Labyrinth - First Mission
"Captain Ellison, your orders are to proceed to the enemy outpost, at point Juliet, and eliminate any hostiles before the technical team comes in. We have no time to waste, so I'm not going to pussyfoot around this. We know about your abilities. Mr Sandburg was very helpful - his notes and dissertation were thorough and detailed."
Ellison stood ramrod straight and blank.
"Soldier, you have permission to speak."
"Nothing to say, sir,"
"You can do better than that Ellison," his commander replied sharply. He paused for a moment to see if Ellison would respond. "I understand you and Mr Sandburg were close, I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, sir."
The man frowned, something was off. Not his problem. "Jensen has been designated to act as your focus, should you 'zone out', and the rest of the unit has been briefed."
"Thank you, sir."
"They were a little sceptical, but I'm sure they'll get over it." He moved the top paper to one side. "You're going in at night. If you look at the map, you'll see that there are only two points of access, one over the cliffs, and the other directly through the main entrance. You have four days. Please don't damage the emplacement. We may need it as we move further inland."
"Yessir."
Colonel Macey hesitated, and then said, "Dismissed," curtly, dropping his eyes back to the paperwork on his desk.
"Sir." Ellison wheeled and marched out, mind buzzing, demeanour imperturbable. He desperately wanted to know where Sandburg was, why they hadnm't attempted to force Blair into the miltary with him. Even his pacifist tendencies could surely have been 'handled'. He'd be happier if he knew what they were doing.
His quarters were comfortable, if bare, and he had quietly settled in. The uniforms in the closet, the toiletries in the bathroom, the food in the kitchen, all appeared and were cleaned, replenished and refilled without so much as a word. He knew it was, among other things, a way to remind him that he was under continual surveillance, that he had no privacy, and could expect nothing except the tightest control over his life from now on. It amused him to realise that his clothes were being washed in the laundry powder Sandburg chose, that the foods mixed algae shakes with less healthy options. Perhaps they weren't sure which things he needed. Surely they had observed them long enough to know the differences between their lifestyles.
He shook his head, and put together a meal with quiet efficiency. Tomorrow would be the first test of his abilities in the field. So far they had worked fine, but the proof would be if he could survive a mission without a guide. No one had asked, and he had kept silent, wondering if they even knew. They had to. They'd taken Blair first. So what were they waiting for? Why had they separated them? Or maybe they truly didn't understand the nature of the connection between them. He frowned, feeling it strong but attentuated, like elastic pulled out almost too far, and huffed a faint laugh. Maybe the army believed that Blari would still guide him even without being physically present. In which case, he needed to make sure he zoned periodically. Not that they were going to push him that hard to start with.
He was under no illusions that his first mission would be anything other than a milk run, but that was no reason not to prepare or treat it seriously. If nothing else, it would give him a chance to shakedown with his team, all of them considerably younger than he, and if his own experience was anything to go by they would be sceptical and resistant to his command over them. And next time, they give him more. Ask for more. Get more. Eventually, they'd be happy with his performance.
He smiled, pale eyes flat and unseeing as the pasta boiled over. And then, when they trusted him, he'd kill them all.
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The Labyrinth: Jim: First Mission |
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Page last updated 18/09/2004.