First Colony: Books 1 - 3

by Ken Lozito

  “Okay, but if the living exoskeleton is what’s keeping that Vemus Alpha together, why couldn’t we just insert the toxin on the surface and then get the hell out of there?” Captain Randle asked.

  “The only way to be sure is to find the collective intelligence behind the Vemus and infect that first. This way, it will spread to all of them while crippling their capacity to fight,” Connor replied.

  Captain Randle shook his head. “You really think there’s a hive queen?”

  “Call it whatever you want, but I do believe there’s a collective intelligence controlling the Vemus,” Connor said.

  Captain Randle nodded. “What about the Vemus forces that aren’t on the ship?”

  “They’ll need to be stopped. Every single one of them,” Connor said.

  A passive scan alert appeared on the combat shuttle’s heads-up display. Connor read the alert and frowned.

  “Colonel Hayes has begun the attack,” Captain Randle said.

  “He’s early,” Connor said while rubbing his chin. “Something must have happened.”

  He’d kept the combat shuttle’s systems on passive to avoid detection, which included the long-range communications systems. He opened the short-range comms channel to the other shuttles. “We need to move faster than originally planned. Start up main engines. We’ll use the battle as cover to get aboard.”

  The other combat-shuttle pilots acknowledged his orders. They were close enough to the Vemus Alpha that they should be able to sneak aboard. Connor initiated the startup process for the combat shuttle’s main engines. When the shuttle’s engines came online, Connor engaged them and they darted ahead, flying toward the cavernous rear of the Vemus Alpha. Connor had estimated that this was the area where the Vemus Alpha’s main engines were located. While not the safest place to fly, he also knew there would be maintenance hatches not far from the engine pods. Colonel Hayes knew the approach vector Connor was going to take, so they didn’t have to worry about being caught in friendly fire.

  They closed in on the Vemus Alpha, flying in close to the rear section of the hull. The hull of the Vemus Alpha was rough, as if it had been part of a large asteroid. Connor knew the Vemus had absorbed other ships in order to form the hulking mass that was the Alpha. As they approached the cavernous drop-off at the rear of the enemy ship, Connor used maneuvering thrusters to swing the combat shuttle around and then engaged their main engines to slow their approach. Even with inertia dampeners, Connor felt himself pressing into his seat while he used the main engines in a rapid deceleration maneuver. The other combat shuttles did the same, and once they reached the rear of the Vemus Alpha, Connor engaged the main engines in a burst that would take them inside. There was an array of engine pods, some of which Connor recognized from battleship carriers and others that looked like they’d come from civilian freighters used throughout the Sol system.

  “How’d they even power all those engines?” Captain Randle asked.

  Connor wasn’t sure. He knew that, in theory, the reactors that powered NA Alliance military vessels could work for hundreds of years. They just needed a fuel source for their fusion reactor cores. Efficiency was a must for any ship to operate in space, and it didn’t matter whether the spacecraft was civilian or military.

  Connor angled their approach to avoid the engine pods, taking a circuitous route toward the center. They only needed one point of entry for all of them to board. Connor brought the active scanners online. There was little chance of being detected because they were just outside the inner hull of the ship. Scanning data started to show on the main heads-up display and a map of the hull appeared. He zeroed in on an area that looked promising and slowed the shuttle down. The exoskeletal hull became sparser the farther they went. Bare patches of the original ships’ hulls became more prevalent, and Connor felt the edges of his lips curve into a smile.

  “I don’t get it. Why are there these bare patches here?” Captain Randle asked.

  “It’s the same as their other ships. They don’t fully encase the entire hull with the exoskeleton. Maybe they just don’t have the resources to cover it all or they think they don’t need to. Regardless, that’s where we’re getting on the ship,” Connor said.

  Captain Randle glanced over at him. “You expected this to be here.”

  Connor nodded. “If it hadn’t been, we’d have made our own hole and gotten on board.”

  Connor highlighted the targeted landing area on the heads-up display and transferred the coordinates to the other shuttles. There was no sign of the Vemus in the area. He deployed the landing gear and brought the combat shuttle to the hull. The landing gear hit the hull and he deployed the anchor bolts that would hold the shuttle in place. He powered down the engines and put them on standby.

  Connor and Captain Randle left the cockpit and went to the rear of the shuttle, where Nexstar combat suits waited for them. The assault team already had their combat suits on and were waiting. The chest of the combat suit was split down the middle from the neck to the feet. Connor stepped inside and initiated the startup process. The Nexstar’s systems came online and the suit closed up, encasing Connor in a protective shell. He saw Dr. Kim standing off to the side, wearing an EVA suit.

  “What do you think you’re doing, Dr. Kim?” Connor asked.

  Dr. Kim glanced at the other CDF soldiers and then back at Connor with wide eyes. “I just assumed that I was going with you aboard that ship.” He had a large metallic cylinder clutched to his chest.

  “Is that it?” Connor asked, gesturing toward the cylinder.

  Dr. Kim nodded several times. “Yes, this is it,” he said in a shaky voice.

  “I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you stay on the shuttle?” Connor said.

  Dr. Kim’s mouth rounded into a circle. “I can help you,” he said.

  “You’ve done enough. We’ll take it from here,” Connor said.

  The warring emotions on Dr. Kim’s face cycled through disappointment to stark relief. Connor knew that if he allowed the scientist to come with them he’d be among the first to die. Connor stepped closer to him.

  “You’ve done enough. We wouldn’t have this chance without you,” Connor said.

  Dr. Kim’s brows pulled together in a tight frown. “I did nothing but pull together the pieces of other people’s work. Brian Walker is the real hero.”

  “Stay on the shuttle and wait. That’s all I need you to do,” Connor said and reached out for the metallic cylinder. “I’ll take this and ensure it gets where it needs to go.”

  The scientist reluctantly let go and stood there, unsure of what to say.

  Connor turned to the assault team. “Open the hatch.”

  The rear hatch of the combat shuttle opened and the assault team began stepping off the shuttle.

  “General, I just want to . . .” Dr. Kim began to say, and Connor turned back toward him. “I just wanted to say thank you. You’re one of the bravest men I’ve ever known.”

  Connor gave him a long look and thanked him. “Good luck to you,” he said.

  As Connor left the combat shuttle, he didn’t think he’d ever see the scientist again. He stepped out onto the hull of the Vemus Alpha and gritted his teeth.

  “Final gear check!” Captain Randle called. “Check yourself and check the soldiers around you.”

  There was a flurry of activity as they all did one final check. Connor reached up and cinched the straps of the cylinder hooked to his back a bit tighter, making sure the cylinder was secured to the bracket on his belt. He sure as hell didn’t want the damn thing firing off early. Dr. Kim had told him how to activate the nanobots inside.

  The other assault teams from the combat shuttles gathered around. They were all heavily armed and were as ready as they could be to face what was inside. Connor sent the team ahead to check the maintenance hatch airlock.

  “Sir, there’s no manual override,” Corporal Manis said.

  Connor stepped forward and the corporal moved aside so he coul
d access the panel. He used his old credentials from the NA Alliance military and the hatch unlocked. Connor gestured for the two nearest soldiers to go in first, and Captain Randle stayed at his side while he waited. They went through the airlock in groups.

  The inside of the ship was dark and sparse, as if it had been abandoned. A minimal atmosphere registered from the sensors of Connor’s combat suit—hardly enough to breathe in but it had an unusually high nitrogen content.

  Once the CDF assault team was inside, they moved deeper into the ship. The dark gray corridors were empty and there was a buildup of a dark substance along the walls. It didn’t look like anything he’d seen on the other Vemus ships. Connor figured the maintenance corridor wouldn’t see a lot of foot traffic, but he had expected to see some sign that the Vemus had been in here. How did the Vemus maintain the engine pods if they never came down here?

  Over the next hour, all seventy members of the assault team cautiously poked around the Vemus Alpha ship, but the exterior of the ship was over twenty-two kilometers across, and they barely scratched the surface. They left the maintenance corridor behind and headed to the main section of whatever this particular ship had been. That was when they began to see a brown sludge adorning the interior walls that was all too familiar to Connor.

  “Stay away from the walls,” Connor warned.

  That brown sludge was the same substance that had begun to absorb Wil Reisman while they’d been aboard the Indianapolis. As they went farther into the ship, the sludge seemed to solidify, becoming a hardened substance. The buildup of the brown sludge rounded the edges of the corridor until Connor felt as if he were walking through a large tube.

  As they continued, the Vemus Alpha was looking a lot less like an NA Alliance ship, or any ship Connor had been on. He knew from the last time they’d been on a Vemus ship that they couldn’t use comlinks because the Vemus could sense them somehow. Their communications envelope was limited.

  “General, perhaps we should consider splitting our forces to do some reconnaissance, then meet back up,” Captain Walker suggested.

  Connor nodded. He’d been thinking the same thing. “I think you’re right. Let’s split up and meet back here in thirty minutes.”

  Captain Walker took half the assault team and went off down a different corridor.

  “Any idea what we’re looking for?” Captain Randle asked.

  “Ideally, we’d be seeing more signs of life,” Connor said.

  Captain Randle grunted.

  They came upon another set of corridors and there was a soft amber glow emanating from the exoskeletal walls. There were glowing orbs inside that lined the corridor like shining pearls. They followed along until they came to a tunnel that spiraled down and to the left. The orbs glowed even brighter. CDF soldiers took point on either side of the tunnel, and Connor peered down into the gloom. There was a drop and then the tunnel twisted out of sight. The interior atmosphere had become increasingly humid, according to his combat suit’s sensors. Connor leaned forward and took a small step. His foot slipped out in front of him and he went forward into the tunnel. Connor grunted as he rolled, completely out of control. He slid down the long, slimy tunnel floor and crashed into a wall. Connor was gasping, and it took him a few moments to get his equilibrium under control. Everything kept spinning. He pushed himself onto his feet and grabbed his AR-71 assault rifle, which had miraculously stayed by him as he slid down the tunnel. He reached his hand to his back and felt that the metallic cylinder was still securely in place.

  Connor looked up the way he’d fallen and cursed. After a few moments, he heard the sounds of something else coming down, so he brought his weapon up and waited. Three CDF soldiers slid down the tunnel like Connor had and came to a stop nearby. Connor darted over and helped them up. The third soldier was Captain Randle.

  “Are you all right?” Connor asked.

  Captain Randle sighed and shook his head as if to clear it. “I’ll live. I was just about to tell you to get back from the edge when you slipped. I ordered the team to find another way down, then followed you, along with Corporal Mathis and Sergeant Brennan here.”

  Connor opened an IR channel and tried to reach the rest of the team, but there was no response. Captain Randle turned and looked up the steep slope of the tunnel. The slope angled away from them, so they couldn’t see to the top and there was no way to tell how far they’d come down.

  “Should we try to open a comlink, sir?” Corporal Mathis asked.

  ‘We can’t risk it. The comlink would draw attention to us,” Connor said.

  “I think we already did that, sir,” Captain Randle said and leaned in toward the glistening wall.

  Connor frowned. ‘What do you mean?”

  The orbs inside the walls became brighter and the whole tunnel seemed to light up in an amber color. Captain Randle’s helmet was less than a foot away from the wall, and Connor was about to tell him to step back when Captain Randle quickly backed away and glanced at Connor.

  “It looks like a swirling mass of liquid is moving beneath the surface. I checked the corridor before we went down and I could’ve sworn that tunnel wasn’t there before.”

  “Are you saying you think the tunnel just formed?” Connor asked.

  “I wasn’t sure. I’m sorry, sir. I should’ve said something sooner,” Captain Randle said.

  They were all a bit jumpy, and Connor couldn’t fault Captain Randle for not speaking up. He started to get the feeling that they were being toyed with.

  “Don’t worry about it. Let’s keep moving,” Connor said.

  They continued moving forward. The tunnel widened into a vast chamber, and the glowing orbs inside the walls pulsed brighter. Connor looked around the chamber, trying to find another way out but didn’t see any near them. They walked into the chamber past massive columns made of the exoskeletal substance.

  Corporal Mathis cried out and Connor spun toward him. The CDF soldier was trying to move the legs of his combat suit, which were sinking into the ground. Sergeant Brennan and Captain Randle grabbed his outstretched arms, trying to pull him free. Connor glanced at the floor and saw that the area by their feet had a swirling substance beneath the hardened surface. It was gathering underneath the two men. Corporal Mathis sank to his thighs and screamed in panic, firmly rooted in place. Connor shuffled to the side and squeezed off a few rounds into the swirling mass surrounding the corporal. The slugs penetrated the hardened surface but had no effect, and Corporal Mathis sank past his waist.

  “It’s in my suit!” Corporal Mathis cried.

  Sergeant Brennan started to sink, and Connor saw the area beneath Captain Randle’s feet begin to liquefy. Connor yanked Captain Randle backward. Captain Randle tried to grab the sergeant, but he sank too quickly. Within a few moments, the two men were completely submerged, with only the gurgling sounds of the dying men’s screams escaping the viscous liquid. Connor stumbled back and pulled Captain Randle along.

  “What the hell! How could it just swallow them up like that?” Captain Randle said.

  It had all happened so fast that Connor could only react. He’d never seen anything like it.

  They ran across the open chamber. “I don’t know,” Connor gasped. “We have to keep moving or the same thing is going to happen to us.”

  A shudder worked its way through Connor as they hastened from the chamber. He felt like each step they took would sink them into the exoskeletal substance. The amber glow continued to pulse along the corridor. Connor looked at the ground and there was no escaping the hardened substance. He risked a glance behind them and saw something swirling beneath the glowing surface, as if it were swimming through the liquid. Connor felt his heart pounding in his ears and his mouth went dry as panic gripped him. They came out of the corridor into another vast open chamber. Connor looked up and couldn’t see the ceiling. There was only a thick fog gathered about ten meters above him. The glowing orbs inside the walls faded off to either side of them where the fog thickened.
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  Captain Randle clutched his weapon as he spun around, trying to peer into the gloom. Connor used the combat suit’s systems to cycle through a visual spectrum range, and only infrared showed a huge circular shape in the middle of the vast chamber. Thick, rounded cables connected to it. Some he recognized as power cables and others were something he couldn’t identify.

  Connor moved forward and Captain Randle followed. The lighting in the chamber began to increase and Connor was beginning to make out details of what was with them in the chamber.

  “Holy shit!” Captain Randle gasped.

  Tall, dark shapes seemed to appear out of nowhere as the fog receded away from them. Their thick dome shaped heads seemed to angle downward aggressively and a harsh blast of air expelled from their mouths startling Connor. He pointed his AR-71 at one, and several of the Vemus fighters shifted their thick legs and clawed feet. The sound of that shift echoed throughout the chamber. There must have been thousands of them in that chamber alone.

  Captain Randle’s breath came in gasps. He clutched the AR-71 with shaking hands.

  “Hold your fire,” Connor said.

  “Sir, they’re going to kill us,” Captain Randle said between gasps.

  “If they wanted us dead, we’d be dead already,” Connor said.

  Connor felt a cold shiver rush down his spine as he made himself lower his weapon. He took a step forward and the Vemus soldiers didn’t move. A thick amber cord was attached from the lower backs of the Vemus soldiers, went to the ground, and stretched in the direction of the central, amorphous mass in the middle of the chamber.

  “There are too many. Too many of them. We can’t . . .” Captain Randle muttered.

  Connor felt terror grip his chest, but he forced it away. “Wayne, you need to calm down.”

  Captain Randle turned toward him with wild eyes, moments from panicking. Focusing on him, Connor felt his own fear subside.