Search for Honor (The Tarvaax War Book 2)

by Tripp Ellis

  "Well, that's enough sitting on our asses. Let's keep it moving," Cole said.

  Zack stood up and marched back into the sunlight. It was like stepping into a furnace. The team plodded along, marching toward the horizon. It didn't take long until Zack's lungs were on fire again. They weren't even halfway to the compound yet.

  The scorching desert and thin air had no mercy on the unaccustomed. And the local inhabitants knew it. The predator circling high above was biding its time, waiting for the opportune moment. On a long enough timeline, the desert brought everyone to their knees. And that was the time to strike.

  30

  Zack

  The shadows were getting longer. The squad had made it through the hottest part of the day, taking refuge from time to time in slivers of shade. They marched in a single file line with Rex on point and Fester bringing up the rear.

  From above, Fester must have looked like a tasty treat. The creature plunged down like a dive bomber. It swooped behind Fester and latched onto his shoulders. The creature’s talons pierced his skin, puncturing his thoracic cavity.

  This was no mere vulture.

  The beast was easily twice the size of a man. It had bat-like wings that spanned 30 feet across, which cast a large shadow on the sand.

  Fester’s left arm was limp—one of the nerve branches underneath the collarbone had been severed.

  The beast’s teeth were like razors. It had narrow, viper like eyes. It's reddish, scaly skin blended perfectly with the rust colored mountains. It was the closest thing to a dragon that Zack had ever seen, though this beast didn't seem to breathe fire.

  With the flap of its wings, it lifted Fester from the ground. He was screaming in agony. His feet dangled in the air, kicking and flailing. His rifle fell from his grip and plummeted to the sand. He tried to move his hands, but the median and radial nerve had been severed by the beast’s talons.

  The creature flapped its wings, and Fester dangled 20 feet above the ground. Soon he was going to be a speck in the sky, and the angry flying lizard was going to be enjoying a nice meal.

  Zack snapped his weapon into the firing position and took aim at the beast’s head. He blasted off several quick bursts. Brilliant beams of plasma raced across the sky, eviscerating the creature's skull. Its wings kept flapping, but without rhythm or purpose. It's long scaly neck wiggled in all directions, spewing green blood. It rained down, dotting the red sand.

  Fester fell from the talons and smacked the ground in a soft patch of sand. The beast crashed down a moment later in a chaotic spiral. Nerve impulses kept the creature twitching and the wings flapping. It kicked and clawed and almost seemed like it was trying to stand. After a few moments, the last shiver rippled through its body.

  Zack and the others rushed to Fester’s aid. He was in bad shape. Blood oozed from the puncture wounds around his collar bones.

  Diesel used her palms to put pressure on the lesions to stem the bleeding, while Zack dug in his pack for a med-kit. He pulled out a tube of GS gel and squeezed it in the wound. It was an expandable biopolymer foam that was extremely effective at controlling bleeding from puncture wounds. It contained an analgesic, antibiotic, and a regenerative compound that sped up healing.

  "I can't feel my hands," Fester said. He had a panicked look on his face. "I think my leg is broken.”

  Zack injected a pain medication into Fester's arm, then examined his leg. Zack pulled out his PDU and scanned the injury site. A three-dimensional image appeared on the PDU’s display, clearly showing a fractured fibula. Zack also noticed there was some swelling in Fester’s ankle and a torn ligament.

  Fester’s face relaxed as the pain medication began to take effect. His eyes grew droopy, and his speech slowed.

  “Just take it easy," Zack said. "You're going to be okay. We'll get you to a med facility and they'll be able to re-attach those nerves. I've seen guys lose an arm, have it reattached, and get full function back."

  "Don't fill me full of shit, kid," Fester said.

  “Would I lie to you?”

  Fester squinted at him. "Probably."

  Zack chuckled. He grabbed an elastic smart bandage from his med kit and wrapped it around Fester’s broken leg. There was a small control tab on the end of the roll, and once activated, the bandage became rigid. It would serve as a cast until they got him proper medical attention.

  "Alright, we've got to get you up and moving. I know, this is going to suck," Zack said.

  Diesel helped Zack hoist Fester up on one leg.

  "Don't put any weight on that right leg," Zack cautioned. "You won't feel any pain right now because of the medication, so just be careful."

  Fester tried to balance. He had a blissful grin on his face, fully peaking on the pain meds. "This ain't so bad."

  "I got this." Cyclops grabbed Fester and heaved him over his shoulder.

  “Put me down, you big buffoon," Fester protested. "I can walk just fine."

  "Shut up and enjoy the ride," Cyclops said.

  The squad continued their march across the blistering terrain. But from here on out, they were more watchful of the skies above them.

  31

  Zack

  "I'm impressed," Diesel said, admiring Zack.

  “Why?"

  "It seems like you paid attention during medical training and field care."

  “The life you save could be your own." Zack grinned.

  “It’s nice to have someone that knows what they're doing since we don’t have a corpsman on this op."

  The sun was dipping down on the horizon, and the intense heat was beginning to relent.

  Cyclops marched along with Fester on his shoulder like it was no big deal. He didn't show any additional signs of fatigue.

  “Hey, put me down. I don't feel so good," Fester said. It was more than understandable. Hanging over Cyclops’s shoulder with the blood rushing to his head would be enough to make anyone dizzy. But there was something more going on.

  Cyclops gently set Fester down and propped him against a rock. His skin was pale and he was drenched in sweat. The veins in his neck were darkened and accentuated. They spidered up into his jawline. His skin was covered in what resembled infected boils.

  Fester looked grotesque.

  Zack examined Fester’s wounds. The skin surrounding them looked black and necrotic.

  Fester could see the concern on Zack's face when he surveyed the trauma. "What is it?"

  Zack hesitated for a moment. "Nothing. Just looks like minor irritation."

  Cyclops exchanged a glance with Zack. He knew it was more than a minor irritation, but kept his mouth shut.

  Fester wasn't a moron. "You can’t bullshit a bullshitter. What is it?"

  "It might be some type of infection," Zack said, trying to sound optimistic.

  “Infection?”

  “There could have been any number of bacteria on the creature’s talons," Zack stammered. "Perhaps the strain is resistant to the antibiotic."

  Rex and Cole surveyed the situation. They both had grim looks on their faces.

  “You guys have really crappy poker faces, you know that?" Fester said.

  The squad was silent. Fester was in bad shape, and everyone knew it.

  "I can't move either of my legs," Fester said. Terror washed over his face. He grimaced as he struggled to move, but nothing budged. "Could this be a side effect of the numbing medication?"

  Zack shook his head.

  "It's poison," Diesel said. "I've encountered predatory species before that had poison delivery mechanisms in their talons, like fangs. It's probably how it neutralizes its prey."

  Fester's eyes widened and his voice shrieked as he saw a scorpion crawl across his leg. "Hey, get off me!”

  Cyclops swatted it away and mashed it with his boot, grinding it into the sand.

  Cole pulled Zack aside and muttered in his ear. "Is there any kind of antidote we can give him?"

  Zack shook his head. “I got stuff for standard bites and stin
gs. But judging by the size of that creature, there's going to be more poison in his system than we could possibly counteract."

  “Give him a shot. Try it anyway.”

  Zack nodded and dug into his med kit. He loaded his injection gun with a standard anti-venom. He shot it into Fester's arm, then tossed the vial aside and loaded another cartridge. He repeated the process several times, giving Fester the maximum allowable dosage. “That will make you good as new.”

  “What did I tell you about lying, kid?”

  Zack tried to flash a reassuring smile, but they both knew the odds were slim.

  “Why don't you dose me up with some more of that pain medication?”

  "You're not due for another shot for another hour.”

  “I might not be here in another hour.”

  At the rate things were going, Fester was right. Zack grabbed another vial of pain reliever and injected it into Fester's arm. His body relaxed and his eyelids grew heavy again.

  "Might as well dig in here for the night," Cole said. "At the rate the temperature is dropping, we could be in for a helluva freeze come nightfall."

  32

  Zack

  Zack couldn't stop his teeth from chattering. It was the kind of cold that you felt deep in your bones. The temperature had been a pleasant 70° for maybe 15 minutes as the sun dropped below the horizon. Now, several hours later, the temperature was below freezing, and continuing to drop.

  The team had dug out a large hole in the ground, and they all huddled together, utilizing each other's body heat to stay warm. The terrain still contained some warmth. It wasn't unusual to find large temperature swings in arid regions.

  Zack checked on Fester routinely to monitor his condition. "You hanging in there?"

  Most of the time Fester would grumble back or curse at Zack, but this time he was silent.

  Zack reached over and nudged him. There wasn't the slightest response. Fester’s body felt stiff. His muscles had seized up, and it wasn't from the cold.

  "Fester?"

  Fester’s gaze was fixed into space. His jaw hung open.

  There were solemn faces all around as they gazed at Fester’s rigid corpse.

  Cyclops’s eyes welled with tears. He wiped them dry and tried to act unaffected, but he and Fester were best friends.

  There wasn't any time to grieve. Zack could hear movement out in the darkness, not far away. Snarls and growls echoed off the canyon walls.

  Cyclops perked up and scanned the darkness. His face tensed, then he brought his weapon into the firing position. "Better take a look through your night vision."

  Zack put on his tactical goggles and powered them up. They were equipped with night vision, optical zoom, thermal imaging, and a host of other features. The goggles were networked with the rest of the squad, each team member could share targeting information, status, and location data—all of which was available on the heads-up display.

  The night vision illuminated the terrain as plain as day. There were several creatures approaching from all directions. The first thing Zack noticed was their protruding fangs. They looked like saber-toothed tigers, only more fearsome. Instead of fur, they had rough scaly skin, and an exoskeleton on their backs made of sectional, armored plates. They resembled an ankylosaur with a tail like a sledgehammer. If these were anything like the flying lizard that had killed Fester, Zack wanted nothing to do with them.

  Zack angled his weapon over the ridge of the pit and took aim at one of the approaching creatures. The rest of the squad followed suit.

  "They look hungry," Diesel said.

  "Yeah, well I got something they can eat," Cyclops muttered. He squeezed off several rounds. The plasma bursts lit up the night and incinerated one of the creatures. The carcass of the beast flopped to the ground, flickering with flame. It popped and crackled. Smoke wafted into the sky.

  The other monsters recoiled in fear.

  But the fear didn't last. As soon as the flames began to die down, the horde of creatures resumed their approach.

  The squad opened fire as the beasts attacked from all angles. Soon, dozens of carcasses lay smoldering amid the jagged terrain. Sensing their assault was futile, the remaining creatures turned tail and ran. But like any predator, they would re-evaluate and come back.

  "I'm beginning to not like this place very much," Cyclops said.

  Without the snarling beasts, the night air grew quiet. Only the crackling sound of burning corpses remained. And eventually that sound died away. The breeze shifted direction, blowing the putrid stench toward Zack and the squad. It was enough to make you gag.

  "Damn, that is some unpleasant barbecue," Cyclops quipped.

  Zack heard the disconcerting sound of wings flapping overhead. It sounded reminiscent of the familiar large wingspan of the flying lizard. It sent a chill down his spine. He crouched low in the pit and aimed his weapon toward the black sky. His night vision illuminated several deadly vultures as they swooped down and snatched the carcasses of the saber-toothed creatures. Two of the dragon-like beasts fought over the last remaining carcass. They clawed and snapped at each other, finally tearing the carcass in two. Each fluttered off with half of the charred beast.

  Zack breathed a sigh of relief when they were all gone. At least they seemed more interested in the easy meat than the members of the squad.

  Zack didn't get any sleep for the rest of the night. He huddled in a corner with his weapon pointed toward the stars. He continually scanned the heavens for any sign of those hideous demons.

  33

  Zack

  "What are we going to do with him?" Cyclops asked.

  "We'll come back and get him on the way out," Rex said.

  "Oh, hell no. He'll be buzzard food," Cyclops protested. "I am not leaving him out here for that."

  "Does he have any next of kin?", Rex asked.

  Cyclops shook his head.

  "Then we bury him here," Rex said.

  "He deserves a real burial in the Federation Cemetery."

  "Well, we're all going to end up in a cemetery if we drag his corpse around the rest of the mission," Rex grumbled.

  Cyclops reluctantly agreed. The squad placed Fester's body in the pit at rest with his arms folded across his chest. Then they covered him over with red dirt and sand.

  The sky was transitioning from black to gray. The sun would be peeking over the horizon within moments. The frigid temperature had thawed to a more comfortable 40°. Just like the previous evening, there would be a small window of 70° before the blistering heat of the sun baked the rugged terrain.

  "Anybody want to say anything?" Cole said.

  Cyclops looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. The squad observed a moment of silence, then marched on.

  It didn't take long to feel like they were in a furnace again. Zack's fatigues were soaked through and through. It was as if he had jumped into the deep end of a pool, only without the refreshing sensation. It was midday by the time they reached the prison compound. They surveyed the grounds from an elevated ridge-line.

  Zack used the optical zoom feature on his tactical goggles to scan the prison camp. The sprawling complex was surrounded by a perimeter shield. The glowing red beam was 20 feet tall and spanned the entire circumference of the compound. There were guard towers every hundred yards or so on the exterior perimeter. There was a central administration area and several housing barracks. There was a centrally located landing area, and a massive transport was perched on the tarmac. But there wasn't a trace of a living soul. There were no guards in the tower, no guards in the compound. No activity whatsoever.

  "Don't tell me we just went through all that and nobody's here," Rex said. "Cyclops, what do you see?"

  Cyclops had an intense look on his face as he examined the compound with his good eye. "I don't see anything. But the buildings are thermally shielded. I can’t get a look inside."

  "You have a synthetic eye?” Zack asked.

  “A
Visodyne S7," Cyclops said.

  “Makes sense. It's a nice piece of hardware," Zack replied. "They supposedly have five times the visual acuity of a normal human eye. Expensive."

  "Tell me about it. I could only afford one."

  "I don't like the looks of this," Rex said. "Where did you get this intel from?"

  "From my contact at the UIA,” Cole said.

  "And you trust this person?"

  "Absolutely. She's one of the best agents in the firm."

  "And the intel is recent?"

  "Within the last few days."

  "With terrain like this, they don't need many guards,” Cyclops said. “No one is going to survive in that desert on their own."

  The squad continued to survey the compound. An hour had gone by, and still no sign of anyone.

  "There's nobody here," Rex said, his voice thick with frustration.

  "We need to be sure," Zack said.

  "Be my guest," Rex said. " Why don't you run down there and find out for yourself?"

  "I just might." But Zack never got the chance. Several Tarvaax warriors emerged from behind boulders and surrounded the squad.

  "Drop your weapons," one of the Tarvaax NCOs said. He spoke in the unified language of the Federation, albeit broken and with a funny accent.

  The squad reluctantly set down their weapons and raised their hands in the air. The platoon of Tarvaax soldiers marched them down the hillside toward the compound. A small portal in the force-shield deactivated and the aliens pushed Zack and the others through. They forced them into the main administration building where Aarnok was waiting for them.

  His eyes lit up with glee at the sight of Zack. "We've been expecting you. So glad you could make it."

  Zack's face tensed. He wanted to rip the ugly alien’s throat out.

  "You really ought to do better research," Aarnok said. His Federation speak was perfect. The benefits of a privileged education. "This facility hasn't been in use in over 30 years." He had a devious grin on his slimy face.