No Mercy (Blood War Book 4)

by Rod Carstens

“Yes, ma’am.”

  Might as well start with the hard part.

  Chapter 16

  Mars Patrol Area Bravo

  Training Squadron Delta

  Flight 14A

  Lieutenant Commander Maxwell “Steinyman” Steiner was bored. He had been bored since they assigned him as a pilot instructor after the operation on 703. He was not a training instructor, he was a pilot, and he was going crazy babysitting newbies trying to figure out how to fly a fighter. He had appealed all the way to Admiral Raurk, but she had given him a look on the comm that made him glad he was not in the same room as she was.

  All she said was, “Steinyman, you are ordered to help us create the pilots we need to fight this war. You can’t go around being a hero all the time. Now do it before I permanently assign you to a planetside billet.”

  The comm had snapped off, and Steiner knew he had been lucky. Raurk’s temper was legendary, and when she lost it you paid a big price. So even though he was bored, he found comfort in the knowledge that sooner or later he would be back with the fleet flying into combat. He glanced at the ships around him. They were getting sloppy with their formation.

  “Wake up back there and get on your wingman. Focus.”

  This was the last and most important test for this batch of pilots. If he signed off on them after this flight, they would earn their wings. It was a grueling flight, from the flight school on Mars out to the edge of their fighters range and back along a predetermined set of patrol waypoints. It would take almost fourteen hours of flying and strict attention to navigation. It was a real test for these new pilots, and each would take their turn navigating for the squadron. He had fifteen ships with him—a larger number than a normal fleet squadron, but training squadrons tended to be larger.

  This had been a good class. They would make good pilots if they lived long enough. They were carrying live Long Lance torpedoes. When they reached the turnaround point, he would put them through their last and most important weapons exercise. There was a derelict hulk out there, and if they navigated correctly they would approach it from a good attack angle. They had to fight fatigue and their own confidence to pass this test. It had weeded out more than a few would-be pilots.

  Being out in the middle of nowhere in a tiny fighter could get to some pilots. If you didn’t pay attention you could end up floating around out here slowly running out of air. There was only so much any fighter’s artificial intelligence could do to help. They were in the hundred-million-mile void between Mars and the asteroid belt. Now that Mars was only a red dot behind them, the only reference points for the new pilots were their instrument panels. This was where Steiner felt the most at home—way out here on his own. He felt free and part of something much bigger than himself. It made him miss those long, tough patrols back in the Legion in those tiny ships. But that had been before the Xotoli and the war. So instead of being bored, he decided he needed to appreciate one of those rare times when he got the chance to fly out into the emptiness.

  Steiner reached up, touched his windshield display, and changed the view to one of the space outside. He dialed in the coordinates of one of his favorite stars then flipped through the filters until he had a view of the incredible beauty of something a thousand light-years away. It was an abstract display of reds, violet, and white mixed in a complexity that could only be seen in open space. He relaxed and tried to enjoy the ride, changing the view to different stars until he was interrupted by a comm from his assistant flight instructor, Lieutenant Honey “Honey Badger” Mora, on their private comm frequency.

  “Honey Badger to Steinyman.”

  “Go, Honey Badger.”

  “You are not going to believe what I just found on the secure buoy network.”

  There was a series of laser buoys between Mars and the asteroid belt.

  “Send it to me.”

  Steiner looked down at the readout on his situation display. It was hard to believe what he was seeing. A Xotoli battleship was emerging from the asteroid belt.

  “You have got to be shitting me,” Steiner said without thinking.

  “My sentiments exactly. It gets better. I ran the numbers. Here’s the plot.”

  The red line was a straight line toward the derelict ship that was their target. They would arrive at approximately the same time. What was he supposed to do with fifteen trainees and a damn Xotoli battleship loose in the system? These kids weren’t up to a real battle. They had been through the simulations, but this was different.

  “Honey Badger, do you show any fighter escorts?”

  “Negative, but I’ve got readings off the scale from the asteroid belt. It looks like there was a helluva battle before this bitch got through. I’m reading maybe as many as ten Xotoli ships of various sizes either badly damaged or destroyed. Looks like we got ourselves a real problem.”

  “Are there any other ships in our area, Honey Badger?”

  “Negative. Nothing around us. We’re it.”

  These trainees were just really beginning to master flying one of these fighters. It took more than just knowing the right buttons to push in this kind of fight. You had to have a real feel for the ship if you were going to survive. But Steiner didn’t have a choice. It was them or turn and run. He knew he had to take the battleship on, even with just trainees. If he’d had a squadron of experienced pilots it would’ve been different, but you take your ticket and you take your chance. This class was about to be put through the toughest test any trainee had ever faced.

  “Honey Badger to Steinyman. Tag, we’re it. It’s either us or this big bitch gets loose around Mars.”

  Honey Badger was right. She had been with Steiner at Rift and 703. She was as good as they came, but the rest, well, they were going to have to learn real fast.

  “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll make the announcement.”

  “Roger, Steinyman. Let’s get it done.”

  Steiner switched frequencies. “Steinyman to all Fourteen Alpha ships. Honey Badger has detected a Xotoli battleship emerging from the asteroid belt. It is on a direct course with the derelict and us. We are now a combat patrol. We are on a war footing, no longer just a heightened threat level. On my mark, you will increase your speed to combat patrol. No sensors on. We will approach dark. Honey Badger will do all of the course plotting and targeting. Switch to secure ship-to-ship comm. Any questions?”

  There were none. It made Steinyman proud. They were a good group. They were about to find out just how good they were. He hoped most would survive this.

  “Okay, on my mark, go to combat-patrol speed. Watch your crystals’ temperatures. They’re brand new and some may have a problem. Three, two, one. Mark, mark, mark.”

  Steiner watched as the flight increased speed, keeping their formation. He switched to the private comm with Honey Badger.

  “Have you sent a flash Threat Class Alpha message?”

  “Roger that. As soon as we went combat-patrol speed, I got the nearest buoy and sent it.”

  “Okay, let’s go hunting, Honey Badger.”

  “Roger that, Steinyman.”

  Steiner wondered how many students he could keep alive. He hoped he was up to this. He had always been a lone wolf.

  Chapter 17

  Landing Ship Dock Tarawa

  Enlisted Club

  Since they had exited the wormhole, General Sand had kept the Marines busy preparing their armor and weapons. They had gone over them so many times that they were getting more than a little antsy. They were ready and everyone knew it.

  So everyone was surprised when General Sand came over the ship’s comm and said, “Men and women of the Raiders and future Junkyard Dogs. According to your commanders, you are as ready as you can be until we receive more specific information on our mission on Earth. So I have ordered that the enlisted and officers’ clubs both be opened, and all drinks will be free. This will be the last time we can blow off a little steam until we once again go into combat. Enjoy, and don’t break the stupid rule. I do
n’t want to have to put anyone in the brig. I need every one of you.”

  Sergeant Ja Hu was one of the first to take General Sand up on opening the enlisted club with all drinks free. The music was already loud and the bulkheads had videos flashing across them. It was time to get drunk. This might be his last opportunity.

  He walked up to the bar and leaned his elbows on it. Hu was not tall but had massive shoulders and heavily muscled arms, just the way the Von Fleet genetic engineers had designed him, so he could work in their mines. Only he wasn’t a miner anymore. He was a Marine Raider facing one more drop into the midst of alien hybrids and Xotoli. So once more he was going to see if he could cheat the odds and survive the impossible situations they kept dropping him into.

  This was the first time since Rift that he’d had time to think about the big picture. Where the hell was he headed? It didn’t look like he had much of a future ahead of him—only more drops and battles. Hu had decided that General Sand wanted him to get good and drunk so he could try and forget, at least for a while, what he was facing.

  The culinary naval rating who was tending bar came up and asked, “What can I get you?”

  “What’s the strongest shit you got?”

  The sailor looked at him and smiled. “I got just what you need, Jarhead.”

  He reached down and poured a clear liquid into a regular glass. Hu grabbed it and downed it in one gulp. The sailor smiled and waited for the drink to hit. When it did, Hu shook himself and stomped his foot.

  “What the fuck was that? It went down nice and smooth but when it hit bottom… Shit, it was like a bomb.”

  Hu put his hand to his mouth. “I don’t think I can feel my lips.”

  “It’s an ancient drink called Moonshine. Sailors and Marines have been making it for centuries. I just got good at it. We make it ourselves, so when the club is not open people can still get some juice, if you know what I mean. So if you know who to ask, you can get some anytime. We thought tonight was a good time to bust it out.”

  “Keep them fucking coming. You’re my new best friend.”

  Hu sipped the next one, letting the alcohol give him that wonderful I-don’t-give-a-fuck buzz he needed. More and more Raiders were filling the bar, singly or in twos and threes. Hu looked down the bar, and instead of just seeing those standing there he saw all of those who were missing. The friends lost on Rift, on 703, and now on Chika. There were more ghosts than there were real people.

  The bar had almost filled up, but instead of being full of shouting and laughing, it was strangely quiet. Only the loud music gave an indication that this was supposed to be a party. Everyone knew what was coming and knew they had little chance of surviving another drop.

  Someone slapped him on the shoulder. He turned and saw newly promoted Lieutenant Mala Nani. She was fresh out of a shower. The sides of her head were freshly shaved and her long Mohawk was neatly combed into a ponytail. She was wearing makeup against regulation—smoky eyeliner emphasizing her large, dark eyes and lipstick on her impossibly full-lipped mouth. Her Legion service tattoo cascaded down her face in a series of red and blue teardrops. She looked like what she was—one of the toughest Raiders in the battalion.

  “Baby, you got ahead of me,” Nani said, and threw one arm around his huge shoulders.

  “You’re not supposed to be in here. You’re an officer now.”

  “Fuck you. Not tonight. What are you drinking?”

  “He called it Moonshine.”

  Nani arched an eyebrow. “Really? Say, sailor, how about two more of those?”

  The bartender sent two glasses down the bar. Nani downed the first glass without flinching, then said, “Let’s grab a table before they’re all taken. This is going to be a long night, and I think we’re going to need to sit down.”

  Hu and Nani found one of the last tables and sat down with their drinks. Neither said anything for a while. They just sipped their drinks.

  “Another drop,” Hu said.

  “Yeah. Maybe we'll ride down in style. You never know. You ever been to Earth?”

  “Naw, you?”

  “Nope. I’ve seen some videos,” Nani replied. “It’s supposed to be really something to see.”

  Seeing Earth did not thrill Hu. It just meant another drop and another chance to get killed. He could give a shit about Earth and the Confederation. The only people he cared about were on this ship.

  Hu looked over at Nani and said, “How many of us are left, Mala? You know, from back on Rift when we started the armored infantry. All the way back then, when there weren’t that many of us to begin with. Out of those guys, how many of us are left?”

  Nani stared at him for a long time. “Well, let me think. We lost over thirty percent on Rift. Then on 703 we lost about the same. Now with Chika, that’s a different story. Maybe another fifteen percent, at least. Some are still touch-and-go in sick bay.”

  “What about all of those we left behind on Chika?”

  The majority of the survivors from Rift had not joined the Raiders. They had been used to fill out the ranks of the new 1st Marine Division when it was formed after Rift. They were all now stranded on Chika, facing God knew what. Nani took a long pull on her drink before she answered.

  “Yeah, I didn’t count those guys yet. Out of those who survived Rift, I gotta figure maybe ten percent of us have survived." As soon as she said it Nani seemed to realize just how scary that number was and she said.

  "We need more drinks.,” Nani stood and said and headed for the bar.

  Hu was still waiting for Nani to return when two sailors came into the club. A tall woman was helping a still bandaged sailor with pilot wings. They both wore SWCC badges.

  “Hey SWCC,” Hu said.

  The pilot looked over at Hu and said.

  “That is Special Warfare Combat Crewmen to you Jarhead.”

  Hu laughed. It was obvious that the pilot was still on pain meds from sick bay. He was slurring his words and had to be helped just to stand.

  “You wouldn’t know who flew a Mike boat with the tail number seventy-nine, would you?”

  The man looked up at the tall woman who was holding him upright. “Why do you ask?”

  “I owe them big-time. They saved our asses on Chika.”

  The two looked at one another, then the woman said, “You’re looking at them.”

  “Out-fucking-standing. Where’s your third crew member? Sit down. I want to buy you all drinks.”

  The pilot looked down and the woman said, “We left her on Chika.”

  “Fuck, I’m sorry. We all left a lot of friends behind on this one. Come on, sit down. I got drinks coming.”

  The woman helped the pilot ease into the chair then sat down. Nani arrived with a tray of drinks she had gotten from the bar. There had to be at least fifteen. Nani carefully slid the tray onto the table and sat down.

  “Is that all for you?” Hu said, laughing.

  “I figured when you make a run, don’t waste it on a couple of drinks. Who are these swabbies?”

  “These swabbies are the crew from that Mike boat that saved our asses.”

  Nani looked at them and smiled. “We owe you guys big-time. Where’s the other crew member? I want to make sure he doesn’t get left out.”

  “She didn’t make it, Nani.”

  Nani frowned and said, “Sorry, guys. Here, let’s drink to her.”

  They all got a full glass, and the pilot held up his and said, “Here’s to the best copilot in the fleet Aram Odaka. He will be missed.”

  The four emptied their glasses.

  “Who do we have the pleasure of drinking with?” Nani asked.

  “I’m Zenes Lee, and this is the best gunner’s mate in the fleet, Anni Toland.”

  “I’m Nani, and this is Hu.”

  “Should you be mixing pain meds with alcohol there, SWCC?” Nani asked with a smile.

  “Yes, tonight I should be mixing as much shit as I can get my hands on,” Lee said, his words slurring. />
  Toland laughed and shook her head. “He’s not supposed to be out of sick bay, but when he heard that Sand had made all drinks free, he insisted. So I got babysitting duty.”

  Hu sized up the big gunner’s mate. She was sexier than she was pretty—a big brunette with some Sol and maybe a bit of Wolf considering her size. The four sat there drinking and telling stories about Chika until Lee mentioned Rift.

  “You’re shitting me. You were on Rift?” Hu said.

  “Well, not exactly on it, but around it. We were on 703 too.”

  Nani smiled and said, “What we got here is a real reunion. I’ll drink to that.”

  “You don’t seem to need much excuse to drink, Lieutenant,” Toland said, laughing.

  “Nope, not tonight, and don’t call me lieutenant. It’s not official until the paperwork comes back from Rift or Earth or something. It’s still Nani to my drinking buddies. Here’s to us.”

  Nani raised her glass and the others followed. Then Hu saw the new guys walk into the club.

  “Hey, conscripts! Get your asses over here!” Hu yelled.

  The man and woman walked over to the table. They looked more than a little lost in the midst of all the Raiders.

  “Lee, Toland, I want you to meet the newest members of the Raiders. This is Fenes and Minga. They were conscripts in the penal battalion before somebody dropped them in our laps.”

  Lee looked up at the two and said, “It’s nice to meet you guys, and you can now thank us for pulling your asses out of the fire back on Chika.”

  “That was you! No shit. Man, do we owe you.”

  “Don’t worry about it, my friends. It was our...” Lee seemed to forget what he was saying and stared off into the distance.

  “I think we are about to lose my pilot,” Toland said and laughed. Lee put his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

  “Where did you guys learn to fight like that? You were kicking some ass when we picked you up,” Toland said as she steadied Lee on her shoulder.

  “We had Legion drill instructors. They put us through Legion boot camp,” Fenes said.

  “Well, no shit. No wonder. How in the hell did that work?”