She paused, looking at Sean, knowing his view on the subject. “Of course, if we need to kill, that setting is still available on the blasters; but where we can avoid it, we now have the option. Brock,” she turned back to him, “if you can fit in a quick training session with the folks who will be carrying them on the ride in, that would be great.”
Brock nodded.
Molly looked around the table. “Anything else?”
There were lots of headshakes and mumbles. Molly concluded the meeting.
“Okay, great. Between now and departure, I want everyone to get as much rest as they can. We all need to be at our best, and that means not over-training, and not pushing ourselves to exhaustion.”
She deliberately avoided eye contact with Crash so that he didn’t feel like he was being singled out.
“Okay, folks. Dismissed,” she concluded.
The antigrav chairs were pushed out as the team got up and milled around, either talking or moving on to the next thing they needed to get done. Gradually, the room emptied out under an air of focus, and a sense of “getting shit done.”
Chapter 16
On Board The Empress, Koin Star System
“This is your captain speaking.” Crash’s voice came over the ship-wide intercom.
“We are fast-approaching our destination. The weather on Kurilia is sunny, with a light westernly breeze, and a 90% chance of anarchy. We will shortly commence our descent to the skylifts, where you will be taken to the surface, free of charge, by our sponsors, Kurilia Media. On arrival, please keep your hands and arms inside the ship, and do not feed the animals. Make sure your weapons are fully charged, and remember: have a nice day.”
Jack, Sean, and Joel were already in the basement, ready to deploy the trapdoor and drop frame. Kitted up, they waited patiently to pick up the somewhat cumbersome Zhyn blasters. They all smiled, amused at Crash’s announcement, and all secretly thinking how glad they were that he was okay.
Molly heard the announcement, too, and she started to get her stuff together from her seat in the back of the cabin. She’d been practicing her meditation and breathing, and finding herself more in control.
Okay. This is it, Oz.
We’ve got this; Pieter is almost ready to deploy the worm. We’ll be good as soon as we’re within orbit.
Great.
Molly stopped suddenly, and, though she’d been starting to get up, she quickly sat back down.
Everything all right?
Er. I’m not sure. I…
Molly, your adrenaline has spiked and you’re releasing excess cortisol.
You mean I’m experiencing fear?
It seems so. What did you just start thinking about?
Nothing new. I was just thinking about putting the rest of my gear on. But then…
She paused, and then looked around the cabin.
What is it?
I just had a sense of Paige.
Paige?
Yeah. So, you know how I told you about my time out on the asteroid, and how Arlene had me tune into each person and read them?
Yes.
Well, I think I just accidentally read Paige.
Oops.
Yeah. She’s nervous, thinking about all the things that could go wrong.
That can’t be good.
Hmm. Okay, lemme see if I can close it down.
Molly got up, and took herself down to the basement. She descended the steps, careful to keep herself grounded and present, as Arlene had showed her.
Molly? What is it now?
I’m picking up on the others. Sean, Jack, and Joel. I can feel each of them clearly.
Can you close it down?
I’m not sure. I’m going to try.
Molly stood still where she was for a minute, breathing and trying to center herself.
Oz. It’s not working.
Why not?
Molly shook her head and tried to ignore the feelings that were rushing through her system. She entered the room to see the guys opening the trapdoor.
I dunno. Shit, I need to get ready.
“Cutting it a little fine, Mollz,” Sean said in battle-jest. She could feel his edginess coming out, behind his words. This was how he coped with the pressure and the adrenaline. She suspected it also helped with the camaraderie; she felt it a little in the other warriors assembled, too.
“Yeah,” she agreed, walking over to where the rest of her body armor was. She quickly got it on, and checked her holsters. Finally, she found her wooden baton, and stuffed it down between the holsters and vest on her back.
Can still feel them all.
You doing okay?
Yeah. Just feeling a little icky, and like my energy is being depleted by it.
Think you should tell someone?
Right, and give Sean another reason to think that I’m a bad leader? I don’t think so.
He doesn’t think that.
No, but he does think that I’m physically weak, and probably shouldn’t be on this mission until I’ve got this realm shit sorted out.
How do you know that?
I can feel it from him.
Are you sure? I mean, projection, eh?
Nope. I’m not sure. I can never be sure. But since the Vision Quest, I’m learning to trust my gut.
Okay. As long as your gut doesn’t get you thinking things that aren’t there.
Yeah. Anyway – time to focus.
Molly walked over to the arms rack on the far side of the room, and pulled one of the blasters off of it. She checked the settings: safety, on, off, and the toggle for kill versus stun.
The others were reaching over to grab theirs, too.
Sean reached past her and smiled. “You got your charges?” he asked.
Molly nodded and patted the long pocket in her suit trousers. “Yep. All set.”
“Good,” he smiled.
The team got ready to take themselves down.
Brock walked in just as Emma clicked onto the local holopanel. “We’re on the final approach. Just a few more minutes, and we’ll be passing by the first drop point.”
Molly and Sean made eye contact. “That’ll be us,” she said, wondering whether she should let him know what was going on with her.
Joel was hanging onto the frame, which had already come down to help their descent.
“Look,” he said, addressing the drop team. “Don’t take any unnecessary risks down there. This is a simple in and out. If you can’t reach your target, we’ll have to do what we can with the nanodrones, and hope for the best. Your mantra for today is to make sure that you’re around to fight another day.”
He paused, looking at each of them in turn. “Understood?”
They each nodded.
“Okay, good. Molly, Sean, you’re up.”
On Board The Empress, Main cabin
Paige and Maya moved a few seats closer to where Pieter was working. Paige noticed he was hyper-focused as he worked to link into the base protocol.
Oz’s voice connected with the auditory system in the cabin. “Okay, they’re all clear of the ship. Time to deploy the worm.”
Pieter nodded. “Okay. Just one more minute, and we’ll be through their firewall.”
Paige and Maya watched intently as he worked. A moment later, Pieter’s expression changed, and his shoulders dropped a little. “Okay, we’re in. Oz, it’s all yours.”
“Thank you, Pieter” Oz replied. “Worm deploying.”
Maya turned to Paige. “Okay, so as soon as the broadcasts are released, they will start running on all the major civilian and military channels. Oz and Pieter are going to hack that separately, though.”
Paige frowned. “Why’s that?”
Maya lowered her voice so as not to distract Pieter and Oz from what they were doing. “Something about the secret bases using not only an isolated computer system, but also a different type of code. Hacking that isn’t the
same as hacking the civilian network; but they seem sure that getting into the civilian network won’t be nearly as difficult.” She glanced back at Pieter, who was watching his screen intently.
“Everything okay, Pieter?” Paige asked, noticing that he was just watching the screen and not typing anything now.
Pieter nodded. “Yeah. It will be. It’s looking like this worm is going to take at least forty minutes to be fully deployed, though…”
Paige frowned. “Is that longer than you were hoping?” she asked.
Pieter looked over at them, his face gaunt and tired. “A little.” He turned his attention back to the screen. “It should be okay, though,” he added quietly.
Paige nodded. “And then you upload the campaign?”
Pieter kept his eyes on the holo this time. “Yeah. That’s the plan. All being well…”
He ran a hand over his face, barely peeling his eyes from his screen for a moment, and then returned to willing the worm to deploy faster.
Planet Kurilia, Northern Hemisphere drop
Molly and Sean peered out of the skylift doors at the clearing around the lift. Blasters at the ready, and eyes and ears on high alert for any signs of movement in the tree line, Sean swung out first. He swept his weapon back and forth, following his line of sight, making sure that they weren’t about to be ambushed.
Molly carefully ventured out after him; diligently, so as not to allow the blaster end of her weapon to cross his location.
Sean took a moment, and then relaxed a little while still keeping his senses trained in ops mode. “This is where you came down before? With Joel and Jack?” he asked.
Molly came up beside him, lowering her blaster a little. “Yes, that’s right. Feels a little like déjà vu, actually.”
Sean glanced down at her. “You sure you’re okay with all this?”
Molly frowned. “How do you mean?”
Sean looked back at the tree line, then down at his holo to check their location. “Well, you know – with all the realm stuff. I mean, are you sure you’re ready?”
Here we go… Molly thought.
She felt herself getting a little irritated, and tried not to show it. “Yes. I’m fine. I learned a lot with Arlene, and I have more control.” She glanced around getting her bearings. “First target is this way,” she indicated, spinning around and heading around the other side of the skylift.
Sean closed his holo, having checked and agreed with her conclusion. “Okay, lead the way,” he said. The tone of his voice seemed to suggest an undercurrent of ‘on your head be it,’ but Molly chose to ignore it.
How you feeling now?
Fine.
Fine?
Well, yeah. Sean… you know. But I’m doing okay. Feels lighter, now that it’s just Sean in my space.
Okay. That’s… something.
Oz paused a moment, but Molly could feel him humming in her head.
What is it?
Don’t you think you should have mentioned it to him? About how you’re feeling people in your space, and it’s taking you off your game?
What, and give him the satisfaction of being right?
Well, operationally, he should at least be aware. What if something happens?
Well, then, I’ll deal. I don’t want him thinking he needs to babysit me. We get enough of that from him anyway, just cuz we’re not super-enhanced starship frikkin’ troopers.
True. And yet…
Okay. Noted. I’ll see. If we are in and out as we planned, it won’t be an issue.
Oz was present and silent.
What? Molly pressed again.
Well, I’m starting to learn that no plan survives contact with the enemy.
Molly nodded. Oz was right. She should probably mention something to him. She sighed.
Okay. I’ll say something if it becomes relevant.
Sean had trudged on down a single tracked path in the lush undergrowth. Molly had to work to keep up with him; she found herself breathing a little heavier than she normally would.
Oz, have I just become unfit with all this sitting around and meditating?
Oz ran a calculation.
It seems your average weekly activity has declined by 51% since you started down that course.
Hmm. I’m sure Sean said that the nanocytes would mean I wouldn’t need to train as hard to be twice as fit…
Maybe he lied.
Molly chuckled out loud.
Sean turned his head to call back to her quietly. “Having fun back there?”
“A little.” Molly replied. “Though it wouldn’t kill you to slow down a bit!”
“HA! Struggling to keep up, eh? We’ll have to fix that, next training session. Come on, the sooner we get these charges set, the sooner we can get the hell out of here.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Molly replied, picking up her pace to catch up as they made their way through the undergrowth, carrying their not-so-light blasters in the temperate climate.
Planet Kurilia, Koin Star System, Zhyn Empire, Control Room of PrimeBase
“Sir, it looks like our security protocols have been compromised again. Something is happening to our systems; they’re not responding.”
Commander Thatle stepped over to view the details on the console.
“Can you lock it down?” he asked the console operator.
“Tech is working on it,” the lieutenant reported back, “but it looks like the mainframe has already been taken over. They have a few things they can try in order to isolate the intrusion, and we’re taking the backup servers offline now.”
Thatle contemplated the intel for a moment. “Fine,” he said finally. “Keep me posted. Let me know as soon as you hear anything else.”
“Yes, sir.”
The commander moved to another console, and addressed the lieutenant monitoring the cameras. “We’ve been breached again,” Thatle told him, his large presence behind the slightly built Zhyn unnerving the subordinate. “Probably the same intruder as last time,” he continued. “Tell me, have we got a visual on anyone coming onto the surface in the last six hours? Also do a search in the vicinity around each base, in case the perpetrators are the same one.”
The lieutenant stopped what he was doing to carry out the order immediately. “Facial rec engaging, sir,” he confirmed, keen to impress.
The commander stood patiently behind the lieutenant, watching the screen flick through the commands and combinations. He had considered that these humans might return, and had already planned out his strategy for dealing with them.
Thatle composed himself for a moment, looking off into the distance; his attention so focused in his mind’s eye, he barely saw the buzz of activity in his control room.
“Sir,” the lieutenant interrupted his thoughts. “We have visuals on four intruders. Two near here, and two on the other side of the planet at the Darfine Base.”
Thatle checked the output on the console, and confirmed the coordinates of the flagged location. “Very good, lieutenant,” he said when he was satisfied. “Thank you.”
The operator of the console shifted in his seat to try and look at his commander. “Your orders, sir?” he inquired.
The commander looked off across the control room, thinking. “Send in troops. Fast and agile. We want to capture them alive to find out what they’ve been doing to our systems. But if that’s not possible, our secondary intention is to neutralize the threat.”
“Aye, sir,” the lieutenant acknowledged.
The order was relayed to the communications officer on the next console, who then issued the order to the ground squadron.
The commander turned on his heels and headed straight to his office to make the call up the chain. He felt a bubble of tension rising in his chest; he was secretly anxious, but also proud that he was ready for this second attack. He would have this problem handled in no time.
As he strode through the consoles of the c
ommand center, the high-alert alarm sounded throughout, turning the room dark with red flashing lights. The sound penetrated every eardrum, disturbing normal concentration and instilling a sense of urgency. The commander retained an air of calm, as he stepped into his office and allowed the door to slide shut behind him. Immediately the noise was cut out, leaving an empty silence.
In the quiet, he gradually became aware of the sound of his own breathing, his own heart rate pulsing through his body, and the sound of his own footsteps on the floor as he walked over to his console to make the call.
He clicked on his communication device. “Vice High Marshall Davon,” he instructed the computer. The call connected.
“Sir, I have news of the intruders,” Thatle reported.
He paused while Davon spoke on the other end of the call.
“Yes, sir. They have touched down on foot in two points we’ve located so far. I have troops on their way to pick them up.”
He waited for the order from Davon, listening intently, hoping that his plan was going to meet with approval.
His shoulders dropped as he relaxed, hearing Davon’s words. He responded graciously. “Yes, sir. Understood. Extreme prejudice.”
There was another pause as he listened, and then, “Yes, of course. The tech team is working on it now. I’ll let you know as soon as we hear.”
The call ended, and the commander returned to the silence of his office to contemplate his next move in thwarting the attack.
Chapter 17
On Board The Empress, Main cabin
Oz’s voice reported through Pieter’s implant. “We have a problem.”
Pieter stopped what he was typing. “What kind of problem?” he asked.
“Both teams have been detected,” Oz told him. “The Zhyn command has issued an order to put troops at each location. I’m going to warn Molly and Joel.”
Pieter put both hands to his face and rubbed his forehead fast. “Shit,” he whispered in frustration. “What else can we do?”
Oz remained calm. “See if you can take out the communications so they can’t deploy their troops. Then see if there is some way to keep from tracking them. It looks like they used facial recognition and cameras to identify them; if any of those systems are offline, or unable to reference the database, then we might be able to buy them some time.”
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 104
