These men would accompany the pilots on board their vessels. And once they were on board, the vessels would become airborne, and join in on the defense of Earth and its space stations. Marine sergeant Keller was fully aware of the dangers that faced his men and their mission.
But Keller was not easily frightened. He was a man of integrity and decisive action. He was used to making decisions, hard decisions, decisions that affected various people. Keller knew that lives would be at risk – he also knew that some of those lives would be lost. But it would be a cold day in hell before he broke a sweat over the possibility of combat. Marines, or any of Earth’s Armed Forces at that were always expected to fight and fight they shall. So there was no use in being scared of the unknown, because the unknown was exactly where men like Keller and his soldiers thrived.
“So saddle up gentlemen, I expect big things from you and your squads. This will be a day of firsts for many. It is the first time that our spaceports and space stations have been attacked by our own species. It is the first time that we as humans will fight against other humans using space-age equipment. For it was many years ago that humanity learned how to live with each other in relative peace, but now – now that has all changed. It seems as if we are regressing in time, back to an era that is now bygone. An era that is sullied by the spilled blood of our own brothers, fathers and uncles. An era where greed and lust for riches overtook humanities ability to feel empathy toward their very own species.
“It is an era that we as human’s thought was gone – nothing but a distant memory. But it seems as if we were wrong, and humans still possess the ability to destroy each other’s lives. So here we are gentlemen, gearing up to destroy another brother’s life. So get used to the idea of sinking your teeth into the flesh of your enemy, for you will bite and claw. You will do everything in your capabilities to cut them down on the battlefield, and rip their hearts out of their chests. It is time to rekindle the savageness that once thrived within each of our souls. It is time to become what we used to be. It is time to defend what has taken us millennia’s to acquire.”
The troops in front of sergeant Keller saluted him, and readied their weapons. The speech had worked, and they were ready to fight their newfound foes. It takes a lot of persuasion to convince the everyday man to take another man’s life. But persuading killing machines to do their remit is not so difficult. And Keller knew that these men would get the job done. The only thing that Keller worried about was whether they’d have the stomach to go as far as he thought they would need to go. In the sergeant’s experience on the battlefield, and reading testaments of wars past, Keller knew that whenever humans faced against each other, the vast bloodshed that results in such wars is usually too much for most men to deal with.
These men in particular were used to fighting aliens on simulation machines. They were used to peacekeeping missions on foreign planets. The only targets they had shot at were digital ones, ones found on target practice fields. Most of these men hadn’t seen action, because humanity itself was living in peaceful times. There wasn’t much need for firepower these days.
But obviously, things had changed. And as Keller stood in front of his men, a bead of sweat dropped down his back. He gritted his teeth and blinked a few times. And as his eyelids closed and opened, flashes of humanities progression flickered on the pink skin within the inside of his eyelid, projecting a historical recollection of all of humanities accomplishments.
But as he blinked again, another image popped into his head. This was more of a futuristic projection. A projection where Earth was scorched by war, and men were deformed from combat. The image only lasted a second, but within that second, Keller saw the mighty torrent of death that was the result of humanities inevitable implosion. An implosion that could only be brought on by the continuous infighting of its species. It was a ghastly sight. But the sergeant couldn’t rely on his deepest fears to lead his men into battle successfully. It was normal for him to be apprehensive of the repercussions of such a war between two human factions. But, much worse had happened in the past, and humanity had managed to dig itself out of the depths of hell before, to rise back to the top, and become an ever-present force in the Galaxy.
Keller just hoped that they could do it all over again once this was over and done with. For he feared for planet Earth’s future. A future where humanity was divided yet again. A future where all of Earth’s accomplishments were foreshadowed by the dark and gloomy cloud of civil strife that engulfed the planet. A shadow that would cast its ugly darkness across every city and every dwelling on Earth, and quite possibly across the Milky Way Galaxy itself. He feared how other alien species would react to such a civil war. The only reason that humanity found itself within the coalition of Galaxies and other alien species, was because they had managed a thousand years of peace and prosperity on their very own planet. And now that peace and prosperity was dwindling fast, only the stars and Gods above them all knew of their fate.
And it was a fate that sergeant Keller and his men would fight to the death for.
“Dismissed gentlemen. May the Universe be kind to you in battle. Be safe and above all, come back home in one piece,” sergeant Keller said, saluting his men and watching as they started jogging off toward the tarmac, where hundreds of ships lay in wait for them.
Keller watched on as his men boarded various ships. Some of them were troop carriers, while others were full-blown warships. Ships so large that they overshadowed much of the entrance of the hangar that Keller stood in. Huge ominous shadows cascaded across the floor, scattering up toward Keller as he stood there in awe, watching the ships take off into the night sky. The sun was setting on this perilous day, and in the creeping darkness of the early night sky awaited the Annex Rebel Fleet.
Once those ships reached their targets, Keller could only hope that they would put an end to what could possibly be the actual end of Earth.
“Godspeed,” Keller said as he watched the last ship exit the atmosphere and turn into a glistening dot in the sky, joining the millions of other dots laden in the sheet of black that covered the majority of the atmosphere.
Keller wondered how many of those dots were dying stars, and how many more of them were rebel ships baying for blood. Keller was hoping that his men would get the job done. He had all the faith in the world in them, but that didn’t stop the pit of his stomach from churning. He had a bad feeling, a feeling that was slowly rising up his esophagus, causing the acidic remnants of his dinner to scorch the back of his throat.
In Keller’s line of work, a gut feeling is to be ignored. From very early on, all the way back to basic training, men are told to ignore their feelings. It is the only way that they can become the killing machines that the State wants them to be. But Keller was one of the Old Guard, a Guard that believed in gut feelings. And his gut feeling was telling him that this could quite possibly be unwinnable for them. From what he heard from Command, there were many many ships awaiting their imminent arrival. Ships that were decked with up-to-date technology, a technology that in the right hands could destroy worlds and planets. But he did have a trump card, and that trump card was a ravenous squad of Marines that wouldn’t take too kindly to opposition.
He just hoped that was enough.
Chapter Three
My heart thumped in my ears as Teresa and I ran down a corridor. It was a corridor that I didn’t recognize. I’d been on Sector Eight for a month now, and I’d never run down this corridor before. Hell – I’d never even walked down it. This particular spaceport was much bigger than I originally thought. And for the majority of the month that I had spent onboard this spaceport, I’d found refuge in the bar, drinking myself stupid along with Dale Dykstra and Philip. But I hadn’t seen them for a few days, and had spent most of my free time with Teresa. I was glad that she was with me, even when all of this madness had kicked off. I couldn’t imagine being with anybody else, well, maybe Dale, after all, he is quite large and is super handy with his fists.<
br />
But Teresa was just as handy. And to be honest, I was astonished that she was even able to fight, let alone plunge a knife into the back of another person’s head. What she did was technically murder, killing another human being is a Capital Crime, both on Earth and within the Galactic Law boundaries of allies that surround us. But it seems like things have changed. Within seconds, my instincts were telling me that killing humans would no longer be frowned upon. And it seemed as if we had some new friends to thank for that.
And those friends were currently fighting in dogfights with our very own army. An army that was originally sanctioned to defend Earth from any possible alien threats. But if the woman Teresa had knifed was connected somehow to the attack on this spaceport, then it seemed as if we had a new mission directive. And the army that was once sanctioned to protect us from aliens would now be sanctioned to kill other human beings.
That’s why the Marines in power armor earlier had not wanted to let us pass. They knew what was going on, and were well aware of the fact that we were being attacked by a splinter group of people. People once loyal to the regime. People once loyal to Earth. So it made sense that they had wanted to see my I.D. Unfortunately, the lights had gone out, and the spaceport had been invaded. Granted, the woman in leather had been the only enemy I’d seen so far, but I couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach, the feeling telling me that the game had changed, and Earth was no longer united. I hadn’t had time to assume anything other than that. But if I had had the time to think things through a little more precisely, I might have connected the Alpha Ship One and our previous mission to this possible crack in Earth’s current peace among its people.
But running down the corridor was dividing my attention. I didn’t have enough time to think. For all I knew, this was something else entirely. And if I hadn’t seen the woman in leather, I wouldn’t be none the wiser to the current political climate we found ourselves in. I also wouldn’t have put two and two together, and assumed that humanity was falling apart in front of my own two eyes.
Everything that Earth and Pilgrim Tech had ever worked for was corroding. The virus was multiplying. The lies were bubbling to the surface. And before I knew it, everybody would know. Everybody would know what Earth, Pilgrim Tech and the Alpha Ship One had done to the Ursines. And if the corridor we were running down wasn’t dividing my attention, I would have probably been in a major panic right about now. I would probably be trying to think of a faster, more dangerous way to get myself off the spaceport and onto the Alpha Ship One. And once I was on that ship, I’d probably hit the boosters and get out of dodge, never to return and leave the humans to settle their differences while I sipped on cocktails and kissed my girl.
For if I knew what was in my future, I’d definitely be doing that. But, you know what they say about hindsight, 20/20 vision and all. Now I can kick myself for not thinking straight, but back then, back on that spaceport, back running down that corridor, all I knew to be true was that Teresa and I were in immediate danger. And the origins of that danger was not important. All that was important was that Teresa and I manage to get to safety. That’s where my priorities were. But as I said, if only I knew.
“What the hell is going on?” Teresa said, running beside me, bay windows to our left and right, lights flashing as various spaceships shot at each other, some exploding, some escaping death.
It was such chaos, I found it hard to focus. The corridor was bright on account of the vigorous fighting on the outside. Fighting that was far too close for comfort. But we had to carry on. We had to get off the ship. No matter what was going on outside, mine and her safety was paramount.
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about this. Those ships look human. They look like our own ships. Not to mention the lady in leather, the one that you saved me from. She was trying to kill me. Where the hell did she come from? Are there more of them? And what the hell do they want? I thought we were the same! Humans don’t fight humans!” I said, nearly tripping on a loose wire on the floor, but jumping to avoid it.
The corridor was ending, and there was a hard right. Both Teresa and I took that hard right, our legs aching as we continued to run. We entered another room. This room was larger than the other one - the one outside of the changing areas. It was dark, some of the lighting above us was flickering and flailing as it tried to illuminate the spacious room, but the power onboard Sector Eight was dwindling, and I had a feeling that the firefight between the various ships orbiting the spaceport had something to do with it.
The longer the dogfights outside lasted, the more likely a stray laser beam shot or missile could hit the spaceport. And a single hit from any of those ships could destroy the exterior of the space station. A single hole caused by such a hit could rip and shred Sector Eight, sucking me and Teresa out into the vacuum of space, suffocating us and causing our demise. So getting to the Alpha Ship One was our priority. But the thing is, I’d never taken this route before, and was confused.
“I have no idea where we are, or how the hell we are getting to the ship. I’m counting on you here Teresa,” I said, momentarily stopping to catch my breath. Teresa did the same, sweat dripping down her face as she looked left and right, surveying the strange room in front of us.
I say strange because neither of us seemed to know where the hell we were. But besides from that, the room was pretty much identical to the many other areas and rooms onboard Sector Eight. Earth had a habit of employing simple architecture when it came to official government space stations. Each room was bland and equally depressing. In my travels, I’d been on board many different spaceports’. Some of them in far away Galaxies. And I’d have to say that Earth’s spaceports were the most confusing of the lot. They were like mazes. And I felt like a rat. A rat being experimented on. But unfortunately, this wasn’t controlled. There wasn’t a scientist in a lab coat waiting to tell me that I had passed the test.
This was all real. And there was no escaping that fact.
“I think I know where we are. A few days ago I was wondering the corridors, looking for something to do. You know how it is Flynn; life can get boring onboard, so I thought I’d have a wander. In my extracurricular excursion, I think I came across this room. If I’m not mistaken, the shipyard is just through here,” Teresa said, holding my hand, trying to reassure me with a smile.
But it would take more than a smile to make me feel at ease. I was still panting for breath when the flickering lights above us popped and hissed suddenly, like they’d all blown their fuse. Glass and plastic shards came falling from above, landing on me and Teresa.
And then there was an explosion. An explosion that rattled the walls around us. At first, I thought that maybe one of the ships outside had inadvertently hit the spaceport. But then I heard footsteps. They were close by. In this room in fact. The footsteps were loud and ominous.
And from the collective crescendo of light taps on the metal floor, I surmised that the footsteps belonged to a group of people. People wearing armor. The sounds of their guns being held tightly in their hands squeaked in my ears. The hushed whispers between those armed people were barely audible to me, but I could pick up the fact that they were indeed talking. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I could tell that they were a mere ten to twenty feet from us. I shoved Teresa to the ground and joined her on the floor, putting my fingers to my lips, signaling her to stay silent.
The footsteps continued, the sound of boots clunking on the floor as they walked through the room. They didn’t stop - they didn’t see us - but I knew that they weren’t friendly. I could tell by the atmosphere in the room. It was as if the thermostat had been turned to zero, and a cold chill rattled down my spine.
They continued to walk and talk quietly, conspiring in hushed voices, the sound of metal flexing and plastic cracking under their boots. After twenty to thirty more seconds of uncertain silence, I came to the conclusion that they had passed us by, probably walking into another room
, in search of their next victim. I dreaded to think of the carnage and destruction that these individuals had already caused.
The very fact that they were on board Sector Eight meant that they were a force to be reckoned with. I didn’t hold any hopes of rescue, and I knew that the Marines that usually patrolled these hallways and corridors and rooms were now most likely dead. So that only meant one thing; if we stayed where we were, cowering in the darkness, we’d also end up dead. It was most definitely time to get off Sector Eight.
“We should go before they come back,” I said, holding on to the laser cannon that I had scavenged off the girl in leather.
Teresa still had the knife, the same knife that she had stuck into that girl in leather, but even I knew that a knife and a plasma gun was no match against a squadron of armed men.
“I agree, from what I remember, the shipyard is on the left,” Teresa said, whispering as she slowly stood up. I also got up, holding onto the laser cannon, tightly gripping it as I tried to squint, attempting to get a better look at my surroundings.
“I think they went right,” I said, holding the canon tightly, aiming it as I squinted.
“Well, it’s just as well they went right, because we are going left,” Teresa said, slowly walking off and doing just that.
Destroyer of Worlds (Alpha Ship One Book 2) Page 3