“Why was a medical unit out here anyway?” Pete asked, his voice hiding little of the anxiety he was feeling.
“That’s need to know, and HQ said you don’t. Fasten in; we break atmosphere in 10 minutes. Once down, Grecko, Jones and I will take the Rhino. Hower, Griswald and Ramirez are on foot in S.T.A.B. suits,” Green ordered.
With that, he walked up to the cockpit to coordinate between the pilots of the Two-Edge in which they flew and the one carrying the Rhino.
As the ship banked into its entry vector to the planet, Pete sat quietly trying to relax as the others chatted amongst themselves, the conversations just loud enough to overcome the din from the engine’s deep rumble and equipment vibrating against the restraints. The unfastened hinges of their suits and shoulder straps rattled freely as the roll bars held the team in place. Unconsciously, Pete fingered the silver cross around his neck Trisha had given him as he sat, mired in his thoughts.
“She give you that?” Ramirez asked, after watching Pete for a few moments.
“Huh? Oh yeah. She said it was to remind me that someone was always watching over me,” Pete answered almost distractedly.
“Smart woman” Ramirez said approvingly.
“You believe in that stuff?” Pete asked.
“Didn’t you know? Ramirez is our own resident preacher,” Grecko said. Ramirez waved his bronze hand in the air making small, circular motions as he nodded his head slightly, all in Pope like fashion.
“Faith, my friend. It’s what separates us from the animals, the synthoids and the AL’s. It’s one of the things that make us human,” he said solemnly.
“We all have to believe in something,” Griswald said, a trace of introspection accenting his deep voice. “Jones, how about you?”
She reached inside her vest, pulling out a gold cross, its glossy finish a stark contrast to the dull, unfinished nails of her hand. Almost reverently, she kissed it with her thin lips.
“With all the crazy stuff I’ve seen out here, without a doubt,” she answered.
As the ship leveled out, the roll bars lifted and released them while the blast screens covering the view ports retracted into their housings, allowing dim rays of tawny light to filter into the cabin. Looking through the view-port across from him, Pete saw thick white clouds floating through the lime tinted sky. He caught a glimpse of the second Two-Edge flying wing position to theirs, sunlight reflecting brightly off its dark hull. Whiffs of yellow tinted clouds brushed over its surface, while white air trails sprung from the tips of its upturned wing folds, recording its passage through the sky.
“Alright, people, suit up. Double up on seal checks. I’d hate to have to write one of your mamas to tell her that her baby’s head popped like an over ripe tomato,” Green’s gruff voice rumbled coldly over the intercom.
“Gets you right here, doesn’t it?” Grecko said sardonically as he wiped away a non-existent tear.
They moved about with calm purpose as they did their checks. After a quick rundown, Griswald patted Pete on the back of his helmet signaling he was airtight.
“Thanks,” Pete said, his voice sounding somewhat distant over his helmet’s voice-activated comm. He then turned to return the favor.
After a few adjustments, Pete patted Griswald’s helmet and turned to check Ramirez. Inside the ship, the bulk of their S.T.A.B suits made it awkward to move, but that extra bulk was part of what gave the suit its name. S.T.A.B. was short for STrategic All-terrain Battle Suits. Besides housing personal shield generators and full life support reserves for over 36 hours, they also increased the wearer’s strength, vision and hearing; their very look was able to instill fear in the enemy-- at least, that was what the designers had hoped for. The suit’s armor covered most of the occupant’s body, except at the triple reinforced joints which allowed the user to move. With the helmet on, a soldier could fight just as easily in space, planet side or underwater.
The ship banked sharply as the pilot leveled out to land. Inside, the group was jostled slightly around the cabin as the hiss of the atmospheric stabilizers whispered through the hull.
“Geez,” Jones said as they were bumped about while the ship touched down.
“Too rough for you, little lady,” Ramirez jibbed, grinning at Jones who promptly saluted him with her middle finger.
“Mount up,” Green said as he walked from the front, the group gathering around the exit ramp. The click of cocking chambers and the whine of calibrating power cells rose through the cabin as they prepped their weapons, checking sights, extra rounds and accelerator chambers. Watching the loading ramp descend slowly, Pete saw subtle swirls move into the cabin as the planet’s hazy atmosphere mixed with the air inside the ship.
“Let’s go,” Green said, walking down the ramp first, his boots clanking off its deck.
Once on the ground, Pete, Griswald and Grecko took up watch positions around the perimeter while Green and the others squared away the Rhino, removing the securing straps from the large mobile unit. Jones walked down the vehicle’s frame, checking the couplings and docking seals between the three 20’x10’ interchangeable sections making up the vehicles bulk.
“Nice place,” Griswald said sarcastically. A yellowish miasma hung thick in the air, obscuring the already barren surroundings
“What’s up with the atmosphere?” Pete asked, the thickness of the air making him feel like he was walking through a cloud.
“Gases in the upper atmosphere are causing the yellowish-green haze over everything. Surface has an extremely high moisture concentration. Ten times what you’d see in the Amazon,” Grecko replied after reading his preliminary scans from his station in the Rhino.
“If there is so much moisture then where is all the vegetation?” Ramirez asked.
“Local vegetation is limited to those scraggly black growths you see scattered around you. By the looks of it the top part is dead, but the root underneath is alive,” Grecko said.
“Nice, a plant that grows dead branches and leaves,” Pete said sarcastically.
“It might be an evolutionary response…” Jones started.
“Stow it, people. Jones, get the Rhino clear of the ship,” Green ordered, cutting her off.
“Yes, sir,” she replied sharply. Her fingers darted across the control board, powering up the twin fusion engines. Blowing a wisp of short brown hair from in front her dark eyes, she placed her hand on the rectangular steering column as she gently pressed down on the accelerator. The sizeable bulk of the vehicle moved forward smoothly as it rolled out of the dark hold and into the light, its mass sending mild vibrations through the ramp and into the ground.
The command module came out first, followed with two auxiliary modules in tow. The oval repulsor lifts were locked in their retracted positions, as the fifteen-foot high second and third sections cast a shadow on Green as the vehicle emerged.
Since there was less than five feet of space between the Rhino’s roof and Two-Edge’s 20 foot high cargo bay, Grecko waited until the vehicle was outside to examine its topside. Climbing out of the command module’s top hatch, he checked all hatches and weapon ports for any damage or blockage.
Once Grecko gave the all-clear, Jones extended the ten-foot antenna from the command unit, making the gray metal machine truly resemble its namesake.
Green walked in through the side door and settled into his command seat.
“All systems read green,” Jones said.
“Copy that,” Grecko said from his seat.
Green nodded in approval. “Move out,” he said to the unit over the comm system. Walking along the Rhino’s left side, Pete felt the ground rumble mildly under his feet from its rolling mass.
Near the clearing’s edge, Pete turned to see the Two-Edge that had carried the Rhino lift as it headed toward the outer atmosphere to maintain a geosynchronous orbit above the LZ where it would serve as an eye in the sky and comm relay between the Io and the planets’ surface.
As the group made their way acros
s the alien terrain, they watched for any signs of movement around them. Between the scanners on the Two-Edge in orbit, the Rhino’s and S. T. A. B. suits, there was little chance of being caught off guard, but this was the Federation Corps. Things weren’t left to chance. As Drill Sergeant Sims used to say, “Leave it to chance and chances are you’ll end up dead.”
They kept comm chatter to a minimum as they searched, the long silences only feeding Pete’s growing anxiety. With each step, flashes from his dream encroached into his conscious mind. His heart told him that the longer they took, the longer Trisha could be in danger, but training and experience had taught him that rushing in without a plan could easily make a bad situation worse. Suddenly, Jones’ voice echoed inside his helmet.
“We have a signal contact 2 clicks northwest of our current location,” she said penetratingly.
“What kind of contact?” Green asked.
“It appears to be the missing Two-Edge, sir, but if it is, we should have picked it up a lot sooner than this. Whatever it is, it’s at the bottom of the ravine hill.”
“Hower, Griswald, take a hover sled and check it out. Ramirez watch their six,” Green ordered.
“Understood.”
“Roger that.”
“Copy that.”
The three of them moved quickly, unhitching the vehicle from its housing on the Rhino’s exterior. With the press of a button, its lift units folded down as the rotary jets extended from the back. A small cloud of loose dirt drifted up as the hover jets held the tiny flying platform aloft. With a quick leap, the three of them were aboard and were flying off towards the contact.
Moments later, they reached the shallow chasm where the missing Two-Edge now rested. After dropping Ramirez off at the top, Pete and Griswald flew down to examine the debris scattered across the narrow bottom. The ship was partially buried in the muck alongside a bubbling, ocher river. The left wing was twisted, its end half bending upward at an almost 90 degree angle, while the right was nowhere in sight. The pockmarked hull was ruptured in several places, green crystalline sediment growing around the edges of the holes.
“We’re here, Sarge. It’s the other Two-Edge alright, and it’s in bad shape,” Griswald said as Pete stepped off the sled to examine the wreckage close up.
As he approached, the casing of a nearby hatch captured his reflection. The normally gold faceplate of his helmet now looked more crimson in the light of the alien sun. The armor plating of his suit looked almost black instead of its standard gray-green. The sight reminded him of his four year-old niece, Elizabeth, who would sometimes color things to suit her mood rather than reality.
“Turn on your video links and boost your feeds to maximum active scan,” Green said.
“Yes, sir,” they responded.
“No sign of movement so far,” Pete said after scouting around the ship’s exterior. “I’m going in.”
“Negative. Hold your positions until we arrive,” Green ordered.
“Sir?” Pete asked almost belligerently.
“I said hold your position, soldier,” Green said.
“Yes, sir,” Pete responded gruffly, fighting back his impatience.
“Boss knows what he’s doing,” Griswald said through the small speaker in his suit that allowed him to talk privately to those close by.
“Right,” Pete replied, not completely convinced.
***********************************************************
Ten minutes later, the Rhino rolled over the top of the hill as Ramirez floated down the embankment on the sled.
“Jones, what are you picking up?” Green asked, looking at her screen as he leaned over the back of her chair.
“By the skid mark and the mound of debris burying the nose, it looks like she went down from about 400 feet up at about Mach 1. The skid mark should be longer though. It looks as if the area of original impact was filled in somehow,” she said. “Scanners aren’t picking up any life signs. Not getting any energy signatures either. She’s downed, dead and empty, sir. ”
“Why didn’t we see it sooner?” Pete asked, still pacing around the wreckage.
“Those green crystals covering it were obstructing our scans. Now that I’ve got a good read on them, I can filter out most of their interference,” she said.
“Alright, Jones and Grecko, stay in the Rhino. The rest of us will scout the Two-Edge,” Green ordered as he fastened his helmet and cycled through the airlock. Pete and the others fell in behind Green as he advanced on the ship.
Using hand gestures, Green ordered them to approach from the port side near the cockpit, whose cracked window was half exposed from the mound of dirt piled up in front of it. The hatch, which normally stood 30 feet off the ground with the ship on struts, was at ground level.
Pete and Ramirez took up flanking positions on opposite sides of the hatch, while Green knelt in front, the barrel of his gun fitted with a Recon-Round shell housing, pointing straight at the door. With a nod, he signaled Griswald to pump the hydraulic release; after a few hard pumps on the thick lever, the hatch began to open slowly.
As soon as the doors parted enough, Green fired his weapon and quickly moved aside. Inside the ship, the Recon-Round stopped abruptly in mid-air and began turning on its axis, scanning the interior as Grecko guided it by remote from the Rhino.
“What do you see?” Green asked.
“There’s equipment scattered throughout the cabin and a few smear marks on the walls and ground. Chem. readout says it is human blood. By the look of things she went down hard,” Grecko answered moving their robotic eye around the room. A faint reverse image ghosted on the team’s helmet’s facemask as the control unit broadcast telemetry from the round.
As he listened, cold fear gripped Pete’s chest. With each passing second, part of him expected the RR to display an image of Trish’s lifeless body, while the other part hoped against hope it wouldn’t.
“What about the cockpit?” Green asked.
“Empty. About a third of the instruments are blown out,” Grecko said.
“Move it towards the back.”
“Yes, sir.”
After the RR cleared the first two cabins, Green worked the door lever and motioned the team carefully through the hatch. Pete entered first, followed by Green, Griswald and then Ramirez, all moving slowly, crouched to present less of a target, their weapons raised ready to fire. Two watched the front, two their rear as the group made their way through the ship. Ten minutes later, they had it swept and secured.
“From the looks of it, they initially loaded up and took off in a hurry. Those smashed crates against the wall should have been secured,” Jones said as she watched the video feed from the helmet cams.
“Sir, the medical kits, rations, a hover sled, and back-up weapons are gone, but the emergency shelter and purification equipment are still here,” Pete said.
“Weapons, food and medical aid. Grab what you can carry and run. Whatever the reason, after they crashed, they left here in a hurry,” Ramirez said.
“But what were they running from?” Pete asked, looking around for some sort of clue.
“Good question, Hower. Grecko, what brought her down?” Green asked.
“Not sure, sir. Holes in the hull aren’t from weapons fire--at least none that I’ve ever seen before. Damage seems to be more corrosive. Looks like some type of acid ate through the engines and power cells,” Grecko replied, a rainbow of color reflecting off his olive skin as he examined the scanners readings.
“Jones, are you picking up any tracks, traces of weapons fire, anything?” Green asked.
“Nothing, sir,” she replied.
“They can’t just have disappeared,” Pete said as aggravation starting to creep into his voice.
“Tell them that. It’s like a ghost ship in here,” Griswald said in a distracted whisper as he scanned their surroundings.
Pete shot him a hard glare, to which Griswald shrugged his shoulders apologetically and continued examining t
he cabin.
“Sir, I suggest we continue to the original landing sight. We may find something there,” Pete suggested restlessly, not wanting to waste any time.
“Agreed. Alright, people, move out,” Green ordered.
As they left, Ramirez turned to look at the downed vessel. “Is it me or have those crystals gotten bigger?” he asked aloud.
Grecko typed in a series of quick keystrokes. “They’ve increased in mass by 8.5 percent,” he said after running a check.
“They grow fast,” Ramirez said, poking one with the tip of his gun. The crystal vibrated mildly, as did the two closest to it. As light fluttered off their quivering surfaces, a chill ran down his spine.
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