The Last Bastion of the Living (The Last Bastion #1)(50)

Maria looked around the bland, white conference room, then back at Omondi. “Tomorrow will come a lot faster than you think, you know. We’ll black out and tomorrow we’ll wake up when we’re supposed to head into training.”

Omondi tersely nodded, then tapped his wristlet. “This better not act up when we’re out there. I expect to have full control over our waking times. I understand that they feel we should regularly go into blackout to alleviate the emotional toll of our duty, but I want to control it. And I will make a fuss until I’m given it.”

“Have you studied the new weapons?” Maria asked.

A large smile pushed away his glum expression. “Oh, yes. We shall have plenty of fun with those.”

“Tomorrow,” Maria said with a sigh.

“Which is just a blackout away.”

“I wonder if we keep talking if it will prevent the black out from happening?”

“Want to talk all night like schoolgirls?” Omondi teased.

“And do each other’s hair?”

Omondi swept his big hand over his nearly bald head. “Sounds like a fun time.”

“Fuck it,” Maria said, folding her arms on the table and cradling her head on them. “I’d rather get to tomorrow and start getting this f*cking show on the goddamn road.”

“That’s how I like my soldiers thinking.” Omondi teased. He folded his arms, too, and lowered his head. He gazed across the table at her. “Ready to save the world?”

“Ready and willing.” Maria wanted desperately to talk to Dwayne. She couldn’t reveal the program to Omondi, and there was no chance she would be revived in her room. With a sigh, she closed her eyes.

“See you tomorrow,” Omondi’s voice said.

“Tomorrow,” Maria answered.

She never even noticed when she slid into torpor.





Chapter 14


Omondi chuckled as the squad of forty people practiced with their bolt weapons. Arms crossed over his chest, he stood next to Maria watching the squad dispatching targets erected across an indoor practice field. The Inferi Boon Special Ops were isolated from the rest of the SWD facility. They were never allowed outdoors and never left their dorms in the heavily-protected building they were assigned to.

Maria checked her pad, watching the stats scroll next to the names on her list. Each time a dummy was dispatched by a bolt weapon, it recorded every aspect of the attack.

“Jameson, you missed the brain stem!” Maria barked.

The young man gave the dummy an irritated kick and attacked the next one with gusto.

This time he registered a direct hit.

“We cannot leave any of the Scrags even remotely animated. The brain stem must be destroyed,” Omondi reminded everyone in his booming voice. He glanced over at the readouts, surveying the stats.

“A few are hitting with one hundred percent accuracy,” Maria assured him.

“We have a few below fifty percent,” he noted.

“Newer recruits,” Maria said. “Those from the SWD.”

The Constabulary soldiers had undergone rigorous battle training, but SWD Security Officers had been taught to guard and detain people, not slay the Inferi Scourge.

“How’s our medic?”

Maria pointed to the score next to the photograph of their newest member. His name was Michael Denman and he was one of their one hundred percent accuracy crew.

Omondi grinned. “I knew I liked him.”

The Inferi Boon Special Ops were being deployed in three days and Maria was worried about a few of the squad members. Though there had not been any more adverse reactions like Gideon, a few were having trouble adapting. The lack of sensation and the inability to eat, sleep, or drink was a big adjustment for a few of the soldiers. A psychiatrist was meeting on a daily basis with the handful of people that were struggling. Maria envied them for the help they were receiving. She had been left to acclimate on her own and it hadn’t been easy.

Thanks to Omondi’s adamant appeal to the powers that be, all the soldiers now had the ability to control the timers on their wristlets. The SWD could still override the alarms if necessary, but Maria found it comforting to know that she could determine her wake cycles. Also, they were finally able to track time on their wristlets again. Dr. Curran had actually interceded on the matter. The faceless beings making decisions for the SWD had originally believed it was best if the Boon had no idea how much time they were losing. It was Dr. Curran’s appeal that it was better for the psychological well-being of the Boon if they did know. Maria liked being able to track time. It was strange how knowing the time and date made her feel as though she was connected to the world and not apart from it.

Denman successfully maneuvered through his obstacle course, scoring perfectly, before pulling out his own monitoring equipment and examining all the soldiers exiting with him. Though the soldiers were immune to the Inferi Scourge now, they could be injured in other ways. Denman would have to patch them up and keep them in top physical condition when out on the mission. Omondi and Maria had both sat in on his briefing when he was informed of his duties.

One aspect of the mission that Maria never considered was that one of the soldiers might experience what could be considered a life-threatening wound. Though it wouldn’t kill the soldier while they were Inferi Boon, once they were restored to life any injury sustained during the mission would impact their health. It would be up to Denman to decide the course of action. Denman’s credentials as a medical doctor was a comfort, but Maria wondered what would happen if someone needed emergency surgery.