Dragon Two-Zero (Fury's Fire Book 1)

by William McCaskey

  Twenty-eight minutes and forty-three seconds into the glide, Reaver's altimeter pinged at him a third time letting him know he was nearing the ten-meter mark above the highest crest of the waves. A pull on the radio trigger and he gave the second set of commands for the flight. "Break and circle." He would maintain level flight for thirty more seconds to clear his Bat from the formation. The three Bats staggered off his left wing would start a slow, descending turn to their left, and the four Bats staggered off his right wing would begin their turns to the right. Reaver watched his clock; when the digits reached twenty-nine minutes and thirteen seconds, he twisted the wrist of his left hand to the left, taking the handle with him and the Bat slowly turning to follow.

  The turn wasn't the difficult part; that came seconds prior to the belly of the Bat impacting the water. If the Bat was still tilted when it hit the water, the entire craft could slip beneath the waves before the passenger could exit, dragging them down in a descent so rapid there would be little chance of escape to the surface; one of the many reasons that Bat water landings were executed almost exclusively by Marine Recon.

  Reaver eased the left handle back to a vertical position, while canting the right handle ever so slightly to the right side before returning it to its level flight position. This served to roll the Bat smoothly out of the turn and level off just as it touched down, the surface area of the body and wings helping to keep the Bat afloat. A twist of the handles inward, so that his fists were parallel to the floor, and a push forward on both handles simultaneously triggered the hatch of his delivery craft, and Reaver got his first scent of this world, the tang of salt overlaying the richness of the air. Scans had shown the atmosphere to have a higher oxygen saturation than Earth standard. Rolling his body out of the hatch and into the ocean water, Reaver inwardly gasped at the unexpected shock of the cold water and pulled himself back to the surface. Treading water with his legs and a single arm, Reaver used his free hand to drag on the tether hooked at his waist and attached at the other end to his gear bag still inside the Bat. As soon as the water-tight bag was fully submerged, internal floats, set along the length of the bags, would activate, preventing it from sinking while still presenting as low a profile as possible. The cable kept the gear bag from becoming lost so the Marines would have their hands free to prep their Bats for return to the Fury’s Fire.

  The clock was ticking, and Reaver knew it as he slid the open canopy of the Bat forward until it was fully seated, the snap-click of the latches catching on the inside his confirmation that the first stage of launch preparation was complete. Working his way to the back of the small craft, Reaver swore under his breath; the capsules covering the exhaust ports for the Bat’s tri-engine booster had melted on the drop through the planet’s upper atmosphere. He had to get the capsules broken off and cleared from the engines, or the Bat wouldn’t launch at all. With his left-hand keeping contact with the Bat’s outer skin, Reaver reached across his body with his right hand, slipped his gloved fingers through the holes of the knuckle duster, and wrapped them around the hilt of his K-bar. The fighting knife was carried blade up on the non-dominant shoulder strap of every ACP Marine and was the same design as those carried by the Marines of the pre-corporate Earth United States. Reaver had added the duster attachment shortly after his acceptance into Recon, and it worked well for banging against objects, both equipment and heads. A sharp downward tug had the blade free, and two sharp blows from the graph-steel rings of the duster against the base of each capsule had them knocked loose enough that the blade could be used to pry them the rest of the way off. The intake of air into the engines would start the Bats internal countdown that Reaver and the remainder of his squad had set prior to the drop.

  After returning his blade to its sheath and ensuring it was secure, Reaver followed the tether back to his equipment bag. All told it took the Recon squad less than five minutes to have their vehicles prepped, push away from their landing zone, and begin the long swim to the coast. The Bats would lay dormant for a programmed amount of time, usually just long enough for the Marines to create separation from their initial entry point onto the planet. At the prescribed time, the Bats would initiate a self-launch with a burn generating enough power to break free of the atmosphere and return to the cold of space. Once they had escaped gravity, the Bats would have enough fuel to ride the beacon back to the Fury.

  The Marines' dive suits would serve to keep them warm; thin cables interwoven into the suit reacted with the salt content of the ocean water, generating and focusing enough heat toward the wearer's body so hypothermia became a non-issue, as well as preventing muscles from seizing or cramping. The helmets worn by each Marine could operate in a vacuum or the ocean depths, provide full communications capabilities, and allow the wearer to keep the helmet on for extended periods using nutrient gels stored above and below the lips. The eye band style visor allowed near complete peripheral vision, with the capability to tint automatically to prevent flash blinding. Swim-screws, with propulsion units powered in a similar manner to the warming conduits within the dive suits, enabled the Marines to travel great distances without taxing personal energy reserves and be ready to fight upon hitting the beach. Harnessing tethers connected the entire squad., Using the swim-screws in concert, Reaver's squad made the two hundred-kilometer swim in under ten hours. The peaks of the nearest mountains held back the rising glow of the dawning sun as the eight Marines pulled themselves through the breakers of a coastal inlet and got their first feel of the planet's hardside.

  The inlet they had landed on was less than a hundred kilometers south of Craxus, the nearest notable city. Reaver knew that if things worked their way, then they would start to see signs of civilization and inhabitation two or three days after they stepped off from the inlet. He also remembered that Murphy liked to make Marines' lives difficult, so Reaver was always expecting something to get fucked up. That they had made it to the beach without issues was nothing short of a miracle, and he prayed that luck would stay with them. Each Marine dragged their gear bag from the surf and onto the beach; the light of the rising sun caused the iron-rich sand to appear bloodstained. With practiced movements, water-tight bags were unsealed and laid open; weapons were the first and easiest to retrieve, the bags designed for rapid deployment in far worse situations. Alice and Harlequin were sent to opposite ends of the wood line bordering the dunes, each sniper taking a position overlooking the chokepoint that provided access to and from the beach. Reaver and Bull dragged the snipers' bags as well as their own to overwatch positions just behind each sniper's respective spot. Wolf and her team would ditch their dive suits and suit up for a walk in the woods; then Bravo team would take up security while Alpha team ditched their dive suits and made preparations to step off.

  With the dive suits removed and buried along with the now empty gear bags, each Marine made a final weapons check, while Reaver sent a burst message to the Fury’s Fire informing them of the pending movement. Only seven minutes had passed since they had set foot on dry land. The Marines would move off the beach and set up a bivouac on the leeward side of one of the hills overlooking the beach and the nearby forest; this would provide them the opportunity to ensure their arrival had gone unnoticed as well as catch some rest before they stepped off after sunset. Their first order of business was to establish an overwatch on Craxus and determine what, if any, resistance had formed against the invading forces. Reaver could not put his finger on it, but something was nagging at the back of his mind. The voice that whispered the dangers around the corner.

  That voice whispered Scar’s death had something to do with Aidrian II.

  Chapter Nine

  The Marines caught their first signs of life on the planet the morning of the third day after leaving the beach, just as rays of sunlight crested the horizon. Harlequin, walking point, caught sight of the clearing initially, as he crested the embankment the squad had been working its way up. The clearing had been cut into the trees filling the valley, directly i
n the Marines’ path to Craxus. The shapes of buildings were hazy, but the mag-lenses brought individual structures into sharp clarity, as well as the damage done to them. While some structures still stood with relatively little scarring, others were smoldering piles of ash and rubble. Of the inhabitants of the area, there was no visible sign.

  Reaver spread his squad out, giving Harlequin and Alice the task of keeping eyes on the road leading out of the village, with Bull providing heavy support if they needed it. Titan, as the rear guard and security, closed the door on the direction of the squad’s approach. Wolf and Space Case spread between Titan and the snipers of Alpha team respectively. Bard moved to the center of the small perimeter and quickly set up and activated the comms-box to allow the squad leader to speak in real-time with Fury’s Fire, rather than a burst message packet that required time to be received and answered.

  Reaver took the handset and waited for the status light to show green, acknowledging a positive connection to the radio operator on the cruiser. If the vessel followed standard operating procedure, they had moved far enough from the planet to be invisible to all but the most determined sensor sweeps. Reaver plugged the external comms cable from his vest into the top of the box. As soon as the light flickered to green, Reaver's thumb depressed the push-to-talk button on the top side of the handset, and he spoke softly into the microphone. “Fury’s Fire, Dragon Two-Zero." Reaver released the talk button and waited, he was two days ahead of his first scheduled voice contact and knew that Lieutenant Davis wouldn't be expecting to hear from any of his squads for at least another twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

  It took thirty seconds for Reaver's comms bud to crackle to life and a flat voice to respond. "Dragon Two-Zero, authenticate." The crackle silenced quickly as the operator released the talk button on his end.

  "Nevermore," was Reaver's immediate response into the handset. Lieutenant Davis had initially laughed at Reaver's suggestion to use quotes from the Terran storyteller, Edgar Allen Poe, as authentication codes, but had seen the validity in the idea after it had been pointed out to him that the Renks had banned all non-party literature nearly four hundred years prior.

  The emotionless voice was replaced by the even, steady tone that Lieutenant Davis possessed. "Nevermore, acknowledged. You're early, Dragon Two-Zero. What have you got?"

  Reaver took a half-second to gather his words, the voice of his first team leader ringing in his ears that it was a “push-to-talk” button, not a “push-to-think.” When he depressed the transmit button, his voice was calm and precise. "Dragon Two-Zero is approximately fifty klicks north of SP, and approximately thirty klicks south-east of Objective Bismarck. Have encountered initial signs of civilian population. Burned out village and abandoned fields. Zero civilians, zero enemy force." With the distances he had given, Reaver knew that the LT would be able to get a rough idea of where the Recon squad was, in relation to the beach where they had started and their projected overwatch position on Craxus.

  The lieutenant's voice came back over the radio. “Stand-by, Dragon Two-Zero." The radio went silent.

  Reaver let his eyes play over the forest ahead of him, scanning for visible signs of his two snipers. Alice and Harlequin had been adapting their ghillie suits to the local foliage since they had stepped into the woodland area, and by now their suits expertly blended into their surroundings. Even with the advent of the Chameleon, which could provide the same level of camouflage through reflective technology, most Recon snipers preferred the old school technique of handcrafting their ghillie suits to match the terrain they were working in. The reasons for this lack of reliance on new technology were as varied as the Marines who made up the Recon teams. For Alice, there hadn't been a choice; as one of seven women currently serving in Recon, she couldn't take anything that was perceived as a shortcut, never mind that there was no difference in the standards required for men or women to serve in any of the armed forces. Harlequin handcrafted his stalking suit and even went so far as to hand sew the base layer before it ever saw use on a planet's surface; for him, it was tradition and something that tied him even tighter to those that had come before him.

  The radio static in Reaver's ear signaled the channel had been reopened, and the LT's voice soon followed. “Dragon Two-Zero, check encoding and acknowledge net security."

  Keeping his visage neutral, Reaver concealed his shock. Encoding was never turned off when in bad-guy land, why would the lieutenant stress to check it? Reaver glanced down at the comms display screen and saw the shield in the top right corner signaling that all transmissions were encoded. Reaver pressed the talk button. “Dragon Two-Zero acknowledges net tight."

  Davis's voice came back through the earbud, his tone had changed. “Reaver, something is wrong down there. You're the fourth squad to report a burned-out village and no sign of civilians or enemy. I've got bursts from other Task Forces saying the same thing. Get to your primary objective and get me eyes on. We're missing something, and I want you to figure out what. Maintain burst traffic until you have your support team tucked in. Watch your six. Fury’s Fire, out." The radio clicked off, and the green light faded back to red.

  Reaver made the twist-pull to unseat his external cord from the comms-box while passing the handset back to Bard, who set about repacking the gear and hanging its pouch from the retainers at the bottom of the back of his vest. Reaver rose and moved to where Wolf maintained watch of her team and their sectors of fire. Tapping her lightly on the boot, he waited for her to turn and look at him. As soon as Wolf's eyes locked with his, Reaver held up his left forefinger and made a circular motion with it. Leaving her to gather up the rest of Bravo team, Reaver collected the members of Alpha team and directed them to rally with the members of Bravo team where Bard was waiting.

  The squad formed a circle around Wolf and Reaver, the six Marines facing out, with a knee braced against the ground and their back legs crossing with the other members of the squad at the ankles. This circle formed a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree overwatch, allowing the squad to keep the tightest security possible while also hearing everything their squad leader had to say. Reaver laid out the situation. The net was secure, but Reaver trusted technology only so far. "Higher is getting reports like we've seen from across the planet. We're going to get a closer look at this village, see what we can see, then pop smoke. Get a few klicks out and bed it down for the day. Tonight, we didi mao for the objective; should be two-nights travel. Wolf, you and Bravo will set the camp; I want Bard and Space Case working their techno voodoo quick, fast, and in a hurry. I'll take Alpha, and we'll take a sneak and peek into the city before we move in the entire squad."

  Reaver looked to Wolf as he paused, the nod of her head telling him she was tracking with his plan. “Keep your heads on a swivel. Something is wrong with this place, and I don't want to turn it into a cluster. Ruck up, we move in two. Alice, spell Harlequin on point. Bull, you're on pace count."

  The Marines rose as a unit, Alice moving out first with Bull behind her. Reaver moved after Harlequin, putting him in a position to have access to both teams, while Titan was the last to move out with Wolf in front of him. The descent down into the valley was slow going, as the squad had to wind their way and do its utmost to limit the sign of their passage.

  The sun was high, nearly overhead, by the time the Marines reached the tree line edging the village's western fields. Alice signaled the halt, and the entire squad stretched out within the shadows of the foliage, eyes sweeping the perimeter and depths of the burned-out ruins. Reaver motioned to Wolf, and she led her team through the trees and circled the village to set up observation on the southern edge of the fields.

  Reaver kept his squad on observation for an hour, and they had seen no sign of activity within or around the settlement. Reaver signaled to Wolf that Alpha was moving to the northern edge of the perimeter to provide security on the road leading into the village and that Bravo should advance into the village.

  As soon as Reaver had received
the acknowledgment from Wolf, Alpha team started their relocation. While Alice and Harlequin settled into positions giving them the greatest fields of fire covering the road, Bull and Reaver quickly set and buried a pair of scimitar mines, capable of a trigger or remote detonation and highly effective against personnel and light vehicles. The mines staggered on opposite sides of the road from one another would create a widespread kill zone and chaos before the Marines even opened up.

  Once the mines were concealed, Reaver helped Bull settle into a firing position that gave the team's heavy weapon a sweeping arc of fire devastating to anything within reach. Titan nearly matched Bull in size and had modified his own Ogre, replacing the single barrel with a cyclic tri-barrel. While less accurate, it could lay down a punishing rate of fire. The combination gave the Recon squad a deadly ace up its sleeve. With Bull tucked into his hole, Reaver found himself a vantage point to provide overwatch on the road and his teammates; if a hostile force did make its way toward the village, it would fall to Alpha team to, at the very least, pin them in place until Bravo could move up and add its firepower to the equation. Reaver would be responsible for the placement of the members of Bravo team to support Alpha.