Forged in Battle (Jack Forge, Fleet Marine Book 5) Read online

  As Jack ran he saw the exploding ships, small craft falling to the chaotic dogfight around the two capital ships in their heavy hitting slug fest. Chitin craft and Fleet ships falling to fire, but as long as the Leviathan went down the battle victory would go to the Fleet.

  But Jack had his own battle to fight. The Chits had made it on board and Jack was going to make them wish they hadn’t.

  The sound of pulse rifle fire echoed along the main corridor and Jack sprinted toward it. A Marine squad guarding a barricade near the engine room saw Jack coming.

  “Sir,” their squad leader said. “They’ve broken through.”

  “Hold position,” Jack said as he ran past.

  Jack saw the shadow of a Chitin soldier at the end of a corridor leading to the engine room. The pulse rifle fire was holding strong and holding the Chits back. The corridor was dead straight and if Jack stepped around the corner he would be in the line of fire from the Marines pulse rifles. Jack lay on the floor and crawled forward, he looked around the corner and saw the Chitin soldiers taking a sustained fire but they lumbered toward the Marine squad defending the access t the engine room. The Chitin soldiers took the hits, their shell like heads being fractured as the rounds hit home.

  Jack heard the pulse rifle fire subside. A final burst and then a shout from the squad holding the engine room.

  “Target down. Threat neutralized,” a Marine shouted. “Check those Chits.”

  Jack called to the squad holding the engine room on his helmet communicator.

  “Commander Forge here. Hold your fire, I’m coming out.”

  Jack held his rifle around the corner and then stepped into the corridor. He counted the bodies of seven Chits in the corridor. The breach in the corridor where the Chitin hydra had attached itself was open, leading to the hydra itself. Jack made a sign for silence. He called a Marine forward and to take position on the other side of the breach. Jack moved forward to his side of the breach cautiously, quietly, excitedly.

  The hydra had a maximum crew of eights. There were only seven bodies in the corridor. Jack indicated to the Marine who was coming forward that there may still be two Chits inside. The tag on the enhanced data display showed Jack that the Marine coming forward was Dave Jarett, the squad leader from 3rd squad of Adder company,

  Jack and squad leader Dave Jarett came closer to the opening. Beyond the breach was the interior of the Chitin Hydra, an alien world only a few steps away. Jack’s heart beat hard as he expected that at any minute a Chit might come charging out, its tentacles flailing and stabbing, its plasma spears slicing through the air toward Jack or Jarett.

  Jack could see the heart rate of Jarett was climbing as they came near the breach. His own was climbing too.

  Jack made a series of hand signals instructing Jarett that they would attack with grenades. With his gestures he instructed that on his signal they would both lob a grenade around the edge of the breach and into the Chitin craft that was latched onto the side of the Scorpio.

  Jarett nodded and slung his pulse rifle over his shoulder. Jack did the same and pulled a grenade off the strap at his shoulder. He checked Jarett was ready. With a nod they both depressed the fuse standby. A single bright flash indicated the grenades were primed. Another nod from Jack and they both slung their grenades around the corner and into the hydra’s interior.

  Suddenly, a Chitin burst out and turned on Jack, knocking him backward. Jack pulled his side arm, the most easily deployed weapon at this point, and fired a quick succession of rounds in to the Chitin’s head. A ridged tentacle stabbed forward at Jack’s head. He moved quickly aside, the ridged tentacle piercing the deck plate. Jack loosed another burst of fire, the black shell like carapace of the Chitin’s head smashing with every round.

  The grenades in the hydra detonated sending a shower of debris and smoke in to the corridor.

  Jack rolled aside from another stabbing tentacle from the Chitin soldier and fired with his pulse pistol again. Then the Chitin stopped dead as an electron bayonet burst through the head, splattering the foul slime from the Chitin interior all over Jack’s helmet face plate. The EB was withdrawn and came cutting through again.

  The Chitin fell lifeless, its slime guts spilling over the deck. Standing behind was Dave Jarett. He stepped over the fallen Chitin soldier and reached down. Jack took his arm and let the squad leader pull him to his feet.

  “I think we got them, sir,” Jarett said. “Thanks For the help.”

  “Good work, Marine,” Jack said.

  Then the call came over the ship’s address system from Captain Pretorius.

  “Chitin Leviathan is going down in flames. All other Chitin craft withdrawing. Well done, Scorpio. Well done.”

  4

  “I’ve read your action report from the asteroid rescue, Jack,” Major Griff sat back in his chair.

  Jack stood opposite Griff.

  “And I’ve read your latest from our action against the Leviathan.”

  Griff looked up at Jack.

  “You are a company commander now, Jack.” Griff held his hand out and offered Jack a seat. “Your job is to direct the troops, not rush at the nearest Chit, guns blazing.”

  Jack sat down. He wasn’t taking the criticism well. “I can’t just sit at the rear, Harry,” Jack said. “I need to act.”

  “You need to adapt to your new responsibilities. What good is a company commander if they rush ahead of the troops and get themselves killed? The troops need your direction.”

  Jack nodded.

  “I don’t mean to criticize you too harshly, Jack. Too many officers stay out of the fight and fail to understand what is happening in the hot zone. But you know the front line. You know what it’s like under fire. And, you know how good the Marines in this battalion are. Let them do their job. And you must do yours. Am I making myself clear? No more rushing in. Leading the troops does not mean you have to be the first to the fight.”

  Jack nodded. It was hard letting others do the heavy lifting. Jack wanted to win every fight. He knew he had to accept that the company and the squads were his weapon now, not the pulse rifle and the electron bayoneted. He would have to learn to fight with these.

  “Have you decided who you are going to recommend for commander duties?”

  “Working on it, Harry.” Jack hated that he had to pull a Marine out of their squad and put them in charge. Someone had to do it.

  Griff dismissed Jack and pulled a set of holographic files across his desk.

  “Permission to speak, sir?” Jack asked.

  “By all means,” Griff said looking at the files on his desk.

  “I’m a Marine and I’m going to fight. If I need to go into battle I will, no hesitation.”

  Griff looked up from his work. He nodded. “Just don’t get yourself killed, ok? I haven’t got enough officers as it is. I can’t afford to lose you too.”

  The communicator on Griff’s desk beeped. Captain Pretorius’ voice came through.

  “Major Griff. Assemble your officers and join me on the command deck.”

  Griff looked up at Jack. “My officers?” he said with a single laugh. “That’s you Jack. Let’s go.”

  The holostage was active with an image of a civilian vessel around the size of a Fleet Frigate. Jack stepped up next to Griff. The Captain climbed down from his chair and joined the Marine officers.

  “The Scorpio has been tasked with intercepting this civilian craft.” The captain tapped the holoimage and zoomed in. “As you can see, this craft is a standard bus, carrying around a hundred civilians. This one craft is the entire population of a number of smaller mining asteroids. The group is retreating back to home space under the civil withdrawal directive.”

  The captain tapped the holostage and called up a new image from inside the bus. The internal surveillance showed Chitin soldiers in the corridors of the bus.

  “They were attacked by a group of Hydras and they have been boarded. The civilians took refuge in a secure compartment d
eep inside the ship, away from any external hull plates.”

  The Hydras were like limpets and latched on to the outer hull of a craft. They cut their way through, removing a circular section of hull to gain entry. But once the Chits were inside and away from the outer hull the Chitin soldiers were restricted to the ships corridors and conduits.

  “We will intercept them in twenty minutes. What I want from the battalion is to rescue the civilians from the Chitin boarding party. After we destroy the Chits, we will bring the civilians on board the Scorpio and deliver them to Eros.”

  “Do we know how many Chits are on board?” Jack asked looking at the image of a Chit scurrying along a corridor.

  “The captain of the bus reported five Hydras approaching his ship before he hid with the passengers. That would make a maximum of forty Chitin soldiers on board.”

  Griff nodded. “If we were in open ground I could take out forty Chits. But in those corridors, packed in like that…” Griff trailed off.

  “We will be fighting them practically one on one,” Jack said. “No point sending over an entire company. There will only be room for a couple of squads in there anyway.”

  “And you won’t be able to use pulse rifles in there.” Pretorius said. “It’s a civilian ship, a pulse round will tear right though that hull.”

  Jack studied the hologram blue prints of the vessel. There was one main corridor running the length of the vessel with minor corridors running off to port and starboard. The civilians were holed up in a compartment under the central corridor toward the aft section.

  “If we can take the central corridor we will have the ship.” Jack stood up. “I need to assemble my team, sir,” Jack turned to Griff.

  Griff gave Jack a disapproving look. “You want to lead the team yourself?”

  Jack knew what Griff was saying. He should send a squad or two and let them do the work, and he should stay behind to monitor and direct, and then write up the after action report.

  “I am the clear choice, sir. We will have to traverse open space to gain entry to the ship. I’ve got combat experience of such a maneuver.”

  Griff looked at Pretorius.

  “It’s your call, Major,” Pretorius said. “I’ve been tasked with getting you there and taking the civilians away when you are done. The rest is a Marine operation. Who you send is entirely up to you, major.”

  Griff turned to Jack and nodded. “Assemble your team, Jack. Be ready to move when we are in range.”

  Pretorius checked the course data. “That will be in twenty minutes, commander.”

  Jack left the holostage and walked quickly off the command deck. He activated his communicator. “Attention Cobra Company. 1st squad and 6th squad, suit up and assemble on the Marine deck immediately. This is not a drill. Forge out.”

  5

  The Marine deck hangar door slid open revealing the deep black of open space. Nearby, only a few hundred meters away, was the civilian bus. It looked big from the outside, but Jack knew once they were inside it would be tight corridors teeming with Chitin soldiers.

  Jack sent Navidi out first, leading 1st squad. He activated his suits thrusters once the last of 1st squad was away. There wasn’t enough room for more than one squad so 6th would hold position on the Scorpio as a reserve.

  They would enter through the cockpit’s emergency escape hatch. It was at the front of the bus and would make for the easiest entry point. It was clear of the five Chitin craft that clung to the outer hull like huge black blisters. The cockpit escape hatch it could be resealed after the Marines had boarded, and the Marines would have a readymade operating base from which to launch their mission to retake the bus, kill the Chitin infiltrators, and save the civilians.

  Jack held back and watched as Navidi landed on the cock pit. The squad leader of 1st squad was quick and accurate. He popped the emergency hatch and went inside.

  The cockpit was only big enough for its flight crew of four. 1st squad would have to infiltrate deeper into the craft to allow the rest of the squad to enter. It would be an anxious time for Jack. The mission could fail here before it had even begun.

  “Contact,” Navidi’s voice came over Jack’s helmet communicator.

  Jack saw the flashes of the electron bayonets from corridor beyond the cock pit. He waited, patient but anxious, for the last member of 1st squad to enter the bus. Once they were aboard, Jack went in himself, closing the emergency hatch behind him.

  The shouts of the Marines in the corridor outside the cock pit filled the communicator channel. They shouted out when they had engaged a Chitin soldier, and shouted when a Chitin went down. Then Jack heard the words he dreaded but knew would come.

  “Harrison down. Chits speared him. He’s bleeding out.”

  Jack looked out of the cock pit to the corridor beyond. It ran only ten meters to a stairway down to the main corridor. Three dead Chits lay on the deck. A group of Marines were defending the top of the stairway, their EBs on maximum extension.

  Half way along the corridor, next to a Chit with its head split in two, Navidi knelt next to the body of Harrison.

  Navidi looked up at Jack. “The suit is keeping him alive, sir,” Navidi said. The squad leader looked back to his man. “I don’t know how long he can last.”

  “This is our medical treatment point,” Jack said. “Leave a detachment here to hold this area. Bring the rest of your squad with me.”

  Jack walked to the end of the corridor. He could hear the scurrying of the Chits in the main corridor below. “Squad leader,” Jack called out. “You’re with me.” Jack looked back to Navidi who was reluctantly leaving his fallen Marine. He walked toward Jack and lit up his electron bayonet.

  Jack powered up his EB. “We can get angry later, Joe,” he said to Navidi. “Let’s get the job done first, ok?”

  Navidi nodded but Jack could see his heart rate was rising. The squad leader was angry. Chits were going to pay for killing his friend.

  Navidi called out two Marines. “Hold here,” he said and then pushed past the rest of his squad and ran down the stairs, Bayonet forward.

  “Contact,” Navidi said immediately on reaching the bottom of the stairs. “Contact front.”

  Jack saw the lights flashing as the EBs sliced away in the corridor below. Jack followed and came down to find a Chitin soldier twitching on the ground. Jack speared it through the head with his bayonet. Looking ahead Jack could see along the full length of the corridor, running the length of the ship. It was filled with Chits. They came forward along the deck and the corridor roof panels. They crawled along the walls. They swarmed forward, their tentacles ridged and ready to start stabbing forward at the Marines.

  The corridor as only three meters wide, just enough room for two Marines to stand abreast and slash away with their bayonets. A Marine went down to a jab from a ridged Chitin tentacle. Jack saw it slice clan through the meat suit and out at the Marines left shoulder. Another stepped up and took his place, slashing wildly side to side at the Chitin soldier before him.

  “Squad leader,” Jack called out. “Position your men four abreast. Jab forward with the bayonet.”

  Navidi shouted, “Yes sir.” He stepped into the line. Another Marine joined him and the four stood like a wall, thrusting forward with their long electron bayonets fizzing at the end of the pulse rifle.

  A Chit came rushing along the corridor, shoving the others aside. It slammed into the line of four Marines. The electron blades cut through the tentacles as it barged past, severing them. They dropped to the floor, writhing and twitching. Once beyond Navidi and his forward wall the Chit was stabbed by a Marine standing behind the four.

  Then the corridor seemed filled from top to bottom with writhing tentacles. Jack counted five of the Chitin soldiers, rushing forward, filling the entire corridor.

  “Hold them,” Jack shouted. He activated his suit’s thruster jet and leaped to the ceiling panels above the line of four Marines. He turned upside down and fastened himself to the c
eiling with his boots connection field. He slashed in a wide arc, his blade slicing through a Chitin head.

  “Up here,” Jack shouted. “Four of you, in a line here.”

  The Marines of 1st squad holding position behind the line of Marines were standing upside down on the ceiling panels in moments. Jack fell back and stood behind the wall of eight Marines, jabbing forward at any Chitin soldier that came too close. The Marines created a bristling wall of fizzing blades denying the Chits any advance along the corridor.

  The civilians were holed up half way down the corridor. Jack could cut his way down to them. All he had to do was move his Marines forward.

  “1st squad,” Jack called, “steady advance. Take it slow, hold formation. Keep stabbing forward. Move.”

  Navidi repeated Jack’s order. “You heard him. Move 1st squad.”

  Jack walked behind the squad and their stabbing bayonets. Chitin soldiers rushed forward to meet the advance. They were cut apart by the bayonets of 1st squad.

  “Jones is down.”

  Jack heard the shout at the same moment he saw the breach in the Marine wall appear. He sent the last man into the position and dragged the injured Marine back. An entry wound in the abdomen area was already sealed by the meat suit. Jack checked the vital signs on the enhanced data view and saw the Marine was calm, having been dosed with tranqs, but he was losing a lot of blood while the meat suit tried to stabilize the area and stop the bleeding.

  Jack pressed the Marine to the ground. “Hold here, Jones,” he said. It was time to call in the 6th.

  “Sam, get over here. I need you to take the wounded.”

  Torent quickly responded that he was on the way.

  Jack knew Sam would be there a few minutes. He called the two 1st squad Marines that were holding the stairway to the cockpit. “Get down here, we need you ready to get in the line here.”

  Jack saw another man fall. A Chitin soldier pushed the Marine back, stabbing forward with ridged tentacles. They were now a man short. Jack rushed in to fill the gap. He stepped over the fallen Marine, Joe Navidi, the squad leader of 1st.