Merkiaari Wars: 02 - What Price Honour (19 page)

Eric opened fire not even noticing her shouting or her agitation. Of course he didn’t, he was just another construct and wasn’t programmed to notice. She ducked as the enemy sought and found her position.

“All right, all right you bastards.”

Gina made use of every scrap of cover and moved forward hoping to find the grenade launcher. She found it. The crew served launcher had been set up behind the bulk of a fallen tree. She smiled grimly. A moment later, she weighed her grenades in her hand but shook her head and added a third. Best be sure. She depressed the triggers and threw them behind the log.

Crump! Crump! Crump!

Launcher and men blew apart and earth showered down.

“That was for Grace,” she said softly.

Standing by Eric’s side, she opened fire on the now retreating rebel infantry. She mowed them down on full auto slapping a seemingly inexhaustible supply of magazines into her weapon as it ran dry. Minutes later, she stood looking at what was left of the enemy. Pieces of meat, that’s all they were now. The jungle was burning and many of the trees had been blown apart, but there were plenty more where they came from.

Gina found a relatively intact body and looked into his staring eyes. “For Grace and Dan,” she growled. “For Grace and Dan,” she said again wiping away the tears.

Slowly, the scene before her faded to black.

“Snap out of it Fuentez.”

Gina opened her eyes and glared at Stone. Her right hand blurred upward like a knife blade to strike his larynx, but he blocked the blow with ease. He was a viper.

“You’re awake,” Stone said with a wry smile. “Sit up and vacate the couch. We have a schedule to keep.”

“Screw your schedule. Where do you get off doing that to me?” She leapt to her feet and landed in a fighting crouch with her face inches from Stone’s.

“How do you feel about your friends’ deaths now?”

“How do you think I…” she began but faltered. She felt different somehow—easier within her own mind.

“Now you know why. In the sim you held the others back time and again. You used yourself as bait in the street scenario, and sent the others back to cover in the jungle. Would you do the same again now?”

“I might,” Gina said angrily, but she knew she wouldn’t. Not unless there were no other options.

“You’re lying, Fuentez, but that’s okay. We have what we need from you.”

“Did I pass?” She carefully probed the memory of her friends. It didn’t hurt. There was sadness and loss, but it didn’t hurt as it once had.

Stone looked at her strangely. “There is no pass or fail.”

“But it’s a test.”

“Yes.”

“Well…” she said uncertainly. “You pass or fail tests.”

“Not mine you don’t,” Stone said with a put upon sigh. “I want your reactions, not some number out of ten. Go back to your room. Someone will come to see you in an hour or so. Be ready.”

Gina saluted instinctively. “Yes, sir.” She about faced and made to leave the simulator room, but she stopped short in embarrassment when she realised she was still in her skivvies. She dressed quickly before leaving the simulator room with her face flaming.

* * *

Stone watched Fuentez leave and smiled. Eric would be pleased he had found a way to snap her out of her funk, but bearing in mind the method he had used, it was best he not mention it.

He turned back to the techy. “Well that went well didn’t it?”

“Er… yes?” she said fearfully.

“Best not tell anyone how we did it though.”

“Er… no?” She whispered and paled as his look sharpened. “I mean
no
, sir. Of course not, sir.”

He pursed his lips. “Get the next one set up.”

“Yes, sir,” she said and hurried out to the waiting area.

Stone shook his head. “Damn techy.”

Maybe it would be wiser to have one of the others in here with him from now on. They were more reliable and less squeamish. He grinned. Marian was taking an interest in Richmond, he would ask her to join him during the session.

* * *

Training Centre, Alliance HQ, Sol System

Stone went through his special scenario one last time. It was perfect, just as he knew it would be; he had checked it ten times. There was no way he could get caught.

“This is highly illegal,” Hymas said uneasily. “You do know that don’t you?”

“Interesting things always are, Marion, you know that,” he said with a boyish grin.

Hymas sighed and shook her head at him, but that was all right. Sometimes it felt like they had known each other forever, which wasn’t far from the truth when you realised his years as a viper far exceeded the thirty years previous to that. The boy he had been died the moment the surgery began, and days later a viper had emerged like a butterfly from its cocoon. All vipers went through a transformation, and not just physically. The mental adjustment was extreme. Like Robbins, some were unable to handle the trauma and had to be scrapped for the good of the regiment.

“I’m about done here. Are you going to squeal on me?”

Hymas thought about that and Stone began to sweat. The Colonel wouldn’t like him downloading his log into the simulator. It was never done away from home, especially not to an unenhanced subject. It was more than illegal in the Alliance. It ranked closely to misuse use of hypno, which was punishable by mind wipe. Only at home did a viper download for another viper’s use, even then, it was used only when recon data was needed. Training new units would break the unwritten rule time and again, but by the General’s order, it was to be done only at home under strictly controlled circumstances. It had taken some creative talking to get the components necessary to build even a makeshift interface, but he had done it with none the wiser. He patted his creation affectionately. It might look ugly as sin, but it worked great.

If the General ever finds out… but he won’t.

His little toy would be nothing but scrap a few hours from now. The simulator would automatically erase the data at the end of a single session, and the matrix would be reformatted for good measure. He frowned and double checked that all traces would be erased, but everything was fine. There was absolutely no way he could get caught. None whatsoever—he was sure… he bit his lip and reprogrammed the simulator to format
three
times. Just in case.

“I won’t squeal, as you so quaintly put it, Ken,” Hymas said finally. “You do know your retro crap went out fifty years ago, don’t you?”

“I’m no retro,” he protested with a grin. “I’ve always talked this way.”

“Yeah, yeah. You old timers are always pining for the old days.”

Stone snorted. “You’re older than me by two years—at least!”

“It’s not polite to mention a lady’s age,” Hymas said primly but she was grinning.

“So, you think I’m right on this?”

Hymas sobered. “It might be the only way to fix the problem. Assuming it can be fixed. I won’t sanction this for the others, Ken, but for that one, yes.”

“I know you’re not happy, but it’s the only way I can think of to give the Colonel what he asked for.”

“You know what I think her chances are, but as I said, I’ll go along this once.”

“Okay, bring her in.”

“What about the techy?” Hymas said moving to the hatch and deferring to him in his own area of expertise.

“Nah, she would only make a fuss. Probably go running to one of the others.”

“You’re probably right,” Hymas agreed and stepped out. “Richmond, you’re first.”

Stone smiled. Not probably. After the last time, it was a certainty.

* * *

“Richmond, you’re first.”

Kate nodded and entered the simulator room trying not to show her unease at being in the presence of two cyb… vipers.

“Up you go. You know the drill,” Stone said.

Kate stripped out of her uniform looking straight at the wall. Her face was heating, she could feel it, but she refused to make a fuss about undressing in front of Stone. She turned, still not looking at him, and climbed onto the couch. Lieutenant Hymas came forward to attach the sensors and electrodes to her head and body, while Stone attached the rest to her arms and legs. While all this was going on, Kate concentrated on images of home and the regiment, sometimes she imagined herself sneaking through the jungle on Tigris, anything to help herself ignore the two cyborgs in the room and what they were doing to her.

“Now then, Private,” Stone said as he attached the final electrode. “This is the final sim in your program. Those that went before tested your skills in various combat situations. I’m sure you already know that you did well, but this sim is different. You won’t like it, I
guarantee
it. With luck you might survive long enough to look around, but it’s more likely you’ll fail within minutes. It will take more than skills learned as a ranger to do well in this one. If you can look beyond your own wants and feelings, you may have a chance—a
small
chance of passing into the final stage.”

“Get on with it,” Kate said harshly, but Hymas’ face darkened and she hurriedly added courtesy. “
Please
.”

She was feeling a little cold lying there in only a t-shirt and panties. She was not impressed with Stone’s warnings and wanted to get it over with.

The vipers crossed the room and sat at their consols to monitor the session. Stone initiated the simulator’s control mechanisms, and Kate twitched as it calibrated itself to match her reflexes. She grimaced at the feeling of losing control; she had always hated that about sims. Slowly she began to lose feeling throughout her extremities. She blacked out as the couch lifted and swung into the chamber.

Kate knew something was not right the instant she awoke. She knew this place; she was back on Bethany’s World, standing outside of Hangar F at Callista air base, which was home to the 2
^nd
Airborne Rangers—her old home.

She flinched and ducked at the sound of an explosion nearby. She looked around quickly and ran for cover. With her back pressed against the wall of the hangar, she peeked around the corner looking for the cause of the explosion. In the distance she saw boiling black smoke rising from a crashed Alliance fighter, and figures in familiar uniform fighting not far from the still burning craft. Her right hand flashed down to her hip and pulled her pistol. Before she could register surprise—she was left handed and always had been—targeting information appeared before her eyes.

She struggled to understand what had happened while flashing icons and numerals detailing range and vectors competed for her attention. She waved a hand in front of her face, but it had no effect on the illusion. The holographic display appeared to hover at arms’ length from her, but she knew that no one else would see it. This thing, this data was for her alone. The shock on her face would have been comical if not for the horror that followed it a moment later. She looked down at her clothes; she was wearing viper battle dress. Not for them the standard camouflage of Alliance forces. She had been brought up to believe this uniform was another of the elitist notions embodied within the cyborgs, but at least she could discount that. Her sneaksuit was black, it was her favourite colour.

This had to be Stone’s work; he wanted her to fail. He knew what this uniform and the cyborgs that wore them meant to all those born on Bethany. Kate growled angrily, already seeing the smirk on his face when she failed his damn tests. She would show him a Richmond could take anything he threw at her.

The bastard, bastard, BASTARD!

Peering around the corner, she watched as Bethany’s forces were overwhelmed—another affront by Stone—and the enemy advanced. She looked at the pistol in her hand doubtfully and wished for something more substantial. With her rifle she could have taken this group out with little trouble. With a shrug she lifted the weapon and sighted on the lead figure. He was too far for…

Targeting information flashed before her eyes once again, or within them she should say. That realisation made her queasy. She pushed thoughts of cybernetics out of her head to deal with the current problem. Thinking about the distance caused a numeral to strobe in the upper left quadrant of her display. A moment later, the enemy suddenly rushed toward her. She stumbled back in surprise as an icon marked X2 blinked on and off before her eyes then parked itself to one side of her display.

“Damn me,” Kate said in wonder. That was handy. She targeted the figure again…
Merkiaari
!

Kate stared in horrified shock. There was no doubt. There couldn’t possibly
be
any doubt. Everyone was taught Alliance history, and that included the dark times of the Merki War. There wasn’t a man or woman living who wouldn’t recognise these monstrous creatures for what they were—they were etched forever upon the Alliance’s collective psyche as humanity’s deadliest enemy.