Uncommon Loyalty Read online

  “We’ve been called up again,” she said. “Where are Privates Gracie and Lonzo?”

  “They were at the spa,” Kal said. “This way.”

  “What’s the mission?” Nick asked.

  “I don’t know yet,” Gunny Tveit explained. “Captain Dex’Orr notified me as I was finishing my paperwork.”

  “Sorry you didn’t get a break,” Ty said.

  “I just hope this isn’t a suicide mission,” she grumbled. “It wouldn’t kill them to let us finish our training.”

  “Why not send another team?” Kal asked. “I know Thirteen is still here.”

  Kal and Ty both looked at Nick, but he shook his head.

  “There’s no rhyme or reason for why the Proxy do what they do. They love playing soldier, although they never go into the field. They lead from the rear and order us around like pieces on a chess board. But there’s nothing useful to be gained from complaining about it. Wait here.”

  The guys waited outside the small spa, where Ember and Jules were enjoying heated water massage tables, light therapy, moisturizing body dome treatments, and laser-guided pedicures. Neither looked happy as they came out.

  “Did you creeps get to finish your movie?” Jules asked.

  “Hey, we didn’t ask for this,” Kal said.

  “Not our idea, Jules.”

  “I was in the middle of a full-body massage,” she explained. “You lie on this table, and hot water is sprayed against the barrier. It was so relaxing. I should have gone first.”

  “At least you got your feet done,” Ember countered.

  “A lot of good that’s going to do when we’re running for our lives on some alien world,” Jules complained.

  “If we do our jobs right,” Gunny Tveit explained, “it’s the aliens who will be running for their lives.”

  “That’s a small comfort,” Jules complained.

  “We’ll be back here before you know it,” Nick said. “I’ll spring for the full spa treatment.”

  “Don’t try to butter me up, Nick. I want to be mad.”

  They all laughed, including Jules. The next hour was a mad dash from the Ready Room, where they were informed that they would be on a surveillance operation, to their barracks, then to get their armor, and finally weapons.

  Ty was issued a trident plasma cannon, and Ember was given the telescoping sniper musket. The rest of the team were issued advanced ballistic rifles with diamond-tipped armor-piercing rounds. They all took sidearms and the adjustable power stun guns.

  Captain Dex’Orr led them to a docking arm where the small ship they had traveled to the Quazak system in waited. Once they were settled on board, the Proxy officer gathered his Deep Recon team together to go over their assignment.

  “Welcome, Dragon Team Seven, it is good to see you all,” Dex’Orr said as they settled into their chairs in the small room that served as their Ready Room and armory on the ship. Their weapons were safely stowed away, along with enough ammunition for a full-scale war.

  “We are going to the Issip system,” the Proxy officer explained. “It is believed they are working to build an interstellar rocket engine that could carry them between worlds.”

  “And that’s a problem?” Kal asked.

  “Not a problem, but a concern,” Dex’Orr said. “Your job will be to set up a long-range reconnaissance post and man it until the harvest begins on Issip Minor.”

  “Sir,” Gunny Tveit interjected. “We haven’t trained on stealth insertions. It won’t be safe for us to jump onto the planet.”

  “I am aware, Gunnery Sergeant Tveit,” Dex’Orr explained. “We have a hidden landing field in the deep jungles. The Issipians rarely travel into the wilds of their small world, preferring to settle along the coastlines and using the large cultivation fields as a buffer between their communities and the animals of the jungle.”

  “What kind of animals?” Ty asked.

  Nick was thinking of the feline creature that nearly killed him on Delphi Green and the large dinosaur that ran them out of their camp the very first night on that training world.

  “Nothing to be concerned about,” Dex’Orr replied. “You will immediately make for the grain fields due west of the landing area. Those fields are cultivated and harvested by machines; the Issip rarely leave their cities. It should be safe for you to establish a reconnaissance post and record whatever intelligence you can gather before the harvest. It is believed that you will have as much as a month before you must evacuate your position.”

  “So this is entirely a surveillance operation?” Gunny Tveit asked. “No contact with the local inhabitants?”

  “That is correct, Gunnery Sergeant. We go in, we gather information, and we leave. The Issip will never know we are there.”

  “Sounds easy enough,” Jules said.

  Nick doubted it would be as easy as the Proxy officer was suggesting, but it didn’t seem too difficult either. He wondered what surveillance equipment they had to carry out such a mission.

  “How long in transit?” Gunny Tveit asked.

  “Five days. I will expect you to become well versed in the equipment needed for the mission during that time. You will work in four-hour shifts, with one of you manning the surveillance equipment at all times, and at least another standing watch for any dangers. It is imperative that you do not give the Issip any reason to believe that you are on their world. Stealth is the highest priority on this mission.”

  “Roger that,” Gunny Tveit said. “We’ll be ready, sir.”

  “Very good,” Dex’Orr replied. “I will leave the preparations to you, Gunnery Sergeant. Good luck.”

  The tall alien left the room, and Tveit turned to the others.

  “You heard him,” she said. “Surveillance op. It’ll be a piece of cake. Get some food, then we’ll begin going over the equipment to ensure we have all we need and everyone knows how to operate the tech.”

  “Kind of a lame mission, Sergeant,” Kal said. “I thought Recon operations would be more exciting.”

  “Exciting is code for dangerous, Private. And danger is overrated, trust me.”

  Chapter 8

  Four days on board a small ship could have been stifling and difficult, but Nick found it a nice change of pace and quickly fell into a routine. Sleep was easy on the interstellar ship; with no need to stand watch and not much else to do, the team found themselves sleeping ten hours at a stretch. They ate, they exercised, and they learned about the surveillance equipment.

  “We’ll make a night insertion,” Gunny Tveit explained. “Full stealth, no lights.”

  “And no one will see us?” Kal asked. “That’s hard to believe.”

  “The Issip are aliens,” Jules said. “Don’t expect them to think or act like we do.”

  “They are technologically advanced,” Tveit explained, bringing up a hologram of one of the strange-looking aliens. “But Issip Minor is a small world, not much bigger than a moon. They have a dozen or so large cities, and all their settlements are along the coastlines. I don’t know if they’ve moved out of the interior to allow the planet’s animal populations to thrive naturally, or if they’re scared of the animals.”

  “They’re not very big,” Ty said, looking at the hologram.

  “No, just under a meter in height,” Gunny Tveit went on. “They are not physically impressive, but they do have a thriving space program. Not that they use it for much other than trading with the Proxy. After first contact, the Issip didn’t just look to the stars, they began to seriously pursue the study of interstellar travel.”

  “So what?” Jules said. “Isn’t everyone?”

  “I think the Proxy want to keep an eye on their competition,” Nick said. “Simple industrial espionage.”

  “And you’re okay with that?” Jules said.

  “We don’t get paid to ponder the ethics of the Proxy,” Gunny Tveit said. “We’re Recon, which means we go in, learn what we can, and get out.”

  “The biggest complaint back hom
e,” Jules said, “is that the Proxy have a monopoly on galactic trade because we can’t build an interstellar drive to take us to other star systems. Are we really going to keep another race from breaking free?”

  “No,” Ember said. “We aren’t doing that. We’re just trying to find out what they’re doing and how close they are to achieving that goal.”

  “So the Proxy can stop them,” Jules insisted.

  “Again, you’re supposing the Issip want to be galactic explorers,” Gunny Tveit said. “From my study of them, they do not. Unlike on Earth, they aren’t suffering from overcrowded conditions. They haven’t done anything more than stake claim to the planetary bodies in their system. If they develop the tech to travel to other star systems, they’ll sell it to the Proxy.”

  “Why? The Proxy don’t need it,” Ty said.

  “Unless it’s better than what they already have,” Kal countered.

  “Think about it,” Nick said. “On Earth, the biggest complaint about the Proxy is that they hold all the cards. We need what they have and not the other way around. But if the Issip develop interstellar technology, they could renegotiate with the Proxy and get whatever they wanted. The Issip don’t have to ever use the technology, just the threat of it is enough to get what they want.”

  “So it’s all about money,” Jules said.

  “Most things are,” Gunny Tveit said. “Now, back to our mission. We’ll be carrying in the surveillance equipment. Everyone will have a rucksack with supplies for the mission, as well as equipment. We’ll move most of the big stuff on repulser sleds, but we’ll still be hiking over a hundred klicks with heavy loads.”

  “Sounds like a party,” Ty said.

  “What kind of camp will we have?” Ember asked.

  “Cold and dark,” Tveit explained. “We can’t do anything that might give away our presence. That means no fires, no lights.”

  They spent hours talking about the logistics, studying the equipment manuals, and memorizing the topographical maps. They also went over the ecology of the planet. Issip Minor was thickly forested on three continents. Wildlife was rampant on these land masses, and some of the plants were aggressive. Their armor would protect them from toxins in the air or on the ground, as well as from most small animals and insects. There were larger carnivores in the area where they would be stationed, but once they were out of the jungle and onto the rolling hills where the Issip cultivated their crops, the team felt reasonably sure they would be able to see any threat coming before it became a danger.

  The days passed quickly, and soon the team was huddled on a small shuttle that was loaded with gear, including their weapons. Dex’Orr’s voice was crystal clear on their helmet com-links.

  “Dragon Team Seven, prepare for planetary insertion,” he announced. “Remember, lethal force is authorized but only as a last resort. This is a stealth mission. Find out what they’ve got and get to the evac zone to signal for extraction.”

  “Roger that,” Gunny Tveit said.

  “Good luck,” the alien replied.

  “So how come this ship won’t be noticed?” Jules asked. “If they’re technologically advanced, won’t they notice an alien ship in orbit?”

  “The Proxy trade with the Issip,” Kal said.

  “And Issip Major,” Gunny Tveit explained, “is a large planet nearby that the Issip have leased to the Proxy for mining. The Proxy have a presence in the system, so we won’t draw undue attention.”

  “It still feels wrong to me,” Jules said.

  “Right and wrong are above our paygrade, Private,” Tveit said.

  “If the Proxy go under, they can’t pay us,” Ty said. “Besides, we aren’t being asked to steal anything. Just gather some information. If the Issip have this tech, we aren’t going to take it from them.”

  “And if they don’t, they won’t be able to bargain as if they do,” Kal said. “Pretty damn smart if you ask me.”

  “Governments have been doing this kind of thing from the dawn of time,” Nick said. “Sometimes it’s military in nature, but sometimes it isn’t and soldiers have been involved in almost every phase of it.”

  “Yeah, before first contact, countries on Earth were constantly spying on one another,” Ember said.

  “But we overcame that,” Jules said.

  “Just because it wasn’t talked about doesn’t mean it didn’t still happen,” Ty said.

  “You know it,” Kal agreed. “The rich don’t stay rich by accident.”

  The shuttle was launched without their knowledge. It moved from the interstellar ship so smoothly that they didn’t feel a thing until it passed through their transports artificial gravity well.

  “And we’re off,” Kal said happily.

  “I’d rather be training for a real mission,” Jules said. “This seems like a waste of time to me.”

  “It’s better than getting dropped in a hostile zone,” Gunny Tveit said. “Trust me. Boring is preferable to exciting in most cases.”

  The shuttle entered the atmosphere slowly. Nick couldn’t see outside the vessel, but he knew they were on the dark side of the planet. On Earth, planetary insertions used the planet’s gravity and conserved power, but the Proxy shuttle couldn’t afford to blaze through the planet’s atmosphere in a fiery blaze that would be clearly visible from the surface. Instead, they descended in a long, slow spiral before finally landing in a jungle clearing.

  The rear hatch opened, and they heard the alien sounds of insects and nocturnal animals in the jungle.

  “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” Kal said.

  “Get this equipment unloaded,” Gunny Tveit said. “This shuttle has to make orbit before dawn.”

  “Roger that,” Ty said.

  They disconnected the electromagnets that held the big repulser sleds in place and powered them up. Nick was fascinated by the way the simple-looking platforms could hover a meter off the ground with hundreds of kilos of equipment piled on them.

  Ty strapped on the big harness for the trident plasma cannon. It was a massive weapon, belt fed and intimidating. Ty was the tallest member of the team and the most muscular. With the TPC, he looked ready for war.

  Ember struggled to get her rucksack over her shoulders. Nick gave her a hand as the shuttle’s rear hatch closed.

  “I guess we’re on our own,” Jules said.

  “How long are we staying?” Ember said. “It feels like I’ve got enough food in this pack to last a year.”

  “We’re carrying rations and water, Team,” Gunny Tveit said. “If we have to stay longer than a week, we’ll have to find another water supply.”

  “More than a week?” Nick asked. “Do you think it will take that long?”

  They were watching the shuttle rise up into the night sky. It felt strangely sad to see the aircraft go without them in it.

  “These types of missions are always long,” Gunny Tveit said. “You can bet the Issip aren’t sitting around talking about the details of their interstellar drive for us to hear it. We’ll have to get the equipment set up and start piecing together the details from the snatches of conversation we manage to pick up.”

  “So it’s not an exact science,” Nick said.

  “Not even close,” Tveit said. “And this is a top-secret project. You can bet they’re being very hush-hush about it.”

  “Seems like a lot of fuss just to find out what they know,” Jules said.

  “That’s the job, Team. Better get used to it. It beats standing guard at an Exchange somewhere, hoping the locals don’t revolt.”

  “Where to now?” Nick asked.

  “We go west,” Tveit said. “Nick, you take point. Jules and Kal will move the sleds. Ember, you take the right flank, I’ll watch our left side. Ty, you bring up the rear.”

  “Absolutely, Sergeant,” Kal said, moving his big gun around.

  Nick thumbed off the safety of his advanced ballistic rifle. The aiming reticle popped up on his helmet’s view screen. Without looking, he checke
d to make sure the rifle was loaded and ready to fire. It was a redundant thing to do, but it made him feel better. Issip Minor was a strange alien world. His night vision cast everything in a shade of green, but he could see immediately that the flora was different from anything he’d seen before.

  The trees looked like tall, crooked poles. The bark on their thin trunks was smooth, and no limbs branched out for several meters. The trees grew in odd, wavy patterns that wrapped around one another. On the ground were bunches of thick-looking shrubs, some with small round leaves, others with long pointed leaves.

  The sounds of insects chirping were completely different from anything he’d ever heard before and made Nick feel a tremor of fear. Anything could be out there in the dark, he thought. A trail led from the clearing into the forest to their west.

  “I don’t suppose this is a manmade pathway,” Nick said.

  “Nope,” Gunny Tveit said. “It’s a game trail. Better stay alert.”

  “Tell me about it,” Nick said.

  “Just a stroll through the park,” Kal said, trying to sound casual.

  “How long till sunrise?” Ember asked.

  “A few hours,” Gunny Tveit said. “Now, let’s move. I want to get out of this forest by the end of the day.”

  Chapter 9

  The jungle was damp and humid. Nick was forced to wipe water that condensed in thick beads from the view plate of his helmet. The ground was squishy in most places and thick mud in others. The group had no choice but to slog on.

  More rose along with a thick mist that cut visibility down to just a few meters. The forest was filled with trees and waist-high flowering plants. Nick saw more wildlife than the others. Some were small woodland creatures, others were scaly reptiles curled on the trunks of trees. Nick saw one strike out and capture a colorful flying insect.

  There were signs of bigger animals, tracks in the soft soil and bones picked clean on the edge of the trail. Fortunately, Nick didn’t see any of the larger creatures. An hour after sunrise, they stopped for a short rest. Nick shook protein mix into a pouch with water and connected it to his helmet’s feeding tube for breakfast.

  “Man, this place is dank,” Kal said. “I thought Seattle got a lot of rain.”