Cytress Vee Read online

  Cytress Vee

  A Dog Squad Story Series

  Science Fiction: Military

  Book 1

  By

  Kalvin Thane

  kalvinthane.com

  Copyright © 2017

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Cytress Vee (A Dog Squad Story, #1)

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  This Series Continues With....

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  Chapter 1

  “WHEELS DOWN IN FIVE!” the pilot called. Her voice popped and crackled as the storm wreaked havoc with the carrier’s electrics.

  “This piece of junk’s got no wheels,” Alden muttered to anyone who might be interested. No-one answered. The rest of the squad clung tightly to their straps as the sixty-year-old troop carrier crashed through the violent stratosphere, shedding equipment onto the squad’s loosely fastened helmets.

  “Probably fall to bits any second now,” he added.

  “Secure that shit!” Trenn called across the narrow bay. Alden couldn’t see the commander over the ‘droid’s netting, but her bellow was unmistakable. How in the Arms of Wynn had she heard him over the noise of the ship shaking itself to pieces?

  Because, you idiot, you’re still sending—to everyone! Her voice rang inside his head like a bell. Alden hastily tapped his right ear, muttering graphic curses involving grenades and body cavities, and then sank lower in his seat. “Wolf,” he growled in a low voice. “My name’s Wolf!” He listened carefully for the commander’s scornful reply, but his mind was silent—aside from the ever-present seething anger. He aimed a kick at the ‘droid for not severing their link before dust-off. The dull clang was lost beneath a crash of thunder.

  “Wheels down in four!” the pilot called.

  “I hate this part.” Dun gripped the rifle more tightly than ever.

  His twin nodded. “Give me firm ground under my boots, and I’ll fight all day.” He banged his heel into the deck to demonstrate his point.

  “We’re too exposed up here, Kell. Why couldn’t we sky fall to the target?”

  “And how do you plan to evacuate?” Trenn called over to the pair. Her arched eyebrow vanished behind the helmet’s top edge. “Give each other a leg up?”

  “I’d stand on Krul’s shoulders, Commander.” Dun grinned and glanced at the massive form crushing the two jump seats to his right. “You’d do that for me, wouldn’t you buddy?”

  “Shuddup!” Ambex Krulguaor growled from beneath his triple-sized helmet. Custom made from graphene, it was largely redundant, and fairly ridiculous on top of the behemoth’s armor-plated skull. “I’m not here as muscle, you idiot!”

  “Of course, you’re not, big guy.” Dun feigned a punch at the behemoth’s massive arm, avoiding the risk of broken bones or a dangerous retaliation.

  “Three!” the pilot called.

  “Squad, ready!” Trenn called. Alden grumbled under his breath. Dun and Kell stiffened. Ambex Krulguakor remained still in case his movements upset the landing. He needn’t have worried. Although the carrier was dropping through the eye of a superstorm, the compact ship was still being tossed around like a leaf. At the controls, Pilot Sale yelled and cursed the winds pointlessly. Her skill as a pilot was beyond question, the product of over a decade of combat missions, but the storm was messing with the impulses to her legs.

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what’s happening,” she told herself. “Static. Lightning. Nothing wrong with my reactions. I got thiiiis!” she cried out as the carrier was thrown sideways. Acting purely on instinct, she spun one-eighty and countered the twisting gust with a blast from the drive system.

  “Hey, Sale!” Trenn yelled in her headphones. “Do you need us to get out and push? Or should we start writing our wills?”

  Damn! Sale shook her head as she got the antique carrier under control. Her knees whined under the unexpected strain, the motors torquing up automatically—a split second later than she needed. They’d given her trooper legs, she was convinced of that. They were too damn clunky. The reflexes were pitiful... or maybe she was back in action too soon, exactly as they’d warned.

  “Two minutes!” she called. The target was below them again, and she breathed out a long sigh of relief. To counter the winds, she spun the carrier gently clockwise, introducing stability to the ship, and improving her chances of fighting the vortices. At one minute to go, she dropped the loading door, silently apologizing to the squad for introducing them to the foul weather of Cytress Vee.

  “They’ll be out there soon enough,” she reminded herself. On the bay monitor, the small squad buckled up their helmets before they dragged the net from the ‘droid. Wisely, it stayed close to the deck. Sudden wind shear could easily turn ten tons of armored artificial intelligence into a quick and unpleasant death for the more squashy members of the squad. Krul would be fine, she figured. He was big enough and dumb enough to swat the ‘droid away.

  No, scratch that. Krul’s voice might sound like stone dragging across stone, but he had smarts, she suspected. She just hadn’t seen them yet.

  “Think she’ll be here?” Dun asked his twin as the Cytreen winds tore at his clothing.

  Kell shook his head. “Not in this dump.” He glanced at the swirling dust beyond the ramp.

  “I miss her, bro.”

  Kell nodded. “I miss her too. But who knows what we’ll uncover down there?”

  “If they don’t find the hack,” Dun reminded him.

  “How in the Arm can that work?” Kell shouted over the growing noise. Dust and sand rattled against his visor. “How do we hack the system of a race we’ve never seen, and whose language no-one can repeat, never mind speak?”

  Dun shrugged. “Don’t ask me. Ask the geek.”

&nbs
p; “I will, don’t worry.”

  “Wheels in three... two... one... down.” The carrier groaned as its weight settled onto the uneven ground.

  “Squad, shun!” Trenn yelled. As one, the troopers leapt to their feet—with one exception. Krul crouched, pressing his shoulder against the rounded hull, his head bent over to one side.

  “Stand up straight, Krul,” Alden called.

  “Shuddup!”

  No-one moved until the circular ‘droid rose to eye height, then powered down the loading ramp. It rocked as the wind got beneath its hovering underside, almost enough to touch the deck. A gust pushed it sideways, where it slammed into the side of the hull exposed by the open door.

  “Damn useless thing,” Alden muttered. When Trenn glanced sharply at him, he shut his mouth, but scowled at the ‘droid, now disappearing into the storm.

  “Listen up, troops,” Trenn called over the wind. “The ‘droid is your cover. The ‘droid will lead us to the target.”

  “All hail the ‘droid,” Alden said.

  Trenn glared at him. “If the ‘droid fails, the mission fails. We’re here to make sure that it doesn’t happen.”

  “Hoo-yah!” the squad called. Krul’s rumble provided the bass note.

  “You two...” she indicated the twins. “Scout ahead.”

  “Us?” Dun protested. “Why not Krul? If we run into trouble—”

  Trenn pointed to the insignia burned into the chest of her over-sized armor. “Co-mmand-er. Does that mean anything to you children?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Sorry, ma’am.”

  “The reason I want you out there is because you’re smaller, faster and smart—” She bit off the end of the word, aware of Krul’s heavy-browed glare. “I can trust you to report back quickly.” She lifted her gaze. “I need Krul to look after the ‘droid.” A contented rumble followed her words. “Alden, you’re with me.”

  “Wolf.” He pointed to the words painted across the chest of his armor.

  Trenn scowled at him. “If we weren’t on such a tight schedule, I’d make you scrub that shit off—at gunpoint!”

  “Of course, ma’am.” He threw her a lazy salute. “Death is a great motivator.”

  “It’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Then go out there and die, but not until the mission is completed.”

  “No intention of dying, Co-mmand-er.”

  “Me neither. Squad, move!” Four bipeds trotted down the ramp, followed by a behemoth. As the cargo bay emptied, Sale watched, steadying herself against the huge, hammering footsteps, and shaking her head.

  “I’ll stay here, then. Shall I?”

  Chapter 2

  “WE HAVE LESS THAN EIGHT minutes, people,” Trenn yelled over the wind. They’d landed in the eye of the storm, unseen. They had to be back on the carrier before the storm passed and left them exposed to the enemy’s sensors. After that, it was a max-gee launch out of the atmosphere to where the cruiser awaited them. For their exit, stealth didn’t matter, only speed.

  A dark, flat shape appeared through the whirling dust. The bunker was exactly where it should be. Sale, despite her difficulties, had landed perfectly. The ‘droid was almost in place, swinging from side to side as it tried to stabilize its hover. Damn thing, Trenn thought. Why hadn’t they brought a tracked unit? She knew the answer immediately. Because the hover-droid was heavily armored, and could soak up plenty of blasts.

  “Here, here!” Dun called. He waved the ‘droid to a port, and helped it to interface. Kell, as always, stood at his side, rifle at the ready. Not that they could see a damn thing in this storm.

  But that was the point, wasn’t it? Superstorms meant superior cover. And the squad needed every advantage this far from The Arm.

  “It’s in,” Alden reported.

  Trenn turned to him and nodded. “Report progress, but keep your weapon ready.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Alden rolled his eyes. Did she think he was some dumb grunt? He turned his back to the ‘droid as it got to work, watching the swirling dust for signs of activity, but also keeping his link open. Alien-script files poured past his mind’s eye as the ‘droid syphoned off every scrap of information it could find. At the same time, it sent a sophisticated virus into the mainframe, wiping out all traces of their incursion, and setting in motion a monitoring and recording system that would continue to feed back to the Alliance for decades.

  “Virus introduced,” Alden called. “Download at thirty percent.”

  “Four minutes,” Trenn called back. “This will be tight. Any activity out there?”

  “Nothing to see,” he shouted. “Nothing to feel either.”

  “They didn’t detect our landing.”

  “Good. I don’t want any Creeps near me. Not today.”

  “Not any day, Alden.”

  He banged a fist against his chest. “Wolf. It’s Wolf!”

  “Something’s wrong!” Dun shouted.

  “Stay here!” Trenn ordered. She hurried to the shadowy outline of the droid, to where Dun was pointing. She frowned, not able to make sense of what she was seeing. The interface port was a waist–height steel pillar. The ‘droid was plugged into it using a modified coupling. But at the base of the port, the metal surface shifted and rippled, as if something moved underneath a metallic skin. Trenn dropped into a crouch, narrowing her eyes. She resisted a strong impulse to reach out and touch the shifting metal.

  “It’s getting higher,” Dun pointed out.

  “Alden!” Trenn called. “Get your ass over here.” When he failed to move, she shouted again. “Trooper Clancy Alden. Here. Now!”

  Alden trudged over, scowling. “Call me Wolf, Commander.”

  “Nuts. Take a look at this.”

  Alden crouched. “What is it?”

  “Candy floss.” When he stared, she continued. “How in The Arm should I know? You’re the damn expert!”

  Alden sighed and pulled out his knife. He offered his tip to the shifting, rippling metal—and swore. “Get ready to unplug the ‘droid.” Holding it with his fingertips, he lifted the knife and stared at it. The tip was gone. As Trenn, and then the twins watched, the blade vanished, one millimeter at a time. Above the missing metal, the blade shifted, as if seen through a heat haze. Alden shook his head and dropped the blade to the ground.

  “What was that?” Trenn asked.

  “Gray goo.”

  “What?”

  “Nanomachines. They ate my knife. We need to unplug the ‘droid soon, before they reach it.”

  “But they’re not eating the port,” Dun pointed out. “It’s intact.”

  “That’s because they’re here to protect the port.”

  “Damn.” She checked her wrist. “One minute left. How’s the download?”

  Alden closed his eyes. Files streamed past his mind. “Seventy percent.”

  “We need it all,” Trenn said.

  Alden shook his head. “We’re running out of time. We need to move out.” He glanced at the pillar, which was rippling half-way up its length. For a defense mechanism, it was painfully slow. Unless they’re already inside the ‘droid!

  “What did you say?” Trenn asked.

  “We need to unplug now!”

  “But we haven’t—”

  “Do it!” Alden yelled at Dun, who stared at Trenn.

  She nodded. “Do as he said. But you better have a good explanation for—”

  “It won’t uncouple!” Dun said.

  “Krul, Get over here.” She moved back as a huge shape emerged through the dust storm.

  “Com-prom-zed.” Krul grated. A huge arm swung down and smashed the interfacing arm from the ‘droid’s circular hull. As it fell to the ground, half of the arm crumbled to dust.

  Trenn stared at the broken stub on the ‘droid’s armored body. Sparks burst from the torn wiring and were swept away by the wind.

  Alden grabbed her arm. “We need to get back.”
>
  “Squad, shun! Move out!” she yelled, and set off at a run. Krul spun the unstable ‘droid around and pushed it away from the bunker. Dun and Kell raced behind their comrades.

  “How much did we get?” Trenn asked.

  “Seventy-eight,” Alden said. “Roughly.”

  “It’ll have to be enough.”

  “Is the storm dying away?” he asked. The sky seemed brighter. Maybe the wind was at their backs, or it had moved on to scour another part of the planet.

  “Our time’s up,” Trenn answered. “We need to dust off.”

  “Sooner than we think.” Alden pointed ahead. The carrier hovered above the ground, much closer to the squad than it ought to be.

  “She has moved it. Why?” Trenn pressed a hand to her helmet. “Sale, what in the Arm’s name are you doing?”

  “Jump!” The reply crackled in their helmets, urgent and loud. “I’m not touching down. Something’s under the ground.” The carrier was turning, presenting the loading ramp to the running squad. Sale held the ship steady, despite the winds, with the edge of the ramp at waist height. Alden threw himself forward. Trenn landed beside him on her belly. The droid zoomed over their heads.

  “Bring it down; bring it do-oww-wn!” Dun yelled. He landed in a crumpled heap beside Alden, then rolled aside as Kell was hurled through the air to crash onto the ramp. Krul’s huge fingers gripped the ramp, and an elbow appeared.

  “Take us higher,” Trenn called. “But gently.” She watched as Ambex Krulguakor, marine, heaved himself on board and rolled clear of the edge. The ship tipped subtly as he moved forward.

  “Seats, everyone. Krul, help secure that droid. Sale, close the door.”

  “No!” Alden yelled. “Keep the door open.” He was on top of the circular armor, trying to loosen an access hatch. “Help me, big guy.” Together, the pair released the hatch. “Get the AI out of there. That green flask and the pack. Easy, easy...” Alden guided Krul’s hands as the behemoth withdrew the ‘droid’s core, and the vital power pack.

  “What are you doing, soldier?” Trenn demanded.