Transcendent (9781311909442) (23 page)

Lily blushed and finished dressing. “I
wasn’t hiding it. I’m still shocked.”

“It’s because this mobilization is mostly
new cadets being deployed for their first time,” Palla said. “From
what I hear, we’re still having a hard time recovering from the
war. Most of the human race is our age and just coming into their
own.”

Lily tilted her head and considered Palla’s
words. “So why are we being deployed? Shouldn’t we negotiate
instead?”

Palla shrugged. “Not my call. I’m just here
to help you out because you’re so special. If I had to guess, I’d
say its fear.”

“Fear?”

Palla glanced around to make sure the locker
room was empty. “Fear that these terrorists find a way to stop the
food production on Venus. Without Venus, the human race starts
starving in a matter of weeks or months.”

“Oh.” Lily shrugged the explanation off.
“Seems a little extreme, but whatever.”

Palla nodded. “People with more experience
than me or you are calling the shots. We have to trust in their
judgment.”

Lily snapped her fingers. “I just figured it
out!”

Palla’s brow furrowed. “Figured what
out?”

“That you’re stalling so you don’t have to
go to BCT class. Come on, mentor. I’ve got to make sure you know
how to handle yourself in case we come under fire.”

Palla’s eyes widened. “Do you think we
would?”

“I guarantee it if you miss Instructor
Dexov’s class!”

Palla laughed and followed Lily out of the
shower and down the busier concourse of the habitation ring. All
the classrooms, mess halls, and tiny barracks quarters were located
in the two large rings that circled the intra-stellar transport.
Palla and Lily were on one of ten ships deploying the brigades to
Venus.

Lily was headed home but she’d made herself
stop thinking about it that way. Venus was just a potential
battlefield she might have to fight for on her way to what she
really wanted. Besides, all the people she once cared about were
long gone from Venus. The people who were left were the ones who
had disrupted her life. Sure, she loved where she was now and what
she was doing, but she would never forget how that had come about
and who was responsible for it.

Maybe, if she was lucky, she might even be
able to get a little payback.

“I’m putting a lot of trust in you,” Shelby
grumbled. “Do you realize that?”

Krys flashed her a boyish grin. “That’s how
love works.”

Her eyes narrowed as she scowled. “Yeah,
well, it feels more like stepping out of an airlock without a
helmet on.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t say I was
experienced, that’s just what I’ve heard and read. Now stop
worrying. These are my friends. Yes, Mr. Strain will probably have
his gun—sorry, his rifle—but he’ll trust me.”

Shelby snorted. “All the more reason I
should have mine!”

“This was your idea,” he reminded her.

She kicked a small rock out of her way as
they walked and said, “It seemed a lot safer and smarter back in
your residence.”

Krys chuckled. “Don’t worry, these are good
people. Kind people. Angry and bitter, but they aren’t monsters or
savages.”

She sighed but stayed quiet as they walked
down the first road towards the irrigation pump. Krys didn’t see
anyone yet, but he was sure his friends would be hiding nearby.
They made it to the machinery before Krys felt Shelby stiffen
beside him. A heartbeat later, he heard someone clear their throat
behind him.

Krys turned and saw Mr. Strain standing with
his rifle in his hands, although he held it across his body and
pointed at the ground instead of at them. “Mr. Strain!”

“Krys, what’s this about? And who’s
this?”

“Mr. Strain?” Shelby asked before Krys could
respond. “You were a rancher here before, right?”

Mig’s eyes narrowed. “Krys?”

“This is Shelby—sorry, First Lieutenant
Shelby Riggs. She’s in charge of Sierra-12 now.”

“Can’t say that I expected this when I got
your note,” Mig admitted. He shifted his rifle in his grip and
added, “It kind of feels like a trap. Any soldiers hiding over the
hill ready to charge in on us?”

“No, sir!” Krys rushed to say.

“Mr. Strain, please,” Shelby said. “Krys
trusted me enough to tell me about you—I’m asking you to trust me
enough to believe I’m not trying to have you captured or
killed.”

“You’re asking a lot,” he growled.

Krys glanced at his girlfriend, worried
about how she’d handle the glowering rancher. He saw that she was
standing tall but didn’t look imposing or angry at all. He felt the
muscles in his neck loosen up and realized she knew what she was
doing. He wasn’t sure he knew, but he’d trust her just like she’d
trusted him.

“No soldiers, I promise. Just me. I am in
charge here and I’ve been able to make it possible for Krys to be
accepted into our society. I’d like to think I can negotiate
something that will allow you all to return as well.”

“After you killed our families and stole our
children?” Mig growled.

Shelby held his angry gaze for a long moment
and then nodded. “Frankly, yes. I’m sorry about what happened, but
none of us can change that. I’m shorthanded and, simply put, we
could use the help to increase our output. Krys is buried with
keeping everything running and the men and women I have who are
doing the farming and ranching are doing their best, but they could
really benefit from the experience you and your friends have.”

He looked at Krys and then back to Shelby.
“Why wasn’t anyone thinking about this before you came in shooting
three years back?”

“Nobody’s thinking about it now,” she said.
“At least nobody other than me. Fact is, if you agree to this, I
can bring you in, but you’ll need to lay low. You won’t be in the
system; that’s something I have to work at slowly. I’m hoping
production increases offset the losses I won’t be able to
officially account for.”

“What losses?”

“Clothing, food, and housing,” she said. “As
it is, I’ve been fudging the reports to account for what Krys has
been providing.”

Krys turned to her and gasped, “You what?
You knew?”

She nodded. “For a while now. We keep
records for a reason.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Mig chuckled. “Better watch yourself, Krys.
You’ve got yourself a cunning one there.”

Shelby spun head back to face him. “Excuse
me?”

“You’re smart. You’re trying to exploit a
resource to help yourself out. Several resources now. And unless I
miss my guess, the two of you are a lot more friendly than you’re
letting on.”

Krys felt his eyes widen and his face heat
up. He glanced away and then looked over to see Shelby had a tinge
of red in her cheeks. That made him feel better and confirmed that
she cared for him. Or she was an excellent actress. He pushed the
stray thought away and turned his attention back to Mr. Strain.

“She took care of me,” Krys said. “She’ll
stick to her word. I believe her.”

Mig snorted. “It’s not about believing her,
Krys. It’s about the risks.”

“What risks are there?”

Shelby nodded. “There are risks. Until I can
figure out a way to get you registered in our society, you won’t be
able to go anywhere or do anything. We’ll have to provide
everything you need and hide the data trails. If we’re visited by
anyone else, you’ll have to stay out of sight.”

“Doesn’t sound promising,” Mig
responded.

“It’s better than the alternative,” she
argued. “Living in the wild, no power, no food or water you can
rely on. Not to mention the threat of being discovered by
patrols.”

“Only time soldiers have come for us, we got
away,” Mig said. He glanced at Krys and winced. “Well, most of
us.”

Krys opened his mouth but a sharp look from
Shelby stayed his voice. He clamped his lips together and waited
for her to respond.

“What?” Mig asked. He looked between the two
of them. “What do you know that she doesn’t want you telling
me?”

Krys groaned and looked to Shelby. She
sighed and answered for him. “Other colonies are having problems
with troublemakers. Supply convoys have been ambushed and
destroyed.”

“Wasn’t us,” Mig said.

She nodded. “I know. Unfortunately, that
doesn’t matter. The guerilla tactics have gone on long enough and
become significant enough to attract attention off-world. Last
reports indicate we only have a little time left until
reinforcements arrive.”

“Reinforcements?”

Krys blurted out, “Lots. Tanks and biomechs.
You know, the big robots?”

Mig grimaced. He turned and looked to the
east. “We could run and hide. Tanks and robots probably won’t do
well in the mountains.”

“Neither will you,” Shelby said. “Unless
you’ve managed to store away supplies and find a way to keep food
from spoiling?”

He frowned and didn’t respond right
away.

“Mr. Strain, Shel—Lieutenant Riggs and I
have talked about this a lot. This really is the best thing we
could come up with.”

Mig nodded. “I’m seeing that, but I don’t
like it. There’s a lot of hard feelings to get over and a lot of
trust that hasn’t been earned.”

“I’m here, with Krys, and without any backup
or even a gun,” Shelby said. “What more do you need to believe
me?”

Mig stared at her a long moment and nodded.
“Wait here.”

“What?”

He nodded at the pump. “Stay here. I have to
go talk to my people. I can’t speak for them, but I’ll see what I
can do.”

“How many do you have?”

He smiled and shook his head. “You can count
the ones who come back yourself.”

Shelby sighed. “All right, but please hurry.
I need to get back. Things are heating up and if I’m gone too long,
people will start asking questions.”

Mig stared at her and said, “I don’t see how
you trying to stay out of trouble is my problem.”

Shelby raised an eyebrow. “Really? You are
the problem here and I’m trying to help you. So I’d say that makes
my problems your problems.”

Mig’s nostrils flared. He slung his rifle
over his shoulder and turned to Krys. “Watch her close, son; she’s
crafty.”

Krys grinned and nodded. Mig turned away and
wandered into the rows of pineapple trees to consult with his
friends. Shelby turned back to Krys, her lips opening to ask a
question. Krys shook his head. “They’ll come around,” he assured
her. “You did a good thing here. Reminds me of a soldier who shoved
a kid in a hole to save him.”

Shelby stiffened and smiled. She glanced
around and then followed him to the shadowed side of the pump. “For
being young and inexperienced, sometimes you know exactly the right
things to say.”

Krys grinned. “Sometimes I get lucky.”

“Not yet, you haven’t,” she said with a
wink. She laughed when Krys’s eyes widened and his jaw fell
open.

Lily studied the myrmidon class biomech as
she climbed up the gantry to the open cockpit. She glanced, picking
up places where hand and foot holds had been worked into the armor
so it could be mounted or dismounted in the field.

“This is incredible,” Palla whispered behind
her.

Lily couldn’t stop herself from
grinning.

“Are you ready for this?”

“I feel like my entire life has been leading
to this,” Lily admitted.

Palla blinked and looked away. She laughed
and turned back to her. “Three years. I’ve only known you three
years but I know what you mean. This is your moment.”

“I might not be here without your help,”
Lily said.

“Aw, thank you,” Palla said. “But come on,
you’re the prodigy here.”

“You’re no slouch.”

Palla shrugged. “We can stand here and
stroke each other’s egos all day, but you’ve got a biomech to pilot
and I’ve got a ride to catch.”

Lily grinned and caught Palla’s arm as she
turned away. She twisted her friend back around and pulled her into
a hug. Palla stiffened and then relaxed and squeezed her back.
“Thanks,” Lily whispered. “For everything!”

“Good luck, Lil!” Palla responded in a
choked voice.

Lily let her go and watched as Palla
scampered across the gantry and back to the secure door of the drop
bay. She ducked through the door and left Lily alone with the
mechanics and other biomech pilots. All of them were focused on
their own biomechs, leaving Lily a rare moment of respite. It was a
calm before the storm and she knew it. Movement and chaos was
coming, even if it was only trying to mobilize two brigades of
armor.

Lily’s part was keeping the five biomechs
and support staff in her platoon together. In the simulators,
they’d gotten themselves together quite well. Everyone kept telling
her how different things would be when it was real, but she
couldn’t imagine it would be much harder. The sims were so
realistic already: how much more difficult could it be?

She pushed her thoughts away and climbed
into the cockpit of her biomech. She settled into the armored
cocoon and felt the cool padded material below her regulation blue
shorts. She picked the helmet up and slipped it over her head and
then fitted the breathing apparatus over her mouth and nose. Fully
enclosed above her neck, Lily breathed in the first of the
controlled air and tasted the faint metallic tint to it. She leaned
back into the cocoon and shivered as the cool material chilled her
through her t-shirt.

“Myrmidon Delta-two-seven, initiate
startup,” Lily said. “Authorization Captain Lily Evans.”

“Authorization confirmed, pilot,” the smooth
female voice of the biomech responded. “Ready for neural
interface.”

Lily took a deep breath and reached up to
the side of her helmet. She could interface with the biomech
automatically but for her first time she wanted to feel like it was
completely her control. Her decision. Her desire. “Manual
integration in three, two, one, inter—”