Species War: Battlefield Mars Book 3

by David Robbins

  “Nothing,” Archard said. “Whining to myself, is all.”

  “A human trait BioMarines do not share.” She was still holding her hand to her side. The bleeding had stopped but she was clearly in terrible pain and trying hard not to let her wound slow her. “We are psychologically conditioned to maintain an even

  emotional keel. Most of us are usually very upbeat, as you would say.”

  Knowing they shouldn’t be making small talk when they could be attacked at any moment, Archard nonetheless said, “Most?”

  “There is one of us who grumbles now and then. He isn’t satisfied with the status quo.”

  Archard was about to ask which one of her unit it was when his sensors pinged. Halting, he increased the magnification factor on his holo display. “I’m picking up motion and heat sigs.” He counted nine. “Human.”

  “Where?”

  “Twenty meters to the northeast.”

  “We should join them,” KLL-10 suggested. “Increase our chances of success.”

  “We can catch up if we hurry,” Archard said. “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

  KLL-10 smiled. “Thank you for your concern. I’ll manage, yes. Wounds this big, our healing factors take a while to repair. I am feeling stronger than I did earlier.”

  “Let’s hustle, then.”

  Archard was a good ten meters from the clustered group when he distinguished their outlines. They were apparently aware of his approach and had stopped.

  “This is Captain Irene Ferris,” his helmet suddenly blared. “Identify yourself.”

  “Captain Archard Rahn,” he responded, “with BioMarine KLL-10.”

  Archard heard a squeal in his earphones and one of the figures came running toward him with its arms outspread. His personal frequency burst with a shriek that nearly ruptured his eardrums.

  “Archard! Oh, Archard!”

  Then Dr. Katla Dkany had her arms around him and was squeezing him with her faceplate brushing his. The tears that formed in the corners of her eyes moved him deeply.

  “Katla,” Archard said huskily.

  “I thought you were dead,” Katla said.

  “Not yet, but Mars is trying its best,” Archard joked, aware that others were converging. He recognized some of them but not the wounded captain who couldn’t walk on her own.

  “Captain Rahn? I’m Ferris. I take it you already know Dr. Dkany. This other woman is Trisna Sahir, with her little girl Behulah, and the boy is….”

  “Piotr Zabinski,” Archard finished for her. “He’s been with us since the beginning.”

  “Yes, well, you might also know some of the troopers,” Captain Ferris said, gesturing. “Sergeant Kline and Privates Keller, Everett and Griffin. Two of us are hurt.” She stared at Archard’s insignia. “How long have you had your bars?”

  “Seven years, four months.”

  “Six years, eleven months,” Captain Ferris said. “Which puts you in charge.” She sounded relieved. “What are our orders, sir?”

  “What else?” Archard replied. “We get to the drop ships and off this godforsaken world.”

  “We hear that, Captain,” Private Everett said.

  Archard formed them up with the wounded in the middle, Katla helping Ferris and Keller continuing to support Griffin. He had Everett and Kline bring up the rear while he took point with KLL-10.

  His mood brightened considerably. Katla meant a lot to him. For that matter, he was also fond of Trisna Sahir and the Kentuckian, whom he had known since New Meridian.

  Archard reminded himself not to let his mind drift. Until they lifted off, they were in as much danger as ever.

  The dust had settled enough that the large hanger in the distance was visible. Figuring reception might have improved, Archard tried the U.N.I.C. frequency again and was pleasantly surprised when someone answered.

  “Captain Rahn? This is Lieutenant Ulla Burroughs. Do you copy?”

  “Roger that, Lieutenant,” Archard said. “I’m with ten others, en route to the airfield. Where are you? Do you require assistance?”

  “I’m there already with Private Pasco and a couple of BioMarines. You’d best hustle. There’s a lot of Martian activity out on the plain.”

  “Beating our feet,” Archard said.

  With him helping Katla support Captain Ferris, and Private Everett assisting Private Keller with Griffin, they made good time.

  Archard expected the airfield to be hopping, with refugees from Bradbury showing up and the drop ships prepping for departure. He was mistaken. A lone ship sat in the middle of the field, its bay door down.

  “All the other ships have left?” Katla said in dismay.

  “They were probably full and couldn’t wait,” Archard guessed.

  A pair of BioMarines, male and female, strode down the bay ramp. At sight of them, KLL-10 bounded ahead. She and the other female were happy to see each other.

  Lieutenant Burroughs, in pilot’s togs, came hurrying out to greet them, and snapped a salute. “I can’t tell you how happy I am you made it. Five minutes more and I would have taken off.”

  “You’re flying this thing?” Archard said.

  “I’m a pilot, remember?”

  “No, I mean where are the drop ship’s pilot and co-pilot? Why you?”

  “There was no one here when Private Pasco and I arrived. The bay was open but there was no sign of the crew. So I helped myself to a spare suit, and we’re good to go.”

  “Thank God!” Katla exclaimed.

  “We’re not out of the woods yet,” Lieutenant Burroughs said, and pointed. “There’s a swarm of Martians heading our way.”

  53

  The drop ship’s hold consisted of a large bay for cargo and long rows of molded seats for troop transport up near the bulkhead to the bridge. Weapons lockers flanked the entry to the bridge with its array of controls as well as the pilot’s and co-pilot’s chairs.

  Archard hurried everyone on board. He helped Katla strap Captain Ferris in, then strapped Katla in himself and went down the line ensuring everyone was secure.

  Private Everett and Private Keller were in the last seats on either side.

  “Good,” Archard said, nodding. “Everyone is set to lift off.”

  “Except you and those critters, sir,” the Kentuckian said with a nod.

  Instead of claiming seats, the three BioMarines were holding onto straphangers and struts.

  “You should strap in like the rest of us,” Archard advised.

  The hybrid called KLL-12 pointed. “Those seats were made for humans. We don’t fit.” He waggled the straphanger he was clutching. “We’ll brace ourselves well enough.”

  “If you say so,” Archard said dubiously.

  “You’re the one who should strap in, Captain,” KLL-13 said. She grinned and winked. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to a handsome hunk of human like

  you.”

  “What?” Archard said, not sure he had heard right.

  “Pay her no mind, Captain,” KLL-12 said. “She doesn’t have one.”

  “You made another funny!” KLL-13 squealed and batted her eyes at KLL-12.

  He sighed.

  Archard glanced at the pallets that filled the cargo area. Each bore a container the size of a small bus, standard for equipment and supplies sent from Earth. Stenciled on the nearest was Hydroponic Units.

  Claiming an empty seat next to Private Everett, Archard strapped in and activated his commlink. “We’re good to go, Lieutenant.”

  “None too soon, sir,” she responded. “The Martians are closing fast.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?”

  Over the intercom Burroughs blared, “Hang on, people! We’re lifting hot!”

  Normally, a drop ship rose slowly, then gradually accelerated to the delta-v needed to achieve orbit. Burroughs punched it straight off the landing pad. Their ship leaped into the air like a falcon taking wing, slamming them against their seats.

  Archard heard Trisna and her
daughter cry out. Private Griffin swore; hurt as he was, the G-Force compounded his pain.

  Archard looked along the row at Katla and smiled encouragingly. She was holding Piotr’s hand and smiled back. Lord, he couldn’t wait for the two of them to reach

  Mother Earth and start their new life together.

  “Goodbye Mars,” Lieutenant Burroughs said over the speaker, “and good riddance.”

  “Amen to that,” Private Everett said.

  Archard’s seat---in fact, the entire hold---was shaking like crazy. He had no fear of a hull breach. Drop ships were built to take the heaviest abuse that Nature, or an enemy, could dish out.

  Some of the others didn’t share his confidence. Trisna Sahir was as pale as the proverbial sheet. Behulah was quietly crying. Katla gripped her seat arms so tightly, her knuckles were white, while Piotr had closed his eyes and was silently mouthing a prayer.

  Of all of them, the three BioMarines were taking it best. They stood straight and calm, KLL-12 staring at the cargo area with a peculiar expression on his reptilian features.

  The shaking soon lessened and nearly everyone visibly relaxed.

  Lieutenant Burroughs chose that moment to announce, “From here on out, it should be smooth going, people. We might run into a little chop, but that will be nothing. It will take us about ten minutes to achieve orbit. Over half the drop ships already have and will be docking with Avenger I and the rest of the space fleet. Since we were last off, we’ll be last to dock. I’ll let you know which spaceship we’re assigned to as soon as they tell me.”

  Archard didn’t care which it was. The only thing that mattered now was reaching Earth safely and never, ever, setting foot off of it again. Wearily closing his eyes, he smiled to himself, thinking that not that many years ago, he couldn’t wait to get off-planet. What a difference the destruction of three colonies made in his outlook.

  “Captain Rahn?”

  The voice was so close to Archard’s ear, he sat bolt upright and grabbed for his sidearm.

  KLL-12 was bending over him, legs braced, one hand on the top of Archard’s seat. “Did I startle you, Captain? I apologize. I forget your senses are not as sharp as ours.”

  “What can I do for you?” Archard said more gruffly than he intended.

  “I’m puzzled, Captain. Since you are the senior officer, I bring my puzzlement to you.”

  Archard refrained from remarking that the hybrid had a strange way of putting things. He settled for simply, “Oh?”

  “I confess I’m not knowledgeable about all aspects of human affairs. I was created for war, after all, and that is my specialty.”

  “From what I’ve seen, the BioMarines are some of the best warriors anywhere,” Archard said.

  “We perform as required, don’t we?” KLL-12 said.

  “Beg your pardon?” Archard said.

  KLL-12 gave the side of the hold a thump with his fist. “These drop ships are built for war too, are they not?”

  “What else?” Archard said, uncertain where the hybrid was going with this.

  “Whereas freighters are built for transporting freight, yes? Civilian freight, I mean?”

  “Of course. So?” Archard said impatiently.

  “So it puzzles me that we are transporting civilian freight into orbit,” KLL-12 said.

  “What?” Archard said, even though he knew what the hybrid was alluding to the moment the words were out of KLL-12’s mouth. He glanced at the cargo area.

  “Those containers, sir. They’re supposedly filled with farming equipment. I realize human logic sometimes baffles me, but I can conceive of no reason for farming equipment to be on a drop ship. Perhaps you can enlighten me.”

  “I have no idea who put those containers on board,” Archard said. “Or why.”

  “Ah. Then perhaps I should mention the other thing.”

  “What other thing?”

  “I must have imagined it, sir.”

  “Damn it, what?”

  “A few minutes ago, when we were shaking up a storm, as you humans would say, I could have sworn I heard something moving around.”

  “Moving around where?”

  “What have we been talking about, sir?” KLL-12 said. He pointed at the nearest of the bus-sized containers. “I heard something moving around in there.”

  54

  An awful feeling came over Archard. KLL-12 was absolutely right. There was no reason for military drop ships to be taking farm equipment into orbit. Which begged the question: how did the containers get there?

  “Movement?” Archard rasped, his throat suddenly very dry.

  “Yes, sir,” KLL-12 said. “KLL-13 heard it, too. Very faint. Perhaps some of the equipment inside isn’t properly secured.”

  Or maybe, Archard thought---and his mind rebelled at the image that sprang into his head.

  “Sir? You appear upset.”

  Unbuckling his straps, Archard stood. He counted six containers, each large enough to contain hundreds of what common sense told him they couldn’t possibly contain. “Can it be?”

  “Captain?”

  “Do you trust your ears?”

  KLL-12 tilted his head. “Is that a trick question? Don’t you trust yours?”

  “What if the equipment hasn’t broken loose?”

  “Sir?”

  “Could what you have heard be alive?”

  “Alive?” KLL-12 repeated. He turned and stared at the containers. “What are you…?” He stopped, then said, “Oh.”

  “Oh is right,” Archard said.

  “Is what you are suggesting even possible?” KLL-12 said. “How would they have accomplished it?”

  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned,” Archard said, “it’s to never put anything past them.”

  Privates Everett and Keller had been listening and the Kentuckian said, “Past who, sir?”

  “Who do you think? Stay put but keep your weapons ready.” To KLL-12, Archard said, “Let’s check it out.”

  They moved to the first container. KLL-12 put an ear to it and listened.

  Boosting the audio input on his EVA suit to maximum, Archard did the same. Unfortunately, the background noise of the ship and the talking of the others drowned out any slight sounds that might come from the container.

  “Hear any sounds?” Archard asked when KLL-12 stepped back.

  “Nothing,” the BioMarine said.

  Archard walked around the container, looking for a hint of anything out of the ordinary. He went to the next, and a third. A few scratch marks caught his eye. They were recent, but could have been made when the forklift operator loaded the containers on board.

  “Well, Captain?” KLL-12 said. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” Archard admitted.

  “There’s an easy way to find out, sir,” KLL-12 said. “Let’s open one.”

  “And if I’m right?” Archard said. “We can’t fight a pitched battle in the hold.” A stray shot would depressurize the ship, resulting in catastrophe.

  “We could eject them.”

  “Not at this altitude.”

  The overhead speakers blared with another announcement by Lieutenant Burroughs, “Five minutes to orbit, people. We’ve been told to dock with the John

  Carter.”

  Archard had a decision to make, and fast. If his hunch was right, he didn’t dare let the drop ship dock. He tried to tell himself he was being paranoid. After all, it would mean the Martians deliberately let some survivors reach the drop ships, counting on them, in their panic, to lift off without giving the containers a second thought. All so the Martians could reach the fleet. And then? Who knew?

  “Captain?” KLL-12 said.

  “We have to be sure,” Archard said. “Check the weapons lockers. See how many flamethrowers we have on board.”

  A knowing smile spread across KLL-12’s face and he moved off in long strides.

  Archard keyed his commlink. “Lieutenant Burroughs, do you read me?”

&n
bsp; “Affirmative, sir,” she replied.

  “Switch to O.F.,” Archard directed, referring to the “Officer’s Frequency,” a private channel specifically for those in command. He did so, and said, “You there?”

  “With ears open,” Burroughs said.

  “These containers in the hold. Do you have any idea how they got there?”

  “No, sir. They were there when I reached the airfield.”

  “We might have hitchhikers.”

  “Sir?

  “Listen to me, Lieutenant. I need you to get on the horn and contact the other drop ships. Find out if any of them have containers in their holds. If they do, advise them to maintain orbit and check the containers out before they dock.”

  “The admiral will want to know what is going on. He might not brook any delays.”

  “If he contacts you, tell him we’re verifying if we have Martians on board.”

  There was a long pause, then Burroughs said quietly, “So that’s what you meant about hitchhikers.” She coughed. “Sir, you’re not thinking of engaging them while we’re in flight, are you? Surely you appreciate the risk involved.”

  “Would you rather they reach the fleet?” Archard said.

  “Do you think they intend to destroy it?”

  “That, or maybe something worse.”

  “What could be worse than…” Burroughs stopped. “Surely not? How would they accomplish it? They can’t fly our spacecraft.”

  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all this,” Archard said, “it’s to never take those things for granted. They’ve outsmarted us time and again.”

  “But to plan to invade Earth with our own spacecraft?”

  “Why not? We invaded their world.”

  “God,” Burroughs said. “Just when we thought we were safe.”

  “Keep your fingers crossed,” Archard said.

  “My toes, too,” she said.

  55

  Archard was ready to find out if Schrodinger’s cat was alive or dead.

  Katla, Trisna, and the kids, as well as Captain Ferris and Private Griffin, both of whom were too hurt to be able to fight effectively, were on the bridge with Lieutenant Burroughs. The bulkhead had been sealed, and Burroughs was under orders not to open it under any circumstance until he gave the all-clear.