Prime Alpha (Planetary Powers Book 1)

by Joshua Boring

  “Nice,” she said. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up at all.”

  “I thought I’d drop in for a while,” Jonathan replied. “Save you guys some embarrassment.”

  Phillip scratched his head and looked up past the glare of the door lamp. “What were you doing on the roof anyway?”

  Jonathan straightened up and pulled a pair of distinctive braided tassels from his belt, holding them out in his open hand.

  “Clearing out the snipers.”

  Nathen frowned, looking at the sniper’s tassels in Jonathan’s hand. Those tassels were the highly coveted symbol of the most elite marksmen in the Vorch special forces.

  “You weren’t spotted coming in, were you?”

  Jonathan arched an eyebrow. “Is that meant to be amusing?”

  Nathen glanced behind him at the others, then asked his next question. “Any sign of the others? Sharps? Doc?”

  “I have no idea where those two are.”

  Phillip edged up next to Nathen, looking uneasy. “We should proceed to the objective, Knight. Before we’re discovered.”

  Nathen moved up next to the door as Jonathan gave the crumpled guard under him a dose of neurotoxin. Nathen looked inside from the open doorway. The hallway was empty, and no sound emerged from the corridors except the hum of the overhead lights and the echo of silence.

  “That sure was nice of the guard to open the door for us,” he said to no one in particular. “It simplifies things.” Nathen turned to his team. “Alright, the VIP will be in the central control room, so we just head inward and we’ll find it.” Nathen turned and faced his team. “Pistols free.”

  In concert, the four other commandos pulled their electro-dart pistols clear of their hip holsters. Nathen pulled his own pistol and held it at the ready. He gestured for Helen to take the lead. As she moved up Nathen signaled for Kyler and Phillip to follow. Nathen and Jonathan moved in last, staying alert for any last minute enemies.

  Once they were all inside, Kyler let go of the door. After a second, the door started to hiss closed again. As the commandos waited for the door to shut, Helen shook her head.

  “I still say it has been too easy.”

  Nathen glanced at his second in command. “Never say that.”

  Helen arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

  Just then, the door finished shutting, and the internal locks engaged. The second they did, the silence was shattered as a blaring klaxon pierced the air. Overhead lights started flashing red as if in fury. Nathen met Helen’s worried eyes.

  “That’s why.”

  Down the hallway, a door opened and a Vorch warrior came rushing out to see what had triggered the alarm. Without missing a beat, Nathen lifted his arm and pulled the trigger, whacking the warrior dead in the chest with a dart. The guard arched back in a silent scream as electricity coursed through his body. His mask vent screeched and whined as it was overloaded, and the alien crumpled in a limp heap right there on the floor. Nathen was already moving.

  “Game on! Move!”

  The commandos charged down the hallway as the alarms intensified. They slowed down only to check intersections. The first one they came to branched left and right, as well as continued forward. So far, the coast was clear, so Nathen slashed forward with two fingers. The team moved as one, picking up the pace until they were moving at a slow run. Helen, the fastest of the group, pulled ahead by a few strides.

  Another door opened ahead, and an armed guard stepped into the hallway. Nathen felt his skin crawl as the fierce-faced helmet turned on him and his team. Reacting fast, the guard snapped his cell blaster up and prepared to fire. Reacting faster, Helen threw herself down and slid, kicking the guard’s legs out from under him. The startled warrior’s arms windmilled as he pitched forward.

  Before he could reach the floor, Nathen sprang into his next step and slammed his knee up into the guard’s faceplate. The guard’s finger twitched against the firing stud and the cell blaster issued a heated report, but the energy bolt sizzled harmlessly into the floor. The guard then rolled onto the floor, unconscious.

  Another guard came out a second later, trying to bash Nathen with his weapon. Nathen saw it coming and ducked, dropping onto all fours. As the guard tried to recover for a second strike, Phillip shot him in the head from behind Nathen. The guard spasmed backwards, struck the doorframe and fell back into the room he had emerged from a second earlier.

  Helen was back on her feet, and none too soon. Just as Nathen was beginning to rise to his feet, another cell blaster cracked from behind them, and the bolt sizzled right past Nathen’s ears and down the hallway. Both Kyler and Jonathan spun and put a pair of darts in the guilty guard’s chest. What was left was an entire fire team, and soon the corridor was full of flashing bolts. The commandos quickly took cover in the open doorways and returned fire, trying to use their electrodarts sparingly.

  “This is getting awfully heated!” shouted Phillip, flinching as a bolt passed in front of his face. Nathen snapped his arm up and fired three darts down the corridor at the fire team before reloading.

  “Keep moving, Alphas! Don’t let them box us in!”

  Helen finished reloading her own dart pistol and held it at the ready.

  “On your order, Boss!”

  Nathen shouted over the whining energy bolts and the screaming alien squad.

  “Buckshot, Fiend! Base of fire! Daytana, with me! Bayonet, covering fire!”

  Without waiting for a response, Nathen broke from cover and dashed down the hallway, away from the fire team. Phillip was right behind him. Nathen reached the corner just in time to meet a lone Vorch warrior coming from the opposite direction. The soldier tore around the corner and saw Nathen. The Vorch charged forward and swung his cell blaster. Nathen twisted, catching the blow and diverting it past him harmlessly. Using his opponent’s momentum, Nathen shot his right elbow up into the faceplate of the helmet. The guard grunted, but recovered quickly. Nathen lifted his knee right up into the guard’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The guard choked and lost the grip on his weapon. Nathen ripped the cell blaster from his fingers, flipped it over, and pressed the firing stud. The blaster flashed, and the guard fell backwards, chest plate glowing.

  Nathen turned, weapon in hand, to check on Phillip. The tech expert whistled in amazement.

  “That was nice, comman-…”

  Nathen saw the flash. Phillip never did. There was an explosive snap as the bolt caught Phillip square in the back. The technician staggered forward, electrodart pistol falling from his numb fingers.

  “…-hurrk!”

  Phillip fell right into Nathen, who did his best to catch his tech specialist. The weight of the man threw Nathen off balance. He stepped back to try and regain his footing, but his boot snagged on the armor of the warrior he’d just downed. Unable to stop himself, Nathen fell. He hit the ground hard, still trying to hold Phillip up, and when he looked down the hallway, he saw a Vorch warrior running toward them, cell blaster shouldered and ready. Stolen cell blaster trapped under Phillip’s motionless body, Nathen tugged to free his electrodart pistol. The guard drew up to the intersection and aimed right at Nathen.

  “Aha! I have you now, you-…”

  The guard was too focused on Nathen to watch where he was going. Helen came around the corner, crouched low, and swept her leg out in a wide, circular sweep that took the guard’s legs out from under him. The surprised guard went airborne just long enough to face plant into the floor. Helen, moving with deadly grace, completed her turn, rising into a fully-standing position, and deftly put a dart into her victim’s back. The guard spasmed from the intense voltage and lay still, moaning softly.

  Nathen rolled Phillip off of him as Helen crouched down to assist.

  “Boss,” she said, concerned. “You alri-…”

  A snarling roar hit Nathen’s eardrums like a thunderclap, and he rolled over onto his knees, looking down the right corridor.

  “Maul!”
r />   The creature was at the end of the hallway, straining against the chain that held it to its tender. The Maul’s trainer was struggling with the beast and swearing, trying to release the chain’s clasp while bringing his weapon to bear at the same time. Nathen and Helen both raised their pistols and fired at the same time. The guard caught both darts in the chest and somehow managed to scream before collapsing. As he fell, there was an audible ‘ping’ as the chain disengaged, and suddenly the scaly alien cat was bounding down the hallway at full speed.

  Nathen and Helen both backed up, pumping dart after dart at the Maul. Despite their solid hits, the electrodarts failed to stop the creature, or even slow it down. Every time Nathen saw a confirmed hit, the dart glanced off the cat’s scaly hide without discharging its load. Nathen swore and started reaching for his knife as the cat reached lunging range. Before it could launch, Kyler stepped into the corridor and hurled his bola hard at the cat, just as it propelled itself into the air. The bola tangled around the creature’s throat, the miniaturized pulse generators fired, and the creature blacked out in mid air. Kyler caught the beast’s limp form in his massive arms and dumped it onto the floor.

  “Down, pussy.” he said, pulling his weapon free.

  Jonathan jogged up at that time, dart pistol in hand.

  “Fire team neutralized.”

  Nathen was at Phillip’s side in an instant, tearing the technician’s face mask off and checking his pulse. The technician’s eyes were wide open. Helen hovered nearby, eyes on the hallways but attention split.

  “Daytana?” she asked, worriedly.

  Nathen gave Phillip a little shake, but the man was as limp as a rag doll. He could hear shallow breathing, but it was very subdued. Nathen sighed and turned to the others, shaking his head.

  “He won’t make it.”

  Jonathan swore and turned away. Helen shook her head, angry and anxious. Nathen stood and pointed down the hallway.

  “Move out.”

  “We’re gonna jus’ leave ‘im heah?” asked Kyler, baffled.

  “We’ll pick him up on the way out, if we can.” Nathen hated doing this, but there was no other way. He readied his dart pistol and took a deep breath, listening to the klaxon. There was a strange sort of peace in that sound for Nathen. He always knew what to do when he heard the scream of chaos. When he let the breath out, he issued his order with full authority.

  “Move out, Alphas.”

  The team sped through the building, taking one last turn without issue. And there was their objective. The control room. The doors were unguarded, as far as Nathen could see. He rushed up and placed an ear to the surface, listening for anything on the other side. He could hear nothing over the klaxons. The team collected around the doors. Kyler, bringing up the rear, shouted as a storm of energy bolts flashed past:

  “Assault squad, comin’ up from behind!”

  “Alpha’s,” snapped Nathen. “Breach and clear. Now!”

  The others took up positions around the door, and Nathen hovered his hand over the door switch.

  “Three… Two… One!”

  Nathen slapped the switch and the doors scissored apart. The commandos plunged into the darkened room like wolves into an open sheep pen. The enemies who waited for them inside were expecting them, but they were by no means ready. Most were seated around the room at various control consoles and security stations. Nathen fired at the nearest one as the operator started swiveling in his chair. The masked Vorch caught it in the collarbone and jerked back, spinning back around in its chair.

  The air was filled with flying darts in seconds. The methodical zap, zap, zap of the electrodart pistols were met with only an occasional sizzle-snap of a cell blaster. No one got a clear shot off at the commandos. Those who were armed fell first and fell hard. Those stationed at the posts never had the chance to get armed. In seconds, the firefight was over. Nathen whirled and pointed at Kyler.

  “Get that door secured!”

  Kyler turned and hit the close switch, and the doors slid out of the walls toward each other, just as the Vorch assault squad came tearing around the corner. The lead warrior screamed in rage and threw himself at the door, but he was too late. The doors shut, and Kyler smugly hit the manual lock. On the other side, Nathen could hear the angry assault squad yelling and pounding on the door.

  Then the commandos were alone with their prey. Nathen turned to the single center-mounted high-backed chair, facing the wall of screens. Whoever was sitting in the chair, however, did not appear to have noticed the firefight that had just ended. Nathen switched his pistol to his left hand, using his right to reach behind his back. When his right hand came out, he was clutching the bola by the cords. Nathen let the weapon dangle by his side as he spoke.

  “Alright,” Nathen said, clearly and strongly. “We’re going to do this the easy way. Turn around, slowly, and don’t try anything funny. Otherwise we’ll be carrying you out instead of walking you out. Do it now.”

  There was a second when no one moved, everyone’s weapons just trained on the back of the chair. Then, complying with Nathen’s orders, the seat began to turn, slowly. Nathen kept his dart pistol aimed halfway up, but he knew if the VIP was going to play games, he’d rather use the bola. He might need the darts for later. His fingers curled tighter around the cords as the seat completed its turn. The chair’s occupant faced the commandos fully.

  Then Nathen blanked. He felt confusion and denial settle into his mind as the identity of the individual in the chair registered with him. He blinked, trying to make sense of who he was seeing.

  “Commander Denver?”

  Chapter 4

  Out of habit and respect for a superior officer, Nathen lowered his electrodart pistol as he tried to piece together what was going on. Commander Jason D. Denver was in charge of the Elite Stellar Commando project, or ESCs, a secret project in which Nathen was a key player. Jason Denver, code name Chronos, had assigned this mission personally, and now he was sitting in the middle of it. Nathen first thought Denver’s presence was a trick, an imposter or a double to throw him off. Such a strategy would have made sense to him. But after a second of examining him, there was no mistaking his identity. Nathen shook his head, staring at his commander with puzzlement.

  “What’s going on he-…”

  POW! Nathen staggered back as the bullet hit him dead in the chest. Nathen felt the shock course through his body, spreading out from the point of impact. His arms released both weapons, and before Nathen could catch himself, he tripped and fell backwards onto the floor, numbness setting in. At the same time, six more shots were fired in rapid succession, methodically taking out the other three members of Nathen’s team, one by one. POWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOW!

  Nathen clumsily reached up and touched the splattered red patch on his chest. His gloved fingers came away dark red. He was still grasping that he’d been shot when he heard the near unified thumps of the other three members of his team hitting the floor around him. Nathen groaned, turning his head from side to side. Kyler, Helen, and Jonathan were all lying on the floor in various states of incapacitating pain, all looking stunned and out of breath. All had various red splashes on them from where the surprise shots had hit them. Nathen dropped his arms to his sides, trying to push himself up, but the numbing pain pressed him back down.

  So Nathen just lay there with pain hammering his body and emotions, staring up at the low-powered ceiling lights overhead, wondering how this had happened. He heard the control room doors forcibly open, and the Vorch assault team poured in. Nathen didn’t need to turn his head much to see Commander Denver standing over him, scowling. His CO held two smoking magnums in his hands, both of which were now pointed at the floor. His gruff, gray-tinted face shook slowly from side to side as he looked down at Nathen.

  “How disappointing,” he grumbled.

  Nathen tried to work out a retort, but he only managed to get out a strangled groan. Denver looked up and motioned for the assault team to start mopping up. Nathe
n saw several armored figures enter his line of vision, staring at him and his team through visors decorated with scowling and menacing images. One moved directly to Denver’s side, staring hard at Nathen before looking up at the commander. Denver looked at the armored figure and nodded.

  “Search the perimeter, and shoot any other intruders you find.”

  The guard nodded and turned away, exiting Nathen’s line of sight. Nathen felt anger rising up inside him, but the worst response he could manage was a nasty glare. Denver scoffed and shook his head one more time.

  “You and your team are supposed to be the best there is; the ultimate elite. And you get taken out by a sucker punch.”

  Nathen couldn’t force any strength into his limbs, and watched as Denver smirked, sweeping his eyes over the three other commandos in the room.

  “And you came a little unprepared. I don’t see the rest of your team.”

  The aged commander turned away, smirk still on his face. He was still smirking when a Vorch warrior walked up behind him, casually lifted his arm and pressed the muzzle of an electrodart pistol into the back of Denver’s head. The pressure of the weapon and the distinct click of the safety being disengaged immediately wiped the smirk from Denver’s face. The warrior tilted his helmeted head at the man.

  “…That’s the point.” he said, deadly serious.

  Suddenly the relative quiet of the room was shattered as a lightning storm of electrodarts flashed out, so fast it sounded like a fully automatic weapon. Nathen, still unable to move, heard the near unanimous thumps of the entire assault team hitting the floor. A second later, a lone figure dressed in Vorch warrior armor stepped through the open door into view, holding a cell blaster in one hand and a dart pistol in the other.