by Joshua James
“I’m guessing you’re probably wondering why I’ve singled you out, Trainee,” said Engano.
“Yes, we really are,” responded Saito, who walked behind them.
“I assure, you it had nothing to do with what happened back there,” Engano said. She stopped for a second and tried to stretch the pain out of her knee; then she continued walking. “You’ve progressed more quickly than your fellow classmates. Your test scores are through the roof, not to mention your naval history. Honestly, it’s kind of freaky how adept you are.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Clarissa didn’t know what else to say. She never took compliments well.
“And your current life circumstances make you an even more unique prospect.” Engano stopped in front of a door with a helluva lot more security than Clarissa was used to. “We were thinking of using you as a deep-cover asset. Having a family might make that harder for you, logistically, but it also gives you a hell of a cover. We’re going to send you to Earth.”
“Earth, ma’am?” Clarissa was confused. She’d never even thought of re-locating off-planet, let alone to the enemy’s homeworld.
“Yeah, that’s right. Good afternoon, gentlemen.” Engano greeted the two guards, then proceeded to start the identification process. First she had to get her head scanned. A little mechanical halo came out of the panels next to the door. It whirred as it moved up and down over her head, then returned to its little hiding place. “Anyhow, you’re going to Earth at the end of the week, aboard a ship out of the docks near the Bowery.”
“The slums?”
“The very ones,” Engano said. She moved on to step two. It involved her getting pricked by a little needle and her DNA being analyzed rapidly.
“What is this? Why does she need to do all of this to get through this door?” asked Saito, perplexed.
“It’s called security. In order to keep out those who aren’t meant to see what’s behind it,” answered Clarissa.
“Oh, that is novel. But what if whoever wants to get in simply breaks it down? Or cuts through?”
“Most humans can’t do that.”
“Not yet.”
Engano went on to the last but easiest security measure. A holographic keypad appeared, and she had to enter in an eleven-digit code. Once she did, there was a click of the door unlocking, and she opened it up.
“Why Earth?” Clarissa didn’t understand why she would be sent to Earth, though part of her was a little intrigued. All she’d ever heard were stories about where human life began, but she’d never seen it. Few in the AIC had, since the war had broken out.
Clarissa followed Engano into the stairwell that was beyond the guarded, highly secure door. It was short, just a few metal steps that led down to a grated metal walkway. Under the walkway was a cave. At the bottom of that cave were all sorts of panels and electronics, manned by a half a dozen or so AIC techs.
“We need you to work at a fusion plant in Seattle. We have reason to believe that some of the employees there are planning something violent. Something we can’t have happening, for various reasons you don’t need to know,” explained Engano. She continued down the grated elevated walkway. Clarissa paid attention to what her teacher said, but also couldn’t help looking down at the scene below.
“Like sabotage? An attack?” she asked.
“We’re not entirely sure. It might just be a dress rehearsal for something else, or it could be part of a bigger play that’s going into motion. That’s part of your job to find out.”
“But if it’s an attack or anything like that, doesn’t that help us? A blow like that to our enemy?”
Engano stopped. She turned and made sure to make eye contact. “What’s bad for my enemy is good for me only as long as it’s not coming for me. Besides, our interest mainly lies with those who are planning it. We have reason to believe it’s going to be perpetuated by a radical wing of the Oblivion cult, like those we have here on Vassar-1. The last thing we need is for them to succeed, and embolden those that have been plaguing us for the last few years.”
“Understood.” Clarissa didn’t really understand, but she could tell the conversation on that was over. “What is this place, ma’am?”
“It’s…well, since you and your family are going to be on Earth, I thought it was only fair that you get to see where we control the bigass gun we have pointed at it, Agent Moreno.” Engano gave Clarissa a wry smile.
“Agent?”
Engano didn’t smile, but she nodded. “So it is. No big graduation like the others, but I think we both know this is better. We’re running a damn spy school, not the city sentinel academy.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Clarissa said.
“Don’t get a big head,” Engano said. “Now come. Let’s get down here, make sure you know your family is gonna be safe.”
“This is it!” Saito said excitedly. “This is what we’ve been looking for. Thank you for leading me—”
He smacked into an invisible wall as he went to follow Clarissa and Engano. He frowned. “What is this?”
Clarissa walked backwards, following Engano towards the stairs at the end of the elevated walkway. “Like she said. We’re spies. You didn’t really think we didn’t have any defenses against someone probing our minds, did you? Especially once we understood the threat.”
“Once I understood the threat,” Engano said. “What did I say about a big head?”
Saito was flabbergasted. “This isn’t possible!”
“It’s called security,” Clarissa said. “Now, you can stay up here, seeing and hearing nothing. Or you can wake me up and stop wasting both our time.”
“So that’s the game you want to play?” Saito said darkly. “Fine. I can play this game. Let’s see how dark your memories get.”
Twenty
“What do you think of this plan?” Ben asked Ada. He’d spent the last few minutes laying out what Engano and LeFleur had come up with, while they waited for Ace and Tomas to come back.
“It’s a plan,” she replied. “But they won’t like it.”
“Do you like it?”
“Not at all.”
That about summed it up, Ben thought. He stared out at the surrounding hangar. “And where did they go?”
“Just a little recon,” Ada said.
“Covering your bases, were you?”
“Gotta have a plan,” she said with a smirk.
Ben found it impossible to think of Ada as a private anymore. In any normal situation, she’d have been field promoted by now, but who was around to do that? Instead, here she was, like Ben, preparing to join an AIC military operation against UEF forces, even if they knew better.
“That’s it,” he said.
“What’s it?”
“I’m promoting you.”
Ada smiled. “Oh, you are? I didn’t realize a resigned UEF officer had the authority.”
“I have,” Ben said. “Congratulations, Lance Corporal. No, wait. You know what? No. Let’s get serious. Congratulations, Corporal Ericsson.”
Ada threw back her head and laughed.
God, she’s pretty when she smiles. Ben thought Ada caught his glance, and he tried to cover it by continuing to scan the hangar for Ace and Tomas.
It was so strange to be in this secret AIC base. Ben hadn’t been fighting the AIC as long as his dad had, but he had more than a couple of tours under his belt. He had a picture in his head of what the enemy was. Seeing them here, in the flesh, officers and soldiers all around, he was struck by how similar it all looked to every operation he’d ever been a part of. They were people just like the ones he fought alongside, only in different uniforms.
“Oh look, here come Tweedledee and Tweedledum now,” Ada said as Tomas and Ace returned. “Find anything good?”
“There’s nothing good here,” Ace said darkly. “This shit is old as hell.”
“But well maintained,” Tomas offered.
“Things are warming up,” Ada said, nodding behind them. They all
turned as the nearest of the fighters was engulfed by a flight prep team. They were swarming around the weapons package, hastily swapping out the wing-mounted missiles.
“Is that...?”
“Yup,” Ben said.
“Are they really going to do this?” Ace asked. “With these shit birds?”
“We are,” Ben said. “You aren’t.”
He laid out the plan again, this time for Ace and Tomas. It was simple, really, and it could work. They would need some luck—a lot of luck—but what plan didn’t?
It had to work.
“This isn’t going to work,” Ace said after Ben finished. He crossed his arms defiantly.
“Told you,” Ada said.
“So it’s settled, then,” Ben said.
Ace blew out his cheeks. “You guys get to zip around in your fancy ships—”
“Shit birds,” Ada reminded him.
“—while me and Tommy here get to clean up the floor? Sounds about right. Just do me a favor, okay? Don’t crash on top of us.”
“I make no promises,” Ada said.
“Why isn’t Ace flying with you two?” Tomas asked. “You need pilots. He’s flown dropships. I can handle myself.”
“Whoa, hang on, now,” Ace said. “I’m not flying in one of those things.”
“I’m not sending you out there alone,” Ben said firmly. “I don’t care how desperate they are for pilots.”
“It is a fair question, though,” Ada said. “He’s got more experience than I do.”
Ben didn’t have an answer. Why did he want Ada in the air with him so much more than Ace? Wouldn’t she be safer on the ground? Maybe he just wanted her nearby in a fight, but he didn’t think that was it.
“Well, Ace?”
“Nope,” Ace said. “Uh-uh. No way. Crashed enough to know that I’m safer down here than up there.”
Ben glanced over at Ada. “It sounds like you’re stuck with me.”
It might have been his imagination, but Ada looked relieved, too. “All right,” she said at last. “But chickening out like that will come back to bite you, Ace.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Ace said.
“How about Engano?” Tomas asked.
Ace spat. “What about her?”
Ben tended to agree with the sentiment. “She’s staying behind to coordinate.”
“Shocker,” Ace said.
Ada looked thoughtful. “LeFay warned me about her.”
“Hey, what about LeFay?” Tomas asked, as if he’d just noticed she was gone.
“What are you, our den mother now?” Ace asked sarcastically. “We don’t need an update on everybody.”
“She did save our lives,” Tomas said.
Ben sometimes underestimated the big, quiet Marine, but he was loyal and formed bonds fast. Both of those were qualities that he’d always appreciated in the Marines stationed on the ships he’d served on.
“She went back for Clarissa,” Ada said.
Ace nodded. “So maybe we’ll see her. There you go,” he said to Tomas.
“We’ve made it this far,” Ben said firmly. “Let’s make sure we all come back in one piece. Three hours. We meet back here in three hours, no matter the outcome out there.”
Tomas put his fist forward. “Three hours.”
Ada did the same. “Three hours.”
Ben joined them with his fist forward. He was no Marine, but he honored their traditions.
“Do I have to do this?” Ace asked.
“Dude,” Tomas said.
“Fine,” Ace said, rolling his eyes and putting his fist forward. “Yay, team.”
Twenty-One
An hour later, Ada watched Ace and Tomas walk toward the bunker entrance, then turned to join Ben in heading toward the strange AIC fighters lined up in the bunker.
She could see them swapping out the munitions on several as they went by, the desperate last-minute changes happening literally the moment each missile was ready. They couldn’t wait any longer. The Atlas was stationary now, but she was beginning to send down landing parties to the surface. If they were going to strike, now was the time.
Nerves were high in the controlled chaos of the AIC bunker. Other pilots and engineers were making last-minute fixes and adjustments to the ships. Everyone knew what they were flying into.
Out of everyone in that bunker, Ada figured she was probably the one with the least flight experience. Though Clarissa had taught her plenty and Ben had spent the last hour going over the basics, she still wasn’t terribly confident. The autopilot would help, but when the bullets and missiles started flying, it would be all on her.
As she made her way over to her ship, Ada looked out over the bunker and wondered where the hell the exit was. There was a small roll-up at the far end of the hangar, but it only looked big enough to fit one ship at a time. Even with each vessel taking its turn, how did it work? Was it a ramp way up, or did they have to vertically ascend? She wasn’t sure.
“Two three five, two three six, two three seven, here it is,” Ada counted out loud to herself as she walked down the aisles of AIC fighter ships. She stopped at one marked with the numbers 238. A streak of blue paint had been hastily spread across the side.
Ada was nervous. She’d never been so nervous in her life, even when she was dodging homicidal shapeshifting aliens. Why hadn’t she gone with Tomas and told Ace to suck it up? She blamed Ben, although it wasn’t like he’d twisted her arm.
After taking a deep breath, Ada stepped onto the portable grated-metal steps that led up to the cockpit of her AIC fighter 238. Each step felt like an eternity as she ascended. When she reached the top, she looked inside the cockpit.
Ada saw a layer of dust coating everything inside her fighter. You’ve got to be kidding me. These are what we’re going to use to take out the Shapeless?
She used the sleeve of her newly-acquired flight jacket to wipe off the instruments. Then she climbed in. It was surprisingly comfortable, not that she could enjoy it. She was too busy not throwing up from nerves.
“Okay, what was first, what was….that’s right.” Ada tried to recall the pre-flight protocols. She had one thing going for her, despite her lack of experience. Helping her all throughout her life, especially school and university, was a photographic memory. It only took a little probing in her own mind before all she’d learned and read in the last hour came back to her.
“You all good?” Ben was running through a pre-check in the ship next to Ada. Actually, that wasn’t true. He looked to be done already.
“Yeah.” Ada had no confidence in her voice at all.
“No, you’re not,” Ben chuckled. “Hang on.” He climbed out of his fighter and came to the top of the stairs next to hers, resting his arms on her cockpit’s rim.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Painfully,” Ben said. “It’s refreshing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ada asked.
“I’m positive this is the first time I’ve actually been calmer than you since we met. And as I recall, when we first met, you’d just blown up a room full of those Shapeless bastards without breaking a sweat.”
“That might be some revisionist history,” Ada said.
“Possibly,” Ben said. “But my point stands.”
“I should have made Ace do this.”
“No offense to Ace, but I like you up here a lot better.”
“Why’s that?” she asked.
“Well…” Ben tapped his fingers on the seemingly thin but strong outer metal of Ada’s AIC fighter. “You’re about to head out of here in several thousand pounds of metal, armed with untested incendiary weapons and a tank full of unstable matter as fuel. On top of that, you’re going to go fight an enemy that’s literally alien, damn hard to kill, and has superior numbers.”
“So Ace couldn’t do that?”
“I haven’t seen Ace do anything that you couldn’t do better.”
Ada smiled in spite of her nerves. “Not sure if
that’s a compliment or not.”
“Yeah, it sounded better in my head,” Ben said. He walked her through the rest of her checklist. When they were done, Ben gave her a sideways glance. Ada squirmed a bit. She still felt so uncomfortable in the cockpit.
“What?”
“I’m just trying to remember this moment,” he said. “When you actually looked a little nervous.”
She flipped him off.
“There it is,” he said with a smile. “Just remember—”
Ben was cut off by a booming voice over some hidden speakers that were broadcasting into the bunker.
“Attention! This is Senator LeFleur! Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come to fight back!”
Ben rolled his eyes. “Sounds like shit’s getting real.”
“What were you going to tell me?” Ada asked. She felt her palms sweaty on the flight stick. It suddenly seemed like every piece of advice she could get was critical.
“Not important,” he said.
“No, really,” she said.
Ben took a deep breath and leaned into her cockpit. His face was next to hers, and she was suddenly acutely aware of his warm breath on her face. “I’m going to do something, and I need you to not punch me,” he said.
Before she could answer, he lightly kissed her on the lips.
Ada was more shocked than anything. Ben seemed almost embarrassed about it, too.
“For good luck,” he said, then leaned back out of her cockpit and banged the side of her fighter as he hopped down the steps and headed over to his.
“Yeah,” Ada said. “Good luck.”
Twenty-Two
“Now, I’m not one for speeches,” LeFleur boomed over the loudspeakers. “At least not to soldiers. I’m used to talking to other politicians. But I hope what I have to say helps even one of you brave heroic souls who are going to put it all on the line today.”
Ada glanced over at Ben. He held up a headset and pointed to it. Oh shit, right. Without HUDs, they needed to use more old-school techniques to communicate. She grabbed hers and put it on.
