Prompted by a couple of his buddies, Thor begrudgingly nodded. “I guess so, Commander,” Thor said.
“Fall in for suit inspection,” Van Cleef said.
The marines groaned and shuffled into lines.
Van Cleef apologized to Dax.
“If it keeps them motivated and focused,” Dax said, “they can all hate me for all I care.”
“So what’s the plan, Commander?” Valkyrie asked.
“I want us inside the gun runners’s ship before it drifts away with the garbage and escapes,” Dax said.
“What’s the target Intel, Commander?”
Dax waited until he felt he had everyone’s curiosity baited on a hook.
“Ursu,” he said.
The shock wave washing over the marines felt palpable to Dax.
Van Cleef asked the question that seemed on everyone’s mind. “How many?”
“Unknown,” Dax said.
That shut up the marines.
“Additionally,” Dax said, “we may have spider-bots and ant-bots to contend with during entry procedure.”
Dax let the bitter whistles from marines rebound off him.
“Attention,” Van Cleef shouted to his company.
They clicked their heels together as one. Dax joined the sergeant as he strode along the lines inspecting the troops. He told himself, he needed to look each and everyone in the eye before he sent them to their deaths.
All Dax saw were young boys with the wet fog of fear misting up their eyes. He wanted to vomit for what he was about to ask of them.
Two minutes later, when they were done, Van Cleef shouted, “Present Xiphos.”
Each marine drew their long sword attached to one hip belt. The handle of each Xiphos interacted with commands sent via their armored gloves. As the blades left their sheaths, they ignited instantly. A hundred flaming red swords raised into the air in salute. The acrid burning punched Dax’s nostrils.
Rows of solemn faces shimmered behind the glow of their flaming swords. Before Dax, the glimmers of fear, mistrust for an unknown commander and contempt for fleet Intel officers seemed to evaporate.
Van Cleef nodded to Valkyrie.
She stood before her company and shouted, “Valiant as one, die as one.”
The hundred marines shouted back, “Valiant as one, die as one.”
Van Cleef smiled, “Welcome to your funeral, Commander Dax.”
CHAPTER 23 - SPIDER-BOTS
The cargo elevator doors slid open and Dax led the marines out into the garbage disposal unit. The first row of marines winced at the smell and adjusted their nose filters. Dax set his to maximum, but still the stench of garbage lingered.
A Trash Compactor robot, TCR, walked up and down the vast room, spraying bacteriophages on the walls and floor to contain any bacterial outbreaks.
“Hey, rust bucket,” Dax called out to the TCR. “Show us to the outer seal doors.”
The TCR dropped a half ton cube of compacted trash where it stood and led them through a cavernous pit. It stopped and pointed to the vast airlock. A dozen bi-pedal robots about twice the size of a G-RUNT, each pushed two ton cubes of compacted trash into the air lock.
Dax turned to the marines, “OK, listen up. From now on radio silence.”
“Got that trash heads?” Van Cleef said. “We are Dark comm.”
Valkyrie turned to Dax.
“All yours, Commander,” she said.
Dax sent a digital schematic to every marine on the mission. He marked out the Ursu ship on the holograph. It appeared moored to Valiant at a location between the garbage shoot and the bridge.
“We drift out with the garbage on a master line,” Dax said. “We convene on the skin of the Ursu ship. It is imperative we deactivate the Ursu light drive, or, well, you can guess...”
Clarence Thor snorted. “Go on Commander, tell us,” Thor said. “I’m looking forward to a science lesson.”
Some of the marines around him laughed.
Van Cleef shot Thor a dark look.
“We’re waiting, professor,” Thor said.
Dax shrugged, “We get stuck out on the skin of the Ursu ship as it makes the jump to light speed, and depending on which scientific theory you believe, shall we just say you may end up proving the existence of time travel?” Dax said.
“You mean I get a Nobel Prize or something at the same time as I get to go through high school all over?”
“Sure, Thor,” Van Cleef said, “and maybe this time you don’t get dumped by the prom queen. But don’t bet on it.”
Thor’s buddies laughed at him.
“Of course, none of you will survive the experience,” Dax said, “to collect your prize.”
“You heard of warp-ghosts?” Valkyrie said to Thor. “Trust me, you don’t want to know about them. And you really don’t want to end up as one.”
Thor winced from a couple of subtle night-stick jabs from his buddies.
“Lesson over,” Van Cleef shouted. “Full-Dark in three... two... one...”
All marines adjusted the control units on their arms and all power-armor lights dimmed and winked out. Helmet visors slid shut with a faint hiss. Their helmet Eye-controlled Heads-Up-Displays glowed a soft red over their features.
The marines lined up and attached themselves one-by-one to the master line. Each marine stood behind another and began a quick check of the respiration unit of the marine in front. A tap on the shoulder signaled all-clear.
Dax led them into the airlock.
“Mag-boots on,” Van Cleef ordered. Tiny green lights winked once on their ankles.
Through the airlock window, Dax could view the rusted and battered tail of the Ursu ship, about two hundred feet from the mouth of the trash shoot. The vast airlock doors slid shut behind them. They gathered with a pair of TCRs behind a wall of giant trash cubes. A moment later the outer doors slid aside.
Dax told himself this was the hard part. In truth, it was just the first of the hard parts. Nonetheless, with Valiant traveling thousands of miles an hour, any mistake could see them crash into the side of the Ursu ship.
Dax directed the TCR group to move several blocks, one at a time, towards the Ursu ship. The TCR group moved with ease thanks to the efficiency of their mag-feet. They braced themselves against the trash cubes and pushed.
The cubes slid out of the airlock and slowly drifted out into the void.
For a brief moment, Dax wondered if these tell-tale signs of civilization would attract or repel the next alien race from discovering Earth’s galaxy. Perhaps even dictate the alien response. Friendship, or extermination. The idea that alien first contact depended on the quality of the human garbage did nothing to lighten his mood.
Dax tugged on the masterline and leapt into the void. He told himself not to look down at the dark abyss opening up below his feet. He felt a primal response take voice in the back of his head.
It felt heavy. Like a huge invisible force building up pressure and compressing his skull. A thin ringing whine expanded inside his ears. The whine fractured like a scream. The scream stretched and ballooned like a tornado.
He recalled Ransom’s psychiatric evaluation. He tried to convince Dax that his vertigo was a symptom of stress. Nothing that could be treated with drugs.
Instead, as it built up on the back of his head, he was advised to name the pressure. Trick his mind into making an ally of the pressure.
Dax knew it had only one name: Death. And as he recalled it, he made the mistake of glancing down in the direction of the abyss. From below where he imagined an invisible hand reaching up and grabbing at his feet. Dragging him down into the eternal abyss of space.
He instantly felt nauseated. He felt himself go over as if somersaulted uncontrollably. He grabbed at the garbage cube, and then realized he was already gripping it too tightly.
“Keep it together, Dax,” he whispered to himself as he clung to the nearest trash cube. He thrust his body flush with the wall of the cube. Listened to his th
undering heart and the tornado in his ears.
He drifted with the nausea as he felt a gentle tug on the line. He glanced behind him and watched the marines leap after him.
Some grabbed floating trash cubes. Others dangled precariously on the line. Many nimbly scaled the vast trash cubes and ran along the tops. Their dexterity with the mag-boots was impressive.
As Dax floated toward the Ursu ship, he noted the name painted on the outer shell: GY-FLY-MACH.
When Dax’s trash cube floated up to Gy-fly-mach, he gathered up slack in the line and leapt onto the outer shell. He landed in a crouch and wasting no time scurried up the side of the ship, searching for the light-drive conduits.
He was soon joined by Valkyrie, Van Cleef and Thor. Dax indicated they should spread out and search for the light-drive.
Van Cleef divided up the marines. Sending groups to covertly avoid outside surveillance and cover hatches and seals. The rest spread out, searching for the light-drive conduits.
Dax spotted the tell-tale signs of a light drive by the thermal exhausts. They seemed more like snake heads coiling around the bow. He reached out and touched the light-drive’s thermal exhausts. Through his gloves they felt warm. Meaning, either the light-drive was an older model, slow to cool after use. Or, it was powering up.
Dax whipped out his Xiphos and ignited it. Then he felt a shudder that stopped him in his tracks.
Dax turned to witness Valkyrie’s face. Her visor reflected hundreds of shadows crawling out of the light-drive exhaust.
Dax turned as an army of metallic ant-bots, each the size of his arm, swarmed out of the thermal exhausts. They paused as one. Riding up on their hind legs. Their antennae twitching.
“What are we waiting for?” Dax shouted. “Blast them.”
The lead ant-bot leapt at Valkyrie’s visor. Head-butting her. Cracking her visor.
“Jumpers,” Thor shouted and drew his Xiphos. Igniting the crimson flame, he leapt at the army of ants.
Van Cleef drew his Xiphos, but before he could ignite it, the first legion of army ant-bots engulfed him. Twisting their thoraxes and abdomens to aim their stingers. Plunging the stingers through Van Cleef’s power-armor. Injecting his body with acid.
Van Cleef screamed out and convulsed as the army of ant-bots climbed over him and leapt at the other marines.
Dax tried to sprint across the outer skin of the Ursu ship to reach Van Cleef. But he felt something tug at his legs. Two army ant-bots gripped his legs tight between their mandibles. He felt them cutting into his shin bones.
He lashed out with his Xiphos as they rose up onto their hind legs. They flipped Dax onto his back.
One ant-bot leapt onto his respirator unit and sliced it in half. A cloud of oxygen burst out of his suit. Dax began to see double. He knew he was blacking out.
He knew he’d be dead in less than a minute.
His vision constricted like a tunnel collapsing in on him. He gulped down carbon-dioxide and forced down the instinct to vomit.
Dax slashed his Xiphos at the ant-bots. The flaming crimson blade severed their heads from their thoraxes and hurled their bodies into space. The heads remained attached to his legs. Their mandibles crushing his legs.
He thrust the Xiphos down into their jaws and prised each one off his legs. The Xiphos burned the jaws away, and cut deep into his power-armor. He screamed out in pain.
His Xiphos frazzled the ant-bot brains. Their mandibles sprang open, releasing his trapped legs. Dax kicked away the ant-bot heads.
He lay gasping on the deck as he watched the ant-bot heads sail away to join the other billions of pieces of debris orbiting with the rings of Saturn. Until his vision failed.
He squinted to focus on his HUD and selected his emergency back-up respirator. A wave of oxygen flooded into his helmet. He felt the gushing clouds of air diminish as his power-armor conducted emergency repairs of the rips and gashes.
He sat up.
Valkyrie lay on her back before him, convulsing across the outer shell of the Ursu ship. An ant-bot swung its stinger around to her visor. Dax hurled his Xiphos at the ant-bot. It skewered the thorax and pinned it to the ship’s outer shell.
Dax stumbled over to help Valkyrie. He reached out for her. He placed his left glove over her shattered visor. He commanded his power-suit to take control of her life support functions.
Some of his nano-bots leapt like a swarm from his power-armor and instantly began to repair Valkyrie’s visor. A funnel opened up in the palm of his glove and blasted air into her cracked helmet. She was going to live.
He caught Valkyrie’s wide-eyed stare. She pointed at the mouths of the light-drive exhausts. They spat out a rainbow of light like snake venom.
“She’s making the jump to light speed,” Dax shouted out.
Every marine rushed the light-drive, drawing their Xiphos, igniting the blades and raising them above their heads.
Slashing, burning and beating a path though the army of ant-bots, Thor led the battle cry, “Valiant we die.”
The marines hurled themselves at the source of the huge bubble of rainbow light engulfing the outer shell of Gy-fly-mach.
“We’re too late,” Thor shouted and a rainbow jet stream blasted him square in the face.
CHAPTER 24 - WARP-GHOSTS
Thor threw himself at the light-drive.
The strangest feeling gripped his stomach. As if a whirlpool was opening up inside him. As if he were attached to an invisible chord. As if someone or something were tugging at it from a great distance.
He brought his Xiphos crashing down on the light-drive. But what his Xiphos hit, was not of the Ursu ship. It wasn’t anything in space. Or even, of this time.
His Xiphos stood erect, embedded in smooth black asphalt. He sat back on his heels and stared ahead. For as far as the human eye could see, stretched out before him lay an empty two lane highway.
On either side of the highway, ripe, golden corn fields reached up to the blue sky.
This is impossible. This is Earth. I’m home.
A car horn blared out.
He whipped around.
An SUV swerved.
Without thinking he grabbed at his Xiphos and leapt to one side.
As car tires screeched to a halt, he landed on one shoulder. He rolled to a stop and jumped up into a crouch.
Gripping his Xiphos with both trembling hands, he felt his Boot Camp training take over his reflexes. He assumed a defensive position and stared into the blazing sun waiting for his helmet visor adjusted to the glare. But then he realized his visor had shattered.
Am I dead?
“What kind of trickery is this?” he shouted at the figure shrouded in shadow as it disembarked from the SUV.
“Clarence Thor,” a woman’s voice shouted, “what in hell are you dressed like? It’s not Halloween for months.”
The slim, young woman stopped in the middle of the road. She tapped her boot on the asphalt.
“Damn it, Clarence, I’m ruining new soles on in this heat,” she shouted. “What are you doing standing in the middle of the road. I could have killed you?”
He felt his sword arm droop.
She walked toward him and held out a hand.
He flinched. His arms flexed rigid and the Xiphos stood erect, waving at her.
“Enough of the joke,” the woman shouted. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Or is this what I think it is?”
“Tegan?” he said not quite believing his eyes. “But you died.”
“Are you drunk?” she said. “Of course it’s me.”
“What are you doing here?” Thor said.
“Trying to get home before the storm,” she said and indicated dark thunder clouds gathering above a ranch, some distance near the horizon.
She squinted and looked him up and down. When her eyes finally met his, they were moist. She refused to wipe them. Pretending as if her wet face was due to the first spots of rain.
“Tell me you didn’t go and en
list,” she demanded.
“What?” was all he could say as he pulled off a glove and ran his fingers over a ripened corn cob.
It’s real... it’s harvest time... so it must be July or August?
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He whipped around to her. “What year is this? What date?”
She shook her head as if in disgust and kicked the front wheel wedged into a small ditch along the roadside.
“This is how you want to play it?” she said and dropped her hand to her side. She then held it out and frantically twist the ring of her third finger.
“This is how you end us? Standing in the road like a ghost?” she said, tugging at her ring.
“Everyone’s been looking for you, Clarence,” she shouted. “Of all the days you choose today to do this.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just came from your folks’ place,” she said and stared at him as if really seeing him for the first time. “You really don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“They just got bad news. I’m sorry, but your brother Pete, Mickey and all of their friends died on Mars.”
“This is the fourth of July?” he said. “The day I enlisted. The day you--”
Tegan finally managed to twist off the ring from her finger. She tossed it at him and turned away.
“I can’t marry a man with a death-wish,” she sobbed and ran back to the SUV.
He watched the ring bounced across the steaming asphalt. He stooped to pick it up, “No, wait, Tegan,” he shouted. “I can explain.”
“Too late, Clarence,” she said and climbed in behind the wheel. She grabbed the door and swung it to her.
He dropped the Xiphos and let it smolder on the arid crops. He ran to the SUV and grabbed the door. He wrenched it back from her grasp.
“Tegan, I’m telling you it’s not safe to go back to your folks,” he said. “Don’t ask me how I know this, but you die. You, your folks, and everyone on your ranch die today, July 4th 2177.”
“My father was right about you all this time, Clarence.”
“I’m telling you, Tegan,” he shouted. “I didn’t join up because of my brother and his friends. It was your death. You died and my world ended and I wanted revenge on--”
Valiant (Jurassic War Universe Book 1) Page 14
