by P. T. Hylton
Louie set a beer down in front of her, and she nodded her thanks before he turned and walked wordlessly back to his station behind the bar.
Alex took a long pull on her beer. There was something wonderful about these post-mission nights. She’d spent the day in the former country of Brazil, rappelling down a skyscraper, facing down the possibility of an attack at any moment. And the people of New Haven had no idea. The secrets, the things she and her team had been through, burned like a lantern in her heart. Very few people alive had experienced the things she had. That thought—the understanding of her lucky and unique position in life—kept her going, even when things got tough.
The bell above the entrance chimed, and Alex looked up to see if it was one of her teammates. A group of three women entered, all talking at once. She shook her head and went back to her beer.
A moment later, her radio chirped. She muttered a curse and grabbed it off of her belt. Members of the Ground Mission Team were required to carry a radio at all times. They were always on call—just another perk of the job.
“Goddard here,” she said into the radio.
“Alex, I need you back at the hangar.” It was CB.
Alex’s heart sped up just a little. Could it be another mission already? “Sure thing, Captain. What’s going on?”
“I just got word Councilman Stearns is swinging by in an hour. You ready to give him that little demonstration we’ve been talking about?”
A slow grin spread across her face. “Yes, sir, I believe I am.” She signed off, finished her beer in one long drink, and headed out the door.
Captain Arnold Brickman didn’t often get nervous. Over the course of his twenty-five years with the GMT, he’d seen too much. He’d witnessed unbelievable feats of courage and watched as friends and colleagues died in the heat of battle. He was a careful man, especially when it came to planning his team’s missions, so it would be easy for someone who didn’t know him very well to mistake his caution for nervousness. He’d faced down things on his missions that had changed him. He liked to think they’d made him wiser. But nervous? No. That was something he felt very rarely these days.
Yet, he had to admit that the impending visit of Councilman Stearns put a strange tightness in his stomach that bore at least a passing resemblance to nerves.
CB and his commanding officer, General Isiah Craig, had been trying to get Stearns to visit the GMT headquarters for over a month now. The primary purpose of the visit was to demonstrate a new type of jet pack the GMT’s Research and Development team had created, but the larger goal was to get the Council to increase funding for R&D all around. General Craig and CB hoped that if Councilman Stearns saw the jet pack that they’d been able to build with the shoestring budget they’d been working on, he might be more inclined to see what they could do with some real resources.
CB turned to Alex, who was standing next to him, dressed in a flight suit, the lightweight jet pack barely visible on her back. “You ready for this?”
“Yes, sir,” Alex said.
“Good. We won’t get a second chance. The key here is control. Stearns already knows this thing’s expensive. We need to convince him it’s worth the resources.”
The plan was for Alex to demonstrate the jet pack by hovering fifteen feet in the air inside the hangar. CB wanted to show the ability of the jet pack to operate accurately in tight quarters. If they wanted to see more, Alex would zoom around the hangar, showing her control of the device. Alex was good with the jet pack, and he was confident the councilman would be impressed.
He stared out the glass wall of the hangar to the road beyond. General Craig was already waiting out there. In the distance, an electric cart was approaching.
“That’ll be him,” CB said. “I better get out there.”
CB trotted outside and arrived at the general’s side just as the cart pulled up in front of him. CB was surprised to see it wasn’t just Councilman Stearns. He’d brought Daniel Fleming, the newest and youngest member of the City Council. CB didn’t know a lot about Fleming, other than the fact that he was the leader of the opposition party and had a passionate following, primarily among the people of Sparrow’s Ridge. Fleming was maybe thirty-five years old, about half Stearns’s age. They made quite the odd pair, especially because of their frequent political clashes during Fleming’s recent campaign.
CB exchanged a quick glance with General Craig. This had to be a good thing. They were getting two councilmen for their demonstration instead of one.
The councilmen rolled their cart to a stop and got off. Councilman Stearns introduced Fleming to CB and the general.
“I know it doesn’t look like much,” Stearns said to Fleming, indicating the large building in front of them, “but nearly a tenth of the City Council’s resources goes into this place.”
CB had to admit that the councilman was right on his first point. The hangar that served as the center of the GMT’s headquarters might have easily been mistaken for a warehouse, if you didn’t notice the burly men with guns standing near each of the three entrances.
“Fleming wanted to see this place for himself,” Stearns said.
“Excellent,” General Craig said. “If you’ll follow me inside, we’ll get started. We’ve prepared a little demonstration.”
Stearns shook his head. “It’s been a hell of a day, General. We spent most of it in the Agricultural section, listening to Director Williams drone on about corn. You can imagine how mind-numbing that was. Then we spent the afternoon in Engineering, which wasn’t much better. Honestly, if Councilman Fleming hadn’t insisted, I wouldn’t be standing here.”
CB did his best to keep the shock off of his face. After all this planning, they weren’t even going to come into the hangar?
General Craig cleared his throat. “Of course. Totally understandable. If you would just come into the hangar for a moment, we have something to show you that I promise will wake you up a little.”
“This isn’t about the jet packs again, is it, General?” Stearns asked. He turned to Fleming and spoke again without waiting for an answer. “Their R&D department developed a lightweight jet pack that they’d like us to approve for field use. From what I hear, it’s not very reliable, and its battery life is incredibly short. The resource cost just doesn’t justify its usage.”
“That’s what we wanted to discuss,” CB said. “We’ve made some huge improvements, and I can attest to just how useful they’d be in the field. Our mission today, for example—”
Stearns held up his hand, stopping CB. “Listen, if you want to give us the five-minute tour of the hangar, okay. Let’s do it. But I don’t want to hear any more about the jet pack today. I simply don’t have the time. Call my office and set up an official visit to discuss it.”
CB gritted his teeth. That was exactly what they’d done.
“I had another purpose in coming here,” Fleming said. “It’s the real reason I pressured Councilman Stearns into bringing me today, despite our time crunch.” He looked at CB.
What the hell could this politician want with him?
“I understand you’ve been on more missions than any other member of the GMT,” Fleming said.
General Craig jumped in before CB could answer. “That’s right. He’s been to more dangerous places than most of us have even heard of.”
Fleming grinned at that. “Wonderful. I’m wondering if we could set up some time to chat, Captain. I’d love to hear some stories and pick your brain about what things are really like in the world beyond our little city.”
CB didn’t love that idea, but he didn’t see how he could turn it down. “Of course, Councilman. I’m at your disposal.”
“Indeed,” General Craig said. “And you’ve picked the right man for the—”
A blaring siren split the air, cutting off the general’s words. Both councilmen’s hands went to their ears.
“CB!” the general yelled. “What the hell’s going on?”
CB swallowed hard bef
ore answering. He knew exactly what was happening. Damn it, Alex. “Sir, it would appear someone’s opened the hangar door.”
Alex couldn’t hear what CB, General Craig, and the two councilmen were saying, but she could see them clearly through the glass wall. Their body language told her that things were not going well. The general had cocked a thumb toward the hangar, clearly inviting them inside. Councilman Stearns had shaken his head at that. Since then, they hadn’t moved toward the door at all. If anything, Councilman Stearns was slowly inching his way back toward the cart, like a man trying to escape a conversation.
All this added up to one thing in Alex’s mind: they weren’t coming in here to see the demonstration.
She knew how important it was to CB and the general that the Council increase R&D funding. They’d planned this as a way to wow the Council into allotting more resources. But now the councilmen weren’t even going to see the demonstration.
Without stopping to think, Alex moved toward the large hangar door. The one that was never to be opened except by explicit orders of the general. The one that led outside the city.
If the councilmen weren’t going to come to her demonstration, she’d have to bring the demonstration to them.
She lifted the cover over the button that opened the hangar door, then pressed the button. The door behind her locked with an audible thud of bolts sliding into place, then the room depressurized.
As the hangar door began to open, Alex lowered her goggles over her eyes. The siren was blaring now, but she barely noticed. She was too focused on what she needed to do. The wind slapped her face as she stared at the vast blue sky beyond the opening door.
Maybe it was better that the councilman had refused to come into the hangar. The general wanted a demonstration of the device. He’d wanted to do it in the hangar, a safe trial in a controlled environment. In Alex’s opinion, that was insanely stupid. If he wanted to show Stearns how cool their new toy was, they couldn’t do it inside.
After all, what was the point of having a jet pack if you weren’t going to fly it in open sky?
The hangar door finished opening, and Alex took a deep breath. This was it.
She ran forward, activated the jet pack, and leaped out of the door.
The jet pack propelled her upward faster than she’d expected. For a terrible moment, she couldn’t stop her ascent. But after a bit of toying with the controls, she got the hang of them. She couldn’t contain a delighted laugh as she engaged the thruster and shot upward, slowing as she reached a spot directly above General Craig and the City Councilmen, who all stared up at her, mouths agape.
For a moment, she considered descending until her feet touched the dome that surrounded the city, but she decided against it. Instead, she flew east, putting some distance between her and her home.
Finally, she turned around and looked at it. She’d never seen it like this, all at once. It was beautiful.
She stayed like that for a long time, looking back at the massive airship that was New Haven, the last human city, as it flew thousands of feet above the surface of the Earth.
3
Alex sat in the Strategic Planning room, trying to disappear into her chair. She was still in her flight suit, adrenaline from the evening’s demonstration still coursing through her veins. General Craig sat across the table, leaning forward as he glared at her. CB sat to her left. She couldn’t bring herself to look his direction, but she could feel his hot gaze as he, too, bore holes in her with his eyes.
General Craig’s voice was a low snarl when he spoke. “I’m not going to ask what you were thinking, Lieutenant Goddard, because I don’t care. What I am going to ask you is which of the five major violations you committed today I’m most angry about. Go ahead. Take a guess.”
Alex squirmed in her seat but didn’t reply. Maybe this was a rhetorical question. The less she said in this meeting, the better. She was in hot enough water already.
“I’m waiting, Lieutenant,” the general growled.
So much for that theory.
She considered how to respond. “Sir, I believe you are most upset that I disobeyed Captain Brickman’s direct order, sir.”
“An interesting answer. You also could have gone with opening the hangar door without authorization, endangering your fellow officers, misuse of experimental equipment, or abandoning your post.”
Alex felt her face redden as the anger rose up inside her. “Abandoning my post? General, I was—”
The stern look on the man’s face convinced her that it would be wise to stop talking.
“You mentioned disobeying your captain’s order, so let’s talk about that one.” The general turned his fiery gaze to CB. “What was that order, Captain?”
“Sir, I directed Lieutenant Goddard to wait in the hangar while you greeted the City Councilmen. Upon your return, she was to demonstrate the precision of the jet pack by hovering at an altitude of no more than fifteen feet above deck, sir.” CB’s voice was low and strong, like always, but Alex thought she could detect a quiver of anger in there as well.
“And did she follow this order?”
“No, sir, she did not.”
Yep, there was definitely some anger in that voice.
“And, as her commanding officer, what could you have done differently to avoid this situation?”
CB’s voice was ice when he spoke again. “I should have done what I’m going to do from now on, sir. I’m gonna watch her like she’s a fresh recruit rather than a lieutenant in the goddamn New Haven Ground Mission Team.”
The general nodded. “You’re damn right you are. Goddard or any of your other people pull something like this again, I’m holding you personally responsible. Tend your field, CB, or I’ll do some reaping of my own.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
For the first time that day, Alex felt a twinge of guilt. She could take a dressing-down from the general. She’d disobeyed orders, even if it had been for the right reasons. She’d done the crime and she’d take the punishment. But she couldn’t stomach CB taking heat for something she’d done.
She risked a glance at CB and saw his square jaw was set and two prominent veins stood out on his forehead.
“General, may I ask a question?” It was a risky maneuver, but Alex had to know.
“Don’t test me, Goddard.”
She decided to take that as a yes. “What did Stearns and Fleming think of the jet pack?”
He hesitated for only a moment before answering, but it was enough. Alex knew they’d loved the demonstration.
“That’s hardly relevant, Goddard. You were given a direct order and you disobeyed it. Explain yourself.”
Alex considered what her best approach would be here. The general was more pissed than she’d ever seen him. She’d seen him cuss men out, scream, and make grown men cry. But this gravely, smoldering anger was somehow worse. For the first time, Alex considered the possibility that she could lose her spot on the GMT. The thought sent a chill down her spine.
The majority of the badges in New Haven were designated law enforcement. Forty-thousand people crammed into an airship, even one as big as Haven, and there was bound to be some need for cops. Alex had started her career as a cop, but her superiors had quickly spotted her potential and recommended her for Officer Candidate School and then for the GMT.
The Ground Mission Team was the only section of the badge not dedicated to law enforcement. The only ones who ever left New Haven. The only people who set foot on the enemy territory that had once been humanity’s home. Earth’s surface.
Alex had been on two dozen missions to Earth. They’d all been terrifying, exciting, and brutal. She’d loved every moment of them.
Being part of the GMT was the only thing Alex had ever wanted, and it was the only thing she could ever imagine herself doing. Still, she wasn’t going to mince words or beg for forgiveness. Not even from General Craig. She’d done what she’d done for a reason.
“I’m waiting, Lieutenant.”
Alex met the general’s eyes. “Sir, my orders were stupid.”
The general’s face went a shade darker. “Excuse me?”
“Sir, my orders were stupid. The objective was not. From what CB told me, the goal was to get Stearns and Fleming excited about the technology. To get them thinking about the military and non-military applications so they’d increase our R&D funding. No way that was going to happen by hovering fifteen feet off deck in the hangar. Even if they had agreed to come inside.”
“Goddard, if you disregard orders, you are a liability to your team. And we cannot afford liabilities. Is that understood?”
Alex nodded sharply. “I screwed up, sir. I was wrong to disobey orders, and I apologize. But you asked what I was thinking, and that’s what I’m telling you. If you wanted to inspire the Council to invest, they had to see it fly. Anyway, that’s what I was thinking. Sir.”
The general stared at her coldly for a long moment before speaking again. Then he said, “Insubordination will not be tolerated, Lieutenant Goddard. I could have you bumped off the GMT for this. I could have you walking night patrol in Sparrow's Ridge with the rookie badges for the next decade. Instead, I’m giving you latrine duty for a month.”
Alex struggled mightily to keep the smile off her face. Thankfully, she succeeded. “Yes, sir.”
“I’m also giving you a warning. You disobey another order, just one, and as God is my witness, you will not wear a GMT uniform again for as long as I have anything to say about it. Do you understand me, Goddard?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.”
The general stood up and a bit of the anger drained his face. Alex and CB quickly rose as well and stood at attention.
