Enemy One (Epic Book 5) (17 page)

Tom King stood and punched air. “Man, that’s
bull
!”

“King, settle down,” Lilan said.

Tom looked anything but settled, but fell quiet nonetheless. Sighing heavily, Scott continued on. “It was made abundantly clear to me that these are the rules, and that’s that. Right now, at least for tonight, we don’t have a choice.”

Drawing a tired breath as her chain was released, Natalie asked, “What about me?” She rubbed her newly-freed wrist.

“I’m going to go ahead and say that you’re with the Falcons tonight.” It felt natural to tack an
if you’re okay with that
to the end of the statement, though it would have served no purpose. She had the least say-so out of anyone. Natalie made no outward response beyond a simple nod of the head.

“So where are these rooms of ours?” asked David.

Scott looked at him. “In the living quarters, wherever those are. Naturally, I wasn’t told.” The Nightmen had a way of saying,
sleep there
, without ever specifying where
there
was. He’d endured the same thing when he’d first arrived at
Novosibirsk
with David, Becan, and Jayden.

Glancing at the
Pariah
’s troop bay, Scott watched as the Nightmen hoisted Centurion on a harness. At least the burden of carrying the massive beast hadn’t fallen on the Fourteenth. They were almost too tired to stay on their feet, let alone carry a Ceratopian warrior.

His gaze returned to the group. “So let’s go right now, take a self-guided tour, I guess, and find out where we’re supposed to go. And more importantly, let’s find this Shubin guy, wherever he is.” The group acknowledged, and they rose to their feet.

The body of Rodion Sayankov, their lone loss from Krasnoyarsk, was hauled away with word to Rashid and Feliks only that he would be sent to Norilsk to be buried somewhere. Though details were nonexistent, neither surviving man from the
Cairo
extraction team complained. Their comrade was being buried somewhere and that meant a lot more than his corpse being left behind in Krasnoyarsk for EDEN to poke and prod. They’d take what they could get.

As Valentin had stated, the Falcons didn’t make it very far—not even to the hangar’s inner doorway leading to the rest of
Northern Forge
—before a pair of Nightmen showed up to escort them to wherever the isolation area was located. Natalie, without a word, accompanied them. There
was
a bit of good news, however, in the fact that one of the Nightmen, upon seeing the injuries to Auric, Catalina, and Rashid, offered to have them brought to the medical station. It was an offer Scott and Lilan eagerly accepted. It was one less thing they had to do themselves. After a brief exchange of
see you tomorrows
, the Falcons were led away, leaving the Fourteenth to explore
Northern Forge
alone.

Despite the mountain’s size, the facility within was roughly the size of
Novosibirsk
’s main barracks, square-footage-wise. It consisted of four levels, of which they were on the third, simplistically titled Level-3. In addition to being the level that housed the hangar, Level-3 also contained a small mess hall, a meeting room complete with conference table, a mini-theater with a projector that seemed to be a briefing room, restrooms, and a recreation room, equipped with various couches, circular tables, and a bar—the rough equivalent of Room 14’s lounge, though much larger in size and lacking a kitchenette.

Level-4, accessible via both an elevator and stairwell that connected all four levels, contained living quarters. There were far more bunk beds than the crew needed, each of which was located in its own room, a feature no one from the Fourteenth had ever experienced save Scott, and one that ensured that every member of the crew would have a place mostly to themselves. Rooms didn’t seem so much “reserved,” as Valentin had claimed, as they seemed “available.” It was an inaccuracy that mattered not a bit. They were just happy to have beds at all.

Level-4 was laid out in a grid pattern, with four quadrants connected by a pair of hallways that intersected in the center of the level. Each quadrant contained twenty rooms, each of which contained a bunk bed. That meant that, in all, the facility could house one hundred and sixty personnel. In addition, there were two shower rooms, neither bearing a designation for a specific gender. There was no question that Scott and his crew would put those to good use.

As it turned out, the living quarters were on the same level as the medical station, which was also where the Falcons were being kept. In addition to several rooms that were the equivalent of hospital rooms, there were two quarantine chambers. One of these chambers, for the time being, appeared to be Lilan and company’s new home. The exceptions were Catalina and Auric, who each had a spot of their own in the medical station.

Though Scott and company did get to meet the doctor Valentin was referring to, a lanky russet-haired individual named Gavriil Shubin, the doctor was far too busy to offer anything other than the most basic of greetings. All of this attention was directed to Centurion who had arrived in the medical station as Scott had walked in. Though they didn’t speak much, Scott was assured by Gavriil that he indeed had experience dealing with extraterrestrials, even if he wasn’t exactly an “expert” in the subject. He knew enough to help and that was all that mattered. The Ceratopian was placed in the second quarantine chamber, and that was the last Scott saw of H`laar’s bodyguard that night.

Despite the hectic state of the medical bay, Scott and Esther
were
able to receive a small amount of medical attention from a nurse called in for backup. With their bullet wounds treated and Scott given a pair of crutches, they were sent on their way so that the more direly injured operatives could be tended to. That was fine with Scott.

With cognition rapidly fading, the group migrated to the living quarters, where they doubled up in rooms with bunk beds. The only exception was Esther, who was the last woman standing in the Fourteenth—though she was given the task of taking in Flopper, something she didn’t mind in the least. Scott, appropriately, shared a room with David. Were it not for their sheer exhaustion, the two men might have felt nostalgic. Instead, they simply felt tired.

With two entire levels of
Northern Forge
still unexplored, and with evening approaching, the men and women of the Fourteenth finally retired.

Saturday, March 17
^th
, 0012 NE

1058 hours

EDEN Command

IT WAS THE longest flight Mark Remington had ever taken. For over ten hours, the
Philadelphia
cadet and brother of Scott Remington had sat strapped in a transport, gliding around the Earth to a place he couldn’t see. There was nobody in the cabin with him—nobody to talk to who could help pass the time. All he could do was sit there, flying in an aircraft with blacked-out windows and a tendency to turn left.

Despite the fact that he was alone, he was aware that eyes were on him. There were two men sitting in the cockpit—a pilot and the security guard who’d escorted Mark there. There was a camera at each corner of the small cabin, ensuring that any movement he made would be seen.

Mark had been told nothing—not why he’d been taken straight out of a training exercise or why his relation to Scott was of any significance. The only thing he knew was that, apparently, EDEN had attacked
Novosibirsk
, where Scott was stationed—or at least, where he had been. Mark hadn’t heard from Scott in almost nine months.

At long last, the transport descended, indicated by the sudden, almost alarming popping of Mark’s ears. Roughly thirty seconds later, the aircraft clunked to a landing. With the engines still whining, the front door of the cabin opened, and the security guard emerged.

“On your feet.”

Mark complied quickly, unfastening his safety harness and standing up. Swallowing, he watched as the guard marched past him to the rear door, hitting the button to lower it down. “Where are we? Sir.” The guard stared at him, but said nothing. Shifting his focus to the door itself, Mark watched as it slowly came down. Standing outside, not twenty meters from the aircraft, was an auburn-haired woman in a blue coat.

Waving Mark on, the guard said, “Get out.” Once again, the cadet did as he was told.

As soon as he stepped outside, Mark’s gaze wandered the room he’d landed in. It was monstrous in size, and there were once again no windows to indicate where exactly he was. There were people about, as well as other transports, but no signs or indicators of a geographic location. The woman approached him. Stopping, Mark did the only thing he knew to do: assume a stance of attention.

As soon as he did it, the woman smiled disarmingly. “Hello, Mark. There’ll be no need for that today.”

Shifting a bit on his feet, Mark attempted a nervous at-ease.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

Though he was trying his best to hide it, Mark’s nerves were obvious. “No, ma’am.”

Her eyes softening sympathetically, she said, “My name is Carol June. I’m one of the judges on the High Command.”

His eyes bulging in a moment of what seemed to be panic, the young medic-in-training instantly paled.

“It’s all right,” she said, extending her hand to gently touch him on the arm. “You’re not in any kind of trouble.” Though the gesture seemed to do little to quell his anxiety, she went on. “I know you must be very confused. Please, if you’ll come with me, I’ll try to explain everything.” Turning partially away, she motioned for him to walk alongside her. Nodding awkwardly and in silence, Mark complied. “The place you’re in now,” June said as she led him along, “is EDEN Command. The flight here was disorienting, I know. It’s designed to be that way, but it’s for a purpose. No one can know the location of EDEN Command. This place is too important.” She smiled at him again. “I don’t even know it, myself. My flights are the same as yours.”

Even as they walked, Mark’s face grew whiter. Staring ahead like a deer in headlights, he kept pace beside her.

June angled her head his way, briefly. “So, you’re enrolled in
Philadelphia
to be a medic, Mark?”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

“That’s fantastic. It’s such an important position, and we need it now more than ever—” June froze as Mark’s throat convulsed. The cadet buckled over.

Everything came out.

In a series of violent hurls, Mark lost what little food there was in his stomach. As it splattered onto the floor in a puddled mess of bile and partially-digested chunks, the teary-eyed medic-in-training set his hands on his knees. All around him, officers of EDEN Command stepped around him, weaving widely around him as if they were at risk of catching some kind of disease. Every single one of them was staring in disgust, though Mark paid no attention.

June, after an initial jaw drop, regained her composure as she placed a hand on Mark’s back. Her gaze drifted to her shoes, where chunks of the cadet’s upchuck had landed. Restraining a look of disgust, she collected herself and exhaled. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Just…” She looked around desperately for help. “It’s okay.” Glaring at a passer-by, she barked, “Don’t stare at us, idiot, call a custodian.” As the officer clumsily acknowledged, June’s focus returned to Mark. Gently, her hand rubbed between his shoulder blades. “Don’t worry about that, okay? I’m going to get you some crackers, and we’ll have a seat somewhere. Again, you’re
not
in trouble—not at all. You’re actually here because you could be a big help to us. All right?”

Wiping his eyes, Mark nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

In the minutes that followed, Mark was led away through the halls, until he and June reached a large, open cafeteria. Despite the sights and sounds around him, Mark continued to stare ahead numbly, his eyes moist and his face still in need of a napkin or two. Sitting him down at a table, June excused herself briefly as she walked toward the cafeteria line.

Reaching for the napkin holder, Mark claimed several napkins to use on his mouth, nose, and eyes. Once he was cleaned up, he sat still and waited. It wasn’t long before June was walking back to him, a box of saltine crackers in one hand and a glass of water in the other. Taking the seat across from him, she slid both items to him. “So what made you decide to become a combat medic, Mark?”

Biting one of the crackers then swallowing, Mark closed his eyes and looked down. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I’m so sorry for—”

“Mark, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I just—”

“Mark,”
she said again, laughing softly. “You’re not the first person in the world to lose their lunch. You’re in an uncomfortable situation, and it’s not your fault. I don’t want you to apologize for it.” After a slight hesitation, Mark nodded his head. Her smile returned. “So, why a medic?”

Mark took a sip of water, then answered, “I saw what my older brother was doing—he’s also in EDEN, as I guess you already know…”

She offered a look that seemed to say,
oh yes, we know
.

“And he just gave up so much to do it, and he was so convicted about it. I just felt like, you know…what was I doing?”

Nodding along with him, June said, “And you wanted to make a positive difference, like him.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“That’s a very brave choice,” she said. “You must love your brother very much.”

At long last, Mark’s countenance cracked, as if some sort of invisible wall of tolerance fell. Shaking his head in an almost discombobulating way, he said, “I know this is about Scott. They asked me if I was his brother before they took me out of class. Is he…is he dead?”

Though June’s smile remained etched in its place, June’s eyes flickered up to meet his dead-on. Beneath cautiously narrowed eyebrows, she answered, “No. No, your brother is not dead.”

“I just—” Mark said, his voice breaking ever so slightly. “He’s all I’ve got, you know? I haven’t heard from him in so long. The last time we talked, it was after his fiancée died, and he was just like, so…” He sought for words. “He told me to go do my own thing, and not to look for him anymore, and I didn’t know what…” Shaking his head, Mark brought his hand up to rub his eyes. His lost look remained. “It wasn’t like him at all. I never heard from him after that.”