by Christi Smit
Locke turned to face the Wolves. “Ready to spring a trap?” he asked them.
Two squads of Sabian’s Lancer Elite were waiting for the Wolves, ordered in two lines of thirty soldiers. They stood unmoving in their segmented armour in front of a drop ship, the armour covering almost every part of the fragile human bodies underneath. The emerald-green armour was standard issue for all military personnel on active duty across the galaxy. There was no Anctinium plating or interface plugs, nor any assistance from a suit OS, it was just light-weight steel formed into chest and limb plating. It did not offer the same protection the Titan suits did, but it increased a soldier’s survivability enough to make a difference during combat.
Sabian stood facing his men, his hands clasped behind him. His armour was the same emerald green as his elite soldiers; the only difference was the silver edging and filigree on the plating. The silvered honour bestowed upon him after numerous campaign victories and his skill as a commander of men. Unlike his men, he was not wearing his combat helmet, instead wearing a headset with a tactical display covering his eyes. Sabian’s second in command stood next to him, holding the commander’s helmet at the ready. Commander Sabian was busy issuing orders to his men, outlining their part in the upcoming mission.
Christian and the rest of the Wolves waited for Sabian to complete his tactical briefing before moving closer. He noticed as they walked over to the Lancer Elite how scarred Sabian’s face was. Almost his entire face was marked by some kind of scar tissue; his eyes and mouth were the only areas that were untouched. One of his ears was completely missing, the other nothing but a fleshy mound on the side of his head. His nose looked like it had been broken a hundred times, and the tip was lost to something sharp. Sabian was by no means a handsome man, but his looks had nothing to do with his skill as a leader.
Rivers had broken away from the squad as they moved across the docking bay, slowly wandering over to a female officer in a blue pilot’s uniform.
“Who’s that?” Christian asked Xander. Captain Locke was conversing with Sabian a few feet away on a closed channel. Every now and again the deck would vibrate as smaller asteroids impacted against the Hyperion’s hull, yet no-one in the docking bay seemed to care about what was going on outside.
Xander looked in the same direction as Christian was facing, laughing under his breath as he replied to Christian’s question. “That would be the pilot of the drop ship,” Xander’s thumb pointing over his shoulder to the drop ship behind him. “Her name is Gunn, we call her the Queen.”
“Why?” Christian enquired while taking in the sight of the drop ship they were about to risk their lives on. The drop ship looked no different from any other drop ship he had seen before, save for the painted letters on the side. It was called the Maiden of Flame, and it was as much a legend as the Wolves were. Its name mentioned in almost every single military record relating to the Grim Wolves Christian had studied during his trials. The Maiden of Flame was a squat, bug-like ship, its cargo hold in its belly making it look like a pregnant beetle with all of its limbs pulled off by some sadistic child.
“You will know soon enough. Rivers there has a crush on the fair Maiden’s pilot. If his wife finds out she will snap his most prized possession in half.”
“If I was him, I would be more afraid of his wife than the beasts we fight.” Nathan chipped in.
“Is she a big one?” Christian asked his brother.
“Let’s just say she is a real handsome woman.” Xander was laughing harder, snorting like a child as he uttered his next words. “That’s why he keeps his flirting to solar systems outside of his home one.”
“I might be old you bastards, but there is nothing wrong with my hearing. I just appreciate Gunn’s dimensions. She is a fine specimen of female beauty in such a grim galaxy.” Rivers had heard everything over the squad channel. He glanced in the direction of his squad, but did not move to join them. He was too occupied with Gunn’s curves to care about squad cohesion before mission start.
“You might not be deaf, but you are thick. If she wanted to see what was going on underneath your suit, she would have tried already.” Nathan replied to Rivers’ comment.
“I am chipping away at her resolve. I believe I am very close to seeing her underwear up close and personal.” Rivers’ drawl emphasizing the point he was trying to make, elevating the laughter from his squad.
“You said that five years ago Sergeant.” Locke had re-joined the squad, adding his own chuckling to the chorus of laughter. His voice suddenly changed to a more serious tone. “Mission is a go. Rivers ask the Queen if she would grace us with her presence on-board the Maiden. The Hyperion will get us close to the Fateful Moment and then break off. Captain Gray can’t stay close; the asteroid field is too unpredictable.” He paused for a few moments. “We will be alone out there in the void. Rescue by other ships will be too risky. Briefing once we are underway. Is everyone ready?”
Locke waited for his squad to confirm their readiness before ordering them all on-board the Maiden. He could detect the slight edge in his squad’s voices, all of them knew that they were stepping into a trap, yet all of them were excited, not scared.
Locke was the only one standing, his armoured boots planted firmly on the decking of the Maiden of Flame. On either side of the Titan captain rows of seats were filled with the Lancers and his Wolves. The Wolves sat closest to him on his right, the lancers filled up the rest of the seats further down the troop compartment.
The Queen was a phenomenal pilot, expertly manoeuvring her ship through the deadly debris field. The Maiden of Flame dipped, climbed and rolled to avoid the rocky mines littering their path to the Fateful Moment, and Christian did not notice a single impact against the ship’s armour. Gunn’s flying skills were as extensive as her vocabulary. Every manoeuvre was followed by a string of curses and complaints, some of them were from her co-pilot, the aptly name Jinx, and the target for most of Gunn’s complaints. The poor co-pilot must have had a thick skin to withstand the verbal onslaught his superior was hurling at him constantly. It did however seem fitting, Nathan had explained that Jinx was a buffoon, and wherever he went shit would seem to follow.
Christian would have to meet the man first before condemning him like the others have already done.
Christian glanced at Locke, the hero was silent behind his helmet, and it was slightly unsettling. He wondered what was going through the man’s mind as they made their way through the void.
A Lancer sitting next to Christian bumped against his suit by accident; the soldier did not realize it as he was furiously fiddling with his helmet. His hands were struggling to secure the strap of his head protection.
“What seems to be the problem soldier?” Christian asked the growing annoyance beside him.
The soldier jolted and froze in place, shocked at the sudden words from the Titan. “Um, sorry sir, I...I...”
“What is it?” Christian’s head tilted towards the Lancer. “Nervous?” he said followed by a smile behind his helmet, the smile helped to soften the question through the Titan’s vocal speakers on his helm.
“Is it that obvious sir?”
“It is to me. It is easy to identify the emotion when you are feeling it yourself.”
“You...you are nervous too?” The thought seemed to help relax the Lancer slightly. His hands stopped tugging at the neck strap of his helmet.
Christian just nodded in response, not proud of the fact that he was slightly more on edge than usual.
“Why are you nervous sir?” The Lancer removed his helmet and instead tried to fix the problem from a new angle.
“It is my first time in the field. I am an untested Titan, the FNG as my squad call me.” Pyoter chuckled at the utterance of the military term for a new recruit, but went back to cleaning his giant, heavy machinegun on his lap without another sound.
“So am I, well I have been in combat I mean, just never as a Lancer and I have never been in a void operation before. I was r
ecently promoted from the field corpse. My job was to stand guard outside of the Commander’s quarters. No idea why I was promoted to a full Lancer.”
“Were you good at your job?” Christian asked him.
“Yes, very good, I have many commendations, but any monkey could have done my job just as well.”
“You are wrong soldier. You were rewarded for your loyalty. It is a rare quality to have in these grim times we live and survive in. What’s your name soldier?” Christian looked down directly at the man beside him, noticing the soldier’s youthfulness. He was definitely much younger than Christian.
“Corporal Josh Joshua, sir. My parents loved me so much they named me twice.”
“Nice to meet you,” Christian stuck an armoured hand out to Josh, “Christian Quinn.”
Josh took the Titan’s hand and shook it with courage. “You can call me Jay, everyone else does.”
“I might just do that.”
Jay finally fixed his helmet’s problem, pulling it over his head and fastening the strap correctly. “Finally, that feels much better. Are we there yet?” he asked the Titan as a joke.
“I think so. Captain Locke is about to brief us.” Christian replied, pointing up at Locke, who was now walking up and down the aisle of the troop compartment, stopping every few paces to look at the soldiers.
“Quiet down.” Locke boomed over his helmet speakers.
Everyone fell silent, only the Wolves dared to continue checking their weapons and equipment.
“This is a shit storm. We have no idea what we are stepping into. I won’t sugar coat it men. Whatever or whoever set up this trap for us, will have left some nasty surprises on the Fateful Moment, so expect anything and everything.” He stopped by the exit ramp of the troop compartment, only a few inches of armour plating separating him from the cold void beyond. “Sabian and the Lancers will secure the entry point. They will hold position and establish a beachhead for us to fall back to. They will keep the Maiden safe.”
“I hope so Locke, she is very dear to me.” Gunn was listening to the briefing through the drop ship’s internal radio, interjecting as Locke spoke. “One scratch or blood smear and you will be cleaning it up Captain.”
Locke did not respond to the Queen’s comment, instead he just thought about how much of a bitch she was, and how much he enjoyed it.
Sabian nodded and spoke to his Lancers before Locke could continue. “Bravo squad will go with the Wolves, the rest of you disembark and get those heavies covering all entry points to the docking bay. Charlie and Echo squads will sweep and clear all adjacent compartments to the bay. Understood?”
A resounding affirmative echoed from all of the Lancers in the troop compartment.
Locke switched to the squad frequency and spoke to the Wolves directly. He did not want the other soldiers to hear what he had to say next. “There will probably be casualties, check your corners and stick together. Nathan you are in the lead, Pyoter I want you at the rear so if anything gets through us they run into you. No explosions or grenades Xander. The hull of the Fateful Moment is tough enough to withstand weapon fire but we do not know the extent of the damage from the asteroid field. You might just leak all of us out into the void with one of your grenades. As soon as we touch down we head straight for the bridge, vessel schematics are uploading to your visors now. Rivers, find us the best route to the bridge, minimal effort, we have Lancers with us so keep it simple.”
The information from the Fateful Moment, schematics, ship descriptions and crew counts, scrolled past Christian’s eyes inside his helmet.
“Get ready. Five minutes to contact.” Locke said as he turned to face the exit ramp behind him.
The rest of the Wolves all stood as one and moved to stand behind their commander.
Jay stood up as the Wolves moved, slinging his rifle over his shoulder, seven other Lancers mimicked his movement.
“Where are you going Jay?” Christian asked the young man.
Jay pointed to the patch on his right shoulder. “Bravo squad,” he said.
“I can think of no-one better to have with us.” Christian replied, it was an obvious lie, but it was said to harden the Lancer’s resolve.
It worked perfectly. Jay’s shoulders raised and he nodded at the Titan in respect. “Thank you, Christian.”
Chapter Three.One
Trap
“The dead ask no questions, their corpses provide the answers.”
-Anonymous entry in the Annuals of War, recorded 2531 - 22 ASD
Sabian had secured the docking bay as soon as they had touched down on the metal decking of the cargo vessel. His elite Lancers securing every entry point with heavy weapons, creating fall back points closer to the Maiden of Flame. Keeping the drop ship safe was their top priority; it was their only chance of survival if things went pear-shaped.
The Maiden had docked without any problems, the giant bay doors of the Fateful Moment accepting the drop ship with open arms. Those giant doors were now closed, keeping the coldness of the void away from human flesh. The Queen and Jinx were on permanent standby, letting the drop ship’s engines idle, ready to burn at a moment’s notice.
Nothing blocked the path of the Wolves to the bridge of the Fateful Moment, no doors were locked, and there was no crew to bar their way. Locke and his squad would reach the cold, dark vessel’s bridge in only a handful of minutes after docking. The Wolves had run at a pace to compliment the pace of the Lancers accompanying them, they would not leave the soldiers behind, even if there was no signs of any threats, yet.
“Still no life signs Captain,” Rivers announced over the squad radio. The Lancers behind the Wolves had also heard Rivers speak. Locke had allowed them to connect with the squad’s private frequency for the duration of the mission. They kept silent, showing the Wolves why they were called elite, by action and not by words.
Locke used hand signals to order the rag-tag squad through the corridors of the Fateful Moment, listening to the uneasy silence the vessel projected for any movement or threats. He signalled the FNG and Nathan to move up and cover a cross section, both Titans responded instantly, taking up positions on the sides of the intersecting tunnels.
Xander was next, his shotgun held at hip height, ready to pump clips of automatic buckshot into anything that wasn’t part of the squad. Rivers followed close behind, his modified shotgun resting on his shoulder as he used his free hand to operate a mobile scanner.
Locke watched the Lancers as they passed him, their rifle-mounted luminator beams piercing the dark around the Titans. The Titan’s dark sight nullified the use of external lights, but the Lancers were not so lucky, they did not have access to such advanced technology.
Christian wondered how frightening it must be to have only a few lights in the nightmarish dark. Not knowing what lurked in the gloom outside of your light beams would render most humans useless, frozen in fear. But these men were different, these Lancers faced the dark, and their nerves were holding, even Jay showed no fear, his hands holding his weapon were solid, and his breathing constant. Good for you, Christian thought to himself as Jay was the last of the Lancers to pass the intersection. Christian’s focus returned to the corridor he was aiming his Kicker down, seeing nothing up to where the corridor made a sharp right and went on towards some other part of the vessel.
Locke tapped Nathan on the shoulder and did the same with Christian, indicating for them to move up. Locke was on edge, more than the rest of his squad, all of them knew that there would be trouble very soon, but only Locke felt uneasy about what was coming. His heavily modified Kicker was held at the ready, locked against his right shoulder as he looked down both tunnels at the intersection, waiting for his final squad member to pass the obvious ambush point.
“Relax Captain,” Pyoter said, his giant machinegun held out in front of him, it was a heavy beast of a weapon, but the big Titan held it as if it was nothing, its thick barrel scanned left and right before he stepped across the intersection. “We w
ill have things to shoot very soon I think.”
“I hope you are wrong Pyoter. Fighting in these corridors will take a lot out of us, and remember we have the Lancers with us.” Locke stepped in front of Pyoter, allowing the giant to resume his duty as rear-guard. Locke walked only a few steps in front of Pyoter, silently looking at the ceiling grates of the corridor they were moving down. The enemy always loved to burst through the ceiling at the most inopportune times.
“Bridge up ahead Captain, door is open to the corridor, no movement inside,” Rivers said in Locke’s ear.
“Hold position. Nathan take point with Xander, I am on your six in a few seconds. We go in together, no splitting up. Is that clear?” His question was directed at everyone, and everyone, the Wolves and Lancers, responded as one with a curt acknowledgement.
The silence bled out from the dark bridge of the Fateful Moment, its machines and displays deactivated, the inky-black shadows leaking into the lights cast by the Lancer’s luminators. Inside the bridge a pivotal moment waited for the Titans and those accompanying them. It, the moment and its bound slave, had been created specifically for this mission, engineered to activate the trap the Wolves were now walking through. Whatever it was, Locke could feel the danger emanating from inside, he could sense the malice and danger in its construction, slowly chipping away at their resolve with unsettling ease.
The situation had turned to shit faster than anyone could have imagined. At first it was just the missing lab technician, and then the other systems started to fail inside Gamma Facility. Scattered reports from other parts of New Horizon all hinted at the same thing - planet-wide sabotage. Transmissions from Beta Facility looked bleak, all systems were destroyed, all defences disabled. That meant only one thing; the doors of the Labyrinth were unlocked and open to whatever was inside, not to mention the live specimens of the Beast deep within other facilities.
Jessica shivered at the thought, if only one of those monsters got out, the entire population would be in danger. She hoped that the defence force would contain the horror before it spread. It was probably too late.