Incursion Page 7

  “The portal is now at its maximum recorded expansion, it’s time to go in, team,” came Fernandez’s guiding voice from Vengeance.

  “We take a sector each,” Conway picked up. “Ten and Hunter, top and bottom, me and Kearney left and right, Davies takes the centre. I take it you’ll be operating as a free agent, sir?”

  “Affirmative,” Woodhall replied, acknowledging the deference. “I want to take some energy readings and get a sense of how they created this thing.”

  “It’s pretty, so so pretty!” sang Ten, testing the vocal cords of his clone.

  “Steady, Marine,” came Stansfield’s warning voice over the radio. “I’m sure we’ve got one of those skull implants left. Just give me an excuse, and I’ll happily get you retro-fitted.”

  “You can fucking try,” murmured Ten to himself, adding Stansfield to his ever-growing list of people to avoid in the future.

  Hunter flashed his finger, but Ten shrugged off the insult.

  “We have a visual on you, Hunter. If you’re waving to your friends, you might want to be a little more careful about who sees you!” came Vernon’s voice.

  “Taking exploratory formations in three – two – one,” said Conway.

  The SEVs headed for their allocated sectors. Woodhall lagged behind as his vessel moved fitfully after the others.

  The portal had transformed from its initial white light to the shimmering array of colour that indicated it was now at its full expanse.

  A warning came from the bridge.

  “Do not, repeat, do not cross into the mouth of the portal. Colossus had barely broken the skin before it exploded. Caution is your friend here,” Vernon said.

  Ten was getting along with his new transport just fine, his old skills coming back to him. It was exactly like riding a bike: you absolutely forget how to do it well, but practice was returning his old confidence.

  The movement controls were good, and it was easy to manoeuvre the tiny craft just where he wanted it to go. It was fast, too, and he was itching to take it out into space for a blast. He wondered idly if there might be time to race the SEVs across Vengeance’s hull. He reckoned Hunter would probably be up for it.

  Then he sighed and focussed on the job. There was always a job to do; he just hoped there would be something a bit more interesting than taking sensor readings. Captain Warden would be furious if this was all he was asked to do.

  The team moved around their assigned sectors while the sensors captured their readings, assessed energy levels and performed spectral analyses. The information was stored in the on-board systems, then conveyed straight back to Vengeance, where the science team immediately began to crunch the numbers.

  Vernon came back on the radios. “Lieutenant Woodhall, you’re getting dangerously close to the outer skin. I recommend you withdraw some.”

  “I know what I’m doing, Commander, thank you!” came the dismissive reply.

  Ten wasn’t certain he hadn’t imagined it, but he thought he heard Vernon in the background muttering the word ‘tosser.’

  “Moving in a little bit closer,” Woodhall updated. “I’m sure I see something mechanical in there. I’m closing the gap so you can get a better visual.”

  “You’re too close to the skin, sir,” came a second warning from the bridge. “Recommend immediate withdrawal. You’re metres away; initial data from the Colossus incident indicates critical safety distance is now breached!”

  “Are you getting this, Admiral?” Woodhall responded, oblivious to the alerts. “It’s a probe of some sort, I’ll move just a fraction closer … damn it!”

  Woodhall was so intent on moving in right up to the skin that he nudged his craft a little too much to the left. He was about to plunge his SEV directly into the portal and, in a panic, he took massive corrective action, sending his craft hurtling out into space.

  “Woodhall’s in trouble,” Conway alerted them calmly, her pilot’s instincts and training keeping her steady in the face of the sudden emergency. “Ten, you’re closest, can you keep on his tail?”

  Unaccustomed to the stress of battle and the need for fast, calm decision-making, Woodhall was now in full panic mode, pressing every button that he could to steady the trajectory of his SEV.

  “Yeah, no problem. Moving to assist,” said Ten wearily. Five minutes into the mission and Woodhall was already proving unreliable. He wondered if the lieutenant had any useful skills; maybe he was just socially inept and an incompetent pilot.

  “I’ll back you up,” Davies offered. “Look at him go, Ten. He’s a magnificent man in his flying machine.”

  “Steady him up, Charlie Team, we can’t have SEVs racing out of control like that,” Vernon said over the channel to the team. Then he broadcast wide, “Lieutenant Woodhall, cut your speed and calm down.”

  Davies’ voice interrupted, alarmed. “Lieutenant, you’re heading straight for me, pull out, pull out!”

  “Right thruster, Lieutenant,” Ten advised.

  He closed his eyes as Woodhall’s SEV crunched the glass of Davies’ vehicle. The two craft spun away from each other.

  “I’m breached, Vengeance,” said Davies angrily as he wrestled to pull his vehicle out of a spin.

  “If your helmet isn't up already, Davies, get it on and if you can't regain control, cut your engines completely. We’ll come and get you,” said Conway.

  Davies touched a button on his power armour, and the visor of his helmet slid into place just as the diamond-glass in his craft shattered and blew out into space. A second later and he'd have been in serious trouble from the vacuum alone. He took Conway's advice and powered down his SEV and sat dead in space, waiting for a tow.

  Woodhall’s craft, bounced by its collision with Davies, was now heading at great speed back towards the heart of the portal.

  “You all good, DD?” Ten said.

  “Affirmative,” Davies replied. “Move your arse, Ten, he’s heading directly for the centre.”

  “Let’s see how fast these things go!” Ten said cheerily. “Remind me how to power down fast, Conway, I saw you skimming the manual earlier.”

  “Above your head, yellow button. It’ll kill the engines immediately,” came her reply.

  “Lieutenant, yellow button, press it now and power down,” Ten instructed. “We’ll rescue you.”

  “I don’t need to press the button!” Woodhall protested, although it was clear he had no control over his craft.

  “With all due respect, Lieutenant Woodhall, do as Conway advises and press the damned button. She's on this mission for her skills as a pilot!” said Stansfield, unable to contain his impatience.

  Woodhall pressed the button. The SEV fired its thrusters to stop the spin, then powered down.

  Ten pushed his SEV to maximum forward thrust. “Hold on, Lieutenant, and don’t shit your panties, it'll be unbearable in your suit if you do and I’m coming in fast,” he said, intentionally disrespectful of the young officer.

  “Twenty seconds to portal contact … nineteen … eighteen …” came the warning from Vengeance.

  “I’d close your eyes if I were you, sir,” advised Ten. “I’m going to bounce you back to safety.”

  “You're going to do what?” Woodhall demanded, the fear in his voice crystal-clear to everyone over the excellent comms of the SEVs.

  “Conway, any more juice to be had out of the thrusters on this thing?” Ten asked, getting ready to thrash the SEV.

  “Now at ten seconds … nine …” came the countdown from Vengeance.

  “Left switch, below thruster,” Conway instructed. “No, damn it, right switch, right switch!”

  She was too late. Ten’s SEV struck Woodhall’s vehicle at just the right angle to do the job he intended. The impact was bone-jarring, but it deflected the impulsive lieutenant away from the portal. Once he stopped wailing into the open comms channel, he'd realise he was safe, and Conway and Mason could snag him to tow him back to the safety of Vengeance’s hangar.

  But
for Ten, his thumb hit the left switch in the brief moment between his SEV slamming into the side of the one piloted by the Navy's biggest fuckwit, and Conway changing her mind about the correct switch.

  Instead of a punishing deceleration from extra retro-thrusters, Ten had a last-second burst of speed from the thrusters. The collision had pushed him off course in about the worst way possible.

  As the bridge crew of Vengeance breathed a sigh of relief that they’d managed to keep the Admiralty’s pain-in-the-arse emissary alive, Ten’s SEV hurtled right into the heart of the portal.

  9

  “Get yourselves out of there, Charlie Team, the portal doesn’t like foreign objects,” came the concerned instruction from Vengeance.

  “Ten? Ten? Are you out there? Are you okay?” said Conway, yelling into her helmet mic.

  “Are you getting anything from Marine X, Control?” asked Mason.

  “Negative,” came the update from Vengeance. “All comms have gone quiet. Any visuals on him?”

  “Negative,” said Kearney.

  Stansfield’s voice could be heard in the background. “Why did Sol have to send us their biggest prick? If we’ve lost one of those Marines already, I’ll lock him in his quarters myself.”

  There was silence. The crew on board Vengeance were scanning intently, searching for life signs, radio contact or a visual. Conway too, releasing Davies and Woodhall to the care of Kearney and Mason, shot across the mouth of the portal, searching for some indication that Ten had made it through alive.

  “Conway, any sign of debris? Colossus blew up like a bomb,” Commander Vernon asked.

  Then, from the silence, Ten’s SEV crossed the threshold and emerged from the portal.

  “Wheeeee!” came Ten’s voice, seemingly out of thin air.

  There were sighs of relief on the bridge, and Conway relaxed her hand on the thruster. She hadn’t realised quite how tense she’d been.

  Ten performed two spins, then levelled his SEV with Conway’s. “Did you miss me?” he asked. “Go on, tell me you missed me.”

  Conway delivered the third finger of the day through the glass of her craft.

  “Report back, Marine. How did you manage that?” said Stansfield, forever focussed on the mission.

  “It goes straight through,” said Ten, elated at his discovery. “I passed to the other side. It’s incredible, it hopped me to another universe. It’s amazing out there, you should see the colours!”

  “What was out there, Marine X?” asked Vernon. “Any craft or defensive apparatus?”

  “Not that I could see, sir,” said Ten. “How stable is the portal? Do we have time before it closes? I say we go back and take a proper butcher’s.”

  “But how come you got through?” said Conway.

  “Best estimates give you at least fifteen minutes before the portal closes. Hold for orders,” Commander Vernon replied.

  “Let’s find out, shall we?” said Ten. “Who’s coming?”

  “Aww, don’t leave me,” Davies pleaded sarcastically.

  “Vengeance, if we leave these two in their SEVS, can you bring them back in?” Mason checked. “Requesting permission for me and Kearney to follow Marine X through the portal.”

  There was a pause before Stansfield answered. “Permission granted. Conway, Marine X, Mason and Kearney go through. Take initial readings, stick close to the portal and come back within eight minutes. Do not push that window. Good luck.”

  Woodhall protested. “Admiral Stansfield, I insist that the team wait for me before they go into that portal!”

  “Sorry, Lieutenant,” said Fernandez, sounding not even a little remorseful, “we need to check your craft for damage before you go any further. We'll send drones to pull you and Trooper Davies back into the launch bay.”

  “Okay, Conway, let’s go through. You good?” Ten checked.

  “At your side, Ten. Let’s a take a closer look at this thing,” she replied, eager to get started.

  The multi-coloured array at the mouth of the portal looked from afar like it might be a collection of gases, but as they passed through it became clear that it was some interference or interface between what was on one side of the portal and what was on the other.

  “Damn, Ten, look at this,” Conway marvelled. “Do you recognise the star patterns?”

  “This is not Sol-explored territory,” Ten remarked. “The computer doesn’t recognise anything here. I’ve triangulated already, and we’re a long way from home, but we don’t have contact with Vengeance on this side. We’ll have to run it on the ship’s computers when we get back.”

  Kearney, Hunter and Mason had made it safely through the portal.

  “It’s beautiful,” said Kearney as her ship crossed the threshold. “This is absolutely stunning, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  They took a few moments to admire the vast expanse of uncharted universe before them. In the near distance, a red-hued cluster of planets; close by, a green planet, silent and friendly-looking.

  “How come we got through?” said Mason. “Whatever happened to Colossus seems to have passed us by.”

  “I’ve no idea,” said Conway. “I suggest we don’t push our luck for now. Let’s just take readings from this side of the portal and head straight back. When’s the portal next due to close?”

  “Soon,” Ten replied vaguely.

  “Be quick then, Marines,” said Conway. “Let’s gather as much data as we can and get out of here.”

  The team worked around the perimeter of the portal, taking readings as they had on the other side. Without warning, there was a red flash that washed like a wave across the whole of the portal’s mouth. It then created a peak in the centre, which emitted a power surge. Hunter was directly in its path. His SEV powered down; his helmet sensed the life-support emergency and unfurled over his face to deliver oxygen.

  “Heap of shitty junk, I’m dead down here,” said Hunter.

  “The portal’s beginning to close,” said Conway.

  “Shit, now? We should have had another ten minutes. Are you sure?” asked Mason.

  “Of course I’m fucking sure,” snapped Conway.

  “Are you completely out of power, Hunter?” said Ten.

  “Yeah, I’ve got nothing, I’m a sitting duck. The controls are dead.”

  Kearney gave a second warning. “Time to go. The mouth is beginning to contract, we need to get out of here.”

  “Any ideas, guys?” Hunter asked. “I don’t like Stansfield very much, but I’d sooner be stuck on Vengeance than stranded on my own out here.”

  “Conway, you and I are closest, said Ten. “We have limited options, I reckon. We can’t bump him, we’ll have to bust him out of there and give him a lift.”

  “You’re kidding. You are kidding, aren’t you?”

  “Do I sound like I’m kidding, Conway? You keep an eye on the portal and count me down. This is going to be close.”

  “Ha! It won’t be the first time I’ve been busted out by a couple of pals!” said Hunter with a nervous laugh. “You are my pals, aren’t you? I’d be heartbroken if you weren’t.”

  “I’m not ready to go steady with you just yet, Hunter, but I am happy to get your arse out of there,” Ten joked.

  Conway’s voice interrupted, serious and focussed. “Portal closure at seventy-eight per cent. Mason and Kearney, get out of here, head back to Vengeance.”

  “Are you sure?” said Kearney. “You might need us.”

  “Do it,” said Conway. “We’ve got this.”

  “Roger,” said Kearney before she and Mason powered up their SEVs and disappeared through the mouth of the portal.

  “Seventy-three per cent closure, Ten, you need to be moving in now,” Conway warned.

  Ten was on the case already, moving his SEV directly alongside Hunter. He pressed the button on his power armour and helmeted up, then unlocked a protected switch to his right and opened up the glass. He felt the pressure change even within his suit, and he ch
ecked that he was securely clipped to his seat.

  “It’s going to be tight in here, Hunter,” said Ten, grinning.

  “I ain’t sitting on your lap, if that’s what you’re suggesting,” said Hunter, playing along.

  “Cut the foreplay, gentlemen,” Conway cut in, serious and intense. “The portal is now at fifty-two per cent.”

  “That’s over halfway, right?” Ten teased. “I was never good at maths. Plenty of time. Hunter, I need you to clip yourself to a high tensile rope and hop on over here. You all right with that?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Conway was becoming anxious now. “The portal closure is accelerating, guys, we’re at forty-six per cent. Get a move on!”

  “My canopy won’t open,” said Hunter, a slight trace of panic in his voice. “I’ve got no power. Is there a manual override, Conway?”

  “I’m going to have to consult the manual on that, Hunter. Can you see a catch or anything?” she responded.

  “Screw that!” he said, now impatient.

  Ten watched as Hunter clenched his cybernetic fist and a sharp spike shot out between his knuckles. A projected matrix shone onto the glass, a red dot appeared in the middle, and he stabbed the spike precisely where the dot was. The glass shattered completely, freeing him from the SEV.

  “Fuck me, Hunter, remind me to call you next time I need a bottle opener,” said Ten.

  “And you ain’t even seen my real party trick yet. Just make sure to retract before you scratch your arse,” said Hunter.

  “Nice chat, guys,” came Conway’s voice, uncertain whether to be irritated or amused. “We’re at thirty-eight per cent now. At ten per cent, I’m not even certain we’ll get through before it closes on us.”

  “Okay, Hunter,” said Ten, getting back to business. “Clip the rope on, keep it nice and tight, then unbuckle your straps.”

  “Affirmative!” Hunter responded. “It’s a great day for a spacewalk.” Carefully, he allowed himself to rise up from his seat, assuming a horizontal floating position. “Can you grab my ankles and haul me in?” he suggested.

  “Only if you promise me you washed your feet!”