Indomitable (44 page)

Jupiter never saw the back of his hand coming. Stars burst across her good eye.

“Think you're cute, pet? When I'm done with you you won't be.”

She felt a hand at her collar, and then cold metal against her skin, and tugging and cutting and a rush of cold air on her chest. “No.” She twisted in her chair, deparate to break free from her bonds. Her vilest fear roared like a tsunami and crashed over her. “No.” His hand slid beneath her beegees. “Please,
please
don't do this.”Then down the curve of her belly as his other hand wrapped around her throat.

“I'll kill you. I'll cut your—”

“Not so confident, now, are you? What's that? Oh, I bet a little air would help. But this is tit for tat, dearie. I let up, I want something in return.”

A door opened and footfalls echoed across the cavernous chamber. “Marcus! What the hell do you think you're doing?”

His name is Marcus.
His name became a lifeline. His rough hands retreated. If she could only focus on his name, grab ahold of it, and hold on, then she wouldn't have to face what he'd just done to her. What he'd taken from her. She clung to his name as a climber hanging from a ledge about to fall to her death.

“I told you to crack the armor and get her out, not to rape her. What happened to her face?”

“It was that Lusie pilot's fault, Marcher. She hit the Marine with a full-powered disrupter blast at point-blank range. She should have stopped to look first. The helmet was damaged, cracked.”

“You've been drinking. You fool.”

“Marcher is lucky she didn't fry the suit's programming, or the Marine's jelly. I had to cut her out of her armor with a torch and 'Publican armor doesn't cut easy.”

“Is that what happened to her eye? Did you nick her head with a torch? Walker will kill you for this.”

“Only the nerve. Marcher did the rest. Thank her for that.”

“I will. You're lucky you didn't take her head off. Get out. Now!”

“Hey, we've got the armor.” Marcus sounded punch-drunk. “I was just having a little fun.”

“Tell that to her.”

“Is the commander's woman going soft?”

“Get …
out.
”

Jupiter thought she heard the sound of lapping water in the distance. It was faint and she figured her mind was playing tricks on her.

“So, you're Walker's woman. Does he beat you too?”

Again the blow struck Jupiter's good eye and it took everything she had not to holler out in pain.

“Tough girl, huh? Keep it up and neither one will work.”

Jupiter's head lolled to the side. From the corner of her eye she saw a silver oblong, and it was the size of a large man. It had arms and legs, and a horrible black stain ran the length of its torso. Her mouth opened in horror when she realized what it was.

“
Mi bebé.
My armor. You've ruined her!”

“Access codes, please. Or your situation gets very ugly, very fast.”

“Service Number MM-I 171 563 149. Private First Class Jupiter Cer—”

The next blow rocked her jaw, causing her to bite through her tongue Warm blood slicked down the side of her chin, and the taste of copper filled her mouth.

“Access codes. Please.”

Jupiter gave her service number and full rank in Castilian, with attitude. That earned another punch to the jaw and one to the gut. She doubled over as far as her bindings would allow her to and groaned, and spit out blood and teeth. The follow-up snapped her head backward, and to the side.

Keep this up and you're going to need two replacements,
Jupiter told herself.
That won't be any way to live.

“Careful, I don't regen.” She could barely understand herself. “You buy it, you pay for it.”

The woman half laughed. “I admire your spark. Tell me what I want to know and I'll spare you further discomfort. I have a hypo to take the edge off. Would you like to talk?”

She thought of Lieutenant Paen's can-do attitude and full-throat spirit, and knew the XO wouldn't rest until she found her.
Keep her talking until the lieutenant arrives.What if she doesn't arrive in time?
NO,
she has to. She's going to come
“I … take your meaning. How 'bout some water?”

“Here, this will help with the swelling so you can drink.” There was a sharp prick on her neck and then the pain began to recede. “What do I get in return?” the woman asked.

“If I give you my codes my CO will know.” She almost sounded like herself now. “What if I show you the back door?”

“And you get to save face, assuming I let you live. I'm listening.”

Jupiter didn't answer. A burning warmth slid down her neck and back, releasing anguished muscles and joints. She let herself slump to the side and started moaning. Just about every square centimeter of her body really did hurt. She clenched her fists, once, twice, a third time just to be sure—surely her mind was playing tricks upon her—but it wasn't, and that's when she knew it wasn't over. They hadn't scanned her for synths because if they had they would have discovered her artificial hand and they would have disabled it.
Foolish mistake,
she thought.
It's going to get you killed.
She dislocated the tip of her thumb on her right hand without making a sound. With a bit of effort the tip popped, and then unscrewed to reveal a razor-thin blade. It made short work of her bindings. She moaned again to cover up the noise of fraying rope.

“Okay, my head is killing me.” Jupiter forced her head to the side to expose her carotid artery. “Please. May I have another?”

She heard feet shuffling and a moment later felt cold metal pressed against her neck. She inhaled sharply as the device knifed deep with its concoction. A deeper, more penetrating burn spread across her face, down her jaw, into her shoulders and her back, and down into her abdomen. Her entire body sagged. The swelling around her good eye retreated, and her vision began to clear.

“Thank you. Have a seat.” Her words were so lifeless they sounded like an off-the-shelf AI might have said them.

“All right. I'm listening.”

Jupiter smiled with great effort. “Getting in is simple, really. All you have to do is trick the suit into believing you're not a threat.”

“How do I do that?” the woman asked.

“Three simple steps.”

“Hold on.” A few moments later Jupiter heard uneven footfalls stumbling toward her and she didn't have to guess whose they were.

“Thanks a lot,” Jupiter said.

“I need his brain … even if it is damaged. Tell me what I want to know and I swear he won't touch you again.” Then to Marcus, “Make yourself useful. Kneel by her armor.”

Jupiter raised her chin and turned to address Marcus. “You always do what you're told, Marcus?”

“I swear I'm going to rip your—”

“Enough! Private, I suggest you think carefully about your next words. I would hate for them to be your last.”

“It's Private
First Class.
” Hearing the woman sigh was worth it. Jupiter was pretty sure this was going to end badly for her. No chance she was walking out of here, not without eyes, and not if Marcus had his way. She could at least try to take them both with her, and with any luck, get a signal off to the lieutenant.

“Like I was saying, three simple steps.” Jupiter took a deep breath.

“And?”

“In order … or you'll trigger the suit's countermeasures. Hear that, Marcus? Get ready.

“Step one is simple.” She nodded toward her armor. “You just need to…” Seizing the woman's distraction, Jupiter brought her arms around and rocked forward in the chair, tipping it and herself into the woman. Her thumb sank into the woman's throat and she pushed it in and up just to be sure. She heard a wheeze and a small gurgle and then the woman slumped in her arms. Jupiter groped for her sidearm. There. The cold polymer frame felt like home. She drew, and aimed as best she could for Marcus, who was already backing away. When she squeezed the trigger and nothing happened she feared the weapon was bio-locked. Swearing, she racked the slide while straining her good eye to keep Marcus in her sights.

“You'll lose,” she said. Her arm tracked right as Marcus moved, then right again. He stopped and started to laugh.

“You can barely see me. Just wait until I get my hands on you.”

She fired until Marcus went down, and then she cut her feet loose and crawled toward his position, one hand on the ground and the other on the sidearm. Marcus lay in a pool of his own blood, breathing quick and shallow.

“You don't look so pretty, pet,” Jupiter said. She frisked both legs and came up with a second pistol, two magazines, and a fixed blade. The knife slit his throat like butter.

“That's for my armor, my eyes, and for touching what's not yours.”

Jupiter crawled back toward her armor and found the helmet was missing. She was close to despair when she caught sight of the visor on a low shelf. Her pharmacope was sitting next to it and she quickly grabbed it and smashed it on the floor. Cupping the helmet with both hands, she turned it around in her palms, and inched it over her head.

“Identify Private First Class Jupiter Cervantes, Rico-Epsilon-Two-Charlie-Five-Five-Niner-Charlie-Echo-Four-Six.”

Blue light danced over her shattered HUD, and her hopes soared. A cardinal voice began speaking:
“Voice identification conf…”
Then it died in midsyllable and her HUD sparked out.

She heard shouts in the distance and the heavy footfalls of booted feet running toward her. She ripped off her helmet and upended it in her lap. Inside she found a small disk embedded in the padding of each ear. In the center of each disk was a small pin, which she depressed to make them pop out. A quick turn counterclockwise and they came away. She snapped them together and they instantly warmed in her hand.

Done.

Jupiter sagged to the ground as a bolt of energy washed over her. The homing device fell to the deck and rolled under the table. As it came to a stop it started blinking once per second.

 

Fifty-three

MAY 25
TH
, 92 A.E., STANDARD CALENDAR, 1905 HOURS

THE KORAZIM SYSTEM, PLANET SHEOL

COMBAT OUTPOST DANNY TRUE

“We've got her.”

Captain Yates stormed into Victor Company's temporary barracks. The honeycomb structure was semitranslucent to take advantage of the daylight. Considering Sheol's current mood, there wasn't much of it. The cells in the wall provided enough energy for the internal lights, the utilitarian kitchen, the showers, and the head. They were all silent at the moment. Most of Victor Company had hit their racks hard. Promise had opted for the shower, hoping it would help her unknot. So far it hadn't worked.

“Where?” Promise barked over the sound of pelting water. She quickly rinsed off and mopped her hair with a towel before stepping under the blower. A column of forced air dried her in seconds.

“SOS just came in,” Yates said as she jerked open a locker and withdrew her sidearm. It clanked on the top shelf, followed by several spare clips. Yates stripped out of her utility shorts and shirt and grabbed the towel from the shelf below. Water hit the deck before she was in. “Jupiter triggered her backup. She's in a dormant volcano two hundred fifty klicks from here. Battalion is deploying.”

“About time. Give me three mikes and I'm green-to—”

“Negative, Promise,” Captain Yates said forcefully. “We've been ordered to stand down.”

“What?” Promise opened the flash-cleaner and pulled out her shorty one-piece, which she'd opted for because of Sheol's heat. The standard mechsuit underarmor was cut more sparsely than the full-body version, with straps at the shoulders instead of a full tee and legs up to the calves. The vents in the underarms and back provided extra cooling. Promise stepped in and sealed up. “Then what's the hurry, ma'am?”

“The colonel wants me in the command center before he dusts off. I'm the next senior officer on post. I'll be in command while he's away. I hate this atmosphere and my teeth taste like ash.” Yates gargled and spit. “I'm not standing in as the BAT-CO looking like this. It's going to be a long night and I could use the company. Why don't you join me?”

“The colonel can't do this!” Promise winced at her tone of voice. She sounded like a petulant whiner.
But he really can't do this. It's not fair.
“Why?”

“That's exactly what I said. But, I was overruled. Can you really blame him?” Yates stepped out of the shower dripping wet. “Hand me that, will you? Thanks. Promise, look, Victor Company just got smashed. We are down to nearly half strength. You saw my armor and I saw yours. They're trashed. We can't deploy in them. I was lucky to get mine off in one piece, and only with a lot of help. It's in the morgue now and I doubt the servomechs will get it online. There's no time to thaw a replacement suit. Otherwise, I'd have asked to go.”

“Permission to comm the colonel, ma'am.”

Yates racked her hands on her hips and sighed. “Promise, it won't do any good.”

“Ma'am,
please.
”

“Lieutenant.” Yates's voice was as hard as peristeel. “I just got blasted by the colonel for forcing the issue. He threatened to toss me in the brig if I didn't drop it.” Yates turned and opened her locker. She glowered at her reflection in the mirror on the door. “I suggest you do the same.”

Suggest isn't the same thing as an order.

Promise locked her hands at the small of her back, stroking a tube of gloss; popped the cap and pushed it firmly into place. It felt cool and slick in her hands and reminded her of her mother's long-ago mantra “Never leave home without your lips.” The more she stroked the tube the more her nerves settled, the more she focused on the here and now, the more the shakes subsided and her voice calmed down until she was reasonably certain she had her emotions under control. She adjusted her belt and her sidearm and glossed her lips, and then turned to face Yates.