Not Dead Yet

by Dennis Young

  Talice sat back, unhappy. “Damn… why are we struggling with this so much? We’ve got a plan. Let’s proceed. Hangar and aircraft, then blockade, if that’s what it takes. Then negotiate.”

  “It’s a good plan,” said Mac. “Minimum risk to the team and achievable goals.”

  Talice stood at last. “Let’s do it. Morning, and we launch. This sitting around is driving us all nuts.”

  * * *

  The hour was late. Abie had turned down the lights and other non-essential power as she usually did during the evening hours. Talice had taken to her cabin, to change her patch, down a bottle of S-H, and think. For whatever reason, her hammock in the deployment area didn’t beckon this night. It was her cabin that called her company.

  Fuck, maybe this is my last night on board and the spirits are calling. She chuckled.

  A knock came to the door.

  “Come in.”

  Jian opened the door slowly. “Got a minute, Captain?”

  Talice motioned him to enter, and he shut the door behind him.

  “What’s up? How’s Tooley doing?”

  Jian grinned. “Asking a million questions, just like I did when I joined. He’s okay. A bit awed, but not intimidated.”

  “And you?”

  He nodded. “Ready to go, Captain. Just give the word.”

  Talice rose, stood closer, and kissed him sweetly. “Sorry we haven’t had a chance to visit lately.”

  Jian shook his head. “No need to apologize, we’re all pretty busy right now. You okay?”

  Talice sat again on her bunk. “Well enough. Have you seen Mac walking yet? She’s doing great.”

  “I helped her to the head a little while ago. Thirty steps total. She took the last five by herself.”

  Talice beamed. “Good for her. And you. Thanks.” The space between them was quiet for a moment. “Jian… I don’t know what’s going to happen on this mission. It’s not like the others. The motivations are different. Too many hidden agendas. Politics.”

  He nodded. “I know. I just wanted to stop by and say hi.”

  Talice continued. “And I don’t know what’s going to become of us. If this has just been a fling, or if there’s anything serious below the surface. Right now, I can’t consider it.”

  “I know that, too. Captain —”

  “Just Talice. At least right now.”

  Jian shrugged reluctantly. “What I mean is, it’s alright. Mission aside, I really wanted to simply check and see that you’re okay. All of us worry a bit about you.”

  Talice felt that warming sensation again, in areas right now she didn’t really want to feel them in. Jian is just too damn sweet for his own good. And mine. Like Mac said, hormones.

  She stood again and leaned into his embrace. Then looked him in the eye with a crooked smile. “Go get your rest, Junior. We’re gonna need you at your best tomorrow.”

  “Only if you promise to do the same.”

  Talice stood away slightly and nodded. “I’m going to sleep in my bunk tonight, alone, and hope it’s not the last time.”

  “Not a chance, Captain. You’re too ornery to get killed.”

  She kissed him again, lightly. “See you at 0700. Now get out of here before I change my mind.”

  * * *

  0700 Hours came with the sunrise. Talice and her team suited up, checked weapons and ammo, consumables, batteries, and everything else on the list. She held a final get-together at the base of the loading ramp with everyone except Will Thomas, on-station in the copilot’s seat as usual. Just in case.

  “Briggs.” Talice looked to her second-in-command for ground operations.

  “ATVs are loaded, fueled, waiting for drivers.”

  “Rory.”

  “SmartGuns locked and loaded. Pulse rifles as well. Everyone has sidearms, three grenades, and six flares.”

  “Nikolay.”

  “Commset is in ATV Three, Captain, and secured.”

  “Bělinka.”

  “FunGun ready, neutralizers for the perimeter lasers loaded.”

  “She means spray paint,” joked Ollie. He made a side to side motion with his hand and a “fsssss” sound.

  Talice suppressed a chuckle, but not everyone else had. “Speaking of which, Ollie, you have your sniper rifle, right?”

  Ollie nodded, hefting the bulky weapon.

  “Okay, as before, Briggs and Rory are Team One, Jian and Ollie are Cover One. Cover Two is Dosu, Tooley, and Nikolay. Bělinka and I are Team Two. Briggs leads, the rest follow. Based on the reaction from the target area, we’ll determine our next move. In the meantime, the recon area is our second home.”

  “Talice.” Mac called from the edge of the loading ramp.

  “Hang on, Mac.” Talice turned to Abie. “How long to reach the target?”

  “About five minutes. We’re going to let you and the team get out of the way before we lift. Clear the area by at least a hundred meters.”

  Talice nodded. “We’ll just head for the recon area. They won’t hear us at all, Bird One will be crashing the place down around their ears.” She passed her gaze around once more. “Questions?”

  There were none.

  “Alright, let’s move out. Bring ‘em back alive!”

  “Hua!” was the shouted response.

  Talice turned back to the ship with Abie and stopped at Mac’s hoverchair. “I’m set. Supplied and patched.”

  Mac nodded. “Keep this mad pack under control. We don’t know what Jance’s reaction will be.”

  “It better be ‘we give up’, if they want to live. We can wait them out.”

  “Ten days, Princess. This is Day Three.”

  “If we don’t get a reaction by Day Six or Seven, we’ll reevaluate.”

  “You’re not staying out there that long.”

  Talice shrugged. “And once we light the place up, Bird One will land a lot closer. We’re not gonna go twenty kilometers every day. Abie’s found a couple of sheltered places.”

  “I know, I’ve got them on the maps, which I’ve uploaded to your suits.” Mac put her hand on Talice’s vambrace. “Stay focused. Waiting is the hardest part for you, I know.”

  Talice grimaced. “You got that right.”

  They fist-bumped, and Talice turned for the waiting ATVs. “Briggs, head out. Team Two will bring up the rear. Cover Teams on the flanks.”

  “Hua!” Briggs fired up ATV1 and roared off in a cloud of dust and grit.

  Talice swung herself into the passenger seat of ATV2. “Punch it, Bělinka. That madman will lose us if he can.” She waved to Mac, still at the ramp.

  Three minutes later, Bird One screamed overhead, only a hundred meters off the ground, stirring the surrounding brush as it headed north.

  * * *

  Talice waited. The worst thing in the world for her to do, as Mac had said. But she knew, as they bounced along the tundra, she wouldn’t have to wait for long. Hit ’em hard, put them in a no-win scenario. Strike a deal and get word back to Fawkes. All before the elections. Easy, right? Sure…

  She knew Abie would waste no time, once they acquired the target. Which should be coming up about… now. Talice closed her visor and clicked the comm circuit to Bird One. “Status, Abie.”

  “Just coming up on the target, lots of scrambling personnel. Hold on…”

  Talice waited with no patience whatsoever.

  “Okay, first pass, we hit the hangar, but not destroyed… Holy crap! Missiles!”

  Talice hit the comm switch. “Get out of there if you have to! You can always take another pass!”

  Thunder rumbled in the distance. But Talice knew it wasn’t thunder.

  “Abie, report!”

  “Shit! We’re hit! Turning, going in for another pass, hold on! Okay, hangar is on fire, they’re dragging out some small ships. We’re circling, gotta take those ships out before they get airborne!”

  Talice kept silent. There was nothing she could say that Abie didn’t know. She clicked over to Mac�
�s private channel. “Mac, status!”

  “Hanging on for dear life! Half my TacOps board is dead, ATV Three and Four.”

  “Port minigun is out! Starting our run!” Abie again, not exactly calm.

  “Mac, we’re nearing halfway. Stay on the line with Abie and me.”

  “Hua, will do. Board is resetting, coming back on—”

  BANG!!!

  A moment later, thunder crossed the plain again.

  “Mac! Mac, respond!” Dammit, dammit, dammit!

  “Turbine One is out! Thrusters dead! Shit, we’re in trouble! I gotta take out those fighters!” Abie, with pain in her voice.

  What the hell happened? Talice’s heart raced. Fighters? Geez, we didn’t do enough recon. We got cocky. Now…

  She clicked over to All-Channel. “All Teams, heads up! Bird One is in trouble. Head directly for the target area. I repeat, don’t stop at recon. We’re now on support duty. Briggs, punch it! Let’s go!”

  ATV1 roared ahead. Bělinka and the other drivers floored their accelerators to keep up.

  Talice clicked back over to Mac. “Status! What the hell is going on?”

  No answer.

  She clicked to Abie’s channel. “Abie, Talice. Get out of there! We can regroup. Teams are on the way for support!”

  “No good, Captain, gotta finish this. One more pass—”

  BANG!!!

  “Ugggghhh…”

  “Abie! Abie!!!”

  Bělinka pointed ahead. “Smoke in the air, Captain. Holy crap! Turbocopter!” Bělinka jerked the wheel to the side, and the ATV skidded around.

  Fire from the turbocopter peppered the area as it passed with a roar. The ATVs veered off, scattering. The turbocopter headed south, then swung around for another pass.

  “All Teams, find cover! Bělinka, head for that outcrop! Briggs, Rory, get your SmartGuns up now, take out that ’copter!”

  Bělinka put ATV2 into a sideways slide, careening, spinning, throwing up a cloud of dirt and debris. They flipped twice and landed upright. The turbocopter cut loose again. Talice ducked.

  Bělinka hit the throttle. They spun, rolled again, glanced off a boulder, fire erupting from the battery box at the rear. Talice hit her restraint release and rolled out. Bělinka did the same, smacking hard against a jumble of rocks.

  “Stay down, fire as they pass! Briggs, report!”

  “Rory’s down, we’re in a flaming wreck!”

  Talice looked west, seeing smoke near a scattering of boulders. “Stay down, fire only if you’ve got a shot!”

  The turbocopter turned again, heading for Briggs. Talice fired a full five-second burst from her pulse rifle. Fire came from two other places on the ground, the other ATVs. Then heavy fire from Briggs’s SmartGun. The ’copter danced in the sky, sprouted flames, turned away, trailing smoke. It belched fire, then nose-dived into the rocks beyond and exploded, throwing burning debris everywhere.

  “All Teams, report!” Talice waited for movement from the turbocopter, not expecting survivors.

  “Team One, Rory is hurt, injured in the crash, not weapons fire.” Briggs, mad as hell, but under control.

  “Cover One, clear!” Jian. “We’re safe for the moment. ATV undamaged.”

  “Cover Two, Tooley. Dosu took a hit, Niky is patching him up. AP round went right through his leg. ATV is good.”

  Talice looked to Bělinka, who sat with her back against the rocks and gave a shaky thumbs-up. “All teams, stay where you are, unless you have better cover close by. Move only if you deem it’s safe.”

  She didn’t wait for responses, clicking over to Abie’s channel. “Abie, report!”

  “Took out… the last fighter… We’re down.”

  Talice clicked to Mac. “Mac! Talk to me!”

  No reply again. She clicked back to Abie. “Where are you? I don’t see smoke or anything.”

  A pause on the line. “Captain, this is Jamal. We took a hit next to the cockpit, starboard side. Will’s dead. Abie’s hurt. We crash-landed about thirty kilometers east of the target. We had to get away. We took out all their grounded aircraft.”

  Will Thomas is dead? Talice took a breath, then another. “Check on Mac, please! I’ll hold the line.”

  Another pause, then Jamal was back on the comm. “She’s alive. Got thrown from her hoverchair on the last pass. TacOps is down. I’ve got her in your cabin, on the bunk. Ship is in bad shape. I’ve got to attend to Abie, Captain. Mac’s legs are intact. I thought you’d want to know.”

  “Thank you, yes. Take care of Abie. Stay in contact. We’ll get to you as soon as possible. Out.”

  Talice clicked to All-Channel again. “All teams, listen up. Bird One is down. Jian, get your ATV over to Briggs and Rory, then stay put for a bit. Tooley, status.”

  “Dosu is stable, Captain. Niky’s commset is all shot up. He says it’s junk. Other than that, we’re okay.”

  “Get to Briggs, then give me a report on Rory. Stay sharp. Bird One says they took out all the other aircraft, but I’m taking no chances. This feels more and more like a setup.”

  “All clear here, Captain. I gave Rory a sedative and patched him up as best I could. Half his HCS is trashed. His SmartGun, too.”

  Damn, there goes half our heavy firepower, thought Talice. “Hua, Briggs, stay safe, keep watch.” She clicked off, thinking what else she could do. She glanced to Bělinka. “You okay?”

  Bělinka raised her visor. “I don’t know…” Her eyes closed. She slumped over, almost in slow motion.

  What the hell? Talice crawled to her side, caught her and eased her to the ground. The back of her helmet was crushed inward. Blood showed beneath the shattered armor. There was blood on a boulder to one side where she had landed.

  “Bělinka, stay with me! Stay awake!” Talice untoggled Bělinka’s helmet and tossed it aside. Fumbled for a stim-shot vial. Found it. Hit the auto-inject button and stuck it to Bělinka’s neck. The vial hissed and emptied.

  Bělinka jerked. Her eyes opened for a moment, then closed again. Blood ran from her nose and mouth.

  She died as Talice held her, crying her name.

  * * *

  Talice sat with Bělinka’s body in her arms as the comm chatter quieted. At last, she laid her down and keyed the All-Channel. Somehow, she drew a breath. “Briggs, take everyone able-bodied and find Bird One. They’re about thirty kilometers east. You’ll probably see the smoke at some point. Tooley, bring Rory to me. And Niky.”

  “Captain?”

  “Focus, big guy. I need you to do this right now. Tooley, get over here on the double.”

  “What about—”

  “Briggs, Abie took out all the aircraft on the ground. We got the ’copter. They’re not gonna launch a ground assault. Just get this done. Now.”

  “… Hua, Captain. We’ll get on the way now.”

  He knows, thought Talice. He’s been on missions and hears the tone of my voice. Wonder if the others have figured it out yet?

  “We’ll find you, don’t worry. Get to Bird One and assist.” Talice cut the channel before she drew another ragged, numbed-to-the-core breath.

  She took a blanket from the ATV and covered Bělinka’s body, then waited for Tooley and Nikolay on the opposite side of the boulders. She kept an eye out, though she was certain no one would attack them on the ground. Again, she mulled the possibility of a setup of some sort. Compromised comm, it’s happened before. Maybe scanners we didn’t find. Maybe they caught a glimpse of Bird One coming in. Hell, I don’t know. But they sure as fuck caught us with our pants down.

  Tooley’s ATV closed quickly. Talice untoggled her helmet and walked out ten meters to meet it. Nikolay jumped out, already sweating. Talice stepped in front of him. “Tooley, keep an eye out. I need a few minutes with Niky.”

  There was terror in Nikolay’s eyes. Talice found it hard to meet his gaze. She took his arm and led him slowly around the pile of rocks. Knelt with him at the blanket. Slowly uncovered Bělinka’s bloody face, not showi
ng him her injuries. Not yet. There’s no need.

  Tears gathered in his eyes, then descended to the dirt. His lips trembled, and his body shook. He moved a hand to touch her cheek. “Мой ангел. Мама нашего ребенка.” His voice was a whisper filled with despair.

  Talice knew a bit of Russian, having studied it in Officers’ Training in the Marines. And time spent with Niky at the Officers’ Club. ‘My angel. Our child’s mama’. Damn it to hell. Damn it to fucking hell.

  He turned to her, his face ashen. She took him in her arms and held him close. His tears ran down, beneath the neck ring on her HCS. All she could do was hold him. There were no words to say. There was only grief to share.

  A tear of her own mingled at the last with his.

  * * *

  Talice left Nikolay alone with Bělinka’s body, allowing him a few moments of private contemplation and goodbyes. She had no idea of his beliefs, if he had any religious or group affiliation, and certainly wasn’t going to ask. But she could tell he wanted a bit of time to say his own goodbyes.

  She rounded the boulders and said a few words of explanation to Tooley. The young man nodded sadly and said nothing. She patted his shoulder and moved on to the ATV. Rory was rousing. She checked his injuries; a broken left leg, now in an air-cast, minor burns on the left side of his body where his HCS was stripped away in the crash. Cuts and bruises, maybe a busted rib or two. He’d live. And laugh about it down the line, she thought.

  Talice dug into the supply bin and took out a body bag. She stopped, reflecting on the last time she’d done this. With Rory, and Jian. Retrieving Cowley, a twenty-five-year-old kid on his first mission with the team. Now it’s someone I’ve fought beside almost ten years, in the Marines and as a merc. Dammit.

  She stepped back around the boulders and knelt beside Nikolay. “We need to take her home, Niky. We have other casualties as well. Need to regroup. Take care of each other. Still have a job to do.”

  Nikolay held Bělinka’s body close, finally laying her down, nodding to Talice. Together they unrolled the body bag and gently lifted her into it. Closed the zipper. Activated the stasis. Carried it to the ATV and loaded it carefully in the back. Nikolay climbed in and held it close.