CHAPTER 3 - FRIENDS AND FOES
We fly into base at 17:58. The massive complex is a waste of space if you ask me. Ten miles into the Dune Desert, most of it is buried below ground. I doubt that the folks stationed here take up even half of it. Lights outline the base’s circular metal dome. Windows at varying levels appear as electric-blue lines from this distance; giving the structure an eerie glow. This architecture reminds me of how far away from home I am.
“Base Control…” I read the code on my visor and then “…Iron Five on approach, over…”
“Iron Five, You’re cleared for entry. Touch down on zero seven.” A digital line materializes on my navigation screen. It will lead us to Landing Pad seven. The voice this time is that of a young lady. I have no idea who she is though. Many new recruits and interns often get shipped out here from time to time and as they come…they go.
Lucky bastards
My team and I have been here for four months now. Four months of crap. This rock is nothing more than a routine-filled life of nothing, as far as I am concerned, and this is the tenth time they have shipped us out here; I can’t wait to leave it behind again.
I drop toward the landing pad four hundred meters ahead. My thrusters whine as they compensate for the loss of thrust versus gravity. In my peripherals, Akita and Hound are right with me. Bull and Terri would be behind them. I switch my engines to hover and slide the throttle back, reducing power until my altimeter reads, ten feet above immediate ground level. We all kill the upward thrusts almost at the same time and our MAVs touch down with a series of heavy thuds.
“Iron Five. Proceed to wash down. Welcome home.”
She sounds so young. Why don’t these kids stay at home and enjoy their youth? But then I think of the Battle Axe who runs the base and I am suddenly more grateful for the new voice.
The landing pad; large, circular and made of dense metal is red and brown and covered with constantly shifting dust. The winds out here read at a good seventy miles per hour but our forty ton Walking Battle Tanks hold steady. While we walk, I do a thorough systems check. This is standard procedure and it will take about five minutes as my team approaches the wide opening of the outer hanger.
I follow the lines glowing on the ground ahead of me with my brain feeling the tingle of millions of microscopic neural electrical jolts. Mind and computer linked together in a dance of pulses and waves; this stuff never ceases to amaze me. We continue, through the hangar opening and to a large chamber that seals us inside with a giant Eversteel door. Locked in now, the five of us are subjected to powerful streams of super-heated and compressed water and gas that hit our armour under extreme pressure; scrubbing us clean of dust, parasites and any other dangers that might have been picked up on the outside. I finish up my usual systems check as every few seconds, jets of water and whatnot slam into the narrow strip of cockpit glass around me.
After our time in decontamination, we go through another set of hangar doors and stand the MAV’s in their designated spaces. Each assigned space has the Earthfront EFG logo, and uniquely coloured lines along their edges, representing rank, indicate who goes where. I log the final reading from one of the sensors on my HUD, then power down my engine and hit the release switch. A moment passes as the cockpit lights come on and my visor switches from external to normal view, showing what is really around me. Then the front section of my MAV slides downward and I climb out.
As my feet touch the metal floor of our docking bay, I remove my helmet and blink. There is a slight jab behind my eyes as the Digital Eyes adjusts to the brightly lit space and I join Bull and Akita while they wait for the rest of the team.
Standing lifelessly nearby, my MAV towers above us; its black skin casting dull reflections of lights around. I remember the first time I saw it, and the joy I felt knowing that it was mine. With its two cylindrical missile pods hanging off short pylons on both sides, and the Tex Auto-cannon mounted above and behind the cockpit, it still makes me feel insignificant. Designed by famous weapons specialist, Gregory Tex, son of the great, General Ganton Tex, the Tex’s Auto-cannon is the military’s most widely used projectile weapon. It is also the Crown Jewel of Tex Contractors back on Earth.
Across the gunmetal-grey hanger, with its Eversteel floor almost reflective, small sky fighters, space shuttles, armored tanks and a few other Light Mecha class machines fill the manmade cavern. There is also a SysDef Starship here.
Our MAV Carrier, the Mirage, is here too. Originally built as a small black-ops Starship with a fully fitted weapons system of its own; she’s perfect for vacuum warfare. The sleek and attractive spacecraft had been refitted to transport up to six MAVs after being assigned to us. Its primary function; to take us from space to any planet’s surface and back without having to use a spaceport.
“Time to eat…” Hound says as he approaches.
“The Pitbull agrees. Nothing else to do anyways so let’s…”
I have no reason to disagree with them so we all follow Bull and Hound out of the hanger and to the Mess hall.
“That was a good run guys…”
“Good run? Alpha, unless you forgot, we got no leads...”
I turn toward Terri, his black wavy hair a mess after its time in his helmet. “Of course we did…” They all look at me, puzzled “…we know for sure that the fleet is somewhere on this planet.”
“But how do we know where..?” Akita jumps in.
“We’ll pay another friend of mine a visit...”
“At the rate we’re going…” Terri again “…you’ll be out of friends by day after tomorrow. I’m thinking of unfriending you right now as a matter of fact.”
We all laugh and walk toward a glass doorway that slides into the wall.
“Captain..!”
We turn toward the voice. Damn it’s her.
********
“Sit, Captain!” She’s all business. I take a seat. We are in her office, or prison cell, depending on how you look at it. All these enclosed metal rooms are basically the same to me, differentiated only by color and furniture. Hers is light blue with an L-shaped, blue-metal desk, two white-cushioned metal chairs, and a hidden shelving system.
I try to read her for any signs of what is to come but there are none…she’s good. We sit in silence for a while. I know she is assessing me, maybe even trying to make me nervous; she should know better. Her red hair is in a tight bun today. Her eyes are livid as they scan the documents before her. There is an undercurrent there, an anger that is kept well in check if I am not mistaken. On the other hand, she has what I like to call ‘an unattractive, attractive face’. Even with the weathered effects of Kedenian weather and the broad, painfully looking deep scar running from the middle of her forehead, down her left eye and to her lower jaw, something appealing still exists.
A Certificate case hanging on the wall behind her reveals that I need a shave. The stubble on my face, along with my black crew cut hair makes me look a bit older than I am, but then again, that could just be the reflective glass being negative; like its owner.
“Captain Richard Victor Gant…” She says it without looking at me, snapping me from my daze, her attention rooted to a sheet of digital paper as she slides it across the metal desk. I haven’t heard my name face to face in a very long time; so much so, that now I do; it seems foreign, especially coming from her. For the past few years, it has been Captain, Alpha or Huski. She must be really pissed off.
“…gives you the right to think…” Her voice registers again “…that you have the authority to carry out an unauthorized Op in my jurisdiction, on my watch..?” She is looking at me now, her eyes furious but her demeanour composed.
“I don’t understand. I don’t know anything about an Op...” The images on the translucent paper are those of three MAV’s standing in place while an unseen attacker blows the crap out of two Rhinos. Outside of the current circumstances, it looks pretty cool on paper.
“…I don’t know what you are doing here or why you were sent, but I know one thing…this is my base. Your briefings and debriefings might be to General Hawk but, everyone who is a part of my base is subject to the rules and regulations of my base…” She pauses, for some kind of effect I guess “…therefore, you are to remain on my base for the duration of your stay. You and your team no longer have access to the hanger bay…”
“You can’t do th…”
She raises her voice “…and I order you…” Volume down and voice stern again “…to cease and desist whatever operation you are currently carrying out until further notice! Do I make myself clear?”
“Commander you don’t…”
Loud again “I will have you and your squad court marshalled…!” Calm once more “…now do, I, make, myself, clear?”
I return her gaze “Crystal clear, Ma’am.”
Her eyes move away from mine “You are dismissed.”
I stand and walk away without hesitation. We have been back and forth in arguments ever since my first time here but this time…this one could be a problem. I quickly push her out of my mind. We have a job to do, and we need to get out of here.
********
A half hour later, I am in my cell…room…quarters…whatever it is and thinking about our current predicament. I will have to discuss it with the guys when we get together in the Mess. I don`t trust talking on coms in this place. There is a knock on my door.
“It’s open…”
The steel door slides aside to reveal the oval opening, and who I see standing there catches me off guard, but I don’t show it. I stand and deliver an over exaggerated salute and try hard to not show my surprise…or is it interest…doesn’t matter.
“Captain..?” her voice is steady. She is carrying a file and obviously not in a good mood. Her manner has not changed since we last spoke. So why is she here?
“Commander…” I acknowledge her.
“I have great news…” She has not even spoken a full sentence and already her lips drip with fury “…the boots you wipe have cleared you for duty.” Her composure is failing. She throws the file and it lands on the mattress next to me. I look at it, sit up and open the shiny case. “When your Op is completed, you are cleared to leave this planet forthwith. Good day Captain.”
Her head is held high and her back straight as a ruler. I continue to read what is before me and she turns to leave.
“Commander…?” I can’t help it. This is ridiculous the more I think about it. But she continues walking. “Mirana..!” She stops and turns her head slightly “…Wait. Please.”
She turns her face away from me and toward the door but does not move. “Captain, you will address me with the necessary respect re…”
“Then court-martial me, but before you do, tell me, what is your problem?” I wait but get no response, so I get off the bed and continue. “…This makes no sense. This is the tenth time I’ve been stationed here and for whatever reason, of which I have no idea, you have shown me nothing less than unwarranted hostility.”
“What is my problem…unwarranted hostility?” The words slither from her lips like poisoned silk. She re-seals the door behind her and turns to me now “…okay, you want to talk? Let’s talk.” Her eyes glare like shiny hornets “…you…full of yourself, pompous sonofabitch and answerable to no one…”
I’ve never heard her like this before and now her cheeks blossom red…I’ve never seen this either
“…Yes that’s you. Every time your unit is stationed here, you undermine my authority. You treat the regulations of my base as though they are beneath you…Unwarranted hostility?” She begins to walk away.
“This is pointless…” I move toward her.
“Yes, it is pointless.” She puts a hand to open the door. I hold her arm and she stops.
“I didn’t mean this conversation is pointless. I meant this…” I gesture to the space between us “…this hate between us.”
She retaliates
Shit!
I move just in time as she swings into me but I was not expecting it. Her manoeuvre does not hit true but my body is still slammed against the cabin wall. She is good. I mean, I am a fully trained soldier and yet her technique against me was flawless.
“You don’t ever touch me Captain!” Glaring, she holds me in place. I think about what is happening. The tension between us had been building for some time now. I always knew she hated me and that eventually our clash would come but damn, how was I to know it would happen like this? Her eyes bore into mine and I take in the intensity on her face. Her anger, hair like fire, lips like…I don’t know but they are nice. I also see her scars up close for the first time. She has obviously seen battle, or maybe the wrong side of a past relationship who knows…why the hell do I care? I shift my weight, all one hundred and eighty five pounds of it and redirect hers. She releases her hold and I drive her slender frame to the spot where she previously pinned me.
“We’re adults Commander.” I release her now.
“Assaulting a Commander of any SysDef or Earthfront installation is punishable by…”
I back away. “I’m not what you think…”
She takes a deep breath “What difference does it make Captain?” Her emotions betray her now. Anger and frustration in her eyes and voice spill out.
“…It’s not easy doing this job. You should know how it is when your directives don’t come from your immediate superior. You have no idea what my job entails so don’t judge me based on it.”
“And what..? Are we supposed to be friends? Does your secretive occupation of black-ops and whatever other ungodly acts you do, give you the right to make me look like a fool on my own base? You obviously can’t see past your objectives.”
She’s cold and I find it difficult to digest. “…And you can?” I ask the question without thought.
“I know how to follow orders, but I also know when to show respect and common courtesy.”
“I couldn’t give privileged informa…”
”It’s not so privileged now is it?” She’s loud again. Her eyes lock on to mine, as if boring through me…this is awkward. With her voice regular again “…You did not have the decency to let me, the base Commander, know what you were about to do…”
“I had no choice. You know this. You know how this job works? You know how the Chain of command works. You above many should know what comes with taking orders.”
“You just don’t get it…”
I cut her off “…No, you obviously don’t get it...” I’m annoyed now but she continues as though I said nothing.
“…after you foolishly do what you come here to do, and you and your little squad leave, the Kedenians become more hostile toward us. They don’t see us any different from you. No Captain, you don’t get it. We’re the ones who have to clean up your shit.”
She turns on her heels to leave. I don’t think I need to say this but maybe I do…who knows?
“I’m sorry.”
“…for what? It makes no difference. You come, you leave, and we pay the price.” The door opens again.
“So why can’t we put this behind us, start over…move on?”
I don’t even know why I’m continuing this. Maybe I do but I don’t think so. I’m confused now as she stops outside of the porthole.
“I have moved on, just as I always do. I suggest you do the same.” She turns and disappears down the corridor, her boots echoing on the metal floor and the door closes. I want to turn my attention to the folder on my bed, I want to scream, I want to go after her, I think of Toros…I think of her again, I need to get this mission done but for the moment, I can’t do anything. What the hell is happening to me?
********
I open my eyes. My Dees tell me that it’s 4:31 am. My first thoughts are of her. This annoys me and I wish, for a moment, that there was some sort of pill for forgetfulness. Well there are pills for that but not in the way I want. I eventually forget her and remember my dream. It was of life back on Earth; I have not been home in such a long time. I wonder how much has changed. But these thoughts won’t help me now. There are more important things to deal with today. I gotta get up and down to my team. We have a lot of work to do. If we want to catch that fleet, we have to be quick and decisive about it. I push her out of my mind again.
The Mess Hall is not too crowded. The team and I have been discussing our strategy for our next run. We’ll be heading out in a few hours, when the sun is at its hottest. This way we should meet few, if any, local patrols. In a way, I am not looking forward to this trip. I just know it is going to be one of those drawn out and tedious ones but if all goes according to plan, we should be at our destination by late afternoon and back in good enough time.
My next contact is a Kedenian who I met during my fourth attachment here; a narcotics and weapons dealer who gives me information for credits. He is not a problem because no dealer in their right mind would risk being exposed as a snitch or worse, having an Earthfront Battalion storming their happy little world. Hopefully, he won’t be spooked by my last meeting with one of his associates.
“Okay guys, we’ll be mobile in a few hours so I’ll let you get back to your free time.”
“Thank you Alpha...” Akita jumps up and without looking back, hurries away.
“What’s up with him?” I turn to Terri.
“The usual…she’s young this time, blue-blonde and hypnotized by the Akita.”
I laugh “It’s the same thing everywhere we go. This is what now, seventy-something?”
“I`ve lost count...” Hound joins in.
Terrier slides out from the table “Well I’m going to go back to my room to get some air time with the folks back home. The link up is gonna be good today.”
“Do your thing Terri…” I watch him leave and think of his mother. She was like a mother to me after my parents died. I’ve known them a long time. “…and hey…” He turns to me. His face is older but his eyes…his eyes are still those dark brown ones belonging to that kid I grew up with. “…Tell them I said hello.”
“No problem Cap.”
“I’m gonna head to the lounge and see if I can get as lucky as Akita. See ya later guys.” Pitbull disappears and Hound and I remain seated.
“We need vacations.”
I look at Hound before answering. The big German swings both boot clad feet onto the table and leans back fearlessly in the narrow chair.
“Tell me about it.”
He sighs “When this is over, why don’t we put in for some time off? We’ve been on the prowl for so long I can’t remember what life outside of my job feels like.”
“Sounds like a great Idea. I’ll talk to the Hawk when this is over. I know Terri wants to go home. I also want to see Earth again.”
Hound laughs “Terri? He’s already had time off. He’s the only one who has.”
“Yeah but that was different. His mother was sick so that doesn’t…”
“He spent a month with her Alpha. Way longer than needed. You know it, I know it. He got lucky and we’re on his side about it, but at the same time, we don’t like being overlooked either.”
“Okay you’re right, I must admit it, but that was six months ago…”
“Six months…” He cuts in again “…a year, yesterday…doesn’t matter. All I’m saying is that I too, would like some R and R. Sometimes I wish my mom would get sick.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll see what I can do. Pitbull keeps talking about Creus…”
“…The Island planet?”
“Yep…”
“That’d be fun”
“I can only imagine. I’ve never been there.”
“…Seriously Cap..? I’ve been there a few times…nothing but tropical air and seas and islands everywhere; just awesome.”
“Where’d you like to go?”
“Well, Akita has been telling me about Eroi Three…”
I should have known. “…The Red moon?”
“Yep…sounds like a blast…been thinking of it for some time now. He says that whenever, if ever, we get off this beat for long enough, he’d show me around there.”
“Yeah that’s Akita for you. Travel a thousand light years for easy women. It’s the perfect place for him.”
We both laugh and I remember meeting Hound for the first time. We were both young recruits in the Spaceforce Academy on Rouna, the paradise planet. We had just landed and after a small scuffle over seats in the transport, our hostilities became very evident in everything we did.
“Cap…I’m gonna go talk to the mechanics for a while. Keep myself busy so I don’t fall asleep.”
He drags both large feet off the shiny table between us. Then, standing to his full six feet five, he walks away; blonde hair hanging a few inches below his crown and shifting with his walk.
“See you in a bit Hound…” Back in our days at the training facility, I had grown to hate everything about Hound, just as much as he did about me, right down to his beady blue eyes and our rivalry had sprouted a separation in the camp, much to the disgust of our commanders. I remember him tracking me hard in his training MAV as I tried to get into a firing position to take him down. We had been viciously going at it for a good ten minutes and then as I out maneuvered and bested him, my MAV went critical and slammed into the ground. It was Hound who dragged me from the twisted heap of metal and wires and burning debris. The man had carried me a seemingly safe distance before the explosion threw him and put us both out of commission for almost six months. It was in the infirmary, on those two neighbouring beds that we had gotten to know each other, and we have been brothers ever since.
The sounds of three female voices break my train of thought. They walk past nearby and one of them flashes me a cute smile. I look at the few folks around me. I have no Idea who most of these people are. All nameless faces in a place far away from home, but I have my unit…and my unit is all that matters.
I notice the time. There is absolutely nothing to do in this place and so I get up and walk back to my room.
“Captain…”
God please, not again.
“Commander…” I acknowledge her with a salute.
She hands me a file containing a few sheets of digital paper “These may be of some value.”
I take them from her, not sure what to make of her sudden friendliness “What are these?” I look at the first sheet.
“We are not the slackers you take us for. You’ll find that we are more resourceful than you think.”
I must admit, she is a beautiful woman in spite of the scars. Her red hair is still pulled into a tight bun with apparent military precision and her uniform, as crisp as ever. “Why are you doing this?” I’m not bothered by her for the moment. The thoughts and feelings from of our fight amazingly remain at bay.
“…because duty comes before personal issue. Good luck Captain.” She walks past me and continues until out of sight down the narrow corridor. I am still in shock but quickly regain my senses. That was bullshit and she knows it. At least I would like to think so. Duty indeed…The file reveals information about a small fleet of ships that had entered Kedenian airspace a few days ago. I continue toward my quarters.
Maybe she was right after all. If I had let her know of our mission, Toros would still be alive and Iron Five would have been on that well deserved vacation.
One of the sheets of digital paper shows a map of Keden and a possible location for the unauthorized fleet. The image shows an unusually large concentration of heat signatures in a valley four thousand miles from here. I enter my room and barely register the door closing behind me. This spot on the map has got to be where they are based. They have obviously masked their position with some form of camouflage, so all the drones see are these red splotches. But I don’t get it. Why did she help us?
********
It is 10:45am and I am in my MAV doing a systems check. The rest of my team is doing the same as technicians and electronics specialists run around beneath us prepping our gear for departure. My communications console comes alive.
“Iron Five…” I know the voice, it’s the Battle Axe “…ten minutes to departure.”
“…Alpha copies ten minutes; ready and waiting.”
We walk toward the outer doors of the huge hangar. I take a look at my cockpit before switching to the virtual display on my visor. I have always been a believer in checking any computer system manually before digitally.
“Captain…” It’s her again “…drones have spotted three Heavy Mecha…Rhinos to be exact and four Light Booster Tanks so approach with caution.”
“Will do Commander…” We pass through the outer lock and then the protective doors of the outer hangar and take up positions on a sand swept landing pad. “Base…Iron Five is ready for launch.” I give my engine a little power and wait.
A flash of static hits me “Iron Five, your launch is a go.”
I increase power and the MAV fights gravity as we lift off. The sand and dust filled winds read at sixty six miles per hour, making visibility very limited but we push upward nonetheless. At two thousand feet above AGL I give the signal and we level out, then check the uploaded flight path and hit the throttle. The vents of my thrusters shift and I am pushed back into my cushioned seat. My heart thumps away at my chest and we shoot forward. The acceleration is hypnotic. Within thirty seconds we are pushing a little over a thousand miles per hour and should be where we want to be in about three and a half hours.