Artifact: Rise Of Mankind Book 6

by John Walker

  Olly used the time it took to close on the planet to conduct surface scans. He found a lot of destruction. Buildings devastated, whole settlements razed to the ground. They’d need to be a lot closer to detect life signs but he didn’t feel much optimism. After such a horrifying attack, who could possibly have survived?

  “We’re within shuttle range,” Redding announced. “We can make orbit in fifteen minutes.”

  “Hold position,” Captain Atwell said. “Launch the shuttles.”

  Commander Everly gave the order and Olly put each of the ten ships on one of his screens to monitor their progress. Agatha patched coms through to the various stations so anyone there could listen in if they needed to. When they broke atmosphere, Olly would be able to relay their sensors to his station and do a more thorough scan of the planet.

  Maybe then they’d find some people.

  ***

  Captain Hoffner led a group to what was called Dremir’s Hope, a settlement dedicated to agriculture. His briefing showed there should be thirty eight people working there, mostly farmers with a few technicians and administrators. Security seemed to be handled militia style, with everyone pitching in when necessary. Two full time officials had the ability to make arrests.

  I guess with such a small crew, they don’t have the time or gumption to cause trouble. Must be a kielan thing. Humans would probably need a drunk tank at the very least.

  They set down on the outskirts of town, nearly half a mile away. Ten men disembarked the shuttle, each fully armed and ready for a fight. Hoffner assigned a man to point and spread them out in the event of an area attack. Half the team went at the buildings from the east while the rest approached west. They’d meet in the middle.

  I’m not ruling out the possibility of a trap. Someone might have wanted a group to investigate this place. Just because Olly couldn’t find technology doesn’t mean someone isn’t clever enough to hide it from scans. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past that kid to be capable of it himself. Best to be cautious.

  The first building they approached seemed to be a storage facility. The walls crumbled inward, crushing the food stores which were blackened from a fire. He figured they could easily fit fifty men inside when it was whole and now, it was little more than a burned out wreck. His scanner didn’t show any organic, sentient material inside.

  At least no one got crushed in this mess.

  “Keep it cautious, people,” Hoffner ordered. “If anyone’s going to cause trouble, I’m betting we’ll find them closer to the middle, somewhere harder to escape from.”

  “Bravo team is entering the village,” the voice in his ear came from the squad leader to the east. “We’re seeing a lot of damage here. Gunfire and explosives mostly.”

  “Roger,” Hoffner replied. “Same drill as these guys. Keep it slow and watch your angles.”

  They proceeded, following a trail of additional destruction. Not a single building remained standing, each one little more than a pile of stones. Blast points made it clear they used some kind of high yield explosive but scans showed no remnants to provide an idea of what kind. Why be so cautious? What did it matter if someone knew how they blew up the buildings?

  These people are either insanely paranoid or just that good. Maybe if we knew where they got their explosives, we could find out where their base was. Some clues, however oblique, can lead to results I suppose. But the fact we can’t tell what it is has to be a clue unto itself. How many volatile substances could they have used to defy a scanner? I’ll ask Olly to look into it.

  “Contact right!” One of his men shouted and all of them spread out, aiming in the same direction. Hoffner moved to cover as a bout of gunfire laced the ground where they were standing a few moments before. “Permission to return fire?”

  “Hold!” Hoffner shouted, tapping the side of his helmet so his voice could be heard by those off their coms. “This is Captain William Hoffner of the starship Behemoth! We’re here on a relief mission! Hold your fire!”

  “Die, you alliance dogs!” The shout prefaced another bunch of gunfire, this time from three different weapons. “We’ll never surrender!”

  Hoffner hit his helmet and brought him back to coms only. “Bravo team, we’re under fire. Need you to flank the enemy position while we keep them here. Alpha, keep your head’s down but give the others time to get in position. Let’s take these guys down.”

  Some of his men fired back, shots keeping the enemy busy. Hoffner watched the head’s up display in his helmet, waiting impatiently for Bravo. They moved swiftly then suddenly stopped, reporting in they were ready and opening fire. Gunfire burst over the area and screams erupted on the hill.

  “Alpha, shift position to get a firing angle on any stragglers or someone trying to escape. Take prisoners if possible.”

  Hoffner joined his men, leading with his weapon. One of the enemy popped up to take a shot and he pulled the trigger, striking the man dead center in the face. The blast from the advanced weapon Durant provided nearly took the guy’s head clean off and the recoil was nonexistent.

  These are something else!

  Another man tried to crawl away, firing behind him. Marines took cover, shouting for him to surrender. Hoffner calmed them with a quick word and tapped his helmet to allow external communication. “Come on, you’re outnumbered and don’t have anywhere to go. You’ve seen what our weapons can do. Surrender and you’ll be well treated.”

  “Go to hell, heathens!” The man turned his gun on himself, discharging a round into his chin. The blast went out the top of his head, finishing him off.

  “Clear!” One of the marines said. “No more life signs.”

  What a waste. Hoffner stepped closer, gazing at the heap of bodies wearing Orion’s Light uniforms. As he examined them, he came to realize many of them were already injured by some kind of blast. Their clothes were blackened and one was missing half his leg. As the limb was no where to be found, he figured his men didn’t do it.

  “Giant control, this is Alpha team at sector seventeen,” Hoffner radioed back to the ship. “We have met with minor resistance at the settlement Dremir’s Hope. Unfortunately, no prisoners but they are definitely Orion’s Light. We have confirmed they attacked the colony.”

  “Roger that, Alpha,” Marshall’s voice crackled in his ear. “Conduct a sweep for any remaining technology. We need to know what they were after there. What made them attack that site?”

  “We’re on it.” Hoffner turned to the others. “Get your scans going. Look for anything that might be transmitting, anything that requires power. I don’t care how small the reading is, you report to me immediately, understood?”

  “Yes sir!” The shout resounded over the area and his people hurried off to conduct their assignment. Hoffner checked over the bodies. They lacked all but the most rudimentary supplies and their weapons. Someone erected a lean to nearby but that was their only shelter. He found a pile of old paper beneath a coat and some rations they hadn’t gotten to yet.

  Maybe you jack asses shouldn’t have blown up all the buildings. You might’ve had a place to sleep.

  He picked up the pages and flipped through them. There were five in total and the man had used coal to write a message. Hoffner had to use his translator to decipher the words, each written in some kielan dialect. He leaned against the rocks as he browsed through the micro-journal of the men they’d just killed.

  We were left behind. Our whole fire team abandoned as we should’ve been for our failure to comply with regulations. The explosives were not measured carefully enough and as a result, we will die in this settlement. This fate came from our direct superior who elected to leave us our weapons and just enough food to survive a month.

  The others believe we will be rescued if we last so long. They don’t realize the alliance will be here soon and when they arrive, we will have to die fighting. None of us is in any condition for a prolonged engagement. Anpi lost his leg from the mistake and Valk has four broken ribs. We’re done.


  I was cast out through association. If only I’d been more observant, I might’ve stopped my comrades from dooming us all. Unfortunately, we do not deserve redemption and here I must stay until the day we perish. None of us can survive in the wilderness. We are not hunters or farmers. Soldiers for the cause, one and all…and the cause has left us behind.

  Without purpose, we should do the honorable and kill ourselves. If it comes down to hunger or a bullet, I will choose the quick end. Perhaps I might even shoot my companions before the time comes. I know they lack the courage to do so on their own. If only they understood the honor we have known serving the Lord, then perhaps they would commit the ultimate sacrifice in their final moments.

  My faith will never falter.

  Hoffner shook his head. “Giant control, this is Alpha leader. I found some documents from one of the combatants and these guys are serious nutters, sir. I mean, they’re way out there.”

  “The briefing suggested true zealots,” Marshall replied. “I’m not surprised you found proof. I never had any doubt.”

  “Understood. We’re continuing our search now.”

  “Other teams are reporting their settlements are wrecked with no surviving technology. I’m guessing you’ll find the same but we might get lucky. They didn’t have left over enemies though. Let’s police those bodies and bring them back.”

  “Yes, sir.” One of the soldiers called his name. “I have to go. We might’ve found something.”

  Hoffner rushed over to the others and stopped short, his shoulders slumping. A massive pile of bodies, presumably the settlers, were heaped up in a massive pile. They’d been gunned down near a caved in building, down to the women and children. Whoever did it made sure they were dead too. Each one took a bullet to the head along with a group in the bodies.

  “Count them up,” Hoffner said. “We’ll try to reconcile them with the census for this place.”

  A sergeant drew their attention to the bombed out building. “I’m picking up a technology reading from in there. It’s faint but definitely a power signature. Maybe a personal com unit.”

  “Someone could be alive in there!” Another soldier shouted. “We have to dislodge these rocks.”

  Hoffner nodded. “Let’s get in there, gentlemen. Bravo, create a perimeter and stand by as security. Alpha, let’s start digging.” He set his weapon aside and prepared to join them, helping move massive cement boulders that took two and three men to shove aside. It looked like they’d be at it for a while but they couldn’t risk firing or using explosives.

  Not if someone might’ve survived. The lack of life readings didn’t tell them anything. Interference might block their scans. Considering they didn’t have anyone else to talk to, a live colonist would be a perfect find. They couldn’t have eliminated everyone on the planet. It seemed impossible.

  But then again, these guys might’ve been thorough. They could’ve flown around for a couple days ensuring they eliminated all threats if they wanted to. We didn’t arrive quickly.

  Hoffner delivered three reports back to the Behemoth concerning their progress working at the debris before they finally uncovered the shelter. The place proved to be void of anyone, living or dead, but the tech reading grew in strength. Their tech officer, Corporal Eddings, walked inside, waving his scanner about the room.

  Other reports came in from the teams all around the planet. Hoffner frowned at their message, mostly indicating how they’d found bodies and burnt out homes. Pretty much the same they found at Dremir’s Hope. Relief crews didn’t appear to be necessary. There was no one to receive the aid.

  If the alliance wanted the planet back, they’d have to send a host of new settlers. A few months of work might get the place back up and running as it had before. While the Behemoth might not be able to help any living people, they could at least police the bodies and return them to the kielans for proper burial.

  The bastards who killed them didn’t even offer the dignity of a proper grave.

  Hoffner knew such things were likely beyond a group capable of gunning down children. Generally, people only cared about what happened to a body in death when they showed concern for how a person lived. The cold murder they witnessed gave them a good idea of what they were facing and how they’d have to deal with them.

  Considering their abandoned men still fought to the end, we have a real group of crazies. Who would continue to show loyalty for a group that didn’t even have the decency to bring them back to their ship? Over a mistake? Especially one which harmed them! They must’ve learned their lesson. Leaving them…that was just unnecessary.

  “Captain Hoffner,” Eddings called out. “I found a personal communication device. Power’s running low but it was set to record. We’ve got some video footage of the settlers.”

  “How’d Orion’s Light miss it?” Hoffner asked. “They took all the rest of the technology.”

  “This is a low profile device,” Eddings explained. “In other words, when it was fully powered, it emitted practically no signature at all. Only when the energy began to run out did it start sending a signal to suggest it needed a recharge. That’s what we picked up when we performed our scan. While these jerks were here, they wouldn’t have seen it.”

  “I see.” Hoffner took the device from him. “Can we play it back?”

  “Yes, for now. It’s probably got another eight hours of life left on its current power settings.”

  Hoffner hit the play button and the feed began from the start. Settlers gathered in the small room, armed and aiming at the door. He was watching their backs but even without expressions, he felt the tension in the room, the anxiety over the situation. He knew what was going on. They were waiting for the Orion’s Light people to find them and when they did, they’d have to fight.

  I hope they gunned down some of those bastards.

  He fast forwarded for several minutes and started it up again when people started to move around. Voices shouted from outside, telling the colonists to surrender. The description of what they planned to do, to bring the force of their shuttle against them, made Hoffner glare. They put their guns through the door and left the area.

  Damn it! we’re not going to get anything from this!

  Then a man stepped inside and looked around. Hoffner paused the feed. The uniform looked like the other Orion’s Light people flashier. He must’ve been a commanding officer…a lieutenant or captain maybe. They might be able to get something from the database about him, a match on who he was.

  “This could help.” Hoffner continued to play the video and a few moments later, they heard the screams of women, something about conscription then gunfire. “Dear God…they…”

  A massive explosion brought down the entrance to the shelter, covering it in debris. The video went dark and Hoffner hit stop. He handed it back to Eddings. “Seems we found what we were after. Two pieces of evidence that the Orion’s Light attacked this settlement. Should be enough to continue the investigation.”

  “We’ll finish our sweep of the area, sir.” Eddings hurried off and Hoffner connected with the Behemoth.

  “Giant control, this is Alpha leader. We have finished our search and have evidence showing who did this. It’s an atrocity to be honest. Relief crews will be needed to police a lot of bodies for proper burial but no one survived this attack. I’ll leave security crews just in case to defend anyone you send. Let’s make this happen.”

  “Roger that, Alpha leader,” Marshall’s voice replied. “Please return with the evidence ASAP. We’ll go over what you found while we clean up the mess down there. Alliance reinforcements are on the way to secure the area and start the reclamation process. Good work.”

  Hoffner glanced at the bodies piled up nearby and let out a sigh. I don’t feel like we did any good work here today. Too bad these people didn’t have proper security…but then they probably didn’t feel like they needed it. And even if they had, chances are good they might’ve been killed too. Whoever attacked thi
s place did it en force. I can’t wait to get a stab at them.

  He and Eddings boarded the shuttle while the others maintained a perimeter. They’d return to the ship and deliver their findings while the relief crews did their work. With any luck, they’d have some ideas of where they were heading before too long. As long as it involved a brawl with the Orion’s Light, Hoffner was all in.

  ***

  Clea received the initial findings from the marines who went to the planet’s surface. Medical crews took images of the dead on the planet and sent them back to her small team so they could check the database to identify each victim. She made a list to send to the alliance so their respective families could be informed.

  The whole exercise made her sick to the stomach. Senseless murder went against everything the kielan people believed and she knew the majority of Orion’s Light had to be from her species. They’d gone far afield of their beliefs to have such disregard for life. Especially considering the horrifying nature of the violence.

  Clea noted there were several people missing from the identifying records. Hoffner’s report included a message about people being conscripted, another notion which felt like a punch to the gut. Those who were not to be found ranged between seventeen and twenty two years old, all men. Every woman and child was accounted for.

  Wait. What’s this? An anomaly?

  Wyan Sor’Trex worked at Dremir’s Hope and set his age down as forty-seven. He too was listed as missing. Clea checked the recording device which was found there and discovered it belonged to him. He risked a lot to set that up. Maybe they can’t find him because his body took too much damage to be recognizable.

  But that didn’t seem right. She brought him his record and noted his time in the military as an administrator, mostly dealing with travel for high ranking officers. He retired just around the time she got her second assignment so it was no surprise she’d never heard of him before. Why had he moved to an out of the way settlement to take up farming?