by J. N. Chaney
Like the escort, every person we passed exhibited the same startled expression at seeing Jax. I didn’t blame them; the guy was terrifying. Only one woman failed to react and that was because she was looking down at her pad and mumbling to herself, too engrossed to notice us.
None of this seemed to have any effect on Jax, and I suspected that he was used to it.
The escort stopped outside a plain looking door and pulled out his data pad, presumably to let whoever know that we’d arrived. A few beats later he nodded to his partner, motioning for him to open the door.
I entered first, expecting to find an auditorium of sorts based on the call with Mack. Instead, I found a meeting room with three occupants, a man and two women. It was only a little bigger than the space we used for mission debriefs aboard the Ambiana, the warship Farah and I called home before everything went south.
Of the three people inside, I recognized one.
“Sophie.” Eleanor Singh’s eyes misted over at the sight of her daughter.
Oh, shit, I thought. Did she know about Jax?
“Mom!” Sophie rushed to her mom and the two embraced in a tight hug.
Calliope came to stand on my right side, and I sensed Jax behind me.
“Gods, it’s good to see you,” Eleanor was saying.
“Mom…” Farah released her and stepped back. At a loss for words, she turned and gestured to us.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Eyebrows drawn together in confusion, Eleanor’s happy gaze followed her daughter’s pointing finger. And froze.
That answered my question on whether she knew her son was alive.
Jax edged around me but didn’t move toward his mother. I realized he was giving her a chance to get her bearings. She didn’t recoil at his appearance. Her eyes focused on his face, studying it as if to be sure it was really him.
Unmistakable recognition set in and Eleanor closed the distance between them with a sob. “All this time,” she whispered, pulling back to place both hands on his face.
“I know,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head vigorously. “Don’t be. You’re here now, that’s what matters.”
“Ellen.” A severe woman with sharp, angular features and hair pulled into a tight bun spoke up. “I hate to interrupt, but we need to get started.”
“Yes, of course. Sorry, it’s just such a shock…” Eleanor’s voice trailed off and her gaze sharpened on the other woman. “You knew.”
The woman didn’t flinch at the accusation. “Yes. I know you have questions and I promise to answer them after we bring them up to speed on the situation.”
My ears pricked at that. Situation?
Eleanor nodded stiffly and gave Jax a squeeze on the elbow before joining the other two again.
“My name is Angela Dunham,” the woman began. “At present, I act as the leader of the Solaris movement. This is Chad Schuler.”
When no one spoke, she continued. “Two issues require immediate attention. First, intel confirms that Kaska is in possession of the ingot. We need a team to steal it. The second is Frank Singh.”
“Dad?” Farah said sharply, looking to her mother.
Eleanor nodded. “He was detained on his way to the transport.
“Frank has intimate knowledge of this facility and several ongoing missions. It’s imperative that he be extracted immediately,” Dunham said.
I got the distinct feeling that this knowledge was the reason for Dunham’s urgency and disliked her for it. “You need two teams,” I guessed.
“Yes. You two have been successful for the most part. We could use your help tracking down that ingot.”
“Put me on the extraction team,” Farah said immediately.
The woman didn’t argue, she simply nodded. “I figured that was where you’d want to be. Jax, is your cover blown?”
“Not yet. I’ll have to get back soon if we want to keep it that way,” he answered.
“Good. I don’t want to reveal that until we have to. When you return, do whatever it takes to avoid suspicion. Go dark unless you think we need to know.”
Jax nodded.
“You can’t be serious.” Eleanor shot Dunham a hard look. “I just found out my son is alive. You aren’t sending him back to the people who stole him from me.”
The rebel leader didn’t reply.
“Mom,” Jax said gently. “I have to do this. A lot of lives depend on the rebellion making the right tactical decisions.”
She searched his eyes for a moment. Whatever she saw there had her backing down and she gave him a watery smile. “Then be careful.”
“I will be,” he promised. “Good luck, sis.”
At first, I thought she wasn’t going to answer, then she was crossing the room and throwing her arms around Jax’s neck.
Jax patted Farah’s back lightly until she stepped back. Heading for the door, the Void operative paused when he reached me. “Watch your back out there. Kaska is smart. Don’t underestimate him.”
Within seconds he was gone, leaving the rest of us to plan.
9
“I don’t mean to be rude,” Dunham said, focusing on me after Jax was gone. “But it has to be said. Is the Union soldier trustworthy?”
Despite my initial misgivings about Calliope, my back went up at the thinly veiled accusation and I geared up to respond.
“Ex- Union. And I’ll vouch for her,” Farah said, beating me to it.
“Hmm,” was all the older woman said in response before moving on. “Kaska knows by now that he has been infiltrated. An influx of information regarding the ingot’s true location has come our way.”
A dozen or so planets, moons, and stations popped up on the holo display above the room’s only table. Some of the names I recognized, others not so much.
“You need to send a team to each location,” I surmised.
Dunham inclined her head. “Yes, unfortunately. I hope to get this done quietly. My assumption is that the Vice-Admiral leaked specific information to find out who he can trust in his circle.”
It was a smart plan. The man might be evil, but no one could call him stupid.
“What about my dad?” Farah asked, unable to keep it in any longer.
Her tone was even and her face conveyed calm on the surface. However, I knew my friend well and she was anything but.
“The operation to free your father is already set. You are welcome to join. The team is prepping to leave within the hour.”
In the end it was decided that I would take Calliope and the ship to track down one of the leads on the ingot while Farah joined the extraction team.
I wasn’t crazy about the idea of splitting up. Farah and I had worked together for so long that our relationship was damn near symbiotic.
After witnessing Eleanor let her son go when all she wanted was to keep him close, I couldn’t complain. Besides, what had I just told Calliope?
Soldiers adapt.
So, I did.
The intel Dunham shared with us detailed that the ingot was on its way to Tulkin, a dusty planet under Sarkonian rule.
“It will just be you two on this one. I can’t spare any more operatives right now,” she told me. “As you know, this is just one of many leads. The ingot is unlikely to be there, which is why I’m sending you two. All we can do is look.”
The woman worked on a pad and I wondered if it was prudent to bring up the Solaris incident.
“What is it?” she asked when I didn’t speak, not looking up.
“Ma’am, about Solaris…” I cleared my throat, inexplicably nervous.
Dunham waved a hand impatiently. “There was nothing you could do about it. It was a trap. And you managed to stop one of the bombs from going off. That saved at least some people.”
“That’s true,” I conceded, still not entirely convinced.
Something in my tone must have registered because she finally stopped working on the pad and looked at me with a serious expression. “What happened is
a tragedy, of course. There’s no merit in kicking you down for it, however. Besides”—she turned her attention back to the tablet—“now everyone in the known systems understands what the Vice-Admiral is capable of.”
I didn’t really know what to say to that. On the surface it made sense but reducing a catastrophe like that to political clout felt wrong. “Walker and I will run this down and let you know if amounts to anything,” I said.
“Keep your eye on the Union defector,” Dunham ordered. “I don’t know if she can be trusted yet.”
“Of course,” I answered.
It still irritated me that the rebel leader was so against Calliope. I’d known another person in power with that mentality: my old commander. Navari hated me with a passion, simply because I wasn’t a trueborn Sarkonian. Wasn’t that what we were fighting against with Vice-Admiral-Kaska?
“Good,” Dunham said briskly. “Stop by the armory and take what you need and fuel up. They’re expecting you.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” I bowed slightly and left, my mind troubled at the leader’s words.
“Just the two of us?” Calliope asked.
We were waiting on approval to take off and she was sitting in the seat Farah usually occupied.
“Yeah, they’re stretched pretty thin and we’re just running down a lead. It’s unlikely this is the one with the ingot.”
“Captain,” Vega broke in, “we’ve been cleared to leave.”
I nodded. “Take us up.”
We stayed silent until we were in the first tunnel on the way to Tulkin.
“Hey,” Calliope said, breaking it.
“What’s up?”
“I didn’t want to say anything in the meeting, but there’s something you should know about Tulkin.”
I swiveled to stare at her curiously. “What do you mean?”
She hesitated, eyes darting away for a moment before coming back to meet my gaze. “It’s not just some dusty, forgotten outer planet. There’s a high-level Sarkonian lab there.”
“And you know this how?” At this point, nothing was shocking to me, but I did want to know.
“My unit was planning an op there,” she confessed, relaxing when I stayed calm.
“That’s interesting. I guess Dunham didn’t know that or she wouldn’t be sending a two-man team. How come you didn’t want to say anything?” I asked.
Calliope smirked. “I got the distinct feeling that Dunham doesn’t like or trust me. You know, being ex-Union and all. She might’ve detained me or something to find out what else I knew.”
I raised an eyebrow and gave her a cheeky look of my own. “What makes you think I won’t, eh?”
“Very funny, Captain.” She chuckled lightly, looking a little nervous, so I reached over and gave her a friendly clap on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Cal. I’m kidding,” I assured her. “It was a little touch and go in the beginning, but we’re getting there. I still won’t hesitate to put a bullet in you if you make me, though.”
Her features didn’t relax, but she leaned back in the chair. “Good to know.”
“Don’t get too comfortable. We’ve got—V, what’s our ETA?”
“Two standard days and three hours,” the AI replied at once.
“Thanks. That long,” I finished, pushing up from the captain’s chair and moving to the command center. “V, put up the dossier, would ya?”
“Initializing.” The documents appeared on the display. Before I could say anything though, the AI continued. “Sir, if I may offer a word of caution?”
This was new. Vega usually only spoke up about medical instances concerning Farah and myself. I wondered briefly if the upgrades Mack installed were capable of upgrading all of her “thinking” processes. “Sure, what is it?”
“Thank you. Given the new data Miss Walker has provided, the parameters of the mission have shifted.”
I sighed and scrubbed at my face. “That’s less than stellar news. Run it down for me.”
“I compiled all known data related to security at Sarkonian facilities and ran mission simulations to determine feasibility.” The AI paused as if hesitating.
“And?” I prompted.
“With a two-person team, the average rate of success was twenty-four percent,” she answered.
“Well, that isn’t ideal,” Calliope said blithely. “What do you want to do? We could ask the Initiative for reinforcements.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Dunham sent us on this lead because she thought it was a dud.”
Calliope’s features wrinkled together in confusion. “So? Didn’t you already establish she doesn’t trust me?”
I leaned a hip on the edge of the equipment and looked her in the eye. “That might be part of it. But Dunham also knows that Farah and I won’t give the rebellion any of the weapons or tech we find.”
“Really? I didn’t know that.” Calliope’s tone held a note of surprise.
“Remember when I said we put the toxin device in a safe place?” I reminded her.
“Yeah, the one stolen from the Union.” She bobbed her head up and down.
“Exactly. Well, we’ve been stockpiling our finds, along with medical supplies and fuel. Suffice it to say that Farah and I don’t trust easily.”
Calliope gave me a pointed look. “Oh, I remember that too.”
“Hey, better to be safe than dead,” I retorted. “Anyway, handing over weapons capable of mass destruction seemed like a bad idea. The initiative claims to have good intentions, but we didn’t want to put that power in anyone’s hands.”
Dunham’s callous reaction to my bringing up Solaris came to my mind. Though I didn’t want to say it in case I was wrong, a voice inside believed that the woman was capable of terrible things in the name of the rebellion.
“You want to keep the ingot away from them too,” Calliope guessed.
“Right.” I clapped once and rubbed my hands together, thinking. “So, V, what’s the rundown on the successful simulations?”
“It won’t take long to go over,” the AI postulated. “There were only a few.”
“Is that sarcasm I’m detecting?” I placed a hand over my chest in mock outrage.
“Of course not, Captain. My personality algorithms would never allow it.”
“Kidding, V. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”
“I’m not capable of that either,” she responded stoically.
Calliope smirked at the exchange. I had to admit it was funny, but now we had to get serious.
“Alright, alright. Just tell me what worked and what didn’t.”
The operation objectives minimized to one corner of the display, replaced with a series of numbers. Statistics, by my guess.
“I’m not a computer, V. What are we looking at?”
The view changed again to a more simplified version. Factors were categorized down to the weather and listed in descending order, starting with those that had the biggest positive impact.
“That’s really good,” Calliope said, walking around the display.
“It’s a model Farah and I came up with,” I told her. Technically, I’d complained about not having visuals to plan with and Farah had tried to make a database. When she couldn’t make it work, we’d turned to Mack. The savvy hacker built the program in less than an hour. “It’s been pretty helpful so far. Breaks things down by climate, time of day, basically anything that might affect the mission.”
“This could be worth a lot of money,” Calliope said, studying it. “Governments and Renegades galore would be lining up to have something like this.”
I shrugged. “And we know what they’d do with it. We’re trying to keep stuff like this away from governments and degenerates, remember? Can’t exactly put a clause in the buy contract that it only be used for good.”
“Fair point. You guys have hoverquads?” She pointed to the vehicle inventory where they ranked high on the list. The only thing above them was the Genesis and shuttles.
Though it was fresh in my mind, I didn’t mention the last time we’d used them had been the night Farah and I deserted. The night I’d killed my commanding officer.
“Nice.” Oblivious to the dark turn my thoughts had taken, she nodded approvingly.
We continued planning, picking the successful simulations apart. Some things could be controlled, like what we took with us. Others, such as the weather, not so much.
According to Vega, the most important fact was not to let the convoy reach the underground facility. If that happened, our chances of success dropped to nil.
The facility itself was surrounded by land too soft to land anything but a shuttle, and there were pockets of quicksand in every direction.
When Calliope’s head dropped onto the table for the third time with a loud clunk, I stood up. “Let’s call it a night. It looks pretty good and we can tighten it up after some downtime.”
“Okay,” she agreed sleepily. “Need me to do anything?”
“No,” I told her. “You go ahead. I’ll file everything, then I’m gonna fall into bed too.”
She lumbered off without argument and I waited until the bridge door shut behind her before turning back to the display.
“Would I be correct in presuming that you have a task for me?” Vega asked. “One that you do not wish Miss Walker to hear?”
“Yes, that would be correct,” I agreed. “You and I are going to go over that bomb we took off the train.”
“May I inquire as to what you’re looking for?” the AI asked as files began to appear on the display. “That way I can better assist you, Captain Cortez.”
“I see,” she replied after I explained.
“Yeah.” I sighed. “Hopefully I’m wrong, but we’ve gotta be sure.”
10
We landed on Tulkin a few hours before the convoy was due to arrive.
