A spray of super heated plasma narrowly
misses the sharp nose of Master Sergeant Shibukawa Hisaki as he draws back
quickly from the hall. He turns his
obsidian eyes to his training squad and sees there are nine of the eighteen and
nineteen year olds left. Still under the
firm belief their attackers are as supernatural as the press portrays, they’re
frozen in their boots. Hisaki isn’t
meant to let them in on the secret that the ghosts are man-created abominations
in cloaked armor for two more months.
Two months was the cut off point for those meant to stay enlisted and
trusted with secrets and those sent home crying to their mothers.
After another quick peek around the
corner, he turns back to his squad and signals for them to take cover. They shake free of their terror long enough to
huddle behind cargo boxes as he unclips a grenade from his belt. He pulls the pin with his teeth and tosses
the grenade down the hall before diving behind the metal boxes with his squad. The grenade explodes, the force of the blast rattling
his jaw.
Hisaki carefully peeks around the corner
of the box to see a piece of metal clamor down the hall, stopping where he had
just stood, the edges molten and hot. He
stands and walks over to it. His squad
nervously stands from their cover to watch him.
He picks up the metal in a gloved hand, holding the silver piece up to
his squad.
“This is what’s on the outside.”
He hears the sound of wet flesh slapping
on tile followed by a shriek as the ghost jumps. Remaining calm and keeping firm eye contact
with his squad, he turns the barrel of his gun to the ghost and fires. It falls at his feet. Its face drips clear blood and its left leg
and arm are missing. He kicks it over
and it tries to breathe in a final breath through its short muzzle. He fires another round of .223 cal. into it
and it stills
“This is what’s on the inside. A giant fetus with fangs.”
They look at the ghost, clearly disgusted. The Sergeant takes a closer examination of
the remains and surrounding equipment.
Anger and dread fill him as he realizes they’re likely quite fucked.
“It’s a level three ghost and not armed
for battle,” he lies to his squad. “I
don’t think they’re here because of us.
We can use this to our advantage.”
The boys look between each other,
unsure. Hisaki stands and straightens,
looking them over with a firm eye.
“Follow my lead. Show no fear.
Attack. Above all: survive. Understood?”
They don’t respond. The Sergeant’s already slim eyes narrow.
“Understood?”
They look at each other again then stand
straight and salute.
“Yes, Sir!”
“We’ll take it one hall at a time,
clearing and moving through just like we did in the simulations. No one jumps ahead and we will all make it out
alive.”
“Yes, Sir!” they repeat.
He looks them over then nods and turns
down the hall.
“Fall in.”
*******
Hisaki storms into General Maxwell’s
office and slams his handful of bloodied and bent dog tags on the General’s desk. He still wears full armor and weaponry and stinks
of blood and gore. Maxwell calmly looks
up at him, his pale blue eyes perfectly emotionless in his dusky face.
“Do you have an appointment, Master
Sergeant?”
“Why were the ghosts there? This was not battle training. That was a brand new group. They just learned how to fire their damned
guns. There shouldn’t have been a ghost within
ten miles of that building.”
“Actually, there should have been forty.”
Hisaki has to use all ounce of his control
to keep his hand off his pistol.
“That is how many you encountered?”
Maxwell asks. “Forty?”
“Yes, sir,” answers Hisaki, his voice low.
Maxwell nods. “Forty fully armed level ten ghosts. Twenty brand new recruits. Yet, all the ghosts are dead, you walked
away, and five of your squad still breathe.
Out of fifty training officers on thirty bases, you are the one. And you’re lucky you are, because that is the
only reason I’m remotely putting up with this insubordination.”
Hisaki
glares at Maxwell, his top lip rising in a slight snarl. “The one what?”
“You will receive your orders within the
next two days. Now get your
insubordinate biohazard ass out of my office.”
He motions to the bloody dog tags.
“And take that scrap metal with you.”
*******
“Go go go go go go
go!”
The dozen remaining Psi run past Hisaki
toward the ship, dropping their scavenged weapons to the jungle floor. A young nymph of a woman named Aislynn takes
up the end of the line, watching for stragglers. When she reaches the clearing, her dark eyes
light up at the sight of sanctuary and she yells for the children in front of
her to run faster than they ever have before.
They don’t have to be told twice, their small legs carrying them on a
newfound wind into the bulletproof belly of the ship.
A bullet whizzes by Hisaki’s helmet and
pings off the fat gray starboard wing.
He immediately goes to ground. A
few feet away, Aislynn follows his example.
He scans the forest as he watches Aislynn combat crawl toward him in his
peripheral.
“Sergeant, what is your status?”
Hisaki chins on the mic in his helmet and
speaks to the ship’s pilot. “We’re under
fire. There’s one Psi with me, the rest
are onboard.”
“Orders?”
“Close up and standby.”
The ramp on the ship begins to raise and
Hisaki chances a glance to Aislynn as she slowly makes her way to him. As he expects, she’s calm and in control. When she finally reaches him, she sidles up
close to his left side and looks out toward the forest.
“There’s four of them,” comes her voice
slightly muffled through his helmet.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.
I can sense their fear.” She
gives him a grin. “I think your sunny
disposition unnerves them a bit.”
He smiles a little. “That’s great, but I can’t see them. I have to see them to kill them.”
“What if you could sense them?”
“Might work, but I’m not a Psi.”
“May I take off your left glove?”
Hisaki hesitates for a moment then nods. Aislynn removes the glove. She sandwiches his hand between hers, lying
her forehead against the back of her top hand as she closes her eyes. A small gamut of emotions flow through him. Anxiety, respect, admiration, and fear. Once fear is reached, the flow stops. The fear begins to grow, but it doesn’t
affect him. It isn’t his. It isn’t hers. It comes from the forest in front of them.
Without hesitation Hisaki closes his eyes and
fires his gun. Fear turns to surprise
then nothingness. Immediately, he feels
the other three as their fear sharpens by their comrade’s fall. They shine brightly to Hisaki as large gilded
fish in a black sea. His eyes still
closed, he fires.
*******
Hisaki, in full dress uniform, stands at
attention in General Maxwell’s office.
They listen to a recording of his gun firing four times followed by his
voice.
“All
clear. Lower the ramp.”
Maxwell stops the playback then looks up
at Hisaki. “Four shots and it’s all
clear? How many of the enemy were you
facing? How did you know that it was
clear?”
“I didn’t, sir.”
“Really?
There’s quite a bit of confidence in your voice.”
“There was quite a bit of confidence in my
voice when I told the boys you killed that the ghosts were level three and
poorly armed. Sir.”
Maxwell’s eyes narrow. “What was the Psi that was with you?”
“Alive, sir.”
“Don’t try my patience anymore than you
already have.”
“You didn’t specify what description you
were asking for, sir.”
Maxwell’s back teeth grind together and
his next sentence is forced.
“What was the Psi’s ability?”
“As far as I could tell, to stay alive and
follow orders, sir.”
“There was no sign of telekinesis,
telepathy, empathy?”
The slight emphasis Maxwell puts on his
last word makes Hisaki’s hackles raise.
He keeps his gaze level as he shakes his head with a shrug.
“There was a lot of running and crying and
a few trying to keep spirits up, but that’s about all I saw, sir.”
“What about the Psi left with you? Did it show any signs of anything?”
Hisaki takes a slight offense to Aislynn
being called an “it” but doesn’t correct the General. He shakes his head.
“No, sir.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re
completely useless, Shibukawa?”
“I believe you just did, sir.”
“Get out of my sight.”
Hisaki executes a perfect salute and turns
on his heel. As he heads out of
Maxwell’s office, he hears the General speak into his phone.
“Start testing them. When you find the Empath, kill it.”
*******
Hisaki walks through the BX. He’s trying to keep with his normal routine
despite the growing urgency to find Aislynn and get her off base. The urgency grows stronger as he walks past
the cereal isle and he wonders if he might be having a panic attack. At one point, he even thinks he sees Aislynn
in his peripheral, but when he sharply turns his head there’s no one.
Once he’s past the isle the feeling dissipates. Hisaki decides he just needs to relax and
continues to the frozen section. There,
he picks up a dinner he’s likely never going to touch.
Walking toward the cashier, his urgency and
panic start again and culminate around the cereal isle. Hisaki starts to think maybe there is a
little more going on than him being wound too tight. After a hesitation, he turns down the
isle. With each step, the urgency and
panic grow. His heart races, his face
flushes, sweat beads on his brow. He starts
to have a full blown panic attack. A
panic attack that suddenly leaves when he turns to the puffed rice cereal.
Hisaki swallows and catches his breath
then reaches for the first box of cereal on the shelf. As he walks away he feels calm and
steady. He pays for his two items then
heads home.
In his apartment he draws all of his
shades and curtains. He brings a large
mixing bowl out of his cupboard and sets it on his counter. The top of the box rips open easily, as does
the plastic bag inside. He pours the
contents into the bowl and looks through the grains with no reward. Disenchanted and feeling a little insane, he
picks up the now empty box and rips it in half, slamming it down on his tile
floor. A small piece of paper falls out,
floating to the ground lightly. Hisaki
hunkers and picks it up, his feeling of insanity turning into a sense of
stupidity as he unfolds the paper to read it.
Your sunny disposition is required at
Torrino’s tomorrow night at
eight.
The reservation is under your lovely last name. Suit and tie,
please.
Don’t forget to burn the evidence!
*******
The maitre d looks for Hisaki’s
reservation and smiles when he reaches it.
“Ah, yes.
Party of two. Your…fiancé…has
already arrived and is seated. If you
would follow, please.”
Hisaki nods and follows the tall slender
man to a booth far back in the dimly lit restaurant. Aislynn stands when she sees them, adjusting
the hem of her short black dress as she smiles his way. Her long auburn hair is piled loosely atop
her head and Hisaki feels another pang of anger towards Maxwell for referring
to her as an “it”. He isn’t shy about
hugging her tightly or whispering into her ear when she opens her arms to him.
“I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Can’t get rid of me that easy,” she
answers, just as quiet.
They sit in the booth, Hisaki ordering a glass
of the best red wine the restaurant has to offer. When the maitre d is gone, Hisaki looks at
Aislynn over the small, intimate table.
“How did you get away?”
She shrugs. “I walked out. It’s what happens when those in charge leave
out little bits of information when talking to those below so as not to incur
suspicion. Oh, before I forget…”
She looks around then pulls a slim black
leather wallet out of her small purse and hands it to him.
“There should be plenty of money in there to
cover whatever damage we might do here.”
She gives him a playful smile.
“It might look odd if the escort is paying for everything.”
Hisaki raises an eyebrow as he takes the
wallet and tucks it into his suit coat.
“You told them you were an escort?”
“No, I told them I was your fiancé, but I
don’t think they believed me.” She smiles
again. “Nothing wrong with a man coming
home from almost dying on a foreign planet spending a bit of money on a nice
dinner and…ah…date. Plus, it allows me
to do this because I have no shame.”
She slides out from her side of the booth
and slides in next to him. Hisaki decides
to go with it and puts his arm around her as he turns to her slightly.
“Where did you get the money?”
“The bank, of course. When the waiter arrives, just order the New York and Caesar for
both of us, medium-well for me.”
She smiles and reaches across the table
for what looks like a berry sangria. As
she sips it, a short sandy-haired waiter appears and pours Hisaki his wine. Then he gives Hisaki a pleasing smile.
“Would you like a few extra minutes to
decide?”
Hisaki shakes his head as he meets the
waiter’s smile. “That won’t be
necessary. We’ll each start with a
Caesar then move onto New York
strip. Make hers medium well and mine
rare.”
“Excellent choice sir,” says the waiter as
he bows slightly and takes the menus from the table.
“This is a pretty nice place,” says
Aislynn after he’s gone. She looks
around before leaning into Hisaki as she speaks quietly. “Works for our purposes, anyway. Reservation only, public as well, and very
reasonable story for you.”
Hisaki smiles warmly for anyone who might
be paying attention. “You know they want
to kill you?”
She nods.
“I tried to get myself placed in a containment camp as far away as
possible, but that obviously didn’t work.
Actually, it probably would have worked if I hadn’t killed that one
really abusive guard. They may have sent
people out to colonize new worlds, make grander civilizations, start over, but
they’re still sending humans to do it and humans are still a bunch of instinct
driven animals.” She turns her nose to
his neck and takes in a deep breath with a smile. “Not that that’s entirely a bad thing.”
Hisaki picks up his wine as he shakes his
head. “No, not at all.” He sips it and gives Aislynn a slight grin
before setting the glass back down. “Why
do they want you dead?”
She returns his smile then lets it fade as
she shrugs. “There’s a lot of money in
war, Sergeant. Those horrid ghosts they
make to train soldiers with cost millions to develop and manufacture. Ship manufacturing is worth yet more. Then there’s weapons, uniforms, food. For every married soldier that gets hazard
pay, that’s one more spouse overspending.
For every single unmarried soldier, that’s one more need to impress when
he gets back. I’m sure even you have
spent a fair fortune trying to make your world a little less lonely.”
Hisaki thinks of the cars and clothes and
expensive dinners that ultimately led him nowhere and nods.
“What’s more,” Aislynn continues, “the
military employs millions of people and you don’t have to come from an
upstanding family to end up with the big boys.
All you have to do is stay alive and enlisted. Well, that, and develop an ability to send
thousands of innocents to their deaths for ultimately poor reason. Considering your age, I’d be willing to bet
the reason you’re where you are is because you couldn’t develop that
ability. In theory, you should be at
least Lieutenant Colonel by now.”
“Someone needs to train them well enough
to survive and get out and back to their families and lives. Even if I’ve only accomplished that with one,
I’ve done something.”
“What if you could do more?”
“That would be nice, but I am only one
man.” He smiles a little. “I may come across as cocky and
over-confident, but I’m well aware of my limitations.”
“And
soon all of the world leaders will as well.”
Hisaki gives her a curious look. “You’ve lost me.”
“Two months from now, the leaders from
Earth and all the outlying colonized planets that have been playing this fun
little game will be meeting to act like they hate each other and are trying to
find a peaceful solution to this ongoing conflict. You know, that thing they do every few
months.”
Hisaki nods. “I assume you intend for me to fit into that
thing they do somehow?”
“I intend for you to be there with me by
your side.”
“I’m just a glorified instructor. I don’t really have that kind of clout.”
“You don’t need clout. You just need crazy.”
Hisaki smiles a little. “I think I might be sitting next to
crazy.”
“Then pay attention. You might just learn something.”
*******
The office on the vid screen is decorated
with warm wood tones. There is no desk,
just a chair and a couch. An older woman
sits in the chair, a notepad in hand. On
the couch sits Hisaki, but only briefly.
He continuously stands to check the door and the window until the woman
coaxes him back to the couch. His jeans
and T-shirt are dirty and worn, his boots haven’t been shined in as many weeks
as his beard hasn’t been shaved, and he looks like he hasn’t slept in a
year. After the fourth coaxing back to
the couch, he finally manages to focus on the woman.
“I slept for two hours yesterday. Aislynn managed to slip me those sedatives
you gave her.”
“You sound a little irritated about that.”
“Of course I was a little irritated! Do you have any idea what could have happened
to her during that time? She was lucky I
managed to fight off the sedatives when I did.”
“Now, Hisaki, we’ve talked about
this. The ghosts aren’t going to attack
your home. They’re not located anywhere
near your home.”
“They weren’t supposed to be located
anywhere near my training compound but they were. They were there and those kids died. They died because of me, because I failed
them. I’m supposed to make sure they
stay alive and they died violent deaths no child should know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
The screen shuts off as Hisaki breaks down
crying. All nine leaders around the
conference table turn to Hisaki as Aislynn, seated next to him, slides her hand
into his reassuringly. He’s cleaned up
and in full dress uniform, but there’s still a deadness to his eyes.
Aislynn turns her gaze toward the guards
in the room and gives them each a slight nod.
They file out and lock the doors behind them. While the world leaders look between each
other confused, the dead of Hisaki’s eyes sharpens. He waits until all attention is back on him
then turns to Aislynn. She stands and
begins to slowly walk to the head of the table where the President of Earth
sits.
“While I’m flattered you felt it meant the
lives of 1500 soldiers just to find and take out mine, I’m also sickened by it. I know you can’t possibly comprehend any of
this, so I’ve taken it upon myself to talk to and shake the hand of as many
parents affected by this as possible.
All of them have a message for you.”
Hands start to reach for the inside of
suit coats but stop when Hisaki calmly lays a pistol on the table in front of
him.
“Don’t worry,” says Aislynn, her voice
eerily reassuring. “I won’t kill you,
just educate you. Now if all of you
would be so kind as to hold hands.”
They hesitate and Hisaki taps his fingers
on his gun. The leaders look between
each other then slowly take each other’s hands.
Aislynn places her hands on either side of the President Anderson’s
head.
“We can talk about this, Aislynn,” says
the President, her nerves starting to show in her green eyes.
“We will talk about it after you
understand what it is you’re doing.”
“We understand. Don’t think we don’t understand. But you have to understand—”
Before she can finish, Aislynn closes her
eyes as a pained expression crosses her face.
Soon, everyone at the table except Hisaki is crying then begging for
Aislynn to stop.
“Not yet,” she says quietly, “but soon. Soon you will understand and everything will
be all right.”
