Chaos Tactics (The Reckless Chronicles Book 1)

by Trent Falls

  Aiyana let out a long frustrated sigh. She was clearly tired. “I don’t know. The Xen? The Norn? It’s all so crazy! I don’t know what to believe. I mean, who the hell would go through all this trouble if they weren’t prepared to go all the way? If you think about it like that, then it makes sense that John is afraid that Scott Euler will kill his niece.” Ana paused to gather her thoughts. “But to side with the Xen?!? It’s hard to believe.”

  Howe allowed himself a moment of thought before responding, as though he was deciding on whether or not to speak. “I have a few contacts within the Xen government.” Howe admitted.

  Aiyana was stunned. Such a thing wasn’t incredibly uncommon but she never suspected her boss would have links to the other side. “Since when?” Ana demanded.

  “A while now.” Howe walked a few paces. “You know how it is, Ana. Most of the Xen aren’t bloodthirsty humans or part of the military apparatus. They’re regular business people like you and me. We trade only basic information. Anything valuable I pass on to the ESF or EEF Intel.”

  “I’ll be damned! You’re a back channel communiqué!” Ana grinned.

  “Of sorts.” Howe exhaled. “My sources within the Xen Republic say there are elements of their fleet that seem spooked. There have been a few odd deployments. Some intel reports are getting glossed over or ignored. It’s almost like they’re freaked out about something but, at the same time, trying to cover it up as well.”

  “And you think it matches up with John’s story?” Ana asked.

  “I don’t know.” Howe paused, thinking. “Maybe.”

  “Well, you can’t believe this nonsense about the Norn, can you?” Ana smirked.

  Howe didn’t respond directly. He continued walking a few more paces, stopping to stare at a map on the wall of Mars-to-Earth commercial transit routes.

  “I don’t discount anything completely, Ana, even if it seems ridiculous.” Howe responded. “The Norn are an old wive’s tale, sure, but one that seems to persist. Maybe a small part of it does contain some truth? Who knows? I don’t think the Norn gave us warp drive, but who’s to say there wasn’t an advanced civilization out there that FAR predates humankind?” Howe turned to look directly at Aiyana. “Earth, relatively speaking, is a pretty young planet. Whatever’s happening, it looks like someone or some part of the Xen government has taken enough of an interest in SOMETHING; enough interest to make some bold moves.”

  “It’s probably nothing. Some kind of exercise or a war game. The Xen love that shit.” Ana noted, turning away partially in her chair. She remained silent for a moment before looking up at her boss, realizing that he was silently thinking to himself. “What is it?” she demanded.

  “Nothing.” Howe replied.

  “No, I know that look. You got something percolating in that braincase of yours!” Ana stared at him.

  “I want to know what’s up with Altair Nine.” Howe noted aloud.

  “You can’t be serious!” Ana stood up. “That’s in Xen space.”

  “Maybe.” Howe spoke aloud. “We’ve been hit by pirates a few times during mining operations in The Belt. I had a few of the exploratory ships modified with high-dispersal gamma ray emitters.”

  “Scatter jammers?!?” Ana replied sharply. “Really? This has been a day of surprises! And how did you put them on those probe ships without me knowing?”

  “I just did it.” Howe replied bluntly. “It’s a recent modification. A test really.”

  “Well, as your COO I’d like to be kept informed of these things.” Ana protested.

  “Ana, you’re the COO but at the end of the day this is my operation.” Howe argued. “Besides, they’re in the testing phase. I would have come to you if they were going into standard probe ships.”

  “I’m sorry, Rich.” Ana pursed her lips, turning her head slightly. “That’s just a little underhanded is all. If Martian Police had found those jammers it would have been my ass!”

  “Regardless,” Richmond Howe was growing tired of arguing, “what’s done is done. Besides, you wouldn’t be in trouble for long if someone found those jammers.” Howe winked at her.

  Ana wanted to roll her eyes but restrained herself.

  “So are you going to send some poor schmuck out there into Xen space to eavesdrop on this planet?” Ana demanded.

  Howe turned away but looked back at Ana for a moment. “I don’t know. I’ll let you know what I decide. It might end up that one of our friends from the ESF just borrows that ship!”

  Howe walked away, leaving the conference room through the door at the back.

  Ana was left alone in the room. She was Chief Operations Officer for Martian Steel. She had a duty as an executive to know everything that was going on in the company. Howe acting without her knowledge was a real shock.

  She couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets Richmond Howe was holding from her.

  John Carn and Alex Scoffield were escorted by over a half dozen security contractors to an armored vehicle. They looked to be the most dangerous of fugitives, with their hands chained in front of them and with ankle shackles on their feet. They were escorted out of the main security complex of Hutchinson City. The sun above was as bright as it possibly could be on Mars. It often took a few days to get used to if one had been on Earth a while – seeing the sun as being smaller. The amber light glared in an amber hue against the carbon dioxide atmosphere.

  There were three armored vehicles in total at the bottom of the short set of stairs. The two vehicles in the front and back were fully pressurized armored personnel carriers. The middle vehicle was simply an armored car with similar oversized rover-like tires. All vehicles could function both inside and outside the domes on Mars.

  John and Alex were loaded onto the transport vehicle on a side street of the complex. All the same, a number of spectators gathered at the end of the street. Martian Steel security, wearing the typical pressure suit, riot armor, kept the people back.

  “You’d think we were bank robbers.” John remarked offhandedly to Alex as he eyed the Martian citizens gawking at the end of the drive.

  “Get moving!” the guard behind John shoved him towards the armored transport.

  The inside of the transport was fairly typical of a military vehicle. It was far cleaner than the troop transports John had ridden in during the war. The vehicle was a bit more advanced, with a sensor array tower above the vehicle. The tall composite rubber wheels sat on heavy-duty suspension arms tuned to Mars’ gravity and field conditions. Thick blue and black armor plate covered the hide of the vehicle. The interior was very Spartan, with no instrumentation or any apparent jagged edges. A thick coat of industrial black paint covered nearly all metal surfaces. The interior even smelled a bit of paint and grease. Clearly, the vehicle had been modified to carry prisoners.

  John sat down first on one of the fold down metal chairs. It was a small seat, as uncomfortable as he remembered. Alex sat down next to him.

  “This is a bunch of bullshit.” Alex exhaled.

  “Don’t worry.” John replied in a low tone. “It’s me they’re after.”

  “I know. I know.” Alex shook his head. “Hey man, I knew the risks too.”

  John looked over at Alex. “For what it’s worth, thank you! You don’t know what it means to me.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Alex exhaled. “If I’m lucky I’ll visit you in Leavenworth.”

  “They won’t hit us that hard.” John noted. “Well, not you anyway. I don’t think you’ll even see time.”

  The side door rolled shut, slamming with a metal clang. The APC lurched forward. Its electric engine was as powerful as any diesel but very quiet. In a few moments it was led out into the daytime traffic of Hutchinson City.

  The traffic in Hutchinson City was fairly light. The city, like most of those on Mars, was designed around people using public transportation. Allowing everyone to have a car was simply impractical. Streets were typically two lanes wide; one lane in either direction. Traffic flow
within the city was regulated automatically via embedded sensors in the road. Most cars operated under computer control. The military vehicles drove automatically within the city limits, though they could be driven manually outside of the dome and in special areas.

  John eyed the guards sitting around them. They were all well armed. Most had stun pistols but a few had actual submachine guns. John again wondered how he might escape. Faced with the possibility of being shot he’d have to be careful about any plan he might come up with.

  The APC’s turned down a side street along the side of the dome. There was little traffic at the perimeter. A massive stone wall surrounded the city, standing up to thirty feet. It was a protective barrier that ran around the city like a fortress, serving as the base of the geodesic dome. A short distance ahead, the road met one of the major streets of the city. The mouth of a large tunnel was at the side of the road on the right. It was the entrance to a tube enclosed highway that led to one of the other Martian cities.

  A rocket shrieked into the APC at the lead. The blast tore into the side of the vehicle, sending it rolling onto its side.

  “WHAT THE FUCK?!?” The driver of the prisoner APC yelled. He slammed the brakes. The tires of the vehicle squealed as it stopped short of the now burning lead APC. He tried to turn around the burning wreck but a freight truck had also been devastated by the blast in the oncoming lane. He couldn’t get around.

  A man appeared from the side of the convoy wearing a standard workers garb; a miner’s dirty jumpsuit and work boots. His face was covered by a bandana. A large tube-like object was hoisted on his shoulder… like a bazooka!

  “Fuck! INCOMING!” a voice came in over the radio from the APC at the back of the convoy.

  The expected rocket never fired. Instead, a strong tendril of lightning shot from the bazooka into the trailing APC. The lights in the vehicle went out immediately upon being hit. The vehicle stopped. All power was gone from the ion cannon strike.

  The armored Martian Police streamed out of the powerless vehicle. The few with submachine guns led their unit out into the streets, only to be cut to pieces by a number of pulse laser rounds.

  “Damn it! We’re under attack!” the driver of the prisoner APC began shouting into his radio. “We have one unit down! Multiple terrorists have ambushed our convoy! We need immediate assistance at…”

  The guards inside the vehicle around John and Alex were visibly shaken. John could tell they wanted to get out of the vehicle; to be able to shoot back at whoever the hell was shooting at them! The chaos and the bomb blasts affected John briefly. Had he not been in real physical danger, the blast and the sounds might have triggered a relapse of his PTSD. The stress of being harmed allowed decades-old training to kick in. John, like the guards around him, was ready to go! Ready to get into the fight!

  A bright red beam burned between John and Alex. Both flinched away from the chemical laser blast in a panic. The beam vanished as soon as it appeared. John looked down at the burning slag around the perfect hole. The laser beam had cut through the side of the APC with little to no resistance. He’d never seen anything like it!

  With the laser having breached the vehicle, it was easier to hear sounds from outside. A number of submachine guns fired. The Martian Police were fighting back. Another group of submachine guns answered, along with the staccato “Vap! Vap! Vap! Vap!” of pulse laser fire.

  The barrel of a grenade launcher emerged through the hole between John and Alex. It fired with a “Poom!” launching a steel cylinder into the far wall, which bounced several times before landing in the center of the vehicle. The cylinder had a blinking indicator on the top.

  “FUCK! GRENADE!!!” one of the Martian Police yelled, getting up from his seat to get away. In the enclosed space any effort to escape would have been futile.

  John’s eyes shot open as he saw the grenade. His body tensed. A grenade! They were dead!!!

  The casing flashed over, but instead of a high explosive it instantly filled the cabin with a fine mist. An electric pulse followed. The mist, being conductive, allowed a nasty EM pulse to flash out through the cabin. It had the same effect as a stun gun mixed with a tear gas grenade. In a flash, the occupants of the prisoner APC were incapacitated, disoriented, or both.

  A nasty wrenching sound came from the side door. The thick steel door was ripped open. On the other side was a spider-like robot. Its massive arms had ripped the side door of the APC open. John’s mind cleared from the grenade with a few painful blinks of the eye. Two men appeared in front of the metal spider. Both wore Martian miner’s clothes with bandanas over their faces. One of the terrorists carried a submachine gun while the other held a pulse laser rifle. The laser rifle was a very expensive and, very often, an impractical weapon. John eyed the terrorist and his weaponry. Someone with means was supporting this group.

  “John Carn! Alex Scoffield!” The terrorist with the laser rifle called out. “Exit the vehicle and come with us!”

  Alex stood up, slowly recovering from the grenade blast as John helped him to his feet.

  One of the Martian Steel guards groaned from where he had fallen on the ground. He looked to be about to turn his stun pistol on the terrorist. The terrorist with the pulse laser snapped his rifle to his sights and fired down on the guard, killing him with a few pulse flashes of light.

  “Get the fuck out of the vehicle! NOW!” the merc armed with the laser rifle shouted loudly.

  John was shocked by the sudden loss of life around him. It had been years since he’d seen someone die. All the same, old training kicked in. His body seemed to still move on its own. Not wanting to see anyone else die, he obeyed the terrorist’s demands. He got out of the vehicle.

  Alex was hesitant to leave. Clearly, he was somewhat fearful.

  “Come on Alex!” John urged him.

  “Mr. Scoffield! Please exit the vehicle or I will be forced to kill more people!” the terrorist armed with the laser rifle demanded loudly.

  “ALEX!” John shouted at him.

  Alex shook his head to try and regain some clarity. He forced himself to comply. Alex rotated up out of his chair and ran out of the vehicle.

  The street around them was obscured with smoke. Two and three story office condos lined the opposite side of the road. Bullet and bomb damage was visible everywhere. John stumbled after the terrorists, only to realize he had nearly tripped over a dead Martian police officer.

  “Come on!” The laser rifle armed terrorist shouted to John.

  A white van marked with the logo of the Martian Electric Company, MEC, was parked on the other side of the road. The lead terrorist ran towards the vehicle, as did the other two terrorists, John, and Alex. John realized the van was their getaway.

  A bullet snapped not far from John’s head. He ducked instinctively. The lead terrorist and his nearest compatriot turned around to fire back on the Martian Steel guards that had fired on them. The third terrorist in the group continued on toward the van, directing John and Alex ahead of him at gunpoint.

  The terrorist firing the submachine gun back at the police was struck in the head. He fell prone instantly. The terrorist with the laser rifle knew right away that his compatriot was dead. He fired his pulse laser back at the police while backing away quickly towards the van.

  The spider sentry the terrorists had left behind began attacking the police. More of the police guards turned their weapons on the large robotic spider, allowing the terrorists a greater measure of cover.

  John and Alex were shoved inside the van by the third terrorist. The laser rifle terrorist wasn’t far from the sliding door. The apparent second-in-command terrorist jumped behind the wheel and started the engine. The terrorist with the pulse laser fired a few final shots back at the police and jumped in the van. The door slid shut.

  The third terrorist jammed down the accelerator. The van surged forward, out of the small parking lot and into the street.

  The Martian Steel guards and police were left with the robo
tic spider. The robotic spider began firing its arm-mounted lasers at the police and guards as the white MEC van made its escape.

  “FUCK!” the lead terrorist yanked the bandana off his face and removed his hood.

  He had short sweaty blonde hair. He looked to be in his late twenties. A recent recruit, John guessed. Being a private contractor was a tempting source of cash for the young.

  “Goddamnit!!!” the lead terrorist yelled lividly.

  “What about Red?” the terrorist driving shouted indirectly to his partner in the back.

  “Red’s dead! They fucking nailed him!” the lead terrorist, Black, shouted back.

  The van swerved. The acceleration was very evident with the vehicle. They were in a damned hurry to get somewhere.

  “What are you doing with us?” John demanded.

  “What?” Black turned a nasty sideways look at John.

  “What are you doing with us?” John asked, more slowly to be absolutely clear.

  “Listen asshole! Your decision to land at Martian Steel is what got my man killed! Why the fuck would you land there?” Black asked.

  “Because they would have picked me up at a regular spaceport.” John explained.

  “We have assets at the all the spaceports.” Black shouted back. “We could have even gotten you out of police or TSB lockup if we had to.”

  “Who are you people?” John pressed.

  “You can call me ‘Black’. The driver’s ‘White’. Our fallen hand was ‘Red’.” Black explained.

  “The colors of the Martian flag.” John observed.

  “Pretty observant.” Black noted, checking the CO2 charge on his laser rifle.

  The van swerved through a line of traffic. Car horns blared briefly, only to fade quickly as the van sped on, racing forward through the two lane highway.

  “If you got assets all over the planet someone must have some deep pockets.” John noted.

  “Listen! Stop pumping me for intel. I’m not some jag off who just picked up an assault rifle this morning.” Black complained bitterly. “Shit! This whole thing could have been avoided if you took Euler up on his offer.”