bravo reached their location at the edge of a canyon. They would need to find a way into the canyon to reach the survey ship.
“I wonder how long it will take Randle to find a path down into the canyon at night,” Diaz said.
“If it were me, I’d check in with Command Central for a survey map of the area, and if I didn’t have that, I’d split into two groups to scout for a way down into the canyon,” Connor said.
A few minutes later Randle called in, asking for a topographical map of the quadrant he was in, and Connor transferred the information back to them. There was more than one way to achieve the objective, but time was always of the essence.
The hours went by quickly as they monitored each team’s steady progress. They moved quicker once it was daytime. Team Bravo would reach their first victim soon. As part of the exercise, Connor and Diaz had built in tripwires that would create different situations, depending on when the teams reached them. The distress beacon that Team Alpha was moving toward went offline. They quickened their pace, and Winters sent an update back to them.