Forged by War (Jack Forge, Fleet Marine Book 9)

by James David Victor

  The Marines had already loaded the canisters onto hovering platforms and began pushing them toward the open ground. Through the pipework-lined corridor of the ground level, Jack could see the corvette coming in to land. Dust billowed up all around as the ship lowered toward the ground.

  A squad of Marines was bringing a pump system toward the canisters now waiting next to the landed corvette. The boarding ramp hissed and began to lower to the ground. Bevan was already stepping out before the ramp had touched the ground. She walked over to Jack, her face beaming with delight.

  “Found you a ship, sir,” she said.

  “Great work, Erin,” Jack said. “I even like the color.”

  Sam Torent was ordering the Marines to set up the pumping system and connect the canisters of chemical cloak. He called over to Jack once he was ready.

  “Carry on, Sam,” Jack said. “Get that ship covered. Don’t miss a spot.” Jack turned to Bevan. “I think we had better get you sprayed up too. Did you ever want to be invisible?”

  Bevan gave Jack a look of uncertainty.

  “It’s an order, does that make it easier?” Jack said with a smile. “Take your crew into the plant. Eighth squad is coating everyone.”

  Jack watched Bevan muster up her corvette crew and head off to get coated with the chemical cloak. Jack looked to the eastern horizon, where something caught his attention: a dust cloud climbing in a broad line over a kilometer wide. Jack pulled up his field scanners. At the base of the dust cloud, Jack could see a mass of Chitin soldiers rushing forward. They were falling over each other in their haste.

  “Looks like we’ve got company, Sam,” Jack called.

  Torent looked away from the corvette-spraying operation. He swung up his pulse rifle and looked down its sights to the eastern horizon.

  “Chits,” he said. “Must have followed the corvette. Bevan has brought us more than a ship, sir,” Torent said. “Looks like she’s brought the entire Chitin ground force too.”

  At that moment, a runner came dashing over.

  “Major Forge, sir. Lookout reports Chits, sir.”

  Jack put his field scanners away. “Thank you, Marine,” he said calmly. “Take word to all squad leaders. I want the company to form up in a line in front of the corvette.”

  The runner saluted and ran off.

  “Sam,” Jack called out. “Every square centimeter. Make sure it’s all covered. Copy?”

  “Copy that, sir. Where are you going?”

  “I’m loading the chemical cloak to the corvette. We take off the instant we are ready.”

  “Nearly ready,” Torent said.

  Jack walked into the chemical plant and to the Marines guarding the huge canister of chemical cloak.

  “Get that canister loaded and then join the company,” Jack said.

  The Marines began moving the huge canister toward the corvette. Even with the hover loader, it was a difficult operation and they moved slowly.

  Jack walked behind them toward the corvette and the open boarding ramp. Marines started to stream out of the chemical plant and run past the corvette, forming a line facing the oncoming Chitin horde.

  Bevan came up to Jack. She was clearly in some discomfort from the burning caused by the newly-applied chemical cloak.

  “Who’s in charge of Adder?” Jack asked as Bevan came near.

  “Dave Jarret, sir.”

  Jack nodded. “Good choice, Commander,” he said. “I’m taking the corvette to the power distribution node. I’ll be delivering the chemical cloak. You take over here. Commander Torent is coming with me. Copy?”

  Bevan nodded. “Copy that, sir. Good luck.”

  “Ship ready, sir,” Torent called out. “Every square centimeter covered.”

  Jack looked over. The canister of chemical cloak was being maneuvered up the ramp. It barely fit in the corvette.

  “Okay, Sam. Get aboard and secure that cargo.” He turned to Bevan. “Wait until we are away, Commander Bevan,” Jack said. “Then take Cobra and find a place to hold up. Good luck, Commander.”

  “And look after my company,” Torent said to Bevan as he walked up the ramp into the corvette.

  Bevan saluted Jack. Jack returned the salute, then ran to the corvette. He heard Bevan shouting as he closed the ramp behind him.

  “Listen up, Cobra!” Bevan said. “Hold your ground until the corvette is away! Fire up those electron bayonets, Marines!”

  The ramp closed with a dull clunk. Jack clambered past the canister that filled the central gundeck and made his way to the cockpit.

  “Where do you want me, Jack?” Torent called out.

  “You’re gonna be the bomber,” Jack said, dropping into the cockpit. “I’ll get us over the power distribution node and then you drop the canister on the target. The impact will be powerful enough to set it off.”

  “No problem,” Torent said. “Wake me when we’re near the target. I’m overdue a few moments’ snooze.”

  Jack hit the lift drive and pushed the corvette off the ground. He rotated the corvette a few meters off the ground and put it on a southerly heading toward the nearest power distribution node. The deep planet power systems were still fully functional and would be for years to come, until the canister of chemical cloak was delivered, at least.

  As the ship rotated toward its heading, Jack caught a glimpse of the advancing Chitin horde. They had slowed but were still coming on in a huge wave, no longer sure what they were chasing. Jack saw Commander Erin Bevan fire up her electron blade. She waved her arm over her head and called Cobra Company to join her in a charge against the enemy.

  Cobra ran toward the line of Chitin soldiers, their electron blades flashing in front of them.

  “You should see this, Sam,” Jack said. “I thought Bevan was always a bit more defensive. She’s attacking the Chits.”

  “She’s making the right call, is all, Jack,” Torent said, pulling his jacket collar up around his neck and settling into a weapon bay, eyes closed. “If attack is the best plan, she’ll choose it. Now if there is nothing else, I’m going to grab some sleep.”

  Jack brought the corvette around to its new heading and punched the drive.

  “Enjoy your sleep, Sam. We’ll be at the target in about fifteen minutes.”

  Jack turned around to check if Torent had heard him, but his old friend was already fast asleep.

  “Sam, wake up. Target ahead.”

  “Thought you said fifteen.” Torent clambered to his feet.

  “We’ve got a problem, Sam,” Jack said.

  “You surprise me,” Torent said.

  “There’s a Leviathan sitting over the target.”

  Torent climbed onto the canister of chemical cloak and looked out of the forward view screen.

  “Ahh,” Torent said simply.

  “Ahh, indeed,” Jack replied. He slowed the corvette and brought it to a halt, hovering in the sky a kilometer out from the massive Leviathan sitting over the power distribution node.

  “So we don’t drop the canister on the target then?” Torent said.

  Jack’s hands danced over the flight controls. “Guess not. Plan B it is.”

  “We have a plan B?” Torent said, moving into the cockpit.

  “We do now.” Jack moved the corvette closer to the massive Chitin warship. “I hope you got every spot on this corvette covered, Sam.”

  “I think we’ll know soon enough if I didn’t.”

  Jack lowered the corvette and landed it as quietly and gently as he could only half a kilometer out from the Leviathan.

  “Remember when we first met?” Jack said.

  “Training moon,” Sam said.

  “We had to run that obstacle course,” Jack said. “With old Sergeant Hacker zapping your kravin ass every few seconds with his taser.”

  “How could I forget.”

  “Well, this is going to be like old times.” Jack pointed forward. The ground around the power distribution node was a series of small hillocks with wide cha
nnels running between. In those channels were Chitin soldiers. Sitting above it all was a Leviathan.

  “Looks like the old obstacle course alright,” Torent agreed.

  “Just like old times,” Jack said. “Only this time, we are going to be moving that canister with us.”

  “And what do we do when we get there?” Torent said.

  “We are going to create a big enough bang to puncture this canister, activate the power node, and blast this chemical cloak into the atmosphere.”

  “Oh, is that all?” Torent said.

  “Help me strip out this blast laser.” Jack was pulling out a panel next to the forward blast laser assembly. “We are going to need the power cell.”

  18

  The Leviathan hovered over the power distribution node, its forward tentacle-like structures pointing down and spreading over the node. Hundreds of Chitin soldiers stood around the base of the power node, moving about slowly.

  “What are they doing?” Torent said, looking out of the corvette’s forward view screen.

  “As long as they keep doing it while we get to work, I don’t care,” Jack said.

  The ramp hissed as it lowered. Jack powered up the hovering mobile platform that the canister of chemical cloak was sitting on. The platform raised up a few centimeters, and he pushed it down the ramp.

  Stepping out from under the corvette’s hull, the sight of the Leviathan hanging in the air took Jack’s breath away. He had seen the massive warships up close before, but he still found the massive black craft impressive and imposing.

  “Noise discipline,” Jack whispered to Torent. “They can’t see us, but they might be able to hear us, and try not to bump into any of them.”

  Jack and Torent pushed the huge canister slowly, maneuvering it between the Chitin soldiers. Torent looked up at the smooth face of one of the massive soldiers as he walked past. The antennae on the head twitched and the tentacles moved around lazily.

  “I just want to kill them all,” Torent hissed.

  Jack held his finger up for silence. He knew Torent’s thoughts well enough. These Chitin soldiers were completely unaware of their presence, so it would be an easy task to push an electron bayonet through the smooth exoskeleton.

  Jack made a signal telling Torent to focus on the objective. The entrance to the power distribution node lay ahead, beyond the Leviathan’s huge tentacles that hung down and touched the ground.

  Jack walked past one of the Leviathan’s massive tentacle structures. It was pulsing and throbbing, a fine network of lines crossing the tentacle. It almost looked biological.

  Looking up at the Leviathan, Jack could see the primary weapon’s glow. In between the tentacles on the forward section, the massive plasma arc weapon was glowing with a dull, dirty orange light. It seemed to pulse in time with the tentacles.

  Torent pointed up. “It’s feeding,” he said.

  Jack shrugged. Refueling. Feeding. Maybe for the Chitin spacecraft, it was the same thing. It looked as if the massive ship was drawing power from the distribution node.

  Jack reached the entrance to the facility, a small single-story structure that gave access to the huge subterranean power network. Jack waited as a Chitin soldier wandered past. As soon as the Chit was out of the way, he sent Torent forward to pull open the doors.

  Torent looked back. He pointed at the handle of the facility and showed Jack the entrance was locked.

  Jack pointed at the muzzle of his holstered pulse pistol. Sam nodded and swung up his rifle. He aimed the weapon at the hinge on one side of the large doorway and fired up his electron bayonet.

  The meter-long fizzing energy field appeared and sliced through the hinge. Sam Torent cut it down. The door creaked as Torent destroyed the upper hinge. Then, moving downwards, the electron bayonet cut through the lower hinge. The material dripped away in superheated rivers of melted composite.

  It let out a creaking and a cracking sound as it popped away from the walls. Jack caught the movement of the nearby Chitin soldiers out of the corner of his eye. Several Chits turned suddenly at the sound of the door popping away from its hinges.

  The door still stood although was now cut away on one side. The pair of Marines could have squeezed through the gap, but they needed to move the huge canister inside. Torent pointed at the hinges on the other side of the door. Jack nodded and let Torent get to work.

  The hinges on the second side were cut through in seconds. Torent stepped aside as the door fell forward. It landed on the floor with a bang, throwing up a cloud of dust.

  Jack saw the Chits move in toward the sound. He pressed the hovering platform toward the doorway, sliding through with barely centimeters of clearance on either side. Torent followed him into the dimly-lit interior.

  Jack looked out and saw the Chits hovering around the fallen door. A dozen had converged on the area and stood in a semi-circle around it. None moved onto the fallen door or moved toward the entrance.

  Torent stood with his electron bayonet ready for action. Jack pulled his pulse pistol slowly and held it ready. After a few breathless minutes, the first Chitin soldier drifted away. Jack holstered his pulse pistol and started pushing the hovering platform deeper inside the low building.

  At the end of a short corridor, Jack and Torent came out into the wide area surrounding the power distribution node. The node glowed with a dull red light. The power network was threaded through the deep crust of Eros and came to the surface at various locations around the planet. Any of them would be suitable for the chemical cloak distribution.

  “You sure you know what you’re doing?” Torent asked Jack.

  Jack set the blast laser power cell next to the node.

  “No,” he said, “but I’m sure Sarah Reyes did. If we smash the canister and the power node, the chemical will be delivered to the atmosphere. Only trouble is, it’ll knock out all power to the entire planet.”

  Jack looked at the blast laser power cell control systems. He could set it to overload and deliver the correct explosive yield. The power cell would reach the correct yield in a short time. He realized all too clearly now the shortcoming in his plan. They didn’t have enough time.

  “Okay, Sam,” Jack said. “You start back to the corvette and wait for me there.”

  Torent stepped toward the corridor out to the field of Chits outside. He hesitated. “How long will you be?”

  “I’ll be right behind you.”

  “I’ll wait,” Torent said.

  “You can’t wait,” Jack said. “I need you to get the corvette ready to fly.”

  “I’m no pilot, Jack,” Torent said.

  Jack turned to Torent. “Just activate the power systems, okay?”

  “Not really,” Torent said. “We go together.”

  Jack shook his head. “I need to…” He hesitated.

  “You need to what?” Torent said.

  “You wouldn’t understand. It’s technical.”

  “Try me,” Torent said.

  Jack stood up. “Just get back to the corvette and wait for me. That’s an order, Commander.”

  Torent swung his pulse rifle over his shoulder and folded his arms across his chest. He leaned against the wall. “You said yourself, there is no Fleet Marine Service left on Eros. You can’t order me, so tell me, Jack, what’s so technical?”

  Jack sat down on the side of the power distribution node and sighed. “The overload system on the blast laser power cell, it’s got a set time to detonation.”

  “How long?” Torent said.

  “I can set it and run for the corvette. I’m faster than you. I can make it if you aren’t slowing me down.”

  “I’m not that much slower than you, Jack,” Torent said.

  “You’re still not fast enough. You won’t have time.”

  “How long, Jack?”

  Jack hesitated. He thought for a moment. “About three minutes.”

  “Well, now I know you’re feeding me a load of garbage.”

  “You woul
d know, wouldn’t you?” Jack said.

  “You wouldn’t say about this time or about that time. You would know exactly what the time to detonation would be, so it sounds like a load of kravin garbage to me, Jack.”

  “Okay,” Jack said, throwing his hands in the air. “Three minutes. It is exactly three minutes.”

  Torent walked over to the power cell. “I can make it to the corvette in three minutes. Show me how to activate it and you go and get the ship ready.”

  Jack looked Torent in the eye. “You can’t do it,” he said calmly.

  “Why not?” Torent asked.

  “This is my job, Sam. I have to do it.”

  “There’s something not right here,” Torent said. “Why you being so weird about it?”

  “Because there’s not enough time, that’s why.”

  “Three minutes?” Torent said. “Loads of time.”

  “It’s not three minutes,” Jack said quietly

  Torent realized what he meant and stood in front of Jack. “Oh, I get it. How much time? And don’t kravin lie to me, Jack.”

  “Thirty seconds,” Jack said immediately.

  “Oh,” Torent said quietly. “That’s not enough time to get back to the corvette.”

  “No,” Jack said. “So you go. I’ll set it to overload and I’ll run like kravin fury to make it. I stand a better chance of making that run than you.”

  Torent smiled at Jack. “Didn’t take you for the suicidal type, Jack,” Torent said. “I can do it.”

  Jack shook his head. He was not going to let Torent give his life. Jack had ordered him into many deadly situations, but this was Jack’s job now. He wasn’t going to let Torent take on the duty.

  “I can’t let you do it, Sam,” Jack said sadly.

  Torent beamed, his face covered in a bright grin. “I can set off the overload.” He grabbed his right arm by the wrist and twisted. The arm came away, falling out of his sleeve. The back tendrils at the end writhed in the air. “I can do it one-handed,” Sam said, holding up his prosthetic arm.

  Jack looked at Sam with a mixture of confusion and amusement. “How?”