by TR Cameron
He sighed. “There always is. What is it?”
“They’re demanding that you be present for the demonstration.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course they are. They like to jerk my chain and make me dance to their tune. Do you see any way to avoid it?”
She shook her head slowly while considering the question. “Not without potentially damaging the relationship.”
Arlox nodded. “It’s too close to the pivotal moment to risk such a thing. I’ll be there, but force them to work for it. Get whatever luxuries or concessions you can out of them.” It wasn’t so much the actual things that were important, but the fact that his people would make the others pay for demanding his presence. Proprieties have to be maintained. He chuckled. “Do you have any good news at all?”
She grinned. “Absolutely. The whiskey is delicious.” He laughed, and she continued, “But yes, I do. The plan to address the military side of Reese’s support system is moving along nicely.” Arlox leaned forward, interested. He had set up the plan’s broad outlines but had then left it in her hands until she required his input again.
Jasmine continued, “We’ve identified a planet that’s right on the border between the Confederacy and us, but close enough to the Coalition that it makes sense they would want it, too. The Confederacy currently owns it, but we’re going to mess with their surveillance to allow the Coalition to move on them. We’ve explained that the Alliance is uninterested in the planet but wants to be sure the Confederacy doesn’t keep it. It’s an opportunity they won’t be able to pass up.”
He smiled. “Let me guess. Before the aliens can reinforce it, we’re going to send in a team to take it.”
She offered him a thin smile. “Exactly. We have the right people in place to put the right words in the proper ears to make recommending the move seem like a career maker. I have no question that the day after the attack, the Cronus will enter the system and deploy all its Special Forces teams down to the planet.”
He gave a knowing nod. “And the trap?”
Jasmine shrugged. “We’ll let the Confederacy in on the situation too late to stop the Alien Coalition, but in time to catch Stephenson’s people on the planet. Battle will ensue, perhaps some mechanicals will go haywire, and Jackson Reese’s people, the other two teams, and the wench that leads them all will be no more.”
“We’re covered?”
She nodded. “We have enough blackmail material on the guy who will be unwittingly speaking up on our behalf to initiate the action that he won’t dare turn on us once we make him aware of it. And if he does, well, his shiny young girlfriend that his wife doesn’t know about is one of ours. She can eliminate him and make it look natural.”
Arlox leaned back and took a deep drink of his whiskey. “Well, I have to admit it sounds like things are moving in the right direction. After we wipe out everyone that bastard Reese can turn to for help, we’re going to take him and carve that AI out of his head while he’s still alive so he can fully appreciate the experience.”
Chapter Nine
The Grace landed at the airfield two days after the operation against Arlox’s assistant. They’d chosen the prudent move of looping around in such a way that they wouldn’t appear to be coming from Mars, since someone was surely watching by now. The crew had spent the extra time aboard ship resting, relaxing, and doing a little light training. Even Trianna had joined in the social meals and had spoken a few words, although not specifically directed at Jax. One day she’s going to talk to me. I swear.
Athena snorted. “No one would talk to you unless they had to, Jax.”
Cruel. How can you be so cruel? The vans were waiting, and they were back at the Academy within thirty minutes of landing, arriving just after the dinner hour. They said their goodbyes, and Jax hugged Juno while the others wandered off to their destinations. “So, are we still on for tomorrow? You haven’t thought better of it?”
She looked up at him with a grin. “No, I take my responsibilities as your pity date seriously.”
He sighed and released her as she gently pushed away from him. As she walked off, he called, “You know, the way you said that is like I’m the one dating you out of pity.”
She shot back, “But obviously no one would ever believe that could be possible, since I’m so clearly out of your league.” His comm buzzed with a text message before he could yell out a witty counter, and he looked down to see an invitation from Stephenson to join her in the downstairs bar. He stopped at his room to drop off his travel bag, then headed down.
The place was busier than he would’ve expected for an early evening, with most of the tables and booths filled. The displays hung everywhere showed a sport he didn’t recognize that looked like baseball but used a board instead of a bat. His superior officer was at the bar, receiving a drink from Coach. He slid in next to her. “One of the same for me, please.” The dark-skinned man nodded, stroked his mustache once as if to reassure himself that it was as lush and beautiful as always, and bustled off to pour drinks for a trio that had wandered up to the bar. Jax greeted, “Hello, Major. Didn’t think you could get away from the ship.”
She gave a soft snort. “There’s a big difference between taking a formal leave and spending a couple of days on R&R. Besides, with Arlox headed to Earth, I thought maybe my presence here would stir the pot a little.”
Jax frowned. “He’s coming here?”
She peered down at her comm. “He’s probably on-planet by now. He has meetings with the muckety-mucks in the government.”
He accepted his drink from the bartender and took a deep pull on the draft IPA, then winced at the bitterness. “Damn, you’re going for the potent stuff tonight. Everything okay?”
She laughed. “Everything’s fine, within the boundaries of, you know, the universe. Can’t get a drink like this on the Cronus.”
“With good reason. Half the crew would be drunk half the time if you could.”
“Only the weak ones.”
Jax took another sip, which went down smoother. “So, how’s Wasp working out?”
Stephenson grinned. “O’Leary is doing every bit as well as we knew she would. She’s done a fine job of building rapport with the new team member, and I’m already looking for the best opportunity for her once you’re back. She’ll be one of the great ones.”
“Like me, you mean.”
She turned to him and lifted an eyebrow. “Did I say that? I don’t think I did.”
He shook his head sadly. “Why must every person in my life be so cruel? You’re all a bunch of meanies.”
They laughed together, and Stephenson said, “Seriously, she’s keeping the team at every bit as high a level as it was with you in charge. You should be able to step right back in.”
He nodded. “Of course, that assumes Arlox doesn’t kill me before then. How much danger do you think my unit is in?”
She shrugged. “No more than on any other day. There’s no way he’ll get to them on the Cronus, and I don’t see how he could while we’re deployed, either. That essentially leaves when they’re away from the ship on personal business, but that seems doubtful too.”
“How’s your aide?”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Striking terror into the hearts of anyone who wants a piece of my time. She’s brilliant.”
“Didn’t choose Lyton, huh? Romantic tension too high?”
She laughed and slapped a palm on the bar. “Oh, please. Definitely not my type. I like them pretty.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Things progressing between you and the doctor?”
“Slowly but surely.”
She gave him a shrewd look. “So much so that you’re considering not returning to the Cronus?”
He gave a small scowl at being so transparent. “The thought had crossed my mind. But how do you know that?”
She patted him on his arm. “You’re not exactly as closed a book as you think you are, Jackson. But also, there’s a certain allure to
being here at the Academy. I considered leaving the military and staying here. It’s only natural that you would, too. The lovely Dr. Cray certainly offers additional motivation.”
He shrugged. “We’re not there yet. I won’t make any decisions in the immediate future. Speaking of the immediate future, know anything about your upcoming missions?” In truth, he missed the camaraderie of the Special Forces. His relationship with his Academy team, except for Cia and Juno, didn’t have the same depth of connection as his SF comrades.
She nodded. “There’s something in the works. I’m sure of that much. I’ve received a quiet word here and there about a planet that the Confederacy holds on our border. Seems like one of the alien races, or maybe the Coalition as a whole, is taking a hard look at it.”
“Which means the possibility exists that we’ll go in to take it from whoever wins that conflict.”
She shrugged and finished her beer, then set down the empty glass and signaled for another. “That does tend to be how it works. I can’t imagine why we wouldn’t.”
Jax drained his as a second arrived for him as well and nodded his thanks to the bartender. “Sounds like a golden opportunity to mess with our people.”
“Any deployment will be. I don’t see any way we can predict when or if such a thing will happen unless we get another quiet word warning us ahead of time.” She shrugged. “We’ll have to operate with our eyes open, right?”
He nodded. “Seems reasonable to me. So, do you think you would ever come back here full-time?”
Stephenson laughed. “Maarsen asked me that earlier today. I’ll tell you what I told him. When it feels right, I’ll make that move. I can’t foresee a situation where it doesn’t happen, eventually. But for now, I still have people to take care of and things to accomplish.”
“Did he try to talk you into it?”
She tilted her head toward the entrance. “You can ask him yourself.”
Maarsen circled the bar to stand between them and called, “Coach, the usual, please.” A tumbler of whiskey was in his hand moments later, and he suggested, “How about we move to a corner table where things are a little quieter?”
When they slid into their seats in the least populated part of the tavern, Jax asked, “How come you haven’t convinced Major Stephenson to be here full-time yet, Professor?”
Maarsen chuckled. “It’s not for lack of trying, believe me. I’ve told her she could write her ticket. It’s that damnable streak of loyalty she has for the military and her subordinates. Deeply frustrating.” They all laughed together.
She replied, “You mean it’s frustrating because I’m loyal to people other than you.”
He nodded. “Of course. The Academy and I are obviously the most important things in the universe.”
Jax shook his head. “How did you wind up on the opposite side of Zavian Arlox?”
Maarsen leaned back in his chair and sighed. “That’s a story. Once upon a time, I worked in government. He was part of a different department and already had his sights set on the Intelligence Division. We knew each other from interactions between our areas, and our similar intellectual approaches to problem-solving drew us together. We were very much alike in our dedication to the Alliance’s future, but even then it was obvious that while I had some lines I considered uncrossable, Arlox had nothing of the sort. For him, the end was so important that it justified whatever needed to be done in its service.” He sighed. “Finally, the inevitable happened, and I bumped up against something I wasn’t willing to do. I wound up here because I knew I couldn’t achieve any lasting change within the system and remain true to myself. He, of course, embraced the system and clawed his way up to a position of almost unmatched power.”
Jax frowned. “If the government had the will, it could certainly pull him back.”
Maarsen shrugged. “I would say that’s an arguable point. By now, he probably has blackmail information on anyone who could harm him. If he doesn’t, whoever isn’t under his thumb should consider taking out a large life insurance policy.”
Stephenson tapped a finger on the table. “That’s why I feel the need to stay inside, at least for the moment. Once all internal resistance is gone, who knows what Arlox and those like him in the government might get up to?”
Jax asked, “Do you think he’s going to make a move on my Special Forces team?” He summarized the conversation he and Stephenson had been having, and the major added a point or two of clarification.
The Professor nodded. “I’m positive he will. Impossible to know when, but he’ll see them as a threat like he does the rest of us.”
Jax frowned. “Maybe I should bring the Academy team along on their missions for a while. Provide a little extra support.”
The others both shook their heads. Stephenson replied, “No way we can integrate civilians into our operation.”
Maarsen added, “That’s not what they signed up for when they agreed to work with the Academy. No, our tasks are different. This is one of those moments where you’re going to have to choose whether you stick with us or go back to your team, I’m afraid. I will say that I think your efforts can achieve more here than they would there.”
Stephenson agreed. “Wasp has your team under control. There’s not much you could add right now. If the trap does show up and it’s small enough that your influence would’ve made a difference, chances are we’ll come through it okay, anyway. If it’s big enough that you couldn’t change the outcome, then there’s no point putting you and the Academy’s people in danger. So, no.”
Jax sighed. “It was a dumb idea. Of course, I’ll stay here. Maybe we can take him out before he has a chance to do anything else.”
Stephenson nodded and lifted her glass. “To ridding the universe of one particular scumbag, as soon as possible.” He and the Professor clinked their glasses and muttered cheers, but without much positivity.
Maarsen set his glass down and stared Jax in the eyes. “So, Jackson, tell me about your last mission again. Don’t leave anything out. Let’s get started on figuring out how to bring the good Zavian down right now.”
Chapter Ten
Jax collapsed onto a large boulder at the top of the mountain and sighed. “This, right here, this is the life.”
Juno plopped down next to him and shrugged off her backpack, then pulled out a water bottle and took a long drink. “You don’t do anything by half-measures, do you? You had to pick the biggest mountain on the entire island for our hike.”
He’d convinced Juno to give up a whole day for recreation, with the Professor’s blessing, of course. A small boat had delivered them to the Isle of Skye, where they’d ducked into a hiking store and purchased the extra stuff necessary for the climb. Most of their standard gear was sufficiently hardy, like boots and the Academy’s uniforms, but neither had owned walking sticks or had the proper floppy hats to protect their heads and faces from the blazing sun above. While the black fabric of their trousers and shirts had been too warm at the base, they were just right by the midpoint of their climb.
The hike up the mountain had taken three hours along a rough trail of switchbacks, small rock falls to navigate, and thick bunches of trees that occasionally turned daytime into twilight. They’d climbed leisurely, neither of them in any hurry, focused on enjoying their day together and sharing random information from their lives. Jax was cognizant that this was a respite, a brief moment in time between dangerous happenings. He’d been in the situation often enough to learn to embrace what joy he could find in those interludes enthusiastically.
Juno hadn’t given any clues about whether she had previously faced the sorts of dangers she now found herself in. Still, she seemed lighter, happier, and more relaxed than he’d seen her at any time other than during their trip to her favorite nightclub.
Jax asked, “Anything to eat in there?”
“I told you that only bringing ration bars was a poor decision.” She dug inside and pulled out a pouch of trail mix for each of them.
He accepted it gratefully and tore it open with his teeth and a growl. She laughed. “Really, the barbarian thing isn’t as appealing as you seem to think it is.”
Jax grinned. “Me, Jax. Me man. Woman like man. Tough man.”
Juno rolled her eyes. “Maybe I should take Ethan up on his suggestion to find someone whose brainpower is greater than their physical power.”
He countered, “Hey, how many other people in your dating pool have a cutting-edge artificial intelligence lodged in their brain? Not a large number, I’d imagine. I’ve got it all, baby.” He gave a small bodybuilder’s flex with his arms, and she laughed again.
“You’ve got something all right, Jackson Reese. I’m not sure it’s ‘all’ of anything, though.”
He frowned. “That didn’t make sense.”
She laid back on the rock and wriggled her shoulders to get comfortable. “I know. I think I’m getting dumber from prolonged exposure to you.”
He laughed and reclined beside her, angling himself so his temple touched hers. “You’ll find that it’s lovely, almost blissful, to let all that brainpower go and just exist.”
“So you’re a Buddhist now, is that it?”
He shrugged. “By and large, Special Forces is the religion of everyone who belongs to it. But if forced to decide on a different affiliation, a standard dollop of monotheism with a side dish of Buddhism would fit.”
Juno sounded theatrically impressed. “Those are mighty big words. Do you know what they mean, or did you read them on the back of a cereal box?”
He closed his eyes and basked in the early afternoon sunlight on his face. “I believe the universe is too complicated to be truly random. Somewhere there’s a consciousness, a being, a plan, a reason, whatever you want to call it. I tend to think of it as an intellect, which is close enough to the typical idea of a deity that it works out. But I also believe we should try to enjoy what we can when we can. Of course, goals and objectives and such are vitally important. But one doesn’t have to sacrifice their entire life to them. We need to find a way to live life in the cracks and crevices of our obligations.”
