by Chris Lowry
He stepped onto a small metal plate welded to the wall as the floor opened beneath the convicts and spilled them into the red dust surface of Mars.
The pipe they were chained to popped free from the wall and the men slid out in groaning thuds onto the hard surface of the planet.
They were at the bottom of a boulder strewn hill staring up at a five-story structure built at the top.
Licks leaned out of openings in the side of the building and blasted at the cargo ship as it roared through a forcefield and away from the convicts.
Weber spied a giant generator resting not too far from their position.
The power pack for the artificial atmosphere that extended over them like a dome.
A case slammed into the ground next to them.
One of the convicts jumped up to open in and took a bolt to the chest.
A second man fumbled the lid off and scooped up a rifle.
He spun around to return fire and another man slammed both fists on the back of his neck and took the weapon.
A Lick blast cut him in half and the rifle clattered to the ground.
They were being picked off one by one from the Licks in the building and Weber noticed more pouring out of the doorways.
He grabbed a blaster, knelt on one knee and tried to sight down the rifle.
He pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
He glared at the non-working weapon as he watched a third convict pitch over beside him.
Someone grabbed his rifle and flipped it over.
They turned on the power button and shoved it back to him.
Weber lined up a shot on the doorway and sent a blast into the next alien that popped out then the next.
"Move!" someone screamed and he ran for cover behind a boulder.
He leaned out and sent three bolts into
three bodies.
Two convicts joined him as they began to return fire in a disciplined manner back toward the buildings.
The Licks fell as they were picked off, but the convicts were outnumbered and dying fast.
Weber knew they were sitting ducks.
He began crawling from boulder to boulder toward the building, stopping every few feet to shoot an alien.
They fired back but missed him, searing the ground around him.
Acrid smoke and the scent of burnt flesh filled the shallow atmosphere and made his vision hazy.
He fired shot after shot into the aliens, into their fortress until his power pack ran dry.
The other two men followed him up.
One skidded a rifle toward Weber and exploded as a blast smashed into him covering him in a red fine mist that matched the color of the sand.
Weber checked the power pack, rolled over and shot the weapons cache below them.
It sent a fireball that rolled up until it hit atmosphere then spread out in flames that slid back down the inside of the forcefield dome.
The Licks cowered.
He jumped up and ran for the building, firing into the confused aliens and killing them.
The other convict jumped with him, falling in step as they hit the doorway and fought their way to the top.
Licks fell in the stairwell.
They fell out of open windows as Weber and the convict moved up.
The convict shoved him aside to be the first to the top of the roof.
A Lick blasted his body back into Weber, knocked his rifle loose.
It clattered down the steps.
Weber struggled under the dead weight of the body.
The Lick leaned out of the doorway, it's tongue slithered over its long snout.
It lined up a shot.
Weber jerked the dead man's blaster up and shot the alien.
It fell forward into the stairwell and knocked an advancing line of Licks down in hisses and growls.
Weber rolled over and picked them off.
He scrambled up and crawled through the doorway to the roof.
It was empty.
He moved toward the edge and peeked over, ready to shoot the last of the aliens.
Nothing moved.
Flames flickered where the weapons box once stood, smoke curled off dead bodies of convicts and Licks scattered down the hillside.
He rolled up to his knees and looked harder.
He was the last man standing.
Two shuttles eased over the horizon and slid through the forcefield into the artificial atmosphere.
Marines poured out of the open ramp doors and established a perimeter as a second group began offloading supplies.
Weber trudged down the slick stairwell, stepping over bodies and around pieces of men.
He stepped out of the building and walked down the hill, weapon held to his side.
The Marines stopped working and trained their blasters on the soot covered grimy stained man as he approached.
Commander Cree stepped out of the back of a shuttle and marched up to him, Burly on his heels.
"Were you in the first wave?"
"Yeah," Weber grunted.
"You will address him as Sir."
"How many others?"
Weber looked around at the dead bodies, down at his blood splattered clothes and wiped some of the gore off his face.
"Just me."
"Get him cleaned up and in a Suit," Cree commanded. "I want you suited up and in my command tent in ten minutes."
"He doesn't have any training-" Burly started to say.
"How many battles have you fought on Mars?" Cree cut him off.
"Yes Sir."
Burly hustled Weber toward the ramp of the Command shuttle as it rested in the shadow of the building they designated the Citadel.
TO BE CONTINUED:
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thanks for taking a chance on PHALANX, book one in a new military space series I’m working on. PHYRUS should be on in just a few weeks, and picks up where the story leaves off.
I’ve had some success with sci fi comedy (check the other links if you like those) but this is a more serious approach to military, with hints of space marines thrown in. War on Mars and where would the soldiers come from to fight it.
I’ve read a lot of books on alien invasion, probably too many with a young adult spin, but I like sharing novels with my children. If they want me to get them a book, I don’t care what type it is, I grab it for them, and read it when they’re done. I want to encourage them to love reading just as much as I do.
I hope you enjoyed this story. I hope you check out the next in line.
Drop me a line at [email protected] and let me know what you think.
Chris Lowry is an avid adventurer and ultra-running author. He divides his time between Florida, Arkansas and California where he trains for 100 mile Ultramarathons. His novels include Sci-Fi thrillers, Spy thriller’s and mainstream fiction. He loves good craft beer and meeting with reading clubs and running clubs, especially if the aforementioned beer is offered.
Other Science Fiction Books by the Author
The Dipole Shield –
A ragtag group of adventurers are thrown together on a suicide mission to stop a terrorist from blowing up the Dipole Shield and killing fifty million colonists on Mars
Planet 9 –
Book 2 in the Dipole Shield series. The team is hired to hunt down a kidnaped princess, but first, they have to break into a secured military base and steal advanced technology to do it. If the AI gets her hands on it, she could rule the galaxy. But if they don’t rescue the ward, Mr. Kim will have their heads.
Lunar Hustle
Short story prequel to The Dipole Shield. Tinker gets tasked with saving a prostituted with a heart of gold. Except she’s a money grubbing psychopath who will stop at nothing to win. Can the hapless pilot hold out for better luck or will his gin soaked sense of humor keep him in trouble?
Moon Men
A hapless astronomer and a rogue agent race across the country to reach a launch and negotiate a peace
treaty on the Moon with invading aliens in this sci fi comedy.
Super Secret Space Mission
Two idiots are accidentally shot into outer space to fight invading aliens when they're mistaken for super soldiers in this sci fi comedy called a Galactic Dumb and Dumber.
Bovine Bloodbath: The Herd Shot Round the World
The duo who saved the world in Super Secret Space Mission are back in action to fight alien cows who plan to take earth back from humans.
Bovine Bloodbath: High Steaks
August 2017
Epoch
A warrior from the past is transported to a dystopian future to save the world from an AI overlord.
ERA
The second installment in the Epoch Future Templar series. A warrior from the past must find allies to fight his nemesis.
EON
The final installment in the Epoch Templar series. A warrior from the past and his new allies plan an assault against the Computer's compound to save their friends and win the war. If they survive.
Incursion: An Alien Omnibus
The collected sci fi adventures starter set includes Moon Men, Epoch, Super Secret Space Mission, and a bonus PHALANX
BATTLEFIELD Z SERIES
Battlefield Z
A father hunts for his children in a zombie filled wasteland in this post apocalyptic sci fi comedy.
Battlefield Z Children's Brigade
Book 2 in the Battlefield Z series
Battlefield Z Sweet Home Zombie
Book 3 in the Battlefield Z series
Battlefield Z Zombie Blues Highway
Book 4 in the Battlefield Z series
Battlefield Z Mardi Gras Zombie
Book 5 in the Battlefield Z series
Battlefield Z Bluegrass Zombie
Book 6 in the Battlefield Z series
Battlefield Z Outcast Zombie
Book 7 in the Battlefield Z series
Battlefield Z The Collected Adventures Volume One
Battlefield Z The Collected Adventures Volume Two
Flyover Zombie - a Battlefield Z series
Book 1 in the spinoff of the Battlefield Z series
Headshots - a Battlefield Z series
Book 2 in the spinoff of the Battlefield Z series
Overland Zombie - a Battlefield Z series
Book 3 in the spinoff of the Battlefield Z series
URBAN FANTASY SERIES by the Author
Wizard at War
Witchmas
Witchmas Eve
THRILLER SERIES by the Author
Conscripted
Mission One
Shadowboxer
Decreed
August 2017
Dirtbag Murders
August 2017
CREDIBLE THREAT
NAZI NUKES
LOST WAGES
THE HOLY WAR