Part 4 (1/2)

”Dr. Zakos was thrilled with the work the three of you did last night,” the captain says. His hands are clasped behind his back. ”You may not be aware, but the doctor answers to Beloved Leader himself. You've brought honor to your names and to this s.h.i.+p. Well done.”

The three of us grunt and nod.

”Today we have a . . . more interesting task for you,” the recon officer says.

She taps on a tablet in her hand, and a video plays on one of the screens lining the walls. Humans in front of some sort of waterfall. Talking to the camera. Pointing to a blue stone.

”This video was uploaded to the internet just a few minutes ago,” the officer continues. ”It's a message for the Loric, but broadcast for anyone in the world to see. It's possible we're the first Mogadorians to pick up on it.”

”These appear to be four more 'human Garde,'” the captain says. ”I'm sending all three of your squads to collect them. a.s.suming they're still there. Your secondary directive is to investigate the blue stone on the video. Take a laser cutter. Bring back a sample. If this turns out to somehow be Loralite, Beloved Leader will no doubt be pleased. We'll give you some lead time before we share our discovery with the other captains. I want this to be our victory.”

”This is a big opportunity,” the recon officer says. ”Securing the humans and taking control of a possible Loralite deposit will bring glory to you and our s.h.i.+p.”

”As you may have guessed based on the context of the message, it's possible the Loric or their allies will be there. You're to exercise extreme caution.” One side of the captain's lips curls up a little. ”And brutality.”

This is better news than I could have expected. Still, something doesn't sit well with me.

”Sir,” I say, taking a slight step forward. My eyes are on the ground.

”Speak freely, Vintaro,” he says.

”If it's possible the true Loric Garde might be there, should we not . . .”

I trail off, unsure of how to continue. It's not my place to question the judgment or commands of my superiors.

”You're wondering why we don't send half the fleet to stop them,” the captain finishes my thought.

I don't respond. It doesn't matter-he keeps talking.

”Our orders are to secure Chicago. As soon as you're en route, I'll put in a priority-one request that I be allowed to send a more substantial amount of troops to the location where this video was shot: Niagara Falls. However . . .” He pauses for a few seconds. ”High command has been slow to respond to requests for the last twenty-four hours. As you know, Beloved Leader is very busy at this moment.”

Hail our Beloved Leader! Forever may he reign!

The captain crosses his arms over his chest. ”Now, if you do happen to run across the Loric while on this mission and they try to interfere, it would of course be your duty to take them out. And doing so would bring glory that would follow you for the rest of your life.”

My vision goes red. I hardly comprehend the rest of what the officers say. All I can think of is facing the Garde. Of taking out their leader, John Smith. How his arrogant face might look as my hands grip his neck.

And before I know it, the captain and reconnaissance officer are gone.

In half an hour, we've a.s.sembled and briefed our squads, loaded our Skimmers, and are flying towards Niagara Falls. I a.s.sign one of my men to pilot the craft while I triple-check our weapons and supplies, going over possible scenarios in my head. Once we've obtained the humans, should we delay our return? Wait around for the Loric to show? How long? And what if we're not the first Mogadorians there. It sounded as though anyone could have picked up on this broadcast. If other squads from other wars.h.i.+ps show up trying to claim our targets, or take credit for killing the Garde . . .

How far do we go to ensure that victory belongs to our wars.h.i.+p?

Or to my squad, for that matter?

”Vintaro,” one of my men says. It's the newest member. I stare back at him. His nose is bruised and smashed from last night's run-in. He tentatively adds, ”Sir.”

”Speak,” I say.

”We will make Beloved Leader proud,” he says. ”We'll bring honor to our wars.h.i.+p, and the captain will know that it was Vintaro shaba who led us to victory.”

He hits his chest with his fist and grunts. I return the gesture. My heart drums under my knuckles. All my life, this is what I've wanted. What any Mogadorian wants. To excel, and speed our progress across planets and stars.

”Four targets,” I remind him, and the others. ”You've seen their faces. Lock them down, then find the possible Loralite deposit. Put a hole in the head of anyone else who dares stand against us.”

”We're just a few minutes away,” the pilot calls back. ”We should- s.h.i.+t.”

”What?” I ask.

”One of the other Skimmers just hit their afterburners.”

I watch as our allies shoot ahead. Trying to be the first ones there, I'm sure. To claim the humans.

”Catch them!” I bark, and I can feel our acceleration in my guts.

I open up a comm line, reporting back to the wars.h.i.+p.

”This is Vintaro shaba. We have no visual on the targets yet, but we're approaching the-”

”Look!” the pilot shouts, bringing up a visual on-screen.

The other Skimmer is hovering above the side of a roaring river. Troops jump to the ground. There are humanoid figures in front of them, but we're too far away to make out what's happening clearly. As we get closer, though, it's obvious these humans are fighting back. The other squad members are firing at them.

”b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!” I slam my fist against the back of one of the seats in our s.h.i.+p. ”They'll kill our targets! Get us-”

There's a flash of some kind of red energy across our s.h.i.+p's winds.h.i.+eld.

”What the-,” the pilot starts, but the sound of the explosion and our hull ripping apart drowns out the rest of his words.

CHAPTER TEN.

I'M BLOWN BACKWARDS, INTO THE REAR OF THE s.h.i.+p. Everything is rus.h.i.+ng air, fire and ash around me.

Our pilot's dead. So is the soldier who was sitting in the copilot's seat. It's difficult to see what happened exactly, with the thick, black smoke filling the cabin; but it's obvious they're gone.

And that we're falling.

I lunge forward and hit a few b.u.t.tons, enacting some emergency protocols. For what it's worth. The Skimmer rotates as it drops, but I manage to get us evened out enough so that when we hit the ground, cras.h.i.+ng into a wooded area near the falls, we're right-side up.

It's only once we've stopped skidding and the smoke starts to clear that I can a.s.sess the damage.

Getting to my feet, I realize my left wrist is broken. A setback, but one I can overcome. I only need one hand to fire a blaster. I could kill without either arm if I needed to.