So, careful to be as quiet as possible, he slowly began climbing toward the one sign of hope he had discovered. It might not lead out of the hive, in fact, it might not lead anywhere. It could be just another pod similar to what he had been confined in, but Nick felt a glimmer of hope, and it was enough to get him moving. Freedom, his friends, and most importantly, Ember awaited. He refused to let them down.
Chapter 34
“We’ve got the wounded moved to the top floor,” Kal informed Gunny Tveit.
They were in a small room with a view out the front of the building. The injured infantryman, Danny Dawkins, was sitting on the floor in the corner. He still had a shell-shocked expression. Gunny Tveit was staring out the window. The downed troop transport was in sight, and still crawling with the aliens who were obviously trying scavenge whatever might be useful to them.
“Permission to go after Nick,” Ember said.
“Not yet, Private Gracie,” Gunny Tveit said. “I’m still waiting on Staff Sergeant Blevins and Master Sergeant Spielman. We have to make a plan to fortify this facility.”
“You don’t need us for that,” Ty said.
“Ariel Summers agreed to take us back to where they found the other prisoners,” Jules said. “Let us check it out and see if he’s even there.”
“No,” Gunny Tveit said. “I can’t send my entire team out when the security of the prisoners is our highest priority.”
“They’re safe,” Kal said. “You’ve got an entire infantry platoon here to guard against the aliens.”
“And we won’t be gone long, a few hours tops,” Ember argued.
“No,” Gunny said again, her voice strained.
“Why?” Ember demanded.
“Private Gracie, control your emotions,” Gunny Tveit said.
Ember felt a red-hot furry building inside her. Nick had saved the gunnery sergeant’s life on Delphi Green. And he had accepted her when Gunny Tveit had panicked and shot Ember on Issip Minor. Yet when Nick needed them, she refused to help.
“I am in complete control, Sergeant,” Ember said, despite feeling Jules and Kal put hands on her arms. “And there’s one thing I know for certain. It’s that we aren’t leaving this shithole planet without Nick.”
Gunny Tveit turned around and faced Ember. “You think I want to do that? I don’t, Ember. I want to leave right now and search the entire planet if necessary. Nick deserves that much from us, but we have a job to do, and like it or not, that job comes first.”
“It shouldn’t,” Ember said. “The Proxy don’t care if we live or die.”
“Yeah, Sarge, it isn’t like we’re fighting for our own here.”
“We’re fighting for our lives,” Gunny Tveit said. “We get one shot at getting off this rock, and it’s by keeping those Proxy hostages alive. Don’t forget that. And don’t forget there are a lot of other people here too, and every one of them is depending on us. So let’s get ourselves squared away, then if we can, we’ll go after Nick.”
“That’s not good enough,” Ember said loudly.
“Phillips, Ormond, get her out of here,” Gunny Tveit said.
Kal and Jules gently pulled Ember away. She didn’t resist them, but she wanted to pummel Gunny Tveit even though she knew her frustration was really with Nick. How could he have gotten himself killed? She couldn’t believe it, refused to believe it, even though her rational side told her it was inevitable. They could go searching for him, but odds are, even if they had the time and resources to scour the planet, they would probably never find him. He was either completely devoured by the Isopterans or buried deep inside the planet in some lost cavern or hive. The horrid truth was that if his helmet was compromised, the atmosphere on Uni Five would kill him within minutes.
When they were out of the room, Ember slumped to the floor and cried. Jules held her, and Kal paced. Ty had stayed inside with Gunny Tveit, and soon the other NCOs arrived. Staff Sergeant Blevins was the only other ranking Recon officer, while the infantry platoon had Master Sergeant Spielman and Staff Sergeant Locke. The four NCO’s huddled together in the small room, discussing their situation on a private com-link channel.
“Well, this is a real mess,” Spielman said. “We’ve got marines guarding both stairwells, and others at the exterior windows.”
“Dragon Team Thirteen is manning the roof,” Blevins added.
“And now we wait,” Locke said. “Any word on the rescue vessels?”
“They’re not even in the system,” Blevins complained.
“The 2257B has one Dragonfly shuttle,” Gunny Tveit said. “But they won’t risk it, not even to get their own off the planet. Not after losing the troop transport.”
“How exactly did that happen, anyway?” Spielman wanted to know.
“The Isopterans threw themselves into the atmospheric engines,” Gunny Tveit said.
“Good God, how do we fight creatures so willing to die in order to win?” Spielman said.
“We don’t,” Gunny Tveit said. “Our job is to survive. That means evading the enemy until help can arrive.”
“But we can’t leave this building,” Blevins said. “It’s the only safe place on the planet.”
“We don’t know that,” Gunny Tveit said. “And we’d be fools to think the Isopterans won’t attack us here. Our first priority is to prepare a contingency for this facility being overrun. And really, we should have a backup plan for our backup plan.”
“Well, thank you for that completely useless lecture, Gunny,” Blevins said.
“Let’s not turn this into a pissing contest,” Spielman said. “Gunny Tveit is right. So how do we get out of here, if there are enemy units on the ground?”
“We can’t,” Blevins snapped.
“That isn’t true,” Gunny Tveit said. “There are other buildings in this complex.”
“But no way to reach them,” Blevins said.
“We could run zip lines to the other buildings,” Gunny said. “We send half of our people to the barracks. And half to that garage building with the mining equipment.”
“And how will the wounded Proxy use a zip line?” Blevins said.
“We can find a way,” Staff Sergeant Locke said. “It’s a problem, but it isn’t insurmountable.”
“So you’re saying that going to two smaller buildings from the one bigger building is a good idea?” Blevins said.
“I’m saying it’s a start,” Gunny Tveit said. “There might be land vehicles in that garage. We should check and see.”
“Land vehicles?” Blevins said in disbelief.
“Staff Sergeant, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem,” Master Sergeant Spielman said. “Now get your head on straight and start thinking of solutions.”
“We won’t know until we check, but they must have had something to remove the rock,” Gunny Tveit said. “If it’s operational, we might be able to get enough people on board to use it if the mining facility is overrun.”
“And go where?” Blevins asked. “This is the only facility on the planet.”
“Just being mobile might keep the hostiles off our back until help can arrive.”
“Well, we might as well check and see,” Speilman said. “Locke, you’ve got some experience with vehicles. Take two marines and check out the garage. Gunny Tveit, we’ll let your team run the zip lines. Make sure they’re secure. I’ll start working on something to move the wounded on if it comes to that. Once we’ve got the escape plan settled, we’ll meet again.”
“Roger that, Master Sergeant,” Gunny Tveit said.
She waved at Ty, who followed her out of the room. Jules and Ember got to their feet when they saw Gunny Tveit.
“We’ve got an assignment,” she said over the team channel of the com-link.
“Tell me we’re going to find Nick,” Ember said.
“Soon, Private Gracie. But first we have to ensure that if this building is attacked that we can escape.”
“What’s she talking a
bout?” Kal asked.
“We’re assembling zip lines,” Ty said. “From the roof to the barracks and the garage building.”
“That shouldn’t take long,” Jules said.
“If we can find the materials,” Gunny Tveit said.
“The miners must have had cable,” Ty said. “My guess is we’ll find spools of it in their supply building.”
“If it hasn’t been ransacked by the locals,” Kal agreed.
“And once they zip lines are up?” Ember asked.
“Then we look for Nick,” Gunny Tveit said.
“No more contingency plans?” Ty asked.
“If the zip lines fail, and this complex is overrun, we’ll all be captured or killed,” Gunny Tveit said. “Once we do our part to make this complex safe, we go after our own.”
“I heard that,” Kal said enthusiastically.
“Thank you, Gunny,” Ember said softly.
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t come that,” Gunny Tveit said. “If the aliens get to the Proxy, we’re all dead.
Chapter 35
Nick couldn’t believe that he was actually climbing the wall of the trench without being seen and attacked. He had moved slowly, doing his best to make no noise and draw no attention from above. Each hand hold and foot hold was tested. Fortunately, the rocky material seemed more solid in the trench and didn’t crumble under his weight. He had feared that it would shatter and go bouncing down the wall, making a horrific racket, but he was almost to the tunnel and hadn’t made a sound.
The real problem wasn’t getting to the tunnel, but the fact that the large creature whose egress had revealed the tunnel to Nick, had returned to the passage. To escape, Nick would need to get past the creature. He could just shoot it with his pistol, but the report would alert the entire hive of his escape attempt. And if he was certain of anything, it was that he wasn’t far enough along to escape the hive with the entire horde chasing him down.
He needed to get as far as he could without being seen or heard. That much was clear, whether it was possible, he still didn’t know. When he reached the tunnel, he peered in, hoping it was more than just an alcove or compartment. To his relief, it was a tunnel much like the one he had used before. The surface area was smooth, and the tunnel was large enough that he could easily crawl through it. Even better was the fact that the large architect creature was nowhere in sight.
Nick crawled into the tunnel and rested for a few minutes. He was out of sight of the horde above him, although Nick could still see the large carapace of the queen. After a few moments of letting his arms and legs rest from the climb, he started off into the dark passageway, once more praying for a miracle that he could somehow find his way out of the labyrinth of tunnels.
He holstered his pistol and drew the long, thick-bladed D-Garr. It had a straight cutting edge and a serrated spine for sawing. The point was angled, reverse sharpened, and deadly. Nick felt better with the big knife in his hand, although moving through the tunnels with no idea where he was going quickly began to take a toll. The darkness was confining, and despite the fact that his helmet was filtering the atmosphere to make it breathable for Nick, he felt like it was getting harder to breathe.
It wasn’t long before Nick came to a cross tunnel, one that angled upward, and decided to take it. His only sense of direction in the Isopteran hive was to move up or down. The tunnel climbed slowly, switching back and forth before leveling out.
Nick was scrambling down the tunnel on his hands and knees, thankful that his armor included pads for his knees, when he caught sight of movement ahead of him. At first it was just that, a shadowy figure in the murky green of his night vision. But soon the alien was chattering, and although Nick couldn’t be sure, he thought the creature sounded angry. The temptation to pull his sidearm and simply shoot the creature was incredibly strong, but the fear of being overheard was even stronger. He drew his karambit with his left and squatted so that he could leap forward down the tunnel.
The creature that came into view was horrific. It had a great bulbous head, with large pincers near its mouth and two sets of antennae that waved manically as it charged Nick. His mind seemed to buzz with fear, but also determination. When the creature was only two meters from him, Nick sprang into action.
He couldn’t leap upward in the tunnel, but the sudden forward motion caught the creature off guard. With his left hand, Nick stabbed the creature just above its pincers and pressed the big head down toward the ground. His right drove the big blade of the D-Garr hard into the Isopteran’s skull. It punched through the exoskeleton. Nick had no idea what was inside the huge head, but he doubted that much of the space contained its brain. The creature stiffened, its pincer snapping madly at the air. Nick levered the big blade back and forth, letting the tip slice through the creature’s flesh.
It wasn’t until after the killing stroke that Nick realized he was growling. He could feel that his lips were pulled back, baring his teeth, and his body was tensed, ready to attack his next victim. But the tunnel was empty. The Isopteran had been alone, and even though its six legs twitched, Nick knew it was dead.
He crawled past the creature, suddenly panting for breath, his arms and legs feeling heavy. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to keep moving. It would do him no good to hide or rest. His only hope of surviving depended on getting out of the hive, and that was what he determined to do.
After a few more minutes, he noticed that his mouth was dry. He had no idea how long he’d been unconscious and locked away down in the honeycomb, but he was starting to feel the effects of dehydration. He tried not to think of the thick, protein-heavy, and energy-enhanced shakes he had grown accustomed to during his training.
He shuffled on, passing through the never-ending corridors and tunnels. Sometimes they flattened out, and other times they angled down. Moving down the tunnels was easier but completely disheartening. He expected at any moment to come back out into the trench through the same tunnel he had left by. The dark passages all looked the same to him, and he had no way to mark his passage.
And then the chattering sounded behind him. Not the angry clicking and tapping that the creature he killed had made, but a sound almost like applause. It was the sound of many Isopterans, he was sure of it. They were coming after him, and he realized that either something had heard him fight the lone architect in the tunnel, or perhaps they communicated in ways he hadn’t thought of before. He remembered studying that bees communicated through movement, and it was believed that many insects in hives operated through a form of telekinesis. However the Isopterans communicated, they knew he was loose in their tunnels. Perhaps they simply discovered that he wasn’t in the honeycomb anymore, he would never know. But the only thing that mattered to him was that the creatures were on his trail, and that meant he needed more speed.
He sheathed his knives. There was no sense hiding his presence any longer. When the creatures came for him, and they were obviously closing in, he wouldn’t hold back. And then an idea crossed his mind. They hadn’t spent a lot of time working with explosives, but the concussion grenades had several settings. Once activated, they could be used like old-fashioned explosives that were tossed into an enemy position to detonate on contact. They could be linked to his helmet and triggered from a distance. But they could also be set up to act like a motion-activated explosive. Nick had no idea how powerful the concussion grenade was or how strong the tunnel walls were, but he guessed that if he could get far enough away, he would survive the blast. He took one of the four grenades, set it on the floor of the tunnel, and activated the inner gyroscope. If something moved it, the grenade would detonate, and Nick guessed the creatures chasing him would at the very least bump against it.
He hurried on, happy that the tunnel was once more angling upward, but concerned, too, that he was moving too slowly. His recently broken arm ached when he put weight on it, and his mind felt heavy from constant darkness and the stress of being pursued. It was impossible to
know how far he had gone when the grenade went off. The shock wave traveled up the tunnel and shook the walls. Nick’s helmet muted the audio to block out the thunder of the explosion and the resulting tunnel collapse, but he still heard it through his helmet and felt the shock wave pass through his body. Then everything was silent. Nick knew that didn’t mean the Isopterans had given up, but it did mean he had a chance. He had stopped them on their direct path, and if he was lucky, he might reach the surface before they trapped him. He pushed down his hunger and thirst, overcame the nagging fear, and kept moving forward.
Chapter 36
“What do you know!” Kal said. “Ty was right.”
Gunny Tveit was glad to see that Ty was indeed right. There were big spools of wire in the garage. Several gauges of cable, and different materials as well. Even more encouraging were the two large dump trucks that the troop transport pilots were currently operating to ensure they could be used to escape the Isopterans. Her plans were coming to fruition, and that gave her a tiny sense of satisfaction. It did little to assuage her guilt over having lost Nick. He was, she realized, the heart and soul of her team. She was the senior member of the team, and the highest-ranking officer, but Nick was the unofficial leader.
“So, how are we doing this?” Ty said as they rolled the spool of cable back across to the main building.
“Kal should get up on the roof of the garage,” Jules said. “Ty can help Sarge get the spool up to the roof of the admin building. Then lower the cable down to me and Em. We’ll get it across to Kal, and he can secure it on his end.”
“Secure it how?” Kal asked.
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