Jack Forge, Fleet Marine Boxed Set (Books 1 - 9) Read online

  Reyes moved quickly and grabbed an expander tool from the bench. She forced it into the small crack, the ooze covering her hands. Having fitted the tool in place, she jacked it open further. The shell made a cracking noise and Reyes stopped.

  Jack looked at the open cavity in the Chitin shell. The purple ooze stopped flowing and settled in the opening. Reyes disconnected the various wires. She pulled her head-guard off and dropped it to the bench. She looked up at Jack, who was standing and staring. She beamed up at him, smiling a bright smile that captured Jack, pulling his attention fully away from the slime-oozing broken Chit.

  “I’m in. I’m kravin’ well in.” She shook the ooze off her hands, and it splattered to the floor. She looked up at Jack. “I’ve kravin’ well done it.”

  She turned and looked at the fracture. “Now we can start to find out what they are about.”

  “Is that its blood?” Jack asked, looking nervously at the fracture.

  Reyes looked at her hands. “Maybe this is its body,” she said. “Their natural environment must be at a much higher pressure than ours.” She shook off more ooze. “Maybe whatever was inside has been burst by the low pressure.”

  “We know so little about them,” Jack said.

  “We know they try to kill us whenever they can.”

  “Maybe we could catch a live one and try and talk to it. Find out why they want to kill us.” Jack climbed off the bench, taking care not to slip on the ooze.

  “Okay,” Reyes said. “Good luck with that. I just want to know how they work. Not so bothered about what makes them tick upstairs.” Reyes tapped the side of her head.

  “I hope you two have got a good reason to be slacking off.” Doyle’s voice made Jack jump.

  “I’ve cracked open this Chit,” Reyes reported brightly.

  Doyle came over to the bench, closely followed by George. “Good work, Sarah,” Doyle said. “I knew you’d get there.” He looked at the opening in the Chitin shell. George knelt on the floor and ran his fingers through the ooze.

  “Don’t put that in your mouth, George,” Doyle said, pulling the boy off the floor. “And what about you, Mister Forge? You been working or just looking at Reyes’s ass?”

  Jack felt his face burn red with embarrassment. He stammered and pointed to the drone. “I’ve fixed up the drone with AI from a scrapped water purifier.”

  “Let’s look.” Doyle walked over to the drone, George following. Jack glanced at Reyes nervously. Had she been offended by Doyle’s remark? Jack was hoping to get to know her, maybe date her. Doyle could have ruined everything if she now thought Jack had been looking at her in a lascivious way.

  Reyes smiled at Jack. If she could see the discomfort he was in, she made light of it. It made Jack feel a hell of a lot better. He relaxed slightly.

  “Do you want to talk me through this?” Doyle shouted from the other side of the hangar. “Any time you are ready, Forge.”

  Jack jogged over and began explaining his work, where he’d found the AI unit and how he’d installed it.

  “Good work, Forge,” Doyle said, nodding and looking at the drone. “Looks like we’ve got a couple of real engineers on the staff at last. Between you, Reyes, and George, here we might get the Scorpio into something like a combat ready state.”

  Jack beamed and dusted off the top of the drone.

  “I’ll get George to take this over to the launch bay,” Doyle said.

  George shook his head and stepped closer to Doyle.

  “It’s not far. You know the way.”

  George shook his head vigorously and looked nervously at the doorway leading out of the hangar.

  “You can help out the team a little bit, George. Just take this over to the...”

  George grabbed Doyle’s arm and held on tight. Jack started to feel very uncomfortable with the young man’s behavior, but Doyle took it calmly.

  “Okay. You can stay with me,” Doyle said. Immediately, George relaxed.

  “I can take it to the launch bay,” Jack said.

  Doyle shook his head. “I’ll take it.” He picked up a scrap of computer circuit from a pile of junk on Jack’s bench and handed it George. “Try and fix that for me, George.”

  George took the item and began pulling and prodding it, immersed in the work.

  “He was a galley hand,” Doyle said, nodding toward George. “That’s where the Chits came in. They cut through the hull and came in through the galley. They captured the entire galley staff. George was in the freezer when they infiltrated the ship and got locked in. Nearly died of hypothermia, but that freezer saved his life. I was there patching up the hull after the damn Chits left and I found him. He won’t leave my side now. I’m trying to get him to spread his wings a bit, but it’s still early days yet. Right, George?”

  George handed the broken circuits back to Doyle, who looked at them for a moment before praising George for his work.

  Jack had seen what a close encounter with the Chitins could do to someone. It was impossible to predict how someone would be affected. Some held their nerve and fought them. Some broke and ran. Some froze and remained rooted to the spot, stunned by the Chitins, their alien bodies, and their strange movement. No one came away from an encounter with the Chits and was quite the same again.

  “Jack Forge. Are you hiding in here?

  Jack spun around and looked at who had called out. Sam Torent came marching into the maintenance hangar.

  “Sam. What are you doing down here?”

  “I’ve come to get you for some real work,” Torent said. “I’ll have to pull you away from your toys. Who do you have to notify of your recall to the battalion?”

  Doyle looked Torent in the eye and then showed the stripe on his coveralls’ sleeve.

  Torent came to attention. “Sorry, Master,” Torent said, saluting. “Major Cruz has ordered Sixth Squad to assemble on the Marine deck. We’re not Sixth Squad without all veterans of the Battle of Training Moon.”

  Jack looked at Doyle. He hoped Doyle would refuse him permission to leave. Jack looked over to Reyes. She was wiping her hands free of slime and looking over. She gave Jack a smile, half-friendly and half-sad to see him go.

  “You’re a good engineer, Forge,” Doyle said. “Get back as soon as you can.” Doyle patted Jack on the shoulder. George copied and patted Jack too.

  Torent slung an arm over Jack’s shoulder and walked him away. “They keep some funny people down in maintenance. I can see how you fit in. Let’s get a pulse rifle in your hands. You remember how to use a pulse rifle, don’t you?”

  “Captain on deck,” Commander Finch shouted out as Pretorius entered. The stamp of boots as the squad came to attention echoed around the Marine deck. Major Cruz walked next to Pretorius.

  It was the first time Jack had seen their captain and only the second time he’d seen the major.

  Cruz was small but solid, a cannonball of a man. Pretorius was tall and filled with confidence. He was used to giving orders and having those orders be followed. He had the air of a man who knew what he wanted and knew how to get it. He displayed the sort of confidence that inspired others to be confident too. Then Jack noticed him tugging his cuffs. It was a minor motion, barely discernible, but Jack saw it and thought it a nervous twitch.

  “At ease, squad,” Pretorius said, his voice strong in the huge Marine deck. The captain stood in front of the squad and looked them over. Then he turned to Cruz and spoke quietly. Jack heard the hushed words. He watched carefully

  “I don’t recognize any of your team.”

  “This is the new squad. Our long overdue replacements, Captain.”

  “This is the squad from the Battle of Training Moon?”

  “Yes, sir. Sixth Squad of Cobra Company, Commander Finch’s company.”

  Jack detected a hint of displeasure in the way the captain’s eyes narrowed momentarily.

  “They are the squad with the most recent combat experience.” Pretorius nodded. “And you will be leading th
e mission, Commander?”

  Jack noticed Finch take a step back, clearly recoiling from the very thought of joining the mission.

  “I thought it would be better for me to direct the mission from the Marine ops center with Major Cruz here on board the Scorpio, Captain.”

  Pretorius nodded and seemed to consider the suggestion. “Who do you think should lead them on the ground?”

  “Their squad leader. Step forward, Torent.” Finch spoke in a voice harsh and dry, a voice on the verge of cracking like a sunbaked mud flat. “He has proven himself in battle, Captain. I have every confidence in the man.”

  “Their squad leader? No, Commander. I think you should lead them. The area is clear. Risk is minimal. I don’t think you should pass up the opportunity to get your boots dirty.” Pretorius turned to Major Cruz. “Any objections, Major?”

  “No, Captain,” Cruz replied with a strong voice.

  Finch hooked a finger under his collar and turned his head back and fore, his chin protruding forward.

  Pretorius turned his attention to the squad standing at ease, but Jack thought if they felt anything like he did then they were not at ease at all. Pretorius walked up to Torent, who stepped back into position on the right of the first row. Torent saluted as Pretorius stepped up.

  “As you were, Squad Leader,” Pretorius said. “You were at the Battle of Training Moon when the damn Chitins attacked?”

  “Yes, sir. Hell of a fight, Captain.”

  “So I understand. I read the reports. One of the squad fixed up a drone while under fire. Is that Marine here now?”

  Torent held out a hand and indicated Jack, who was standing next to him. The captain took a step over and faced Jack.

  “If you hadn’t fixed up that drone, Marine, we might have lost even more people down there. Good work.” Captain Pretorius nodded his approval.

  Jack looked up at the tall man. He noticed the deep creases in the captain’s skin. The captain wasn’t that old, but the war was taking its toll.

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  “How did you come to be in the Marines? I would have thought fleet engineers would have taken your application gladly.”

  “I didn’t apply for service, Captain. I was drafted after I failed to make the grade in university.”

  Pretorius tugged his cuff. “Nevertheless, it must be very satisfying to look back and know you were so vital to that day’s work.”

  “No, sir. It was utterly terrifying and I still have nightmares about it.”

  Finch strode forward, red and angry. “You stow that kravin’ mouth, Marine, or you’ll be on laundry duty for a month.”

  “Does that mean I won’t have to fight, Commander?”

  Finch had his tazer in his hand and a cruel look in his eye. Pretorius calmed the commander with a light touch. The captain smiled at Jack, but there was a clear look behind the smile that told Jack that further insolence would not be tolerated. Pretorius was a natural leader of men.

  “You’ll fight, if you have to, Marine. I’ve read your file. You’ll fight if you have to.”

  Pretorius walked along the lines of 6th squad before taking his position in front of them.

  “Listen up. Your mission is to reconnoiter the moon. If we can establish a listening post out here, we can gain a significant advantage in this fight. There is hardly any atmosphere on Kratos, so you will be equipped with tactical suits. The VR deck is cleared for you to familiarize yourselves with this equipment. Make sure you bring it back in one piece, preferably with you safe inside it. Good luck, Marines.”

  The captain turned and walked off the Marine deck. Major Cruz told Finch to carry on and left behind the captain.

  Finch turned toward the squad, his face twisted in anger and annoyance. “Meat suit training on the VR deck right now.” Then Finch walked up to Jack and jabbed the tazer in his ribs.

  Jack felt the jolt spread over his bones and fizz in the base of his skull. He fell to his hands and knees. The second jab from the tazer was aimed between his shoulders. He fell flat on his face as the power ripped though his body a second time. He heard Finch talking in a screeching wail.

  “You show me up like that in front of the captain again, Marine, and you will be sorry.”

  The tazer bit again and Jack felt his tears burn like acid. Then he heard Torent speak.

  “I think the scroat learned his lesson, Commander.”

  Jack heard the tazer fizzing. “You make sure he has, Squad Leader. You make sure he has.” He could hear the sound of Finch’s footsteps walking away.

  “For a clever Marine, you are one stupid kravin’ scroat,” Torent said with a laugh in his voice. “Why don’t you do your talking on the training deck? On your feet, Forge. On the double.”

  “I think I need help.”

  “Damn right you need help.” Torent pulled Jack off the floor. “You need professional help. I hear the fleet is too undermanned to have a counselor, though. The last one got posted to laundry.”

  Jack stood up, his knees regaining their ability to hold him upright. “When the captain said we could gain a significant advantage, what do you think he meant?”

  “You know me better than that, Jacky. I don’t waste time thinking. What do you think he meant?”

  “That we might stop losing this war?” Jack suggested.

  “Maybe. But you’re not going to be around to see us win or lose if you keep annoying Finch. Now get to that VR deck on the double, Marine.”

  Jack walked to the exit, his strength returning by the second. “You know how I know we’re going to lose?”

  “Enlighten me, genius.”

  “Because the people who make the tactical decisions also made your stupid ass squad leader.”

  Jack took the heavy punch on the upper arm. Torent hit hard even when he was fooling.

  6

  The VR pods were stacked as tightly as the bunks in the bunkhouse. Jack slid into his assigned pod and was immediately immersed in the VR training environment. His body was suddenly covered by the light and flexible armor of the Marine Extreme Environment Tactical Suit. The acronym MEET suit was taken to mean ‘meat suit’ by the Marines. The suit was comfortable but unfamiliar. The pulse rifle was familiar. The VR environment represented the weapon perfectly and Jack recognized its size, shape, and weight.

  Torent was down on one knee scanning the horizon. He held up his fist, instructing the squad to hold position. He turned to Jack.

  “Forge. Here. Now.”

  Jack jogged toward Torent and took a knee. He scanned the horizon through his rifle sights. “You got an order for me?”

  Torent slung his rifle over his shoulder and activated the holomap. He tapped the controls on the suit’s glove, waved his hand across the ground, and the map appeared, green and flickering.

  “Jack, take a position on this hill to our right. Give me eyes on that valley before I lead the squad in. Take a partner, if you need.”

  “I’ll take Osho. She’s quiet, light on her feet, and she can keep up.”

  Torent called Osho forward. “Keep a watch on the surrounding area. If I start pulling heat, lay down a covering fire. Go.”

  Jack took off toward the hill on the right flank of Torent’s advance into the valley. The eight kilometers seemed like no distance at all with the meat suit helping Jack run. He almost wished it wasn’t helping him. It had been a long time since he’d been for a long run. The corridors of the Scorpio were long, but it was not the same as a good run in the wide open. Even though in reality Jack was laying on his back in a VR pod, he let himself enjoy the fantasy of being outside, even if the environment was a version of hell.

  The hill was a dusty and rocky outcrop in a wide landscape of black rocks shot through with fine rivers of red lava. Kratos was a protoplanet, or hot moon, pulled and tugged to near breaking point by the gravity of the nearby gas giant. The sky of this simulation was painted black with no stars to distract the Marines in their training. It was the most un
real part of the simulation and the perfect black was more of a distraction than any vista would have been. Jack imagined his own view, a gas giant with rings cutting across the horizon, swirling clouds of red and purple.

  Jack and Osho reached the summit of the small hill. Jack lay flat on the ground and looked back to the squad. Osho took a knee and scanned the horizon over the full 180 degrees with her pulse rifle.

  “They are moving into the valley now,” Jack said. Using the suit comms, he spoke to Torent. “Sam, I’ve got a visual on you and the squad. The way ahead looks clear.”

  “Switch to bioscan,” Torent ordered.

  “Why bioscan?” Osho asked Jack as she switched her scanning mode. “Chits don’t show up on bioscan.”

  “There might be something else out here,” Jack replied. “Switching to bioscan now. It all looks clear.”

  “We know there is something out here,” Torent said. “Why send us in to VR without throwing a load of damn Chits at us?”

  “Maybe to get you used to disappointment and boredom?” Osho suggested.

  “I’ll take a load of boredom over having to talk to you,” Torent said.

  Then Jack spotted a movement, a rock fall on the opposite slope of the shallow valley.

  “Movement on your left, Sam,” Jack said. He switched through all the scanning modes and zoomed in on the area where the rocks had slid. “I can’t detect any creature moving on the slope, though.”

  “Okay. Hold your position. Keep your focus. I’m continuing my advance.”

  Jack saw the opposite ridge of the shallow valley heave and move. It was as if the entire ridge sprang to life as a hoard of Chitin soldiers rose from the dirt, dust and pebbles falling away and tumbling down the slope. Jack’s pulse rifle was alive, spitting fire at the far ridge even before he spoke. “Defend yourself, Sam. Chits. On your left. Thousands of them.”

  Jack and Osho fired rapidly into the center of the Chitin hoard as it ran headlong down the slope toward the squad. Torent formed his squad into a tight square and directed the squad’s fire in tight, concentrated bursts. One pulse rifle could rip a Chitin soldier to shreds in seconds. Jack could see the squad didn’t have seconds. The battle was going to be counted in fractions of a second. Torent’s tactic was working as the squad’s combined, concentrated fire tore through the hoard.