by Dennis Young
It would be the death of them, if they didn’t plan for every possibility. Every occurrence.
Because Jance was waiting for them to screw up. Talice knew it. And swore it wouldn’t happen.
* * *
Talice’s wristcom chimed. Hello, Talice. Jance.
Well, this is what I’ve been waiting for. It was past lights-out, but Talice hadn’t been able to sleep. She sat up in her bunk and read the message.
You need to lift in three days max. Once you’re on Crius, I’ll commtext you further instructions. My previous message gave you coordinates, so be there soonest. We’re running out of time. Jance.
Talice typed. I need info to plan contingencies. Numbers, opposition, how you plan to gather everyone in one place, what your options are. Stationary weapons deployment. Confirmation on map accuracy. We can’t do this on the fly. Talice.
She waited. Drank a bit of luke-warm tea on the nightstand.
The wristcom dinged. And I need you to stop nagging. Do you think this is fun for me? You’ve got a team. I’ve got two hands and my brain. I’ve got to be careful about who I talk to and then confirm the intel I gather. It takes time. Jance.
Talice nodded grimly. Keep talking, bitch. I’m going to pump you for everything I can get. And I’m not just digging for intel, I’m looking to find out how you operate. Maybe if I’m clever enough, I can find your blind spot.
She typed again. Fine, so you’ll double-check your info, I understand that. But we need time to plan. We’re obviously not walking into a major Nemesis complex and escorting everyone out past the guards without shots being fired. I’d rather they not be fired at us. Talice.
Minutes passed. Talice rose to pace, ten steps each way, then back. She paused, talking to herself. “Should I have Evans here? Damn, I didn’t even think of that.”
Her wristcom dinged again. Prepare for fifty. And I’m still working on the other details. Including how to get your little friend out without getting myself or her killed. Jance.
Fifty! Holy fuck! Talice paced again, her mind racing. Okay, stay calm. Don’t let her know you’re working with the Marines and this shouldn’t be a problem. Keep her off-balance.
Talice typed in a reply. Got a troop carrier to go with that mob? Or maybe just a shipping container? Oh, wait, oxygen. Yeah, that might be necessary. And food. How the hell am I supposed to transport fifty people from Crius back to Theia? Talice.
The reply came back almost immediately. Not my problem. We have a deal, and if you ever want to see Babs alive again, you’d better get your head together. I’ll do my part, you do yours. Or else. Jance.
Talice nodded to herself. Good, that’s what I wanted to hear. Tells me you really aren’t as clever as you think. And apparently, there’s more to this rescue mission than you’re letting on. If you don’t care about Babs, why do you care so much about these other people?
She held her thoughts for a long moment, then started typing again. Alright, point taken. So what are we supposed to do with these fifty people after we rescue them? When do I get Babs back? And how are you getting out? Talice.
Talice sat, back against her pillow, and drew her knees up close. Let’s see if she takes the bait. Damn, I’d love to get her on this ship, thinking she was free. I’d lock her in a cabin and throw away the key.
The screen lit again. After they’re out, not my problem, but you’d better keep them safe. Babs is my insurance and you know this. Stop trying to play me. And how I get out is none of your business. Jance.
Talice sighed. Well, it was worth a try. Nothing more likely to come of this tonight.
She typed. I’ll figure out something. And you’d better keep Babs safe, too. We’ve had this conversation, haven’t we? Just a reminder. Talice.
Ding. And you’d better get everyone else out alive. That’s the deal. Their lives for Babs’s. Jance.
Talice scowled and typed again. Stop with the nasty villain games! Let’s cooperate and get this done! Talice.
It was minutes before the reply arrived. Then get your ass into space within three days. I’ll contact you then. And if you’re not on the way, you’ll wish you had been. Jance.
Talice started typing, then paused. How the hell — Damn, she’ll contact me through the ship’s commercial transponder. She’ll know our approximate position. So we have to get moving.
Talice punched out another message. Three days. Then I need full intel. Talice.
Thirty seconds, then: You’ll have it. Goodbye for now. Jance.
Talice sat back, drained. There’s more to this than she’s telling. Hell, maybe she’s got a lover in the group. She didn’t say how many men or women. Guess I’m not such a good spy after all. But we’ll see. I’ll show this to Evans in the morning. And Aya.
She sat up with a sudden thought. Damn! Does Aya know Jance? Holy shit!
* * *
A fitful night of sleep, and Talice sat in the mess hall with tea and pastry, mulling Jance’s words and waiting for Mac to awaken. She read the messages over again, looking for clues as to what Jance was really after. Or am I just missing the point? Maybe it really is simply getting the hostages out. Maybe it’s the sex thing, or the slave labor, or all of the above. Maybe she simply got sick of it.
She cocked her head in thought. “Maybe I’m just asking the wrong questions.”
“Sorry, I don’t have an answer yet.” Mac had slid quietly into the mess and responded from the sideboard, then chuckled. She drew coffee and dialed the vendor for waffles and eggs, popped them into the autochef, then moved her hoverchair across from Talice. “Talk to me.”
Talice handed her the wristcom. The autochef dinged, and Talice served Mac as she read.
“Interesting.” Mac handed back the wristcom and dug into her breakfast.
“I want Evans to see this. Maybe he’ll pick up something I’ve missed.”
“I don’t think you’ve missed anything, Princess. She wants out and is using Babs as insurance. She has a vendetta against Nemesis, doesn’t like what they’re doing, and is determined to use us as her tool of vengeance. What else is there?”
Talice thought as Mac finished her meal and sat back with coffee. Evans and Aya entered a few minutes later, then brought drinks and pastry to the table.
“You don’t look happy this morning.” Evans nearly smiled. Aya’s eyes were inquisitive.
“Visitor last night.” Talice handed the wristcom to Evans. He thumbed through the messages as Aya read over his shoulder.
“After our briefing this morning, I want to talk to you about Nemesis and Jance Sukano.” Talice looked to Aya, then back to Evans. “Privately. Just the two of you, and me.”
Evans shrugged. “I’ve told you all I know about her.”
“I’ll be happy to talk to you, Captain,” said Aya.
“Then you can help me look for whatever I’m missing. Because dammit, this has become very personal to me, and obviously to her. I need an edge.” Talice sighed. “I’m asking for your help.”
Evans nodded after a moment. “Alright, Captain. I’ll do what I can. Say, 1100 Hours?”
“The briefing will take about two hours, then another one this afternoon, so yes, that works.” Talice rose. “I’m taking a walk. I need exercise and fresh air.”
She headed out, not really sure where she was going. She exited the building into the morning cool. Briggs was heading up PT. The team rounded the corner, singing their little out-of-tune hearts out. Bělinka matched Briggs, stride for stride beside him. Junior and Dosu followed, then Rory and Martin, Then Ollie and Nikolay. They waved as they passed her by, still singing, and headed out across the tarmac. Talice smiled, watching.
She walked on, thinking. She wants us to bring fifty people out. Okay, Bird One will have emergency shelters and supplies in a couple of the hardpoint attachments. We can set up a camp after the fight, and I can get the colonel to provide a Marine troop carrier to transport everyone back to Theia. Jance doesn’t need the details. What else
?
The team’s area of the Base was vacant except for the echoes of the PT exercises. Talice knew the maintenance and Marine security staff were housed kilometers away, giving everyone plenty of space. Officially, her team wasn’t to mix with the Marines, but their patrols stopped by occasionally to swap stories. She paused, watching a Marine turbocopter lift and head south on patrol. She sighed. Sure was simpler then…
Talice continued her walk. What does Jance get out of this, personally? Evans said she’s a loner, but obviously we’re her team. Damn… is that it? She simply wants to be in charge? Fuck that.
She checked her chrono; the briefing would start in another hour, so she headed back. Stopped dead in her tracks, thinking.
What was it Evans said? “Jance may lure you in, just to watch her murder Babs.” Holy fuck, that’s her plan. She’s getting people out, sure, and probably hates what Nemesis is doing… but in the end, that’s her ploy. Kill Babs to hurt me.
She walked on, slowly. Damn, she’s in my head night and day! Maybe Evans can give me a heads-up. When would be the best time for Jance to exact her revenge? I’ll just have to be ready, whenever the time comes. For whatever it is she thinks I’ve done to her.
* * *
Fortunately for everyone, Briggs had given the team time for showers before the briefing. Therefore, the ready room was no more odorous than usual. And after years of use by thousands of sometimes-unwashed bodies crowding together for a lecture or mission orders, there was a lingering taste of what Talice could only describe as “wish you had bathed.”
The team arranged itself; Briggs, Rory, and Dosu on one side, everyone else on the other. Mac was beside Talice, Evans and Aya at the far end of the table. Bird One and crew had not arrived, due in the following day. Talice waited for the typical chatter to quiet before she began.
“Okay, troops, this is a general information briefing. I’m expecting updated intel today, so we can go over that in the afternoon. First of all…” Talice gave Mac a quick glance. “I’m going to tell you how this came about. Not the official operation, that’s for later. But this… personal part of it.”
“You met someone.” Rory gave a chuckle, and Talice smiled slightly.
“Actually, you’re right. An old acquaintance of ours. Jance.”
“Aw, fuck…” Briggs pantomimed distress.
“My words exactly.” Talice shook her head. “Here’s the deal. Doctor Barbra Cromwell, whom we all know from our Marine days as Babs, is one of the hostages. They took her because she’s got more medical experience than anyone else on Crius. She’s worth whatever someone is willing to pay for Nemesis for her services. While she’s guarded well, she’s also in more danger than probably anyone else being held.”
“Jance knows this? She’s your source?” Junior sat straighter, listening closely.
“Yes, and she offered proof.” Talice sighed. “The fact is, we’ve got about fifty people to rescue this time, not a dozen. I’m still waiting for Jance to provide details, so we can plan.”
“What is she getting from this, Captain?” asked Bělinka, sitting close to Nikolay.
“She’s in a box,” replied Mac, before Talice could reply. “She wants out, but won’t say it. We’re working on that part of it.”
“My Marine contact has advised this may be a battalion-size operation. We’re to find the back door and go in quietly. Jance is supposed to provide us that info and arrange collecting of the hostages.”
“All by herself?” Junior again.
“She’s got someone on the inside,” said Mac. “Likely, one of the Nemesis non-combatants coming out with the hostages.”
“But…” Briggs began, then paused, looking at Talice squarely. “Nemesis personnel are the bad guys. The Marines will want them… won’t they?”
“As I said, we’re working on it,” repeated Mac.
“It’s part of the deal,” added Talice. “The Marines want to finish Nemesis on Crius. If someone doesn’t get the hostages out, no telling how many would die in the attack.”
“And if anyone dies, it’s no fault of the Marines.” Rory huffed. “But they’re… your contact is on board with this?”
Talice nodded. “It’s been discussed. At the highest level.”
“So this is the big one, Captain?” Ollie, soft-spoken and usually quiet, showed serious interest.
“They’re all big ones, Ollie. But yes, we’ve got a major task ahead of us, even if everything Jance tells me is the sworn truth. This is one reason Mac’s been pushing us so hard. We’ve got three more days to get ready. That’s all.”
She looked around the table for worry or real concern. She saw only quiet confidence. “Any questions? Alright, get a meal and rest, then we’ll meet again at 1400 Hours. Then back to the training grind at 1600.”
The room began to clear. Talice approached Evans and Aya. “Let’s do our meeting after lunch.”
Evans nodded, then Aya. They took their exit, leaving only Talice and Mac in the room.
Talice sat. “This isn’t going to be fun.”
Mac drifted her hoverchair close. “Last mission? After this, what’s left, Princess?”
Talice relaxed into her seat and chuckled. “Get Babs back to work on your legs and my bugs.”
Mac grinned. “No rest for the poor woman? Seriously, she’s going to need some time.”
Talice nodded grimly. “We’re all gonna need some time, Mac. After this, we may all be ready for a padded cell.”
* * *
Talice sent a message to Colonel Fawkes by courier, explaining the situation and asking for advice. She then met with Evans and Ava in a shielded conference room while Mac talked by comm with the Base infirmary and caught a quick nap.
“Mr. Evans knows Jance Sukano, so there’s not much chance he can help on the inside.” Talice faced Aya squarely. “Any chance you know her from your time on Crius?”
Aya studied the holo Talice passed to her. She shook her head slowly after a few moments. “She was not in the compound that I recall. None of the other hostages… or the staff, for that matter, mentioned her name.”
“She would likely have been using an alias,” said Evans.
Talice sat back, wondering how to continue. Blurt it out. Lay it on the table. All she can say is no.
“Would you be willing to go inside? Possibly find what you can about Jance, or the hostages?”
Evans slapped the table, sending the holo and Talice’s SLATE jumping. “You said we’d be on board with Mac. Now you’re changing the rules?”
“Captain,” said Aya, softly, laying her hand atop Evans’s. “The reason I was successful is because I knew the people there. During my initial capture, I learned their stories and situations. I was able to put together a plan of escape, but that plan necessitated that I escape first, then allow myself to be recaptured. It took nearly half a year.”
Talice shrugged. “I don’t understand.”
Aya toyed with the holo, staring at it. She couldn’t meet Talice’s eyes. “I had to prove my trust to Nemesis. I had to capitulate to the leaders there. I had to allow them to think they had broken my spirit. I had to gain… sympathy from the other hostages.”
Aya took Evans’s offered hand. “Then Gorg came, and we found a way between us to make it happen. I had to become his woman. And he had to keep others away from me as much as he could.”
“But he… you were separated. For how long?”
Aya looked away, then met Talice’s gaze at last. “Another half year. He was on Eos, I was on Crius. I thought I’d never see him again. I thought I’d die, revealed as a double-agent. Finally, a message came through.”
Talice swallowed hard. “From Colonel Fawkes.”
Aya nodded.
Talice motioned with her hands. “Okay, request withdrawn. And I apologize. Sincerely, and with great respect. I’m… I’m sorry you had to endure that. I won’t ask anything further of you except you offer whatever advice you can during this mission.”<
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“I want to see these hostages out as much as you, Captain. But if I may ask… who is this Jance Sukano to you? And why did you make a deal with her?”
“I’ve wondered that myself,” said Evans.
Talice didn’t know what to say. How to explain she had no idea why Jance had it in for her. How this dubious opportunity fell into her lap. At last, she simply shook her head. “Jance was a Marine teammate years ago. I have no idea why she’s singled me out as her enemy. For the life of me, I can’t think of any reason. But… something like you, Aya… she fell in with the wrong people. But unlike you, she decided to stay. Now, she’s… hell, she’s trying to do the right thing for a change. But she has a Marine doctor as hostage, who also happens to be my personal physician and a good friend. Using her as bait to get these others out.”
Aya furrowed her brow. “But… why? Something is missing from this puzzle.”
“There’s a lot missing. But I’m assuming you mean, what does Jance gain from this, right?”
“Talice and I talked about this, Aya,” said Evans gently. “It’s the psychology of the situation. Jance wants to hurt Talice, reasons unknown.”
“Then find those reasons, and you will know her better,” replied Aya. “You cannot fight a foe you don’t understand.”
* * *
Bird One arrived, and before Abie and her crew could even unload, Talice had her take the team a hundred kilometers south and drop them in a hastily-programmed mockup of the central Nemesis compound. She monitored their progress with Mac at the TacOps board. Evans and Aya stood quietly watching as the team wended their way through pop-up gunfire, traps, and even a counter-charge.
Three “wounds” were taken, one fatal, and a plethora of minor injuries. In the end, the team lost two, Rory and Martin, with Bělinka, Briggs, and Junior all nearly out of action. Ollie, Nikolay, and Dosu were the only team members left unscathed. Half the “hostages” had died during the attempted rescue.
As the team trudged back to the assault ship, Talice sat with Mac, both grim-faced, saying little. They knew each other’s thoughts; this mission might spell the end of the team and cost the lives of many they were to rescue.