Enemy One (Epic Book 5) (42 page)

“Right,” said Lilan, “then she—” Right then, the colonel stopped. Blinking in Tiffany’s direction as if her statement had just registered, he asked her flatly, “Excuse me? You
flew
here in…?”

“Yes, sir. The same Vulture.”

Well
that
must have been a surprise. One of the same Vultures that was involved in their attempted murder was the one that’d brought them out of Krasnoyarsk to
Northern Forge
. Scott wasn’t sure if that was ironic or morbid. It was probably both. Clearing his throat a bit, he said, “The
Pariah
was actually our Vulture, sir. A few months before any of this went down, it’d been damaged in a mission and shipped off for repair. We got word back from EDEN that it’d been totaled, for lack of a better word, but obviously that wasn’t the real case.”

The colonel eyed him, almost suspiciously. “So
your
Vulture was one of the ones that engaged us?”

Leaning forward against his elbows, Scott said to the colonel, “This whole time, we were under the impression that that Vulture, the
Pariah
, was out of commission for good. The way things sound, it seems as if EDEN may have been collecting aircraft from
Novosibirsk
for the very purpose of setting us up.”

His eyes growing distant, it seemed as if Lilan was putting things together in his mind, right there on the spot. At long last, he slowly nodded his head. “I think the fact that it was Svetlana who came for us tells us all we need to know.”

That it did, and Scott was thankful for the way Lilan phrased it. It was probably as concrete an endorsement as the colonel was capable of dishing out. Looking down the table again, Lilan motioned to Tiffany. “So like I was saying, Ms. Feathers ended up going off in that Vulture, then the next thing we know, here comes Svetlana in a Noboat to save us.”

It was the briefest of closing summaries. Scott could feel that Lilan was working things out in his head. He probably wanted to get his part of speaking over with so he could start connecting the dots in his mind.

“Ms. Feathers, you want to tell us what all happened from your end?” Lilan asked.

The blonde sat erect, whipping some loose strands of hair from her face before speaking. “When I got into the
Pariah
, it actually took off on autopilot. It wasn’t until I managed to find a comm and talk to Travis that we were able to figure out that it was heading to
Novosibirsk
. He talked me through the process of regaining manual control, and from that point on it was just surviving to make it to their base. I probably would have been shot down had
Novosibirsk
not sent a squadron to escort me. I got to
Novosibirsk
, met everyone…met Thoor, who was a total creeper, then the rest, I think we all know. I sort of hung out with the Fourteenth until everything went down in
Cairo
.”

Scott felt the need to pick up, there. “We were sent to
Cairo
to retrieve a Ceratopian—the one in recovery here now. Thoor believed, and I do, too, that this Ceratopian and another who is now dead, were aware of some sort of alien-human conspiracy with EDEN Command. Specifically, with Judge Benjamin Archer.” The presumed mastermind of all this, whom Scott had never even met. “We had encountered these particular aliens before, on that same mission where we lost the
Pariah
. When I met them, they tried to communicate with me. They kept repeating a phrase that I couldn’t quite figure out. It wasn’t until later on that I realized they were trying to speak to me in German.” Across from him, Lilan raised an eyebrow. “The aliens were trying to tell me, ‘The Archer betrays you.’ That’s what gave us the inkling that somehow, Archer was involved in all this.”

“Why the hell would an alien speak to you in German?” Lilan asked.

“Well, think about it, colonel,” answered Scott. “Do you know any prominent soldiers on Earth who happen to be from Germany?”

Lilan’s brow furrowed, before his eyes opened widely. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

He’s catching on.
“We think the Ceratopians were trying to contact Klaus Faerber to tell him about a conspiracy. And if that’s true, then apparently not all of these aliens are on the same page when it comes to humanity. On the Ceratopian side, at least.” It was a big pill to swallow, particularly for an old-school fighter like Lilan. By the look of it, though, that light was coming on. “Thoor found out the alien had been sent to
Cairo
, which is why we’d been sent there. Actually, I uhh…” He deliberated momentarily whether or not to include the next part. “I was forced into going to
Cairo
. Thoor used my relationship with Svetlana against me. She would have been harmed if I hadn’t gone.”

His eyes on the colonel, David said matter-of-factly, “Not the first time that stunt had been pulled.”

“Thoor had a penchant for using loved ones as leverage,” Scott said before getting back on track. “We never expected
Cairo
to erupt the way it did. Our plan was to get in, extract the Ceratopian somehow, then take it back to
Novosibirsk
. Knowing Thoor, he was going to use Centurion—that’s what we call him—as sort of a big reveal against EDEN. He was probably saving you guys up for that, too.”

“Speaking of people being used as leverage, I’d like to say something,” said Lilan. Scott and Valentin, to whom the statement seemed directed, gave him their attention. “I appreciate that you guys took us out of that cell. Believe it or not, the last time we could all walk freely, we were back at
Richmond
. As much as we appreciated the Nightman rescue, they weren’t exactly very accommodating—no offense,” he added to Valentin, who seemed anything but offended. “I would like to make a suggestion, though. Consider freeing that girl you guys got up there. There’s no need for her to be held up in a cell.”

Natalie.

“She got wrapped up in this just like the rest of us,” the colonel said. “I think, with a little extension of trust, you guys might find an ally. Who is a lot like you used to be,” he said directly to Scott, semi-quietly.

Used to be? Scott wasn’t sure if the compliment was intended to be backhanded or not.
“I don’t think she’s ready, yet. She has a lot of trust issues right now.”

“Go figure,” said David.

“But in the event that she can sort herself out, then yes, I agree with the colonel. She could definitely be an asset.”

Valentin groaned as if annoyed. “Any
other
captives you would like to release?”

Scott shook his head. “The Falcons and Natalie would be all, I think.” From her seat, Esther fidgeted.

“There is no chance that I will release a potentially hostile combatant,” said Valentin flatly. “End of that discussion.”

As much as he wished he could, Scott couldn’t logically argue—at least not right now.

“What is your next discussion point?”

Turning his eyes upon Esther, Scott said, “I had spoken to Esther about gleaning a little information from Ju`bajai. Did you have any success with that, Ess?”

Sitting upright and clearing her throat quietly, the scout answered, “Yes, I was able to finagle a little information out of her shortly before our meeting.”

That was good to hear.

The scout leaned forward. “In the time Ju`bajai’s spent with Centurion, she’s been able to extract a small bit of information, some of which she shared with me—and it’s considerable.
Apparently
…he and H`laar’s mission was to deliver a device to Klaus Faerber.”

“H-what?” Lilan asked.

“H`laar,” said Scott.

The colonel shook his head and muttered.

Esther elaborated. “H`laar was who we initially went to
Cairo
to find. Centurion, the Ceratopian we have here, was apparently his bodyguard.” When none of them looked any more or less informed, her focus returned to Scott. “The device was on the ship that you met H`laar and Centurion in. It contained recorded evidence of communication between the Ceratopians and Benjamin Archer.”

“Hot dog!” said Lilan, looking excitedly at Scott. “That’s what we’ve got to find!”

Scott’s instinct was to say, “Calm down, sir,” but he stifled back the words. His gaze stayed fixed on Esther. “That’s all well and good, but we have no way of knowing where this device is.”

“Well, there were clean-up crews, right?” Esther asked him. “Salvage teams?”

“Yes, but…”

She continued on. “All we need to know is who they were, if it was a person, or a base, or whatever.”

Cutting in, Lilan said simply, “
Nagoya
.” The others eyed him. “
Nagoya
has always been a hub for alien salvage. I’d be willing to bet they had a hand in the clean-up.”

Okay, now this was going somewhere. “
Nagoya
handles
all
salvage?”

“They handle a lot. I won’t say all of it, but considering the size of that particular incident, and considering it’s on this side of the globe, I’d probably be willing to put some money on it.”

“How much money?” Scott asked, not in jest.

Leaning back in his chair, the colonel answered, “I wouldn’t bet the house, but I’d still put something down.” His attention shifted to Valentin, as if the keeper was somehow their chief decision-maker. “It’s worth taking a look. However, uhh, we plan on doing that.”

Valentin raised a hand as if to deflect any responsibility.

“I’ll contact Antipov after the meeting,” Scott said. “If anyone knows how to get into a facility, it’s him. He orchestrated
Cairo
, after all.”

“Which ended in a bloodbath,” said David with a half-frown.

Scott gave him a look. It wasn’t untrue. Right onto the next subject: Lilan’s video message. “So, one of the things we’ve been talking about,” Scott said to the group at large, “was the possibility of Lilan recording a message to the world from here—without the location of this place being linked to it, of course.” It was important to get that part in, for Valentin’s sake. “Just so everybody else knows, our plan is to have Lilan record a message stating what happened to him and Falcon Platoon, then we’ll have that message sent to some news outlets.” He looked at the colonel. “Sir, if you want to continue?”

“Sure thing,” Lilan said. He looked down the table. “The minute the world sees that we’re alive, they’re going to start asking EDEN some tough questions. That’s good for us. Hell, for as much as we’re talking about
Nagoya
, it might just be that video that opens up this whole can of worms.” Faintly, he smirked. “EDEN’s used to being wholeheartedly trusted, but trust
me
, this is the kind of story the media lives for. It’ll catch on like wildfire.”

“And Archer will be in the crosshairs,” Scott said.

The colonel nodded. “The gist of the message is going to be simple: we’re alive, and EDEN tried to kill us. I’ll be careful not to give the Nightmen
too
much credit, no offense,” he said, looking at Valentin and the other Nightmen, “as I don’t want it to seem like I’m under duress. This isn’t about EDEN versus the Nightmen to me. This is about what EDEN is versus what it’s
supposed
to be.”

“I have arranged for the video to be shot in one of our storage rooms,” said Valentin. “It is being cleared out as we speak.”

Clearing his throat simply because he needed to, Scott’s attention turned to the keeper. “So how exactly are we going to get this video out without leading to
Northern Forge
?”

“Simple drop-off,” Valentin answered. “After it is recorded, someone will fly out of Norilsk to Moscow to have it delivered. Several copies will be left with several news agencies. All will be clean.”

Good enough for Scott. “Moving on,” he said, looking at David. “What’s the word on weapons and equipment?”

Shifting in his chair, David answered, “Will and I talked to the forge master, and it sounds like there’s more than enough Nightman armor here for all the men. They’re gonna work on something specific for Esther.” Looking down both sides of the table, David said, “Everyone else is no problem.” Briefly, he looked at Tiffany. “Just assuming you’re not going to need ground assault gear.” She gave him a thumbs-up.

With nothing further to say in regards to weapons and armor, Scott moved on to the
Pariah
. “So Travis, what’s the deal with the ship? How stripped is she?”

The pilot frowned. “She’s pretty stripped. Beyond the very basics, and I’m talking pure flight controls, she has almost nothing else. The on-board nav systems are shot, no uplink to the satellite—which is a good thing—no defense system.”

“Defense system?” Scott asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Right, so,” Travis explained, “first-generation Vultures like the
Pariah
actually had real defense systems installed—flares, chaffs, the works. Now, when I say first-generation, I’m not even talking about all M1s. Even M1s received small technology upgrades over time.” He smiled sadly. “The
Pariah
was an original, though. Her systems are designed to offset human combatants as much as extraterrestrial. So if we
had
those systems, it’d be a huge benefit. She’d be a rarity.”

Smirking across from him, Tiffany said, “I think she’s already a rarity, Travis.”

Travis agreed.

Speaking up on his own behalf, Valentin said, “I will speak to Artur after the meeting. It is he who orders all the materials needed for the forge. Perhaps he can order new components for your transport, as well.”

“That would be incredible.” Travis’s smile widened a bit. “I’ll go with you if you want—I can give him a full checklist of everything she needs. There are some external components, too, that could use a makeover.”

Valentin nodded as if the suggestion was acceptable. He looked to Scott again. “Is there anything else before we leave to tend to these things?”

There was—and though it wasn’t something Scott was eager to discuss, discuss it, he would. Everyone in the Fourteenth deserved to know. “One more thing. It’s about Sveta.” As Scott drew a preparatory breath, the others at the table looked at him with concern. “Some of you may have gotten word already, but Svetlana is currently missing.”

“Missing?”
asked Esther, genuine confusion coming over her.