Primal Link 2

by L Bowers

  I ran and jumped over and under machines as needed, and sliced into them while I did so. The first thing I needed to do was to find Jones. The thought of having abandoned her made me feel sick to my stomach.

  “I will help,” Aspen thought to me. Emerald green wrapped around my head in the form of Aspen’s head. The world took on a green tinge, but my vision became as sharp as an eagle’s.

  As I looked around while still moving forward and smashing machines, my vision zoomed in on the places I focused on. Soon after Aspen extended more of her gifts to me, I spotted Jones. She was standing, but sweat matted her hair to her head. Her rifle was now in two pieces, which she swung like clubs. The blue of her Lenashal flashed from her taking various forms, but the light was dull and barely visible in the daylight. Her slow movements and the lack of vibrancy from her Lenashal made me think she was in trouble.

  I changed my trajectory to take me straight for her. “Angela!” Along with my words, a high-pitched screech left the glowing beak protruding from my face. All other sound stopped. Marines and machines alike froze, then looked at me while I rushed towards Jones.

  The stillness didn’t last long. A Marine I didn’t recognize took advantage and blew the head off a stag. Everyone and everything exploded into motion. A couple of steps were all that separated me from Jones as her attackers sprang into action. My torso twisted left, then right. Each move sent emerald wings forward to bisect a machine.

  Then I was there, and scooped Angela up into my arms. My immense wings had no problem lifting us both off the ground. Jones let her destroyed weapon fall from her fingers and wrapped her arms around my neck. We didn’t speak. We didn’t have to. The relief we both felt was a tangible thing that connected us.

  As badly as I wanted to take her above the clouds, my work wasn’t finished. Instead, I circled around to look for a relatively safe place. The Marines we came for still occupied the ravine. There were machine carcasses in the ditch, but none still moving. The Marines were doing a good job of keeping their attackers at bay. The few that broke through were destroyed. It was as safe a place as any.

  It wasn’t safe for her. As I thought it, the memory of the female Marine’s stunning ice blue eyes losing their light came to the fore. I pushed it down. I had to. That wasn’t the time nor the place. Once we were done here, I would learn who she was and mourn her.

  I landed in the ravine and set Jones on the ground. She stood as tall as me without the wings, but she looked small at that moment. Her arms were still wrapped around my neck, but I didn’t dare remove them. There wasn’t time to ask how she felt and delve into a conversation about how messed up all of this was. But there could be a moment to bolster our resolve.

  As I wrapped my arms around Angela, my wing encircled us. We held on, not saying a word. I let her warmth soak into me behind the shield of our emerald sanctuary. Let the feel of her arms around me remind me why I was still fighting. Never had my purpose been so clear.

  “I…”

  Jones pressed her lips to mine and cut me off. That kiss was far more than the last one. It was as if we tried to push all the pain and fear we felt out of one another with our tongues. Like we asked to receive the courage we needed to continue.

  Jones pulled back first. “Go, Ray. Standish and Kopf need you, too. So does the rest of the squad.”

  “Okay. But I’m not kissing Kopf to make him feel better.”

  Jones laughed. “But you will kiss Standish?”

  “I don’t know. If he holds me just right, I may. It depends.”

  She laughed again. “Don’t make me have to kick his ass and yours.”

  “Why would you do that? We haven’t put a label on this thing between us.”

  Her smile faded to be replaced by a serious expression. “You’re right. We’ll talk about that once we're back at base camp. For now, go save the day like you saved me.”

  “Are we good?” Worry made my voice crack.

  “Better than good. Now go.”

  I didn’t have to be told twice. As I let go of her, my wings spread wide. I crouched and leaped, and let the power of my wing shoot me into the air. Using the eagle-sharp vision Aspen granted, I found a group of three Marines in desperate need of an intervention. The rest were holding up better than these three. I swooped down and plucked a stag from the group of attackers. After gaining fifty feet of altitude, I spun and tossed the hunk of soon-to-be-scrap sentinel. It hit two dogs and stags around the Marines. I dove and landed hard on the back of a dog. A glowing emerald foot extended from mine before impact, and impaled the machine with long talons. The force crushed it to the ground like a tin can. Using wings and talons allowed me to destroy enough of the machines that the Marines could get free and join a larger group.

  Our battle progressed like that for what felt like hours. It came to an end after we managed to clear a path to the ravine. Once every Marine, able-bodied or not, was in the ditch, we sent waves of fire at the machines. They fell like the soldiers of old that would line up and take turns shooting at each other. Only in this case, the shooting was one-sided.

  The last machine fell, and the call to cease fire came from somewhere to my right. Every eye scanned back and forth to ensure all the threats had been neutralized. The only movement we saw were columns of smoke rising from machine corpses.

  “Who’s in charge here?” a Sergeant asked as he walked the line toward where my squad was pressed to the dirt wall.

  “I am.” I stepped back and into his path. “Corp—” I shook my head. “Sorry, Sergeant Goshawk.”

  “Sergeant,” he held out his hand to me. “I’m Staff Sergeant Kinnear. Thanks for coming to our aid. I don’t know how much longer we could have held out.”

  “It was our pleasure.”

  “We need to move out. I assume there’s a base camp set up with a landing pad for shuttles to ferry the wounded to the ship?”

  “That there is, but I can have shuttles come here to evac the wounded,” I replied.

  “I would prefer we get away from here. Can we have them meet us en route?”

  “I don’t see why not. Will we be able to carry the wounded?” I didn’t add the dead, because I was trying to keep all thoughts of her from my mind. That, and I didn’t want to know if there were others. Although I knew I should. Every name and face I burned into memory would be another reason to fight harder and keep it from happening to others.

  “We’re all augs here,” Staff Sergeant Kinnear said. “Two of us can carry a company’s worth.”

  He was right. We marched in two columns side by side. Or they did. I used my abilities to stay airborne and provide overwatch. Two miles into the trek, twin sonic booms could be heard from overhead. I looked up to see two shuttles on an intercept course with us. They were loud enough that I didn’t need to relay the info to Staff Sergeant Kinnear. He took control of the march while I did my thing. As I glided downward, he called the Marines to a halt and had all the wounded brought to the front.

  The time had come to do what I needed to but dreaded doing. I landed close to the front and made my way to the Marines lying on the ground. Picking out the Marines not moving was an easy task amidst those writhing and moaning in pain. The first still body was hers. A Marine knelt over her with his weapon to his shoulder, ready for any threat that would keep him from getting her onto the shuttle.

  “Do you know her?” I pointed to her with my chin.

  He looked up at me for a second, then returned to keep his vigil. “Name’s Clarisa Hobbs. She was my friend.”

  “I’m sorry,” I replied in a harsh voice.

  “Don’t be, Sergeant. I was there. I saw you try to save her.” He stood and faced me as he let his weapon retract to his chest via his sling. “Thank you. We don’t always get to save everyone, but it’s good to know she wasn’t alone in the end.”

  I clenched my jaw and nodded. “Were there any other…” I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

  “Hobbs was the only Marine to lose
her life in this battle,” Sergeant Kinnear said as he walked up to us. “You and your Marines did good work today, Sergeant. All three of is could have fallen today.” He looked down at Hobbs the one who didn’t make it

  The first shuttle touched down, and ended the long moment of silence that followed Kinnear’s words. “Let’s go!” he shouted. “Get the wounded loaded up.” He turned away from us and headed to the opening ramp.

  “Would you help me carry her?” The Marine asked as he kept his eyes on Hobbs.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  As we bent, a Naval corpsman ran up and handed me a folded black bag. Wordlessly, Hobbs’s friend and I unfolded and unzipped it, then lifted her and set her on it. He zipped it back up. The action had a sense of finality to it. As if something great had come to an end, and the whole of humanity would mourn and become lesser for its loss.

  After the ships were loaded, the healthy Marines continued our trek back to base camp. I resumed my post as overwatch. Fortunately, we didn’t find any more trouble on the way back.

  Sergeant Lupita waited for us on the steps leading into the building. I arrived first, and landed on the ground before the stairs. Flying was taking a toll on me, so I pulled my sweat-soaked flak vest open as I ascended the stairs.

  Lupita waited until I was in front of him before he spoke. “I heard what you did. It’s never easy to lose someone. But you and your squad made it possible for the rest of those Marines to get back here.” He pointed at the Marines who stopped at the base of the steps to drink water and rest. “Don’t expect me to say I was wrong about you, or that I’ll go easy on you. That shit ain’t going to happen. This one time, I will say thank you.” He held out his hand, and I looked at it for a second before taking it. “Now get some rest. You look like you’re about to fall over.”

  Lupita went down the stairs and spoke to Kinnear. My core team came up to join me. Angela took my hand and threaded her fingers through mine. Standish stopped a few feet away, looking as stoic as ever.

  “That shit was crazy,” Kopf said as he stopped next to Standish. “I think we earned a break. How about we all meet at my bunk? I have the perfect movie to watch as we unwind.”

  “That sounds good.” I smiled for the first time since Hobbs died.

  “You going to stay all green and shiny the rest of the day?” Angela asked.

  “Oh, shit!” My eyes opened wide, and I looked down. I expected to see Angela’s hand wrapped around a green talon-tipped claw of a hand. Instead, I found that the green had receded to my wrist.

  “I won’t let you hurt the ones we love,” Aspen thought to me. “That includes hurting yourself. You need to power down and rest. I fear we have been active for too long. I don't know what will happen. This is the longest we have continuously used our abilities. Add in our new power, and there is no telling what the consequences may be. Power down, Ray.”

  “She’s right,” Angela said. “You should power down.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. Although I felt fine, Aspen's words had me a little worried.

  The emerald green receded from my vision as it receded from my arms. The massive wings on my back shrank down to nothing. I smiled. “All good.”

  The world went sideways as I felt a tidal wave of fatigue hit me. I heard a voice in my head scream my name at the same time voices outside my head did. It all faded away as darkness took me.

  11

  Goshawk

  I slowly came to due to a slight vibration that ran through my whole body. The green-tinted artificial light assaulted my eyes, and I had to put my arm over my face to act as a shield.

  “Welcome back, Sergeant,” a voice I didn’t recognize said.

  “Back?” I was unsure where here was, or where I was coming back from.

  “You’re on board the ship. The entire unit was shuttled back up and we’re en route to the next part of your mission.”

  “Oh.” It all started to come back to me. I let my arm fall to my side. “This isn’t my bunk.”

  “No,” a man in Navy blue said as he stepped into view and looked down at me. “This is the ship’s infirmary. You passed out, and have been unconscious for a day.”

  “That explains why I’m so hungry.” I ran my tongue over my teeth. “And why it feels like I haven’t brushed in a while.”

  “Because you haven’t,” the corpsman said with a chuckle. “How do you feel?”

  “Okay, I guess.”

  “Good. The scans show you’re in good health.” He picked up a tablet and looked at the data on the screen. “Looks like you overexerted yourself. Can’t say I’m surprised since you kept up with augmented Marines. There are some strange readings here, but nothing that will impact your health, or your ability to do your job.” He looked up from the tablet and met my gaze. “We gave you an IV with a saline solution since you were dehydrated. Like I said, you’re in good health and clear to leave.”

  “Thanks, Doc.” I sat up. He turned away and left while I swung my legs off the bed. I was glad to see that I had my clothes on, minus boots. A quick check of the small curtained-off area revealed my boots on the deck by the curtain.

  A few minutes later, I was well on my way to Marine country. It felt like a lifetime had passed since I was last on the ship. Everything I thought I knew about life and death were thrown on their head by the existence of the Lenashal. My ambition to become an augmented Marine was far behind me. Where I would have spent time watching movies or playing games, I wanted to meditate and gain a deeper understanding of myself and my bond with Aspen.

  Aspen! I forgot all about her.

  “You had a lot happen to occupy your mind,” Aspen thought to me. “I understand.”

  “I appreciate that, but I need to be more considerate Everything I’ve experienced, you have too. So, I’m sorry, Aspen.”

  “Thank you, Ray, but that’s not necessary. I do appreciate it, however.”

  “Now that we’ve ascended, as you call it, what next?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think we need to continue trying to grow as we have done so far.”

  “I suppose that makes sense. I wish there was a manual showing me how to do all of this. Bad enough I don’t know what I’m doing, but now there are others who want me to show them how. I don’t know if I have the answers they need.”

  “You will do fine, Ray. Have faith in yourself.”

  “Hi, Ray.” Angela stepped up next to me. “Where are you going?”

  “Hi, Angela.” Seeing her made all my problems seem less important. “I’m on my way to my bunk. It seems like forever has passed since I was last there.”

  “You’re going the wrong way.” She stopped. “The grunts live this way. Since you’re one of us now, so do you.”

  I pointed in the direction I had been going. “But all of my stuff—”

  “Has been moved to your new bunk." Angela cut me off. “Follow me, and I’ll help you settle in.”

  We took all of two steps when another idea came to me. “Maybe that can wait. I think I want to find a quiet place where we can talk.”

  Angela stopped and faced me. She was smiling, and a little red showed on her cheeks. “We can do that. The squad has been given some time to relax. We have until tomorrow, ship’s time until we have to report back in.”

  “Wonderful.” I returned her smile. “Do you know of a place we can go? Everywhere I can think of is inhabited by the Marines I used to work with.”

  “I do.” She took my hand and turned back the way we came. “Follow me.”

  The ship was a little over a kilometer and a half long, according to the data everyone aboard was allowed access to. It made for a lengthy walk when you had to dodge all the day-shift seamen. We managed to navigate the tight corridors without incident.

  “Do you know why Marine Country is in the front of the ship?” Angela asked once the number of sailors thinned out to near zero.

  “Because it’s the area with the most open space aside from the cargo holds.” I
recited what I had read in the ship’s files.

  “That’s the official B.S., but no. I think it’s in case we have to ram another ship.”

  “I don’t follow.” I tried to wrap my head around the idea.

  “It’s easy.” Angela stopped to let a sailor through a bulkhead seal. “The highest survival rates would be closer to the rear,” she stepped over the lower portion of the bulkhead seal, then continued, “which is where the captain’s and officers’ quarters are. The unfortunate souls in the lowest survival areas would be those in the front.”

  “Right where we live,” I added. “That sucks balls. Why don’t we have the cargo hold? That way, we have a better chance of survival, and only the gear is sacrificed to the ramming operation?”

  She looked back and smiled. “Now you're thinking down the right path. I can tell you it's not because the gear is expensive and worth more than us, not since the widespread implementation of augs.”

  “What, then?” I realized that I might be hearing Marine scuttlebutt, but it was still interesting. If it proved to be a rumor like I thought, it would still be fun to share it with others.

  “This is the part I like best. Because should we survive, then we would most likely have access to the portion of the ship buried in the enemy’s hull. That puts us in position to infiltrate their ship and either take over or cripple her.”

  “As messed up as the whole theory is, I kinda like that part of it.”

  Angela looked back at me and smiled. “I know, right? The possibility of kicking more ass should we survive is exhilarating.”

  That made me chuckle. “Why am I not surprised that the silver lining in this cloud of death and destruction is that you might be able to kick ass?”

  “You must be getting to know me.” Angela stopped and faced me. “Something I need to do more of when it comes to you.” Her face carried none of the mirth it had worn only moments before. “You’re not one of those guys who will clam up and not share when it comes to your feelings? Are you?”

  “There was a time not long ago when I was that guy. But I’ve had some practice lately at letting that crap go and sharing what’s in my heart.”