The Galactic Sentinel: Ultimate Edition: 4 Books with 2000+ Pages of Highly Entertaining Sci-Fi Space Adventure

by Killian Carter

Sarge shouldered his rifle. “Perez and I arrived to find a spike bear sniffing around Chao’s pod. We climbed trees across the way in an attempt to draw it away. We thought it was working, but it was smart enough to realize what was going on. It went after him when he was halfway up that tree.”

  “Fuck,” she muttered.

  “You got our bearings yet?”

  “Yes, sir,” Lynch said. “I sent the mini drone up and got what we needed. It isn’t as bad as we thought.” She looked at the bloodied wreck that was Chao’s TEK and her face went pale. “In terms of where we landed anyway.”

  “Show me.”

  Lynch flicked her SIG, sending her updated map to the others. “We landed halfway to the temple.”

  “How?” Sarge demanded.

  “Either the bomber crew messed up their calculations, or the weather system scenarios intel predicted were way off.”

  “Any sign of Sandy?”

  Lynch bit her lip. “Afraid not, sir. No trails or records. His pod must have burned up on entry.”

  “I see,” Sarge said, allowing himself a second to consider another dead Marine.

  “It could have happened to anyone one of us,” Sledge said, looking at the bloody mess in the grass.

  Grimshaw wasn’t sure whether he was talking about Sandy or Chao and figured it could have been both.

  “Sir,” Lynch said, operating her SIG. “I hate to bring it up so soon. But we’re right in the middle of an unmapped red zone. If we keep heading North, we’ll hit a thin strip of orange before getting into the green. There’ll be less danger from wild animals there and it’ll be easier to navigate…at least according to intel, and they haven’t been entirely accurate so far.”

  “What do we do with Chao?”

  “Can’t just leave him here for the dogs?”

  “There’s a pool of acid under those trees.” He looked to Sledge and Lynch. “Put him in there. Better than leaving him out in the open.”

  Sledge obeyed without question and started picking up bits of Chao. Lynch’s face went pale again, but she followed suit.

  Garcia remained by the pod. Perez was with her. Grimshaw approached to make sure they were okay.

  “We’re down two people,” Perez moaned. “Chao didn’t stand a chance against that thing. His TEK may as well have been a peanut shell. How the hell are we supposed to complete the mission with that thing running around? And only six people to boot.”

  “Hold it together Perez,” Garcia said. “With the margin of error for the launch, we’re lucky six of us made it.”

  Sarge appeared by Perez.

  “We’ll make it to that temple,” he said, slapping Perez on the shoulder. “We have to. We lost two good men. It’s true. And it’s unfortunate. It’s just as well we landed much closer to the temple than planned because we’re running out of time. Remember Chao and Sandy. Don’t forget why they came here…why we came here.”

  Perez relaxed a little as he took in the clearing. His face took on a worried look again. “What if the Krags heard the gunfire?”

  “The sound of gunfire wouldn’t have reached that far,” Sarge said. “But we won’t stick around one place long enough to find out. Now, let’s get out of here before that creature comes back.”

  “Come on,” Garcia said, playfully punching Perez in the breast plate.

  “Sledge, Lynch, hurry the hell up. We’re moving out,” Sarge ordered over the short band.

  After two hours of strenuous hacking and slashing, doubling back on themselves to avoid difficult terrain, and hard marching, Team Zeta finally reached the green zone.

  It didn’t feel any safer to Grimshaw, but at least it was partially mapped.

  Sledge hocked, spat into the bushes, then reactivated his face plate. The lumbering idiot had a way of pressing everyone’s buttons.

  “Opening your helmet is plain stupid, man,” Perez said, his voice quivering.

  “Shut your hole, Perez. Readings say oxygen levels are fine here.”

  “Perez is right, Sledge,” Lynch said without taking her eyes from her map as she navigated the way ahead. “The botany samples intel retrieved indicated that most of the plants here likely give off dangerous gasses and spores. Breathe in the wrong place at the wrong time and you’re dead. Or didn’t you read the pre-mission reports?”

  “Intel sent us way off course and got Chao and Sandy killed. If you ask me, they’re full of shit.”

  “Keep your TEKs sealed,” Sarge ordered. “If anyone has a problem with that order, they can take it up with command when we get off this shithole.”

  Sledge chuckled. “No need to bullshit, Sarge. We know we aren’t getting off this rock.”

  “Chill it, Sledge,” Garcia said, tapping his shoulder as she moved ahead to join Lynch.

  She tried to hide it, but every now and then she limped.

  Grimshaw was worried about her. It was likely she didn’t have the antibodies required to deal with Gorthore’s bacteria, and there was no telling how fast an untreated infection would spread. She could go into septic shock before they made it back to the SS Hermes.

  He considered bringing it up with Sarge when Sledge continued loud mouthing on the vox.

  “It’s just a bit of honest talk, Garcia. Blowing some steam before heading into the grinder and all that.”

  “Sledge is right, man” Perez squawked. “Command are sending us to die. Scraps tossed to the Krags to hold them off a little longer. As if mustering Sol’s defenses will stop them. They’ll reach Earth soon no matter what we do here.”

  “Bullshit,” Garcia said. “You knew what you were signing up for. We all did. If we do this right, we can end this war. Teach those mother-fuckers what happens when you mess with humans.”

  “To those monsters, we’re less than a pack of yapping dogs,” Perez countered.

  “Not dogs,” Sarge said. “Wolves. And Perez is the pack bitch.”

  Everyone laughed.

  Everyone except for Perez.

  The Marine looked back down the line as though looking for someone or something. Grimshaw caught a glimpse of fear in his eyes. It was real fear. The kind that caused a man to freeze before death. The kind to make a man do stupid shit. Grimshaw knew that kind of fear well. He hoped Perez wouldn’t go getting them into trouble.

  He wondered what had Perez so frightened. It could have been the drop, the atmospheric pressure, or seeing Chao get ripped to pieces. Grimshaw didn’t know the guy well, but he usually held things together better than most…and definitely better than Grimshaw…but something in him had changed when they boarded the Narwhal that morning.

  “Don’t worry, Perez,” Garcia said. “The smell of the shit in your pants will keep the Krags away.”

  Everyone laughed again.

  When the mirth died down, they travelled a while in silence.

  Grimshaw’s eyes moved fast, scanning every tree and vine to either side for danger. He focused on the jungle, regularly looking over his shoulder and dropping back every now and then to make sure they weren’t being followed.

  Satisfied they weren’t being stalked by a wild animal or worse, he caught up with the squad again on the tail end of some discussion.

  “What about you, Grimshit?” Sledge shouldered him.

  “I’ve been watching our flank, Sledge. What is it?” He didn’t do the best job of masking his frustration.

  The taller Marine took it in his stride. “We’re talking about where we were when the missiles hit Earth. Most of us were already deployed in one sector or another. How about you?”

  “I was still in bootcamp when the Krags first hit. The nearest impact was over three hundred miles away and we still felt the tremors. We thought it was nothing at the time. One of the guys even joked about demolitions being up to no good out on the sand. Carried on with our drills. A few minutes later, a messenger drives onto the field and talks to our DI. Next thing I know, we’re all gathered in the mess hall watching the news.”

  The memory w
as a vivid one. Entire cities in flames. A chunk of Earth’s population wiped out in a blink. Some missiles struck so deep their resulting fires burned for months. It was the first interstellar conflict since the first contact incident with the Shanti and the worst in Earth history.

  “Did you lose anyone in the attack?” Sledge said.

  “Jesus, Sledge,” Lynch hissed.

  “What?” Sledge said defensively. “I thought we were having a moment, sharing stories and all…We all lost people. My parents were retired. They decided to winter in South Africa. The missiles didn’t get them directly, but one of the tsunamis did.”

  Grimshaw nodded. “My folks lived in New York when the missiles hit there. Almost everyone I knew had gotten together for Thanksgiving. We were supposed to have a family call that evening since I couldn’t make it. If I hadn’t joined the Marines, I would have been right there with them.”

  Grimshaw wondered if it would be better to go out in a blink like that. It couldn’t have been worse than being mauled by a spike bear.

  “A good thing you enlisted,” Garcia said.

  “Yeah,” Grimshaw replied. He decided not to tell her that he was on the verge of dropping out before the missiles hit.

  “Hard to believe how long ago that was.”

  The others shared stories of people they lost in what came to be known as the Initial Strike.

  “Makes Thanksgiving hard for a lot of folks,” Lynch said.

  “Perez has a theory they did it early in the holiday season on purpose. So people would always remember.”

  Perez didn’t respond. He’d been quiet for a while.

  “We’ll give these Krag bastards something to remember,” Sledge announced.

  “Of course, it never would have happened if the Galactic Council had listened,” Perez finally spat. “My grandfather was among the delegates sent to the Galactic Sentinel before the Initial Strike. The Krags had been showing signs of aggression for years. But every time we begged for help, the other species turned a blind eye.”

  “When you’re the youngest kid at the table,” Lynch said, “you get treated like the youngest kid at the table.”

  “Only we don’t even have a place at the damn table,” Perez snapped. “The Galactic Council wants humans out of the picture. The Krags are doing their dirty work and they don’t even know it. In desperation, we turned to the Shanti for help. But even our so-called neighbors weren’t interested in fighting in someone else’s war.”

  “Damn bastards spend so much time fighting wars amongst themselves,” Sledge said in an attempt to lighten the conversation a little.

  It didn’t.

  “They felt they had already satisfied our demands for recourse for their part in the First Contact Incident. As if there ever could be compensation for such butchery.”

  “I heard the Shanti captain who instigated that was trigger happy,” Grimshaw said. “It was a right mess, but no use blaming an entire species for the actions of one person. Imagine if others judged humans based on Hitler’s actions alone.”

  “I heard the Shanti pulled the trigger in panic,” Lynch said. “I mean, our ships had their guns pointed at each other for days. It was just a matter of time before someone slipped up.”

  “The First Contact Incident seems so long ago,” Sarge said. “Keep it quiet for a while. We’ll be within range of Temple scanners soon…assuming they have scanners.”

  Grimshaw wasn’t sure if it was the weather, the fast marching, or nerves, but the inside of his TEK started to get a little clammy. He checked for malfunctions and didn’t find any. He increased the air filtration cycles in his environmental settings and was instantly refreshed by a blast of cool air.

  They eventually broke from the trees and emerged on the edge of a small grassy plain peppered with boulders.

  Sarge signaled for everyone to hit cover and led them thirty paces into the plain so they had rock cover in all directions.

  They spread out in a line, taking up positions behind a line of giant grey rocks that jutted from the grass like teeth.

  Sarge pointed to the forest due north on the opposite side of the plain and gestured for them to use their zoom.

  Grimshaw did so and the scene ahead magnified. The top of an ancient pyramid structure jutted from the jungle at the other end of the plain. It reminded Grimshaw of the old temples he’d read about in South America and other tropical regions on Earth.

  “Is that the temple?” Sledge sounded unimpressed.

  “Fits the description,” Lynch said. “Want me to send a drone?”

  “Not yet,” Sarge said. “Your drone’s ghost-drive will come in handy when we get closer. I don’t want us running its batteries down just yet.” He checked his SIG. Fleet Six should have started their bombardment already. Is anyone registering activity in the area?”

  “Negative,” Grimshaw said.

  Everyone repeated the word in turn.

  “Someone needs to go have a look,” Garcia said.

  Grimshaw noticed her breathing was labored. She winked and gave him the thumbs up, but he could tell she was in a lot of pain. If her TEK’s pain management system wasn’t even helping, it wasn’t a good sign.

  “Chao was the best at sneaking,” Sledge said a little forlorn. “Bastard kept creeping up on me back at base, scaring the shit out of me. Sandy had a good set of eyes. Made a good scout. Hey, Perez, you’ve got neuroptical implants too, don’t you?”

  Grimshaw didn’t think sending Perez was a good idea, but he was hardly in any position to challenge senior officers.

  Perez nodded. “I’ll do it.”

  “That decides it then,” Sarge said. “Get as close to the tree line as you can without compromising your position. You’ll be too far for short band. Maintain radio silence to be on the safe side. Only stick around long enough to see if any Krags are nearby. Fifteen minutes max.”

  Perez nodded to everyone.

  Grimshaw noticed a vacant stare in his eyes.

  Before he could say anything, the Marine was off into the long grass. He quickly moved from one boulder to another. In under a minute, he vanished from sight.

  “Do you think it’s a good idea sending Perez to look, sir?” Lynch said.

  “It’s better than running in blind, Lynch.”

  “I mean, wouldn’t it have been better to send someone else? Perez seems a little on edge.”

  “Don’t think I haven’t noticed. Sledge is too big and clumsy. Grimshaw isn’t much better. Garcia looks like she’s run a hundred miles in the sun. And we need your jamming gear and drone. I would have gone but if anything happens to me, command falls to you and you need to focus on your tasks. It’d be a hell of a lot easier if Sandy and Chao were still with us, but we’ve got to work with what we’ve got. Besides, I’m hoping giving Perez some time to himself helps him cool off a little.”

  “Understood, sir,” Lynch said.

  “All we can do for now is sit tight until Perez confirms what we’re up against. All being well, the bulk of their forces is already heading east.”

  As if in answer a distant rumble rolled across the plain like thunder from the East.

  “Like music to my ears,” Sarge said.

  “At least we know we aren’t the only humans down here,” Sledge said.

  “Krags emerging from the trees,” Sledge said, dropping behind his bolder.

  Grimshaw popped his head up slightly in the tall grass for a look. Surely enough, three marching Krags walked their way. They stood at least ten-feet tall, and one was a head bigger than the others. Their armor was so dark they looked like shadows moving between the boulders.

  “Shit,” Garcia said, clearly in great pain. “Intel said their last few fighters would stay near the temple.”

  “I guess that confirms we can’t rely on no damn intel,” Lynch said.

  “It doesn’t look like they’re searching for anything,” Grimshaw said.

  “Krag hunt and patrol in threes,” Lynch said. “Look
s like they’re patrolling, but it’s hard to tell with Krags when they don’t work the same way we do. They have different social cues and react to scenarios differently. Either way, on their current path, they might intercept Perez.”

  “Hopefully, he doesn’t do anything stupid.” Sarge didn’t sound so sure.

  “What the fuck is happening?” Garcia said, her words ending in a moan. She double over and collapsed.

  “Grimshaw what’s wrong with Garcia?” Sarge demanded.

  Grimshaw rushed to her side and kneeled in the grass. “Garcia talk to me.”

  “I’m fine…” she let out a scream of agony.

  Grimshaw ran a quick scan and found her critical signs were all over the place. She clearly was not fine.

  The infection had set in faster than expected. He had to remove her leg armor for a better look.

  “Grimshaw, what’s happening to me?” she begged, panic in her voice.

  “Let’s find out,” he said, reaching for her leg armor release.

  She suddenly became nonchalant again. “I’m fine, Grimshaw dammit. Leave me be.”

  She thrashed in the grass, kicking him away, all the while screaming in pain and yelling for help.

  “Keep her quiet,” Sarge barked. “She’ll give away our position. Lynch, we’ll need that drone of yours after all. See if you can’t get it to draw those Krags back into the trees.”

  “Requesting access to override Garcia’s TEK and administer twilight anesthetic.”

  “Granted,” Sarge said.

  Grimshaw operated his SIG and commanded Garcia’s IV unit to inject a mild enough dose to induce anxiolysis.

  “Help me, Grimshaw!” Garcia pleaded.

  When he finally got hold of her leg, she kicked him away again. Shock was making her irrational. Or perhaps she was hallucinating.

  “Anesthetic will take a minute. Someone help me, dammit!”

  Sledge appeared from the grass. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Bring her back here,” Grimshaw indicated a row of rocks behind them. Garcia was a risk, and he didn’t feel safe keeping her so close to Lynch and Sarge.

  Sledge dragged her from under the arms and lay her gently in the grass where Grimshaw directed.