Standoff, page 40
“Be ready first thing tomorrow.”
41
The trip back to base across from The Living Earth was slow, and though everyone talked nonstop about the wedding. Ren wouldn’t be joining us till the middle of the month. I didn’t blame her for that. Newlywed and all, she needed to have some downtime with her new husband.
As a team, we also needed to get the move on with the repairs. We had a lot of plans solidified, but we were yet to transition making anything significant and fitting it.
Working around the wedding, Ren’s time off, and the helo fitting was good for us; we rotated off and on, usually getting plans together over our general network. Some of us would fly missions in the 787, the helo that had replaced the one we’d lost to Melcer. Those left behind worked with Silao on the old 718.
Everyone worked exceptionally well with Apex and had taken to him being the general go-between, managing things as a whole and making sure everyone was on the same page. If Malaki or I needed to weigh in, he’d talk to us. It was working a lot faster than I’d thought it would, even if we were still a good month or so out of getting the helo in the air.
Malaki came over to Justin and me as we looked over the plans; she put down an armful of coffee and snacks for us and smiled. “Going okay?”
“We’re almost ready for the new chair!” Justin beamed at her and took a mug.
“The Techean have it ready?” Mal asked, leaning against the table as she gazed at the 718. Declan and Henath chatted and laughed as they moved in and out of the helo, slowly working it into flying shape.
I nodded and snagged the other mug, taking in the rich dark scent and drinking slowly. “I had hoped to hear from Mira, though,” I said and frowned.
Malaki was as perceptive as usual. “What’s going on?”
“Between Mira and me, and Asan wanting to fly, we’ve created a sort of schism among the Techean. Asan’s moved to another clan to get some breathing room, and apparently their council is all in a huff.”
“He really wants to fly,” Justin said.
“He does, and he’s coming in with the chair as soon as they can get it sorted and him to land.”
“But it’s not going to be close to here, right?” Malaki asked.
“No, the clan he’s staying with is apparently far east on our coastline. Apex has organized a helo to get out there, but we’ve had to hire in for that and it didn’t come cheap.”
“Melcer’s group?”
“You got it in one. They’ve refitted our old helo and been putting it to good use. They’ll be picking up Asan and the chair.”
“How long till that’s here?”
The door at the back buzzed; there were incoming helos. Justin put his coffee down. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“O’Connor said he had some extra hands to send our way for the 718, but I didn’t know they were coming so soon.” I checked my HUD for the time; I’d had no idea it had gotten so late. I’d lost track with all the work and planning.
We all moved quickly, and the hangar doors opened to let the fresh air of the morning in along with the mist.
The soft whump-whump of helos could be heard; they were pretty quiet for us to only hear them at touchdown.
“What the hell?” Justin said. “I’ve never seen helos like those before.”
Lieutenant Colonel O’Conner leapt out as the helos powered down. At his side was Senior First Lieutenant Marx, her hand on his arm. Three other men and one woman followed behind them. None were in uniform, but in work slacks and the like.
O’Conner coughed, and Malaki snapped to attention. “Sir!”
“Please, stand down, First Airman,” O’Conner said. “We’re not here in any official capacity.”
The whole area had stopped working, and I glanced around as the others stood, mouths agape. Malaki glared at me, and I held up my hands in innocence.
“I had no idea he was coming personally!”
Then, “Steel Spiders,” I called. The work came to a halt. “Fall in!” Everyone hustled over, curious.
“Do you even know who they are?” she asked.
“The others?” I shook my head. “Not a clue. Mechanics I guess?”
I didn’t want to be the spokesperson over this, but all eyes were on me. Apex? I said. Can you remote the others who aren’t here into this little presentation?
Of course, he replied. I noted the video feed in the corner of my X1 and then sucked in a breath to address them. “We all know the Lieutenant Colonel,” I said. “He asked me if he could drop in today and help, so I agreed.”
There were more than a few murmurs amongst the group. Silao, in the back, wasn’t sure where to look. I motioned to him. “Please,” I said.
Very reluctantly, he moved forward. “I believe this was yours?” Silao asked, gesturing to the 718.
O’Conner nodded and turned to smile at the broken-down helo. “Hard to see it in as many bits as this though.”
“Sorry, sir.”
O’Conner stepped forward to him. “I’m in no military capacity here today. We are all here to help.”
My crew were all confused; it seemed nobody else knew the others in O’Conner’s entourage, aside from Marx, either.
Nothing on any of them, Apex said. I tried looking; they’re extreme high level. I’m blocked everywhere.
That means only one thing, I replied to him, my stomach churning.
O’Conner turned to the five others with him. “Seeing as you all know me as perhaps only the Lieutenant Colonel, I would like to introduce myself. Please, while I am here, call me Jimmy. This,” he indicated to his left, “is my wife and partner in crime, Reece Marx.”
Reece dipped her head. Out of uniform, they both looked so different. I almost couldn’t get past it.
Jimmy then turned to one of the other men, who stood straight and looked directly at me. “My AI already informed me you’ve done some preliminary scans on us.” He raised an eyebrow at me, and Malaki nudged my elbow.
Sorry, Apex cringed.
Something about the man’s voice was familiar, but I couldn’t grasp the memory. I said nothing, panicking a little. The man stepped forward, and I tried my best not to feel intimidated; I was shaking in my boots. Who was he? O’Conner just stood there with a grin on his face. Why?
“You and your pilot—” the man glanced at Malaki, “—were listening in on some very private comms, I believe. You already know my name.”
A shiver ran up my spine as I realized where I’d heard his voice before. The first fireteam that had fought the rogue hesacha— “You’re Ghost?” I extended my hand.
His grip was firm; tech, no doubt whatsoever. “Name’s Alex.”
Over my shoulder, I heard Silao say, “The Angry Rhinos?”
“Holy fuck,” someone else muttered.
Our team’s channel imploded with messages.
What are they doing here?
Are they taking over?
What is this?
So much speculation. I had to ignore it all.
“We don’t mean to put you on the spot,” Alex said, motioning to his left. “My DP, Rhett Logan.” Rhett stepped forward, a smile on his face that just reached his eyes.
I shook his hand; holy crap, did I have some questions. If I could fanboy over these four, I would have, but I managed to keep myself in check. The others, however. . .
The third man then stepped forward to address my team. “Pilot Ryan Walker,” he said, then moved aside for the woman beside him, “This is my DP, Aria Ward.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said. Then immediately went over to Silao, whose whole face and neck blushed furiously. “May I?”
“You’re here because of me?” Silao asked softly.
“We are,” Alex said. “As with Jimmy, we’re not here in any military capacity; please use our given names.”
I watched Silao squirm as Aria gently turned him around so Rhett could see too. “May I?” she said again.
On Silao’s nod, she unbuttoned the back of his shirt.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” She looked to Rhett. “It’s amazing.”
“Jimmy got us the schematics,” Rhett said.
“Though that was not easy at all,” Jimmy confirmed. “I had to promise a few things in order to get those from the Techean, and that meant this operation, on the whole, went up a few notches in classification.”
“You mean it wasn’t already?” Justin asked, then paled when Alex looked at him and moved over.
“You’re his pilot?” He held his hand out also to Justin, and when they shook, I saw something else. Jealousy?
Was Alex jealous? Really? My mind was blown, as I was pretty sure so was Justin’s.
“I have a lot of questions for you,” Alex said. “As Aria said, being here is a pleasure.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Justin stammered out.
“How about Ryan and I take you and Malaki outside for a bit? Leave these to fuss over your DP?”
“Of course,” Justin said, nodding so quickly I thought his head might fall off.
Malaki gave me a wide-eyed stare, then in a blink, the both of them were gone.
Jimmy and Reece had already moved over to our planning table with Walter and Johnny. I got a knock from Trevor.
“We’ve been asked to report to the hangar. Everything okay?”
“Yes, but come fast. You won’t want to miss this.”
“Ominous,” he said. “Will catch you in a few.”
I made eye contact with Silao as I moved closer. “Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded. “It’s a little chilly here, maybe get the doors closed.”
I smiled at him and moved to hit the button to close us off from the outside fresh air and drifting mists.
“I’m so jealous,” Aria said, tracing Silao’s spine. “This tech is outstanding.” Her lips tightened, and she frowned. “You do require a little TLC, though. Would you mind if I helped?”
Silao glanced at me, lowering his eyes. “I haven’t had chance to ask Justin for help recently. Sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize to me,” I said. “But you can ask anyone on the squad you know, Apex especially. He’d let us know if you were suffering.”
Aria had Silao sit straddling a chair, his back to her. “Any nite gel?”
I moved to retrieve some from Silao’s bag. We’d gotten pretty familiar with each other’s go-bags. “Here.” I passed it to her.
Aria had really gentle fingers; I could see that from just watching her as she smoothed gel over and up Silao’s spine. Though his skin had healed all around his tail, his new TAP looked raw. “Apologies for being so familiar,” she said, and I had to look away. There was something oddly arousing about it.
Aria let out a little chuckle as goosebumps exploded all over his skin. “Gets me every time, too; we know how to touch, right?”
Silao blushed. “We do, and you have wonderful, light fingers. Thank you for being so attentive.”
Rhett stood before him and found me staring at the floor. He waved a hand under my view. “How are you doing?”
I knew I blushed, which got Silao and Aria giggling like teenagers. “I’m fine,” I mumbled.
“Guys are all the same,” Rhett said. “I’m not sorry for ever teasing anyone.”
“We can also see you’re not fine,” Aria stated. “We both have excellent AIs that are very aware of those around us, and their health.”
Silao shot me a glare. “You’ve got nerve, calling me out. We thought you were doing better?”
Rhett shook his head at me and waved his hand to his team. “His AI’s doing well to hide it, but he can’t hide it from me when I’ve pretty much seen it all before with this lot.”
I heard Apex curse on the inside. Sorry.
Rhett edged in closer. “Will you let us look at least?”
I cast Jimmy a look. “I don’t know…”
“We’ve got some of the highest clearance around. Jimmy wouldn’t have brought us here if he didn’t want us to talk shop openly.”
I nodded and moved to one of the other desks to pick up a data pad. Put my details across for them, please Apex.
It wasn’t a minute later that Aria, Silao, and Rhett were all staring at the screen. “Fuck me,” Rhett said. “Pain level?”
My stats were all a mix of yellows and oranges. “I still feel pretty numb,” I admitted. “But it’s better than it has been.”
“I don’t know what it is or what is going on inside there, but you’re in major failure.” Aria cringed, and Silao twitched. “Sorry, sweetie,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him, holding tightly. It was such a caring motion. I was jealous she was sharing that with him. I shook my head and those thoughts away. I was surprised Silao let her, but he didn’t shy away from contact with her at all. It was nice to see.
The doors at the back hissed, and though I turned to see who came in, I should have guessed.
“The Black Bears, finally,” Aria whispered, but she didn’t let go of Silao. “This seriously is one hell of a day.”
Frank was first over to us, zeroing in on Silao’s ass hanging out; you couldn’t miss it. He glared at Aria but lowered his head out of respect.
“No harm,” she said. “Helping out a friend. He yours?”
“Very much so, and it looks like he and I need a little chat.”
Aria leaned back but still kept contact with Silao. “Go easy on him,” she said and finally let go. “And if you’re ever in need, please just ask. We will move heaven and earth for one of our own.”
“Duly noted,” Frank said and let out a breath, moving in behind Silao himself to wrap his arms around him and whisper in his ear.
Casey stood at my side. Trevor and Noel went straight to O’Conner. “What’s this?” she asked.
“Black Bears,” I said. “Meet the Angry Rhinos.”
Frank’s face paled. He’d basically had a tet-a-tet with one of the most powerful DPs in Artem. He looked from Aria to Rhett and swallowed.
Casey was first to speak and introduced herself by offering her hand to Aria. “Honored to finally meet you in the flesh.”
I took a step back while they shook hands, then hugged.
“Yes, yes, it is,” Aria said and glanced to Frank. “Really good to put faces to the voices.”
“This is quite the meeting of the elite, is it not?” a deep voice said to my side.
I hadn’t seen him walk through the door, but I found his smile somehow comforting. “General Canlas?”
“Step away with me a moment, please, Ruslan?”
“I—”
“They’ll be fine without you. I promise.”
The general waved to O’Conner. He put his tools down, then beelined our way. “There’s a small office at the back if it helps,” I said and pointed toward the open door.
“Perfect.”
We made our way around some of the equipment and entered the room. There weren’t three seats, but the general sat on the desk while Jimmy and I each picked a seat.
“We’ve heard from Tsomak,” Josef said without taking a beat. “Your mother was attacked.”
I shot to my feet. “What? When, who?” The room spun around me, and I collapsed back into my chair. “Is she…”
“She’s okay. She was lucky enough there were two technicians there to be able to fix her up and get her healing without any permanent damage.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Who, why?”
“Tsomak has been very careful in getting us this information,” he said, bringing up a video using the desk’s 3D unit.
Tsomak’s face flickered before us. He looked extremely tired—in fact, not just tired, exhausted. There were deep lines etched into his forehead, and his lips were cracked, eyes sunken. More than likely due to the lack of sunlight than his physical state.
“Report 7.1,” he said. If his face was exhaustion, his voice was anxiety and worry. “Rose and the lab were ransacked. She was badly beaten, and very lucky we found her when we did.” I wanted to cry. My stomach clenched painfully, and I fought to keep from hyperventilating.
“The two newest recruits to the team, Shay Xion and his adopted mother, Anada Buller. They saved her life.”
Shay Xion? Apex piped up. That’s TAP runner Shay!
Man, I owed that kid a hug.
Tsomak continued, “We might not have much longer down here, but we’ll try to learn as much as possible before extraction. She doesn’t know who attacked her. But we do know they were after Ruslan’s data, and they got it.”
Well…shit.
42-Shay
The room unfolded before Shay in layers of staggering complexity. With Aug-World on, reality seemed to blur, distorted by layers of holography. He hesitated and blinked it off, half expecting the grandeur to vanish. Even Anada had to give a low whistle of disbelief.
But the excellence was no mirage. In this underworld, where resources were as scarce as trust, stood a surgical theater that rivaled top-tier medical centers. The gleaming machinery was for far more than the basic procedures; one chair, in particular, was engineered for the intricacies of spinal TAPs. Ports and cables sprouted from its base, connecting to clusters of machines that hummed with potency.
The walls were a collage of compartments filled with precision tech. The organization hinted at an expert touch, and Shay’s heart raced. The lure of uncharted territory beckoned him, tempting him to unravel the room’s secrets. Janet’s hidden tech lab had impressed him, but this? This seemed ripped from the annals of science fiction, strange in its surroundings.
The allure wasn’t merely academic. For Shay, the tech promised possibilities. He could mend Janet, upgrade Anada, and perhaps even address his own degrading body. He felt his failing patches and the reddened flesh that warned of impending infection. Here, he could rebuild himself.
But more than self-repair, Shay was driven by purpose. The denizens of Molsk, particularly in the bleak sectors like Sinnisters’ Farm, were the lifeblood of Artem. They bore the weight of expectations, producing resources others thoughtlessly consumed. Bare necessities were a luxury here—decent food, enough sleep, or a simple sliver of soap held heartbreaking power here. They deserved better, and with advanced tech, life could be transformed, even if just marginally. Shay’s mind spun with the possibilities as he and Anada followed Jamal deeper into the clinic.
