Mercenary

by Dennis Young

“Your idea of fun is not the same as mine, apparently,” replied Talice.

  “Yeah, but at least we’d not be getting shot at.”

  They headed upship. Bird One was going to be crowded, with Martin and Evans. Talice had offered Evans her cabin, which he accepted more graciously than the first time he had been on board. Martin would share Junior’s, using a hammock of the sort Talice would sling for herself in the deployment area. She didn’t mind. She liked being among the equipment, listening to the thrum of the engines and the creaking of the ship’s cargo as they plumbed the depths of space.

  “Let’s meet in the ready room this time tomorrow. Rory, spread the word.” Talice looked to Mac. “You and I can talk in TacOps in a bit, once you’re settled.”

  The ship’s comm came to life as Abie announced, “All passengers, we lift in one hour. Be on board or get left behind.”

  Talice looked around to each one. “That’s our cue. Get the ATV’s loaded and be sure your gear is stowed. We’re not turning around once we’re off Theia.”

  * * *

  Twenty-four hours after lift, Talice sat with the team in the crowded ready room. As usual, Briggs, Rory, and Dosu commandeered one side of the table, and everyone else had to fend for themselves. Mac’s hoverchair was in a corner at the screen by Talice. Nikolay and Bělinka were on her left, Ollie on Talice’s right. Junior and Martin stood at the back of the room, nearly pressed against the wall. The air was warm with so many in such a tight space.

  Talice tapped the table for attention. “We’re on our way, and this is the first briefing of the trip. We’ll do this each morning shift, just like in the Corps, and update during each duty cycle as necessary. Frankly, I don’t expect much until we get a couple of days closer to Eos. We’ll be enroute five days.”

  The cockpit hatch opened, and Abie stepped in as Talice continued. “I’ve asked Abie to give us a bit of info about what to expect when we arrive.” Talice gave her a nod.

  Abie glanced around at the team. “With Eos sixty degrees ahead of Theia’s orbit, the battalion ships are taking one way around and we’re going the other. They’ll arrive about a day before us. They’re going in stealthed, but will purposely allow one scout to be picked up by anyone watching from Eos. That way, we should be able to approach undetected.”

  “We’re stealthed too, right?” asked Junior.

  Abie nodded. “Fully, and we’ll stay that way all the way to landing. We’ll do a soft entry into the atmosphere, sub-sonic, and land cold as possible. Anything else will give us away.”

  “Do we have intel on any ships we might face in the air?” Briggs.

  “Nothing as big as Bird One, but likely one or two-man fighters. Fast, maneuverable, and nasty. Unless they send a squadron after us, we should be able to take care of ourselves in any dogfight.”

  “What else, Abie?” asked Talice.

  “Until we get closer, we won’t know much more. Marine scouts and expeditionary ground forces will let us know if the situation changes.”

  Talice nodded, looking up and down the table. “Questions?” There were none. “Thanks. I’ll be in the cockpit to talk to you later.”

  Abie waved a salute and exited.

  Talice glanced to Mac. “You’re on.”

  Mac edged her hoverchair closer to the table and activated the screen. “Our target is a complex of buildings in the northern latitudes, two to three hundred of the bad guys stationed there. It’s a fully-manned monitoring station housing land craft of varying sizes and likely two or three turbocopters. It’s also one of two main sources of illicit weapons, ammunition, and tech that Nemesis Corp has. The main thing, however…” She activated a light-pointer and aimed it at the screen. “These three buildings are the central headquarters. We’re going in after the bosses, and we’ll discuss that part of the assignment in a couple of days.”

  She looked back at the team. “I’ll be at TacOps with Talice for our first recon. We won’t engage anyone until we know the battalion is in place and has launched their assault. Our job is to go in at night and eliminate as many of the targets as possible. With a full attack underway, they’ll be at battle stations, so the first part of the operation should be over quickly. Once our targets are eliminated, things will deteriorate, and we’ll need to take advantage of it.”

  Talice stood again. “Teams and Cover will be as we’ve done before. Martin will take my place during recon with Bělinka in Team Two.”

  “But you’ll be there during the actual operation, right, Captain?” asked Ollie.

  Talice exchanged a quick glance with Mac. “To be determined. If not, Martin will do fine. You’ve trained with him for the last ninety days, as well as with me. You won’t notice if I’m not there.”

  “Sure we will,” said Rory. “His ass isn’t nearly as cute as yours.”

  Chuckles and winks went around the table. Briggs gave Rory a high-five.

  “If you can see my ass at night, you’re too damn close. Not to mention out of position.” Talice threw him a sideways smirk. “Anything else?”

  “We’ve got two ATV’s, right? Four per vehicle?” Junior queried from the back of the room. “What happens if one gets disabled.”

  “We walk,” replied Briggs, before Talice could answer. “So don’t break your transportation.”

  Talice nodded. “It’s cold out there, colder than anything we’ve operated in. Training has helped, but as we all know, it just makes everything more of a challenge.” She looked around the room again. “Okay, if that’s it, let’s have a meal together and see what topics come up. We’re going on strict Marine schedules during the trip, so 2200 Hours is lights out. Let’s eat.”

  * * *

  Talice sat at TacOps. She toyed with the controls, running through a simulated scouting mission, bringing up visor data from all eight operatives. Mac was off duty, sleeping, Talice hoped. She wanted time alone with the station, not Mac “explaining” how things worked and why. If she was going to do this, there were things she had to learn herself, and the only way to do that was by running sims.

  She pulled up data from previous missions and studied them. The first Eos mission, where Serpens fell apart. The Crius fiasco. The pickup of Evans and the Brayson couple. None were alike, and all were resources she could learn from.

  We’ve done good work, in the Corps and for hire. Four years…

  Footsteps on the deck interrupted her thoughts. Evans entered the TacOps station slowly and stood behind her shoulder. “Up late working?”

  “Practice.” Talice cleared the screens and pivoted her chair to face him. “What’s on your mind, Mr. Evans?”

  He took a step back and leaned against the divider. “Nothing, really, just finding a bit of quiet, with everyone asleep.” He studied her for a moment. “Your assessment of our mission?”

  Talice shook her head. “None yet. We haven’t discussed the details and won’t for another day or two. We find it’s best not to give too much info early. General stuff like today, then a bit more each briefing. Let everyone assimilate what they’ve learned and ask relevant questions if they have them.”

  Evans nodded and looked away for a few moments. “I read your file.”

  You gotta be fucking kidding me. “Oh? And who supplied you with that?”

  He smiled knowingly. “You had a promising career before it was cut short.”

  Talice shrugged. “Old news. What’s your point?”

  “Did you know Major Fawkes has been promoted?”

  Talice blinked, thinking. “I’ll be sure to congratulate him when I see him next. And it makes sense, as he’s in command of this little operation.”

  Evans nodded. “You and he are… close, yes?”

  Talice sighed. “Are you working up a psyche report, or what? Since I’m not in the Corps, and you’re technically working for me, I really don’t have to answer your questions. Again, what’s your point, Mr. Evans?” Everything was going so well. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut about him comi
ng along for the ride.

  He shrugged. “Just making conversation. Wondering how his promotion might affect your relationship with him. Could be a good thing or a bad thing.”

  Talice held her temper and her peace. Keep talking and it will be a bad thing… for you.

  Evans paced away and pointed to the cockpit cabin hatch. “Is this still off-limits?”

  “Yes. Now and forever.”

  “I see. Very well. Good night, Captain.” He turned and headed downship.

  Talice heard her cabin door open and shut. That was about as creepy as it gets.

  She turned to the control board and started to punch the cockpit intercom, then stopped, thinking. She dug out her new wristcom and typed out a message. Abie, we need to talk about the security of ship’s comm, soonest. Talice.

  She waited for a few minutes, then realized Abie might be sleeping. She nodded. Clever. If this guy is a fucking double agent, I’ll kill him myself.

  Dosu poked his head around the panel. “Captain?”

  Talice shrugged. “It’s okay. As long as he’s in my cabin, I’m not worried. We shielded it.”

  Dosu looked over his massive shoulder. “But he’s in the deployment area. I wondered why he opened, then closed the cabin door.” His voice was soft and deep, tinged with an Olde Earth Kenyan accent.

  Talice stood, then relaxed a bit. “Thank you. Let me know when he’s back in his cabin, then we’ll find out what he’s up to. Leave him alone for now.”

  Dosu nodded, then took a seat at the ready room table, watching downship carefully.

  Talice sat back into the TacOps chair. This should be interesting. In many senses of the word.

  * * *

  Sealed orders…

  Talice had been allowed a bit of leeway in the operation by Fawkes, but it was technically being led by the Marines. And paid for by the Marines. And they’d been allowed to use the training facilities of the Marines. Therefore, her final orders were sealed electronically until the appropriate time for her to open them. Which was now, two days from Bird One’s landing, and only twenty-four hours prior to the Third Marine Battalion arriving at Eos and all hell breaking loose.

  Evans’s mention of Fawkes being promoted had, admittedly, caught her off-guard, but as she had said, was sensible. As a light colonel, he was now of the appropriate rank to lead a full battalion, and certainly had the skills for it. But…

  What if he was upgraded to full bird? He’s certainly got the service record for it. I need to know that, don’t I? Evans is playing games, and I don’t like it.

  She wasn’t sure about her feelings for Fawkes. Their dating had been as innocent as it could have been, until his comment about “their arrangement”, as he’d put it.

  And now is not the time to dwell on this. Fucking hormones. She chuckled. No pun intended.

  She tapped her code into the SLATE, then paused before hitting the enter button. I shouldn’t be doing this in my hammock. I need a shielded area, because I don’t trust Evans. He may have the entire ship bugged.

  She slid out of the hammock and into her camis, then headed for the cockpit. She passed through the ready room where the three man-mountains were playing cards as Ollie read a book — a real printed book — in the corner seat. She tapped on the cockpit door, waiting for the scanner to allow her in.

  The door opened. “Glad you’re here,” said Jamal, as Talice squeezed past him and shut the door.

  “Abie, we’re fully shielded here, right? Okay, I’ve got sealed orders to open and read, so everyone give me a bit of privacy, please.”

  Abie glanced over her shoulder, then to Will Thomas. “Pull down that jumpseat, Will. Everyone, eyes on your instruments. Give the captain some space.”

  Once more, Talice typed in her code. Then held the SLATE to her face for a retina scan. Then dabbed a tear into the DNA processor. Then waited as the file processed and began to open.

  She read quickly through the intro. Fawkes was identified as Lieutenant Colonel, so only one grade higher than before. She wondered if this was a test for him, as well as her team. She started to insert her wireless earpiece, then paused. She used her hard-wired headset instead. Geez, I’m getting paranoid.

  Listening to the briefing was nearly a balm to her mind. Just like old times, back in the Corps. But I have to give him credit, he’s made this as close to being there as possible. Discipline, routine, the whole thing. Damn him…

  She backed the briefing up and brought her concentration back into focus. Pages turned in sequence with the narration. In moments, she was interested, entranced, and at the end, horrified.

  I knew it. I fucking knew it!

  She paused the briefing, ripped away her headset, and buried her face in her hands.

  Mikal!

  * * *

  “I know this guy.” Talice sat in Mac’s cabin, crowded as it was, but needed the privacy for their conversation. She showed the holos on her SLATE, the file text, and then sat back, searching for calm. She related the story told to Fawkes; of the party years before while they were still Marines and teammates, the “chance” encounter with Mikal and Jance and Konee, the finding of the trackers after that, the near-abduction in the metrolink, and the subsequent confirmation their wristcoms were hacked.

  “That’s why I gave everyone new ones, bought double-blind. That’s why the ship is double-shielded in my cabin and the cockpit. I don’t trust Evans, but I don’t know he’s with them. I do know about this.” She tapped the SLATE. “And I can’t fucking believe two of our Red Raider Marine team are involved in Nemesis Corp. I’m just… dammit, Mac.”

  “They came out of the Corps like we did… trained to hunt and kill. What else could they do, Talice?”

  “Get a fucking education, for one thing.” Talice raised her hand. “Neither Jance or Konee were dumb, just a bit lazy. They thought they’d find a man to marry in the Corps, maybe. Hell, I don’t know.”

  “How many special forces never re-up? I’ll bet it’s a fair number. Not everyone wants to be a lifer, like you and me.”

  “So they go bad-guy? That’s not just sad, it’s pathetic!”

  Mac was silent for a long moment. “Fawkes knows you’re acquainted with this Mikal?”

  Talice nodded. “We discussed it during our last meeting, but he’s probably been too busy to realize it’s the same guy. The file says he’s not the top man, but he’s in the inner circle. That makes him a target.”

  “And the girls?”

  Talice huffed. “Probably fucking bodyguards. Literally.”

  “Then they’ll be targets, too.” Mac looked Talice in the eye. “Can you pull the trigger, if and when the time comes?”

  “… Yes. But I won’t like it.”

  “Don’t some of the team know Jance and Konee?”

  Talice leaned forward and blew a heavy breath. “Yeah… Briggs, Rory, Martin, Dosu… damn near the whole team.” Talice looked to her. “You don’t recall them?”

  Mac looked away, then nodded. “Maybe not well, but yes. Jance is a redhead, right? I remember her hair was always too long for regs.”

  “That’s her. Konee has the prettiest olive complexion I’ve ever seen, too. Dammit, Mac…”

  “The team needs to know.”

  Talice nodded after a moment of reflection. “If they don’t know, and come across them, they might hesitate. I won’t allow that.”

  “Then tell them everything. The seemingly chance meeting, the tracking, the threats, everything. Put the facts with the faces.”

  “Alright. But let’s do this quietly. I’ll get with Briggs and Rory first, then Dosu and Martin. I’ll have Briggs talk to the others who don’t know Jance and Konee.” Talice looked at the SLATE, the screen now blank, and nodded again. “Shit just got real, didn’t it?”

  * * *

  Talice sat alone, deep in the deployment area filled with gear and supplies and the smell of machinery lubrication from the ATVs. With her back against a crate labeled rations and med
ical, her mind drifted to how fate sometimes brought on elements least expected… or desired.

  Briggs and Rory had offered opinions she was not only surprised by, but perplexed as well. Briggs, ever the tactician and always with a sharp eye, told of an encounter with Jance. “She was pretty drunk. The enlisted party was going full blast, and I knew she was hot for sex. But not just sex… she wanted an audience. She liked threesomes.”

  Talice could believe it, after thinking about Jance’s love of being on-point in their operations. She liked the spotlight.

  And Konee?

  Rory shrugged as he spoke. “Yeah, we got together a couple of times. So what?”

  Talice had shaken her head and nearly “tsked” him.

  “C’mon, Talice. Everyone knew when you became an officer you had the hots for Niky.”

  “Was it… that obvious?”

  Rory had looked to Briggs, who held his hands up as if to say, “don’t look at me to save you from your big mouth”.

  “Well… it was to me. But he and Bělinka we already serious. And you never saw that, right?”

  “Yeah, great observation by me there, that’s for sure.” Talice chuckled in recollection.

  The creak of approaching footsteps roused her. Evans knelt to sit, his back against the opposite wall.

  Shit. Now what?

  “Can we talk frankly, Captain?”

  Talice shrugged. “I’m listening. Part of the job.”

  He was silent for a long moment. “You have to understand, I use my attitude as a defense mechanism. Keeps me from getting involved.”

  Works well, too, Talice refrained from saying.

  “In my… business, I have to present the face expected. The only time I can be myself is away from the job. Away from what I’m required to be. Away from pretending.” He looked away for a beat, then continued. “That’s had such an effect on me, I sometimes don’t know how to behave as… me. I often wonder if there really is a ‘me’ anymore.”

  Talice licked her lips and drew a breath. “I can understand that. In command, you have to present a face as well. You have to be what’s expected, not just what you are.”