“I think so,” she replied.
“Maybe if you get on the ladder, you might have the leverage to pull us free,” Nick said.
“Yes! Me first, please,” Kal said.
“What about the safety cover?” Ember asked.
“Better close it,” Ty said.
“Yeah, better safe than sorry,” Jules added.
Ember turned her head and looked in the direction of the ladder one last time, then closed the square button cover. Nick felt an immediate sense of despair as the pit once more fell into darkness.
“Heading toward the ladder now,” Ember said.
It took her a few minutes of slow movement slogging through the muck and being careful not to sink down too far. Nick worried that he had sunk too low in the mire. It was harder to breathe with the sludge pressing against his chest. He tried to close his eyes and just relax, but he was too concerned for his friends and anxious to find out if getting to the ladder might actually help them get out of the rancid pit.
“We’ll never get this smell off,” Kal said.
“We can worry about your B.O. when we get out of here,” Jules teased.
“I’m not joking, man. This sludge is in every nook and cranny,” Kal insisted.
“I ain’t got no crannies,” Ty said, making everyone laugh.
“I’m at the ladder,” Ember said, sounding relieved.
“I’m closest,” Jules said.
“I’ve got you,” Ember replied.
Nick couldn’t see the two girls, but he heard their effort. Both were struggling and the sludge made a smacking sound.
“It’s working!” Jules said excitedly. “Okay, I’m free.”
“Who’s next?” Nick asked.
“I think I should switch places with Jules,” Ember said. “I can get across the muck easier.”
“I’ll be the anchor,” Jules said. “That’s fine by me. It works best if you just use Ember for leverage and pull yourself out.”
“Roger that,” Kal said. “I’m so ready to get out of this stinking cesspool.”
It took a few minutes for Kal to work himself free, then he connected with Ty, the biggest member of the group. Once Ty was free, the two boys made a link to Nick.
“Dang, dude, you’re really buried,” Ty said as he took Nick’s hand.
“Good thing I’ve got you to pull me free,” Nick said.
Ty did pull, and Nick thrashed. He rocked back and forth, his entire body straining as he attempted to get out of the muck. At first he only seemed to make things worse, but as the mire churned around him it seemed to loosen and become less sticky. With Ty’s help, he pulled himself free.
“Alright, let’s get up out of this joint,” Ty said.
“One step ahead of you,” Kal said.
“I wish we could get the lights back on,” Jules said. “I don’t want to miss anything.”
“You just climb,” Kal said. “Ty can check for hidden doors on the right. Nick can check the left side. If it’s big enough for us to get through, it won’t be hard to find.”
When Nick got to the ladder and felt the first solid handhold since falling into the pit, which sent a thrill right through him. Despite the stench and the weight of the sludge that clung to him, Nick felt hopeful that they just might escape.
“Hey, I found something,” Jules said.
“What is it?” Ember asked.
“It’s a door of some kind,” Jules explained. “I can push it open.”
“Is it at the top of the ladder?” Nick asked.
“No, it’s beside it,” Jules replied.
“Check the rungs above it,” Kal said. “See if they’re slimy.”
“Okay, just a second,” Jules called down.
Nick wasn’t really on the ladder. His legs were still perched on the surface of the bog, but his hands were on the rungs. He wanted to climb up and get free of the foul sludge, but Ty was just above him and he didn’t want to crowd his friend. Still, with four of them on the ladder, Nick guessed the opening was at least sixteen meters above the surface of the pit’s foul contents.
“It’s clean,” Jules said with surprise. “No slime.”
“I figured as much,” Kal said.
“Why?” Ty asked.
“Because that door she found was the chute,” Kal explained. “Or at least a chute.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Jules said.
“Keep going up,” Nick said. “See if there’s anything else.”
The group moved up high enough for Nick to climb several rungs up the ladder before Jules called out that she was at the top of the ladder. There was no easy way out of the pit—no levers or handles that might open the big trap doors overhead.
“We might be able to pry it open,” Jules said. “But it won’t be easy.”
“And we risk falling,” Ember said.
“Yeah, someone could get hurt,” Kal said. “I’m at the chute. I think it’s big enough to craw through.”
“Even me?” Ty asked.
“Yeah, it won’t be easy, but we could do it,” Kal replied.
“Unless they dump more refuse,” Nick said. “And the chute has to be fairly steep to dump the waste through.”
“Even if we can get through it, there’s no guarantee that it leads to a way out,” Ember said.
“But we have to try, don’t we?” Jules asked.
“I think so,” Kal said.
“We have to stick together,” Nick said. “Without any light or a way to communicate, we can’t risk splitting up.”
“Maybe we should wait until right after it dumps,” Ty said.
“Won’t that make the chute even more slick?” Ember asked.
“There’s no good time to climb out of this place,” Kal said. “But I don’t want to wait.”
“Okay, you go first,” Nick said. “Then the girls can come back down. Ty and I will go last.”
The climb in the chute was slow-going. The metal walls were covered with slime, and the entire thing angled up at a steep angle. They were forced to brace their back against one wall, their hands on the side walls, and their feet against the wall opposite their body. Ty let Nick go ahead of him.
“Just in case it narrows,” Ty said. “If I get stuck, I don’t want to keep you from getting out.”
“Thanks, man, but we aren’t leaving anyone behind,” Nick said.
“No, but you might have to get that trap door open and get me out that way,” Ty said.
He was a big guy, strong and athletic—the kind of person you wanted with you if you ran into trouble. But Nick also knew that Ty was inquisitive, with a penetrating intellect and a big heart. He was always putting others first, and letting Nick go ahead of him in the chute was a prime example.
Once in the chute, the climb took nearly an hour. Nick’s back hurt and his hips and legs burned from the exertion. But when he caught sight of light above him, his heart leapt. They had stopped talking after a gush of foul waste had doused the group and left the chute dripping with liquid waste. Nick climbed the last few meters and took Kal’s hand to pull him the rest of the way out of the chute.
“Where are we now?” Nick asked.
“A wash station,” Ember said.
“So it’s a happy ending,” Jules said. “If only we could find clean clothes.”
Nick helped Kal pull Ty out of the chute, and they were about to start exploring the wash room when a door opened. Gunny Sergeant Tveit walked in. Her face showed no emotion, but she congratulated the group.
“Well done,” she said. “You survived your first full day of recon training.”
“We were only in there a day?” Kal asked. “Felt like a week.”
“Take off those clothes—they’ll have to be jettisoned. There’s industrial-grade soap in the shower stalls, but it will still take several washings to get all of the filth off. If you come out and still stink, I’ll jettison you along with your clothes.”
Tveit left the wash room, and the group
wasted no time getting to the stalls. They were simple shower closets with a curtain for a door. Nick turned the water on before even trying to get out of his clothes. He rinsed the filth from his head and face, then pulled off the stinking fatigues. Gunny Tveit was right; it took three coats of the strong, abrasive soap before Nick felt clean. When he finally turned off the water and peeked out of the curtain, he was relieved to discover that someone had removed their foul clothes, scrubbed down the deck, and left towels hanging just outside the stalls.
He dried himself off and then wrapped the towel around his waist. Kal and Ty finished at almost the same time as Nick, but the girls took longer.
“What now?” Kal asked.
“I think the moment we walk out that door we’ll be tasked with some new challenge,” Nick said.
“I wouldn’t mind a hot meal first,” Ty said.
“Oh man, how can you even think of food after being in the pit?” Kal demanded.
“A man’s got to eat,” Ty proclaimed.
“Well, don’t count on it,” Nick said. “I get the feeling Gunnery Sergeant Tveit won’t be happy until she breaks one of us.”
“She’s in for a major disappointment, then,” Kal said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Nick agreed.
“You ladies done gossiping?” Jules said. She stepped out of her stall with a towel wrapped around her body.
“At least it doesn’t take long to dry our hair anymore,” Ember said.
“Let’s go see what Gunny Tveit has in store next,” Kal said.
As they walked toward the exit, Nick looked back at the chute they had climbed out of. He realized that it wasn’t connected with any other part of the ship. The nasty refuse that had rained down on them in the pit had to be dumped down the chute—and Nick had a twisted notion that Gunny Tveit had been the one pouring the buckets of slop.
Chapter 22
Just outside the wash room, a tall alien waited. It was a Proxy, and Gunny Tveit stood at ease just behind the alien, who waved at them enthusiastically.
“Boys with me,” the alien proclaimed via a universal translator. “Girls with Gunnery Sergeant Tveit.”
Ember and Jules followed Gunny Tveit out of the room. Nick didn’t like them being split up, but he understood why as the alien held up what looked like a wet suit.
“This is a BIO-suit. It must be worn at all times,” the alien said. “They have been custom-designed for each of you. Put them on and I will see what adjustments need to be made.”
The suits fit snugly, but the material was stretchy and comfortable. The alien used a handheld device to take readings from the suit. Apparently it could convey body heat, almost like a second skin. The alien ran its device down the back of the BIO-suit, and Nick felt tiny pricks along his spine. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t comfortable, either. Fortunately the sensation didn’t last.
“Your suit is calibrated, recruit Nichols,” the alien declared.
“That’s good,” Nick said.
“Very good,” the alien said. “Once the neural link is in sync, you’ll be able to control your armor’s features via your mind. The impulses from your nervous system will carry through the suit into the control structure of your armor. It is the very latest in military technology.”
“Sounds cool,” Ty said.
“It is very cool,” the alien said with what Nick took to be a chuckle. “And stylish too.”
Once they were all dressed and calibrated, they spent an hour in another room letting more of the Proxy technicians calibrate the suits. To Nick, it felt as if he were wearing a glove that moved as he flexed his fingers. It felt natural, yet there was an added sense of power.
“Man, I feel like a superhero in this thing,” Kal said.
“Wait until you have on full armor, recruit Phillips,” his technician said. “You will be as powerful as a superhero.”
“Well that sounds good,” Jules said.
“No doubt,” Ty agreed.
Once the BIO-suits were ready, they were taken to their quarters. It was a simple room with six low bunks. One was clearly taken by Gunny Tveit, and the others had supplies neatly arranged at each foot of the unmade beds.
“Get your stuff arranged,” the gunnery sergeant ordered. “Then we’ll get chow.”
They made their beds the way they had been taught during intake training. They didn’t get more clothes; the BIO-suit would be their only outfits. They did get toiletries, boots, pillows, and blankets. From their quarters they went down a passageway to the mess hall. It was small, with food dispensaries just like on the East Indy trade ship. Nick saw that each dispensary had a variety of food options, but Gunny Tveit led them to a station with meal shakes.
“During your training, you will eat only protein-fortified meal shakes,” she informed them. “These shakes will be your primary nutrition when you are on assignment, so get used to them. Deep recon requires you to be in the best shape possible, and digestion shouldn’t be wasted on nutrients you can’t use.”
“A shake?” Ty said, clearly disappointed.
At some of the dining tables, other Space Marines were eating from trays of food, and the aroma of savory food filled the air. Nick felt a pang of disappointment too. He was hungry, though he wasn’t sure how his stomach would handle food after hours of languishing in the pit. Still, he knew he needed nourishment, and perhaps the shakes would be a good solution.
“What do they taste like?” Kal asked.
“They fuel your body,” Gunny Tveit said, her face a mask that hid all emotion. “Drink them, and let’s move on.”
The shakes weren’t small—Nick guessed the thick, white liquid was at least a liter, maybe more. He took a sip and found it surprisingly bland. It wasn’t gross, but it wasn’t something he would crave, either. Nonetheless, the shake filled him with a sense of satisfaction without leaving him feeling stuffed.
“Not bad,” Kal said.
“Not good, either,” Ty said.
“It’s fuel for your body,” Gunny Tveit. “You’ll appreciate it in the field, if you get that far.”
“Can I ask a question?” Nick said.
Gunny Tveit glanced at him but didn’t reply. He took her silence as permission to forge ahead.
“The pit,” Nick said. “Was getting out on our own the goal?”
“The goal is always to finish every mission as efficiently as possible,” Tveit said.
“But you said three days,” Kal said. “Were you really going to leave us in there that long?”
“Unless you tapped out,” she replied calmly.
“What would have happened if we had pressed the button at the bottom?” Ember asked.
“The red button in the glass safety case?” Tveit asked. Ember nodded. “You would have triggered the emergency release and been jettisoned out into space.”
“You mean you would have let us die?” Ty said.
“Of course,” Tveit continued. “Make no mistake: you are military recruits. There will always be the possibility of death. It’s part of the job.”
“That’s cold,” Ty said.
“But isn’t that a waste of personnel?” Jules asked.
“Recon personnel who are so desperate to escape a bad situation that they can’t see the danger of pressing the emergency release button are not qualified to serve the PMC.”
“Would we have failed if we had simply waited for rescue?” Nick asked.
“No,” Tveit said.
“But we earned some points getting out on our own,” Kal said happily.
“You earned the right to be free of the pit two days early—that is all,” Tveit said.
“So what’s the next test?” Ember asked.
“Next we begin physical training,” the gunnery sergeant said, as she stood up and drained the last of her shake. “It’s time to begin.”
“She doesn’t believe in wasting time,” Kal said.
“Or eating real food,” Ty complained.
They followed
Gunny Tveit out of the mess hall and into the gym. Nick had expected the elaborate resistance and cardio machines they had used at the Space Exchange near Earth. Instead, there was an area of tumbling mats, bars for pull-ups, straps for bodyweight training, and an old-fashioned track.
“Man, the PMC needs to shell out some creds for new equipment down here,” Kal said as he looked around the gym.
“Recon training is about developing strength and endurance,” Tveit informed them. “You won’t always have elaborate equipment, so we focus on bodyweight exercises. We don’t play on cardio machines that reduce impact on your joints. We run, sometimes in full gear. But that training will begin tomorrow. Tonight, we begin personal combat training. Who wants to go first?”
Chapter 23
Nick stepped forward before anyone else could. Gunny Tveit didn’t smile exactly, but there was a gleam in her eye as she waved him toward the padded floor.
“If you do your job right, you won’t have to rely on hand-to-hand combat,” she said. “But there will be times when stealth is called for, and nothing has been invented that is more effective than sliding a knife between an adversary’s ribs and covering the victim’s mouth. Before we get into those advanced techniques, you need to know how to defend yourself against an attack. Nichols, go ahead and give me your best shot.”
“You want me to hit you?” Nick asked.
“You can try,” she said. “But your goal is get me to the ground. And don’t worry about hurting me.”
Nick pretended to think for a second, then launched himself without warning toward the gunnery sergeant. Tveit was tall with a good figure, but she was not overly muscular or thick like Jules. Nick expected to tackle her easily, but she spun out of the way, and her foot deftly hooked his back leg. The mats were thick, but hitting them at full speed stunned the wily recruit. He knew he needed to get up, but before he could move, Gunny Tveit was on his back. She landed hard, causing him to expel all the air from his lungs. Dark spots swam in Nick’s vision as he tried to suck air in through a wide-open mouth. He didn’t even realize until it was too late that she had folded one of his legs over the other and pulled it back while pinning his right arm behind his back.
Pain suddenly registered in the scramble of his thoughts as he struggled to catch his breath. His shoulder and elbow both felt as if they were on the verge of popping from their sockets. He tried to move, but he couldn’t. Gunny Tveit didn’t weigh enough to hold him down, but with his legs folded and his arm pinned, he couldn’t escape.
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