by Sam Schall
“Agreed,” Carlisle said and looked once more at the tactical display. “XO, you’ll be in AuxCon with your crew. I want you to coordinate our efforts between any groundside targets the major designates unless we wind up in action up here.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Major, what do you think our first step should be?”
“We know that there are at least three areas dirtside where prisoners are located.” He typed in a command and the plot displayed over the table shifted slightly. “The first is the prison itself.” A small red dot appeared on the plot. “The second is an ag center used to feed the prison personnel and inmates.” A green dot appeared. “This last is the housing area for the prison personnel.” A blue dot blipped into existence.
“Captain Shaw, as well as others who have been to the penal colony, have confirmed that prisoners are sent on a regular basis to both the ag facility and a mining area. Unfortunately, we don’t have coordinates yet for that last area. I’d like to request your scanners to check for it, Captain Carlisle.”
“Done.” Carlisle activated his comm unit and issued the order.
“Since we don’t have those coordinates yet, my recommendation is that we focus on the prison itself. I suggest we drop the Devil Dogs there. It will be the biggest security challenge. The other two sites can be secured with smaller forces made up from Lt. Marshall’s people.
“As soon as we are reasonably sure that there are no enemy ships in the sector, I’d like to drop our people to the surface. I’d suggest live feeds back to the ship. While we are dirtside, I’d recommend the ship remain on alert. Something is going on and I don’t like not knowing what.”
“I happen to agree with you about that.” Carlisle paused and studied the officers seated around the table. “All right. Major, I’d like you and Lt. Marshall to remain here for a few minutes so we can build a plan of attack. While we do, the Marines can be getting ready for the drop.”
“Agreed.” Pawlak gave a decisive nod.
“How long until they can be ready to drop, Major?”
“Lieutenant Marshall?”
Ashlyn approved of how Pawlak appeared to be deferring to the younger officer. He wasn’t, not really, and they all knew it. What he was really doing was making sure he knew exactly what the ship’s Marine complement was capable of. This mission now looked to be much more complicated than they’d expected. That meant coordination of effort was not only necessary but essential. The Devil Dogs could be ready to drop in just a matter of minutes. But the Marines stationed onboard the Magellan....
“We can drop in ten, Major, but I’d prefer half an hour or so to brief my people after we develop our plan of attack.”
“Then let’s say drop will occur at fourteen hundred hours,” Carlisle said.
“With your permission, Captain, I’d like my XO to start briefing the DDs.”
“Of course, Major.”
“Ash, I’ll sent specifics to you as soon as I have them. In the meantime, get everyone ready to drop.”
“Understood, Major.”
She stood and took one last look at the plot. Then, hoping she looked more confident than she felt, she left Carlisle’s ready room. As she did, her stomach roiled like it hadn’t since her first combat mission. Her nerves were stretched taut and her paranoia was running rampant. The only reason she managed to maintain any control was the fact the Devil Dogs were with her. She knew they’d do everything possible – and then some – to make sure nothing else happen to her. As long as they were present, there’d be no betrayal.
Alone in the lift a few moments later, she allowed herself to sag against the far wall. Nightmares had plagued her the previous two nights. Memories of the first time she’d been inbound to the penal colony filled her, bringing with them all the pain and fear she’d felt. Even though he hadn’t said anything, she knew Pawlak was aware of how she felt. She’d seen it in his eyes and in the way he’d kept a close watch on her. But she hadn’t let those emotions interfere in her duties. Now that she was so close to her goal, she could manage to hold on a bit longer.
She had to.
* * *
“Gear up!” Ashlyn ordered as she stepped off the lift into the staging area adjoining the shuttle bay. “Gunny, I want Tank and Hound in heavy armor. Everyone else in light. We now have three groundside targets. The DDs will be dropping onto the prison itself. Unless something happens to change the Major’s mind, we’ll be going in hot. So be prepared.”
“What’s going on, Captain?” Talbot asked as he worked to secure the breastplate of his armor.
“I wish I knew for sure, Gunny. All I can tell you is that the defense platforms around the planet are dark. Worse, three are gone. It’s like they were never there in the first place. If that’s not bad enough, there’s been no response to our hails from the prison or the other facilities dirtside. Comms is picking up no chatter either. Captain Carlisle is scrambling LAC wings to scout the area. After what happened back home, he’s not about to take any risks with the ship. As soon as he and the Major have drawn up a battle plan, we’ll make our drop. So gear up!”
For a moment, no one moved. Faces turned away from armor or weapons to stare at her in disbelief. Every Devil Dog knew their mission. They were there to pick up – no, to rescue – those poor souls who had been sent to the Tarsus military prison along with Ash. None of them expected it to turn into a potential ground fight – or worse.
“Cap,” Marino began, his voice harsh.
Ashlyn closed her eyes and forced herself not to react. She knew he was worried. He knew most of those who’d been sent to Tarsus with her. But that didn’t change the reality of their situation just now. Besides, worried as he might be, it didn’t hold a candle to what she felt and if she could hold her emotions in check, so could he.
At least he’d damned well better.
“We have our orders, Sergeant.”
If her voice was a little harsh, she didn’t care. Marino knew better than to question orders in public. Then, realizing that wasn’t what he’d done, she relented a bit. “Look, we’ve been in this position before. We don’t know what the situation is groundside. In all likelihood, there’s nothing wrong except for some bit of equipment failure that the idiots groundside haven’t fixed yet. Honestly, after my time here, it wouldn’t surprise me. But, after the attack on the capital, we can’t take that risk.”
She paused, wondering how much more she could – or should – say.
“But there’s something else you need to be prepared for. Some of you saw me right after my return to the capital. You saw the scars on my face and you saw how my tattoo had been removed.” She paused, giving herself time to get her emotions under control. But it was hard, especially when she could see how angry the others were as she reminded them what had been done to her. “All of you have seen some of the other scars I still bear and those aren’t all of them. That should be enough to let you know that the guards down there don’t give a damn about the prisoners. I have no doubts they will gladly sacrifice them to save their own skins. What that means is when we hit the ground, we will need to move fast to secure our people before anything can happen to them.
“I’ll be honest, I’m worried that the communications blackout means the guards have already done their worst to our people and are on now the run. Even though the guards never let us see much outside the compound – hell, they didn’t let us see much inside the compound – I’m pretty sure there were shuttles there and a regular transit schedule of some sort. It was one way I had of marking time.
“From what I’ve been able to learn from our briefing materials, there was more traffic to the penal colony than there should have been. My guess is that the guards and administration have been taking part in some black market activities. It’s possible they even sold some of the lifers to slavers. That means Coreal and those of his inner circle would have a means to get off-planet if they felt the need. So it is very possible when we get inside, we’re going
to find nothing but bodies. So be prepared.
“But there is another explanation, one we can’t ignore. The Callusians have already attacked the home system, striking right at the capital. It’s possible they’ve done the same thing here. So we have to be prepared for anything.” She glanced around the staging area, seeing the anger and understanding reflected on the expressions of her fellow Marines. “So gear up. We drop within the hour.”
“Yes, ma’am!” the Devil Dogs replied, their voices reverberating throughout the staging area.
She couldn’t help it. She smiled, proud to know she was once more a member of the best Marine unit ever.
“Look, there’s nothing I want more than to make the drop and discover that our people – my people – are all right. But this is one of those times when what we want isn’t necessarily what we’re going to find. So what I need from each of you is to do what you do best. Be Devil Dogs. Get the job done and no one make any stupid mistakes and get themselves killed.”
“You heard the captain, boys and girls. Let’s move!” Talbot said.
As he did, Corporals McKay and Gatson appeared, carrying a footlocker between them. Both wore what Ashlyn could only describe as shit-eating grins. Then, as they dropped the footlocker in front of her, she shook her head, disbelief warring with relief. The battered footlocker had seen more than its fair share of combat drops. Not that that was unusual for a Devil Dog’s footlocker. But this one was familiar. She knew every scratch and dent. She didn’t need to see the name and rank stenciled on the top to recognize it. Her breath caught and she blinked against the tears that suddenly burned her eyes.
“Gunny, would you mind explaining?” If her voice was a little hoarse, none of those close enough to hear let on. In fact, other than the grins they all wore as they watched her, there was nothing about them to show they knew how much this meant to her.
“Well, Cap, Major Pawlak thought you might be needing your gear and contacted General Okafor. She, in turn, contacted your parents. It seems your mother told the powers that be at the time to take a leap into the nearest black hole and then she took possession of your equipment after your forced vacation.” His voice turned hard and there were more than a few muttered curses, several of them suggesting things they could do to those responsible for that vacation. “After learning we were going to be onboard the Magellan, your mother sent it to the major to give to you when the time came and you needed it. Oh, the major did say to tell you everything’s been checked and prepped, ma’am.”
Grinning, Ashlyn dropped to one knee and ran her thumb over the biometric lock. There was a soft snick. The top raised and the lower weapon drawer slid out a few centimeters.
“Let’s get you geared up, Cap,” Gatson said.
She nodded and began laying out her armor. Now, finally, she felt like a Marine again.
* * *
“Ash.”
Pawlak’s voice seemed to echo in her head and Ashlyn frowned slightly. It was going to take time to get used to hearing anything coming in over the battle-net in her head instead of through her ears. It was a benefit of the implants and invaluable in a battle situation when silence could mean the difference between life and death. But now, as the shuttles carrying the Devil Dogs made their way down to the planet’s surface, it was a bit disconcerting.
“Sir?”
“Reports from the Magellan show that all defenses groundside powered down. So we aren’t going to take any chances. Captain Carlisle is taking the Magellan to stealth and altering orbit until we know what the situation is on the surface.”
“Understood, sir.”
“We should be making planetfall in two minutes, Ash. You are lead shuttle. The rest of us are right behind you.”
“Any change in orders?”
“That’s a negative. Just keep your eyes open and your head down until we know what we’re looking at. Pawlak out.”
Ashlyn leaned back in her flight couch and breathed deeply. She couldn’t help remembering the last time she’d made an approach to Tarsus. She’d been on a shuttle then. Instead of wearing light battle armor, her weapons close at hand, she’d worn the jumpsuit issued to her upon her conviction. Her ankles had been shackled and her wrists secured to the arms of her flight couch. Upon arrival, she’d been freed from the couch, her wrists secured behind her and a hood had been dropped over her head so she couldn’t see where she was being taken. God, she’d been so scared that day and so bitter, convinced she’d been abandoned by the very service she’d given so much of her life to.
Now she’d returned, but this time in the potential role of avenging angel. If anything had happened to her people since her return to the capital, there would be hell to pay. For every hurt they’d taken, she’d make those responsible pay ten-fold. She didn’t care if it ruined her career. Much as she rejoiced in knowing she was once more a Devil Dog and a Marine, that was nothing compared to what she felt for those who had willingly sacrificed so much to stand by her.
But she couldn’t let the others know what she was feeling. She had no doubt Pawlak had given them explicit orders where she was concerned. At the first sign of trouble, Talbot would more than likely try to get her to fall back to safety. She hoped he realized that wouldn’t work. The only way to keep her from being in the middle of anything that happened at the prison was to make sure she never made it dirtside. Since they hadn’t managed that, well, they’d just have to accept whatever happened next.
A few minutes later she climbed to her feet and moved into the cockpit. Standing behind their pilot, she studied the displays. The screens were clear of any indication of trouble. It would be easy to assume that meant there was no reason to worry. But the fact they still had picked up no comms chatter worried her. Even if the people dirtside were unaware of their approach, there should be the daily chatter that comes with the coordination of patrols, deliveries and other mundane matters.
Bracing herself against the bulkhead, she dropped her right hand onto the pilot’s shoulder. He glanced back at her and nodded once, his mouth set in a grim line. Like most of the rest of them, he was rigged out in light armor. Racked in its place near his seat was his battle rifle. The Devil Dogs emblem was emblazoned on his dark armor. Fortunately. Now that they were facing the possibility of a fight, Ashlyn was even more glad Major Pawlak had included several shuttle pilots when filling out the personnel roster for the mission.
“Anything?” she asked softly.
“That’s a negative, ma’am.” He shook his head. “If we weren’t getting readings from inside some of the buildings to indicate there’s someone home, I’d swear the place was deserted.”
“All right. Confirm with Major Pawlak and then take us in.” She glanced up at Talbot joined them. “Lieutenant, we’ll drop in the main compound. As soon as we’ve cleared the shuttle, I want you back in the air so shuttle two can drop. Be ready for anything.”
“Understood, ma’am.” He banked the shuttle, slowing their speed. “There it is.”
Ashlyn closely studied the area below them. As she did, her concern ratcheted up a notch. She hadn’t been in a position to see the penal colony on approach when she’d been brought there after her conviction. But, in the time since her return to the capital, she’d spent hours studying everything she could find on it. She’d memorized its layout and knew the schedules for prisoner transport and deliveries of food and other goods needed to run the prison and house its staff.
From personal experience, she knew that at this time of day there should be prisoners being escorted between the buildings or working in the yard. But there was nothing. Not a single indication there was anyone living there.
“Go to infrared scan, LT. Do a flyover of the compound before we drop.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
“Cap?” Talbot’s voice didn’t betray the concern she knew he felt.
“Gunny, there should be more than five hundred prisoners and almost fifty guards. And that’s not counting the support staff. S
o where is everyone?” She caught her lower lip between her teeth and studied the scanners as the lieutenant switched to infrared as she’d ordered.
Her frown deepened as did her worry. There were pockets of heat showing but not nearly enough. Of course, it could be that many of those sentenced to the prison were far enough below ground that they weren’t registering on the scans. But her gut told her that wasn’t the case. Something was going on and they were wasting time, time her people might not have.
“Major,” she said after opening her direct link to him. “Are you seeing what I am?”
“I am,” he confirmed. “All right. Drop on your next pass, Ash. Weapons are to be hot. I repeat, weapons are to be hot. Secure the LZ and hold position until shuttle two drops. We make entry together. Confirm.”
She bristled at the order but knew he was right.
“Drop on the next pass. Secure the LZ and hold for shuttle two to drop.”
“Good hunting, Captain.” He paused and she could imagine him in the second shuttle, his expression impassive even as his mind worked. “Ash, we will get our people – your people – out of there. I promise.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“We’re about to make our second pass, Captain,” the pilot reported.
“I heard, Ash. Make your drop. We’ll be right behind you. Pawlak out.”
“Let’s do it!” she ordered and turned back to the cabin where the Devil Dogs waited. “Hound, Tank, we’re going in hot. As soon as you’re down, the rest of us are following.”
“You heard the captain. Get ready to deploy!” Talbot pushed past Ashlyn and moved to the side hatch. “Move it, Devil Dogs, we’ve a job to do.”