Story Time 1.8 - Heir Hunt

WARNING: The following is not edited and there will be spelling and grammar mistakes. Sorry.
Please read forgivingly (and if you have the time corrections are welcomed).

The Colonel was right about the door, no one came to get him before he heard the shooting start outside. After the going over they treated him to they obviously did not expect him to be able to withstand another session too quickly, they had forgotten they were dealing with a combat veteran. They were not the first people to hold him prisoner and this time more than any other he had a very good reason to force himself up and moving. The next few minutes would be extremely painful, there was no way to avoid the burns the striped down rifle would give him, but he would gladly take the injuries to protect his young charges.

He was so proud of his cadets when he opened the door to their cell. The eldest ones were up and defending the youngsters, ready to fight whoever came at them. Of course they were scared but they were doing their best not to show it.

There was the inevitable moment of shock when they saw him, he had not seen himself in a mirror but he could guess he was a awful state to behold. “We've got reinforcements outside. Let's go.”

Hesitation evaporated with the order to move. They were good cadets.

It was a blood bath, there was no way it could have been anything else, but as Chase crouched at Jona's side, closing his blank eyes, he wished he could have thought of a better way. He had already lost so many men, letting another one go was hard, but at least it had been a clean shot, a heavy rifle shot to the chest had killed him instantly.

The blast of the Colonel's rifle scythed through the cave and added further madness to an already chaotic battle and a blackened apparition appeared at the head of a dozen young warriors.

“Captain Chase, I presume.” the apparition spoke

Chase looked up at the figure. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. I think now is a good time to leave, don't you.”

“Retreat, all squad, retreat, by the numbers, we have what we came for.” Chase knew a hint when he heard it and their objective was now achieved. “Is this all of you?”

“Yes.”

Chase nodded and led the way, seeing out of the corner of his eye the teenage boy who knelt briefly at Jona’s body and retrieved the rifle and comm-unit. He froze when he realised what he was seeing but he forced himself to move again, Jona no longer needed the equipment and if the boy was anything like Se-se he would be able to make good use of it.

Somehow the retreat was orderly, and they returned to the outside of the caves to find not one of the false aliens in sight, they had all been dealt with in short order when the attack began.

As a final parting shot, Castleman discharged the last of the energy of his heavy rifle into the cave entrance. There were a few short screams from inside and then nothing.

Unceremoniously, he then dropped the remains of the heavy rifle and was offered an M82 rifle by a boy at his side. He looked at it and raised a hand to take it but cancelled the gesture as he covered a grimace. “You keep it, Dosser, the Captain's going to lend me his pistol.”

Chase opened his mouth to object but stopped himself when he realised the Colonel had turned down the weapon most likely because he would have struggled to hold it. The burns from the cut down heavy rifle were masked by black charring but would be enough to make shouldering a rifle all but impossible. Feeling for the older man as his own injury left him finding the use of his rifle getting steadily harder, Chase unclipped the holster at his side and handed over his father's pistol, the weapon he had been gifted with when he completed officer training. He had never let anyone else handle it, giving it to the Colonel was an honour the man would not understand.

“Thank you,” Castleman automatically checked the magazine and chamber before subjecting this younger officer to a searching look. “Where’s my Sergeant?”

“In the forest, I was hardly going to bring her into this.”

“Good. Lead the way.”

But before they had even reached the edge of the trees there was the blast of a heavy rifle and a short, high pitched scream.

“Babel!” Castleman roared, and then shouted a series of words in a language Chase had never heard before.

The teenagers around the Colonel suddenly disappeared into the forest.

“Colonel what-?” Chase questioned, running to keep up with the elder officer who was making an impressive turn of speed for someone obviously so injured.

“They know what they’re doing, Captain.”

Crashing through the forest without any pretence at quiet, they arrived at the glade moments behind Babel squad.

A young boy stood beside the body of Bateman, the fallen man’s rifle already in his hands.

Castleman looked at the lad. “Lin.” he prompted.

“Single shot to the head, sir, no other signs of injury. And no sign of the Sergeant.”

A tall girl emerged from the trees. “Three people came in, four left, one being carried. It’s an easy trail to follow, they weren’t being subtle.”

Castleman nodded and turned to Chase. “How many men have you got?”

Chase winced. “There are-” his jaw clenched and he tried not to look as an injured Leeson was carefully sat down by Felton and Shaw. “There are four of us.”

“My squad need any spare comms and weapons you have.” There was a sympathetic look from the Colonel. “You need all the help you can get.”

As Castleman spoke one of the older teenage boys from Babel disengaged himself from the rest of the group and made a beeline for Leeson, talking quietly and reassuringly as he made expert use of the triage kit Lin liberated from Bateman's body and threw to him.

All of the other remaining supplies were divvied out, but there was not enough for everyone. Even so, none of the children complained, instead they waited patiently for the Colonel to address them.

Castleman waited until they were kitted out and the marines who were able were on watch around them before he took a long breath and spoke. He hated himself for using the children like this but it had to be done. “We have one priority now, to retrieve Sergeant Elisia.”

There was a nod from his young Corporal. “Retrieval with extreme prejudice as per last summer’s exercises, sir?”

“Well remembered, Mike. This time we’re not fully equipped so pair up if you’re lacking. Jayne, you’re on point, show us the way. Joe, you missed the exercise so you hang back with me, you’re good on your feet so if we need a runner it’s you. No getting cocky, no heroics, this is not an exercise, this is real.” Castleman looked from face to face. They all looked back with sombre expressions, there was fear in their eyes but also determination. They would make him proud. “Find them, surround them, pick your targets and wait. Nothing happens until I give a go. Any questions?”

Babel squad were silent.

“Good. Go.”

Within seconds, the children were gone, melting into a forest they knew well.

Chase turned to the Colonel then. “I have a question. What do we do?”

“You’re back up.” Castleman shook his head. “If you had a full team I’d have sent you ahead, but you’re battle scarred and Babel do know what they’re doing. Whether they realise it or not, they’ve been training for this all their lives, I just didn’t expect them to be needed so soon.”

“You expected trouble?” Chase frowned, wondering if he had missed something.

“The Empire isn’t without enemies. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. If nothing else, I was hoping all the training would help them in the future. They’re good kids.” Castleman turned to where Leeson was still being dealt with. “Jay, how are you getting on? Can he be moved?”

There was a moment of hesitation from the teenager. “I need longer and I'll need an extra pair of hands to get him up but we won't be quick.”

“Do the best you can. You've got an extra pair of hands right there, I'm sure he won't leave his buddy behind.” Castleman indicated to Shaw as he hovered worried beside his badly injured friend.

“No, sir,” Shaw confirmed. “I won't.”

“Follow us as soon as you can and do your best to keep up, I hope we won't need you but,” the sentence was left unfinished.

“Understood, sir.” Jay did not need the full sentence, he had heard Se-se's scream and knew there was little chance of finding her uninjured from the way it had cut off so sharply.

Joe looked up expectantly at the Colonel. He was new to Babel, only recently having joined their ranks from the much simpler club that was Nova, and he wanted to understand what the Colonel was talking about but he did not want to let the squad down and look like a complainer.

Castleman looked down at the gangly lad. “Let’s move.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Chapter 5

Moving silently, watching for any changes in the trail, Jayne led the squad. They were out of sight behind her, but she knew they were there. She was used to being on point, her parents were the colony hunters and they had taught her tracking from a very young age until she could almost see the quarry from the trail they left. It was a source of pride for Jayne that the Colonel thought so highly of her skills and asked advice from her at times on tracking techniques.

The main worry on Jayne’s mind as she followed was that Se-se was obviously being carried and whilst there was no blood, there was no way of knowing what condition Se-se was in. She had to concentrate, to settle into the hunt and treat it like one of the many exercises the Colonel had set up for them in the past. That was all it was, another exercise that would end in a little party around a fire with well done sweets and the usual fun. If only she could believe it the situation would be so much easier. She narrowed her eyes and stopped, crouching. “New trail.” She stared at the tracks in the dawn gloom, daring them to give up their secrets. “Four more people joining the quarry, moving fast but heavy. They did not stop here.”

“Acknowledged,” came the response from Castleman. “Continue.”

At the back beside the Colonel, Chase frowned at the noise greeting his ear, he did not understand a word of it. He looked across at Castleman for an explanation.

“Babel, no one listening in can understand it.”

“Including me.” Chase grumbled. He was feeling strangely detached and confused. They had found the Colonel and rescued the children at such a high price only for those children to be behaving in like well trained soldiers and taking it all in their strides with nearly superhuman calm.

Castleman relented, the Captain had done his best to help and for it had just lost a lot of his men. They both had their own issues to overcome. He gave the required translation.

FraidyKat Runs - from Pain Pixies

Story Time 1.7 Heir Hunt

WARNING: The following is not edited and there will be spelling and grammar mistakes. Sorry.
Please read forgivingly (and if you have the time corrections are welcomed).

 

By the time they got to the edge of the forest near the caves it was full dark and the torches outside the main cave entrance were plainly visible. There were two ‘aliens’ on guard, both with the same distinctively shaped heavy rifles, and the brightly lit cave mouth hinted to many more inside.

Se-se looked expectantly to Chase. She had earlier been made to describe the back way in to Felton but had remained adamant throughout that only she knew the way well enough to get in and out without getting lost and a simple description would be no help to the elder Sergeant with the many dead ends and pitfalls. Reluctantly, Chase had conceded the point, but held to having Felton going with the teenager. He would not risk a child to such murderers, all the more so as his suspicions on Se-se and the way she behaved were peaked in a way he could not define. Chase had asked, during their walk, if Se-se was the name on her birth certificate but had received only a casual shrug with the Se-se admitting to have never seen the document and always been called ‘Se-se’. It was an unsatisfactory answer but the only one he got because Se-se then drifted back to Felton remembering some detail or other about the caves she had previously omitted.

“Alright, this will do.” Chase called the men to a halt. “We’ll fan out and keep an eye for patrols. Sergeants, good luck and don’t take any risks. We need to know what’s going on but we don’t need for either of you to get hurt, clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

This was the cue for both women to strip themselves of all extra gear until they were left with only clothes, boots and pistols, but Se-se then picked up the heavy rifle and began to systematically strip the sheathing that covered the actual workings of the energy weapon.

“What are you doing?”

“Something the Colonel taught me.” Came the response as the rifle’s barrel, it’s focusing point, was removed and handed off. “It’ll fit now.”

Chase was horrified. True, the rifle would technically work, but there was no heat shielding to protect the wielder and nothing to focus the energy past a random wide burst, it was a monstrosity and something both regulations and common sense expressly forbade. “Not a chance. For one thing you said even an M82 would be no use in the tunnels and for another that’s ridiculously dangerous, it’s not happening.”

“Oh yes it is.” Se-se’s tone went flat and cold. “This is my planet and they are my squad. Besides which, I have no intention of using this, I am going to hand it to Colonel Castleman who will. You have your orders, I have mine.”

“You have yours?” Chase asked, eyebrows raised.

“Yes. All of Babel squad have been drilled in what to do in case of emergency and if you have a problem with that Captain you can question the Colonel when we get him out.” The sharpness of Se-se’s voice made all of the marines instinctively stand straight.

Chase stood still for long seconds as he considered his options. By rights he should take the rifle out of the reckless teenager's hands and stop the accident waiting to happen but again something he could not define made him think again. “Alright,” he said finally. “If that’s how you want to play it. But you’re only going to show Felton the way so unless you walk straight into where ever the Colonel’s being held and it is safe for you hand that over you will be coming back to us with the rifle and if it’s energy cell isn’t fully charged when you return there will be hell to pay.”

Se-se nodded, then she turned to Felton. “Ready to go?”

Felton looked briefly at the Captain before nodding her agreement. “Lets get this over with.”

The trip past the cave entrance was taken at a wide berth and it was almost half an hour before the women were on the narrow path up the mountainside. The going was slow, they could not use light to see the path any better and they dared not make any noise that might have been heard below, but eventually Se-se squeezed her way into a small crack in the rock face.

Felton watched in admiration as Se-se disappeared inside, she had not even seen the gap and she had been looking for it for some time. The girl was right though, it was a very tight squeeze even for her, and Felton was forever being told she was built like a boy.

Once they got a few metres in there was absolutely no light so Felton contorted herself to reach into a pocket and pull out a chem-stick. The green glow it gave off was just enough to see the slime and damp on the rocks and a low hole that Se-se was already beginning to push the L84 into with a chem-stick gripped between her teeth to light the way. Felton had never felt claustrophobic before, but dropping down to follow she began to understand what it felt like.

Se-se spent the time worrying over what they might find. If the ‘aliens’ had meant to kill Babel squad, surely they would have done it back at the camp, but why they were doing any of this was a mystery so she could not know if they were still alive at all. And why were they doing it? That was the one question that kept coming into her mind, why would they kill everyone on an inoffensive colony and then herd the teenagers off into the caves. Perhaps they were after Colonel Castleman, he had had a very distinguished career before opting for semi-retirement as the colony's military liaison, perhaps he knew something important and they were using Babel squad as pressure to make him talk. But again, why would they kill everyone else, and why the alien costumes?

Not concentrating on the route made Se-se almost lose her way twice but she did not snap out of it until Felton grabbed her as she slipped and would have tumbled down a black drop into nothingness. She mumbled a thanks to Felton and took a few deep breaths. There would be time for answers later, first they had to get to the caves.

When a dim light filtered in Felton signalled for the chem-sticks to be dropped and she took the lead.

The low passageway they emerged into was, as predicted, empty but the echoes of conversations and movement were cast eerily in, bouncing off the rough stone walls and making it impossible to gauge direction or distance.

“Stay here.” Felton hissed as she drew her pistol and crept forward.

Se-se was uneasy, but she stayed in shadow in the crack that was all that hinted to the back way.

Carefully, Felton eased her way round the corner just enough to get a narrow view of the passage beyond, her pulse rising in anticipation. It was clear, but up ahead she could just make out a heavy door that had been put on the opposite side of the passage wall. Se-se had told her there were side caves turned into individual rooms, a remnant of the early use of the caves as an emergency shelter when the colony was still merely a fledgling.

With a deep breath, Felton stepped out into the passage, scanning it for anything electrical that would hint to surveillance, but she could see nothing save the few torches lighting the place. The noise of people was still there, but only in echoes, far off. She crept further forward, seeing three more doors along the way.

Moving past one, she was sure she heard hushed voices. She steeled herself for the occupants to burst out only to then realise that the door was bolted from the outside, whoever was in there was imprisoned. Was that the wayward cadets?

Then there was a distinct sound of footfalls, definitely moving closer. She rapidly moved back to the low passage, only to virtually trip over Se-se, who had been watching her progress.

With the noise growing closer she could say nothing, but instead treating Se-se to glare.

Se-se shrugged and returned the look.

Looking carefully round the corner, Felton squinted to see three men, one held roughly between the other two. Undoubtedly a captive, he looked badly beaten and was being dragged through the passage not because he was fighting back but because he was too insensible to walk unaided. One of the doors, separate to the one from which she had heard the voices, was opened and the man was thrown inside. The door was bolted and the men walked back the same way they had come.

Se-se had stopped breathing. That captive was Colonel Castleman. She started to move, but was grabbed firmly by Felton.

“Not yet.” Felton mouthed.

They waited for a long minute until the sounds were again distant.

“We know where they are, we have to report to Chase now.” Felton whispered. She did not want to leave a hostage like that but there was nothing she could do to help him.

“We don’t know how many of them there are.” Se-se hissed. “The Colonel will. He can tell us more than we’ll ever find out sitting here.” Se-se jerked out of Felton’s grip and rounded the corner.

Felton swore but instead of dragging the girl back ran passed her to the next intersection and gestured to Se-se to go inside and find out what she could. She knew that Chase hated the idea of relying on a teenage girl, but any tool that worked was the right one to Felton and her initial suspicions about the girl had proved themselves to be unfounded when she was clearly just another colony kid, all be it a gifted one. She just hoped no one would be coming back before the girl was finished.

Se-se threw back the bolts and pulled open the door to find Castleman still on the ground where he had been thrown, but he was struggling to get up since hearing movement.

He focused on the person walking in and stopped his struggles. “What are you doing here?” he demanded in a hushed voice. “You have to get out of here.”

For a moment, Se-se stood frozen on the spot. The Colonel was covered in blood and bruises, he had been badly beaten and looked awful. “No,” Se-se dropped beside Castleman. “I’m here to get you out. Where are Babel squad?”

“Two rooms up, but we can’t all get out the back way, you should know that.”

“I do.” Se-se nodded. “But, I’ve got a squad of marines in the forest, we just need to know how many of those so called aliens there are and where they are and we can come through the front door.”

Castleman treated Se-se to a long look. “How did you meet up with them?” he asked slowly.

“They were at the farm searching for survivors. They were in the system on exercise and got orders to check what was happening because we went out of contact.”

“What about Joe and Tam?”

Se-se tried to answer but felt tears forming.

The look was enough of an answer and in itself a painful blow. Since coming to the colony Castleman had grown close to the pair, close enough to consider them good and dear friends. “Is that fully charged?” he looked at the rifle, forcing his thoughts back to the present.

“Yes, sir.”

“There’s a crevice behind me with a lip, put it there. As soon as I hear you all coming in I’ll blast my way out and cause hell from here.” He cupped Se-se’s head with a blooded hand. “You’ve done really well, but don’t take any more risks, let the marines do their job.”

“But,”

“I know you can do everything they can,” he said softly. “But you’re too valuable. You and Babel are all that’s left, you all need to get out alive and well. Take it as a request from an old soldier. Sit out of this one.”

“Yes, sir.” Se-se was reluctant, but her trust and respect for Castleman was absolute. “Should I take the little ones with me?” At least some of Babel could get out via the back way and when Castleman had been treated so badly Se-se was worried for her friends.

There was a moment of agonised silence, the answer was plain but difficult. “No. It's going to take you a while to get back out and start things rolling, if they check in the mean time and find some of you gone they might well,” he broke off.

“Kill everyone left.” Se-se finished Castleman's sentence quietly.

This got a nod. “And that's something that can't happen, so this is what I know about these aliens,”

Bare minutes later Se-se slipped out of the room, leaving the door unbolted.

The Colonel had told her that he did not know if his captors would be back before it all kicked off but if they were and the door was unlocked they would only have themselves to blame. If it was open he would not have to waste a charge of the rifle blowing it open.

Felton swiftly led the way back into the low passage, not bothering to ask where the rifle had gone before they squeezed back through the crack in the wall.

Chase knew it would take the women at least two hours to get in and back out, but he was impatient none the less. There was no way he should have let the girl go, especially with the rifle, but there was something about her that made it very difficult to prevent her from doing what she wanted and he suspected that would have rubbed off onto all of her ‘Babel’ squad. If they did not get back soon they would have to leave it another day before making any sort of attack. It would soon start to get light and any assault needed the dawn sun in their favour or it would be suicidal. As it was a frontal attack appeared to be their only option, and a messy one at that. Given the importance of their task and the apparent urgency these alien imposters assigned to their slaughter it had to be a rapid assault or it would be too late for the captives.

“Contact, friendlies on their way.” The whisper came over the radio to Chase’s ear.

Chase resisted the relieved sighed he wanted to breathe and waited impatiently for the Sergeants to arrive.

“Report.” He said when they were finally in front of him.

“Babel squad are all there. They’re locked in but they have an escape method,” Felton looked to the rifleless Se-se. “They’ll make use of that when they hear us coming.”

Se-se took over then to report all Castleman had told her.

Chase took it in with a façade of calm. There were a lot more of the mysterious enemy in the cave than he had hoped for and any rescue was bound to be messy, but they could not afford to wait when the teenagers and the Colonel could be killed at any time.

He ordered Bateman over and gave him the job of keeping Se-se safe and away from the fighting. Those two would remain in the forest glade whilst everyone else attacked.

Se-se accepted this silently, she had known the order would come, but Bateman at least felt the need to grumble about the baby-sitting duty.

Ignoring his own worries, Chase ordered the attack. There was a good chance that the squad would be wiped out in this forced frontal attack, but there was no other way and no other time. They had to free the last of the colonists before they were murdered.

Back in the glade, Se-se tried to close her ears as the first shots range out followed closely by shouts and screams. She did not want to be in the midst of that terror, but wanted so much to be the one to help her friends. They were the only family she had left and it was such a guilty feeling to be sitting safe as they were going through so much pain. Although Castleman had been careful to say nothing, it had choked Se-se to see him in the pain those ‘aliens’ had inflicted and she so wanted to see him and her friends safe and away from people who would do such things.

Then a huge blast echoed out of the caves. The L84 had just been let loose.

Se-se closed her eyes and tried not to imagine the scene in the caves.

FraidyKat Runs - On another world

Story Time 1.6 Heir Hunt

WARNING: The following is not edited and there will be spelling and grammar mistakes. Sorry.
Please read forgivingly (and if you have the time corrections are welcomed).

 

Chapter 4

The cadet hut was little more than a log shack put up lovingly three summers before by the cadets with help from their doting parents and it was completely deserted when the marines arrived in the early embers of morning light. The wood for the hut came from trees felled in the clearing so there was an open space around it, minimising the effort that went into the building and giving the cadets a good space for their exercises and games. It also made it easy to see that all around was empty of bodies living or otherwise.

Chase made sure a thorough check was made in the surrounding area before heading inside, but Se-se could have told him there was no one there even as it came into sight.

She moved to walk into the hut, but Chase held her back. “Me first, you stay with Felton.”

Felton, knowing exactly what the Captain was thinking, placed a gentle hand on Se-se’s shoulder and moved her to one side so she would have no view inside once the door was opened.

Taking a deep breath, Chase opened the door.

The single large room was empty.

Along the left wall, lined up neatly and precisely, were a series of slug thrower hunting rifles beside what looked like an older model M82, the military standard assault rifle the marines were all carrying, and an L84, it's heavy energy cousin. On the other side were benches and tables pushed up against the wall to make space and on the far wall was a clean whiteboard.

Chase let his shoulder’s drop with relief. “Clear.”

Se-se pushed her way inside before anyone could stop her. She stopped beside Chase and looked around. “Chakua.” She muttered.

Behind them, Braddow coughed. Of all the soldiers he was the only one who understood what Se-se had just said and even though the language was the one his parents spoke, he was sure he had not learnt that word until he was about twenty years old.

“Something went wrong here.” She then said so everyone could understand.

“What? It looks fine to me.”

Se-se rolled her eyes, it was obvious. “Castleman would never let us leave rifles like that. Propped up against the wall still loaded? It wouldn’t happen, we never leave our rifles behind. And the whiteboard is never clean, ever.”

“Check the room.” Chase ordered.

Se-se undertook the order even though it was aimed at the marines, carefully checking each rifle over. The magazines were all full, without exception, and there was a round in the breach. They were also all in perfect working condition, even the energy rifles were fully charged. She stared speculatively at the whiteboard. Surely one of them would have left a message. Why would they have left without their weapons and not said anything, unless of course they had been forced out. Castleman would never let any of the cadets be harmed so if they had been given the option to surrender without a fire fight he would have taken it, but they had killed everyone else so why take the cadets alive? Except both her Aunt and Uncle had been convinced that people would look for her and all the squad were within a few years of her age. She should have been with them, and would have been if Bella had not been having a difficult time with her first calf.

The whiteboard was never clean.

She reached up and pulled, but Castleman had made sure it was not coming down in a hurry. “Someone help me.”

Jona and Shaw both jumped to help, taking a side each and pulling.

The whiteboard came down with a crash, and a small polished stone rolled away.

“There’s nothing here, honey.” Jona shook his head.

Se-se ignored him and picked up the stone. “Seesna la tak eem-a.”

Again Braddow coughed. “Erm, who’s the smart arse?”

Se-se blinked, she had not thought anyone would be able to understand her. When she swore she habitually did it in the most obscure language she knew. “This is Dosser’s lucky stone, he picked it up when we went on a trip to the mountains.”

“You think he left it there for a reason?”

“No, I think Castleman did, and he thinks I’m a smart arse.” Se-se looked at the stone, her expression locked in a deep frown. “Those so called aliens who killed everyone else have taken them to the mountain caves.”

“Right.” Chase found no reason to doubt the girl, she had been trained by the legendary Colonel after all and if the man thought she was a smart arse then she had to be good, he was reputed to never settle for second best. “Tell us how to get there.”

“No, I’ll take you there; and if they’ve hurt anyone in Babel squad I’ll kick their testicles out through their ears.”

Chase opened his mouth to berate Se-se for her language but then thought better of it. It was probably better for her to be angry than scared. “How far away is it?”

“Erm, we normally do it in a two day march but if we don't stop we'll be there before midnight.”

Chase nodded. “Could you find the place in the dark?”

“I could find it blindfold.”

“Right. Felton, we’ll rest here for a an hour, then we'll just have to march in the dark again.” He walked over to one of the benches and gestured for Se-se to join him. “Why is it called Babel squad?”

Se-se smiled slightly as she sat down. ”Our families all speak a different first language so when we were younger we developed our own language which is a mix of everything. The Colonel always complains that it’s like being in the tower of Babel,” she shrugged. “Hence the name.”

“So how many cadets are there altogether?”

“There are seventeen, no eighteen now Liz has just joined up in Nova, that’s for the younger ones, but when the ships came it was only Babel who were training and there are twelve of us.”

“How old is everyone in Babel?”

“Joe’s the youngest, he only turned thirteen two months ago and came up from Nova. Mike's seventeen and apart from him I’m the oldest.”

“How many of the local teenagers joined the cadets then?”

“Pretty much all of us.”

“All?” That made a terrible sense, the missing older children were all taken by the Colonel, they were the cadets who would have been with him when it all kicked off.

Se-se nodded agreeably. ”Our families like it because they can get us out of the way two evenings a week and we like it because the Colonel teaches us all sorts of stuff that our families would hate if they knew.”

“Like?”

Se-se grinned. “Mobile shooting, fighting, trap setting, picking pockets, computer hacking, pretty much anything we want to learn that we know our family won’t teach us.”

“Picking pockets?” Chase found that one hard to believe. Colonel Castleman was a decorated war hero, what would he be doing teaching children how to steal?

“We have to be prepared to survive in any situation by any means, therefore we must be able to acquire anything we need.” Se-se spoke as though quoting from a well read manual. “He’s taught us some of the finer points of burglary as well.”

“I see. Maybe I should be checking my pockets more often.”

“You don’t have anything I need.” Se-se shook her head.

“How would you know that?”

“Because I checked last night.” She was quite happy to admit this. She had been unable to resist the temptation to check the Captain’s things when remembering her Uncles last words to her. She was growing increasingly sure that this group of soldiers were the ones looking for her who would do anything she commanded, if she were to believe that, but she still had to be certain. Chase’s pocket contents had revealed nothing useful to ascertain that fact or supplement the equipment her Aunt had given her, but the chocolate had been a nice bonus. She was still wondering whether she should tell the Captain the code her Aunt had given her, she had no idea what it meant and if he would understand it or not. The chances were it was something that would need to be verified and that could not be done when they admitted they had lost their ship and with it all of their off world communications. Quite apart from that it was nothing Se-se had heard before and she knew all the standard military codes.

Chase gave the girl beside him an appraising look there was something about her that he couldn't put his finger on, something strangely familiar, but they still had to get to Castleman, that was their priority. “Rest whilst you can. We’ll have to travel at a quick march so you might want to leave behind anything you don't need.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Chase resisted the urge to pat his pockets as he walked away.

Knowing they were heading into the mountains, Se-se reluctantly removed everything she could bare to be parted with from her pack but knowing the marines were giving up nothing, pride would not let her rely on them. She was only a child but she was determined to not be helpless.

She returned to the hut then to take what ammunition she could for her rifle and pick up any other useful items she could find.

The marines were also scavenging for equipment and Shaw had his eye on the L84 propped in the corner. The heavy rifle was a favourite of his but they had not broken out their own from the ship before heading out to explore the colony. Before he could reach it however Se-se picked it up.

“Stick to your hunting rifle, lass, leave that to thems as can use it right.”

Se-se treated the marine to a blank look. “I can use it right and unlike you I have the owner’s permission to use it.”

Shaw was not put off. “I like your spirit but you’re not trained or strong enough.”

Se-se hefted the weapon. “1. I am trained, 2. I’m more than strong enough.”

“Let her keep it, Shaw.” Chase spoke from the door. “I’m sure she can handle it just fine, after all she has been trained by Colonel Castleman.”

“Yes, sir.” Shaw was reluctant but he backed away and began searching the rest of the hut.

Chase ambled over to Se-se as she slung the heavy rifle. “You are trained in how to use that, aren’t you?”

“Of course, 0.76 scoring average.” Se-se quoted her official training score for the weapon, a score well above the standard military 0.65 requirement to be allowed to use it. “Are we ready to go yet?”

“You’re sure you know where we’re going?”

“Positive.” Se-se looked out of a window. “Castleman's always says I'm a natural leader, but I don’t think he meant it this way.”

This prompted a look from Chase but no comment. He straightened and whistled. “Break’s over. Shaw, Jona, on point. Haddson, at the rear. The rest of you spread out, just like we’ve been practising. Jump to it, this isn’t a picnic.” He turned again to Se-se. “Direction, Sergeant?”

Se-se pointed.

Promptly, Shaw and Jona disappeared into the forest.

Over the next long hours Se-se led the marines through heavy forest with the confident steps of one who knew exactly what they were doing. She wished she did. Getting to the caves was no problem, but what to do when they got there was. Castleman had invested many lessons to teaching all of Babel about tactics but Se-se was very much aware that the marines would have ideas of their own and they might not be as benign as they were acting even if her judgement was telling her to trust them. There had to be a way of getting to her friends without needing the assistance of the marines but she could not see it, any more than she could see exactly where in the caves her friends were being held.

“So how extensive are the caves?” Chase broke the silence as he marched beside the teenager.

“They go on for two or three miles, but most of that is small and narrow. Only the first few hundred yards is really usable in any way.”

Chase looked off into the distance, he had been hoping that caves meant one or two holes going maybe ten metres or so, but miles would make things far more difficult for them. He could hardly go charging in hell for leather, guns blazing, when there were children being held inside, especially with what children were being held in there, they were the only survivors of a terrible massacre. He needed to find out exactly what was happening and figure out some sort of plan to free them and hopefully capture at least some of the ‘aliens’ alive so they could be questioned.

“How many ways in are there to these caves?”

“There’s only one main entrance.” Se-se paused. “There is a back way, but you’d be too big to get in, I can only just fit if I lose everything but top and trousers.”

Chase shook his head, useless. He found his eyes drawn back to the just visible Felton, she was barely bigger than Se-se and Chase knew for a fact that she could handle herself. In the past more than one burly soldier had made the mistake of thinking they could get one over Felton just because she was small in stature and the realisation of that mistake was mostly bruising at best. “How many people know about the back way?”

“Only Babel, and you, it took us two months to track the route, but not even all of us can fit through, Mike and Jay are just too big and Jayne’s too top heavy now, and of course the Colonel would never get through.” As Se-se spoke she knew it was the way she was going to get in. The back way was perfect, it came into the cave system at the back of a dead end passage that was never used for anything because it was so low. It was a slog to get through and there were lots of confusing twists and turns but she was sure she could navigate her way through. Then it would just be a case of getting Babel out and dealing with the killers.

There was the plan. Chase felt a lot better knowing he had a way in, even if it would just be for Felton to evaluate the situation in the caves. From there he could form a real plan and hopefully get away from the planet with his life and career intact and some survivors in tow.

FraidyKat Runs - from reality

Story Time 1.3 Heir Hunt

WARNING: The following is not edited and there will be spelling and grammar mistakes. Sorry.
Please read forgivingly (and if you have the time corrections are welcomed).


 

What they found was enough to sicken even the battle hardened soldiers chosen for the task.

“Oh my God,” Felton breathed. “It was a massacre.”

Bodies lay in the street, left where they had fallen. Each one had a weapon beside them, some were still behind their improvised barricades of furniture and shop fittings. Men and women shot with high powered energy rifles and left to rot. Some were young, some old, but all were regular people, the farmers and shopkeepers with hunting rifles and shotguns, items used less as weapons and more as tools but at the last used in a desperate attempt at defence.

Chase ordered the buildings to be searched. There were several thousand colonists on the planet and he could only hope they were not all there.

They moved methodically, making their way along the main street that was virtually all there was to the town. At each new building they found more bodies, more people left where they were shot without care or regard.

At the small worship hall Chase found himself rooted in place, even there the colonists had been shot down. An elderly couple had plainly not died right away, they had turned to face each other and their hands were clasped together as they had shared their final moments. Whatever had occurred here was more than a bandit raid, it was systematic murder.

“Sir!” the call cut off abruptly and there was the faint sound of someone being sick.

Chase woke from his thoughts instantly and ran with Felton on his heels to see Private Leeson on his knees in the street still coughing and Private Shaw behind him with tears in his eyes.

“In the school, sir,” Shaw managed.

Somehow, Chase summoned up the will to push open the door and walk in. There was nothing in the corridor beyond, the walls were lined with brightly painted pictures and school bags rested in a neat line on the floor, but the place stank of death.

“Captain,” Felton whispered and indicated to a door on their left, slightly ajar.

Chase moved to push the door fully open but caught a glimpse of what was inside and stopped still. “Sergeant, I want you to go back outside.” the order was leaden.

“Captain, I,”

“Just go, Felton, and don’t let anyone else in here.”

Felton did not have to see what was in the room to guess what was there, not from her Commanding Officer's tone. “Yes, sir.” She backed away carefully, grateful that she had not been the first to look and ashamed to be thinking such a thought when she was supposed to be an experienced soldier. She would make sure the outside of the building was covered but the Captain would have to watch himself inside, it was not what she would have done but she could understand his decision when thus far there was no movement and no traps. With any luck the school was no different to the rest of the town.

Once the Sergeant was gone, Chase walked hesitantly into the room. It was a small assembly room, its walls were covered in the same brightly coloured pictures as the hallway but most of them were splashed with a browning red.

Chase felt himself hyperventilating, the stench was almost overpowering but he had a job to do and he would make sure he did it.

He gagged more than once, but to be sick would mean being sick over one of the tiny bodies and when they had been desecrated so badly already just the thought was enough to keep him focused. He made himself check each of the bodies, assigning each an approximate age. From the wounds they had and the way they were piled they had been herded into the room and someone had stood at the end of the hall and opened fire. Some had survived the initial butchery because they had been shot point blank in the head, a clean up to make sure none survived.

Woodenly, Chase stood and walked to the edge of the room, to the door. He wanted desperately to do something for them, not leave them there, but there was no time. Once their duty was done he would make sure they all got a fitting burial. He had to check the rest of the building, the small classrooms and those essential other rooms needed for a functioning school. There were more bodies in the staffroom, the teachers had been shot there, away from the poor children who had died terrified and so young. All so young.

The thought hit him as he stood at the door about to leave. Work in the classrooms had not just been the efforts of those youngsters but of elder children as well, yet only the youngest were in the hall and only adults were outside. Not everyone was in town

All the squad were gathered outside when Chase walked back into the sunshine. His eyes were mixed points of grief and rage and each man he surveyed mirrored that.

“Is there anyone else?” he asked, forcing his voice to not crack.

“Some more adults in a few buildings, they had obviously barricaded themselves in, but it didn’t help them.”

“Are you sure they were all adults?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The oldest child in there,” he paused to take a breath. “Was no more than ten. Where are all the teenagers?” he turned his eyes to Felton. “Have you found Castleman?”

“No, sir, he’s not amongst the bodies. Could he have taken the older children? And the rest of the colonists?”

“Let’s hope so.” Chase knew that for the rest of his life he would see that school hall every time he closed his eyes and he swore to those children he would find whoever had done it and he would kill them. “We have to check the farmsteads. Maybe they holed up in one of them.” First though he would order the recordings from their helmet cameras be uploaded and sent on a secure transmission to his superiors. This colony had been viciously attacked and even as they searched for survivors someone had to be told about it and begin the search for the culprits.

“We're having comms issues here, sir,” this report from the Naval pilots assigned to them was not good news.

“Define issues.”

“We're not sure, some sort of interference and it's blocking us off the network. As soon as we've cleared it we'll be able to transmit.”

Chase frowned, he did not like the sound of that. “Keep me informed.”

As much as the situation was enough to unnerve the Marines they had to make it a priority to find to missing colonists. They had to try the nearby homesteads and hope for the best.

For the first small farm they went to they treated everything as though it was a potential trap. They stayed off the long track, skirting through the crops and taking it slowly and quietly. Whoever or whatever had killed the colonists could well have still been there and it would do them no good to simply blunder in. It took a long and agonising time to get to the farm, it was set back almost a mile from the town out of sight but was no different to the town, the family were all dead, parents and three young children huddled together in their living-room shot at close range, even the cattle in the barn had been slaughtered, even the two dogs in the back garden.

Someone was killing anything that breathed without discrimination.

The second home was the same again, having gone through another long walk to what was a much smaller farmstead this time the marines found an old couple, their horses, pigs, goats, dogs and even the chickens, all shot with the same heavy energy rifles.

Their next target was another farm this time even further from the town, out of sight down a long track cut through an ancient forest. By now they were all trying to hiding their nerves from each other. Too much blood had been spilled with no sight of who or why. Would they just find more bodies again or would they perhaps find someone alive at last?

Then there was the accusing crack of an energy weapon ahead of them.

“Gotcha,” Chase growled.

Even as he said it a second shot rang out and would have hit him square in the chest if Felton had not tackled him to the ground.

“Cover!” she yelled, and dragged her officer into the trees. “Are you alright? Where were you hit?”

Chase touched the top of his arm and grimaced. “I'm okay, it's a graze. Thanks.”

“We’re even now.” Felton had waited a long time to return the favour, to repay Chase for saving her life on their last combat deployment, but she did not waste time dwelling on it. They were under enemy fire, their officer was already injured and she had the squad to organise.

“It's a trap.” the call came through suddenly from the transport. “We're under heavy fire. Can't hold position.”

Chase forgot his injury as he heard the frightened voice of the pilot in his ear.

“We're evacuating the landing site.”

He began to swear, only to stop abruptly as he heard the distinctive boom of an artillery cannon. Their ship was only a standard transport, it was not a combat vessel, it would have no chance against a cannon. “Get out, get out and call a mayday. Get out.”

“Sorry, Captain,” the pilot's voice was suddenly calm. “You-”

Even from the forest the explosion was deafening.

There was a moment of shocked silence, but the crack of rifles brought Chase back. “Get the bastards.”

It was difficult to gauge how many people they were facing. Shots came from the house and two of the barns, but from the nearest barn, the only building in front of the house, someone was firing a slug-thrower. Had they finally found a survivor?

Chase shooed Braddow off as the younger man slid beside him and took hold of his arm. “It's superficial, leave it.” He was lucky and he knew it, light armour was no defence against a heavy rifle, if the shot had got him in the chest he would most likely be dead. As it was he had only been grazed by the edge of the energy blast and that had slagged the upper arm panel of his armour, leaving a bloody mess where it had once been. He could still flex the arm and pick up his rifle so it was only skin damage, it could wait until they were in less danger even if it burned.

While the Captain got himself back to his feet, Felton took charge of the men. She was furious, whoever had murdered all those defenceless colonists had just shot down a retreating ship with some fantastic marines on board. If she could find and kill every one of those murderers it would be a start to her revenge.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to count slowly to five, she had to clear her head and stow the rage. When Felton's eyes opened she was focused on the task. They had to identify how many attackers there were and be mindful of any innocent colonists caught in the middle. She organised the squad with concise orders, proud of the men for taking the sudden eruption of death and violence in their stride and rising to the occasion. They were marines, they excelled at this, it was their life and they would have it no other way. They would get their revenge.

“We need that barn secure.” Chase hissed, more to himself than any of his men. After a minute of exchanging fire it was clear whoever was in there was also defending themselves from the mysterious enemy.

“I've got a door in sight.” Shaw whispered as he crept forward. Sneaking was his forte and he was brave enough to take advantage of his skill.

“Hold position.” Felton ordered calmly. She was still studying the location of each marked unfriendly on the map displayed unobtrusively over the left lens of her sunglasses. The last thing she wanted was Shaw to give his position away, he was too far forward to easily be covered.

Then off to the right, Leeson scored a perfect shot. A single shot into a window of the farm house landed on two unfriendlies.

Felton's map looked much better, there were only four confirmed unfriendlies left and none of them had an easy shot to Shaw's side of the barn. “Shaw, if you're in position, pick your moment.”

“Going for it.” Shaw broke cover at a sprint and could only hope the door was either not locked or had a lock that would break under his weight as he ran into it. Rebounding off an old wooden door would be embarrassing as much as potentially deadly.

FraidyKat Runs - for hope