Earth Space Service Space Marines Boxed Set

by James David Victor

  They had all learned that when they’d been crashed alongside that Arkana ship,and they’d actually had to work together…

  But then, just like every other one, the Arkana soldiers they had worked with and gotten to know all killed themselves as soon as they were back on the Star Chaser. It had done a number on the major, but really, it had done a number on all of them. Roxanna could tell that much, for herself and the rest of them.

  Although their hill was small, it was still a hill and afforded them the high ground to defend. They were holding their own, until that tank started moving and firing on its own people.

  Roxanna couldn’t help but smile. “Good going, Martin,” she said quietly. The words were drowned out in the sound of battle.

  18

  The Arkana ground soldiers were no match for their own tank, and that seemed to bring this little battle to a quick conclusion.

  Major Dolan, commander of the 33rd, hadn’t had to fire a shot. No one had come in the direction of the convoy, not knowing that it was there, and they hadn’t been in a position to aid the rest of the fight anyways . It had been a strange battle for Andy, in that way, knowing that her people were out there fighting without her.

  But she just had to have trust in their abilities, and she did. She was proven right, because they all achieved their objectives. ESS casualties, while not at zero, were few. Arkana casualties were high, but they always were when there was an ESS victory.

  “Doctor,” Andy said, knocking on the truck door. “It looks like your room is ready.”

  “Is it all over?” Kyt asked, peering through the open window.

  “Yes, sir,” she replied with a faint smile. “My people executed the plan and the enemy has been subdued. The fighting was primarily focused to the western side of this valley, so if you and the trucks take a more eastern path then you shouldn’t have any problems getting the trucks up to the bunker.”

  The doctor looked confused for a moment as to what she was talking about, but then it dawned on him and he nodded quickly. “Well,” he said with a sigh, “let’s get up there so we don’t have to worry about a repeat performance.”

  She nodded back. “You won’t get an argument from me.”

  Waving her arm overhead, the seven trucks began their slow, laborious process of moving out of the trees and down into the shallow valley, onward toward the large doors built into the face of the mountain. Andy stayed alongside them, still watchful just in case. One could never let themselves grow complacent, like these Arkana had.

  When they reached the other side, Doctor Kyt got out of his truck and moved up to the giant door. He revealed a panel in the metal and did whatever it was he needed to do in order to get the door open. Andy didn’t watch too closely since it wasn’t her business.

  The big door rolled back into the mountain with a rough groaning noise, and then Kyt got back in his truck and all seven drove straight inside.

  Andy’s eyes widened slightly as she watched. She hadn’t expected the bunker to be quite that big on the inside, but apparently it was… Leaning forward, she peered inside and watched the lights come on.

  It looked like they had carved out the entire inside of the mountain for this.

  She shook her head in a bit of awe, turning back to see the rest of Alpha Squad working its way toward her. Dan was limping, but still upright, with a bloody face. Anallin and Jade looked fine, but Roxanna was holding her arm. Anath also looked okay, if weary.

  “Report,” Andy ordered.

  They all reported their objectives achieved, and gave a catalogue of injuries or deaths in their groups, including themselves.

  “I’d say we should be grateful we have a hospital staff right here, but I think they’re going to have their hands full,” Andy said ruefully. She was about to say something else when she heard chatter coming over her earpiece. “It looks like we might too. There’s more fighting in other areas nearby. The fighters have done what they can, but the Arkana are moving in on other towns and cities now. The twenty-second has boots on the ground, but they are requesting assistance.”

  Her squad simply nodded once.

  Andy eyed Roxanna and her arm. “You go inside and see if they can spare a moment to check that out and see if you’re fit to return to the fight.”

  The Selerid looked like she was about to argue, but she didn’t. “Yes, sir,” she said, hurrying past them all and inside the giant bunker, with its quiet roar and dim chaos. The hospital staff was already hard at work getting everything set up for their wait for the evac ship.

  Maybe, if there was any luck, they wouldn’t need the ship.

  “Can we bring my new toy with us, Major?” Jade asked with a little smile.

  “Toy, Private?” Andy repeated with a half-smile of her own. She already knew what the girl was talking about, but couldn’t help teasing her a little in this momentary lull of the action.

  “Yes, sir,” Jade said, straightening herself a little. “I’ve started my very own enemy tank collection.”

  Andy actually laughed. “Just how many are you planning on collecting?”

  The younger woman lifted one shoulder. “I guess we’ll see.”

  Shaking her head, Andy replied, “I think having a tank on our side is a good idea, but be aware that it will make you a pretty big target. Once they realize that it’s in the hands of the enemy, they’re going to want it back.”

  Jade sobered with a single nod. “I’m aware, sir, but I think the benefits outweigh the risks.”

  “I agree, Private,” Andy said. “You can keep it. Just be careful and be aware.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jade agreed.

  The levity of the moment passed quickly, but Andy was grateful for it while it had lasted. Time had forced her to learn to appreciate the moments when they came, since you never knew when there would be another one, or when it might be the last one you shared with someone.

  Andy took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s start getting everyone back together and organized. I hate to impose on the good folks here, but if we have to move to another engagement, let’s get all injuries checked out real quick—at least as much as they’re able to—before we move on.”

  19

  Three days, two more Marine detachments, and one more squadrons of fighters had been called down to deal with the enemy on the ground, while the Star Chaser—once joined by other ESS ships—had taken the fight to the Arkana carriers sitting in orbit. It had taken all of that, but they had defeated the enemy on Jiikar and now would establish a better foothold on the planet to keep the Arkana from getting it.

  Andy knew that the evac ship was still on its way, but she didn’t know what the hospital would plan to do. By now, it wasn’t her concern any more. The 33rd had been recalled to the Star Chaser to move onto the next insanity.

  Their shuttle lifted off from the planet of Jiikar and headed back to their home ship. She sighed heavily and leaned her head back against the shuttle wall. She’d lost four more Marines in the past three days of combat, and more than a handful of injuries, including a variety of her own. None of hers were bad enough to keep her from moving around, at least, but she needed some time in sickbay.

  Now that the fighting had stopped and the adrenaline had passed, she was able to feel properly like crap.

  A day’s worth of shore leave before the enemy steamrolled over it so that they could steal whales, and then they went after a hospital, because all those near-death patients were such a threat. Three days of straight combat followed that, just to top it all off. More dead Marines, crashed fighter jets streaking the sky with fire, the ship up in orbit with a few new holes and dents and scorch marks.

  “Andy?” Anath asked from where he was sitting beside her.

  “Yes?” she asked without opening her eyes.

  “Are you okay?”

  Andy took a long breath in and then blew it out. She opened her eyes and turned her head—more flopped it, really—toward her brother. “No, Anath. I’m not okay
at all.”

  20

  Ten Days Later…

  “We need to end this war.”

  Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing and looked at Andy, who had been sitting there fidgeting with a deck of cards, but hadn’t dealt them at all. The rest of her squad had been busy with other things anyways, she just couldn’t seem to keep her hands still. It was a physical expression of the speed at which her mind was racing.

  It felt like her brain had exploded when those Arkana had killed themselves after fighting side-by-side with the Marines and she’d heard their leader’s dying words. It hadn’t stopped since. Not when they’d tried to take shore leave, not when they’d tried to just help a hospital… It was madness, and it needed to end.

  “How precisely do you plan to do that, Major?” Anath asked uncertainly. “You know the Arkana won’t surrender. They won’t even sit at the table to discuss a cease-fire or a treaty. Our father would rather see everyone dead then concede.”

  “I know,” she said darkly, tapping the edge of the deck against the table in an erratic rhythm. Her half-brother reached out and put his pale hand over her dark one, stopping the fidgets for a moment. She sighed and put the cards down, instead leaning back in her seat and folding her arms. “This war won’t end with a treaty. It will end by conquering.”

  The other five looked at one another, and their thoughts were as loud as if they had spoken them. They all wondered if she’d finally cracked under the pressure.

  Leaning forward again, she rested her arms on the table. “It’s time to cut the head off the snake,” she said. “Do that and the rest will stop.”

  “You mean…go after our father?”

  She nodded once.

  Roxanna, her Selerid sergeant, was eyeing her warily from behind those opalescent purple eyes. “You speak very calmly about killing your father.”

  “That’s because I’m not talking about killing my father,” Andy said, meeting the other woman’s gaze evenly. “I’m talking about killing the leader of the enemy. I’m talking about stopping evil.” She pounded her fist once on the table, making the others jump. “Evil must be opposed. This has gone on long enough.”

  After several moments, it was Anath who spoke. “Father will have run back to the home world. We won’t be able to get to him.”

  Dan frowned. “Why is it that you can’t get there?” The words weren’t judgmental, just curious.

  “Our father is paranoid, to say the least. Not even his soldiers are allowed to know the coordinates to the planet,” he said bitterly. “They are programmed into the computers of our ships and when we get within a certain range, all external access is shut down. We can’t see it or anything else until we arrive. No computers will show the location, either on the planet or the ships.”

  “Can you say tyrant…” Jade commented quietly, sipping her tea.

  Anath just nodded.

  “So, the ships have the coordinates within their computers,” Andy said thoughtfully.

  “Yes,” Anath replied, “but you can’t call it up.”

  Andy looked at Jade, her technical expert. “But the information is in there, and that means we can get to it.” The youngest of her Marines met her eyes and looked blank for a moment, before nodding with understanding. Andy circled her gaze around the rest of them, smiling darkly. “So, we need to get our hands on an Arkana ship.”

  “Are you insane?!” Anath cried as soon as he and Andy were alone in her quarters. He waved his pale arms briefly over his head in aggravation before settling in with his arms crossed and an upset expression on his face.

  “No!” she replied, just as forcefully. “I’m fed up!” Her fist collided with her wall and a picture frame fell off the shelf over her bed. She ignored the fallen picture and held the unprotected hand she’d just sent sailing into the metal composite. “You don’t read the detachment reports that go out from corps headquarters. They’re even worse than the death rolls! As if, what could be worse? No one is gaining ground in this war, and it’s starting to look like we’re losing it. The Arkana just keep coming, and everyone just keeps dying. This can’t keep going on like this.”

  The ire left Anath’s crystal blue eyes, although the set of his face remained hard. “No, it can’t,” he agreed softly, “but what you’re talking about is crazy. They kill themselves when captured, and self-destruct their ships if they think those are about to be taken. You have seen it for yourself. The most likely thing to happen is that we get on board and they blow it up, and us too.”

  Andy held his gaze. She almost hoped that she could just transmit her thoughts and feelings into his brain so he would understand why she felt this way, but she knew that was impossible.

  Her hand still hurt, too.

  She sighed. “Then we’ll just have to figure out a way to avoid that,” she said simply. “We both know that our father has run back to your home world, so that’s where we need to go if we want to find him. No soldier knows the way. Only the ships’ computers have the coordinates. So, we have to get a ship and get into the computer. Jade can do it, I know that she can. We just have to get her a ship to dig into.”

  “I’m not debating that line of logic, Andy,” Anath said with exasperation. “I just don’t feel like you’re really thinking through just how impossible this will be.”

  “It’s not impossible,” she said. “It’s just going to be really, really hard. We’ve done really hard more than once and survived it, though. We’ve succeeded when every possible odd was against us. I’m sure there’s a way to do this too, we just have to be smart and clever enough to find it.” Another sigh escaped, because she didn’t have the strength to resist it. “Anath, I don’t know any other way, and the problem is that no one else does either. None of the reports coming from command say that, of course, but it doesn’t take a lot of reading between the lines to know that’s the case. We are barely holding on right now, and we’re going to start slipping soon. The grasp the ESS has to hold the line is dependent on keeping control of a few lynchpins. If we lose those, then it’s far easier for the Arkana to get to Earth, and if that happens…”

  “It’s game over,” he said solemnly, using an old Earth phrase he’d just learned recently. Had the moment been any other way, she would have laughed.

  “Exactly,” she said, just as solemnly. Bowing her head briefly, she went on, “In the meantime, though…” She held up her hand with its red, slightly throbbing knuckles. “I think I might need to stop by sickbay.”

  21

  Captain Wallace stared across his desk at Andy, who sat in the chair across from him with a somber expression. She had known he would be surprised at her plan, at best, and think she was an idiot at worst.

  From the look in his eyes, it was hard to tell which way this was going, but with each moment that had passed since the idea first came to her, it had taken hold and she felt sure that this was the right course of action. Beyond that, she felt more and more certain that it was the only course of action to lead them forward. Anything else they could do would either lead them backward to failure or straight on toward this continued stalemate.

  Something had to break through and push them toward ending it, and she was sure this was the only thing that could do it.

  “You want to do what, Major?” the captain asked carefully. “I’m wondering if I heard you right.”

  “I want to capture an Arkana vessel, sir,” she replied, just as evenly. “One that is primarily intact that we can use.”

  He blinked slowly. “How do you plan to do that?”

  That was the present hole in her plan. “I haven’t figured that out yet. I just know that this is what we need to do. We need to know where the Arkana home world is, and we need to go there. We need to stem this at the source if we want it to truly end. Problem is, only one person actually knows the location, and he isn’t going to tell us. Anath says that Arkana ships have the coordinates in their computers. We get a ship and hack the system, learn th
e location, then we’ll also have a ship that can get into enemy lines.”

  “I highly doubt it’s going to be that easy,” he said.

  “No, I don’t imagine that it will,” she agreed, “but I really don’t see another way for us to move forward at this point. Do you, Captain?” She didn’t ask it in a confrontational way, just asking a salient question.

  Wallace sighed heavily and shook his head. As soon as the “what’s wrong with you” look left his face, he just looked tired. The Star Chaser had been on the front line multiple times during the course of this war, and it was due in no small part to Andy’s presence on board the ship. At first, the Arkana came to try to bring her home, then, she just became a target.

  She didn’t start the war, but she knew that she was smack dab in the center of it, and she was determined to be the end of it.

  “Come back when you have an actual plan put together, and we’ll talk more,” he said. “I won’t approve a suicide mission on a fraction of a chance.”

  “I understand, Captain,” she said with a single nod.

  He sighed again, nodding and waving at her. “Dismissed, Major. Maybe with a little more time, you’ll find a less crazy plan.”

  Andy got to her feet with a dark smile. “I wouldn’t count on that, sir.” She stepped around the chair, turned smartly on her heel, and left his office.

  She wasn’t even in the lift yet before Anath seemingly appeared out of nowhere and fell in step with her.

  “What did the captain say?” he asked pointedly.

  “He said write a plan and bring it to him, and we’d go from there,” she replied. “I was kind of hoping to skip that part.”