Fallen Empire: A Military Science Fiction Epic Adventure (Born of Ash Book 1)

by Marc Alan Edelheit

  She examined the crate quickly, looking it over and feeling around the sides. It was undamaged. Whatever it was made of must have been a tough material.

  An explosion shook the floor. Whether it was inside or just outside the room, she could not tell. Keira threw herself down behind the crate. Just as she did, there was a snap of something overhead that impacted a rack behind her with a cracking sound. She realized it had been a round fired into the room, likely at her.

  A rifle barked in reply. Keira saw Vex had followed close at hand. She had shot back into the smoke. Someone cried out in agony.

  “I’m here,” Keira shouted to Chris. “I’m at the crate.”

  “Good,” Chris called. “Now listen to me. What’s inside can help get us out of this mess. Put your palm firmly—” There was a long burst of rifle fire and then the bark of answering fire, clearly a different weapon. When he spoke next, he was shouting. “Put your palm firmly on the crate. It’s keyed to your biometrics and will recognize you through the glove of your suit. I want you to tell it to wake up, understand? You are the only one who can do this …”

  “Me?” Keira had never heard of anything working like that.

  “Yes, you. Tell it to wake up,” Chris shouted. “Your father left it for you. That’s why it will only work if you do it.”

  “My father,” Keira breathed, looking at the crate, wondering what was inside. All this time, she had thought it belonged to Chris, but it had been her father’s.

  “You have to mean it.” There was another burst of fire. “Mean it with all of your heart and being. If you don’t, it won’t work.”

  “Okay,” Keira said uncertainly and placed her hand upon the crate. Thoughts of her father brought back the loss of Lee, the hurt, the raw guilt over his death … She flashed to Lee’s broken and shattered body. They might be able to save themselves, but not him. He was beyond them now. She felt bitter, angry at the people who had done this to him.

  There was another crumping explosion. The room shook. Debris on the floor around her moved and bounced. There was a tearing sound and a crash. It sounded and felt like part of the floor across the room had collapsed. It might have even been the ceiling. Through the smoke Keira could not tell.

  “I’ve been hit,” Wash called, his voice strained. “Fuck me. I’ve been hit.”

  “How bad?” Vex shouted. Keira could hear the worry in her voice.

  There was a pause before he answered.

  “It’s not bad.” Wash’s tone sounded strained. “I’ve had worse. I’ll manage.”

  Dread washed over her. She had already lost Lee. She could not lose Wash too. Just the thought of it made her anger spark to higher levels. She pressed her palm down hard on the crate and closed her eyes.

  “Keira,” Chris shouted. “Do it.”

  “Wake up.”

  Nothing happened.

  “I said wake up, damnit.”

  Still, nothing happened.

  “It’s not working,” Vex called.

  “Keira,” Chris shouted. “Focus. Make it happen.”

  Another explosion shook the room violently, followed by an intense amount of shooting.

  “Wake up,” she screamed, frightened, desperate, and with all her being she reached out. Something inside her seemed to surge, to come alive. “Wake up!”

  Keira suddenly felt funny, disconnected, disembodied. The sounds of the fighting faded away to nothing. As with Chris’s armor, she found herself inside the crate, at least her mind. She could see, or really sense, a micro-fusion reactor. That surprised her. The reactor was in safe mode. It was generating only a fraction of the power it could deliver, just enough to trickle charge a set of batteries. How she knew that little detail, she was unsure.

  There was also something else … a presence, dormant, cold. It was not the powerful alien thing she had felt before the fighting had begun. This somehow seemed familiar, and it was sleeping, or seemed to be. She had sensed something similar when she had been in Chris’s armor. Was this what she was meant to wake up? She decided it was.

  Wake up, damn you, she screamed mentally at it. Almost immediately, the presence stirred. The reactor flared brilliantly in the darkness as it shifted out of safe mode and began generating huge amounts of power.

  The presence began to process input, to think … It became aware of her. The shock of its gaze as it looked at her snapped Keira back to reality and the control room. Keira gasped in a breath, for she had been inadvertently holding it, then fell backward in utter surprise.

  Where a moment before there had been none, seams appeared in the crate. It began to come apart, as if it was unfolding before her, growing larger, unpacking itself. Into what, she had no idea. Frightened, Keira scooted back on her butt.

  “Oh my god,” Vex breathed as she stared at the surprise. “I don’t believe it. After all this time …”

  “I knew it!” Chris roared in what only could be described as triumph. “Awesome job, butterfly.”

  Keira’s gaze was fixed on the crate. She blinked. It no longer even remotely resembled a crate. What could only be described as a metallic head appeared, then two legs and two mechanical arms unfolded. It was a mech and it stood, towering over her. It was like no mech she had ever seen before and was heavily armored. The machine was clearly meant for one purpose and that was war. It had a lethal, menacing appearance, one that seemed designed to inspire fear. And Keira wasn’t afraid to admit that it frightened her.

  A faded Marine Corps Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem was painted onto what could only be described as its armored chest. It turned its head to face her, and a single menacing eye flared to life, with a piercing white light that illuminated the swirling smoke about them. The mech took a step toward her, its metal feet clunking heavily on the floor, sending mini tremors through it.

  “Keira,” the mech said in a human-sounding voice, as if it recognized her. By its tone, the mech seemed surprised to see her and its head tilted to the side slightly as it regarded her. “My, you have grown,” the mech continued after a moment. “Thank you for waking me up. Based upon my internal chronometers, I have been asleep for twenty point two standard years. I didn’t even dream. How odd.” The mech paused. “I am sorry, I do not have a ball. We will not be able to play kick-the-ball. Perhaps we can play another game. Would you like that? Would you like the play a game with me?”

  The voice was eerily familiar. Keira blinked, thoroughly shocked. Why did it want to play a game? Why now?

  “Stop screwing around, you stupid bucket of bolts,” Chris hollered. “We need your help, and now.”

  There was a burst of rifle fire.

  The mechanical head turned in the direction of Chris’s voice, seeming to peer through the smoke. “Gunnery Sergeant McCandless.” The head moved again. “Corporal Mendes”—the head and baleful eye shifted to Vex—“Private Harris. It is good to see you all again. Based upon my sensor readings, there are multiple people out in the corridor. Are they hostile targets? Would you like me to terminate them? I do not believe the weapons they are carrying can cause me serious injury.”

  At that moment, there was the roar of automatic weapons fire. Several rounds struck the mech’s chest, making pinging sounds as they ricocheted off. Keira instinctively ducked. The mech took several rapid steps, positioning itself between her and the shooter. It casually raised its left arm in the direction the bullets had come. Underneath was a long, slender barrel. There was a high-pitched humming sound that rose rapidly to a climax, a sort of Buuur-UUP. A lance of light shot out of the barrel and into the smoke. There was a scream. It cut off abruptly, and as it did, the lance of light ceased.

  “They’re all fucking hostile,” Chris said. “Everyone outside this room is an enemy. Take ‘em out. Secure the corridor. We need to get out of here before the floor melts or collapses.”

  “Very well, Gunnery Sergeant.” The mech took a step toward the door, then stopped and looked down at Keira, fixing her with its single shining e
ye. “I have to go now. Perhaps later we might play a game, Keira. Would you like that? I think I would like that very much. I have not played a game in twenty point two years. I like playing games.”

  Not sure what else to do, Keira gave an uncertain nod. “Sure.”

  With that, the mech started off at a rapid pace, running forward into the swirling smoke. A moment later it was gone.

  “What?” Keira asked, looking at Vex. “What was that?”

  “That,” Vex said, an astonished look on her face, “was your babysitter.”

  Keira blinked, at first not understanding … then it registered. “MK? That was MK? The babysitter my father assigned me on the ship?”

  Vex gave a slow nod. “Yep. That’s him.”

  Keira heard another humming sound of the mech’s weapon, more shots. Then the screams started.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Come on,” Vex said, nearly dragging Keira forward toward the control room exit. The marine had a firm grip on her upper arm. With the smoke, it was nearly impossible to see.

  Hunched over, Keira attempted with difficulty to spot obstacles in her path. Even with her suit lights on full, there were moments when she could not see her feet. The light made things worse, creating a sort of a halo effect around her. But with it off, she would have been even blinder, and without Vex to lead the way, Keira would have been hopelessly lost.

  The fans in her suit were on high, struggling to keep up and buzzing away as they worked to circulate the air and cool her down. Despite their efforts, it was growing warmer. Sweat ran down her face and neck. Her skin felt slick against the gumby suit.

  Behind them, somewhere in the smoke, the building gave a loud, tortured groan. This was followed by what sounded like the rending of metal, then a tremendous crash that sent violent tremors through the floor. In her mind, Keira could picture a large section of the floor around what had been the access hatch collapsing, falling downward into an inferno below.

  There was a dull booming explosion farther off. The building shook again, this time more violently. Had it not been for Vex’s grip on her arm, Keira would have fallen. The marine increased the pace, tugging Keira firmly along, almost dragging her forward.

  “Come on,” Vex said in a calm but urgent tone. “It’s not far now. We’re almost there.”

  Keira stumbled over something small and boxlike. “Vex, with all this smoke. I’m pretty much blind.”

  Keira was afraid she would trip and fall on the debris scattered across the floor. A more serious concern was the potential for tearing her suit, rupturing its integrity. With the smoke and toxins filling the air, that could easily prove fatal.

  “Don’t you worry. I can see fine.” Vex took a firmer hold on her arm. “Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you. Just keep moving forward with me. We’re almost to the door.”

  They continued, Keira taking one tentative, shuffling step after another. Only once more did she stumble, this time on a loose piece of something that was hard and block-like. Vex kept her upright. The marine kicked whatever it had been out of the way. Keira heard it go skittering across the floor until it banged loudly into something.

  The fighting had died off, at least nearby. In the distance, Keira still heard some firing, shouting, and the occasional muffled bang or crump of an explosion. Was the mech chasing the militia off, running them down? Or were the militia still fighting amongst themselves? She had no idea what was going on.

  Keira noticed a growing wind, with the smoke flowing past her lights in the direction they were headed. It began rushing by them and soon felt like it was tugging at her, pulling her along with each step, as if the wind were doing its best to usher her from the control room. It grew until it soon became a near continual gust.

  It wasn’t a cool wind either. The air blowing by was hot, heated by the growing conflagration. Keira felt her suit warming up even more. A heat alarm sounded, beeping away. Keira silenced it.

  Then, unexpectedly, Vex brought her to a halt and released her hold on Keira’s arm. Keira straightened and looked up, able to see a little better. The smoke was moving around them, and it had lightened slightly. They were standing just inside the doorway. There was no sign of the door itself. It was gone, as if it had vanished.

  “Turn off your lights,” Vex said. “When we move outside, you don’t want to attract attention. That might prove unhealthy.”

  Keira deactivated the floods on her suit. An overhead light out in the corridor illuminated the entryway through the outrushing smoke. She could just barely make out the wall to either side. It was pockmarked with dozens of holes both small and large.

  Lumps of what she had thought were large chunks of debris turned out to be bodies just before her. She counted six. The dead lay both inside the doorway and outside in the corridor. All were militia. As Keira stared at them, her mind returned to Lee’s lifeless corpse, and sadness overcame her.

  The nearest body was female. She looked like she had just lain down and gone to sleep. Keira could see no obvious wound. The face shield on her helmet was cracked, but not holed. She shifted her gaze to a pair of bodies that had been mutilated, torn apart by what could only have been a blast. It was a stomach-turning sight.

  Almost reluctantly, Keira’s gaze moved on and she found herself suddenly transfixed by a dead man who had been shot in the face. His helmet had a large hole through the center of his face shield.

  Where the nose and upper mouth had been, there was now only a gaping wound, a seeming black void. One of his eyes was missing. It had been turned to a bloody pulp. For a long moment, she could not look away. Keira was frozen. Then Vex moved and that broke the spell.

  The marine stepped up to the door and glanced cautiously out into the corridor. After a moment, she took a step back. The floor under their feet was slick with dark red blood and Keira was standing in a pool of it. She knelt to get a better look, for it seemed like the floor was moving, and found the pool of blood was actually bubbling. Alarmed, she jolted back up.

  Movement again drew her attention as a shadowy figure out in the corridor stepped into view and stopped before the doorway. It took her a moment to realize it was Wash. He took a knee and aimed his rifle down the corridor to the left, in the direction of the stairs.

  “It’s clear,” Wash said without looking over at them. “Vex, it’s as safe as we can make it. Bring her out.”

  Vex did not immediately move. She turned to Keira. “Can you see well enough, or do you still need assistance?”

  Keira gave a nod. “I can see where I’m going now. I should be all right.”

  “Good. Stay right behind me. If there’s shooting, find cover or drop flat. Don’t hesitate. Just do it and make yourself as difficult a target as possible. If you engage the enemy, hit what you shoot at.”

  “I will,” Keira said.

  Vex turned and moved out into the hall. As she did, her rifle snapped up. She aimed it in the same direction as Wash. Keira followed. Once out into the corridor, there was still a lot of smoke, but Keira found it much easier to see.

  The walls, ceiling, and floor were heavily scarred from the recent fighting. Shards of metal and composite material littered the floor. Large patches of the corridor were scorched from explosive blasts. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed. Lighting elements hung down loosely from cables. The nearest were swinging back and forth, a result of the fire-driven wind.

  The scene that spread out before her was a gruesome one too, and for a moment, Keira thought she might become ill. Five more dead lay just outside the doorway to the left. These bodies had been terribly mutilated from what she supposed were repeated explosive blasts.

  In the close confines of the corridor, blood and gore seemed everywhere she looked. There was even some plastered on the ceiling. A piece of intestine lay at her feet, along with a severed hand. The hand was still holding a pistol, and a large one at that. She recognized it as Pikreet’s personal weapon. Keira scanned the area and did not see the ca
ptain’s body.

  Then again, she could not see clearly more than five meters. He could also be amongst the mutilated dead. But for some strange reason, she thought that not to be the case.

  A sudden roaring of flame drew her attention back through the door. The smoke was so thick inside the control room, she could see nothing beyond the doorframe, not even the dark orange glow of fire itself. There was just a wall of smoke pouring out into the corridor.

  “What about Lee?” Keira asked Vex.

  “What about him?” Vex asked. “He’s dead. There’s nothing we can do for him now.”

  “We can’t leave him.” The thought of doing so felt wrong. It left her filled with not only anguish but guilt.

  “We can,” Vex said, “and will.”

  “He deserves better,” Keira countered. The feeling of guilt over his death and leaving him behind intensified, threatening to overwhelm her.

  “Yes,” Vex agreed, softening her tone a tad, “he does. All of the good ones do. War is like that. It’s terribly unfair.”

  “Keira, there’s no going back in there,” Wash said. “That room is a deathtrap now.”

  As if to emphasize his words, the building groaned as if in terrible agony. There was yet another crash inside the control room. It sounded like much of the floor was giving way, collapsing downward to the level below.

  Her pack was in there somewhere too, along with her tablet and all of their equipment … stuff they’d spent years accumulating. Keira’s heart grew heavy to the point where she thought it might burst in her chest. Not only were they leaving Lee behind to the fire, but everything they had, and all her father had loaded onto her tablet.

  She should have thought to grab the tablet before they left. Why hadn’t she? The information it contained alone, repair schematics, technical manuals … the list went on. It was all priceless and now, like Lee, lost to her forever.