by Todd Mcleod
STAR CADETS:
SOLDIERS OF THE FUTURE
* * *
EPISODE 2
By Todd McLeod & M G. Thomas
Copyright © 2018 Todd McLeod & Michael G. Thomas
Published by Swordworks Books
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CHAPTER 1
Mankind would have liked to think that they were infallible. They advanced faster than they even knew what to do with. They had found ways to transform their own world, quantify information on an unprecedented scale, and even tame the stars for new colonies. What mankind had in boldness, it lacked in common foresight. In their eagerness to find alien life and answer the question of being alone in the universe, they didn’t think of what might happen on all accounts.
The race to be the ones who discovered sentient life in the stars was an intoxicating one. Every scientist, every historian, every ship’s captain desired to be the first to discover a new race. They wanted their name to go down in history for the distinction. On the far outpost world that was at the frontier of space it was thought this was the place. They reached out, called out, shouting in the dark to see who answered. They failed to think of what would happen beyond the accolades and historical significance.
The aliens had indeed heard them. They learnt about Humans while offering nothing. Humanity never considered this; they had no protections against such a thing. Some championed the idea of being ready. Being set for the chance that the aliens they might be searching could be hostile. On Earth a committee was put together in the universal congress for that very reason. The group pitched the ideas of how to defend against invasions unlike what was expected, against life forms that might not be exactly like us. The endeavour was met with both scepticism as well as laughter. Those who wanted protection from the unknown were faced with an uphill battle, trying to prove the seriousness of the idea to a group of people refusing to take them seriously. As much as they fought, as much as they reasoned, it came down to the thing that most bureaucracy stood upon, even ones to do with deep space…money. The budget to prepare for such a thing was high, and no one wanted to be the one to foot the bill.
Those trying to ready Earth for the chance of hostile aliens were run out of the Senate. The military swore that no matter the threat, they were ready for it, and ended up manoeuvring themselves to an increase in budget…that happened to be higher than what those wanting to prepare Earth had asked for. Everyone rested, thinking that was that, and Earth and its holdings would be protected.
This was why it was so sudden, such a great surprise when the aliens did come calling. They came from the deep of space, using technology that made no sense to Humans and took the colony world in a single day. Earth’s systems were so unaware that they didn’t even see it, the viper hiding in their midst, waiting to move on and take more of the unprotected assets of the unprepared Earth force.
* * *
Vi and Locke had been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours. So short time ago all they had to focus on were orders, recon, and other mundane things. They struggled to find excitement, and things had felt so routine then. Now here they were, on a high-tech maglev train speeding across the barren wasteland. They had been caught up in the conflict when the aliens attacked, and what first seemed like a small conflict soon ballooned into a fully-fledged invasion. They had barely made it to the bunker, the last line of defence against a force that was ahead of them at every turn.
The enemy had technology they had little defence against and moved with a coordinated intelligence that overwhelmed almost every strategy thrown at them. No sooner had they reached the bunker than they fought their way to the train, finding a small force waiting there. They were readying to leave, and had the small group been any longer, they would have been left behind. Luckily, the train was moving at a speed the enemy could not reach it, and was so far undetected. The door to the compartment opened, and a Sergeant of the guard force entered.
“Cadet Barick.” He stood up to attention. Vi and Brendan joined him, “Is there anything we can do?”
The Sergeant laughed. “You mean other than make me some coffee? Well assuming we had coffee.”
“What is the plan to strike back at the invaders?”
“Plan? There is no plan…this is a retreat, and so far the only plan is to keep retreating.”
“We need to strike back.”
“What about the others?” Vi asked, “The ones we left behind.”
“The aliens have them,” the Sergeant replied as if it was a simple fact, “Those who were not killed defending were taken. We’re lucky to be here and on this train. There aren’t many people left, so be thankful.”
Cadet Elvin Barick balled his hands into fists; not believing the casual disregard the Sergeant was showing. He had risked his life. His friends had risked their lives. They did all of it under the idea that they would reunite with the others and find some way to fight back, some way to retake their home.
“Listen, Sergeant, I know we’re not anywhere close to your rank, but we are all talented and have skills that can be put to use. We would like to talk to the commander here, and see if there is any way that our skills might be of help.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your rank or your skills,” the Sergeant said with a detached laugh, “We ain’t got no commander, just a Captain who managed to get to the bunker and take command. He’s busy enough trying to keep this train moving and deal with the wounded. The train was not exactly stocked and prepared for this. So, for now just sit down and shut up. The planet is crawling with aliens, so you want a chance to fight…it will be coming…I can assure you of that!”
No one liked doing nothing, but it did make sense that given the chaotic and very sudden nature of what was happening, it was probably reasonable. The train was large and imposing, clearly meant for much more cargo and personnel. The cadets wandered around in the compartments, and though many people were hard at work, there seemed very little to see or do.
The tracks were laid by a terraforming ship and crisscrossed much of the surface of the planet. The idea was that as cities and outposts were built, the train would be the most reliable way to supply and connect them. The aliens didn’t seem to be bothering with it, and so their assault focused on the biggest outposts and working their way out. Rumours spread throughout the train about other outposts suddenly going dark, including ones that had the benefit of a bit more warning that the aliens were coming. Every rumour and report made Vi, Elvin, and the others more frustrated. So, when they finally got the call from the Captain, they eagerly took it.
They were taken to the forward bridge car. On it were a collection of offic
ers, hastily put together in a command structure. The cadets stood together, waiting for orders.
“My name is Captain Stevens,” The captain said, gesturing for the group to be at ease. He was older than most active captains, and his uniform was badly faded. He was likely a desk captain that just happened to be able to respond to the threat and lucky enough to get so many of his men to safety. Even with his advanced years, he seemed to be falling back to command as if he had never left, “I’m sure you know what is happening, so I will skip the small talk. The point is we have a rather crucial situation and very little time to deal with it.”
“Whatever we can do, we will do it, Captain,” Barick said, “We’re eager to fight.”
“Fighting is something we will have to do before long, I assure you, but what I need of one of you is something with a little more finesse. I need some stealth.”
“I am top of my class in infiltration and stealth, Sir,” Vi added, “Whatever you need, I am confident I can get a unit into.”
“Well that’s the problem.”
Captain Stevens turned to the front of the train and looked out at the rapidly oncoming scenery, rocks and, ore lit up by the forward lights. It had been some time since the train had been above ground and, everyone was antsy.
“For what we need done we have not the space for a unit. This vehicle was not at all stocked for this journey, and we focused on weapons and supplies such as food and water. What we didn’t have time for and got forgotten is adequate medical supplies. We have a myriad of wounded onboard, and antibiotics and field dressings are in dangerously short supply. There’s an outpost close to a place where we can stop the train and be hidden. We will need for one soldier to pilot the all-terrain carry vehicle we have, and load it with medical supplies. We must send one, as we need every cubic foot of space for the supplies. The outpost is one that has gone dark but a while ago. It has been overrun, but we’re hoping there’s not so heavily a presence of alien forces. Your mission is to go to the outpost, get the supplies, and get out fast.”
“I will do it.”
“Are you sure?” Barick looked to Vi, “I might be better suited for this.”
“I am sure,” Vi said with a grin, “You get the next one.”
Before long the train came to a halt under a range of mountains. The minerals in the rocks made detection difficult, and so it was the perfect place to hide out from the aliens. Vi was taken to a six-wheeled all-terrain vehicle. It was rusty and looked like it had seen better days. Vi imagined that this was not the most ideal transport for the mission, but the only thing in the unprepared bunker that happened to be able to be brought aboard.
“This guy is in rough shape.” Brendan looked over at the vehicle, “We gave it some basic maintenance, but you’ll need a bit of luck as well.”
“Luck I have,” Vi said as she climbed into the seat and buckled in, “Time is what we seem to have in short supply.”
“According to the Captain you have three hours,” Elvin said, “That’s how long he figures it’s safe to stay here and not be detected. You need to be back by then, or the train will move without you.”
“Then I should make haste.” Vi powered up the vehicle and drove it off the ramp and off of the train.
The ATV streaked across the wasteland of what was once called Human territory. It was night, but there was red light on the horizon from other attacks. It looked like an apocalypse that was frozen in time. Vi knew she could not get caught up with thinking about what was happening all around her. She had to concentrate just on where she had to go and what she had to do. The ATV worked as hard as it could, but the engine sputtered as it went along. Miners and scouts had heavily used the vehicle. They certainly had not been taking care of it, or had abandoned it in the bunker to rust away.
As good as Vi’s driving was, the ATV seemed unable to withstand that level of neglect and the rough terrain. She was lucky to get out as far as she had, and made it most of the way to the outpost when it broke down, forcing her to get out and make other plans. She looked back at her smoking and dead vehicle and knew that it was very likely beyond fixing. She had to take a chance, to go to the outpost on foot, and hope she could find a replacement. There were old bunkers and storage places, but this was probably where the highest concentration of aliens waited. Anything of value was likely to be something they would protect. It was one hell of a risk, but she decided that she had to take it. Vi set off on foot toward the outpost. She was armed, but not enough to fight a full force on her own. Now she would have to rely on her instincts and cunning.
After close to an hour, and as the second moon hugged the ragged horizon, she got to the edge of the Human outpost. Beyond she saw grand piles of parts and unidentifiable vehicles, and could hear the inhuman calls and lights from the technology of the denizens within. She took a deep breath to ready her nerves before she carried on, well aware this was not going to be easy. She moved slowly and deliberately, knowing that the slightest sound would alert the aliens to her presence. She headed out into the shadows, moving carefully on the bleached concrete terrain.
Vi made it past several alien patrol parties. They were somewhat humanoid in shape but with a techno organic outer structure. The jury was out as to whether they were biological or machines. It was something Vi wanted to know but didn’t have the luxury of worrying about at present. She knew that some of them had a semblance of rational thought, but were unable or unwilling to communicate with Humans. Another patrol party of aliens went by, and Vi ducked into the body of an old car to hide. As one passed by, she heard its strange synthetic sounding noises as if they sensed someone was around. Its outer skin was almost as if reflecting the light, and it had an elongated misshapen head. Vi held her breath, knowing that it was her best chance in this situation. Soon enough, the aliens moved on, searching further away. As soon as they were out of sight, Vi moved on deeper into the outpost.
Vi realised that she had gotten lucky, and that most of the aliens were away on hunting missions. Though this did not bode well for people in the surrounding outposts, it meant there were very few aliens there, and she might just pull off her search. She started searching as fast as possible and saw many things that were of great value. But without a vehicle she had no way to take them out, and so focused on finding one. There were a lot of vehicles, but as yet nothing capable of hauling what she needed, or could get past the alien parties…at least none that were in any semblance of drivable condition. She had to go deeper in to find something that was worthless to the aliens, further in than any escaping Humans before her had been able to get to. She wandered deeper and deeper, knowing that if it all went wrong she would be unable to run her way out. She didn’t know why she was taking such a risk, but given the circumstances she had little recourse not to. That’s when she saw it, a storage garage, seemingly untouched by chaos and calamity.
If there’s to be something here for me it has to be there!
The building looked like a research post, and there was all manner of equipment outside. The crew had either abandoned it or been taken from the place days before. Inside were mostly empty halls. There seemed to have been much there, but it had been dragged further into the facility. As she walked in, she started to see gruesome sights, husks of Humans, drained of their life essence and discarded on the ground. This was not a place where she should be, but she pushed on.
I will find what I came here for and get out.
She found what was left of a soldier, his weapon still in his hands. The invasion had happened before he could even empty his clip. Vi moved on into the complex, and soon found an open bay area in the centre. That’s when she found it, a large hover rescue vehicle, and looking like it was ready to fly.
Vi went around back to the storage area and was pleasantly surprised by what she found. It was fully loaded with medical supplies. They appeared to be prepped and ready for rescue operations. She looked around and found cabinets with more supplies. She hastily went around, loading
the back of the vehicle to capacity with whatever she could find. This would be much more than she could have carried with the ATV, and would make all the difference in helping the wounded on the train.
Once she had as many supplies as the vehicle could take, she secured the hold and walked along the front. She climbed into the cockpit and started up the engines. There was an opening on the roof, and she just had to hit a button to open it. She knew the moment she took off and gained height she would be in trouble. The aliens controlled the skies, and if she hit radar she’d be shot down in seconds. Her only chance was to override the controls and turn off all the running lights. She would skim the buildings and the ground, and fly as low as she could. With any luck she, would move fast enough to not be noticed.
Vi reprogrammed the controls and opened the upper bay without the lights or alarms, slowly raised the craft out, and moved it over the outpost. She tried to go around bigger structures, hiding in their shadows, and out of the line of sight of anyone on the ground. Knowing that even her luck would not hold out, she came up with an idea. She was still linked to the bay behind her, and decided she might need the lights and alarms after all. She set off the emergency alarm, lighting up the research station behind her.
All the nearby patrols turned to it and rushed to the building to see what was happening. Vi gunned it, still skimming the ground but rushing out of the perimeter of the outpost, hugging the ground. She hoped she had made it away without being spotted. That she was still invisible to radar, and the aliens were not looking for the small craft. She radioed ahead.
“This is Cadet Vi Locke. I have a hover vehicle inbound to the train in three minutes. I am not being pursued, but I’ll need all hands available to unload.”
She arrived at the train, with thirty minutes to spare on her timeline. She parked the vessel next to one of the bays, and a collection of soldiers and civilians rushed to strip the emergency vehicle of all that could be salvaged.