Forging a Trap

by James David Victor

  “Chitin craft on intercept course,” Jack said over the ship-wide communicator. There was no fear about revealing their position or their condition to the incoming craft. In fact, Jack wanted to make his position known and bring on the Chitin Hydra to infiltrate the frigate.

  Jack watched the signal on the holostage as the Hydra drew close. He waited with bated breath, his only fear that more Hydras would come and attack. There was a danger that the Chitins were no longer interested in snatching humans from ships as they had done so many times in the past. It was possible that this Hydra would attempt to destroy the supposedly stricken frigate.

  The frigate’s armament was more than sufficient to fight off a single Hydra, but if the Chits came in numbers, determined to destroy the frigate, then all Jack could do was run. That would be a total operational failure and a potentially fatal outcome for humanity. Without a live Chitin soldier, Reyes could not develop her chemical cloak and humanity would surely succumb to the onslaught from the thousands of Chitin craft just waiting to sweep through the system and clear it of every last living person.

  The Chitin Hydra came into visual range. Jack looked out into the black of space, looking for the Hydra that was coming out of the void. Then he saw a glint of light on a flank of the ship. Jack checked the holostage. No other Hydras were detected. This one was coming in alone.

  Jack felt the urge to activate the frigate’s weapon systems and make a show of fighting off the Chitin craft, but the danger of actually hitting the Chitin craft and destroying it was too great. He watched as the Hydra came closer. The tension inside him rose.

  “Everyone in position. Sam, get everyone ready back there. The Hydra will be on us in one minute.”

  Sam Torent reported back that the Marines were ready and waiting. The alcoves leading off the central corridor made for excellent cover. At the barricade at the aft section, an armed Marine stood ready to protect the drive room. Sam Torent stood at the forward end and protected the cockpit. All other Marines were armed only with nonlethal weapons. Their task would be the hardest of any Marine to date, and Jack knew it. They were to subdue and capture as many of the massive Chitin soldiers as they could.

  Each Marine carried a net launcher loaded with a single, high-tensile net that would, hopefully, hold a Chitin tight and make it safe for transport. The Chitins had never faced this from the Fleet Marines before. Jack hoped surprise would work in their favor.

  The Chitin Hydra continued its approach toward the frigate, its smooth hull so familiar to Jack, so hated. The Hydra touched down on the upper hull with a clunk that echoed throughout the ship. Jack had never been so relieved when a Hydra attached itself to the hull of his ship.

  “Hydra latched on. They are forward of the upper blast laser assembly. They are cutting in.” Jack turned around in his seat and looked out along the central corridor. He could see the scorch marks already appearing on the upper hull.

  Alarms on the flight console sounded as the Chitins cut through system conduits. Jack turned back to the flight console and rerouted systems to maintain the frigate’s operational status. The Chits didn’t care if the frigate was put out of action, they were here for the contents, the Marines. Little did they know that the Marines were waiting for them.

  Jack rerouted all affected systems and turned back to watch as the upper hull finally gave way. It was punched inwards and fell to the corridor floor. The first Chit came scuttling in after it.

  Instantly, the comm channel was filled with Marines calling out the contact. The Chitin fell into the corridor and moved swiftly toward its first target. The second Chit fell in and then the third. They were quick, moving in their scuttling motion, their tentacled limbs thrashing about, propelling them along. Jack could see the smooth black heads and the twitching antennae that he had shot at so many times before.

  The first net was launched. Jack saw it slide over the smooth head, catching on the tentacles. The Chit appeared to stop for a moment and then lurched at the Marine. The Marine was enveloped by the Chitin tentacles and was dragged away, yelling, punching, and kicking.

  Another net was launched from the aft section. Jack saw it splay out and almost fill the corridor. It slammed into the target Chit and wrapped around it. The Chit thrashed with its tentacles but as the net drew tight, the tentacles were gathered up in a tight knot.

  The first Marine was carried up through the breach to the Hydra above. Jack heard his yells turn to terrified screams as he was taken into the alien craft. Jack opened a channel to the Marine.

  “Hold on, Marine. We’ll get you out of there.”

  Another net caught a second Chitin. Jack climbed down the short ladder and into the corridor in time to see a second Chit get bundled up, its tentacles pressed against the long head and the huge body. One tentacle lay outside the net. It became rigid and began slashing side to side, threatening to smash any Marine who came too close.

  Another Chitin dropped into the corridor and was met with nets fired from two sides. The nets interfered with each other and trapped the Chit in a loose net. The Chit fired a plasma spear that slammed into the chest of the nearest Marine. Meat suit data flashed up on Jack’s enhanced data view immediately. A Marine had lost their life in an attack that was only a few seconds old.

  “Secure that Chit,” Jack shouted. He had two Chitins down, one stabbing and slashing with a tentacle, another firing its plasma spears wildly from its loose net. Another net was fired at the Chit in the loose net and fully enveloped it, pulling tight and trapping the Chitin in a tight bundle.

  A Marine moved toward the Chit that was slashing with its tentacle. As he stepped under the breach in the upper hull, long tentacles reached down and caught hold of him and immediately dragged the Marine swiftly upwards. The sudden shouts from the Marine filled the communication channel.

  Jack jumped down to the corridor. Three Chits lay bundled up. Two Marines had been taken into the Hydra by the Chits. Jack knew there were likely to be another five Chits in that Hydra.

  Jack had accomplished his goal of capturing a live Chit. Now he needed to ensure he got them back to the Fleet.

  A Marine stepping toward the trapped Chitin soldier with its tentacle protruding out of the net made the mistake of stepping too close. The Marine saw the mistake too late and tried to twist away. The stabbing tentacle thrust at the Marine and drove clean through the meat suit into the Marine’s side.

  The environment was breached, and blood and gas raced out of the hole in the suit.

  Jack accessed the Marine’s med data and administered an induced coma. The Marine fell to the deck. The meat suit resealed itself. The fallen Marine was dragged away by others of the team.

  “Cut that stabbing Chit tentacle away,” Jack said. He stepped toward the breach. “Sam. You are with me. We’re boarding that Hydra and getting our people back.”

  “They are lost, Jack,” Torent said. “Mission accomplished. Let’s go.”

  “They are not lost, Sam. We are not going to lose them.”

  Jack drew his pulse pistol. Torent walked toward him, his pulse rifle across his chest.

  “Are we authorized to use lethal force?” Torent asked.

  Jack fired up the electron blade on his pulse pistol. “Inside the Hydra, we shoot to kill. Secure the prisoners. We can’t lose them.” Jack stepped under the breach. The tentacles came down like a flash and grabbed him, pulling up into the Hydra. Jack let the Chitin tentacles pull him into the Hydra and he spoke calmly on the private communicator channel with Torent. “Get in here, Sam. Quick now.”

  Jack sliced at the Chitin tentacles that had dragged him into the Hydra, and the Chitin fell away, thrashing, thick slime leaking from the severed tentacles. Sam Torent jumped up into the Hydra, propelled by his meat suit’s thrust jets. He had his pulse rifle at his shoulder, ready to fire.

  “Jack, get down,” Torent said.

  Jack dropped as pulse fire burst from Torent’s rifle. The target was a Chit advancing out of the dark in
terior of the Hydra.

  The Chit fell back as the pulse rounds slammed into his elongated head, the teeth rasping and the inner beak chittering.

  Jack spotted the two captured Marines, secured by thick strands of hardened Chitin slime.

  “Major,” one said over his communicator. “Help.”

  Jack nodded and held up a hand, a signal for the Marine to wait. Only Jack and Torent were armed. Only they could finish the Chitin crew. Jack stepped forward cautiously. The Chit that Sam had fired at lay twitching on the floor. Meter-long tentacles and stubby polyps covered the walls of the Hydra and created a nearly impenetrable mass. Jack picked his way forward, Torent on his left shoulder.

  Jack pointed at the fallen Chit at his feet.

  “Four down, four to go,” he said.

  Torent nodded.

  Then the Chitins rushed in.

  Jack dropped to one knee and fired his pulse pistol point blank into the first Chit. Torent stood behind and fired a sustained blast of pulse rounds. The Chit fell, but the next was already in its place. It stood a meter away and thrust forward with a stabbing tentacle. Jack moved his head aside as the tentacle came for him. It sliced along the side of his helmet, the scraping noise loud and fearful.

  Jack fired a number of rounds in quick succession as the tentacle was pulled back. Torent stabbed forward with his electron bayonet and thrust it deep inside the Chitin’s head. The creature fell on top of the one already on the ground.

  He noticed the polyps brighten and guessed the remaining Chits were powering up the ship and preparing the Hydra to break away.

  Jack got to his feet and moved deeper into the mass of slime-covered tentacles. He sent a number of micro drones out from his meat suit and had them spread through the Hydra. The micro drones sent back their data and created an enhanced view of the ship’s interior for Jack and Torent to use. Then the remaining Chits were found, spread out and at either side of the Chitin craft.

  Jack gave a hand signal for Torent to move to the left and engage while he went right.

  The flashes of pulse rifle fire told Jack that Torent had located his final target.

  Then Jack found his.

  The Chitin came on fast, a rigid tentacle aimed forward like a lance. He moved aside and slashed out with his electron blade, cutting the tentacle away. The Chit came on undeterred and barreled into Jack, knocking him backward and to the ground. The Chit lay on top of him and pinned his legs with heavy, crushing tentacles, its rasping teeth grating away at Jack’s faceplate.

  The rasping teeth parted rhythmically and with every movement, he could see the crushing inner beak. Jack tried to bring his pistol up to fire, but his arms were pinned. The pistol was still in his hand and Jack could see the electron blade fizzing and sparking, ready to cut through the Chitin’s smooth shell. He moved his hand and tried to bring the blade around to slice the Chitin’s tentacle.

  The blade connected, the tip scorching a part of one of the Chitin’s many tentacle limbs. The Chitin seemed to squirm and react to the cut, then the pistol was snatched away by another of the Chitin’s tentacles while the rasping teeth continued to grind away at Jack’s faceplate.

  The suit’s warning system blared that external pressure was approaching design limits. Jack could feel the external pressure on his chest and didn’t need the suit to tell him. He tried to wriggle free but was held fast.

  Jack accessed the suit’s thrusters and fired the boot jets. He moved suddenly and felt himself slip free for a moment, but the Chit gripped him again and held him, crushing him, still gnawing away at his faceplate.

  He fired the maneuvering thrusters at his wrists and managed to free his right hand.

  Jack brought his fist around and slammed it hard into the Chitin’s round, rasping teeth. He saw a flailing tentacle try and retake the free arm, but Jack delivered another heavy blow to the side of the Chitin’s head. While he kept his hand free from the tentacle trying to catch hold of it, he also brought it round and delivered another blow.

  Jack saw a free tentacle rise over the head and behind the Chit as he delivered another blow to the teeth. The teeth were hard, and he felt the blows through his meat suit gauntlet. He was sure he felt a number of teeth loosen. Then he saw the tentacle above the Chitin’s head stiffen and aim itself at his face. He twisted as best he could but was held fast. He fired his boot thrusters and tried to jerk himself free. He fired the maneuvering jet on his wrist and added as much power to his next punch as he could. Jack punched through the Chitin’s head and knocked out a scatter of teeth.

  The Chitin’s grip loosened for a moment and then it tightened again. The Chit’s head was directly in front of his. It appeared to fix him with a stare from behind its smooth, shell-covered face, its antennae twitching. Then the rigid tentacle lined up on its target again—Jack’s face.

  Jack knew he had captured a live Chit. He had captured three. There was no way this one Chit was going to foil the operation, but Jack saw, in that hovering tentacle, his own end. He had fought and he had won, but now he had reached the end of his war with the Chits. He hoped it would be quick and painless.

  An electron bayonet suddenly flashed in front of Jack’s face. The blade rammed forward into the Chit’s head. Jack felt the Chitin fall fully on top of him. His suit’s warning system alerted him that he was being crushed.

  The flashing electron bayonet filled his view again and the weight of the Chitin began to fall away. Then Jack was looking up at Sam Torent. Chitin slime dripped from his rifle, and the electron bayonet glowed fiercely.

  Torent pushed the severed chunks of Chitin corpse aside and helped Jack climb to his feet.

  “That’s all eight, Jack. You didn’t mind me finishing off the last one, do you? It looked like you had it right where you wanted, but...”

  Jack looked down at the Chitin corpse. Jack’s view was cloudy where the Chitin had rasped away at the faceplate, but he could still make out the Chit, its head sliced in two by Torent’s electron bayonet.

  “Free those two Marines, Sam,” Jack said, looking for the way back to the breach. “I’ll get us out of here.”

  “Copy,” Torent said. “Do you want me to cut the Hydra off our back?”

  Jack took a few steps toward the breach. He could see the bright lights of Frigate M4 coming up into the dark Hydra.

  “Negative, Sam. Let’s try and take it back with us. I know someone who might like to take a look at it.”

  Jack dropped back down into the frigate. The lights reflecting off the scuffed faceplate gave him a blurred view. He saw the fallen Marines and the three tight bundles of the captured Chitins.

  The Marines were preparing the storage crates, the solid composite cells that the Chitins would be contained in for the journey back to Eros.

  They stopped and saluted Jack as he appeared in the corridor.

  “As you were, Marines,” Jack said, returning the salute. “Pack them and stack them. Let’s get out of here.”

  5

  Sitting in the frigate’s cockpit, Jack watched the storage crates on the internal surveillance feed. The three crates were stacked at the rear of the central corridor and secured with heavy straps. The Marines were fully armed and stood watching the crates for any sign that the captive Chits were escaping. The crates would contain them, Jack had no doubt. They, like the net guns, had been supplied by Sarah Reyes’s workshop in Fleet Command and Control on Eros, where Jack was heading now.

  The flight to Eros would be longer than the journey out. Jack was flying carefully and trying not to dislodge the Chitin Hydra clamped onto the upper hull like a limpet. He was sure Reyes would have enough work to do with synthesizing the chemical cloak, but the chance to bring in a captured Chitin Hydra was hard to refuse.

  The faceplate on Jack’s helmet had been so badly scored by the Chitin’s teeth that he was finding it awkward to see. The suit compensated for the distorted image, though, and some repairs to the faceplate gave Jack a better view so he could see w
ell enough to pilot the frigate. He wanted to take off his helmet, but the frigate was still depressurized. The danger that the Hydra would fall away and blow the Marines out of the breach was too great and so Jack had removed the air from the frigate. The Marines were relying on their Marine Extreme Environment Tactical suits to keep them alive until they reached Eros.

  Jack checked the frigate’s position and they were only a couple of hours away from Eros at current speed. Desperate as he was to speed things along, the Hydra was a worthy prize and might prove useful to Reyes and the Fleet.

  As close as they were to home, they could not relax. Frigate M4 was still exposed to danger. Jack knew another Hydra could appear at any time and he watched the holostage carefully for any sign of an approaching craft.

  The frigate’s scanners were on a par with those aboard a destroyer. Although the frigates were tiny by comparison, they had excellent scanning ability and were well armed. They were combat ships as well as tactical reconnaissance ships. They were quick, well armed, and able to scan accurately for just over a hundred thousand kilometers with passive scanners, over a million kilometers with active scanning enabled. Jack was using active scanning now and watching the surrounding space carefully.

  Then came the signal he had feared, yet half-expected. Another Chitin Hydra was racing in on an intercept course. Jack didn’t need to treat this latest Hydra carefully. This was a deadly threat and needed to be met with deadly force. He opened a channel.

  “Sam, organize the Marines. I want every gun position active. We’ve got incoming.”

  Watching the holostage showing him a sphere a million kilometers across, Jack saw the signals of Hydras appear. Not one this time, but several. As Jack watched, wondering how he would fight off this attack, even more appeared, and still more until he counted a dozen Chitin Hydras racing to intercept Frigate M4.

  He turned in his seat and looked out to the breach in the upper hull and the Chitin Hydra still lodged there. The Chitin soldiers were the important part of this operation. The Hydra had been a bonus and Jack was about to lose it, but he was not going to fail in the operation to bring these live Chitin soldiers back to Fleet Command and Control Headquarters.