Slipspace: Harbinger Read online

  Nira wiped a tear off her cheek as Foster observed a respectful silence. Cassie swallowed hard and Melor closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly. The pictures disappeared and Labonne’s comm. screen returned to its original size.

  “Sorry you had to see that, but words alone can’t describe it,” Labonne continued. “Our recon team took scans of the surface during our ongoing search for survivors. The destruction is far too thorough for this to have been natural causes. This was malicious intent.”

  A wave form analysis appeared on the second screen; an identical match to the one already displayed.

  “We found the same decay signature on the surface as we did in the debris field. Whatever took out the gate also killed the planet.”

  “Some kind of radiation weapon killed all those people and destroyed the station?” Foster asked.

  Nira shook her head. “Not likely. True, certain forms of radiation are hazardous to biological tissue, but the station’s hull should have been designed to withstand those.”

  “What about radiation that eats away at hulls?” Foster asked.

  “I suppose it’s possible,” Nira responded, “but anything like that should have been slow acting, and given station personnel time to evacuate.”

  “But as Labonne already said,” Foster countered, “it doesn’t match anything we already know.”

  “I have to agree with Doctor Fen,” Labonne offered. “The debris patterns out here and on the surface do not support the theory that radiation is the cause. This was something both violent and deliberate.”

  A low murmur grew among the command staff as they started floating theories and postulations. In silence, Cody put his hand up, quelling all extraneous conversation in an instant.

  “We don’t have the luxury of panicking or jumping to conclusions. We have a quarter of a million deceased and missing to find. We need to start cataloging so Central can find and inform next of kin. We have an unknown hostile to track and find. So, let’s break this out.”

  Amado paused a moment as his staff waited for his assignments.

  “Cassie, ping the slip-buoy we placed. Send an encrypted eyes only report direct to Admiral Marr. Tell him what’s going on. Spare the brutal details for now, but request a mobile gate and a relief task force.”

  Cassie nodded, but Cody continued without hesitation. “Melor, Aler, I want you two looking over the sensor data and the debris we recover. Run every analysis, test, and diagnostic you can. Find the information we need.”

  Both officers nodded sharply.

  “Foster, I need boots on the surface of Artez gathering first hand evidence and observations for analysis. We have no idea if hostiles are still present on the surface, so go in heavy. Take artillery support with you.”

  “Yes, sir,” Foster barked.

  Nira sat up, her eyebrows raised in anticipation. Cody caught it out of the corner of his eye and jabbed a harsh finger in her direction. “You stay aboard ship. I know you’ve been idle so far, but keep your staff at the ready. Let’s hope you get busy.”

  A small smile graced Nira’s face, a striking contrast to the tears she fought back. “I promise I won’t complain.”

  “Good,” Cody responded. “In the meantime, I want you looking over the sensor data from the colony remains to see if there are any likely locations for survivors to take refuge.”

  Nira nodded and entered notes into her handheld.

  Cody turned to the display, “Colonel, I need...”

  “...as many black boxes as we can find, and a fighter detachment to escort Foster’s teams to and from the Colony,” Labonne cut him off.

  Cody’s words caught in his throat. He should call her on interrupting him, but in the grand scheme, there were far more important matters at hand.

  “Among other things, yes, Colonel,” he responded. “I also need your group to start searching for our assailants. We’re probably looking for some kind of small battle group. Are your scans detecting anything resembling a Slipspace transition event?”

  “No, Captain. Other than the Mjöllnir’s entry, we’re not picking up any residual,” Labonne reported.

  “Then it stands our enemy is hiding in-system. Find them, but do not engage. Keep your distance and report back. You’ve already been out there for almost two hours now, draw up a rotation schedule so we can get your ships serviced and get your pilots some rest. We’ll launch the standby wing to supplement your numbers.”

  “Thank you, sir, but if it’s all the same to you, we’d prefer to stay out here.”

  He saw the sincerity, almost pleading in her eyes. “I’m listening Colonel. Convince me.”

  “Captain, my pilots have flown far longer than this. We’re out here and as a squadron; we want to stay out here. I’d actually like to launch the rest of the Gryphons so we can expand the S.A.R. and provide the escorts.”

  “I’ll scramble Gamma and Delta wings for you.”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  Cody turned back to the rest of the room and his staff. “That’s it. Everyone understand their assignments?”

  There was smattering of affirmative responses.

  “All right then, get on it.”

  He watched as the staff, led by Foster, cleared the room. Labonne’s screen blanked out. As the officers filed out, Cody remained in his seat. With the meeting over, summoning the energy to stand seemed next to impossible. Nira took notice and stayed behind after everyone else had departed.

  “There’s one other thing, Cody.”

  He didn’t look at her, his eyes remaining fixed forward. “Yes?”

  Nira sighed, “If that radiation signature is still present there is the potential that it could pose a risk to Foster and his teams. We’re obviously dealing with an unknown, especially one that could do...well...” her voice trailed off. She choked her composure back to the forefront. “Would it be all right if I distributed additional supplies and assigned some of my medical personnel to accompany his teams? I promise I’ll stay up here ready for triage.”

  Cody forced a sniffle. “Assign your resources as you see necessary. If he gives you trouble, send him to me.”

  “Will do.”

  Cody gave no response as he continued his blank stare into space. From behind he heard Nira’s feet as she turned to move closer to him.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  Cody nodded. “I’m fine.”

  “Sure?”

  Foster’s going to want to deploy immediately. Please don’t keep him waiting.”

  Nira nodded in silence and stepped into the corridor, the hatch closing behind her.

  As the bolt locked, Captain Cody Amado slumped forward on the table, and wept.

  October 13, 2832

  11:00

  Artez Search and Rescue Mission

  LABONNE WATCHED as the EVA team returned to the dropship, their cargo in tow. A shiver ran down her spine and she shook the unsettling feeling off. Search and rescue might have a more noble purpose than grave robbing, but in this moment, the two felt uncomfortably similar and she fought down the urge to vomit into her flight helmet. Being able to stay out beyond the standard patrol shift helped, as it gave her people something to do, but the physical and emotional demands still took their tolls after almost five hours in a cockpit.

  A piece of debris floated past on her starboard side. The searchlight mounted on her ventral hull turned, tracking the movement of her head, and the markings of a civilian luxury star cruiser came into view as the slag tumbled through space.

  The wreckage floated out of her light and she did an all-too-familiar double take as four bodies floated behind: a male, a female, and two children, one of which still clutched a stuffed bear in its vacuum desiccated hand.

  She turned away and closed her eyes, fighting back the tears as the raw emotion flooded into her head and it was all she could do to keep herself under control. The alert on her console telling her she needed to refuel brought her back. Her communications panel fo
llowed suit.

  “Rescue flight One Eight to Gryphon flight lead, we are secure. Thank you for the help.”

  “Of course, One Eight. Be advised I have located a cluster of four, ready for retrieval. Do you want to get them now, or shall I tag them for later?”

  “Tag them if you don’t mind, Gryphon Lead. We are full up over here and have to head back to the nest.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  The dropship turned and departed in silence, leaving Labonne to the graveyard and the dead family. In the sort span of time, they had not drifted far. She recorded the coordinates, fed the data to the search and rescue database, and dropped a marker buoy, no bigger than a flashlight.

  “Six down, a quarter of a million to go.”

  She heaved a sigh as she set new vectors to take her to the nearest re-fueling tanker before she returned to the search grid with the rest of her squadron. Again, the silence of her cockpit was interrupted by her communications unit.

  “Gryphon Four Seven to Gryphon lead,” the pilot announced with more excitement than might have been appropriate for the moment. She allowed herself a moment to collect herself. Four Seven was a new pilot, one she had acquired when she expanded the squadron, fresh from the academy and flight school. It was a shame that this had to be his first mission.

  Four Seven repeated his hail once more before Labonne responded, asking him to go ahead.

  “Colonel! I’ve got a strong ping coming through the distress frequency. Ma’am, I think I found a black box!”

  October 13, 2832

  11:30

  Dropship Alpha 1 - En route to Artez Surface

  THE DECK LURCHED ONCE AGAIN, jerking Marcus Foster off balance as he sat. He did not fight it, knowing there would be more. The descent to Artez had been much rougher than expected. Even so, his men were holding up under the conditions. On the other hand, the medics from Doctor Fen’s staff were not faring as well. One reached for an air sickness bag and retched. The Marine recalled countless hard combat insertions in which he had participated. By comparison, this was nothing. But for the medic, untrained in combat drops, this must have felt like hell.

  Foster’s ear piece crackled.

  “Colonel, we’re down in five minutes! Sorry for the rough ride, there are some severe meteorological disturbances in the atmosphere. This place is a wasteland.”

  “Acknowledged!”

  Foster cleared his throat and switched his unit to the broadcast mode so everyone on board, as well as those on the other two birds, could hear him.

  “All right, every one, listen up!” Everyone’s eyes shifted to meet his. “We’re down in five. Report is that this planet is now no more than a dust ball. We do not expect any hostiles; however, we are taking no risk. To that end, we’re going in heavy for the SAR.” The ship bucked once more, forcing Foster to pause before continuing. “Carnel, you and your fire teams are searching the remains of the city for survivors and covering Alvarez’s men as needed. My team will cover the hill-lands in case anyone took shelter in the cave networks.”

  The ship banked and turned, separating from the other two it had been traveling with. Another minute passed before the engine gyros whined as they rotated into the vertical take- off and landing positions and the dropship began its descent, coming to a full stop with one final lurch. Foster released his seat harness and stood up. The rear hatch hissed and opened.

  According to the original surveys, he should have been standing in the middle of a grassy field surrounded by forested area on three sides and the colony on the fourth. Instead, the grass and fertile soil had been burned away, leaving only sand and dust. Wind shrieked, blowing up dust devils. Beyond the remains of the field, the colony settlement smoldered in fire and smoke.

  Foster took a breath, the sight reminding him of Mars.

  “Move out.”

  Foster held his position as his team disembarked. While they did not break stride, he noted that many of them looked to their sides, taking in the sight of the new landscape. The medics stepped up behind him and held their place. The team established a perimeter around the dropship and confirmed all clear.

  “Fan out.”

  The team set out on their various tasks. Corpses presented themselves in sickening excess. While the medics began cataloging, a team of Foster’s men pushed forward until they found another cluster of bodies. This pattern continued on: every couple of hundred feet, yet another grouping of bodies could be found. Major Ellian Charten, his battalion’s second in command, approached and saluted. Foster returned the gesture.

  “Sir! My fire team has scouted ahead. These clusters of dead continue all the way into the mountain lowlands and seem to end near a network of caves. The entrance is sealed up, but I’d like permission to excavate.”

  “Get on it.”

  Charten snapped back to a salute before turning away to gather personnel and equipment.

  After several hours, Foster’s team had cataloged more than five hundred bodies. The dropship had come and gone a dozen times over, ferrying victims to the Mjöllnir. Fatigue added to the already low morale and even Foster felt the weight of the task dragging him down.

  “Sir! This is Charten! We’re in! The cave mouth is open.” The Major seemed far too excited given the circumstances. Foster almost had to turn down the volume of his ear piece.

  “Roger, that. Hold pending my arrival. Fire teams beta and gamma, on me.”

  Foster’s detachment hiked to the cave entrance, where they joined Charten and his team. The Colonel took the lead as they entered. Scope lights clicked on as the three fire teams swept the cavern and moved in.

  The cave rose three meters above Foster’s head, arcing into a tunnel so perfect, it could not have been formed by any natural phenomena. The walls and ceilings should have been rough and uneven, but instead were smooth. A light fog hugged the ground, but the light attached to Foster’s weapon cut through the dimness and illuminated the bodies. By their near-uniform arrangement, it almost seemed as though they had been purposefully placed so as to be found. Not seeing this, one of the medics rushed forward, but Foster’s arm shot out, grabbed the man’s shoulder, and pulled him back.

  Without a sound, Foster dropped to a knee, readying his weapon as he did. The rest of his team followed suit, including the befuddled medics as they drew their side arms. He swept, first left then right, and back again before sweeping up to the ceiling and back down to the cave floor. Without taking his eyes off his weapon sights, he reached down and felt for the neck of one of the victims. Another set of silent signals followed as a half dozen marines pushed forward on either side, establishing a line between the bodies and the rest of the cave. They would provide the line of defense in case something inside wanted to get out. He followed up, tapping the medic on his shoulder and signaling it was okay for him to move in.

  The medic stumbled forward and began work. Before long he turned back to Foster, signaling that all four were still alive, albeit barely. Foster flashed another set of signals. This time, the marines still behind him rushed forward, ready to help the medics evacuate the survivors.

  The ground beneath them began to rumble, and a low growl echoed from deep within the cave. Those on point snapped their attention forward once again as they scanned for the source. The rumbling came again, but this time followed by the sounds of scuttling against the rock. The medic and assisting marines turned to Foster, as if unsure of how to proceed.

  “Move it.”

  The rumbling below them continued to build as the scuttling and growling became louder, leaving no question that something was coming from within the cave towards them. The ceiling around them began to powder and flake and Foster felt his already tenuous tactical position grow even more unfavorable. When the medics finally got moving, they ran past him, heading to the cave mouth.

  “Fall back,” Foster ordered though his comm. piece.

  The team executed the order, but the rumblings had grown into tremors and now quakes. Weapons
fire erupted behind Foster. That could not be right. He was supposed to bring up the rear. As he turned back, the muzzle flashes of gunfire illuminated the cave. Why one of his six point men had stopped to open fire, he would not know, nor would he ever know. The low growls erupted into primal roars and the weapon fire stopped abruptly, only to be replaced by screams of pain from the marine. Another marine fell, losing his balance under the shaking ground. A second stopped to help him up, but both were consumed in screams of agonizing pain by the approaching darkness, now only a hundred meters away.

  “Fall back! Get out of here now!”

  The team broke into a full run. Foster reached the mouth of the cave and dove for the supply cache left by the excavation team. As the more of his men passed him, he found what he needed, the explosive additive for his weapon.

  He slammed the vial into his weapon and waited the requisite three seconds for the chemical to mix with the ammunition, causing a reaction that would make it explode on impact.

  “Clear out!”

  Foster took up his position at the cave mouth, and took his aim. Three of his men were still inside, but he was out of time. He readied his weapon and braced himself. As soon as the three stragglers cleared the cave, Foster’s trigger finger tensed, and the weapon erupted. The rounds exploded on impact, striking against the unseen moving wall of their unknown assailant. Yet it remained undeterred by his assault, slowing only slightly. Foster lifted his aim, sending a new spray of weapons fire into the cave roof. The explosions had their intended effect, destabilizing and collapsing the cave wall, trapping the hostile threat inside and, hopefully, crushing it.