accident. We
had expected you to be less confrontational and were surprised.” As an
afterthought, the voice added, “We apologize.”
“Great, why don’t we just shake hands,
have a beer and call it a day then? Let me the fuck out of here right now!”
Seth yelled at his captor.
“Lieutenant Fields, we are going to send
a representative in to talk with you face to face. We assure you that there is
no possible escape, so please do not force us to stun you again. A door will
open now to let in our representative.”
With that, the seamless wall opposite of
Seth’s bed opened to allow a very tall and broad figure into the room. “My name
is Surgeon,” he began.
“Oh, my parents wanted me to be a doctor,
too,” Seth quipped. “But at least they didn’t name me Surgeon. How did I get
here, anyway?”
This seemed to almost make the figure
smile. He continued, “The night of your graduation, you shook hands with one of
our operatives. He had a small needle in his palm, laced with a tranquilizer.
You were shaking so many hands I doubt you will even remember his face when you
see him again during your training. As far as names go, you will find that our
true names don’t matter much anymore and you will, in fact, be given a new
operating name. I think ‘Cadet’ suits you just fine.”
“Now wait a minute,” Seth shot back. “I
worked damn hard for my lieutenant’s bars and there’s no way I’m being called
‘Cadet’ again!”
“You’ll also find, Cadet, that your
previous rank, no matter how short-lived or deserving, is also not of much
consequence anymore. Maybe after our mission, I’ll give you your name back.”
Surgeon seemed to nod towards no
direction in particular and shortly after, another door, this one next to
Seth’s bed, opened into a corridor. “We will now eat and then you will be given
a briefing as to why you are here. Offer no resistance and no one will harm
you. Agreed?”
With a small nod, Seth stood and faced
the new door. Surgeon took the lead and together they walked down the hall
about a hundred meters before coming to a mess hall filled with other soldiers,
all wearing identical black outfits.
He knew that they were all soldiers just
by looking at them and how they acted. He also realized that these weren’t
ordinary soldiers but the best of wherever they came from. They had the look of
trained and highly skilled operators.
Surgeon, whoever he was, must be one of
the best to get the looks of respect the others gave him. However, no one seemed
to look at the new guy and this was odd considering that Seth was the only one
dressed in white.
Surgeon stepped into the mess hall and
just as casually began to address the assembled crowd. “Attention on deck!” His
voice was smooth and even slightly subdued. “This is ‘Cadet’ and he just awoke
today. He is the last of our cadre to come out of cryosleep so we are now in
the full swing of things. We’re on schedule but we still have a lot to
accomplish. Carry on”, he concluded. With that, everyone began eating once
more.
A sudden and almost frightening thought
hit Seth. “How long have I been out?” he asked Surgeon.
“Two weeks of sedation while your nose
and kidneys healed from the extraction”—”
“Kidnapping,” Seth interjected.
“And three months of cryosleep,” Surgeon
concluded.
“Why have I been out so long?”
“You’ll be briefed after your meal.”
Seth began to speak again but was cut off.
“No discussion. Eat and then we’ll talk.”
That being final, Seth looked at the
buffet laid out before him. The spread was even better than his graduation’s.
Seth could identify food from at least twelve different species and several
others from only God knew where.
He grabbed a tray and utensils, of which
the knife and fork were removed from his hand by Surgeon, who added, “Not yet.
When I trust you, you’ll get more than a spoon.”
Seth had to smile at that. It seemed
that they—whoever
had expected you to be less confrontational and were surprised.” As an
afterthought, the voice added, “We apologize.”
“Great, why don’t we just shake hands,
have a beer and call it a day then? Let me the fuck out of here right now!”
Seth yelled at his captor.
“Lieutenant Fields, we are going to send
a representative in to talk with you face to face. We assure you that there is
no possible escape, so please do not force us to stun you again. A door will
open now to let in our representative.”
With that, the seamless wall opposite of
Seth’s bed opened to allow a very tall and broad figure into the room. “My name
is Surgeon,” he began.
“Oh, my parents wanted me to be a doctor,
too,” Seth quipped. “But at least they didn’t name me Surgeon. How did I get
here, anyway?”
This seemed to almost make the figure
smile. He continued, “The night of your graduation, you shook hands with one of
our operatives. He had a small needle in his palm, laced with a tranquilizer.
You were shaking so many hands I doubt you will even remember his face when you
see him again during your training. As far as names go, you will find that our
true names don’t matter much anymore and you will, in fact, be given a new
operating name. I think ‘Cadet’ suits you just fine.”
“Now wait a minute,” Seth shot back. “I
worked damn hard for my lieutenant’s bars and there’s no way I’m being called
‘Cadet’ again!”
“You’ll also find, Cadet, that your
previous rank, no matter how short-lived or deserving, is also not of much
consequence anymore. Maybe after our mission, I’ll give you your name back.”
Surgeon seemed to nod towards no
direction in particular and shortly after, another door, this one next to
Seth’s bed, opened into a corridor. “We will now eat and then you will be given
a briefing as to why you are here. Offer no resistance and no one will harm
you. Agreed?”
With a small nod, Seth stood and faced
the new door. Surgeon took the lead and together they walked down the hall
about a hundred meters before coming to a mess hall filled with other soldiers,
all wearing identical black outfits.
He knew that they were all soldiers just
by looking at them and how they acted. He also realized that these weren’t
ordinary soldiers but the best of wherever they came from. They had the look of
trained and highly skilled operators.
Surgeon, whoever he was, must be one of
the best to get the looks of respect the others gave him. However, no one seemed
to look at the new guy and this was odd considering that Seth was the only one
dressed in white.
Surgeon stepped into the mess hall and
just as casually began to address the assembled crowd. “Attention on deck!” His
voice was smooth and even slightly subdued. “This is ‘Cadet’ and he just awoke
today. He is the last of our cadre to come out of cryosleep so we are now in
the full swing of things. We’re on schedule but we still have a lot to
accomplish. Carry on”, he concluded. With that, everyone began eating once
more.
A sudden and almost frightening thought
hit Seth. “How long have I been out?” he asked Surgeon.
“Two weeks of sedation while your nose
and kidneys healed from the extraction”—”
“Kidnapping,” Seth interjected.
“And three months of cryosleep,” Surgeon
concluded.
“Why have I been out so long?”
“You’ll be briefed after your meal.”
Seth began to speak again but was cut off.
“No discussion. Eat and then we’ll talk.”
That being final, Seth looked at the
buffet laid out before him. The spread was even better than his graduation’s.
Seth could identify food from at least twelve different species and several
others from only God knew where.
He grabbed a tray and utensils, of which
the knife and fork were removed from his hand by Surgeon, who added, “Not yet.
When I trust you, you’ll get more than a spoon.”
Seth had to smile at that. It seemed
that they—whoever
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