Star Crusades Nexus: Book 06 - Call to Arms

by Michael G. Thomas

  “There was some trouble while you were away. It seems the Alliance bought up some of your services and assets before shutting down the business, leaving it a corporate shell or something.”

  “What about my wife?” asked Spartan, his tone lowering and sounding less friendly.

  “That’s what I thought you’d like to hear. She’s been reinstated to the Marine Corps. She made Lieutenant Colonel.”

  Khan raised both of his eyebrows at that.

  “Colonel?”

  Spartan wasn’t sure whether he should have been happy or saddened at the news. Teresa had loved the Corps, but neither of them had been able to progress much further, and after the War the opportunities for people like them had shrunk every year.

  “Not much of a surprise though, is it? She would be a good Colonel.”

  He looked to the Lieutenant.

  “Anything on the rest of my family?”

  Lieutenant Jenkins took the data and moved to a second page of data before handing it back. It showed a list of personnel on a number of warships, with three names all highlighted in red.

  “Not much other than this.”

  Spartan looked at them carefully and then handed back to the device.

  “So, my family is knee deep in all of this.”

  He turned to Khan who was now looking around for another drink. Spartan grabbed his chin and tugged him back to face him.

  “Khan,” he said forcefully.

  “Yeah, I’m listening.”

  “Jack is with a task force at Helios led by Gun. He’s got three marks on his record here.”

  “Just like his father,” he muttered in reply before the name of his kin registered.

  “Gun got the command, huh? I wonder who he killed for that!”

  Spartan wiped his brow and nearly poked himself in the eye. He shook his head, trying to force the alcohol from his body and regain a little more composure.

  “Thanks, Khan.”

  His friend looked at him and swayed before righting himself.

  “What about Matius and Ingo?”

  Spartan’s face tightened like a single angry muscle at the mention of their names. They were not his children. They were from Teresa’s past, and he got on even worse with them than he had with Jack in his early years.

  I don’t like kids, he thought.

  Khan continued to look at him though, and he felt obliged to answer.

  “They are heading out with the fleet, to join the rest at Helios, I think.”

  Khan leapt up and almost crashed into the wall. Only by resting a foot on the sofa was he able to remain upright.

  “Then we need to get going. If there’s going to be a fight, they’ll need us.”

  Lieutenant Jenkins reached out to help stabilize Khan and found it harder than expected. When both of them were ready, he leaned in and spoke quietly.

  “That’s why I’m here. The Governor has authorized a special operation, and he wants your advice.”

  Spartan rose to his feet and did his best to ignore the pain racking up through his body. He dreaded to think how many bones he’d broken or damaged since vanishing with the T’Kari ship so long ago. The medics had explained to him over and over that he needed a long period of rest and recuperation, and to a man he’d explained to them all that he would, but only when he knew his wife and son were safe, not a moment earlier.

  * * *

  The room was dark, lit only by the antiquated looking two-dimensional projector device. The unit cast a highly detailed video image directly onto the specially coated wall to give a wide view of the awful scene being depicted.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, this has just reached us after the last survivors of the refinery security detail on Mars were killed. The last two made it off planet and used a relay satellite before being cut off.”

  His tone altered to something far more somber.

  “We suspect both were killed in action.”

  The video continued, but so far nothing particularly interesting had appeared. The imagery was shaky because it came directly from the helmet mount of a security operative. To those in the room unused to combat, it must have come as quite a shock to see the terror and confusion of those being looked at. Spartan scanned quickly around the conference room, noting it looked more like a business boardroom than somewhere suitable for a military briefing, if that’s what it was.

  “Here,” said the Governor, “this is where the main attack began.”

  Spartan watched as the figure moved to a window and looked out at a number of tumbling shapes surrounded by smoke. The camera jarred about and focused on the left of a small barrack room. Two men lay dead on the ground, and a third screamed out as his left arm hung down, shattered by some impact. They wore Earthsec uniforms, but unlike those on Earth, they were all wearing full tactical armor. It was nothing like the gear the Marine Corps used, and Spartan could see it was cheap, privately manufactured equipment designed more for internal security work. Their torsos and limbs were protected by plates of layered metal and plastic held on to their bodies with Velcro straps. The limbs were bulked up with additional plates on the knees and elbows, yet large gaps remained unprotected on the inside of the limbs and the ribs.

  “They won’t stand a chance,” said Khan.

  A pair of men in black suits at the back of the room whispered to each other whenever Khan said something and once again, when he finished, he looked at them to see them busily chatting away. Khan narrowed his eyes slightly and watched them until the taller man spotted him. He nodded politely and turned back to his comrade.

  Yeah, you do that, Khan thought.

  “Get the hell back!” cried out the figure they were observing.

  Unlike the shouting and crying from others off camera, they were calm and remarkably restrained.

  “This is Special Agent Aaron Smith. I am making this a category alpha attack. Unidentified forces are landing around the refinery site. Evacuate all Earthsec installations and head for the escape shuttles. Seal the tunnels!”

  Another voice screamed, and a metallic shape ripped its way through the wall. Two long pointed arms pushed through and skewered the man like a kebab spike. The razor sharp tip punched through his front and out of his spine. A man near the front twisted about and vomited on the floor. Another nearby recoiled from the involuntary action and then stepped away.

  The Governor sighed and indicated with his hand for two security guards to enter. A third person came in with cloths to clear up the mess. More sounds of violence turned the attention of the audience back to the screen. The machine had completely torn its way into the room, and the special agent had taken aim with a thermal shotgun of the type often used by internal security and police units.

  “Get back!” he shouted.

  The machine stabbed again at the first of the men who had already stopped moving. There was no reaction from him, just the foul sound of sharp metal punching into flesh. The shotgun safety clicked, and a pair of loud booms interrupted the sound. Everything else lowered in volume as the electronics tried to compensate for the spike in sound levels.

  “He’s a brave man.”

  “Brave, but foolish, Spartan,” Khan agreed.

  The thermal shotgun sent chunks of molten metal projectiles in a tight pattern against the machine. Incredibly, the man succeeded in blowing a number of fist-sized holes in the thing, yet it refused to stop. A scream off to the left made him turn about, and another machine filled the view. This time the machine was busily smashing a number of computer system and displays.

  “Special Agent Smith. Abandon the refinery, now!”

  He turned from the machine and began to build up speed. The door to the room quickly approached their view, and then he was through and into a wide passageway. Screams continued from all about, but he was of a single-minded purpose and ran the few hundred meters while ducking and jumping past smashed computer systems and broken walls.

  “What the hell is going on here?” he asked hims
elf as he ran.

  He rounded a corner and slid to a stop. The ceiling had collapsed in on itself, and the level above had broken down to his level. Movement caught his eye, and he lifted the shotgun, but the face was that of a female civilian.

  “Up here,” she said.

  A hand came down and helped lift him up. The camera struggled in the blackness, and finally adjusted by pumping up the volume. The resulting mess was much harder to make out.

  “Who are you?”

  “Anna Fitzgerald, technician for Amcord Mining. What the hell is happening?”

  The camera panned back and forth.

  “No idea. It’s some kind of machine attack.”

  He looked back at the hole in the ground that led back the way he’d come from.

  “There are machines back, and they’re killing everybody.”

  The woman wiped her face with the back of her forearm.

  “Where are you going?”

  “The evacuation shuttles, we can get to one of the habitation compounds beyond the mountains.”

  The young technician laughed; a hint of hysteria welling up in her voice. She started to speak, but no words came out. Special Agent Smith pulled her close and tried to comfort her.

  “It’s going to be okay. The rest of the colony will have received our communications. Earthsec will send in help soon.”

  There was a short but uncomfortable moment where he held her, and she lost control. The two of them just waited there for what felt like an eternity in a stunned moment of fear and compassion. It couldn’t last though, and finally Special Agent Smith pulled her away and looked into her face. She looked back, and it was only then he saw the blood trickling down her left cheek.

  “No, they don’t know anything about this,” she said, desperately trying to stay composed.

  There was a delay before he spoke.

  “How do you know?”

  She looked behind her and pointed.

  “I was monitoring a high-bandwidth stream to our head office when we lost power to most of our system. My manager said something had destroyed the main and backup power generators for the refinery complex. By the time we got the communication system onto the reserve supply, the transmitter station had gone. We've been trying to reach other bases and installation on Mars. So far nothing.”

  Again there was a short delay.

  “We have to find a way to get a signal to Earthsec command.”

  Anna shook her head.

  “No chance. With the transmitter array gone, we just don’t have the power to get a signal to Earth. Only one of the Lagrange stations is still functioning, and that will not come into range for another...two hours.”

  A volley of gunfire shook the floor from a dangerously close position. It was followed by shouting, more gunfire, and then screams. A powerful explosion shook the ground, and both were knocked to their knees by the power of the attack. Agent Smith lifted himself up, helped Anna do the same, and then leaned in close.

  “We don’t have much time. Let’s get to the shuttles. We can use their communication gear to reach the Lagrange Station One when we’re in orbit.”

  The image paused, and the light increased in brightness for a few seconds until those in the room could see each other clearly. The Governor moved to the front and stood directly in the path of the agent.

  “The transmission continues for another eleven minutes. Copies have been sent to all of your accounts. These two made it to the shuttles, but shortly after sending in their report, we lost contact with them and any other craft that had escaped.”

  He let that sink in and found to his surprise that not one of them had a thing to say. He panned across until finding the annoyed looking expressions on the faces of his two newest arrivals.

  “You have something to add?”

  Spartan looked to Khan who saw the question as an open invitation.

  “You’re kidding, right? We told you what these machines would do, and now they have. Right now, they have this refinery and will be sending out their forces to secure the rest of the colony.”

  “Khan’s right. How many people were there on Mars?”

  Governor Trelleck looked at them both for a few seconds and then turned his head to nod in the direction of a short, dark skinned man. He stood up and faced them but didn’t introduce himself.

  “Mars Colony has just over three hundred thousand personnel, mainly workers for the refineries and their families. There are two main refinery complexes, a small engineering base, and a number of large habitation complexes. On top of that, there is City One where over half the population live, but it’s nearly four hundred kilometers from the refinery site.”

  Spartan looked confused.

  “I thought Mars was a major colony? That is not much more than a decent sized space station.”

  The man looked disappointed with this question but sat back down and left it to he Governor to continue.

  “No, Spartan, we do not have the personnel or resources that the rest of the Alliance has in abundance. Mars...continues.”

  “Well, not for much longer,” stated Spartan.

  He lifted himself up and walked toward the Governor, ignoring standard protocol. This simple movement sent consternation through the small throng of people. A number of guards moved from the two main doorways, but on a signal from the governor they backed off.

  “Well?”

  Spartan pointed at the display.

  "How many people are there at this refinery? The one where the Biomechs attacked?"

  The Governor didn't even need to consult his system to answer.

  "Three hundred and twelve plus a small security details. The site has underground tunnel access via light rail to the secondary refinery, as well as a major tunnel system leading directly to City One."

  Spartan shook his head again.

  "Those three hundred plus people will get them started. In just a few days they will strike out to the rest of Mars, assuming they haven't already. I can promise you that City One will fall and will become a Biomech forward base in a matter of weeks. You need to open up the Rift and contact Terra Nova for help. They can have a rescue team at Mars in less than a day.”

  Some of the civilian staff in the room murmured in agreement, but the look on the Governor’s face turned from that of calm and patience to anger. The lines of his face tightened, and his jaw twitted. The dark skinned man approached and stepped alongside Spartan to face him.

  “Governor, I don’t completely agree with our guests, but my officers think a rapid search and rescue operation on Mars should be conducted as a matter of urgency. We can move in, contain this threat, and put things back the way they were.”

  He then leaned in so that only the Governor could hear him. They spoke for a few more seconds before standing back. The tightness of his face softened just a little, and he then moved back to Spartan.

  “No, we will not risk opening the Rift.”

  Khan burst out laughing from further back inside the room.

  “Then Mars is gone, and you will be next. Three hundred thousand foot soldiers, all modified, butchered, and one hundred percent loyal to them. Earth won't stand a chance.”

  This time the Governor did give the nod to his guards, and a group of four closed in, each trying to look calm and relaxed as they approached the two visitors. Spartan faced off against one side while Khan looked to the other two, without even moving his body.

  “You really don’t want to do this,” Spartan said.

  The nearest man stopped in front of Spartan and then saluted; to Spartan’s surprise it was his old comrade Lieutenant Jenkins.

  “You keep showing up, old timer.”

  The man remained impassive and waited for the Governor to speak first.

  “As Governor, I have already put plans in motion for a full-scale operation to retake Mars. I would very much appreciate it if both of you would travel along with the team, in an advisory capacity.”

  Khan looked at Sparta
n and grinned.

  “They want us along, to advise?”

  Spartan was less than amused at the suggestion though.

  “Governor, you’ve just shown us a feed of your refinery operation. I promise you, these machines are just the lowest of their war machines. There will be at least one machine in overall command, perhaps more.”

  “Yeah,” Khan added, “and those machines are something else.”

  Governor Trelleck indicated for them to move to his side so that he could see the rest of his people. Khan dutifully did as asked, but Spartan wouldn’t easily do so. It took an additional request from Lieutenant Jenkins for him to agree.

  “As you can see, our friends from the Alliance are experienced in fighting these machines. As experts in this field, I think we would all value their contribution to our rescue party.”

  Three men and a woman stood up and began clapping in appreciation. More followed, and it was very quickly clear it had been planned right from the beginning. It wasn’t a particularly sophisticated plan, but it had put Spartan into a rather difficult position. He looked to the Governor, who gave no indication other than a courteous nod.

  “Thank you, Spartan. Your skills will be very much appreciated by our combat team.”

  Lieutenant Jenkins extended out his hand for Spartan to shake, and he felt obliged to return the favor. In that one moment, he knew he had just sealed his and Khan’s fates. It didn’t make him feel bad though. As he looked back at the group of people, many of whom wore their Earthsec uniforms, he realized he had absolutely nothing in common with them. They were isolated, and it seemed they liked it. He looked to Khan who’d tilted his head a little, as if to question him.

  We’ll help them, all right. And when the colony is secure, I’m getting that Rift open, if I have to use my bare hands.

  Khan couldn’t hear his thoughts, but as Spartan looked at his bruised friend, he was convinced he knew exactly what Spartan had planned.

  Yes, the quicker we get this Rift open, the quicker we can get to Terra Nova and see what mess our great leaders have moved us toward.

  * * *

  The underground hangar was much less impressive than Spartan had expected. Like everything else on Earth, it was old, antiquated, and poorly maintained. In days gone by, it might have been the home to a dozen medium sized shuttles, but now over half was taken up with very thick metal poles holding up the stone roof. There were four large shuttles lined up along one side, although only one had its doors open and seemed ready for action. Lieutenant Jenkins moved to the hatch nearest the front of the craft and then looked back.