Battle ARC

by Toby Neighbors

  Nance, on the other hand was arrogant and lorded his power over his subordinates. It would have been comical had his life and those of the men in his squad not been on the line. Yet, Nance had no qualms about making them squirm with worry before a mission of vital importance to the war effort. He decided he had to do everything in his power to make sure Nance choose him.

  As soon as the Captain put on his helmet, Cash made sure his own helmet was on the platoon channel and began talking as if no one but Angel could hear him.

  “The captain is such a jackass,” Cash began, ignoring Angel whose head whipped around so fast he was afraid she might injure her spine. “Why the hell does he think he’s better than everyone else? I mean, sure we have to follow orders, but he doesn’t have to be total douche-bag—“

  “Silence, Staff Sergeant!” Angel ordered.

  Cash raised his hands as if he were sorry. He knew everyone was staring at him, their helmets couldn’t hide that fact. His only hope was that Nance knew how to work his helmet and had heard the insulting tirade.

  “I’ve got the Swarm in sight,” Captain King called from the cockpit. “Heaven above, what a horror.”

  “What’s our ETA?” Nance said angrily.

  “Ten minutes to get to a minimal safe distance from the bastards,” King said. “I’d recommend fifteen to get on the ground.”

  The rest of flight was made in icy silence. The only sound was Captain King’s occasional update from the cockpit. Cash could tell Angel was nervous. She held herself rigid in the seat next to him, obviously tense from his pretend mix-up with the platoon channel. When the drop ship landed, his squad raced out and took up defensive positions around the ramp at the rear of the ship. The officers, including Angel, had to retrieve their weapons from the armory compartment.

  A light blinked on Cash’s HUD and he opened the private channel between himself and Angel. He knew she was worried about him, but he felt that pissing off the Captain was the only way to ensure that he chose Cash to charge the Swarm.

  “He’s not a fool,” Angel said.

  “What?”

  “I admit, you caught me off guard. I thought you actually forgot that your comlink was on the platoon channel, but then I realized you would never speak ill of you commanding officer, especially not to me.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cash said, his gut tensing with fear for his men.

  “Yes you do. You said those things about Captain Nance so that he would choose you to fight the Swarm. But if I figured it out. He will too.”

  “You give him too much credit,” Cash said. “He doesn’t know me like you do. And I’ll wager he’s not that smart.”

  “Maybe not, but it was a poor risk to take.”

  “I’ll live with that risk. We’re not slaves that he can send off to be killed at his pleasure.”

  “No, you aren’t,” Angel said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more. I tried to to volunteer but Colonel Goldman wanted someone else to approach the Swarm.”

  “Makes sense,” Cash said. “We may look alike in the ARC suits, but no one moves like you do, Lieutenant.”

  He hoped his fondness for her wasn’t too obvious. Bonds of brotherhood were formed in stressful situations, but Cashes feelings for Angel were deeper. He denied them, ignored them, pushed them down deep into recesses of his consciousness, but he couldn’t get rid of them. She was too smart, too good at her job, and so amazingly talented. Cash knew that his entire squad had a soft place for Angel. It was obvious when their imbecile captain had actually pulled a gun on her. Without having to give them any encouragement, they all leapt forward to protect her.

  “I wouldn’t put it past the Swarm to recognize you,” he continued. “Sending one of us will prove your theory.”

  “Or disprove it,” she said, appearing at the hatch and moving down to stand beside him.

  Nance and the rest of the Air Force pilots followed.

  “Captain King, we’re off the Battle ARC,” Nance said. “You are cleared for takeoff.”

  “Roger that,” the pilot said.

  “Staff Sergeant,” Nance said as the drop ship rose up into the air.

  “Sir,” Cash said, stepping forward.

  “I’ll deal with your insubordination when we return to the battalion. Be assured your outburst will get the attention it deserves.”

  “Yes, Captain,” Cash said.

  “Who will be charging the Swarm?” Angel asked.

  “How about the gun-slinger,” Nance said.

  Hays was no where close to Cash, yet Captain Nance didn’t turn to look at the corporal he had just ordered into harms way. Cash knew the arrogant officer was watching him. Angel had been right. The canny bastard had seen through his trick and was waiting to see how he would react. Cash stood frozen. He may have failed to protect Corporal Aubry Hays from Nance’s plan to see Angel’s squad harmed, but he wouldn’t be cowed by the man.

  “Let’s check our weapons,” Angel suggested. “We don’t have much time.”

  “I’ve got the Swarm in sight,” Raven said.

  Cash turned. He had to zoom the optical lens on his HUD all the way to catch sight of the swarm moving over the rocky terrain, but he could see them too. Looking around, his gut grew tight with worry. They were in an arid plain, not quite desert, but close. There were scrub bushes all around, but more troublesome were the loose rocks. There were even cracks in the ground where the soil had separated because of the dry conditions.

  “Alpha Squad, to my right,” Nance ordered. “Bravo squad, to the left. Gunslinger, I want you right in the middle. Let’s spread out, people. Form a skirmish line. Guns hot, but don’t fire until I give the order.”

  Cash walked up to Hays and placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “Good luck,” Cash said.

  “Thanks, Staff Sergeant. Don’t worry. I got this.”

  He drew one of the Winfields and twirled it on his finger.

  “Don’t shoot yourself in the foot,” Cash warned.

  “Hell no, with these depleted uranium rounds, it would blow my foot clean off,” Hays said.

  “Remember to stay loose and keep moving,” Angel said. “If the Swarm doesn’t alter course, you head straight back.”

  “Not until I give the order to retreat,” Nance said. “I don’t want anyone getting nervous and jumping-the-gun so to speak.”

  Everyone spread out from Nance’s position. Hays stayed close to Angel. Cash guessed she was encouraging him, and he was grateful for that. It made Cash angry to stay behind. His nature was to run toward danger, but he wouldn’t disobey orders. The Swarm had moved into sight, and Hays was hopping from foot to foot, ready to dash toward the aliens. Cash checked his rifle; made sure the safety was off, and the bandolier of rounds were ready to feed into the weapon. It was all he could do until the order was given to fight, then he would pour out his fury into the Swarm.

  41

  Desert plain, August District,

  Neo Terra, Tau Ceti system

  “Charge, Corporal!” Nance ordered.

  Angel didn’t even think he new Hays’ name. She had to hold herself back. Someone had to take the risk, and Hays was prepared. He drew both pistols as he ran, the ARC suit propelling him to fantastic speed. Each step, he sprang forward, bounding across the open field toward the horde of aliens that numbered into the thousands.

  “Enemy in range,” Cash said.

  The staff sergeant had taken the end position on the skirmish line. He had a more powerful weapon than the Trasker 51’s carried by Angel and the other officers. She knew her weapon wouldn’t be effective until the Swarm grew closer.

  “Hold your fire,” Nance said.

  Angel’s breath caught in her throat as Hays fired his pistols. The Winfield Extecutors were semi-automatic pistols, firing one round with each squeeze of the trigger. The Swarm parted, avoiding the shots and opened a channel for the corporal to run through. He jumped, fired into the swarm, and ignited his thrus
ters. He moved to the left suddenly, sliding through the air and turning to run across the front rank of the approaching horde.

  Several of Hays’ shot connected with the drones. Angel saw alien body parts fly into the air from the powerful impact. The depleted uranium exploded on impact as the soft aluminum skin that covered the coated tip of the cast steel slugs ripped open, exposing the chemicals to air and igniting the explosion. Suddenly, the Swarm turned. Despite the horror the aliens represented, or the carnage they left their wake, Angel couldn’t deny the swift coordination of their movements was a sight to behold.

  “They’re turning!” Bolton said.

  “Enemy in range!” Cash said again.

  “Hold your fire,” Nance repeated.

  Suddenly Hays fell. He was close to the Swarm but not close enough for the creatures to have caused the fall. Angel guessed he probably tripped, but there was no way to know for certain.

  “Man down!” Vancini shouted.

  Just as suddenly as the horde has shifted away from Hays, a portion of them turned again. It was obvious they were advancing toward the fallen Marine.

  “Permission to fire!” Cash begged.

  “Not yet,” Nance snarled.

  “ARC platoon the Swarm has diverted from your position,” Captain King said. “Battle ARC is incoming.”

  “Roger that, Battle ARC,” Nance said. “Platoon, form up on me for evac.”

  “What about Hays?” Cash said, his voice straining.

  “He heard the order,” Raven snapped.

  “The Swarm are converging on him, Captain,” Angel said. “Permission to render aid.”

  “Denied,” Nance said.

  “He’s up,” Bolton cheered.

  “They’re almost on him,” Vancini said. “Run Hays!”

  “Sir, I protest,” Angel said.

  “One man isn’t worth the effort,” Nance said. “We have valuable intelligence. We won’t risk the ARC platoon for a lone corporal.”

  “The hell we won’t,” Cash said.

  His war cannon opened up with a cacophony of reports that gave the weapon it’s name. Angel didn’t see the bullets in the air, but the Swarm began to stumble.

  “Hays get down,” Bolton shouted. “We’ll cover you.”

  “Cease fire, cease fire!” Nance was shouting.

  Angel gasped as the plasma rounds from the Haggan Assault Rifle impacted the Swarm. Unlike Cash’s heavy weapon, the assault rifle was quiet, spitting the gas-filled cartridges with hollow sounding thumps that reminded Angel of Roman Candle fireworks being shot from the long tubes. When the plasma hit the Swarm’s cranial shields, the lead creatures were suddenly engulfed in blue fire.

  Throwing caution to the wind, Angle sprinted forward. Behind her the Battle ARC was landing. She heard Nance calling for his squad to retreat. It crossed her mind that they hadn’t fired a single shot and anger filled her with a sudden rage. She bounded past Hays, and jumped into the air. There were over two hundred of the drones charging at the fallen Marine. She flipped the selector switch on her rifle and pulled the trigger, spraying the horde of aliens beneath her. Heavy penetrator rounds tore through bone, flesh, and exoskeleton, and segmented body parts. The drones fell as more fire from Cash and Bolton enveloped the creatures. Angel dropped to the ground, tumbling into a shoulder roll. She felt a jagged rock gouge her back but felt confident the ARC suit had saved her from injury.

  “I’ve got him!” Vancini shouted.

  The main body of the Swarm continued away from the fighting, while the smaller group scattered around Angel. She saw Vancini helping Hays, and in the distance, the Battle ARC was lifting off again. She emptied her magazine and triggered the switch that released it. The empty compartment fell to the ground. She quickly rammed a second one into place before dashing several steps and throwing herself into a front salto to avoid a drone who whipped its head at her, trying to catch her with the large, bony shield that covered the front portion of its body. All around her, Angel heard the sonic booms left by the bullets flashing past her. She couldn’t see them, but she heard them. She added her own shots to the barrage ripping the drones to pieces. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she jumped, giving herself a boost from the thrusters in the ARC suit. She shot up, at least five meters into the air, targeting the drones beneath her.

  Twisting, Angel saw that most of the herd was moving quickly toward the larger Swarm. Some were running wild in the opposite direction, no longer concerned with anything but escape. Angel landed gracefully, the ARC suit absorbing the impact so that she felt secure and balanced, despite the height and distance of the leap. Hays, Angel noticed, was limping and leaning on Vancini. They were almost back to where Bolton and Cash were taking out any of the straggling drones who moved in their direction. Angel sprinted toward them.

  As she ran, she glanced up, expecting to see the drop ship hovering nearby, waiting to recover them. But the ship was gone. It wasn’t until she reached the others that she saw on her HUD she had been removed from the platoon group. The radio capabilities of her ARC suit reached just over three kilometers without a LAN or battle group signal amplifier. Angel saw that she was completely off-line. They were alone, abandoned by their platoon, and far from anyone or anywhere.

  42

  C.S.F. Ramses, close orbit,

  Neo Terra, Tau Ceti system

  What’s happening?” Mercer asked.

  The space combat officer was hunched over the monitor at her station. They were all watching the same feed from a high-altitude surveillance plane whose long telephoto lenses were catching the action on the dusty prairie where the ARC platoon was engaging the Swarm. The picture was clear, the surveillance equipment could focus in on what a person was reading from orbit with enough clarity to read along with the subject under the right conditions. The view displayed to the Ramses, which bounced back down to the Marine battalion several hundred miles from the scene of the battle, was much broader. Mercer could see the skirmish line, and while none of the participants could be identified from that distance, each one could clearly be seen.

  From the safety of the star ship, Commander Mercer and her officers had watched as Corporal Aubry Hays charged the Swarm. They had cheered when the aliens abruptly changed course, confirming Mercer’s own observation of the Swarm. She doubted that if the strategy she and Second Lieutenant Angela Murphy had hammered out worked, there would every be any credit given to her. It was a sad, but universal fact of life; credit was rarely shared for success, even when it was due. Still, Mercer could live with it knowing that her ideas had made a difference in the war.

  “I can’t tell, Commander,” the space combat officer said with a sheepish tone. “Looks like they’re splitting up?”

  “Why?” Paula asked.

  “I’d say half the platoon is hell-bent on saving the one who went down,” Lieutenant Commander Brown said.

  “I thought Marines never left anyone behind,” said the comms officer.

  “There won’t be anything left if the Swarm reaches him,” said the weapons control officer.

  “Or her,” said the systems engineer, a bright young woman who happened to be too attractive for her own good, in Paula Mercer’s opinion.

  “There goes another one,” the space combat officer announced.

  Mercer watched Angel charge into the fray. The bridge fell silent as they watched the battle between one squad of ARC soldiers and a large herd of the Swarm drones. When the herd finally broke, there was another cheer, but Mercer was troubled.

  “They did it,” Brown said happily.

  “But they were abandoned,” Mercer said.

  Everyone on the Bridge looked at the surveillance feed again. The herd of drones scattered, many of the survivors moving back to join the Swarm. As they watched, a few of the stragglers were taken down, and the ARC squad regrouped. Mercer held her breath, waiting for the drop ship to return, but it didn’t.

  “They left half the platoon behind,” the space combat off
icer said.

  “Open a channel to that drop ship,” Mercer said. “I want to speak to that pilot.”

  “Aye, Commander,” the comms officer said. A moment later she waved at Mercer.

  “Battle ARC actual, this is Commander Mercer on the Ramses. Do you read?”

  “Five by five commander,” came a distinctly southern voice.

  “You have people on the ground, Pilot. What the hell is going on down there?”

  “Just following orders, Commander. Captain Nance ordered me to dust off and return to the battalion. I didn’t know there was anyone left behind.”

  “Get back to that battlefield pilot, or you’ll be shuttling rations to the ass-end of Neptune for the rest of your very abbreviated career.”

  “Commander, I have Captain Nance on the line,” the pilot said. “Please standby.”

  “Commander Mercer, to what do we owe the pleasure,” Nance said.

  “This isn’t a casual check-in,” Mercer said in an icy tone. “You left people on the battlefield.”

  “I left insubordinate enlisted personnel and one junior officer,” Nance sneered. “They chose to disobey a direct order.”

  “And I’m ordering you to return and pick them up. Are you going to disobey that order, Captain.”

  She said the last word with such derision that several of her own officers shivered. There was a pause before Nance replied.

  “No, Commander.”

  “Very good. Get those people picked up. We’re watching, Captain.”

  “Roger that.”

  The communications officer cut the connection and sat back in her chair. Mercer felt a tremor of fear. What could be so wrong that Captain Nance would leave an entire squad behind? Disobeying orders was a cardinal sin in the military. A person who disobeys a direct order is subject to serious repercussions, sometimes even court martial. Mercer had no doubt who the junior officer on the ground was. She had a knack for reading people. Even in the short amount of time Mercer had spent with Second Lieutenant Murphy, she was certain the young officer was loyal to a fault. The person who went down must have been one of the Marines in her squad. Mercer couldn’t blame her for wanting to rescue her squad mate. What she couldn’t understand was why the drop ship was ordered away from the scene. Even with a potentially dangerous enemy in the area, and discord between officers, there was no legitimate reason to leave an entire squad behind — especially when each member of the ARC platoon was so incredibly valuable to the war effort.