“Kaden’s only sixteen,” Kawai objected, as she was barely the same age.
“But he’s one of the highest-ranked fighters here,” Natalia answered back.
“I guess it depends whether he wants skill versus more experience,” Jeffie commented. “I bet he’ll probably take some of both.”
“What about you, Sammy?” Brickert asked in a careful voice. “Why wouldn’t he pick you, too?”
Everyone at the table looked at him as though they’d also thought this, but didn’t want to be the first to voice it. Sammy had no reply. The idea had crossed his mind, too, but he’d quickly dismissed the notion because of his age and inexperience.
“I don’t know,” he finally answered. “Don’t you think I’m too young?”
Brickert was about to add something when Commander Byron walked through the door, looking quite solemn. He was accompanied by a man Sammy had never seen, wearing the same flight suit as Byron: smoke gray with the Greek symbol of alpha emblazoned on the front over the left breast, and a gold star on each shoulder. The new man looked to be in his forties. He was tall and good-looking with brown hair beginning to show gray around the edges. His sharp eyes took in the whole room at once. From the way he and Byron were speaking to each other, Sammy guessed they were old friends, or at least knew each other very well.
The room fell silent at once, which Sammy thought was funny. The new man smiled, too, holding the silence with a dramatic pause. Finally he spoke: “Hello and good morning. Most of you know me, but for those who don’t, my name is Commander Wrobel. You all know why I am here. Your friend Albert Hayman passed every part of his Psion Panel . . . except one.” He paused again. Sammy could tell he was enjoying his effect on the crowd. “He’s just spent the last few hours receiving information on his mission assignment and choosing eight other Betas to accompany him.”
He stopped for a moment and his smile changed from friendly to parental. “Now I always like to say before I read the list that there should be no hard feelings about not being chosen. Al didn’t pick people based on talent alone or by how much he likes you, but based on how he feels you will work with him and his unique qualities to accomplish the specific tasks he has. So please support him whether or not you’ll accompany him on his assignment.”
A few whispers of quick conversations broke out, but all fell silent when Wrobel cleared his throat and began reading from the com screen over his eye. “Here are the eight Betas Al has chosen . . .”
Sammy felt the tension in the room grow, especially among the oldest Betas.
“Marie Covas.”
Brickert turned to their table and mouthed, “I told you!” Kawai rolled her eyes so well she reminded Sammy of Jeffie.
“Kaden Reynolds.”
There was applause. Sammy saw Kobe clap his brother on the back, both brothers smiling.
“Kobe Reynolds.”
More applause. Kobe looked smug and satisfied.
“Martin Trector.”
That was an obvious choice as well. Al and Martin had always worked well together in the Arena.
“Gregor von Pratt. Cala Alanazi. Li Cheng Zheng.”
Sammy nodded along with names. All were solid, older Betas with years of experience under their belts.
“Samuel Berhane, Jr.”
Several people looked at each other when Sammy’s name was called, but none of his friends seemed surprised. Marie grinned at Sammy from across the room, Kobe frowned and his nose wrinkled like he’d just smelled something terrible, and Brickert clapped Sammy on the back.
Why would he choose me? His jaw fell and he looked at Brickert “How did you guess?”
“Oh, don’t act shocked, Mister Number One at everything,” Jeffie said with a dangerous edge in her voice. Natalia and Kawai laughed.
“Everyone whose name I read, please come with me!” Wrobel shouted over the roar of voices.
He and Al were friends, sure, but Sammy was still the third youngest person at headquarters. Being good at games was one thing, but he wasn’t ready for a mission. Why would Al pick me? He got up amidst smiles from his friends and walked out the door along with the other seven Betas. They followed Wrobel upstairs and into a sim room.
The room was furnished with comfortable seats, one of which was occupied by Al. He wore an expression of anxiety eerily similar to the one Sammy had seen on Byron’s face not long ago. Al stood up when the commanders entered the room and tried to smile, but it came across as a nervous grin. His face was too tight and his grin too toothy. Marie took the seat closest to Al and slipped her hand in his for a brief moment, squeezing gently. Sammy sat between her and Kaden. Commanders Wrobel and Byron waited for everyone to settle.
“Congratulations for being selected to assist Al on his mission.” His tone contradicted what he’d said earlier about it not mattering if they were picked. Sammy felt like Wrobel was welcoming them into an exclusive secret club. “For four of you, this is your first time participating in a Beta mission, so I will explain some of the basics. The missions we assign to Betas are elementary, non-confrontational, and very low-profile. Our primary interest is always your safety. You’ll need to do some additional preparation for your assignments. Even with our desires for everything to go smoothly, you need to realize Al is your leader, and your responsibility is to follow his orders to the letter. With that bit of advice, your commander and I will step out of the room and leave you to Al’s care.”
Al stood up and moved to the front. Commander Wrobel headed for the door and waited for Byron, who followed. Al watched them leave with an unreadable expression on his face. When the door closed, Al turned to his team. Now he looked confident. But this wasn’t friend-Al. This was leader-Al. There would be no bantering like normal. Leader-Al would be all business.
Al used the panel on the wall for a moment, and a podium shimmered into view. Stepping behind it, he pressed a few buttons, and a large transparent building appeared in the air.
“This is an old factory in Rio de Janeiro. CAG-controlled territory. It was once owned by a large communications firm used to manufacture prototype nanotech electronics. CAG troops shut it down by force when they discovered it was also a secret operating facility for NWG resistance fighters. Our intelligence reports have confirmed plans by the CAG to convert the factory into a major producer of short-range thermal armaments. They predict this to be the next step in Silent War weaponry. We have surveillance of CAG operatives being trained with prototype thermal weapons: liquid nitrogen cannons, napalm grenades, and blitzers. When—”
“Sorry, Al,” Sammy interrupted with a half-raise of his hand. “What’s a blitzer?”
“A blitzer is a large weapon that discharges superheated discs hot enough to cut through a blast-shield. Only very concentrated blasts can deflect them.”
“Oh . . . thanks.”
“So when the prototypes test successfully, the factory is scheduled to undergo moderate remodeling. Full-scale production should begin in about thirteen or fourteen months. That’s why we’ve been given this assignment. The building will be desolate for another three to four months. Our job is to go there four weeks from tomorrow and plant hidden surveillance equipment armed with Class B detonation devices. The tricky part is we have to do it without being seen—without making the CAG aware of our presence. Totally covert.”
The miniature holographic factory spun slowly in the air on two axes. It was huge. Al punched some buttons on his podium, and the factory stopped pivoting.
“We’ll arrive by air in the early morning via stealth atmo-cruiser, low enough to allow us a safe drop using landing blasts. We’ll set up base in the shipping yard.” He highlighted a large open space with only a few large storage crates dotting the landscape. “Two of you will enter here, two here, and the other four here.” Three doors were highlighted. “I’ll stay in a mobile hut in the yard and command the operation from here. Any questions so far?”
No one said anything, but Sammy already felt tense about
the mission. He glanced at the Reynolds twins and saw that at least two other people in the room felt the same way. After living safely in headquarters for several months, who wouldn’t be nervous about flying straight into enemy territory?
“Even though the building is empty, there are security devices throughout. Luckily, only a couple areas concern us. They’ve got smart cameras, motion detectors, and hot fields. Some serious stuff, but nothing we can’t handle.”
Sammy did not know what a hot field was, but it sounded more than serious.
“I’ve chosen each of you for your strengths in handling certain aspects of the mission. Gregor and Li will be our cloakers. They’ll go in first and hack into security, load up pre-recorded footage for the cameras, and turn off selected motion detectors. That should enable us to get in and out without making our presence known, and it allows Martin and Cala unrestricted access to the control room, where they can create localized power outages to shut off the hot fields and some other cams. The building is definitely old enough that this won’t look suspicious. Once those are out of the picture, Kaden and Marie can plant three bomb-cams each on the lower levels, Kobe and Sammy will place four each on the upper level.”
“Whew!” Kobe exclaimed. “For a second there, I thought it was going to be complex, but now I’m very reassured.”
Everyone except Sammy laughed. Even leader-Al allowed himself a chuckle. Sammy was too busy thinking about being teamed up with Kobe for this assignment. They hadn’t spoken so much as a word to each other since the incident—as Jeffie liked referring to it—and Sammy had hoped to keep it that way. Now he’d be working with Kobe intimately, trusting his life to him. Sammy didn’t think he was ready for that.
Maybe I can back out of this . . . tell Al I’m not ready for a mission.
Al spoke again, interrupting Sammy’s thoughts: “Here’s how the training will break up over the next four weeks: Starting tomorrow, Monday, everyone will be either learning or refreshing their skills on covert operations in sims. That will be the first two weeks. The second two weeks of your sims will cover mission functionality. Some of you will have part of your sims cut off early those last two weeks so we can train as a team and run scenarios. Until then, just work hard on the tactics that are thrown at you. Any questions?”
No one said anything. If they were anything like Sammy, they had too many questions floating around to know what to ask. He envied those who had already gone on Beta missions. Certainly they were less nervous than he was right now.
“Okay. You’re all dismissed—except for Sammy.” He turned his gaze to Sammy. “If you’ve got a second, I’d like to speak to you alone.”
“Sure.”
Kaden and Kobe cast curious glances over their shoulders to see what was going on, but Al just waited patiently for them to exit.
“Surprised?” Friend-Al was back with a big grin on his face.
“Yeah—completely. Brickert said he kinda suspected it, but I thought I was—”
“Too young? Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. I was planning on bringing Levu. She’s good. But I went through a much more detailed briefing this morning and Command gave me a list of everyone’s stats. The list changed my mind. It’s actually kind of fun to see what everyone is doing—where they’re at in instructions and sims. I already knew you’re ranked number one in everything, Sammy, but something else I saw blew me away.”
He did not need to guess what Al referred to, but stayed quiet all the same. Al sat down, staring at Sammy like he’d never seen him before. The look was almost reverent, and made Sammy squirm. They’ll think you’re a god! Brickert’s words echoed loudly in Sammy’s skull.
“You really passed the four-Thirteen sim?” Al asked.
“I did. It happened just a couple days ago.”
“Sammy—wow, dang—that’s incredible! You realize what this means? What that says about you?” Al’s reaction was remarkably similar to Brickert’s.
“I don’t think it says anything about me, Al. It says something about all of us. What our potential is—or could be.”
“Exactly. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I’d like to ask a huge favor.”
“What?”
Al’s face was lit up like a spotlight, and in his eyes Sammy saw some of the same fervor he’d seen in his own. That need to win burned strong in Al. “Will you teach me how you did it?”
“You think I can teach you?” Sammy asked. He’d never taught anyone anything before.
Al nodded, his expression was feral.
“Are you sure it’s okay? I mean—uh—when would we be able to do it?”
“I’ve already spoken to the commander. Your instruction time is while I’m in the sims, and he said you are far enough ahead that you could take—you know—a sabbatical for a while if you want to. Besides, your sims for the next while won’t be so demanding, you’ll be learning covert ops and mission training.”
“Then I guess I can do it. I should warn you, though, I might be really terrible at it.”
“No worries,” Al said, giving him a pat on the back, “I really appreciate this. I do.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“If it does work—who knows—I could teach your technique to the Alphas when I graduate. One other thing,” Al added just as Sammy thought the conversation had ended.
“What?”
“I need you to put aside your crap with Kobe and work with him. This may sound crazy, but I have a good feeling you two could be very successful together.”
Sammy snorted but quickly turned it into a cough.
Al was not fooled. “I’m serious. You’re the most capable Psion here, possibly ever. That’s why I picked you.”
Nice flattery.
“I’m not flattering you, either,” Al said as he read Sammy’s face. “You’re crippling yourself to carry this grudge. And you’ll be crippling my team. Can you put aside your feelings and cooperate?”
Sammy honestly didn’t know. He tried to imagine himself laughing and joking with Kobe like they were friends, but he couldn’t see it. But if thought of himself working with Kobe in a dangerous situation, he decided they might be able to maintain a civil relationship.
“Ok, Al, I’ll do that.”
“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow morning in sim room five.”
He watched Al leave and wondered what he’d just gotten himself into. Teaching? Me?
Q q q
“I still can’t believe it!” Brickert exclaimed as he tried to push more cheesecake into Sammy’s hands. Brickert always looked for reasons to solemnize an occasion with extra desserts. “I mean, I believe it. I kind of expected it. But still . . . it hasn’t really clicked.”
“It is pretty cool, Sammy,” Natalia agreed with an admiring smile. “I’ve asked around. You’re the youngest person to go on a Panel mission that anyone’s heard of.”
“Great . . .” Sammy glanced at Jeffie, still trying to interpret her reaction.
He’d filled them in on the briefing, trying to give them all the details that he could remember. Jeffie tried to be excited along with the rest, but Sammy saw through her attempts. She was too quiet. Something was wrong. As a result, he omitted the part about Al asking him for private tutoring sessions during his instructions.
“Anyone up for some gaming?” Kawai suggested.
“Actually, I am.” Sammy found himself quite keen to escape for a while. “Jeffie, are you coming?”
“Um, yeah, I’ll play for a bit,” she answered, forcing a smile. “Can I pick the game, though?”
No one objected to her request. They went to the rec hall as a group. Sammy slowed his pace to match Jeffie’s so they could walk side by side. He hoped she’d take the opportunity to talk to him about what was bothering her, but she said nothing, and he knew better than to push the subject.
Brickert, Kawai, and Natalia wanted to play Crazy Mazes, one of the newest games, but Jeffie chose Battle of Ages. They hadn’t played it for several week
s. Sammy thought it was too gory, and since he got enough blood and guts in the sims, he’d never been a fan of the game. But he had told Jeffie she could pick, so he felt obliged to agree.
Both games were hands-free, meaning the players only needed helmets to play. Sammy chose his cubicle and got his helmet from a small cubby built into the floor. The helmet was all white, but scuffed from months of use. It had a long metal visor that blocked out all light once it was worn. Reaching up blindly, he found the twelve screws on the helmet and tightened them until he could feel a dozen metal pads touching his scalp.
When he turned the helmet on, he could see again. This time, however, it was not with his eyes, but rather through the electrical impulses being transmitted into his brain via the metal pads. Although he had a general understanding of the technology of brain wave manipulation, “seeing” through blinded eyes took some getting used to. The game booted up and linked the five players together.
“CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER!” the game said.
Mentally, he selected his character. After waiting for the others to choose, the game opened onto a random setting: Stonehenge.
Sammy’s character was a tall, powerfully-built Mongolian man with long flowing black hair and a matching beard: Genghis Khan. He wielded a long wooden staff with deadly metal spikes embedded at each end. Across the rock formation, standing under a rectangular arch of stone, he saw William Wallace—Brickert, no doubt—toting two large swords. Kawai appeared as Hannibal of Carthage, and Natalia was a small but agile ninja in traditional black garments. She carried with her a dazzling assortment of daggers and stars. Jeffie arrived as a beautiful Amazon warrior clad rather scantily in an ugly, B-movie leather bikini, expertly holding two wickedly curved scimitars. A blinding bolt of lightning violently struck the ground in the middle of the sacred site, signifying the start of the blood bath.
Now able to mentally give his virtual body commands, Sammy rushed straight for the ninja amid the smoky remains of Salisbury Plain. The scent of burning grass and dewy moss filled his nostrils. The ninja threw a deadly star at him, mid-stride. He was just able to dodge it by sliding on the grass underneath. In his peripheral vision, he saw William Wallace and Hannibal locked in their own raging battle. Reaching behind her lean black-clad body, the ninja pulled out two more stars and flung them at Sammy. One of them he was able to evade, but the other had a truer course. Using his fat wooden staff, he blocked the disc just before it hit his face.
Psion Beta (Psion series #1) Page 23
