The Azophi Academy Complete Series Boxed Set: Unique Military Education

by TR Cameron

  “Clearly, he doesn’t see us as partners.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “You think? Anyway, how weird is it that we’re heading out to visit the Dhelear? Right after you encountered them in your other life?” He’d shared the details with her, but not with the rest of the team, during the first part of their trip.

  Jax frowned thoughtfully. “I’d say it’s random chance, but relying on that would be stupid. I’ll send a message to Major Stephenson before we jump, letting her know what’s up.” He’d been composing that letter in his head since discovering who was on the receiving end of their current mission. “Despite Vardebron’s assurance that this is simply a show of force to ensure the handoff goes well, somehow I don’t believe him.”

  “That’s because you’re not the biggest idiot in the universe. Third biggest, maybe.” She grinned in his direction. “There’s definitely more to it. Can’t be a simple smash and grab, though, because a ton of better options are available in his sphere of contacts for that sort of thing. No, it’s bound to be something stupid and annoying, like I said.”

  “You can always make a bad situation seem a bit worse, Cia. It’s a gift. Treasure it.”

  She laughed. “Whatever, Mister Whiney Whinerson. Hey, speaking of whining, Marshall didn’t like it when I took his seat, did he?”

  Of course, she noticed. That’s what she does. “No, he did not. I think he has some issues when it comes to teamwork.”

  “And the Professor sent him out with you. What’s that about? Like two wrongs making a right?” She flicked on the ship-wide comm. “You’re free to move about for the next fifty-seven minutes until we reach the jump point. Don’t break anything on the Grace unless you fancy a stretch in the medical pod.” Killing it, she continued, “Do you think that Maarsen wants you to make him understand that he needs to learn to control his desire for control, like you did?”

  He sighed. “I will never stop regretting sharing that bit of deeply personal insight with you. Marshall’s not quite the same as I was. Am. Whatever. It’s something a little different. I wouldn’t have been upset at you taking my seat, even back then.”

  “Makes sense. Well, I hope you figure it out before we’re home. Returning to the Professor with a second failure won’t do much for your standing at the Academy.” She hit the autopilot button and stood, stretching with a groan. “I’m going to shower and change into something that hasn’t been in the proximity of Vardebron, that slug. I’ll be back for the jump.”

  Jax watched her leave and considered the question of Kenton Marshall. Yeah, I do need to identify what’s lacking, and it seems like it might be more a challenge of narrowing it down from the many possibilities than simply finding where it’s hiding.

  The planet Accides wasn’t the birthplace of the Dhelear, according to the records the Grace carried, but had been one of their first conquests. Looking down at it from space, approaching on the night side, the sheer enormity of the area of the world covered by cities was almost overwhelming. Jax shook his head. “Damn, that’s a lot of civilization right there.”

  Cia gave a soft snort. “I’m not sure civilization is the appropriate word. They’ve developed a lot, but at their core, they still like to eat with their hands.” She pantomimed flexing claws, and he nodded.

  “One more reason to handle this by stealth, as much as we can.”

  The pilot’s grin held an edge to it as if she’d tasted something bitter. “Although Vardebron said he wanted a ‘show of force,’ I’m sure he’ll be satisfied with whatever approach gets him the item he needs.” The additional details he’d provided had revealed that the man had no compelling reason for his belief that strong-arming the other parties in the transaction was the right tactic to use.

  Once they’d learned that the Dhelear were involved, Jax had discarded that idea entirely. He had no desire to go up against them on their turf if it could be avoided. Or anywhere, really. Those claws are downright scary. “How close will the landing pad be to the target?”

  A frown illustrated her answer. “Not close enough. We’re going to have to cover a decent distance to get there. Figure an hour walking, if no one bothers with us.”

  “And the likelihood of us being left alone on an alien world with few humans, at night, is probably pretty small.”

  Cia nodded. “That sort of insight is no doubt why they pay you the big bucks.” Her tone lacked her normal mirth, signaling her concern.

  He stared down at the planet as they grew closer. “What about a touch and go?”

  “You can’t be thinking of what I think you’re thinking of, because that would be insane. Better explain.” He paused while she exchanged words with the spaceport and steered the Grace onto a new descent path.

  “You bring the ship in as low as you can somewhere close to the target, set down for a moment, then take off again.”

  She snorted as if he’d said the most ludicrous words she’d ever heard. “First, there’s nowhere to land. The area is covered with buildings, and they’re probably not rated to have a bloody spaceship on top of them. Second, their control people would have a massive hissy fit that would almost certainly get us shot down. Third, you should really think about showering more and washing your brain while you’re in there. It’s clearly not working properly.”

  He ran frustrated hands through his short hair. “Okay. Can you fly over a nearby area slowly?”

  Cia sighed. “Yes. And for the record, I hate this idea.”

  Jax grinned as he slapped the release for his safety harness. “Not as much as Marshall is going to hate it.”

  The choice to bring the team’s new addition was a natural one since he was the only other person with official military training. All of them had some sort of basic combat in their backgrounds, either as a hobby or competitively, but none had actually enlisted like he and Marshall had. Jax summoned him to the Grace’s small armory and arrived at the same moment he did. “We’re going to have a little fun.”

  The other man tilted his head to the side quizzically. “I’m not sure I love the sound of that.” His tone belied his words, and Jax realized that Marshall might have interpreted his selection as confidence in his overall abilities rather than the specific difference of his training. I’ll have to be more careful with what I say and do in the future if I’m going to help him truly become part of the team.

  “You need a suit, armor plates, pistol, rifle, and some web grenades. Only web grenades. We’re going for stealth here.” Jax pulled his civilian clothes off and climbed into his battle gear. “This stuff isn’t military-grade, but it’s pretty good.”

  Marshall nodded and started gearing up. “I would think that with the contacts they have at the Academy, you could improve on it.” His tone held a slight hint of disapproval, and Jax chose to assume it was directed at the equipment itself and not the Professor and his people. Or me.

  “That’s a good point. I’ve been working with the docs on my prosthetics, but I’m sure that they must have some staff or students that can do some adjustments. The rifles are top-notch, anyway.” The crates below held heavier gear, but it wouldn’t serve their need for quiet well. And it, too, probably wasn’t as innovative as it could be. He finished with his suit and armor plates, then secured his boots in place, stomping to be sure they were set. “All right. You finish getting ready and meet me in the cargo bay. I have a couple of things to pull together.”

  Marshall nodded, and Jax left him to wrap up, moving with haste through the corridor leading to the back of the ship. He activated his direct comm to Cia. “What’s our timeframe?”

  “A minute and a half until the course change. You’ll need to be out fifteen seconds after that. You know, I can’t guarantee that they won’t see you. Or detect you on one of a thousand other kinds of sensors.”

  Jax shrugged and climbed down the stairs into the cargo bay. “It’s the highest building around for blocks, so they might not have considered an aerial assault. Sometimes those bl
ind spots are baked into the design. Anyway, I sure don’t have a better idea at the moment. If this doesn’t succeed, you and the rest can go in and run with the original plan, with the added challenge of getting us set free if we’re captured.”

  He heard her scowl. “And if you get killed? You know, I’ve put a lot of time and effort into accepting you as you are, flaws and all. I’d hate to see that work go for nothing. Plus, the Professor will probably blame me, or something.”

  He responded with a laugh. “I love you too, Cia.”

  “Shut it. One minute. Get your ass in gear.”

  Marshall arrived a moment later to assist, and together they pulled out heavy black cables and harnesses from one of the Academy crates. The pair worked quickly to prepare for the action to come. When the ship heeled sharply to the side, they donned their helmets and Jax hit the button to open the cargo door. A countdown glowed in the corner of his display, now at seven seconds. He walked forward to the edge of the ramp, seeing the city moving below, faster than he would have liked. “You ready for this?”

  The other man’s headgear bobbed. “Totally.” Jax heard the pre-battle jitters that randomly afflicted everyone, in his experience.

  “All righty then. We jump at zero. The cables are the correct length to keep us from slamming into the side of the building, but we might have to cut loose and drop. Cia’s an amazing pilot, but this is asking a lot.” The timer hit zero, and they jumped together. His stomach stayed in the ship as his body fell. After what felt like at least an hour of hurtling toward the ground but was probably only a few seconds, the line snapped taut and yanked him forward. The overlay on his display showed him his target; without it, he would have been too disoriented to pull off the maneuver. Would be interesting to explain at the spaceport why the Grace has two people dangling from her. He yanked the release at the right moment and dropped only a couple of feet, then collapsed and rolled to absorb his momentum.

  When he stopped moving, he bounced up and looked for Marshall. His partner was a short distance away, pulling himself up on some sort of piece of equipment with a groan. “Did you hit that?”

  “Yeah. Bad aim. Ow.”

  “Injured?” Jax moved toward him.

  “Nah. Just a little dinged. I’m good. If it gets problematic, I’ll take a shot of painkiller. I’m ready to roll.”

  “Perfect. Let’s get what we came here to get.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Every building he’d ever seen, aside from the most secure ones, had at least one roof access to permit maintenance personnel to do their jobs. It was too inconvenient to do otherwise. This proved to be no exception. Two eight-foot-high protrusions were present, each with a heavy door blocking entry. The Grace’s gear had included an electronic lockpick, and he held it over the palm pad, hoping it would be sufficient. He was confident the device would handle a normal level of security, but feared that this structure, home to a criminal organization masquerading as a company according to the materials they’d been given, might prove resistant to its demands.

  After a full minute of waiting, he sighed and packed it away. Marshall noted, “Too bad we didn’t keep the ropes. We could have gone down the side and through a window.”

  “That would pose problems without Kimmel here to compromise their systems. No, we’re going to have to do this the harder way.” He retrieved a second device from a belt compartment and pulled off a backing to free the adhesive. He placed it over the palm pad and activated it. A moment later the green light on the front glowed, indicating it had found and spoofed the local alarm signal. Again, the gadget wasn’t anything like military-grade, but neither should the security be, especially up here on the roof. He stepped aside to make room for Marshall, who quickly and efficiently pried off the pad to expose its connections.

  The other man said, “Old style. We haven’t used stuff like this in years.” He made some adjustments, the latch clicked, and the door moved slightly outward.

  “Nice work.” Jax gripped his rifle in both hands, checked by touch to ensure the stun setting was active, and pushed the door wide with the gun’s barrel. It revealed a staircase leading down. He advanced, noting how the steps seemed a little bigger than what he was used to. Probably one of a ton of differences, given that aliens built this world. His experience hadn’t often involved non-human-designed cities, and he had to keep reminding himself not to assume anything at all. Even the size of the stairs.

  His helmet rendered the sight in greys and greens, due to the lack of illumination. He’d spent enough time using night vision that it was almost as clear as daylight to him, but wasn’t sure about Marshall’s experience. “Keep it slow and steady. Careful on the steps, they’re oddly sized.” He continued down and found the expected door at the bottom. A hand dipped into a belt pouch and came out with a thin strip of metal with adhesive on it, as well as another of the security-confusing bricks. He opened the door and applied the latter above the palm pad on the other side of the wall, then used the former to prevent the door latch from closing again. It would have read momentarily open to a security system, but he hoped the signal would be dismissed as a potential glitch that had resolved itself.

  He led the way into the hallway beyond. It was industrial-looking, similar to the service corridors he’d seen in countless buildings and on an equal number of blueprints during his military unit’s downtime review of construction schematics. His display adjusted, adding color now that sufficient lighting was present. The walls and floors looked to be plastic, but somehow not. They had an opalescent sheen to them that unsettled him, as if the whole thing was constantly in motion.

  Marshall apparently felt the same way. “That’s bloody eerie.” The line-of-sight comm connection would keep their conversation secure, but more importantly, wouldn’t set off sensors looking for wireless emanations.

  “Yeah, it is.” A door stood before them, and their hallway stretched down to the left and right to end in more doors. “There’s no way to know how the aliens think, but if they’re anything like us, the powerful folks hang out on the top. We might get lucky and find the item the first place we look. Let’s go left.” He walked slowly in that direction, keeping his footsteps light and his rifle pointed forward. Marshall stayed a consistent three feet back and enough to his side that the fisheye view in his display allowed him to see the other man. When they reached the door, he pulled out the third rectangle of the four he’d brought, and another metal strip.

  He repeated the process of securing the door and stepped out into a far more lavish room. It had comfortable-looking couches on the left and front walls, and a high round table in the middle sized for three, to judge by the number of tall chairs. A counter held something that looked like a beverage dispenser, and a large cabinet that could be a refrigerator. Or, for all I know, a meat locker full of smoked human flesh for snacks. He snorted inwardly. Their research hadn’t suggested the aliens ate other sentient species, but that had been a pivotal component in many movies he’d seen, and it was difficult to leave all that informal training behind.

  Marshall quipped, “Stop for a coffee, boss?”

  Jax smiled and shook his head. The other man was equal parts charming and grating. In a military unit, any competent commander would make him run until exhaustion eliminated the negative part, but that wasn’t an option at the moment. “Get in, get the stuff, get out.” It seemed like Maarsen’s constant mandate for him. The right side of the room opened onto a central meeting area of some kind. An oval of curved displays hung from the ceiling with an opening on each end to allow access to the arrangement’s interior. Inside, he found blank screens and emptiness. He mused, “Might be a control area? But for what, I don’t know.”

  His partner said, “Maybe running ops. People with cameras feed the displays, and the bosses are here giving commands in real-time. I’ve never seen this kind of design, but it does remind me of those kinds of rooms.” Jax had to agree. He’d never worked out of one himself but had been
on the opposite end, in the field feeding back visuals.

  “Sounds legit. I see three doors, symmetrical in the center of the walls to our left, right, and forward.”

  “Confirmed.”

  “Let’s try the one ahead first.” He gave a verbal command to summon the image of their objective, roughly fist-sized metal cube, silver, with no seams or markings. “It’s probably too much to ask that it’s being used as an ornament or something.” The door was a standard interior model, and the electronic lockpick took care of it easily. Not quite paranoid enough, friends. The space inside held no work furniture, only more hanging displays. Shelves hung on the walls, filled with an interesting array of objects that in no way resembled what they were looking for. He and Marshall wandered around the room scanning for hidden safes or other secrets but found none. “Okay, right or left?”

  His partner replied, “Right. I feel good about right.”

  Jax muttered, “I don’t feel good about any of this,” and headed for the door the other man had mentioned. He unlocked the door and swung it open, then spun at a sound behind him. A stun blast from Marshall’s weapon barely missed a fleeing figure racing out of sight in the far corner. Jax raised his rifle and traversed it across the room, and realized a moment too late that his partner was in motion. He’d already made it halfway to where they’d last seen the alien by the time Jax ordered, “No, wait.”

  Marshall’s tone betrayed the fact that the excitement and adrenaline of the moment had blown away his restraint. “I can get him, no problem, boss.” Then he, too, vanished out of sight around the corner.

  Jax yelled, “Marshall, stop,” but instead of a confirmation he heard another stun blast go off. He charged down the corridor shouting mental curses at the man and banged through a doorway that led into a service stairwell. It had the same look and feel as the hallway they’d entered through, and even the railings along the stairs were made of that same strange plastic. He peered over the side as he ran and spotted the alien two levels below and Marshall a floor behind him. He shouted again, “Kenton, stop right there,” and the other man unexpectedly complied.