Trapped

by Scott Bartlett

  “They’re falling back on the north side,” came the clipped voice of Tucker Hall.

  “We’re not seeing it on this side, Bulldog,” Maura said, using Tucker’s callsign. “No, wait, I take that back.”

  Jake glanced down to the group that Ash had so easily turned back. It had been the last of the squads making darting maneuvers up the hill. The rest were indeed falling back.

  “Permission to continue engaging them,” Tucker said.

  “Negative,” Jake said.

  “But they’re in full retreat.”

  “Plus they’ll get reinforced before long,” Ash added.

  “We have them right now,” Tucker said, frustration raising his voice. “The hilltop isn’t going anywhere. The wall-mounted cannons can easily protect against a flanking maneuver. Why aren’t we taking them out now?”

  “I don’t like it,” Jake said. “It feels like a trap.” He mulled it over. “We’ll hold position for now. Let’s see what they do.”

  There was a palpable silence. The wait lasted exactly two minutes.

  “Whoa,” said Seaman Brent Driscoll, who was on the top edge of the fortified barrier to the west. He and Seaman Bo Hong were using their mechs to help a couple of ground techs reset the wall-mounted cannons. The rest of Oneiri Team was just outside the barrier, patrolling the ground that dropped off sharply into the valley below.

  “Care to elaborate?” Jake asked.

  “There’s a shit-ton of trouble inbound.”

  Jake hopped up onto the wall and looked to the west. In his HUD, his mech painted targets as it saw them. Given how many enemies were coming into view, Jake was happy to have the high ground to defend against their superior numbers.

  But enemy fighters kept appearing. Soon, his HUD was awash in a sea of red target signals.

  “Aw, hell,” Tucker said. “We’re seeing lots of activity on the north side.”

  “Ditto here,” Maura said quietly.

  Jake looked out on more than three thousand incoming Ixa, according to his mech’s calculations. If Tucker was seeing something comparable on his side of the hill, the mech team was outgunned five hundred to one.

  “Weapons free, Lima Echo Charlie.” He waved at the control tower for the landing zone. “Open up on ‘em!”

  The wall-mounted cannons came to life, peppering the hillside below. But there were simply too many. The cannons couldn’t keep up with the advancing line, and soon they were left to pepper the groups of stragglers behind the main charge.

  A wave of Ixa at least three hundred strong was sweeping up the hillside unimpeded.

  “Let’s go to work, Oneiri Team.” Jake leaped down, the autocannons in both his mech’s forearms hammering the oncoming barrage of Ixa.

  Dozens fell, but dozens more took their place.

  Something slapped against his leg, and Jake found himself suddenly falling backwards. He rolled and leaped up, knowing he was far too vulnerable. He fired up his twin flamethrowers to try and clear a space just around him.

  Then he heard Maura scream, and looked up to see several Ixa bearing down on her. Her leg flew outward as a grenade exploded underfoot, and she tumbled over, crushed by the onrushing Ixan horde.

  “Moe!” Jake screamed out her callsign.

  Then an explosion at his own feet tossed him backward. His mech landed a few feet away on one leg, then fell sideways to the ground. He felt a strange dead sensation in his other leg, like it had suddenly gone to sleep, and he realized this was the lucid dream-state’s way of telling him that one of his mech’s legs was completely gone, blown away in what must have been another grenade attack.

  He ripped the heavy machine gun off his back and started firing at a trio of Ixa that were rushing at him. He managed to beat them back, but then his suit’s proximity alert fired, telling him he’d allowed himself to get too focused on the onrushing attackers and hadn’t checked his own six.

  Something slashed hard into his back, throwing him forward. The mech blared warning signs at him, painting his HUD red.

  He spun around and found himself on the ground, looking up at a huge Ixan trying to crush him. He managed to yank his arm up, but that wasn’t going to do much good, even with the bayonet extended.

  Then the Ixan screamed in pain as a bright energy beam tore through its chest, exploded outward, and covered Jake’s mech in black blood.

  The thermal lance sliced sideways and the Ixan toppled backwards, split in half at the midsection.

  “Quit lying around, Jake!” Ash said, her sleek black mech already pirouetting as another attacker came at her.

  But something flashed on her shoulder, and Jake watched in horror as the left half of her mech was blown open, ripping the entire top assembly off. He only heard a grunt from Ash before she went silent, her mech ripped in half. Two more Ixa descended on what was left, no doubt confirming the kill.

  “Bastards!” Jake yelled, leaping to his feet and lunging at the nearest Ixan still trying to crush the remains of Ash’s mech.

  He’d barely closed the distance when two more Ixa came together to spear his mech right through the chest.

  He watched his HUD go from red, to black, to nothing.

  It was over.

  Chapter 5

  Planet Imbros

  IU Training Facility

  Jake lay in total darkness for several seconds, his heart pounding in his chest as sweat trickled down his brow. Finally, a line of light split the darkness.

  He squinted upward as a white-gloved hand reached in.

  “Need a hand?” asked a friendly voice.

  He took the hand and pulled himself upright. He thanked the technician in the white lab coat, who nodded before hurrying over to another simulator box, where another member of the team would be awakening from the training session.

  The same lucid tech that made mech control possible also made simulations like this one incredibly real. Exactly like the real thing, in fact, since the pod he’d been sitting inside was the exact environment he piloted his mech in.

  But the sensation of coming up out of the deep immersion was the same dizzying experience, whether it was a simulation or the real thing. Jake stood and stretched, popping loose the wires that ran to the helmet he’d been wearing. He put his hands on his hips and stared up at the harsh lighting inside the testing center. He counted in his head.

  One-one thousand.

  Two-one thousand.

  Three-one thousand.

  Tucker exploded into the center of the room. “What the hell was that?” He slammed his headgear onto the floor in disgust.

  Jake saw Maura reach out to grab Tucker. She’d died earlier than Jake, and was already clear of all her hookups. It looked like Tucker had simply leaped to his feet and ripped all the equipment out with him. There were several wires and a battery pack dragging behind him.

  “Easy, Bulldog,” Maura said. “It’s a simulation.”

  “It could have been the real thing,” Hong said. He’d pulled his own helmet off, and took the opportunity to ruffle his auburn hair. Several more members of Oneiri Team were arriving now. They’d been in pods arranged in a semi-circle along the walls of the main training room, but some had been much farther away than others. “And I think that’s how we’re supposed to treat these things.”

  “You’re damn right we are!” barked Tucker. He put an accusing finger against Jake’s chest. Jake fought the urge to slap it away. There was little point in telling Tucker that he was the senior member of the team. That was just a reminder that the blame fell to Jake, and he didn’t need anyone to tell him that.

  “What the hell was that about? Why did we sit up there on that hill with our thumbs up our asses while they got reinforced?”

  “We had a superior position,” Jake said, sounding lame even to himself. “And there was no way to know—”

  “We had the intel that they might receive reinforcements. Ash even called it out!”

  “Take a second,” Jake said with measu
red calmness he didn’t feel.

  Tucker frowned and stepped back, pulling his finger away from Jake’s chest. “Like we did on that hill?”

  Someone actually chuckled. Jake turned to look at Ash. “Really?”

  She shrugged. “I get my kicks where I can.” When Jake scowled, she said, “Besides, he’s not wrong. We should have pressed that advantage, Jake. You know it.”

  “Not the end of the world,” Maura said, clearly trying to cool tensions in the room.

  “No, just the end of our lives,” Tucker said darkly.

  Jake shook his head at Ash. She was right, of course. He knew she was just taking Tucker’s side to bust his balls. But she was right. “Fair enough, I made the wrong call.”

  “You know, the stories about you are starting to look mighty embellished,” Tucker said.

  Jake felt his face darken, but Tucker refused to back down.

  “Easy,” Ash said.

  “Just sayin’,” Tucker said. “Where’s the Clutch I’ve heard so much about? All those wartime stories aren’t living up to what I’m seeing.”

  “That’s enough,” Ash said.

  “Something’s keeping your head out of the game, and it’s going to get us all killed when this isn’t some simulation.”

  “Step back, Seaman.” This time, Ash’s voice was firm.

  Tucker let his shoulders relax. “Sure.” He gave a tight smile and walked away.

  “He’s right to be pissed,” Jake said when Tucker was out of earshot. “We should have pushed down the hill when they pulled back.”

  “You know damn well we should have,” came an imposing voice from Jake’s right.

  He knew that voice well. Too well.

  “Admiral Iver,” he said. Instantly, every member of Oneiri Team came to attention and saluted.

  “At ease,” Iver said as he sauntered into the simulation room’s center. “Jake, let’s talk.”

  The other members of the team headed for the exit. Ash brought up the rear and raised an eyebrow at Jake as she closed the door, leaving him alone with Iver.

  “Sir, I’m—”

  “I don’t care about all that. It’s your team, you figure it out. I’m sure you will. That simulation was shit, but it’s meant to be a tough test. You aren’t the first team to fail it.”

  The word fail stung, even if the admiral was trying to give him a pep talk. “I understand, sir.”

  Iver nodded. He crossed his arms and leaned against one of the open simulation boxes. “The question I have is this: is your team up for something important?”

  “Always, sir.”

  “How about if it involves your old boss?”

  “Sir?” Jake asked.

  “Captain Husher has a new command.”

  Jake had heard about what happened in the Woodbine system, but that was a few weeks ago, and he’d caught nothing since. For all he knew, Husher was hauling trash out of the Switchback systems.

  When Jake thought of Husher, the only thing he could think of was the man’s daughter, Iris, and the time they’d spent together aboard the Vesta. That felt like a lifetime ago, even if it was only a few months. The memory only made it harder for him to concentrate on what the admiral was saying.

  “Well?” Iver asked.

  “What’s that, sir?”

  Iver sighed. “I’m starting to understand some of the dynamic here.” He frowned. “I said that Husher’s new command is going on a critical mission. And I want Oneiri with him.”

  “Of course, sir,” Jake said. “We’re on it.”

  “Are you?”

  “Absolutely, sir,” Jake said firmly. “Just point where you want us to go.”

  Iver smiled cryptically. “Oh, I think you’re going to like where we’re sending you. It’s somewhere…new.”

  On that note, Iver turned and began to walk away. Over his shoulder, he said, “You’ll receive transfer orders in the morning. Get your team there quickly. I want you aboard the Relentless ASAP.”

  “The Relentless, sir?”

  “That’s your new home. Better get familiar with it.”

  * * *

  Jake didn’t stop at the front desk on the way to room 349. He’d been to the hospital enough that he knew the way by heart. The two duty nurses just nodded at him as he passed.

  When he turned the corner, he took a moment to consider what was about to happen—the mission Iver was sending him on. He didn’t have all the details, but he’d been able to put two and two together from the rumor mill. Husher was on the team that was going to investigate a transmission from the multiverse. Which meant that Jake and Oneiri were going to be gone for a long time. Who could say how long?

  He had to visit Lisa one last time.

  He slowly walked into the room. It was silent except for the sound of the equipment keeping her alive. A gentle hiss of air. Machines beeping in concert.

  All the sounds of a hospital and none of the sounds of life.

  He took Lisa’s limp hand. She lay completely still, eyes closed, body unmoving. The way she’d been every time he’d come to visit her before.

  “I gotta go away for a bit.” He smiled as he rubbed her hand in his. “You know how it is. Mission and all that.”

  He laughed to himself, imagining the other half of the conversation. Lisa had been a pilot with his original team. One of the first mech pilots.

  Now she was here, and it was Jake’s fault. He knew that. He didn’t need to be told. Others would try to tell him otherwise, but they hadn’t been there. They didn’t know what he knew in his heart.

  He could have saved her. If he’d been paying closer attention. If he’d been quicker to understand what had happened. If he’d known her better, she’d be alive.

  Shut up. She’s alive right now.

  Lisa had been kidnapped by the Progenitors, and replaced by her double—a sleeper agent for the enemy. When the fake Lisa Sato has betrayed humanity, Jake still hadn’t caught on to what was really happening. He’d thought it had been the real Lisa. And he’d allowed himself to be turned from her. All while his Lisa suffered in a Progenitor cell…slowly turning into what she was today.

  Unresponsive. Seemingly unaware of her surroundings.

  Lost to him.

  He carefully placed her hand back down on the gurney. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I’ll miss you,” he said. “Hope you miss me.”

  With that, he walked out of the room and back down the hallway.

  His mind was a jumble. The mission. With Husher. Of all the men in the galaxy to have to ship out with, why did it have to be Iris’s father?

  Iris had been with Husher on his capital ship. It had been a mistake to have civilians on those ships; everyone seemed to know that now. And yet, if the price was getting to know Iris, then Jake would pay it over and over again.

  He loved Iris. He knew that. He didn’t need anyone to diagnose that for him. It was just a fact.

  She’d just come at the wrong time in his life, like everything else. He owed Lisa his loyalty. He’d turned his back on her when she needed him most, and it had nearly cost her life. He wasn’t going to turn on her again. Not now. Not ever.

  Iris would have to understand that. Just as soon as Jake did.

  Chapter 6

  Planet Zakros

  Unsanctioned living zone

  Husher wasn’t sure what he expected to find when he entered the slums with nothing more than some months-old information on a scrap of paper. But when he found the rundown living pod and knocked on the door, the creature that greeted him looked nothing like the Winger he remembered.

  “Fesky,” he choked out, hearing the shock in his own voice. His old friend looked exhausted. Her feathers were thinning; falling out. A putrid smell washed over Husher, tainting the air around him.

  She slammed the door.

  Husher knocked again. “Fesky, please talk to me.” He kept beating at the door, refusing to leave now that the vision of Fesky broken and disheveled was danc
ing in his mind. What happened to her?

  The Winger finally opened the door again. “Go away, Captain Husher.”

  “Look…I just want to talk.”

  Fesky studied him for a long time, and Husher could practically hear the war of emotions going on inside her head. He could only imagine the effect his appearance was having on her.

  Still, he had to try. She had been one of his closest friends once, and yet she’d been tortured mercilessly by him.

  It hadn’t actually been him, of course. It was his opposite number in the Progenitor universe that had done the heinous deed: a version of him that was broken and cruel, who’d taken it upon himself to make one of Husher’s dearest friends broken in turn.

  The Winger finally shook her head. “I can’t be alone with you.” She looked out at the slum beyond. It was early, but there was already activity in the market stalls. It would only grow more crowded as the day progressed. “I’ll talk to you here, on the porch.” She stepped hesitantly forward, closing the door behind her.

  Husher took several steps back, to give her space. She seemed to relax a bit. “I know what happened to you, Fesky. I know you were tortured by the other version of me, and—”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  But Husher did. He needed to talk about it. He wanted nothing more than to figure out how to fix this. How to make his friend trust him again. But instead, he just nodded. “Of course. We won’t talk about that.”

  “What do you want, Captain?”

  “I want you to come back. I want you to be a squadron leader in the Relentless’ fighter wing.”

  Fesky squawked. “Is this a joke?”

  “Not to me. We could use you. You were one of my finest officers, once.”

  “That was another lifetime. Another universe.”

  “Nothing has changed.” Husher grimaced as he said it, knowing it was wrong.

  “Everything has changed,” Fesky hissed. “Besides, the fleet isn’t very different from this slum, these days.”