Incursion

by Paul Teague

  “They think they’ve won,” said Mason, peering cautiously between the crates as the Mechs moved across the bay floor. They were gathering near one of the other doors, lining up.

  “Why do you want me?” hissed Fernandez. “I’m no Marine. I fix things made of metal.”

  “Exactly,” Kearney said, “and now you need to break things as well. Stick close to me and Mason. Have you got a hover lift in this hangar?”

  “Yes, what do you need it for?”

  Kearney grinned inside her helmet. “We’re gonna disable one of those bots and get it out of here on a lift.”

  “Disable it how?” asked Fernandez sceptically.

  “You’re the engineer, sir,” said Kearney. “Figure it out.”

  “And quickly,” added Mason. “They’re assembling over there, lining up, and we ain’t got long before they’re ready to move out. How many you reckon, three hundred? And the same in the other bays?”

  “Okay,” snapped Fernandez, “you’ve made your point. We can’t shoot all of them, they outnumber us completely. Stansfield is right, there has to be a tech solution to this.”

  “They’re gathering in the bays,” said Commander Vernon in the command channel. “We’re holding them off at the vents, but they learn quickly, and the launch bays are our biggest vulnerability, so that’s where they’re focussing their efforts.”

  “Same number in each bay?” asked Kearney.

  “Looks that way,” said Vernon. “They seem to be gathering for an assault.”

  “I have a plan,” said Fernandez in the local channel. “Look. See that device over there? It creates a massive magnetic field in a concentrated area. We use it for testing. If we can lure one of those Mechs over, it should be able to contain it, if nothing else.”

  “Are you sure?” said Mason. “Because we’re going to have to stick our heads out to lure one over.”

  “They travel in clusters, remember?” said Kearney. “We should try for one of those purple bosses, they seem most important in the hierarchy.”

  “They’re on the move,” said Vernon in the command channel.

  “This is it,” said Stansfield. “We’re fighting for Vengeance now.”

  Kearney, Fernandez and Mason watched as the assembled Mechs moved move towards the bay exit, proceeding in a stately, unhurried fashion.

  But they didn’t all leave. One cluster remained behind as if guarding the bay.

  “Perfect,” said Kearney, staring out at the Mechs. “Here’s our chance. Only ten of them, so how are we going to catch our mouse?”

  Then there was movement from across the bay.

  “There’s a Marine over there,” said Mason, planting a flag in his HUD to indicate the location. “Must have been isolated from his unit. It’s Foster, he’s on his own.”

  “Fernandez, we’re going to give him backup, then loop the Mechs round here. Make sure you’re ready,” said Kearney.

  Kearney and Mason moved off, leaving Fernandez to build his trap.

  Foster was yelling something now on the local channel as the Mechs swarmed over him. They disarmed him, then began cutting into his armour, working to remove the arm at the shoulder.

  “Help me!” he yelled, struggling against the Mechs as they began to unscrew his helmet. His screams were suddenly cut off as the helmet came free and was tossed across the bay.

  Kearney and Mason watched in horror as Foster gasped for breath in the vacuum. Then a Mech produced an extraction instrument from its hand and, with complete precision, removed the Marine’s right eye. Foster’s body went limp, and the other Mechs moved like a team of mechanised surgeons to open his armour and strip him of body parts.

  “Shoot him,” said Kearney, appalled at the torture.

  But Mason had already done it. They couldn’t save Foster, but a clean shot to the head ended his pain.

  “Standard RMSC clone,” said Mason. “We’ll buy him a drink once he’s been redeployed, okay? Fuck, though, I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  “Move, you idiot. They know where that shot came from!” said Kearney, diving away behind a Raptor that stood on stubby legs in the middle of the bay.

  “Fuck,” said Mason in horror, “they’re storing the body parts in some sort of freezing device. I don’t like this one little bit,” he said as he joined Kearney.

  Shots followed him, ripping past his head and pinging off the Raptor. Kearney returned fire and downed two of the enemy as Mason shifted position.

  Mason opened fire as well, taking three more as they crossed the open bay towards the Raptor.

  “Getting a bit hot over here,” said Kearney, looking around for a way to circle behind the Mechs. “Go that way,” she said, moving in the other direction.

  “They’re intent on getting Foster’s body parts,” said Mason as he crouched low to run across the bay. “Let’s take the two on refrigeration duty, then lure the others to Fernandez.”

  “Not quite ready yet, guys,” said Fernandez.

  “Work faster,” said Kearney as she shot at the remaining Mechs, “because we’re out of time.”

  “Three to go,” said Mason. “Okay, Fernandez, we’re heading your way.”

  “Still not ready,” snapped Fernandez.

  The three remaining Mechs circled Kearney and Mason, edging unknowingly toward Fernandez’s position.

  “They’re stalking us,” said Kearney, “trying to get close. I think they’re after our bits and pieces to...you know. What the hell do they want with it?”

  “They’re not getting their cold metal hands on any of my choice cuts of meat,” said Mason with feeling. “This is a limited-edition body, and it’s not for sale!”

  “Limited edition?” snorted Kearney. “Remaindered, water-damaged stock, you mean.”

  Mason said something under his breath, but kept moving.

  “Almost there,” said Kearney. Mason couldn’t see her anymore, but her position showed in his HUD. “Firing.”

  A Mech collapsed, shot through the head, and its comrades changed direction, heading towards the source of the firing.

  “Wow, I forgot that was your speciality,” said Mason, genuinely impressed. “Nice work. I still can’t work out how you do that, but–”

  Before he’d finished, Kearney popped out of cover and riddled the second to last Mech. Then she ducked away into cover as Mason jogged across the bay.

  “How do you even do that?” he asked, shaking his head as he ran.

  “Now, guys,” shouted Fernandez, “move now!”

  The lieutenant popped up from behind his crates and waved wildly at the final Mech, trying to lure it into his trap. Taking their cue, Kearney and Mason advanced on the Mech, dodging between cover and firing as they came, careful not to hit it as they herded the creature towards Fernandez.

  “Help,” cried Fernandez as the Mech lunged at him. It reached out and grabbed him, pulling him close, and Fernandez slammed the magnetic device into the middle of its back above its spinal column.

  The effect was immediate. The Mech jerked back, frozen in position, and fell to the floor. The thing was paralysed: alive, but unable to move.

  “Gotcha,” said Fernandez quietly, standing over his fallen enemy. Mason joined him.

  “Ugly little fucker, ain’t he?” said Mason, nudging the Mech with his foot.

  “Get him loaded,” said Kearney as she guided the hover lift to a halt beside the fallen Mech. They heaved the body onto the lift, checked that it really was as incapacitated as it appeared, then looked at each other and grinned inside their helmets.

  “So what now?” asked Kearney.

  Fernandez looked again at the Mech, trying to work out what to do next.

  Then the lights went out, and the bay was plunged into complete darkness.

  22

  With only a couple of kilometres to travel to the Firewall Sphere, the SEV ran out of power and died.

  “That’s going to make life a bit tricky,” said Jackson stoically as
he prodded at the unresponsive controls. “I’m guessing we’ll glance off the Sphere and float away into the darkness,” he said with gloomy resignation, “there to freeze to death when our suits run out of power, lost to the deep dark of the interstellar void, so close to our destination but, ultimately, so far away.”

  “Poetic,” said Ten. “Is that all you’ve got?”

  “I’m not ready to give up yet,” said Gray.

  “To be honest,” said Ten, “I hadn’t figured out how we’d get from the Sphere back to Vengeance in any case.” Living in the moment was great, but only when it all worked out.

  “What about the discs?” said Gray, looking at the outside of the vehicle. “The ones the Mechs rode. Could we use them?”

  There were several of the black discs stuck to the outside of the SEV, but whether magnetically adhered or chemically bonded, Ten couldn’t say.

  “It’s gotta be worth a try,” he said. “How long until we reach the Sphere?” he asked, looking up at the huge ship.

  “Maybe ninety seconds,” said Jackson as he clambered out of the SEV’s open canopy, a grab bag of ammunition slung over one shoulder, a rifle over the other. “These things ain’t the fastest, but the Sphere isn’t far away, so we’re going to get there pretty soon.”

  “Better move fast, then,” said Ten. “We don’t want to be stuck on this thing when it strikes home.”

  Gray strode across the hull of the SEV to the nearest disc and climbed aboard, looking ridiculous as her boots clamped onto the matte black surface.

  “How do you think those things work?” she asked, crouching down to peer at the surface.

  “Mech power? Robo fuel? Recycled cooking oil?” offered Ten.

  “They probably have some sort of biometric security,” said Jackson miserably, “or a token-activated ignition of some sort. Maybe a thirty-two-character password with voice recognition.”

  “Whoa,” said Gray as her disc detached from the SEV and began to float slowly away. “Looks like you just need to hit the standby button.”

  “This’ll never work,” said Jackson as he found his own disc. “Probably a fluke, or it’s damaged,” he went on, prodding at the black surface of the disc until his also floated free. “Maybe the whole batch is defective,” he said as Ten found a ride and cleared the SEV.

  “Nice,” said Ten, nodding appreciatively.

  “Controlled by leaning,” said Gray as she demonstrated. Her disc moved forward, powered by some mechanism hidden in the rim. She tilted back, and the disc came to a stop relative to the SEV.

  “We’re still going to crash into the Sphere,” pointed out Jackson. “It’s going to sting, even at thirty kilometres an hour, and that’ll leave us stuck on the outside with our new toys.”

  “This is going to be fun,” said Gray, enjoying herself. “You lean into it, it’s a bit like a surfboard as far as I can tell. I’m going to come back to you at the SEV.”

  Gray leaned gently forward, and the disc began to move. She pushed slightly to her right, and the disc began to spin on its hub. When she faced the SEV, she straightened up, and the disc began to move back towards Ten and Jackson.

  “It’s quite easy once you get the hang of it,” she said, pulling to a halt alongside Jackson. “It must have onboard guidance doing all the real work, interpreting your movements.”

  “Forty seconds,” said Jackson, reading from his HUD.

  “Ready?” said Ten as they drew closer to the Sphere.

  “Chocks away!” said Gray, turning to face the oncoming Sphere.

  “Do we even have a plan?” asked Jackson as he unshipped his rifle and leaned back to slow the disc as the Sphere loomed up before him.

  As they pulled in closer, they slowed and levelled up, their thoughts turning to business.

  “What do you think, go in the same way the Mechs came out?” said Gray, looking for openings.

  “That’s got to be favourite,” said Ten from just behind her as he checked his rifle.

  “Hey,” said Gray in alarm, “I’ve lost control.” She leaned back and forth on the disc, but it was now heading straight for a gap in the sheer wall of the Sphere.

  “Me too,” said Ten. “Looks like they’re on auto-pilot for the final approach. Jackson, you ready?”

  “Not really,” said Jackson as he lost control of his disc and began to follow the path that Gray and Ten were locked onto.

  “I’m slowing down,” said Gray, as she knelt and aimed her rifle ahead.

  Up close, the Sphere was huge, about the same diameter as Vengeance was long. From a distance, it had looked smooth and rounded like a billiard ball, but now they could see it was made up of all sorts of parts, as if it had been constructed from scrap metal taken from a giant salvage yard. There were lights across the surface and inside the structure, and they seemed to flicker as the Marines flew past.

  “There’s the bay,” said Gray, pointing at a huge hatch, still open but poorly lit and difficult to see from a distance. “That’s where they’re taking us.”

  “Damn, they’re like small moons,” said Ten as the stars disappeared behind the bulk of the Sphere. “No wonder they made such short work of Colossus.”

  “They’ll probably shoot us before we reach the bay,” said Jackson.

  “I think they’d have shot by now if they were going to,” said Ten. “I reckon they think we’re Mechs, as we’re riding on these discs.”

  “Maybe they plan to shoot us once we’re inside,” said Jackson.

  And then they passed through the huge doorway into the bay beyond.

  “It’s just a hangar entrance,” said Gray, looking around for threats, “same as Vengeance. And the gravity works,” she said as she crossed the hangar threshold.

  Whatever was guiding their discs took them deep into the bay and across to the left-hand side, where a long series of landing platforms was waiting. Beside each landing platform there was a human-sized pod, open and ready to receive the returning Mechs.

  “Stay sharp,” said Ten as the discs slowed and landed, one after another, on the docking mechanisms.

  There was no movement in the bay, and for several long moments they stayed on the discs, scanning the huge room. They appeared to have the place to themselves.

  “All quiet,” said Ten, scanning the area. “Let’s take a look around. Follow my lead.” He jumped down to the deck and headed for the edge of the bay, Jackson close behind.

  “Do they sleep in these things?” asked Gray, frowning at the pods as she followed the others. The pods just sat there, looking not at all inviting, canopies open as if their residents had merely stepped away and might return at any moment.

  “These ones are occupied,” said Ten when he reached the edge of the hangar. “They have Mechs in them, sleeping, I reckon.”

  “Let sleeping Mechs lie,” said Jackson ominously. “We should keep moving.”

  “Agreed,” said Gray, “these things are super creepy. At least we know we can jack the discs and escape with Hunter once we find him.”

  “If we find him,” said Jackson quietly. “They’ll probably kill us before we get anywhere close.”

  “This entire place looks like it’s automated,” said Ten. “Let’s head for the door.”

  They moved towards one of the exits from the bay, a huge, heavy hangar door. They looked at each other.

  “We’ll never get that open,” said Jackson. “Probably needs a security pass or DNA-sequenced ID verification.”

  “It’s an airlock,” said Gray as she peered at a panel beside the door. “Ready?” She tapped a button without waiting for a reply, and a pair of doors slid back to reveal a large airlock.

  “It’s a trap,” hissed Jackson, but Ten and Gray were already inside.

  “Or it’s just an airlock,” said Ten, who was beginning to find Jackson’s negative attitude a little annoying.

  Jackson sighed and followed them in. The door closed behind them, and there was a hiss of returning atmosphere.r />
  “Any suggestions?” Gray asked. “My suit’s telling me the atmosphere is breathable. Shall we risk it?”

  “Poison gas,” warned Jackson.

  Gray stared at him for a moment, then looked at Ten. “My readings say breathable atmosphere, but Jackson’s right. Helmets stay on, even if the Mechs are human-based and have the same requirements for pressure, air and temperature.”

  The inner door opened, and they crept out into a silent corridor.

  “Where the fuck are they?” asked Ten as they padded down the corridor.

  “Armoury,” said Jackson. The others stopped and stared at him. “This is the armoury,” he repeated, pointing at a door. “That’s a gun icon, that’s a stylised grenade, that’s a lock. Armoury.”

  “Okay,” said Gray slowly, as if tasting the idea. “So how do we get in? Shoot the door down?”

  “Hold on,” said Ten, “let me see what I’ve got in this tool belt.” He rummaged around for a moment, then realised that this wasn’t the right approach. “Humans, right?” he said, putting away his tools. “But all in those pods, asleep. So maybe we just need to–” he reached out to the control panel and tapped it “–make our presence known.”

  There was a clunk from inside the wall, and the door slid open.

  “No fucking way,” whispered Jackson.

  “Sheesh!” said Ten, mock outraged. “Their security’s terrible. I guess they didn’t expect us to just wander in and help ourselves.”

  “Told you it was an armoury,” said Jackson smugly. An open area inside the door held tables, and beyond them, a set of shelves held a huge assortment of weapons and ammunition in neatly stored and labelled crates.

  “This stuff is all made for human hands,” said Ten as he cracked open a crate of heavy pistols.

  “We should keep moving,” said Jackson. “Time is not on our side.”

  “Yeah, good point,” said Ten, turning away from the pistols. He jogged down the aisles between the shelves, looking for something larger, and stopped when the crates changed shape. He dragged one off the shelf and flipped open the lid to expose a heavy weapon that looked like a cross between an assault weapon and a bazooka.