The Key

by Brian Fisher

  Chapter 31

  Narja checked his scanners, and then alighted on the roof. In peaceful times, the view would have been beautiful, a serene canvas given life with the vibrant colors of the city. However, now was not that time. The remnants of his battalion landed and quickly secured the roof. He quietly knelt down, picked up a couple of pieces of rubble and placed them in his MRU.

  "Captain, front and center." the Major ordered.

  "Sir, the Captain is dead. No Lieutenants either sir. I'm the Second Platoon's Platoon Sergeant Sir. Ranking NCO." a large Malgar approached and saluted.

  "Very well Sergeant. You know the drill." Narja surveyed the marines. They were battered and tired, but they would hold on. They had to; there simply was no other choice.

  "Yes Sir." was all that the Malgar said.

  "Marines, listen up while you replenish your supplies." Major Narja commanded. "Our mission is to secure the planetary defense network. Failure is not an option. Redemption is outnumbered and out gunned. We can level the playing field." Narja paced the rooftop, looking each marine in the eye.

  "Olcai may be a peaceful planet, but the Olcai did install a powerful defensive grid in orbit around the planet. After activation, the grid can lock on to any point in this system with fourteen synchronized particle beams." he took a position near the middle of his troops. "Our friends need us. That building is our destination." Narja pointed at a tall, beautifully constructed building with a shimmering forcefield around it.

  "Let's move out." Narja ignited his thrusters. He didn't need to check if his men were with him. They were there, flying in a tight formation and ready to do whatever the mission required. The roof fell behind rapidly as the Marines clawed for sky.

  Chaos ruled the city streets below. Buildings and bodies alike burned, filling the air with a foul, black smoke that threatened to choke away the light. Nothing was safe from the onslaught. Men, women, and children of every race, creed, and age struggled desperately to save themselves and their loved ones, and failed.

  The Marines cleared the roof of a tall building, fully revealing Central Hall. A horde of Ta'Reeth soldiers, nearly twice the number of the Marines, began to hammer against the forcefield. Plasma ripped into the energy barrier from every direction. Helpless people on the inside ran here and there as Ta'Reeth soldiers poured out of the dying building, and proceeded to rip them limb from limb.

  Major Narja aimed his grenade launcher at the enemy and fired. His opening salvo was immediately followed by a salvo from the platoon. White-hot shrapnel ripped into the Ta'Reeth, wounding most, and killing a few. The Ta'Reeth responded instinctively with a storm of superheated plasma shredding the heart of the platoon of Marines. The Marines landed quickly, assisting those that they could, and letting go those that were beyond their reach.

  "Delta formation, second rank armed with grenade launchers. First rank, ready your assault rifles." Major Narja commanded, taking a frontal position and readying his own weapons. "Fire at will." He ordered, as he opened fire.

  "Aim for the head, we don't want to kill everything twice." Narja told his troops, squeezing off a three round burst into the face of an enemy soldier. "Stay together and move as a unit."

  The second rank loosed a volley of grenades into the heart of the enemy. Multiple explosions ripped into the enemy rear, tearing the Ta'Reeth apart, and sending others smashing to the ground. They retaliated with a devastating salvo of their own.

  A dozen marines went down. Each one effecting emergency repairs to his or her armor, hurrying to get back in the fight with their comrades. The holes left by the fallen were instantly filled, leaving no weaknesses in the line. The Marines worked as a well-maintained unit, efficiently killing everything in its path. Marines fell, wounded or dead, but the platoon pressed on, the mission being more important than any one person. Major Narja led his soldiers, fighting and killing better than the others, his skill and discipline unmatched.

  Enemy resistance was strong, decimating the platoon before all of the Ta'Reeth at the forcefield were dead.

  "Platoon Sergeant, form a perimeter, using the barrier as a backstop. Place the strongest on the perimeter. Bring the wounded inside, and effect resupply and repair. Inform me when you are done." the Major ordered before he tended to his own needs.

  "Yes Sir." the large Malgar platoon sergeant replied, saluted and went about his orders. His solid black armor faded into the enveloping darkness as he went to direct his marines.

  Narja filled his reclamation unit, instructing it to resupply his ammunition and fuel. He ran a thorough systems check before he started assisting the wounded. Several of the wounded suffered from various degrees of burns, both plasma and electrical. A few of the fallen Marines would not survive without emergency surgery, but most would live. Simple spray bandages and pain killers were used on most of the wounds, although some did require blood agents to stop the bleeding. Broken bones were splinted using the Marine’s armor.

  "Sir, the perimeter has been secured. All wounded have been brought to the interior, and are being cared for. Resupply and repair is currently under way." the massive Platoon Sergeant saluted as he delivered his report. "Major, do you have any further orders?"

  "At ease Sergeant." Major Narja returned the salute. The Sergeant relaxed, feet slightly more than shoulder width apart, and hands clasped behind his back.

  "We need to get through that forcefield, and we need to do it immediately. Do you have any ideas?" Narja stared at the enemy on the other side of the barrier. They were close enough to see, but not to kill.

  "Sir, it may be possible to use electronic force feedback to disrupt the forcefield emitters. That may buy us enough time to get the men through." the Platoon Sergeant followed his Commander's gaze. "Then we can kill them."

  "Make it happen Sergeant. Dismissed." he returned the NCO's salute and went back to caring for the wounded.

  Bodies of all known races lay in pieces, giving warning to anyone unfortunate enough to gaze upon Central Hall. Narja watched helplessly as an Olcai, dressed in a tattered gray uniform, died slowly and painfully. The Ta'Reeth seemed to enjoy peeling the skin slowly from the helpless Olcai.

  Anger filled his mind. Revenge forced his heart to beat louder and harder. Hatred fueled the drive for revenge, a retribution that was due to come, and he would deliver like an angel of death. The Ta'Reeth must be held accountable for the atrocities that they had wrought upon the galaxy. Judge, jury and executioner now became one man.

  "Major, we're ready." the Platoon Sergeant broke into his thoughts. The man’s steel gray skin shone through his tinted faceplate. "We used the MRU's to replicate a half dozen forcefield generators. They're linked together sequentially to give a greater output, so if one fails Sir, we're in trouble."

  "Understood." Narja watched the Ta'Reeth on the other side of the forcefield as they prepared a defensive perimeter. Reinforced concrete had been piled in a row, nearly as high as a man was tall, and stretching the length of Central Hall. The enemy occupied several floors of the giant building, giving them multiple elevated positions, in any of which, they could place a sniper or heavy automatic weapons. He grimaced at the thought of sending the remnants of this platoon into the maw of an entrenched company. Every fiber of his being told him not to go.

  "Sergeant, form the platoon." the Major ordered.

  "Yes Sir." he spun on his heels. "Platoon, fall in!" a moment later the platoon of tired, battle weary Marines stood rank and file with only an invisible barrier between them, and the hated Ta'Reeth.

  "Sir, the platoon is formed." he did a crisp about face and waited for his Command Officer. Narja walked up to the Platoon Sergeant, saluted, and assumed command of the formation.

  "At ease." he commanded, allowing them to relax a bit. "I'm not going to lie to you. Many of us are about to die." he paused. "You can see the enemy, and you can see their defenses. But what you cannot see is right here in your hearts."

  "You are Marines. I have trained you to
be the best, and you are. No one can take that away." the Major turned and looked at the enemy. "Let's make the Ta'Reeth pay for the pain they've caused."

  Narja turned and faced his marines. "Lock and load."

  The platoon locked and loaded their weapons, making ready yet again, for combat.

  "We now move into the maw, and spit in death's face!" Major Narja raised his assault rifle. "Move out!"

  Men and women marched side by side toward the waiting enemy. Electricity filled the air as the forcefield flickered then died. White-hot plasma rained down on the platoon and splashed over their personal shields.

  "Break into fire teams. First squad, Alpha team with me." Narja ordered. The platoon instantly broke into two fire teams per squad. Narja’s team broke to the right and went airborne. Each member of the five-man team linked their computers to the Major's, giving him weapons control.

  Alpha Team opened fire with four assault rifles and two grenade launchers, raining bullets and high explosives down on the heads of the Ta'Reeth. Hypersonic projectiles ripped into the bone armor of the enemy while the grenades shattered barriers and removed limbs.

  The Ta'Reeth responded, sending hundreds of balls of plasma into the air. Two marines from Alpha Team crashed to the ground, taking away two assault rifles.

  Alpha Team landed near the large double doors that opened into Central Hall. The team formed a perimeter around the doors. The heavy, carved wood was singed from the heat of Ta'Reeth plasma. Narja quickly checked the doors, and found them locked.

  Narja removed a mine from his dispenser and placed it in the center of the doors. He set the timer then stepped away. A moment later the charge went off, sending the massive doors hurtling through the inside corridor, and Alpha Team was inside Central Hall.

  Smoke filled the air. The vague shapes of Ta'Reeth soldiers flitted through the smoke. Several of the hulking beings moved forward, faster than one would think possible for a creature of their mass.

  A smaller shadow flashed through the smoke, ethereal, moving from shadow to shadow. A light breeze drifted through the doorway, clearing the smoke. When the smoke cleared, a woman stood alone amidst the bodies of four Ta'Reeth soldiers. Her long dark hair hung loosely about her shoulders. The ripped and blood stained jump suit had lost most of its color to grime and blood. Ridged and slightly pointed ears peeked out from under her hair.

  "Major, we need to move." the woman rasped.

  "Identify yourself." Major Narja leveled his rifle at her.

  "Commander T'Sula Mir, United Resistance Special Operations Command." she walked towards an open staircase. "We need to go. Now."

  "Follow me." Major Narja pushed past her into the staircase. T'Sula found herself in the middle of the fire team as they raced through the building. Resistance was surprisingly light as they raced from floor to floor.

  Narja reached the top floor and kicked in the door. He was greeted by a volley of Ta'Reeth plasma ripping into his shields.

  Two of the Marines rushed forward and pulled their commander to safety.

  "Well Major, that wasn't the brightest thing you've done." T'Sula checked Narja over. "Caldonians are generally smarter than that."

  "Commander, if we don't get into the room at the end of this hallway, and activate the planetary defense grid, we're all going to die anyway." Narja looked her in the eyes.

  "Major, we have hostiles approaching from the rear." One of the Marines broke in.

  "Great." Narja muttered under his breath. He checked his shields and his weapons. "Marines, we're going to take this hall. Move out."

  The fire team grenadiers launched fragmentation grenades into the hallway. As soon as they exploded, the Marines stepped into the hall, firing at anything that moved. Hypersonic projectiles tore into bone and flesh, ripping apart living tissue. Ta'Reeth soldiers came into the hall from behind closed doors. White-hot projectiles slammed into the electromagnetic shields that protected the Marine’s armor. Shields crackled and died. Armor blistered, cooking the Marines inside. Several Marines fell to the floor, dead before they stopped moving.

  T'Sula dashed into the hallway and grabbed a fallen Marine’s rifle. She hefted it to her shoulder, aimed at the nearest enemy and fired. She continued to fire until no Ta'Reeth were left standing. The Major and two Marines stood next to T'Sula.

  "You two, guard the rear." Narja pointed to his men. "Commander, I could use your help getting this door open."

  "Absolutely." T'Sula checked her weapon. "I could use some more rounds." she patted her weapon for emphasis.

  T'Sula touched the door. A faint tingling sensation ran down her arm. "It's protected by a forcefield." She found a touchpad hidden on the right side of the door. The cover came off quickly, exposing the wires and components beneath.

  "I thought it might be." Narja snarled. "Can you make it work?"

  "I'm not sure." T'Sula jumped back as a large spark erupted out of where she was working. She fanned the smoke away only to see a melted mess. "The pad was rigged. I can't do anything here." she pounded a fist into the wall.

  "Hold on for a second." T'Sula touched the wall. "Give me a mine." she held out a hand.

  "What?" Narja asked.

  "Give me a mine!" T'Sula shook her hand for emphasis. Narja handed her a mine. She took the mine and placed it on the wall, next to the open touchpad. Ducking out of the way, T'Sula covered her ears. The mine exploded, sending a shower if dust and sparks into the air. She uncovered her ears and peered at the hole in the wall. It was large enough for an armored Marine to walk through, but just barely. She hauled herself to her feet and stepped aside as Narja went through the hole. T'Sula went through next, followed quickly by the other two Marines.

  A bank of computers sat in the center of the room with a clear screen that ran from the top of the computers to the ceiling. No windows adorned the walls, leaving artificial lights to provide the meager, faltering illumination.

  The three Marines established a perimeter, piling metal cabinets and furniture in front of the hole in the wall, while T'Sula searched the computers for the activation switch. She found it quickly, on the far side near the floor. T'Sula turned the computers on and stood up.

  "Commander, keep your head down please." Major Narja fired into the hallway. Plasma burned into the makeshift barrier, while the staccato bursts from the assault rifles ripped into the bone armor of the Ta'Reeth soldiers coming down the hall.

  T'Sula ducked behind the bank of computers. She found a gray control pad that fit easily in her palm. She activated the touch screen and watched the battle unfolding in space. Bold red letters flashed across the screen reading: 'IDENTIFY FRIEND OR FOE.'

  "Major, I need the transponder code for your ship!" T'Sula yelled over the fire fight.

  "Understood." Narja called back.

  T'Sula darted out from behind the computers. Keeping low, she ran to Narja. She looked over his armor, found the auxiliary data port, and plugged the touchpad into it. The screen blanked momentarily then came back on.

  'TARGET IDENTIFIED' flashed across the screen. 'ENABLE?'

  T'Sula enabled the orbiting weapons platforms and ordered them to fire a moment before the two Marines collapsed to the floor, their bodies smoking. She picked up one of the assault rifles and assumed a firing position next to the major before unleashing a barrage of death upon her enemies.