Chaos Tactics (The Reckless Chronicles Book 1)

by Trent Falls

  The three transports and two gunships accelerated further. They turned back around in a broad arc on a heading that was perpendicular to the Ao Shun’s bridge. Julie looked forward in awe. The Ao Shun was massive! It was three times larger than any seafaring ship she had seen. The massive rectangle of grey steel, with its running lights highlighting its massive form, hung in space ahead of them like a giant metal behemoth. The transport shuttles and the two gunships flew past the command tower of the vessel. Julie could see the command personnel sitting in the well lit bridge of the Ao Shun as they flew by.

  “Wow!” Julie heard herself utter the word aloud.

  “’It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.’”. Euler quoted an ancient US Navy commercial while looking out at the Ao Shun’s bridge as they swung by.

  The Xen special ops soldiers both looked at each other with Euler’s remark. One then looked back at John, confused.

  John simply shook his head back at the special ops soldier, indicating some level of embarrassment over Euler.

  Once past the bridge the transports banked again, turning towards the glowing planet. They were very close, about 100,000 km away. The glowing blue and white planet took up a good portion of the forward field of view and continued growing larger as the transports flew on. Julie craned her neck around to see between the gap in the cockpit between the pilot and copilot. Many more islands were visible in the ocean ahead as they neared.

  “You’re strapped in, right?” John asked his niece, pulling on her seatbelts.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Julie reassured her.

  “Air’s thick ahead.” The pilot said over the cabin speakers. “It might get a little bumpy.”

  The transports and the gunships turned upward to take a gentler angle of approach to the planet. Fire began to lick up around the front of the cockpit. The sudden flare up of ionized gas was large enough to send a shock of terror up Julie’s spine. She gripped her uncle’s right hand tightly.

  “It’s okay, Jules.” He whispered to her. “The ship can take it.”

  The ship began to rock; then rock violently. Fire enveloped the entire ship like a cocoon.

  The five vessels entered the atmosphere as five fiery comets, with the two gunships appearing in a larger ionized flame shroud.

  The transport jostled angrily again. Julie yelped out. She was a bit of a contrast against the two special ops soldiers sitting in front of her, both of whom were calm as could be. One looked at Julie, then at his fellow soldier.

  “It’s okay.” John reassured her.

  In a few minutes the ships were out of their fiery ionized shrouds. The view ahead was replaced with thick clouds. The cloud bank lasted only a few minutes, replaced by a very high and unobstructed view of the planet’s gigantic ocean.

  “Incredible!” Euler looked out the side window of the transport with the same enthusiasm as a child on his first plane ride.

  John too was impressed by the view but his excitement was tempered by his desire to see his niece safe. He feared what might await below. His memory was still untrustworthy. The sight of the ocean and the entry into the planet’s atmosphere was jarringly familiar yet he couldn’t recall detail. As desperately as he tried he couldn’t remember anything specifically.

  The shuttles were descending further towards the ocean surface. There was the sudden pull of lateral g’s on their bodies as the transport banked.

  “We’re headed towards an undefined energy source on the planet.” Agrev’s voice called out over the speakers; a radio transmission from the shuttle he was flying in. The line audibly clipped shut as the transmission ended.

  The flight was uneventful for about fifteen minutes more. They maintained altitude for a while at about 4,000 meters. It was like waiting for a jet to land. John actually found himself looking out the side window and becoming impatient.

  Another long bank. The shuttles and gunships descended. John spotted a black speck in the sky flying on a near intercept course. The sight of the unknown flying object freaked John out for a moment until he realized what he was looking at. It was a Xen GRV-33 Nomad recon fighter, the same type John had spotted in the Ao Shun’s hangar bay.

  The Xen were already establishing a position of military strength over the planet.

  The surface of the ocean grew very close. John could see the crests of waves foaming slightly in the wind. And there was some kind of animal swimming in a group or pod, much like dolphins, far below. John craned his neck around to try and get a better view of the animals to see if they were, in fact, dolphins. Given the different evolution of the planet it was very unlikely.

  “On final. Coming down in thirty seconds.” The pilot noted to the cabin.

  The shuttle slowed. The water was very close below. Wind from the turbine assist system whipped up the water below in a froth before stirring up the sand as the shuttle flew in over shoreline.

  The shuttles touched down with a slight lurch. They were down on the planet. John’s head turned up to a console over the side door of the vessel. It was a fairly universal system used to indicate if the atmosphere outside was safe. There was a green light above the door. A small screen listed the components of the atmosphere.

  Nitrogen: 70%

  Oxygen: 26.5%

  Carbon Dioxide: 0.01%

  Neon: 0.004%

  Several other trace element were also noted. The atmosphere was remarkably much like Earths, only with a higher concentration of oxygen.

  The special ops soldiers unfastened their seat restraints. One moved towards the sliding pressure door to await clearance. Julie, Euler, and John also unfastened their seatbelts in preparation to disembark.

  “Cleared.” The pilot noted aloud.

  The special ops soldier pulled the door handle. The door hissed then slid its heavy bulk on rails towards the rear of the transport.

  The second special ops soldier was out first, rushing out across the beautiful off-white sand of the beach. John and Julie followed. Euler was close behind. The special ops soldier at the door exited the ship and sealed the door again before walking away. He pounded on the side of the ship and gave the pilot a thumbs up through the side window.

  The other passengers had disembarked from the other shuttles. Agrev and Hedges were a short distance away as the shuttles lifted off. Zao and Shin directed the special ops team away. Shin looked to be shouting something into his wrist com, most likely orders for the shuttle crews that had just dropped them off.

  John looked down on the beach sand as he walked. He looked at Jules, then at the sand again. A part of him felt detached from himself. John looked out into the ocean. The waves rolled on shore with a familiar spray; a familiar pattern that seemed slightly different from the waves on Earth.

  John knew he had been there before. He had been on that very same beach. For the life of him he couldn’t recall detail.

  “Alright,” Shin spoke to the crowd initially before turning his attention to the special ops commander, “I want a perimeter secured up the shoreline fifty meters in either direction. We’ll get our bearings together before venturing into the interior.”

  The interior. John’s attention had been focused on the beach. He hadn’t been able to survey the land mass as they landed. He turned around and looked inland. About twenty meters from shore was a thick tree line. He had seen that tree line before! The jumble of thoughts in his head made him wince. John again looked inland. There were thick green trees inside the shore. Very little ground was visible through the thick jungle. Several mountain peaks towered above the canopy treetops in the distance.

  John had been there before. He knew it. The difference now was that he was about eighteen years older. He looked over at Julie; his niece and adoptive daughter. There were terrible shadows in John’s memory. He prayed to God he could protect Julie from whatever might be out there.

  Lieutenant Zao had Euler follow him with a pair of special ops soldiers into the jungle. The warm sand of the beach felt cooler as they en
tered into the shadows of the tall trees. The shore was bordered by giant palms and other tall trees with thin trunks. Thick brown vines covered with leaves crisscrossed the field of view ahead of them. They ventured into the tree cover slowly. Zao spotted the faint hint of a path in the jungle ahead.

  “There.” Zao pointed out a particularly light break in the foliage out to Euler.

  “Yeah.” Euler agreed, following Zao as he led the way.

  One of the special ops soldiers moved on ahead of Zao to cut a path for his superior officer with a 10” combat blade. The other SpecOps soldier remained behind the group, presumably keeping them secure from behind.

  Euler figured that both special ops soldiers had orders to shoot him if he were to try anything.

  The four man team headed on a bit further, walking at a cautious pace through the jungle. Euler noted that there did seem to be the hint of a path cut through the jungle. He wondered what might be out in the alien jungle waiting. Of all the islands on the planet he wondered if they had landed on the one likely to lead to the Norn. They had detected odd energy readings from the island but there was always the possibility they or their instrumentation could be in error.

  A musical howling cut through the trees, cutting through the chattering of insects. Euler and the rest of the group turned their heads sharply towards the howling sound, which had a musical cadence.

  “What was that?” Zao asked aloud.

  “Sounds like it’s from a primate.” Euler noted. “A chimpanzee or a, uh, orangutan.” Euler sounded dismissive and looked to want to press on.

  Euler also took note that one of the special ops guys seemed skittish at the sound of the primate howling.

  “Let’s keep moving.” Zao noted to the Xen soldiers while looking at the screen on his wrist com. “Hahn’s team is on our right flank about one hundred meters. We go out another fifty meters, set up the EM sensor and double back.”

  The LCD screen flickered just as Zao was closing the black nylon screen cover for the device. Zao paused and checked the screen again. The device had never malfunctioned in such a manner. He raised the device up to his face again and keyed in a series of commands.

  “Overwatch Six Two. Do you have us on your screens?” Zao asked into the wrist com.

  “You’re in our outer marker, Lieutenant.” One of the GRV-33 pilots replied back over the com.

  “Run a level two scan of the area. Relay telemetry back to this channel of any possible hostiles.” Zao ordered.

  “Inbound.” The pilot’s voice replied in a cold practiced manner.

  Euler and Zao slowed their pace, as did the two special ops soldiers, as the sound of the Nomad grew faintly overhead. There was a faint whine in the sky. The Nomad passed over the island, flying about 5,000 feet above the surface. A beeping resounded from Zao’s wrist com, indicating that the Nomad’s sensor telemetry was being fed down to his wrist computer.

  Zao eyed the screen as the data came in. His map of the island updated from the data, changing a few minor features. He could see their location along with the other scout teams out establishing a perimeter. Their positions showed up as body heat indicators. Thin lines pointed to each reading along with text noted in glowing green characters. They were classified as:

  Human.

  Small Arms. Explosives.

  Level 6 Technology.

  IFF: Positive

  There were other large animals noted in the scanning field. There was a group of primates, about four in total, about a quarter kilometer away deeper in the jungle. A large mammal was at a river stream not too far away. Other than a few readings from a few other small animals there was nothing of consequence in the jungle around them. Certainly they were the only animals in the area with any level of technology, let alone armed.

  “There’s nothing out here.” Euler noted to Zao, trying to lead him away.

  “Yeah,” Zao said somewhat reluctantly as he looked around to the misty jungle. “Yeah, let’s set that perimeter marker. I think we’re far enough.”

  One of the special ops soldiers removed a cylindrical object from his pack. The fat black cylinder extended at one end to a sharp point, forming a staff-like extension about four feet in length. The special ops soldier stabbed the end of the pole into the ground. The soldier uncovered a red switch cover on the staff with his thumb. His thumb then jammed down on a red button beneath the switch. A loud ka-ching boomed from the powder actuated end of the staff, driving it deep into the ground.

  “Marker set, sit.” The soldier stated obediently to Zao.

  “Very good, corporal. Let’s get back to the beach.” Zao replied.

  Zao turned back from the marker to head back towards the beach. Euler and the other two soldiers took a quick look around before following him back.

  The waves rolled again into the soft tan pebbles of the shore. There was only sand at the edge of the beach; no seaweed or other debris as Julie was accustomed to seeing at home. The pebbles rolling in with the waves looked very similar to those on a beach on Earth. The water somehow seemed to be a deeper blue.

  Julie could sense her uncle approaching her at her side.

  “The water.” Julie noted aloud. “It looks like it breaks later than back home.”

  “The gravity’s a little different here.” John explained.

  “Really?” Julie asked with some surprise.

  John stopped and looked down at the short waves as they rolled in.

  “Yeah, looks like.” John confirmed.

  “That’s amazing!” Julie smiled broadly.

  “I guess it is.” John raised an eyebrow.

  “I used to dream about this.” Julie smiled, still looking at the waves. She turned her eyes up towards the alien ocean horizon. “THIS is why I wanted to go into space.”

  “And this is the reality, isn’t it?” John looked up at the Xen special forces troops roaming the beach. Agrev and his bodyguard, Hedges, remained at an isolated point away from the jungle near an outcropping of rocks that were partially buried in the white shoreline sand. Two of the special ops soldiers walked past John, returning from their initial scouting mission to establish the beachhead perimeter. John looked at their boots as they each kicked back a small spray of loose white sand with each step. Their assault rifles were slung across their chests, only inches from their gloved right hands. Captain Shin was looking out into the jungle and the surrounding ocean with binoculars at another point on the beach.

  John’s eyes turned up to the jungle beyond just as Zao and Euler appeared from the foliage. Zao made eye contact with John right away but turned his attention away towards Agrev and Shin.

  “It’s too bad we can’t set up camp here.” Julie observed, her eyes still on the surf. “Or at least stay here a while… like on vacation or something.”

  “Yeah, that’s too bad.” John replied blankly, still looking towards Zao, Euler, and Shin.

  Scott Euler looked back over his shoulder at John for a moment.

  “Maybe another beach, though, with fewer scumbags.” John smirked.

  The wind from the ocean whipped up, pulling up loose sand from the beach to spray it inland. John and Julie squinted in the wind as they were close to the water. Shin and some of the soldiers held up their hands to protect their faces, and eyes, from the whipping sand.

  John thought nothing of the gust of wind. Even at home on the beaches of Florida such gusts of wind weren’t too uncommon. He glanced at Julie as she brushed off some sand from her leg. As his eyes turned back upwards they became fixed on two unexpected forms.

  At first they looked like two more of Shin’s soldiers. The uniform on one didn’t match up. The other was in a blue jumpsuit. The man in the uniform looked like a Xen but John quickly realized he was Latino. The other man was black with dreadlocks.

  “Jesus Christ!” the words fell from John’s mouth in confusion and fear.

  Julie turned her head and eyes in the direction John was looking. She immediately found herself
in the same paralyzed sense of fear.

  Rather than two of Shin’s men, the humans looking back at them were Alex Scoffield and Lyle Ramirez. As they looked at them, both Alex and Lyle appeared to have a faint white glow in their eyes, like the reflection of sunlight on silver.

  Ramirez and Scoffield walked towards the landing party, unafraid. The Xen special forces soldiers took immediate note of them. Many RF-5A assault rifles were snapped up to sight, taking aim on the two unearthly humans approaching.

  “Hold your fire!” Agrev shouted in the distance to his men. “HOLD YOUR FIRE, DAMN IT!”

  The special ops soldiers kept their rifles aimed at Lyle and Alex as they walked slowly across the beach. John and Julie kept their gaze locked on the two as they neared.

  “Alex?” Julie muttered the words aloud. “Are they….”

  “Yes.” John answered her question.

  “All this time?” Julie was in shock. “No, it can’t be….”

  Alex drew to within a few feet of John and Julie. He gestured with a turn of his head for him to follow. John stepped forward to follow.

  Julie grabbed her uncle’s wrist to stop him. “Uncle John! No!”

  “It’s okay sweetie.” John looked back at her reassuringly over his shoulder.

  “Those… things…. Alex, he’s….” she couldn’t find the words to say.

  “They’re not going to hurt us, Jules.” John assured her almost in a singing tone. “Come on.”

  John took a few slow steps to follow Alex and Lyle. The guns of the special ops troops suddenly trained on him as well.

  “It’s okay.” John looked back behind him at Jules, who looked hesitant to follow with all the rifles being pointed in their direction.