“Natural selection,” Nick said. “It was bound to happen. The hatchlings reproduce at a ridiculous rate and seemed to be programmed to spread out fast. Most of them die because they can’t find food or they’re poisoned by the naturally occurring selich. It stands to reason, however, that a few of the Kroerak could find a way to survive and mature, maybe by staying put after they hatch.”
“That doesn’t explain why they attacked us,” Tabby said, sitting up.
“I don’t know. But what if just one in all of those generations had even the slightest resistance to selich?” Nick asked.
“I liked your first answer better,” I said.
“What? The idea that there are a few warriors walking around because they’re lazy and don’t leave home or because they’re immune and we’re all screwed?” Tabby asked.
“Either way, we need to see what’s going on,” I said.
“And collect those adolescent corpses,” Tabby added. “By my count, we dropped five adolescents and a dozen hatchlings. That’s thirty thousand credits lying on the ground.”
The lights of an approaching vehicle on the road from York momentarily interrupted our conversation.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Sheriff Rigdon,” Nick said. “I pinged her earlier.”
“Why?”
“If you stirred up a nest, it might affect York,” Marny answered.
“I hear you’ve had some excitement,” Sheriff Mez Rigdon called out as she approached the workshop’s open doors. Rigdon had a medium, earth-type build with dark brown hair and deeply tanned skin. She wore a new-looking brown uniform shirt that sported a shiny badge, dark blue pants, and heavy-soled tactical boots. At her waist, she carried a heavy blaster pistol which I was certain had come from our cache.
“Cap and Tabby ran into a nest of Kroerak over in Keundo Run,” Marny said. “I was just getting ready to review the combat data-stream.”
“The what?” Rigdon asked.
“Video,” Marny said. “Our suits record all pertinent sensor data. We call the exciting bits data-streams. We’ll run it from first contact.”
“What were you doing over there after dark? Locals know better than that. More than one has gone missing over the years,” she said.
A second set of lights on the road announced another visitor.
“Who now?” I asked, looking to Nick.
“Sendrei, Bish, and Hog, if I’m not mistaken,” he replied. “We promised we’d be more open with information. I figured this would be a good time to share.”
“Mind if I get some clothing on before we invite the entire town over?” Tabby asked. We’d pulled off her grav-suit and suit liner when we’d applied med-patches. As a result, she was sitting in her undies — a sight I never tired of.
Ada hurriedly helped Tabby pull the ruined suit liner back on and she hopped off the table, still favoring her injured right leg.
“How bad is it?” I asked, looping an arm around her shoulder.
“Frakking going to need rehabilitation,” Tabby said. “AI says the bots will take the better part of a week stitching everything back together and another week of heavy PT.”
“You took Goboble’s equipment?” Bish asked suspiciously as he joined what was becoming a sizeable group. All three of the armored vehicles we’d retained were either in the workshop or parked just outside.
“That an issue, Bish?” I asked. I was getting tired of his bitch-first attitude.
“It is if it causes escalation,” he answered.
“Seems like you would have heard already, but Goboble tried to take us out today,” I said. “Didn’t work so well for him and we did exactly what privateers do; we claimed the spoils of war.”
“You can’t just pick a fight with someone and take their stuff. That makes you no better than Goboble,” Bish said.
“Bish,” Hog warned, trying to calm his friend.
“That is a poor representation of the conflict,” Sendrei said, stepping between us. “Goboble arrived with a large crew and initiated the fight. I believe we were summoned here for another purpose. Perhaps we could see to that, first.”
“Thank you, Sendrei,” Sheriff Rigdon said. “Tabby and Liam were attacked by a large group of Kroerak in Kuende Run. Marny was preparing to show us video of the events.”
Bish started to complain, but stopped when Hog wrapped a large arm around his shoulders. “Appreciate being included,” Hog warned.
The replay wasn’t anywhere near as nice as I was used to. The AI pieced together data from my suit’s feed and tied it into Tabby’s. To call it video, was a simplification that Marny used for the group, since the AI showed the scene from a bird’s eye view up and behind the patrol vehicle. It wasn’t lost on me just how cool the vehicle looked while it aggressively dug into the road and threw clods of dirt and gravel into the air as I took the corners at speed.
“What is that?” Bish asked, stabbing a finger into the projection.
Marny’s AI, hearing his question, froze the scene and backed up to roughly the time when he’d started asking the question. Instinctively, Bish brushed his hand to the side — a gesture he’d just started to learn with the tech we’d been supplying to the town — and the scene reversed in time.
I had to give it to the crotchety old guy, he had a sharp eye for detail. He pushed his hands apart and we zoomed in on the opening in the ground that I knew would get even more exciting in the next minute or two.
“That’s trouble, Bish,” I said, hoping my acknowledgement might ease some of the tension between us.
He turned to look at me, eyes alight. He was in the moment and petty differences were set aside. “It’s active?”
“You recognize it?” I asked.
“Let it play out,” Tabby said. “The good stuff is yet to come.”
Bish nodded and turned back.
We picked back up with Tabby clipping a couple of hatchlings just before all hell broke loose and the mouth of what was obviously a tunnel erupted with hatchlings and adolescents. Tabby’s efficacy with the mounted turret was substantial. Her previous estimate of a dozen hatchlings wasn’t even close, as my AI tallied a body count well over forty.
“Did you catch that?” Nick asked, jumping up and grabbing onto a scene. We’d gotten to the point where Tabby and I had closed the vehicle and were battening down the hatches. I’d just opened the slit in the window and was peering out.
“Warriors,” I said. There were at least ten of them clearly racing toward the vehicle.
“No. That,” he said.
At the top of the screen a flash of color appeared and then disappeared. Nick worked to focus on the color, but it was at the edge of my suit sensor’s capability, especially through such a small opening.
“What is it?” Hog asked. Nick had frozen the scene and zoomed in as far as he could. Between two warriors we could see the reflection of metallic red and a small, underdeveloped claw.
“Frak, Cap,” Marny said.
“Someone want to share?” Bish asked impatiently.
I found the image of a Kroerak noble and threw it up on the wall. A bug, no bigger than an adolescent was shown with its bright red and green metallic carapace. When we’d invaded The Cradle, Mars Protectorate had taken three Kroerak nobles back to Earth. There had been speculation that this had always been the Kroerak’s plan and that the nobles had wanted to be captured so they could learn more of Earth's defenses. My own experience with the nobles was nothing less than creepy, as they had demonstrated the ability to communicate telepathically through solid walls.
“Think of them as generals, Bish,” I said. “As a rule, warriors have great tactical capacity. Point ‘em at a hill, tell them to capture or clear it and you should consider it done. Strategically, they can’t think their way out of a bag. That’s the noble’s job.”
“Tell ‘em about the mind-reading thing,” Tabby said.
“We don’t know how the nobles communicate with their troops. We tho
ught it was chemical. During the invasion, the nobles directed troops from orbit with no obvious comm gear. I had one talk to me from a locked room like it was standing next to me.”
“It was in your head?” Bish asked.
“Yes.”
“We have to inform the Abasi about this,” Hog said.
“I’ve already sent the data-streams to House Mshindi.” Nick was always steps ahead. “I haven’t heard back.”
“We need to close up that hole.” Bish was obviously worried.
“We need more information,” Marny said. “We can’t afford to blow that hole. We have no idea how deep it is or if there’s a noble.”
“You just can't leave well enough alone, can you!” Bish yelled. “If you go poking around in there, what’s to prevent them from running over York?”
“Sticking our heads in the sand won’t help either,” Marny said. “Those bugs pulled off when they had more than enough to overwhelm Tabby and Liam. That kind of restraint isn’t something warriors, much less hatchlings, are capable of. We need to know why. If there's a noble in Kuende Run, the situation is bigger than all of us can handle.”
“Our ancestors successfully withstood the Kroerak invasion many decades ago," Rigdon said. "We can do it again, if it comes to that. What's our next step?"
"Rigdon, you don't speak for York. Hog, can you believe this?" Bish asked.
Hog, normally quick with a smile and a response, contemplatively stroked his chin as if he had a beard. "Seems like we should hear them out."
“We'll roll hard two hours pre-dawn," Marny said. "You should lock down York tonight. Kroerak aren't averse to night attacks, but they prefer daylight — as we do. If there is threat to York it'll happen immediately. We'll include Sheriff Rigdon on our tactical channel. That way we can adjust resources if necessary."
"I assume my invitation extends to your action in the morning," Sendrei said.
"Lieutenant, aside from Flaer, you have more knowledge of Kroerak than anyone alive. I'd be honored if you'd run tactical from the Stryker," Marny said.
"Can do, Sergeant." Sendrei said.
“You’re not leaving me behind.” Tabby rolled over, waking me up. I checked the time, it was 0329 and my alarm had only a minute before it would start chiming.
“You think you can run a Popeye?”
“No, but Sendrei needs a driver and a gunner if he’s running tactical.”
I squelched my alarm just as it rang. “You’re not very mobile if things get crazy.”
“I’ll be fine. My leg is feeling better. Besides, I’ll have my grav-suit on and best I remember, I didn’t see any flying bugs.”
“If you think you’re up for it,” I said, pulling on a fresh suit liner. Tabby stepped gingerly from our bed and hobbled to where her grav-suit lay over a chair. I watched for a moment as she struggled, realizing she was having trouble pulling it on over her still-swollen calf.
“Don’t say a word,” she said, grimacing as she pushed her leg into the freshly repaired suit.
“Everyone would understand if you sat this one out,” I said. “You’re injured.”
“Suck it.”
I chuckled at her expected response and ran water in the sink to tame my morning hair. I knew better than to push the conversation further. After getting dressed, Tabby and I joined Marny and Nick in the main room. Sendrei and Ada were already there, but the presence of Jonathan and Bish caught me off guard.
“Morning, folks,” I said, accepting a plate of eggs and sausage from Marny. I’d have been okay with a meal bar, but wasn’t about to turn down a fresh breakfast.
“Cap, Jonathan and Bish are looking for a ride-along,” Marny said, broaching the elephant in the room.
“Bish, I guess I’m surprised to see you this morning.”
“I know you all think I’m an angry lunatic,” he said. “At least, I would in your shoes. Fact is, I understand the value of what you’re trying to accomplish here, not just with Kuende Run, but James’ factory, standing up to Goboble, and all that. I just think you’d do better if you had a little oversight, someone who thinks about the big picture, especially where it relates to York.”
“If you come, you’ll respect chain of command,” I said. “There is no place for argument once we’re in the field.”
“I can live with that,” he said.
“You’ll need to wear armor and carry a rifle.”
“Not really my style and I’m not expecting to get out of the armored vehicle.”
“Wasn’t a request,” I said. “And it’s not what we expect that worries me. It’s when the metaphorical bilge pump breaks that causes me the most concern.”
He nodded curtly, which I took as assent.
“I worked on the Stryker’s rear hatch last night,” Nick said. “I have more cosmetic work to do, but it’s solid.”
“Sounds like we’re ready, then. We’ll put Sendrei, Tabby, Jonathan, and Bish in the Stryker. Ada, you and Nick are on over-watch in Tuuq. Marny and I will take point with the Popeyes. Sendrei will have tactical once we’re on-site. Our primary mission is recon. Something’s up in Kuende Run and we need to know how big of a problem we have. Secondary mission is bug hunting. If it looks like too much, we fall back to here. I don’t want us dragging our problems to York.”
“Intrepid has four operational turrets and can suppress a full three hundred and sixty degrees. If we’re pushed back here, she becomes our base," Nick added.
“How have you restored operation?” Ada asked. “Liam burned out all control circuits.”
“It’s not pretty,” Nick said. “I’ve run cabling along the corridors.”
“If there’s nothing else, let’s get loaded,” Marny said.
I helped Tabby out to the Stryker. The interior of the vehicle was clean and straightforward. Against each side were four flip-down seats facing inward. Above these seats were open shelves for gear and rugged vid screens that resembled windows were embedded in the walls. Just below the vid-screens were open shelves for gear. Forward of the seating, against the back of the cockpit, was a built-in shelf that served as a desk; it supported communications equipment and two more vid screens. The seat opposite the desk moved on a track to allow passage into the vehicle’s cockpit where there were two seats: one for the driver, the other for a gunner/navigator.
“Looks cozy,” I said, helping Tabby into the driver’s seat.
“Don’t do anything stupid today,” she said. “I’m not going to be there to cover your ass.”
“Wouldn’t think of it.”
With Tabby aboard the Stryker, I joined Marny in the workshop where she’d already loaded into her Popeye.
“Any word from York this morning?” I asked, as I fired up my suit’s systems.
“Rigdon says it’s all quiet.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way.” I punched my arms forward, one after the other, testing the Popeye’s function. A quick check showed I had a full load of ammo and fuel. Marny had topped us off. The rest of my systems were running green.
“Sendrei, Cap and I will take lead. I’d like to have you stay back half a click once we’re within two clicks of Kuende. If things get dirty, we’ll want room to maneuver without worrying about friendly fire. Ada, I’d like you to fly over for a low scan once we’re at that two-click mark.”
“Copy that, Sergeant,” Sendrei replied.
“Read you, Marny,” Ada agreed.
A yellow indicator showed in my HUD requesting a ‘ready check.’ I blinked at the request, which my AI translated correctly to assent. Quickly, the remaining team members, including Bish, updated their statuses.
“We’re go,” Marny said and loped off down the slight hill in front of Nick’s shop and onto the broken road.
As we passed, Tuuq lifted slowly from its position next to Intrepid. The small ship had become valuable to us as we’d lost Fleet Afoot, but I had no love for its anemic engines and cramped spaces. Sadly, Intrepid served as more of a reminder of jus
t how much we’d lost recently. Even that thought, however, didn’t tamp down the adrenaline rush that accompanied the start of a mission. I was headed back into battle and couldn’t deny my excitement.
After only a few minutes we’d run past the last of York’s homesteads and were fully in the wilds of Zuri. The road we followed hadn’t been maintained since the war and I needed the AI to fill in details so I could figure out where we were going.
“Two clicks out,” Marny finally called. It was Ada’s cue to fly over and get a snapshot of activity.
“I’ve got you, Marny,” Ada said.
A moment later the sensor data filtered back to my HUD. The Kroerak corpses were right where we’d left them. A single hatchling skittered across the open area next to the mouth of the cave. It stopped, hearing Tuuq, and then ran off, disappearing in the heavy undergrowth.
“We’re headed in,” Marny said.
Chapter 9
Better Left Buried
Nervously, I checked my ammo display as Marny and I bounded toward the five-meter wide, mounded entrance. Tension mounted as we passed the Kroerak husks we’d dropped the night before. I didn’t think there was a practical limit to the number of hatchlings or even adolescents a Popeye could handle. Warriors, however, were another thing. Unlike Bish, I wasn’t willing to ignore the presence of the bugs. Pretending they weren’t a threat would only make the problem worse.
With Ada flying a lazy arc overhead and keeping our sensor data fresh, I scanned the HUD’s virtual screen, analyzing the entrance. There wasn’t much information, the hole dropped twenty meters at a steep angle. At the bottom, two tunnels split off at ninety degrees from each other. Most importantly, the tunnel was large enough to fit our mechanized infantry suits.
“Entrance is clear. We’re proceeding to the mouth,” Marny said. “Sendrei, surface tactical is yours. We’ll drop comm repeaters enroute.”
The last comment revealed Marny’s concern. Those of us familiar with Popeyes knew they were programmed to eject flea-sized, signal repeating devices whenever the signal dropped below a designed level. She repeated the information to make it clear that if we lost communications, it wouldn’t be a mechanical issue.
Corsair Menace (Privateer Tales Book 12) Page 11