“Then that's the first mission you'll plan after reviewing what I've put together.”
The War Room
The view from the high side of Mount Elbrus was expansive. The many long avenues carved into the side of the mountainside stone extended downward like hundreds of stairs, to look at it in the darkness of night you couldn't tell there was a thing amiss. Beyond the darkness of the mountainside fierce urban combat continued in the sprawling city beyond the shield. Ayan stood wrapped in her long poncho as she watched tracers arc over the shorter structures, heard the pops and roars of explosions punctuating the screaming light.
They had pushed the enemy out of the mountain. A great victory for all the flesh and blood defenders. Squadrons of Regent Galactic soldiers and West Keepers waited for them in the city streets, however. Their prowess at urban combat and superior numbers halted the mountain rebels, so they fell back to the main tunnel entrances and held, fortifying their hard won territory. The tunnels were safe for the night. How long it would remain that way no one could say for certain.
Volunteers snuck into the city beyond the foot of the mountain regardless of the dangers to distract the West Keepers and their mechanized allies. Using strike and fade tactics they inflicted as much harm to the enemy as they could manage before retreating, running and getting set to do it all over again. Some of the teams went out and hadn't returned. One had managed to send a message along an intact wired network. The message was simple; Enemy military hardware and personnel has begun to land on nearby islands. Going deeper into hiding and will contact when we have more intelligence. Things were getting worse but morale in the mountain was high. It felt like an island of safety in a sea of war.
A pressing, urgent need to destroy any weapon capable of doing major damage to the energy shield motivated some of the soldiers in the vast city below and the further one made their way from the edge of the shield the higher the mortality rate was. Jason, Oz, Minh and herself would be going further out than any team had since the whole conflict began.
She flinched as a group of red and blue streaks lit up the sky and struck the shield at her right side. It was her first real exposure to an all out ground war. Ayan had gone on a planetside mission involving repairs on a power plant after a major conflict, she'd run with various people in countless simulations, and she'd had extensive cadet, navy and officer ground training not to mention the rank of Major. Looking at her old file anyone would conclude that she was fully qualified to not only participate in a ground war, but to direct a platoon.
The real thing was different. She hadn't seen it in daylight yet, but she wasn't looking forward to it. She pulled the poncho tighter around herself. There was no need for additional warmth, the vacsuit took care of that from her toes all the way up to the black choker around her neck but she wanted to feel wrapped, covered up, protected.
The transparent door behind her slid open and a big hand came to rest gently on her shoulder. “Quite a view,” Oz said quietly.
“Has it stopped since you got here?”
“The fighting? It's gotten worse. Feels like I've been fighting in tunnels for months even though I can still count the days since I volunteered on my hands. This could go on for years or end tomorrow.”
“I saw a Thurge cruiser in a vertical bay down there. Is it broken down?”
“No, it works fine. It would carry everyone inside this mountain out of the solar system. Should take more than enough punishment to make it too.”
“Then why aren't they running?” Ayan asked in a whisper.
“They're protecting something. Jason and I can't find out what, but from what the Sergeant tells us there's too much to transport and giving the artificials a chance at access would cause so much trouble they won't even talk about it.”
“I don't suppose they're willing to destroy their precious cargo.”
“They say it can't be destroyed. Not well enough to be sure.”
Ayan shook her head. “You can destroy anything with a big enough fusion bomb.”
“Spoken like a true combat engineer.”
“So Minh's plan is the best plan.”
“Looks like.”
The pair looked out over the night shrouded city. One of the upper sections of a tall, sixty storey building was burning out of control, it looked like a massive torch. There were secondary explosions and flashes of light on the floors below and both of them hoped that they were the result of some accelerant left behind, not evidence of a desperate firefight.
“We thought we lost you,” Oz said, breaking a long silence.
Ayan didn't know what to say, how to respond for a quiet span that weighed on them both. She smiled finally and said; “I'm eighteen days old.”
He couldn't help but give her the most surprised, quizzical look, then burst out laughing. “I hadn't thought of it that way. Makes as much sense as anything else though. Minh told me everything, I think he likes being the lesser of two unusuals.”
Ayan laughed and turned to look at him. “That's what you're calling us?”
Oz shrugged. “May as well, you're both miracles when you look at it. The odds of him surviving out there for as long as he did were about as low as the odds of the Doc actually managing to bring you back,” his big hands took hold of her shoulders and he smiled warmly at her. “And we couldn't be happier that you both made it through, however you did.”
Ayan smiled back at him. “Regardless of the conditions, I'd be hard pressed to find better company.”
“I'm sorry Jonas couldn't be here, despite the conditions.”
She nodded; “So am I, but in my mind it's been over two years since he disappeared. I know, it's actually been about eight, but I'm still adjusting. What I mean to say is; I think not knowing what happened to him was what hurt the most. Now I know, and I miss him, but it's better. I feel lighter.”
“You know about Jake?”
“I heard. I want to meet him but I'm not getting my hopes up. I've seen some of the holos. He'll be different, I'll be different, maybe less so but,” she shrugged in conclusion.
“You're probably two of the most similar people in the galaxy, you know,” Oz whispered to her. “Laura says he remembers who he is and aside from being a little cuter, you act and appear pretty much the same. I've never met anyone whose had a body transplant and if things go well I might actually meet two soon enough.”
“Is he coming here?” Ayan asked, her eyes widening. She had told herself over and over again not to get her hopes up, to stay cool, collected, but the tightening knot in her stomach and light headedness told her that being rational where Jake was concerned was pretty far out of the question.
“We're hoping. If we can get a transmission out to the Triton and her cloaking systems are still up, it could change the odds just enough.”
“Do you think he'd actually come if we called him?”
“I wouldn't be surprised if he was already on his way. We sent him a message while we were on our way here. If he has scout ships on his outer perimeter he might get it soon.”
Ayan chuckled nervously and blew a breath of air out with widened eyes. “Nothing is ever simple when we all get together, is it? Thank God Laura's aboard the Triton.”
“Oh, now that's going to be interesting. She doesn't know anything about you or Minh.”
“I think it would be good for someone to give her at least a few seconds warning. Give her a chance to visit with Jason first. I can't wait to see her face, but still, I'd rather not give her a coronary.”
“Well, it's a long way between here and there even if the Triton is already on its way. We have jamming signals to bust through. Speaking of which, they want us at the strategic board.”
“Lead the way,” Ayan invited.
Oz walked through the doors as they opened, Ayan followed close behind. Jason, Minh, Alaka and Sergeant Roman were gathered around a large display table with a fully detailed hologram of the island. There were three red marked buildings and a pointer indicating that there was another point of immediate interest off the eastern side of the map. “Thank you for joining us Ayan.” Alaka said graciously. “I have been looking forward to meeting you ever since Oz told me a few stories about your shared experiences. My name is Alaka.”