Standish

by Donald B McFarlane

  “Standish.” The female approached her and embraced her. “I am Master Doctor Standshoval.”

  Standish didn’t recognise the name, but from the accent, she was confident that she came from Port Sunlight, and probably from a wealthy family.

  “Pleasure.” Standish replied.

  “You already met Master Doctor Marvent.” She indicated to the male that had given the introductory briefing. “And this is Master Doctor Ransum.” She pointed to the second male, a Floxian.

  Standish offered each doctor a slight bow of the head.

  “Val, why don’t you lay down here.” Standshoval pointed to a cream coloured bed that was on a single support beam against the room’s far wall.

  Standish did as she was told. As soon as she was on the bed, it rotated from a flat position to a forty-five-degree angle, then turned to face the wall which changed from a blank canvas to a digital medical screen which showed Standish’s body on it.

  “Val, we are now going to talk you through the process that you will undergo over the next few days.” Standshoval said, moving to a position just next to the bed.

  Standish watched as the image switched from a picture of herself in the flesh to a view of her nervous system, bone, and organs.

  Standshoval picked up a datapad, looked over at Standish, and began her briefing. It was a process that had been performed countless times in the past, with a nearly ninety-seven percent survival rate.

  “We are going to use recombinant gene splicing to evolve your bone structure and chemistry to make your bones lighter, with a honeycomb structure and composite material that is less brittle than your current skeleton, so they won’t crack or deform in the future.” Stanshoval continued. “We are going to enhance your lung metabolism with an advanced oxygen pathway so that sustained anaerobic activity can be performed for extended periods, allowing you to operate in an oxygen-free environment longer than you can now.

  “For your eyes, we will increase your visibility into the UltraViolet and Infra-Red spectrums. We’ll enhance the sensitivity of your rods and cones and implant a second lens in your eye for better image definition at long range and in low light. Your DNA enhancements will include advanced genetic redundancy and DNA repair to prevent any genetic damage or dormant hereditary genes from presenting and should extend your life by fifty percent. You will be resistant to radiation and ionising weapons.

  “A special gland from Darjk is going to be inserted into your system to enable you to process various toxins, which will make you virtually impervious to poisons and other deadly inhalants and fluids that you may come across.”

  Standish just sat there, continuing to listen. Shocked at what she was hearing, even if she didn’t quite grasp all of it.

  “Next, we will improve your collagenous tissue, making it springier and less likely to tear or burst when under pressure - you won't bleed when you bruise, and you will survive high impact collisions and trauma that would be lethal otherwise. Your high-frequency hearing will be augmented, and the ability to hear lower frequencies such as heartbeats of enemy combatants will be another advantage you will have.” Standshoval was almost finished. “And of course, strength and speed will be greatly enhanced through the entire process. Your muscles will be almost seventy-five percent stronger and will recover faster than ever before.” The doctor rose to her feet, turned in a circle with a giddy smile on her face, then stopped, and looked down at Standish. “You are going to be the greatest Nadolan ever.”

  When Standish woke up, her entire body hurt. Her head was throbbing, and it felt like every fibre of her body was on fire. Opening her eyes, she saw Standshoval standing above her, a small remote in her hand.

  “Pain?” The Master Doctor asked.

  Standish couldn’t speak, but she nodded gently.

  Standshoval looked at the controller and tapped it once. “Don’t worry.” She bent down and stroked Standish’s hair. “You’re almost done.”

  Standish grew drowsy again, closed her eyes, and drifted back into unconsciousness. It wasn’t the first time she had gone through the experience of waking up in horrible amounts of pain, but if everything went to plan, that should have been the last time she’d ever really feel pain ever again.

  74

  The Present

  Fury 161

  The ship was where she had left it. The primary hatch had scratch marks on it. Someone had tried to pry to hatch open, but either they hadn’t worked too hard, or had the proper tools to get the job done.

  Inside, Standish stripped down until she was naked, and sat down in the pilot’s chair and cranked the heat on. A rumble of sounds let her know that the environmental controls were coming alive.

  Looking down at her body, she couldn’t begin to count the scars that covered her once ripped body. She was a shell of her former self. Too old and worn down to hit the gym every day like she had when she was younger. Just an old woman asked to play in a young person’s game.

  Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes.

  “Activate medical droid.”

  It was one of the few upgrades she had bothered to include when purchasing the ship at Porth.

  Time to heal.

  75

  The Past

  Terascova

  Five weeks later, Standish was on Sabir, training with Reyn and the rest of the Prime team at an old Imperial outpost. It was bringing her up to speed on her new augmentations and getting her used to how the team moved when in the field. It wasn’t all that different from what she had learned at D-O school, or what Beta One-One had trained to do. The significant changes came with enhanced operational capabilities. She could run faster, punch harder, and the armour was more advanced than the kit she had been issued in the past. Everything was just better.

  After the training was complete, and Bender was happy with how the team was jelling, they went to Terascova, the headquarters of Second Fleet, and met with Admiral Preylax, the officer that Admiral Zalenious had cut a deal with to help take back Nadolo Prime. The facility was located on a massive artificial island in the middle of the jungles of the planet’s largest continent just south of the equator. It was hot as hell, and the water surrounding the base was reportedly filled with deadly creatures.

  The team had been given advanced warning to dress like regular fleet personnel, no Dynamic Operations uniforms to be on display when they were inside the facility, although if anyone watched the eight operators closely enough, they’d be able to tell that they were special.

  Admiral Preylax kept them waiting for two days after they arrived. The team spent almost all their waking hours in the various rest relaxation facilities that the planet had to offer. Like the rest of the team, Standish used one of the several bordellos on offer, and on her first visit accidentally hurt one of the workers she had rented. She was still coming to terms with her new strength. Reyn flashed his Prime identification to the officer in charge of the facility, and the hostess soon understood that accidents happen, and that was the end of that.

  Late on the third day, Preylax finally summoned the entire team to his office and made sure everyone knew the deal, or at least his interpretation of the agreement.

  “You’re going to pacify the hostiles on the surface.” The Admiral was sitting back in a thick leather chair behind his desk. His hands clasped across his chest.

  “Yes.” Bender replied. The team leader had made it clear, that unless the admiral specifically directed a question at another member of the team, only he would speak.

  The admiral nodded after hearing the team leaders reply. “Good. Good.” He looked over the faces of the eight operators standing in front of him. “Once the surface is cleared, I will send in the 10th Assault Squadron and clear out the system of any remaining hostile ships. Once that is cleared, I’ve tasked a frigate to provide security for the system, so there is no re-infestation. Once the system is under control, I will land the Heavy Engineer Construction Battalion,” he paused and looked at some notes on hi
s desk. “The 41st and they will build the Alliance facilities that have been agreed upon at Port Sunlight.” The admiral scratched the side of his face. “What ship are you taking for this mission?”

  “We have a ship.” Bender replied.

  The admiral tilted his head back. “What kind of ship?”

  Bender shot a glance at the ground for a brief second, then up to the admiral. “A DAC Assault Twenty Havoc.”

  The admiral's eyes suddenly opened wide like saucers. “Really?” He pushed himself up from his chair and was on his feet. “We can discuss more details of your plan, but first, take me to your ship.”

  It didn’t take them long to get to the outermost hangar on the base, just at the water's edge. The hangar was in severe disrepair and was far from any of the more frequented hangars on the base, which meant the team drew some unwanted attention when the admiral's staff car whizzed out to it in the middle of the afternoon accompanied by two chase cars.

  Once inside the hangar, which had a pair of Light Sentinels guarding it, and out of view of prying eyes, the team showed off their very rare ship to the admiral.

  “I have never seen one of these before.” The admiral said, walking up to the front of the ship.

  “One of the rarest ships in the galaxy.” Reyn pointed out. “We found this one rusting in a junkyard on Jax Ar 2R. Must be almost one thousand years old.” Reyn ran his hand along the brown and greyish coloured nose of the ship. “Built in the Golden Era by the Jaxari.”

  To Standish, the ship didn’t look like much, then again, she wasn’t a fanatic about ships even though she was eager for the flight school opportunity that was awaiting her after this mission.

  “Grade One Bender, give me the rundown.” The admiral ordered as he slowly approached the nose of the fifteen-metre long ship.

  Bender, who was at the admiral's side, did his best to give the specifics on the ship. “The Havoc requires a crew of three, commander, pilot, and AI monitor, which handles all weapons, jumping and navigation requirements.” Pointing at the nose of the ship, Bender went into the offensive and defensive capabilities. “The nose carries two forward-firing fourteen-millimetre cannons, firing tungsten shells. There is also a twenty-millimetre rail-gun in the nose, along with four medium-range heavy laser cannons.” As the pair moved around the side, Bender continued with the small ship’s powerful weapons selection. “Dorsal turrets above and below the fuselage amidships carrying twin short-range medium laser batteries, and twin-mounted light laser cannons on both sides of the hull. There is a single long-range light energy weapon in the stern of the ship between the engine exhausts.”

  As Bender and the admiral continued to pace around the ship, Standish walked up to the vessel and placed her left hand on the hull. It was warm. There was something special about the ship, and it was all centred around the Ar crystals that powered the reactor and fueled the Cyclone engines giving the vessel an unlimited supply of energy for its shields, energy cannons, and an endless ability to jump. It packed more firepower than ships that were much larger in size but was very tight for those riding inside.

  After an hour, the admiral had had his fill of the magnificent ship and bid the team good hunting on their mission. Once they had the green light, the team conducted final equipment and weapons preparation in the hangar and readied themselves for the raid, and much to everyone’s surprise, Bender turned the mission over to Standish.

  “There is a code of honour that we all live and die by.” Bender crossed his arms as the rest of the team stopped what they were doing and looked on. “Years ago, my family was in danger, and Standish helped me with that problem. Now, Standish’s family and world are in danger, and the Alliance is unwilling to do anything until we’ve secured the surface.” He walked over to where Standish was. “She’s going to be calling the plays tomorrow.”

  Standish blinked a few times, then rose to her feet. “Thank you.”

  Bender shook his head. “Don’t thank me yet. I’ll deal with the rest of your kit prep. Start planning the strike and come get me when you’re ready. We’re launching in 12 hours, so move sharply.”

  Standish nodded, and handed what was in her hands to Bender, and bent down and picked up her kit bag, and moved away from the group to a quieter section of the hangar. Dropping the bag, she sat down on the dirty floor and pulled out her Dynamic Operations planning data-pad and got to work.

  “What we don’t have is actionable intelligence, but we can make a few assumptions based on my most recent trip to Nadolo Prime.” Standish hadn’t given a tactical assault briefing since her time at D-O school, but she thought it was going well so far. “And one of those assumptions is that the hostiles on the surface and the system are operating at lower tech levels than we are.”

  She turned and focused her attention on the three-dimensional image that floating in the air in front of the seven other operators. “We are going to jump into the planet’s upper atmosphere here.” She pointed at a spot on the image above the north pole. “We will then drop to low altitude and make run to the Avatos waterfall.” She turned her attention back to her audience. “This is a very remote area, and from orbit, difficult to observe due to the constant spray from the falls without the aid of very advanced sensors.” She looked at Bender and got a reassuring nod. “Once we’re on the surface, which will be zero-five-hundred local, Reyn and I will take two hover-bikes into this area here.” She pointed to the spot where her parent's house was. “And gather as much intel as possible on the local threat.”

  “Where is Port Sunlight?” Clar asked.

  “Here.” She pointed to the capital on the map.

  “Once Reyn and I have gathered as much information as possible, we shall return to the falls, and finalise a strike plan on Port Sunlight.”

  “Why don’t we go straight in?” Ver asked. “They won’t be able to stop us.”

  “It’s a tempting idea.” Ree added.

  “We don’t know the size or disposition of enemy or civilian forces in Port Sunlight, and a direct assault would put the local population at grave risk.” Standish replied.

  “She’s got a good plan.” Bender added. “Everyone wants to go to the dance, but no one wants to stay and clean up.”

  Standish wasn’t sure if she knew what that meant, but she nodded in agreement.

  “Rules of engagement?” Clar asked.

  “You are cleared to engage any affiliated gang personnel on sight.” Bender replied.

  “Prisoners?” Ver asked.

  “Does the ship look like we have room for prisoners?” Reyn asked sarcastically. It was clear that they were going there to kill the bad guys and give no quarter.

  “What if we spook the locals?” Del asked.

  “Don’t worry, when I lived there, no one owned weapons that could penetrate our armour, and if our intel is correct, the civilian population has been disarmed by the gangs.” Standish replied.

  “Right!” Bender stepped forward. “Thank you, Standish.” He looked over the rest of the team. “Easy work.” He checked the time. “I’ve got transport coming to take us to the dining facility in ten minutes. Get a nice final meal in. Then, back here, final hour prep time, armour on, then launch.”

  76

  The Present

  Fury 161

  “Process complete.”

  The voice awakened Standish from her slumber. She was still naked, still sitting in the pilot’s chair. The hovering medical droid floating in the air in front of her.

  “Ready my armour.”

  “Unable to comply.”

  Fucking medical droids.

  Standish pushed herself out of the chair. Time to go to work.

  77

  The Past

  Nadolo Prime

  “Jump complete.” Reyn reported from the pilot's chair.

  Standish might be the team’s future pilot, but until she was qualified, she was stuck riding in the rear of the Havoc along with Ree, Ver, Joh, and Del where it was very crampe
d.

  All the team members were getting a live feed from the cockpit and weren’t just riding along in the dark, and from what she could tell, everything was going according to plan. The ship had left Terascova under cover of darkness and made the nearly six-hundred light-year jump to Nadolo Prime without incident.

  When the small ship jumped into the planet’s upper atmosphere, the sensors were able to scan the bulk of the system for star-ships, and detected three ships moving about, along with the large space station that was located above the planet, but so far it appeared that the vessel had slipped in undetected.

  As the Havoc descended towards the planet’s surface, it moved out of the light from the system's star and plunged into darkness. It was the winter season on the continent they found themselves flying over, and the temperatures outside the ship were the coldest they’d be all season. At five thousand metres, Reyn slowed the ship’s descent and brought it to a hover at one thousand metres next to the Avatos waterfall.

  “Standish, where should we park it?”

  “Anywhere along the shoreline near the bottom of the falls. It’ll be wet, but the spray will be too much for ships in orbit to spot us through.” She replied.

  Reyn skillfully piloted the ship down to a spot just metres from the edge of the river that the massive waterfall kept constantly rushing, the three landing pads sinking half a metre into the wet dirt until the ship settled.

  “Down.” Reyn reported over the net.

  “Understood.” Bender replied. “Set security.” He ordered. “Reyn, Standish, go do your thing.”

  When Standish got herself outside the ship, she found herself immediately soaked, and her boots covered in mud. The only natural light was coming from the stars above, and to the naked eye, visibility was limited to one hundred metres due to the spray of the falls. As the rest of the team set up a secure perimeter, she and Reyn opened the external storage pods on the side of the ship and got the hover-bikes ready for travel.