Lone Marine

by Nikolas Bunko

  Who knew what this might be capable of?

  As he neared the ramp, he started to get the funny feeling he was being watched. He immediately chalked it up to paranoia and pre-flight jitters. Of course he was being watched. Tact was monitoring his progress. But the feeling only intensified. Along with one other nagging suspicion.

  This is too easy.

  Before he could investigate the sensation further, a blow hammered into his side. He fell back onto the side just in time to see black boots looming in on him from the side. He looked up to Cole smiling above him.

  “Leaving without saying good-bye?” Cole grinned. “I’m hurt. And now, so are you.”

  Seventeen

  Cole swung his armored boot into Tully’s midsection, resulting in a deafening crack. Tully grunted from the pain. He intercepted Cole’s next kick, but the mad zealot brought a crowbar down on Tully’s shoulders three times until Tully was forced to relinquish hold of Cole’s foot.

  “Aww uhh,” Cole said, shaking his head. “We can’t have that.”

  Why would this motherfucker not die already?

  Tully made several attempts to regain his footing, but he was still dazed from Cole’s surprise attack. Every time he almost made it to his feet, Cole clobbered him until he was sufficiently grounded. Tully wallowed in the pain. Cole continued his furious attack until Tully could move no more on account of his broken ribs.

  Cole gleefully smiled as he crushed Tully’s arm beneath the full weight of his armor. Tully cried out in pain while Cole simply laughed at the now-limp arm hanging at Tully’s side.

  “Can’t have you arming yourself now, can we?” he said.

  Tully realized how bad his situation now was. He was broken and bloodied. He wouldn’t stand a chance one-on-one against Cole. And to make matters worse, Cole had a crowbar, giving him the advantage in any counter-attack. Unless something changed really quick, he was dead.

  “Don’t worry, Lance,” Cole said. “I’m not going to kill you.”

  Tully coughed up blood, painting the inside of his helmet red. “That’s aces. Why the change of heart?”

  “No change of heart. Change of plans,” Cole said. He pointed upward. “From my big honey in the sky.”

  “She thought it would be better if I came back to the Fleet a hero instead of an MIA,” Cole grinned wildly. “And it’s all thanks to you.”

  “They’ll never buy it,” Tully said.

  “Oh. I think they will. I was the poor new guy, alone and out of his element, thrust into a fight for survival against the elements,” Cole said. “Don’t lie, it sounds pretty good, don’t it?”

  “If I’m still alive . . . who do you think they’ll believe? Me or you?” Tully struggled to lift himself against the hull into a sitting position.

  “Well, think about it, dumb-dumb. Who will they believe? The fresh-faced Marine, fresh out of boot camp, or the disobedient, insubordinate asshole with a list of incidents as long as my arm?” Cole grinned. “It’s only natural that you’d become disillusioned with the Corp after a while, leading you to make a profitable pact with the alien intelligence.”

  “No, no, no!” Tully said with all his strength, but with his three broken ribs, it came out barely a whimper.

  “Deep down, you know it’s true,” Cole said. “I’m going to give you over to the FDF gift-wrapped, with the alien tech. Well, not exactly the tech you discovered in my body bag.”

  He produced a glowing orb and smiled at Tully. There was an awkward moment of Cole continuing to grin, prompting Tully to finally ask.

  “What does it do?”

  “Nothing,” Cole said. “So far as I’m aware. But it will take the FDF weeks to figure that out. Perhaps longer, if I can steer the investigation in the wrong direction. Remember – I’ll be a war hero after all. And when they finally figure it out – it will be too late to stop the Sovereign.”

  Deep down, Tully knew that Cole was right. He was going to pin the whole thing – the crash, the death of his team, the alien spacecraft – on Tully. And when or if the FDF figured it was all bullshit, it would be too late. They’d be in the same position as he was – broken, hobbled and totally helpless.

  Cole had won.

  Tully’s body was broken. He had no one in his corner. Tact could not even sense Cole, due to the alien interference. Then Tully had a thought. Maybe he didn’t need Tact to be able to sense or recognize Cole’s presence. He just needed to turn the tables, so that would be exactly what he would do. After all, Tact didn’t recognize Cole – but it did still recognize Tully.

  Maybe, just maybe, that would be enough.

  “Tact, initiate liftoff now!” he yelled as loud as his battered torso would allow.

  “What are you-” Cole started, but Tully lifted himself to a standing position, using the back wall for balance and support. Cole wasn’t as lucky.

  “You’re not the only one who can cause earthquakes,” Tully said with a bloody grin.

  As the Scout ship lifted off, the cargo hold began to rattle and shake. Cole was having trouble keeping his balance, but Tully had positioned himself against the wall of the hold, giving himself something to hold onto. Once again, Cole wasn’t as fortunate.

  “This won’t change anything!” Cole said defiantly.

  “We’ll see about that!” Tully said as he dove into Cole’s midsection, hammering him with his one remaining good arm. This time, Tully didn’t mess around. Every blow was aimed at Cole’s helmet, more specifically his faceplate. But as Tully had learned time and time again, Cole was nothing if not thick-headed.

  Cole gripped his crowbar and swung it. This time Tully was able to leap back, dodging the blow. However, his retreat gave Cole time to regain his footing.

  “You know what?” Cole said. “I’m making a judgment call. You don’t need to be alive to be my scapegoat!”

  “Lucky me,” Tully shot back. “I just had an epiphany. Even when they’re dead, my team still has my back!”

  Cole cocked his head. He started to say something, but then just stared at Tully incomprehensibly. It was only seconds later that he saw the dark shapes of the body bags, freed by the liftoff turbulence, rolling towards him. Cole dodged Laskey’s body bag, but he was caught off-guard by Drummer and Conway’s bags, falling face first to the floor.

  Tully took the opportunity to plant his knee in Cole’s back. And then, with his good arm, he grabbed Cole’s head and slammed it into the floor, time and time again. However, with only one arm, it was hard to steady himself, and he found himself forced to roll off of Cole as the hold’s shaking proved too much.

  “That’s it!” Cole cried. “You’re dead, Tully! You hear me! You’re dead! The Sovereign is screaming in my ear not to kill to kill you. It seems she has plans for you. She’s taken a shine to you. But I gotta protect my baby, even if that means keeping her from what she wants the most!”

  Me, Tully thought. I never thought I’d be thankful for Cole wanting to kill me.

  What did the Sovereign want him for? Whatever it was, Tully doubted it was anything good. He looked up and then smiled when he noticed Cole’s faceplate.

  “Hey, Cole, buddy? You got a little something on your face,” Tully grinned. Cole looked to see a small spider web crack on his faceplate.

  “We’re in the ship, dumbass,” Cole said through gritted teeth.”

  “You won’t be,” Tully said. “For much longer.”

  He charged at Cole, and Cole did the same. It was time to end this – one way or the other. Cole swept forward with his crowbar, but this time Tully dodged it and laid a blow to Cole’s hand, forcing Cole to drop the crowbar. Tully didn’t bother to retrieve it. He couldn’t lose any more time than he already had. He punched at Cole’s stomach as the body bag containing Rodriguez also surged forward, barely missing Cole. However, this only left Cole wide open for Tully’s kick, which caught him off the mid-section and sent him spiraling down the ramp.

  “Tully!” Cole cried. “You can’t
do this! They’ll never believe you – not without me!”

  Lance Tully truly wished Cole had slid all the way down the ramp and onto the ice below. The Scout ship, still in liftoff mode, was hovering twenty feet into the air as it awaited orders to begin its flight. Instead, Cole hung on from the edge of the ramp, grimacing as Tully watched on.

  “Would you believe she made me do it?” Cole said as he looked down at the icy moon below.

  “Not particularly, no,” Lance said.

  “Help me, Tully! We can beat them together,” Cole continued to plead.

  “You’ll betray me the moment we set foot on the Astraeus, if not sooner,” Tully said. “I’ll take my chances.”

  “Alone! How very Tully of you! She was right! You don’t trust anyone! Not really!” Cole screamed. “You’re going to die alone – and it just might be sooner than you think!”

  “That’s nice,” Tully said. “Don’t forget your bags.”

  He lifted Cole’s body bag which contained the alien cube and dropped it down the ramp. It slid down the ramp and hit Cole squarely in the hands. His grip was broken by the sudden weight, and Tully watched as Cole fell down towards the moon below, hitting the snow and ice below. Tully had no doubt that Cole survived the fall itself, but with a damaged faceplate, several broken bones and little or no provisions, it wouldn’t be long now.

  It was important that Lance Tully was finally free of Cole Becker. He closed the ramp manually with a press of a button.

  “Thanks for the assistance,” Tully told the assembled body bags and then headed out of the hold.

  “My readings indicate you are injured,” Tact came online. “Should I activate the medical assist program.”

  “No time,” Tully said as he settled into the pilot’s seat. “We have an appointment to keep.”

  “Acknowledged,” Tact replied.

  Eighteen

  With Cole taken care of, it was now time to escape this godforsaken moon. Tully had to warn the fleet. They had no idea what was coming. The fate of the human race hinged upon his words and actions from here on out.

  This day just keeps getting better and better

  Tully engaged the Scout ship in flight mood as it began to fly. Now was the moment of truth. Was the Scout ship truly fixed, or would it fall out of the sky like a brick in just a few minutes? If the latter happened, Tully might be seeing Cole sooner than he would have liked.

  The Scout ship rattled as Tully took hold of the throttle. He hoped he knew enough from Basics to steer this puppy. According to Tact, the collision detection system was repaired, but Tully hoped he would not have to rely on it. Then again, the last pilot went splat against one of the tall icy spires after trying to fly without it.

  “Would you like me to activate the co-piloting system?” Tact inquired.

  “Sure,” Tully said as he began maneuvering the Scout ship around an icy structure. “Two heads are better than one.”

  “I do not possess a head,” Tact said. “Unless you are referring to the lavatory, which can be found in the back of the ship.”

  “Enough, Tact!” Tully yelled. The Scout ship dipped forward so far to the left it was practically on its side. Tully had dodged another icy spike tower, but now every instrument was flashing red, which certainly wasn’t good.

  “Activating stabilizing measures,” Tact’s cool voice said. In an instant, the Scout ship balanced back to its original position.

  “We make a good team,” Tully said with a sigh.

  “If making a good team entails pulling the ship beyond its recommended maneuvers and then correcting course before terminal disaster, then that is affirmative,” Tact said. Tully couldn’t be sure, but he started to think his sense of humor was rubbing off on the computer system. Then again, it was hard to tell with these artificial intelligence systems.

  Tully dodged the few incoming ice stacks. He needed to get to a clearing so the Scout ship could find enough open sky to embark on a flight path and reach a steady altitude. That was easier said than done. Tully found that piloting through these icy towers was tantamount to attempting to run through a minefield with a pack of angry dogs at his heels. Knowing precisely where these mines were didn’t make them any less dangerous, especially when he had a tight schedule to keep. Slowing down meant losing time, so Tully had no choice but to power through.

  Suddenly, the collision detection system flashed red. Tully growled to himself. He saw no ice spikes on any viewport. Did this mean the avoidance system was malfunctioning? He couldn’t be sure either way. Maybe it was time for a second opinion.

  “Tact, do you see any objects in our path?” he asked.

  “Negative,” Tact said.

  Tully thought to himself. He could have used that as confirmation that there was nothing to worry about. Then again, that’s what the previous occupant of the pilot’s seat had done, and it hadn’t turned out too well for him. He remembered where the icy spire was.

  Below them.

  Tully pushed the ship up so that it gained altitude just a little. He did so just in time to see a tall blade of ice narrowly miss the bottom of the Scout ship. Tully breathed a sigh of relief. He pushed the Scout ship into a clearing and pulled the throttle down as the Scout ship arched into the sky. Turbulence rattled the interior of the cabin. He hoped the Scout ship could take the pressure of flight.

  “Tact, how are we doing on fuel?” he asked.

  “Fuel reserves are approximately twenty three percent,” Tact replied. It should have been enough to get them into the range of the Astraeus, but it didn’t leave much – if any – room for error. The good news was that, at this point, Tully was used to it.

  Another wave of turbulence tore through the ship, this one more violent than the last. The rattling was more of an annoyance than anything else. This last round of shock waves was sufficient to send the fully-armored Tully spiraling off the seat. He probably would have had he not been strapped down.

  “Tact, what’s our structural integrity like?” he asked.

  “Hull integrity is seventy percent and holding,” Tact replied.

  Tully wondered what that figure would look like when they escaped the moon’s gravitational field. Since the moon had little to no atmosphere, he suspected that was causing the turbulence. Well, that and the fact that the Scout ship was held together by duct tape and chewing gum.

  The one consolation Tully had was that, if there was a hull breach, his death would probably be quick. As sturdy as FDF Marine armor was, he doubted it could withstand a one-mile fall. The Scout ship continued to climb.

  So far, so good.

  Nineteen

  He looked at the increasingly dark sky ahead of him. The space was growing larger, the stars bright and shimmering. He was getting closer. He continued to press down on the throttle as he felt the Scout ship buck and twist around him. He felt closer to the FDF now, even if he knew the hardest part was far from over.

  Tully activated the engine burns. He knew he had to exceed in order to escape velocity to avoid being dragged down to the moon below. The Scout ship continued to shake and rattle, but the instruments remained steady and green. Tully took this to mean that either everything was fine . . . or that everything was terrible, the instruments were mis-wired, and he was obliviously flying towards his doom. Either way, there was nothing he could do about it.

  The turbulence intensified as Tully reached the crescendo of the orbiting pull. He felt the Scout ship start to pull back, but that only intensified Tully’s grip on the throttle as he struggled to achieve enough speed. He was lifted up as the rattling worsened. It felt as if he was heading down a bumpy dirt road in a shopping cart. The Scout ship continued on to its destination. Soon the rattling started to slow and eventually it just stopped altogether. Tully felt the Scout ship effortlessly being pulled into space.

  They had broken through the orbital shell of Tartarus. They had made it into space.

  Tully only had a few moments to enjoy the fruits of his s
uccess before the controls again started to flash red.

  Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Or more specifically, the radiation field.

  On the plus side, the ship was no longer rattling. Instead, an eerie calm fell over them. Tully began to worry that the ship was leaking radiation. His armor possessed some latent radiation shielding – after all, it had protected him the entire time he was on Tartarus – but it wasn’t enough to withstand a concentrated dose from the radiation field. Which, as luck would have it, was what surrounded the Scout ship at this very moment.

  “Tact,” he asked. “What’s the structural integrity?”

  “Fifty-two percent and holding,” Tact replied.

  So they had taken some licks in orbit. Still, it didn’t sound too bad. As long as they didn’t run headlong into any asteroids, they were probably fine. Then another question presented itself within Tully’s mind.

  “What’s the status of the radiation shielding?” he asked.

  “Total shielding is at seventy percent,” Tact reported. “But energy shielding, including radiation, is only at thirty-nine percent.”

  Well, that explains the flashing red lights.

  “Are the radiation levels within the ship dangerous?” Tully asked.

  “Negative,” Tact said. “The radiation levels within the cabin are nominal.”

  Remind me to get checked out back at the Astraeus. Assuming I make it back to the Astraeus.

  The only way was through. Tully leaned more weight into the throttle as the Scout ship pushed through the radiation field. He tried to keep the Scout ship moving consistently with regards to the fuel level. Still, he was pretty sure giving it too much “gas” as it were could lead to ignition within the radiation field, and he definitely didn’t want an explosion in the middle of the most dangerous part of space.

  He could try signaling the Astraeus for help, but he doubted they would be able to pick up his signal even though he was midway through the radiation field. And even if they did, they’d probably tell him to stick around until they sent another radiation shield-equipped ship to pick him up. Tully had long since decided he was not going to spend any more time in the radiation shield than he actually had to.