Forging a Trap

by James David Victor

  Jack saw the small frame of Commander Bevan step up to the fence, and she bent down to talk to a child. Bevan looked back toward the observation tower. She opened a channel to Jack.

  “This child says they are lost, sir.”

  Jack could feel this operation was not going to be a simple one.

  “Move that child toward the gate. Once it opens, we’ll make sure the child gets in first.”

  Bevan nodded back at Jack and gave a thumbs-up. “Copy that, sir.”

  The gate controls in the observation tower were still locked out. Only the message telling Jack to stand by for boarding appeared on the holostage whenever Jack requested information.

  The mass of people was becoming unruly. He saw bags being thrown away as people tried to press through the crowd and get closer to the gate. There was no cheering now, only the sound of anxious voices.

  Jack pulled up his field scanners and surveyed the crowd. Toward the back, a man was standing on a pile of cases and talking to the people. He was pointing and gesticulating, holding the people around him with his speech. Jack focused his scanner’s audio detector on the man and heard a snippet of the speech.

  The man was shouting and telling the crowd that they were being forgotten and left behind. There was no room for them on the transport ships.

  Jack knew immediately this was dangerous talk for a crowd already stressed and nervous.

  Then the holostage on the console in front of Jack lit up with instructions. Jack read it in disbelief.

  The order from evacuation control was for Scorpio Battalion to disperse the crowd. Then the next line froze Jack’s heart.

  Lethal force is authorized.

  Jack looked out at the mass of scared people. All they wanted to do was get to the transport ship they had been sent to. The only thing on the minds of all those people was to get through the gates and get to safety. It would be impossible for Jack to disperse them.

  A channel opened on Jack’s communicator. The voice was cold and firm.

  “This is Fleet Intelligence Special Agent Division. Fire at the crowd, Major. One battalion-wide burst of fire. That is an order.”

  Jack looked out at the crowd. There were thousands of people clamoring to get in. They were pressed up against the heavy fence. Just this side of the fence was the thin line of his battalion. Just over four hundred Marines, Marines that had fought the Chitins to protect the population, now ordered to turn their Fleet Marine Pulse Rifles on the civilians.

  Jack could not accept this order.

  “This is Major Forge,” Jack said, looking at the people he was here to save. “Who is on this channel?”

  The hard voice came back.

  “This is Fleet Intelligence Special Agent Division. That is all you need to know. Now carry out my order, Major.”

  “Repeat your order, Special Agent Division,” Jack said.

  “Your orders are to fire into the crowd. Do you copy, Major Forge?”

  “Special Agent Division, this is Major Forge. I must be having a problem with the communicator. I need someone from your division to bring me your orders in person.” Jack knew he was stalling for time while he thought about how to deal with this order.

  “Negative, Major. Your communicator is functioning just fine. You are malfunctioning, Marine. You have your orders. Carry them out immediately.”

  Jack looked down at the line of Marines. He would have to order them to fire. They would always remember the day they fired at frightened civilians, and who gave the order.

  “The fences will not hold, Major,” a new voice came over the communicator. “You must regain control of the crowd before we can permit boarding. Carry out your orders, Major.”

  Hearing the screams of the civilians in the distance, Jack realized his head had dropped and he was staring at the console. Jack looked up. Away in the distance, he saw people running in all directions, many of them running toward the already crowded fence. And up above them, in the distant sky, Jack saw a dark shape that he recognized immediately. He opened a channel to his battalion.

  “This is Forge. Incoming Chitin Hydra. Dead ahead. Weapons free. Fire at will.”

  Within a fraction of a second, the entire line of Marines fired into the far distance. Jack pulled up his field scanner and looked at the distant Hydra. The fire from the Fleet Marine Pulse Rifles was slamming into the craft, every Marine producing the best accuracy of their professional lives. The Hydra fired with a plasma arc toward the ground and the scattering, screaming civilians. The plasma arc tore up the ground, throwing dust and debris into the warm air.

  “Bring it down, Scorpio Battalion. Bring down that Chitin ship.”

  The sight of a battalion giving fire was extraordinary. Every Fleet Marine Pulse Rifle let off one burst after another. The sky between the gate and the incoming Chitin ship was filled with burning flashes of pulse rounds as the battalion poured their fire and fury at the enemy.

  The Hydra fired its plasma arc weapon again, then jerked violently as it succumbed to the battalion’s concentrated fire. It came closer and closer to the fence before turning skyward to race away.

  Jack watched as it reached the fence line. The Marines underneath it fired upward into the retreating craft, and then the Hydra stopped climbing. It seemed to hang in the sky for a moment before falling back to the ground, tumbling uncontrollably.

  Jack opened the battalion channel.

  “Clear away from under that Hydra. It’s coming straight down. Clear away.”

  Jack saw that the crowd had dispersed, people running and screaming in every direction. The Marines retreated toward the massive transport hangar as the stricken Hydra dropped.

  The Hydra finally slammed into the ground in an ear-shattering crash. Jack took cover behind the console in the observation tower, expecting a detonation. There was no explosion, and Jack looked up. The crashed Hydra had taken down a large section of the fence. Climbing on top of the Hydra, Jack saw the terrifying sight of a Chitin soldier. Then another. Then yet another. Chitins soldiers on Eros.

  A plasma spear came flying toward Jack in the tower. He took cover again. The plasma spear smashed the transparent composite walls and tore off the flimsy roof. He risked a look and saw the Marines firing at the Chits that were quickly leaving the Hydra and heading toward the hangar.

  Opening a fleet emergency channel and climbing down from the tower, Jack called out his report.

  “Chitin Hydra at the capital transport hangar. This is Major Forge. We’ve got Chits on Eros. Repeat, we’ve got Chitin soldiers on Eros. Engaging the enemy. Forge out.”

  A reply came in as Jack reached the ground. He drew his pulse pistol and ran toward the fight with the crew of the Hydra. Jack recognized the voice. It was Pretorius.

  “Jack. Do what you can. The Chitins are coming in force. Hundreds of Hydras swarming toward Eros right now. The planetary defense cannons are being overrun. We’ve just lost contact with Brecon’s north facility. The fleet is moving to engage the Hydras, but the Leviathans just began to move in. Get as many people out as you can, Jack. Good luck.”

  Jack watched the last of the Chitin soldiers standing on top of their crashed Hydra fall to the withering fire from the Scorpio Battalion. Then, as the Fleet Marine Pulse Rifles fell silent, Jack heard another noise growing and building. The floor shook. Jack looked up to see hundreds of people rush toward the breach in the fence.

  “What do we do, sir?” Sam Torent came running over to Jack.

  Looking at the oncoming crowd, Jack knew that the civilians would push and panic and force their way through the gap in the fence. So many of them would be crushed and killed in the stampede.

  “Set demolition charges at the fence and blow it,” Jack said. “Bring the whole lot down. Do it now.”

  Torent walked off shouting orders to his company. The Marines moved quickly and within a few moments, the charges were being set.

  “Fall back, Marines,” Jack called to the battalion. “Back toward the
hangar. Form up in two lines and make a corridor. Let’s try and bring this crowd to order.”

  Looking back into the hangar, Jack knew there was only one transport ship left. It was the only way out from this facility.

  He opened a channel to 6th squad. “Osho. Fall back into the hangar and get back to the transport ship. Prevent it from taking off. We are going to get as many of these people aboard as we can. Copy?”

  “Copy that, Major,” Osho said.

  Jack saw she was already running into the massive facility, her squad doing their best to keep up.

  “Charges set, Major.” Sam Torent’s voice was calm.

  “Fall back, Marines, and blow that fence.” Jack pulled up his field scanner and watched the crowd rushing the fences. Any delay and many of them would be caught in the blast that was designed to save them.

  The Marines began to fall back and took up a formation that would funnel the crowd toward the hangar. Jack walked backward, watching the crowd. They were so close now, it was almost frightening. The crowd had no order, no control; it was a seething chaotic mass of scared people.

  The explosions went up in a single blast along the fence. Jack saw the crowd hesitate and stall in its headlong rush toward the hangar, but then, as the hundred-meter length of fence fell, the crowd rushed on again, shouts and cheers rising in excitement and fear.

  In the far distance, Jack saw a number of dark spots appear in the sky. They could only be one thing. Jack pointed his field scanner at the distant specks and checked. Dozens of Chitin Hydras were racing toward the civilian crowd.

  Jack opened a battalion channel. “Contact. Contact. Incoming Hydras. Make way for the civilians and prepare to fire on the Chits. Come on, Scorpio Battalion. This is our fight. No one else is going to take this on. Good luck, Scorpio Battalion. Good luck.”

  11

  The Hydras came in fast, their energy weapons firing and tearing up the ground, throwing up clouds of dust and smashing the abandoned luggage cases that lay scattered around. Jack looked at his pulse pistol. He knew he could defend himself, but it was not a suitable offensive weapon. Jack needed to use his battalion to counter the incoming Hydras.

  “Fire by companies.” Jack walked back to the observation tower. “Adder, take the left most Hydra. Boa Company, take down the right most. Commander Torent, make sure Cobra targets the central Hydra. I want concentrated fire. As soon as the Hydra is knocked out of the sky, take down the next.”

  Jack reached the observation post and began to climb. The civilians were streaming into the hangar facility between the lines of Marines that all had their pulse rifles pointed at the distant, but fast-approaching enemy. Jack reached the top of the tower. A loudspeaker let him speak to the rushing civilians.

  “Attention, civilians. Keep moving into the hangar.”

  The rifles of Scorpio Battalion sounded as one the moment the Chitin Hydras came into range. Jack watched with satisfaction as a Hydra fell from the sky, the rifles of Cobra Company smashing the Chitin hull. Then two others fell as the concentrated fire did its damage.

  The Chitin crew of the downed Hydras began clambering out in that familiar scuttling movement. It was a sight Jack had seen so often before, but he never thought he would see it here on Eros.

  “Fire at the Chits,” Jack sent the order to all Marines in his battalion. “Careful aim now, Marines. We don’t want to hit any civilians.”

  The Hydras had no such considerations and their plasma arcs scored the ground, throwing up huge piles of debris—abandoned luggage thrown up along with dirt and broken rock. The flying rock thrown about by the plasma arcs caused as much damage as the energy weapons themselves. Jack saw a squad caught by a flying section of broken fence. A group of civilians were thrown off their feet by the force of the plasma arc’s impact on the ground. He watched as they clambered to their feet and scattered in panic, some running toward the transport hangar, others away, desperate to avoid the attacking Chits.

  The battalion targeted the Chitin soldiers as they rushed forward with the civilians. Jack watched with satisfaction as each one fell quickly to Marine fire, and not one civilian hit.

  More Hydras passed over head and the Marines turned their fire onto the vanishing craft.

  “Check your fire,” Jack called out calmly. “They’ve gone. We’re just wasting ammo. We’ll get them when they make their next pass.”

  Jack received casualty reports from squad leaders. The battalion had accounted for three of the Hydras but had taken many more casualties. Jack ordered the wounded to be taken to the safety of the hangar facility.

  Jack received a communication from Torent.

  “It’s the Squad Leader of First Squad,” Torent said. “He’s wounded. So is most of his squad. Got hit with debris. They are refusing to fall back, sir.”

  Jack looked down at the squad. He knew Will Stone and was not surprised he didn’t want to leave the fight. He was in good cover—his squad had taken position in a crater left by a plasma arc impact. “Let them stay, Sam,” Jack said, “and tell Squad Leader Stone he’s a credit to the battalion.”

  The numbers of civilians rushing forward had thinned to only a few. In the distance, Jack could see the civilians scattering, some dragging the luggage they had brought with them. Jack would have urged them to run and take cover, but they were too far out. For now, those civilians would have to fend for themselves.

  The holostage on Jack’s wrist beeped a warning. Chitin Hydras were coming around for another pass. “Incoming. Stand ready. Fire by companies. Let’s bring those Chits down.”

  The Hydras raced toward the hangar entrance. Jack braced himself for the impact of the plasma arcs and the sounds of pulse rifle fire, but the Hydras halted their approach and landed. There were distant screams of terror as the few remaining civilians fled.

  A communication from Squad Leader Osho came over Jack’s communicator. It was good to hear his old squad-mate, but Jack had no time for pleasantries.

  “Sir, I’ve got a very angry politician on the boarding ramp of this transport ship. He says they are fully loaded and have permission to leave, but there are still some people coming. There are loads more transport ships. Shall I hold this one?”

  Jack knew that was the last transport ship that would leave the capital transport hangar. The last few civilians were on their way.

  “Hold that ship, Osho. If they are full, toss some luggage. Wait until you have the last civilian aboard and then go.”

  “What about you, sir?”

  “Don’t wait for me.”

  On the far horizon, Jack saw another mass of dark shapes rushing across the sky. Another mass of Chitin Hydras, and in the distance, from a district transport hangar, Jack saw a pale transport ship lifting off. The Hydras ignored the massive ship and continued to fire at the ground.

  “Jack, this is Pretorius.”

  Jack was pleased to hear the captain’s voice, but he sounded less calm than usual. There was a hint of emotion in the otherwise steady voice.

  “Go ahead, Captain,” Jack said.

  “The last of the planetary defense cannons has fallen. Brecon is over run. The fleet is preparing to disengage. We’ve lost the Virgo and the Aries. I have orders to run silent and attempt to leave the system. Can you get back to the Scorpio, Jack? I’ll wait as long as I can.”

  Jack watched the Hydras racing across the sky, some firing their plasma arcs at ground targets. Jack saw a civilian craft attempting to leave Eros, only to be destroyed on takeoff. Jack knew the company landing craft were slow and would make an easy target for the Chitin Hydras.

  “I’ve got civilians still making their way to the transport ship. I’m going to make sure they make it to their ship, sir. Go without me, Captain. I’ll get away when I can.”

  “We just lost the Pisces,” Pretorius said heavily. “Good luck, Jack. Scorpio out.”

  Jack knew there was nothing else to be said. The channel went dead as the Scorpio went silent for its escape attempt
. Jack looked up. Somewhere up there was his home, the Scorpio. He saluted in the direction of the Scorpio, hidden from view hundreds of kilometers above in the space swarming with Chitin craft. He spoke quietly to himself, “Fly true, Scorpio.”

  A huge explosion in the distance caught Jack’s attention. Somewhere on the horizon, an energy plant had been destroyed. Its towering blast cloud raced skywards in a huge, gray billowing cloud, and then another went.

  “Major Forge, this is Osho. I’ve got all the civilians aboard. I can’t see any more in the hangar. And I’ve got some very angry fat man here telling me to bring back his luggage.”

  Jack smiled to himself. “Tell the fat man to get the luggage himself, but you are leaving. Do you copy that, Osho? Take sixth squad and leave.”

  “I can’t leave the battalion, sir,” Osho said.

  “The people on that transport will need you more than we do. You know that sixth squad is the best squad in the battalion. You are a capable leader, Osho. Take care of them. Take care of the civilians. Go now. Good luck.”

  “Good luck, sir,” Osho said. “Sixth squad departing.”

  Jack looked to the wide, tree-lined boulevard leading to the entrance of the capital hangar facility. Hundreds of Chitin soldiers were stalking forward. Hydras filled the sky. Then, rising from the hangar behind him, Jack saw the huge transport ship lifting off. A flight of Hydras ignored the huge, pale ship as it rose skyward.

  Jack received a communication from the Marine general aboard his transport ship. It was text only. Jack read it quietly.

  All Marines evacuate Eros by any and all means, by order of the Marine general.