The Glorious Becoming (58 page)

He stared at her as she stormed on down the hall. “It’s never a single Noboat!”

The air outside was surprisingly chilly. Though it didn’t compare to the frigidity of Russia, it was nonetheless a stark contrast to the hot daylight hours. In the hangar, the Caracals’ two Vultures were prepping for flight.

He and his crew had to survive—and by crew, he meant Auric, Jayden, Boris, and Esther. Everyone else, even Natalie, was secondary. It was a heartless mindset, but one he had to assume. A single Noboat? Natalie
had
to know better than that. Switching to a private line, Scott addressed his covert comrades. “We’re not getting out of this one. Your only priority tonight is survival. Do what you can until you’re at risk. Then pull back. Do you understand?”

His cohorts affirmed.

“Everybody in!” Natalie was shouting above the frenzy. Making eye contact with Scott, she pointed to the second Vulture. His. Throwing up his hands, Scott waited for some kind of additional direction. He had no idea who to take. The Caracals were the Caracals—that was it. There were no designated squads or teams. They had no organizational structure. All Scott could do was address the soldiers nearest him. “Get on board! Come on, let’s go, let’s go!” Auric, Jayden, and Boris were in the forefront of those that went in his ship. Esther, who had been trailing up until that point, caught up and joined them. The now-ponytailed scout was back in EDEN attire.

It was the most disarraying launch Scott had ever partaken in. It was the starkest of contrasts to the machinelike execution of
Novosibirsk
. As soon as the Vulture began its liftoff, he rallied his troops.

“Listen up, people!” Scott said. “A Bakma Noboat has landed outside of Luxor. We’re going to be tested today—we will pass if we work together!” They were wide-eyed and terrified. Were they even hearing him? “I’m going to break you up into two teams.” He didn’t even know their names. “This half of the room, with Lieutenant Broll. The rest of you, with me.”

Running her hand through her hair, Esther stared at Scott as if to emphasize the point of how bad this looked.

“Raise your hand if this is your first actual mission,” Scott said. Ninety percent of the cabin raised their hands. Scott almost fell back. “Oh, God.” The words just fell out. All he could do was blow a disquieted breath.

Minutes ticked like seconds as the Vultures rapidly approached Luxor. Between trying to determine who from his team was competent enough to partake in a mission and whether Natalie was actually stupid enough to believe a
single
Noboat was attacking a city, time ticked away with frightening velocity.

His private comm crackled as Natalie spoke to him. Her voice was forcefully collected. “I know you’re upset. And I respect that. You want to be prepared, as do I.”

Looking through the cockpit glass, Scott watched for any signs of Luxor in the distance.

“But Scott, sometimes you just have to act. As a leader, you’re going to learn that. This isn’t an ideal scenario, but we don’t live in an ideal world. You know this.”

He did.

“This is about trust. Trust in each other, trust in this unit. Trust that we can make a difference if we just work together.” She paused. “I need you, commander. I can’t do this without you, nor do I want to. But I need to know that I can trust you.”

Trust him. She had no idea.

“Are you in?”

Gritting his teeth, Scott answered, “I’m in.”

“That’s my Lion. Now here’s what I’m thinking...”

He dreaded even hearing it.

“Your scout, Brooking—can she swim?”

Scott was momentarily taken aback. “Can she
swim
?”

“Can who swim?” Esther asked suddenly. Jayden perked up beside her.

“That Noboat’s not far from Luxor Temple, on the east bank of the Nile. Brooking is going to set an explosive charge on the ship’s hull. Make an initial pass over the river and drop her in the water. Don’t let them see you do it.”

Scott raised an eyebrow.

“You and I are going to land in the residential zone just east of the temple. We’re going to cluster in the streets—make ourselves an appealing target. We’re going to give them every reason in the world to focus wholly on us.”

He was putting her thoughts together. It would make sense for the EDEN vessels to land between the Noboat and Luxor’s citizens. The Bakma would expect nothing else. With Esther working solo from the opposite direction, she could easily reach the Noboat from the river—and not a Bakma would expect it. Scott suddenly caught himself in the midst of a realization.

This was a plan.

Natalie went on. “The best way to make them miss that we’re flanking is to make them think that they’ve
caught
us flanking. So while the rest of us are clustering, you’re going to lead a small team behind the streets to the south. When you start to move up on them, make sure they see you.”

This was a plan of pure nerve. It sounded like a plan he’d have come up with.

“We’ll have them checkmated,” Natalie said. “If they uncover her and shift their focus, we’ll take that as an opportunity to press forward. It’s a lose-lose for them. All of this, of course, is contingent on my initial question. Can Brooking swim?”

Scott laughed aloud. He couldn’t help it. “Yes ma’am, she can swim.”

Eyes narrowing, Esther said, “I have an extremely bad feeling you’ve been talking about me.”

“I’m dropping Logan with her,” Natalie said. “If the Bakma do turn on her, I don’t want her alone.” Scott was fine with that. “Have your pilot follow me to make the drop. Tell Brooking your plan.”

“Aye aye, ma’am.” The comm channel closed; Scott turned to Esther.

She protested before he opened his mouth. “Now you wait one bloody minute.”

“We’re going to drop you in the river.”

“I said wait!” she said.

“You and Lieutenant Marshall are going to swim to the shore while we divert the Bakmas’ attention,” Scott said to her.

Jayden’s face fell.

“Of course,” she said sarcastically, “that makes perfect sense. It’s not as if our only priority tonight is
survival
, right?”

Work with me, Ess.
“The brunt of the fighting force is going to cluster in the streets, draw their attention away from you. You’re going to sneak up on the ship and set an explosive charge on its hull.” He explained the rest of the plan’s specifics.

“Listen,” Esther argued discreetly. “Have you already forgotten why we’re here? Have you forgotten your very words when we boarded this transport?”

Looking at the pilot, Scott said, “Follow the other Vulture. Stay low over the river, lower the rear door.” His focus returned to Esther.

“If we die,” she said, “this whole operation will fail. Listen to me!” She grabbed his collar and lowered her tone. “Earth. Svetlana. Everything.

You’re going to risk all of that to satisfy a woman who’s not even one of us?”

He didn’t want to hear it. “We have a job to do.”

She shook him. “Stop thinking like a fulcrum! Scott, a stray plasma bolt, a pistol jam, a sodding Nile crocodile. Any one of those could get me killed. I do it with the Fourteenth because with them, I must. But this is not the Fourteenth.

“Understand what I’m telling you. We are too important to risk ourselves on this mission. No one else can talk to Giro Holmes. No one else can infiltrate Confinement. No one else can do what Boris does, or Jayden, or Auric.”

“Yes, but...” Scott’s words suddenly trailed away. Not because he’d lost his train of thought, but because he had no argument at all.

Veck. Esther is right.

The scout’s voice softened. Her urgency remained. “Scott, you need to hold back. You need to deny that instinct that tells you that you can do anything. There’s a time to be fearless, and there’s a time to be smart.”

Scott’s heart ached. Everything she was saying, everything she was asking him to do...he couldn’t counter any of it. But he couldn’t abandon this mission. He
couldn’t
. Natalie needed him. The Caracals needed him. Every citizen who was depending on EDEN for rescue on the streets of Luxor needed him. What Esther asked of him was impossible.

“Listen to me, please,” she said. “We have to turn around.”

Turning his head to the cockpit window, Scott watched as Natalie’s Vulture began its descent. The captain’s plan, her mentality, it was all perfect. It was right for this mission. Scott’s face reddened.

“She won’t understand,” Esther whispered. “I know that. But you have to do it.”

Covering his mouth, Scott slid his hand down his chin. This was wrong. This was anti-him. It was a sin.

“You have to do it.”

A sin.

Eyes focused on Natalie’s Vulture, Scott inhaled deeply. He knew what he needed to do. It was the only option he had. Lifting his comm to his lips, he queued up Natalie. “Captain, abort Marshall’s drop.”

Esther exhaled in relief.

“Come again, commander?” Natalie asked.

“I am requesting you abort Marshall’s drop.” There was only one way to ensure that Esther would survive—that she would have the opportunity to pursue Giro Holmes and locate H`laar. It was the only choice he could allow himself to make.

Natalie was bewildered. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“This is the right thing to do, Scott,” Esther said assuredly.

Jaw tightening, Scott answered Natalie. “Nothing’s wrong, captain. I’m dropping with her.”

Esther’s eyes widened.
“What?”

“Lieutenant Broll will lead my diversion team instead. You wanted trust, ma’am. I’m asking you to trust me.”

Through the cockpit window, Scott watched as Natalie’s Vulture broke its course. Her voice emerged a moment later. “Bring ’em hell, commander.”

Scott addressed his pilot. “Maintain your course.” He looked at Auric. “Take the ship down by Captain Rockwell. Do your thing.”

“My pleasure, commander!” Auric answered.

“Scott!” said Esther. “Did you hear
anything
I said?”

“Our cover is as important as getting H`laar,” Scott said quietly to her, removing his helmet and latching it to his belt. “Now let’s go maintain it.”

Mouth falling, Esther watched as Scott marched to the rear of the ship. From the seat beside her, Auric smirked. “Oh, bloody save it,” she said to him, saddling her helmet and walking away.

Standing by the lowered door, Scott watched as the water beneath them zipped by. The Vulture had slowed, but it was by no means traveling slowly. This would be his first water drop since
Philadelphia
.

Esther bore daggers into Scott as she stood beside him. Anger emanated from her body.

“I don’t ask that you agree with me,” Scott said. “I ask that you respect me.”

“I respect you, Scott,” she said bitterly over the roar of the engines, “but you’re pushing your luck.” She looked away from him as another voice came through her comm. Her expression softened as she replied to it. “I’ll be safe. I promise.”

She was talking to Jayden. He probably didn’t understand Scott’s reasoning, either. But this was something they had to do. As soon as she was off her comm, he glanced at her sidelong. “Nile crocodiles. You were kidding about that, right?”

She cocked her eyebrows.

“Great.”

Auric’s voice emerged through the comm. “We are passing the Bakma ship. Drop when ready.”

Drawing a breath, Scott stood by the edge. This was nothing. This was going to
be
nothing. He crossed his arms. He stifled his breathing.

He stepped off.

Sploosh!

Cold. That was the immediate sensation he felt—even more so than wetness. The drop had been textbook, sinking him several feet before his momentum ran out. Legs kicking, he propelled himself to the surface. As soon as he emerged, he wiped his face and looked for Esther.

The scout’s head popped up several meters ahead. Whipping her hair out of her face, Esther felt the back of her neck. She began looking around the surface.

“What?” Scott asked. Far away, the transport lights of their Vulture veered toward Luxor Temple.

“My extension’s gone.”

A small lump formed in his gut. Casualty number one.

“Veck,” the scout said, looking around again.

“Does it float?” Scott asked.

“I don’t know, Scott,” she spat. “I forgot to ask the sales clerk about its
buoyancy
.” She dipped her head back to keep her hair away. “It’s too late now. Come on.” Propelling forward, she swam toward the shore.

As Scott swam behind her, he found his mind racing. Not about Noboats, or tactical strategy, or ponytail extensions. About something much more dire.

If a crocodile bites me, I’ve got to go for its eyes. That’s the only way to escape. They usually circle a few times before they strike. That can help me. No. Wait. That’s sharks.

“Hey,” he said to her, “if a crocodile bites, you still go for the eyes, right?”

“Just swim, Scott.”

There was nothing to be afraid of. It was nighttime, anyway. Didn’t crocodiles attack during the day? “They attack during the day, right?”

“Just swim, Scott.”

Right. His legs kicked faster.

The bank near Luxor Temple was made of elevated concrete. Barely a hundred meters away, the Noboat was perched on a stretch of pavement just north of the temple. As soon as Scott and Esther reached the bank, they drifted close together.

“We can’t move in until we have a diversion,” Esther said. “We need to wait until Rockwell and her team do their clustering.”

Scott looked around the water’s surface as they continued to stay afloat. “We should probably get on shore.”

“Listen, Scott.”

“I’m just saying.”

“After they’ve clustered, we’re going to begin a gradual approach. Hopefully we’ll have reached the ship by the time our phony flankers reveal themselves.”

Something touched Scott’s leg. He was sure of it. He thought he was sure of it. He spun around in the water.

Esther eyed him. “Have you been listening to any of this?”

“Yes. Yes, I’ve been listening. We should probably get on shore.”