by Tripp Ellis
“We need to get to the crash site and check for survivors.” Carson looked over the squad. Hawthorne was dead. Vasquez wounded. Dorado a shell of his former self. But the rest of the squad was unharmed. “Murphy, Koontz, Talbot, O’Leary… you’re with me.”
“Aye, sir.” Murphy didn’t look thrilled about going farther down into the valley.
Carson wasn’t sure whether or not the queasy feeling in his stomach was from his illness or from the loss of Big Tex and the Vantage. He climbed down the sheer walls of the cliff, then crossed to the opposite hillside where the wreckage lay. It was a smoldering hunk of debris. The fire was crackling and popping. Rain sizzled on the fuselage as it hit. Big Tex’s body was nothing more than a charred carcass.
Kyle always liked Big Tex, most of the guys did. Carson had been hoping against hope that they’d find Big Tex still alive. There was just a small fragment of his cowboy hat left among the debris. Kyle knelt down and picked it up, regarding it solemnly. Then he tossed it back down. He was about to order the team to move out when a screeching howl pierced his ears. His eyes snapped in the direction of the sound. He brought his weapon to the firing position as he crouched for cover.
It wasn't a celebratory howl—it was a sickly, pain-filled moan. Kyle crept toward the origin. About thirty yards from the wreckage he found the enemy. The thing was crawling on its belly. Green blood trailed behind the creature, oozing from its partially severed leg. It had fashioned a tourniquet to stem the bleeding.
Its comrades had left him to die.
The creature was huge. Twice the size of a man. It was bipedal and wore black body armor. It had scaly reptilian skin that was almost black, with a greenish gray underbelly. It had the eyes of a viper with vertical pupils. Its red irises almost seemed to glow. Even under the gray sky, they reflected a brilliant burgundy hue. Its mouth was a combination of fangs and serrated shark-like teeth. Kyle had never seen a species like this.
It swung its weapon around and blasted a few bolts at Carson. He dove for cover, then yelled into his comm line, “I want this thing alive! Repeat. Do NOT kill it.”
The Marines fanned out and flanked the creature.
“Drop the weapon,” Kyle yelled. He knew the thing wasn't going to understand him, but it was worth a try.
The creature fired a few more erratic rounds. Bolts of orange energy zipped through the air, missing their targets by a wide margin. The creature was weak and panicked, and its aim suffered. It blasted off a few more shots, then the charge on its rifle went dead. The alien weapons were powerful, but short-lived.
The Marines quickly pushed in, surrounding the creature. Angry barrels of RK 909 assault rifles stared the creature in the face. It didn't need to speak English to know it was totally screwed.
Murphy kicked the alien’s weapon aside. O’Leary knelt beside the creature, tending to its wounds. The thing resisted at first, rearing back and snarling. But after the shot of Neuromodix took effect, the creature eased up and let O’Leary administer medical aid.
“I've got him stabilized, and I stopped the bleeding,” O'Leary said.
“Let's get him back to base and see if we can get some intel out of him,” Kyle commanded.
Murphy restrained the alien with flexible cuffs.
O'Leary took a flexible mat from his rucksack and unrolled it on the ground. It looked like a green yoga mat. He activated the device, and the material became stiff as a board. Murphy, Koontz, Talbot, and Kyle each grabbed an appendage and hefted the giant alien on top the stretcher. O'Leary pressed another button on the stretcher's control panel, and the device hovered 3 feet in the air. The gangly alien hung over the sides. With the assistance of the smart-stretcher, O'Leary was able to push the alien by himself.
The fire team made their way back to the others, where they were met with wide eyes.
“Damn, that is one ugly sum-bitch!” Stedman said.
The alien snarled at his statement, as if he understood. Stedman jerked back, which caused the rest of the squad to burst into laughter at his jitters.
“I bet he says the same thing about you, Stedman,” Talbot said.
Stedman scowled at him.
“Quit gawking at our prisoner and let's get a move on,” Sergeant Kyle said.
Somewhere, behind the clouds, the binary suns of Ceti Reticuli 9 were dipping down toward the horizon. It would be dark soon, and Kyle certainly didn't want to be caught outside the wire at night. The aliens may have fallen back after their victory this afternoon, but Kyle knew they'd be back. They’d probably try to hit the compound tonight.
16
Chloe
Chloe took evasive action and tried to angle for an optimal position to attack the inbound threats. They were sleek, nimble, matte black fighters. Chloe quickly realized they weren’t Stingrays. Her face twisted up perplexed. She had never seen anything like this before. Was this some type of new developmental spacecraft, she wondered?
She tried to get a good position, but the bogeys were too fast. They quickly disappeared into the haze and clutter of undulating asteroids.
“What the hell are those?” Lily asked. “We don’t stand a chance against that.”
“Keep your eyes peeled.” Chloe frantically scanned the area. She had the unnerving feeling that those fighters were going to appear on her six at any moment. Her stomach twisted up and her heart was racing again. Despite outward appearances, and her chaotic flying style, Chloe didn’t like being out of control. Everything she did was calculated. But knowing an enemy was out there was disconcerting. With no visual contact, and no sensors, she felt vulnerable. And she didn’t like that feeling.
Seemingly out of nowhere, two Stingrays appeared on her tail. She pulled hard on the stick as one of them fired simulated rounds—glowing projectiles that were the equivalent of paint pellets. They didn’t cause any damage, but upon impact they marked the vehicles with a temporary coating that would let you see the full extent of the damage. The residue would eventually dissipate.
The glowing projectiles streaked past the cockpit as Chloe spiraled out of the way. She thought it was weird that they’d be in a simulated dogfight with both Stingrays and a new developmental type of spacecraft. But she had more pressing matters to focus on, namely evading the bogey on her tail. She tried every trick in the book to shake her attacker as she swooped perilously close to several asteroids. The Stingray was hanging tight. This was one of the best pilots she’d ever been up against.
Glowing projectiles continued to streak past her as she dodged and weaved through the nebula.
Lily’s voice crackled over the com line. “I can’t shake this guy.”
“I know the feeling.”
A moment later, Lily's distressed voice filtered in Chloe’s ears. “I’m hit.”
Chloe grimaced. A midsize asteroid careened straight toward her. She pulled hard on the stick evading certain destruction. At the last moment, her attacker veered in the opposite direction. It was a lucky break. She swooped around the large space rock and gained the advantage. This was the only chance she was going to get. Her targeting reticle locked on and she squeezed the trigger. A stream of projectiles rifled through space, several of them impacting against the Stingray’s fuselage.
“Yes!” she shouted. Her eyes glimmered, and a brilliant smile flashed on her face. But the joy was short-lived. She could hear the impact of training bullets on the hull. She clenched her jaw and grumbled under her breath.
“Congratulations, Ensign Johnson. “ Commander Scott said. “You may have taken out Instructor Cash, but you’re dead. Never ignore your six.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Still. Nice flying.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Head back to base. Write your reports and view the flight data. We’ve got more cadets to harass.”
“Aye, sir.”
By the time Chloe and Lily arrived back at the Rock there were several other cadets waiting. Chloe climbed out of her Mustang and strolled acr
oss the tarmac. She pulled off her helmet and cradled it under her arm like a football.
“Looks like you got painted up real good,” Harrison said. He was a tall guy, right at the height cut off for pilots. Any taller and he wouldn’t have been able to fit in a fighter cockpit.
Chloe flipped him off, playfully.
“No worries. We all got peppered pretty good.”
“Did anybody score a hit?”
“I heard Kilmer tagged an instructor,” Turner said.
Chloe grimaced and shook her head. “Hey, did anybody see those new ships?”
Harrison shrugged. “What new ships”
“They weren’t Stingrays. And they were fast.”
“I don’t know. Maybe you were seeing things,” Turner said.
Chloe’s eyes narrowed at him. “Come to think of it, they didn’t have any UPDF markings.”
Kilmer and his wingman, Armstrong, were approaching. Their mustangs hovered above the tarmac and gently set down. Chloe was dreading the confrontation.
Kilmer emerged from his cockpit with a grin. He let out a hoot and began to boast immediately. “Ladies and gentlemen, please take note of my vehicle. It’s completely unmarked.” He took a bow. But no one was applauding. He eyed Chloe’s Mustang and could barely contain his laughter. “Geez, Johnson. Were you trying to get hit?”
She glowered at him.
A few moments later the instructors’ squadron arrived. There were six Stingrays that had taken out the entire class, except for Kilmer and Armstrong. But Chloe didn’t see a trace of the mysterious ships she had encountered in the nebula. She had an unnerving feeling, and her stomach began to tighten. Perhaps those weren’t UPDF fighters after all?
17
The Marines
When he returned to base, Kyle fully expected to get an earful from the Lieutenant. But instead, the LT seemed calm—almost resigned to the situation. They were trapped on this planet, with no communications, and no one coming to rescue them. There was a superior enemy force out there in the hills somewhere, and they seemed hell-bent on eradicating human life. All in all, it was a pretty crappy situation.
“So, where's this alien of yours?”
Kyle led the LT into one of the structures where they had the alien cuffed to a piece of piping that ran up the wall. Even sitting down, the alien was almost at eye level.
It was still drizzling, and rain was leaking in through the holes in the ceiling. Puddles had formed in the low spots in the floor. The LT sloshed through the water and surveyed the hideous creature. Griggs’s face twisted up in disgust. “Do we know what the hell this thing is?"
"We ran his image through the database. It doesn't come up with a match. This is a new species. Something we've never encountered before." Kyle was still wearing his quarantine face-mask. His muffled voice filtered through it, devoid of high-frequencies.
“How do you know it's a he?"
“I didn't check firsthand, sir. You're more than welcome to."
The LT shot him a look. “Are they indigenous to the planet?"
“Unlikely, sir. There are no reports of the colonists ever encountering any hostile lifeforms."
The lieutenant sighed. "This was supposed to be a routine welfare check on a group providing humanitarian aid to the indigenous people."
“It’s always the easy missions that seem to bite you in the ass, sir.”
The LT let out a slight chuckle. "Ain't that the truth."
The alien's eyes flicked between the two of them.
“Have you been able to get any useful intel out of it?”
The alien mimicked Griggs’s voice. It was a low, raspy sound. “Hav yooo been abol to geet ana oosfoo eentel out of eeet?”
“Just that kind of stuff, sir. He just parrots statements back."
The LT leaned in close to the alien and spoke in a loud tone. His words were slow and deliberate. "Do you understand me, you big freak?"
The creature glared at him and parroted back his phrase in his broken English.
Griggs didn't have the patience for this.
"I think if I can get him to speak in his native tongue the computer might be able to analyze the language construction, and compare it with other known languages."
“Are you saying you could translate?"
"I wouldn't go that far. But it might give us a rough way to communicate.”
“Get to work on that.”
“Aye, sir."
Once Griggs left the building, Kyle pulled off his quarantine mask and grabbed a breath of fresh air. He was alone with the creature. He stared into the alien’s red eyes. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me how many of your troops are out there? Or what you’re doing here?"
The alien just snarled at him.
“Didn’t think so.”
Carson was trembling from the cold. He stepped away from the alien and sneezed. The creature didn't seem affected by the temperature at all. Carson was barely managing to stay upright. The pressure in his head had increased. His eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets. The ground was still unsteady beneath his feet. He needed some rest. If the compound was attacked, he needed to be functional.
Carson put on his quarantine mask and marched out of the structure. He ordered Murphy and Talbot to stand guard over the alien. Carson marched back toward the medical facility, but collapsed in the middle of the street.
He woke up several hours later with another IV stuck into his arm.
“You need to stay hydrated," Bates said. Then he amended his statement. "You need to stay off your feet and stop pushing yourself."
“What's the point? It's not going to change the outcome. This isn't an infection my body can fight off, is it?”
"Proxima flu has a 95% mortality rate."
“If I'm going to die, I'd rather die on my feet."
Kyle tried to sit up and got one hell of a head rush. He looked around the room and saw the LT lying on a mat. “What’s with him?”
“He collapsed about half an hour ago.”
Kyle’s face twisted, perplexed.
“I ran some blood samples. As far as I can tell, he’s patient zero.”
“No shit? How come I became symptomatic before him?”
“Everybody processes the virus differently.”
“How many in the platoon are infected?”
“I don’t know. I’m collecting blood samples and will analyze them,” Bates said. “That alien of yours is dead too.”
Kyle's brow crinkled. "What?"
"He bled out.”
“I thought O'Leary had stabilized his injuries?”
“He bled out of his eyes. His organs turned to mush. He caught your flu."
Kyle looked confused. "I thought it took 3 to 5 days?"
“Their systems must process the virus faster. He was dead within 15 to 20 minutes after you left him. Were you wearing your quarantine mask?”
Kyle shook his head. “I took it off without thinking. ”
“Maybe you and the LT can go sneeze on all of them.” Bates said it as a joke, but Kyle took it to heart.
“The virus is contained in all bodily fluids, correct?"
“Blood, saliva, mucus."
“So, I’m basically a walking bio-weapon.”
“Basically. With no delivery system.”
Kyle pondered this for a moment. “Could we take a sample of my blood and deliver it as an aerosol via a drone?”
“The drone network isn’t functional, and we don’t have an aerosol-delivery mechanism. They’re recon drones. Not assault drones. Besides, the Galactic Convention prohibits the use of biological weapons.”
Kyle's face tensed. "The Galactic Convention also prohibits the targeting and destruction of humanitarian outposts.”
A massive explosion interrupted their conversation. The ground rumbled and bits of concrete showered out. The aliens were advancing on the compound, blasting at the structures. Orange energy bolts lit up the night sky. The clatter of gu
nfire erupted as Marines fought back. From a distance, the battle looked oddly beautiful.
18
Chloe
“No we don’t have any fighters like that in development, or testing,” Commander Scott said.
“Are you sure this isn’t a classified thing that you can’t talk to me about?” Chloe asked. She stood at attention next to Lily in Commander Scott’s office.
“I can assure you, Ensign Johnson, we are not testing a classified spacecraft at this facility.” Commander Scott pursed his lips. “I’ve got to contact the fleet. These ships may be doing some type of recon. This could be connected to the destruction of the Devastator. I’m putting this facility on high alert, and suspending all training missions.”
Chloe frowned.
“Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Dismissed.”
The two cadets gave the commander a salute and left the office.
The chow hall was bustling with activity. Chloe and Lily stuffed their faces with burgers.
Kilmer strolled by their table and sneered. “So, you saw enemy fighters, did you?” He said in a skeptical tone.
“We saw something,” Chloe said. “I don’t know what they were.”
“How come they’re not on your flight data recorder?”
Chloe shrugged. “I don’t know. The footage from all the cameras is full of static.”
“Convenient.”
“Why would I lie about something like this?”
Kilmer shrugged. “I don’t know. Need for attention? You’re certainly not getting it from your performance abilities. And now training has been suspended? This is ridiculous.”
Chloe was furious, but she contained her anger.
Kilmer continued to another table and took a seat.
“You know, he’s not as cute as I first thought.” Lily mumbled.
The two laughed.
Back in the housing pod, Chloe took out her PDU and began to record a message to Lucas. She was going to send it over the mil-net. Hopefully it would reach him back on the Revenant. She found the perfect lighting and held the PDU at arm’s length, framing up a nice shot. Then she pressed record. “Hey Babe, just wanted to check in with you. I’m here and so far so good. Had an interesting day today. Got one kill, but got shot down as well. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. Stay out of trouble and send me a message back. Miss your face.”
