Jack reached over and he grabbed Sam’s arm.
“Stop, Sam! We won’t get anywhere on our own in this Devex Raider. We’ll be lost forever,” Jack said. He looked up at the display on the big view screen in front of the flight console showing the raiders swooping away from the massive warship. Jack looked intently, certain they were about to chase them down and attack them, but the raiders held position around the massive Devex ship.
The screen showed the way ahead on the main image. Nothing but black space. The rear view showed the Devex ship clamped onto the civilian transport, the puncture arms still in place. At the rate the Devex were converting the passengers into warriors, there still had to be many thousands of civilians left on the transport.
“Stop,” Jack pleaded, gripping Sam hard. “We need to get back to the transport. We can help save the people!”
The stolen craft accelerated onward, leaving the warship and the civilian transport far behind.
“We can’t save them, Jack,” Sam said. “I’ve had that Devex equipment on my body. If it wasn’t for the Mech tissue, I’d be a Devex warrior myself, and so would you, probably already through that matter transport device, fighting for the Devex somewhere out there. We are getting out of here.”
“Contact Bale on the frigate! Together we can save those people!”
Sam turned and looked at Jack sternly.
“You have to think about what’s good for us for a change, Jack. We’ve fought so hard. You have to accept that we have lost. We must save ourselves.”
“We are Marines, Sam. We are still standing. We will not abandon those people. We have to fight on! Turn us around!”
“Look at us, Jack,” Sam said. “No gear. Armed only with a couple of blasters. How long do you think we’ll survive back there? We are lucky to have gotten away with our lives.”
Jack looked at his tattered clothes. He was ill-prepared for a fight. He was starting to feel the cold overcome him. But he couldn’t give up. He tapped at the flight panel randomly, trying to find a control that he could figure out, anything to stop Sam taking them further into deep space.
“You can’t operate the raider, Jack,” Sam said. “I have control.”
Jack looked at the rear view inset in the view screen.
“If we run now,” Jack said, slumping back into the massive chair, “we will never find the fleet. We’ll be lost forever. Do you understand, Sam?”
“It’s for the best, Jack,” Sam said. “We’ve survived without anyone else before. We can do it again.”
Jack watched the image of the civilian transport falling further behind, growing smaller by the second.
“Surviving is not the same as living, Sam,” Jack said. “Take us back. We need to help them, and they can help us.”
Feeling ignored, Jack turned to Sam and gripped him again. “You have to stop running. It’s not easy, but we have to head back. We are Marines, Sam. We have to help them. We can’t leave them there.”
Jack looked at Sam, imploring him, hoping he’d understand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the civilian craft stop falling away. The raider’s acceleration slowed, and the ship came to a halt.
Jack heaved a sigh of relief. “Good choice, Sam. Now turn us around.”
“We’re trapped,” Sam said.
“Trapped?” Jack asked. He looked at the screen showing views from all around the ship. Apart from the distant civilian transport and the Devex ship clamped on top, all around was black, empty space. Even the few pursuing raiders had turned away.
Then Jack spotted the image on the view screen. A massive ship coming into visual range.
Jack recognized the shape instantly. A Fleet destroyer. Jack touched the view screen as if he could touch the ship. The fleet. He’d found the fleet. The view zoomed in as a response to Jack’s light touch and showed the front section of the destroyer moving toward them. The lettering on the port side bow of the massive ship gave Jack a thrill of excitement and a moment of emotion that was almost too much to hold in.
“The Scorpio,” Jack said as he fell back into the chair.
“They are launching fighters,” Sam said. “Blades and tac boats.”
“Send them a message,” Jack said. “Tell them who we are.”
“Accessing communication,” Sam said. “I can’t find a vocal communication channel.”
Jack looked at the fighters swooping out from the Scorpio and climbing up to meet them.
“How close are they, Sam?” Jack asked.
Sam looked up at the screen just as the lead Blade opened fire. A series of bright orange flashes streaked across space. The laser blasts slammed into the front of the raider.
Jack was thrown about in his seat, gripping the loose straps to stop himself being flung onto the flight console.
“Get us out of here!” Jack said.
“They are cutting off our escape routes. There is no way out. We’re trapped.”
Jack looked at the view screen—the Devex warship and its squadrons of raiders and fighters, the Scorpio with its squadrons of tac boats and Blades. There remained only a narrow channel for escape that was shrinking by the second.
“I’ll try and get us out of the crossfire,” Sam said.
Another round of blasts struck the raider and jostled Jack in his seat. Sam remained entangled with the console, his Mech tissue unthreading up to his elbow and into the flight console.
“No,” Jack said excitedly. “I know what to do. Bring us about. Show me the targeting and fire controls on this thing, Sam. I’ve got a better idea.”
The flight console lit up in a few select places. Sam pointed at the lights.
“Targeting systems,” Sam said. Then he pointed at a side view on the main screen. “You can see the targeted area here.” Sam pointed again at the console. “That’s the fire control.”
Jack started to select targets. The controls responded quickly to his touch.
“Move us toward the Scorpio. Evade the fire from the Blades but put us right in front of the bow section of the Scorpio.”
Sam sent the raider on a wild ride, avoiding the incoming Blades. The ship took a few heavy hits and a few glancing blows from the Blades. A power system ruptured behind Jack. A shower of sparks and a sudden venting of gas did nothing to distract him from his task.
Sam moved the ship as lightly as a feather
“I’ll get us into position. And I’ll try and stop us getting blown out of the void. If one of the Scorpio’s lasers gets us...” Sam trailed off. He threw the ship to one side and then another as he moved in toward the Scorpio. “I just hope you know what you are doing.”
“Don’t I always?” Jack asked. He targeted the front of the Scorpio and laid in his fire pattern.
Captain Pretorius stood in his position in front of the holostage on his command deck. He watched the fighters swooped in to engage the Devex Raiders. He watched the range indicator fall as he closed in on the Devex warship clamped on to the civilian transport. He would be in range with his main laser assembly in moments.
Pretorius felt the gaze of Fleet Intelligence Agent Mallet burning into him. She was scrutinizing every aspect of the operation. Pretorius tried not to let it distract him.
The range finder hit zero. Pretorius gave the order to fire. All forward laser assemblies lit up and delivered a high-energy beam to the upper hull of the Devex warship.
Pretorius saw the Devex shield absorb the blast with little more than a flicker.
“Activate all high-energy laser emitters,” Pretorius said. “Target the warship and fire when ready.”
Commander Chou pointed at the image of the Devex Raider on the holostage. It was heading directly toward the Scorpio.
“I see it, Mr. Chou,” Pretorius said. “We’ve never seen them do that before. Let’s be sure and put them off doing it again. Forward hail cannon battery, prepare to open fire on that raider. Give them a blast of high-density kinetic hail and shred them.”
Pretorius saw th
e raider open fire, but the energy bullets detonated in open space between the raider and the bow of the Scorpio.
The detonation pattern lit up briefly. Only a fraction of a second. Pretorius spotted something in his subconscious. He tapped the panel on the side of the holostage and selected the data recorder. He scrolled back and searched for the moment the energy bullets detonated.
The weapons officer called out the forward battery was ready to fire. Mr. Chou raised his arm, about to carry out the captain’s order to open fire on the raider. A full load of kinetic hail ready to fly into the lone raider and tear it apart.
“Hold fire!” Pretorius said. “Hold fire on the forward hail cannon!”
“What are you doing, Captain?” Agent Mallet asked gently, her soft tones belying her cold-hearted nature.
“I need to check this raider,” Pretorius said. “What was that fire pattern?”
Pretorius noticed Mallet tip her head to one side as she assessed the captain’s actions.
The image on the side on the main view of the holostage showed the raider and the pattern of fire lit up in between it and the Scorpio. The pattern was clear. A single word.
Jack.
“I don’t believe it,” Pretorius said with a smile. He shook his head in disbelief. “Send a light signal to that raider,” Pretorius said. “Message to read: ‘say again.’ Send it now.”
Pretorius watched the live feed on the holostage, and again the raider fired a stream of white energy bullets detonating in space and flashing for a moment. Pretorius did not need to read it a second time.
“Send a squadron of Blades to that raider. Do not engage, is that clear? And open a hangar. Let’s bring that raider in.”
“Hold there, Mr. Chou,” Agent Mallet said. “You cannot bring a hostile enemy craft into your hanger, Captain.”
“I understand your concern, but I give the orders on my command deck, Agent Mallet.” Pretorius turned to the holostage. The image showed the Scorpio firing on the massive Devex warship. Its shielding over the upper hull flashed as the lasers struck.
Pretorius tugged his cuffs.
“Forward hail cannon. Target that Devex warship and open fire.”
A pair of Blades raced up from the Scorpio, heading directly for Jack and Sam in their stolen Devex Raider.
“It didn’t work,” Sam said. “They are sending the Blades in to finish us. I’m getting us out of here.”
Jack was smiling. He put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “No, Sam. It’s okay. Pretorius is sending us an escort. Hold and wait for instructions.”
The two Blades raced up to the raider and took position on either side, then they flipped end over end to point back toward the Scorpio. A light signal flickered from their strobes onto the raider. Jack decoded the light signal.
“They want us to follow them in,” he said. He patted Sam on the shoulder. “Hold formation with the Blades and let them take us in.”
The Blades crept forward a few meters. Sam matched their course and speed. Incrementally, the Blades sped up and soon the flight of two Fleet fighters and the Devex Raider were heading to an open hangar on the side of the Scorpio.
Jack felt his breath catch in his chest. He looked at the dark outer hull and felt as close to home as he had in the longest time. He felt a feeling of pride grow in him, and a feeling of security, of duty and belonging. The massive hull filled the view screen of the Devex ship. The large Marine hangar deck, brightly lit, was a welcome sight. Jack felt emotion fill him, and he patted Sam again.
“We’re home, Sam. Home.”
The raider touched down on the hangar deck. The Blades arced away and resumed their patrol.
“Come on, Sam. Get that ramp open. We need to report our findings from the interior of that Devex ship right away.”
Sam stood up and unwound his Mech tissue from the Devex flight console. The fibers slipped out and churned about before re-forming into the hand shape. He looked over to Jack and nodded he was ready.
Jack took in the sight of the pair of them. Tattered clothing, no boots, dirty from the fight. Stinking from the sweat that had dried on their clothes in the cold of the raider. But at least they were safe. They walked down the ramp and onto the Marine deck.
The sound of pulse rifles being readied stopped Jack in his tracks. He blinked in the bright light of the Marine deck. Standing on one side was a formation of Marines in tactical suits. At either end of the formation stood mobile automatic sentry guns—with huge, multi-barrel pulse cannons. Stepping out from the center of the front line of Marines came a Fleet Intelligence agent flanked by two Fleet Intelligence enforcers.
“Stop where you are,” the agent said. “Kneel. Hands behind your heads. Do it or I’ll open fire.”
13
Jack kneeled on the deck. The enforcers walked over, pulse rifles aimed. The line of Marines stood ready too. Jack had no way of knowing who any of the Marines were since they, like the enforcers, were fully clad in the tactical suits.
The Fleet Intelligence agent wore a black uniform with the three silver pips of a senior agent. Jack had only one episode of contact with an intelligence agent. It had been a worrying encounter and Jack had tried hard to forget about it. Intelligence agents were suspicious of everyone, all the time. It was their job to distrust all members of the Fleet and the Fleet Marines. They were selected to be emotionless and highly suspicious. They were all good at their jobs.
“Name?” the agent said, pointing at Jack.
“Major Jack Forge. Fleet Marines. Scorpio Battalion. And this is one of my company commanders, Sam Torent, Cobra Company.”
Jack noticed the subtle shifting in positions of some of the Marines behind the intelligence agent. Jack guessed from the slightest shuffle that some of these Marines recognized him and Sam.
Agent Mallet tilted her head.
“If you are Major Forge, where is your Fleet Marine ident? I am scanning you right now and I am reading no ident.”
“The Devex must have removed it when I was unconscious.”
“Listen up, Agent,” Sam said, jabbing a finger toward her. “Ask any Marine who this is, and they’ll tell you who he is.”
“At ease, Sam,” Jack said quietly.
Mallet stepped forward, the enforcers stepping up too. “You don’t give orders around here anymore,” Mallet said to Jack. “You are out of uniform. You have no identification. You are at best a rogue Marine gone AWOL, and at worst a Devex spy.” Then, turning to her enforcers, she waved at Jack and Sam. “Bring them.”
The enforcer grabbed Jack roughly by the arm and hauled him to his feet. The enforcer grabbing Sam stepped away suddenly and pointed his pulse rifle at Sam. The agent aimed her pulse pistol at Sam’s head.
“What?” Jack called out, suddenly concerned and in a panic. “What’s the matter?”
“The arm,” Mallet said. She held Sam in her gaze and held her pulse pistol steady, aimed at Sam’s head.
Sam held out his right arm. “It is Mech tissue,” he said. “We encountered a group of Mechs. They gave me this.”
“Mech?” Mallet said. “I’ve never heard of Mechs. It is more likely Devex tech. I should eliminate you right here and now.”
Jack saw another ripple of movement in the Marine lines. He saw the defiance on Sam’s face. He saw the fear of the unknown and stiff determination on Agent Mallet’s face.
“Hold right there, Agent Mallet,” the voice of Captain Pretorius came from the far end of the hangar. He marched over flanked by two Marines from his command deck detail. “You are holding two heroes of the Chitin War, and you will release them immediately.”
Pretorius marched over and stood next to Jack.
“They have no idents. They arrived on a Devex Raider. They are spies, can’t you see it?”
Pretorius laid his hand on Mallet’s pistol and pushed it down.
“This is Major Jack Forge.” Pretorius looked at Jack with a half-smile behind his gray eyes. “A little worse for wear, perhaps, b
ut this is Forge none the less.” Pretorius looked down at Jack. “How are you doing, my boy? Well, I trust?”
“Bit cold, sir,” Jack said. “Anxious to get back to the transport. There are still a lot of civilians over there that could use our help.”
“Look,” Mallet said, pointing at Sam’s gray metal arm and looking at Pretorius. “His arm. Devex tech. Explain that.”
“It is Mech, sir,” Jack said, looking up at his old captain, friend, and mentor. “They enhanced Sam’s arm, sir.”
Pretorius looked at Sam. “I remember you, Marine. Remind me, where did you lose your arm?”
“A raid on an enemy listening post, carried out from this ship, sir.”
“I remember now. What happened to the cybernetic arm the Fleet Marines gave you?”
“I had to blow that arm up, sir,” Sam said with a twinkle in his eye.
“Sorry to hear that, son,” Pretorius said.
“I’m not, sir. I hated that kravin’ arm.”
Jack heard the ripple of laughter from the Marines. He saw the agent’s body stiffen.
“These two men are to be detained until we can ascertain who, or what, they are.”
“Sir,” Jack said, looking up at Pretorius. “I’ve been inside the Devex ship. I know what they are doing. You need to let me get back over there. We can still save a lot of people.”
“This is a security matter, Captain. I have authority here.”
Pretorius looked at Jack and Sam. “This is a Fleet operation, and I have the authority to use any and all means to bring it to a successful conclusion.” Pretorius put a hand on Jack and pulled him back up to his feet.
“Jack, the lasers are not putting a dent in their shielding. I’ve just lost a tac boat trying to get through to deliver a combat drone. Do you think that raider can get back inside the warship?”
“Sir,” Jack said, adjusting his tatty clothes, “we can try. But we’ll have to move the drone deep inside the Devex ship or it’ll take out half the civilian transport too.”
“This is madness,” Mallet said. “These men are under arrest by order of Fleet Intelligence.”
Escape (Jack Forge, Lost Marine Book 3) Page 8
