In Dread Silence (Warp Marine Corps Book 4)

by C. J. Carella

  “The signature doesn’t match any space combatants in the Navy, sir,” the controller said. “Or any civilian vessels, either. It’s too small, for one.”

  “Spy ship?”

  “It’s arriving right smack in the mouth of the warp valley, Lieutenant Commander Jimenez. No stealth system is going to make it disappear from our sensors at those ranges.”

  Jimenez had found that when the enlisted used his full name and rank, he was being called an idiot. Under the circumstances, he let it pass.

  “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough,” he said instead. “I’m going to kick this upstairs. Keep an eye on it.”

  The unusual readings were enough to put the system at DEFCON 2 – they had been at level three since the war began. The bogey was due to appear within two light seconds of Cascadia-Three, ‘north’ of the orbital path of the three planetary fortresses around the planet. Weapons went hot; if the small boat had bad intentions, it would get splashed in a matter of seconds.

  Some five minutes before its arrival, the air traffic controller spoke up: “I think I know what it is, sir. Except it’s impossible.”

  “Don’t keep me in suspense, Spacer.”

  “That signature matches a War Eagle, sir.”

  “The fighter? They can’t do interstellar jumps.”

  “It’s the only thing that matches. That or a shuttle, and those can’t warp at all.”

  Jimenez didn’t see the need to argue the point, not with the bogey about to arrive and dispel any doubts. “We’ll see. Carry on.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  As it turned out, the spacer had been right. A War Eagle emerged into normal space. It should have never gotten there, even if a pilot in a craft that size could survive four hours of exposure to warp space. And yet, there it was.

  “It’s hailing us, sir.”

  “Onscreen.”

  The pilot had removed her helmet. A woman’s face, drawn and haggard, appeared on the visual display.

  “This is Lieutenant Commander Deborah Genovisi, call-sign Grinner. I have a message for Major Lisbeth Zhang, Warp Marine Corps.”

  Her ID flashed on the screen: she was with Seventh Fleet, MIA, presumed KIA during the last space action in New Texas.

  “Very well, Commander. Stand by for Search and Rescue to pick you up.”

  Jimenez wondered what that was all about. Probably something that would make one hell of a spacer story.

  * * *

  Commander Fred Grayson tried not to get his hopes up as he walked into the interrogation room. Things were so bad that anything, even this insane incident, was worth investigating, in the hopes it would help shed some light on the disaster looming over the entire human race.

  He had been putting out fires for the US Navy for a good ten years; the only reason he hadn’t risen up in rank was that he was damn good at his job, and he liked putting out fires. Running a ship was tame by comparison, and command had never appealed to him. When he did his job, he made admirals dance to his tune. But when things went wrong…

  The door closed behind him, leaving him alone with the woman in the flight suit. A new flight suit; word was she’d been a hot mess when she arrived to Cascadia after an impossible warp transit. Genovisi still didn’t look fit for duty; the emaciated looks were matched by the haunted expression in her eyes. If any of her story was true, her condition was understandable enough. Having her flight mates try to kill her, followed by a suicidal warp jump and being saved by some entity in warp space… It was one hell of a spacer tale, if nothing else.

  “I need to speak with Major Zhang,” she said as soon as she set eyes on him. That would make it about the two hundredth time she’d made that request.

  “We are trying to find the Major, Lieutenant,” Fred said in a patient tone. He was good at reading people – most of the time, he corrected himself, remembering the fiasco with Kerensky. The fighter pilot would behave better under a gentle hand than a clenched fist, and he needed information, not winning a pissing contest.

  “It appears she is on a long-term mission. A classified one. Reaching her may take some time.”

  “I know where she is. And what she did, when she found the Marauder Corpse-Ships. They told me what happened.”

  Fred’s eyebrows went out. The details of the mission were beyond his need-to-know clearance, but he knew about the Corpse-Ship at Xanadu, as well as Major Zhang’s involvement in the incident. From there, making a guess as to what her classified mission entailed wasn’t that hard. But this Navy aviator didn’t have access to any such information.

  “How did you learn about that operation, Genovisi? Who are ‘they’?”

  “The Warplings. They are at war with each other, and our actions are causing that war to spill into our reality. If Major Zhang cannot stop Kerensky and his Black Ships, humanity is doomed.”

  Genovisi had gone on her lengthy warp trip a week before Kerensky’s mutiny. Fred’s first instinct was to assume the pilot had been part of the conspiracy. Except that didn’t explain how she knew about Major Zhang. Coming face to face with something without any possible explanation would have been more of a shock if he hadn’t just had to deal with literally dozens of other unexplainable events in the past couple of days.

  “Tell me everything you know, Lieutenant Commander.”

  “If Kerensky unleashes the Warplings into this universe, the Elder Races will intervene. Entire worlds will burn. Do you understand what I’m saying? The galaxy will face an apocalypse. And I’m not being metaphorical. You have to get me to Major Zhang!”

  She was looking directly at him as she spoke. In those haunted eyes, Grayson saw the end of humankind.

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  GLOSSARY

  (Note: Some of the military/Marine jargon below comes from current and past terms used by the US military; others are made up, on the grounds that new terms would have been developed over the decades since First Contact).

  03: Warp Marine Slang for someone with an infantry MOS, as opposed to a POG (see below).

  1369: A fake MOS that indicates an individual is unlucky and inclined to give oral pleasure to males of the species.

  AFC: After First Contact. The new US calendar has Year Zero beginning on the day the Risshah bombed the Earth, killing some four billion people.

  ALS-43: Automatic Launch System. Portable heavy weapon that fires a variety of 15mm ammunition, including grenades, armor-piercing and incendiary rounds. Also known as the All-Good or Alsie.

  Area Force Field: A heavy force field can generate a sphere hundreds or even thousands of yards in diameter. Vehicle-mounted versions are used to protect advancing troops.

  Blaster: Slang magnetically-propelled slug-throwers that usually fire plasma-explosive bullets. Also see Infantry Weapon Mk 3.

  Biosphere Classes: The four known forms of life in the galaxy, which appear to descend from four primordial biology groupings that somehow spread throughout known space. Class One. Two and Three Biospheres are carbon-based but each has a distinct biochemical makeup that make them incompatible with each other. Class Four entities are silicon-based and can only survive under environments other classes find uninhabitable.

  Bloomie: Thermal-pulse weapon of mass destruction, which generates a distinctive force field-contained ‘blooming onion’ shape that persists for several hours. Designed to minimize damage to the ecosystem, it generates heat without producing radiation or other effects, and the force fields radiate most of the heat beyond the planet’s atmosphere after reducing everything within the area of effect to molten slag.

  Bubblehead: slang for Navy spacers, from the shape of the ‘astronaut’ helmets issued during the early years after First Contact.

  CVW: Carrier Space Wing. Operational naval space fighter o
rganization comprising all warp fighter squadrons in a carrier vessel.

  Dabrah: Pal, friend. Short for ‘dudebro.’

  Domass: Stupid, idiot. Contraction of the words ‘dumb’ and ‘ass.’

  ET: Extraterrestrial, common vernacular for aliens. Also rendered as Echo Tango, or simply Tango.

  Eet, Eets: Slang version of ET; both terms are used interchangeably.

  Fabber (Fabrication Machine): A ‘matter-printing’ device capable to manipulating matter at the molecular (or for the most advance systems, subatomic) level. Fabbers are the primary means of production among Starfarer civilizations. To produce anything beyond macro-scale items, a living, thinking being must direct the production process, apparently due to the Observer Effect. As a result, only the production of very simple devices can be automated. Industry is one of the largest sources of employment in the civilized galaxy.

  Fabber Operator (FO): Someone trained to control fabricators to produce sophisticated technological devices.

  Flick: Term for a multimedia entertainment production, available in multiple versions, from 2-D Passive (identical to a Pre-Contact movie or TV show) to Full VR Interactive (which allows users to assume the role of characters and play in the production’s scenario). Intermediate stages include VR Passive, Alternate Endings and Control Storyline Outcome, as well as ‘Adults Only’ interactive versions.

  FNG: Fucking New Guy. Term of endearment for new soldiers and spacers.

  Foxtrot-November: Unofficial acronym for ‘Fucking Noob.’ See also FNG.

  Full Goldie/Goldilocks Planet: A world with conditions nearly identical to Earth’s (95% or higher on all major categories, including oxygen/nitrogen mix, gravity, and average temperatures).

  Gack, Gacks: Slang; derogatory term for the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and its citizens.

  Galactic Imperium: The largest known Starfarer polity, and the only one comprising several member species of roughly equal power. See also Gal-Imp, Gimp.

  Gal-Imp, Gimp: Slang terms for the Galactic Imperium and its citizens. Gimp is a full-on slur and its use discouraged in polite company.

  Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (GACS): A federation comprising China, India, Russia and an assortment of Asian countries and former Soviet Republics. Other than the United Stars, it’s the only human polity with a presence beyond the Solar System. Commonly referred to as the Pan-Asians or the Gacks.

  HAW: Heavy Anti-Armor Weapon. Large missile usually mounted on combat vehicles or deployed by company-level anti-armor teams.

  Haz-Con: Short for Hazardous Conditions. Any environment that isn’t suited to normal human life, requiring special equipment or medical treatments to endure without health risks.

  Hellcat: Common designation of Mobile Infantry Units (MIU), four-legged battlesuits equipped with heavy armor and force field, and several modular weapon pods.

  Hrauwah: Starfaring species and early US ally. Pseudo-canines with arboreal adaptations, the Hrauwah are social obligate carnivores vaguely resembling a cross between a dog and raccoon. Also see Puppies.

  Imp(s): Short for ‘implant,’ a catchall term for the numerous bionic systems most humans use for communications, first-aid, protection and entertainment. Imp services include: full biomedical monitors, virtual reality displays, mapping and location apps, targeting and sensory arrays, among many others.

  Infantry Weapon, Mark Three (IW-3): The standard issue personal arm of the Marine Corps, a dual-barreled grenade launcher and assault rifle, firing 4mm explosive plasma rounds and 15mm airmobile ordnance grenades.

  Iwo, Iwo-gun: Slang term for all Infantry Weapons.

  Kirosha: A continent-spanning kingdom on the planet Jasper-Five; the same term is also used to refer to the inhabitants of the kingdom and its capital city.

  Known Galaxy, The: Also referred to as Known Space; the region of the Milky Way Galaxy explored and colonized by all known Starfarer civilizations. It roughly corresponds to the Orion-Cygnus Arm of the galaxy, about 10,000 light years long and 3,500 light years wide. Almost every known warp valley leads to locations within that volume of space. Despite its name, the Known Galaxy, which comprises billions of stars, hasn’t been fully explored, let alone developed.

  Lampreys: Slang term for the Lhan Arkh species.

  LAV: Land Assault Vehicle, an armored personnel carrier/infantry fighting vehicle, sixty tons in weight, capable of carrying an infantry squad, armed with a 25mm laser or a 30mm grav cannon, as well as four HAW missile launchers. Its gravity drive allows it to fly and maneuver at speeds of up to 300 mph, but its main purpose is to fight at ground level. Crewed by a driver, gunner and loader.

  Lhan Arkh/Lhan Arkh Congress: Class One Starfarer species, commonly known as the Lampreys due to their funnel-shaped, tooth-ringed mouths. The Lhan Arkh Congress, a sort of communist oligarchy, is one of the largest polities in the known galaxy.

  MBT-5 ‘Schwarzkopf’: Main battle tank of the Marine Corps, a hundred-ton, gravity drive vehicle armed with a 250mm grav gun mounted on a turret, three 15mm ALS-43 guns, an Air-Defense Gatling laser on its cupola, and two 20mm plasma projectors (one coaxial on the turret, the other bow-mounted).

  MEU: Marine Expeditionary Unit, consisting of an infantry battalion, and several organic attachments, including a tank platoon. The most common Corps deployment and administrative unit.

  MOS: Military Occupational Specialty, a numerical code indicating a soldier’s career field.

  MTV: Medium Tactical Vehicle. Primary supply and transport vehicle of the Corps. A 15-ton hover-truck that can keep up with LAVs over most kinds of terrain, with light force fields and armor. Often have a SAW or ALS-43 mounted on its roof.

  Nanoscale Assembly Device (NAD): Official designation of fabrication machines (see ‘Fabber’).

  Nasstah/Nasstah Union: Class One Starfarer species, bearing some morphological and cultural similarities to the Rishtah (a.k.a. Snakes). Their largest polity, the Nasstah Union is openly hostile towards America and humanity in general. Commonly known as the Vipers.

  Obie: Someone performing his Obligatory Service, especially during the first two years.

  Obligatory Service Term: A four-year military conscription system all US citizens must participate in. Eligibility starts at age sixteen; one must be enrolled before age twenty. Failure to comply is punishable by a four-year prison term and loss of citizenship status. In addition to basic military training, OST conscripts receive basic education equivalent to the last two years of high school and/or vocational training or college courses.

  Ovals: Slang term for the Vehelian species.

  POG, Pogue: Person Other than a Grunt, used contemptuously for soldiers with non-combat occupational specialties and less frequently to refer to civilians in general.

  Portable Force Field: A small area force field, usually configured to project a wall of force or a small bubble, meant to improve entrenchments and other fighting positions; it is too cumbersome to be used on the move. Issued at the squad or platoon level.

  Portable Graviton Weapon: A 10cm energy weapon issued to Marine weapon platoons, replacing the ALS-43.

  Pow, pows: Short for power pack, the high-density batteries used to supply energy to combat armor and some weapon systems. Not to be confused with P.O.W. (prisoner of war).

  Puppies: Common term for the Hrauwah species, due to their resemblance to short-haired humanoid canines.

  Rat: A derisive term for corporate employees, bureaucrats and city dwellers of all stripes, originating from a popular song from the First Century AFC.

  Remfie: Civilian, especially those with little understanding or appreciation of the military. Less-commonly, military personnel operating far behind the lines who show same. Origin: REMF, Rear Echelon Motherfucker.

  Risshah/Risshah Nest Collective: A Class One species brought into Starfarer society as a client of the Lhan Arkh Congress. The Nest Collective was largely destroyed in war with the USA, although a few million members survive under Lhan Arkh patronage. />
  Rothschild Threshold: The point at which reactionless drives hit steep diminishing returns, roughly around a thousandth of the speed of light. Named after the human astrophysicist who translated the Hrauwah formulas into human mathematics.

  Shellies: Slang term for tank crews.

  Snakes: Derogatory term for the Risshah.

  Starfarer: Common term for any species capable of building and manning starships (vessels capable of faster-than-light travel); popularly synonymous with ‘civilized,’ ‘cultured,’ ‘high-tech.’

  Stormin’ Norman: Common nickname for the MBT-5 Schwarzkopf tank

  Tango: Short for Echo Tango, or ET (see above), used somewhat less frequently than ET or Eet. Also, military vernacular for ‘target.’

  Textic/Textic-American English: Written form of modern English, notable for the use of shortened words, anagrams and other minimalist techniques to maximize meaning with the minimum number of letters, numbers and characters possible. The spoken version can be found mostly among the lower classes in human cities or enclaves.

  United Stars of America: A nation comprising the former United States, Canada and portions of Mexico on Earth, as well as several dozen stars around the galaxy.

  Vehelians/O-Vehel Commonwealth: Class Two Starfarer species that has a mostly commercial relationship with the USA.

  Vipers: Slang term for the Nasstah species.

  Warp Rating: A living being’s ability to endure entering warp space, ranging from 1 – can only endure warp travel while sedated or unconscious, to 4 – can enter warp in a sealed suit and survive. Less than ten percent of most Starfarer species (the average is closer to five percent) are warp-rated. Humans, for reasons not yet understood, are an extraordinary exception, with fifty percent of their population rated at level 1 or higher.

  Widowmaker: Slang term for newly-issued Portable Graviton Weapon (see PGW).

  Wyrms: Slang term for members of the Wyrashat species.