“Kind of like Jameson,” McKinney drawled, eliciting a few laughs.

Omondi’s glare silenced the snickers.

“We can’t deploy directly from The Bastion,” Maria continued. “As you know, all the gates are sealed. As are all the service tunnels and the subway leading out to the various stations located all over the valley. The tiltrotors are our only option and they will draw in the Scrags immediately.”

“What about the Maelstrom Platforms?” Denman asked from across the table. His thick brows were lowered over his keen eyes as he studied the holographic image.

Omondi and Maria exchanged glances, then the Chief Defender said, “We get one volley. A limited burst from the cannons along this side.” He pointed to the hologram. “They will be targeting any of the Scrags breaking off from the crowd around the walls in pursuit of us.”

“But if they see us as Scrags, why would they rush us?” Cruz asked.

“They’ll rush the tiltrotor,” Maria answered. “They always have. The good news is we’ll be in a personnel carrier. We’re hitting the ground running.”

“We get to ride around in style,” Jameson said with delight.

“Can’t wait,” Cormier said, grinning. “Gonna take us on a ride that none of you will ever forget.”

“We just need a clear path to get the vehicle up to speed. We’re heading to the gate first,” Omondi continued, ignoring the interruption.

“Will they rush the personnel carrier?” Denman asked.

Omondi nodded. “We anticipate that they might pursue us. We could disembark and go on foot, but we decided against that. There are so many Scrags in the valley we would literally have to push our way through them. It will slow us down. The carrier will get us there faster. Our first objective is the gate. We get it closed, keep anymore Scrags from coming in, then we start to eliminate the Scrags in the valley.”

The hologram revealed the plan in vivid detail. Maria watched with satisfaction as the armored personnel carrier sped past and through the Inferi Scourge horde. A grid descended over the map, overlaying the valley, sectioning it off.

“We will begin eliminating the Scrags closest to the gate and work our way toward the city. Each day, we will stack the Scrag bodies and burn them. We have been ordered to work sixteen hours a day. We then have four hours to ourselves. To read, talk, play games, to do as you please. We blackout for four hours.” Omondi pulled the image around with his fingers and highlighted a few key points.

Watching the grayish faces of the squad, Maria could see that their joviality was giving away to rapt attention. It was fun to joke around to alleviate the stress, but in the end, they had a massive job to perform. As the briefing droned on, Maria marveled at the lack of tension in her body. There were no butterflies in her stomach, no tense muscles in her back, no headache or any other telltale sign of stress to deal with. It was actually really refreshing to not have to deal with any of the physical symptoms of anxiety. Though an occasional worrying thought would wind its way through her mind, she felt remarkably clear-headed.

“We will adapt our plan if needed once we’re on the field, but I have confidence if we stick to our plan we will be done well before the six month end date,” Omondi finished.

“Sounds good,” McKinney decided.

“And to make things a little more interesting...” Omondi killed the map and chart took its place. “The SWD has approved a bonus system for most kills per day. The soldier with the most kills per day will be granted a gold star.”

“Like in kindergarten?” Denman asked, looking amused.

“Exactly like kindergarten. These gold stars will be tallied at the end of our mission and based on how many you have acquired, you will be granted extra perks to your prefab house of your choice.” Omondi grinned.

This elicited murmurs of excitement.

“Like extra wide vid screens?” Jameson asked.

“Oh, yes. Even extra rooms.” Omondi winked at Maria.

She hadn’t even known about this. It was a great way to keep everyone motivated during the long days of killing.

“Almost feels like an old-fashioned game show all of a sudden,” Denman decided.

“A list of what you might be eligible for when this is all said and done has been downloaded to your wristlets,” Omondi continued. “As for the rest of tonight, I would usually tell you to get some rest, but considering we’re dead...”

Laughter filled the room.

“Isn’t there a saying that you can rest when you’re dead?” Gutierrez asked.

“And no rest for the wicked,” Denman added.

“I guess it’s flipped around now,” Omondi said. “No rest for the dead cause we’re taking down the wicked.”

The briefing broke down as cheers filled the room and people excitedly chatted with one another. Maria overheard Jameson suggesting Cruz indulge him in a bit of necrophilia, which resulted in him being shoved off his feet. Laughter and high spirits would give away tomorrow to death and destruction. They all knew it, but there was a sense of invincibility now that they knew that the Scourge wouldn’t identify them as victims.

It was Mikado who said it was like being a god.

Maria didn’t remind him that sometimes even gods met terrible ends in old earth mythology.

Chapter 15

It felt like old times. Memories of the last time she traveled outside the walls of The Bastion assaulted her as she strapped herself into her seat in the personnel carrier. She almost expected to see Lindsey sitting across from her and Ryan grinning at her as he shamelessly flirted. Instead, Chief Defender Obuya Omondi was finishing securing the buckles of his harness.

The personnel carrier had been modified for their mission. An addition had been attached to the rear providing extra space for their equipment. The long, sleek armored vehicle wasn’t the most comfortable to ride in, but it would provide a good base of operations.

Maria sat behind the driver and Omondi took up the space where the passenger seat in a regular vehicle would be. His monitors were up and running. Beside him was Michael Denman, their medic, and he was already checking on all the information being streamed from the armor and helmets of the soldiers crammed into the seats behind him.

“We’re looking good. All units are transmitting,” Denman informed Omondi.

The tiny sensors and cameras in their helmets would keep Denman and the SWD informed of their every movement.

Maria adjusted her bolt weapon beside her and glanced up the row of soldiers. The bravado was dissipating in the face of the actual deployment and she saw a few people whispering prayers. Crossing herself, she said her own silent prayer and closed her eyes.

A tremor ran through the personnel carrier as the tiltrotor latched onto the roof. The whine of the engines and the propellers beating the air was muffled by her helmet. Maria opened her eyes and glanced through the front window. As the tiltrotor lifted off, the world tilted to one side and the SWD facility came into view. Every window was filled with people watching the takeoff.

“Into the crucible,” Omondi said hushed voice.

It was early morning on a Sunday. Not many people would be out in the streets of The Bastion. Their passage over the wall might not even be noted. Maria had seen the flight path and knew they were keeping it as low as possible to avoid too many sightings. Despite all the proclamations of the president, the mission was still top secret.

As the tiltrotor continued to angle away from the SWD headquarters, The Bastion came into view, gray in the gloom of the morning. The sun was barely beginning to peek over the summits of the mountains and darkness still filled the city streets. The lights in the government facility seemed to blaze in the darkened city. Maria knew that the president and his cabinet were probably watching the live feed transmitted from their helmets.

She felt eerily apart from the world, separated not only by the empty space below the tiltrotor and its heavy cargo, but by the grayish pallor of her skin, lack of breath, and quiet of her heart. Stillness filled her. Whereas before she would have been fighting her nerves, keeping her breathing regulated, and trying to calm a wildly beating heart, she was now in perfect quiet within her armor and helmet. The faces of her companions were contemplative behind the plastic of their visors. She wondered if they felt the same way, too. The SWD had made sure that the Boon were isolated from the rest of the facility. Even the pilots in the tiltrotor carrying them over the wall had no inkling of what they now were.

“We’re Inferi Boon!” Maria said, her voice thick with passion.

Each soldier slammed one foot down and let out a war cry.

“Nothing can stop us!”

Another stomp and a cry.

“We will destroy the Scrags!”

Boom!

“We will free our people!”

Boom!

“We will not fail!”

Boom!

Cheers erupted and the silence fell away with its stifling deadness. Omondi grinned at Maria and gave her a thumbs up. Chatter started up among the soldiers, smack talk mostly, but it killed the quiet.

Denman glanced over his shoulder at her and nodded his head. She wasn’t sure what he was approving of, so she gave him a quick nod back.