by P. A. Piatt
“Those are the only doors into the place,” explained Lily, “and those ventilation shafts are the only ones I could find. The launch pad is bare-bones: no support equipment, no refueling, shuttles only. The entire area is bare rock. I guess GRC built the colony there to keep away from the bugs.”
“Any sentries? Sensors or cameras?”
Lily shook his head. “Sorry, Gunny, but I don’t remember any. If there are, they’ll be easy to spot. There’s nowhere to hide anything, and no reason for them to hide, anyway. I tell you, there’s no way through those doors.”
“What about the ventilation shafts? How are they built?”
“They’re about two meters tall and about a meter across. There’s a cowling on top and bug-proof mesh welded over the whole thing. I tried to pry it back, but I broke my knife. The blade fell a long way before I heard it hit bottom. That’s when I gave up.”
“What do you think, sir?” Hawkins said.
“I think we need to take some time and think this through.” Fortis looked at Lily. “You’re sure there’s no other way into the colony? No emergency escapes or maintenance access?”
Lily shook his head. “Everything I know about the colony is on that paper, LT. You need to remember, the last time I was there was years ago. It might be different now.”
Corporal Ystremski, who’d been watching the whole meeting, said, “Send a recon team, LT. Circle around the GRC camp and come in from the north. Get a drone jockey up on one of those peaks with a clear line of sight and you could survey the whole thing, easy.”
“We tried that at Mine Shaft Four and the test tubes shot the drone down.”
“That’s true,” Warrant Pell replied. “But we didn’t have any reason to think the test tubes were hostile. Now that we know they are the drone operator can use a tactical flight profile.”
Fortis let out a big sigh and rubbed his head. “Okay, here’s what I want to happen. Gunny, gather whoever you need and draw up a plan of how you’d run a recon mission of the colony. I want options. Personnel, equipment, timelines, the whole thing. Full mission profile. I’m not saying it’s a go, but if you come up with the right mix of assets and risk versus reward I’ll take a hard look at it.”
* * *
Fortis returned to drafting his report to Captain Reese. Writing the previous reports had been difficult, but Lily’s appearance made his task ten times more difficult.
DINLI.
He resorted to the bare-bones approach. Abner wrote that they recovered an unknown person who had been living in the jungle for an extended period.
“We cannot verify his identity. Unless otherwise directed, I will bring him along for further examination when we are extracted.”
Fortis leaned back. It wasn’t perfect, but it put the onus on the much more experienced Captain Reese to make the final decision about Lily. He wasn’t afraid to make the decision, but this situation was well beyond anything he might have imagined for his first week as an ISMC officer.
He had already decided that Marcus Lily would extract with the Space Marines when the time came. There was no way he could sleep at night if they left him behind, orders or no orders. If Lily was lying about his identity, they would find him out soon enough. If he wasn’t lying, he belonged with the Space Marines. Either way, he didn’t belong in the jungles of Pada-Pada. Nobody did.
Satisfied with his effort, he hit Send.
* * *
“What does it say?” Nesbitt stared at Beck, astonished.
“They found a human wandering around in the jungle.”
“Did they say who it was? Is it a miner?”
“It doesn’t specify. ‘Unknown person, no identity.’ That’s all it says.”
Nesbitt rubbed his chin. “He has to be a miner, doesn’t he? Did we lose somebody after a burp?”
“I’ll review through the logs, but the counts are the same every time. It’s hard to imagine they screwed up a simple head count, but anything’s possible.”
“You don’t think it’s an engineered soldier, do you?”
“No way.” Beck was adamant. “It’s been seven years since we brought the last test run here. They’re not capable of long-term survival in these conditions.” He shook his head. “No way.”
“Then it has to be a miner.”
“Yeah.”
“This is a problem.”
Beck sighed and nodded slowly. “I guess it’s time you paid a visit to the colony.”
“You’re not coming?”
“The colony is your responsibility. I have a mission of my own.”
* * *
Sergeant Kilfoy pointed out highlighted areas on the main display. “The scouts verified the positions of the three cameras Corporal Ystremski found and they discovered two ground sensors.” She tapped the keyboard and a picture of a square block on a tripod appeared. “We’re not sure if this is a motion detection device, an audio sensor, or something else.”
“Does it have an antenna?” Fortis asked.
“Yes, sir, there’s a small antenna on the back side, similar to the antenna on the cameras, but there’s no lens.”
“Infrared maybe?”
Kilfoy shrugged. “Maybe. Hadn’t thought of that, but it could be. Anyway, that was all they found along the entire eastern perimeter. Winaki said they’re going to start work on the northern perimeter tomorrow.”
Fortis opened his mouth to respond and a large yawn escaped.
“Sorry,” he chuckled. “It’s been a long day. This damn gravity.”
“Hit your rack, sir. We’ll try to keep it together while you sleep.”
* * * * *
Chapter Nineteen
The following morning, Gunny Hawkins and Warrant Pell met up with Lieutenant Fortis in the command mech. Sergeant Trenas had the main display centered on the road between the GRC camp and the colony.
“I added everything from Lily’s map, but there wasn’t a lot of detail. Send me over there with a drone, and I’ll map this area down to the last blade of grass.”
Hawkins cleared his throat. “LT, we spent several hours hashing out ideas to recon the colony, and I think we’ve got a workable plan. I’ll lead the recon party, with Kilfoy as the drone operator and Winaki and Lily as security.”
At the mention of Lily’s name, Fortis looked up. Hawkins shrugged. “He’s got all the local knowledge, sir. He knows the jungle, and he’s been to the colony. Doc Kramer says he’s fit enough for the journey.”
“Even so, it’s a hell of a risk.”
“LT, I’ll take Winaki and Kilfoy aside and talk to them about Lily. I’ll make sure they understand where he fits into this.”
Fortis nodded. “Okay. It’s the four of you then.”
“We’ll jump off in full auto-flage. Our line of advance will be a little north of due east and we’ll target a point three klicks north of the GRC headquarters. When we are due north of the GRC, we’ll turn southeast until we’re one klick north of the colony, at the base of the Southron Ridge.”
Trenas entered a command and a glowing line that represented their intended track appeared on the screen.
The gunny continued, “There’s a road from the colony to the Mineral Sea which we will cross just before we reach the edge of the jungle.”
“Do we have armor for Lily?”
Hawkins cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. Baker’s armor will fit him. Lily said he’s worn an earlier generation of LBA, so he should be good to go.”
Fortis thought for a second.
“Is three klicks far enough to avoid detection?”
“Lily said he’s been through that area several times and didn’t see any evidence that anyone else had been there and nobody reacted to his passing.”
“All right. Then what?”
“We’ll lay up on the edge of the jungle and launch a drone to surveil the area by air. Kilfoy will bring both infrared and low-light sensors, so she’ll be able to get a thorough look at the place. We’ll feed the im
agery back here via the satellite and decide how to proceed.”
“That’s a long time to be on auto-flage.”
“Yes, sir, it is. Depending on the tactical situation, we might power down once we’re clear of the camp and turn it back on as we approach the colony. Lily and Winaki will hump extra batteries, just in case.”
Fortis chuckled. “Pack animals.”
“Indeed.”
“Okay, Gunny. What’s next?”
“At that point, we decide whether to penetrate the colony. If we do, we hole up for the day and get some rest. After dark, we cut our way into one of the ventilation shafts with a portable cutting torch. The torch will throw a lot of light, but it won’t make as much noise as cutting by hand. It’s quicker, too.”
“What’s your objective upon entering the colony?”
“To corroborate what Lily claimed about the conditions the GRC force the miners to work under. They are UNT citizens, and we are obligated to protect them.”
“I agree. What happens if you contact the miners and discover his claims are true?”
Hawkins and Pell looked at each other. “I guess we cross that bridge when we get there, sir.”
“No.” Fortis shook his head. “There’s no bridge to cross, Gunny. Collect as much intel as you can, record some interviews and take some pictures, and we turn it over to Division when we extract.”
“We can’t leave them there, sir!”
“And we can’t pick a fight with a thousand GRC test tubes and their mercenaries, either.”
The two men glared at each other until Pell intervened.
“I don’t think we can decide anything until we know the truth. If the miners are being confined but not otherwise abused, I think we have to leave them here for now. However, if Gunny and his team get inside and find out the GRC is mistreating them, we have to come up with a plan to relieve their suffering. Whatever happens, we can’t afford to be at odds with each other.”
Fortis was relieved when Hawkins nodded. “Sir, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you the impression that I would start a war with the GRC on a whim. We’re too far from help to do anything rash.”
“I appreciate that, Gunny, and I want you to know that I haven’t decided anything yet. If conditions for the miners are that bad, we’ll act. I don’t know how, but we will.”
“I’m glad to hear it, LT. Now, when can we leave?”
* * *
In anticipation of mission approval, Gunny Hawkins had the members of his team staging their gear in one of the mechs. Ystremski and Kramer were also there, checking and rechecking the gear. When Fortis and Hawkins entered the compartment, everyone smiled.
“I just stopped by to tell you to be safe and wish you good luck. Watch out for the damn bugs.”
The laughter at Fortis’ remarks was a little too hearty, almost forced, and he realized the jocularity was actually nervous tension. He felt it himself, along with a surge of jealousy as he watched the four members of the patrol complete their preparations.
When they were ready to depart, Fortis exited the mech and left the door open behind him. Hawkins and his team would activate their auto-flage and slip out, unobserved. Fortis returned to the command mech and climbed to his customary perch on the roof.
In the compound, it was business as usual. The flamethrowers were working the southern perimeter, burning back the jungle that had already crept into their clearing. Marines filled sandbags and stacked them two or three layers higher around the fighting holes that dotted the compound.
He pulled out the notebook he was using to record the events of the deployment and jotted down the details of the recon mission. He struggled to describe the reluctance he was feeling at launching the mission. Finally, he sighed and snapped the journal shut after several failed starts.
“Hey, LT, you mind if I join you?”
Ystremski was standing at the bottom of the sandbag steps holding two mugs.
“Sure thing, Corporal. Come on up.”
Ystremski handed Fortis a mug of steaming coffee and took a seat next to the young officer.
“Nice day for a hike.”
Fortis winced when he tested the bitter, super-heated brew. “This stuff is awful.”
“Trenas makes the best coffee,” Ystremski said, smiling. “I think she brews it with oil drained from the mech engines.”
The two men sipped their coffee. Ystremski caught Fortis staring at the jungle where Hawkins and the patrol had disappeared.
“No point worrying about them,” he said. “Hawkins is one of the best. If there’s anyone who can complete this mission, it’s him.”
“It’s not Hawkins I’m worried about.”
“Are you talking about Lily?”
Fortis shook his head. “Not Lily. I’m not worried about the mission, per se. It’s a straightforward sneak and peek, at least until they break into the colony. I’m concerned with what comes after.”
“What do you mean, sir? They’ll get in and out with no problems.”
“I agree; Hawkins and his team will succeed. But what do we do if they discover the GRC is brutalizing the miners? Should we confront the GRC and demand they be released? Do we assault the colony and free them? Report it to Division and hunker down and wait for them to show up? How will a report like that sound on the flagship? As a new officer, I might have a credibility problem, you know?”
Ystremski narrowed his eyes and stared at Fortis.
“LT, no matter what, we do the right thing and worry about the fallout later. If we have to take on a thousand test tubes and their mercenary handlers, fuck it. DINLI, you know? If we get back to Atlas and the ISMC decides that we fucked up, we’ll go to court martial. So what? At least we’ll know we did the right thing and lived up to our oath.”
Fortis sighed and tossed the dregs of his coffee to the ground and watched as the viscous black liquid seeped into the sand.
“I’m sorry, Corporal, I shouldn’t have said anything. The ISMC Platoon Leader Manual instructs new officers not to express doubts in front of their Marines because it will erode confidence in their leaders. I should know better.”
“Don’t worry, sir, your secret is safe with me. You might be a cherry, but you’re a hell of an improvement over the usual rah-rah idiots we get from the Academy. You’re looking at the big picture, which is what you’re supposed to do. I know you’d rather be out stomping around in the jungle—so would I—but someone has to stay back and take care of the house.”
“DINLI.”
Ystremski chuckled. “While we’re talking about DINLI and taking care of the house, we should spend some time looking at our defensive posture here. We’re set up to repel bug swarms, but if things go sideways with the colony mission, we’ll be dealing with two-legged enemies.”
Fortis pulled himself to his feet, suddenly grateful for a task to fill his time and take his mind off the recon mission.
“Good thinking. Let’s head down, and you can show me what you have in mind.”
* * * * *
Chapter Twenty
Hawkins called a halt after two hours of snaking their way through the jungle. Lily was on point, and his knowledge of the terrain enabled the group to travel quickly. They had seen no bugs or GRC personnel, but Hawkins had decided they would remain in auto-flage. He didn’t want to risk their mission because of a chance encounter.
Winaki was behind Lily, with Kilfoy behind him. Hawkins had the trail position, and it pleased him to see the group left the jungle undisturbed by their passing. Anyone following would need expert tracking skills.
When they stopped for a break, the group instinctively deployed into an outward-facing circle. Even Lily, several years from his last service, took a position facing the surrounding jungle, his pistol drawn. Before they had departed the Space Marine compound, Hawkins had offered the deserter a rifle.
“No thanks, Gunny. Let me have a pistol and a kukri. I won’t be shooting anything at long range, and I don’t want to
carry the extra weight.”
Hawkins dialed up Lily on a private comm channel. “Lily, are you doing okay?”
Lily looked over his shoulder and gave Hawkins a thumbs up. Hawkins did the same with Kilfoy and Winaki and got similar responses. He didn’t expect any problems after two hours humping through the jungle, but he knew they would rather push forward on strained or sprained joints rather than slow the group down or put the mission at risk.
After five minutes they resumed their march.
“Mount up, let’s move out. Lily, take point.”
* * *
Ystremski briefed Fortis and Pell on the camp’s defenses and how he proposed to improve them.
“At present, we have a ring of fighting holes and the mechs respond as required to repel bug swarms. It works well against the bugs because they attack as a mass and don’t use flanking maneuvers or diversionary attacks.” He gestured at the fighting positions on the now-familiar main display in the command mech.
“I want to dig another ring of fighting holes inside the first one and connect them with trenches so the troops can shift positions while under fire. Inside the inner ring, we will build sandbagged positions for the mechs to support the infantry and provide mutual support for the holes on either side.”
Trenas entered a command and a series of new positions appeared overlaid on the original ones.
“Currently, all our ammunition is stored in two of the mechs, which is okay for fighting bugs but it’s a mistake when facing enemies with heavy weapons. We should dig five bunkers and divvy up the ammo between them.
“I also want to burn back the jungle another ten meters, with priority given to the eastern and northern sides. I don’t want to knock down the trees, just push the undergrowth back to deny cover to attacking troops. That will also allow us to push our sensors further out.