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  A minute after the dropship hit the deck, the rear hatch hissed then lowered. The flight crew chief stood with his weapon shouldered, while the hatch opened. Once the bottom edge of the ramp touched down, Sergeant Lupita stood. “On your feet. It’s go-time!”

  As one, we rose to our feet and turned toward the ramp. This was my second trip in a dropship, but the first wasn’t a Hercules. It was with a communications unit, and debarkation was a slow shuffle to the exit that George Romero would’ve been proud of. This was nothing like that.

  The augmented grunts took off at a run. In seconds, we were outside and surrounding the bird with our weapons pointed away from the ship. I was a Marine, and every Marine was a rifleman. Still, it was hard to stand among these titans.

  “Don’t worry, Corporal,” Standish said while leaning closer. “We won’t move that fast in unknown territory. Slow and steady keeps Marines from running face-first into a bullet.”

  “Bullets… out here?” I shook my head, remembering the images of those running blurs, the blood splattering. Bullets might not be the worst of our concerns.

  “I don’t know, but you better hurry and catch your second wind. Lupita is looking squirrelly. He’s gonna want to move, and soon.”

  I stood, placed my hands on my head, and let my rifle fall onto its sling and retract to my chest armor. Sergeant Lupita moved his head in short, jerky movements as he scanned the area. When his head turned far enough to face me, our eyes met. His eyes narrowed, and he gave me the come-hither gesture.

  “Sergeant?” I asked while coming to a stop in front of him.

  “You got those communications network drones?”

  “I do.”

  “Good. Disperse ‘em and establish a comms grid. I want you to stay with your little fire team when we spread out. I’m not in the mood to deal with a non-aug today.” He glared at me as if daring me to say something. “I’ve got enough crap to deal with considering the LT and all senior NCOs are still in orbit.”

  “Deploying drones.” I spun and ran back to my fire team as dozens of tiny drones activated from my verbal command and left the crate in the dropship.

  A glance at my screen confirmed the drones were moving into a standard grid formation. They would provide a network of communications for several miles. I slowed as I noticed a cluster of drones moving in a circle. Their gold color on my display indicated they were the command comms drones assigned to the commanding officer to ensure she or he always had communications. Since there were no commissioned officers present, the drones didn’t know who to stick to. I highlighted Lupita and dragged the cluster to his icon. The drones moved accordingly.

  “What did he want?” the Marine that asked for a copy of the video asked. I snapped my head forward, causing my monocle to drop over my eye. His virtual name tag was now visible through the augmented reality monocle.

  “You guys are stuck with me,” I said.

  Standish smiled and clapped me on the back. “Welcome to the rejects.” He pointed at Kopf. “Lance Corporal Kopf here is our resident screwup. If something needs doing, find someone else.” After a short chuckle, he pointed to the next Marine, the one to ask for the video. “That’s Private Jones. She seems to think every argument should be resolved with fists, and rank be damned. I have no idea why she isn’t in the brig as we speak.”

  “It’s because there’s ass to be kicked and no one better at it than me. You got a problem with that, Standish?” She shifted her gaze to me. “Corporal?”

  “No problems here,” I said, holding up my hands in peace.

  “You already know my name,” Standish said.

  “Oh, hell no,” Kopf said. “You think you’ll get off without giving him the info on your misdeeds after dropping our garbage in the street for all to see?”

  “So, what’s his deal?” I asked Kopf.

  “Standish has a problem with authority. He’s been a Corporal three times. Each time he gets an order he doesn’t like, a Sergeant, or an officer, gets told how they can go fuck themselves and we have Lance Corporal Standish once again. Just another reject like the rest of us.” Kopf crossed his arms. “What’s your malfunction, Corporal?”

  “I’m a useless non-aug, I guess.”

  “Ah, a grunt wannabe. Don’t sweat it. We get a lot of non-augs wanting to get the good stuff. Most don’t make it. For reasons I don’t know, Sergeant Lupita gets stuck with most of ‘em. I think he’s tired of it.”

  “Why does he get most of them?” I asked.

  “Because I bring you useless non-augs home alive,” Lupita’s deep voice rumbled from behind me. “If you ladies are done, check your pads and get moving. We’re running a grid search pattern to find a clue where the squids went.”

  “We’re on it, Sergeant,” I said with all the enthusiasm I could muster without being too loud. Then I felt dumb as the dropship would have been heard for miles around when it landed.

  “Don’t get yourself or my Marines killed, Goshawk.”

  “Copy that.” I waited and watched as Sergeant Lupita walked away. Once I was sure he was out of earshot, I spun facing my fire team. “Let’s move.”

  “Before you get too far,” Sergeant Lupita’s voice came through my earpiece, “Let’s get a topo-survey from the drones.”

  Using my wrist-mounted pad, I tapped in the commands to have the drones send out a sonar pulse. In a matter of seconds, the display on my screen rippled and took on the shape of the land surrounding us. Diamonds appeared on the map, forming a wide circle showing the destination for each fire team. My map zoomed to our route as a red line stretched out from our current position, represented by a red circle, to the marker for my team’s destination.

  “If you’re ready, Corporal?” Standish said.

  “I am.”

  He nodded and looked at me, expectantly. After a minute of neither one speaking, he nodded slightly toward the other two Marines.

  My eyes went wide with realization. “Right. Um. Jones, take point, followed by Standish. Kopf, you have our six.” Standish smiled and stepped into line after Jones.

  The hill we landed on was a lush green affair dotted by low bushes. A gentle breeze ruffled the leaves, sending some to fly off toward the hills in the distance. Our AI-planned route took us into a depression, which led to a canyon. Something about taking the low path seemed wrong, but I wasn’t capable of calculating all the variables as fast as the AI. My training was to trust the machine, so I did.

  The grass and weeds gave way to rock and gravel as the sides of the narrow canyon rose to our flanks. As we walked, I drew in a deep lungful of air. It was fresh, reminding me of visits to Big Bear Lake as a child. One of the few places on Earth where one could almost enjoy breathing. Take that and multiply the bliss by a hundred, and that’s what you had here. I was in bliss, enjoying the absence of pollutants prevalent on Earth, or the stale recycled air from the ship.

  A series of intermittent vibrations pulled my attention to my pad. The drones were requesting permission to send another pulse and update the map. This was the real reason for my entire existence. A check to ensure the machine wasn’t given carte blanche to do as it wished. Everything I’d done could have been handled by the AI, but someone much higher up the food chain decided a Marine should be given control, so here I was about to do my thing. I touched the icon on the screen, giving my consent. The map zoomed out, which allowed me a brief glimpse of the new data. Then it narrowed to our assigned route.

  Something in the distance let out a roar, causing all of us to stop in our tracks. The only sound to follow was that of my blood pumping through my ears while I held my breath.

  My fire team turned to look at me with wide eyes.

  “Get some drones moving to identify the source of that noise,” Lupita said over the platoon-wide channel. “No stars-blasted monster is going to sneak up on us like it did those squids. Understand?”

  “Drones on the move,” I replied.

  “Hold your positions until we kn
ow what we’re dealing with.”

  Another roar rang out in the distance, and that sinking feeling hit me in the gut once more. It was quite possible that I was going to die out here.

  3

  Silence prevailed as we waited for the drones. An eerie, mind-numbing silence, during which my mind raced with all the ways we could possibly die.

  Three minutes and twenty-seven seconds passed before the machines detected something. An image of a gray rectangular shape formed. The color indicating its friend or foe status was still to be determined. A second later, it turned green, and a designation appeared above it.

  “Sergeant, the drones found Zodiak twelve,” I reported over the radio.

  “I’m guessing your team is the closest to it, Goshawk?”

  “That is correct, Sergeant.”

  “Move in carefully while the rest of us work our way over to provide support. Do not take any unnecessary risks. If you get the slightest whiff of a fart that didn’t come from one of you, then you stop and wait for backup, understand?”

  “Understood. Move with caution and wait for backup if there is trouble.”

  “Don’t let the non-aug die on my watch, Standish. I’m not kidding.”

  “I’m all over it, Sergeant.” Standish shook his head and turned to face the far end of the canyon.

  When a minute passed with nothing further from Lupita, I gave the order to move. A hundred yards brought us to the end of the canyon, and the beginning of the charred lands.

  The wind blew from left to right as we walked out, carrying a heavy smell of smoke. The groove that was torn into the landscape and small embers still smoldering explained it. My eyes tracked the length of the scar to where it ended. The rear of the Zodiak stuck up at a slight angle with one of the four rear engines still glowing orange. The front half of the craft was buried by dirt and felled trees.

  Jones took a step toward the craft. “Hold up,” I said a little louder than I intended to. “Let’s have the drones do their thing first.”

  Tapping on the image of the Zodiak selected it and gave me a list of simple commands. I selected ‘investigate’ then assigned three drones. Highlighting the Zodiak again, I opted for the perimeter command and assigned it to ten drones.

  Another pulse went out from all the drones. This one was soon followed by roars from three different directions. One sounded as if it might be a little too close for comfort. Considering that two of the three pulses elicited a response from something, I decided to disable the pulses for now. With no camera, there was no way to get a look at the interior of the Zodiak. The drones did report the air was breathable, but there was some smoke. Thankfully, nothing in the ship was burning. More than that, there were no signs of life.

  The perimeter drones reported similar results with a high concentration of smoke. The lack of life outside was cause for concern.

  “Marines, there are no signs of life, and the interior seems fine. We’re going to have to go in to see what’s what, though. I’m bothered by the absence of any life in the area.”

  “Doesn’t seem like a big deal,” Kopf said. “I was worried about getting an alien tick on my man bits.” He gave a mock shiver as my jaw fell open. “What? I’m the only one to think about what might happen if an alien bug latches onto your junk?”

  “First off,” Jones said as she walked closer to Kopf. “We’re the aliens, here. Any bugs we run across would be indigenous life forms. Second, something is wrong with you, Kopf.”

  “Let’s worry about junk-eating bugs later and get inside that ship,” I said. “The drones will alert us to trouble and…” A glance at my screen gave me the info I needed. “Another fire team will be here in a few minutes.”

  “You heard the man, Jones. Let’s move,” Standish barked.

  The stout woman rolled her eyes as she shouldered past Standish. Her rifle came up as she led the way. The rest of us followed her example and raised our weapons so we would be ready for anything.

  We moved in to get an up-close look at the Zodiak ship. The glowing engine port sputtered once, then the glow faded. Jones stopped, holding up a fist. A second went by with nothing else happening. Then, she waved us on.

  The hull had the rectangular shape of a shuttle, but it was forty feet longer than a standard shuttle. It was a deep matte black that seemed to absorb the light. As we neared, I ran a hand along the surface, feeling the smooth, cool metal. My hand jerked back when it came to the long grooves torn into the metal alloy. Three-meter-long gashes resembling claw marks.

  “You guys see this?” I asked.

  “Yeah, creepy,” Jones said without slowing.

  “What in the world could do this to a Kodiak’s hull?” Kopf asked. He stopped and placed his hand on the hull right below the gashes. “This is some of the toughest alloy humankind has ever made, and the coating is equally tough.”

  “How do you know that? Most everything about Zodiaks is so highly classified you have to be a super spy to get access,” I said.

  “Or an augmented Marine,” Standish said. “Being accepted by a platoon of augs is only the beginning. There are a ton of screenings and background checks you go through.”

  “Which brings up the question,” Kopf looked from the ship to Standish. “How in the hell did a crazy fuck like you pass?”

  Their response was a laugh.

  “Let’s get back to what’s important,” I said. “We need to go in and find those SEALs.”

  “Right,” Standish said. “No more fucking around, Kopf.” Kopf glared daggers at Standish as he went past.

  I chuckled and followed, letting Kopf take the rear position. We didn’t have far to go as the entrance was just short of the nose. Jones stopped and looked around. Once satisfied we were safe, or safe enough, she accessed a panel I hadn’t seen until she opened it. She punched in a code, and the door recessed before sliding to the side. While stepping into the craft, Jones snapped on her weapon-mounted light.

  The inside was a dull gray that absorbed the light from our flashlights. The walls and deck sported similar marks as those on the hull outside, but a lot more of them. Instead of an airlock, the ship had a passage that ran the length of the vessel and was wide enough for one person. Near the aft was another hatch that entered the main chamber of the craft.

  “This isn’t so bad,” Kopf said. “Back when I was getting ready for training, I had my big brother drop me off at this old war base on an island in the Puget Sound, and man, talk about terror. Alone with—”

  “Shut up,” Jones hissed. “Focus.”

  Even I had to wonder how he could compare anything on Earth to this. “Why doesn’t this thing have a standard airlock?” I asked.

  “This design allows the SEALs to decompress this section and debark in the black to infiltrate a ship or station,” Standish said. “This gives them the space they need for the entire team to exit one after the other.”

  Jones stopped at the hatch and keyed in another code. The door slid open, and she gasped.

  “What is it?” I asked as I rushed forward, pushing Standish ahead of me. Jones entered the main chamber to give us room.

  Inside, we found an open space with seating along the far wall. The wall with the hatch through which we’d entered contained lockers for equipment and weapons. At the front were two chairs for the pilot and copilot with nothing separating the cockpit from the rest of the space. What caused Jones’ sharp intake of breath was a body dressed all in black lying on the deck.

  Two gashes split open his chest and accounted for the pool of dried blood beneath him. His armor was a lot like the armor we wore, but slimmer where ours was bulky, and all-black where ours was a mix of olive drab green and coyote tan. His armor had thicker joints, though, and odd protrusions that made me think it doubled as an exoskeleton.

  “What’s the deal with his armor?” I asked. I really needed to get accepted so I could have access to this information and not have to rely on everyone else to fill me in.

 
“MK 7 Reaper variant,” Kopf said.

  “Put an augmented squid in those cans, and it amplifies their abilities tenfold,” Jones said. “I’d give my left tit for a set.”

  “Dream on,” Standish said. “You know the Corps doesn’t have the budget for fancy shit like that. Be glad your gear isn’t bloodstained from the last grunt to die in it.”

  “Funny. What do you suppose did that?” she asked.

  “I don’t think I want to know,” I said. “I have a feeling that anything that could slice through that armor would have no issue getting through the cheap crap we’re wearing. What I want to know is, where’s the rest of his team?”

  No answer came, but I hadn’t expected one. Taking a knee next to the SEAL, I checked his neck and found service tags. Using my pad, I scanned the tag implanted under his skin to upload to the ship so he could be counted. It was the fastest way to alert command that we had a body.

  “Let’s check the ship’s logs and see if there’s a clue,” I said as I rose to my feet.

  “Good luck with that,” Kopf said as he pointed to the cockpit.

  I turned to see what he was pointing to. The console, which contained the lion’s share of the controls and access to all the data contained within, was torn to pieces.

  “I think that explains the choppy video feed we saw,” I said.

  “I think we’re done in here,” Standish said. “We need to find tracks or something to see where they went.”

  “You can track?” I asked as I followed Standish to the exit.

  Jones snorted. “He couldn’t find his ass if Kopf was squeezing his left cheek.” Her comment elicited a chuckle from Kopf and me.

  “You’re on a roll today, Jones,” Standish deadpanned.

  “You ladies find anything?” Lupita asked as we stepped out of the shuttle.

  “Body,” I said. “And a lot more damage inside than this.” My hand came up to point out the scratches. “No sign of what was responsible, or where the rest of the SEAL team went.”