The Battle for the Ringed Planet (28 page)

“Sorry to hear that.” Clive muttered as they reached for another panel.

“I didn’t know him well anyway.” A couple of sappers squeezed past with an empty grav sled, bringing it to Callie on the excavator a few meters ahead.

Clive leaned a little closer to Torian, but still in ear shot of the others, “I bet some of those fleet girls are pretty hot!” He grinned and Torian smirked back.

“Better than here, I mean Callie’s nice, but taken. Ground elements have a serious shortage of skirts.” Nick added. The engineer battalions were notorious for lack of females, while infantry consisted of about ten percent, logistics thirty, and fleet almost half.

“And no civilians around either, no pretty colony honeys to chase.” Andy joined in, “This whole place gives me the willies!”

Nick replied in a London accent, “It’s cursed; I mean look at fleet, here, stuck with us because there are no flights out for days!”

 They were interrupted by cursing as Callie crawled off the excavator and stood whipping out her Con, “Broke down again!” She huffed angrily as a wisp of black smoke drifted from the machine now resting on the ground.

Andy leaned on his shovel, “You’re just too rough.”

“Oh you shut up.” Then she glanced at Torian, “What are you staring at?”

“You remind me of my mother.” That got a chorus of guffaws as Callie grabbed a hunk of dirt and flung it at the wiry flight specialist.

“Didn’t take you boys long to corrupt poor fleet here!” She strode passed the group and gave Torian a glare, “I’m going up top for parts, but don’t stop working on my account!” There was some lingering quiet chuckling as the sappers linked in another panel and cleared away some soil.

They worked in silence for a few moments before Nick broke in, “So did you hear? They found a survivor.”

Clive sighed, “A survivor of what?”

“The city here. A live native. And they say she’s a looker, speaking of colony honeys.”

Turning and glancing at the short, thin blonde haired sapper, Torian listened attentively as Nick went on, “I heard a real scatter blonde, too …”

“No she’s not …” Then Torian caught himself, “You don’t know that.”

“A blonde is she?” The large muscular engineer with the physique shaped like a gorilla chuckled, “I could use a few more of those around here.” Which brought Torian back to thinking about Siiri. He wasn’t supposed to fall for someone again until he got back home, no, not after Leigh. Dammit! To make matters worse, he’d only known her a few days, how could he have let this happen? And what was he feeling… jealously? Just because she was surrounded by a couple thousand buff muscular marines?

--

Neil pointed to the door and Kat saluted as she closed it behind her. Siiri sat on a chair in front of the intelligence officer’s table folding her arms with an obstinate expression, having just returned from the infirmary and receiving a complete physical.

Warmly smiling, Neil sat back, “Oh don’t give me that look. We have a lot of work to do today, so let’s start out right. Want some coffee? Juice?”

“No thanks. I don’t see why I had to strip completely while that woman scanned me. It was cold in that room.”

“The doc doesn’t trust Con readings, and congratulations, you’re in excellent health and physical shape, save for a little weight loss, but better than most marines here.”

The auricomous
haired
girl replied with cold silence as Neil moved around his table and leaned back in front holding his Con. He moved a virtual screen with his finger, enlarging it so that it encompassed the floor to the ceiling behind, displaying a huge side view of Siiri’s head.

“Ugh …” She glanced away, “That’s not doing my self esteem any good.”

“Why, you’re a very beautiful woman.”

“Don’t sweet talk me.”

The very handsome major smiled, then moved his finger around on the Con virtual controls, “How about this?” In the image he cut away Siiri’s head to reveal her brain, a live feed from the Con’s scan, so she was seeing her real insides.

“I feel my breakfast coming up.”

“I’m not trying to make you sick, but I want to show you something.” He zeroed in on a section of her brain, “This is the Pineal gland. In most humans, it’s this size …” He super imposed another brain over hers with a small dot where the gland was located, “Now, this is the brain of a deceased member of the ‘Colonial Environmental Safety Society’, and yes, we know they existed and settled here.” The gland was twice the size of a normal one.

“Deceased?”

“Yes, some nasty business. We cornered them about 50 earth years ago, but they opted for mass suicide.” She sure did not like the sound of that, but it also explained Jarlan’s paranoia of off-worlders.

He put the direct scan of Siiri’s brain in the large virtual display, walked across the room, “Now, see yours.” He pointed, and Siiri swallowed. It was four or five times as large as the deceased brain, and emitting a slight yellow glow and pulsating. She wanted to throw up.

“Are you going to dissect me, too?”

Chuckling, “No, but you are very … distinct.” He pulled his chair from behind the table and set it down in front of the girl, turning it around so that when he sat his arms rested over the back, facing Siiri, “How many more of you are here?” His deep blue eyes, intricately decorated with lines and symbols upon close inspection, stared hard into hers.

Well, Torian wanted all the villagers rescued anyway, so she did not mind giving away that bit of information, though she wished he was here because she didn’t trust the striking man with the coy smile, “A whole village, just over a thousand people.” She was not going to tell him about the others in the alien city of Reega.

The major let out a low whistle, “A thousand? Like you?”

“Not all like me, a few maybe, I was cast out.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Where are the villagers?”

“Hidden away, but on the north side of the city in the valley.”

He frowned, “Near rebel lines.” She nodded slowly and he thought aloud, “That could be a problem.”

Siiri was becoming more uncomfortable the way her stared at her, gathering his thoughts, “So, tell me … what you can do?”

Swallowing, his eyes had her, but she stood her ground, “What do you think I can do?”

“Well, whatever it is, you haven’t been using it.” He stood up and reached for another small black device from his table, “I’ll level with you, we can detect paranormal activity. It sets off certain brain wave patterns.”

“Apparently I’m not fully developed.”

“Who told you that?”

“Someone who was.”

“I see.” He walked around back behind desk, “Listen, Siiri, I don’t know what your friends, the Hawkeye crewman and the Dragon, told you about the state of things …”

“You’re losing the war.”

“Not that there’s danger to earth, but yes, the rebels are breaking away.” Then he added, “You’re very insightful, and educated. Some colonies … when they lose contact, it’s like they revert to the Stone Age.”

“We had school, holos, I graduated with honors. Though we were taught with a bit of a slant, our teacher was Jarlan and he was member of that society. He’s the one you want.”

“And he’s fully developed?”

She nodded, “And he killed everyone in the city with his powers.” Siiri did not know why she threw that in, maybe as a warning.

“Really?” Neil had to think for a minute, then he continued, “The shield that surrounds the city, similar patterns that come from your brain, but not exact. His?”

“I think so.”

“We know what the shield is, and all that it does, we haven’t been able to take it down.”

Siiri glanced away; she was not going to tell him without Torian, shaking her head, “Jarlan knows.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

--

The mud didn’t stick to their tunics, but it caked in the folds and smeared everywhere, so one by one the sappers lined up while Callie hosed them, and thanks to Torian, all called her ‘mom’, so he got an extra blast on his water proof fatigues. Wearing their caps and slinging their rifles the engineer section with Torian strode back to the compound for lunch at the mess hall. Half completed with tenting for a roof, the steel walled mess building had two entrances, one for enlisted and the other for officers. When the sappers took their place in the long enlisted line, they heard the sounds of explosions in the distance and looking to the sky saw dozens of contrails from fighter sorties.

“Looks like the Dragons are catching hell.” Clive remarked, a little nervousness in his voice. One of the contrails in the distance began to trail flames and looped high in the sky before peeling downward in a ball of fire. No chutes were seen.

“Ours or theirs, fleet?” Nick asked grimly.

“Hawkeye.” Torian replied without emotion, he knew the sluggish movements by heart. The Fleet needed eyes and ears over the battleground because of countermeasures interfering with their surveillance. Hawkeyes attracted Solvairs like frenzied sharks to blood.

“You said you got a couple of Solvairs, right Torian?” Andy turned to the tall flight specialist who was scanning the officer’s line up.

“Yeah. Green pilots. They didn’t know that you never get on the tail of a Hawkeye. We got guns facing front and back.”

“How did that go, then?” Shorter Nick spoke up with his thick accent, and they all watched the tall lanky flight specialist.

“Well, Hawkeyes are bigger, faster, but not as maneuverable. Solvairs can turn inside us easily, so when we see ‘em we dive and max out our thrusters to get away. We got two external pods for the tunnel drive, sometimes we dump the used up one and ignite it. Makes for a pretty show.”

In the officer’s line up he suddenly caught a glimpse of tied up blonde hair standing next to a black woman about the same height. There were a few other blonde-haired women, all with their hair in a tight bun, so he continued to scan down the line.

“Go on.” Clive watched the line slowly move.

“So, my pilot, Tristan, he sees these two rebels practicing formation around a big moon and we’re about to tunnel out. He’s crazy and wants to buzz them, so that’s what we do.” Torian laughed, “And they go for it.” Then he stopped, catching a blonde haired girl turning and checking her Con. It wasn’t Siiri, so he sighed.

Nick nudged him, “What did you do then?”

“Oh, yeah, the first one came up right behind firing. We have shields and they don’t, so we can take a hit or two. He knocked them out but I got off a couple of bursts. Our guns are slower, but bigger, and he blew right up, didn’t have a chance.” Torian watched the first blonde girl speaking casually to a black female officer, but she did not turn so he could not see her face.

“No kidding!” Clive and Andy reacted together.

“The other guy was tougher. We dumped our spent tunnel pod, but he saw that one coming.” The officer’s line was almost all inside and there were only a couple of more blonde headed women. He could not go up and check because it would mean trouble, since it was the officer’s area.

Continuing to recount to fight, he turned back to the sappers, “So we had to take him to the deck of the moon, and fast before the rest of his squadron caught up. We did a deep dive, out running him, and then shot for a mountain range. Tristan was an expert and I swear flew centimeters from the surface, kicking up dust. Every time he got a lock, Tristan would duck around a mountain or rocky formation to throw him off. Then we popped out from behind this old volcano and suddenly he was right on our tail. I think he was more surprised than we were, and to this day, I don’t how I reacted so fast, but I got his starboard engine and he flew right into the side of that volcano. Then we punched out before the others came.”

Clive slapped him in the back, “Wow, that’s some adventure!”

A few officers came up behind while Siiri anxiously searched the other line as Kat stepped inside the door. One by one, marine soldier after soldier, some tall and handsome, like Torian, and others black, brown, and tan skinned, all with cropped hair under military style caps.  All of a sudden, there he was, joking and laughing, standing amongst some very large built men.

Andy pointed to the officer’s line, “Is that her, then?”

Nick frowned, “Who?”

“The scatter blonde?”

“Oh yeah …” Nick watched the girl, “Nice looking, but stuck in officer’s country, too bad.”

Torian glanced where Andy motioned and spied the blonde girl with azurite eyes watching him. She appeared even more lovely with her hair done up. 

Beaming, catching his sparkling chestnut eyes, she was so happy to see him. Leaving the officer’s line and Kat behind who was checking the flat panel menu, Siiri strode across, almost running, to the enlisted line towards Torian.

“She’s, ah … coming this way …” Nick commented, puzzled.

“Yeah, how about that.” Torian shot her a wide smile.

With strands of ash blonde hair fraying, she walked faster calling out, “Torian!”

His three engineer friends, along with a dozen other enlisted marines, turned their heads slowly eying the wiry young man, raising their eyebrows. He shrugged at them and then met the blonde girl who embraced him tightly and affectionately. Then she reached up, standing on her tippy toes, and wrapped her arms snugly around his neck. To everyone surprise, she kissed him passionately. Most everyone in the line was stunned, especially Torian who was pleasantly caught off guard.

When they slowly parted she whispered, “I was so worried about you and that patrol, Torian, I missed you!”

Grinning, he held her waist while she pulled him closer; “Are they treating you all right?” he spoke softly watching her pretty eyes.

“They ask a lot of questions ... and there is this real bitch for my escort!”

Andy coughed and Torian turned, “Oh, I’m sorry, these are my new friends.”

Siiri smiled and waved.

Andy Nick and Clive all coughed again a little louder and pointed at the fuming form of First Lieutenant Kat Martine storming towards the happy couple.

The enlisted ranks all came to attention, except Torian who still held Siiri, as Kat barked at the pair, “What do you think you’re doing?” She glared right at Torian.