The Human Security Officer (Part 31) | HFY Story | A Short Sci-Fi Story

The Human Security Officer (Part 31) | HFY Story | A Short Sci-Fi Story

Gareth hesitated but carefully made his way over to the terminal. The video was paused, showing a still scene of five dark-armored figures silhouetted in red light. The armor was familiar to him, nearly identical to the armor from the crates. Furthest from the camera's point of view was a tall human. Their armor had a blue stripe down the right side of their chest plate, and they held a small device projecting a map of a cluster of buildings. Next to them was another figure with a black stripe that almost blended with their armor, appearing to focus on the map while cradling what Gareth guessed was a rifle.

On the map holder's other side sat a human fiddling with a hefty pack. Their red stripe stood out vibrantly against the red lights. Closer to the camera stood the last two visible figures. Their height was one of the few physical characteristics Gareth could make out. Both were shorter than the camera, with the one on the left being the shortest. The shorter human had a light gray stripe and looked at a map on a screen built into the gauntlet on their left arm. The one to the right had a yellow stripe on their chest plate and was adorned with devices Gareth couldn't identify, along with ammunition and a pack strapped to their back. They held the biggest gun Gareth had ever seen, not mounted on a ship.

Gareth couldn't see much of what he guessed to be Penelope, if the video title was to be believed. All he could see were her arms, clad in armor like the others, and the handle of what he remembered from his research to be a small axe. As the figures remained frozen, his eyes drifted to the play button. Gareth reached out, and the dark figures found motion.

Pen felt the almost calming jostling of the dropship, the thrum and shake of thrusters adjusting to the atmosphere familiar and consistent. Alvarez lit up a map of the objective, a cluster of three tall buildings rotating slowly in front of him.

"Alright Cerberus, as you all heard in the mission briefing, high altitude drop onto the top of this building here. Silent entrance, we stay dark as long as we can manage. The first objective is the building's power, then the backup generators. Kill those, and we give the Army an easier approach without automated defenses. Next, we make our way to the command center and disrupt command and communication. Friendlies will be making their way through the buildings at that point. We make contact, and it’s clean-up from there.”

“Heard and understood, sir,” Cerberus responded in unison.

"Excellent. Final prep. We drop in 45."

Pen realized she'd been fidgeting with her hatchet and returned it to its sheath on her right hip. She turned to the wall and retrieved her shotgun from its mount. After a final check, it made its way to the mag lock on her back. Her sidearm was already resting in its holster on her chest, and her knife sat opposite her hatchet. Finally, she picked up a silenced submachine gun and made her way to the front of the group. The door lowered, doubling as an exit ramp. The sound of whipping wind and burning thrusters flooded the dropship's interior, dampened only somewhat by their sealed suits.

“Cerberus ready,” Alvarez came through their helmets.

“Sir,” Pen yelled to the captain, “what are the odds we have a care package waiting for us when we get back?”

"We're barely halfway through the last one, Pen. Don't get greedy.”

“Yes, sir.”

The pulsing red light suddenly turned green, and they immediately cut the banter. Green light, go, go. Pen surged forward with Alvarez, and the others followed behind. It took only seconds for the dropship to become almost invisible against the night sky. Cerberus readied themselves and fell into a drop formation. It was a long way till touchdown, but the height was necessary so the dropship would be invisible to any scanner or other means of detection. Their heads-up displays guided them for the first stretch. Soon enough, the city and the building came into sight.

“Three in the drop zone, pick your targets,” Alvarez yelled.

Pen drew her hand across a small pad on her gauntlet and marked two standing side-by-side. Ash tagged the other, and they each adjusted their trajectory while the others pulled back slightly. The two activated their Hawks and prepared to land. What happened next transpired in milliseconds.

Penelope cut her Hawk early and landed on top of her first mark, driving her knees into his shoulders. In a fluid motion, she drew her knife and brought it down into his neck. With her right hand, she pulled her submachine gun from the small of her back, locked its stock against her shoulder, and put four rounds into the second mark. Her momentum carried her roughly to the ground. With a roll, she came to a kneeling ready position and saw that Ash had dispatched the other target. A second later, the other four made their landing. Ash swapped to her rifle and checked the other rooftops. Their silent entry was successful.

Without another word, Cerberus made for the rooftop access door. The op was going exactly as planned.

Canali took a bite of his steak, pointing his fork at Pen. “Come on, Pen, you've got to have some crazy stories. You're a legend.”

“Like I said, all overblown. Jane, on the other hand, was the real deal.”

Ash De spoke up. “You mentioned she was a marksman. Ash is a peculiar nickname for such a specialty, I'd think.”

“No, it's 'cause she'd burn you down,” Pen said, as if quoting another. "A reference to her favorite old Earth movie. Some terribly inaccurate American Eastern film. She had the hots for the mistress of some Doctor character or something. The name fit, though, because she would burn you down. Lethal as deadly as I've ever seen."

Pen wasn’t exactly looking at any of them anymore. They all kept silent.

“She was professional, cold even during an op. But off the clock, she was kind, fun. She enjoyed making the rest of us smile. She was strict in a caring way but could cut loose when she wanted. Boy, could she drink. She put me under the table a number of times. She’d grin down at me without so much as a drop of sweat on her.”

Pen looked over to De and Tonet. “That means I’d be so far gone I was falling out of my chair. She'd grin down at me without a drop of sweat on her.”

Pen seemed to lose herself in reverie, and no one at the table was eager to snap her out of it. She couldn’t see it, but they all became very careful with their movements.

“God, she loved those old movies. She had a collection and watched them over and over when she had the time. I remember one time, late one night, I walked past her quarters. She had one on and invited me to join her. She was always trying to get us to watch them, but no one wanted to. They were really awful, corny as all hell. But I sat down and managed to finish out the movie. It was nice. Not the movie, but just sitting.”

Pen looked up at the other guests and cleared her throat. “Probably not the kind of story you’d like to hear, though. Don’t think she was soft. This was the same woman who made a clean shot at 500 meters while under fire, out the back of a moving vehicle. We were on our way out off of a successful op. A counter sniper had been harassing us the entire time. I said to her it was a shame we never managed to get the bastard. She looked at me, asked what I meant, took aim, and boom.”

“I’ve heard stories like that one. Nice to hear them from a reliable source. Ash was Old Guard, right? She served under the captain previous to Alvarez?” Camila asked.

“Yeah, alongside Alvarez before he was promoted. Her and Nurse were the same rank, but we always treated her like a second in command, co-captain kind of thing.”

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Keywords

• Gareth
• Terminal
• Video
• Dark-armored figures
• Red light
• Map
• Buildings
• Silent entrance
• Dropship
• Mission briefing
• Penelope
• Cerberus
• Command center
• Old Earth movie
• Marksman
• Counter sniper

FAQ

Q: Who are the main characters in this story?

A: The main characters include Gareth, Penelope (also referred to as Pen), and Alvarez as part of the Cerberus team.

Q: What is the mission objective for Cerberus in this story?

A: The mission objective includes a high-altitude drop onto a building, disabling the building's power and backup generators, and then making their way to the command center to disrupt command and communication.

Q: What kind of armor do the characters wear?

A: The characters are described as wearing dark armor with various colored stripes that denote their roles and equipment.

Q: What nickname does Jane have and why?

A: Jane is nicknamed Ash, as a reference to her ability to "burn you down" in combat and it also ties to a favorite old Earth movie character.

Q: How does the story describe Pen's relationship with Jane?

A: Pen describes Jane (Ash) as professional and cold during operations but kind and fun off the clock. They had a close, almost familial bond, sharing moments like watching old movies together.