Grendel Unit 2: Ignition Sequence

by Bernard Schaffer

  Frank watched the pilot bang and slam his way back into his seat and begin the launch sequence. The Samsara's engines fired and rumbled as they began to lift and Frank had to put his hand on the console to steady himself and swallow as hard as he could to get his ears to pop. "We're killers, but not murderers?" he said quietly to Vic. "That sounds like a complicated philosophy if you ask me."

  "I am large. I contain multitudes."

  "That's a quote, right?" Frank said. "I remember seeing that before."

  Vic shrugged and said, "When I'm not organizing drug deals with underworld biker gangs, I'm a renowned philosopher. I don't like to brag, but, by definition, everything I say is a quote."

  The ship stabilized as it reached Iscariot-Four's upper atmosphere and Frank took a deep breath and waited for his stomach to settle. He was taking his time before making the journey back down the corridor to find Lieutenant Hill and assess his injuries. The stars glittered in the distance and Frank looked down to study the console controls and said, "Which button opens the hatch? I can think of some extra cargo I'd like to dump accidentally-on-purpose."

  "How bad do you think it's going to be?" Bob Buehl said.

  "Bad," Frank said.

  Buehl turned and looked at the closed door in the corridor, biting his lower lip with worry. Cojo and Hill had gone into the room together a half hour before to teleconference with General Milner.

  Frank heard the familiar announcement of a special news bulletin coming in over the wire and he turned to see a grainy security image of himself pushing the modder's hoverbike out of the alleyway on Iscariot-Four. A female newscaster said, "Earlier today, unidentified Unification agents reportedly stole an expensive hoverbike while it was unattended."

  The video then showed Frank, Vic, and a sobbing Lieutenant Hill, gunning it down the motorway, trying to escape the modders chasing them, however, the video was conveniently cropped to only show them. "After a harrowing chase by local authorities, that placed countless lives in jeopardy, the agents fled into their ship," the announcer continued.

  The next shot was of the Samsara, hovering above the landing deck, guns blazing. The roof turret was spinning and shooting in every direction, firing large laser blasts at unseen targets. "Prior to leaving, the agents fired multiple times at allegedly unarmed pedestrians, causing multiple fatalities and serious casualties. No comment has been received from Unification Command as to whether or not this was a sanctioned operation by their government, but local community leaders in the Iscariot System are demanding answers."

  "I'm not taking the fall for this," Buehl muttered. "I got a wife and a kid and another on the way. They asked me to fly this ship in their stupid unit. I was just fine where I was. You ask me, this is all their fault," he said, with a nod toward the closed door.

  The door opened as Buehl stopped speaking, and Vic Cojo stepped out, looking pale. Over his shoulder, they could see Hill sitting in front of the viewscreen, still talking to the General. Selling us all out, Frank thought bitterly. That worm threw the rest of us under the bus and now we're all going to wind up in the janitorial fleet while he gets off scott-free. Hell, they'll probably find a way to give him a medal for all this.

  "Well?" Buehl said.

  Vic turned to make sure the door was shut behind him and kept his voice low, saying, "They want to demote us all and sanction the entire unit."

  "I knew it," Buehl spat. "I knew it! I should have never taken this assignment. Everybody warned me that Command uses you and spits you out when it's convenient."

  "Keep your voice down," Frank hissed. He turned to look at Vic and said, "Let me guess. Lieutenant Lipservice is in there doing whatever it takes to save his own hide."

  "I have no idea," Vic said. "The general ripped us a new one, and told us what he was going to do, and Hill asked to speak to him in private."

  "That scumbag," Frank muttered. "All you can see in that video is him curled up in the backseat, begging us to save him. It's his fault the newscasters made us as Unification. They zoomed in on his stupid shirt and saw his emblem."

  The door opened again, and a stricken-looking Lieutenant Hill came into the doorway and stopped, taking a second to look at each of them. His face was blotchy and sweaty and he looked about to be sick, or at least, more sick than he usually looked during spaceflight. Hill swallowed to clear his throat and said, "The general would like to speak with you all."

  "I bet," Frank snapped.

  Hill ignored him and turned down the corridor, heading for his bunk. Vic watched him go and then waved for Frank and Buehl to follow him into the room. All three men sat down in front of the viewscreen to face General Milner. Milner waited for all of them to stop moving before he folded his hands on the table in front of him and said, "Lieutenant Hill has informed me of what occurred today."

  "The jackhole version, I'm sure," Buehl whispered.

  Milner looked each of them over and said, "And I want you boys to know I'm proud of how you pulled through it. Hill wasn't ready for command yet, apparently. I made a mistake sending him off on his own, I suppose."

  Vic leaned forward in confusion and said, "Are we still getting demoted, sir?"

  "Everybody else is staying the same rank except you, Mr. Cojo."

  "Wait a second, General," Frank said. "Vic is the reason I'm still here right now. Hill and I would have been wet spots on the concrete back there if this man hadn't saved us. If you're demoting him, you're demoting me as well. I'll voluntarily change rank, I don't care."

  "Fine," Milner said. "In that case, I'm making you an Acting Lieutenant, Kelly. And you, Mr. Cojo, are temporarily promoted to the position of Commander. You are in charge of Grendel Unit until I can find a more suitable replacement."

  Vic and Frank turned to look at one another, then both men turned to look back at the screen. "Thank you, sir," Vic said slowly. "We won't let you down."

  "You better not," Milner said. "I'm taking a chance with you boys, but I suppose these are desperate enough times to take a chance or two." The general leaned forward and typed into his computer, "I'm sending you coordinates to your next assignment. On your way there, you can drop off Lieutenant Hill at the nearest way station. Remember what I said, boys. Do not screw this up. Milner out."

  They watched the screen go black, all three of them unable to move.

  "You know what I think?" Vic said, finally breaking the silence. "I think we need to find a new member of the team, quick, before the general can send another one of his cronies."

  "Roger that," Buehl said. "With my luck, he'd send us some damned sludgesucker in the name of universal equality or some other PC garbage."

  "Hey," Frank said, snapping his head around. "That's the last time you use that word on this ship, you understand? I'm not going to risk my life to defend Unification if I'm surrounded by people who are going to piss all over what it stands for. If you don't like it, you can get off at the way station with Hill."

  The muscles in Buehl's neck stood out like thick cords as he looked Frank up and down, "You better think real long and hard who you're talking to like that, acting-Lieutenant. Don't think you're gonna come in here and start spouting off some high-handed liberal nonsense about how all the poor alien lowlifes just needs a chance!"

  "That's enough," Vic said. "Both of you shut up. We just got our own command of this unit and you two nitwits are already fighting."

  "He started it, Commander," Buehl said. "You know I don't like hearing that stuff about sludge…aliens."

  "You know what's going to happen, Bob?" Vic said. "It's a big universe out there, filled with strange and wonderful things of all shapes and sizes. Some people even think the universe itself is a living thing, with a sentient consciousness. You keep talking like that, saying aliens aren't worth a damn, and the universe is going to send one into your life that makes you reevaluate everything you believe in."

  Buehl looked at Vic for a long time, and then he said, "Ha! I'd like to see it try."

  NOWr />
  There Goes the Neighborhood

  Yultorot looked up from the tablet in his lap at the crewmembers in the cockpit and said, "It is time for me to do my daily recitations from the holy book. It is our practice to read aloud. I hope you find it instructive."

  "Bob, please crash the ship," Frank said.

  Buehl looked over his shoulder from the pilot's chair and said, "I heard enough of this crap growing up. You keep that brainwashing nonsense to yourself."

  Yultorot looked at Hill and said, "I was guaranteed by your father that my participation in your operations would not impact on the practice of my faith, Captain."

  Frank and Buehl both looked up, their eyes meeting in the reflection of the mirrored panel over Buehl's seat. It was clear neither of them had ever heard of Hill's father having anything to do with their operation. Or who the man was, for that fact. Hill shifted in his seat uncomfortably and waved his hand at Yultorot, "Just read your book and get it over with."

  "Thank you, Captain," Yultorot said. He cleared his throat and gazed serenely at the page on the tablet. "In the beginning, God made man and gave him dominion over the universe and all its inhabitants. He blessed humanity with the wisdom and skill to venture forth to new planets and solar systems, spreading the word of the Lord to all who would hear it. Every beast and insect and reptile and aquatic creature and flame-born thing and gaseous being all bent low to the ground before humanity's rightful superiority, and it was good." Yultorot smiled at Frank and said softly, "It was so, so good."

  Frank could see Buehl in the mirror, mouthing along with the words Yultorot spoke, looking like he was about to vomit the whole time. "You all right up there, sarge?" Frank said. "You're not feeling an urge to go join a Sapienist rally are you?"

  "The only urge I'm feeling is the one to toss this bastard down the garbage chute," Buehl said. "Except I'm afraid slime like him would violate the space pollution code."

  "All life existed in perfect harmony under humanity's great dominion," Yultorot said loudly, speaking over them. "Until the evil one whispered deceit and confusion into the ears of the lowly creatures, confusing them and spreading discontent. Soon, the beasts forgot who their masters were and began to rebel. Even some humans fell victim to the evil one's lies and began to question the Lord, their God's commands. Now, God has chosen to wipe out the wicked and non-believer, making it the duty of the righteous to restore order to the universe. We are his sword. We are his punishment. We are his cleansing fire."

  Frank rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window at the glittering stars. He watched Yultorot shut off his tablet in the reflection and felt the man's stare boring into him like hot needles. Frank turned and said, "I warned you before about looking at me, child killer."

  Yultorot shrugged and said, "I just thought perhaps you had heard those words before and that they might bring you some comfort now."

  "I've heard them before," Frank said. "And they make me as sick now as they did then."

  Yultorot turned from Frank and looked at the others, "So none of you are believers then? All of you reject the holy word?"

  None of the crew responded, and Yultorot sighed with defeat. "Very well then. Captain, with your permission, I would like to lie down for a little while. I confess that space travel has always upset my stomach a bit."

  "I understand," Hill said, glancing at Frank for any hint of a sarcastic response.

  Wendy Simone turned around in her co-pilot's seat and said, "I'll escort him back, Captain." She waved her hand at Yultorot and said, "Come on. You walk in front of me, and don't touch anything."

  "Of course, Commander," Yultorot said, raising his hands slightly in the air. "Would you like me to place them behind my back?"

  "Just walk and keep your mouth shut," she said.

  Yultorot nodded and turned to walk, keeping his head low in a display of subservience as he moved in front of Simone. Frank turned to watch them leave, and his eyes were drawn to the tight-fitting pants stretched across her backside. She swayed when she walked, and Frank found himself thinking that it had been too long since he'd been around a woman. For a moment, the thought was enough to make him consider giving up his insane plan and run off to a new life. To settle down, and be a normal human being. It was a good dream to have, he decided, but not good enough to make him forget what he needed to do.

  And no tight pair of pants is going to make me keep you around while I do it, Commander Simone, he thought.

  When he looked back, he could see Buehl staring at him in the mirror above the pilot's seat. Buehl glanced over at Hill and then back at Frank, the question etched across his face as clearly as if someone had tattooed it there.

  Are you going to ask, should I?

  Frank leaned back in his seat and raised his hand to touch his knuckles on the cold glass of the window, and he said, "So, your dad is part of Unification? I didn't know that."

  Hill nodded quietly, then said, "It's not something we broadcast. We decided it was better if I made it on my own, without anyone thinking he helped me."

  "I'm sure it didn't hurt having him open a few doors for you though," Buehl said.

  "Who said he's in a position to do that?" Hill said angrily. "Or that he even would?"

  Frank studied Hill's face then, really and truly studied it, for the first time. Hill's nostrils were flaring in a way Frank had seen before. The man's reddish-blonde hair had always been too much of a distraction for Frank to make the connection, but now that he was looking, Frank realized that he knew exactly who Captain Joseph Hill looked like.

  Hill pointed his finger at Frank and said, "While you guys were hopping all over the universe these past years, I was working my tail off to get back. Nobody gave me a damn thing, so don't sit there and think that just because of what happened on Iscariot-Four or who I'm related to, that I'm some pencil-pusher. I was commanding an infantry unit before I got the call to rejoin Grendel. I don't have to explain myself to either of you, but you better believe I earned this. Do I make myself clear?"

  "Hooah, captain, sir," Buehl muttered, keeping his eyes fixed on the flight console

  Hill took a deep breath, shaking his head like a man who'd made a deep promise to himself about something and was surprised at how fast he'd already broken it. He slumped down into the seat across from Frank and closed his eyes and rubbed his temples in circles with his forefingers. He laughed quietly and said, "One thing's for certain, I've gotten a lot better at flying. You know, the only reason I said anything about it is because I thought you might understand, Frank. It's not easy living in your father's shadow."

  Frank looked across the aisle at Hill and felt something for the man that he'd never felt before. There was still a healthy amount of contempt, but now it was mixed with a slight tint of pity. Frank had refused to live in his father's shadow and chosen a completely different kind of life. Even if the Sapienists had never blown up the courthouse, Frank wouldn't have ever given in to the pressure to be a good son and go back to law school. It was clear just in looking at Captain Joseph Hill that he was never meant for military life. He had a soft face and weak eyes. The fact that he'd survived this long in active duty without getting blown up was, if anything, a testament to his sheer tenacity.

  If there were more time, and we were living in different circumstances, I might even try to like you, Frank thought. It's a damn shame I'm going to have to stuff you into a Baumgartner suit and maroon you instead.

  He decided he was going to kill Yultorot first. He told himself, in a cold, mechanical way, that it wasn't a revenge killing, but simply part of the operation. Yultorot was too much of a wildcard, and keeping him alive introduced too many variables.

  Once Yultorot was dead, he was going to have to find a way to disable Hill and Simone. Hill, he thought he could reason with. "Either get into that suit and jump, or you're dead," would work, especially with a rifle pointed at his head. Hill didn't have the heart to fight, Frank thought. He'd seen that first hand.

&n
bsp; Simone might be a different story, he thought. She was young, and stubborn, and had a lot to prove. She might want to fight, and he already knew he didn't have any desire to rough her up. He'd have to figure a way to deal with her.

  A loud beeping noise from the console broke Frank's train of thought as he watched Bob Buehl quickly start flicking switches. "Someone just opened the cargo hatch," Buehl said in confusion. "We're losing pressure from the starboard side."

  A massive boom in the rear of the ship sent a shockwave through their bodies, rattling them almost out of their seats, and the ship careened sideways, throwing Frank against the side window. Buehl yanked down on the steering wheel, trying to right the ship as the console blared red. "Explosion in the engine compartment!" Buehl shouted.

  The vents over their heads hissed with oxygen and the ship started to roll, tumbling Frank out of his seat and slamming him face first into the roof. He saw Buehl grab the headrest of his seat with the tips of his fingers, straining with effort to pull himself back down to the console. Even upside down, Buehl could make sense of the flashing lights and icons. "We have no thrust and the gravitation stabilizers are offline. Oxygen is at fifty percent!"

  Captain Hill was spinning sideways, trying to roll around enough to see the pilot console. "What the hell happened?"

  Frank felt something bump into the window behind him and craned his head around to get a better look. He was staring into the wide-eyed, pale face of Wendy Simone. Her throat was cut from ear to ear and the blood leaking out of her neck into open space was frozen to her like a macabre scarf. "Yultorot," Frank grimaced. Simone's body began to float away into the sea of darkness and Frank banged his fist against the window glass in fury.

  "We have to evacuate the ship!" Buehl shouted. "The fire in the engine compartment is going toward the fuel cells. Everybody has to move."

  "What the hell is that?" Hill called out. "What just floated behind you, Frank?"

  The ship was spinning all around them like a centrifuge and Frank had to twist and turn over sideways to get a look at the ship's life raft, their only means of evacuation, floated past his window. It was a small container, only big enough to fit four people, but it was leaving a long trail of smoke, clearly sabotaged. The other crew members saw it too, and Frank closed his eyes. "That's it," he said. "We're finished. That bastard won."