Transcendent (9781311909442) (29 page)

“Liaison?” Lily repeated. She glanced at the
helmet on the pod behind her. Sunshine did a fine job of arranging
communications—why did she need a liaison? “Um, I don’t know if
that’s a good idea.”

Palla’s smile started to fade. “Why
not?”

“I lost some people out there,” Lily said.
“When we were—oh, right, can’t talk about it. Well, I lost some
supplies and some people. If you were with me, odds are you would
have been in those vehicles that got hit.”

“Oh!”

Lily nodded. “So we may want to rethink
that.”

Palla frowned. “We’ll have to talk about it.
I’m willing to take some risks. I mean, look at all you’re risking.
What right do I have to accept any less?”

Lily pressed her lips together and smiled.
The truth was there were only two people left that she really cared
about anymore, beyond herself. Krys would always be one of them and
one day, hopefully as soon as the trouble on Venus was over, she
would be able to reunite with him. Palla was the other one. If
there was a way for Lily to keep her safe, then she would do
whatever she had to in order to make it happen. “We’ll talk,” she
agreed. “But for now, let’s get up to my debriefing!”

“Good thing you hadn’t been debriefed when I
climbed up here—you’d have been naked!”

Lily groaned and shook her head. She shooed
Palla away with her hands and then followed her friend down the
side of her battle-scarred biomech. She paused, grimacing at the
explosion on her cockpit that bent the armor enough to make it
scrape every time it opened and closed. “I’ll get you fixed up good
as new, Sunshine,” Lily whispered.

“What’s that?” Palla called up to her.

“Nothing,” Lily said. She glanced up into
the open cockpit and smiled and started back down.

“Thank you.”

Lily froze and looked back up. Had she heard
Sunshine just now or was she imagining things? She’d never heard of
a biomech pilot going crazy, but all those signals in her head
merging with her own body’s senses, it had to do something, didn’t
it? She shook her head and continued down. She could look that up
later. For now she had work to do.

Palla led her through the maze of newly
built administrative buildings of the starport that had been taken
over by the army. Other than when she’d walked Sunshine out of the
transport when they landed, it was her first time in the capital
city since she’d been shipped off planet so many years ago. Rather
than leading her into any of the buildings they passed, Palla led
her to a another paved parking lot lined with over a hundred
people. There seemed to be an equal mix of military and civilian
uniforms in attendance.

“What is this?” Lily hissed as Palla led her
down an aisle through the crowd.

Palla flashed her a grin. “Come on, they’re
waiting for you.”

Lily reached up to her sweaty hair and then
snatched her hand back down. There was nothing she could do to hide
how disgusting she looked and felt. “Palla—”

“Up here!” Palla interrupted her as they
emerged from the front of the gathered throng of people. A small
stage had been erected and several people stood on it already. She
recognized Commander Breslin from a picture she’d seen of him, as
well as Colonel Abram, the leader of First Brigade.

Lily snapped to attention and saluted her
superiors. The stern-faced men returned her salute and motioned for
her to take her place. Palla led her to stand close enough to
Colonel Abram she could reach out and touch him. Palla then took
the spot to her left.

A hush fell over the crowd as Commander
Breslin stepped forward. “Citizens of humanity,” he addressed the
crowd and even took a few seconds to include the cameras that
captured the event for broadcast throughout the solar systems. “I
have been tasked by President Ondalla to ensure the safety of our
race. That safety has been put in peril by the terrorists that
butcher our citizens and destroy our agricultural production here,
on Venus.”

He paused to let his words sink in before
continuing. “We’ve been here a few short days so far and already
disturbing reports are coming in. The terrorist activity that has
plagued our transports and production has been far more organized
than we first thought. There have even been reports of entire
communities that have been found destroyed or with their residents
butchered.”

He paused long enough to take a breath. “Our
soldiers have been attacked. Our equipment stolen and used against
us. It is more than an act of terrorism: it is acts of treason.
Treason against our very race. These betrayals will not go without
reprisal!”

Lily realized that everyone was staring at
her. She turned and saw Commander Breslin give her a slight nod.
Beside her, Colonel Abram whispered, “Loud and clear, summarize
your mission.”

Lily felt the heat in her face and realized
she had to speak. To the entire human race. She swallowed and
nodded, and then lifted her head and stared out at the gathered
crowd. “Omega Platoon was dispatched to Settlement Delta-22. We
thought it was deserted at first until we started finding the
bodies of citizens murdered in their homes. We soon found a mass
grave behind the colony. While we were investigating, Omega’s
supply and support elements were ambushed.”

Lily saw everyone was watching her. From the
looks on their faces, she knew it wasn’t because she looked like a
sweaty kid who had just been rolling around with a newborn vison.
They were hanging on her news. They were excited to hear what she
had to say. She raised her voice and continued, “We pushed them
back and discovered how to unscramble their countermeasures that
hid them. We destroyed the stolen tanks they used and then pushed
into the tunnels they used as a base.”

Lily paused and turned to glance at Colonel
Abram and then Commander Breslin. The commander nodded and said
loudly, “The citizens of Delta-22 have been avenged!”

A cheer went up from the crowd. Lily felt
fresh heat in her face and started to step back when the commander
spoke again. She stood still and figured out a way to stand even
more stiffly at attention.

“Captain Lily Strain here was in charge of
Omega Platoon, a mixed platoon of biomechs and armor,” he said. “I
think it’s safe to say everyone listening has heard of Captain
Strain before. She came from Venus and has proved that our mercy
and tutelage was correct. Captain Strain is an example for us all
to live for.”

Fresh cheering and clapping left Lily
feeling short of breath and nauseous at the same time; she wanted
to pump her fist and shout out in triumph. Instead, she stood still
and struggled to keep from grinning.

“Captain Strain is being appointed commander
of a newly formed D Company in 1st Battalion of the 1st Armored
Regiment. Her task will be to root out these traitors wherever they
are and eliminate them. To aid her, First Lieutenant Shelby Riggs
is going to serve as her XO. Lieutenant Riggs has the distinction
of running Settlement Sierra-12, the only colony on this planet
that has consistently met and exceeded their deliverables while
suffering no casualties or collateral damage.”

Lily hid her reaction to hearing that the
town she’d grown up in had been the only colony on all of Venus
that had not suffered in the attacks. She turned and watched as
Lieutenant Riggs stepped forward. She sized her up, noting how the
woman was a few years older than her but held herself with the
discipline of a career soldier. She looked tough. Pretty, but
hard.

“Finally,” Commander Breslin announced, “As
part of Lieutenant Riggs’s dedication to duty, she helped discover
a traitor in our very midst. She found a young man who is not who
he claims he is. He has been educated and accepted as one of us,
granting him access to our procedures, knowledge, and most intimate
of details. This invasion of privacy and security will not be
allowed to continue. It cannot be allowed!”

The commander motioned and two soldiers
hauled a man dressed in a blue and white civilian uniform up from
behind the stage. He was lifted up on to it, allowing everyone to
see that in addition to the sack placed over his head, his wrists
and ankles had manacles on them. Lily’s eyes narrowed as she
watched the young man move. There was something familiar about his
walk that troubled her.

The commander turned back to the crowd and
let his eyes sweep across them. He turned again to the prisoner,
drew his sidearm, and shot the man in the head from a little over a
meter away.

There was an audible gasp and a few cries of
surprise from the crowd as the prisoner’s body crumpled to the
ground. Commander Breslin turned, holding his pistol down at his
side again, and addressed them. “This, here, is the price for
treason. No last words. No chance to spew lies or beg for mercy.
No, Krys Evans—or whoever you really are—there is no mercy for
terrorists!”

###

Jason Halstead has always had colorful
stories to tell. At an early age that creativity usually resulted
in some kind of punishment. At long last he's come into his own and
has turned his imagination into an asset that is keeping thousands
of people entertained.

When he's not writing Jason spends his time
with his wife and two children, trying to relive his glory days as
a powerlifter, or developing new IT systems for his day job.

He enjoys reading and responding to fan mail
as well, so if you liked any of his books don't be shy!
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