Forging a Trap (Jack Forge, Fleet Marine Book 8) Read online

  The two Marine majors that had been sitting nearby stepped in front of Jack as he made his way toward the exit. One held out his hand.

  “Major Mike Lyon,” the officer said. “Good to meet you.”

  Jack shook his hand and nodded.

  “Major Kurt Beale,” the second said, offering his hand. “I’m Battalion Major of the Aries. He’s got the Pisces Battalion. Worst in the fleet, I hear.”

  Lyon smiled and stepped alongside Jack. “Don’t believe a word he says, Major.” Lyon draped an arm over Jack’s shoulder. “Guess this is your first time at one of these receptions?”

  “Don’t frighten our new colleague, Mike,” Beale said, then turned to Jack. “They are usually quite boring, but the food is good.”

  Jack walked with Beale and Lyon and left the empty amphitheater as the lights dimmed.

  2

  Jack stood at the side of the large reception room. Tall windows looked out across a wide green lawn with bright colored borders of native Eros plants and some hybrids developed from strains brought by the initial settlement from Earth. Jack recognized the rose. His mother had grown them in the small garden back home. That was before the war.

  Jack heard a familiar voice and turned his attention back to the room.

  “This is the new Commanding Officer of Scorpio Battalion.” Captain Pretorius was walking over accompanied by two other fleet captains. “Jack, let me introduce you.”

  Jack turned to meet two destroyer captains. Before he had time to search their profiles, Pretorius spoke up.

  “This is Captain Janie Lauafa of the Aries, and Captain Derrie Baskin of the Pisces. Captains, this is Major Jack Forge.”

  The two captains shook hands warmly with Jack and congratulated him on his recent promotion.

  “Not sure I deserved this promotion,” Jack said diffidently.

  “Nonsense, Jack,” Pretorius said. “Combat is a cruel beast. We’re just glad you made it back.”

  Lauafa nodded. “Ali is right,” she said soothingly. “If we all lost our rank because we lost people in combat, then the Fleet would have no officers at all. You do your best at every given moment. War decides who survives, not you.”

  “I must introduce you to the Aries battalion commander,” Captain Lauafa said.

  “I’ve just met with Major Beale,” Jack said. He turned to Captain Baskin. “And I’ve met Major Lyon too.”

  “No reason to believe we will be kept in the same carrier group, but if we are, then our ships will be working closely together,” Pretorius said, smiling. “Good to know who’s who.”

  Jack spotted Rear Admiral Jackman across the room. He was talking to Captain Cuthbert, the tall jovial captain of the destroyer Virgo.

  “Excuse me, Captain,” Jack said to Pretorius. “I need to talk to Rear Admiral Jackman.” And with a nod to his companions, Jack left.

  Jack could just overhear Pretorius as he walked away.

  “He’s a terrific Marine officer. Best I’ve worked with.”

  Jack felt a swell of pride. Captain Pretorius was the best Fleet officer as far as Jack was concerned, and it was a huge source of pride that the captain valued Jack, but then he overheard Derrie Baskin ask Pretorius a question that struck at Jack’s heart.

  “Will he get over getting his team killed in the asteroid belt? He will have to deal with that if he is to be a really great officer.”

  Jack strained to hear Pretorius’s reply, but a burst of laughter from a group nearby drowned out the response. Jack took another few steps forward and as he came closer to Rear Admiral Jackman, he began to overhear the conversation between the admiral and Cuthbert.

  Although Cuthbert was speaking in a jovial tone, there was a hard edge to his comments.

  “Humanity has every right to be in the Eros System,” Cuthbert said. “We should fight for our right to stay.”

  Jackman nodded politely as Cuthbert spoke.

  “Thank you, Captain,” Jackman said, ending the conversation when he spotted Jack. “I’ll pass on your comments to the admiral.” He turned to Jack. “Major Forge,” Jackman said brightly. “At last, a chance to put a face to the name. I’ve seen your name in dispatches and after-action reports. Good to finally meet you.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Jack said, slightly taken aback by the rear admiral’s warm greeting.

  “You have delivered some of the most important victories of this war,” Jackman said.

  “Not enough, clearly, sir,” Jack said. “Or we wouldn’t be losing and turning tail and running away.”

  Jackman nodded. “You are not going to give me the same old stand and fight to the end, suicidal nonsense I’m getting from some other officers, are you, Major?”

  Jack shook his head. “I follow orders, sir.”

  “Not always,” Jackman said with a twinkle in his eye. “The Battle of Kratos Fuel Station. You were ordered to withdraw. You disobeyed that order, and then you brought down the first Leviathan the Chitins ever lost.”

  Jack shifted his weight uncomfortably. “There was an opportunity and...”

  Jackman cut Jack off mid-sentence. “And you took it. That’s the kind of Marine I like, Jack. Brave. Creative. Instinctive. I’m sorry to say that the population will never hear of so many of your bold actions.”

  “I don’t do any of it for glory, sir,” Jack said.

  “Then why do you do any of it?”

  “For the Marine next to me, sir. Whatever I have done has been to keep the men and women next to me alive.”

  “But the last action report of yours I read seemed to suggest you’re not always successful,” Jackman said, fixing Jack with a look.

  “I can remember the name of every Marine I’ve lost in combat, sir,” Jack said. “I have made some decisions in the field that have led to losses, but I make the decisions. I take the responsibility, and the grief.”

  Jackman nodded. “I agree. Operations always carry a huge risk. I’m just glad you have made it through so far. You’re an asset to the Fleet Marine Service, Jack. I will have to introduce you to the Marine general.”

  Jackman glanced around the room, looking for Marine General Wallace.

  “Please, sir,” Jack said, “I think I’ve met enough people for one day. I just want to volunteer for the Chitin grab operation.”

  Jackman nodded slowly for a moment after Jack spoke and then replied. “Why should I let you take this operation,” Jackman said calmly. “You are one of the best Marine officers in the Fleet Marine Service. You’ve come up through the ranks, and you have developed into a great combat leader and a fine tactician. Why should I send you on such a dangerous operation? It is likely that the team that goes to capture a live Chitin soldier will suffer losses. What if we lose you, Jack? Who do we replace you with?” Jackman said, casting an arm about the reception and fixing Jack with a stare.

  “I should go because I will get the job done, and I have experience...”

  “Yes, yes. You are probably the best man for the job, but you are a major now. Your job is to manage the battalion. This is a job for a strong squad leader or a company commander at the most. This is not the job for you, Major Forge.”

  Jack nodded. He had moved up the ranks so fast that he still felt like a front-line soldier. He had never been comfortable watching his company fight the battles while he sat back and directed them. Now he was responsible for an entire battalion of three companies. It would be better if he remained on the Marine deck of the Scorpio while a squad went out to capture a Chitin soldier.

  “But,” Jackman said, “the Scorpio is due for a refit and the battalion will be standing idle, or assisting with ship maintenance. Maybe the battalion could manage without its commanding officer for a few days.”

  Jack brightened. “Yes, sir. I’ve just appointed the new company commanders for Boa and Cobra Companies. They are good Marines and I have every confidence in them.”

  Jackman was nodding as Jack spoke. “I know. I have read your latest reports.”r />
  Jack felt a little taken aback. He had no idea anyone actually read the reports he filed from his office on the Scorpio, much less a rear admiral.

  “Don’t look so surprised, Major,” Jackman said. “I wanted to learn what I could about Major Jack Forge before I met you in person. Like I said, your name has come up quite a bit lately.”

  Jack felt a glow of pride and a slight blush of embarrassment.

  “There,” Jackman said. “I’ve just authorized the operation. It’s yours, Major. Plan your operation and select your team. Send me your operation plan at the end of first watch and be ready to move immediately. Clear?”

  Jack stood up proudly. “Yes, sir. I won’t let you down, sir.”

  “No pressure, Jack,” the rear admiral said, “but it’s not just me you would be letting down if you fail. We need a live Chitin soldier if we are to synthesize the chemical cloak. You’ll be letting down the entire population of the Eros System. We are all relying on you.”

  Jackman smiled mischievously. Jack felt a knot in his stomach.

  “Don’t panic, Major. No one is going to know if you succeed or fail. This operation is top secret. No one will ever know what you have done. Well, only you and the team creating the cloak. I believe you know one of them. Sarah Reyes.”

  Jack felt a sudden rush of emotion and adrenaline. The very sound of her name was enough to make him dizzy. The last he had heard of Reyes was that she had disappeared with Fleet Intelligence for a secret project.

  “She can’t be here with us right now,” Jackman said, “but she is nearby. I can arrange a meeting if you like.”

  Jack looked a Jackman and worried that all his feelings were pouring out. He stiffened and replied as firmly and as plainly as he could.

  “She is an old friend. I would like to say hello, sir.”

  “Done,” Jackman said. A small escort drone drifted over at shoulder height and hovered next to Jack. “Follow the drone. It’ll escort you to our research and development laboratory. The drone has authorization codes from my office giving you permission to meet Reyes.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Jack said.

  “And then go and catch me a Chit. Copy?”

  Jack saluted. “Copy that, sir.”

  The buildings of the Fleet Command and Control Headquarters were bright and spacious. Jack followed the drone along one long corridor after another. Tall windows looked out at wide landscape gardens. Fruit trees from Earth and Eros grew side by side, heavy with bright fruit. Eros’s native winged creatures flitted from tree to tree.

  The war seemed a million miles away, almost as if it wasn’t happening at all. Jack wondered how the upper echelons of command could properly plan operations for such a brutal, relentless war in such pleasant surroundings.

  The drone turned away from the tall window and led Jack along a dark corridor, then down a stairway into the lower levels, hidden from the light of day.

  Jack went down flight after flight until the drone flew off along a corridor illuminated by bright ceiling panels. He guessed they were twenty meters beneath the surface. The low ceiling and the heavy walls created an oppressive feeling, but Jack walked on.

  The drone stopped at a double-door halfway along the corridor. The door opened into a large, brightly lit security checkpoint.

  Sitting behind a small desk at one side of the guard room was a Fleet Intelligence agent in his black uniform with silver braid. He looked up at Jack.

  Two Fleet Intelligence enforcers, fully kitted out in their black meat suits, stood flanking a large double-door. The standard issue Fleet Marine Pulse Rifles were slung neatly over their shoulders.

  “Authorization,” the agent at the small desk said, looking up at Jack.

  Jack indicated the small silver drone that hovered in front of him. The agent scanned the drone and then nodded.

  “Thank you, Major.” The agent stood up and walked to the door between the two enforcers. The agent accessed a security panel on the center of the door. The door slid open, and the agent led Jack through.

  The door slid shut behind Jack, leaving him in the center of a short and dark corridor that was open at either end. A bright light was spilling into the shadows from beyond. Jack walked toward one end, turned, and found himself in a viewing gallery looking out at a large laboratory and workshop behind a wall of transparent composite.

  The laboratory was filled with huge pieces of equipment that Jack could not identify. He was able to strip and rebuild a tac boat or even a Marine company landing craft, so he was familiar with the inner workings of some of the heaviest weaponry in the fleet from the blast laser to the high-density hail cannon. There was nothing here that Jack recognized.

  Then, in a dark shadowy corner, he saw something he did recognize. A Chitin soldier.

  Jack dropped to one knee, hand going to his hip. He felt the grip of his Fleet Marine Pulse Pistol against his hand. Then Jack saw movement within the limp hanging tentacles of the Chitin soldier, and out stepped a person wearing a set of tight coveralls and a large protective helmet. The person walked backward from the Chitin, looking it up and down. There appeared to be no danger here. Jack relaxed and took his hand away from his holstered pistol, standing up.

  His movement alerted the figure in the workshop, who turned and looked up to the large viewing gallery that Jack was standing in.

  The person waved enthusiastically and hurried forward. Removing the protective helmet caused a tumble of dark hair to fall out and over her shoulders.

  “Sarah!” Jack shouted.

  Reyes smiled. She dropped the helmet on a workbench.

  “It’s so good to see you! I’ve missed you so much,” Jack said. He stepped up to the wide window that looked out onto the workshop.

  Reyes held her hand to her ear. She mouthed something to Jack and made a gesture that told Jack she hadn’t heard him. Then she hurried forward and to the side of the wide window.

  A section of the transparent composite at one end of the window slid open and Reyes climbed up into the viewing gallery.

  “Jack!” she shouted as she rushed toward him.

  Jack held out his arms and took Reyes in an embrace. He kissed her on the lips.

  Reyes took a step back and smiled.

  “Good to see you too, Major.” She reached out and took Jack’s hand. “Come and see.” She dragged Jack toward the entrance to the workshop.

  Reyes pulled Jack from one bench to another, enthusiastically telling him about Chitin technologies and the work she had been doing with Fleet Intelligence. Jack listened but failed to understand even half of the details. He was able to understand the potential outcomes.

  “So you have worked out their technology?” he asked

  Reyes smiled and nodded. “A lot of it, yes. I think they are amazing really. How they manipulate matter and energy. It is really different than how we do it. They understand it differently, and it sent their technology in different directions from ours.”

  Jack looked at the scattered materials. He spotted one workbench that had a section of a Chitin control panel on it. Jack recognized it from his many encounters with Chitin craft. It was covered in the familiar polyps and short, fat tentacles, but these were dull and gray, not the usual colorful collection of controls Jack had seen in their ships.

  “It lost all its color when we removed it,” Reyes said as if reading Jack’s thoughts.

  Jack wandered toward the panel, Reyes following and talking.

  “I tried hooking it up to various power sources, but I couldn’t get it to work. It’s almost as if it was alive itself. It is almost as if the Chitin technology is a species of its own, like a symbiotic relationship between two species. Like termites using ants as slaves.

  “Like a parasite?” Jack said.

  Reyes shook her head. “No,” she said uncertainly. “But…” She walked over to a far workbench. “Maybe if I...” She trailed off, lost in her thoughts, and started pulling at a bundle of cables that looked biological r
ather than technological.

  Jack watched Reyes work. She dragged the cables over to the panel of gray, lifeless polyps, muttering to herself and pointing to one corner of the workshop and then another.

  “So,” Jack said, “I don’t have much time.”

  “Right,” Reyes said, snapping her fingers. She patted Jack on the shoulder. “Time,” she said again as she rushed to another workbench and picked up a clunky and heavy piece of human tech and hauled it over to the gray polyp panel and the bundle of biological cables. “Time is critical,” she said, “like frequency.”

  Reyes began attaching the cables to the large, clunky box and then she squashed some cable over a polyp or two. She accessed a panel on the clunky device and adjusted some settings.

  Jack looked over her shoulder but couldn’t make any sense of what she was doing. He glanced around the workshop. It seemed to disappear into the distance. Only the front section, as big as the Scorpio’s maintenance hangar, was lit. Hidden away in the shadows, there was clearly much more.

  Jack turned around as he heard a squeal of delight from Reyes. He looked at the Chitin control panel and saw that the polyps were no longer gray but showing signs of color returning. A dim and muted version of the bright colors he had seen in the Chitin ships, but definitely colors. Then the colors faded away and the panel returned to the dull matte gray color.

  Reyes jumped and punched the air. “Yes,” she said excitedly. She turned to Jack. She grabbed his Jacket and pulled him to her, planting a big kiss on his lips before stepping back. “You, Jack, are a genius. Frequency. Timing. I think I can make it work, given a bit more time.”

  “We don’t have time,” Jack said somberly.

  Reyes looked at Jack. She held his hands in front of her. They stared for a fraction of a second before shuffling nervously.

  “You’ve got to see this,” Reyes said, beaming her great smile. She dragged Jack by the hand into the darkness at the far end of the workshop.

  Moving along the lines of workbenches, lights came on as they moved deeper into the workshop. Soon the viewing gallery was lost in the darkness.