Unlike most planetary entries, Lars didn’t have enough atmosphere to cause major friction. Most of the indigenous life breathed nitrogen, which hovered near the surface of the planet. The terraforming efforts would build a thick layer of carbon dioxide, which would hold in the planet’s natural heat and reflect back the local star’s solar radiation. In time, portions of the icecaps would melt, vegetation could produce more oxygen, and the world would be ready for human habitation.
Dean was able to watch the planet through the shuttle’s cameras. Unlike Earth, Lars was a dull, slate gray color. There were no oceans to break the monotony: just a rugged landscape that looked hard and unforgiving. Dawn had just broken, which Dean found to be unfortunate timing, but he wouldn’t have been satisfied waiting for dark to fall without communication from the planet. As they approached the outpost, Dean began to see the evidence of humanity’s presence. There were large circular landing pads and evergreens planted in straight lines around the complex. Only the hardiest trees could survive the harsh environment of Lars, such as spruce, fir, and hemlocks taken from the tundra regions on Earth. Dean knew the outpost workers kept the roots of the trees covered in insulation so that drastic cold at night didn’t kill the trees, which acted as both a boundary and a windbreak for the outpost.
“No signs of movement,” Dean said to his platoon. “No lights, either.”
“Could be power problems,” Harper said.
“Or there’s no one at home to turn them on,” Ghost replied.
The shuttle descended smoothly and landed without incident.
“Wolfpack, you are clear to deploy, over,” Chappelander announced.
“Roger that, Command,” Dean replied. “Wolfpack is on the ground. Stand by for assessment, over.”
The hatch popped open and formed a ramp out onto the alien world. Dean’s heavy armor squad moved into a concave position around the ramp, their large shields facing away from the shuttle and the cameras on their shoulder-mounted utility cannons sweeping the area for any signs of life.
“We are clear on the ground, Captain,” Owando announced.
“Alright, let’s form up and take stock of the situation,” Dean said. “Concave, Starboard, Pincer, Saber, Hot!”
“Move, move, move!” Chavez chanted as the platoon quickly got into position.
The HA line didn’t move, but Harper joined Adkins on the line’s right flank, and Loggins took his place beside Carter on the line’s left side. Ghost was to Dean’s right and Chavez to his left, while Tallgrass and Landin were several paces behind them.
“Harper, send out an AAV for a quick pass around the outpost,” Dean ordered.
“Yes, sir,” the Fast Attack Sergeant replied.
From her shoulder, the Aerial Attack Vehicle shot into the air. A vid feed from the small drone appeared on Dean’s TCU, and he watched as the vehicle moved toward the jumble of prefab buildings. The outpost had begun with a commercial landing craft that was essentially a large warehouse. All the equipment needed to begin preparing the world for human habitation was packed on board. Once the atmo processors were unloaded and set up, the empty space inside the ship was then used as housing for the workers, who began preparing the outpost and assembling additional buildings. More supplies could then be delivered by conventional ships. The first dozen carbon dioxide atmospheric processors would be utilized closest to the outpost, while more were brought online as quickly as workers could be hired to fill the long, lonely shifts further and further away from the tiny village.
The outpost had temporary housing, entertainment facilities, a large warehouse space, and a communications center that would allow the workers to send and receive messages whenever they were able to return to the outpost for brief respites from their hermitic life on the atmo processors. Dean expected there to be at least a couple dozen residents at the outpost and perhaps half that many visiting workers on temporary leave from the processors they manned. But despite all his expectations, Dean saw no signs of life.
“It’s a ghost town,” Harper said as her AAV returned.
She caught the drone and reattached it to her battle armor on her upper left shoulder. Dean had paused an image from the drone’s vid feed. The main door to the complex of buildings was closed, but he could see something just inside the tall, narrow window in the door. It looked like something was pressed against the entryway.
“I think the locals ran into something they weren’t prepared for,” Dean said over the open channel, which included his platoon and the command frequency. “I think I’m seeing a barricade at the main entrance, over.”
“What in the world would have caused the workers to barricade themselves inside?” Vice Admiral Anders said. “Certainly not the animal life recorded on the planet, over.”
“No,” Dean said. “We’re going to check it out. Stand by, Command. Over.”
“Orders, Captain?” Chavez asked. “You want us to split up and search?”
“No,” Dean said. “Let’s stay together for now. Platoon, form endcaps. Let’s move to that entrance.”
Owando, the Swede, and Adkins took the lead, walking backward so that their protective shields faced away from the rest of the platoon. Harper and Loggins were right behind them. Dean, Chavez, and Ghost followed with Tallgrass and Landin behind them. In the rear, Carter, Kliner, and Wilson walked shoulder to shoulder, their shields overlapping.
It only took a few minutes to walk from the landing pad to the main entrance of the outpost. The platoon spread out, their weapons held at the ready, everyone alert for any sign of danger. Dean checked the door. It was locked, but open because the entire mechanism was busted through the metal-reinforced door jam. Just inside, there was a wooden barrier that looked to be furniture of some kind. It too was broken and splintered, though: something had gotten through.
“Take a look at this, Staff Sergeant,” Dean said.
“Damn,” the big man said. “The last stand didn’t hold off whatever they were hiding from.”
“Something strong did this,” Dean said. “Intelligent, too. They didn’t just barrel through.”
“So, not an animal,” Chavez said.
“Doesn’t look like it.”
They pushed down the barricade and stepped inside.
“EsDef Recon!” Dean shouted. “Anyone still here?”
There was no response. The room Dean found himself in was wrecked. Furniture was scattered and the shelves were broken down. The outpost was the only connection with civilization that most of the workers had. It sold everything from junk food to games to survival gear.
“I don’t see any blood,” Chavez said.
“No,” Dean agreed. “This wasn’t the scene of a fight.”
“So why wreck the place?”
“Sheer anger, from the looks of it,” Dean replied. “Whoever got in was angry about something.”
“So what now?”
“I want you to stay with Heavy Armor on watch. Everyone else is inside searching this place. I want to know what happened here and what happened to the people who manned this outpost.”
Chavez leapt into action, shouting names and giving orders. Dean went over to a vid console, hoping to find a record of what happened. Instead, all he found was smutty video programming. As they searched the facility, it quickly became clear that it was little more than a brothel. The workers earned their pay out on the atmo processors, then spent that pay buying the company of prostitutes, hard liquor, and pornography to carry back to their lonely abodes.
Dean thought they might find some trace of whatever had attacked the outpost, but there was no sign of fighting. No bodies, not even any blood. In fact, Dean didn’t even see any evidence of gunfire. On a planet like Lars, he was certain everyone was armed. The wildlife was too dangerous not to be—yet whoever had manned the outpost hadn’t stayed around to fight.
Eventually they made their way to a cavernous hangar. It too was empty. No people and no vehicles: just tools, spare parts, and de
nted hangar doors.
“Looks like they just split,” Landin said. “Doesn’t make much sense, though.”
“Sometimes restraint is the better part of valor,” Tallgrass said.
“Yeah, I get that. But why not fight?” the Demolitions Corporal asked. “I mean, isn’t this the one place on the entire planet where help would show up?”
“There’s not even any sign that they stayed to fight,” Ghost said. “They knew trouble was coming. Did their best to protect the place, then got the hell out. Must be something pretty scary to make everyone up and run like that.”
“So what do we know?” Dean asked.
“Something got in,” Cody Loggins said. “Something strong enough to smash the lock and break through the barricade.”
“But there’s no evidence of what it was,” Tallgrass said. “No tracks, no physical evidence like fur or urine. It doesn’t look like an animal did this.”
“Captain,” Harper said. “The local radio network is down.”
Dean walked over to a booth in one corner of the hangar. A raised platform was littered with shortwave radios. The wires were ripped out and some of the radios were smashed.
“This is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen,” Dean said.
“They destroyed the radios. Doesn’t make much sense,” Harper said. “You think the people working here did it, or whoever was threatening them?”
“I’d say it was whoever was threatening them,” Dean replied. “Still, our best chance of finding the people who were stationed here is by getting those radios working again. You think it’s possible?”
“Probably,” Harper said. “At least if we can cobble together some working parts from each of the radios.”
“Do it,” Dean ordered. “For now, this is our base of operations. Our first priority is to find out what happened here and make sure this outpost is secure.”
Dean turned to Tallgrass. “I want every way into this facility checked. Weld the doors closed. Reinforce the barricades. I want to know we’re safe inside the outpost. Landin, go with her.”
“Yes, sir,” they both said at the same time.
“Ghost, get up on the roof of this place. As high as you can get,” Dean instructed the sniper. “If something is coming this way, I want to know about it.”
“You got it, Captain,” Ghost replied.
“Cody, you’re helping Harper. I want comms up and running ASAP. Chavez, you read?”
“Loud and clear, Captain.”
“Good. Find a way to repair that barricade. If whatever broke in before comes back, it will most likely try that doorway first. I want it secure. Then get everyone inside.”
“Yes, sir!”
Dean switched to the command channel on his TCU. Something had frightened the workers bad enough to make them flee the outpost, which Dean guessed was the strongest, most fortified position on the planet. It simply didn’t make sense.
“Command, this is Wolfpack. Do you read, over?”
“You’re a little sketchy but we read you, Wolfpack. What’s your status, over?”
“We are inside the outpost, but it is deserted. They barricaded the doors and then left. Whatever they were running from got in, but there’s no sign of what it was. We’re reinforcing the outpost, attempting to reestablish comms, and investigating, over.”
“Wolfpack, this is Anders,” the vice admiral said. “Can you set up a tight beam communication signal that would allow us to see video, over?”
“We can, but there’s not much to see, sir,” Dean said. “Out best bet is to find the workers and get a report, over.”
“I understand that, but I’d feel better if we secure comms while we can. The equipment should be there in the station somewhere. The last thing I want is to lose communication with you. Let’s do this by the book, over.”
“Yes sir, Wolfpack will establish a tight beam communications link with the Hannibal ASAP. I’ll update you as soon as we get the network online. Wolfpack out.”
“Ghost, you in position?” Dean said, switching back to the platoon channel.
“Yes sir, I’m on the comms tower.”
“Anything moving out there?”
“No, we’re clear in every direction as far as I can see.”
“Alright, keep an eye on things and don’t forget to toggle through the different settings on your HUD. I want infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths checked. No surprises.”
“You got it, Captain,” Ghost replied.
“Harper, give me an update,” Dean said as he walked over to the communication booth.
“It’s a mess, Captain,” the Fast Attack Sergeant replied. “It’s going to take a while to get even one of these old radios working. I mean, I understand why they’re using shortwave; they can skip the signal off the ionosphere and stay in contact with the workers on the atmo processors all across the continent, but whoever destroyed this equipment did a thorough job. I’ll have to rebuild from the various parts.”
“Do you need Loggins?”
“All I really need is time,” Harper said.
“You’ve got it. Loggins, come with me.”
The young private followed Dean several feet away. Dean opened a private channel between the two of them. He wished he could look into the younger man’s eyes. It was the one drawback to the full-face shields of their battle armor, but Dean did his best to convey the importance of his orders by the tone of his voice.
“Vice Admiral Anders wants a tight beam signal directed at the Hannibal,” Dean said. “The equipment is here for interstellar communications. I want it all back online. That’s your job. Do you understand? We’re talking to the ship as long as she’s in synchronous orbit with this outpost, and we’re close enough to the shuttle that it can boost our signal, but we can’t rely on those factors. We need a real communications network that can contact the Hannibal or shoot a message back to Earth if necessary.”
“I can do it,” Private Loggins said, nodding. “We built systems just like this in high school. I was a bit of a tech geek even then.”
“I have full faith that you can make it work. But time is short.”
“I’m on it, Captain. I’ll make you proud.”
“Do that, Private, and there’ll be a commendation in your record from me.”
Private Cody Loggins snapped into a stiff salute, which Dean returned. Then the young Fast Attack Specialist hurried away. Dean looked around just as Chavez came striding toward him. Dean was often thankful to have the big Close Combat Specialist as his right-hand man. Chavez was smart, disciplined, and loyal—not to mention a beast in battle.
“How do we look, Staff Sergeant?”
“You tell me, Captain,” Chavez said. “This shit makes me think we’re missing something.”
“I can’t figure out why the locals cut and ran,” Dean admitted.
“Something must have scared them pretty bad,” Chavez agreed.
“I’m assuming we’re all relatively safe as long as we’re in this structure,” Dean said. “But until we know what we’re dealing with, we can’t take any chances.”
“You got our egress figured out?”
“I have a plan in mind, but everything really depends on the shuttle. We need to get it fully charged.”
“There should be plenty of juice here, just have to get the ship plugged in and recharged.”
“Which means going outside,” Dean said.
“Hell Captain, I’ll do that. Ain’t no beast alive scared me yet.”
“Yeah, it’s the yet I’m worried about,” Dean said. “You take no chances. I want Adkins and the Swede with you at all times.”
“Copy that, Captain,” Dean said.
“Alright, that’s everything for now. We get comms up and find out what the hell happened down here.”
“And if we find out everyone’s dead?”
“Then we hunt down whoever did it and make them pay,” Dean said. “An eye for an eye.”
“Kind of old-fash
ioned thinking, Jefe, but I like it.”
“Yeah, well, I have the feeling we could use some wrath of god around here.”
Chapter 14
The days on Lars were long—almost twenty-two hours of daylight. The temperature rose to one hundred and eighty-six degrees Fahrenheit, but fortunately their armor kept everyone cool. Inside the outpost, work was done without complaint. On the wall of the hangar closest to the landing pad, where the Raptor combat shuttle was waiting, Dean had Demolitions Specialist Eleanor Tallgrass outline a large section with thermite. Dean hoped that if they had to retreat quickly, they could burn a hole in the back wall and make a break for the shuttle. All the other entrances and exits save for the large hangar doors were sealed and barricaded.
Corporal Landin had lent his help to Cody Loggins, and the tight beam transmitter was finally operational with just an hour of daylight left. The official communications suite was in a small room near the hangar. It was set up for video transmissions. Dean guessed the workers sent and received messages on the system whenever they had time off to spend at the outpost.
“We have satellite communications back online,” Dean said as several members of the E.S.D.F. Hannibal gathered around Vice Admiral Anders’ console. He could see them on the vid feed and was glad they couldn’t see the worried look on his face behind his battle helmet’s visor. “We’re still working on getting the shortwave radios put back together, but we’re close, over.”
“Excellent work,” Anders said. “Any sign of whatever attacked the outpost, over?”
“Not yet. And with nightfall coming on, it’s doubtful we’ll be able to see anything visually. I’m planning to get Mini Surveillance Vehicles all around the complex. We’ll hunker down and try to contact the workers once we get the shortwave radios operational. Then go out on a search for them in the morning, over.”
“Keep us posted, Captain. I want regular updates once you contact the locals. I need to send a report to HQ but so far there’s nothing to tell them, over.”
“I’ll be in touch just as soon as I hear something, Admiral. Wolfpack out.”
Joined In Battle Page 10
