The Infinity Brigade #1 Stone Cold (20 page)

Chapter 21: Fire Fight…

The corridors outside of the hanger deck where in a hard vacuum. This presented a bit of a problem because the hanger itself was at a very comfortable 0.95 Earth normal atmosphere. We resolved the issue by using a screwdriver to slightly crack open the hanger doors and simply let the hanger vacate its tainted air supply. It took a few minutes because we did not want to be in the middle of an explosive decompression event if we could avoid it.

As soon as the hanger was depressurized I ordered the Alpha team to setup a standard B-TOC. The Bigelows had their own air filtration system so I wasn’t worried about their air supply being tainted.

On the way to Marine country we spotted the first of many bodies. To say it was gruesome was an understatement. One corporal we ran across had half of his left shoulder removed. The size and type of wound led me to believe our enemy was using some type of plasma weapon. I sent a microburst to all four platoons sharing with them the bad news. When I was done I opened a private channel to Ensign Cochran.

“Tommy, this is AG.”

“Go ahead AG,” Tommy answered.

“I’m beginning to have second thoughts about that B-TOC you guys are setting up.”

“Yeah I did too,” Tommy agreed, “but I told the gang to go ahead and finish it. My plan is to power up its comm-array. It won’t reach far but it will reach a darn sight farther than our nearfields and combat radios.”

“That’s great Tommy except that the bad guys are carrying plasma cannons. They’ll make mincemeat of that B-TOC and any radio operator inside of it.”

“That’s true sir but you don’t have an exclusive patent on devious behavior…”

I laughed as I suddenly saw where he was going. “You don’t plan on having the equipment in the B660… or the operator… it’s just the bait. You are devious!”

“AG, you take all the fun out of these things. You should have let me tell you about the brilliance of my plan.”

“I apologize Tommy. Please tell me about the brilliance of your plan.”

“Never mind,” he mumbled.

***

Marine country was unnerving. Everywhere I looked dead bodies, frozen by the vacuum of space, floated in the weightlessness of a deck with no power and thus no grav-plating. I led Privates Hansen and Judy Jansen as I inched forward. Corporal Myers from Delta and Private O’Brian from Echo guarded our backs. As I moved passed the men and women I had worked with just a scant twenty four hours earlier I said a silent prayer.

The Captain, who was very likely dead as well, had said to me… “Life is a very rare and precious gift. As an officer in the Marine Corps you will be charged with protecting, preserving and upon occasion… taking life. You need to take seriously your responsibility to know which of the three is paramount at any given time.” I wondered if he knew how deeply his words said then… were affecting me now.

The lack of gravity was becoming a problem. I ordered our group to activate the magnetics on our Starks so we could walk more easily. One of the things I liked about the Mark Three Starks was they had a much more powerful AI built into them. The effect of this was a host of minor system enhancements that, by themselves meant little, but in the aggregate, made a big difference.

On a Mark Two, activating the magnetics on your boots was a simple on/off affair. It worked but it made your feet feel ‘sticky’. As you walked along, if your foot was close to the metal deck plating the magnetic attraction was much greater than if your foot was even a few inches further away. On the Mark Three the AI changed the power level to the magnetics on our feet so that the feel of ‘down’ was much more uniform and therefore much more normal.

This meant I could run in a Mark Three whereas in a Mark Two I tended to fast shuffle. I bring all of this up because the AI in my Mark Three was acting up. This had me more than a little concerned. I would start to run and it would take the system a few seconds to get in sync with me. It was most disconcerting. As soon as the emergency was over I was going to order the suit to do a full diagnostic. The reality was however that I could not afford the time to deal with a minor glitch in my Tactical Combat Armor at this point. My only worry was that whatever the problem was, it could get worse and leave me up a creek without a paddle. Did I mention, there are times I hate it when I’m right?

As I turned the final corner I saw a sight that caused me to burn with unadulterated anger. Kitty was one of the victims. The look of abject terror in her frozen eyes as she realized she was dying was almost too much to bear. This miniature dynamo who had been such a font of strength and vitality just a day before was now dead. A victim of a, as yet, nameless enemy. I felt my blood boil. There would be a reckoning.

Doc’s office was sealed but it yielded to the strength of my Stark suit. I literally tore the door off its hinges. Doc sat in his chair. His arms were folded and he looked pissed more than anything else. He too was quite dead.

I said a silent prayer for a man I had barely gotten to know. The things about being a Marine that he could have taught me died with him in that lonely room. I grabbed the plasma cannon off the wall. Surprisingly its battery pack was fully charged. It seemed odd to be stored that way because in normal ship operation there was little call for a weapon of its size and power. Still, there was I lot I didn’t know about the
GCP Puller’s
Man of Bronze… and sadly it seemed I never would.

My comm-link beeped for my attention.

“Stone here,” I said as I looked about the office for anything else that might be useful. I thought about the bazooka but even if it was loaded like the plasma cannon there was no way in hell I was going to trust a live round that was two hundred years plus some change old.

“Sir, this is Gretchen. We made our way down to main engineering. We are having some unexpected difficulties.”

I sighed. “Gretchen, every damn thing about this day has been unexpected. Can you be more specific?”

“Let me put JJ on,” she answered.

“AG, it’s the computers. The damn things are bladdered. One moment I’m hacking away and they are letting me get places I should never be able to get… with no trouble at all. The next they’re refusing to accept even the simplest of commands.”

“Look guys we knew the primary core got pretty well wiped in the initial attack. Is it all that unusual that they are a little funky?”

“Aye, that’s what I thought at first,” JJ said. “But the damn thing just gave me root level access to the bridge.”

“The bridge is gone,” I said.

“That’s what I mean! The damned thing is bladdered. It’s almost as if… what… hold it… NO!”

“JJ?” Suddenly my Stark suit started show multiple causalities in the platoon I had sent to Engineering… including JJ Hammond. I had a sick feeling in my gut. I tried my secondary channel that I had setup to talk directly with JJ. My commlink refused to even accept the setting. I had no idea what that meant but it could not be good. Finally I hit my platoon-wide commlink as I raced out of Commander Savage’s office.

“ECHO PLATOON GET TO ENGINEERING! OUR PEOPLE ARE TAKING FIRE”

I was relieved to see the four Marines I had brought with me had found the arms locker and helped themselves to some kinetics.

“Hansen, you’re the biggest of the bunch. Go grab a few more of those rifles for Echo Platoon and meet us in Engineering. The rest of you… Follow me!”

Engineering was five decks straight down. There was a central shaft that ran the length of the ship that could be used to travel between levels. The problem was, the enemy, whoever the hell they were, were almost assuredly using the same shaft. I knew from the log file I had been able to extract before the others woke up that there were a number of hull breaches on the exterior of the
Puller
. I sent a route map to Hansen so he could follow us and then ran my team down the corridor that led to the nearest of the breaches.

The tear in the hull of the ship was a horrific sight. To see the beautiful skin of the
GCP Puller
burnt and charred as it was just renewed my anger. The blast had indeed occurred on the inside of the ship. Some type of powerful shaped charge must have been used because hull metal is tough stuff. The hole was not big but it was big enough.

I still didn’t know who had attacked my ship but with every moment that passed by my fury intensified. I used that fury to push me but not consume me. I needed every weapon I had to defeat this unknown enemy and right now my mind was the most powerful weapon I had.

I led my small group out onto the skin of ship.  If we had been wearing traditional EVA suits I would have been concerned by the abundance of sharp metal but Stark suits pretty much eliminated that concern.

I scanned the blackness of space. There was nothing to see. Whoever or whatever had attacked us was either hidden from view by the bulk of the ship or they were long gone… or they had only ever existed as part of the crew. That last possibility had me worried. What would it say about the GCP if this level of dissent existed within it?

I saw several more breaches as I led my team towards Engineering. As we approached the near breach to our destination I held up one gauntleted fist. I signaled Jay to take a quick peek. I had learned from watching her work that her reflexes where the fastest of the bunch. I had warned the team to avoid the radios. Even with encrypted microburst radio packets the enemy could potentially triangulate our position. I was counting on surprise.

Jay made her way to the opening and popped her head over the edge and back again in the barest fraction of a second. She signaled that the way was clear. I had wanted her to rejoin the group but before she could see me wave her back she popped over the edge and down into the hole.

Damn
, I thought as I bounced after her… plasma cannon in hand.

The section of the ship Jay and I entered first looked to be identical to the corridor we had just travel down. Even the scorch marks on the walls were nearly identical. Undoubtedly the shaped charges were identical, resulting in identical scorch patterns. I wondered if at some point that information might be valuable in determining who our attackers were.

I tried to signal Jay to come back but she insisted on taking point. The only way I was going to stop her was to violate radio silence which was not something I was willing to do.

The HUD in my Stark suit still showed a number of yellow casualty icons for Beta platoon although the number of red fatalities continued to grow. Suddenly Jay darted around the final corner and headed directly into Engineering.  I was only a fraction of a second behind her but that fraction of a second was the difference between life and death.

The corridor lit up in a bright plasma flash.  Then in slow motion the lifeless body of Judy Jansen tumbled past me. Her heart was still attempting to pump blood to a head that was no longer there. I felt the gore rise in my throat but now was not the time. I grabbed Jay’s leg and used her momentum to swing myself around the bend while what was left of her body acted as a shield.

Without even waiting to see what my target was I fired the plasma cannon. Nothing happened!

I pressed the trigger a second time. This time I was rewarded with a brilliant flash of light emanating from the end of the weapon.  In that light I could finally see the enemy. It was not who I was expecting but then I had never seen death face to face before.

Chapter 22: The Face of Death…

In my mind’s eye my plasma bolt traveled into main Engineering and struck a shimmering silver-clad being the size and general shape of a man. The plasma bolt flickered and then traveled through whatever the hell this thing was and hit a wall. As far as I could tell there was not damage to either the silver being or the wall.

I fired a second time. My bolt struck my opponent square in the chest. This time a blue nimbus formed around my opponent and the energy of the blast clearly dissipated.  Whatever this thing was, a plasma cannon did not seem to have much effect. It started to raise its own weapon.

I rolled past the opening as its beam weapon incinerated what was left of Private Jansen. The wall behind her absorbed the blast without even a mark. What the hell was this weapon that could cut through a Stark suit like tissue paper but not even damage the paint on the wall? It made no damn sense but in the heat of the moment I really couldn’t take the time to contemplate the sanity of my situation.

Hansen and Echo Platoon arrived at about the same time from different directions. I signaled for Hansen to throw me a kinetic rifle. Clearly the plasma cannon was not going to do me any good.

Since the enemy knew where we were now there was no point in maintaining radio silence.

“Echo, we have one confirmed bad guy in main engineering. Whatever the hell it is… it is armed with some type of plasma weapon that will shred your Starks like tissue paper. I have no idea how it will handle kinetics. Private Hansen has…”

I looked at the big man. He signaled ten. “Private Hansen has ten kinetic rifles. My team has four more. I want two squads of seven to advance on my mark from different directions and engage.”

Hansen had the rifles in a duffle bag. He attempted to toss the duffle bag across the opening. In hindsight, it was a bad move. Apparently in whatever world this thing came from they had skeet shooting.   As the bag crossed the opening it was incinerated.

I didn’t wait. Marine kinetic rifles fired a small pellet of metal down a linear accelerator. They are essentially mini railguns. Because there is no explosive discharge of gas to push the projectile out of the business end of the weapon, a continuous stream of kinetic rounds can be fed into it.

As soon as the duffle with its cache of rifles was hit, I dashed into the room and began firing a continuous stream of kinetic rounds into silver being. The rounds pelted it from head to toe as I sprayed my weapon across it. There was absolutely no effect.

I watched in horror as the creature raised its weapon one more time. I had expected it to point it at me but instead it pointed it at Hansen, Myers and O’Brian who had joined me to pump rounds into this thing.

The business end of its weapon lit up again and the three men who were behind me died in an instant. Again their Stark suits shredded like paper and again the beam that disintegrated them had no effect on any of the surrounding structures.

Suddenly everything began to make sense to me. The computer issues that JJ noted. The oddness of storing a plasma cannon that would never be used on a ship with a full charge. The fact that it initially took several attempts to fire said plasma cannon. The difference in how the plasma cannon performed between its first and second shot. The strangeness of the alien’s weapon that could vaporize the armor in a Stark suit and yet not even bubble paint on the walls of the corridor. The fact that the kinetic rounds fired from my own rifle not only had no impact on the enemy but also seemed to disappear after then hit the alien. The oddity of identical blast patterns on the walls near the breaches in the
Puller’s
hull. The sporadic handling of my Stark’s magnetic boots. All of it added up to one inescapable conclusion.

“This is your attempt at a no win scenario. I reject that scenario. I always have and I always will.” With that I instructed my AI to crack open my Stark suit. “Computer, end simulation”

When I stepped out of the Stark suit I was no longer in Main Engineering. I was in the main hanger. As I suspected my Stark suit had been rigged to send me false tactile feedback and my HUD was showing me a real-time simulation.

“How in the hell did you figure it out?” Red said in awe.

***

Two hours later I was standing at attention in the Captain’s office again. This time Lieutenant Havastraw was not present. His step-father, Senior Drill Sergeant Harris was present as was Senior Drill Sergeant Montgomery and Commander Savage.

I’d like to say this was just a casual gathering of friends but as is often the case when people in authority come together to discuss me… the discussions seem to turn heated. I guess I bring out the passion in people. Call it a gift.

In any case the conversation had gone for the better part of fifteen minutes. My presence seemed to be that of an ornament.  My job was to stand absolutely still while my big toe itched and pretend that my future in the Marine Corps was not on the line. In this respect I did my job very well. That said, I was seriously contemplating the permanent removal of the offending toe once I was released on my own recognizance.

“We have no idea how he will respond to defeat,” Sergeant Montgomery argued.

“That’s only because he has never lost,” Commander Savage responded.

“What about our little simulation?” Captain Mueller said. “He most certainly did not win that.”

“True, Sir, he did not,” Sergeant Harris acknowledged. “But I think it can be argued that he did not lose either. He reasoned out what was happening to him and terminated the simulation.”

“So what are you proposing we do with the man?” Captain Mueller asked.

“I think there is only one thing you can do with him,” Commander Savage said.

“And what is that?”

“Make him a Marine!” they all echoed.  

*** This ends book one of The Infinity Brigade ***

Commander Stone’s Adventures will continue in book number 2, “Stone Hard”

Preview

The Infinity Brigade #2,

Stone Hard

~~~

Author’s Note: The events described in this book closely parallel those told in the Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles. However, they follow a different character and the reader need not have read the Catherine Kimbridge series in order to enjoy this series. That said, if you want to know more about the events that are occurring, the reader is encouraged to check out the Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles as well
.

Chapter 1: The No-Win Scenario…

A General in the United States Army by the name of William Thornson once said “There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion.”

I’ve come to believe the General was wrong. I say that, because no enemy in his right mind would remain an enemy of a Marine if he truly understood a Marine. Of course, the universe if filled with crazy people and in my occupation I got to meet more than my fair share.

My name is Commander Anthony Grant Stone and this is a piece of my story. 

My life since Marine Boot Camp, at New Parris Island on the Moon, and my stint at an abbreviated Officer’s Training School has been… in a word…
interesting
.

I’ve met numerous other races. I’ve fought to preserve their right to exist and enjoy the same basic freedoms of any intelligent being. I’ve even dated a young lady or two… or three.

I thought I had my life squared away. I liked being a Marine and I was good at it… or so I believed. Two years after I graduated OTS I was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade. With greater rank comes greater responsibility. I was given command of a small contingent of Marines on a planet located seven hundred and ninety six light years from Earth.

Olanda Prime was a pleasant little world… it was filled with an oversized carnivorous muskrat-ferret like race called the Ollies. They were friendly and curious and generally good company. 

As I said, Olanda Prime was a pleasant little world… except for the civil war it was about to fight. On this little planet, in the middle of nowhere, I would finally learn what a no-win scenario was all about and it would change my life forever.

To fully appreciate this chapter in my life, I’ve got to take you back a few years. I had just graduated with highest honors from Marine Boot Camp at New Parris Island.

***

JJ Hammond was a close personal friend. That simple fact probably saved his life. Had he been a stranger there is no doubt in my mind that I would have ended his miserable existence on the spot.

We had finally graduated from Marine Boot Camp and were enjoying the traditional ten day leave to rest and recuperate. Many of our platoon had headed back to Earth and their families. My family was the Corps so I had decided to spend my leave on the moon… specifically at Tycho City.

I was in the rather pleasant company of a young lady… I’m using the term lightly because ‘lady’ was not a term people typically used to describe a combat trained and lethal Marine… named Judy ‘Jay’ Jansen. I had promised her a date and a steak during a training exercise on Mars and she was holding me to that promise.   Things had gone well and we ended up spending most of our leave together… some of it even outside of the small hotel room we had rented. Did I mention the date had gone well?

This was our last evening of leave and we had decided to splurge. We were at a particularly intimate restaurant called the
Cat-in-the-Hat
about to enjoy a romantic dinner for two… and then perhaps a final round of dessert back at the hotel. Things were going great and I was looking forward to a wonderful evening… when JJ showed up.

Now I have no problem with JJ being in the same restaurant. It was a big enough place. My issue was where he chose to sit. I spotted him first as he entered the eatery. He was in the company of several other people including several very fetching young ladies. I tried not to make eye-contact but he saw me anyway and headed straight over to our table.

“JJ,” I said in what I hoped was a dry and uninviting tone.

If he picked up on my hint he gave no indication. He sported a wide grin. “Bloody hell… if it isn’t my best bud and his gal! How ya’ doing AG, Ensign Sir?”

I returned his fist pump and smile. I was still hoping to salvage the situation. I was young and foolish. I should have known better.

“I’m doing just fine JJ. Just enjoying a final ‘private’ dinner with a beautiful young lady.”

JJ whistled. “If the young lady doesn’t mind my saying so… she cleans up damn nice.”

Jay nodded her head slightly by way of acknowledgement. I had to admit, JJ way right. Jay was looking stunning. She wore a metallic blue-silver dress that hugged her tight in all the right places… and she had a generous supply of ‘right places’.

She was one of those women who was petite and curvy at the same time. Her body was that of a toned and fit Marine and yet had retained those special soft places a man tends to enjoy. Add to that she was one of the smartest people in the current list of recruits and you had the complete package. Only Gretchen Highmark could give her a run for her money in the intelligence or looks department… and as it turned out they were fast becoming the best of friends.

“So,” JJ said as he pulled but a chair, “Do you guys mind if we join you?”

“Yes,” I said at the same time Jay said “No.”

“We?” I asked.

JJ pointed in the general direction of one of the women he had come in with.

Jay smiled again and said, “We’d be delighted to have you join us. I’ll call the waiter to let him set two more places.”

JJ waved his guest over to our table. It was only when a big bruiser named Jim Hansen stepped around the ladies in question that Jay and I realized that the two joining us were not a couple. From that point forward the night took a decidedly awkward turn.

Four Marines on the last night of leave in an establishment that serves alcohol was not a recipe for a calm evening. All I know is I awoke the next day with a tattoo that I don’t remember getting and a hangover I wish I didn’t remember. 

Watch for “The Infinity Brigade: Stone Hard” - coming in August 2016

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