Jack stood up, bewildered, and took the handshake. She glanced at Joel, who still had holo screens out and was mid-interview or mid-conversation… or mid-whatever this was - and looked equally thrown by his colleague’s behavior.
The boss woman turned towards the door and started heading out. “You can manage from here, right Joel?”
Joel turned to watch her leave. “Er, yeah. Sure thing, Molly,” he agreed.
The woman left.
Jack, unsure as to whether she should speak her mind, decided to anyway. “Wow. Ghosted!” she exclaimed, a little humor in her voice, as she tentatively sat back down.
Joel grinned. “Yeah. You’ll get used to that. She er… struggles with the social element sometimes.” He chuckled a little. “Don’t worry, she’s great when you get to know her. She was probably juggling a few things at once, just then.”
Jack frowned a little. “Juggling? What do you mean?”
Joel relaxed a little and leaned forward on the enormous conference table, as if letting Jack in on the joke. “Ah, she has an AI in her head. She may have been given intel, or something she needed to act on right away.”
Jack looked like she understood. “Ohhhh” she mouthed softly, smiling in appreciation at being let into the fold.
The door to the conference room whooshed open, and a huge muscular guy walked in, making even Dunham look weedy in comparison. “Molly said you guys were ready to start orientation?” he said to Joel.
He glanced over and smiled at Jack.
Joel swiveled around in his chair and sat forward, leaning his arms on his knees. He glanced back at Jack, then back at the muscle guy. “Yeah. We’re good, I guess. That is…” he turned back to Jack. “You want the job, right?” he asked.
Jack shook her head, confusing Joel for a second. “Hell yeah,” she smiled. “I’m in.” She smiled to herself. “Heck, if you guys are even half as crazy as the rumors say you are, and with even a fraction of what I’ve seen in the last few hours getting here, and all…” she motioned to where Molly had been sitting. “I’m in for anything!”
Joel stood up as the new guy walked around to the other side of the table to introduce himself. “Well, in that case, I’m Sean Royale. I’ll be your liaison between normality and crazy.”
Sean held out his hand. It was huge. Jack, who had been known to put a large number of marines on their ass in various forms of arm wrestling, took his hand, and made the smart move to not try and prove anything. “I’m Jack,” she told him, shaking gently.
Sean grinned. “Good to meet you, Jack.”
The pair looked over to Joel. Joel closed out his holos. “Okay, so if you guys are good, I’ll go catch up with the lady boss. Squad training in two hours, yeah?”
Sean nodded. “We’ll be there.”
Joel smiled and left the room, leaving Sean and Jack alone.
“So,” Sean reflected, looking at Jack. “You don’t seem the normal commanding officer type. How did you end up getting selected for this crazy house?”
Jack shrugged. “Long story. But yes, not your normal CO. I had a knack of winning in the military; they had no choice other than to promote me. That’s where I discovered I’m not the natural administrator.” She cocked her head contemplatively. “So I think this level of crazy mixed with field work is going to suit me just fine. As for how I got selected…” she gestured towards the door, “You’ll have to ask Captain Dunham.”
Sean motioned for her to lead the way around the conference table. “Well, in that case, let’s introduce you to your team, and the base of magical adventures!”
The two headed out of the conference room.
Jack allowed herself to grin broadly only once his back was turned. She followed Sean out of the conference room.
Gaitune-67, Safe house, Kitchen
Joel found Molly in the safe house kitchen, doing battle with the mocha machine.
Again.
“Þöngulhaus Kaffivél,” Molly cussed. “I swear this machine can see me coming. Oz? Help.”
Joel stood in the doorway, watching her press buttons and rattle at panels and levers that didn’t want to budge. “Stressful day, dear?” he asked.
Molly looked up and glared. “It would be fine if I could get this fucking heap of trash to cooperate.”
She turned back to the machine.
Oz?
You’re trying to process a fresh cup, but there is already an empty pod in there.
Fuck my life.
Molly grappled with another panel on the machine, and managed to pull it open. She peered into the little compartment that had popped out and dug out a crinkled piece of plastic. Dumping it in the trash, she turned back to Joel.
“Well, that couldn’t have gone much worse,” she said.
Joel watched her, amused. “You’re talking about making a first impression on your new team member?” he clarified.
She scowled at him.
Joel grinned. “I think you did perfectly. She now knows exactly what she’s getting herself into…” He couldn’t help but chuckle silently, his shoulders and chest bouncing in amusement.
Molly slammed the panel shut and put the mug back under the machine. “I’m glad you’re amused,” she retorted, poking at the button on the machine again.
Joel, still grinning, pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and plunked down. “Okay, let’s see what we can do about this leadership thing. I mean, you were doing so well! What, with finding a way to keep Crash from going crazy, and listening to the others about what they need to be motivated and engaged on this isolated rock.”
Molly turned and leaned against the counter while the machine whirred and did its thing. “Yeah, really great… You know that Crash hasn’t been using the pods just to get his cabin fever ya-yas out?”
Joel cocked his head. “Huh?”
Molly folded her arms. “Yeah, he’s using his pod time to go and see some chick he’s been talking to on the other side of the asteroid.”
Joel looked confused. “But Paige said he’s been more relaxed since he had pod time.”
Molly raised her eyebrows knowingly. “Well…” she paused, waiting to see if the penny would drop. When Joel showed no signs of putting it together, she moved on. “The point is, this ‘motivating the troops,’ or, more precisely, training and managing them, bites.”
The machine fell silent and she picked up her mug. “You want one?” she asked Joel, indicating at the machine.
He shook his head. “No thanks. But this management thing is just something you need to work on. No one - well, very few people - are able to just do it naturally. Why do you think the military invests so much in leadership training, and personnel development?”
Molly sat down on the other side of the corner where Joel had placed himself. She hugged her mug with two hands and shrugged. “Dunno. I can see it’s important. But I just don’t know where to start.”
Joel leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. “You’ve already started. Now we just have to keep refining,” he told her. “So, why don’t we talk about finding out what really motivates them?”
Molly shrugged again. “Okay,” she said flatly.
Joel took that as a sign to continue. ”Alright, so let’s take Pieter. He’s an odd one. He’s not a soldier. He doesn’t do this for the pride. Or for justice. But he does care about his team. What do you think he struggles with most, though?”
Molly wracked her brains. Her eyes fell on the rim of her mocha cup. “Not gambling?” she guessed.
Joel shook his head. “No. The gambling was a symptom. His biggest challenge is being able to connect and bond with people.”
Molly frowned again, and moved her gaze forward to the wooden table, still not looking at him. “How do you know that?”
Joel tilted his head. “You remember when we had that post-op pizza fest, where you announced Maya was joining the team?”
Molly nodded.<
br />
Joel sat back in the chair and crossed his legs in a four shape. “You remember how Pieter lit up when Sean ruffled him, and bear hugged him?”
Molly took a sip of mocha. “Yeah, vaguely,” she said after swallowing.
“Well,” Joel continued slowly, “that was a breakthrough moment for Pieter. He suddenly felt accepted.” He tried to catch Molly’s eye. “Haven’t you noticed how since then, he’s been hanging out with the others more, and coming out of his shell?”
Molly glanced up at Joel. “Yeah, he’s become more of a smart arse too!”
Joel grinned. “Exactly. Cuz he’s comfortable with the team now. He feels accepted, like he can be himself.”
Molly started to smile a little. “I see. That’s… great.” Her eyes developed a distant look for a moment. “So, how does that help me manage him?”
Joel nodded his head and started waving his hands in explanation. “What it means is that he craves connection. So your job as his leader is to make sure he finds opportunities to keep developing that. That’s why on the training exercises, I keep pairing him with either Paige or Brock. They’ve bonded already - so I keep giving them the opportunity to make that bond deeper. Eventually, he’ll start naturally spending time with the others, too… But to force him out of his comfort zone before he feels ready to, will just keep him struggling and feeling like an outsider.”
Molly pushed her mocha cup forward and let her head hit her arms in front of her. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to do this voodoo you do,” she exclaimed.
Joel put a hand on her arm. “It’s okay. You’ll get it. It just takes time. And practice. How about you have a conversation with Maya next, and see if you can work out what’s important to her? You know - what she hopes to get out of being on the team. What she wants to do with her life. That kind of thing.”
Molly lifted her head, stray hairs flopping over her face and into her eyes. “Yeah. I can do that. I guess.”
Joel took a breath. “Good. That’s the next thing then.” He stood up. “Okay, we’re due in training in a couple of hours, and I have some case files to go through. See you down there?”
Molly had put her head back into her arms. “Yeah…” she said, muffled through the table and sweatshirt arms.
Joel shook his head, and tucked his chair back under the table. He patted her head gently. “It’ll be okay. Promise.”
He left.
Molly?
Yeah?
You have a meeting with the General in ten minutes.
Oh, shit. Right.
Molly lifted her head and pulled her mocha closer. She examined the contents of the cup, her nose wrinkled.
What the fuck is wrong with this mocha, Oz?
I don’t know. Take another sip.
Molly took another sip. She paused.
Oz?
Yeah?
What’s up with it?
Erm. You might not want to drink the rest.
Why not?
You don’t need to know. Just throw it out.
Why?
It’s not good. Just throw it.
Molly’s head hit the desk again, in exhaustion and exasperation.
Bloody hell. Just shoot me now…
Gaitune-67, Base conference room
Molly sat like a schoolgirl in the head master’s office, dwarfed by the size of the empty conference room. The holo in front of her illuminated her skin, making her look blue.
Wish I’d managed to drink even half a mocha before this meeting.
Well, you had time. If you hadn’t wasted eight minutes with your head on the desk, you would have been able to.
The hologram of the General leaned forward, as he continued speaking.
“… and that means you need to wrap up your escapades with The Syndicate as soon as possible,” the General concluded.
Molly suddenly started paying attention, and rewound in her mind what the General was saying.
“Hang on,” she said, “are you… Did you just? How did you know about our plan to go after The Syndicate?”
The General leaned back in his anti-grav chair, sucking on the cigar thing he always seemed to have handy.
Molly kept talking. “Are you bugging the safe house, still? I thought you weren’t listening, out of respect for our privacy?”
The General seemed genuinely amused. “I’m not. Nor is ADAM,” he added, seeing her next question formulating in her open mouth.
Molly’s brow furrowed, her frustrations for the day only increasing. “Well, what then?” she asked her impatience bleeding through.
The General smiled. “It’s not rocket science, my dear,” he told her. “You have an AI in your head. Your AI simply mentioned it to my AI.”
Molly couldn’t contain her disbelief. “What?” she almost screeched, before remembering who she was talking to. “You mean your AI and my AI are having some kind of frickin’ bromance-slash-secret-liaison behind my back? And then landing me in it?”
The General grinned and nodded. “Seems so,” he concluded, taking the cigar out of his mouth.
Oz, you fucking traitor.
Oz didn’t respond. Molly couldn’t even feel him.
The General leaned in on his desk. “So, anyway, this is how it’s going to play out…” he continued.
* * *
Joel and Sean stood waiting outside the conference room casually, or not so casually, peering in to see what was going down.
“She looks pissed,” Sean said, wandering away from the door and leaning against the corridor wall out of view.
Joel nodded. “Yup,” he agreed. “She wasn’t in the best mood going in.”
Sean sighed. “What do you think they’re talking about?” he probed.
Joel was still watching stealthily through the window. “Dunno,” he shrugged. “It was meant to be a planning meeting… which was why I thought I should be here when she came out.” He paused a moment, and then carefully stepped away from the window. “Come to think of it… how come you’re here?”
Sean grinned. “It’s alright, cowboy; I’m just here to give her a rundown of some of the toys you guys haven’t cracked into yet.” He gestured off to the hangar deck down the corridor.
“Ohhh,” Joel said. “I see. So… official business, then.”
Sean nodded. “Right.” He had his arms crossed, and he now flexed his muscles, demonstrating his enhanced prowess. Joel resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He’d been working out extra hard since getting to Gaitune, but Paige wasn’t wrong when she noticed that he upped his game again when Sean joined the team.
Joel glanced back into the conference room. “Well, I suppose I should leave you guys to it then,” he concluded.
Sean started to say something, and then changed his mind. His expression softened. “Well… You know, if you want, I can show you how to use some of the bigger artillery later. After squad training.” He unfolded his arms and put his hands on his hips, before reaching up and scratching his head. “If you want, that is…”
Joel wasn’t looking, so he missed Sean going a little red and awkward about his extension of friendship. “Yeah, sure…” Joel responded, peering back into the conference room, distracted.
The meeting seemed to be wrapping up. The General gave one last instruction, and then the holo closed off. “Oh, hang on. They’re finishing,” he told Sean.
Sean pushed up off the corridor wall, and stood straight.
Joel paused a moment, and then waved his hand in front of the conference room access pad. The door whooshed open. Molly turned from her seat, making no immediate effort to get up. “All okay?” Joel asked, hovering at the door.
Molly nodded, and leaned back in her chair, swiveling round to see him better. “Yeah,” she sighed. “I can make it work.”
Joel ambled into the room, pulled a chair away from the table, and perched his butt against the table’s edge. “’Make it work’? Tha
t doesn’t sound like the same girl who attacked the mocha machine earlier,” he smiled.
She grinned. “Yeah, that girl got her arse kicked by two AIs and the General of the Etheric Empire. It’s time she got her shit together and showed them who they’re fucking with.” Her face lit up as she talked herself up. A hint of the devil emerged in her eye.
Joel smirked. “I know that look. That’s the look you get just before I get hauled into one of your diabolical plans!”
She smiled innocently, her eyes wide. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mr. Dunham,” she exclaimed.
Sean appeared at the door. “Did I hear there was a diabolical plan afoot?” he asked.
Molly glanced over at him, bringing him into the conversation. “You did. Turns out my bitch of an AI has been in bed with ADAM, and let slip that we decided to take down The Syndicate between now and starting on the General’s official missions.”
I said I’m sorry.
It’s okay, Oz. It’s better he knows.
“Anyway, the General basically said to get it cleaned away and done, because he wants 110% of our attention. And that works for me.”
Joel looked a little surprised. “You mean he basically just gave you his blessing?”
Molly nodded. “Indeed. And he gave us time scales and a training plan to get to in between and after. Oz is going through and scheduling us as we speak.”
Sean looked impressed. “Must say, the General has the right idea. The Estarian situation has been a low-level pain in our brains for a while now. It will be good to see that regime topple.”
Molly clocked Sean’s comment. “Hmm. Sounds like you have even more intel you haven’t shared yet.” She looked at him like a teacher would look at a naughty schoolboy.
Sean grinned. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll fill you in on whatever is relevant when we put our battle plan together. Don’t you worry.”
Joel cut in. “So we’re going to take down the whole Syndicate once and for all?” His voice was a little more surprised than Molly had expected.
She nodded. “Every piece. We have permission, and his blessing, to take the whole thing apart. Right down to the companies and subsidiaries, and any law that we need to alter to keep these dodgy mechanisms in place.”
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 69
