by Isaac Hooke
“Looks pinned by the wing tip,” Grappler said.
“A few Centurions could easily move that, couldn’t they?” Parnell said.
“But look at the way the wing is interconnected with the rest of the debris,” Bender said. “We send Centurions down there, they’re going to spend at least an hour cleaning the surrounding debris before they can move that node. We send some mechs, and they’ll be in and out in five minutes.”
“What if the Centurions fired a plasma rifle?” Parnell said.
“That’s certainly an option,” Bender agreed. “But there’s a chance the powerful magnetic field induced by the rifle could irreperably damage the exposed node.”
“Laser rifles?”
“I already factored that into my original estimate,” Bender said. “Fifteen minutes or more to cut through the wing. Then they have to move the parts.”
Facehopper’s mech lifted a hand toward the upper part of its torso but then stopped and retracted the arm. He had probably been about to rub his forehead in thought, until he remembered that wasn’t possible while aboard—the actuators composing the inner layer of the cockpit would have stopped the movement of his arm the instant the mechanical hand touched the thick torso.
“Wait a second,” Lui said. “Has anyone bothered to consider that the comm node is a lure? Put there by our attackers?”
“Bender,” Facehopper said. “Have the HS3s circle the city, and confirm that nothing is watching, waiting in ambush.”
Several minutes later. “HS3s have reached the farther perimeter of the city, and report all clear.”
“That doesn’t mean its clear...” Lui said. “Not really.”
“Well, we have to get that comm node,” Parnell said. He glanced at Facehopper’s Hoplite. “If it is a trap, and we send Centurions alone, we’ll lose them, and probably the node, too. But if we dispatch Hoplites, at least we have a fighting chance. Send your best men. Make it work, Chief. In and out.”
Facehopper remained quiet for a moment, likely mentally weighing his options. “In and out,” he said finally. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m splitting the platoon into two squads. Squad A will be composed of myself, Bender, Harlequin, Grappler, Trace, Snakeoil, and Mauler. We’re going to stay at Gray Gate”—that was the codename the chief had come up with for the cave—”and protect the water reclaimer and oxygen extractor while Bender and Harlequin continue the repairs. Rage, you’ll lead Squad B down there: Cyclone, TJ, Lui, Manic, Skullcracker, Bomb, Fret and Keelhaul. Load Centurions into your passenger seats and go out there, retrieve that comm node, and get back here as fast as possible.”
“Shouldn’t I stay to repair the extractor with Bender?” Tahoe asked.
“No,” Facehopper said. “I’ve been talking to Bender. In regards to the extractor, we’ve got too many carpenters in the belfry, so to speak. Bender tells me he’ll work faster if he can concentrate on the system alone. Use your skills out there, Tahoe: assess the damage to the comm node. If it’s readily repairable, something you can fix in a few minutes on the spot, then do so. That way Snakeoil can get a message out to the fleet while your squad hurries back.”
“I should go with them,” Vicks said. “As chief scientist, it’s my duty to study the ruins of that city. If I can’t help out with the oxygen extractor, and I’d rather do that than be useless.”
“You can always work on the water reclaimer with Harlequin,” Facehopper said.
“Excuse me,” Harlequin said. “Like Bender, I’ll work faster if I’m alone.”
Vicks turned toward Parnell. “Commander, let me go. I might discover something that can help us understand who these attackers are, and what they want.”
“All right,” Commander Parnell said. “Go, then. But be careful.”
“I’ll see that no harm comes to her,” Rade said, allowing her into his passenger section.
“You do that,” Parnell replied.
“Be vigilant out there,” Facehopper said. “Like Bender said, it could very easily be a trap.”
“We’re always vigilant, Chief,” Rage replied. “We’re MOTHs.”
“And so you are. Squad A, distribute some of your grenades and fuel to B. Let’s make sure B is ready for anything out there. And Harlequin, give your M7 to one of the Centurions going with B.”
“Get ready, people,” Rade said. “We deploy in ten!”
The members of Squad A moved their mechs off to one side and ejected from their cockpits to transfer the aforementioned gear. During the bustling, Rade spoke to Facehopper over a private line.
“Thank you for letting Cyclone come with me,” Rade told him.
“Truthfully, I should probably split the two of you up, mate,” Facehopper said. “Especially after what you pulled back there, leaping over the cliff to come to his rescue. You have to learn to let go. I don’t want you to risk your life for him again. If you find yourself in such a situation, send someone else to get him next time. Can I rely on you to make the right choice going forward? Or should I move Cyclone to Squad A?”
Rade swallowed uneasily, uncertain he would be able to let go if it came to it. But he said: “You can rely on me, Chief.”
“Good,” Facehopper continued. “Because I meant what I said about wanting him to use his skills out there. Besides, I know the two of you work better together, and I’m all about efficiency in my platoon.” He reached out and patted Rade on the shoulder assembly with the open palm of his Hoplite. “Watch yourself out there.”
fifteen
Rade divided his squad into two fire teams once they reached the jungle. He placed TJ in command of the first fire team, whose other members included Lui, Manic, Fret and Keelhaul. Rade resided amid the second fire team, in the middle position; Skullcracker took point on his team, followed by Tahoe, with Bomb on drag.
In each fire team, the individual mechs maintained a distance of two meters from one another, forming a zigzag line. He had placed the fire teams themselves in traveling overwatch formation, separated by ten meters, with Fire Team I in the lead. The foliage reduced the effectiveness of said formation, but because of the large size of the Hoplites, he could still occasionally see the members of TJ’s fire team through the trees in front of him, under the thermal band. That was the only band they could really use, as it was otherwise pitch black under the canopy, with not even the starlight penetrating. Local-beam LIDAR helped clarify the topography, indicating trees and other shrubs to avoid.
In those times when the foliage became too thick to provide overwatch, Fire Team I remained visible on the overhead map, marked in blue dots. Rade’s use of the formation was only partially for overwatch, however; mostly, he wanted to prevent the entire squad from being knocked out of action due to a missile or other mass casualty attack. Only untrained idiots advanced in a clump through an enemy jungle, where hidden mines, nets or other traps waited to be sprung.
Their advance was slow, and as quiet as they could manage in the large mechs they piloted through the heavy undergrowth.
An icon appeared in the lower right corner of his vision. It was Vicks, sending a message from his passenger seat. Apparently she wanted to talk to him on a private line.
He tapped her in. “What is it, Lieutenant?”
“I finished analyzing the plant samples I collected,” she said, the excitement obvious in her voice. “These organisms seem to be native to the planet. They’re not bioengineered, as far as I can tell. And get this. The nucleic acids at the core of their cell nuclei are different than our own. The biochemical composition of the bases are completely foreign to those of animals that evolved on earth. There are five combinations, not four, and one of them can match with three others. And the nucleic acids come in triple strands, not pairs. Cells divide into threes, not twos, with the strands splitting into three parts. That said, the chloroplasts still use ordinary molecules of chlorophyll for photosynthesis. Well actually, I suppose it’s not really ordinary, as chlorophyll d dominates, which absorbs i
nfrared light. That’s somewhat odd, given the prevalence of visible light on the planet. I’m guessing the plant life native to this particular jungle developed in the oceans, and only recently migrated to the land masses, probably in the last one hundred million years or so. And—”
“I’m going to have to ask you to observe radio silence like the rest of us, ma’am,” Rade finally interrupted. “If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I plugged my comm port directly into your mech, so technically I didn’t transmit anything externally.”
“Even so, I need to concentrate now.” He was about to close the connection.
“Wait,” she said. “This means that the other animal herds we detected from orbit might be native to this planet, too. The hammerheads are the intruders, here. Just like the mechs.”
“That doesn’t change our situation.” He tapped out.
Eventually the foliage gave way slightly to the partial clearing containing the ancient, overgrown ruins.
The squad continued forward in formation, passing between the spherical structures of stone. They paused beside each booster rocket they encountered: some of the tanks were merely pierced, others crumpled beyond repair. There was never any fuel left inside any of them, precisely as the HS3s had indicated.
A kilometer later the platoon arrived at the shuttle site. Rade passed one of the HS3s that secured the outer perimeter.
“Wreckage in view,” Keelhaul reported, breaking radio silence for the first time since entering the jungle.
“Deploy in defensive pattern Triple Cigar, people,” Rade said. “Centurions, you take the middle ring.”
The eight Hoplites formed a circular perimeter around the shuttle. The Centurion passengers leaped down and scattered, forming a wider cigar shape. The HS3s had nothing to do—they were already in the necessary formation beyond them.
Rade glanced at his display, and confirmed that the three layers of dots representing his units were nested within one another. The mechs formed the inner layer, the combat robots the middle, and the HS3 scouts the outer perimeter.
“Secure the comm node, Keelhaul,” Rade said.
He watched Keelhaul’s blue dot move toward the flashing area on the overhead map. A moment later Keelhaul announced: “Secured!”
“Cyclone, do your stuff.” Rade watched Tahoe’s dot join Keelhaul at the flashing area, then returned his gaze to the pitch-black jungle beyond, which appeared gray on the thermal band.
“You wanted to study the ruins, Lieutenant?” Rade asked Vicks.
He moved toward one of the overgrown spherical structures that was enveloped by their defensive deployment, and knelt so the chief scientist could properly dismount.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Unit F,” Rade sent the closest combat robot. “Get over here and help me watch Lieutenant Vicks.”
“Roger that,” the Centurion returned.
In moments the combat robot joined them at the spherical structure.
Rade watched the gray representation of her environmental suit on the thermal band as it reached out and extracted a small piece from the object.
Meanwhile, Tahoe said: “This comm node isn’t something I can easily repair. We’re going have to bring it back.”
“Let me have a look,” TJ said. His dot started to break from the cigar formation.
“No,” Rade said. “I trust Cyclone’s judgement. We’re packing that comm node up. Lui, join Keelhaul and Cyclone. Clear away the necessary debris pinning down the node, and load it up. Let me know when you’re good to go.”
A moment later Rade heard a loud ripping sound coming from the direction of the comm node, as transmitted by the directional speakers inside his cockpit. His gaze was momentarily drawn away from Vicks. He realized the noise was the shuttle’s wing breaking in half as Keelhaul broke it away. He zoomed in and watched on the thermal band as Tahoe easily removed the wing tip after that and freed the comm node.
“The comm node is away,” Tahoe said. “Securing it. Keelhaul?”
Keelhaul moved forward and placed the comm node in Tahoe’s passenger seat, then secured it in place with carbon fiber cords taken from the utility compartment of his Hoplite.
“Just lost Unit F!” TJ said.
Rade spun toward Vicks. Where she had stood there were only shaking branches. The Centurion lay smashed in half on the ground.
He glanced at his overhead map. The blue dot representing her moved east, rapidly.
Rade broke into a run “Lieutenant Vicks, do you read, over?” Rade sent. “Ma’am?”
No answer.
“Vicks!” He glanced at his overhead map once more. “She’s moving toward you, Unit G! Hoplites, on me!”
“Unit G just went offline,” TJ said.
Rade tripped over an unseen root and his mech crashed ponderously into the undergrowth, tearing through leaves and branches. He scrambled to his feet and continued the pursuit.
“Have the HS3s nearest her in the outer perimeter converge on her position,” Rade said. “I want to see what the hell has taken her.”
On the map, he watched the two HS3 indicators ahead of him converge on her incoming dot. The HS3 indicators winked out.
“We just lost the HS3s,” TJ said.
“Did you catch what took them out?” Rade said, doing his best to navigate the foliage under the thermal and LIDAR band.
“Only a blur of darkness,” TJ said.
Rade continued his pursuit. He glanced at the display and saw that Skullcracker and Bomb were just behind him. But the lieutenant’s dot was still pulling away from him.
“Centurions, join the fray!” Rade said. “TJ, get half of the HS3s to pursue as well!”
When Rade abandoned the ruins for the jungle proper, the foliage thickened. Branches and leaves constantly whipped and pulled at his mech. He nearly tripped thrice more, and he had to pause several times to regain his balance.
The Centurions made better progress because they were smaller, and nearly all of them passed him. The HS3s made the best progress of all, but even those couldn’t outpace whatever had taken her. Obviously it had been designed to readily traverse that jungle.
“Rage, wait,” Bomb said. “Rage. We can’t outrun her captors. They could be leading us into a trap. Rage. We have to turn back. Rage!”
Finally Rade halted. “Damn it. Full stop, people. TJ, have four of the HS3s continue their pursuit. Best speed. They are to maintain full stealth mode, and avoid discovery. String out other HS3s as necessary to maintain signal strength. If we can’t catch her, maybe we can at least find out where they’re taking her.”
According to her suit status report, her helmet camera remained active, so Rade attempted to tap in to her viewpoint. He saw only darkness. The overhead map wasn’t updating around her, either, like it ordinarily would have when entering a previously unexplored area.
“Her camera and LIDAR seem to be down,” Rade said. “Either that, or whoever took her has blocked them out.”
“Black spray paint?” TJ asked.
“Maybe,” Rade replied. The platoon members all carried aerosol cans of black paint in the utility belts of their jumpsuits. It was part of their kits. Sino-Koreans would likely possess similar gear. “Though I suspect it’s something simpler, like a sack over the helmet.”
“What about her comms?” Manic asked. “Why would we still get a tracking dot if her comm system was offline?”
“Her comm system obviously isn’t offline,” Lui stated.
“Then why doesn’t she answer?”
“She has to be unconscious,” TJ said.
“No one stays unconscious for more than ten seconds after a blow to the head,” Lui said. “Unless some extreme head trauma has taken place.”
Rade glanced at his HUD. “Her vital signs seem stable.”
“There is another option,” Skullcracker said. “A sedative.”
“A sedative?” Manic said. “Wouldn’t her suit depressurize if
someone tried to inject her?”
“No, Skullcracker is right,” Rade said. “If you penetrated an environmental suit with an old school syringe, and left the needle in, it would act as a sealant. That would explain her vitals.”
“Unless her vitals were being faked somehow,” Lui said.
“You don’t trust anything, do you Lui?” Manic said.
“Rage, do you have the comm node?” Facehopper’s voice came over the line, distorting very slightly.
Rade glanced at Tahoe’s mech. “We do. Your orders, chief?”
“It’s the commander’s call here,” Facehopper responded.
The commander didn’t answer immediately. He had a fairly big decision to make: allow Rade and the others to continue their pursuit of Vicks, or order them to return the comm node immediately.
“I want that comm node back here, secure in the tunnel,” Commander Parnell finally said. “Send back at least two of the Hoplites to escort it. The rest of you are to continue following the lieutenant, and report back if and when it becomes possible to stage a rescue.”
“Will do,” Rade said. That was an acceptable compromise.
“But if she doesn’t stop her retreat within the next hour,” Parnell continued. “I’m going to have to ask you to turn back. It’s too dangerous out there.”
“She’ll probably move beyond comm range before then,” TJ replied. “And we’ll have nothing to track.”
“All right,” Parnell said. “Proceed with caution. I’ll leave it up to you, Rage, whether you want to turn back before the hour is up.”
“Understood, sir,” Rade answered. He turned toward his Hoplites to relay the orders he had in mind, but Tahoe spoke first.
“Keelhaul,” Tahoe said. He was using the Squad B comm channel, Rade noticed, which excluded the distant commander and Squad A. “Untie the comm node from my back.”
Keelhaul obeyed.
“What are you doing, Cyclone?” Rade asked.
“I’m not leaving her,” Tahoe said. “Send someone else to return the comm node.”
“Cyclone...” Rade said.
“Send someone else!” His Hoplite spun toward Rade’s. “If we lose her signal, we’re going to have to track her using the old ways. I’m the best man for that and you know it.”
