Winter Dread, page 18
I nodded, unbuckling myself and making my way up to the front of the shuttle. “Are you doing okay?” I asked as I sat next to Frenk.
“It’s long flights. Nothing I’ve not done before.”
“You’ve not been on the front line since though, have you?”
“No, I was back in training for that reason. How did you know?”
“It’s not hard to know or understand what things transpired. You were the lead, right?” His hands on the console jittered. “I don’t mean to pry. But if you need to talk while we’re out there, I’m here.”
“You can see it as we start to come in now,” he said and pointed. “It wasn’t anything we hadn’t done before. Like any other drop. All of us were aware; things had been ramping up on our side for a while. When the alarm went off that day, it was weird. Almost as though I were dreaming.”
“It was an unexpected time, day, something?”
“Yeah, every time they’d tried to breach it was predicted, easy. This one came shortly after we’d gone back the bunks. We were the extra team, a spare. Nothing gave us a hint they were planning this. But on approach it was clear things were very different.”
He pointed right, and I looked over. You could see out in the depths of the darkness there was something on the edge of space.
“It looks like a fog, the crinkling of space and time. Where things that shouldn’t be there are.”
“It does look foggy, like it’s forming as solid. Yet in space?”
“That’s exactly what it is. The further we get into their territory and the rift, you can see solid ground. That’s how come the megas can be in space after all. There’s no planet here for them to fight on; they are in space. There’s nothing out here but that darkness. But with the rift comes solidarity, and that’s where we can fight them. They thought we wouldn’t be able to, but with the kenosi inside the megas, we can fight them.”
As we sped further towards the battlefield, I could see the fog doing exactly as he said.
“They’ve been playing this for ages,” I said. “Maybe even since you were hit. This is targeted with the megas and kenosi.” I thought back to the first attack on the base. “Where were you on that first night I was beaten. Where were you before? I know you were in the mess with Edward afterwards. But—”
“I’d been seeing Trin, we’d argued over something silly through the day. I always picked her up took her home so she could sleep, then I’d eat with the guys. Supper for me, but it was always fun.”
I saw him physically cringe then, and he looked at me. “That hit, the poison was meant for me. They wanted me to take it straight out to the front line. But you’d not only come along, you stopped me from being on Edward’s teams, stopped us from shipping out.”
“The two that jumped me had no clue I wasn’t you.”
“That’s why they came back,” Frenk said. “They bled you for a reason. They took as much of their poison back and got it through to the front line another way.” He looked to those behind us. “We’re changing directions. I’m going for someone specific. Trin, do you think you can find Apollo?”
“You’re going to go and see him, after everything he did to you and us?”
Their whole history was strong here. I could see it in her eyes.
Trin rolled her eyes. “Apollo is my brother, and he’s been trying to split us up for many years.”
“Not good enough for his little sister, am I?” Frenk questioned.
“Screw him,” she said.
There was a worry there. “Frenk, what’s going on?” she asked.
“I’ll go and tell them.” I said. “Keep us going wherever you need to with her at your side. I don’t need to see anything I’m not allowed to.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” I made to move, and Trin and I swapped places. I then sat with Tyto and Dr Herin. “The sickness wasn’t meant for me. Thank the gods I ended up with it.”
As I told them it was meant to not only been for Frenk but the front line, I saw Herin’s face fall. “If that had been the case of what happened, we’d have fallen already. Not only would it have done much more damage in Frenk’s body, it would have spread a hundred times as quick because he couldn’t fight it like you have.”
“I know,” I said. “But they still got it to the front line. I need to know how, even if it was—” I slapped my hand to my forehead, and when I went to do it again, Tyto stopped me. “Who was there when our mech merge fell apart and I was beaten to a pulp? Who?”
“Quite a few people.” Tyto said. “There were lots of medical staff, the trainers.”
“And . . .” I waited for one of them to twig. Because I wasn’t just the only one with a brain.
“Field Marshall Venkath.”
“I’m not sure how they could have gotten anything through into him, but it makes the most sense,” Dr Herin said.
“If he’s sick, how fast do you think it could spread, and what happens if the field marshall goes down? Who is closest to him?”
“We’re in big trouble.”
I moved back to the front of the shuttle to Trin and Frenk’s sharp exchange over her brother.
“Hey, you two mind if I say something here?” Frenk shot me a glare, and I said it anyway. “I see the love you both have, don’t lose that. You can work through all of this, as hard as it is.”
I heard Trin sob, and there were tears then.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry,’ I said.
“I know, I just . . . everything,” she sobbed, her shoulders bouncing with her breaths. “If my brother’s infected too, he’s on one of the best mech teams there are. Kyle . . . he’s the closest to the field marshall here.”
That was my next question. Fuck. “We’ll sort this, I promise. No matter who is infected.”
“We only have so much—” Frenk said.
“If I have to suffer, you know I will.”
He nodded. “Field marshall first.”
“Exactly.” I looked back to the screen. “Did you find him?”
“Yes, of course,” Trin said, fighting her sobs. “I know his signature anywhere. He can’t hide from me even out here on the rift.”
“No, I don’t suppose not.”
“We’re going to be coming in hot,” Frenk said, and reaching over, squeezed Trin’s hand. “We’ve been trying to reach him through his merge, but we’re not close enough.”
“I’ll get through to him,” I said. “Let me have his codes.”
Trin hesitated, then within a second she tapped on my AI. I would make sure I got a message through to him, and he was coming away from that area before he went down. Before they went down.
Trin reached for me. “Kyle, I had no idea how important you’d be, to what you’re doing here. If you can’t get through to him . . .”
“I will. If I can reach a Sitha out in the middle of the galaxy, I will get through to your brother.”
My words were strong. Even if I had reduced kenosi, I would do everything I had to. I saw the pain on her face, the connection between her and Frenk. These were good people, those I wanted around me.
You always do the best you can, Kyle, Xe said. I believe in you.
I smiled on the inside. We always do the best we can. Without my team around me . . .
I know, she said. Stronger, together.
19
We started to dip in closer to the front line. I couldn’t quite believe what was going on in front of me. The megas were fighting—and for all they were worth.
The sections were easy to spot up here, and inside each one was a team of six. There were three in defensive positions, shields erected. While the others were tackling what looked like one giant metallic tentacle with any ballistics they could.
“The team in this section are in the process of being swapped out,” Frenk said and pointed to the dropship. There, ahead of us, a dropship hove into view.
I’d never seen anything as big in my life as that ship. I mean, of course the dreadnoughts were huge. They were purely defence and life ships; these ships were literally to drop and pick up the mega teams.
I reached over and touched the screen before Trin. The ship’s energy fluctuated, the usual colours of kenosi I could see greyer, pale. “Something’s wrong,” I said. “I need to get through to him now.”
I almost pushed Trin out of her seat. She scrambled out of the way just as quickly.
“Make sure Frenk keeps us flying in the right direction. Ty!” I shouted behind me. Tyto was up and at my side as well. “Watch my kenosi level. If I start to draw from them—”
“What do you mean?” Trin asked.
“Kyle will take from everything around him if he needs to. He’s not a normal user. Something I learned the hard way.” I felt Tyto’s hands on my shoulder. “I’ll do everything I can from here. If I think you have to pull out, I will yank you as softly as I can.”
Dr Herin was trying his best to stand in the middle of all of us. “You are going to attempt to draw energy from the megas?” He looked at Tyto. “I’m not quite sure how that is even possible. Even if he was well enough to do that, he’s sick, remember?”
“I know, doc,” Tyto replied.
“If I have to do something to save those men, I’m going to,” I said, hands flexing.
“How did you even know something is going wrong?” Herin asked.
“I can see the fluctuation inside that ship,” I said. “Their mega merge isn’t working. Someone on the inside of there is in trouble.” I glanced to Trin. “Where’s your brother?”
I already knew before she answered.
“On that drop ship.”
I put my hands on the console, feeling sickness going to wash over me. I had no time for this now. “Doc, if you have another bag of that drug, hook me up now. Trin, force it in.”
The doctor shook his head. On Tyto’s nod though, he moved to get the drug from the back of the shuttle.
“We can get a normal message through as the medic we are,” Frenk said.
I shook my head. “By the time they’re even going to accept the message and even try to understand what’s going on, no.”
Then with expert care, the drop ship shook and shimmied into position to start its departure procedure. Dr Herin swapped the bags over. I could see the wild fluctuations inside all of it now. They were in real trouble.
“You could go into shock,” Trin said. She still did as I asked though, pushing the fluid through quicker. As soon as the fluid started to enter my veins, I felt the sickness dissipate a little. At least I could push it aside. I focussed in on pulling kenosi towards me, and I reached out to the drop ship. I needed to steady myself. At least no one else knew there was an issue going on on the inside yet. They soon would when their mega started to disintegrate around them, just like my team’s had.
“If they lose the mega here, what happens?” I asked Frenk.
“In any other area I would say they stood a chance, but this is band one. They won’t survive, and if there’re issues with the merge and their kenosi anyway, they might not get back to the respawn pods. The creatures on the other side could just take them.”
“The enemy can take their souls?”
“Yes, I’ve seen it.” He lowered his head, couldn’t meet my eyes.
“Does anyone know what happens then?” No one answered my question for a while.
Frenk’s voice brought me back. “It’s almost as if they’re sucked into the enemy’s limbs. They then get a boost of energy. Like they’re feeding off us.”
I frowned. “Then I’m not giving them a chance. Those on the ground have to take another shift, but they need to swap mechs.”
“I don’t know if they can,” Frenk said.
“They will,” I replied as the view before me changed. Strings upon string of code. Fascinating. The big drop ship was well protected. Not against me. I grinned. It still captivated me when some of the codes and things they used were still old school formula.
I focussed back to the code. Then I was inside the ship and moving towards where the sick mega was in seconds. It hadn’t taken me any more kenosi than contacting Artemis. I think that was just because I was hyped up on the drug. It was not just holding back the waves of sickness threatening to swallow me. It was pushing me on so much more.
I harnessed the ship around me, and as the snout took a large nosedive, completely losing control of itself, I yanked on the controls.
“Fuck!” I let out.
“What is it?”
“They’ve got no one piloting that ship. The pilot’s just gone down.”
“There’s incoming fire, from several directions,” Trin said. “I can see the fire from inside the rift. They always ramp it up as a changeover’s happening.”
Tyto stepped up then. “If you can hack the command net to those on the ground, I can command them. They just won’t like what I will have to pull.”
“You can do that?” Frenk asked. I could see his hands were going hell for leather over the keys himself. He would do what it took, and so would I.
I could hear the chatter of the six team leads; they were struggling, low on ammo and energy. When Tyto’s voice came through, even I shivered with his words.
“This is Tyto Jack, Eekan of the denti guarde. Hicar Force. You will listen to my command and follow my orders. Do you understand?”
“Dame Matiarc, I’m in command. I don’t recognise the name or where you’re coming from. But if you can get help us . . .”
I felt Tyto’s hand leave my shoulder, and he was keying in codes across to her from the shuttle. I wasn’t sure why he didn’t just send it across through a direct link, but there would be no record of him doing so, and it would be hard for any of us to prove what we did out here, especially if it went into a full investigation.
“Pull back to these coordinates. We’ll get the others in defence and get you swapped out. The mega’s command on board the drop ship is compromised. Can you take another shift till we get reinforcements out to you?”
“Whatever it takes, command,” came her reply. “Pooling on your location now.”
I could see ahead of me the megas were moving. I had to shield them with fire from the drop ship. The controls were spongy, and I struggled. In the end the ship responded to everything I was asking of it, albeit very slowly. I could hear inside my head the pings and new ranks I was growing in. I had to let them slide on past. I wasn’t interested at the moment; all I wanted was to save the 436 men that were in this section. The megas were more than needed, and so were they. I caught several sets of their stats as I was routing around steering the ship, opening fire. Dame was one of the highest levels I’d seen, and that was close enough to what I’d seen for Xirob and Ohara.
I wished I could speak with him now, get his council. But as I made sure the megas had shielding to get to the drop ship, at least I knew I was doing everything I could, even if I didn’t have the highest clearance. Even if I shouldn’t have been there.
Steadying the ship, I brought it down with a thud. I could see the megas from where we were we were much closer. You managing? Xe asked. I can take control of the drop ship if you let me.
In any other situation, I would have hesitated to give her control of something so big, yet I handed her over the controls via remote and within seconds she was the only one flying it.
I spoke clearly for the others as I went even deeper into kenosi and found Kan. I knocked on his AI chip. When he answered, it was clear—he knew something was wrong.
“That’s my sister’s code. What’s going on?”
“You’re sick,” I said.
“No fucking kidding. The dropship lost control. Who’s flying it?”
“My nanite is. I’m going to help you, all of you, but you have to trust us.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m not on the ship. We’re in a medical shuttle over your heads, watching the battlefield.”
“How?” His confusion washed over me, and I tried not to let it tip the effect of the drugs I was absorbing.
“We don’t have time for this. I need you to drop when we’re ready. The megas are going to have to swap with the team out there. You’re bringing their megas back. You have to emerge and remerge on the ground.”
“No one has ever done that before on the field. We can’t.”
“Yes. You can. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because if you don’t do this, you won’t ever see your sister again, the rift will start to deepen here, and we’re going to lose this section.”
“We can’t—”
“Exactly, so what are you going to do?”
“Whatever you say, stranger!”
We’re coming in to drop the megas. Xe’s voice came through to me.
I felt something tweak my hand, and I almost lost the communication with Kan. I focussed back on him and then felt more liquid going in. I was burning this fast. We couldn’t have much more left, or even if we got him on the shuttle, we’d all be at risk.
“You got this, Kan,” I said. “On my mark, you’re going to drop.” And to Tyto and the others, I shouted, “Ready!”
“All ready!” came the reply. “On my mark.”
The shielding from the drop ship as it landed took the battering of several full hits. I had no idea how the hell it managed it, but it did.
“Mark!”
The sick megas jumped from the ship, and within those few seconds they had done exactly as I asked of them. All 216 men were on the move and running for a mech of their opposing team. I watched in pure awe as they swapped out on the battlefield and then within those next few seconds, even though I knew Kan’s megas struggled with their second merge, they were in and running back for the drop ship.
“Get that relief as soon as you can, Tyto.” Dame’s voice came through clear for us all. “Godspeed to you and yours.”
“Will do. Hold that line, Dame.”
“You bet your fucking life we will.”
When they cut the comms, I heard Xe grunt and knew she struggled with all the controls of the dropship. I’ve got it, Tiny, I said. And took back what I knew she really wanted to pilot.
