The Fifth Column Boxed Set

by J. N. Chaney

  I’d sat up straight in bed when it hit me. That first night after his arrival, the man walked out of the house to talk a guard. Without the cane. It had been the same when he strolled down the land ship’s ramp.

  We replayed the collected footage from the entire mission and deduced that he had been faking. The running theory was that the cane was made of Neutronium as well and had been used to mask the ingot while the case was filled with something inconsequential. Which meant Kaska still had it in his possession, as well as the plans to weaponize it. It remained to be seen what he might do with it.

  For now, we could only wait.

  Epilogue

  I knew as soon as the cavern doors opened that Calliope had been back to Safe Haven after leaving us. Her or her Union counterparts. Not that it made a difference.

  Jax’s arm was still malfunctioning, so he and Mack stayed on the ship to repair it while we checked out the hangar.

  Several of the containers were open and lay haphazardly on their sides.

  “Godsdammit.” I didn’t have the strength to shout or kick anything, though I wanted to. Badly.

  Farah double checked each of the units to make sure they were all ransacked. “They got it all,” she said angrily. “Bastards even took our blood.”

  It was made worse by the fact that I’d thought something was off about the girl to begin with. I hadn’t trusted my gut, and now we were paying the price. Fury burned hot inside me with no way to be released. Unsure of what else to do, I sat on one of the containers and put my head in my hands.

  “This is my fault,” I said dejectedly. “I never should have trusted her enough to bring her here.”

  Farah laid a hand on my shoulder. “You didn’t. I convinced you to bring her along. If blame rests with anyone, it’s me. And you needed the transfusion. It was either come here or die on the Genesis.”

  “Then maybe I should’ve died,” I whispered.

  My friend’s eyes hardened. “Don’t make me slap you. Everyone one of us was crucial to the four of us not dying. Calliope included. Betrayal or not, she saved your life. You saved hers and she told us where the tracker was. Look at everything we’ve been through these last two months. Take any one out of the equation and we’re dead. So yeah, this fucking sucks right now, but we’re alive to try again.”

  Farah hardly ever cursed, so I knew she meant every word. “Okay,” I said with a watery laugh. “You’re right. I know it. But gods, everything went wrong this time.”

  She nodded. “That it did. Well, I suppose we better load all this up and find a new home.”

  We started the tedious task of scanning each container for any tracking equipment the Union might have tried to get past us, but there was nothing. They all went back into the cargo hold—at least the salvageable ones. Some had been broken beyond repair, and those we left.

  Even though I knew we’d never be back, I decided to clean up the mess our Union friends had left behind. I stacked the wrecked units against the wall, next to a small desk that had been shoved sideways.

  It was like they purposely left everything in shambles. Why couldn’t people just steal things and not leave a path of destruction in their wake?

  I sighed and went to right it, pausing when something rolled out and stopped by my boot. Irritated, I bent down to pick it up.

  And froze.

  Farah was back on the bridge talking to Mack and Jax. She looked up when I entered and gave me a bemused smile. “Sorry, I got distracted. What’s left?”

  “One thing,” I said, walking to the command center.

  “What that?” Jax asked, pointing to my hand.

  I set the Neutronium canister down with a thud.

  Both Farah and Mack gasped sharply.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Farah asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “They didn’t get everything. I found the replicators under a desk.”

  Jax looked at me in surprise. “Replicators? Like the ones that can supposedly take out a planet.”

  “How the hell did the Union miss a Neutronium canister filled with the most important weapon they ever lost?” said Mack incredulously.

  “I don’t think they did,” I replied, holding my other hand out, palm up to reveal the data stick that had been affixed to the canister. “Someone left us a message.”

  “Who?” asked Farah.

  I flipped the data stick around to reveal an engraving. It read:

  Maius Bonum.

  Continue reading for THE FORLORN HOPE.

  The Forlorn Hope

  1

  “My scans detect no signs of life or activity,” Vega, the ship’s AI, informed.

  “Of course not,” I muttered.

  “What do you want to do?” Farah, my co-captain and best friend, stepped up level with me. Like me, she wore a combat EVA to protect against the elements.

  We were on Dulsa, a mined out asteroid located on the fringes of the Hel system. It was officially listed as an active outfit, but that was a common cover. In reality, the government had turned it into a low level storage facility and lab.

  “Vega’s right, there isn’t power,” said Mack. Our resident hacker was in the void, circling the asteroid and watching our backs from our ship, the Second Genesis. “You guys are clear to proceed inside. I don’t think you’re going to run into any security but keep your eyes open.”

  The government didn’t waste resources to guard nothing and the place had a hollow feel to it. Still, the warning had merit. Over the past month we’d tracked down every lead in Navari’s data cache, save this one. We’d found a few things, but all the big hitters had been moved. The fact that this facility seemed to follow that pattern told me that the Empire was onto our little operation of anti missions.

  Once Kaska was on to us having access to Navari’s data, he started shifting everything. Some things we were able to recover, like the toxin that could be delivered through an atmospheric generator. Others had not only changed locations, but when we arrived, most of the places were stripped bare. Like now, here on Dulsa.

  Of course, just because Vice-Admiral-Kaska hadn’t left men to ambush us didn’t mean he wouldn’t leave a nasty surprise. Despite my and the team’s feelings, I proceeded with caution. No need to get sloppy now.

  This last item, a prototype for a handheld shield, rated lowest on the list because Mack had claimed it was impossible. A palm sized energy shield.

  I stared up at the face of the facility from the mag walkway that led to it, a handrail winding with it. The rest of the place was buried in the asteroid since they had used the leftovers from the mining operation. Farah and I entered through an open bay door that confirmed the working theory that Dulsa was abandoned. Without atmosphere the opening would have vented all the available oxygen inside.

  We moved inside, helmet lights on full to illuminate our path. Like the other facilities we’d recently visited, the only things left behind were broken furniture and trash. More handrails lined the walls to assist with walking in a low-grav setting, but our suits functioned a little better and we didn’t need them.

  “Watch out, Alyss. There’s an infrared trip a few meters up. You’ll have to disable it,” Mack warned.

  “Copy.” I crept down the empty hall until I found the tiny device hidden among some litter, its transmitter poking out just enough to do its job. Had I broken the beam it would have set off an alarm somewhere.

  I marked it on my helmet’s HUD and stepped over it gingerly. If I disabled it now, the thing might send a signal back to a government channel and alert them to our presence.

  “The rest of your route is clear,” Mack said. “No warm bodies in the place except you and Farah, unless Kaska figured out how to raise the dead.”

  I chuckled at the thought. “Don’t put it past him. Mack, we’re in the last corridor. One more scan?”

  “There’s no movement. It’s—haha—dead quiet. You’re still good.”

  It didn’t take long to traverse the sm
all facility. It was just a bi-level building with a handful of empty rooms and cramped living quarters. I only knew the latter by the familiar spacing between holes drilled in the wall.

  “This was a waste of time,” said Farah.

  The floor ended at a set of elevator doors that presumably led to the top level. Since they were obviously out, Farah got us into a maintenance shaft. It had a ladder. Unlocking the mag boots, we pulled ourselves up the single flight with minimal effort. I stopped in front of a door and waved a hand at it. “Last one. Then you can get back to Asteroid Crush, I promise.”

  Farah sniffed and stepped to the panel. “Good. I’m almost to level 35.”

  She tinkered with the controls and had the door sliding open in a matter of seconds.

  “Nice job,” I said. “You’ve really got that down to a science.”

  Backing up, Farah swept an arm and bowed in dramatic fashion. “After you, Captain.”

  I used the light on my rifle to sweep the room and swore at the sight. The lab I’d been expecting was a cavernous expanse of space that had to span the length of the facility. On the floor sat tubs, thousands of them at least, all lined up in neat rows.

  In a flash, Farah was next to me, the nose of her rifle aimed inside. “What is it?” she asked, all traces of humor gone from her voice.

  “I’m not sure. Vega can you get me any info on what I’m seeing?”

  “Negative, Captain Cortez. There is too much interference from the asteroid.”

  I swore again.

  “They could be empty,” said Farah. “They look fragile. Maybe nobody wanted to haul thousands of clay pots downstairs.”

  “Doubt it. They took just about everything, including all the fixtures. I want to know why they didn’t take these. Maybe they couldn’t get them on one transport. We should at least take a look.”

  “We could just go,” Farah suggested. “Seriously, Alyss. This is that part in the holo vids where the hero does something stupid out of curiosity. Isn’t there a saying about cats and curiosity?”

  “You know what, I’m going to agree with you on this one, Shahi. But what if they plan on coming back for it? Sure it’s ominous and dangerous, but we’re elite soldiers. We laugh in the face of danger.”

  “Haha,” she replied dryly.

  I edged to the closest pot, checking for any sign of a trap as I went. My heart picked up the pace, thumping against my ribcage. I hesitated on the last step. Everything about the scene was wrong. The sheer number of pots, their location, the fact that they hadn’t been taken… it didn’t add up. Not seeing another option, I made the last stride and stopped to rearrange my rifle before lifting the lid.

  “What’s in there?” asked Farah.

  I had to step closer to shine my light inside. The moment I did, something under my foot clicked, freezing me in place.

  “What the hell was that?” demanded Mack. “Because it sounded a lot like a mine.”

  It took me a second to answer because I had to swallow the lump in my throat. “It was. But that’s just the beginning of our problems. These things are filled with Helfire.”

  Helfire was so named for the system in which it had been created. At the time, war was still being waged between the Union and Sarkonian Empire. The Empire, having been beaten back by the enemy, was in danger of losing with their fleet of subpar vessels. Although planetside guerilla warfare was their specialty, the battle was being waged in open space and they couldn’t compete against the better equipped Union fleet, especially not in open space.

  In a last ditch attempt to avoid surrender, an Imperial scientist started mixing chemicals in his lab. The exact ingredients were classified, but he managed to create napalm that would burn without oxygen. It helped win the system back, but at a terrible cost. Once lit, Helfire couldn’t be controlled and both sides lost a lot of soldiers. The substance was outlawed with the creation of the Androsia convention. Apparently, that hadn’t stopped them from making more.

  No one spoke for a long moment, until a loud whir sounded above me. “What is that?” I snapped.

  “I’m detecting a power source,” said Mack. “Can’t tell where it’s coming from though. Whatever it is, it can’t be big. The output is minimal.”

  The whirring grew louder and my helmet picked up a small square of light getting closer.

  “Got a drone,” said Farah. “Want me to take it out?”

  I didn’t dare move my head or lift a hand to motion at her lest I set the mine off. “Is it armed?”

  “Not that I can see.”

  “Then let it be for a second.” I waited until the machine stopped in front of me and saw that it was holding a data pad. The screen went from white to black, just for a second, then a video began to play. A familiar face filled the display. “Kaska,” I said in a low voice.

  “If you’re watching this, I assume you are the fugitives Delgado and Singh. If not, oh well. In any case, you should have realized by now that your future is bleak.” Kaska smiled, but it was far from pleasant. “At the conclusion of this video, a one minute timer will begin, counting down to the detonation of the explosives in the floor. Helfire will take care of the rest. Sergeant, my only regret is that I am unable to arrest you myself for your treasonous activities.”

  The recording turned off, replaced immediately by the promised timer.

  “Anyone got any good ideas?” I asked with mock cheerfulness.

  “There’s not enough time to run back for gear,” said Farah.

  I kept my tone reasonable. “Of course not. You need to get out of here. I’ll figure something out.”

  Farah snorted. “Don’t waste time on that bullshit. You know better.”

  Knowing she was right, I bit off the order I’d been about to issue. One she would have ignored anyways. So much for being Captain.

  Mack cleared her throat over the comm. “I have an idea, but you probably won’t like it. It’s crazy, even for you.”

  “Spit it out,” I snapped. “We don’t have any other options. 30 seconds until things go boom, Woods.”

  “Okay. You still got the launcher on that rifle?”

  “Yeah.” I could already see where she was going and flipped the settings.

  “Aim it at the far wall. As soon as you fire, roll back with the momentum. Let it carry you. It’s the only thing I can think of right now.”

  20 seconds.

  “Here goes nothing,” I muttered, locking onto my target and praying I didn’t fuck this up.

  17 seconds.

  I couldn’t wait anymore. Exhaling, I squeezed the trigger and forced myself not to resist the recoil. When it punched me back, I went with it, flinging myself backward.

  The explosion was mild, more designed to weaken the floor beneath us rather than kill the person standing on it. If the mines only exploded on the top level, anyone below would have had enough time to get out, but not this way. The Helfire would burn through the partially damaged floor and into the level below just as fast as it consumed the area up here.

  That was a bit of genius, and lucky for me. My suit protected me from the shards of the pot, but gel splattered me from head to toe. By some stroke of luck it hadn’t ignited, merely coated me in the gelatinous substance. Where I’d been standing a second before was another matter.

  Flame clung to the ground in tight pools, and it was traveling, following the droplets right to me. I scrambled back, but the gel made things slippery and left a trail that I couldn’t escape. Farah yanked me to a standing position, but our time was up. The floor erupted, sending the pots into the air momentarily before dropping and breaking.

  “It sort of worked,” I said over the comm, backing up with Farah as far as we could get. “Now what? The whole lower level will be destroyed before we can get through it.”

  “Is any of the floor stable? Like could you pick your way across?”

  Beside me, Farah shook her head. “Not a chance. Almost 3000 degrees on all visible walking surfaces. Not to menti
on our fearless Captain is covered in Helfire chemical. She can’t get near a flame right now.”

  I stayed quiet, studying the scene. At the far end of the chamber I could just make out a hole in the outer wall. The ceiling and surrounding walls were made of asteroid, but a series of beams crisscrossed with mounted lighting that hadn’t been taken. “V, can you tell me if our mag boots will work on those beams above us?”

  “Certainly, Captain.”

  “You want to hang upside down on them and try to jump?” asked Farah.

  I nodded and jabbed a finger at the floor. The blazing ooze was still working its way toward us and we were running out of room to escape. “I’m not sure there’s any other way. Don’t think of it like that. We’re in space. Up is down and vice versa. Once you’re on the beam, think of it as standing normally. Ignore the fiery ceiling.”

  “Right. Easy peasy.”

  Ignoring the sarcasm, I surveyed the beam directly above, lining up my jump. It would be easy to miss. If that happened, my body would ping pong around until it landed in the Helfire, then I’d be dead.

  Then don’t miss, I ordered myself, and released the magnetic locks on my boots. At the same time, I pushed from the balls of my feet and rocketed up. Too fast! My aim was good, but I shot toward the beam with such velocity that I nearly bounced back off it. I caught the edge of the beam just in time and clung to it for a second. Getting my feet where I wanted them, I activated the boots and reoriented myself, then looked up. From my point of view, Farah was upside down. The Helfire crept closer, nearly touching her.

  “Farah, get your ass moving!” I barked out.

  In reply, she launched to the beam. Unlike my near disaster, she did it with a graceful ease. Twisting at the last second, she activated her mag boots and stuck the landing like a gymnast.

  “Show off,” I teased.