Different Paths (28 page)

As we neared the target zone, the ground became
wetter and more marsh-like until we found ourselves in a full fledge quagmire.
The Everglades in central Florida had nothing on this swamp. External
temperature readings showed that it was over one-hundred and twenty-five
degrees with one-hundred percent humidity. Where the Everglades are full of
greens and browns, this swamp’s foliage were reds and purples. It was also full
of life; numerous reptiles crossed our path but the most annoying was this
planet’s version of the mosquito. They seemed to be just as numerous and
bothersome as their Terran cousins but where the earth bound mosquitoes were
maybe an inch long, these were nearly a foot long. Fortunately for us, the ARC
suits were resistant to the mosquitoes’ attacks since they tried time and time
again to swarm the invaders. Even though the damn insects couldn’t hurt us,
they were still annoying. 

Geographical scans of the planet surface made by
the shuttles during insertion had been uploaded to the Myrmidons’ ARC suits
before their destruction showed that the swamp was nearly the size of Texas and
the Lemurian’s fortress almost in the exact center of the marshland. However,
scans had also shown a secondary entrance into a cave system that ran
underneath the fortress; this was the team’s current destination. Travel was
hampered by the treacherous terrain but none of the Myrmidons complained.

As we closed on our objective, I could see on my
HUD that one pair was lagging behind the rest.

With a thought, I brought up the information on
the two laggards. It was Aeneas and Major McDowell. I realized that the only
reason Aeneas would be lagging was that he was keeping up with the Major who
was way out of his league on this insertion and was quickly proving to be a
hindrance.

Unfortunately, they weren’t close enough for
verbal communications but their current path would take them through this
general region. I pulled out a relay transmitter, stuck it onto a purple barked
tree nearby and keyed the record button.

“Major…due to our current situation and time
constraints, I regret to inform you that the rest of the team cannot wait for
you to catch up and will proceed with the plan as scheduled.”

Pausing for a moment to check my chronometer, I
continued. “By my calculations, we have less than two hours until planetary
bombardment and the team needs to be in place to strike. At your current speed,
you and Aeneas will not make it to the safe zone designated by Fleet. I would
suggest that you both backtrack to a safer area and if possible secure some
transportation off this mud ball. I suspect that as long as there are lizards
around, it will be difficult for our pilots to land; therefore we will need an
alternate transportation out of here. It is now your responsibility to arrange
our exodus. Good luck, sir.”

Sgt. Major Spenton said, “Good idea. The Major
would’ve been more of a liability than an asset once we breech. Although, I am
going to miss Aeneas’ skills once the fun begins.”

“True, personally I would’ve rather had one or both
of the twins with the Major but we have to deal with the situation as we get
it.”

“Ready to run? We have a lot of ground to cover.”
The Sgt. Major dialed up the inertial compensators and began to jog.

*   *   *   *   *

Talia squeezed his hand to get his attention and
asked, “I have a question.”

Iaido shook his head slightly as he watched the
ghosts of his past run off into the swamp. Turning to look at her, his mind
noted that the black stripes were beginning to fade; not much yet but they
weren’t as dark as earlier.

“Yes ma’am, what do you want to know?”

“How is that you two aren’t sinking in the marsh?”

Iaido grinned and pointed at the armored figures.
“ARC suits are a wonderful piece of equipment. Although, the suits couldn’t
actually fly, they do have inertial compensators that manipulate gravity slightly.
With a flick of a switch, the suits can increase their max by a factor of two
or lighten itself by half; possibly more but the amount of energy needed to do
that would be counterproductive.”

“Why would you want to be twice as heavy?”

“If we were set in place to receive a charge from
a rushing horde, like the pass we were ordered to hold on Gilese. The increased
mass helped anchor us in place to repel the attack.” He pointed at the two
armor figures running lightly over the marsh. “And by lightening our mass, it
allows the suits to more or less float on the surface. So, instead of trudging
through the marsh, they can run on top of it; in theory, they could run across
water. It also aids in finding a high position for doing proper recon or sniper
duty.”

Talia nodded. “I see. Those suits seem to be quite
handy.”

“They were our lifeline on many missions. Without
them, we wouldn’t have survived most of the places the Coalition sent us to.”

“Who is that?” asked Talia pointing at a third
armor figure converging on the scene.

Iaido studied the suit and even though he hadn’t
seen him in over a decade, he recognized the figure. “That would be Hector, my
brother and greatest friend.”

“What happened to him?”

Iaido shook his head. “I’m still not sure.”

“Then we must continue the journey. Relax your mind
and watch the events unfold before you. Soon, you will know your past.”

*   *   *   *   *

All three groups arrived at the tunnel almost
simultaneously and stared at the gaping hole before them. It was about twenty
meters across and the marsh seemed hesitant to enter it. There was a gentle
current of warm air rising constantly and the smell of decay assaulted their
senses, even through the air filter in their ARC suits. 

I checked the chronometer; T minus thirty-two
minutes till splash down. By this time, the Fleet had already popped out of
hyperspace, launched their kinetic rounds at the targets and reversed course
back into hyperspace.

Since fixed defenses are in a set orbit, such as
any ground based structures, they cannot dodge or change their position and
this makes them easy targets for kinetic bombardment. Kinetic rounds are
basically huge hunks of metal properly shaped to make them more aerodynamic.
When fired from ships in high orbit or even several light years away, the
kinetic rounds tend to gain velocity as they approach a planet’s gravity well.
With the calculation power of some of the most advanced of A.I.s in the
Coalition, the Fleet’s kinetic rounds are hyper-accurate and tend to drift off
target only slightly, usually less than fifty meters due to environmental
factors that no AI could anticipate. It was always that margin of fifty meters
which caused ground units to be squeamish when the rounds were inbound.
However, Myrmidons were different. Even though the natural fear responses of
normal humans were programmed into them; the ability to override it was also
enhanced. Being within the danger zone for a close fire mission would be just
another day at the office for the Omega Squadron.

Hector glanced at the sky. Hundreds of faint
streaks of red which marked the incoming rounds could be seen. “Holy shit!” 

Castor and Pollux spun around with their THABs at
the ready. Not seeing any enemies, the twins lowered their weapons as Castor
asked, “What is it?”

Hector pointed at the sky. “Either we are way
behind schedule or the Squids are early.”

Looking at the incoming bombardment, I began to
run the calculations in my head. “Hector’s right…on both accounts.”

Peruses added, “If my calculations are correct, we
have twenty-five minutes until the first round lands.”

Hector said, “I like your time better. I figure
twenty-two minutes but either way, it’s time to move.”

With a flick of my eyes and a simple thought, I divided
my team and sent out assignments with our mission priorities in mind. Castor,
Pollux and Peruses became Alpha team with the objective of taking out the
sentries. The Sgt. Major, Diomedes and Odessyes were Beta team and were tasked
as backup to Alpha and with placing mines throughout the fortress. The Major
and Aeneas were Charlie team, tasked with securing transportation which left
Delta team as Ajax, Hector and I to infiltrate the inner sanctum and retrieve
the artifact.

“Any questions?” I asked.

No one said anything but then I didn’t expect any.
We had similar missions too many times over the years not to know our roles.

“Once anyone makes contact with the lizards or the
rocks hit, communication blackout is lifted.”

By this time, my own calculations backed up by my
ARC suit’s onboard computer had calculated that the kinetic rounds would land
in exactly nineteen minutes and twelve seconds. I shunted a countdown timer to
my brothers and added, “We’re racing the clock. Let’s roll!”

Without another word, all nine armor suits jumped
into the darkness.

*   *   *   *   *

Talia squeezed his hand once more before asking,
“How are you doing?”

Iaido paused. Even at this moment, he felt himself
falling through the blackness of the pit. Blind to what lay ahead but Iaido
knew what to was about to happen.

“It was a trap.”

“How do you know?”

“I remember.” Iaido wrenched his eyes away from
the yawning pit to stare at his companion and smiled as he said, “I remember.”

Talia graced him with a crooked smile. “That is good,
very good.” She pointed at the henna stripes which marked both of their bodies.
“We have time for one, maybe two more trips inside. Even when we are done,
there may still be some gaps in your memory.”

Iaido nodded. “I understand.”

“Can you tell me what happens next?”

“Yes. I remember that the tunnel lead to a trap. The
bottom was covered in liquid and since we expected a pool of water at the
bottom, we didn’t try to avoid it. Diving in, we quickly moved through the
tunnels expecting resistance at any moment.”

“That doesn’t sound like much of a trap to me.”

Iaido shrugged. “That’s why it was so ingenious.
The water had been infected with nanites.”

“Nanites? What is that?”

“Self-replicating microscopic androids with the
sole purpose of devouring metal.”

“Your suits!”

Iaido nodded. “And our weapons. Luckily, the
demolition compounds we brought along weren’t affected.”

“What happened?”

“We discovered our folly in our first firefight
when Castor’s head was blown off. The blast shattered his helmet. As we returned
fire, our guns began to disintegrate in our hands. Alpha team was completely
destroyed in the first few seconds and Beta team was pinned down. As the rear
guard, we had a moment to analyze what was happening and it became obvious when
our suits began to fall off as we moved forward.”

“How did you survive?”

“The lizards might have guessed how we would
infiltrate the fortress but they didn’t take into account the planetary
bombardment. As the kinetic rounds began to hit, we could feel the ground shake
with each impact. The lizards paused in their firing for a moment as one round
landed directly overhead and collapsed part of the tunnel. Ajax, Hector and I
scrambled through the falling debris to reach our companions but only Odysseus
and the Sgt. Major were still alive.”

With a squeeze of her hand, Talia conveyed the
sadness she felt over him losing his friends but she didn’t interrupt as Iaido
continued his story.

“The cave-in also killed the lizards, so we were
able to gather up their weapons and continued the mission. Of course, it was
down to the five of us. I know that at some point we split up again, Ajax and
Odysseus to rig the explosives while the Sgt. Major, Hector and I went for the
artifact. But after that it’s all hazy again.”

Talia nodded. Reaching up with her free hand, she
drew a little circle on his forehead and said, “Let the inner eye guide you
once more. Let the darkness fall away from your memories and the light of truth
illuminate your past.”

Iaido could feel himself falling back into his
memories…drawing Talia with him.

*   *   *   *   *

This whole experience seemed so unreal for Talia.

She had learned the techniques and rituals during
her time in the Seminary. She had even performed it once on a fellow student as
part of her thesis needed to graduate but this session was an entirely
different experience.

First, she was merging with a Terran which was
strange its own right. Additionally, the memories he was experiencing were so
violent, so raw… it unnerved her. Furthermore, the merging created an empathic
bond between them allowing her to feel his emotions. She had to experience the
pain of his brothers’ deaths, the excitement of battle and the fear of failure.
These emotions were so much stronger than anything she had envisioned or experienced
in her life.

While she could also tell that many of the
memories were both enlightening and painful to her guardian but this time
promised to be different. His heart rate and respiration had increased
drastically the moment he fell back into this memory. While Iaido’s perspective
was personal, hers was as a spectator. Both were unable to affect the events
but forced to watch them unfold before them. It was odd to say the least.

As the five remaining Myrmidons painted their
bodies with some sort of black paste, Talia could only guess at the properties
it would offer. Possibly it would act in a similar manner as the henna which
protected them in the spirit realm but she refrained from asking Iaido at this
critical juncture.

Instead, she took to studying Iaido’s brother
Hector.

In many ways they seemed to be twins with similar
builds and mannerisms even the way they walked. In fact, sometimes it was
difficult to tell the two apart. They were both clean shaven and bald, with
numerous scars all over their bodies.