Doomed Space Marine: A Space Adventure (Bug Wars Book 1)

by J. A. Cipriano

  The bug pointed for Mina to follow, which she did.

  I started after her, but the bug stopped me, pointing for me to go upward.

  God. They were going to separate us.

  “No,” I said firmly. I planted my feet so it would understand what I meant.

  It reared back and slapped me with a gauntleted hand. Blood filled my mouth as my head shot backward. The elite grabbed my face and turned it forcefully, so I was reminded of the sword tip still dangerously close to Jill.

  “Fine,” I muttered, pushing upright and walking up the stairs. I heard footsteps behind me and, looking back, I saw Jill was being sent up with me. I breathed at least a small sigh of relief. If things went south, at least I could protect one of them.

  At the top of the stairs was a flat expanse of concrete and stone. It was walled on three sides, blocking most of the space off and was completely dark except for a single globe glowing with some kind of bioluminescent material.

  “What is this place?” Jill asked as the bug led us up to the slab before heading back down a few of the steps.

  I didn’t need to answer. As soon as we were in place and the elite was far enough away, a fence of crisscrossing blue energy surrounded us, cutting us off from the staircase entirely and trapping us in.

  It was clear from the look on Jill’s face that, like me, she knew exactly what this place was, a jail cell.

  30

  I watched as Jill ran a hand through her purple hair. She was a strange mix of things, that woman. One second, she was like a little girl, shy, timid, and scared of everything. The next, she was as fierce a woman and warrior as I had ever seen, going for things with a near reckless abandon that was almost criminal in its intensity.

  During the few hours since we had been separated from Mina and Claire, I’d watched her go from afraid of what the future was going to bring, to consigned and resigned to die, all the way to spitting angry as she screamed for the bugs to ‘come and get her.’

  In that time, I came to a conclusion. There was a fire in this woman, a bright, burning flame that needed direction. She was still young though, young enough not to be sure which direction to point that flame. So, it burned brightly, it burned beautifully, and it burned tragically.

  Worse though? It burned dangerously and destructively. It burned for good and bad, right and wrong, low and high, and, more often than not, it did so all at once.

  That was a hell of a thing, the exuberance of freshly minted adulthood. It’s a time when you think the role isn’t as big as people have warned you it is, a time when the trials of your life seem small, and a time when (for whatever reason) you think things are not only going to be okay, but maybe even be easy.

  It’s naïve but also beautiful. If I died today, I would be happy to at least do so in the presence of that, to be reminded of what life looked like before I really had to live in it.

  “Don’t tell me it’ll be okay,” she said, breaking the silence and glaring at me with intense purple eyes.

  “Okay,” I responded. It was the first time we’d spoken in an hour.

  “I mean it. No matter what happens, no matter how bad it gets or how much I freak out, I don’t want to hear that it’s going to be okay.” She shook her head. “Not if it’s not, anyway.”

  “Jill,” I started, sighing and feeling like I needed to talk some sense into her.

  “No.” She threw a hand up in my face. “I’m not a damn child, and I don’t intend on being treated like one. If I’m going to die tonight, I’m going to do it with dignity. I’m going to do it with my head held high. I don’t need some man whispering sweet lies in my ear.” She looked me up and down. “Even if that man is Mark Ryder.”

  “Fair enough. I won’t tell you everything is going to be okay unless it is.” I slid closer to her, sitting on the stone floor with our backs against the far wall. “You have to do something for me though.”

  “What’s that?” she asked narrowing her violet eyes at me.

  “You have to tell me what the hell is up with your hair.” I let a rare smile spread across my face. Hey, just because she told me I couldn’t say things were going to be all right didn’t mean I couldn’t act like they would be. In my experience, getting someone’s mind off a dire situation when there was nothing to do about it, was the best possible option. And, right now, with energy bars holding us in place and no way of knowing if the others were okay, there was nothing we could do about it.

  “You don’t like it?” she asked, blinking away a burst of sudden confusion before smiling at me a little.

  “I didn’t say that,” I responded. “It’s nice. It’s… unique.”

  “Unique is ‘old person’ for bad,” she scoffed, looking away from me.

  “Did you just call me an old person?” My smile widened as I shook my head. “I’m not even thirty-five.”

  She shrugged. “I call them like I see them. Don’t take it hard though. I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” She looked me up and down. “Sometimes old people are hot.”

  I chuckled loudly, surprising myself. Jill’s eyes widened.

  “Don’t do that,” she admonished.

  I looked back at her. “Do what?”

  “That.” She pointed at my face. “I know that look. You think I’m a child. You think I’m ridiculous and stupid.” She leaned closer, and I saw her purple lips glisten in the light of our cell. “I’m not a child.”

  “I didn’t say you were.” My heart sped up a little at her sudden proximity.

  “People always do that to me,” she said, still close. “They always underestimate me. They see my hair, see my eyes and my lips, and they put me in a box. All I am is a sixth generation millennial to those bastards, but I’m more than that.” She swallowed hard, and I could see the need in her eyes. She needed me to listen, to understand. She needed me to believe in her. “I’m smart. I’m capable. I’m-I’m worldly.”

  Her voice tilted up at the end, telling me the last assertion was more of a question than anything else.

  “You’ve been through more than ninety percent of people your age and, for the moment, you’re still here. That makes your more than worldly in my opinion.”

  She nodded at me. “Honestly, sometimes I don’t feel like it. I know I’m capable. I know I’m good at what I do, but sometimes, I wonder if I gave up too much to get there.” She shook her head again, purple bangs swaying over her eyes. “I was focused on who I wanted to be, so sure the intensity I felt was proof I should be doing what I’m doing now. I closed myself off to a lot of avenues.”

  “You were motivated. There’s nothing wrong with that,” I answered, looking her up and down. Her body was tilted toward me like an invitation, her suit skintight and her eyes glistening in the light.

  “That’s what I thought too. I was proud of who I was, of what I had become. I still am. It’s just now that- that I’m not sure if I’m going to make it, I’ve started thinking about all the things I missed out on, all the stuff I never did.”

  “Like what?” I found myself leaning closer to her.

  “I never went to my prom. I was so focused on keeping my grades up in order to get into the infantry fast-track program, I never took the time to date people. When prom came around, it seemed I was the only one without a date, so I sat it out.” She shrugged. “Seems stupid now. I should have gone alone. I should have danced the night away with my friends.” She shook her head. “I can’t remember the last time I danced.”

  “Dance now,” I suggested. “Get up and dance. I’m the only other person here. Hell, I’ll do it with you, if you want me to.”

  She smiled at me, but there was something else under her smile, another kind of need.

  “That’s not all I’ve never done,” she explained, and this time it was Jill who was leaning closer to me.

  “Oh yeah?” I asked, feeling my throat go dry.

  “I told you I never took the time to date.” I felt her hand on my leg, moving up past my knee. My
muscles tightened, and my heart pounded. “Some guys asked me, sure, but none of them ever seemed worth my time. None of them were ever men, you know?”

  “I think I do, but why don’t you tell me, just to be sure?”

  “I got the hair before I joined the Marines. I used to be blonde, but I felt different. I felt like a new person, and I wanted to show that off. I wanted to be who I felt like I was on the inside. Maybe that was stupid. Maybe I should have known that the girl I was has always been enough, even if I didn’t give her everything she needed, everything she wanted.”

  Her hand was on my upper thigh now, and I could feel the heat of Jill’s breath on my face. Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips parted.

  “I used to think that people like you were heroes, that you were the best the world had to offer. I didn’t think that because you fought bugs or because you got the metal to build weapons. I thought that because you helped people. Because, when others needed you, you were there for them.” She swallowed hard, her chest heaving so hard and far I was sure she’d burst out of her suit. “I don’t want to die a virgin, Lieutenant Ryder. I don’t want to go to my grave not knowing what it feels like to be touched by a man, by a real man.” Her other hand, moved to my face, brushing the stubble that had grown on my cheek since we’d been here. “You’re a hero, the greatest hero Earth has ever seen maybe. You’re always helping people, so maybe you can help me? Will you save me from that?”

  I felt her shift next to me, felt her crawl on top of me as she leaned down until our lips were nearly touching. Her eyes met mine. The hunger was clear. The need was clear.

  Who the hell was I to say no?

  “Yes,” I answered in a quick breath. “Yes, ma’am, I will.”

  Then I pressed my lips to hers and pushed her against the floor.

  31

  An hour of pleasure passed, and then another hour of silence and a bit of sleep before we heard footsteps coming up the staircase toward us.

  We were dressed again, Jill and I, and were sitting with our backs against the wall as if nothing had ever happened between us when the energy bars came down.

  Unlike Claire, Jill was more than happy to look to me for advice and support after our little tryst. Her eyes shot to me as the footsteps grew louder. Her hand found my own, wrapping around my palm and squeezing before she let go.

  “Remember what I said,” she whispered. “No matter what happens, don’t lie to me about things. I can handle it.”

  “I know you can,” I said, looking forward.

  Two elite bugs approached. I realized they looked slightly different from the ones before as they appeared in front of us. They were larger and somewhat bulkier with even heavier armor. They motioned for us to stand before pointing to the staircase.

  I took a deep breath, gave Jill a pensive look, and stood. Jill followed suit but made sure to stay behind me as we walked toward the creatures.

  “We’ll come peacefully,” I said, as though they could understand me. “There’s no need to use force.” My eyes trailed down to the weapons on their belts and then back up again. “No need,” I repeated in an attempt to make sure they understood.

  Wordlessly, the elites pointed to the staircase again.

  I moved down it, looking back at Jill to make sure she was allowed to pass unharmed. Once I was sure she was following me, I set my sights on the staircase. It looked huge now, at least three times as long as it had when we walked up it.

  As I went down, I realized why. A marking I had seen when we approached was still there, but the floor was not. It had been removed somehow, making me think it was a false bottom, and that the staircase ran much further than we expected.

  I wondered if Mina and Claire had gone down this far, and if so, if they were okay. Had they met some horrible fate? Were we about to follow them?

  Those questions swirled in my head, along with more than a few tactical maneuvers I could use if things got hairy. As far as I knew, my suit was still less than optimal, but I was pretty sure I could access some of my more reliable weapons without a direct connection to the Alliance. Of course, doing so without the presence of Annabelle would be tricky. Still, I might be able to manage it, and if I couldn’t, well, I had a hell of a right cross.

  As I reached the bottom of the staircase, it dawned on me just how foolish an idea that was.

  At the end of the steps lay a huge room filled with more of those glowing gloves and ornate bobbles obviously created from the Ellebruim we had been brought down here to retrieve. A dozen elites lined each of the walls, with more in the center of the room. Near the far wall, in a huge chair made from more Ellebruim sat a very strange looking bug.

  The creature looked nothing like any of the others I had ever seen. With spread translucent wings, a human-like face, long black hair draped down across her back, and a shape that (God help me) struck me as tempting. Now, I wasn’t sure if this bug was a woman, but it damned sure seemed that way to me.

  Only, that didn’t make any sense. Acburians were sexless. They produced asexually. Everyone knew that. Bug fighting 101. But, if that was the case, what the hell was this thing, and what did she want from us?

  Other, normal-looking elites, hung around what I now saw was a throne. They prostrated themselves at her feet like it was some place of honor, as though they were paying homage. It was then that I realized I was looking at was some sort of royalty, like a queen bug.

  I felt Jill settle beside me and then felt the push of the elites who had come to retrieve us at my back. They nudged me forward, and as they did, I watched the bugs surrounding us stare at me like I was something out of a horror movie, like I was, well, an alien.

  The crowd of elites parted as Jill and I made our way toward the queen and her throne.

  As they did, I saw two figures on their knees in front of the elites sprawled at the foot of the gaudy chair. My heart raced and my body relaxed as I realized I was looking at was Mina and Claire. They were alive, at least for the moment.

  They looked back at me. I studied them, looking for signs that they were hurt or otherwise abused. I found none. In fact, other than a look of fear in Claire’s eyes and a subdued rage in Mina’s, the pair looked no worse for the wear.

  Hands fell across my shoulders as I settled in front of the throne. They pushed me down hard until I too was on my knees. Once they’d finished with me, they did the same for Jill. When all four of us bowed and subservient, the bug woman sat up, her eyes (like human eyes) drifted over each of us to the next before settling on me.

  “I have heard,” the bug woman said in perfect English directly into my head as though she was using Annabelle’s software or something, “that, for centuries, the rules in which we as Acburians live by was circumvented on your world. Is that true, soldier? Do you worship men as opposed to women? Do you fill your thrones and seats of power with the male gender?”

  “I worship no one,” I answered, strength roaring in my voice. The other three looked at me strangely, making me think they couldn’t hear what was going on in my head.

  “Do not concern yourself with the women of your tribe.” the queen gestured at them. “I’ll bring them into our little chat when the time is right. For now, I’d just like to see where the battle lines are drawn.”

  “I’d say they’re drawn right here,” I said, looking down at the space right in front of me. “Right at this very mark.”

  The woman flung her head back and started to laugh, a near-human laugh. “You’re quite the soldier, aren’t you? I was half expecting the lot of you to grovel at my feet and beg for your lives. I’m so glad you’re not the type. We have no patience for weakness here, Lieutenant Ryder, and regardless of what you might think, I don’t want to kill you today.”

  “How do you know my name?” My jaw tightened as I took a deep breath.

  “Your technology,” she explained, a lithe hand gesturing toward the suit I was wearing. “It’s primitive, but it holds all your personal information. I found mys
elf to be more than up to the task of breaking into it. More than your name, I know your blood type, birthday, and sexual preference.” She grinned at me. “Among other things.”

  “They record that?” I was a bit shocked but strangely not as surprised as I should have been.

  “No, but the look on your face is more than telling. I like to think it’s part of my charm, being able to mimic my prey. It makes destroying them so much easier.”

  I looked at her, nearly spitting in disgust. Did that mean her form was malleable? That she was able to change it depending on who she was up against? If so, was that why she looked like a cross between her species and a swimsuit model?

  “What do you want from us?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

  “For you to succeed, of course,” she said with a shrug. “You came here with a mission. You wish to pilfer precious metals from a cave on the other side of the expanse. My receivers picked up your transmissions before you even landed. Unfortunately, my rival did too. She knew of your people’s encroachment on her land from the first moment that ridiculous drone broke into our atmosphere, and she planned accordingly.”

  “Your rival?” I asked, obviously confused.

  “Do you think all Acburians get along?” The queen shook her head at me. “Do you think we know nothing of dueling ideologies and power struggles, of territory lines and tribal warfare?” She scoffed. “We are not so different, our peoples.”

  “Your people are monsters,” I answered before I could stop myself.

  “Monstrous acts are all a point of perspective. If you disagree, ask the Native Americans of your land who the real monsters are.” She smiled, clearly relishing my shock. “We do our own research, Lieutenant Ryder. We’re not all brainless insects.”

  She stood, and as she did, all the elites in the room hit their knees silently.

  “There’s a power struggle going on in my world, Lieutenant Ryder,” the queen explained. “A rival queen by the name of Teela is encroaching on my lands. She wishes to have what is mine, and I will not allow that. She saw you coming and drove you into my caves, hoping she could use you to eliminate me forever. Well, I have a plan of my own, a plan to bring about her end.”