Tears of Glass (The Jana Darren Saga Book 1) (17 page)

“What’s our best bet for where they’re holding up?” Aeronth asked.

On the right wall of the main lobby area was an enlarged map of the colony, blocked out by district. It was a crescent shape, the surface level cluttered with housing, parks, grass, industrial areas, food processing...the lower levels were dominated by water treatment, the reservoir, vents, ducts, tunnels, and infrastructure.

“The control tower.” David looked pale. “How did they get access to the control tower?” He checked and double checked, growing more concerned by the second. Colony control towers were
the
most secure building there. There were fail safes for redundancies for fail safes in place to keep out unwanted intruders. The control tower looked plain enough, a black building that resembled a lighthouse. But inside, it was a bunker. This whole time, they’d been under the impression the Reconstructionists had managed to tap into the security and communications from an outside source, like they did themselves.

“That’s not possible.” Jana shook her head, brows furrowed. “You don’t just take over a control tower unless you already have access. And that takes YEARS of training and vetting and working your way up. There has to be some explanation.” Beside her, Aeronth was silent. Jana saw something behind his stony expression, behind his eyes.

Aeronth knew something.

Jana stepped back from him. “Why did you bring a gun to dinner?”

“I bring one everywhere.” It was a reasonable explanation, but something inside Jana wasn’t sitting well with the information he’d given her. “Jana, you’re being ridiculous. We need a plan, and we have to go.”

I’m paranoid.
Am I paranoid? If you have to ask yourself, you are.
Jana sighed. “If they have the control tower, there’s no way for us to take it back alone. They had to have gotten here somehow. Some kind of ship?”

“If they’re the strike team, it’s probably a dozen or less of them. They could have gotten here on a skiff from a larger ship. They go in with a small team to disable the defense system. Then, if it’s a full-scale hostile takeover, they’ll have a much larger second team that can handle any military ships that do get past the salvo from the warship while they do...whatever it is they’re here to do. The Government won’t authorize the destruction of the colony where a hundred thousand civilians and a senator are being held. And if the warship stays close enough to the colony, and the men in the control tower disable the shields, they won’t fire on the warship. They said something about ‘sacrifice’. I think they’re hoping the Government
does
authorize direct conflict in the hopes that they can use the footage of the Government destroying their own colony to destabilize their control. A warship’s shields could survive a few hits. A colony without shields is a sitting duck.”

“How do you know all of that?” Jana asked nervously.

Aeronth didn’t flinch. ”Because that’s how I’d do it.” Sometimes Jana forgot he was trained in black ops. This was a stark reminder to her.

“That’s a
big
if. And what about that extraction team?”

“They were looking for someone, but it’s anyone’s guess who. Probably hoping to take them alive, or at least know for sure they were dead. That would explain the pulse grenade, anyway. Try to get in and out on a skiff before the military showed up.” Aeronth pursed his lips.

“So our best guess is that if we can’t take the control tower to stop the shields from going down, we are at risk of our own Government opening fire on the colony because to them the risk of letting the Recons escape is worse than letting a whole colony be destroyed? You have to be kidding me. That doesn’t exactly leave us with a lot of options,” David grimaced. “If we sabotage the ship they docked on the colony with, they won’t have a getaway for when the military shows up. But it could be anywhere, and the colony is too big for that.”

“They won’t care about losing a few of their people to prove a point,” Aeronth insisted. “That won’t work. It won’t matter if they can’t leave. These people have already accepted the fact that they’re probably going to die.”

Jana’s mind was reeling, searching desperately for a way out of the situation. “Then we have to make sure they can’t drop the shields. But the only access point is through the control tower, which we can’t get into. The Government won’t fire on the colony if my father’s here. We have to trust that. They wouldn’t abandon all these people to their death.”

“That’s a big gamble. For all they know, the entirety of the Reconstructionist forces are on that warship, and taking care of the problem here will be the end of all their troubles. And losing a senator to a terrorist attack? That seems to me like the perfect opportunity to bolster defenses and increase military presence near the Hub, circle the wagons.”

Aeronth was infuriating, but he wasn’t wrong. No matter what she did, Jana couldn’t see a way out of it.
This is your whole job! This is what you were trained for. It’s not just about those few people in the reservoir anymore, it’s everyone here.
Thinking about the number of people relying on her was terrifying.
I can’t save everyone. I can’t take all that on my shoulders.
Jana thought of the people at the reservoir, the old man who took their picture, Dana...

“There’s no way to evacuate everyone. We lost. Game over. No matter what we do, people die. And the whole galaxy is going to watch it happen.” Jana sat on the floor, back upright against the counter at the MP station, and cradled her head in her hands. “Wait a second...watch it happen? That’s what all this is about.” David and Aeronth both turned away from the map to Jana. “They want everyone to see it. They want to broadcast it out. That’s what this is all about. If they can’t show that the Government was responsible, or negligent, they don’t get anything out of it. They’re trying to prove a point. If the closest signal relay were somehow destroyed...say by a military vessel on the way over here? The Recons here dying would be for nothing. The colony dying would be for nothing. And they might think twice about it.”

“There’s a problem, then.” David interjected, “How do we destroy the relay? Do you have any idea how far away that is? We don’t have a ship. And even if we did, the Recons would shoot us down before we got anywhere near it.”

“We create a distraction. The warship hasn’t had nearly enough time to get into position. The colony’s long range scanner would have picked it up and signaled the alarm before the strike team had a chance to dig in here. David, is there a way to cut the power to the control tower without dropping the systems?”

“Theoretically? Sure. You could cut the power to the actual control panels and the individual systems would remain unharmed. And until they managed to prime the generators manually, they wouldn’t be able to touch any of the systems. But we’d need to be in the access tunnels on the maintenance levels. And we’d need to find a ship, and someone has to pilot it out of here, out of the range of the communication dampeners, and signal the military from there. And I don’t know if you’ve counted lately, but there’s three of us.”

Aeronth spoke up before Jana had a chance to say anything. “You two get down to the power access for the control tower. I’ll take care of the situation with the ship.”

“No, you can’t just leave me!” Jana caught herself saying, but clamped her mouth shut. “You shouldn’t go off alone.”

“One of us is going to have to, and it might as well be me. I have a hell of a lot more training.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “You’ve been through enough lately. Let me do this.” Jana closed her eyes, took in the feel of his skin on hers, and swallowed hard.

“Okay. David and I will go down to the access. How long do you need to get a ship and get out of range?”

“Ten to get to the ship. Five minutes to get out of range.” He looked to David, who nodded solemnly. “Yeah, that sounds about right. But we have to get going, Jana. We’re losing precious time standing here, and you know it. Do you know where the access hatch for the maintenance tunnels are?”

“I used to play down there as a kid. I’d pick the locks and sneak in, pretend I was a ship captain.” She felt her resolve fading, and threw herself into Aeronth’s arms. “Let’s go.” They gathered their scrounged supplies and slipped out the front door of the police station in the little space between the crate and the doorframe.

Jana said only two words to Aeronth before they parted ways. “Don’t die.”

They made quick work of the access hatch, and Jana forced herself to focus on the task. The thought of never seeing Aeronth again, leaving so many things unsaid, was grating to her soul.
You don’t have time to worry about him right now, or you’ll get him killed, you idiot.
Once they were inside, David did his thing and scanned the tubes and wire housings for what they needed. He explained there was a specific line that was just for the control tower, and it was going to be separate from the rest of them. Jana took a flashlight and began searching as well. A roar above them started her, and she nearly smacked her head into a pipe.

She froze a moment, realizing what it was, and then returned to work. While they were in the police station, the Recons began to replay the video on loop. It lasted two minutes. From below, it was louder than she’d expected, but at least they had a way to time Aeronth. She was more afraid of letting him down and getting him killed than the other way around.

“This is going to kill the dampener too, isn’t it?”

David nodded, flashlight in one hand, leaning over a particularly large bundle of cables. “Here it is, I found it. And yeah...that isn’t a colony system, just something they plugged in up there, like a lamp into an outlet.” When he spoke, he turned towards her. The beam hit Jana directly in the face, and she shielded her eyes. “Oh, sorry...”

“Cut the subspace signal. Now.”

“Excuse me?”

“If the Recon ship does a scan upon arrival, which they
will
, they’ll see that the dampener is down. If we can time it right, we might get lucky. They could just get spooked, thinking that something didn’t go to plan, and leave. When all the systems are up, the beacons are off, and the subspace SOS is off, they have no way of knowing their cohorts succeeded in the takeover. The power will be cut to the control tower, so their buddies won’t be able to signal to them to tell them any different.”

“You want to play possum with a terrorist group?”

Jana grinned. “Yes.”

Everything had changed. On Earth, and in the hospital, there’d been too much going on to think about what happened, what she’d done. Being around Aeronth had a way of making everything else fall away. But here, alone in the dark, sitting in a transport on her way back to S-311M, there was nothing but time.
I killed someone on Earth, and it didn’t even bother me.
Am I just that heartless? He tried to kill someone I care about. He hurt me. Who knows how many people he would have hurt if I hadn’t killed him.
I don’t even know who I am anymore.
She clenched her fists and relaxed them again.

The ship was quiet, except for the soft thrumming of the engine. There were two cargo bays, and three separate seating compartments. A big vent in the ceiling pumped warm, filtered air into these compartments, wicking away heat from the reactor core. Not even the auxiliary lights were on. The metal framed seats were arranged in a circle, with one space for the door. The floor was open grating; when first sat, she noticed the cabling and pipes underneath. Wide harness straps locked them into the seats, but a thick foam cushion and headrest made sleeping easier. There was a smooth button along the outer side of the armrests

All the seats were filled. Only Aeronth was seated in this compartment with her, a few seats away. Too far to hold a conversation without waking up the others.
I don’t even know if he’s awake.
It was a long trip back; all the patrons around her were taking advantage of the opportunity to sleep.

War loomed on the horizon. As soon as the transport docked, they’d be thrust into whatever role the military needed.
I’m a mech pilot.
It was expensive, and incredibly difficult, to train pilots. There were months of tests involved, as well as specially manufactured parts that neural linked the user with their machine interface, uploaded with thousands of hours of simulation data. When needed, mech pilots were often pulled from their current duties.

If it was anything like the situation on Earth, surface warfare, there would certainly be a mech deployment. Jana would be separated from her team, and without their leader, they’d be dispersed into whatever role they were needed until the conflict was over. The chances of her being able to pull them from their teams once her mech deployment ended was nearly impossible.

It doesn’t matter if he wants me or not. The military already made the choice for him.
The video replayed in her head.
We’re coming.
If the rest of the insurgents were anything like Matthews, and with no idea the extent of their numbers, there was no telling whether she or the rest of her team would ever see each other again.

“Jana?” She barely heard the whisper through the void.

“What?”

“Do you have your comm with you?”

Before departing the civilian colony, the team changed back into their uniforms. Jana chose a tactical suit much like the one on E-1; sleek and formfitting, with a utility belt slung around her waist. It felt comforting, like hugging a security blanket. The military was her life, family, and identity. Thinking of the dress made her shudder.
It made me feel so exposed, vulnerable.

She fumbled with the harness to get to the small pouch in her belt she kept her comm. The smooth carbon casing for the earpiece made a cracking sound when opened. Jana slid the comm into her ear, a little curved tail wrapped under the earlobe to keep it from coming out of place.

“Hey.” Her voice was hoarse from not speaking for the long trip, and it came out as a harsh whisper.

“I wasn’t sure if you were awake. I didn’t want to bother you if you were sleeping.” It didn’t sound like he’d slept at all. Maybe he was restless. Maybe he was worried, too.

“Can’t sleep. Too much to think about.”

“Are you okay?” His voice was so soft, soothing.

What a question. Am I okay with what? Am I okay with being a murderer? Am I okay with the fact that I’m in love with you and I don’t know if we’ll ever see each other again? How about that I don’t know what this even means to you?
“I’m fine.”

“You’re a bad liar.” She heard the smile in his voice. “Besides, today? You didn’t even need me. You did all that yourself. You saved that colony. You and David, no one else. Be proud of that.”

She shook her head, warmth spreading through her. “I’m a bad liar, sure. And you’re too good at it.”

He ignored the dig at him. “It’s all getting to you, isn’t it?”

She squeezed her eyes shut, felt tears welling up. Jana bit her lip and answered, “How could it not get to me? This whole thing is a mess, and it’s my fault.”

“You didn’t choose this, and none of it is your fault. They were out there this whole time; who knows how long they’ve been planning this? If anything, you’ve moved up the timetable by finding them, and that gives us an advantage. They can make mistakes.” Pain echoed through his voice. Jana resisted the urge to unclip her harness and throw herself at him. She let the silence between them grow.

“How many people have you killed?”

“More than I care to count,” he said quietly.

“How do you live your life knowing you’ve taken someone else’s?”

“I don’t dwell on it. I tell myself it was for a good cause. When your life is threatened, you don’t stop to think about whether this person you’re aiming your gun at has a wife or kids. All you can do is fight to stay alive. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. I don’t take lives because I want to. I kill because it’s what I need to do to live.” They sat in silence a while. The comm was clear, and even in the complete silence of the room, Aeronth’s breathing came through. Laying back, her head down, it felt like that night laying with him in the hotel room. She wasn’t afraid of fighting, or dying. She just didn’t want to be alone anymore.

“I might never see you again. You don’t know what’s going to happen.

“Jana?”

“What is it?”

His response was barely audible, even with the comm. “I love you. Whatever happens after we land, I promise we’ll see each other again.”

Even with the swelling of happiness in her chest, and the breathlessness, Jana wasn’t naïve enough to truly believe that. She was practical, logical, and that kept her alive. It was her impulsiveness that continued to put her in danger. “Don’t say that. Don’t tell me that.” She dug her fingernails into her palms, needing the biting pain to keep her from being swept up. “When it’s really love, you won’t need to say it.”

Aeronth was silent. He had no response, and Jana instantly wished she’d kept her thoughts to herself. Knowing how hard it’d been for him to say it at all was proof of his feelings, and she’d just shut him down.
I’m scared. I can’t tell you how scared I am. I’m weak, and if I die on this mission, then you have to live with it. I can’t do that to you. I’m so sorry.

The thrumming engine stopped.

A light flickered on. In the center of the circular room, a bay of monitors came to life overhead. It broke the blackness, momentarily blinding Jana. They weren’t supposed to land for another fifteen hours. Stark white lights came on, and the compartment door opened. Around her, other bewildered passengers were waking up. Two military police officers entered the room and headed straight for her.

Jana clawed frantically at the harness, but the button to release the straps was too stiff and wouldn’t release.
Stupid fucking civilian ships!
  To her left, Aeronth was unlocking his harness, brows furrowed. Jana’s latch clicked just in time for one of the men to reach out and grab her by the arm. “Lieutenant Jana Darren, you need to come with us.”

“Wait. Let me get my things. Let me say goodb---“

“I’m afraid we don’t have time for that. We need to leave immediately.”

“My team! My team is here with me.” She pulled against him, but he was much larger and stronger than her.

“Our orders are only for you.”

“No. NO!” Jana threw herself against the man as hard as she could, but he barely flinched. “Aeronth don’t let them take me. DON’T LET THEM TAKE ME!” He was out of his seat by now, but the other man was blocking his way. “Please, no. Let me say goodbye!” She was crying now, sobbing through the screaming.
More time! I need more time! I’m not ready to leave like this.

“Jana, it’s going to be okay. I’ll find you.”

She clutched the doorframe while the MP pulled her through it. “I love you too!”

The MP hoisted her up under his arm like a rag doll. She kicked and felt it connect with his shin as he lifted her, but it was no use. The last thing Jana saw before the door closed was Aeronth, the look of panic on his face burned into her memory.