by Ken Lozito
Lieutenant Maddox blew out a breath. “As for how we found this place,” he began and turned to address the others as well, “we detected a strong NEIIS signal from this location and tracked it here. We believe it has something to do with ryklar activity. That’s why all of you being here is actually a blessing. My specialist, while good with CDF technology, is somewhat lacking when it comes to understanding NEIIS systems.”
“You’ve got the right bunch for that,” Brad said, speaking up for the first time. “I’m Brad Kelly with the Colonial Research and Development Group, and my latest assignment was with the archives at Sanctuary. I specialize in NEIIS technology and Dash here understands it very well.”
Lieutenant Maddox smiled widely, showing a strong set of pearly chompers that made his smile almost as menacing as it was friendly. Having seen that flash of anger from the man, Dash really didn’t want to piss this guy off.
“Two experts in our midst,” Lieutenant Maddox said. “You hear that, Corporal Winston?”
Corporal Winston’s heavy footfalls sounded ahead of them. He was easily twice the size of Dash.
“Outstanding, sir. Shall I radio ahead and inform Specialist Stackhouse that he has help coming?” Corporal Winston asked.
“That would be a negative, Corporal,” Lieutenant Maddox said and looked at Dash. “I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
Dash found himself nodding as Lieutenant Maddox quickened his pace to speak with one of the other soldiers, who then ran off.
Jim walked next to Dash and gave him a tap on the arm. He leaned in. “I don’t know why, but that guy scares the hell out of me,” he said quietly.
“Me, too,” Dash agreed.
Merissa was the only one close enough to hear them, and when Dash looked at her, she gave a small nod. At least he wasn’t the only one put off by the arrival of their help. He watched as Brad and Selena walked ahead to speak with Lieutenant Maddox.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The speed of the Field Ops troop-carrier was greater than any C-cat could ever hope to achieve. Connor used his implants to access the ship’s systems and noted that they were closing in on the NEIIS city so he decided to stretch his legs and walk to the cockpit. Lenora and Ian were poring over some initial scan data of the NEIIS city. Captain Ramsey followed Connor.
Connor opened the door and saw the NEIIS city in the distance on the heads-up display. “Have you been able to detect the C-cat?”
“Negative, sir,” Sergeant Hale replied.
They’d taken the most direct path from the NEIIS outpost, believing that Dash and the others would do the same. Suddenly, the troop-carrier dropped sharply to the side and a klaxon alarm blared. Captain Ramsey stumbled into him and both of them slammed into the wall.
“Main engines unresponsive!” Sergeant Hale cried.
Connor pushed himself off the wall and Captain Ramsey grabbed onto Corporal Bennett’s chair for support. They were losing altitude fast.
“Emergency thrusters are online,” Corporal Bennett said.
“What the hell happened?” Captain Ramsey said.
“Something hit us, sir,” Sergeant Hale said.
The breath caught in Connor’s throat as they plummeted toward the ground. He saw a flash of something zip by the heads-up display.
“Go strap yourselves in. We’re going down,” Sergeant Hale said.
Connor stumbled out of the cockpit toward the nearest chair and fastened the strap. The cabin was awash in flashing red lights. Connor looked at Lenora and saw that she was strapped into her seat. The troop-carrier suddenly dipped again and then the emergency thrusters fired. The floor of the transport gave a sudden jolt upward and Connor’s stomach tightened.
“Hold on!”
The Field Ops troop-carrier skidded onto the ground in a somewhat controlled manner, but the force of the landing jostled Connor’s teeth. He bit into the side of his cheek, and the copper taste of blood filled his mouth. The entire ship seemed to shudder and then a harsh metallic clang of twisting metal could be heard as the ship came to a halt. Master alarms continued to blare. The straps had dug into his shoulders and Connor pressed the button to release them. He saw Lenora doing the same and turned toward Captain Ramsey. The Field Ops captain had a shallow cut on his forehead and there was a trickle of blood down the side of his face. He asked the captain if he was okay but Captain Ramsey waved him off.
Connor checked on Sergeant Hale and Corporal Bennett in the cockpit, and they were fine. Sergeant Hale killed the alarms, but there was a long list of failed systems on the heads-up display.
“What’s the status?” Connor asked.
Captain Ramsey stood in the doorway, wiping his forehead with his sleeve and smearing blood.
“Something hit our engines. The logs show that an impact registered just before we went offline. I’ll need to go check,” Sergeant Hale said. She stood up and did another quick check of the troop-carrier’s error messages.
“Make sure you’re armed, Sergeant. Corporal Bennett, you should go with her,” Connor said.
The two Field Ops agents hesitated for a moment.
“There could be ryklars in the area.”
“I’ll go with them,” Captain Ramsey said.
Connor headed back to the cabin and saw Lenora helping Ian stand up. He had a red gash on the side of his head.
“Are you alright?” Connor asked.
“I’m fine,” Lenora said. “Ian hurt his head.”
Connor looked at Ian for a moment. “He does have a wooden head. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Ian grinned and then winced as Lenora pressed a bandage onto the side of his head.
“Hold this here,” Lenora scolded Ian.
“I’m fine, by the way,” Connor said.
Lenora glanced at him. “Hardly surprising. What happened?”
So much for sympathy, Connor thought. “They think something hit us.”
“Who would fire a weapon at us way out here?” Lenora asked.
Connor retrieved his weapon and the others did the same. The ship still had power and the doors still worked. They walked outside and saw the Field Ops team toward the back of the ship. The rear engines were a mass of twisted metal in a gaping hole.
Sergeant Hale was peering inside the troop-carrier’s new hole and stepped back, shaking her head. “Looks like whatever hit us is gone. I can’t find any sign of it,” she said.
Captain Ramsey glanced at Connor. “What do you think?”
Connor walked around and looked at where the main engine pod had been. “That area isn’t where we were hit. That’s where whatever hit us exited.”
Sergeant Hale frowned in confusion. “How can you tell, sir?”
Connor pointed. “This is the point of entry, Sergeant. Whatever hit us tore through the hull and went out where you’re standing. That’s why the hull is bending out toward you.”
Sergeant Hale and the others glanced back at the hull in surprise.
“Don’t worry about it, Sergeant. He does that stuff to me all the time,” Captain Ramsey consoled her.
Connor shrugged. “I’ve seen more than my share of weapon impacts, but I’m not sure what would cause this,” he said and glanced at the area behind them. “We’d have to find pieces of the engine to figure that out.”
“Sir,” Corporal Bennett said, “just before the crash, I thought I saw another ship on the ground. It might’ve been a C-cat. I think it was small enough, but I can’t be sure. Everything happened so fast.”
Connor walked over to them. “How far back do you think it is?”
Corporal Bennett closed her eyes and her brows knitted tightly. Then she shook her head. “Maybe five or six kilometers back. I’m not sure where because we veered off course.”
“It’s alright. I understand, Corporal,” Connor said.
“Do you think we should go back and find the C-cat?” Lenora asked.
Connor drew in a breath and took another look at the damaged troop-carri
er. “No, if they had a problem with their ship, they would’ve headed to the city on foot.”
“You think they’d leave their ship?” Captain Ramsey asked.
Connor nodded. “We’re a day behind them, and this,” he said, gesturing toward the ruined hull, “wasn’t an accident.”
“But they could be hurt. Can’t you send a recon drone at the very least?” Lenora asked.
Connor did a quick calculation of how many drones they’d brought with them. Someone or something had knocked them out of the sky. They’d known just where to hit them. The question was why.
“Okay, we’ll send a couple of drones southwest of our position and have them do a few sweeps while we head toward the city, but I don’t think they’re back there. I think that whatever got our ship must have done the same to them and that’s the reason we haven’t heard from them. If they’re alive, they would’ve headed toward the city. It’s the closest shelter and has the highest vantage point,” Connor said.
Captain Ramsey nodded knowingly.
“I’m glad you understand, Captain. How about filling the rest of us in,” Ian said.
“Communications this far away from any colonial settlement is spotty at best,” Lenora said, chiming in. “They probably have only one or two chances a day to beam a transmission to the comms satellite,” she said and looked at Connor. “I told you I pay attention.”
“I never doubted you for a minute,” Connor said.
“But who would shoot down our ship?” Ian said.
Connor scratched the back of his head. “I think whoever did this was just trying to disable our ship.”
“That doesn’t answer the question of who,” Ian replied.
Connor glanced at Lenora. “Is there anything in the NEIIS archives that indicates they had city defenses?”
Lenora pursed her lips in thought.
Ian’s eyes widened and he looked toward the city. “You think we tripped some kind of NEIIS automated defense?”
That wasn’t Connor’s first thought, but he wasn’t sure about sharing his real thoughts with the others. He shrugged instead.
“I can’t remember. I’d have to do a search in the archives to know for sure,” Lenora said.
“Even if it was some kind of latent defense, they’d have to know just where to hit us or have one hell of a lucky shot,” Captain Ramsey said.
Connor looked away from them.
Lenora cleared her throat. “Come on, out with it already.”
He should’ve known better. Connor turned back toward them. “Vemus attack force,” he said.
Lenora’s eyes widened and then she frowned. Sergeant Hale and Corporal Bennett stopped what they were doing at the mention of the Vemus.
“The Vemus are gone,” Captain Ramsey said.
Connor’s jaw tightened for a moment. This was why he hadn’t wanted to mention it to them. “It’s just a possibility. I know the CDF did a massive sweep of the debris field, but who’s to say that one of their drop-ships wasn’t knocked off course and they’ve been out here all this time? We’re thousands of kilometers away from the nearest colonial settlement. With no command structure, who’s to say how a Vemus soldier would react? Our troop-carrier’s design would be known to them and that would explain how they’d know just where to hit us to bring down our ship.”
Connor watched as the others considered what he’d said, but his attention was focused on Lenora. Her eyes drew downward in sympathy. “Connor,” she said softly.
Connor clenched his teeth and looked away. “I know you’re going to say I’m being paranoid, but I’m not. If anyone else has a better explanation, feel free to share it.”
Lenora walked over to him. “I wasn’t going to say any of that.”
She reached out and put her hand on his arm, rubbing it gently. Connor looked at her and nodded.
Ian snorted and then sighed. “I hate to say this, but I think I liked it better when we just had ryklars to contend with. This changes things.”
“You’re right, it does,” Captain Ramsey said. “It means those kids are in even more trouble than we thought. I don’t know how to deal with the Vemus.”
Connor pressed his lips together and his shoulders became tight. They weren’t equipped to deal with the Vemus. “We need to get to the city. We also need to send our drones out to start sweeping the area and learn as much as we can so we can alert the CDF. Gather what supplies you need and let’s get a move on.”
The others headed back into the transport to gather supplies and Lenora lingered behind with him.
“I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting,” Lenora said.
Connor sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, too. Let’s go get them.”
Lenora bit her lip. “If the Vemus are here . . .”
Connor wanted to hold her in his arms but there wasn’t time. “Dash is smart. They brought drones with them and he knows how to use them. He may not have been in the military, but he can think on his feet. There’s a good chance they’re still alive.”
Lenora drew in a breath and her face set with determination. That was the woman he knew. She’d never cowered from anything. They joined the others in the troop-carrier. Connor hoped he was wrong about the Vemus but kept trying to think of what they would do if they did encounter them. If a drop-ship had landed way out here, there could be a small force of them in the area; however, if it was multiple drop-ships, they were all in real trouble.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dash wished he could’ve enjoyed his first walk through the newly discovered city. The type of buildings changed in style for a purpose he could only guess at as they walked further into the city. Near the outskirts, the buildings were dome-shaped, with several spires along the edges, like a crown. After walking a kilometer, the building style changed, becoming square with the rooftops appearing to be on a pedestal because there was a large overhang. The smooth walls looked to be made of concrete, but even after all the time the city had been abandoned, there were no cracks on any of the exterior walls that Dash could see. He glanced at the rooftops again, puzzling over the two-meter extension past the walls. Even if one could climb the walls, the wider rooftops would make it extremely difficult to reach the top. He would have liked to spend some time exploring these buildings, assuming the rooftops were only accessible from the inside.
Dash stumbled into Merissa and muttered a hasty apology.
“What do you keep looking at?” Merissa asked.
“The rooftops,” Dash said and gestured ahead of them. The buildings in this part of the city were almost uniform in size, easily ten meters tall.
Merissa looked where he gestured. “What’s so special about them?”
“I was trying to think of why they’d build roofs like that. Early dwellings serve a practical purpose—shelter and what not—but eventually dwellings evolve to become more aesthetic. I can’t decide which the NEIIS constructed these buildings for,” Dash said.
Merissa pursed her lips, pensive. “Perhaps the NEIIS just liked the pattern.”
“Maybe, but I keep thinking that each of these buildings is like a small fortress,” Dash said.
Merissa glanced toward the other side of the street. “We’re pretty far into the city. Why would they need something like that here? Wouldn’t they defend their cities at the edge?”
Dash shrugged. “I don’t know,” he admitted.
As they reached the CDF encampment, all semblance of friendliness seemed to leave their escorts. They became colder toward them, as if now that they were within the encampment the soldiers could treat them however they wanted.
“Time to leave,” Lieutenant Maddox said to them after they’d been at the camp for only a few minutes. “There is an NEIIS Command Center not far from here.”
Selena was sitting down and looked as if the mere thought of getting up again was too much to consider. Dash thought they should stick together and one glance at Merissa told him she felt the same. Merissa went over and coaxed Selena ba
ck to her feet.
As they were escorted to the NEIIS Command Center, they saw other CDF soldiers who seemed to regard them as unwanted guests. Dash felt as if he were intruding upon something rather than participating in a coincidental meeting.
Jim and Merissa stayed close to him. A few times during their walk from the encampment, Merissa tried to get Selena to stay near them, but she and Brad kept talking and going on as if there was nothing wrong. Dash kept thinking about his first encounter with the squad and how they’d rescued the research team from the ryklars. He’d been appreciative at the time, but the more he thought about it, the more he remembered how Connor hadn’t approved of the CDF soldiers’ methods for dealing with the ryklars. Somehow Connor had known something wasn’t right with these men.
“How long do you think it will be before anyone comes looking for us?” Jim asked quietly.
“They’re probably on their way here, so not too long,” Dash replied.
“How do you know?” Merissa asked.
“Because I told them I would send an update and it didn’t go through. I’m pretty sure they’ve found the NEIIS outpost by now. It wouldn’t take much for them to figure out where we’d go from there,” Dash answered.
Merissa blew out a breath and glanced worriedly ahead at the soldiers. “Let’s hope so. I don’t like this one bit.”
Dash nodded and noticed Lieutenant Maddox glancing back at them. His gaze had the intensity of a berwolf that’d found its prey.
Lieutenant Maddox strode over to them. “We’re almost there.”
Dash met his gaze and his stomach clenched. “What is it you need me to do?”
Lieutenant Maddox seemed to consider this for a moment, letting the silence hang in the air. “It’s better if I show you when we get there.”
“Have you been able to reach Sierra?” Merissa asked.
Lieutenant Maddox swung his gaze toward her. “I have my team working on it. Our communications window is limited. Not to worry though, we’ll get you sorted.”
Access to their communication systems would have been nice, but Dash didn’t want to push his luck. The CDF soldier might not have said anything, but Dash didn’t think he’d been fooled by their compliance. He had no idea what to do but go along with what the CDF lieutenant wanted from them.
