by Ken Lozito
“Because the landscape has changed a lot since they went into stasis,” Dash said.
Lars glanced at the NEIIS and then back at them. “That doesn’t matter. They know of the city so they must know about the arch. That’s the information I need.”
Noah didn’t like the look in his eyes. There was something menacing about it, and he hardly recognized the man he’d once been friends with.
The holoprojectors put up three wide screens. The first was a map of the area that showed the inland sea and the surrounding foothills. The other two screens showed the video feeds from the underwater drones Lars had deployed. They were speeding through the water. Noah wondered how he’d gotten the location of the NEIIS city but then realized that Field Ops must have been told about the location, so the information wouldn’t be difficult to get.
The drone video feeds showed that they had reached the NEIIS city and the arch, the base of which continued to glow brightly in the underwater gloom. The NEIIS knew how to use geothermal power sources, which would have given them virtually unlimited power. All three of the NEIIS recoiled from the image, backing away until they were up against the barrels of the automatic weapons the mercenaries carried. This stopped them, but their agitation grew. Noah watched as the mercenary named Kendall brought up another holoscreen that contained a NEIIS translator.
Lars came to stand in front of the aliens and gestured toward the arch on the video feed. “What is this? What does this do?”
The NEIIS translator put up a series of symbols that scrolled from left to right across the screen. Noah glanced at Dash, who gave him a nod. At least the translator was working. The NEIIS were pushed toward the video screen. A small holo-interface was powered on that contained known NEIIS symbols and messages from their analysis of NEIIS computer systems. The NEIIS tried to back away from the interface.
Lars grabbed his Hornet SMG and fired a three-round burst into the ground next to the nearest NEIIS. The creatures tried to shuffle away, but the mercenaries kept them in place. Lars then pointed his SMG at the head of the nearest NEIIS, gesturing with his other arm toward the interface.
The NEIIS didn’t move. Lars growled, lowered the barrel of the SMG, and fired a three-round burst into the NEIIS’s leg. The creature howled in pain and collapsed to the ground. Seemingly without emotion, Lars pointed the SMG at the next closest NEIIS.
Dash stepped forward, but Noah quickly grabbed him, holding him back. He shook his head. There was nothing Dash could do. Noah opened a data link to the troop carrier and found a cache of recon drones on standby. He opened a connection to all of them.
The NEIIS glanced at his companion writhing in pain on the ground and then at the holo-interface. He looked at the options and tentatively tapped a symbol. The translation appeared just above it.
Door.
Lars squeezed off another burst from the SMG into the ground at the NEIIS’s feet. “I need more than that. What is this?”
“Stop,” Noah said. “He answered you. It’s some kind of door.”
Lars clenched his teeth. “He knows more. He’ll soon tell us everything.”
“If you hurt them, I’ll expose your whole operation. I’ve been stealing the data from the base systems the entire time we’ve been gone,” Noah said.
Lars swung his gaze toward Noah. “The operation is bigger than me and will continue to go on should something happen to me or the base.”
Bright flashes of light illuminated the night skies above. Lars glanced up, and Noah did the same. He hadn’t seen flashes like that in over two years, not since the Vemus drop-ships had come to New Earth. The CDF must be engaged in some kind of battle since orbital defense platforms were firing their weapons at something.
Noah seized control of every recon drone in the troop carrier, and twelve drones sped out of the launcher. Noah targeted the mercenaries, and the drones pelted them from above, causing them to scatter. He ran toward Lars and knocked him down. He then gestured to the NEIIS, pointing toward the nearby foothills. The NEIIS backed away, confused by what was happening. Noah tried to grab their arms, but they stayed out of reach. Dash came up behind the NEIIS and urged them forward. Some of the mercenaries were already regaining their feet. The two NEIIS looked back at their fallen companion, who lay on the ground still writhing in pain, then turned and followed Noah into the foothills.
44
Connor stood on the bridge of the Vigilant, but Sean was the one running the show. As he watched Sean issuing commands, he realized there wasn’t anything he would’ve done differently. Sean was an outstanding young officer, and given enough time, he would make an effective leader of the CDF.
“Colonel, it appears that COMCENT has received our comms drone and is mobilizing a response,” Lieutenant Russo said.
Sean glanced at Connor.
“Orbital defense platforms are closest. They’ll leverage those first with their full armament,” Connor said. He watched as Sean glanced at the holoscreen. There were close to five hundred enemy combat drones heading toward them. They still had some point-defense systems, but it was a numbers game, and those numbers favored the enemy, at least where the Vigilant was concerned. “You and your crew did it. The CDF got your message and has been warned of the danger.”
Sean looked at him for a long moment. They’d achieved their objective. The CDF would mobilize and destroy the enemy ships.
“Colonel, enemy combat drones and the enemy ships are changing course,” Lieutenant Russo said from the tactical workstation.
Connor looked at the main holodisplay that showed the PRADIS output. The crew serving on the bridge watched the main holoscreen with disbelief. Connor glanced at Sean and could see it in his eyes. He wanted to hit the enemy from behind, but the Vigilant was in no condition for an assault.
Diaz came over to his side. “This isn’t over. The colony is still in danger.”
Connor’s thoughts broke into irregular pieces, and his mouth hung open as he struggled to put them together again. Then he looked at Sean. “There’s another arch. We have to destroy the arch on New Earth.”
“I thought you said the arch was under the inland sea,” Sean replied.
“It is, but the enemy definitely has the ability to mobilize a response. They were tracking different worlds, and that base might have been just an outpost,” Connor said and frowned in thought. “They could open a gateway and drain the entire inland sea if they don’t have vehicles capable of going underwater. We don’t know enough about them to understand what they’re capable of doing. We need to destroy the arch.”
“You’re right,” Sean said. “There was another gateway by Sagan, but there’s evidence to support that it became active when the arch on New Earth was activated. Somehow they were linked, and I’m willing to guess that the enemy didn’t know about the other one. Lieutenant Russo, I need a precision firing solution for coordinates on New Earth.”
Diaz glanced at Connor. “Gordon’s not going to like this.”
“He’ll understand,” Connor said and used implants to upload the coordinates to the NEIIS city.
“Colonel, the coordinates are within fifty kilometers of New Haven,” Lieutenant Russo warned.
Sean looked at Connor. “The shuttle’s weapons systems were ineffective?”
“Correct, and the target is at the bottom of the inland sea, approximately four hundred meters from the surface,” Connor said.
“Gabriel,” Sean said. “Are you capable of hitting the target coordinates without impacting the colonial city?”
“One moment, Colonel.”
Connor knew that given enough time, the tactical officers could come up with a solution, but time was working against them. They needed to take out the arch as quickly as possible. Only a computer system was capable of making the calculations required for a rail-gun to hit such a small target. Too much velocity and it could penetrate the crust of the planet. “Gabriel, the impact wave needs to go away from the city.”
“Understo
od. Calculating…”
Connor looked at the main holoscreen and saw Sean doing the same. Their communications array was still off-line, which impacted long-range comms. He couldn’t tell the CDF about the danger, and they were already engaging the enemy ships.
There was no way for them to determine if the arch was even active.
“Colonel,” Gabriel said, “I have a firing solution for the coordinates.”
Connor looked at Sean. He was the only one who had the authority to give the order. The mag-cannon would essentially fire a thousand-pound hunk of metal, which had to be fired at the correct angle to penetrate the atmosphere and reach its intended target. It would pepper the location in a consolidated area.
“Comms, broadcast a warning by any means we have. I don’t care if we’re using the comms systems on a combat shuttle. Send word to the danger area,” Sean said.
The orders were confirmed.
“Gabriel, wait fifteen minutes and then you’re authorized to strike.”
Even with limited communication capabilities, fifteen minutes was more than enough time to alert the target area. At over fifty kilometers from New Haven, the NEIIS underwater city was remote, and the fact that it had been kept secret for so long would minimize the risk of civilians being in the area. Field Ops and the CDF were another matter, however. Field Ops would have been involved in the search and rescue, assuming they even knew the submarines were missing.
Connor shook his head. There were too many unknowns. He just prayed the arch couldn’t withstand the kinetic force of the brief bombardment coming its way.
45
Noah maintained his harassment of the mercenaries with high-speed flybys using their own recon drones. The drones could withstand a few impacts with their targets as long as Noah kept their speed just slow enough. But when the mercenaries began firing their weapons at them, Noah knew it was only a matter of time before all the drones would be destroyed.
Somewhere along their sprint to the foothills, Noah had lost track of Dash. One moment he’d been with them and the next he was gone. He hadn’t heard Dash cry out, so Noah hoped the young man had simply found a different way to the cliffs.
As he was thinking this, a text message from Dash appeared on Noah’s internal heads-up display: Taking a different path. Seeing if I can lead some of them away from you. Will catch up with you by the cliffs.
The two aliens stopped and looked at the bright flashes in the sky. Noah tried to urge them to keep going, but they shied away from him, so he took the lead up into the foothills and heard the NEIIS following him. He quickened his pace, knowing the mercenaries would be chasing them in a matter of moments. As if in response to this thought, he heard Lars bellowing for him to return to camp.
Noah shook his head, trying to clear his panic. He needed to call for help, but he had limited range with his comlink. There were still a few recon drones left, and he found one that was in range. Acting quickly, he activated the distress beacon and sent it away from the camp to the inland sea. He didn’t have time to figure out how long it would take to reach Field Ops Search and Rescue, but he knew someone would receive the signal and come to investigate. He just had to keep moving.
Noah glanced behind him to check that the NEIIS were still following. The foothills had become so steep that he had to start using his hands to propel himself forward, but he could see a spot up ahead where it leveled off. Once he reached it, he turned to help the NEIIS, both of whom were breathing heavily. After the first alien was safely up, he reached out to help the second one, but just as the NEIIS was about to take his outstretched hand, a shot rang out in the night. The NEIIS went rigid and then fell backward, tumbling down the cliff.
“I can’t let you do that,” Lars said and lowered his AR-71.
Noah spun around and jabbed a finger toward the cliff up ahead. “Climb,” he said.
The NEIIS took a few steps toward where its companion had fallen, but Noah blocked the way, shaking his head. The NEIIS backed away, a pained expression on its face, but Noah didn’t know what else to do. He had no weapons. The creature shuffled backward and slumped to the ground. Its shoulders were hunched, and it rolled onto its side. It had given up.
Noah heard Lars calling for backup and knew he was closing in. He turned around and crept to the side, careful to stay out of sight as Lars pulled himself up and swung his assault rifle, scanning the area for threats. Noah tackled him from the side, and both men tumbled to the ground, perilously close to the cliff’s edge.
“Why are you fighting me?” Lars said, struggling to grab hold of Noah. “For them? They’re not worth it. This is our world.”
Noah scrambled away from Lars, and as he did, he caught sight of something massive thrashing about in the inland sea. The distance to the water appeared on his internal HUD—over two hundred meters offshore. He saw something glowing brightly from deep under the water, but just then Lars grabbed his feet and pulled him down. Noah spun to get away and went over the edge of the cliff. Before he had time to register that he was falling, he felt a strong hand grab his MPS near the neck, and he jerked to a halt in midair.
“Hold on, I’ve got you,” Lars said, his voice sounding strained.
Noah stared down the long drop to the foothills below and his breath caught in his throat. He felt his friend’s grip begin to slip, and then Noah fell as Lars’s scream quickly faded into the distance. The MPS engaged but not before the back of his head hit something hard and white dots speckled his vision. He tried to get a handhold, but his momentum kept him going and he couldn’t slow himself down. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew the MPS should have protected him, and he wondered why the sharp pain at the back of his head hurt so much. But his thoughts scattered with the pain of breathing as he continued his relentless slide to the bottom of the cliff, eventually slowing to a stop.
Noah forced his eyes open and stared up into the sky, each breath causing an agony of pain in his chest. He tried to move but couldn’t get his limbs to respond. Even worse, his mind felt slow, as if all his thoughts had been weighed down. Through the daze, he heard someone coming toward him, and then Dash was looking down on him, his eyes wide and his mouth drawn down in worry. Noah tried to speak but couldn’t.
“No, just lie still,” Dash said. The young man quickly peeked behind Noah’s head. “So much blood,” he whispered.
Noah’s vision began to blur. There was something he had to tell Dash—show him—but he couldn’t make his mouth work. He felt warmth spreading through his back as the MPS administered first aid to his many wounds. There were flashes of hot pain and then nothing as the pain was blocked, but through all of that, he kept flashing back to the disturbance in the water.
Sudden shouting snatched Noah’s attention.
“Have you come to finish the job? You were his friend!” Dash screamed.
Noah saw Lars come into his field of vision, his face twisted in shock and anger. Then his mouth formed a grim line. “He’s not going to make it.”
Dash bellowed and charged the other man. Noah heard a brief scuffle.
“Go ahead! What are you waiting for?” Dash shouted.
“I don’t kill colonists,” Lars said and stumbled toward Noah. He paused and knelt down.
Noah’s breath was coming in short gasps and his vision was narrowing as he saw Lars extend a hand toward him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, and then he was gone.
A moment later, Noah blacked out.
Dash scrambled back to Noah’s side and accessed the MPS systems, which confirmed what he feared. Noah wasn’t breathing, and his heart had stopped. Dash ordered the suit to administer first aid for cardiac arrest and watched Noah’s body arch as a shock of electricity went through him to restart his heart. After a short pause, the MPS performed another shock to Noah’s system and monitored for a heartbeat, but Dash didn’t wait for the next status report before immediately starting chest compressions. He had to keep the blood flowing. The first-aid func
tions were working on the wounds, but there was too much blood on the ground and around Noah’s head. In the upper right corner of his heads-up display, a message flashed. Dash acknowledged the message while he continued the chest compressions. He paused to blow a puff of air into Noah’s lungs, then checked his vitals again.
Nothing.
“Come on!”
He resumed chest compressions. He couldn’t let Noah die! He had to save him, and he yelled for help before blowing another puff of air and checking Noah’s vitals yet again.
Time became a blur for Dash, and he lost track of how long he’d been at it before someone finally came. He was so exhausted that he lay on his back, gasping. He couldn’t think anymore, and he didn’t know what to do. The Field Ops agents told him to lie still.
He looked over at Noah and saw two agents attempting to revive him. They placed a rebreather mask over his mouth and jabbed something into his chest. Dash heard them say something about closing all the wounds.
Another member of the Field Ops team came over to Dash. “What do these targeting coordinates mean? They’re broadcasting from your friend’s suit with an Alpha Priority. Is this right?”
Dash frowned, and the message on his internal HUD flashed again with targeting coordinates for the NEIIS city. “I don’t know what it means. What’s Alpha Priority?”
“It’s for the CDF, and it means imminent danger. They must want these coordinates taken out,” the Field Ops agent said.
Dash sat up and looked toward the sea. There was something glowing under the water, illuminating a maelstrom of churning currents.
46
The arch had been destroyed by the Vigilant’s mag-cannon, sending out massive waves of water that reached the shores near the cliffs. In a coordinated effort, the CDF fleet had quickly defeated the six destroyer-class vessels, and the orbital defense platforms had been able to stop the enemy combat drones. The CDF was now patrolling the area, part of the recovery effort to retrieve pieces of the arch. Its technology was not only beyond the NEIIS but the colony as well, and it needed to be researched.
