RIFT (The Rift Saga Book 1) (5 page)

“The system prevents disorder. And yes, it rewards the citizens of Covenant. Understand this, though, Initiate Wagner: the State is vital to our survival. Citizens earn their privileges. And one day, you might, as well.” He sighed again.

“You will learn, son. I wasn’t born a citizen; I don’t have Moon blood running through my veins. But I’ve learned that everything we have, our way of life, is all because of the Moon people, and the concept of Service to the State.” Dave noticed Hughes got a faraway look in his eyes as he paused for a moment. Then he focused his gaze on Dave once again.

“There are dangers you wouldn’t dream of out there, Initiate. If we were to give an inch, our enemies would take everything we’ve got. Everything we’ve built. And ultimately, we would be left outside of the protection of the Moon people.” Dave nodded slowly. He knew there were dangers outside the safety of the Covenant. He’d never taken most of it seriously, though. It had always felt too distant. Hughes, on the other hand, looked like he knew more than he would tell, and yet, he obviously felt the need to warn Dave. To make him take it as seriously as he did.

“The Moon people saved us all, and every day since, the Covenant has been all about preserving what they built. Moon blood or not, we’re all in this together.” The scientist’s stare seemed to pierce right through him, and Dave saw something he hadn’t noticed before. Fear. Like he’d seen more than was good for him. And a fervor Dave hadn’t noticed before. He felt a chill running down his spine.

“We’re living on the edge of a knife’s blade, son. One wrong move, and our society falls. We are Wardens, and our job is to make sure that doesn’t happen. Whatever the cost.”

As Dave walked toward his next lecture, he had a feeling he’d soon enough learn what Scientist Hughes seemed to fear so much. And he didn’t look forward to it.

SUE

She was breathing heavily, every breath misting in front of her, fogging up the visor for a split second before the nano bots cleared it again. Autumn had arrived, and the leaves on the trees were changing into red and orange hues. And although the days were still warm enough, the mornings were steadily becoming colder. Inside the battle dress, she was comfortable, though. The AI regulated the temperature and let moisture out through vents, keeping her warm and dry. A few hours ago, she had felt a jolt of energy as the suit had injected a small dose of caffeine into her system, but the effect was now long gone. The adrenaline of being out on her first patrol had worn off, as well. For three days, they had been walking, with just two hours of sleep. And not a sign of the northerners, except a few run-down huts that Tac Hordvik had explained were the remains of an enemy settlement that had been terminated years ago. “Too close to our borders,” he had said and continued to explain that no settlements south of the river were allowed. That would be too risky. Not that he had needed to tell any of them. It was all part of basic training, learning about their enemy and the rules of engagement.

Now, she was beginning to look forward to returning to camp. She had expected combat, but Tac had explained beforehand that the savages often fled instead of fighting them, especially since the patrol would never penetrate the deep woods. In a couple of hours, they would reach the exfiltration point, where they would be picked up by an armored airship. Once they returned to camp, they would march through the grounds still wearing the battle dress, to be treated with a lavish dinner. On such occasions, it was not uncommon that one of the strategos or some other high official would come and join them, share the meal with them, and talk to them almost as equals. Survivor night, it was called, and it was one of the traditions the Janissaries kept, a rite of passage of sorts. Whether shots had been fired or not, they would then be full Janissaries, no longer mere initiates.

Sue was jolted from her thoughts by a whisper inside her helmet. It was Keisha, who covered the left flank with Brad. She looked over and saw they had already raised their weapons, ready to fire at anything. Sue, on the opposite end, raised hers, as well, covering the right flank with Quinn. She didn’t like him, but they were teammates, and whatever personal issues they had disappeared as they worked together as limbs of the same body. Julian, front man for today, had taken a knee and held a hand up to his helmet, signaling activity in front of them, as well. Tac Hordvik, positioned a little to the back, centered, looked over his shoulder and gave a signal for Sue to leave the right flank and strengthen the front with Julian. They had trained for this, and Sue noticed the movements came naturally to her as she quietly slipped behind Quinn’s firing zone to take up position with Julian. The six-man patrol, though green, was a cohesive fighting unit now, ready to move against whatever came their way, and Sue felt the rush of adrenaline as the AI injected a stimulant into her veins. Her breath became deeper, her focus clearer, and all signs of fatigue disappeared in an instant. Even her vision improved; the contrasts became clearer, and her eyes seemed to receive more light, enabling her to see things that normally would be hidden by shadow.

“Contact, ten o clock, two hundred meters,” she heard Keisha’s voice say in her helmet. The voice was steady and calm. She looked over and saw what had previously been hidden. A camouflaged blanket, probably heat resistant so the AI wouldn’t notice, hid several shapes, stirring.

“Three seconds,” Tac Hordvik said, just as calmly. Sue moved her weapon slightly, so not to alert the enemy.

“Two.” She tensed.

“One.” She threw her weapon up to her shoulder, initially not bothering to aim. It was all about overwhelming the enemy at first.

“Engage.” The deafening roar of automatic weapons, the explosions of smart rounds, one in every ten, the screams of their enemy as they realized they were under attack. It only took half a second before the sound was adjusted to comfortable levels by the AI, and she wondered what it must be like for the northerners.

“Baseline left,” she heard Tac Hordvik say, louder, but still calm and systematic. He had been under fire before, and she was glad to have someone like him leading now. Sue and Julian moved just as they had trained for so many times, while Quinn on the right flank would be moving behind them all and taking up position to the left of Tac Hordvik. She was relieved that fear didn’t stop her from doing everything just as they had trained. Then again, it might be something the AI gave her.

Seconds later, the team was lined up, side by side, spaced two meters between each of them, still firing at where the enemy had shown itself. So far, so good.

“One forward,” the tacticus said. She moved forward, while counting. One, two, three, four, five. Down on one knee, firing in bursts. Julian, to her right, fitted another hundred-shot magazine into his weapon. She still had sixty left in hers, so she waited. Keisha, on her left didn’t change hers, either.

“One covering,” Keisha said.

“Two forward,” Tac Hordvik said. It was all just as they had practiced, everything moving smoothly, taking the battle to their enemy within seconds. Sue, Keisha, and Julian firing everything they had, while Quinn, Hordvik, and Brad moved steadily forward.

“Two covering,” she heard Hordvik say as they took a knee to their left, returning to the perfect line. Sue quickly ejected the almost empty magazine, sticking it to the suit, where magnets would keep it in place for later. A fresh magazine went into her weapon, and she was ready again. Keisha was eyeing her, having done the same.

“One forward,” came another command. She leaped up and moved forward. One, two, three, four.

A loud blast from the back made her stumble and fall.

Chapter 5

DAVE

Dave had loved the days at the Cottage. He felt like he had stuffed his head with knowledge, everything from economics and history to math and physics. And still he craved more. He was delighted by the fresh perspectives and noticed that, rather than rote learning, the Warden scientists encouraged curiosity and free thinking. They encouraged initiates to question the truth and what the scientists taught. There were limits, such as whenever someone questioned by which right the Moon people ruled, or what lay beyond the Rift, but except for the obvious taboos, the everyday discussions tended to be enlightening.

Back at the camp, the learning centered more around practicalities, and though he liked those parts, as well, he often found himself longing to return to the Cottage. He had begun to consider his specialty and knew that he had a decent chance of becoming an assistant scientist or maybe a techie, both paths that, given time and hard work, could lead to scientist positions at the Cottage. He lifted his gaze from the textbook,
Intermediate Materials Technology
, and looked out at the quiet part of camp where he had sat down next to a thick tree trunk to study. A couple of initiates were studying nearby, engaged in hushed discussion over something on their infopads. A Warden, a few years older than Dave, was telling a small group of initiates a tall tale, with the initiates staring wide-eyed at him. Two other Wardens were smoking, their futile attempts to suppress their giggles only making them look all the more stupid.
Kissweed
, he thought.

Discipline among the Wardens was generally lax, completely different from what he had expected. Compared to school back in Charlestown even. It normally suited him just fine. He couldn’t imagine himself surviving the strictness of Janissary life, or the back-breaking Corpus serfdom. He had a hard time understanding why the Covenant needed such an institution as the Corpus, but every time he mentioned it, the scientists would tell him it was necessary to preserve the integrity of the Covenant. And though he didn’t fully agree, he understood their reasoning. Also, he knew there were things he wasn’t told, and that only as a full citizen would he be privy to some of the secrets that the Moon people held back from the English, and that everything would make sense to him one day. Once he learned the truth.

There were some aspects of the lax discipline he didn’t like as much, though. He had noticed already on his first day in camp that Wardens openly smoked kissweed. Few initiates did, but as far as he could tell, almost every seasoned Warden did from time to time. He shook his head. He couldn’t imagine how otherwise bright young people, citizen prospects, with an eternity of discovery ahead of them, would consume something that would dull the senses, and over time make you as dim as the neighborhood drunk.

He turned his eyes away, trying to concentrate on the subject at hand. He enjoyed the lectures, and he had a knack for learning, something the scientists were already noticing, he knew. But as he sat there, focus seemed to elude him. He kept thinking about what was soon to happen. The Wardens were tasked with protecting the Covenant from what lay beyond the Rift. As much as it was the reason for their existence, it was something no one discussed in detail. Whenever a discussion touched upon this, the final words were something along the lines of “You’ll see” or “Give it time, you will learn soon enough.” Dave had a hard time settling for that, but he knew he’d get no answers.

He had a few ideas, though. He’d heard talk of the infected. And the skirmishes and the patrols. And some of the older Wardens had a particular stare. As if they had seen things that were impossible to put into words. He knew there were some things you couldn’t “un-see.” And even if he got his choice of specialization, which would be far from physically demanding, front-line duty, he knew that every scientist, every steward had been out there at least once, and had seen whatever it was no one would talk about. That was the way of the Wardens. No one was to remain innocent. Everyone shared whatever burden they had to carry. Though he thought it sounded like a nice idea, he often wondered what it all meant. And there was something unsettling about it, as well. As if, once he crossed some particular line, there would be no going back.

SUE

Sue shook her head and wiped dirt from the outside of her visor. A scream pierced her ears from the helmet comms system, before it was muted. Brad. She glimpsed the enemy in front of her withdrawing, and turned half way around. Brad was lying on the ground, cut almost in half by the explosion. Dead or dying, it didn’t matter. Even the fabled Janissary suit couldn’t save him from such a blast. Quinn was also down and lay motionless. She saw Tac Hordvik crawling toward him, firing short bursts every few seconds. She couldn’t see what he was aiming for, but she threw her weapon around and fired a long burst in the general direction he was firing, before getting up. She ran over to him, followed by Julian, while Keisha stayed back, covering their backs. There was a low dip in the terrain, where they would be safe from direct fire. At least for a little while.

“I’ve already called for backup,” the tacticus said. “But unless we take out that rocket launcher, the airship will not come. They’re not risking an airship for a bunch of green initiates.” Sue could see he was gritting his teeth, and for a moment, she thought it was anger at their superiors who would sacrifice them so easily. But then, she saw where his suit had been penetrated. The nano bots were already covering the hole in the suit, just above the knee, but there was no hiding the blood soaking through.

“You’re hurt,” she said. He nodded.

“Yes, but the bots are stitching me up as we speak. Hurts like hell, though. AI won’t give me anything but weak local anesthetic, either. Have to stay alert.” She nodded, thought for a second, before she spoke.

“Tac, you stay here with Quinn and Keisha. Julian and I will take out the launcher.” The tacticus stared at her and seemed about to say something. She cut him off, a bit too harsh.

“Tacticus, sir, we have no choice. You are incapacitated whether you like it or not. This is the only way.” She didn’t wait for an answer as she motioned for Julian to follow her.

“Now,” she said, her voice calm, though her thoughts raced. She had just relieved her superior of command. If they survived, which was anything but certain, she could face dire consequences. Nevertheless, this was their only chance, and looking at the remains of Brad, she didn’t think they’d get another.

Sue and Julian leapt from cover simultaneously, firing everything they had while they ran. The ammo in the magazines would only last for a few more steps. When she estimated they were down to the last twenty rounds, she shouted, a little too loud, for Julian to take cover. As soon as they hit the ground, she turned a switch on the side of her weapon, lifted it to point up in a 45-degree angle, and fired. A blast of heat passed to the side of her helmet. The heat-seeking missile should search out their attackers within seconds. She craned her neck to see, knowing she was exposed, waiting to see where the missile hit.

A blast just to the right of where she had expected it told her the location of their attackers. Both she and Julian took a knee, fresh magazines clipped onto their weapons, and blasted away. Fifty rounds each, give or take, before they stood up and moved forward, firing short bursts with every step. As they reached the tree line, she knew she would soon be out again. They both took a knee as soon as they stepped into the shade of the forest.

“Keep firing. I’ll switch first,” she said. Julian just nodded. Once she was done, he did the same, while she covered. Once they’d both reloaded, they moved forward again, slower now. After twenty or thirty meters, they came upon the remains of the enemy position taken out by the heat seeker. The dead lay strewn, and some sort of off-road vehicle still burned.

“Let’s hurry. They can’t be far away,” she said. “The launcher must be slowing them down. See the mount?” She pointed at the burning vehicle. It had clearly been fitted with a weapon.

“Those weapons are powerful, but cumbersome. I can’t believe they plan to carry it off,” Julian said.

“Yeah, I guess they would have a hard time replacing it,” Sue answered, knowing well that the northerners didn’t have nearly the resources of the Covenant.

They ran through the forest, knowing that they could be running into an ambush at any time. But if they didn’t take out the launcher soon, Quinn would be dead. And if that airship wouldn’t come pick them up, they would all die.

The air was crisp, and outside of a few rays of light coming through the canopy of the forest, shadow covered the ground. The visors adjusted swiftly between light and dark, though, so Sue had no problem seeing.

“Careful,” she heard Julian whisper inside her helmet as something snapped. She cursed quietly and pulled her foot from the broken branch. The enemy didn’t have the equipment of the Janissaries, but they still had ears. She took a moment to look around. Nothing. Then they kept walking, a quick pace, but more careful with where they put their feet down. Julian took the front, while Sue tried to cover both sides. They needed to move fast, but if they came upon the enemy without the element of surprise, it would be two against who knew how many. And not even Janissary suits or their superior weapons could be relied upon to keep them alive through that.

~

After a few minutes, Julian stopped, raised his left fist, and took a knee, weapon raised and ready to fire.

“Twelve o’clock.” Sue heard his voice, an amplified whisper. She took a knee and waited. After a few seconds that seemed to last an eternity, Julian lowered his hand, palm down and out to his left. Although even the barest whisper would be heard inside the helmets, using hand signs for when they preferred quiet was something Tac Hordvik had emphasized time and again. You never knew what the enemy heard, or what equipment they might have gotten their hands on. Sue crept carefully forward, taking up position a few meters left of Julian. They were almost ready.

They looked at each other, and Sue held up five fingers. Both made sure their spare magazines were within easy reach and pointed the right way. Everything to make time spent changing as short as possible. Four. Sue glanced through her scope and made a small adjustment for distance. The enemy was no more than sixty or seventy meters in front of them, dragging the heavy rocket launcher between them. One looked injured. Three. There seemed to be six or seven of them. With the element of surprise, Sue and Julian should be able to take them out swiftly. Sue was acutely aware that these would probably be hardened veterans, though. Two. She was green. So green. But training did count for something, and there was no better training than that of the Janissaries. One.

They fired simultaneously, and two enemies fell at once. Sue moved the barrel slightly and fired again. One more down. She heard Julian fire two quick bursts, and followed up with one of her own. Missed. One of the savages managed to get a burst off in their direction, and she heard a scream both through her helmet and from the outside.

“Shit shit shit!” Julian screamed as he dropped his weapon. Sue fired another burst, and the shooter fell to the ground. She looked at Julian, who had taken cover. He was clutching his hand, bleeding. The medics would fix that back in camp. Painful, obviously, but nothing serious. His weapon was done for, though. Now, she was on her own. She focused, leaving Julian with his injury. How many left?

A stray bullet almost got her, but the defense bots deflected it. The suit was designed to deflect or stop bullets, but it didn’t always work, and some parts of the body were more difficult to cover than others. The helmet, though, had some of the best defensive capabilities, including nano bots that within a microsecond could merge into an almost invisible shield in the air, a centimeter or so outside the helmet itself, and deflect the incoming bullet. It would destroy the bots, but could save her life. It just had, and she gave a quick thanks to the now wrecked little invisible fellows that would have to be replaced once they got back. If they got back.

She moved a meter to her left, in order to make for a less obvious target. In a split second, she saw movement, and she raised her weapon and fired a long burst almost even as she was still lifting the weapon. She heard a scream, and another voice shouted something. A female voice.

Sue edged forward to have a closer look. There, pinned down in a small depression, Sue could see one leg sticking out.
Careless
, she thought, taking aim. A single shot, and another scream. She got to her feet and ran toward the enemy, hunched low, aware that she might be wrong, there might be others.

She stood above the woman, covering her with the rifle. The woman rolled over, wincing from the injury.

“Me tuer, meurtrier!” the woman said. She couldn’t be older than Sue, but the wide eyes and scruffy hair did nothing to hide her contempt. Sue didn’t know what to do. Clearly, they couldn’t let her go. But they had strict rules that taking prisoners was to be avoided. But here she was, holding her weapon at a girl that could have been her sister or a friend back in Charlestown, and she couldn’t simply shoot her. She had no idea what those words meant, but it didn’t matter. She glanced over at Julian as he came walking toward them, hoping that he would come up with a solution.

It all happened in an instant.

The woman drew the sidearm from underneath her and pulled the trigger. Had she been steadier, more experienced perhaps, Sue would be dead. Instead, the shot went off a split second before the gun actually pointed at her, and Sue reacted instinctively. A three-round burst. The woman shook a couple of times before she fell silent, eyes still wide from the shock.