The Fifth Column Boxed Set

by J. N. Chaney

  It was slow, tedious work, but it had to be done. The house sat quietly in the middle of my HUD among the markers and glowing lines like some kind of neon labyrinth. We continued to work our way inward, still not finding anything.

  I didn’t know yet if that was a good or bad thing. Good if Kaska was too cocky to think the rebellion would be ballsy enough to come after him here, bad if we’d missed something.

  I’d given the scanner back to Tyndell a few minutes prior and he held it out in front, sweeping it from side to side as we approached the small line of trees.

  Aside from the occasional cross breeze, nothing moved. I got the sense that we were alone, at least people wise, whatever security cameras were yet to be found notwithstanding. Still, I didn’t let that lull me into a false sense of security. If someone was here, they had avoided detection thus far and were, by my logic, very good at what they did.

  Tyndell waved a hand at me to get my attention since we were radio silent for the time being. He pointed at the scanner and nodded to let me know he had something.

  “Running an analysis now,” Mack said over the comms.

  Just to be on the safe side, I sent a text message to the team’s wrist units ordering them to stay put until we knew what we were dealing with.

  “Ah,” Mack murmured. “Trying to be sneaky. Gimme just a minute. I’d explain, but it would take too long.”

  I smirked in the darkness at the playful dig, recalling Mack saying that to Calliope earlier.

  “Okay, guys. Here’s the deal. I can’t shut it off without tipping off whoever is monitoring it.” She paused as though waiting for someone to chime in, then seemed to remember we wouldn’t answer and continued. “But I can reduce the range on it and give you a diameter to avoid.”

  Do it, I replied using my wrist unit.

  “All done,” she announced a few seconds later. “Updating your visors now.”

  A pulsating circle of red appeared in my field of vision before she finished talking. I sent out the order to continue scanning.

  It didn’t take much longer for Farah and Calliope to find the next one. It was the same as our team had found, and Mack repeated her process.

  After that, the discoveries came in quicker succession. By the time the first sun appeared on the horizon, we had another perimeter, all marked in red. I didn’t want to push our luck by going deeper into the property, so we called it a night. Everyone was tired and would need some rest before Kaska arrived the next day anyway.

  We trudged back in the direction of the cave, climbing the ridge as dawn broke. I took one last look at the red circles forming a larger one around the house and outbuilding, then continued down the other side.

  Mack woke us five hours later to tell us when Kaska’s ship exited the S.G. point and entered the system.

  I came alert pretty quickly and pushed up from my bedroll. A deep stretch rewarded me with several pops and cracks that made me wince.

  “Ouch,” said Farah through a yawn. “I heard that all the way over here.”

  “It felt good though,” I replied. When she stood up and had a similar experience, I laughed. “We must be getting old.”

  Calliope jumped with more bounce than was normal for someone who’d just spent the night in a cave, and I grimaced. “I feel fine,” she boasted.

  “Me too,” agreed Aaron, bobbing his head.

  He and Calliope both looked a lot fresher than I felt, that was for sure.

  “Disrespectful,” Tyndell muttered. The older man didn’t quite groan while getting up from his sleep spot, but he looked distinctly uncomfortable.

  “Need an aspirin or something?” I asked. “Farah has plenty.”

  He nodded sheepishly and said, “I think I do. It’s been a minute since I worked a mission like this.”

  “Not for us, and believe me, I’m feeling it,” I told him.

  Farah passed the medication and a bottle of water over with a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry about it. It happens to the best of us. Besides, I’ve always heard that kids can sleep anywhere.” She said that last part with a sly grin.

  “We’re not that much younger than you,” Calliope mumbled.

  Farah passed out another round of MREs, breakfast edition. It went down faster than the night before without the war stories and belly laughs. The tone stayed light, though I expected that to change with the Vice-Admiral’s arrival to the surface.

  We packed up camp again and cleaned the cave, careful not to leave anything behind, even trash. If things went bad and we couldn’t get back, I didn’t want to be out any equipment. That, and Farah was a stickler about litter.

  It was another hot walk under the suns without a single cloud to provide relief. On the positive side, our packs got lighter as we worked through the water supply and the visors mostly kept the suns at bay.

  We were halfway to the ridge before the first sign of bad luck reared its asshole head. I was leading the group along the same route and thinking about various Kaska scenarios when I heard it. The unmistakable buzz of a large, flying insect.

  I stopped short and whipped my head around to look for the source. Everyone but Calliope was doing the same. She took the opportunity to take a swig from her water bottle.

  “What are you guys doing?” she asked, wiping at her damp face. “It’s just a bug—”

  The girl’s eyes went wide and her face contorted with pain. The bottle slipped and fell to the ground and rolled away. A short scream escaped Calliope’s lips before she clapped one hand over her mouth and reached up with the other to paw at the nape of her neck.

  Aaron got there first, combat knife in hand. He spun her around, revealing the sand hornet. It was roughly the size of my hand in length and covered Calliope’s neck.

  “Don’t move, Cal,” I cautioned.

  She didn’t move or speak, except to tremble in pain.

  Aaron used his knife to slice the monstrous brown insect in half. He ripped the top part away and ground it underfoot before working on the stinger end.

  Sand hornet stingers were a nasty piece of nature’s work. Barbs ran the length of the appendage, which cause more damage when pulled out.

  “I’m sorry,” the sniper told Calliope, “but I need to make an incision. Don’t worry, I’ve done this loads of times.”

  Somehow, I didn’t think that comforted her.

  Lieutenant Tyndell sent me a brief nod, silently confirming his son’s ability. Normally, Farah would have been the one to administer this kind of field triage, but Aaron seemed to know what he was doing, so I let it go.

  I could tell the exact moment he cut Calliope because she went rigid in an attempt not to jerk. I had to give her credit though—she didn’t make a single sound.

  “There, got it.” Aaron stepped back and tossed the rest of the blood covered body on the ground.

  “I don’t… feel so good.” Calliope wavered a little, then started to fall.

  Aaron caught her before she hit the ground and sat down gently with the girl’s small frame in his arms. Farah crossed the short distance with her medic supply bag already open. She came up with an injector that I assumed held antivenom. No medic worth her salt would travel without one, at least on Sarkon.

  Once that was administered near where the hornet had stung Calliope, Farah worked on cleaning the wound, disinfecting it and applying clotting powder. Aaron had to help because Calliope was writhing in pain. Farah taped a dressing on then reached into her kit for two more things.

  Another injection of what had to be a pain suppressant calmed Calliope almost immediately.

  “Sorry, Cal. I had to get the antivenom in first before it caused permanent damage. The pain meds are going to make you drowsy, so I need you to take this upper.” Farah picked up the water and handed it to her, along with a pill.

  Calliope took them both with shaking hands and swallowed the pill. It was then that she seemed to realize that she was in Aaron’s lap. “Ah, thanks. I can get up now, I think.”


  Farah shook her head. “No. Kid, you just got a nasty cocktail introduced to your body. Take a few.”

  Nodding feebly, Calliope agreed.

  I felt bad for her. Sand hornets were no joke. One had gotten me on the leg when I was a kid. The agony had been so intense that I remembered thinking I was dying. Of course, Major Delgado—he hadn’t made general yet—only allowed Diana to administer first aid. Comfort would make me weak and if I was going to be a Delgado, I needed to be tough.

  That night, after he’d been called away, she’d snuck me chocolate and read me a story until I fell asleep. I’d forgotten about that. Maybe I should have Mack put some feelers out to check on Diana.

  “Is she going to be okay?” the hacker asked over the comm, breaking into my reverie as though she’d heard my thoughts.

  “She’ll be fine,” Farah answered. “It was a big one, I’ll give the bastard that. Good thing Aaron was so quick to get it out. Cal got a full dose of the antidote pretty fast, so she’ll be on her feet in no time.”

  “That’s great news,” Mack replied. “Just a heads up, Kaska is less than an hour out.”

  “Don’t forget that he’s going to get a pass to the front of the line,” Tyndell warned. “Vice-Admiral perks and all that.”

  We weren’t far from the ridge, so I wasn’t too worried about the time. As long as Calliope was able to start walking soon, it would work.

  “If you need to go on ahead, I can catch up,” she said, misinterpreting my pensive look.

  “I don’t leave members of my team behind,” I told her.

  That was the gods’ honest truth, too. After Commander-Navari left Mateo on Harah station, I’d sworn never to let that happen again.

  Calliope didn’t say anything, but her relief was obvious.

  “Mack, you and V just keep an eye on things. Let me know if anything looks or feels even the slightest bit off,” I instructed.

  “You got it,” she replied.

  Fifteen minutes later, Farah gave Calliope the green light and we were on our way again, albeit slower this time. I stopped us for one more break after seeing the girl almost lose her footing twice.

  Even with the minor setback we still made it to the bottom of the ridge before Kaska’s ship docked, though just.

  We’d gone over the plan until everyone could recite it from memory, so I didn’t have to order them to spread out. I did, however, pull Farah aside.

  “Stick with Cal,” I instructed. “Keep an eye on her. If she starts to have a bad reaction or something, get her out of here. Take her back to the cave, arrange a pickup with the Genesis, whatever you have to do.”

  “I thought you didn’t leave people behind,” Calliope said from behind me.

  I turned to meet her stony gaze with one of my one. “I don’t. I will bench you for safety’s sake though. Yours and the team’s,” I added.

  She didn’t have a comeback for that and nodded grudgingly before moving a few meters away to talk to Aaron.

  “Someone’s feeling better,” I said under my breath.

  Calliope looked better too. The shakes seemed to be gone and her color had almost returned to normal. I was pretty sure she’d be okay, but you couldn’t always tell with sand hornet stings. Plus, I didn’t want to be worrying about whether she might collapse somewhere out of sight.

  Farah chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “Right, because you were never like that.”

  I rolled my eyes in an exaggerated motion and walked away without responding.

  The lieutenant and I climbed the left side of the ridge, going prone at the top again. We each picked a spot with decent camouflage that offered the ability to leave without being too obvious.

  A couple of bushes and a small number of trees dotted the ridge, but I’d avoided those. If anyone looked for a team hiding out on the ridge, those would be the first places they’d check. Instead, I’d gone for a cluster of misshapen boulders. They were tall enough that I could sit and look over, lie next to them, or sit back against their front with my camo sheet.

  The camo sheets were perfect for this kind of recon op. The ultrathin material featured sensors that scanned the surrounding area and changed color accordingly. It didn’t work well on solid colors or when you moved, but here I would look like a part of the boulder.

  Aaron returned to one of the positions he’d scouted and marked the night before. That way he could move around to try the others out if the situation called for a different vantage point.

  I couldn’t see anyone else with my current line of sight, though Tyndell was close by. Then, one by one, everyone checked in. Their tags floated on the right side of my visor and I got a rough estimate of their locations.

  “Alright, everybody settle in,” I ordered. “Hope you emptied your bladders—it’s gonna be a long one.”

  21

  From my position, I didn’t have a clear view of the front of the house. It was probably designed that way, if I had to guess. The southeast corner between the two sets of trees was directly in my line of sight. If I angled to the right, I could see a decent portion of the outbuilding sitting on the east side of the property.

  Despite the gravity of the operation, I felt pretty calm. A lot of soldiers hated this part—the watching and waiting, but not me. Sure, it was a little on the warm side and the rock wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was peaceful. There was time enough later for the adrenaline inducing action.

  “Kaska is docked and on the move,” Mack informed us. “He’s got a pretty decent escort with him too.

  Great, I thought.

  “V, how does their defense operation look?” I asked.

  “No anomalies detected, Captain,” the AI answered.

  That was something. I wasn’t exactly sure what we were going to do if Vega did detect an anomaly. With the number of ships in this system, the only chance we’d have was a full burn.

  “Let’s hope it stays that way,” I muttered.

  Kaska and his posse arrived a short time later, their hover vehicles kicking up great clouds of dust that seemed to trail behind like a contrail. The last vehicle pulled a trailer behind it. I studied the small convoy through field glasses, noting the darkened windows, predictable black exteriors, and overly large body that all people in power seemed to favor. The car in the middle was plated with a thin layer of N02-99 for his protection as well.

  They slowed as they approached the drive, turning in with more care than I’d expected to see. Probably on Kaska’s orders so they didn’t kick up dust everywhere, I reasoned. Typical. It was fine to do it where others had to drive, but not on his own property. Never mind the fact that we hadn’t observed a single car drive down the road he’d arrived on.

  “Anyone manage to get an angle with a view of the front?” I asked when the cars disappeared, blocked by the house.

  “I can see a bumper,” Aaron said. “That’s about it. This ridge isn’t high enough for much else.”

  I swore internally. It chafed that the man was so close and out of sight.

  “Hold on,” Mack said. “I can patch a feed to you but be warned—it’s grainy.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” I answered instantly. “Put it up.”

  The tinted view of the property disappeared from my visor. An aerial shot replaced it—low quality, as promised. A group of five blurry individuals walked toward the house carrying weapons.

  “Checking the house,” Tyndell observed. “Standard SOP for someone with his ranking.”

  An even worse x-ray image was next, this time the people reduced to fuzzy gray blobs moving from room to room. They were thorough, I’d give them that. Due to the size of the house and their attention to detail, it took the team almost half an hour to clear the residence.

  While they worked, another team embarked on the property, clearing the outbuilding and trees. The flatter portions of the landscape were faster, but the team continued to walk the perimeter. Then one of them climbed to the top of the outbuilding. I could just make
out the individual moving up a ladder attached to the side.

  “One’s about to check the ridge. Field glasses down, make sure you’re completely out of sight,” I warned, slouching down behind my boulder.

  It was more for Calliope than anyone else. Farah and I were used to this kind of mission, Tyndell was clearly seasoned, and Aaron specialized in going unseen. The ex-Union soldier, while eager and good at hand to hand, was a bit untested in my book.

  Mack focused the feed on the rooftop grunt. As I expected, they were holding field glasses of their own, slowly scanning the ridge. Every so often the person would pause before moving on. None of my body was showing, but I stayed tense until they finished and climbed back down.

  “V, where are we on the weapon?” I asked.

  “The scans have not detected the ingot’s radiation signature,” V responded.

  My heart sank. If it wasn’t here, we’d just wasted a lot of time and resources.

  “However,” she continued, “I believe there is Neutronium in Vice-Admiral-Kaska’s vehicle.”

  Maybe we weren’t completely out of it after all. “You can’t tell?”

  “The armor plating is throwing the readings off,” Mack explained. “Once he goes inside, we should be able to tell for sure.”

  Kaska didn’t move from his armored vehicle throughout the ordeal, but that was normal. When he finally stepped out in full uniform, he headed right for the house. I was surprised to see him limping slightly, a plain looking cane in one hand and a large metal case in the other. A personal assistant, possibly a conscripted servant, hauled his luggage in for him.

  “It’s gotta be in the case,” Farah said.

  “No,” replied Mack. “It is the case.”

  “The whole thing is Neutronium?” asked Aaron, whistling when she confirmed it.

  One of the vehicles left, taking the first team with it. The second group stayed behind as personal protection. I thought they would go inside or patrol the perimeter, but instead they opened the back of their vehicle.

  “What are they doing?” wondered Farah.