Tears of Glass (The Jana Darren Saga Book 1)
Read Tears of Glass (The Jana Darren Saga Book 1) Online
Authors: Jessica Cole
Tears of Glass
By
Jessica Cole
Tears of Glass
Copyright © 2015 by Jessica Cole
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved.
The right of Jessica Cole to be identified as the Author of the work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1998
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Acknowledgements, Author’s Note
Tears of Glass is a book I originally wrote a decade ago. It’s come so very far, and grown into something I’m very proud of. Of course, there are certain people that made this book possible. I want to genuinely thank David Fisher for being so supportive and for all the help he’s given me. This also would not have happened without my friends who continually support my Patreon to allow me the time to work on my books. Thank you all so much, and I truly hope you enjoy the first installment in the Jana Darren Saga.
If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to check out my Patreon (
www.patreon.com/nightelyn
) where you can preview upcoming chapters and be involved in my writing process.
Contents
11. A Redshirt and A Stormtrooper Walk Into A Party...
14. You’ll Feel Better In The Morning
Her sneakers made no noise on the carpeting, and only silence greeted her as she passed doors, red lights glowing on almost all of them.
No one home
. Jana thought of all the soldiers sent on missions. She allowed her eyes to travel further on the left side. Blue light. Sure enough, there it was, glowing happily in the midst of red. Her pace quickened, her heart pounding in her chest. She reached the door, staring at the tiny blue light. Jana reached for the little black box welded onto the door, but before she could press the call button, the door opened from the other side.
"Hello."
t
The alarm went off at five, but Jana was wide awake, eyes red and bones aching for want of sleep. She cried out and shoved the foam pillow over her face, yelling into it and kicking her legs.
You should have just taken something to help you sleep. You know this happens every time.
She had thirty minutes to report to the holodeck. No time to enjoy the view out the station windows, and certainly no time for coffee. The elevator to the lowest level took almost ten minutes because of frequent stops, even at this hour. She recognized a few of the communication officers heading to the elevator bank to start their shift, beautiful white coffee cups in their grasp.
You were already awake. You should have just gone and gotten some, instead of lying in bed pretending you were going to do anything but stress about this stupid test.
Jana reached the holodeck with a few minutes to spare. There were three people ahead of her, who all exited the simulator looking rather glum--definitely not a good sign. When her turn came up, Jana hesitated a moment before she stepped into the room. This was the worst part. A bright white glow emitted from every wall, the floor and ceiling. She took the button-sized neural pad from a plastic case in her shirt pocket and placed it at the nape of her neck, and felt its warmth as it dug its tiny claws into her skin.
At least I remembered to bring it.
They were expensive to replace, and cadets were only issued two at the Academy.
A voice boomed from hidden speakers, echoing in the little room with nothing to muffle the sound. "Your mission is to retrieve the documents from the enemy stronghold. Here are your team members." Jana had studied the portfolio they'd given her the day before with all of the information on her team. Everything from their full names to embarrassing moments in the second grade was permanently engrained in her memory.
The room dimmed to black. When it re-lit, she was surrounded by buildings that rose up tall and sleek in the night, miles in each direction. She didn’t like the way the neural pad made her feel. Sometimes, the proctor would just let the walls fall away like sand or broken glass, revealing the test landscape behind it. The first time this happened, Jana had been so disoriented that she’d thrown up.
They used Academy cadets for these training exercises, to give them more experience with the simulator. For an exam like this, Jana knew only cadets in their fourth year would be used. Five of them had materialized with the rest of the cityscape when the lights came back up. It was dark, though.
Residential colonies were never this dark. There were lights on, some street lamps, but that was it.
The main power grid must be offline.
There were safety nets in place for things like that.
Someone actively tampered with it.
"Team, stay under cover. Keep a lookout. Jennison, Kipnik watch the left. Casey and Smith take right. Danny, watch our tails. We're going to be heading due east." This was her chance. No matter how out of her depth she felt, she would give it her best go.
They encountered no resistance for the first few minutes. They passed apartment complexes and parks, office buildings and shops, all bathed in deep shadows. Jana began to think the proctor was going easy on her. It wouldn't be the first time she'd been shown favoritism. Her father probably had something to do with that, and Jana hated it.
The streets were devoid of people. Colonies put into lockdown were literally sealed by the computer system after a five minute alarm. Anyone left out was to be considered hostile. The grid had ways of knowing where any insurgents were. Disabled security systems and inconsistencies in the grid were an easy way to tell where the problem centered. The Heads-Up Display in Jana's view popped up a digital alert to identify the enemy base.
"Enemy sighted, three count at our five o'clock."
"Danny, you keep an eye on them. There are probably more. We have to keep moving. Casey, Danny, take them out if you can get a clear shot." She looked back and spotted them. "They haven't engaged yet, which either means they don't know we're here or they're trying to herd us into a trap. We don't know how many more are out here, and we don't need them all on top of us," Jana said.
"Affirmative."
"I see the base.” The hostiles had taken up residence at a school, but that made things much easier for her team. Unlike the military stations, colonies kept normal hours. With the lockdown and time of day, the streets were completely empty. The city looked abandoned, eerie, and surreal.
Jana signaled them into position. It was eerily silent, even for a lockdown. She peered around the corner. The school had hostiles stationed on the roof and in the entryway.
"Oh shit! Lieutenant, I think Casey's been shot! Oh shit, oh shit. What the hell am I going to do?!"
"Danny, listen to me. It's okay. Calm down a second." For a moment, Jana forgot these weren't real people, that they didn't exist and were just holograms. Right now, they were real and they needed her.
"How the hell do you expect me to calm down?"
"Danny, CALM DOWN. Listen to me! You have to calm down. Don't get yourself worked up. Your asthma is going to kick in and then we'll have to transport both of you out of here."
"Okay, okay..."
"Danny, where is he shot?" Jana asked as she darted behind a tree to avoid the gunfire peppering the area.
"It's...um...I think he's been shot in the side."
Jana leaned over and quickly took stock of the situation, ducking out of the way as a shot zipped past her head. "You
think
? You'd better be sure."
"Yeah, it's...it's his side."
"How bad is it?" She couldn't even look around the corner anymore, the guards were on alert and now there was a hail of fire and a lot of shouting.
"Shit, I don't know. There's blood everywhere. I'm not a goddamn doctor, Lieutenant!" he screamed into the com.
"Pull yourself together!" She was losing patience with him, but forced herself to take a deep breath. "Danny, do you remember that time when your brother broke his leg? You were scared then, weren't you?" She poked around the corner to return fire, then ducked back down.
"Yeah..."
"But you pulled through and went and got help."
"Yeah..."
"You've always wanted to be a hero, ever since you were little. Now is your chance. Move Casey to safety. I want you to stay with him, is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
With that taken care of, Jana moved with Kipnik to another point of cover closer to the building. "Okay, Jennison, Smith, what's your status?"
"We're pinned by enemy fire. We can barely move."
"We'll be right there," said Jana, as she and Kipnik moved toward their comrades' position. Together they carefully took out the assailants. Rallied, she took stock of the surroundings. "We've got to get moving. You all heard Danny. Casey's wounded and we're not sure how bad it is. We've got to finish this soon." She led them around the block, around the back side of the school and through a side door. They found an empty command center in the auditorium. As Jennison grabbed the case with the documents and rejoined them, a round hit Jana squarely in the chest. Her vest crackled with electricity for a moment and it felt like she'd been punched. She immediately dropped between a row of seats and examined herself. No blood.
"Holy shit! Did you see that? Where the hell is the gunman?"
"Stay down. We make a move and they'll shoot," shouted Jana.
This wasn't going to end well.
"Miss Darren?"
Jana turned to face the proctor, shifting aside to let the others pass.
"Yes, sir?" All she wanted to do was get out of there. Today was already a nightmare.
"Would you hold on a moment? I'd like to speak with you."
"Yes, sir." Those passing from their way out of their own simulation chambers were giving her odd looks. When the last straggler disappeared out of sight on their way to the elevator, the proctor explained.
"I'd like to talk to you about your performance today."
"Sir, I apologize for--"
He held up a hand to stop her. "Lieutenant, I'd like to congratulate you."
"I--what?"
"I'm talking about your simulator exercise."
Jana couldn't look more surprised if she'd tried. "If you'll allow me to speak frankly sir, I believe it was a near disaster."
"None of your team died," he said carefully.
"Three were wounded," Jana countered.
"You acquired the objective."
"Barely. Sir, you and I both know my performance was nothing to shout about, at least not in a nice way. My performance was far from the best it could be."
"No, it wasn't the best," he admitted.
Get to the point!
"So why am I here, then?"
"The grading is done by a computer that rates you and your team."
"Sir?" What is he getting at?
The proctor turned around, leaned over his desk, and pushed a button. The room flooded with sound.
Danny, remember that time when your brother broke his leg?
He clicked it off. "How did you know what to say?"
"I read their files. It was all there, as you know."
"Well actually..." he began, avoiding her gaze, "When I read it, I passed right over their backgrounds prior to their military qualifications. Not once, in the years I've been here have I encountered someone who took the time to memorize all of that, things most people don't even notice. You knew exactly what to say to motivate, and you work exceptionally well under pressure."
"Thanks..."
"As you well know, this test was a gateway to a leadership role in the CHAOS team at S-311M. You've gotten the green light from our division, and at 1800 hours you're to report to hearing room number four, in the administration wing upstairs. You'll be interviewed and they will determine whether you are a good fit for this position. Good luck."
"Thank you, sir." She turned to leave.
"One more thing...it would be best to keep a low profile until you are given their decision."
"Sir?"
"Well, the computer only recognizes direct commands, damages, dead and injured, time lapsed, that sort of thing. It's entirely mathematically based. Our decision was based off factors outside of this scope. As far as the computer is concerned, you didn't get the highest score. Understood?"
The computer failed me, but they pushed me through anyway.
"Yes, sir."