Lost Marine

by James David Victor

  “The Capricorn and the Sagittarius, Sam,” Jack said in horror. “That’s all the destroyers from the Overlord group, and the Overlord itself. What the krav happened, Sam…” Jack scanned through the incoming markers. Various parts of the carrier Overlord and the destroyers Leo, Capricorn, and Sagittarius made up the bulk of the debris. Jack moved deeper into the field. He was scanning and looking for a signal he hoped would not come.

  Sam grunted something. Jack turned. He guessed he understood that Sam was thinking the same thing.

  “No, Sam,” Jack said. “Nothing from the Scorpio.”

  The Scorpio was Jack’s home destroyer. He had been posted to the Scorpio Fleet Marine Battalion as a raw recruit. After several months of brutal war, he had been promoted to major and battalion commander. He still held out hope that he would one day set foot back on that old destroyer.

  Then Jack saw a signal from the debris that made his heart sink still deeper.

  “It’s a civilian transport, Sam.”

  The hunk of debris was one of the larger pieces in the field. It was the forward section of an enormous civilian transport, one of the hundreds of vessels used to transport the planetary population away from danger and off to a new home out in the stars.

  “One civilian transport in the debris by the looks of it, Sam,” Jack said. He knew Sam could not respond, but Jack needed to share this shocking information with someone.

  “Well, the good news is I can’t find any pieces of the Scorpio. Nothing from the Aquarius or the Canis. No signs of the Scepter either.”

  Then Jack spotted a signal that was not from any Fleet vessel. It was a section of hull that he could not identify.

  “What have we got here,” Jack said. He moved in closer to the unknown debris.

  “I’m not familiar with this material,” Jack said. “Extremely high density. This is not from a Fleet vessel. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before. I know there were rumors that Fleet Intelligence was working on a new hull design, but I don’t think anything had been built.”

  A message flashed up on the console. The ship’s data recorder from the Leo had been detected on the far side of the debris field. Jack maneuvered toward the device.

  “Maybe now we can get some answers.”

  Sam gurgled something and shifted in his seat.

  “I think we should be able to find some medical supplies too, maybe a few tactical suits and some pulse rifles if we’re lucky. Hold on, Sam. Hold on.”

  With gravity restored, Bale sat firmly in his command chair. He felt heavier somehow, maybe the chief had recalibrated the gravity incorrectly, but Bale wasn’t going to challenge him about it. Bale looked at the passive scan viewer and watched Jack’s corvette moving through the debris field. He rubbed his chin and took another bite of the foul blue ration block they had taken from the Marines.

  “His active scanners are online,” Ripa said. “He’s sweeping the field in a standard search pattern.”

  “He’s searching for us,” Bale said, leaning forward. “Not enough we have to hide from the Mechs now we are hiding from the Marines too. Now I’m worried about staying in this debris field so long.”

  “Maybe we should contact him?” she asked, looking up to the main holostage.

  “Who?” Bale said, half-turning. “Oh, him,” he added. “No. Do nothing. He’ll never find us in this mess if we maintain our position.”

  “Maybe he can help?”

  “Help how?”

  Ripa tipped her head back toward the rear of the boat, toward the drive room, toward Stone.

  Bale swallowed nervously. He shook his head. “We’ll catch up with the fleet soon,” he said. “Maintain silent running status. As long as we stay dark, we’re hidden. As soon as he moves off, we’ll resume our course to the fleet.”

  Ripa watched the image of the corvette moving slowly through the field. He was scanning in wide sweeps and making no attempt to hide his position. Ripa wondered if Jack Forge even knew that the frigate was floating in the debris.

  She knew Forge was short on supplies. He was probably searching the debris just as they had, looking for anything useful in the junk. Somehow, she didn’t think he was hiding from the Mechs.

  A large piece of composite material floated across the view presented on the holostage. The huge piece of debris rotated slowly as it drifted. Ripa looked at the massive piece of debris, and then as it turned, it presented a new image, an interior section of hull. Strapped to the side of the piece were small objects that drew her attention. She could barely make them out. She focused the passive scanners at the point and increased the image.

  The sight of people floating dead in space shocked her at first. They were moving along with the section of debris. Ripa realized the fragment was a Fleet craft, and the people floating along with it were its crew.

  Ripa focused the scanners on another nearby fragment. She looked closely and saw the charred lettering, the bold white code S-2. Ripa knew immediately it was the designation for a frigate originally assigned to the Scepter Carrier Group.

  She had expected to find bodies in the debris but was surprised nevertheless to see them so clearly. The surveillance console reported a fresh signal. Ripa focused on the source.

  Half-expecting to find Jack Forge’s corvette moving to intercept, Ripa was at first relieved to see the small points of energy emissions moving through the debris. It was not Forge.

  “Someone still has power,” she said to herself. “Maybe a few people have survived in tactical suits.”

  The image resolved and showed a number of people moving toward the frigate.

  “But how do you know we are here?” she said to herself, watching the small points of energy.

  She zoomed in the view to get a closer look. There was a group of individuals wearing what look like tactical suits moving toward them. She zoomed in closer on the group. The sight was more startling than seeing all the dead crew floating along with the debris.

  “Commander,” Ripa said. “Are you seeing this?”

  “What now?” Bale replied, leaning forward in his chair.

  “It’s not Forge,” Ripa replied. “This debris field is not completely dead. We have a small group of individuals moving toward us. They look like shipwrecked crew adrift in space.”

  “How can they detect us? Are we still dark?” Bale said.

  “Yes, sir. All power systems are in silent mode. We are dark, sir.” Ripa hesitated. She couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “Sir. They are not human.”

  Ripa felt a tingle of nervousness as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching the command deck. Stone burst in. He took position next to Ripa at the surveillance console and began to access all the scanner data.

  Bale climbed down from the command chair and walked toward the main holostage, captivated by the image. There were three individuals moving directly toward the frigate. Small thrusters at the rear of their suits propelled them along.

  “Give me a closer look,” Bale said.

  Stone was customizing the scanners. Ripa watched as the chief bypassed systems and rerouted the scanners through the laser targeting. The image instantly became much clearer.

  The three individuals were not wearing Fleet tactical suits. The build was much bulkier. Chief Stone flashed a scale up next to the image.

  “Is that correct?” Ripa said in disbelief.

  Stone nodded and reset the scanners to their original configuration and reset the targeting scanners.

  “They are almost three meters tall,” Ripa said.

  Stone nodded. “Get ready to bring the frigate back to active status. We’re getting out of here.”

  Bale was staring at the holoimage in a daze. “I agree, Chief,” Bale said.

  “I’m glad. What would I do without your agreement?” Stone said derisively. He pushed himself off the surveillance console and moved to the drive console. “Stand by the weapons console, Ripa,” Stone said and took up position.

  Bale
pursed his lips. He knew it had been a mixed fortune finding a stranded chief before fleeing from the final battle of the Chitin War. Sure, he could keep the boat running, but Bale knew the old hand would be a threat to his authority. The most important thing for Bale was to reconnect with the fleet as soon as possible before Stone took over completely.

  Ripa was compliant. She had been one of the original flight crew aboard the frigate before Bale had taken command, and she had initially respected his authority. Stone never had.

  “Activate the boat, Lieutenant,” Bale said, sitting back into his command chair. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Reactor back online,” Stone said. “Directing all power to the drive.”

  “Activating the main targeting scanner,” Ripa said. “Auxiliary scanners standing by.”

  A beeping alarm on Bale’s armrest drew his attention. He tapped at the control panel and tried to deactivate it.

  Stone came rushing over. Ripa looked up at Bale, the blood draining from her face.

  Leaning over Bale, Stone tapped the control panel on the armrest of the command chair. “Intruder,” Stone said. “Upper docking hatch.”

  Ripa looked nervously at the image of the three tall beings heading for the boat. “One must have come from another direction.”

  “Arm yourself,” Stone said. He ran to the command deck entrance and closed the doors. The heavy door locked in place in a fraction of a second, but not before they all heard movement from the upper deck. Someone or something was aboard.

  15

  The first item Jack brought into the corvette was a crate identified as medical supplies. The drones brought it to the forward supply hatch and dropped the crate in the small airlock before moving off to join the rest of the drones searching for usable items.

  He pulled the crate out of the airlock and into the lower deck. He closed the inner hatch and tore the crate open.

  The med-packs were all intact and neatly arranged. There were enough for a company of Marines. Jack grabbed a few and ran up the short stairway to the gun deck and then to the flight deck.

  He tore open the pack and applied it to Sam’s neck. The readout on the panel showed Sam was physically in good shape. Then a list of red lines reported on his neurological condition. Sam was in neurological shock from a massive cognitive overload. It was similar to the effects of extreme stress and advanced dementia. The pack also reported that Sam had a missing right arm.

  Jack laughed. “Sam, it says you are in neural shock, and—brace yourself, old friend—it says you’ve lost your arm.”

  Sam gurgled, and his head lolled about. Jack could only guess what obscenities he was trying to articulate. Jack patted him on the shoulder.

  “Not sure about the arm, but we can fix up your aching head.”

  The medical pack reported the prognosis. Sam would be out of action for several days. The pack requested a second pack be applied to the base of Sam’s neck. Jack tore another one open and held it in position. Fine tendrils threaded out and into Sam’s spine, beginning the treatment immediately.

  Jack watched as Sam slipped into a deep, medically-induced sleep. He patted him on the shoulder again. “You’ll be alright soon,” Jack said.

  Dropping into his seat and checking the progress of the drones, he saw one returning with a large crate. It was a tactical suit. The designation was for the enforcer division of Fleet Intelligence. Jack had always thought the enforcer tactical suit was too showy with its matte black exterior. It was no different than the Fleet Marine tactical suit and had all the same systems. The only difference was the color. Jack was sure that was designed to intimidate.

  He knew the tactical suit crate would not fit through the small service hatch. He would have to climb down to the main airlock on the lower hull. Jack closed his eyes. He was tired and the thought of climbing down made him even more tired. Sam was snoring quietly next to him, slumped sideways in the co-pilot’s chair. The readouts on the med-packs blinked calmly as they treated Sam.

  Jack grabbed a med-pack from the flight console and tore it open. He rolled up his sleeve and applied it to his forearm. The medical diagnostics ran quickly. Jack was in good health but was fatigued.

  “Didn’t need a med-pack to tell me that,” Jack chuckled. He input his Fleet Marine officer override code into the small pack and instructed it to administer a stim shot.

  Suddenly, the flight deck and the flight console became brighter and sharper. Jack was aware of every minor noise throughout the corvette. The drone was approaching the main hatch with the tactical suit. Another drone further away reported locating pulse rifle power cells. Jack instructed the drone to recover them.

  “Now all we need is a pulse rifle and we’re all set,” he said, jumping out of his chair. He patted Sam on the shoulder. “Keep an eye on things up here. I’m going to pull in that tactical suit.”

  And just before Jack could slide down the handrails to the gun deck below, another drone reported its find: a ship’s data recorder.

  Jack paused. Waited. The signal was confirmed. It was the Leo’s data recorder. Here would be a record of the events that led to the creation of this debris field. Before Jack checked out his new suit, he had to know what had happened. He sent the drone with the data recorder to the service hatch.

  Within moments, the data recorder was in his hands. Jack carried it carefully to the flight deck and set it on the holostage. The data connected with the corvette’s systems, and Jack had all the information at his fingertips.

  He searched for weapons discharge. A large group of data points in a short period of less than an hour. He selected the time from an hour before the first weapons discharge and looked at the data.

  There was too much to take in. Every ship of the fleet was networked and shared data with all other ships in the vicinity. Every point of data was recorded. From navigational changes to drive operation, from internal communication to ship-to-ship communications, every last microwatt of power usage to every internal hatch activation, everything was there.

  “Show me the first contact with a non-Fleet vessel.” Jack watched the holostage. The image appeared in a moment. A ship had been identified by the corvette and frigate outriders. It was huge and moved toward the fleet at high speed.

  “Identify the ship,” Jack said.

  The text flashed up under the image. Devex Warship.

  “Who are the Devex?” Jack asked.

  The data recorder responded to the question with a stream of text and a holoimage of an individual. The individual was clad in a heavy full-body suit. It reminded Jack of the tactical suit he was used to wearing—a multi-use suit offering protection against extreme environments, including the vacuum of space, and against attacks by energy and kinetic weapons.

  From the design of the suit, Jack could see that the Devex were an upright bilateral biped. The image showed a Devex walking through a Fleet vessel, upright on two legs. Its upper limbs that extended from the top of the torso were short and they held a long piece of equipment that Jack knew instinctively was a weapon. They were tall, and the accompanying text stated the Devex to be three meters in height. They were broad at the shoulders and had a heavy central mass. They were huge.

  Jack sat back and looked at the giant. The image showed the Devex warrior’s face on the image scanner. It raised its large weapon and fired a blinding flash at the scanner.

  Jack sat back and rubbed his chin. These Devex had attacked and infiltrated the Fleet vessels.

  “Show me communication attempts from all ships to the incoming Devex craft.”

  The data recorder flashed up several files of transmissions from all Fleet boats. Jack spotted a name he recognized at the top of one file—the transmission logs from a familiar destroyer. The Scorpio. Jack tapped the holofile and opened the logs.

  The first communication directed at the incoming warship was a standard greeting.

  Jack scrolled back through the communication logs. He found a vocal communication fro
m the captain of the Scorpio to the admiral aboard the command carrier, the Overlord.

  Jack accessed the playback of the communication. He heard the familiar and welcome sound of Captain Pretorius.

  “The Scorpio stands ready to engage the incoming vessel in the vanguard. We are at full fighting strength. All batteries report ready, sir.”

  Jack leaned forward. He had not found any wreckage of the Scorpio. Maybe his old friend and mentor, Pretorius, had been the first to the battle, and the first to fall.

  “Negative, Scorpio,” the voice of Admiral Henson from the Overlord came in reply. “Hold position. Protect the civilian fleet.”

  Jack looked at the deployment logs for the fleet. All ships were instructed to deploy any fighters they had docked. He saw the details of the fighter wing. All active Blades were rapidly deployed.

  The next communication directed at the incoming Devex warship was from the admiral himself. Jack listened to the man’s proud and firm voice as he spoke to the unknown.

  “We welcome contact with you, but we will protect ourselves if threatened. Slow your advance. And send a representative craft to meet us.”

  Jack knew the result already. The debris of battle lay all around him.

  “Show me the first weapons exchange.”

  The holostage showed a wide-angle view of the entire fleet. The massive Devex ship broke into three smaller, but still massive, ships. Three huge black slabs, completely dark, each larger than a Fleet carrier, bigger even than the massive, city-sized civilian transports, moved in toward the fleet.

  Jack watched with his breath caught in his chest. He waited for the first weapons fire, expecting it to come from the massive Devex ship.

  The Devex ship continued to approach the fleet. The central of the three Devex ships maneuvered over the upper hull of one of the civilian ships. Huge clamping arms began to extend out of the dark slab and wrap slowly, inexorably, around the hull of the civilian transport. Only then did the fleet open fire.

  The order went out from the command carrier and instantly, all Fleet vessels opened fire. Hail cannon flickered on the image as literally tons of ordnance poured onto the Devex’s black hull. Then all laser emitters in range of the massive Devex craft lit up. Beams appeared instantaneously between the attacker and the Devex target.