Uncommon Loyalty

by Toby Neighbors

  “Gunny, that’s still more than ten meters up,” Ty said.

  “Dragon Team Seven,” Master Sergeant Spielman said over the com-link. “We have enemy units approaching. We can’t wait for you.”

  “See you in hell, Seven,” Donny Calloway jeered.

  “Get your people out of there, Gunny!” Staff Sergeant Locke said. “That building could fall any minute. You’re going to have to jump for it.”

  “I’m trying the zip line,” Jules said.

  “Better make it fast,” Kal said.

  Jules flipped her ammo belt over the zip line and jumped from the rooftop. Ember watched her friend race down to the lowest point, then throw arms wide. The wings of her suit were impossible to see in the darkness, but she didn’t fall.

  “I’m next,” Kal said.

  He followed Jules. Ty went, and all three made it into the air. Gunny Tveit grabbed Ember and pushed her toward the zip line.

  “Let’s go, Gracie!”

  Ember fastened her rifle onto her armor using the built-in electromagnets. Then she quickly removed her ammo belt and flipped it over the line. Gunny Tveit was doing the same thing on the second zip line, and it crossed Ember’s mind that the wind they needed to get airborne couldn’t possibly work for both of them. The zip lines started near one another, but went in diverging directions.

  “Good luck, Ember,” Gunny Tveit said.

  “You too, Sarge,” Ember said, just before she jumped forward.

  The movement was surprisingly fast. She felt herself rushing down the zip line. Using her helmet’s programs, she activated her wingsuit, and just before she reached the low point of the line, Ember flung her arms and legs wide. She felt the silky material between her arms fill with air, but the wind was blowing across her path, and while she glided away from the advancing horde of aliens, she couldn’t get airborne.

  The dark ground loomed up before her, and Ember went sliding across the dark, dry soil. The impact was jarring, but her armor absorbed a large portion of the kinetic energy, and her wingsuit had slowed her fall. She raised her head in time to see a group of the aliens leave the others and scurry straight for her.

  Suddenly, shots from a pistol cracked from the air over her head, and the aliens dropped to the dirt. The wind shifted, and a lone Recon specialist flared the wings of his armor and landed nearby. He had a pistol in one hand, and at first Ember thought it was Gunny Tveit, but there was only a single stripe on the marine’s armored shoulder.

  The landing itself was reminiscent, and Ember realized only one person could land without a parachute and make it look so easy.

  “Nick?” she said softly.

  “You miss me?” he replied.

  Before she even knew what was happening, Ember was running for him. Nick threw his arms around her but was forced to let her go and fire several more shots.

  “We can’t stay here,” Nick said.

  “If we hurry, we can catch the transports,” Ember said.

  She took his free hand, and they ran together, away from the swarming aliens. The land movers didn’t have traditional running lights, but in her night vision Ember could see the reflective paint on one of the large machines. It was moving away, but it didn’t seem to be moving all that fast. If they hurried, she thought, her heart filled with optimism from Nick’s sudden appearance, they just might make it.

  Chapter 41

  “Nick! Is that Nick?” Kal demanded.

  “Yahoo!” Ty shouted.

  “Private Nichols,” Gunny Tveit said. “Where have you been?”

  “I was detained by the aliens, Sarge,” Nick said. “But I managed to escape.”

  “They’re gaining on us,” Ember said as she glanced back over her shoulder.

  “This should slow them down,” Nick said, popping the pin off a grenade and slinging it behind them.

  The grenade boomed with a flash of light. Nick looked over his shoulder and saw several Isopterans go flying through the air. From above them, Kal came swooping in and tried to shoot at the aliens, but his shots were erratic.

  “How in the world do you target anything without falling?” he said in a shaky voice.

  “Ground transport Bravo,” Gunny Tveit said over the command channel of her com-link, “you have two marines on your six.”

  “That’s a shame,” Staff Sergeant Blevins said angrily, “cuz we sure as hell ain’t stopping.”

  “Staff Sergeant,” Gunny said, matching Blevins’s tone, “you will slow down. That’s an order.”

  “Let me tell you just where you can shove your order, Gunny,” Donny Calloway snarled.

  A booming explosion beyond the earthmover lit the terrain in a fiery yellow just long enough to cause Nick’s helmet visor to dim from the murky green of night vision.

  “Holy crap! What is she doing?” Blevins shouted.

  “The next one takes out your engine, Staff Sergeant. What’s it going to be?”

  “We’ll slow down,” Blevins said.

  Nick saw to his relief that the big dump truck was reducing its speed. He kept running, his legs felt like they were encased in concrete, but he refused to stop. Ember was outpacing him, and Nick began to worry that his ordeal in the hive was going to cost him his life. Behind him, the aliens were closing in. He pulled his last grenade from his ammo belt and popped the pin.

  “Fire in the hole,” he said as he tossed the weapon over his shoulder.

  The shock wave of the blast nearly knocked him off his feet, but he managed to keep running. Ember looked back and slowed.

  “Nick, are you alright?” she asked.

  “I’m fine,” Nick lied. “Just get to that transport.”

  They sprinted the last fifteen meters. Gunshots cracked over their heads. Ember stepped onto a support and took hold of a metal handle halfway up the massive rear bucket where half of the infantry platoon and the survivors of Dragon Team Thirteen were riding.

  “We’re on,” Ember shouted as Nick managed to jump up beside her. “Go! Go!”

  “The damn bugs are everywhere,” Donny Calloway cursed.

  “Dropping more concussion grenades,” Gunny Tveit said.

  As the large earthmover cycled through its gears, moving a little faster every second, Nick saw the hordes of aliens racing to catch them. He couldn’t count the number, but they were easily in the hundreds. Two grenades fell, dropping into the front ranks and blowing several of the creatures to bits that flew high into the air. Others were knocked off their feet, wounded by the blasts. And even more suddenly lost their way. Nick had seen the reaction, as if the Isopterans were robots that suddenly had their circuits scrambled. Dozens abruptly changed directions, turning back into the mob. Nick wasn’t sure, but it even seemed as if some of the creatures were stopping to eat the dead.

  “Great work, Sarge,” Ember said.

  Nick drew his sidearm. “Have you got spare clips for the SRE?”

  “Four, I think,” Ember said.

  “Good,” Nick replied, taking aim at one of the aliens who had raced past the carnage and was still gaining on them.

  The transport was gaining speed, the huge tires bumped over the rough terrain and the back of the bucket shook hard, as did the support they were standing on. It took Nick four shots to hit the alien, but it went down. He focused on the next closest and repeated the process. Ember joined the effort, and soon it was clear that the aliens wouldn’t overtake them.

  Nick shoved his pistol into its holster and took hold of the handle with both hands. He felt weak and a little dizzy. His tongue seemed to take up his entire mouth, and swallowing was impossible. It reminded him of having swollen tonsils as a child, with a terrible sore throat.

  “Let’s get inside,” Ember said, pointing up.

  There were additional rungs, and Ember climbed up the side of the thick metal bucket. Nick watched as hands helped Ember to safety.

  The flight from the hive had been thrilling, but also taxing. After crawling through the dark tunnels, it
was amazing to feel the strong air currents lifting him higher and higher. Unfortunately, bouts of dizziness made the flight erratic and taxing. Nick’s muscles ached, and his head felt as though someone were pounding around inside it with a sledgehammer. Fear and adrenaline had kept him going, and it had felt like a miracle when his helmet began picking up radio traffic.

  If not for the dire situation on the ground, Nick would have announced his presence immediately. But he knew letting his friends know he had survived would surprise and even distract them. From the sounds of the communications below, he had known that a distraction in such dire circumstances would be deadly. So he had glided slowly lower and lower in a wide spiral until he had seen Ember fail to take flight. When she crashed, he dove straight for her position, and he was grateful that she was unhurt.

  All he needed was one last rally of strength to get inside the transport, then he could rest, perhaps even get some much-needed hydration. But just climbing up the side of the earthmover, which was bouncing along at a frantic pace, was difficult. When he reached the top, he felt a sense of relief. He was just heaving himself up when someone grabbed him and pulled him over the edge of the dump truck’s bucket.

  “Some people just don’t know what’s good for them,” Donny Calloway snarled.

  He held Nick by the shoulders and had lifted him up above the edge of the truck’s bucket, but Nick was still on the outside of the rig.

  “Let him go,” Ariel Summers said.

  “Oh, I’ll let him go alright,” Donny Calloway said.

  Before Nick could protest the old man shoved him hard. Nick fell to the ground, the air driven from his lungs in a painful rush. He felt as if he might die, as he struggled to get air back into his body. The temptation to rip his helmet off was strong, even though his armor wasn’t keeping him from breathing. Nick managed to roll onto his side and gasped, some air seeping into his deflated lungs. His ears were ringing, and there were flashes of light floating in his vision, but instinct told him to move.

  Before he knew what was happening, Nick was on his feet, stumbling after the transport. Unfortunately, he could hardly catch his breath, and there was no chance that he could overtake the large maintenance vehicle. Still, Nick knew that if he didn’t move, he would die. The horde of aliens was still out there, chattering in the darkness. Nick stumbled forward, his body slowly coming back under his control.

  “What’s going on down there?” Kal asked.

  “Just a little problem I need to deal with,” Nick said.

  “Nick? Nick, are you okay?” Ember asked.

  He could see her looking over the edge of the dump truck’s bucket.

  “I’m fine. Stay there,” Nick said.

  He started jogging, but it was a slow trot. Nick could feel his body trembling, threatening to give out on him if he kept pushing himself.

  “Would you look at that?” Master Sergeant Spielman said.

  “What is that, some kind of canyon?” Staff Sergeant Locke asked.

  “It’s hard to tell in the dark,” Gunny Tveit said. “Better turn north. We can’t risk driving off the edge.”

  “Nick,” Kal said. “Turn to your right and keep moving, buddy. There’s a canyon about half a klick out. You should be able to get airborne again.”

  “Copy that,” Nick said.

  Fury was building inside of Nick. It was well past time that he dealt with Donny Calloway, but he would have to catch the vindictive coward first.

  Half a kilometer felt more like a marathon. The sun began to rise before he reached the canyon, and as the first rays of light came flooding over the alien world, Nick saw the canyon. It was a huge crack in the ground, hundreds of meters wide and deep. Nick felt so weak he could barely keep moving, but he threw himself over the edge and activated his wingsuit.

  Maintaining his balance and manipulating the air currents weren’t easy, but at times he could simply glide, and it was that ability that saved him. As he rose up on a massive thermal updraft, Nick’s body began to relax. He still needed sustenance and rest, but he was much better off than trudging along on his feet.

  “Can you believe this?” Ty asked. “We’re actually flying.”

  “It’s amazing,” Jules said.

  “Even better now that we can actually see,” Kal said.

  Nick saw that his friends were far ahead, and he angled his body to speed him forward. The two big earthmovers were trundling forward and kicking up thick dust clouds as they went. A smaller but sizable army of Isopterans continued to pursue them. Nick guessed there were over a thousand of the insectoid creatures. And he knew that unless help came down soon, they would have to fight them.

  Nick let the wind propel him as he listened to the com-link communications. Without the large transmitter back at the mining facility boosting their transmissions, it was difficult for the marines to keep in touch with the ships in orbit. But Nick wasn’t worried about the Proxy. They would send help for their own, and until then, he had more pressing concerns on his mind.

  “We’ve got maybe an hour left on the batteries,” Master Sergeant Spielman said. “After that, we’ll be sitting ducks.”

  “We should find suitable ground for a fight,” Staff Sergeant Locke said.

  “And what ground can’t those animals just tunnel through?” Blevins complained. “They’ll just come underneath us and carry us all away.”

  Nick wondered if everyone on Dragon Team Thirteen were cowards, or just Donny Calloway’s closest friends. Chancy Hicks hadn’t made it out when the Proxy were rescued. Only Calloway, Gorman, Blevins, and Summers remained, and while Nick felt a twinge of sorrow for Ariel’s plight, he was done overlooking Donny’s aggression toward him and his friends.

  “What choice do we have?” Spielman said, fatigue and discouragement making him sound defeated already.

  “Look for high ground,” Nick said.

  “With enough space for a transport to sit down,” Gunny Tveit ordered.

  “You have a better view, Gunny,” Spielman said. “See anything that looks promising?”

  Gunny Tveit sent the master sergeant to a slight rise in the terrain. It had plenty of space around it, with only a few of the craggy spires blocking the lines of fire. They parked the transports and Nick showed the rest of his team how to land without parachutes.

  Once they were all together, Gunny Tveit joined the other NCOs who were plotting a strategy. All they could do was prepare to defend themselves and hope for word from the Proxy.

  “Nick, you are the luckiest dude I’ve ever met,” Kal said, embracing his friend. “When this is all over, we are playing the lottery for sure.”

  Ty picked Nick up in a massive bear hug. “I can’t believe you made it,” he said.

  “What’d they do to you?” Jules asked.

  “I guess they wanted to save me for a special occasion,” Nick said. “After they took me down into the tunnel, I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I was in one of their honeycomb-shaped pods, but I still had my weapons.”

  “Oh man, major mistake,” Kal said.

  “Nick, don’t you need some food?” Ember asked. She had rushed to him the moment he landed and given him all the water she had.

  “I could eat,” Nick said. “But I’m feeling better already.”

  “Feeling better?” Kal asked. “What’d they do to you?”

  “Nothing,” Nick said. “I just didn’t have anything to drink.”

  “What do the crawlers drink?” Jules asked.

  “Beats me. I didn’t see them eat or drink. I cut my way free of the honeycomb, climbed up the trench wall to a tunnel, and made a run for it.”

  “And they just let you go?” Ty asked.

  “Well, there’s a little more to the story, but that’s the gist of it,” Nick said.

  “Dragon Team,” Gunny Tveit announced over their team channel. “We need to get airborne again.”

  “What?” Ember asked. “Why?”

  “The Proxy are sending a
rescue ship down,” she said. “But chances are, there will be resistance. We’re to gain as much altitude as possible and protect the ship as it sets down.”

  “At least that’s something we can do,” Jules said. “It beats sitting around and waiting for someone to save us.”

  “I agree,” Kal said. “But how do we get back up?”

  “Looks like we’re hiking to the canyon,” Ty said.

  “I’m game,” Nick said, “but I need ammo.”

  “There’s ammunition in the transports,” Gunny Tveit said. “Let’s gear up. We’ve got a job to do.”

  Chapter 42

  “This ammo is spoken for,” Donny Calloway said, as Nick led the way to the maintenance vehicle. “We need it to defend this place.”

  “Sergeant,” Gunny Tveit said, “our task is to get airborne and keep the Isopterans off the ship so that it can land safely and evacuate your sorry ass. Now step aside.”

  “What did you say to me?” Donny Calloway snarled.

  “What the hell, Gunny?” Blevins said. “You’re threatening my people now?”

  “Staff Sergeant,” Tveit said calmly, “when we get off this rock, I’ll be filing multiple complaints against you and your entire team. With the exception of Corporal Summers, your team is a disgrace.”

  “Big talk coming from a two-time loser,” Calloway said. “I doubt your team will make it off this rock.”

  “That a threat?” Nick asked.

  “Just a prediction, but I’d be glad to make it come true, Nichols,” Donny said, stepping toward him.

  But Ty and Kal grabbed Calloway before he could do anything to Nick. They slammed him back into the massive dump truck, and the older man was helpless to resist. Gorman moved to help his friend, but Jules kicked his legs out from under him, and Ember dropped onto Gorman’s back, driving her knee into his neck.

  “You’re out of line,” Blevins said to Gunny Tveit, but he didn’t try to help the others. And when Beth Tveit stepped close, he backed up.

  “We need ammunition for our SREs, and we’ll take grenades if you’ve got them,” Gunny Tveit said. “We aren’t trying to hassle you, Blevins. You can help the infantry platoon, but we all know you’ll be hiding in the rear waiting to run if things start to look bad. So let us have what we need, and we’ll make sure you have a transport to hide in when this is all over.”