by Ken Lozito
“Communications offline. That thing must have torn off the array,” Diaz said.
Connor swore. With their communications offline, they didn’t have access to the drone feeds. “I’m calling it. This exercise is canceled.”
“Are you sure? We can head back to camp and get the drone feeds there,” Diaz said.
Connor shook his head. “It’ll take too much time. If we go back there only to find out there are more ryklar hunting both teams, we might lose them. They’re armed, so they should be able to hold out, but they don’t know that those things can camouflage themselves from detection.”
Connor brought up the map, and the last known locations of each team appeared. Their ship was right in the middle between the two. He couldn’t recall which two drones were offline. Could the ryklars have taken them out?
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do. You’re going to drop me off at this point here, north of Team Alpha’s position. I’ll cut across and flank them. I want you to take the Hellcat and extract Team Bravo. They’re on a more open plain, so even if the ryklars decided to ambush Randle and the others, they should see them coming,” Connor said.
“I don’t like just leaving you in the middle of nowhere. You’re breaking your own rule about solo missions,” Diaz said.
“I know. We need to adapt, and I can move faster alone than we can together,” Connor said.
Connor left the cockpit and slipped into his Nexar combat suit armor. The combat suit was designed to be donned quickly, and he used his implants to send the command for the power armor to open. Connor stepped inside and the armored sections closed in rapid succession. The suit was military grade and part of their arsenal of equipment, most of which remained on the Ark. Connor pulled the helmet on, and the power armor computer systems came online. His implants immediately connected to the internal systems. Connor grabbed his AR-71 assault rifle with grenade launcher and loaded the high-density nano-robotic ammunition. His helmet’s internal heads-up display showed the ammunition count in the upper right corner.
Connor walked to the back of the ship and opened a comms channel to the cockpit.
“Maintain speed and heading,” Connor said.
“I can slow down and give you a softer landing.”
“No. Do not slow down. The suit jets are enough for me to make a hard landing and move on. Speed is our most important asset. Since comms is down, we have no way to warn them. Retrieve Team Bravo and then come pick us up. You’re cleared to use the Hellcat’s weapons at your discretion,” Connor said.
Connor was still patched into the Hellcat’s flight systems and saw that they were rapidly approaching the drop zone. He grabbed onto the handle and engaged his mag boots so he wouldn’t be sucked out of the ship when he hit the button to open the rear doors. The treetop canopy zipped past below him in one green blur. After the initial blast of air that threatened to pull him off the ship, Connor disengaged the mag boots and released his hold on the handle. With two hands on the AR-71, he made a running leap from the ship.
The combat suit’s systems sensed the drop in altitude and deployed flaps to help slow his descent, and Connor pulsed the suit’s jets to further slow himself down. He clutched his legs together, his armored body becoming a missile, and sank below the treetop canopy. He used his suit jets to maneuver past thick tree branches as best he could, but it wasn’t enough to avoid them all. He bounced between two thick trees and gritted his teeth as he crashed to the ground. The combat suit kept his body protected, but the bone-jarring landing left his brain addled for a few moments.
Connor regained his feet and swung around to face in the direction of Team Alpha’s last known position. He set the combat suit’s systems to scan everywhere he looked. The software would run real-time analyses of the different spectrums, noting any anomalies and immediately alerting Connor. He was ten kilometers from where Team Alpha had last been, and he darted off in a southerly direction.
As he ran through the forest, he tried to keep watch for any ryklars in the area. Their sudden appearance now—and even at the camp two days ago—made him wonder just how intelligent these creatures actually were. The compound didn’t have a population count because the ryklars were so hard to find. After his first encounter with the creatures, Connor had searched the Ark database on the known predators and their hunting habits. Most hunted for food, but the ryklars’ behavior toward the Hellcat denoted a higher intelligence akin to that of humans.
He set the ammo configuration of the AR-71 for incendiary rounds. He’d have fewer shots than a standard round, but he aimed to intimidate the ryklars by the sheer force of the weapon’s capability and hoped the creatures would react like any other animal and run from a stronger foe.
The recruits had their weapons, but they didn’t have the military-grade combat suit Connor wore. They hadn’t been trained in its use and didn’t have the upgraded implants to interface with the advanced computer systems of the suit. The combat suit also assisted Connor with moving much faster than he would be able to without it, but the recruits wore the standard body armor issued by Field Operations and Security.
Connor slowed his pace when he crossed the two-kilometer threshold from Team Alpha’s last known position, then stopped and listened. He used the limited communications systems of the suit to try to connect with any drones nearby, but he couldn’t find any. Connor started moving again at a slower pace and a few minutes later heard the sharp sound of an M-Viper sniper rifle being fired. He quickened his pace toward the sound and found a large tree he could climb. He slung his rifle on his back and quickly gained a panoramic view.
The forest floor sloped downward toward a nearby stream. Connor peered across to the other side of the small valley, and the way was clear, so he dropped down from the tree and raced across the depression. The sounds of a semiautomatic AR-71 set for three-round bursts echoed above him. Connor crossed the shallow stream and ran up to the top of the hill, where he came to a halt and squatted down to stay under cover. A short distance to his left he caught his first sight of Team Alpha being set upon by twelve ryklars. His combat suit’s targeting computer showed six more trying to circle around and flank the recruits. The ryklars used the trees for cover but steadily moved forward. The bodies of several creatures lay unmoving nearby. Connor saw Winters bring her M-Viper up and take a shot. The ryklars dove for cover.
Connor opened a comlink to Winters. “I’m northwest of your position. There are six bogies trying to circle around you to your left.”
Connor saw her turn to the left and signal Compton to lay down suppressing fire.
“I can hardly see them, sir,” Winters said.
“They’ve taken cover,” Connor replied.
“Sir, they came out of nowhere. Our drone didn’t pick them up and our equipment doesn’t register them. We tried to reach COMCENT, but we’ve been cut off.”
“Understood. You’re doing fine. Keep them pinned down. I want you to start falling back to a more defensible position,” Connor said.
He saw Winters glance over toward him, and Connor flashed his IR tag.
“There’s a rock wall about half a klick from your position. You should be able to climb it and hold that position,” Connor said.
“Sir, these things are smart and they’re hard to kill. They’ll figure out what we’re doing,” Winters said.
“They don’t know I’m here. They’ll follow you, which is what I want, and when they bunch together, I have something special in mind for them,” Connor said.
He heard Winters relay his orders.
“Sir, we’re ready, but once you reveal yourself they’ll pounce on you. If you coordinate with me, I can have the team provide covering fire for you,” Winters said.
Connor smiled. “Good job, Winters. This is why I put you in charge of the team.”
Connor watched as Team Alpha began an orderly withdrawal from the ryklars. Winters and two others retreated, then provided covering fire for the others’ retreat. The r
yklars pressed forward. Several climbed the trees and jumped to the next tree, using their claws to propel them along at incredible speeds. Connor saw a ryklar get hit, but it hardly slowed down. He couldn’t tell whether the shot had penetrated the skin.
Connor stayed parallel with his recruits, anticipating that the ryklars’ hunting instincts would drive them to push forward. Connor clutched the AR-71 and readied the grenade launcher. He glanced at Team Alpha’s progress and saw that they were nearing the rock wall.
The pack of ryklars roared as they pushed forward. A small group broke away and tried to circle around the retreating recruits. Connor fired two grenades at the main pack and then another at the smaller group. The grenades landed right in the middle of the creatures and detonated. A small explosion killed the ryklars closest to the grenades and wounded several others. The remaining creatures scrambled back and Connor opened fire. Incendiary rounds streaked into the ryklars, penetrating their toughened skin. The remaining creatures dove for cover, using the base of trees. The recruits also fired their weapons, pinning the ryklars down.
“Good, now run away,” Connor muttered.
He moved closer to the recruits and came to the rock wall. The ryklars hadn’t come out of cover, and the recruits began scaling the wall, each taking a turn to watch for an attack.
Connor heard rapid foot stomps behind him a split second before he was slammed into the wall. He struggled to regain his feet and then dove to the side. A ryklar slammed into the wall and spun around to face him. The creature’s heavy breathing was a mix of grating growls. It held all four of its arms wide, and the clawed, elongated fingers were curled menacingly. The creature charged and Connor swung the butt of his rifle up, catching it in the face. The ryklar shook its head. Connor fired his rifle and the incendiary rounds burned a hole right through the creature’s chest.
Another ryklar started to charge, but a loud shot from the M-Viper sniper rifle snapped the creature’s powerful head back. Connor engaged the combat suit’s jets and jumped ten feet into the air. His armored hands gripped the rock wall and he began to climb. The recruits were near the top, and Winters was providing covering fire. Connor quickly caught up to the recruits and crested the ridge. He spun around and fired his weapon at any ryklar that dared approach the wall. The rest of the recruits reached the top.
“Extraction point is this way,” Connor said.
The weeks of conditioning kicked in as the recruits followed his orders and moved away from the edge. Compton stayed by his side.
“It’s good to see you, sir,” the big man said, keeping his weapon aimed at the cliff’s edge.
The area near the cliff was open. Connor activated his IR tag, and the recruits did the same. A few ryklars attempted to come over the cliff, and they fired their weapons at them, convincing them of the futility of that approach.
The Hellcat streaked across the sky and quickly came to their position. Diaz swung the nose of the ship around so the rear doors were closer to them and the doors opened. Team Bravo helped them climb aboard, Connor getting in last. He turned around and faced the edge of the cliff where a lone ryklar stood with its arms hanging loosely. The creature cocked its head to the side.
Compton aimed his weapon.
“Lower that weapon,” Connor said.
“But, sir, it’s right there,” Compton said and lowered his weapon.
More ryklars climbed over the edge, but they didn’t charge. Several of them cocked their heads to the side and turned away from the Hellcat. The creatures then began running toward the west with hardly a backwards glance.
Connor frowned and brought up the sonic detector interface for his combat suit. He scanned the higher frequencies.
“I don’t understand those creatures,” Compton said.
“Sir, any idea why they attacked us?” Winters asked.
“I’m not sure, but check this out,” Connor said. He sent the data feed to the nearby wallscreen in the Hellcat.
Diaz set the Hellcat to auto-hover and joined them.
“What are we looking at?” Diaz asked.
“I don’t know. It’s some kind of high-frequency signal,” Connor said.
“Sir, this is beyond human hearing, but perhaps those creatures can hear it,” Deacon said.
“That’s crazy,” Compton said.
“Not necessarily,” Blake said. “Their skull is pretty big, particularly near their ears. I bet they can detect this frequency. Think of it as a dog whistle.”
“Who’s blowing the whistle?” Connor asked.
The more they learned about the ryklars, the stranger those creatures became.
“Were you guys attacked too?” Compton asked.
“They tried to ambush us,” Randle said. “We were fighting them off when Sergeant Diaz came and picked us up.”
Connor did a quick headcount and all recruits were accounted for. “Sergeant, get us back to camp.”
Diaz headed for the cockpit. The rest of the recruits sat down, but they were all looking at Connor, waiting for some kind of explanation.
“They attacked the Hellcat, too, and disabled our communications. That, and two of the surveillance drones are offline. My guess is that the ryklars somehow coordinated this attack,” Connor said.
The recruits took a moment to absorb this information. No one wanted to talk about it anymore, but the questions kept coming to Connor. He’d never heard of any creature besides humans launching such a wide-scale attack.
“We’ll debrief when we get back to camp,” Connor said.
The recruits settled back into their seats.
“You guys did well today,” Connor said.
“But we didn’t make the extraction point,” Deacon said.
“The exercise was a test of your search and rescue capabilities, as well as your abilities to adapt to new situations. For the record, you all passed this exercise,” Connor said.
The recruits let out a hearty cheer except for Randle and other members of Team Bravo.
“Sir, we didn’t successfully rescue our targets. Two people were dead,” Randle said.
“I’m aware of that, but you did manage to save two of them. Things are going to happen. Things like that storm—that’s going to impact any operation. There are times to take risks and there are times to hunker down. It’s the mark of a good leader to know when to do which,” Connor said.
“Yes, sir,” Randle said. He leaned back, rested his head against the seat cushion, and closed his eyes.
Chapter Twenty-One
They returned to camp and Connor had the recruits get checked out by Deacon and Allison. The two medics made quick work of assessing any injuries. Blake approached Connor with all the authority of the ranking medical officer and told him in no uncertain terms that he couldn’t simply order her away by insisting he was fine. But except for a few bumps and bruises, Connor was fine. The combat suit armor had held up well against the ryklar attacks.
Connor stood outside the Hellcat. The recruits were getting cleaned up and hitting the showers. He had Sean Quinn manning the monitoring station.
“Commander, you should see this,” Diaz called down from the roof of the Hellcat.
Connor stepped back inside the ship and climbed the ladder to the roof. Diaz and Compton stood over a jagged hole where the ship’s communications array had been housed.
“Those things are freaking strong. It’s as if the bunch of us bashed the crap out of this thing with pry bars, except the ryklars did it with their bare hands,” Diaz said.
Connor squatted down and took a closer look. “We just need to patch it up until we get back to the compound for repairs.”
“You think we’ll be recalled?” Diaz asked.
Connor glanced at Compton. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up.”
Compton left them.
“How long do you think it will be before you’ll have this ready?” Connor asked.
“It’s just a patch job, so not long at all,” Diaz said.
Sean Quinn shouted for Connor from the command tent.
“I think that answers your question. I need to go report this. I’ll send Owens up here to help you,” Connor said.
He entered the command tent and saw Franklin Mallory’s face on the main holoscreen.
“Hello, Franklin, we’ve got some new intel on the ryklars,” Connor said and proceeded to bring Mallory up to speed.
Franklin took a sip from his black coffee mug. “Sounds like you trained them well.”
“Considering what they were up against, they’ve more than satisfied the requirements to graduate to the next level of training. I’d say they’ve been field-tested and are ready to be put to use,” Connor said.
“Good, then it’s not a surprise that you’re being recalled to the compound. In preparation for this, we’ve designated part of Field Ops Headquarters for your use, as well as a permanent parking space on the airfield. You’ll even have designated barracks while on duty,” Franklin said, his eyes gleaming.
“A permanent parking spot. I bet Mills loved that. We’ll start breaking down the camp then,” Connor said.
“Just make sure the equipment is secure and stowed for now. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the next class of recruits will start the training. We’ll see you tomorrow,” Franklin said.
The comlink closed.
News of their imminent departure soon spread among the recruits, which added a spring to their steps. The recruits spent the remainder of the day packing up all the equipment that needed to be secured. Connor had to write up a report of the events that had transpired during the exercise. He recalled many of his fellow officers complaining about the endless reports they had to file, but Connor had never minded all that much. He looked forward to the quiet time to reflect on the performance of his team—the objectives they’d achieved, or failed to achieve. It was how they improved.
The next morning, the first Search and Rescue team of New Earth boarded the Hellcat. Utility bags were stuffed with personal belongings. Weapons crates and ammunition were stored as well. Connor took one last look at the camp and then closed the rear doors, joining Diaz in the cockpit.