Special Forces 01 (15 page)

“Oh my gosh, I never ever thought about a place without standing water! We spend at least four weeks in the pool every school year.” Her paintbrush paused in mid-stroke, and her forehead wrinkled in thought. “Well, this just won’t do. I have a pool in my backyard. Would you be willing to let me teach you how to swim? That way it won’t be a problem when it comes up in gym.”

Rys brightened perceptibly at this. “Would you do that for us?”

“Of course, I would be happy to teach all of you. It will be less traumatic than someone just tossing you guys into the deep end. I am surprised that no one on the transition team has thought about that. I am going to mention it to my father; this is a gaping oversight!”

“We’d really, really appreciate that,” Gremlin assured her with transparent sincerity. “When can we come over?”

“Would this Saturday work for you?” Anne offered. “I don’t have anything scheduled then.”

“We’ll be there,” Rys promised her, glad they missed what could have been a very large bullet. Swimming! He couldn’t imagine what it would feel like, but he was proficient in zero gravity aboard ship.

Sara slammed back out of the front door, red in the face and looking irate enough to kill something. “I’m sorry,” she didn’t exactly sound apologetic. “I can’t get Brandon out here, he won’t budge.”

Rys hadn’t expected that he would show up without an armed escort. “It’s okay. Like I said, I think we’ll have plenty of help.”

Sara’s mouth flattened into a tight line, clearly embarrassed by her son’s refusal. “I wish he were more like you. Just wait until his father gets home.” Shaking her head, she disappeared back into the house.

“Oh yeah,” Aaron muttered under his breath. “I definitely see the problem. Rys let me know if you ever need backup; it sounds like someone needs a serious attitude adjustment.”

He gave him a concerned look. “Do you think it will come to that?”

“I wouldn’t bet against it.” Aaron looked grim. “Watch your back, bro.”

“I second that, sir,” Gremlin added softly.

Rys nodded gravely, accepting both of their warnings. He wished that he didn’t share their concerns, for Jeremy’s and Sara’s sake at least. If Brandon ever did try to move against Rys, it would wound his parents to the core. He didn’t want to be the one who would have to administer such an adjustment.

He shook his head, refusing to let Brandon rain on his parade. “So Anne, about these swimming lessons…”

Chapter Eight

Rys had his hands buried in his drawers, trying to find something that could get wet that would show as little skin as possible, when Gremlin sent him a mental ping.

Yes, Gremlin?

“Sir, I need to brief you on something.”

He went stock still, feeling a little worried. Whenever Gremlin said that, either a lot more work followed or an avalanche of trouble. Mentally bracing himself, he responded,
Alright. What’s the situation?

“I can’t get enough intel just hacking,”
Gremlin informed him with an irritated half-growl.
“I can’t tell from the code whether the subroutines are manually engaged or not. Whoever wrote the programming for this did an amazing job. It’s so seamlessly integrated into the operating system that I can’t pick one line of code apart from the rest of it. Part of the problem, I think, is that the coding automatically scrambles itself into new algorithms at certain intervals.”

Rys knew just enough about computers to guess that this would be very bad. Not to mention frustrating to try and untangle.
If you can’t find the answer in the code, then we need to follow some of these operatives. If I can get close enough to a Novan, can you use my chip as a relay point and sync up with their network directly?

“Yes, sir!”
Gremlin went from despondent to chipper in Mach three seconds. “
If you’re observing them as I’m watching the code streams, maybe we can spot one of them actually turning on the system.”

If the Guardians were with them.
Once you identify it, do you think you can see it in other systems as well?

“Should be able to, yes, sir.”

It wouldn’t hurt to try, at least.
I don’t want to follow just one Novan around. He might or might not be an operative, after all. According to the last data sheet you sent me, most of them tend to stay in the ship ports.

“Yes, sir, and that would be a good place to go. There’s also a trader’s convention that’s to be held in three days. It’s in a downtown convention center.”

That would be another very good place to observe them from. A Fourth Colony teenager wandering around wouldn’t get as many strange looks in a convention center.
I’ll figure out where to deploy people and get back to you.

“Yes, sir. Um…one more thing.”

Rys slowly withdrew his hands from the dresser and stood up straighter. The change in Gremlin’s voice was subtle, but he’d shifted gears from business to personal. Whatever weighing on Gremlin’s mind had nothing to do with mission parameters.
Yes?

“Sir. I know that our superiors have been encouraging us to make friends in this place and try to earn full citizenship here. But honestly, I’m spending more time as a civilian than I am a soldier. It feels…odd.”

He sympathized completely.
I know it does. Gremlin, this goes no further than you and me but — I think half the reason they gave us this assignment was for us to learn how to be civilians. They knew that unraveling Nova’s schemes would take weeks if not months. Really, we were given a lot of downtime to adjust to this new life. You don’t need to be working on mission-oriented tasks round the clock, alright?
In a way, learning how to be a Bijordan citizen is part of the mission.

“So…making friends, playing paintball, and having swimming lessons are all acceptable?”

Rys had an odd moment of clarity. The fact that Gremlin felt it necessary to ask for permission to have fun outside of the 01 gave him a double perspective. He could suddenly see what he must look like in Sara and Jeremy’s eyes: an adult in a teenager’s body. Had they really been wound so tightly that even after the war had ended, they still didn’t know how to relax?

His throat tight, he replied as levelly as he could,
All of that and more, Gremlin.

The smile in Gremlin’s voice could be clearly heard as he responded, “
In that case, sir, you’re going to be late for your swimming lessons.”

See you there.
Rys cut the connection and went back to hunting in his drawers. He’d just thought of the perfect thing to wear.

***

“When are these soldiers from Fourth supposed to be here?” Candace asked the question dubiously, trying to figure out her sister’s motivations.

“Oh, any minute now.” Anne gave her sister an innocent smile. Two days ago, when she’d told Candace that she had a friend that needed swimming lessons, her sister had naturally been curious. What kind of friend, she’d wanted to know. Anne responded automatically without thinking.
He’s a Captain in the Special Forces. You’ll like him, he’s really nice.

Of course Candace, not having a clue about Special Forces troops, assumed that this man must be at least thirty. In their military most Captains were about thirty, or older. And then she’d also been informed that the Captain’s friends were coming too, since they didn’t know how to swim either. What kind of military men didn’t know how to swim?!

Candace had been hoping for younger men, more her own age, and was frankly puzzled why her sister was hanging around with such old men.

Anne, knowing the truth, decided not to enlighten her. At least not yet! Seeing the expression on her sister’s face was going to be priceless.

The doorbell rang.

Rosalita Stewart, their Major Domo, who ran their household with the precision of an expensive watch, reached the door before Anne could and opened it. Even though Rosalita was used to seeing a lot of strange sights on the other side of the Dorian front door, she was speechless. She just stood there, immobile.

Anne was careful to wipe the smirk off her face. Seeing Rys for the first time could have that effect on a woman, of any age. This guy was pure eye candy, and didn’t even realize it. With dark copper colored hair, clear hazel gray eyes, and a body that would turn heads on any continent, he would look more at home on a fashion shoot than a battle field.

Until he issued you that sharp, assessing look with the formal military bearing. Then he looked like a soldier on a recruiting poster.

“How do you do, ma’am. I’m —”

“Rys!” Anne called, ducking around Rosalita and risking a life threatening injury. “You’re right on time.”

The formal look on his face washed away instantly, replaced by a crooked smile. “Hey, Anne, I really appreciate this.”

“No problem, come in.” As soon as he was clear of the door, Anne turned so she could see both Rosalita and her sister’s faces. They both looked very confused, although Rosalita seemed to be putting the pieces together rapidly. Her eyes got a little wider every second. “Rosalita, Candace, this is Captain Arystair Savar, Special Forces 01 from Fourth Colony. Rys, this is the glue that holds our household together, Rosalita Stewart. This is my sister, Candace.”

He nodded to both them, polite and smiling. “Ma’am, miss, it is a distinct pleasure.”

They both managed to nod back. Anne was heartily amused to see her sister scrambling for a response; it looked like her brain had just shorted to ground. This was not the kind of “Captain” Candice had been expecting. It was exactly the way Anne pictured it in her mind, her sister’s stunned expression was priceless. Anne wished she had thought to bring her camera out. She decided to be charitable and throw her sister a life line, to extract herself from this rapidly expanding silence. To provide some much needed recovery time, she turned and asked Rys, “So where’s the rest of the team?”

“They’ll be here shortly,” he assured her, perking up at the prospect of experiencing his first swim. “All of our units should be arriving within the next 10 minutes.”

Somehow, that last statement didn’t make any sense to her, and she felt like she had missed something important. Anne decided to try to clarify what he meant and asked, “That would be all three of them?”

“No,” Rys responded, confusion now clouding his own face. “We have five units. That would be nineteen additional personnel, not counting me. You did say that you would teach
all
of us, correct?”

Oh.
Oh!
Anne had a sinking feeling as she tried to imagine teaching twenty soldiers to swim, all at the same time. Maybe Candace would be willing to help? After the bomb she’d just landed on her sister’s side of their sibling battle field, she was desperately hoping Candice would be in a forgiving mood. “I thought you meant
your team
needed help.”

Rys winced, a chagrined look on his face, and understanding started to dawn in his eyes. “Well, they do, but I meant everyone in 01. I apologize; I should have been more precise in my request. There is still time to call them and cancel the other teams.”

“No, don’t do that,” she interrupted quickly. “I mean, they’re already on their way, right? It’s okay. We’ll set up a rotation schedule to handle the additional swimmers. The pool’s certainly large enough to accommodate twenty people. Candace, it would be a big help if you’d be willing to teach too. That way we can each have ten students a piece.” Anne shot her sister a plaintive expression.

Candace held up a finger, giving Anne a look that said she was now getting a little of her own back for the ambush. “I just have one quick question, for clarification. Captain Savar, are all of these additional soldiers your age as well?”

“I’m actually a little older,” Rys informed her with a perplexed smile, completely missing the reason for that question. “I am seventeen, and on the upper end of the scale. The majority of the rest of them would be sixteen, or under.”

A beautiful, serene, selfless smile lit up Candace’s face; she was positively glowing with the milk of human kindness. “Anne, dear sister, you can’t possibly manage twenty students all by yourself. I’ll be
more
than happy to help you. I can’t think of a better use of my time on a Saturday morning, than helping these brave soldiers learn a new and vital skill. Father would certainly approve of his family assisting them with their transition into our society.”

Anne, by sheer force of will, managed not to laugh out loud at her sainted sister. She didn’t need to be a mind reader to know
why
Candace was willing to literally jump in the pool.

“Thank you,” she managed to reply in a calm and gracious manner. “Candace, since our guests will be showing up soon, you should go and change into your swimsuit. Rosalita, if you would show everyone to the pool as they arrive, I can get started with Rys’s lesson.”

Rosalita nodded amiably, a satisfied grin tattooed on her face.

Rys followed Anne out to the pool, where they both stripped down to their swimsuits. Anne was definitely proud of hers—it was a royal blue one piece that did miraculous things for her figure, a notion confirmed by her mirror. Judging from the covert, admiring glance Rys gave her, he certainly approved of it too.

She was more than a little perplexed by what it was he was wearing though. It was tight, and black, and obviously waterproof, but…not the standard swimming attire. It looked more like a wetsuit than anything, covering everything from his collarbones to his thighs just above the knees. It was sleeveless; allowing for ease of motion, but it sure curtailed her view severely. It looked more like bathing costumes she had seen in history books. “Rys, is that normally what you wear in the water?”

“No, I’ve never even seen standing water, much less been in it. This was just an undergarment that was issued to us in case we encountered moisture on a mission. I believe it will be adequate for swimming though; and it is very flexible, durable material.” He dropped his shirt on a deck chair, and started rummaging around for something in his bag.