The Constant Star (39)

THE STORY SO FAR

“There was one more thing, Sir.” Bear stands as Jupiter tilts his head questioningly, “Many of the enemies I have encountered claimed to be from the upper levels. If true, there may be sympathizers in our own ranks.”

“That is something you should have brought up earlier, Agent.”

“Sorry, Sir. I will do better.”

“I am not surprised about the information, however. With the shock of the lower levels thrust upon them, I can imagine many of our people want them to be free.”

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“I want them to be free, Sir.”

“So do I, Agent. Is your mission compromised?”

“Not if I don’t have to kill them, Sir.”

“Good. We don’t want slaves, but up until now we have relied on them. Perhaps there is a compromise. Negotiations could be beneficial, but this war needs to be stopped. And Diana does not seem to want peace. We need our ship back, and once that has happened she may be willing to talk.”

“I really hope so, Sir.”

“Look at me, Bear.” Bear meets his gaze and waits for Baldr’s words. He speaks with a hand on the young man’s shoulder and a fatherly smile,  “I’m so proud of you, Son. Keep the faith. The mission won’t change, but our execution of it must. I will look into Mars. We will uncover everything that has happened. We will win this war.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Dismissed.” Jupiter returns Bellerophon’s salute and watches him turn to exit, “Janus, unseal the Bridge.” The locks release and the viewing window returns to transparent. He watches the door close behind Bear before turning back to his view of the universe, “Well,” he sighs, “Here we go.”

31

The cracking of distant gunfire gives light to a dimmed cityscape; the floor rumbles with heavy machinery and nearby explosions. Jupiter walks to Mars’ command centre in his Forward Operating Base. Security platoons and volunteers march by to their respective battalions, Jupiter wonders how many of these faces will be seen again after the next few days. A large armored truck sits fifty meters ahead of him; several officials are inside communicating with troops on the ground and giving orders. Mars is intently analyzing a data-set on one of the many screens within when he sees his old friend heading his way.

Jupiter slows his pace and stops as Mars drops down from the back of the truck. The two men look at one another for a few awkward seconds before Jupiter speaks, “Mars, I am sorry for my outburst. My emotions got the better of me. I am here to ask you to let me help. I have lost my daughter to this war and I want to make it right. This rebellion has to end.”

Mars pauses in silence before clenching his jaw and nodding. He steps forward and embraces Jupiter, “My friend, thank you for coming back. There is always a place for you here. Come with me.”

Jupiter is led a few hundred meters to a battalion preparing to head out, “I want you to join this battalion as a part of its’ special forces. We have momentum right now in pushing the rebellion back to the lower levels.” Mars looks in Jupiter’s eyes, “You have to understand I can’t send you to the Gate: it is too emotional a place for you. But with this battalion you will be at the forefront of our assault on Diana. Your team will be taking out their artillery and hitting any snipers you find along the way. I know you’re a pilot, but I also know you have extensive combat training, coming through the special forces training program. What was your specialty?”

Jupiter just smiles, “Thanks Mars, I look forward to helping crush this rebellion. Are you joining us?”

“You never did tell me. You and your secrets. I won’t be joining you this time, I’ve got another mission I need to lead personally.”

“And what is that?”

Mars smiles back, “It’s another mission.”

Jupiter nods, “Good luck, old friend.”

“Good luck.”

Mars walks away as Jupiter turns to join his new battalion.

Bear steps out of his craft and eyes the terrain. Scans have picked up another hack-site and, as usual, there are four guards milling about as civilians. He picks his way through a park’s grassy terrain, decorated with large divots from artillery shells and grenades. The lights from Janus flicker from a dull luminance to pitch-black; the systems are still struggling to come back on.

The occasional body lies strewn on what was once a serene place of rest. There is a large group nearby working on collecting the dead and preparing them for cremation. Bear stays out of sight and positions himself behind a short rock wall. He pulls out an EMP grenade and flicks the timer on when a sudden hail of bullets strike the wall beside him. He drops the grenade and rushes for cover behind a nearby building as gunfire thuds the ground and spits the foliage around him.

“Dammit! We missed him!”

“Yeah, but he ain’t going anywhere. We’ve got him pinned down. Hey Ghost! You back there? Come on out and make this easy on everyone.”

Bear pulls out his assault pistol as his visor scans for a way around his attackers, “I don’t want to hurt any of you. You should all just go home and forget about this.”

There is a chuckle in the flickering dark, “We’re not the ones surrounded here, pal. Come out with your hands up. We just want to talk. If you don’t, we’ll have to kill you.”

“If you were good enough to kill me, you would have done it by the wall.” Bear’s visor green-lights a path through the woods to the target site, “Just go home. I don’t want to hurt any of you.”

A short burst of gunfire strikes the concrete wall where he hides, “Last warning Ghost! You coming out?”

“If that’s what you want.”

Bear pulls

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