Designation Beta 9 (ch. 1)

Seven of our squad had already been neutralized and at the pace we were moving, the rest of us were going to be next. The thick trees and vegetation around us made it hard to detect movement, so to keep directions of attack to a minimum, I and the remainder of my squad that managed to stay together were hunkered behind a fallen tree.

My rifle and suit were covered in mud, twigs and leaves, and so were the rest of my squad. The idea to camouflage ourselves came from Beta 2. Needless to say, we would have already been neutralized had it not been for her quick thinking. However, if the enemy started implementing infrared technology, we would be spotted almost instantly against the cold environment. I needed to survey the area, but Beta 15 had the deployable cameras, but he was neutralized first. Shot in the back almost immediately after deployment. I suspected that intel had been leaked and the enemy knew exactly which one of us had our surveillance equipment and where we would be. If that kind of intel had been leaked, then it was likely we had a traitor in my squad. In the middle of thinking of how to determine who was the mole, I heard a blaster shot echo through the jungle. A loud yell followed on the echo. The enemy was closing in.

“Beta 9.” A voice whispered through my helmet and a visual came up on my visor telling me it was Beta 4 calling.

I brought a hand up to the side of my helmet and pressed a button turning on the microphone under my visor, “Beta 4, what’s your status?”

Beta 4, Beta 10 and Beta 12 were still in operation, but weren’t with the squad. He debriefed me of his situation, “Beta 10 has been neutralized. He had been shot from five hundred meters at least. Sniper shot, fired north east of deployment zone.”

A sniper was impossible in this jungle. I couldn’t see twenty meters without the trees and vegetation blocking all lines of sight, let alone make a precision shot from five hundred. Could Beta 4 be feeding me false information? Was Beta 10 even neutralized? I couldn’t check over coms, that would let the mole know I was beginning to look for one. For now, I better get as much information as I could and hope the mole slipped up.

“Beta 9, what are your orders? Should I randevu with the main squad?” He asked over the radio.

“Negative, Beta 4. Remain in position and go silent. Keep an eye out for that sniper, don’t be seen. Beta 9, out.” I cut the line.

I pulled up a map on my visor and with a few eye commands, I pulled up the current operational markers representing my squad mates along with markers showing where neutralized members had been when they fell. In operation, Beta 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, 13 and 16 were still in operation, all in visual view except Beta 4 and Beta 12. Looks like Beta 10 was neutralized, but his marker was showing up right next to Beta 4.

I commanded my visor to open and the glass evaporated from existence, “Beta 16.” I whispered.

A small lump of mud and leaves rose from the ground two meters away from me and a small face emerged from the small mound, “Yes sir?” She had dematerialized her visor as well.

“What is the maximum range of a sniper in this environment?”

She slowly scanned the surrounding trees then met my eyes, “Given our intelegence and the terrain, a sniper would only have a maximum of a hundred meters. Sir, I’ve begun…”

“Thank you, Beta 16. Go back into hiding.” I cut her off quickly. I didn’t need her to come let the whole jungle know about a suspected mole.

I rematerialized my visor and sat still, listening to the jungle. Beta 16 just confirmed my suspicions and I needed to find the mole and find them now. Beta 4 is the likely suspect, feeding information to a sniper that may or not be real. That’s disregarding the sound of the blaster shot that neutralized Beta 10 sounded exactly like my squads issued rifles. Was Beta 4 the mole, and was he acting alone, or did he actually have a sniper in this jungle working with him? I needed answers. I needed someone who I knew was on my side.

Another shot rang out and I immediately pulled up the map on my visor. Beta 12 had been neutralized, four hundred meters north of us. She was the closest one to original deployment zone. I looked for Beta 4 on the map to see where he was, but his marker was gone. He wasn’t neutralized or operational, he wasn’t on the map at all. The only way he could dissapear from the map was either he was disintegrating, or he shut off his beacon himself. That confirmed it, Beta 4 was the traitor and he was on the move. I activated my communication line with my squad and selected Beta 4 to be removed from the conversation, “Listen up. Beta 4 has betrayed us. He has turned off his beacon and likely neutralized Beta 10 and Beta 12. Everyone turn off your beacons as well and stay close. We’re heading to mission objective. Ready?”

One after another, the markers on the map dissapeared. I figured Beta 4 could still see us with his beacon off, but something else didn’t quite feel right.

Pushing that aside, I dematerialized my visor and shut off all power to my suit. The fabric and armor gained an extra thirty pounds as it fell on my body. I instructed my squad to do the same and as a unit, we emerged from our hiding spot and started moving. The mission objective was another thousand meters south of us, but heading straight there would put us into danger of being ambushed. We needed to deal with Beta 4 while we could. Besides, we didn’t know if Beta 4 was after the objective as well, or if he was protecting it.

“Beta 2, 13 and 16, head east twenty meters and stay low. Beta 3 and 7, stay with me. We’re going to neutralized Beta 4 and complete the mission. Nine of ours were neutralized and we won’t ignore that. Go.” I ordered.

Beta 2, Beta 13 an Beta 16 quickly and quietly slipped away into the trees and dissapeared. I hope I didn’t just get them neutralized.

Together, we started walking toward the mission objective looking over our shoulders at every noise. Weapons at the ready, we stayed as close to the trees as possible. We didn’t know what direction the sniper would shoot from or where Beta 4 would attack. It was better that some of us would survive to complete the mission with the sacrifice of a single squad member.

I figured Beta 4 was trying to remain out of sight until he could get a clear shot on us with the minimal chance of being neutralized himself, but in this jungle, he may not get that chance.

Bet 3 stepped on a branch behind me, sending a loud crack in all directions. Before I knew it, I had my rifle trained on his face, safety off and my finger on the trigger. He froze in place, sweat already forming on his brow, “Sir?”

I lowered my rifle and let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I put a finger to my lips and listened to the forest. The silence was deafening and waiting to see if Beta 4 or the enemy had started closing in on us was just as torturing. I signaled for us to keep moving; progress is progress.

After a long and painful crawl though the jungle, I estimated we were around two hundred meters from mission objective. All that time and not a single hint of the enemy. I’ve even had Beta 7 run to check in with the other team to insure their safety and to correct corse. He had just gotten back and he reported nothing unusual. Did Beta 4 run around us and is waiting for us at the objective? Did he have reinforcements waiting as well? There are too many unknown, but to back out know would be worse.

Beta 7 was our fastest runner. I would like to send him ahead to check out the objective zone for some kind of trap, I could see him trembling with too much energy to sit still. The guy was like an animal wanting to be let off the leash but was too well trained to pull on it.

“Beta 7, can you make it mission objective and back in under five minutes without being spotted?” I asked in a hushed tone.

He stepped up next to me and whispered, “I think so.”

“Can you or can you not?” I didn’t need him to question himself if he was going to do this.

He nodded, “I can.”

“Good. Go, you have five minutes. Beta 3, you go and relay the order to hold position.” With a confirmation, they both ran off in opposite directions. I was alone now.

I figured if Beta 4 had been following us rather than working around us, me being alone would be the perfect opportunity for him to take out the mission leader, and without our suits powered up, word of my neutralization would take too long to reach everyone and Beta 4 could take everyone out at his leisure. If he was going to strike, now would be his chance.

A minute passed, then a second. I was starting to wonder if Beta 3 intercepted Beta 4 and was neutralized, but I hadn’t heard another shot since Beta 12 was neutralized. What was going on?

The sound of a soft click sent my body into overdrive. Reflexes sent me flying as a blaster shot rang out. I felt the heat of the round pass by my face as I fell into a roll and another shot hit the ground. I pulled my rifle into my arm and fired a shot into the general direction of my attacker.

The round hit a tree next to Beta 4’s head. His reaction was a little slow for the training we’ve been through but he managed to dodge the second shot I fired at him. He got low and charged me causing the distance between us to become so short, rifles only got in the way, except as melee weapons. The moment he got within a meter of me, I brought the stock of my rifle up and bashed him across the head. He fell to the ground and layed prone. Before I even thought of checking his status, I fired a round into his exposed back.

Right as the echo of the shot began to fade away, Beta 3 emerged from the trees, “Beta 9, are you okay?”

I kept my rifle trained on Beta 4 on the ground, “Yeah, I just neutralized Beta 4. Go tell the others to power on their suits and reestablish coms.”

“I’m sorry sir, Beta 2, 13 and 16 were neutralized.” Beta 3 reported.

“That’s impossible, how?!” I turned my head and was met with the barrel of Beta 3’s plasma rifle, “Beta 3, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry Beta 9, you should have suspected more than one of us were traitors.” He clicked off his safety and pulled the trigger.

A loud buzzer sounded through the jungle and an anouncement blared, “Squad leader has been neutralized. The squad has failed to complete the mission. Simulation over.”

Followed by another loud buzzer, the jungle started to dematerialize into flashes of light. The ground returned to the millions of hexagonal prisms and all returned to a level position. The mud and leaves that covered our suits disappeared with the jungle. Frustration filled my throat, but I had to swallow it back as the Commander called out for me, “Beta 9, come to attention.”

I turned around and saw Commander Ruha. I approached him and stood straight with my hands at my sides. I kept my gaze fixed forward as the commander towered over me. The rest of my squad, stood behind me. All of the Beta generation stood in the training hall except for Beta 11, 14, 19 and 20. They were in another training hall with cross generation training. I just hope they were fairing better than us.

“Beta gen, you failed to reach your objective and a majority of you were neutralized over a thousand meters away from said objective. Beta 9, you utilized your team effectively, and you managed to come to the conclusion of a mole, but you were slow to act and failed to suspect a second traitor let alone the third. Beta 4, 3, and 15, good work. You worked well together and succeeded in protecting the objective.” Said the commander.

There was a third traitor? I was going to have to ask them how they managed to pull one over on me so easily. Well done, guys.

“Beta 9, have you anything to say?”

I wanted to sigh, or show some other visible sign of general dissatisfaction, but doing so in front of the commander would put me in far worse trouble than failing a simulation. I held my tongue and answered how I was supposed to, “I will not make the mistake again, sir.”

He looked down at me with dissapointment. I figured he was upset with my performance, but perhaps he was dissatisfied with my answer. He studied us then waved his hand, “You are all dismissed. Report back to your barracks and put away your gear. I will be there later for inspections.”

With a “Yes sir!” from all of us in unison, I led the charge out of the simulation hall and out into the main halls. At a brisk pace, the majority of my generation followed me through the blue steel halls. We never passed any other officers; they were all on the upper decks attending more important matters. The fifteenth deck mostly belonged to the generations for training, housing and meals. I’ve never left this deck, but it’s not all that rare when a commanding officer asks for help from one of us. Beta 17 has been called to deck three once; he said it was a lot like deck fifteen except there was more scientific equipment and he felt lighter.

Commander Ruha once told us that the gravity on deck fifteen was set higher to help our bodies develop muscle and over the years they turned up the gravity gradually during our development stages to continue the trend. Once, commander Ruha reset the gravity to planet side levels so we could see what our training could accomplish. We ran faster, jumped higher, lifted weights with greater ease. We felt like super soldiers, but that all went away as soon as the commander reinstated the heavier gravity.

Anyway, once in our barracks, we all scattered to our respective bunks ordered by our designations. My bunk was at the back of the room, next to the bathroom doors. I pulled open my locker and peeled off my training suit and placed it back in the locker. By tomorrow, the locker will have disinfected and cleaned the suit, ready for use. I also needed disinfecting; I was first into the showers, the water washing away sweat. All the mud and dirt I had accumulated from the exercise was simulated and didn't exist outside the training halls.

After the water turned itself off, I dried myself off and returned to my bunk. Pulling on a pair of pants, Beta 8 tapped me on the shoulder, “Hey, B9.”

I looked up at her, almost tripping over myself trying to put a foot through the leg hole, “What is it, B8?”

“When did you start to suspect the traitors?” She asked, pulling on an issued black t-shirt.

I pulled out an identical shirt from my locker and examined it while I thought back on the training exercise, “Right from the start. We were engaged almost immediately after deployment and they target the only person with our surveillance equipment. There’s no way the enemy would know who had had what unless they were informed by someone on our squad. What I failed to notice was more than one traitor.” I stepped out of the line of bunks and looked down the room, “Hey B4, how did you guys plan that?”

Beta 4, Beta 3 and Beta 15 appeared from their bunks. Grins on all their faces. Beta 3 spoke up, “When Commander Ruha gave us the assignment to protect the objective, we were a bit skeptical about our chances. We knew we had to have someone on the outside, someone you didn’t expect.”

Beta 15 held up a damaged training suit. The main computer and battery unit were stripped out, “This is the computer of an old suit of mine. When powered on, it only indicates its user as neutralized. B4 was the last one into the simulation and shot my pack when no one was looking. When I hit the ground, I powered off my suit and powered on the computer, faking my own neutralization.”

“When we scattered, you were able to do as you pleased without us suspecting you were still around. That explains the quick neutralizations; no way that could have been done by just one person. What about the simulated enemy?” I asked.

Beta 4 smiled brightly, “There never was a simulated enemy. If you managed to get to the objective, you would have had to fire on a single enemy to obtain the objective. In the jungle, it was all us.”

“I’ll get you back for shooting me in the back, B4.” Said Beta 12, “Next time, B9 won’t be the only one knocking you upside the head with a rifle.”

Everyone laughed at the empty threat. No one was upset over their betrayal; we were more impressed of how they pulled it off. Beta 4 rubbed his jaw and looked over at me, “Speaking of rifles to the head…”

I finished getting dressed and was about to sit down to pull on a pair of fresh boots. I chuckled and raised a hand, “Sorry, B4. I’ll make it up to you. Just don’t be so threatening when attacking me, next time.”

Beta 8 kicked over one of my boots, “Don’t feel bad for him. He was loving every second of turning on us.”

She ran her fingers through her shoulder length brown hair as she sat on her bunk to pull on her boots. I pulled on mine and the fabric automatically snapped tight around my ankles, holding the boot in place. It was still early in the day, so we were all expecting something other than just a simulation and an inspection. Probably a lecture on what each of us did wrong and right during the simulation. Until then, we had a bit of free time.

Most of the Beta generation laid in their bunks, relaxing while they could. Beta 6, 14, 5 and 1 were playing some kind of game with their rifles. I guess they were seeing who would take them apart and put them together faster.

Before we knew it, though, our free time came to an end. Commander Ruha came through the open doors of our barracks and let out a humph to announce his presence as his footsteps were practically nonexistent. I was first to my feet and let out a yell at the top of my lungs, "Commander on deck!"

I fell into a salute, my right fist against my chest, my left behind my back, standing straight. Commander Ruha had taught us that the salute was to represent holding a spear through your chest, refusing to die and to defy the enemy their weapons over us. A soldier is to be strong, enduring, and loyal.

Quickly, each of generation Beta stopped everything they were doing and stood, falling into the same salute. Commander Ruha smiled as he took in each of us in turn; that was weird. He looked... reminiscent. I suppose that would have been the correct description. The commanders had well hidden emotions, nothing we could understand, but today, he almost looked like Beta 14 did the day we had our comfort items taken away so many years ago. I remember his face, sad, regretful, but understanding of why things had to be. Commander Ruha looked like he was about to lose something and he fully understood why he had to lose it.