by Scott Moon
Several tense moments passed before the SMC Marauders miraculously broke free, charging across enemy-held ground, then dropping back into the UNA and CWF perimeter. Mortar fire pounded the area behind them, covering their retreat.
Marshall saw this as well, apparently. The first shots from the launching battleship annihilated half a kilometer of ground behind the fast-moving Marines. It was a seriously danger close tactic he would have never approved in a less dire situation.
He wondered how the Marines felt about it.
19
Roosevelt Falls
“Hurry up, Connelly. I need to get in this fight,” Lovejoy said as he helped Kevin tighten his armor.
“What the hell do you think I’m doing? My unit needs me.”
“Negative, Connelly. You’ve got a new mission and I outrank you. Run your PCI. Then we’ll find Priest and get you the hell out of here. None of this is worth a damn if you don’t stop the Burner Queen and the Guide.”
Kevin wanted to argue, but thoughts of Ace and Amanda suffering pressed into his overwhelmed brain. He’d been in battles, but the chaos of this disaster shocked him. A Coalition of Worlds Marine flew over Kevin’s head, confusing him until the Burner that had thrown the man stomped closer.
Gunnery Sergeant Robert Priest sprinted behind the flaming menace and fired a stream of supersonic flechettes into the back of its machine-like knees. Glowing from the heat of his enemy, Priest closed the distance and kicked its legs as it whirled to face him.
The Burner went down. Priest retreated. Corporal McCraw and Julie popped up from a concealed position and fired rocket launchers into the downed Burner. Superheated pieces of the alien flew in all directions.
The victory was short-lived. Three more of the monsters scattered the Marauders.
“Priest, over here!” Lovejoy shouted. Rockets screamed through shifting clouds of smoke. Explosions shook the ground. Dozens of commanders and noncoms barked orders over the tac channels.
Kevin adjusted his helmet volume, pushing everything but line-of-sight radio traffic into the background. Moving with his rifle in both hands, he realized he hadn’t fired a round since putting on his armor and charging his weapons. “Fallback, I’ll cover you!”
“Moving!” Priest shouted, ducking low and running across open ground in a crouch. A smoking ship hull provided them a rally point.
Kevin was the last to arrive, walking backward as he launched grenades from the lower tube on his weapon.
A Burner void fighter blasted through the air only meters above them, the backwash of its engines forcing Kevin and his companions to hunch down protectively.
“You have a plan, Lt? Or can I get back to my squad?”
Lovejoy cleared his HUD so he could focus on the here and now. “You’re not going to like this, Gunny.”
“Fuck.”
“Sorry, Gunny,” Kevin said.
Lovejoy waved aside both statements. “Pretend I'm still a general if it helps, but this mission overrides all orders you have received or will receive in the foreseeable future.”
“Understood, sir,” Priest said.
“You are to assist Corporal Kevin Connelly. Find the Guide. Save his brother and sister if possible. Neutralize the Guide if such action serves the UNA.”
“I need details.”
“Connelly, give him the short version before we get killed. I am going to look for a ship.”
They fought back a Burner advance, then continued the conversation. Kevin explained he was trying to get Ace and Amanda back from the Burner Queen then described what kind of creature the Burner Queen AS was.
Teaming up with Priest felt right. He was probably the best Marine in the Starship Marine Corps. His reaction to the rushed briefing wasn't what Kevin expected.
“We need to keep him away from Lieutenant Lacy and Lieutenant Roosevelt,” Priest said earnestly.
“Shouldn't be a problem,” Lovejoy said. “Unless you jinxed us. If that happens, let me deal with it. My career can take another hit.”
“Sure, boss. I’ve no doubt, but I think the Guide did something to them. Not worried about your career; I’m worried about getting out asses shot off.”
Ice seemed to crawl up Kevin's spine.
“Let’s move to that ship,” Lovejoy said, pointing at a scorched corvette whose crew scrambled to make repairs.
“Yes, sir,” Kevin and Priest acknowledged.
A figure in SMC Marauder gear rushed toward them.
Kevin realized too late that neither Lovejoy nor Priest spotted the woman. He wasn't sure why he recognized the woman's movement, but he knew this was Roosevelt. There was something about the way she hunched over as she moved but never looked away from him.
“Get on the ship, Priest. Connelly, what’s the holdup?”
“Roosevelt is coming at us,” Kevin warned, “and there’s something wrong with her.”
For one mad second, he wondered if he should shoot her. Memories of basic training and her harsh tutelage came back in a rush. She’d run them hard but never done them harm. Many times, he been glad at the tough training she put him and his friends through.
He remembered Joii’s final words, warning him to beware of the Guide.
Suddenly frustrated, he looked back to his superiors to see what was taking them so long. What he saw was Priest and Lovejoy arguing near the loading ramp to the ship.
“It’s not the ship, it’s the crew. There’s a reason this thing isn’t in the air. They’re all tangled up in their own drama. We get on a long voyage with this basket of idiots and we’ll regret it,” Priest said.
“You don’t have a lot of choices,” Lovejoy said.
“You’re not coming with us?” Priest asked.
Kevin didn’t have time to listen to their bickering. Roosevelt advanced on him and he realized what was wrong with her. She didn’t have the visor to her helmet closed.
In this environment, in the middle of combat conditions, she should have her gear sealed tight. What made it worse was the insanity in her eyes. He thought she was fighting something.
Black veins twitched like snakes in the sclera of her eyes. Kevin drew back.
“Come here, Kevin Connelly. That’s an order. I order you to kneel before me. Swear you will stand against that Siren abomination.”
“Kneel?”
Roosevelt hissed.
Kevin squeezed the grip of his rifle. He wanted to back up, but there was no place to go. His senses were all on overdrive in the face of this new danger.
“Yes, Connelly. You must kneel. You must bow before Guidis.”
“Take me to him and I’ll think about it. Or better yet, bring him here.”
She looked at him askance. “You are false, Connelly. Worse than your grandfather. I’ll take you to my master, but only if you prove that you’ve killed the Burner Queen abomination.”
“Don’t talk about my grandfather.”
Roosevelt, face twisting until her expression was unrecognizable, lunged with surprising speed. Grabbing Kevin, she knocked them forward and to one side, upsetting his balance. She kicked his legs out from under him and slammed him into the ground.
Kevin tried to aim his weapon, but he was too close.
Priest sprinted down the ramp and tackled her. They rolled several times, punching and kicking and trying to take the other’s weapon. Lovejoy joined in, chopping one hand down on the base of Roosevelt’s skull.
Kevin shoved her away and scrambled backward. Spots danced in his vision as he tried to catch his breath. He looked around and was amazed at how far they had traveled during the desperate fight.
Priest grabbed him by one arm. “That ship’s no good. We’ve got to find another.”
“What about Lovejoy?”
“He’ll deal with Roosevelt.”
Priest let go of his arm and they ran through the chaos searching for another ship. There were few left without damage. Not much of the fleet had made it into space and what remained was being r
avaged by Burners. To add insult to injury, one quadrant of the battlefield was being filled with Nix warriors and another with Siren and Siren-nix. Everyone seemed to be fighting everyone else.
“We need something with a pilot, hopefully a good one who’s not crazy and is willing to take orders from an SMC Gunnery Sergeant,” Priest said.
Kevin reloaded and checked his equipment. He had to watch where he stepped because there were craters where there had been UNA tents and supply depots. A group of Burners assembled on the high ground and fired their energy weapons at ships trying to take off.
A miserable wailing sound cut through the noise.
“What the hell was that?” Priest asked.
“Roosevelt. She’s coming. Why did you say you thought she was infected by the Guide?” Kevin asked.
“Not just her, Lieutenant Lacy. And that’s hard for me to admit because I always trusted her, even if we didn’t get along. Listen, Kev, we don’t have many options left. We take the next ship that isn’t being melted by a Burner plasma cannon and get into space or we’re stuck here for the rest of our short lives.” He hesitated briefly, as though regretting how things had turned out. “I wish I had the rest of my team. I’ve been hoping to scoop them up.”
“Same here. Trying not to think about my friends.”
“They might have caught a ride already.”
“What about that ship right there, the one that just landed?”
Priest pulled him into the shadow of a ruined tank. “Two problems. One, Lacy. Two, that’s a Nix ship.”
“Maybe she’ll help us,” Kevin said, glancing toward the sound of Roosevelt’s last scream.
“Maybe.”
A dark blue Nix Kevin hadn’t seen before stepped from the ship and towered over Lacy like a god of war. He carried a sword in one hand and a battle axe in the other. The stranger, Kevin realized, lacked the extra arms of his race. Each stump was a mass of horrible scars.
A swarm of Siren-nix warriors riding strange beasts that looked like dragon horses charged through the shattered ships and dead humans.
“They’re heading for the ship. That’s it, Connelly. We’re done.”
“So what, we quit?”
“No, we fight like these jack wagons owe us money. Hope for an opportunity when the shit stops hitting the fan.” Priest opened fire on a Siren-nix horseman trying to ride him down.
Kevin turned to face another direction and found Roosevelt leaping off of a ruined vehicle. She came down hard, driving one forearm across the front of his helmet. This time, he anticipated her strength and ferocity.
Instead of drawing back, he slammed forward, upsetting her attack, then spun away from her. She stumbled. He kicked her hard, driving her sideways.
When she came to her feet, they locked gazes. She looked sick and miserable but still human. Kevin realized he couldn’t kill her.
She screamed at him in a language he couldn’t understand and rushed forward. He retreated, running around the wreckage and stalling for time. Disabling her seemed impossible and killing her was going to be a lot harder than it should be. He’d spent too long fighting alien enemies and hadn’t really considered fighting a human to the death.
“Connelly! Come to me and submit. We’ll kill the Siren abomination together!”
“What happened to you, Lieutenant?”
Roosevelt hesitated when he used her rank. Her career had been important to her and her identity as a SMC Marauder officer was still something she remembered despite being taken over by the Guide.
“Where can I find the Guide, Lieutenant?”
Roosevelt wailed, showing her teeth like an animal.
Lieutenant Natalia Lacy charged out of a flanking position and slammed Roosevelt on the ground. In several quick movements, she zip-tied her hands behind her back and left her writhing in misery.
“Get up, Connelly. You don’t have long,” Lacy said.
20
Nix Ship
Kevin’s ears wouldn’t quit ringing. Lacy was talking to him, but all he saw was her mouth moving, frustration in her expression. Ash smeared one side of her visor and she was spattered with blood. Looking at her scarred face, he saw something more than he’d ever noticed.
Her eyes were so bright. A tendril of blackness crept into one corner and was forced back, probably by her sheer will. She was fighting the same demon that Roosevelt was fighting.
“Snap out of it, Connelly,” she said, grabbing him by the back of his helmet and giving him a shake. Without letting go, she looked toward Priest, who was monitoring the battle with the big blue Nix warrior and the Siren-nix on their dragon horses.
Kevin saw all of this and thought he understood it. His ears rang from a concussion he couldn’t remember getting and the sound of the Burner Queen’s voice distracted him like a bad dream.
Lacy pressed her visor to his. “This is our last chance to steal a ship.”
“I have to do something,” Priest shouted.
“Then do it!” Lacy shouted.
Kevin forced himself to his feet. He was tired of everyone helping him. The chain of command was tangled around itself in this chaos. All that mattered was saving Ace and Amanda. He couldn’t help his unit if he wanted to.
“If this is a Nix ship, then we’ll need that guy to fly it,” Kevin said.
“Agreed.” Lacy moved in line with Priest, but with enough separation at her field of fire didn’t overlap with his too much.
Kevin took another position higher up the ramp and began to fire on the Siren-nix shock troops attacking the blue Nix.
The huge warrior swung his sword and axe in a tempest of killing blows, unhorsing one enemy after another. He slaughtered the mounts while they were down, never seeming to know or care that Kevin and the other Marines were helping him.
The battle in the skies ended. A few ships launched and were blasted apart. The Burners sent their fighters into the void to hunt Danzig’s combined Red and Blue Fleets. The rest landed and deployed ground troops to finish sterilizing the planet’s surface.
The Nix warrior killed the last of his enemies and strode toward Kevin. “I am Ontin, a leader of many warriors. You are the brother.” The Nix spoke galactic common with a rumbling accent that was hard to understand.
“We need a ship and a pilot,” Kevin said.
“Every human needs a ship and a pilot,” Ontin said. "Do you not have concern for my needs?"
"Not really," Kevin muttered before he thought about it. His experience with the Nix warrior class had been mixed. He wished he knew where Cronin was. "But maybe we can help each other."
"Do you have influence over Cronin the Betrayer?"
Kevin’s stomach flip-flopped. At one point, Cronin was the self-appointed guardian of his young brother and sister.
Priest and Lacy flanked him, ready to intervene. He didn't want to let them down.
"What do you want from Cronin?"
Ontin motioned impatiently for them to go to the ship. In the distance, an assault force was assembling. The Burners abandoned their chaotic swarm tactics and started to canvass the destroyed camp on something like a grid system.
"He is the Forever Nix and must stand up to Eigon. He must lead our people through the Sol Gate before the Ignari and Noctari destroy us all."
Once the loading ramp was up, the ship began to display lights and sounds that Kevin believed meant the ship was preparing to launch. The big blue Nix led them to a room that resembled a control bridge.
"This is not a small ship. I must have my people, my crew."
"I was trained as a pilot," Lacy said. “Just show me how to power up the engines.”
"And I have advanced degrees in alien cultures and systems,” Priest added. “It’s about time I use them for something other than starting wars.”
Ontin growled low in his throat. "This does not help me shame Cronin into doing the right thing. No human has ever flown one of our vessels. Now is not the appropriate time to begin.”
Lacy pulled Priest aside for a conference. Kevin was glad for the semi-privacy. While his bosses worked at their game plan, he went after answers.
"Where are the human twins Cronin is so fond of?"
Ontin’s disturbing smile was full of chiseled teeth. "You are the brother of them. They cry out for you. But Cronin does nothing. He does not take back what is ours. He will not use the power of the Chrysalis chambers to save us."
"I'm not part of your beef with Cronin. Tell me about Ace and Amanda.”
"I have no beef. The human weaklings are dying. The Sirens kill them day by day just as they kill my kind. "What is beef? Is that a word for honor or disgrace among your people? Never mind. If I tell you who has the human twins, will you do what I say?"
"I know who has them. I just have to do something, and I'll get them back.”
Ontin’s sudden laugh was terrifying. “You understand less than you think. Rumors say you survived Chrysalis. Rumors claim you paired with the burning abomination who was the Forever Siren before Eigon. And yet you are just another weak human.”
Lacy broke off her conversation with Priest and got in the Nix warrior’s face. Kevin wanted to laugh at their size discrepancy.
"We need the ship. You may not know it, but you need to help us. Initiate the launch sequence or I'll figure out how to do it myself and leave you here," she said.
21
The Burner Queen’s Ultimatum
“We stay until I decide to leave, even if it is our death,” Ontin said. “You are not wearing the pilot clothing of humans. Is clothing not a very important marker of your caste system? How will you control this vessel?”
A barrage of Burner rockets hit the ship.
Kevin was the first to regain his feet. He grabbed Ontin. "How many hits can this ship take without its shields? Start the ship. We can argue later."
"There are residual power flows already active. My ship is not without protection," the Nix said, "but you wouldn't know that."
He went to work, touching screens and moving various sliders. Lacy and Priest watched him attentively. Before long, the engines rumbled, spewing exhaust that would incinerate a human or Siren that got too close.
