Rush Into Dawn

Chapter 7

"It's a big day, brother. Let's kick some ass!" yelled Stenz as he walked into the planning room. Jehz looked up and smiled. It was still dark, pre-dawn but Jehz had been there for two hours already, unable to sleep, nervous at his first chance to lead since his time in Rejzik. Stenz, Jehz's Number Two for the day's war games exercise, was early as well; it would be three hours more before the rest of the squad were due. Stenz threw down his pack and turned to look at Jehz. "I want you to know that even though we were both up for this slot, I have no problem being your Number Two today, Jehz. After all that you and family have sacrificed for the Given, you deserve a chance to reclaim your position. It's not your fault you were attacked on Hayim and then put on a shelf in Rejzik for a year, right? So just to clear the air here are no hard feelings, my time will come."

Jehz smiled and hoped that Stenz meant what he said. He could really use a solid backup given how long he had been away. Stenz was older and more experienced than Jehz but his overall battle and evaluation scores were lower. An ideal Number Two in many ways, assuming he could accept it. Under the Musa rating system, Jehz would have been the slightly preferred candidate and it should not have been a surprise to anyone that he was awarded a command. Of course standard ratings weren't universally followed and his higher rank didn't stop the inevitable criticism among the young Musa officers that the "Priest", as Jehz was now often referred to in some quarters, had traded on his father's credentials again to score a preferred assignment.

Stenz has heard all the comments and rumors, everything from the idea that it had been proven Jehz had been possessed by an alien to the suggestion that he had become a Rija Wander but had been allowed back into the Musa because of what happened on Hayim and how it must have messed up his mind. He had no idea what the truth was about Jehz' time at Rezjik, but he seemed like the same old Jehz to him. He kept his head down, worked hard, and was a solid if unspectacular leader worthy of respect. Stenz knew there were many Musa, including his best friend Allz, who felt differently and exhibited an almost irrational hatred of Jehz. Allz also happened to be the commander for the other battle unit today, and had been boasting for weeks how he would crush Jehz on the battlefield.

Allz boasted about nearly everything but somehow this seemed different. He had noticed Allz spending a lot of time preparing with the tech crew before the mission, something he had never done before. In fact, Allz was usually outspoken and negative about the Given focus and reliance on tech superiority over its adversaries to ensure victory. He felt this strategy was badly misguided and that what they really needed to do was to focus on developing capable leaders, leaders like himself of course. He was aggressive and brash and tended to be very dismissive of other leadership styles, especially the quieter kind that prevailed among the tech crews. They had heard his boasting about being able to defeat his enemies even without the fancy "toys" many times and Stenz knew they were annoyed by it. So what did they have that had interested Allz so deeply and what could he have possibly promised the tech crew to persuade them to look past his long line of previous insults? Stenz couldn't imagine but suspected within lay the key to his battle plans for the war game.

At the planning center for the opposing Blue squad, Allz jumped angrily up as soon as Sooz walked in the door.

"You were supposed to be here an hour ago," said Allz. "Where were you?"

"Take it easy, Allz, I just had to put the finishing touches on your hack. I know you don't understand much about this stuff, but it was not easy to do."

"Are you sure it will work then? It better or you are going to wish..."

"It will work, Allz. Guaranteed. I tested it myself."

"As if that has stopped all the previous equipment failures you jokers are responsible for, right? I feel soooo much better now, Sooz. Thanks for telling me that." said Allz sarcastically.