by J. A. James
Griesen stiffened. "So this is an Acruvae base you’re asking me to break into. We're stealing something from my people and you want to put me right in the middle of this," he said harshly. "If the mission fails, there will be spectacular consequences for me.”
Matthias looked squarely at him. "You will not fail. We will not fail. The opportune time is now.”
I'm the best equipped to dismantle whatever security they've got, Griesen realized. He was the trained Acruvae. He was the enemy, and he would be their Trojan horse.
Jing Hua then spoke. "Our team is already prepped. There is very little room for error, but this is a critical mission we have long planned for.” He glanced at Mathias and a wordless look passed between them.
"What is the package?" Griesen demanded. He hadn't anticipated encountering the Acruvae anytime soon - the thought of it made him uneasy.
"The package is something our team will handle once you get us through their security," Jinghua said. "It is none of your concern.”
Griesen's fists tightened. "Of course it is of concern to me. If we come into combat, I need to know what this package is - if your men are under attack, it'd be best to let me know how to handle this."
There was a silence in the room, and he caught them trading glances at each other.
Matthias finally spoke. "You will be provided with answers on a need-to-know basis.”
Griesen bit his lip in anger; saying nothing more. A million thoughts ran through him. He was already being hunted…but to put himself in the lion’s den again. What kind of trap was he walking into?
"When are we going?" he finally asked.
"In a few hours."
“I will still remain undetectable?” Griesen countered.
“Enough so.”
Griesen was sent to meet with Mattie once again to prepare for the task at hand. He stepped into a semi-transparent grey bodysuit she held out to him. It was lined with an external hard shell, and a layer of thin insulation underneath.
"This suit has an outer bulletproof membrane," she said to him. Her bespectacled grey eyes looked at him. "The suit itself will detect and camouflage with whatever surroundings you're in."
He nodded, looking somewhat doubtful given the thinness of the bodysuit. He slipped into it, as she helped him step inside. As it self-sealed from the leg seams upward, he felt an immediate warmth. It was temperature regulated.
She tilted her head, clucking slightly as she picked at the suit where it had sealed off at his neck. She took a tool from the table resting beside her as she observed the slightly loose neckline.
“Stand still,” she instructed him. He wordlessly did as she began to adjust and hem the gap with her tool, running it close to his collarbone.
"Also - it works as a wetsuit," Mattie said. "We conducted numerous tests. They are impenetrable against human weaponry, and the temperature regulation works up to a depth of 10,000 feet below sea level. Not that you'd ever be going that far down.”
He nodded. Hopefully not. He never enjoyed the experience of swimming the few times he’d tried it, but he’d do it if he had to.
"These suits were found in one of the shuttles that we recovered."
Griesen took in her words. "Recovered or stolen?" The words came out more harshly than he intended.
She flinched slightly at his tone.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. He knew it wasn't her fault; in fact, it seemed that she was the most out of the place here in this vanguard of bristling, unsettled men.
He swallowed the sudden sadness that creeped up in his throat. Seeing Mattie, a female figure, reminded him vaguely of his own mom. The sudden thought of his mom made him straighten his spine. He had to make it through this mission and back to Halva… to find answers about his parents…
Mathilda watched him for a moment, and patted him on the arm. "Don't be. I know what you must think of us. A band of rebels up to no good."
Griesen managed a smile. "You're the nicest one of the bunch," he said.
She smiled at that, but for a brief moment, it seemed that a sadness passed through her eyes. "Well...thank you," she uttered.
"The suit has been tested against ordinary ammunition, and is one hundred percent durable. However... if your kind has developed newer weapons technology than what we know of..." she trailed off.
The implications of her words sank into him. Their technology, if it was anything like the shuttle he just upgraded, was at least three revolutions behind. As for their weapons development, this was also something he'd received no training in.
So much for our kind being peace seekers, he thought. Everything he had seen - the suits, the warcraft shuttles and the artillery technology - in no way could have been manufactured by these men down here. As well-formed as an army they were, they lacked the technological prowess the Acruvae had. Yet still, Matthias and his band of rogues had managed to evade capture and decimation by the Acruvae for decades.
Mattie stepped back as she appraised him quickly in the suit. "You're almost there. But wait."
She turned around and retreated into another room, coming back with her arms full. "You're not done yet."
"Matthias and his leadership decided, after a very thorough discussion," she said, raising her eyes to him. "It was a decision made by consensus... Matthias felt that at this point, it would be negligent of us to prevent you from defending yourself. In case there is a firefight."
In case of a firefight. He swallowed, nodding at her words. He had done well with escape, so far, but fighting? And his escapes had been by narrow margins, to be sure. He wasn't confident he would survive a direct attack.
“You’ll have to be careful.”
His skin pricked at her words. Of course he had to be careful. He couldn’t afford to be otherwise at this point. There were only three options now - be caught by the Acruvae, killed by Matthias or find his own way forward.
She didn't hurt his ego, or even his nationalist pride. It was becoming more and more of an ugly revelation that there were deadly truths that the Acruvae kept conveniently tucked away for centuries. He hadn’t come this far to be stopped. He was hours away from encountering his kind once more.
"We have no time to immerse you in combat training," she said. "So this is our proposition."
She handed him three handguns. He took them, looking at them closely. These were marked with the Acruvae insignia - so they would do some damage against the Acruvae if he had to use them.
"They are second generation weapons," she told him as he strapped them on - two onto leg holsters, and one to his hip harness. He nodded; he expected as much.
"And just in case..." she paused, taking a long look at him.
Griesen frowned, trying to decipher her hesitation. "Mattie?" he prodded her gently.
"I just want you to know that this operation is quite risky," she said finally. "We've attempted other operations successfully. But never one where the stakes are this high."
He said nothing, but his own eyebrows furrowed.
"So - while the weapons were authorized, this one is from me. So please." Her voice dropped into a whisper. "Use it only if you must."
She reached into her pocket and pulled something out, placing it quickly into his hand, her hand covering his on top.
"I'll trust you know what it is...and how to use it. For us, none of us could operate it when we recovered it. It unlocks with a fingerprint, presumably," she said, speaking quickly as he took a look at what she had placed in his hand.
He sucked in a breath as he realized what it was. It was a weapon; she was correct. It had to be unlocked by two fingerprints, the thumb and forefinger of an active Acruvae. He knew exactly what it was for, and why they couldn't unlock it. None of them were Acruvae... only he could use it, because of the potentially deadly consequences that it could incur.
"Thank you, Mattie," he said softly, his heart filling up with gratitude. "I hope I will simply return it to you. Thank you for your trust." He looked at her, w
ishing he could give her a hug. She reminded him of Gretchen, in a strange way.
She smiled at him quickly. "Just know... that my boys aren't terrible people. They're just fighting to survive," she pressed on, her lips turning downwards, as her eyes filled with tears. As she looked at him, he felt something pass between them. Please don't hurt them. Please don't betray them.
She didn’t telepath this. He just saw it through the sadness and urgency in her eyes.
He didn't look away from her as he said his next words. "I'll do my best."
CHAPTER 21
In the shuttle hangar, Griesen looked at the small team of men assigned for the excursion. They were silent soldiers towards him, who only gave him unreadable stares.
They were dressed in the same uniform as he, only with distinctly more weaponry. One of them – Tripe - was the team lead, his hair a bright white-blond cut in an shave close to his head.
"You," he barked at Griesen. He felt the cold gaze of the team on him. "Stay close to me. At all times. Understood?”
Griesen nodded. Tripe would lead the team, everyone else would follow. His job was to bypass the security mainframe. They boarded the shuttle, but just as Griesen settled into his seat, the doors opened once again.
It was Matthias, suited up. "I thought this shuttle could use one more for the journey," he said, casting a nod to Tripe and his men. Then he looked at Griesen. "Don't look so disappointed,” he said in an admonishing tone. “You thought you’d seen the last of me.” Matthias took up an empty seat beside him. "
You're not worried in case we fail?" Griesen asked. "The security implications must have crossed your mind. We would all get caught."
Matthias glanced at him coolly. “We may not be as technologically advanced as your people, but rest assured I have weighed my decision against a number of odds. You won't fail."
You won't fail. Griesen closed his eyes as the pilot started the engine for takeoff. No. He wouldn't. Matthias was right about that. It was just a package. There were too many other consequences to think about, if they failed, and he certainly did not intend to. Not in this very time of necessity.
Matthias spoke. "The cloaking device you re-engineered was flawless. It even surprised me... how much your technology has improved."
Griesen looked straight ahead as the pressure from the liftoff pushed him back into the seat. The darkness of the underground was replaced by a bright blue sky. It was startling; and he blinked several times as he adjusted to the sun. "I don't know if I should say thank you or be insulted by your underestimation of the Acruvae.”
Matthias laughed. "This is why you're here. Because I do not underestimate your kind. I have never."
He turned then to the pilot. "How long?”
"Thirty minutes."
The men in the shuttle were silent; Griesen looked down below as the land became a solid mass of green and browns, surrounded by the blue azure of water. He did a mental calculation in his head based on the time and shuttle speed. "We're taking the long way…going halfway around Gaia."
"Very good, friend," Matthias said. "Correct. Our destination is roughly halfway from Heilog." A coldness crept into his voice again. “There are fewer sensors that could detect us this way if we travel at a lower frequency.”
Griesen didn’t say anything further as the aircraft silently took them towards their destination. His job was to figure out how to bypass any systems that were in place to get into the belly of the dome. His mind went back to Halva once again, and his parents. They would have to wait until this was over. Soon, he thought silently. Very soon.
"Approaching in two minutes," the pilot announced in a gravelly voice, breaking the silence and shaking Griesen out of his reverie.
The shuttle docked silently outside the periphery of the observatory's main gates, which was heavily guarded. They would have to take the rest on foot, walking in a good ten kilometres or so. Griesen was thankful for the brush and overhanging trees which provided them with cover.
Not a moment later, he heard Tripe’s' voice behind him: "Helmets on.”
Griesen unhooked the helmet from his side and placed it over his head.
He heard Tripe’s voice again. “Comm system is on. Radio silence otherwise.”
Instantly, his vision lightened and through his right eye, he made out six other dots - the heat signatures of the men on the team. Sound was suddenly amplified, and he could hear the loose rocks and branches under his feet as they continued down their wayward path, staying close to the treeline.
The air was humid, and through the night vision he made out whitish apparitions of the animals in the trees. Small monkeys sat silently in the brush high above them. Tropical birds nested amidst the lush tropical green trees.
There was no sound other than their footsteps. Slowly, they continued to make their way forward through the brush.
"STOP."
The single word made him halt immediately. It was Tripe.
"Sentry guards approaching in 800 metres. Get off the ground. Plan B."
In the hours at the base, Griesen had become well-versed in their execution plans. The priority was to avoid any detection. It would fare better than facing any direct combat.
Griesen looked towards the nearest tree to him with a solid upper branch. Yes. It looked high enough. And strong enough. He lifted his left arm and angled it preciesly. A moment later, a cantilevered rope shot out towards the limb, the sharp arrowhead end shooting outwards, forcefully wrapping itself around the trunk in less than a second.
"Sentry guards approaching - 300 metres!"
The rope instantly began retracting and hoisting him up into the tree. He grasped the extended limb of the trunk, hoisting his body over the tree arm as the rope disengaged quickly from the branch.
He held his breath as he nestled in towards the body of the tree, watching the ground. In his helmet-view, the six dots surrounding him in the foliage began to dim. The suits were quickly masking their body heat through an artificially-generated cover.
He saw them on the ground - two guards dressed in a paramilitary shade of green camouflage. Acruvae. He recognized their auras which emanated from their clothes. They did not linger in the space they were in only moments ago - they continued walking onwards. Then it hit him - his Acruvae senses were coming back. He had seen them for what they were.
The animals in the trees with them were mercifully quiet.
Matthias' voice. "Were they detailed in the surveillance plan?" he asked harshly, addressing the other men.
"They’ve added another round of security. No matter. They have been bypassed."
"Let's keep going," Tripe's voice broke in curtly. "No time to waste. Go on my mark.”
Now up in the trees, they were going to stay at this level to get to the observatory.
There was enough foliage that stretched onwards for the next several hundred metres towards the southwest portion of the observatory rooftop. They were going to have to swing in to get there.
His night vision activated, providing him with the logistical sequencing using the long-limbed branches in his path as he visually scanned the treeline from left to right.
"All clear. Go on three." Tripe's instructions were followed by the immediate movement from the team as they began engaging for the next sequence.