Depths of Blue Read online

  “Don’t you think they’ve caused enough problems?” Torrin shot back, making no effort to get them. “We don’t need them. By now, you should trust me enough to watch your back.”

  Jak didn’t argue. Torrin had a point…or two. But it felt wrong to go on a mission behind enemy lines without stims. This was the first time she’d had any major side effects from taking the drugs, but this had also been the only time she’d taken them for more than a few days.

  “I think we have everything,” Jak said. “Let’s go.”

  They were crossing the room toward the front door when a light caught them in the eyes.

  “What do we have here?” asked a voice. Jak squinted but couldn’t make out who it was at the other end of the flashlight. “This looks a little strange, Sarge. I’m sure you have a good explanation.”

  The voice was gruff but not angry. Amusement hid in its depths.

  “Get that light out of our faces, Lambert.” He obligingly shone the light at their feet.

  “Seriously, Stowell. What are you doing? This looks really bad for you and the corporal.”

  Torrin started to slide forward, and Lambert held up a pistol.

  “Stay where you are,” he said. “I will shoot you. I’m not dumb enough to let you within arm’s reach.”

  Torrin stopped in her tracks, and Lambert looked back at Jak.

  “You’re making a break for it, aren’t you?”

  “What?” Jak tried to bluster off the truth of his statement. Inwardly her mind raced. She didn’t want to have to hurt him. He was one of the few men in the camp that she felt any connection with. They’d been almost-friends for too many years for her to casually consider injuring him. But she couldn’t afford to let anything stop her, and she would do what she had to so they could both leave this place.

  “I don’t blame you,” he said. “It’s not easy being a girl and serving.”

  “How long have you known?” Jak asked as levelly as she could. She’d been so careful. How could he have possibly figured it out?

  “Since the first day I saw you.” Lambert looked her in the eye. “You didn’t think you were the only woman serving out here, did you?”

  The thought had never even crossed her mind. The day-to-day struggle of passing as a man had completely occupied her mind and left little extra for other considerations.

  “My baby sister is on a long-range artillery crew. I see her as much as I can, but it’s not usually more than a couple of times a year.” He lowered the gun. “You’re taking a lot of supplies just to head off into the woods for some unscheduled leave. If I had to guess, I’d say you were making a break for the fence. I can’t figure why you’d want to do that, though. Unless you finally pissed McCullock off enough that he’s out for you. The other side of the fence would be one place he couldn’t reach you. Bit of frying pan into the fire, though.”

  The quartermaster looked at both of them. He wasn’t threatening, but he wasn’t going to move until he had some answers.

  “Look, Jak’s sick,” Torrin said.

  Jak tried to signal to Torrin not to say anything further, but she paid no attention.

  “I can get her fixed up so she doesn’t have to go to the camp docs. If she doesn’t get help, she’ll die.”

  “And you’re going to do that in the woods?” Lambert looked skeptical. His face suddenly brightened. “Wait, you’re the lady smuggler. I saw you on the vid. Wondered why they’d decided to kill you, seemed like a waste. First time I saw you, I thought you looked familiar.”

  “Then you understand why we need to go, and now.”

  Lambert shrugged. “So you do. You’ll need some meds to keep her in good enough shape to get her to wherever you’re going.” He clomped over to the cabinet behind them and started rummaging through the top shelf.

  “No stims!” Torrin’s voice was sharp and Lambert glanced at her over his shoulder.

  “Fine. I’ve got some painkillers, a fever reducer and an antiviral. Do those meet with your approval?” At Torrin’s nod, Lambert turned back toward them, his hands full of small bottles. “As for the rest of this, I hope you’ve thought this through. If that’s your plan, you’ll need my help to get past the fence.”

  “What the hell do you know about getting past the fence?” Jak asked bluntly.

  “I was on an insertion/extraction team when I was on active duty.”

  “Well, we don’t need your help.”

  Torrin grabbed her by the arm. “Don’t be an ass, Jak. We definitely need his help. You can barely stand up.”

  Jak dragged her arm out of Torrin’s grasp, glaring at Lambert the whole time. “Fine,” she admitted, voice grudging. “We have everything else we need. All that’s left now is to get out of camp and past the fence. But if you rat us out, I’ll kill you myself.”

  Trust had never come easily to Jak, and every fiber of her being screamed at her not to go anywhere with this man. What did he stand to gain by helping them? She felt hemmed in from all sides. She surreptitiously thumbed the safety off Bron’s pistol and eased it in the holster as their small group headed for the back of the compound.

  The camp was surrounded on all four sides by three-meter-high walls of duracrete-covered wire support. However, it had been built in a hurry in response to the Orthodoxan aggression. It had been anticipated to last fifteen years and had been serving faithfully for twice that time. Inevitably, the structure was showing its age. Decades of plants being watered at the produce garden in the back had eroded a section of wall. The weak point was well known inside the camp, but no steps had been taken to permanently fix the problem. Instead, a series of patches had been applied and reapplied.

  Lambert started prying boards from the latest patch and laying them quietly to one side. Torrin pitched in after glaring Jak into keeping watch. The exertion was getting to her, so she put up only token resistance to Torrin’s urging. She just needed to make sure that giving in to Torrin didn’t become a habit.

  The last board removed, the three of them slipped through the opening and into the forest beyond. Without transport, it was about an hour down the escarpment to the fence. Outside the camp, anyone they met along the way would assume they were just another late-night patrol.

  They made their way down to the isthmus without running into anyone.

  “We’ll head to the insertion point at the third pylon,” Jak told Lambert. “It’s further away, but I know my way through the trenches there best.”

  He nodded and they kept along, though Jak chafed at the pace. Even Lambert, who was missing a limb and with his limp was slower than Jak, was faster and quieter than Torrin. They carefully made no reference to her clumsiness in the dark, but she slowed them down considerably.

  “Take my elbow,” Jak finally told her after Torrin stumbled for the third time.

  “I’m fine,” Torrin groused. “Give me a little bit for my eyes to adjust to the dark.”

  “If your eyes haven’t adjusted enough by now, they’re not going to. We have to be past the fence and deep into the woods on the other side before dawn.” Jak knew how independent Torrin was. She was just as independent, but at least she knew when to accept help.

  Torrin grumbled a bit but eventually conceded, wrapping her fingers around Jak’s elbow. After that they moved much more quickly. They navigated the darkness with ease and made their way to the tree line in front of Jak’s usual insertion point.

  “We’ll go up to the fence as a group,” Jak told Lambert. “That way we can slip through as soon as you bring it down.”

  “That’s a bad idea, Sarge,” Lambert argued. “If they see us, they’ll take us all out with one mortar.”

  “I’m not going to put you in danger for any longer than I have to. You’re already sticking your neck out for us.” Jak fixed the quartermaster with a hard stare. “If we’re all there, we’ll slip through, then you can put the fence back up. If we’re fast enough, the Orthodoxans won’t even notice that it was down.”

&n
bsp; Lambert held her gaze a little longer before nodding. He broke from the cover of the trees at an unsteady run. Jak and Torrin came after him more slowly, hampered by Torrin’s inability to see and Jak’s inability to breathe. The air in her lungs felt like sand, and every breath was a herculean effort. Gasping for air would only alert Torrin to her distress, however, so she breathed as shallowly as she could.

  She was lightheaded by the time they got to the base of the closest pylon. Lambert had already unearthed the power cable.

  “Here,” Jak gasped, handing Torrin one of the cloaks. “You activate it like this.” Inert, the device looked like no more than a flexible rod about the length of her forearm. Each end had a cap on it, one with two prongs that fit into the other end. Jak curved the rod around her neck, put the prongs into the holes and twisted the entire mechanism. The air around her shimmered briefly. Her surroundings looked no different, but to the others she’d completely disappeared, save for an occasional shimmer in the air like a heat mirage.

  Torrin attempted to follow suit, fumbling a bit. Growing impatient, Jak reached over and connected the two ends before twisting to activate the cloak. Torrin disappeared instantly from view. She felt Torrin’s hands cover hers and give a quick squeeze. The display of affection brought a smile to Jak’s lips. She kept one hand in Torrin’s and waited for Lambert to finish.

  “It’s going down in three…two…one…” Lambert cut the cable and the blue light of the fence flickered out. “Go!”

  Jak pulled Torrin behind her and they sprinted through the gap. Lambert had no way of knowing when they were through, but he was a seasoned professional. Moments later, the fence sprang back to life. As they ran, Jak listened for artillery or machine gun fire or any sign to indicate that their infiltration had been spotted. The night was eerily quiet.

  Too soon she had to slow to a walk. The air in her lungs burned, each breath more painful than the last. They were still a ways from the trenches, but she could run no further. Moving as stealthily as was possible with Torrin in tow, she guided them to the head of the trench system. Torrin really did have a heavy tread. Jak made a mental note to show her how to move quietly through the wilderness.

  Their descent into the Orthodoxan trenches was uneventful. As usual, the Orthodoxans had no more than a token number of sentries who either slept or chatted amongst themselves. They were able to navigate through the trench system with relative ease, coming out the other end in less than half an hour.

  As they broke for the cover of the deep forest, Jak couldn’t help but feel some sadness. These woods had been a second home for her, one that was easier to bear than the barracks she had called home. Once they made their way through the forest, she didn’t know the next time she would see them.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Tien, do you read?” Torrin activated the subdermal transmitter. They were finally within transmitter range of the ship. Though the trip had been largely uneventful, it had taken an extra day to get in range of her transmitter. It was a definite contrast to the last time she’d been this way. Then she’d blown through on her bike; now she was forced almost to a crawl by Jak’s illness. Her worry over Jak’s condition had grown from low-level anxiety until she hovered on the edge of sheer panic. Jak grew weaker by the hour and the effectiveness of the meds were waning. There was only so much that Jak could take before she started vomiting uncontrollably.

  Next to her Jak started into a wracking cough that shook her entire frame. She stood with her back against a tree. Torrin suspected that Jak thought she looked like she was lounging casually, but Torrin could tell the tree was all that was keeping her from tipping over. Jak leaned over and spat into the weeds. Torrin pretended, as she had been for the last day, that she hadn’t seen the blood flecking Jak’s sputum.

  “I read you, Torrin,” the AI replied. Torrin heaved a sigh of relief.

  “Are you alone in there?”

  “I am quite alone, Torrin.” Tien sounded mildly perturbed. “As I have been for weeks, I might add.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. I ran into some…complications.”

  “Is one of the complications the other human life sign I read with you?”

  “That’s right. We’re both coming in. Is the area clear?”

  “Negative, Torrin. There are a number of members of the Orthodoxan military establishment present.” Smugness colored the ship’s tone. “They gave up trying to get in after a week or so. They realized that short of a precision nuclear device, they would not be getting through my defenses. Apparently, they have been reluctant to destroy what they have been working so hard to attain.”

  “Good. I’m going to need you to guide us in and direct us around the Orthodoxans.” Torrin slung Jak’s arm around her waist and started forward again. For the last day and a half the sniper had been unable to move any significant distance without support. The amount of support Jak required had been increasing steadily. At this point, Torrin was almost carrying her. The heat radiating off Jak suffused her fatigue jacket until she was sweating almost as much as Jak did. Fortunately, it was still light out. Night would be falling soon, but there was enough sun breaking through the canopy for her to see by. Navigating at night was difficult since she had to rely on Jak’s night vision. The sniper had slipped into hallucinations a day ago, and she had to work hard to keep Jak focused on reality.

  “That will not be possible, I am afraid.” Tien sounded regretful. “There is a group of soldiers camped out in front of the cargo bay doors. You will need to go through them.”

  “Shit,” Torrin spat the curse out with venom, and Jak looked at her sideways. It had been too much to hope that they might have a clear path to the ship. “How many are there?”

  The AI was silent for a moment. “There are fifteen camped out in front of the ship, and I read four more life signs patrolling the woods nearby.”

  Torrin groaned. There was no way they could take on nineteen men. Jak could barely hold her sniper rifle, let alone aim it effectively. She couldn’t even walk unaided.

  “Jak, we have a problem.”

  Jak took a breath to speak but choked as another coughing spasm shook her frame. The skin on her face was stretched too tight over her skull. Torrin had thought Jak had been whipcord over bone before. The whipcord was a fond memory. Her skin was almost translucent, and she weighed as little as a baby bird. The paroxysm went on far too long, and Torrin tightened her grip for support. Hanging from her grasp, Jak went still. Terrifyingly so.

  “What’s the problem?” Jak finally croaked.

  “We have almost twenty Orthodoxan soldiers to get through to get to my ship.” Despair filled her tone, and Torrin tried to modulate her voice so her desperation wasn’t so apparent. She knew she was failing miserably. “Fifteen camped out in front of the ship and four patrolling the woods.”

  “That’s not so bad,” Jak whispered.

  “Not so bad?” Torrin was incredulous. “You can’t hold a weapon steady, let alone fight. I don’t have your training. I’m your girl if you’re in a back alley brawl, but I can’t hold my own in this kind of fight. We barely have two of us to go in on this.”

  “What about your ship? Doesn’t it have weapons and don’t you have a fancy AI?”

  Torrin tapped her lower lip with an index finger. “Of course we have weapons. Tien does have control over them, I didn’t lock her out of that system. But there’s no way they can be brought to bear on the men camped out by the ship. They’re too close.”

  “But they don’t know that.” Jak snorted, then coughed weakly. “They’re Orthodoxans. They’re about as smart as aetanberani in heat.”

  “That’s dumb?”

  Jak grinned. Torrin wished she hadn’t; it made her look like a death’s head.

  “That’s dumb. I once saw an aetanberan try to fuck a stump because it was about the right height and had a hole in about the right place. Tore it apart with his bare claws when the stump spurned his advances.”

 
“So your plan is to scare them off. How about the four already out there?”

  “Your ship can keep an eye out for them and take them out if they come to investigate. The Orthodoxans aren’t known for their bravery under fire, so they’ll probably go to ground somewhere and stay down until things blow over.” Jak paused and closed her eyes. “We can do this. We have no other choice.”

  “What about our cloak things?”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” She paused and Torrin could see her wrestling with herself. “I don’t know if I can stand without your help. If we get separated, you won’t know where I am. Not to mention, I’m having problems tracking. If you sneak up on me wearing one of those, I might react first. I’d rather not put a bullet through you by accident.”

  If Jak was willing to admit that, she was doing even worse than Torrin thought. They had to move now. The faster she could get Jak into the autodoc, the better.

  “All right, we’ll do it your way.” Torrin reactivated her subdermal transmitter. “Tien, we’re coming in. It’s slow going right now, so keep an eye out and let me know if we’re about to trip over a patrol. When we’re in place, I need you to open up with all barrels and scare the crap out of those soldiers.”

  “Affirmative, Torrin.”

  “Come on, Jak.” Torrin reached over and slid the smaller woman’s arm back around her waist. Jak could barely walk, but she struggled forward gamely, doing all she could to help Torrin.

  They moved on through the falling dusk until dark. Relying on Jak’s night vision was chancy, but it was all Torrin had to go on.

  “Torrin, stop where you are!” Tien’s voice came sharply through the transmitter behind her ear. She jumped and almost dropped Jak before freezing in place. “There is a two-man patrol heading toward you on an intercept course.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Torrin cursed. “Jak, do you see a hiding spot? There are Orthodoxans coming our way.”

  “There’s a small deadfall over that way.” Jak tugged her to the right. Torrin followed her movements over to a jumble of trunks and branches. She disengaged her arm from Jak and deposited her by the pile. Jak pulled herself over the tree and settled behind the trunk. Torrin scrambled in behind her and curled herself protectively around the sniper. She wished they had their cloaks, no matter what Jak said, but they were in her pack. There was barely enough room to breathe in their hiding spot, let alone to start rummaging around. They were stuck.