The Glorious Becoming (23 page)

“Yes.”

...I hate you.

“Control of the Fourteenth will be turned over to Commander Dostoevsky, who will serve as acting captain until your return.” Thoor paused. “Were it not for the fact that the Fourteenth has been stable under your leadership, Dostoevsky would have been terminated months ago. Advise him to tread carefully while you’re absent.”

“Permission to speak freely?”

Thoor’s answer was flat. “Denied.”

“I’m the wrong one for this job,” Scott said in defiance. “I belong on the battlefield. I’m not covert. You have the eidola, use them!” How could he possibly prepare for an assignment like this in a single day? How would he explain this to the Fourteenth? He hadn’t even revealed to them the truth behind the Alien War—at least not as much as he’d heard from Oleg.

“Are you finished?” Thoor asked.

Wonderful.
“I’m finished.”

“Your transport will depart at 0715 tomorrow morning. Your EDEN armor will be waiting by the transport. Finalize your decisions tonight. You are dismissed.”

Scott didn’t even spare Thoor a Nightman salute. Without another word between them, Scott turned away, marched out of the Throne Room, and left the Citadel.

I’m going to Cairo.
That statement resurfaced in Scott’s mind over and over.
I’m going to Cairo.
Were Svetlana’s life not at stake, he’d have had no issues circumventing Thoor’s order. But the general was right: her wellbeing affected Scott. Thoor could play that card anytime, and Scott would follow whatever orders he was given, just like Lieutenant Novikov had.

Thoor had told him he’d be allowed to take four operatives with him to
Cairo
, and that his list needed to be finalized by that night. He had no intention of waiting that long. Going straight to his room, he promptly locked himself in and sat at his desk. Though he often sought out the Fourteenth’s opinions when making decisions, this was one he knew he had to make himself. This was going to be a shock to the unit. He didn’t need a lounge-full of operatives begging not to go or vying for a spot. Things would work much more efficiently if he could walk in and just say, “Here’s who’s going.” With that mindset, he pulled out a notepad and pencil and began scribbling.

Essential.

This was a covert assignment—the kind of mission suited for the stealthy. He needed someone who could get into places unnoticed, be his eyes in places he couldn’t go.

He needed Esther Brooking.

“Doggonit!” Scott slammed his pencil down.
There has to be someone else. Someone else who can do what she does.
There wasn’t. No one else even came close. Who else was he supposed to bring for that, William Harbinger?

Exhaling in frustration, he picked up his pencil and scribbled Esther’s name. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t have a choice. Esther filled the role of infiltration. What else was essential? Who would he need to make contact with H`laar?

Someone who speaks German.
He scribbled Auric’s name.

He looked at the word
Essential
again. What else was absolutely essential? Not a medic. Not big guns. Not another officer, though he would need to promote one of his choices to complete the illusion.
I’ll promote Auric.
The German could easily pass for a lieutenant.

“Who else do I
have
to have?” he asked himself quietly. “Who else is a must?”

This wasn’t a smash mouth job; it was a quiet one. That eliminated Becan from the mix. Jayden was quiet, but not necessary. He scribbled down Flopper’s name out of spite for the situation, but he knew not to take it seriously.

“Boris,” he said. They would probably need to get information, to access files. Maybe log into mainframes and records.
Maybe even grease a few creaky doors.
He scribbled the technician in.

David...no.

Max...no.

Travis...maybe.

No, not Travis. Thoor hinted that extraction would be handled. Scott didn’t need to bring his own pilot. Besides, who else could fly around the Fourteenth?

Name by name, Scott went through the unit, but no one else was absolutely essential. He could do this just with Esther, Auric, and Boris. Thoor hadn’t even needed to eliminate Svetlana from eligibility. Scott wouldn’t have brought her, anyway. This was far too dangerous. Thoor never said Scott
had
to take four. For something like this, the fewer the better. Was there anyone else who would serve a purpose besides just being there?

“That’s it,” he said, plopping his notebook down. Including himself, there were four total. To say this was going to be interesting would be an understatement. Picking up his comm, Scott prompted Dostoevsky. The commander’s voice emerged seconds later.

“Good morning, captain.”

Scott wasn’t sure about the
good
part. “Yuri, I need everyone awake and in the lounge, now.”

“I am en route.”

By the time Scott arrived in the lounge, the room was full. There was a sense of anticipation in the air, and it became immediately apparent to Scott that the unit thought they were being called on a mission. “This isn’t a callout,” he said in clarification. He surveyed the group for his chosen operatives, glancing briefly to Auric, Boris, and...no Esther. He scanned the room again. The scout was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Brooking?”

Dostoevsky shook his head unknowingly.

“She wasn’t here when we woke up,” Becan said. “She was here last nigh’, but none o’ us saw her leave between then an’ now.”

The knot returned. Esther had told him she’d have her things packed so that Scott could transfer her to another unit. Scott walked from the lounge back into the bunk room, straight for the scout’s bed. Sure enough, her duffle bag was packed—but the fact that it was still there told Scott she intended to return at some point. She hadn’t moved on completely.

Where are you, Esther?

He’d track her down and deal with her later. With everyone else gathered, he cut right to the chase. “There’s no easy way to say this, so it’s just coming right out. Some of us are about to be transferred to
Cairo
.”

Shocked gasps swept the room—none louder than Svetlana’s.

“It’s a covert assignment intended to recover H`laar, the Ceratopian
Novosibirsk
lost. We’re going there under the guise of a transfer to a newly formed unit. Myself, Auric, Esther, and Boris will be making the move.” At the mention of their names, Auric and Boris’s faces fell. “Officially, I’m still a lieutenant with EDEN. The promotions I’ve received since becoming a Nightman were apparently never put on record. I’ll be assuming the role of newly-promoted commander to a Captain Rockwell.” He looked at Auric. “You’re going in as my lieutenant.”

Auric’s mouth hung wordlessly.

Continuing on, Scott looked at Boris. “I’m going to need your technical savvy, so pack whatever equipment you need to hack into an EDEN base.” Boris’s face paled instantly. “Don’t even ask me to elaborate, because I don’t know how to. Get with Max, I’m sure he can give you some pointers.”

“Maybe I should go,” Max said, lifting his hand.

“No. If something happens to us, I want to know that the Fourteenth is in good hands,” Scott said. Boris stammered in Russian. “Not that anything is going to happen to us, Boris!”

Standing up, Svetlana’s fidgeting finally turned into words. “Scott, I do not understand this. Why must it be us who go to
Cairo
? Are there not the eidola for that very purpose? Why must
we
do what they are made to?”

Because Thoor is proving a point to me, and he threatened to kill you.
“I dug this hole when I brought up H`laar to him. I have to climb out of it.”

“But—”

“There are no ‘buts,’ Sveta. Now sit down and listen.” Cheeks flushing angrily, she did as told. “I don’t know how long this job will take, but I do know time is critical. However, while I’m gone, Yuri, you’re going to be acting CO. Max, you’ll be acting commander.” The two men nodded silently. “Guys, play it
extremely
safe. Don’t do anything to bring negative attention to the unit. Thoor will be watching.”

The whole room emanated nervous energy. Murmurs were starting. He had to start taking some questions, if for no other reason, to get them all focused. “I know you guys must have some questions, so fire away. I’ll answer as best I can.”

Max lifted a hand. “How exactly are you guys gonna break out that alien? Last time I checked, none of us are spies.”

“Esther’s the closest thing we have to an infiltrator. I’m going to find her and explain to her the situation. I just have to trust that she’ll contribute with her expertise to whatever extent that she can.”
And that I can find her.

“And this captain you’re going to,” Max said. “Does he know what’s going on?”

Scott shook his head. “No.”

“Well ain’t that interesting?”

“Why’d you agree to this, Scott?” asked David.

Because if he didn’t, Svetlana would die. How could he say that without saying it? He let his and David’s eye contact linger. “Sometimes you’re not allowed to refuse.”

It took all of one second for David’s face to fall; Max had a similar reaction. They got the hint.

“How will you get back once you have this Ceratopian?” asked Dostoevsky.

“I don’t know. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Ironically, that was the least of Scott’s concerns. Thoor wanted this Ceratopian badly. He’d get them back home whatever the costs.

Raising her hand hesitantly, Svetlana eyed Scott and leaned forward. “Where is Esther?”

Silence hung—every eye beaded on Scott, as if his knowledge of her whereabouts was a foregone conclusion. Or at least his knowledge of what was behind it. “I don’t know. I know she’s going through something right now, and it’s something personal. It’s not my place to talk about it.”
End this on a good note.
“But she’s a consummate professional. She’ll handle this mission fine.” He hoped.

“All right,” Scott said, “we have a lot to do. I know how many more questions you guys must have, but I’m going to be honest in saying that I probably don’t know the answers to half of them. This has caught me just as off guard as you all.” He looked at Auric and Boris. “I need you two to get packed. Pack everything, make it look like a legitimate move. We need to sell this.” They affirmed. “I’m going to relay my choices to Thoor and hopefully meet with you guys and Esther tonight to go over a more thorough plan. Until then, get packed and get your minds prepared. This is going to be a fun one. All right, everyone, dismissed.”

Chatter rose from all of the tables. The operatives rose to their feet. Svetlana beaded in on Scott immediately. The look she gave him was stern, but sympathetic. “There is something you are not telling me, Scott. I know you.”

“Look, Sveta—”

“I am not arguing, I am just saying. You know you can talk to me.” She paused apprehensively. “I want to go with you.”

“Hell no. Absolutely not.”

“But—”

“Sveta, no.”

“Hey, Scott!” Jayden said, weaving through the crowd. “Hey man, I wanna go.”

“People, this isn’t a field trip!”

“Please, man, I’m beggin’ ya.”

I need to get away from this. I need to find Esther.
Moving through the cluster of operatives, Scott stepped out of Room 14. He made a beeline down the hall. He’d barely gone ten steps before Jayden’s voice called him.

“Scott!”

Scott stopped and turned. Jayden was jogging toward him. He looked desperate.

“Please, Scott, please! Please let me come with you.”

He sighed. “Jay—”

“All this time, man, I’ve just needed to get away from here. Even if it’s just for a few days.” His voice quieted, but his intensity remained. “Just give me this chance. I know I can help you guys, I
know
I can. Every day here, I wake up in the same room with the girl who dumped me, and I take orders from the guy who stole ’er. Please let me get away.”

It was the most eager Jayden had looked in as long as Scott could remember. But this mission wasn’t for him. “You don’t want to come on this one.”

“I can be packed in
five
minutes, man, just five minutes!”

“No.”

“Please!”

“Jayden—you can’t.”

The Texan’s face fell, but Scott couldn’t allow himself to care. This mission didn’t call for a sniper. Jayden would be a needless risk both to the mission and himself. “These guys need you. Keep them safe.” Stepping back and turning around, Scott resumed his trek to find Esther.

Jayden was left behind in the hall.

The first place that came to Scott’s mind in his quest to find Esther was the pool. The running joke was that the scout had gills—if she needed to work off stress or escape the rigors of EDEN life, she typically went in the water.

For the duration of Scott’s trek, the only thought that lingered in his mind was
how am I going to tell her?
They’d just taken part in arguably the most uncomfortable conversation he’d ever been a part of. She’d confessed her love to him. He hadn’t reciprocated it. Now he had to approach her and ask for her help. He’d called her a “consummate professional” back in the lounge. He hoped he was right.

When Esther wasn’t in the pool, Scott knew the situation was bad. The only other place Scott could think to look was the gym. Esther was almost as much of a workout machine as he was, and while her forays in the water were far more frequent, the gym was also a part of her routine.

It took Scott only a single step into the gym to prove his second guess right. He could hear the furious sound of gloves on a punching bag as soon as he entered. And as sure as his ears had indicated, Esther was there.

She wasn’t punching a bag; she was destroying one. With every strike, mists of sweat exploded from her taped hands in liquid bursts. The soaked hairs above her forehead bounced wildly across her face. Glaring through the bag with clenched teeth, the scout let loose a shriek of adrenaline. Then she saw Scott. The flurry ceased; she swayed away from the bag. Through dangling strands, she stared straight at him.