Chapter 23
They let me rest for a two full days before I was expected to get up and go again.
I’d complain, but after the original shock wore off, and the pain became manageable with bracing and meds, I was getting bored.
Berkley had made sure I was excused from anything physical, which had made my heart ache just a little.
It still catches me off guard, having people looking out for me this way.
Leo even went and got a new name patch made for me.
Being excused from physical training was good timing.
Planning had begun for our cohorts first field assignments and my lunacy with the tower meant I was pulled into random meetings.
Mostly I held a clipboard and sat silently while everyone else spoke, but on occasion I was included in planning.
I am bad with names, sure, but I’m actually good with people.
Despite wanting to skin Kethler alive, I was able to give him some helpful insight about which crews would be most successful together.
Which groups could manage on their own, and who might have difficulty because they lacked mature leadership.
There were a few meetings where Tane was present, and he’d stand there brooding, once again acting as if my presence was offending him, but I chose to ignore it.
With our crew’s place at the top solidified, I’ve felt some relief from that building pressure that likes to sit inside my chest. Just a little.
My crewmates had chewed me out a little once I was in good enough health, with equal parts awe and frustration. Which I understand; I’d feel the same.
The wild card, though, was Deacon. He hadn’t come down on me at all.
I was most worried about the blow-back from him.
If anything, he’d defended me a little when the others had ripped into me.
It was jarring; so at odds with his usual reactions.
Something I’d wanted from him forever––just his support.
His trust. Maybe there was still some hope, to get back to the friendship we’d grown up with.
Deacon’s crew is heading out to the southeast border, to check on some of the underground grow bunkers that are still holding. It was something I’d helped secure in one meeting I’d attended––they’d be going with another crew, and it was one of the safest options.
Our assignment is a simple retrieval. We haven’t been given specifics, but when they’d outlined the general placement and the lack of interference, I’d jumped on it.
Not to mention it was a little further out, which means I might get to see more of the country.
I'm excited. We will see the barrier, from afar.
Maybe even the forest I'm named after. sla
Deacon was probably right during our fight back home––I do enjoy the thrill of danger a little too much. The others all seem a bit withdrawn, anxious. Unlike myself, I feel a thrum of alertness, one I enjoy.
I walk with my crewmates, listening to the heavy slap of our boots on the polished concrete floors, all of us in our own thoughts. We come to the front doors of the compound, the ones we’d entered through that first day.
Outside, I spot Deacon to our left. He’s with his crew, all of them stuffing their packs full with supplies from one of the supply carts. A part of me is still mad at him for following me here, but he looks so natural. A confident soldier.
He must feel my eyes on him, because he turns to me and his face lights up in a grin.
"Maple!" he hollers. "Check this out!" He turns, showing me the blades strapped to his pack. I gawk.
"Aww man, we’re only getting stupid batons," Leo says, stepping up beside me and kicking a pebble with a dramatic sigh.
My brow furrows. Why are they giving Deacon’s crew heavier weaponry? My stomach sinks as I worry I’ve made the wrong call, pushed their crew the wrong way. I start to go over to try and figure it out, when a throat clears behind me.
I turn around to see Tane, not a hair out of place, looking every bit the deadly leader he’s rumoured to be.
"Cadets. Petill and I will be joining you on your first assignment," he announces, glancing over at my crew members.
Petill? Confusion washes over me for a second before I glance over to see Vera crouched down, packing her bag.
Nephrani drown me, I need to get better with names.
Worry takes over, as I look around at the other unit crews in our cohort.
Every one of them has a lead hand, but somehow we’ve been strapped with two of the most notorious.
I begin to doubt this assignment is as simple as it was made out to be, and flame licks my cheeks as worry bubbles up inside me.
I just want to keep everyone safe, is that so hard?
"Is there a problem, Treow?" My emotions must be written on my face, because Tane is standing in front of me now, bulky arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrowed.
"Not at all," I say, standing at a half-assed attention. "I’m just curious why they sent their two biggest, baddest, and most capable leaders to aid us in a simple extraction, is all," I shrug.
Tane steps closer to me so he doesn’t have to shout over Leo, who’s now loading his pack with rations from the cart beside us.
"Admin wanted to make sure this assignment was done efficiently. And we’re taking the buggies because of where this extraction is located.
I offered to go, to make sure all the inventory comes back in one piece.
" His eyes spark with the familiar challenge I’ve come to associate with his gaze. "Is that ok with you, boss?"
My own eyes flare momentarily, before I catch myself. What is this man’s problem? One minute he’s civil, even personable, and the next minute he’s acting like a fire sprite being doused with water.
"Of course, thanks for the clarification."
"Sir," he adds expectantly. I stand there blinking at him, pretending I don’t know what he wants.
"Thanks for the clarification, sir," he says, popping his tongue along the inside of his cheek, and I note the tiniest twitch in his lips.
"Thanks for the clarification, sir," I throw back, with a syrupy sweet smile, batting my eyelashes.
It has the desired effect; he leans back, furious. Nostrils flaring, and the tic of his clenched jaw give him away. I bite down on my lip to keep from grinning.
With one last withering look, he stalks away.
After everyone's bags are properly packed, Vera leads us around the corner to the bay doors.
I noticed them when we first arrived, tucked away to the side of the compound.
I'm itching with anticipation to head inside. All our engineering experience so far has been in the classrooms. They don’t allow us to tinker around in here at our level; too many precious materials.
Tane walks up to an engineer and goes over a few things, before he hollers something and two young apprentices covered in grease jog off. A few minutes later we hear the hum of engines, and they come around one of the large shelving units in what I assume are the buggies.
I've never seen anything like these machines.
I side-eye my crewmates and they all have glossy looks of wonder on their faces. The buggies look like they fit four, maybe five people.
The seats are suspended in a bronze frame, the rumbling engines half exposed at the front, with some sort of spout coming up the side.
The sharp, angular metal bars around the seats are covered in a thick clear plastic instead of traditional doors or a metal roof; similar to what covers the training dome, I suspect.
There's a low push bar at the front, maybe for clearing sand or dirt piles off the paths?
The tires look like truck tires, only large and over-inflated, with deep grooves.
Tane gives a short, sharp whistle, and motions for all of us to come stand behind one of the buggies. He gestures to the big black bins that are strapped to the metal basket protruding off the back. He pulls out a large map and lays it across the lid.
"We are here. We will drive from here up to the charging point, here.
" His large finger drags up the imaginary line to a small mark on the map.
"It'll take us the whole day, on rough terrain, to get to the charging station.
The buggies won't have much juice left in them, and they take forever to load up with solar power, so after we rest there, we'll be continuing on foot to the extraction point.
We will then return as quickly as possible back to the charging station. "
The charging station and the extraction point look further apart than I'd imagined. There's nothing in between... and that isn't a known road.
"What happens if we get caught in a dust storm on foot?" I question. I've never been in that type of open terrain before. There's a reason no one ventures off paths and beyond their cities or towns. We need spots to shelter.
Vera pipes up, her voice steady and softer than I'd expected. She points to a midpoint marker in between the two spots.
"There are several panic pods buried strategically on hills between the two locations. This route was originally a main trade route, and later used by soldiers during the war who needed shelter. The town farther north held one of the last naturally harvested crops we had."
I study the black triangle she pointed to on the map. I've seen those before on a couple other maps in class. Does that mean there's more?
"What exactly is a panic pod?" Leo mumbles, and Berkley noticeably cringes.
"Basically, it's a tube they've buried that you can jump into and wait out a bad time.
There are quite a few, all over the country, actually.
" Vera states, and I can't help but stare at her a little.
This is more than I've ever heard her speak, and for once she doesn't sound angry.
She sounds like a different person. She sees me openly assessing her, and a cold look washes over her face. Interesting.