Forged by War (Jack Forge, Fleet Marine Book 9) Read online

  Stuart Laidlaw lay on the timber floorboards of a three-story building. The high towering buildings all around were smoking as fires were snuffed out by the fire suppression systems. Black clouds poured out of all the buildings and drifted on the wind like so many billowing black rivers.

  Across the street in wrecked buildings, the Marines of Boa Company waited in cover, their Fleet Marine Pulse Rifles ready in their hands. Laidlaw watched a Chitin Hydra race across the late evening sky. It moved toward the distant capital stadium and the Leviathan holding position at ground level amongst the buildings of the stadium complex.

  A lookout high on a nearby building signaled to Laidlaw. The way was clear. Time to move. Laidlaw signaled his squad leaders. The Marines broke cover, moving as one and advancing to another street closer to their target.

  Laidlaw moved down the stairway from his high vantage point. Halting at a smashed exterior wall, he took a quick glance left and right. The way was clear, so he dashed quickly across the street, avoiding the debris from smashed buildings and ground transports. He reached the building on the far side of the street and kicked at a closed door.

  The lock held firm and Laidlaw was knocked back by the force of his own kick hitting a firmly-closed door.

  “Kravin door. The only closed door in the entire city.” He fired up his electron bayonet on the end of his pulse rifle and slid the fizzing blade into the mechanical lock. The door opened as the mechanism melted and flowed out over the door. He pushed the door and it opened a little, restricted by fallen debris inside.

  Laidlaw pressed himself through the partially-open door. A quick glance along the street and he saw the last of his company entering the line of buildings. This was slow and painful progress, and the company was on edge. They had a difficult task ahead. They were to move into position as close to the grounded Leviathan as possible. There was only one reason why they were advancing to that position and every Marine knew without Laidlaw having to tell them the orders.

  Boa Company was going to engage the enemy.

  4

  Jack advanced with Cobra Company. He felt at ease to be surrounded by Marines he knew so well. Sam Torent, the Cobra commander, walked alongside him.

  “You really think you can pull this off, Jack?” Torent asked.

  “Yes,” Jack said. He watched the Marines moving along the edges of the buildings, keeping as close to the walls as possible.

  “Sarah Reyes was a bit of a genius when it came to the Chits,” Torent said “She understood them. All you know is how to kill them.”

  “I’ve kept us alive this long,” Jack said, watching the company’s progress along the city street.

  “You think you can follow her instructions?” Torent asked.

  “You sound nervous, Sam,” Jack said. “You feeling okay?”

  Torent stepped around an underground service entrance hatch that had been smashed, revealing a hole down into the deep subsurface world that lay beneath every city. Torent took a wide route around it, stepping out into the center of the street.

  Jack leaped over the hole and grabbed Torent by his jacket, dragging him back to the cover of the buildings that lined the street and the piles of debris that lay there in heaps.

  “Stay in cover, Sam,” Jack said.

  Torent shrugged off Jack’s grip and stepped toward the side of the street. “I know what I’m doing,” he said tersely. “Do you?”

  He knew something was bothering Torent. His old friend only got brusque when he was bothered. The entire company was on edge, but Jack had to make sure they didn’t lose composure. He was the leader and it was his responsibility to keep everyone calm and in control.

  “Yes,” Jack answered Torent, “I know what I’m doing. At least I know that Sarah has left me instructions on what to do,” Jack said. “She knows to make it simple enough for me to understand. I bet even you could understand it, Sam.”

  “I’ll probably be too busy saving your kravin hide. Again.” Torent clambered up a heap of rubble and dropped into a prone position, scanning the street ahead down the sights of his pulse rifle.

  Jack chuckled to himself. That was the Torent he knew. He took a knee and scanned the ground ahead and sky above, checking constantly for any sign of approaching Chitins.

  “It’ll be dark in an hour,” Jack said. “Get Cobra off the street, Sam. We’ll take a break and then move under the cover of dark.”

  Sam gave a low whistle. Jack moved to the nearest entrance and pulled out his field scanner. He looked from one squad leader to another and saw with satisfaction how they all responded quickly and efficiently with hand signals where they were going to take cover with their squads.

  Along both sides of the city street, the remaining squads of Cobra Company took the opportunity to rest. It had been a long deployment, and this was the first chance any of them had had to rest. Like all seasoned veterans, they immediately took the opportunity.

  Torent stepped next to Jack. “There’s a home furnishing shop next door, Jack. They have a bed in the window. Why not grab some snooze on that?”

  Jack felt the yawn build inside. He stifled it and settled against the side of the building.

  “No, you take it, Sam. I’ve got work to do. Tell your squad leaders to rotate their lookouts.”

  “Already done, Jack,” Torent said. “If you didn’t see me send those orders, then you really are tired. We are going to need you alert if we’re oing to make this work, and because we probably won’t make it work, you might as well grab some snooze anyway.”

  Jack felt the yawn come again. “Okay, Sam. I’ll rest here. Can’t let the men see me in that bed. Wake me in thirty minutes so you can rest. Copy?”

  Torent nodded. “Copy that, sir. I’ll make a check on the company.”

  Jack watched Torent dart from cover to cover, checking the street for movement as he went from one position to the next, checking on all the squads of Cobra Company.

  In many ways, Cobra had the easiest job of the three companies. Jack thought of Bevan, a new commander on one of her first deployments, holding together a company of Marines, all shocked at the sudden destruction of their home world and all stressed at being left behind as the entire fleet fled the system. Jack could have appointed another commander, but that might have only made things worse. For now, Adder needed some stability, and Commander Bevan would have to provide it. If Adder could make it to the civilian spaceport, they might be able to find a ship. If it wasn’t space-worthy, Jack knew that Adder Company should have the expertise between them to make it space-worthy, and Bevan would have to see that that expertise was deployed correctly.

  It was a tough job, but Jack hoped Bevan could do it.

  It was Boa Company that had the toughest job. Jack had plenty of confidence in Boa’s commander, Stuart Laidlaw. He was an experienced commander and a clever Marine. Jack had tasked Boa with the difficult and dangerous job of seeking out the Chitins and attacking them. Boa Company was full strength and had been in deadly encounters before. Jack knew that Boa wouldn’t come through the next few days unscathed, but he hoped that losses would be minimal. If Laidlaw used guerilla tactics, he should be able to evade the Chits and avoid a toe-to-toe slug fest, but even striking from cover in ambush attacks, the would be in extreme danger. Jack regretted having to ask them to take the attack forward, but he didn’t think there was one Marine in the company that would refuse the order. He knew that Boa would take on the challenge in a positive and full-blooded manner, and if anyone could make it a success, it would be Stuart Laidlaw.

  Jack felt himself drift toward sleep. He had an easy job by comparison. All he had to do was find Sarah Reyes’ top secret subterranean workshop in the smashed debris of Fleet Command and Control Headquarters. Then recreate the chemical cloak that had allowed the fleet to hide from the Chitin armada. Before that, though, he had to find the instructions. He remembered her voice as he drifted to sleep.

  “You’ll know it when you see it.”

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nbsp; 5

  The buildings of Fleet Command and Control were in ruins. Lying in a crater almost two kilometers away, Jack focused his field scanner on the smoking rubble of the once grand headquarters. The charred white stones of the building were flecked with dark spots, which were moving in a distinctive and sickening motion. The ruins were crawling with Chitin soldiers.

  Jack rolled onto his back and slid down into the crater.

  “It is crawling with Chits,” he said, handing his field scanner to Sam Torent.

  Torent scrambled up the side of the crater and looked toward the ruins. After a moment, he slid back down.

  “Guess we’re not welcome,” Torent said.

  “You ever miss a party just because you weren’t invited?” Jack said.

  Cobra Company was at reduced strength. It was not a force suitable for a frontal attack on a swarm of Chits. Jack weighed his options.

  “I’ll send second and third squads up the middle,” Torent said. He stopped talking when Jack shook his head.

  “It’s too risky,” Jack said. He pulled his jacket closer. The night air was chilly. Jack wished he had deployed to Eros in the meat suit. The sarcastically named Marine Extreme Environment Tactical suit would have kept the cold air off his skin. He hated that they would have to battle exposure to the elements as well as the enemy.

  “You always have a plan, don’t you, Jack?” Torent said. “What’s it going to be this time?”

  Jack shook his head. “I don’t know, Sam,” he said. “But we really need to get into Sarah’s workshop.”

  “So frontal assault it is,” Torent said. “It’s dark and we have the element of surprise. We can take them before they know what’s hit them.”

  Jack looked up at the darkening sky. Brecon moon was a thin crescent high overhead. The debris of the planet Eras was spread low across the horizon like a scatter of white beads. The main mass of the planet’s rubble had spread out even further in the weeks since its destruction by the Chitins. It reflected a diffuse band of light across the night sky.

  “If we move in quietly, we might be able to take out some of the soldiers, but then we still need to find an entrance.” Jack clambered back up the side of the crater and looked toward the ruined headquarters. The faint glow from the debris of Eras highlighted the Chitin soldiers ranging over the rubble of the Fleet Command and Control.

  The headquarters had taken a pounding the moment the planetary defense cannons had failed. As soon as Eros was open to attack, the Chitins had struck with force and precision. Headquarters had been first, followed by communication hubs across the planet. The Chitins were unknowable in so many ways, but their attack showed they fought much like any enemy. They struck at the command structure and then communications. Once the hierarchy was disrupted, the defenders were easier to destroy.

  But the Chitin tactics told Jack something else, something he knew already. The battalion would have to act in a coordinated manner if they were to stand any chance of victory, and in this battle, the only victory that could be achieved was escape.

  Jack looked at the Chitin soldiers crawling over the ruins of Fleet headquarters. He suddenly realized they were there for the same reason he was: to find a way in.

  He reached for his pocket and put his hand on the small drone. Maybe he could search using the drone, and once he found a way in he could launch an attack with Cobra Company. He was down to his last drone, though, and had to be careful how he used it.

  Sam Torent scrambled up the side of the crater on his elbows and positioned himself just at the lip of the it.

  “Guess you are right, Sam,” Jack said. He pulled up his field scanner. “We move in fast and try and take them by surprise. We’ll spread Cobra out in a thin line and move in on a wide front. Make sure the squad leaders know not to engage until we are right on top of them.”

  Jack pointed his field scanner at the distant objective. He did a last-minute recount of the numbers against him. He guessed some of the Chits were hidden amongst the rubble, so there would be more than he could currently see. Even with a modest estimate of the hidden numbers, Jack knew Cobra would be outnumbered more than two to one.

  Jack nodded to Torent.

  “Spread Cobra out, Sam. We’re going in.”

  A sudden bright flash in the northeast lit up the ruins. Jack and Torent pressed themselves closer to the ground and looked toward the light. A white flash lit up a growing mushroom cloud that towered into the night sky.

  “What the krav was that?” Torent said.

  “That came from the capital stadium.” Jack looked with his field scanner to the far explosion. “That’s Boa Company. Stuart is hitting them hard.”

  Jack looked back to the headquarters. The Chits were scurrying toward the blast, leaving their search.

  “Sam,” Jack said, tucking away his field scanner. “Now’s our chance.” Jack pulled out his pulse pistol. He checked the charge and load. “Get Cobra moving. Go.”

  And with that, Jack scrambled over the ridge and started toward the rubble of the Fleet Command and Control Headquarters.

  6

  Stuart Laidlaw watched the Marines as they ran back to his position. They had laid the demolition charges at the base of a tower block that stood near the capital stadium. The white stadium arms that arced out of the ground to hold the stadium seemingly suspended off the ground were covered by the splayed tentacle-like structures of the Chitin Leviathan that had landed and set up base on the stadium.

  The detonation shook dust and rubble from the building that Laidlaw was holed up in, and the force knocked the running Marines off their feet. A black cloud climbed high into the night sky. The tower wobbled and then began to fall, slowly at first but with growing speed and inevitability. It was a well-designed blast that caused the tower to fall toward the stadium and the Chitin Leviathan sitting on top of it.

  Laidlaw watched as the building fell and smashed into the huge craft. A cheer went up from Marines scattered about the ruins as the blow was struck.

  Laidlaw watched the dust cloud climbing and the fires from the explosion flickering against the dark. Through it all, he saw the Leviathan still in place, although the stadium was being crushed yet further under the weight of the tower crashing down.

  The Marines in the street were back on their feet and running back to Boa Company in their meager cover inside already decimated buildings. The Hydras came sweeping up behind them.

  Laidlaw heard the Marines in cover calling out to their fellow Marines, urging them to hurry. The Hydras’ spitz cannons ripped up along the street and into the backs of the running Marines. Laidlaw put his hand over his mouth in revulsion.

  The fire from Boa Company came as an immediate reply. Pulse rifle fire poured out from smashed windows and doorways in a half-dozen buildings in the area. The fire targeted the lead Chitin craft and the damage was done. The Hydra dropped out of the sky and crashed into the street, sliding forward before crashing into the base of Laidlaw’s building.

  The other Hydras fired at the concealed positions. Their cannon fire ripped through what remained of the composite material of the building’s outer walls.

  “Withdraw,” Laidlaw shouted to the men on either side. The Marines repeated the order to their nearest neighbor and so the word went through the company and by the time Commander Laidlaw was running down the inner stairwell, the entire company had the order and was on the move.

  Stuart Laidlaw ran along the ground floor and out of a doorway that led away from the grounded Leviathan. He had struck a blow. It was not one that would have destroyed the Leviathan, but it did tell the Chits there was still a fighting force on Eros. Stuart had done his job. He had made noise, now he had a swarm of Chits on his tail and his next trick was to relocate with speed.

  7

  The buildings of Fleet Command and Control were unrecognizable. Jack clambered over the rubble. There had to be a way to reach the subsurface levels of the complex. If they couldn’t find Reyes’ workshop,
all would be lost. A hundred other things had to go right, but without the chemical cloak, Jack and the battalion would be trapped on Eros for good, and that didn’t promise to be for very long.

  Jack activated his wrist-mounted holostage and accessed the site map of headquarters from just days before the Chitin attack. He found the location of Reyes’s underground workshop. Using the original holomap of the area as a guide, he picked his way over the rubble.

  Torent deployed Cobra Company in a wide perimeter to keep watch for any returning Chits. Away in the east, the flash and thump of distant battle told Jack that Laidlaw and Boa Company were engaging the Chitins in a heavy contact. Jack spurred himself on to find an access point quickly.

  Following the holomap, Jack knew he was approaching a large central lobby that had once been bright and clean. Now it was a crater in the ground. The lobby had given access to a series of stairways leading up and down. The twisted frame of a stairway stuck out of the rubble, and Jack knew that he was close to a way down.

  “Sam,” Jack called out. He pointed Torent toward the base of the crater. “Have your team clear this rubble out.”

  “Yes sir,” Torent replied and began instructing a nearby squad to start digging.

  Jack stood at the top of the crater and looked down at the Marines shifting huge pieces of smashed composite building material out from around the twisted frame of the stairway. The flashlights on the Marines’ uniforms lit up the rubble. In the distance, flashes of light from Boa Company’s firefight were petering out. As the flashes stopped, darkness reclaimed the night. No more flashes of pulse rifle fire could be seen. Jack hoped that Boa Company had not been completely destroyed. He was sure that Boa’s commander was already planning his next attack, but for now, he would fall silent and wait for another chance to strike at the Chits.

  Jack knew the Chits would soon be back to headquarters to resume their search. He was about to shout his encouragement to the Marines below him when he spotted Torent give him a signal. They had broken through.