When the sun went down, they walked back to the temporary camp set up by the Marine battalion. They could have continued training by switching their helmet displays to night vision, but after the strange battle with the Swarm they were tired. Cash could tell that Angel was exhausted by the way she walked. He fell in beside her and pulled off his helmet.
“Good to have you back, Lieutenant,” he said.
“It’s good to be back doing something I know,” Angel said. “I made it to Bezos City.”
“You delivered the letter?”
“I did. The Ruiz family was grateful to you. The letter seemed to mean a lot.”
“I hate those kinds of things,” Cash said.
“It wasn’t pleasant, but afterward I felt better. I’m glad I got to do it. Ruiz deserved as much.”
“Seeing someone fall is always difficult. It stays with you.”
“I think it should,” Angel said.
“Probably, but you can’t hold onto it. He died, and that isn’t your fault. It isn’t my fault. It’s just what happened.”
She removed her helmet and took a deep breath of the cool evening air.
“What do you think about what happened today?” she asked.
“It was unexpected,” he said. “To be honest, I didn’t like the strategy. It was a well planned ambush, but...”
“Go ahead staff sergeant. Say what’s on your mind.”
“It was too calculated for a specific outcome,” Cash said. “It wasn’t about victory, it was about numbers — how many dead could be counted and compared to our own losses. Things might have been different if you hadn’t shown up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look, I’m just an NCO, and I’m sure there are considerations for ever engagement that my superiors have to deal with that I’m blissfully ignorant of. But the ambush today was a prime example of a military engagement planned with the military in mind, not the colonists we’re charged with protecting. If keeping the Swarm out of New Chicago was really the priority, we’d have had a reserve of Marines farther down the beach between the aliens and the civilians.”
“You think Colonel Goldman was padding the numbers?”
“I don’t want to speculate about what the colonel was thinking, but if the Swarm had stuck around to fight, the battalion could have caused major damage and then slipped away before taking casualties.”
“Except for your fire team,” Angel said.
“That’s right. Losing one squad while killing thousands of aliens would look good on a report.”
“Except your squad is irreplaceable,” Angel said.
“Tell them that,” Cash said, with a nod of his head toward the Air Force officers walking a short distance away.
“They aren’t here to replace you. We’re an undersized platoon no matter how you look at it. We needed more people.”
“Maybe, but if we can’t do what you do in the suits, the Brass might not be too upset if we get taken out. Especially if they can pin our deaths to a major victory.”
“I see what you mean. Only, no matter how great the numbers are, if we hadn’t stopped the progress of the Swarm, it would have destroyed a major settlement.”
“And there in lies the rub,” Cash said. “Does the brass really care about the colonists? Sometimes staying aloof makes a person loose sight of what is really important.”
“Why do you think the Swarm fled?”
“Because they’re smarter than we’ve been giving them credit for. We know they adapt to our tactics. That means we’re going to have to stay creative in how we utilize them.”
Angel was quiet for a few minutes, and Cash let her have some time for her own thoughts. He didn’t know what his superiors were doing most of the time, but he’d been around long enough to see the best and worst of the CSF. Like any large organization, they could lose sight of their mandate in an effort to increase their power. An aid program that actually lifted a community out of poverty would essentially be putting itself out of business. Almost every organization focused on self-preservation at some point. If the galaxy was a safe place, the CSF was essentially a big peace-keeping force. It would be harder to raise funds and keep the colonists paying for a multi-world military. Cash wouldn’t be surprised to know that many of his superiors saw the Swarm as a good thing for the CSF. They needed to wipe the Swarm out, only they might not want to do it too quickly. If the colonists were worried about a threat from aliens, they would increase their funding of the CSF. And most things in life came down to money in Cash’s opinion.
“What are you two whispering about over here?” Captain Nance said as he hurried up behind them.
It was growing dark on the wide plateau, but the ARC platoon was close enough to Marine battalion camp that they could see where they were going from the portable lights in many of the shelters. Cash couldn’t see Nance’s smile, but he could imagine it from the chipper sound of the captain’s voice.
“We weren’t whispering,”Angel replied.
“It looked like a serious conversation,” Nance said.
“That’s because I’ve come to value Staff Sergeant Cashman’s opinion when it comes to leading the platoon. I was asking him about the battle today.”
“Not much of a battle really,” Nance said.
“Don’t underestimate the Swarm,” Cash warned his superior.
“I think we can handle it,” Nance said. “The ARC suits are working fine. I give my people a week and we’ll be the best in the business.”
“It isn’t a competition,” Angel said.
“Everything is a competition, right Staff Sergeant?”
Cash couldn’t be sure, but he felt in that moment as if the Captain were challenging him — over what, Cash didn’t know. Perhaps it was supremacy in the platoon, but he had a feeling it was more about Angel than anything else. The Air Force officer liked to be the center of attention, especially with the female officers. Cash felt strangely self-conscious.
“Why don’t we grab some chow, Lieutenant,” Nance suggested. “I’m sure there’s an officer’s mess in this camp somewhere.”
“We need to get the battery packs on our suits recharging,” Angel said.
“I’m sure the staff sergeant can take care of that,” Nance said. “We’re on high alert, so make sure that your men stay in their ARC suits. Get the charging stations set up and help Petty Officer Daniels ensure that we have everything ready to move in a moment’s notice.”
“Yes sir,” Cash said, trying to keep his voice neutral.
“See, all’s taken care of,” the cocky officer said. “Let’s eat!”
21
Emergency Alert Station,
Close Orbit, Neo Terra, Tau Ceti System
Lieutenant Commander Mercer was asleep when the intercom built into the bulkhead above her bunk sounded. Life on the EAS was routine and somewhat comfortable. As the senior officer, her days consisted of two five-hour shifts. When she wasn’t in the command center, she filed numerous daily reports; some to her CSF superiors, and some to the Colony government officials on the planet. Many of the storms on the planet were severe. But the settlements were few, and much of the dangerous weather wasn’t a threat. Occasionally she had been roused from sleep, but it was rare. She jerked awake as the intercom chimed and a voice began speaking.
“Commander, we have movement on the eastern shore of Lake Excelsior.”
“Is it the Swarm?” Mercer said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
The chrono display on the small table beside her bunk showed that she had been asleep for two hours. Her stomach felt sour and her eyes grimy. She had a horrible taste in her mouth, but there was no time for her physical comfort.
“We believe so,” the officer of the watch said. “They don’t show on ultraviolet or thermal. Night vision is limited, but something is coming out of the lake. Something big.”
“I’m on my way,” Mercer said.
Her duty uniform consisted of a dark blue jumpsu
it made of smartweave, a synthetic material that was light, wrinkle free, and stretchable. She pulled it on, along with a Navy ball cap. Her feet slid into her regulation boots easily, and within a minute’s time she was out the door of her berth and striding toward the command center.
The Emergency Alert Station was a simple orbital facility. Built around the command center, concentric rings formed the outer sections of the space station. Ring one was life support, including the kitchens and mess hall. The second ring had medical facilities, staff offices, a conference room, and Ward Room. The third ring consisted of recreation facilities and maintenance. The fourth and fifth rings were dedicated to crew quarters. Since the facility wasn’t military in nature, the commander’s suite was on the outer ring with actual windows. Mercer had a private office, living quarters, and a private bathroom in her suite. Nothing on the station was large, but her quarters were opulent compared to crew cabins on an interstellar ship.
She hurried through the corridors until she reached the command center. She could feel the tension as soon as she entered the room. Her crew was military, and none of them wanted to make a bad call that might send CSF resources on a wild-goose chase. They had every available resource watching the area around lake Excelsior, but it was a difficult task. The satellites were constantly in motion around the planet, which meant they had to continuously change angles and keep up with the various feeds coming into the alert station. With the great lake on the dark side of the planet, their task was even more difficult.
“Show me,” Mercer ordered as she crossed the room and dropped into her chair in the center of the circular room.
“Here,” said the lieutenant with narrow, hunched shoulders. He pointed at the large screen where a black-and-white image showed. The lake was a black area on side of the screen. Mercer could see what appeared to be shadows moving across the dark water. On the coast, which was nondescript gray, there was motion. It was impossible to see clearly. The weather satellites were thirty-five thousand kilometers above the surface of the planet and didn’t have night vision capabilities. The CSF had several spy birds in orbit just to keep tabs on the Swarm. Their cameras had better imaging capabilities, but zooming in on a specific area, while in motion, and using night vision lenses, was a poor recipe for clear images.
“These shadows on the water,” the lieutenant pointed out, “could be waves caused by the aliens coming out of the lake. And here, this distortion is movement.”
“It could be wind kicking up dust,” said a petty officer with a wispy mustache.
“Weather in that area is calm,” the lieutenant argued. “It could be a native species that we aren’t familiar with. Some amphibians do migrate to shore en mass to mate or lay eggs, but my money is on the Swarm.”
“Good work,” Mercer said. “Get me the Ramses. We’ll need air reconnoissance, then tracking medium dispersed in front of that horde. How much time do we have left on this satellite?”
“Looks like eight more minutes until we lose coverage,” the lieutenant on watch said.
“Do we have anything else in that quadrant?”
“Nothing for another half hour. I tasked the Nelson T81AAV but it’s having to adjust course.”
“Commander, I have the Ramses,” the communications controller announced.
“C.S.F. Ramses actual, this is Lieutenant Commander Paula Mercer on the EAS. We have movement on the Easter shore of Lake Excelsior. Requesting air reconnoissance.”
“EAS actual, this is Captain Voggal, senior officer on watch. Please transmit coordinates and standby.”
There was nothing left to do but wait. The satellite lost coverage before a reconnoissance plane arrived over the lake. The Swarm was gone when the plane reached the correct position on the shoreline.
“No sign of the Swarm,” the reconnoissance officer on the spy plane announced. “If they were here, they’re gone.”
“Captain Voggal,” Mercer said. “Have that plane continue due east. If they don’t change course, maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“I agree, Commander,” the watch officer on the Ramses said.
He gave the order to the reconnoissance plane. Paula Mercer was tired. She wished she could close her eyes and rest, even for just a minute, but she didn’t dare. Instead she forced herself to get up and walk. She even poured herself a cup of coffee and drank the bitter brew without sweetener. It took the plane several minutes to respond, but their luck held.
“We have movement on the ground, command,” the reconnoissance officer said excitedly. “I repeat, we have movement on the ground. Sending pictures now.”
“Get me those pictures,” Mercer said.
The EMS wasn’t tasked with collecting the digital signals from the spy planes used by the CSF on Neo Terra, but they were certainly capable. One of the enlisted personnel set to work at his station and brought up the pictures. Like the night vision imagery from the satellite, the picture was grayscale, but with a green cast. The Swarm blended into the terrain in still pictures until Mercer zoomed in on the image.
“It’s the Swarm,” she said with a sigh of relief.
“Good call, Commander,” the watch lieutenant said.
“Captain Voggal, I suggest we scramble a bomber with tracking medium,” Mercer said. “We should be able to lay it down in the path of the aliens.”
“Roger that. I’ll have to wake Commander Beauregard.”
“Wake him at my request. We’ll standby to assist.”
It took time to assess the direction of the Swarm. The spy plane made several passes, but luckily the aliens didn’t change course. Inquiries were made as to the closest bombers with the newly manufactured tracking medium. The minutes seemed to drag on and on for Paula Mercer. Commander Beauregard woke Lieutenant Colonel Goldman with the news that the Swarm was spotted. Plans were already being made as to where the next battle should take place, assuming of course that the swarm didn’t change or move underground.
It was almost dawn by the time a plane had covered the ground with high contrast tracking medium a full three miles from the Swarm. Mercer watched the satellite footage. The Swarm was almost invisible at night, so their eyes focused on the tracking medium. It was a sticky gel that would cling to the Swarm and would even show up in ultraviolet spectrum if consumed. She was on pins and needles as they waited to see if the medium began to move. Until sunrise it was the only way to track the aliens.
“Commander,” said the watch lieutenant. “We may have a problem.”
“What now?” Mercer asked.
“We have a weather system moving toward the area the Swarm is in, or will be,” said the lieutenant. “If it continues to build, our troops on the ground are in for it.”
“Fine, send me the information,” Mercer said with a sigh. “And get me Colonel Goldman. He’ll need to know what he’s getting into.”
22
Temporary Base Camp,
Sunset Ridge, Excelsior Lake Roebuck District,
Neo Terra, Tau Ceti System
The sun wasn’t up when Angel was awakened by the sounds of other officers being roused. They were in a medium-sized tent with a dozen narrow camp beds. The ARC platoon had seven officers, each sleeping in their suits with no need for protection from the cold night air. Angel wasn’t sure what season it was on the colony world, or even if Neo Terra had seasons similar to earth, but she could feel the cold air on her face as she sat up on the narrow cot.
“Senior officers only,” the messenger said.
“What do you think that’s about?” Fozzy asked.
“Beats me,” Thriller said, rolling over and closing his eyes.
“They’ve spotted the Swarm,” Angel said.
She didn’t know that for sure, but it made sense. Either the Swarm had been found, or some other trouble was plaguing the camp. She lay back on her cot.
“That’s good news, right?” Princess asked.
“We have to fight them sooner or later,” Fozzy replied. “My vote is sooner.
”
“You don’t think we need more training?” Princess asked.
“I prefer on the job training,” Fozzy said.
“I would prefer to get off this rock and back into the cockpit of an actual aircraft,” Zilla hissed. “But short of that, I’d like to get back to sleep, so can it!”
Angel knew sleep wouldn’t come. Her heart was already racing. She had hoped they would have more time to train. After dinner, which had been a bland rice-and-bean mix with artificial vitamins and bitter coffee, she and Petty Officer Daniels had shown the Air Force squad how to arm their ARC suits. Senior Airman Beemus and his five ARC technicians were still on the Ramses, which meant work on the suits had to be done by the Air Force officers. In Angel’s mind, it was good that they got to know how their suits worked.
Everyone seemed a little more friendly after their training. Daniels had worked feverishly to get the newcomers ARC suits customized to their movements and preferences. It was a work in progress, since they had only had an hour of actual practice time running Angel’s makeshift course. But for the first time, they experienced what the ARC suits could actually do. They had seen Angel is action against the Swarm and done their best to mimic her movements through the course of rough boulders. It was obvious by watching her that the young lieutenant had skills, but once they had to do what she did, they were even more impressed. She made it look so easy, and while the suits make the superhuman feats possible, it was far from easy.
Battle ARC Page 10