“Switching to night vision,” Kal said. “The natives aren’t messing around.”
“Man, that’s a lot of bugs,” Ty said. “Have they gotten in yet?”
“Can’t tell from here,” Kal replied.
Over the com-link, more information came in. “Looks like the bugs are getting ready to climb the walls,” Staff Sergeant Blevins reported. “Requesting additional firepower on the roof.”
“Alright, people, you know your assignments,” Master Sergeant Spielman said. “I want squads two, three, and four to move into position on the roof. Squads five and six, hold the stairwells as long as possible. Dragon Team Seven, get the wounded up to the roof and prepare for evacuation of this facility.”
“Man, that was fast,” Ty said, pulling Ember to her feet.
“We won’t retreat as long as we can hold the enemy back,” Gunny Tveit said. “We’ve got a lot of firepower on that roof.”
“But not enough to stop that horde forever,” Kal said. “They just keep coming, and it doesn’t seem to matter how many we kill.”
“We’ve got a solid escape plan,” Gunny Tveit said. “We stick to it. Now let’s get the Proxy to the rooftop. None of us are getting out of here as long as they’re still around.”
Chapter 39
Nick woke up fearing the worst. He was once again in complete darkness; his helmet screen came to life and illuminated his surroundings in the murky green of night vision. He was in a confined space, and his first thought was that the Isopterans had captured him again. His legs were stiff and covered in debris, making it hard to move.
For several moments, he couldn’t remember what happened. The aliens were chasing him, he recalled that. It had taken all his skill to shoot them from the vertical passageway. Then it all came rushing the back. The grenade he thought they had missed and his glimpse of sunlight. That memory excited him, until he looked up and saw only darkness.
The grenade had been too powerful, but it shouldn’t have been. Things weren’t making sense. It wasn’t possible that the aliens moved the grenade closer. Just lifting it from the ground would have triggered the explosive. The only explanation Nick could come up with was that perhaps the liquid he had crawled through hadn’t been water. He knew that some planets had liquid methane instead of rain. And methane, he thought, was flammable. But he couldn’t be sure if that had caused the explosion to be so powerful, or if it was something else. And the only thing that mattered was that Nick appeared to be trapped.
He had fallen; he was surrounded by the crusty debris that the tunnels were made of. There was no sunlight, and he felt certain that a cave-in had blocked his only way out. He wanted to scream in frustration, but he was still in enemy territory. He would vent later, if he survived. His stomach was growling, and his body felt dry and weak. Water was his first priority. But the only place he knew to get some was back at the mining complex. He had to push through his fatigue and frustration and find a way out of the hive. At the very least, he decided, he could dig his own tunnel out of the hive. He knew he was close, and he had his D-Garr. It would make a decent shovel to hack through the crumbling matter that he was surrounded by. The only thing he didn’t know was which direction was out.
It took him a moment to recall the memory clearly. He had been so giddy at the sight of the actual sky that he hadn’t focused on landmarks. What he remembered was sky, not ground. The tunnel had gone up, then angled sharply. Not a perfectly level offshoot, but of a slight upward grade. Nick decided that he was in a liquid-collection portion of the tunnels. When rain fell, whatever it was composed of, it would run into that opening, down the side passage, then drop down the shaft that he was in, to collect in the arched section below.
All of that told Nick that he had to get as high as possible before he started his climb. The section of tunnel he was in was almost perfectly vertical, and he guessed it led up out of the ground and into one of the rocky spires that covered the planet’s surface. If he started digging from his current position, even if he knew the right direction to dig, he would probably be digging below the surface, moving parallel with it. He might never get out that way.
Nick struggled to his feet. It wasn’t easy—the debris was thick, and the ground shifted beneath him as he moved. The tunnel walls seemed more craggy than before. The explosion had knocked sections down, leaving the once smooth walls jagged and uneven. He realized he would have to be careful climbing back up.
There was always the threat of more soil coming down on top of him. Nick didn’t like thinking about the possibility of being buried alive, but he couldn’t deny it either. His goal was to get out of the tunnels and back to the surface where his GPS could lead him back to his friends, and his com-link might even connect with them, if they were still on the planet.
A sudden, debilitating fear paralyzed him. What if they had all been rescued? What if the Proxy had sent ships to retrieve them? He couldn’t help but think about Captain Dex’Orr’s reaction when Ember had been trapped on the rooftop in the Quazakian Space Exchange. He had viewed the loss of a single Recon specialist as acceptable for a successful mission, and they had only rescued two Proxy aliens. Nick knew for certain there were four Proxy captives and two pilots. If Dex’Orr had found a way to get them off Uni Five, he wouldn’t hesitate to call the mission a success. Nick could be trapped on the planet alone even if he escaped.
“No,” he said out loud, shaking his head. “My friends won’t leave.”
They would if they thought he was dead. He couldn’t deny that simple fact. If Ember and Kal and the others thought Nick was dead, they would have no choice but to go on without him. Still, Nick thought as he considered his plight, the Proxy weren’t giving up on the planet. They were bringing in more infantry, at least that had been the plan. The mining facility would have supplies he could use. Food, water, even radio equipment capable of reaching orbit. Even if his friends were gone, the Proxy would be back. He just had to survive until help came.
There was no sense thinking about the possibility that the Isopterans had taken over the mining facility. Or simply destroyed the installation. It would be the smart thing to do from a strategic point of view. As long as that facility was intact, it represented the possibility of the Proxy returning. And Nick knew the aliens well enough that he was certain they wouldn’t abandon such a valuable facility unless they could glean no more profit from it.
He shook his head again, trying to clear it. He couldn’t let his mind wander. Hunger and, more importantly, thirst, was beginning to make it harder to focus. It was growing harder to fight off the mental fog that made him want to sit and do nothing. Inactivity would kill him for certain. The tunnel had nothing he needed, and it might be reopened by the aliens at any moment. He had to get out.
The only problem was that he didn’t know in which direction to start digging. There was nothing around him that pointed to a way out, but if he could get high enough, maybe he could find a clue. At the very least, if he was in a spire, any direction would eventually lead out. That meant he had to climb.
The tunnel was just wide enough that he could press his back to one side and hold himself up by extending his legs. He rose up the tunnel slowly, levering himself centimeter by centimeter. Safety was his main concern. He had fallen once and had managed not to injure himself, but he didn’t want to push his luck a second time. Nor did he feel strong enough to make the climb twice. His legs were shaky, and his arms felt weak as he stabilized himself against the crumbly tunnel walls. Every movement sent more debris cascading down.
Eventually, the tunnel of the roof appeared out of the murky green of his night vision, which was making the details of the tunnels hard to make out. Everything looked the same, with very little to differentiate a wall from a roof.
Nick levered himself up a little more, preparing to begin searching for the way out, when his head came even with the exit passage. It was still intact and hadn’t caved in after all. He could just barely see and had to shift hi
mself higher in the tunnel. His back was away from the passage, which meant he would have to shimmy around until he could maneuver over to the exit shaft. His heart was pounding. This was more than he had hoped for. He wouldn’t have to excavate nearly as much as he feared, and he would have the certainty of moving in the right direction.
And then, as he looked again, tears filled his eyes. The exit wasn’t blocked as he thought. The lack of light was simply because the sun had set. It was nighttime, and he could see a murky green opening in the tunnel.
It was tempting just to jump for the passage that would lead to his freedom, but he forced himself to move slowly. He had to be careful. If he fell, he could be injured. A broken bone would make it impossible to get out, and he was so close to freedom he could taste it.
Shimmying around the tunnel wasn’t all that hard, but he had to stay below the shaft that left the alien spire. When he could reach into the opening, he drew his D-Garr and stabbed it down into the crusty matter that covered the planet. He used the leverage his knife gave him to pull himself onto his stomach. Fatigue forced him to rest a moment, even though his legs were still hanging down into the shaft. His heart seemed to be pummeling him from the inside as it raced from his exertion and excitement. After a moment, he dragged himself forward until his knees were on solid ground. Then he got slowly to his feet, retrieved his knife, and walked toward the opening.
He was dizzy at first and used the tunnel walls to steady himself. He couldn’t stand upright in the tunnel and had to walk bent at the waist, but freedom was tantalizingly close. When he reached the opening, he found a small ledge and was able to stand up and look around.
In the darkness, he could see stars overhead. They cast a silvery glow on the shadowy spires all across the landscape. Nick had no idea where he was and didn’t recognize anything, but he felt the wind whipping past him.
“This is Nick Nichols, does anyone read me? Over.”
The com-link was silent, and he felt a stab of fear. But he told himself it wasn’t that no one was there, he was just too far away for the signal that his helmet projected to reach them. He brought up the GPS and was relieved when he found that the mining complex was relatively close by. It was nearly twenty kilometers behind him. Nick looked down and guessed he was a couple of hundred meters up the spire, which felt more like a mountain to him. He couldn’t fathom how the tunnels had fit below him, but he didn’t need to. All he needed was to get back to his friends, and the fastest way to do that was to fly.
He activated his wingsuit, both sections between his arms and legs. Normally he would take a running start, but he hoped that he was high enough that the planet’s strong winds would propel him up. It was too dark to navigate between the spires, even with his night vision. He needed to get up as quickly as possible, get high, and then slowly descend over the mining complex. There was only one last thing to do. It was both the hardest and easiest part of the process. He needed to fall, and while every part of his rational mind warned him not to, Nick bent his knees and jumped into the dark night.
Chapter 40
Weapon fire erupted from the rooftop. The infantry carried a sturdy weapon called the XR80. It was a short-barreled rifle that fired razor-tipped, finger-length flechettes. A full magazine held eighty rounds, and the XR80 could also launch grenades from a secondary smoothbore barrel built into the handle. Unlike the Recon advanced ballistic rifle, which had a forward pistol grip, the XR80 was held in a more traditional fashion and could fire in a variety of modes, from semi to fully automatic.
The Isopterans came in waves. First up one side of the building, then another. Fortunately, the heavily massed fire from the roof held them off. Dragon Team Seven had successfully moved the wounded up to the rooftop. The slings were ready, and Ember guessed it would only take a few minutes to get all six of the wounded across to the other buildings.
“Doesn’t look like the crawlers are heading for the other buildings,” Ty said.
“At least there’s some good news,” Kal said. “Yo, Sarge, any word from the Proxy?”
“No, Private Phillips,” Gunny Tveit said. “We are still on our own.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Kal remarked.
“You know,” Ember ventured, “if Jules is right, and we can get airborne from the zip lines, maybe we could split up and look for—”
She was cut off by a loud groaning sound. The entire building shook. For a moment, no one moved, even the infantry marines stopped firing their weapons, and the rooftop was eerily quiet. Ember heard window glass breaking and falling like sheets of ice coming off a glacier as they slide into the ocean.
“What the hell was that?” Ty asked.
“The aliens are inside the building,” an anxious voice called over the com-link. “We’ve got movement in the stairwells.”
“Damn, I was hoping we’d have more time,” Master Sergeant Spielman said.
“Master Sergeant,” Gunny Tveit said, “I suggest we start the evacuation.”
“What? Why would we do that? The enemy is nowhere close to overrunning our position.”
“That’s true,” Gunny Tveit said. “But if they compromise the building, it could disable the zip lines. We’d be trapped here.”
A gust of wind blew dust and sand over the rooftop. It chattered against their armor like sleet blowing against a window and reminded Ember of the strange sounds made by the Isopterans.
“You think that’s possible?” Master Sergeant Spielman asked. “I thought this building was too secure for the aliens to dig under it.”
“I think it is,” Ty spoke up. “But they don’t have to dig under it to bring it down.”
“If they break through the walls, the building would be unstable,” Gunny Tveit said.
“Master Sergeant, they’re right.” Locke said from the top of the maintenance garage nearly a hundred meters away; he was hearing the entire conversation on his com-link. “The aliens just broke through the south wall.”
“If the building shifts, Master Sergeant,” Gunny Tveit said, “the lines could break loose or sag. Either way, we’ll be stuck.”
“Alright, I hear you,” Spielman said, his voice brimming with fear. “Get the wounded across.”
Gunfire could be heard inside the building. Ember helped a weak Proxy into a sling and secured the mine administrator so that he wouldn’t fall halfway across the zip line.
“First passengers, coming your way, Locke,” Gunny Tveit said.
“Roger that,” the staff sergeant replied. “We’re ready.”
The roof was a war zone, but the first two wounded Proxy slid across the open expanse from the tall main building to the barracks and maintenance garage in a smooth, almost graceful manner.
“It works,” Kal said.
“You sound like you had doubts,” Jules said.
“He’s a pessimist,” Ty said. “Can’t be helped.”
They got the rest of the wounded across and waited for Staff Sergeant Locke’s squad to get the Proxy settled into the earthmovers.
“Aliens have breached the second floor,” came a frightened voice.
“There’s too many,” another infantryman shouted.
“Retreat!” Master Sergeant Spielman roared. “Get up to the rooftop.”
An explosion shook the building and knocked several people off their feet. One marine was leaning over the edge of the roof when the explosion went off, and he lost his footing. The woman next to him dropped her rifle in order to keep the falling man from going completely off the roof.
“That was a grenade,” Gunny Tveit said.
“No grenades! No grenades!” Master Sergeant Spielman shouted.
“This train is going off the rails,” Kal grumbled.
“Get the infantry across,” Gunny Tveit said. “Move, move!”
Anyone not manning the walls was moved immediately to the zip lines. They went across quickly, using their ammunition belts to slide across the dark lines. Even though it was dar
k, the constant gunfire and alien chattering was all the motivation they needed.
“The door’s barred, but it won’t hold them long,” Master Sergeant Spielman said.
“We’ll hold them off,” Gunny Tveit said. “Let’s move to the edges, Team Seven.”
They moved to the north side and immediately began firing. There were hundreds of the Isopterans scrambling to get up the side of the building.
“We’re clear,” Master Sergeant Spielman declared as he slid down the zip line.
“Team Thirteen! We are out of here!” Blevins shouted.
“Form a perimeter,” Gunny Tveit said. “We’ve only got a few seconds before they overrun the rooftop.”
Ember turned and saw the last of Dragon Team Thirteen sliding to a stop on top of the barracks roof. Kal turned to her and took her arm.
“You’re first, Em,” Kal said.
“I’m not going,” Ember said. “I have to find Nick.”
She raised her rifle and fired quickly as two Isopterans came crawling over the edge of the roof.
“Come on, Ember!” Jules shouted.
“No, you go,” Ember replied. “I’m going to find Nick.”
The building suddenly shook hard. The team scrambled for something to hold onto. A loud grinding sound rumbled beneath them, and the building shifted nearly three meters straight toward the other buildings, making the zip lines droop.
“We’re screwed!” Kal shouted, getting to his knees.
The only silver lining was that the aliens had ceased trying to reach the rooftop. Gunny Tveit was the first back to her knees. She looked at the lines, which still seemed secure.
“We’ll slide down and drop when we reach the middle,” she said.
Uncommon Loyalty Page 23
