Chapter 5.3

I took my seat at my computer, a confirmation of download flashing on the screen. Someone must have backed me out of the servers before they came running after me because I sat at my home screen. I opened the files and pushed the manifest to the back, the small holoscreen struggled to display all of the information as it floated in the air and fritzed on the occasion.

“I can make you a copy of the information,” I told Kai.

“Give me the highlights, departure time, arrival time, which track, who will be on, how many prisoners, anything else worth mentioning,” he instructed. “Then make me a copy that we can send back to command.”

“Yes, sir,” I said and began shifting through the various documents. “The train leaves Aelmere at oh six hundred in two days and will be arriving in Praia around sixteen thirty the next day. It’s a thirty four hour, nonstop trip going straight through the heart of our territory on the S380 Red before changing to the M4 South at the base of the mountains. From there it will join the S381 Red to Praia. The train is accompanied by a company of Dead Heads, two engineers and a hacker. Roughly three hundred prisoners are expected to be aboard and they haven’t been sorted yet, so men, women, children, the elderly, all are to be expected.”

“Forty-two armed soldiers, thirty-nine of them with extensive training,” Vicki said.

“Forty-one armed soldiers, Hackers are piss poor shots at best,” Nick said.

I hated to admit it but Nick was right. I was put into hacker training because my rifle skills were less than adequate, among other reasons. I mean, I met the minimum requirements for hacker training, just barely.

“Tawny, what’d you carry as a hacker?” Nick asked.

I closed my eyes. “Never saw the front lines, remember?” I said.

“Yeah, but you did training jumps for practice insertion,” Nick said. “So, what’d you carry?”

“A forty-five caliber pistol and then the standard hacker field load out,” I said.

Nick raised an eye brow. “Which would be?” he asked.

“You never had a hacker with you?” I asked.

“Only special forces get hackers, well at least the good ones with real hacker gear,” he said. “I was infantry, our hackers had second hand gear that rarely worked and were better with a gun than a computer.”

“Full body armor, forty-five, signal jammers, triggered blackout kit, communication scramblers, a bunch of premade hacks programmed onto an interface and a knife,” I said. “Plus any additional gear the mission required, like drop suits or jump suits.”

Vicki looked away and I looked down at my feet. “It’s not your fault, Vicki,” I said.

She didn’t respond as Nick finished taping her bad rib and handed her the bottle of pain killers. “Don’t go overdosing now. We don’t know how many of us will be doing this train job. Can’t lose you yet.”

Vicki punched him on the shoulder. “I am not as expendable as you think,” she said.

“So, forty two people protecting three hundred,” Nick recapped. “How many of us are going in again?”

“Don’t know yet,” Kai said. “Tawny, don’t make any plans. You two, we’re leaving.”

Nick helped Vicki stand and put his jacket around her. They started for the door with Vicki leaning heavily on Nick. Kai stepped out and what he said hit me.

“What’s ‘don’t make plans’ mean?” I asked standing.

“It means you’re coming with us,” Nick said. “So, I would put in for leave if you can.”

“How long?” I asked.

Nick shrugged. “Depends on how long we stay at camp afterwards, I’d go a week to be safe,” he said.

“For what reason?” I asked. “I can’t get a week leave without like someone dying!”

“Family emergency,” Vicki suggested and the door swung shut behind them.

“But, all of my family is dead,” I said to no one. I fell back onto my couch. With a hand motion, I shut my computer off and leaned my head back staring at the ridges in the ceiling. “What did I get myself into?” I asked.

My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten. Standing, I walked to my kitchen and started preparing a small meal with some leftover chicken and a few vegetables that didn’t actually look too bad.

***

The next day when I arrived at work, I logged into my station as Carly arrived. “Hey, make sure Allen doesn’t screw with my computer, I’ll be right back,” I told her.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Commandant’s office,” I said.

She perked up quickly, “What’d you do?”

“Nothing, I just have to put in for emergency leave,” I said.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked over to me. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“My boyfriend’s father is ill,” I said.

Allen popped up. “You have a boyfriend?” he asked.

I looked back at him and said, “maybe.” I walked away. The walk to the commandant’s office was less terrifying this time, if only marginally so. I could feel people’s stares as I walked past. I drew a lot of attention with a guard, they suspected me a traitor and I think some of them still did. I heard them talking, when they didn’t mind their voices.

“Tawny is a traitor, why else would they have a guard on her?”

“They took the guard away, clearly she isn’t a traitor.”

“She’s a traitor, the dead heads don’t protect anyone that they don’t have an interest in. She could be a Feral for all we know!”

“Keep your voice down! They put people in camps for just knowing Ferals.”

They wouldn’t put everyone here in a camp because I was Feral, no they needed them to fix their equipment. Those people would be fine, assuming they didn’t do anything to jeopardize their own safety. I slid past a lieutenant and stopped at the Commandant’s door. He could authorize an emergency leave quickly.

I knocked on his door and waited.

“Enter!” he called.

I pushed the door open and walked into the office. He looked up from his desk and lowered his stylus. “Sergeant Jameson, close the door,” he instructed.

I complied and approached his desk.

“I hope we aren’t trying to make a habit of coming to my office,” he said.

“No, sir, I just want to request a leave,” I said.

“We have a process for that, sergeant, return to your station,” he said and picked his stylus back up.

“Sir, please, it’s short notice and my request won’t go through normal channels in time,” I said.

“When do you need it?”

“Starting tomorrow, sir,” I said. “For a week and I need permission to leave the city.”

He lifted his head from the tablet and returned his stylus to the desk once more. “You want leave for a week?”

“Yes, sir. Family emergency,” I said.

“You have no family,” he said glancing down at his tablet.

“My boyfriend’s father, sir,” I said. “He’s deathly sick and they don’t know how long he will last.”

“And you are required to go with your boyfriend?” he asked.

“His mother wants us both to come, emotional support, sir,” I explained.

“What happens if your boyfriend’s father doesn’t die in a week?” he said.

“Then, I will come back and leave my boyfriend at his parents, sir.”

“Where?”

I spoke the name of the first village I could think of near Praia. “Axtel, sir,” I said. “It’s a small village about—”

“I know where it is, sergeant, don’t insult my intelligence. You have your leave, however, I expect you to come in and make it up,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” I said and dipped my head.

“I’ll file it in and I expect your best work today,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” I said. “Thank you, sir.”

“You’re dismissed, sergeant,” he said returning to work.

“Yes, sir,” I nodded and left the office, closing the door behind me. There you go, Kai, no plans.