Warfare: Rise Of Mankind Book 2 (9 page)

              “Yeah…” Mick sounded somber. “I know exactly how you feel.”

              Clea watched as the men finished camouflaging the ship. From the air, it would be impossible to see it and the cloth provided protection against active scans. Someone would have to literally stumble upon it. Providing they hurried, there’d be no risk of that. The enemy soldiers were occupied with fortified emplacements, at least for a while.

              Hoffner turned to her. “Okay, now that we’re ready, what’s the plan?”

              Clea checked her computer. Once she disembarked the vessel, she initiated a program to plot a course through the jungle to the facility. It worked off of satellite scans, taking in the most recent data and calculating all available paths to their destination. The lines were color coded with green being the easiest and red being nearly impossible.

              “It depends,” Clea said. “If we do not want to do any trail blazing, we’ll have to stick to a couple of specific routes. Unfortunately, those are established through activity by the inhabitants of the planet and thus closer to what I’d call the current battlefield. It could put us at risk of enemy encounters, though perhaps not large enough to matter.”

              “Okay, what about the not so easy ones?”

              “Those require us to cut through some of the jungle ourselves, which presents a hardship as well. You see, some of the foliage is dangerous and can be as bad as having to fight. Personally, I prefer and recommend we go for something in the middle. Limit the amount of cutting we have to do.”

              “What about predators?” Hoffner asked. “Do we have to worry about alien animals giving us a hard time?”

              “Survey of the planet suggests most animals are afraid of people and won’t be a bother,” Clea explained. “There are enough of us living on the planet who venture out into the wilderness for research or recreation to keep them at bay but that’s not to say we won’t encounter something. I’ll have my active scanner going the whole time.”

              “Okay.” Hoffner turned to the men. “Listen up, people. We’re moving out. This place isn’t safe. We’ve got enemy soldiers, killer plants and God knows what else. Our objective, as you know, is rescue and recovery. Let’s stick together, be wary and stay alive. If any of you die out here, consider yourself on report. You got it?”

              “Yes, sir.” They didn’t shout but still managed to include some enthusiasm in their voices. Hoffner nodded once. “Alright, Jenks and Walsh, you take point. The rest of you stagger back two by two. An’Tufal, you’re with me.”

              Clea took up a position beside the captain, her head on a swivel. One of the most important tenants she remembered from her survival training involved situational awareness.
You can’t rely solely on scans
, the instructor said.
Eyes and ears are just as important. You may not have your other senses in armor or environmental suits but use what you’ve got. It could save your life
.

              The shuttle set down in a small clearing amidst thick trees covered in vines and moss. The ground itself was soft from meters of crushed leaves and mold. As she gestured in the direction they needed to go, she looked at the sky then turned to the path she’d decided upon. Once they stepped into the jungle, the canopy would blot out the sun.

              Each of them wore only light armor but even that provided enough environmental protection to offset the heat. Her computer showed that it was thirty-five degrees celsius with eighty-seven percent humidity. Losing their suits would make this an incredibly miserable trip and she already felt moisture clinging to her clothes and helmet.

              Fortunately, their face screens were specially designed to not fog up or they’d be unable to see anything at all. As they stepped out of the sun, the dim glow of light shining through patches above made the scene eerie but it was far from silent. They heard cries of birds and other animals, all out of sight but surrounding them on every side.

              “This place is cheery,” one of the marines said. She had no idea which one. “Kind of like a vid with the ape man guy.”

              “Can it,” Hoffner said. “Focus or one of those things out there will eat your ass for lunch.”

              Clea didn’t disagree. Any predators willing to get close to them would definitely enjoy one of them for a meal. She’d heard of such things but in a mostly civilized area such as the research facility, she couldn’t imagine they’d encounter much. Her bigger fear came from the carnivorous plants. Those were hard to identify and tended to kill quick.

              “How long will it take to get to our destination?” Hoffner asked.

              “At present speed, just over an hour,” Clea replied. “I’m estimating not much more or less as we’ll undoubtedly face delays and windfalls.”

              “Jesus, I hoped to get a lot closer.”

              “We’d tip off the enemy if we closed in too much. They’re in the general area after all.”

              Hoffner nodded but didn’t seem happy. She understood. The humans proved to want tangible information before every mission. Their desire for solid intelligence made little sense to her though. They were often forced to improvise because what they thought they knew turned out to be false.

              Her own people did the research then relied on skill and resourcefulness to tackle missions. It put her at odds with Gray a few times in their earlier career, mostly on a hypothetical level. She deferred to him in all things aboard the Behemoth but when they debated, she pushed her opinion much harder.

              A few bouts like that and she felt she grew as an officer, both tactically and strategically.

              “What is that?” one of the men said.

“Did you see something move up ahead?”

              Everyone aimed their weapons in the general area up ahead of them. Leaves rustled. “Hold your fire,” Hoffner said. “No one pulls a trigger unless I say.”

              Clea tapped at her scanner, using the HUD in her helmet to read the results. A close check of the area revealed a life form nearby, something small. The device provided a picture from the animal database and she let out a sigh of relief. “Stand down.” She sent the image to the other soldiers, that of a colorful bird. “It’s not dangerous.”

              “Move out, people.” Hoffner sounded annoyed but nodded at Clea.

              Two hundred yards into the bush, the terrain became more difficult to traverse. Jenks and Walsh cut a path through, their rifles slung on their backs. Clea double checked their path and they were on course for what should’ve been only moderately difficult.
Imagine what the hard one would’ve looked like
.

              Her scans indicated the growth occurred in less than two days. Forty-eight hours generated the obstacles, which seemed fast enough to watch it if one was patient. She looked up and wondered how much taller the vines were than the day before. One consolation for such robust foliage involved it hampering the enemy just as much as them.

             
But it’s going to slow us down a lot more than I thought. I’ll recalculate our ETA and factor in additional trail blazing.

              Half an hour later, they cleared a path and made decent time. Jenks and Walsh stopped suddenly on a small rise, staring out to their right. The rest of the men lined up with them as Hoffner and Clea joined them. A break in the trees offered a stupendous view of a valley some five miles away.

              A skirmish had broken out between alliance personnel and the enemy. Every marine knew what those things were capable of now after the intruders on the ship. They’d all been briefed and shown the videos. Even the most arrogant and abrasive amongst them considered the danger they represented with respect.

              They witnessed a small skirmish, a battle away from the mainstay conflict raging in some valley nearby. As the enemy cut a swath of destruction through the alliance troops, the brutality fell nothing short of shocking. Limbs flew in the air, bodies were hewn in half and several men were decapitated.

              “We might be able to get there before they lose,” one of the marines said. “Provide some backup.”

              “We cannot,” Clea said. “Even if we were able, our mission is to extract the civilians and keep the data out of enemy hands.”

              “They’re your people!” The guy shouted, advancing on her. “And you’re just watching them get slaughtered!”

              Clea hesitated for half a moment. “Only because we’re not moving. We have to go.”

              “What kind of—” The man’s comment got cut off by Hoffner.

              “You heard the woman,” Hoffner said. “We have a job to do and we’re not going to finish it by standing around jaw jacking. Get your asses in gear. Now!”

              Clea took up pace beside him as they started off again, moving at a brisk pace.

              “I don’t know about these alliance guys,” a random voice said. “She didn’t even care about her people, man.”

              “Come on, do you think us eight could’ve done much about that?” Random voice two spoke up. “Care has nothing to do with it. Be practical for a minute.”

              “Those soldiers were doing their jobs so we can do ours,” Random voice three added.

              “Getting slaughtered without backup?” Random voice one retorted. “Sounds noble.”

              “You realize we would’ve died down there, right?” Random voice three snapped. “That we’re wearing
light
armor for this pleasant little hike?”

              “If I would’ve been down there, I would’ve wanted some help, that’s all.” Random voice one again.

              “You just want to blame someone.” Random voice four jumped in. “And that doesn’t help shit. Drop it, man. You’re not winning many allies here.”

              “Speak for yourself,” Random voice five decided he had opinions too. “I, for one don’t give much of a crap about this planet. I think we should’ve stayed home.”

              “God, not that again.” Random voice two lamented. “You’ve been complaining since we got our orders.”

              “As should you,” Five said. “This is a BS assignment and we shouldn’t be out here.”

              “You need a new line, man,” Three added. “I’m sick of the same stuff out of your mouth day after day.”

              “I’m sick of all this talking,” Hoffner said. “Now shut your traps and focus! Jesus, I’d be shocked if the entire planet doesn’t know we’re here! Next man who speaks without reporting something is getting a demerit.”

              Clea thought about their concerns, wondering about perspective. Men like these, marines on the ground, never seemed to have the high level view. Even those who agreed with the vision of their leaders did so out of faith and trust rather than understanding. The ramifications of the research facility data falling into enemy hands reached much farther than an alliance inconvenience.

              If the enemy employed the information, they’d have a Protocol Seven style advantage only theirs wouldn’t fail. They’d know everything about how alliance weapons are designed and planned, how the ships are constructed and the structural weaknesses. So many little things which would amount to a catastrophe.

             
I wish I could explain that to these men so they understood why they are here
.

              They didn’t want to hear it though. Each of them harbored their own feelings and prejudices, their passions, strengths and weaknesses. Those who took up arms the way they did tended to be far less interested in grand campaigns. They cared about surviving, getting the job done and getting home.

              Justifying the job might matter if they lost someone but in the midst of it, they just wanted to get in and get out. Clea agreed with that part of the mentality however, she always viewed the big picture. If someone had assigned her this task, she would’ve known, through common sense, the value of what they wanted her to save.

              Of course, if people honestly thought bombing the facility from orbit was a good idea, then there’d be no convincing them. Hypocritical thinking at its finest. The same people who didn’t mind annihilating the base and all its inhabitants were the same ones who wanted to rush in to help soldiers in a hopeless battle.

              She’d encountered plenty of that from humans in the past. They could dispassionately suggest the destruction of a thing and in the same breath act selflessly. Such dichotomy made little sense to Clea and much as she tried to understand, she eventually gave up. Many ideals humans lived by confused her. Their duality most of all.

              The road went both ways. She knew she confounded some of the humans as well. Since the day she joined them as their liaison officer, she knew she’d have an uphill battle winning friends or expressing herself in a way they understood. Some of them tried, some didn’t but it took her months before any of them really warmed up to her.

              Clea never blamed any of them. They’d just had a hostile encounter with aliens and another alien joined them shortly after. None of them had a chance to mourn their losses before they were faced with more unknown, another strange factor to consider as they moved forward into a vast and dangerous universe—one they didn’t even know existed.