Jack watched the countdown on his wrist display. The timer reached zero, and he watched in anticipation.
Jack felt a year’s worth of tiredness fall on him. Anxiety, disappointment, and regret. All the sadness for lost friends. The entirety of his life slipping away as he began to fear that this was where it all ended, alone, in the dark of space, surrounded by a violent and remorseless enemy.
He waited. Frozen in dread.
The first flicker of light across the Leviathan ran the length of the massive ship, from its tentacle-like structures on one end to its large bulbous head on the other. Then the flicker of fine lines appeared suddenly over the entire outer surface.
And then in a silent, violent, bright flash, the Leviathan broke apart. Huge chunks of outer hull moved rapidly apart, all separated by the fracture lines.
A large fragment raced toward Jack as he stared in wonder and relief. The section was moving extremely fast and Jack realized he was in danger. He moved with his stuttering thrusters and put himself out of the path of the flying piece of debris.
Away to his right, Jack spotted two other massive detonations. The light bursting out from between the huge sections of Leviathan hull.
Jack punched above his head in elation. He had delivered a blow only previously managed by a combined carrier force of the Fleet’s most powerful ships. He had delivered a massive blow to the Chitin fleet.
Then elation gave way to fear. Surely the Chits would come looking for him now. He wouldn’t be able to escape their wrath. Fear gave way to resignation. His fate was sealed, and he accepted it. Then with acceptance of his imminent destruction, Jack felt a sense of pride that he had fought as hard as any Marine, done his duty as well as any Marine. He had given everything to the Fleet Marine Service and given everything for the preservation of humanity in the Eros System. Hanging alone in space, he knew he couldn’t have done more. The pulse pistol in his hand would be little use against a Chitin ship. He deactivated the electron blade and held the pistol loosely at his side. He would not let the Chitins kill him when he had ammunition in his pistol. He would not let them take him alive either. He would not be corrupted and converted into a Chitin agent like others had been before. Jack would save one pulse pistol round for himself.
He looked at the Chitin ships spread across hundreds of thousands of miles all around him. Surely one was on its way to finish him off. But through the still-expanding wreckage of the Leviathan, Jack saw the Chitin craft moving away. He checked his scanner to confirm the apparent movement. They were moving away, and they were accelerating. Then, as the Hydras retreated, the swarms of Kraken moved off at speed and with a strange grace, the remaining Leviathans turned and headed away into the black of space.
Jack hung there. His arms and legs floating out from his body as he relaxed. For the first time since he had sat in the lecture theater on Eros, seeing that his grades had dropped and he was to be pressed into the military, he felt himself relax, truly relax.
He had won. Jack had fought the toughest enemy. He had given everything he could, and more. Jack had once dreamed of all he could be. Now he knew who he was. He was a Marine, forged under siege.
Forged to Hunt
1
The tac boat slowed to approach speed and moved in closer to the surface of the massive asteroid. The search lights burst to life, throwing long shadows across the jagged surface, where thin ridges flanked deep channels that had not seen light in eons. The surface looked like rows of dark knives, their blades pointing up to the cold emptiness of space.
The blade-like surface was interrupted only by a single smooth trench that had been gouged across the asteroid. The tac boat followed the trench, its search lights washing away the darkness as its sensors scanned every square meter of the surface and every dark recess. Finally, it came upon the object that had created the smooth scar on the otherwise serrated surface. A Chitin Hydra had plowed the trench during a crash landing. It was the first Chitin craft that Jack Forge had seen in weeks.
“I’ll put us down in the trench,” Jack said to the small team of Fleet Marines in the ship. “It’s the only suitable landing site on this jagged rock.”
The reconnaissance of the asteroid belt had been underway for just over two weeks and barely a fraction of the belt had been cleared. The Chitins had almost entirely vanished from the system as far as the outer edge of the asteroid belt. At least, that was as far as the fleet had dared venture so far. All the fleet’s warships were operating close to the cover of the massive planetary defense cannons that had saved humanity from total destruction. Only the small craft, the tac boats and the fighters, had ranged this far.
Encounters with Chitin forces had been sporadic, just occasional encounters with lone Hydra-class craft or small groups of stranded Chitin soldiers hiding on the surface of an asteroid. It was nothing that the small task force of tac boats and fighters couldn’t handle.
With the carrier groups patrolling the planets and moons of the inner system, within the cover of the massive planetary defense cannons, the massed squadrons of fighters had swept the asteroid belt around the entire span. Now that the fighters had finished their initial sweep, it was time for the Fleet Marines to comb the belt. A series of tac boat-based teams were moving from one asteroid to the next, scouring every rock to ensure that no Chitins were left.
The last encounter with Chitin forces had been reported a few days before when a team from Task Force Three had encountered a group of Chitin soldiers and had dispatched them with ruthless efficiency. Jack would be happy if it was the last recorded encounter with the deadly enemy. He had fought them across the Eros System for over a year, and he would happily live out the rest of his life and never encounter a single Chitin soldier ever again.
Jack landed his tac boat in the smooth trench a few meters from the crashed Hydra and reported his location to Fleet Command.
“This is Commander Forge, Task Force One. We have located a Chitin Hydra-class craft. It appears to have crash landed. Sending surveillance data. Moving with my team to a foot patrol of the asteroid.”
Launching a small swarm of drones with a few taps of the control console, Jack stood up from the pilot chair. He walked to the door and tapped the control panel. The side of the tac boat opened upwards and the small ramp slid out, driving itself into the surface of the asteroid.
Looking back at the team of four, Jack was disappointed to see the lethargy and casual behavior. This was not the clear, sharp actions he had come to expect from a well-disciplined group of Marines. The team was made up of a small group from squads throughout the Scorpio battalion’s Cobra Company. Jack had been disappointed with the performance of these Marines and had selected them personally for his team on the search and destroy mission in the asteroid belt. It was a low-risk operation and Jack hoped he could try and motivate, and in some small part re-train, these Marines.
Louise Tyler was young and pretty, and a habitual thief. She had chosen Marine service over prison. A string of arrests for petty theft and vehicle theft had landed her in court facing a lengthy custodial sentence. With the Chitin war at its height and Marine numbers low, she was lucky to have an option and an opportunity to avoid incarceration. She was bright and technically able. If she had chosen a lawful career instead of a criminal one, she could have been successful. Jack didn’t hold out much hope for her rehabilitation, given he already suspected her of theft from the Marine store, but everyone deserved a chance. Jack was giving her another chance. It would be her last.
Jason Drake had been conscripted after the end of his compulsory education. He had failed to achieve any grade in any subject. He had skipped school regularly from the age of ten. He had missed so much of his compulsory education that it was difficult to understand how he could even read. Jack had caught him gambling in a supply room onboard the Scorpio and the surveillance footage had showed that his ability to calculate the odds while betting on cards or dice was fast and accurate. He clearly had a mathematical min
d and should have aced math class, if he had ever attended. Jack was sure that Jason Drake could be a valuable member of any Marine squad if he would just apply himself.
Jon Attah had joined early in the Chitin war and had shown promise. Jack had read through his record trying to identify the point where this once highly motivated Marine had become so lazy. He was always last to take on any task and always the first to take on recreation. He avoided work, responsibility, and combat. His pulse rifle fire rate was the lowest in the entire battalion, although rifle range data showed he was an accurate shot. His electron bayonet had never been used in anger and had only been activated once during initial training. His suit’s medical package, however, was among the most active in the battalion and he regularly administered stim or pain relief meds. His medical package was being monitored directly by Scorpio med bay and his squad leader. Jack was not going to lose this once promising Marine to med abuse and he was determined to help Jon Attah rediscover his early enthusiasm for the service.
Paul Garcia was the old man of the group. He had joined the Marines straight out of school, before the first encounter with the Chitins. Although he had a good academic record, he was a distinctly average Marine. He had never excelled in any area of the service nor had he ever fallen below expectations. He was not ambitious or highly motivated, and he did just enough for the officers to leave him alone. He had friends in his squad and throughout the battalion, he was well liked and enjoyed socializing whenever the opportunity occurred, and he fought hard when confronted with the Chitins, but Paul Garcia he had never volunteered for any duty in his career, nor had he shown any drive to achieve more than a basic standard. He was coasting. Jack wanted more from Garcia. The Marine was experienced and had served on the Monarch before being transferred to the Scorpio at the outbreak of the war. Garcia permanently kept his head down and did the best he could to remain invisible. Jack had spotted him, and Jack wanted more from him.
“Disembark in battle formation, Marines.” Jack stepped aside from the open door. “Garcia, take point. Move.”
Garcia stepped out of the tac boat, his pulse rifle held casually across his chest.
“Bring that weapon up, Garcia,” Jack said. The old Marine should have known battle formation and that the soldier on point should have his pulse rifle raised and ready to fire.
Garcia brought the weapon up to his shoulder. He pointed it forward as he moved with the casual gait of one out for a walk in the park. There was no urgency or precision in his movements. He was a plodding mess.
“There is a Chitin Hydra out there, Marines,” Jack said, measuring his tone. These Marines were not well disciplined, but a heavy hand might not be the best approach. He was trying the gentle approach, for now.
Attah and Tyler stepped out next, taking positions behind and to the sides of Garcia. Drake went last, moving slowly, keeping low, his pulse rifle raised.
Jack stepped out onto the surface of the asteroid and looked at the crashed Hydra. Using a filter on his field scanner, Jack could see that the Hydra engines were cold. The craft had been powered down for some time. The craft was twisted and there was a large crack in the hull, large enough for a fully-suited Marine to step inside the craft. Jack watched the crack carefully as he sent his Marines forward.
Jack moved the group toward the crashed Hydra and studied their actions. Tyler was the most nervous, her pulse rate climbing. Garcia was as calm as ever. Attah requested a dose of a stimulant from his suit’s med package. It flagged on Jack’s data overlay, the request blinking in red text displayed over Attah’s right shoulder.
“You requested medical treatment, Jon,” Jack said on a private channel. “Is everything alright?”
“Just fatigue, sir,” Attah replied.
The squad had been on task for just over two weeks, constantly moving through the asteroid belt, landing on one asteroid after the next, marching over the surface and checking every cavern and crater for signs of Chits. Jack had moved slowly and with care so as not to miss a single possible Chitin. He had not worked this small team too hard, but it was probably harder than they had been worked for some time. Jack could see no medical need for a stim shot. He forwarded the request to the med bay on the Scorpio. The reply came back immediately. There was no medical need for the request. The request was at the discretion of the officer in charge.
Jack considered the request. He saw Attah look back over his shoulder at Jack. The Marine’s pulse rate was rising. He was becoming nervous as he was forced to wait for his stim shot.
Jack opened a private channel. “Once we clear this asteroid, we will be on a scheduled rest period. Make sure you get some sleep. Copy?”
Jack waited for Attah’s reply. And he waited. Jack wouldn’t wait a moment longer.
“Respond, Marine. Do you copy?”
Attah’s voice was frustrated and angry, and just short of insolence. “Copy that, sir,” he said.
Jack knew the man was struggling with his med use and so cut him a bit of slack and authorized the stim. It was rare for Marines to misuse the medical package and Jack was surprised that Attah’s excessive use had not been identified sooner. “Focus on the task, Marine. Watch that crack in the hull. We don’t want any Chitin soldiers surprising us.”
“Copy that, sir,” Attah said, his tone showing at least a small increase in respect for his commanding officer.
The team moved forward slowly. It was painful progress. Jack knew any team from 6th squad would have cleared this Hydra by now. He could have easily left these Marines on the Scorpio and brought a group that he knew and trusted, a team that would get the job done more efficiently. Jack had concerns beyond this search and destroy operation, though. He was the commander of Cobra Company, so all of these Marines were his responsibility. It was down to him to encourage and enforce a higher standard for all of them.
These four Marines were poor performers, probably the worst in the battalion, but Jack thought they could be reformed with some personal attention. An operation with their company commander watching over them might bring them around. Jack felt he owed it to them, and to the battalion, to give them the chance to become effective and efficient Marines, to be the best they could be.
“Get a light in there,” Jack said over the team channel. He drew his pulse pistol and kneeled, aiming at the breach in the Hydra hull.
Garcia activated his suit’s flashlight. A bright beam of white lit up the Hydra’s hull breach. The slight movement as Garcia shifted his weight on the uneven surface created a mass of dancing shadows in the Hydra’s interior.
“Keep that light targeted on the breach, Paul,” Jack said. “Everyone, lights on.”
The suit flashlights from all four Marines poured into the dark interior of the Hydra. Jack brought up his field scanner and peered into the breach. The shadows flickered as the meat suit lights moved about with the slightest motion from each of the four Marines. Then Jack saw a flicker that was more than a shadow. It was dark, but solid. There was movement in there.
“Movement inside,” Jack said. He stood and moved up to the Marines in their diamond formation, taking a knee next to Garcia.
“Let’s toss a few grenades in there. That should clear it up, sir,” Garcia said.
“Negative,” Jack replied. “We need to confirm every Chitin kill on this operation. Fleet Command needs to know exactly how many Chits are still around.”
Jack looked at the breach. A single grenade set to high yield, or even an explosive round from a pulse rifle, would shred whatever was lurking inside the Hydra. A blast from the tac boat’s hail cannon would destroy the Hydra, contents, and vaporize the surrounding asteroid rock. But this was a search and destroy mission, not a simple case of destroy the first thing that moves.
“I see it,” Tyler said. She re-aimed her pulse rifle and adjusted her position. She moved a lot and for no great effect. “Movement inside, sir. Blast it.”
“Hold your fire, Louise,” Jack said calmly. He walked over to her
. She was shifting her weight and juggling her rifle, setting it against her shoulder and aiming only to repeat the process again and again. Jack put a hand on her shoulder.
“Easy, Marine,” he said. “Take point and move up.”
Tyler went through her shifting and readjusting again, her boots scouring a small ditch in the asteroid’s surface.
“On your feet, Marine,” Jack said more forcefully. “Move up.”
Tyler stood up and walked forward. Every step forward seemed to fill her with confidence until finally she walked casually toward the breach, nonchalant and careless. Jack might have thought she was simply confident in her actions if she had been another Marine, but he knew her and guessed correctly that she was in fact acting in a careless manner.
“Focus, Marine,” Jack said. “Advance with caution. Garcia, go left. Attah, right. Drake, you’re with me.”
Jack walked behind Tyler as she moved forward. She hesitated at the flicker of movement spotted inside the Chitin craft.
And then she opened fire.
“Cease firing,” Jack shouted but not before the rest of the Marines had joined the panicked Tyler and fired into the breach.
“Cease fire, Marines. That is an order.” Jack shook his head as the Marine’s rifles fell silent. This was the action of an ill-disciplined and easily-panicked group. No accuracy in their rifle fire. The impact marks around the breach in the Hydra’s hull showed him that many of the rounds hadn’t even gone inside the craft.
Jack brought up his field scanner and looked closely inside the Hydra. Movement, again. A twitching and flickering movement.
“Hold your fire, Marines,” Jack said quietly as he moved ahead of the team. The movement inside the Hydra was familiar and as Jack came up to the breach, his suit light illuminating the interior, he saw the unmistakable movement of a Chitin tentacle.
Jack Forge, Fleet Marine Boxed Set (Books 1 - 9) Page 57