Keeper Hunter

“Good that does make things easier.”

I turned to regard Leo standing in the doorway. “In what way?”

“Admiral Katares says so. He said you are an asset we need.” Leo grimaced. “He even said you are in charge.”

“And you resent that?” I was direct.

“On the contrary your record stands up for itself. Whatever the Admiral tells me is what I’ll go with. If you can get us into the brewery all the more better.” Leo paused thinking hard. “He, what as you Terrans say ‘Green lit’ the operation.”

“Yes!” Sindara said.

“Thank God,” Guy breathed clearly relieved. “I’ve been itching to get going.”

I was shocked by Leo’s statement. It seemed that I was getting dragged into something I didn’t want. But I couldn’t let the Black Stripes win. I was opposed to them in any way I could. Saros would have to wait. It was just my luck I take one step forward and two backwards. “No one is going anywhere without a plan,” I warned them.

“And you have one?” Leo asked.

“Not yet I need info first.” It sounded professional but I didn’t have a clue how to go through with a plan. I had to admit I’d been winging it in every encounter I had with the Black Stripes. That wasn’t going to cut it here. I pointed at Inkassi as parts of a plan came into mind. “I’ll need to see maps, schematics and holos of the brewery including guard locations and turrets if they have them?”

“Certainly but it will not be recent data that’s what Sindara and Guy were supposed to do.”

“Ok I’ll still need that data.” I looked at Inkassi. “One other thing I’ll need to you create a diversion?”

“What kind of diversion?” Inkassi pulled out a datapad.

“The holographic type.”

“More details.” Inkassi was quick to answer.

“Like dropships descending. Denassi from my team created a very realistic holo including sounds.”

Inkassi suddenly looked at me. “Did you say Denassi was he one of old Morass’ students.”

I seemed to remember Denassi saying something about a Morass and how he had the wrong plumbing. I glanced around seeing the faces of the others and trying to gauge if I was doing the right thing. “You all ok with me doing this taking over that is?”

“Admiral Katares put you in charge for a reason,” Leo stated firmly.

“Some stranger that’s come in out of the blue?” I was trying find reasons not to do this. I wasn’t cut out to be a leader. Yet there must be something Xenai believed in me, Kelli believed in me and Jervic did and that was that.

“I don’t ask the Admiral why he does the things he does. He has the big picture so I do as he orders.” The stiffness in his pose said that was untrue.

“Relax Leo I can call you that?” I queried him further.

“Yes LT take that rod out of your ass,” Sindara said to him.

Leo glared at her. “Sergeant you as the Terrans say are skating on very thin ice.”

At least Leo was using Imperial phrases in the right context unlike Jervic who used them without thinking about what he was saying. The thought of it made me wish for better days, times when things were simpler. Wishing wasn’t going to make it happen. It seemed every time I thought I was going to achieve my objectives things went south. I had to stop the Black Stripes I couldn’t leave them to have free reign too many people would die. I took a deep breath and calmed my churning gut. “Going back to my earlier point. What’s the status of our equipment?” I winced a bit when I said ‘our’. I shouldn’t be taking control but I was.

“I‘ll get the lists up and transfer the data to your comms,” Guy said. “I do remember we have several breaching charges.”

I took that into consideration. I really didn’t know how I’d use them but I replied in a calm voice. “Ok I’ll find a use for them.”

“Gwen I have compiled the info you asked for,” Inkassi told me. He placed a data unit on the coffee table in front of the couch. A holo map arose from the palm-sized device.

I studied the map it showed with some trepidation. It was showing the brewery and it’s surroundings. To the north was a transport hub kind of like the one I’d passed on Paranova. It made sense to have something like that here. Not only did it export its product to Davenport it sent it to the rest of the Confederacy. A highway bounded the hub and there were several large warehouses. In the east was a residential zone full of houses and apartments. It made sense since the brewery was the largest employer for the town and it surrounding areas. A wide road separated the two sections the only access was a tunnel under the road. And in the west a river bordered the brewery. That left the south, which was a mix of residential and light industries. Finally in turned my attention to the brewery itself. It was a complex maze of buildings a mix of bottling plants and warehouses. Anyone trying a full on assault was doomed to fail. There was a twenty-metre gap between the buildings and a three metre high wall that surrounded the brewery. I would bet the walls and the buildings were stacked full of sensors. Which was why Leo had tried a recon. I wasn’t sure how it failed but I bet that was something there that had alerted the occupants.

Gathering my thoughts before speaking I glanced to Inkassi. “Entry points?”

“Here, here and here,” Inkassi said pointing to the map. “The south gate is hardly used but is still heavily guarded. The east entrance is where the workers and tourists enter. They run a bus service for tourists from there.” He looked at Sindara and Guy. “Two block houses flank that entrance and are filled with electronics. I haven’t been able to find out just what?” He pointed to what appeared the main building of the brewery although it was hard to tell with the other buildings attached to it. “This has three floors as we know.” He was implicating that where might be other levels like underground. It meant we didn’t know enough to make a firm decision on any plan.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“It’s the latest intel we have but that’s several years old. There was a comms centre on the third floor.”

I pointed to the transport hub. It had a large open area for the takeoff and landing of transports. “And here?”

“That’s the busiest sector all goods in and out flow out of here. It’s heavily guarded.”

I considered the options it wasn’t looking good. We needed up to date info it would be too dangerous without it. A sudden thought occurred to me. I could have kicked myself for not thinking of it earlier. I had to ask the question. “Do you have those Confed chips in your wrists?” I knew my former team had them they were embedded in the wrists of all Confed troops. It was to make identification easier.

“We all do?” Sindara answered.

“Is that relevant,” Leo asked.

“I’m not sure.” I admitted. “I was just trying to find the reason Sindara and Guy were spotted at the brewery?”

Sindara went pale. “Inkassi?”

“It more than possible,” he said.

“Shit how could we have missed that?” Leo exclaimed. “You get chipped once you pass your basic and forget about it.”

“It’s easy to ID your corpse. I heard they did that a lot on Anoxi. A true shit storm that,” Inkassi said.

“Are you chipped?” Guy asked me.

I was thankful I hadn’t been. “Not even when I was in the Alliance.”

“Alliance?” Leo said.

This time I wasn’t the one repeating others words, a fact I was glad of. “Terran Confederacy Alliance.”

“You’re with the TCA?” Sindara glanced at my bracelet doubt strong in her eyes.

I know I’d doubt me too they’d only just met me. The truth was far more complicated than that. “It was only temporary while I served Captain Xenai. I expect Admiral Komana had my status revoked.” I had to admit I said those words tinged with bitterness. “I was a Lieutenant with Captain Xenai’s investigation team.”

“Which explains why Admiral Katares was quick to put you in charge,” Leo said with a nod to me.

I felt relieved by that.

“Why leave the TCA?” Sindara asked there was less doubt in her eyes.

“Komana had me exiled to Earth she said there was a conflict of interests. The said interests were the Valkyrie.” I’d told them this already it seemed that they hadn’t listened the first time, talk about having to repeat a conversation. I now knew how others thought about me.

“In what way?” Guy sound intrigued.

I held up my arm with my bracelet. “This it says to other Valkyrie that I’m part of the Silver Guard which answers to the Valkyrie Elder Council.”

Inkassi’s comms bleeped urgently. He looked at it, gave a gasp and tapped it.

The holo above the DU shimmered and was replaced by another map. “They’ve found us.”