Stranded (ESS Space Marines Book 7)

by James David Victor

  Anath and Ingo exchanged a long look, but came to some silent compromise, and went off to look for the hull pieces together. Andy, meanwhile, returned to examining the damage. She knew she didn’t have to get it back to a space-worthy state, just a reasonably sound roof over their heads while they waited to be rescued.

  Tension and worry coiled at the bottom of her stomach, like some sort of emotional snake ready to strike. On top of all of the obvious, she hoped that Ingo wouldn’t suddenly decide that the full-blood traitor needed to die. Andy wasn’t ready to lose her brother. Not that she could imagine she ever would be.

  “You’re not going to cut my throat once we’re out of sight, are you?” Anath asked Ingo, without any trace of joking.

  “You know nothing of your people, do you?” Ingo replied, his disdain clear.

  Anath wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn’t because he didn’t want to take his gaze off the two objectives: looking for the hull pieces and watching out for more of the creatures. If he’d had the luxury, however, he would have sent his eyes to the back of his head. How was it that an entire race of people could hold the same character trait? One to another, every Arkana was an arrogant jerk.

  He liked to think he’d grown away from it, and his mother was the exception.

  “I know only too well,” he replied tersely. “I grew up in the shadow of the very epitome of the Arkana race. My own father would shoot me if he stood where you are, so who doesn’t know much about their people?”

  “Can you blame him?” Ingo replied before wisdom or reserve could stop him. “He’s been betrayed by not one but two of his children!”

  “Is it betrayal to think your parent is wrong and to want to stop genocide?”

  Ingo didn’t reply to that right away. The Arkana race had been born of—created by—the humans of Earth. They had not experienced their own ages of genocide and ethnic cleansing, but the words had been seared into a sort of cultural consciousness that was bred into every one of them. Words had power, and that one caught Ingo off guard.

  Anath wanted to turn and see his face, but he didn’t.

  Just ahead was a claw-marked piece of hull. He checked his surroundings and then hurried to it. It looked like it was intact enough to be put back on, as long as they never hoped to fly the shuttle again. He grabbed it and tied a rope around it that he pulled from the pack he carried, then slung the heavy piece over his back. The Arkana body was strong, and he was able to carry it.

  Ingo caught up to him by this point. “We are on a mission to claim our birthright and return to the world of our ancestors. We are merely fighting back against those who would prevent us.”

  The propaganda of his father nearly made Anath have a brain seizure and he took a deep breath.

  “Father never considered just going to Earth and speaking to them,” Anath said, his voice low and tight as he started looking for the other hull piece. “This war has never been about just going home, or our ancestors, or birthrights. My father is mad with power and insane with the bigoted logic of the ones who created us. There is nothing “merely” about that. You’re just the sword-arm that kills everything standing in my father’s way.”

  17

  Andy was relieved to see both Anath and Ingo return to the clearing, in one piece and walking under their own power. It meant that no creatures had attacked them, and they hadn’t tried to kill each other—or if they had, they hadn’t tried very hard.

  They had also found both pieces of hull.

  Walking into the clearing, Ingo climbed up onto the roof beside her without saying a word, and Anath handed the pieces up one by one. Andy watched the process with curiosity, but if they weren’t going to say anything, neither was she. She simply waited until Ingo held each piece in place, and then welded them back on. She wasn’t a welder by any means, but since it didn’t have to be pretty, she managed.

  By now, Jade was recovered and Anallin was resting inside the shuttle alongside the other two injured persons.

  It was still dark, but at least it was also quiet.

  “Alright, everyone,” Andy said as she climbed down. “Let’s get something to eat and then try to rest up again. We don’t know when they might be back, or what they might bring with them.”

  Everyone nodded and went about their business. Everyone looked worn.

  “Roxanna,” Andy said, walking over to her sergeant.

  “Yes, sir,” the purple woman replied curiously.

  “Did you ever visit the zoo when you were on Earth?”

  Roxanna blinked, almost like she was having a hard time comprehending the question because it was so unexpected. “The zoo, Major?”

  Andy smiled wryly. “I know it’s a strange question but bear with me. Earth has many zoos and nature preserves. Did you ever visit any of them while you were on Earth?”

  “Yes, sir.” The sergeant nodded. “Two, as a matter of fact.”

  “Did either have any primates, such as gorillas or chimpanzees?”

  Roxanna looked confused for another moment, but then understanding dawned on her face with a soft ‘ah,’ and she nodded.

  “Yes, I did. These creatures are…” She paused, her purple eyes moving to one side like she was picking the best words. “They are more human-like in their mental vibrations, one might call it, than the primates I saw on Earth, but they are more like the chimpanzees than you or I or the Arkana. I would say when it comes to what they feel, and thus likely how they think, they fall just between the two.”

  That was what Andy had been wondering about. In the end, it didn’t really matter, but it put it into a perspective that helped her understand.

  “Do they want something from us aside from making us leave?” she asked, knowing that Roxanna’s senses were limited. Any insight she had was always useful, however.

  “That’s hard to say,” the sergeant replied. “Jade believes one tried to eat her, and that could be part of it. I think us being in their territory is a big part too, though.”

  “So, end of story, we need to get off this rock as soon as we possibly can?”

  “Basically, sir.”

  18

  “This is the ESS Star Chaser. Major Dolan, respond. Alpha squad, report. This is the ESS Star Chaser.”

  “Crap!”

  Jade’s shriek as she was jerked away and nearly fell out of the co-pilot’s seat startled everyone else in the cabin, only they all leapt up and grabbed their weapons.

  “Don’t shoot me!” she exclaimed, righting herself before swiftly pressing the controls to open a return channel. “Star Chaser, this is Private Jade Martin of Alpha Squad, ESS Marines Thirty-Third. Can you hear me?”

  “We can hear you, Private. It’s good to hear your voice. Status report?”

  “We have crash landed on an unknown planet and are unable to leave. Request emergency retrieval.” She turned away from the console. “Someone get the major!” she yelled into the cabin, knowing that Dolan was taking her turn at watch. She went back to the console. “Can you locate us from this transponder signal?”

  There was a long pause. “We can and are en route. We are close, but long-range scans say that there are very few places to land even one shuttle.” Jade bit the inside of her lip since she had become aware of that fact very painfully a few days ago. “You will have to come to our landing position.”

  Jade’s eyes widened. “Of course.”

  “What was that, Private?”

  She hadn’t realized she’d said that out loud… “Nothing, sir.”

  Dolan burst in right then and Jade hopped out of the co-pilot’s seat. The major sat down. “This is Major Dolan. We’re very happy to hear from you.”

  “We’re happy to hear from you too, Major. Is everyone okay?”

  “We’re alive. We do have injuries, though. There is a native creature on this planet that is… Well, they aren’t happy to have us visiting. They have attacked repeatedly.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. We’re on our way as
quickly as we can. Unfortunately, there will be few landing sites so you’ll need to meet the shuttle where it can land.” There was a long pause, and then directions and coordinates.

  Jade chewed on the inside of her lip, but Andy seemed to take it all in stride.

  “We’ll be there, sir. How long do you estimate your arrival?”

  “We will be there and on the ground in approximately sixteen hours.”

  The major nodded, even though no one on the ship could see it. “We’ll be there. Dolan out.”

  The channel chirped closed.

  “Martin,” Dolan said. “How far away is the site they’re coming to?”

  Jade blinked and then leaned over to access the computer. There was very little functioning, but she managed to access a map. “From what little I can see here, we’re surrounded by dense forest. It would probably be…” She did quick calculations in her head rather than try to convince the computer to. “…just about thirteen hours walking time.”

  That wasn’t great news. “Does that include the extra load of carrying injured personnel?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Thank you, Martin,” Andy said, standing and walking to the back.

  Andy asked for everyone to come outside around the fire. Even if it put them in the open, she wanted them all to have some space. Staying close to the fire would provide a measure of safety.

  “The Star Chaser is coming for us,” she said simply. She looked between the four Arkana first. “I did not tell them about you being here. The choice is yours. You’ve stuck to your side of the deal, and I will stick to mine. You can surrender to us and come with us when our ship gets here. I assure you that you’ll be treated well. Or you can remain, use our shuttle as shelter, and hope someone else gets the signal.”

  Marthe was the one to look at each of them in turn. They looked…disappointed, but Andy could hardly be surprised. Of course, they’d been hoping that it would be their own ship that rescued them, just like she’d been hoping it would be hers. She didn’t push them, although she knew they would have to start moving soon.

  So she laid out the rest of it while they thought. “Here’s a problem. They can’t land near us. We have to meet them, which means traveling through dense forest in this unending night. They will be here in approximately sixteen hours. It will take us roughly thirteen to get there. Thirteen hours to stay alive.”

  “Does that include our injured people?” Marthe asked softly, cautiously.

  “It does,” Andy said. “I would not go ahead with numbers without factoring in everything, and if you choose to come with us, I would not leave anyone behind who still drew breath.”

  “You would travel through these woods, in this dark, with our injured people, knowing they will be nothing but a burden to you?” Marthe asked, her brows knitting with something like suspicion or disbelief.

  “Yes, I would,” Andy said as she folded her arms. “We made a deal and I’m going to honor it. That includes bringing all of you, injured or not. I wouldn’t leave one of my Marines behind because they would need to be carried, and I won’t leave your soldiers behind, at the mercy of these beasts, either. Whether you come with us or not is up to you, but if you come, you all do. End of story.”

  For the first time, Andy thought she saw an emotion other than contempt or skepticism cross Marthe’s face. If Andy didn’t know better—and maybe she didn’t—she would have thought the Arkana woman was about to cry.

  “We’ll go with you,” she said softly, meeting the eyes of the other three, who nodded. “And we will surrender ourselves to the ESS.”

  19

  Hour One

  “Alright, we have a thirteen-hour hike ahead of us through enemy territory,” Andy said plainly as they stared at each other over the fire place. “What do we know?”

  “We know that they are nocturnal, although dusk-like dimness is enough for them,” Roxanna said.

  “We know that they burn, although it seems like they need to be burned or see another burned before they realize the fire is dangerous,” Dan added.

  “They are big,” Anallin stated, eyes clicking rapidly as it touched its face. “Their claws are sharp. They are strong. Neither bullets nor energy bolts take them down easily, unless you can get a good shot. Straight through the eye or other targets on the skull.”

  “They do need to breathe through their throats and mouths,” Jade said, idly rubbing her throat with her free hand while holding her rifle with the other. “I kicked one in the throat and it reacted like a human.”

  Andy nodded, taking it all in. “We have to get out of this campsite in three hours at the most to meet our shuttle at the rendezvous point. I know they’ll wait for us, for a while at least, but I don’t want to make anyone stay on this planet for long.”

  “I think we can safely rule out any camping,” Ingo said with a wry smile. “So shelter isn’t a necessity. Nothing we could carry would do anything against those big brutes anyways.”

  “True,” Andy agreed, “but we will need food, water, and medical supplies. As well as trying to reinforce the structures of those stretchers to make sure we don’t drop them on the way.”

  “I’m sure they appreciate the thought,” Viator said with a small smile.

  “We can work out a rotation for who will do the carrying and who will do the guarding,” Andy said, once again very obviously surprising the Arkana. “We don’t need your arms falling off, after all, but I will leave fixing the stretchers to you.”

  Marthe nodded once, and the four moved off.

  She turned to her Marines. “I’m going to stay on guard. Martin, you and the pilot do what you can to pull anything we need from our shuttle and then scorch the rest so nothing useful is left behind. Thomas and Roxanna, start packing up the food and water. We have a thirteen-hour straight trek.” They nodded and turned to do so. “Anath, I want you to be sure of the medical supplies that we’ll need, both for the injuries we already have and whatever we might encounter. We don’t want to weigh ourselves down too much, but I want to be prepared. Anallin, you’re on watch with me.

  “Get to work.”

  20

  Hour Three

  Everything was as settled as it could be, and they had managed to do so in peace. There had been no further attacks in the past two hours, but Andy felt sure that that would not last much longer.

  The Arkana would be carrying their comrades for the first stretch. Andy assigned herself, Anallin, Roxanna, and Dan to be on point with the weapon defense. The pilot, Jade, and Anath would have their guns but would be carrying torches with the fire to help them fight the creatures should they show up again, as well as help them see their way in the dark, combined with the flashlights on the weapons.

  “Let’s move out,” she ordered.

  Anallin, with its sharpshooter skills and hand-scanner, took point. Andy covered their rear, with Roxanna and Dan to either side. They put the Arkana in the center, and the torch-bearers roved.

  Andy didn’t tell them to keep their eyes open. It would be a useless order. It probably would be wiser to order them to remember to blink during the next thirteen hours.

  She would have to remind herself to do the same.

  21

  Hour Four

  “They’re coming.”

  Roxanna had known that it wouldn’t be long before those two tense words came from her mouth, although she had been hoping that she was wrong. But after roughly an hour of traveling, everyone’s fear and anxiety pressing in on her, she had felt that shift in the air around her. That tripping of the extra sense that she possessed that felt on another plane entirely.

  “Just like we planned, people,” Andy ordered, bringing the group to a halt and everyone coming into defensive postures. The Arkana put down the stretchers and took up their weapons, turning outward like a group of animals defending their offspring.

  With an enemy that swung through the trees and could see in the dark, and them carrying the injured, they knew
they couldn’t outrun them. They were more likely to end up killing themselves by tripping into tree trunks than being killed by the creatures.

  Roxanna concentrated, spreading out her empathy like someone narrowing their eyes to try to see further. She tried to narrow down where they were coming from, or if they were coming from all directions. Even as she focused mentally, she tried to keep her eyes and ears open, as the humans said, but it was hard to focus on all three at once.

  “North,” she said, turning that way. “A group comes from the north.”

  Guns turned to face the north, although some kept their attention on everything at the same time. No one wanted to be caught by surprise, after all, and be flanked.

  Within a few moments , they could hear a noise from the tree. She soon realized that it was the creatures swinging from the branches high above them, much like the chimpanzees that Dolan had reminded her of earlier. Shining her flashlight into the trees, she tried to spot one.

  When she did, her rifle light managed to catch it right in the eyes as it looked down. One of its four hands grabbed its eyes, like they were burnt, and it fell from the trees.

  “Fire!” Andy called, and bullets and bolts opened up on the fallen creature.

  Seemingly in a rage over their fallen comrade, the other beasts—she saw five in all—dropped down right beside him (or her?) and started swinging their strong arms and fearsome claws.

  Anallin was the closest and took aim quickly, dropping one with a clear shot to the eye. The one directly beside it turned on the Hanaran, eating up the ground with fast strides and jumping to land on the little blue one. Roxanna took aim to shoot that one before it could eat her comrade and friend, but a pale energy bolt lurched across the interceding space first and caught it on the side of the head.