Battle On The Marathon

by John Thornton

  Reaching the hanger bay was a boring trek through the corridors. We took a main gangplank which usually is not ever used, as it was designed for opening when the habitat made planetfall in some distant future. But we used it and took two freight elevators to move us up, over, and around to the proper level of the hanger bay.

  The transport automacubes tirelessly pulled the sledges—which hovered about a half meter over the deck—and when we got to the hanger bay I was ready to start the operation. My deck plans and schematics of the Marathon showed that from that hanger bay, the Foreigner habitat was just across the way, at a bit of an angle. I was eager to get into battle with the Jellies, instead, there was a huge surprise.

  Major Gonzales had just opened the large doors at the back of the hanger bay to move all of us and the sledges inside. As those doors opened, I spied a runabout shuttle locked down to the nearest stall. The runabouts are just two-seat shuttles and are not much of a spacecraft. The presence of a shuttle was not what surprised me.

  Standing there, next to that runabout were Colonel Caldwell and Colonel Gehlen. They were in some kind of flight suits, unarmored, and with just a gimp in a holster on their belts. Even such a minor weapon looked out of place on either of those officers.

  “Major Gonzales,” Colonel Gehlen stated with his usual air of indifference, “We are here to supervise this operation.”

  “Indeed, with us overseeing this, your success is enhanced,” Colonel Caldwell added.

  I looked at them and realized that time had not made me like them any better, nor did they look improved from how I remembered them. Gehlen was still skinny, and now looked frail. His pinched face had no warmth, and was the pastiest complexion I have ever seen. Those emotionless, pale gray eyes, just bore into Major Gonzales.

  Major Gonzales replied, “The plan is for thirty-five soldier to be in the trojan-horses, as you are well aware. Whose place do you want to take?”

  Colonel Caldwell laughed a mirthless croak. “None. We are supervision to make sure this is successful, not going in on the first wave, so to speak.” Her phony smile was still glued to her face, but it never made it to her eyes. For whatever reason, her eye color struck me as very much like the watered down Jellie gunk we had filled the trojan-horses with. I nearly laughed out-loud as I made that connection. I missed whatever she had just said.

  “…like you. This calls for a xenophobologist who has a background in astrobiology.” She flipped her straight black hair off to the side and shoved her smile at Major Gonzales again, while she tapped her own shoulder.

  “So, if you are not going in the trojan-horses, what is the plan, Colonels?”

  “Once you have secured that Jellie ship, General Adams has an operation that will commence. The details of that will be relayed to you at the appropriate moment, and not before. You do not have the proper security clearances,” Colonel Gehlen stated flatly. “We will then come over, in the runabout, to the captured alien vessel and set up our observation post. You will secure the vessel before we come over, is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” Major Gonzales replied stiffly.

  “Did you two fly here in that runabout?” I blurted out. I remembered Colonel Hayyon and how he had been attacked while flying a shuttle. I was shocked to think that these two officers had actually risked their lives in using a runabout. From what my schematic showed, the Jellie ship would be in direct line-of-sight from the hanger bay once the exterior doors were opened.

  “You are out of line, sergeant,” Colonel Gehlen snapped.

  To Gonzales Colonel Caldwell quipped, “Your non-commissioned people really are lacking in understanding. That is a significant reason why we are here. Militia are not professionals. They need a strong hand and firm direction.”

  “Forgive my First Sergeant,” Major Gonzales replied. “I trust him with my life, but yes, he is lacking in etiquette and protocol. Sergeant Kalju, consider yourself officially on report. Now, apologize to these officers.”

  I had not missed that I had just been promoted to First Sergeant, and rebuked at the same time, in the same few sentences.

  “Yes, ma’am. Colonel Caldwell I apologize. Colonel Gehlen, I apologize,” I stated as seriously as I could.

  “First Sergeant Kalju, now attend to our people. The engineering automacubes that will be doing the launching should be in the far corner of this hanger bay. Assess them for functionality, and make sure you do it correctly. Get Samuels and Dietermeyer to assist. Our launch angles must be perfect. We all remember the tragic attack on Colonel Hayyon’s shuttle. That must not be repeated.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I left the three officers to their discussion, but walked away feeling very pleased, not rejected, nor rebuffed.

  The engineering automacubes had built three catapults. I wish Kulm could have seen the fine design of those. The Jellie trojan-horses would fit down in a small track, and that would then move forward and fling it right toward the destination.

  Colonel Caldwell and Colonel Gehlen took up places on the observation deck behind a wall of clear permalloy. We lined up the carapaces, and readied them for launch.

  “Sergeant Kalju assign the troops to each of the Trojan-horses. Just make sure that I am in the first launch. Samuels in the second, and you will be in the third. We must get inside that alien ship,” Major Gonzales commanded me on a private channel. “Once inside, we initiate our surprise for the Jellies. But here is what I need from you. Sergeant Kalju, if my trojan-horse fails, and then Samuels’ attempt fails, save the rest of our people. Have them bail out and use their combat armor as spacesuits. Shed off the carapaces, and make for the hull of the Marathon.”

  I double checked to make sure we were speaking privately, and then said, “You think this might fail?”

  “Kalju, the Jellies have kicked us around at almost every turn. So, yes, there is a chance for failure. Someone in the MDF studied the Jellie ship and we are following patterns which have been recorded when Jellies returned to that ship. I think it was IAM Lenore, but I am not sure. These military computer AIs are an unknown as well. But back to the Jellies. Mostly, we have seen them inside the Marathon, but somehow, we got recordings of Jellies in their carapaces floating back to their ship. We are copying that, and I believe it will work. But, I am also not willing to throw away my people for something worthless. If I die, and Samuels dies, then call off the attack. That is a command!”

  “I understand.”

  “Good. Now when we arrive and the Jellies do let us in, here is what we do,” Major Gonzales said. “Oh, the surprises they are going to experience!”

  Plans and details arrived in my helmet on the display. I noted the exact same plan had been set to every single one of the Bilokos. I shuffled the names around and assigned five each to the seven trojan-horses. I hoped they all would succeed. I looked hard and long at the names I put in with Major Gonzales, and with Samuels. Then, I affirmed those selections and sent it off to the unit.

  Major Gonzales then opened the audio channel to all the soldiers.

  “We are setting off shortly. I am very proud to be one of your leaders, and right now we have the honor of serving under Colonel Caldwell and Colonel Gehlen. They are our strategic new leaders, while First Sergeant Kalju and I will be your tactical leaders in the field. Let us show the cursed Jellies what the Bilokos can do! To your assigned trojan-horses! Once we are all secured and ready, then I will use MC12 to cycle the hanger bay. Today we win!”

  Loading in was odd. I watched as everyone filled the trojan-horses with the compressed air canisters, four in each trojan-horse, and then the five soldiers per carapace climbed in. Major Gonzales’ was in the first one set to be launched, and with her was that small central memory core, MC12. I stood over her as she lowered down into the carapace. I tapped on her helmet and send a message over the private channel. “I will do as you commanded, but it will not be needed. We will win this!”

  “Right!”

  The seam on that
trojan-horse sealed over and Major Gonzales activated the internal stimulators. Her Jellie costume was working, and the globe began to glow that sickening purple color. I moved to Samuels and watched as she and the other four other soldier got into that second trojan-horse. I knew hers had MC87, along with all the other gear.

  As Samuels’ trojan-horse sealed up and began to glow, I moved to get into mine.

  “Sergeant, get in and I will make sure all the others are ready to go,” Dietermeyer said. “I am in the last one, and as such I will make sure all seven are ready for launch. So, in you go!”

  I dropped into the carapace, and knelt next to the four other soldiers. It was a tight fit with the four compressed atmosphere canisters, the central memory core of MC223, and all our weapons and gear. I turned on the periscope, and that showed up on my optics, but all it was showing was the purple glow which was emanating from the trojan-horses which were already lit up.

  “Audio check,” Major Gonzales’ voice was clear and crisp.

  One by one all the others checked in.

  Finally, Dietermeyer announced, “Major Gonzales, the last trojan-horse is ready and secure.”

  “Initiating our mission,” Major Gonzales stated.

  “Good hunting to you all,” Colonel Caldwell said.

  I was shocked. She sounded sincere.

  Major Gonzales cut in, “This is the last communication message until we are aboard that Jellie ship. They might be able to detect our communication links or couplings, so everyone shut up until you hear from me. The illusion of their own coming come must be complete. The hanger bay is cycling.”

  My periscope was only able to see part of the hanger bay doors. But I did feel when the gravity manipulation ended. Not that I floated up or anything like that, but I could tell the hanger bay was cycling. Checking my helmet’s displays for one last time, I emphasized the reading for the five soldiers in that first trojan-horse. They would show up when they launched. The speed would not be excessive, so inertia would not be a significant problem, and our combat armor had some inertia suppression systems built into it. I shut down the display and just peered out via that single periscope view, and waited.

  I could see the darkness beyond the exterior doors as they retracted back. Then Major Gonzales and her crew were moving away. A minute and forty seconds later, Samuels and her crew were launched. The next minute and forty second were some of the longest time in my life. None of the others trapped inside that Jellie carapace with me could see anything, and I felt for them. At least I had the periscope to see something outside. They were situationally blind and deaf to what was happening.

  Then came a thump and a jolt and we were launched. The periscope’s view altered a bit as we moved out of the hanger bay and off toward the vastness of space. I knew we would be flying across from Journey to Foreigner, and that distance was not terribly far, but I also had seen that pink beam weapon when it was used against the shuttle.

  One of the other soldiers in that carapace with me tapped on my helmet. It was a distant and small sound, but it was reassuring. I never did find out who thought of that.

  After a few moments of flight, we had cleared the exterior doors and we were in space. I could see through the periscope’s view that we were moving right toward the enemy Jellie spacecraft. The huge expanse of the Marathon’s hull around the Foreigner habitat stretched off in both directions. The Jellie ship was small compared to the Marathon, and I was only seeing one part of one section of the colony ship. At first, the hull was not flat or horizontal, in my mind, but at an obtuse angle. I was still thinking of what had been gravity’s up inside the trojan-horse. Without gravity, it took me a moment to reorient myself to what was up and what was down. I used that Marathon hull as a reference, and thinking of it as level helped me to visualize where we were.

  That enemy Jellie ship was a small target against a huge colony ship, set against an immensely large background of deep space. If our trajectory was off by even a small amount, we could miss the Jellie ship, or even miss the Marathon itself. That would be a long and lonely death by suffocation when our combat armor gave out. I shoved those thoughts away.

  Moving at the rate copied from the recordings of the Jellies themselves, it would take about fifty-three minutes to cross from the hanger bay to where the Jellie ship was anchored onto the Marathon’s hull. I could see the Major’s trojan-horse off in the distance, and then Samuel’s following behind that.

  We waited.

  I was nearly holding my breath as I saw the Major’s trojan-horse approaching the Jellie ship which was still anchored there to the exterior hull of Foreigner.

  It was hard to tell all the details, as the periscope’s view was limited and its filters were barely adequate to prevent that purple glow from frying out my eyeballs. Yet, the Major’s globe was merged with the Jellie ship and then just sort-of sucked inside. I counted that as a success. Less than two minutes later, Samuel’s trojan-horse was similarly gobbled in. I was reminded of microbiology classes long ago which taught us about amoebas taking in nutrients via phagocytosis. Were we just being eaten by the Jellie ship?

  As our own carapace drew close, the light from the alien ship was so bright I could not look through the periscope much longer. Then, suddenly we were inside the Jellie ship. The view showed only dark brown liquids outside. I checked the timer and knew the next trojan-horses were impacting the Jellie ship. When my estimate was that Dietermeyer’s had been absorbed—for lack of a better term—I acted.

  Turning off the stimulators, and releasing my grip on the bumps, I saw that the seam in the carapace slid open. It was about ninety degree off of what I felt was up. The Jellie ship had some kind of gravity equivalent, but I did not take time to measure it then.

  “Go now! Lock down your trojan-horses. Use the combat armor’s echolocation, radar, lidar, and sensors at maximum. Set charges on the Jellie ship’s exterior walls,” Major Gonzales commanded through the audio links. “Bombs will be in position in one minute, set each with a thirty second countdown. Be locked into positon twenty-five seconds later!”

  My optics showed only brown fluids, but my radar and echolocation worked and gave me an animated display showing the dimensions of the Jellie ship, and its basic contours. The display showed a purple outline of the ship which was oblong shaped. All the trojan-horse carapaces were in what looked like a sort-of cargo hold, along with many others. I swam, bolted, and wiggled up and out of the carapace, followed quickly by the four others soldiers who had been inside with me. Two of them found the nearest Jellie wall section and screwed into it with anchoring studs, and then used a permalloy cable to connect back to the trojan-horse. We did not want to lose our supplies. I clipped my own cable onto that, reinforcing the tie-down. I remotely activated the stimulator, and that sealed the trojan-horse behind me.

  Moving along through that brown gunk, as fast as I could, I reached what my display showed to be an exterior wall. I slapped an amvex grenade with a spike deep into that. The wall felt a lot like the inside of the carapace did, but I took little time for close examination. The amvex grenade was set at maximum yield, with a thirty second delay.

  I moved away as quickly as possible. Some tentacles wrapped around my legs. My optics still did not penetrate much of that gunk, but I hit my strobes anyway. The bright white light reflected off the thick brown soup around me, but the tentacles slacked a bit, so I ignored them. I rammed my fist into some other wall and screwed in an anchoring cable. Tentacles wrapped up and around my body, but the combat armor prevented any damage, so they were merely annoying. An organic Jellie was trying to squeeze down on my body, but without its carapace suit and the enhanced strength which their technology imparted, the organic Jellie was just a nuisance.

  “Brace for explosions!” Major Gonzales yelled out.

  Wham!

  Whomp!

  Voomph!

  Sssshblamm!

  Baroomph!

  Kaaoomm!

  Explosions hap
pened all around that cargo hold, and the sounds came through my external microphones. Luckily, the audio system had built in safeguards so the sound volume was alleviated. Then a huge rushing flow of brown gunk moved past me, and flew out into space. I got just a glimpse of the organic Jellie’s tentacles as they were yanked away from me. The exterior hull of the Jellie ship had been breached. They were open to the vacuum of space.

  My white strobe lights were flashing on the cargo hold, while many of the Jellie carapaces rocked around in the explosive decompression.