by Isaac Hooke
Rade could see the cityscape of the Sino Korean colony spread before him; the whole image appeared slightly cloudy, as if existing beyond a thin pane of glass.
The Slipstream seemed to have opened upon the rooftop of one of the colony buildings. Several neighborhoods away, flyers were circling, perhaps trying to stave off the latest Subversion attack.
The alien probe entered first; its front section didn’t disintegrate upon entry this time, and successfully traveled through to the other side. Then it returned in one piece.
“Bender, go,” Rade said.
Bender stepped forward without hesitation. Rade’s eyes were drawn to the passenger seat on his back, whose emptiness seemed somehow glaring to Rade’s eyes.
The mech passed through the portal—
And emerged intact on the other side.
Assuming what the portal portrayed was accurate.
“My turn.” Rade took a deep breath and followed, crossing millions of lightyears with a single step.
23
Traveling all those lightyears felt no different than taking an ordinary step, and he emerged on the other side into the bright sunlight of the colony. He quickly cleared the entryway, relieved to have made it through in one piece.
He noticed the lower gravity immediately. He felt exceedingly light-footed as he continued forward to make room for Pyro’s mech. The inner actuators of the cockpit gave way so readily that he was forced to dial back the servomotors of his mech, lest he bound everywhere.
“Valjean, what’s the gravity here?” he asked.
“Ninety percent of Earth’s,” Valjean replied.
“That explains it,” Rade said. “I suppose this confirms we’ve returned to the original Sino Korean colony.”
“It does indeed,” Valjean said. “This is the battleground between the Subversions and Man.”
Pyro emerged with Jiang seated in the passenger seat, and the tear in spacetime closed, sealing away the alien lab so that only the Sino Korean cityscape remained behind them. The damaged framework of the geodesic dome was visible in the distance. There were gaping holes in it all around the city.
Rade’s gaze drifted to the flyers circling in the distance. There were United Systems variants among them. “Pyro, see if you can raise the United Systems. Or anyone, for that matter.”
“I’ve got a United Systems lieutenant commander,” Pyro said. “Patching him through.”
“This is Chief Rade Galaal of Alpha Platoon, MOTH Team Seven, reporting in for duty,” Rade said.
“Rade Galaal?” the lieutenant commander responded. “According to this, you and your four-man team are marked as missing in action.”
“We’ve been… occupied,” Rade said.
“I’m sending someone to pick you up,” the lieutenant commander replied. “I’m sure you’ve got quite the tale to tell your LC.”
“We do indeed.” Rade disconnected, and turned toward the others. “We made it. Never thought we’d see this day.”
Rade swiveled to look at Jiang, who was yet perched in Pyro’s passenger seat. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she smiled when he met her eyes.
Those were tears of joy, and sadness.
Chow’s absence was palpable.
Rade and his team took the troop carrier the lieutenant commander sent, and it carried them into orbit where an entire fleet of United Systems vessels awaited. They supported a sizable force of Sino Korean starships, together watching over the evac ships that routinely traveled to and from the planet’s surface; those craft unloaded their civilian cargos into waiting bulk carriers.
The three Falcon mechs resided in the middle of the troop carrier, while Rade sat with Tahoe and the others in seats that had their backs to the bulkhead. There were portals across from them, above the empty seats on the far bulkhead; Rade couldn’t see past the mechs to those portals, but Valjean had lined up his cameras with the glass of one portal, giving Rade a view that he shared with the others.
The troop craft docked with a United Systems super carrier among the fleet, and Rade and the others disembarked into the hangar bay. The artificial gravity here was approximately one G, which still felt comparatively mild to what he was used to.
The mechs took up positions in the refueling areas, while Rade went to the far lockers to remove the jumpsuit. He waited for the hangar doors to seal, and then watched oxygen mist into the compartment from vents along the floor and walls. The external pressurization indicator on his HUD turned green, and Rade took that as his clue to begin undressing.
The airlock doors opened, and the members of Alpha Platoon streamed inside, dressed in T shirts and cargo shirts.
“Chief!” Skullcracker said, tears streaming down his cheeks. He gave Rade a hug, despite that he was wearing a jumpsuit.
Skullcracker, Snakeoil, Fret, Bomb, Kicker, Praxter, TJ, Lui and Manic. All the members of Alpha Platoon were there. They helped Rade and the others remove those suit assemblies. They exchanged hugs, one and all, some of them crying, others beaming with joy.
“I’m loving the beard, Chief!” Bomb said. “Reminds me of the good old days.”
“That it does,” Rade agreed.
“It’s good to be in your engaging presence once more,” Praxter told Bender. “My feelings right now are quite ineffable.”
“Effable,” Bender said, breaking out in a guffaw. Fresh tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. “Leave it to an AI to mess up such a simple reunion. He says his feelings are fuckable!”
Praxter stiffened. “Actually, I said ineffable. Which means indescribable.”
“Shut it, AI!” Bender said, hugging him tight, still crying.
Throughout this heartfelt reunion, Jiang watched from the sidelines after Kicker and Fret helped her remove her jumpsuit. She teared up herself, probably because she would never be reunited with her own platoon.
Rade, Pyro, Bender and Tahoe changed out of their cooling and ventilation undergarments and into the proper-sized clothing and boots their teammates provided; Praxter gave a spare T shirt, cargo pants and boots to Jiang as well, but the clothes fit a couple sizes too large. She donned them directly over her cooling and ventilation undergarments, obviously feeling self-conscious in front of so many men—she didn’t want to be naked in front of them.
“Come on, we’ll show you to your quarters,” TJ said. “Or rather, mine. Well, formerly mine.”
“Formerly?” Rade said, arching an eyebrow.
“The Brass thought you died down there, Chief,” TJ told him. “But we knew you guys wouldn’t go down so easily. Anyway, they made me acting chief, can you believe it? The Brass wanted to assign new team members to replace you, but the lieutenant commander fought them, saying he wasn’t willing to give up on you, not until this war was done. Good thing, or else you would have returned to find a very different team.”
Rade glanced at the mechs. A group of Centurions had gathered around the Falcons to guard the alien technology the team had procured—Rade had given the LC a heads-up about that.
“You’re in good hands, Valjean,” Rade sent.
“Of course,” Valjean said. “These are old friends.”
“Glad to hear it.” He turned toward Jiang.
Praxter stood beside her, and when Rade met his gaze, the Artificial took that as his cue to speak. “I’ve been instructed to show you to your berthing area,” Praxter told Jiang. Rade had also already informed the lieutenant commander that they would be bringing a ‘guest’ with them. “You get one of the VIP staterooms all to yourself. This means a room with a private Butler at your beck and call. And wait until you see the meals.” A Butler was the name of a service robot model designed specifically for the hospitality industry. Military versions catered to the needs of captains and admirals. And VIP guests.
She smiled sadly. “I just wish it were under different circumstances.”
Praxter escorted her away, while Rade walked with the remainder of the platoon toward his quarters, with TJ leadin
g the way through those corridors lit with artificial light.
Now that he had removed his jumpsuit, Rade continued to be amazed at how strong and powerful he felt. Although he hadn’t gone to a gym in some time, his entire body had essentially retained its muscle mass, thanks to the adaptation required for the heavier gravity of the alien world. In fact, he was sure he was stronger than before. Though his planned trip to the onboard gym later would reveal the truth.
They reached the berthing area that TJ shared with another chief, who was not present at the moment, and TJ retrieved his belongings, which he’d shoved into a small rucksack.
“A Butler will be fetching your belongings from storage,” TJ said. “And delivering them shortly. Welcome back, Chief.” He beckoned for Rade to enter.
“Thank you,” Rade said. “I promise to catch up with you all later over supper in the mess hall.”
“Sounds good, Chief,” Snakeoil said. “It’s nice to have everyone back.”
“It’s nice to be back,” Rade agreed.
He watched them depart and then entered his quarters.
He took a sonic shower in the head that was shared between the eight closest living quarters, and then shaved his thick beard. It felt good to rid his face of that itchy mass.
He returned to the berthing area to find his belongings in a duffel bag laying on his assigned bunk, delivered courtesy of the Butler robot no doubt. He dressed in a T shirt and cargo pants, pulled on his boots, and then exited the compartment.
Tahoe was waiting.
“Brother, you should go back to your quarters,” Rade said. “Get cleaned up. Rest. You know. All that.”
Tahoe nodded. “Pyro and Bender will be taking showers. I figured I’d wait here, rather than queue in the head.”
“You’re LPO,” Rade said. “You could’ve showered first.” But he knew Tahoe would always place the well-being of the men ahead of himself.
Tahoe shrugged. “You’re off to the LC to debrief?”
Rade nodded. “Good guess.” He turned down the hall. “No rest for the weary.” On the overhead map, a route overlaid his vision, provided courtesy of the starship’s AI.
Tahoe walked alongside him. “You seemed a little… flustered, back there.”
“Their welcome was a little overwhelming,” Rade admitted. “And some quiet time would be nice. It’s been a while.”
“I hear you,” Tahoe said. “Quiet time is always good.”
Rade glanced at his friend. “And yet you’re still walking alongside me. What’s on your mind?”
“I sent a message to Tepin while I was waiting outside your quarters,” Tahoe said. “My mailbox was full of messages, not just from her, but my children. They were worried sick about me.”
“I don’t blame them,” Rade said.
“Did you get anything from Shaw?” Tahoe asked.
Rade sighed. “I didn’t check. I don’t want to check, really.”
“What are you going to tell her?” Tahoe asked, obviously in reference to Jiang.
“Nothing,” Rade said.
“You’re just going to keep the relationship from her?” Tahoe pressed.
“Honestly, I’m not sure how long it’s going to last,” Rade said. “It’s over now, as far as I’m concerned. We’re home. Jiang’s going to go back to her military, and be assigned to a new platoon. And I’m going back to the Teams. When we’re on Earth, we’ll be separated by an ocean. Not to mention governments that are somewhat hostile to each other most of the time.”
“Do you love her?” Tahoe asked.
Rade hesitated. Then: “No.”
“Lucky,” Tahoe said. “Bender loved Chow, I believe.”
“Yes,” Rade agreed. “I feel for him.”
“We all do,” Tahoe said. “Do you need me to corroborate anything to the LC?”
“No,” Rade said. “He’s downloading my Implant data at this very moment.” Rade could see the “downloading” icon active in the lower right of his HUD.
“Mine, too,” Tahoe admitted. “I guess I’m just trying to feel useful at the moment. I’m hoping the Brass will choose Alpha for the next mission… I want to be part of the team that deploys the new weapons against the Subversions, and kicks their collective asses.”
“We all want that,” Rade said. “I’ll see how it goes.”
Tahoe nodded and patted him on the shoulder. “We’ve been through hell and back.”
“We’re not done yet,” Rade said, and bid his friend farewell.
Rade reached the office the lieutenant commander had reserved aboard the ship and requested entry.
The door slid aside. Lieutenant Commander Richard “Panther” Scotts was seated behind a bare desk: all his paperwork would be virtual.
The commanding officer of both Alpha and Bravo platoon nodded slowly in greeting. A smile formed on that stony face, seeming wrong amid all those hard angles and those eyes that gleamed with barely withheld cruelty.
He wore an officer’s uniform decorated in standard navy digital.
“Have a seat, Mr. Galaal,” Scotts said, the grin fading. “From what I’ve seen so far from your recordings, you’ve got quite the tale to tell.”
Rade sat down and relayed what had happened.
When he finished, Rade said: “You have to send us in. We can stop these Subversions.”
“That’s up to the Brass, as you know,” Scotts said. “I’ll put in a good word for Alpha. You were the ones who discovered the weapons after all. But are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a break after a mission like that? What about Bender?”
“We don’t want a rest,” Rade said. “We want to see this through to the end. It’s the only way we’ll find closure. You want Bender to be okay? You send him on this mission. You send all of us.”
Scotts nodded. “I can understand your viewpoint. I’ll do my best to convince the Brass.”
Rade returned to his quarters.
He was getting ready to have supper with the rest of the platoon as promised, when surprisingly, only a few minutes after he returned to his quarters, the lieutenant commander tapped in.
“LC,” Rade said in greeting.
“The Brass has chosen Alpha Platoon to lead the attack against these Subversions,” Scotts said without preamble. “Congratulations.”
“That was quick,” Rade said.
“Yes,” the lieutenant commander said. “I admit, more than a few officials were listening in on our earlier conversation. All of them, in fact. The situation is dire on the surface. We haven’t been able to hold back the latest Subversion assault. They want your platoon down there as soon as we get the alien armaments attached to the remaining mechs. You have about two hours.”
“Nice,” Rade said. He’d have to inject some stimulants, since rest was out of the question. He needed to have supper with his platoon, and talk to a few important people thereafter. “Do I have permission to share everything I just told you with Alpha platoon? Considering we’ll be going on the mission?”
“Permission granted,” Scotts said. “Do whatever you need to prepare yourself. I’ll be holding an official briefing shortly. Scotts out.”
He disconnected.
Rade sat back.
So, I get to see closure after all.
He just hoped he wouldn’t regret it. Because there was a chance this closure would be anything but, and only bring more death.
I won’t let that happen. I swear I won’t.
But he had sworn similar oaths in the past, and he knew how well that had gone.
Well, he’d do his best. Give it his all.
That was all he could do.
24
Rade sat at the large table in the mess hall, surrounded by his platoon members. They’d brought chairs from the adjacent tables and crowded in so they could all eat together. Pyro and Bender had shaved their beards like Rade; Tahoe hadn’t grown one in the first place.
Jiang wasn’t there, of course. She was in her VIP stateroom at the mo
ment, according to the ship’s AI.
Rade told the team everything, using noise cancelers to prevent other crew members present in the mess hall from eavesdropping. Tahoe and Pyro sat strategically on either side of Rade, blocking him from view of the other tables, so that bystanders wouldn’t be able to run lip reading software. Rade was still visible to the cameras of the ship’s AI, but it didn’t matter if the machine read his lips, since the AI already knew about the mission anyway.
“Well,” Fret said, “I must say, I’m certainly glad I skipped out on that particular mission.”
“I wish I’d gone,” Lui said. “I’d love to leave the galaxy.”
“I can help you with that,” Bender said. “Drop by my bunk later, and I’ll introduce you to my combat rifle.”
“What I don’t understand is why the alien helped you,” Praxter commented. “You say it was out of guilt, but then it admitted that it felt it was betraying its own people.”
“I think it realized that living with the guilt of betrayal was better than enduring the guilt that would come from doing nothing while the survivors of his kind instituted a systematic genocide against an innocent race,” Rade said. “A genocide brought about for the most part by a rogue AI, and fought by genetic-engineered super-soldiers programmed to destroy everything in sight.”
Praxter shook his head. “Organics. I’ll never understand their motives.”
“That’s because you’re a stupid AI,” Bender said.
“Stupid?” Praxter said. “Not true. Compared to a human, I have an IQ of five thousand, three hundred, and thirty-two.”
“On the emotional intelligence scale, you’ve got the IQ of a worm,” Bender said. “And bro, I got news for you, IQ maxes out at three hundred.”
Fret was returning to the table with a second plate just as Bender finished, and accidentally brushed his hair as he sat down.
“Quit messing up my hair!” Bender scrunched up his nose. “Dude, you smell like FAN.” He tossed Fret a wet towelette. “Use that on your balls.” He stared at the slab of meatloaf in Fret’s plate. “How can you eat that shit anyway?”
