War Wolves: Boxset 1-3

by Jonathan Yanez

  The sheer numbers of the Zenoth were overwhelming. It seemed the death of their queen only infuriated them further instead of instilling any kind of desire to surrender. Hundreds more of the aliens fell, more than what had dropped out of the open hatch in the ship.

  The ship itself still rose from the ground. The monster of a craft was now three-quarters of the way out. In a matter of minutes, it would fully emerge and be completely airborne.

  “There’s too many of them,” Atlas screamed over his headset. Or maybe he had been yelling all along and Riot was only now able to focus on his words. “I can’t get up. They’re tearing through my armor.”

  “We’re with you.” Wang let out a wet gasp like there was blood in his mouth. “Don’t give up!”

  “Never give up!” Rippa screamed.

  Riot propped herself up against one of the extended arms of the dead Zenoth queen. She looked for her weapon, but there was nothing around her beside the carcass of the giant insect. A thousand Zenoth still offloading from the transport ship bore down on her now, no more than a hundred yards away.

  “Come on,” Riot grunted, pushing herself to her feet again. She faced the next wave of Zenoth soldiers. With no weapons to use, she put up her fists. “Get knocked down seven times, get back up eight. Let’s go!”

  VRRRROOOOOOM!

  BAM! BAM! BAM!

  It happened so fast, Riot wasn’t sure what she was seeing. A wall of flame engulfed the army of Zenoth bearing down on her. Grovothe Warwings screamed through the air over her, followed by the much larger Archangel transport units that used heavy guns on either side of their open craft doors.

  “Heard you could use a hand,” Troy’s voice lit up their comms like the voice of a miracle. “Stay where you are. Warwings are hitting them, danger close. I’m offloading shock troops now.”

  Hearing the voice of their salvation sent a wave of relief and exhaustion over Riot. It was as if somewhere her subconscious realized they were safe now, that she didn’t have to be strong anymore.

  Riot ignored these false sensations of peace. Her Marines and Ketrick were still in trouble, which meant the fight for her was still far from over.

  Riot turned from the wall of flame and the burning Zenoth in front of her, courtesy of the Grovothe Warwings, to the struggling Spartans and Marines behind her. An Archangel transport unit dropped ropes on either side of their open doors and grey-armored Grovothe shock troops rappelled down. Accompanying their descent were additional Archangel transport ships, their weapons loosing a wall of fire that eviscerated the Zenoth.

  The Zenoth still struggling with the Spartans and the Marines were cut down in a matter of seconds. The newly arriving Grovothe troops bore heavy rifles that looked like SAWs and wide-barreled shotguns that turned Zenoth into green goop.

  Weaponsfire still erupted over the carnage, but the Zenoth were already defeated whether they knew it or not. The Grovothe shock troops had them off of the Spartans and Marines by the time Riot limped over to Wang and Rizzo. The two men looked like they’d been put through a meat grinder. Their black-and-red armor was torn and punctured in a dozen different locations. Their blood spilled from at least half of these spots all over their bodies, from their hands to their shins.

  Riot pulled off her helmet. “You two look horrible, like ‘sloppy drunks fell off a curb and messed up your prom dresses’ horrible.”

  “If I look how I feel, it must be pretty bad,” Wang said, pulling off his helmet. He ran a hand through his short Mohawk haircut. “We need to go check on Vet and Doctor Miller.”

  Rizzo’s right hand was a bloody mess of skin and twisted armor. He ignored the pain as he removed his own helmet. With solemn eyes, he nodded his chin over to the Spartans.

  Rippa, Atlas, and Brimley were out of their cockpits, yelling for help as they gathered around Ragnar’s mech.

  Riot and the others ran as fast as they could to help, but it was too late.

  Despite his own wounds over his head that sent a curtain of red blood down the left side of his face, Atlas ran toward his fallen brother. Tears fell from Atlas’s and Brimley’s eyes as they removed the still body of their friend from his cockpit. Rippa waved away the Grovothe medics who had come to see if there was anything to be done.

  With one final push, the Zenoth ship was finally through the ground. The doors at the front of the ship closed as the craft gained altitude. A squadron of Grovothe Warwings began lighting up the craft with heavy weaponsfire as it limped through the sky and made its feeble attempt at escape.

  The loud sound of flapping wings accompanied Vikta and Ketrick as they landed next to the group of mourning Spartans and Grovothe. Ketrick jumped off Vikta’s back and threw his war hammer to the side. Relief at seeing Riot safe, then anger at Ragnar’s still body, clouded his eyes.

  “I should have come back,” Ketrick said, shaking his head and baring his teeth in frustration. “I should have come back to help.”

  “And done what?” Rippa shook her head. “You single handedly kept the other Zenoth craft from escaping or bearing down on us. You did exactly what you should have done, giant. Ragnar wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

  “Rippa speaks the truth,” Atlas said, looking up from his friend’s body. “It played out how it was meant to. Ragnar died like any one of us would have wanted to: protecting his brother and sister. He’s with the Allfather now, and there is no better place to be.”

  Feelings and memories of those she had lost since the Syndicate had invaded the Earth all the way to the present day were beginning to bubble to the surface for Riot. Instead of acknowledging her feelings, she pushed them down and focused on a question she had been wondering since Ketrick arrived: Where was the ship he had been keeping at bay?

  Riot shaded her eyes with her right hand as she searched the large Raydon sky. Apparently, the Zenoth craft had rethought its initial decision of joining the fight on the ground and made a complete one-eighty. It now gained altitude in the east, trying to make for space.

  There was one major flaw in their escape route. The Grovothe Dreadnaught had broken through the planet’s atmosphere, heading straight for the Zenoth craft. Whether the Zenoth didn’t have time to turn their craft or had simply resolved themselves to their fate was uncertain. The one thing that seemed likely was that very soon there would be two more Zenoth ships crashing to the planet’s surface.

  “A Grovothe Archangel has been sent to pick up Corporal Vetash and Doctor Miller,” Rippa said as she joined Riot. “They’re safe. Vet will receive the very best care, as will your entire team.”

  Riot nodded along slowly. The Grovothe Warwings hounding the Zenoth ship that had just recently broken the planet’s surface hit a fuselage.

  KABOOOOOM!

  The ship erupted in flames and, losing altitude quickly, it slammed into the ground, sending up a mushroom cloud of smoke. A wave of sand billowed from its final landing spot.

  Shouts of approval from the Grovothe force on the ground rose into the air.

  “Thank you,” Riot said, turning her gaze once more to the Zenoth ship being intercepted by the Dreadnaught. “Saying I’m sorry for Ragnar just doesn’t seem like enough.”

  The Zenoth ship trying to reach space and disappear into hyperdrive was met with blaster fire from the Dreadnaught. Riot almost felt sorry for the weaponless Zenoth ship as it was swatted from the sky like a fly.

  Flames erupted from the blimp-shaped ship as the Dreadnaught weapons tore holes through its frame. What looked like a handful of tiny escape pods disengaged from the Zenoth craft as a few Zenoth made it to their escape crafts in time.

  Tiny specks Riot knew to be Warwings flew from the Dreadnaught’s hangar bay as they moved to intercept the escape pods.

  I could almost feel sorry for them, Riot thought. If I were capable of feeling sorry for an enemy that killed one of our team members and sent another one into a state of uncertain coma.

  “Thank you, nonetheless.” Rippa turned back to he
r unit. “You and your Marines are warriors unparalleled in the universe. Believe me. I’ve seen my fair share of planets and the various militia that protects them.”

  Riot nodded along with Rippa’s words. There was no reason to say more.

  Rippa walked back to where Atlas and Brimley sat with a still Ragnar, then stopped mid-stride. She pressed two fingers to her right ear.

  “What is it?” Ketrick asked the major. “Trouble?”

  “No.” Rippa held up a hand asking for a moment of silence.

  Riot thought for sure Ketrick would give her grief for hushing him. To her surprise, Ketrick remained content to give the Grovothe her time.

  What felt like a full minute stretched on before Rippa removed her hand from her ear and looked to Riot. “They’ve captured the Zenoth escape pods. One … one of the Zenoth was able to communicate. He said … he said he has information for a Warrant Officer Riot from Earth.”

  71

  The Valkyrie was more of a home to Riot than she realized. It wasn’t until the Marines had been given a ride back by Lieutenant Troy in his Archangel transport craft that Riot realized how much she had missed her ship.

  Riot, Wang, Rizzo, and Ketrick all took a corner of Vet’s stretcher as they offloaded him from the Archangel transport and moved him to the med bay inside the Valkyrie.

  “Everything I’m reading from his vitals points to no lasting injury. His nanites should have been able to keep him from going into the coma in the first place,” Wang rattled on as they placed the stretcher onto one of the exam tables in the Valkyrie’s med bay. “Now that we’re back, Doctor Miller and I can take a closer look.”

  Riot glanced down to a still Vet. His one good eye was closed as if he were sleeping. His chest rose and fell softly as if he would wake up at any moment, ready to give one of his signature scowls. But Vet would not be waking up any time soon. Not until Wang could figure out what induced his coma.

  “Get some rest.” Doctor Miller aided Wang in removing Vet’s armor and hooking him up to the equipment in the bay that would monitor his condition. “There’s nothing any of you can do. Rippa is sending over the Grovothe medics to see if there is anything they can do for him. Go take care of yourselves.”

  Riot looked over to Ketrick and Rizzo. If she looked anywhere close to the way they did, she understood Doctor Miller’s concern. Both men were streaked with sweat, and their bodies were covered in a combination of their own blood and the Zenoth’s green ooze. Rizzo’s armor and Ketrick’s vest were torn in a handful of places where the Zenoths’ pincers had gotten too close.

  In the back of Riot’s fatigued mind she knew, as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t stay by Vet’s side. She had a meeting with Admiral Tricon and a Zenoth prisoner who not only could speak but somehow knew her name.

  “Let me know as soon as he wakes up or if there is any change in his condition.” Riot nodded numbly to Wang and Doctor Miller before heading out of the room. The only things on her mind now were a shower and change before meeting with the Grovothe brass.

  Riot headed to her quarters, with Ketrick and Rizzo following in her wake. Rizzo peeled off to the armory to return his armor. Ketrick lengthened his strides to join Riot.

  “Oh, great. You’re going to want to talk about feelings or something right now, aren’t you?” Riot rolled her shoulders as if she were preparing for a physical confrontation. “You know I’m not good at that stuff.”

  They reached Riot’s quarters. Ketrick moved to stand beside her, looking down at her with his bright red eyes. “I was just going to say I’m happy you’re safe. If you were to fall, I would have had to rip the rest of the Zenoth apart with my hands, and we would have missed our date.”

  Riot rolled her eyes, laughing at how ridiculous the Trilord was. It was pointless to try to reason herself out of anything at this point. Whether he knew it or not, Ketrick already meant more to her than she was willing to admit to herself.

  “Yeah, well, I’m glad you made it, too, Muscles,” Riot said. She felt a twinge of guilt as she thought about Vet lying in his unconscious state. “We all weren’t so lucky.”

  “Corporal Vetash will pull through from the fog that is wrapped around his mind. He’s strong, like you,” Ketrick said with such belief, Riot found herself wanting to believe him.

  “How do you know, though? How can you be so sure?”

  “I have faith.”

  “Faith?” Riot rolled her eyes again. “You’re too much sometimes.”

  “I don’t believe that Corporal Vetash was spared death with the Zenoth, only to be killed now. He will pull through.”

  “I wish I had your faith.” Riot leaned against her doorframe. She looked up at the Trilord prince, discovering yet another thing she admired about the warrior. “You need rest.”

  “So do you.”

  “Yeah, well.” Riot shrugged. “No rest for the wicked. I’ve got a meeting to find out how a Zenoth can communicate and how it knows my name.”

  Ketrick placed his left hand on the right side of Riot’s face.

  She leaned into the warmth of his touch.

  Ketrick leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead.

  “If you need anything, you know you only have to ask. My heart beats with yours, Sorceress,” Ketrick said, using his pet name for her.

  Riot reveled in the understanding that someone cared for her in this way once more. Endorphins hit her system like a sledgehammer, but she snapped back to her senses just in time. “What are you trying to do to me, here?”

  “What?”

  “Get out of here.” Riot playfully pushed Ketrick back with a shake of her head. “You’re going to have me inviting you into my room in a second. No, that wasn’t an invitation. Go. I mean it, you raging bag of hormones and testosterone. Wait until we get back.”

  Ketrick smiled, showing off his long, canine teeth. He back pedaled down the hall. “Whatever you say.”

  Riot let out a long, pent-up breath from deep within her lungs. She entered her room, already stripping off her armor. It was incredible to see the two large puncture holes the Zenoth queen had inflicted and her own new, healthy skin underneath. The nanites running through her system did an unbelievable job of stitching her back together. Besides being tired and a bit sore, Riot was no worse for wear. As she undressed and maneuvered into the hot shower, she used the opportunity to find out more information on the Zenoth she would be interrogating in a few minutes.

  “Evonne,” Riot spoke out loud to the Valkyrie’s AI as she removed her underwear and walked to the shower. She twisted the hot water nozzle on full blast. “You’re equipped with all the information the Syndicate had access to about the universe, is that correct?”

  “It is,” Evonne said, speaking through the ship itself. “Is there a question I can assist you with?”

  The steaming hot water against Riot’s skin felt like heaven reaching down and touching her. She lathered her hair and body, doing her best to wash away the fatigue she felt, along with the sweat and grime.

  “Do the Zenoth speak their own language?” Riot asked Evonne.

  “They do,” Evonne responded back. “Despite their primitive appearance, the Zenoth’s language is quite extensive.”

  “But they don’t speak English or the language the Grovothe speak? Are they even capable of something like that?”

  “No. However, technology similar to the nanites you use in your body to translate other languages to your ears and in turn transform your words into other dialects exists in various forms across the universe. It would not be out of the realm of possibility for the Zenoth to have constructed some kind of translation device.”

  More than anything, Riot wanted to sit down in the shower and feel the glorious water hit her skin in soothing streams, but there was no time for relaxation. Admiral Tricon was waiting. Riot rinsed the soap from her face and body.

  “Evonne,” Riot said, transitioning to the next question bothering her. There was only one way the Ze
noth could know her name. If it had been given to them by the Karnayers who’d also provided the technology for the bug-like creatures to build their own ships. “Tell me about the Karnayers.”

  “The Karnayers are a technologically advanced species heralding from the planet Rinar. They are ruled by a council of founding families. They are politically charged and known for their history of confronting other planets.”

  Riot towel-dried her body before exiting the bathroom. The next question she had for Evonne died on her lips when she saw a breakfast burrito and a large cup of coffee on her bed. A hastily scrawled note sat beside the food.

  Sorceress,

  Keep your strength up.

  P.S. What you call coffee is delicious. I feel warm and tingly inside after my first cup.

  Ketrick

  “This freaking guy’s going to be the death of me,” Riot said out loud as she grinned like a school girl. She gulped the hot coffee and tore into the burrito as she changed into a clean uniform.

  “Evonne, tell me about the house of Karn on the Karnayer planet,” Riot said, bringing to memory the name Remus’s brother had used during their brief conversation.

  “The House of Karn is one of the ruling families on Rinar. They can trace their ancestry line to the very beginning of the colonization of the planet. They are known for their questionable tactics and a shady history with other planets. It seems they have come close to open warfare more than a few times, with incidents ranging from one of their ships accused of stealing technology from other planets, to accusations of kidnappings. Should I list the discrepancies leveled against the House of Karn for you?”

  “No, that’s fine.” Riot winced as she dragged a hairbrush through her short, wet, brown hair. “Admiral Tricon told me as much. It seems the ruling families have a history of doing whatever they want, then, if they are caught, they deny being involved with the accused party, stating that they have gone rogue.”