Universe of the Soul

by Jennifer Mandelas

  “An admirable trait in an officer, of any caliber.”

  “I suppose so.”

  Penkela laughed; a hoarse, crackling sound caused from too much battle smoke inhalation. “We hear rumors in the Army about you, Rael. They say you are so demanding in your subordinates that many potentials avoid transferring into your command.”

  Adri shrugged, causing Penkela to laugh again. “I don't see why that's so bad.”

  “Ah, you wouldn't. You are not known for your diplomacy. But I would keep it in mind, when you go to recruit a crew of your own, soon.”

  A crew of her own. Her own ship, her own rules. It would be soon. Adri could almost savor the words, resting on her tongue like organic coffee. “I'll keep it in mind, Colonel.”

  “By the by, Rael, I hear that there was an enemy infiltration in the camp last night.”

  Adri frowned, pausing to gesture for one of her troops to move the scanning equipment currently cluttered on the ground out of the way towards the lift. “At this point we are not sure if the enemy was able to pass through the shield once it was raised after the battle, or if she snuck in earlier, when we dropped the shield, and hid out until things had settled down again.”

  “Either way is a disturbing possibility,” Penkela replied musefully. “If she was able to pass the shields, then our equipment is lagging behind their technology. And if she snuck in before, then they have a better handle on Advance Force strategies – your strategies – than we had first assumed.”

  “True.”

  “Which do you tend to believe, Rael?”

  Adri nodded at Gray across the compound as he signaled the change in shift. “I tend to believe the latter. Our shield schematics are the best in the line, and my engineers keep the frequencies shifting often. Besides, if they were able to pass right through, they would have sent more than one.”

  “So you think this was a direct attack on your platoon?”

  “No. I think it was a direct attack on me.”

  “All baggage has been logged and loaded, Lieutenant Commander.” Gray handed Adri the holoboard.

  Adri made an absent hum of agreement. She sat on top of a large cement block, a part of what had once been a wall. “I want all backup troops to evacuate the field.”

  Gray smiled. “Already done. I anticipated your order, and all unnecessary personnel were removed to the Oreallus at 1400.”

  “You anticipated my order, did you?” Adri narrowed her eyes.

  “Yes, ma'am. It is expected of a good field lieutenant to anticipate the commands of his superiors so that his superiors have more time to address their other duties.”

  Adri couldn't help but smile at the serious tone in Gray's voice. “I assume you think you are a good field lieutenant, Grayson?”

  “Of course,” Gray replied with such simplicity, Adri couldn't argue. “And you can call me Gray, since I call you Adri.”

  “You do not call me Adri,”

  “Yes, Adri, I do. But since I am a good field lieutenant, I anticipated that you would not want me to call you Adri. So I will refrain to do so, unless we're alone. Like now.”

  Danwe, the man had a smart mouth. A smart, cute mouth.

  Just as Adri was about to reply, Sergeant Phoebe Oduran rushed up to her, saluting. “Ma'am, our scouting squad has just returned.”

  Immediately Adri's mind clicked back to her orders the night before. After studying the schematics of the battle, she had estimated the location of the Belligerent base and had sent out a selected squad to search for it. “What did you find?”

  “Upon approaching the estimated position of the enemy headquarters, our scouts discovered what appeared to be an abandoned factory. There were no signs that it had been inhabited in the last seventy-two hours. No enemies were sighted, but the squad did not enter the premises, as per your instructions.”

  “Were there any signs of it being used as a temporary base?” Gray asked. Adri glanced quizzically at him. He really could anticipate her orders.

  “Sir, there were signs that the factory had been used recently, possibly as a semi-permanent base. There were remnants of a type IIX Colok shield system, which is not easily transportable. But again, there were no signs of organic life on any of the scanners.” Oduran replied.

  Rael nodded. “Very good, sergeant. I want a briefing with the whole squad in – wait, the Army's taken over the control center…Tell them to assemble in the west corner of the mess hall in twenty minutes.”

  “Yes ma'am.” Oduran saluted again and hurried away.

  “The question is,” Gray mused aloud, “Did they simply abandon it, or is it a trap?”

  Adri shook her head slowly. “This whole scenario feels wrong. They have never attempted such an ambitious battle before. They've never sent in an…assassin – if that's what she was – and they usually are a great deal more defensive in their encampment positions. Why abandon a base? Especially when you know the Advance Force is leaving?”

  “How would they know we are leaving?” Gray asked, watching in fascination as Adri pondered the situation out loud.

  “It stands to reason that they know our routine well enough to understand our shielding and usual tactics. They'd know that when another ship arrives with additional troops, the Army has come to replace the Advance Force. If they know that, then they are smart enough to know that the Army will spend at least two weeks entrenching their position before they make any offensive moves. That's all standard procedure. There's no reason to abandon the base yet.” Adri shook her head again. “They either are really stupid – which their night raid proved they're not – or they are incredibly cunning.”

  “A trap?” Gray supplied.

  “Has to be. And not for the Army either.”

  Gray walked beside Adri as she headed towards the command center. “What do you intend to do?”

  Adri quirked one eyebrow. “I thought you could anticipate my orders,”

  Gray smiled. “When put that way, I believe I can. I'll go gear up, and meet back with you and the squad in fifteen minutes.”

  Adri stood as her field lieutenant sauntered back in the direction of the officer's quarters. “You're a strange man Gray.”

  Colonel Penkela frowned as he watched Adri study the topography of the suspected Belligerent position on a confiscated viewscreen in the command center. Beside her stood her new field lieutenant, who studied the neighboring screen and reeled off information to his superior. “I am not sure I agree with this procedure, Rael,” he said at last.

  “With all due respect sir, I am fully within my rights to head an investigative team to inspect a suspected Belligerent position,” Adri replied.

  Penkela made a huffing noise. “Be that as it may, your platoon has already departed back to your ship, and as second officer aboard the Oreallus, your presence is required. The Army is present in the area, you ought to leave it to us to handle some abandoned Belligerent post.”

  “Sir, we both know that while the Army is present, they only arrived a matter of hours ago, and are unfamiliar with the terrain. My Advance Force squad has the advantage of knowing the topography, as well as experiencing the methods that this particular regiment of Belligerents uses to fight. We are better equipped to run this mission at this time.”

  “Why must it be done at this time, Lieutenant Commander?” Penkela insisted. “Surely the outpost can wait a few weeks while the Army gets its bearings.”

  “Sir, if I might venture an opinion,” Gray interrupted. “Both the attack against our shields and the possible assassin in the officer's quarters points to a keen knowledge of the lieutenant commander's strategies. This makes it an attack on her. It would be wrong not to meet the challenge quickly, not only to crush the opposition, but also to discover how they came to have such knowledge.”

  Still staring at the screen, Adri couldn't help but smirk at Gray's reasoning. It was perfectly logical, and would tie Penkela's hands if he tried to stop the mission from proceeding. “My field lieut
enant is right. This is the only logical option; I will take my squad in to explore the base, pass the information on to my superiors and to you, and then return to the Oreallus.”

  The colonel knew when he was outmatched. Inwardly he smiled at the way the two officers had combined forces to push for their way. “Very well. My people will run the communication center while you undertake the mission. Make it quick. But Rael, if this whole strategy is to pull you out…be cautious.”

  While it would have been faster to ride the transport vehicles the entire distance to the Belligerent base, Adri felt it prudent to leave them two miles away for the sake of secrecy. Oduran's squad had reported that no organic beings had been sighted, but that did not mean there were not other surprises in store for them. The Belligerent Coalition did not use humacoms for active combat, having very few to begin with, but Adri was taking no chances.

  Crouched between two large rocky spurs of dark, wet stone, she eyed the factory. Behind her, she could hear her troops checking each other's combat suits over the steady pattering of the rain. Suddenly she felt her own Life Support System on the back of her suit being tugged, and Gray's voice over the communicator, [All gauges read clear, Adri. You are set to go.]

  [I thought I told you not to call me that,] Adri replied, turning around to inspect Gray's LSS gauge at the small of his back.

  [So did I. That's strange, isn't it?] His helmet hid his face, but Adri could imagine the smile that would match the amused tone in his voice.

  [You think you're so funny, don't you?] Adri said, exasperated.

  [No, indeed, Adri. I am very serious at all times.]

  Adri shook her head and turned back to her view of the outpost. [Turn your frolicking mind back to business, Field Lieutenant.]

  [Yes ma'am. However, I do remember insisting that you call me Gray.]

  Adri did not reply. Instead, she switched her communicator to include all her troops. [Rael to Black squadron. We are about to enter a potentially dangerous situation. I want everyone to keep alert. Watch were you walk, and everything around you. We have no real idea if this place is abandoned or not, and if it is, we don't know why. Backup is two miles away, and won't be of any real assistance in an immediate emergency, is that clear?]

  [Yes, ma'am!] came the response.

  [Very well, let's move in! Lieutenant Grayson and I will take the lead, Sergeant Oduran, you take the rear. If we come to any forks, you lead half the squadron. Understood?]

  [Yes, ma'am!] Oduran replied.

  Adri led the way across the barren, twilit landscape to the dark building ahead of them. It stood, tall and dark, with the same air of neglect that hung over the entire war zone. No life dared to linger here. She kept alert as they crossed the exposed ground, waiting for the telltale sounds of landmines, or the whoosh of air that accompanied a flying grenade. The world stayed quiet, however, and her entire squad crossed the area with no alerts. The side entrance Adri had chosen to enter was locked, but one of her troops quickly stepped forward with a decoder, and within minutes the little machine beeped the all clear. Another scan was done to ensure that no explosives were attached to the door. That also gave the all clear. The ease of their entrance unnerved Adri to no end. Even an abandoned outpost ought to have had some form of protection, if only to bedevil the enemy who chose to take it over.

  Her communicator squawked in her ear. [Grayson to Rael. Is it just me, or does this seem too easy?] Gray asked on the officer's frequency.

  [Much too easy,] Adri agreed, peering into the gloom as she cautiously stepped into the dark corridor.

  [I don't like this.]

  Senses flaring, Adri made no reply. She too had a bad feeling about the situation, leaving her adrenaline rushing and causing a soft humming in her blood. Her elegy was a bare thread of notes in her mind.

  The corridor was long, winding, and had many offshoots. Adri left several of her troops at some of the wider intersections, watching the gloomy passageways warily. The main corridor ended abruptly in a wide room filled with unmanned Belligerent command stations. Instincts, already on the alert, kicked up another notch. It was a trap, had to be a trap. Adri was given a split second to consider her options. [All troops pull out! It's a trap! I repeat, all troops pull out!]

  It was too late. The command room was suddenly filled with light as dozens of blasters opened fire from both above on a now visible catwalk, as well as from behind the command posts.

  [Oduran to Rael! I've been hit, but it's not bad. The men left to guard the exit are gone. Our entrance point has been compromised. What are your orders?]

  [Take your squad and find an alternate exit.]

  [Understood, Oduran out.]

  Dodging a blaster beam that streaked by her head, Adri backed out of the room, her mind racing to the backup plan. It had been a good setup – their scanners hadn't picked up any signs of organic life within the building. They obviously knew their tactics well enough to anticipate her moves here, as well new technology to hide their presence. Her squad was now pinned inside the building.

  [Grayson to Oduran,]

  [Oduran here, sir.]

  [Just what is blocking the entrance we used?]

  [It looked like a makeshift barricade, with troops behind it. I felt it unwise to advance,]

  [Understood. Proceed with your orders. Grayson out.]

  [Rael to Grayson,] Adri called on their private link, [What are you thinking?]

  [I'm thinking we do the unexpected.]

  [Excellent. Rael to Black squadron! All troops in my half get ready to storm the barricade blocking the exit!]

  Corinthe City News- print edition

  The Belligerent Coalition Has Attacked Our Peaceful Commonwealth! Are You Willing To Defend Her?

  From the far reaches of our fair galaxy, an enemy has sprung that threatens our very way of life. Already, millions have died to keep you and your loved ones safe. Millions more still fight. Millions do their share in research, perfecting techniques to keep our home systems safe, earning the eternal glory reserved for heroes, and the great honor of defending the home of the enlightened.

  What are you doing to serve your system?

  ARE HUMACOMS TOO HUMAN?

  Scientists Debate Possible Recalls of Humacom Personality Programs

  Corinthe: Top researchers around the planet are debating the philosophical question, ‘are humacoms too human?’ Recent studies show an unusually high percentage of disobedience in the latest models of all humacom designs, from securicoms to domesticoms, which apparently connect with these models’ HPPs. “It appears that we have truly outdone ourselves with this technology,” says Dr. Morris Waverly, head of Interstellar Humacoms’ research and development department.

  “We have started mimicking human thought processes so well in our programs that it may be affecting their fundamental logic program. We have noted that because of an apparent conflict between the two programs, humacoms will compute a different logic that may agree with their master's orders. When faced with a logic crisis, most humacoms are programmed to default in favor of their own conclusions. Whether or

  not this conflict merits a recall of all HPPs is yet to be seen.”

  Despite skepticism on part of scientists, humacoms owners clamor for a resolution to the problem…

  Cont. in Technology, pg 2

  Chapter Six

  Adri ran. Her breath hissed in and out as she kept up the cover fire for her retreating squad. Just ahead of her Gray was issuing orders to the two soldiers who led the retreat column as they encountered some well-placed sensor bombs in their path. It was nice to have an aide who actually fulfilled his role, she thought. The randomness of the thought made her grit her teeth and turn her mind deliberately to the task at hand.

  The bomb tech was quickly brought forward and the two sensor bombs diffused in record time, but the delay had cost them a soldier and space between their advancing foes. More resistance was met at one of the intersections as the main corridor met another. Adr
i had anticipated this, and they passed through with minimal danger. Still, the situation was becoming desperate, as there were still several intersections to pass and the barricade that blocked the exit. The enemy's strategy had been well thought out. They had bypassed Adri's troops stationed at the intersections by removing wall panels and concealing themselves behind them, using them as secret passages.

  [Oduran to Rael, we've found an unguarded exit in the north wing of the building. We are currently crossing the surrounding area under heavy fire. Casualties are unknown at this time.]

  [Are you being pursued?] Adri demanded, pausing to turn and fire at a Belligerent soldier who moved too close to her firing range.

  [Negative. Only as we were retreating through the building.]

  [Good. Retreat with all haste to the transports. Have Sacion provide backup fire if the situation alters. Rael out.]

  The setup was beginning to come clear to her now. Adri cursed softly. [Grayson, prep the forward troops for a frontal assault. We're only going to have one shot at getting out, so we need to make it count. I'm going to need you up there.]

  [Yes, ma'am.]

  ***

  “Everything is falling into place, just as you predicted.”

  Hildana Kobane looked up from the palm sized security screen she had been studying. “Nervous about the success, little sister?” the screen lit up the deep bronze of her skin, highlighting her strong features. Her black hair hung down her back in a thick braid, but would soon be tucked up inside her helmet. Hildana's dark eyes looked over at her sister with amusement.

  Giselle Kobane checked the charge level of her blaster the same way some women would check the contents of their evening bag. Unlike her sister, her features were delicate and distinctly feminine. While their coloring was the same, everything about Giselle was smaller, more refined. Her eyes did not reflect her sister's amusement. “Not so much the success, big sister, but the possibilities of the outcomes. We have a very tenacious, unpredictable opponent.”

  Hildana laughed. “You're just sore that she woke up while you were in the room. Your stealth was sloppy.”