Endurance

  Endurance

  Entrent Saga Prequel

  C. S. Harte

  Star Publishing

  Copyright © 2018 by C. S. Harte

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Version 1.0.2 (3/03/18)

  For my Maria. Your unconditional love and support is what drives me to write.

  Also by C. S. Harte

  Eden Faction Series:

  Eden Wakes - Book One of the Eden Faction Series

  Tides of Empire - Novella 1.5 of the Eden Faction Series

  Eden Villains - Book Two of the Eden Faction Series

  Entrent Saga:

  Endurance - Prequel Novella

  Contents

  Also by C. S. Harte

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Reader Circle

  1

  Commander Nolan Barick raised the external visor of his Obscura Mark III Combat Suit and peered through the Heads-Up Display (HUD) of the inner screen, taking inventory of the remaining soldiers under his command. Three fifth-generation Centuria combat mechs stood in a defensive position around him, his Chief Engineering Officer, Lieutenant Maris Hyden, and the blackened, shriveled corpse of Ensign Carthen. Including himself, that made five fighting-capable soldiers left in a unit that started with 15 mechs and five people before a fleet of 10 Mimic Sphereships infiltrated Ostia Station in the Scuti Star System, the outermost sector in the Alpha Quadrant of Commonwealth space.

  Within minutes, the Sphereships tore through Ostia’s defenses, punching multiple holes in the hull, causing massive station-wide breeches. Seventy percent of Ostia's 300 crew members died immediately from exposure or asphyxiation. They were the lucky ones to not face the mounting infestation of Mimic Reapers, named after their ghastly ability to suck the life out of a person in seconds.

  “How many of us do you think is left?” Lieutenant Hyden asked her commander over suit-to-suit communication.

  “A lot. Hopefully…” Barick shook his head while answering. “There’s plenty of fortified safe zones and space suits, but we have to assume we’re on our own.” He gently placed his palm on Ensign Carthen’s chest. “I’m sorry…” he breathed in a voice barely audible.

  The oxygen level on Barick's visor HUD showed 24%, less than 90 minutes to free the space station from the infestation of Mimic aliens before it ran out. That was the good news. According to their last sensor data, they had 40 minutes until another fleet of 28 Mimic Sphereships arrived. If the Commonwealth were to lose Ostia, they would lose the Scuti Star System and give their most dangerous enemy a foothold in their space.

  Mimics, formerly known as Species 616, were first discovered by colonists in the Erzan sector, roughly 50 years ago. Encounters with Mimics, before the attack on Ostia station, were rare and almost more myth than fact. Named after their infamous ability to camouflage themselves as ordinary objects from plasma rifles to food rations, they seemed to have one desire: to feed on carbon-based life. When not in camouflage form, they rendered as Reapers, an oily black semi-solid, semi-fluid, scorpion-like creature capable of spawning new appendages at will. Much is still unknown about Mimics. All gathered intel came from the few survival encounters on record.

  The walls began to moan and creek as if being pushed by an unknown force.

  Barick stood up and checked the crudely fashioned, barricaded doors of the Medbay, where they made their final stand. He walked to Hyden who was leaning against the opposite wall of the entrance and forced his lips to curl into a smile. Through their visors, he saw the dazed look of fear and confusion spiraling within her soft green eyes.

  “We’ve been through worse.” Barick tapped her shoulder as he comforted her.

  Hyden slowly tilted her head up and looked into Barick’s crystal blue eyes, but stayed quiet.

  Barick gripped her arm. “Maris? You OK? Hang in there. I have a plan. We’ll get through this. I promise…”

  Hyden’s shoulders slumped as she slid down the wall into a seated position. After a tick of silence, she sighed. “Of course you have a plan, Commander. I already know I’m not going to like it.” She stared at the dehydrated corpse of her friend for a moment before turning her head away. Hyden mumbled a prayer before turning to her left forearm. Using the external keypad on her suit, she began typing instructions to initiate the self-repair routines of the Centuria mechs.

  Centuria combat mechs were 8-feet tall, fully-autonomous fighting units capable of both offensive and defensive objectives. They were designed to look like giant humans and often provided a morale boost to human infantry on the battlefields. Fleet Commanders originally nicknamed them Centuria after one unit took out 100 enemy soldiers during a single engagement. The fifth-gen models used on Ostia station, while still in the prototype stage, featured the latest in modulating armor tech, numerous system redundancies, multiple sources of power generation, and the latest in artificial intelligence adaptive algorithms — all the most advanced technologies the Commonwealth had to offer. They were agile, durable, and efficient — often used as the tip of the spear in most military engagements.

  Centuria #1 had a 20-cm hole through its chest where its autocannon used to be. Centuria #2 lost its left arm and its rotary missile launcher. The rail gun on Centuria #3 melted off its right arm.

  “These tin cans really took a beating from whatever black goo that shot out of those Reapers. Who knew Mimic ooze could melt through carbon nanofiber…” Hyden let her voice trail as she continued typing.

  Barick looked at the black splotch on his Obscura suit chest plate and breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, who knew….”

  Obscura Mark III Combat Suits, named after their ability to obscure and blend the wearer into the environment, used a composite of titanium silicon carbide interlaced with synthetic spider-silk for a nearly impenetrable shell while also being remarkably lightweight.

  “We have to let Fleet Command know to coat combat mechs in the same coating as these suits to avoid the corrosive effects of Reaper projectiles,” Barick said while scribing a letter on his suit console.

  A loud wailing sound echoed outside the door.

  Barick looked at the door for a moment before returning to his letter.

  If Hyden heard the ominous sounds, she didn’t show it as she continued with her programming.

  After finishing the letter, Barick took inventory of his neuromuscular implanted modifiers, cybernetic enhancements afforded to any marine or sailor in the Commonwealth Fleet. With eye movements, Barick navigated to the neuromod screens for a status report of his neuromod installations.

  Speed Enhancement - error

  Strength Enhancement - active

  Accuracy Enhancement - error

  “I like how these Mark III suits interface with my neuromods without having to plug myself into a medical terminal.”

  Hyden began sweating despite the temperature regulator in her suit. “I’ve never worked with these newer fifth-gen mechs before. Why do they have to change the interface on every upgrade?” She released a loud groan. “Almost done programming…”

  “My suit is showing errors in speed and accuracy neuromods.” Barick flicked through the diagnostic menu
s with his eyes, looking for clues on how to repair his neuromods. “I don’t suppose you can fix that after you’re done with the mechs?”

  She glanced at the stain on his chest armor. “I doubt it, Commander. Unless we can make it to the Biolab, I don’t have access to any replacement neuromods.”

  “No worries then. I didn’t need help for my genius plan anyway.”

  Hyden sighed as she continued typing into her wrist console. “Do you remember your last genius plan to get us leave time in the Maenali System?”

  Barick placed his hand on the back of his neck. “Well, it sort of worked. So the ship was disabled longer than expected. No one found out what we did.” He snorted.

  “Repair sequence initiated.” Hyden looked up from her forearm and stared at the mechs. Billions of carbon nanites streamed from an open compartment in each of their lower backs. Every nanite flashed a bright teal light indicating their activeness, creating a ribbon of glowing, pulsing cerulean light swirling around the damaged Centuriae. As if by magic, the missing mech limbs started to reform and the crater-sized holes began stretching closed. “ETA, 30 minutes give or take a minute.”

  Barick began walking around the Medbay looking for tools or weapons for the next fight. “OK, let’s recap what we know,” he said while opening drawers. “One, these things are so damn ugly.”

  Hyden burst out laughing.

  Getting her to laugh was a good sign for Barick. It concerned him that the dire situation was too overwhelming for her. “It’s really hard to think of anything more ugly in the universe, and I’ve seen some ugly things in my 32 years of life. Two, explosive or cryo ballistics seem to work best.”

  Hyden nodded. “Fry them or freeze them. I just hope they stay dead after we burn them to crisp or shatter them into pieces.”

  “Call me an optimist, but I like to believe so.” Barick picked up a skin grafting laser, stared at it, then dropped it back on the counter. “Three, if we can get to Engineering, we can fix the internal station sensors and activate the Automated Holographic Defense System to clear out the Reapers inside the station.”

  Hyden’s eyes opened wide. “Then we can reactivate the shields, the station repair initiatives, and the plasma guns…” She pushed herself up, her eyes now bright with hope. “Do you really think we can do this?”

  “Lieutenant, I have no doubt in my mind,” Barick said in a strong, confident tone as he pulled Hyden up. “But we should have a backup plan too…” He looked away as he said the next words. “Regardless of what happens with the defense, we absolutely have to send word to Fleet Command about what we’ve learned here. It’s crucial that the Commonwealth knows about the invasion and every piece of intelligence gathered thus far. So you have to fix subspace communications as well. That needs to be high priority.”

  The smile faded from Hyden’s face. “I understand Commander. I… I have family in Fleet. We have to stop here before they keep moving toward Sol.”

  Barick placed both hands on Hyden’s shoulders. “My brother is in Fleet. My parents…” He steeled his voice. “We stop them here or die trying. Understood?”

  Hyden squeezed her right hand into a fist and pounded Barick's chest plate. “Yes, Commander,” she said with a raised, firm voice.

  The light from the nanites began to flash and fade as they returned to their storage compartments. The mechs looked as good as when they first came out of production.

  “My O2 is at 18%. Yours?” Barick asked while inspecting the work of the nanites.

  “Same, Commander. 18%.”

  “OK, we have roughly one hour before we get to be heroes!” Barick smirked. He rapped his knuckles on the mechs, testing their rigidity. “This is impressive work, Lieutenant. Once we get out of this, I’m going recommend you for a commendation and a long shore leave. How does that sound?” He winked at her.

  She beamed a smile through her visor. “If we survive this, I might retire.”

  “You know what, we can talk about this after we save the Commonwealth.” He connected to the Centuriae via his helmet interface and pulled up their statuses.

  Centuria #1: 100% repaired, 98 explosive rounds, 56 cryo rounds.

  Centuria #2: 100% repaired, 71 explosive rounds, 0 cryo rounds.

  Centuria #3: 100% repaired, 28 explosive rounds, 0 cryo rounds.

  “Um, Commander…” Hyden said in a shrill voice.

  “Give me a second, Lieutenant, I’m almost…”

  “COMMANDER!”

  Barick turned around to see Ensign Carthen standing in front of him. His skin was gray. Jet-black ooze dripped from his eyes. Crimson-stained teeth. Gaping hole where his neck used to be. “Ensign…”

  2

  “Ensign, are you… you OK buddy?” Barick slowly held up his hands to chest level.

  Ensign Carthen snarled at Barick’ question, showing his putrified tongue and rotting, crusted teeth.

  “Commander, I don’t think he is,” Hyden said timidly.

  Carthen turned toward Hyden as if he recognized the sound of her voice.

  Hyden screamed an ear-piercing wail at the sight of Carthen’s slimy face.

  The mechs activated their weapons and trained them on the fallen Ensign.

  “Lieutenant. I need you to stay calm,” Barick spoke in a slow, reassuring voice. “No sudden movements.” With his visor HUD, he saw the request to fire from all three mechs. A red flashing triangle hovered over Carthen’s head meaning the onboard Obscura suit computer considered him a high priority threat. He dismissed the notices with a darting glance. “Steady, Lieutenant. Carthen could still be in there somewhere. We shouldn’t give up on him yet.”

  “I… Are we seeing the same thing, Commander? His eyes… They’re all black. There’s a thick ooze coming out of his mouth. And his throat…” Hyden squeezed her eyes shut.

  “Hey, Ensign,” Barick said through his suit speakers. “It’s me, Nolan. We were on the same team for holoball last week. You and I made a great play and scored a goal, remember that?”

  Carthen kept his attention on Hyden.

  The attack droids repeated their request to fire.

  “Give me a sign you’re still in there. C’mon buddy. What was it you told me last week? You had a crush on someone, right? Nurse Galven? I forgot to tell you. I saw her the other day, and she said how much she would have loved for you to ask her out. It’s probably…”

  The Ensign finally turned around to face Barick. Black mud, thick as sludge discharged from his nose and ears.

  “It’s probably not too late…” Barick shook his head.

  Loud explosions shook the Medbay from just beyond the barricaded doors.

  Barick turned around to look at the source of the blasts.

  Ensign Carthen lunged at Barick.

  The Centuriae all fired their non-explosive rounds at Carthen.

  Hyden screamed at the sound of gunfire.

  Carthen’s bullet-riddled body fell on Barick with streams of black ooze flowing all over his combat suit.

  Barick shoved the hollowed corpse off his body and pushed himself up. The black liquid stuck on his armor. He navigated to the suit integrity assessment screen but found no damage.

  Centuria #1 kept its gun on the twice-killed Ensign.

  Centuria #2 pointed its gun on Barick but lowered it after finishing a threat assessment.

  “Well, I was hoping for a better ending to that,” said Barick after a heavy sigh.

  “I… I don’t know what to hope for anymore,” Hyden stammered.

  Barick approached Hyden and helped her up. “Why did you join Fleet?”

  Hyden glanced at her commander before turning away without speaking.

  “A commanding officer just asked you a question, sailor,” he said with a stern voice. “Why did you join Fleet?”

  “I… wanted to see the universe. Experience new things.” Her body shivered as she spoke.

  “Well, I’d say you’re two for two so far. You told me earlier you had family in
Fleet. Do you want them to fight Mimics, to see the things we’ve seen here?”

  Hyden shook her head. “No, Commander.”

  Barick looked at the countdown clock in the lower left corner of his HUD. “We have about 40 minutes of O2 in our suits and maybe 20 minutes before the next wave of Mimic Sphereships join the party.”

  “Do you think we can really hold against all those Sphereships even with the automated defenses online?”

  “Well, that’s Plan A. I’ll tell you Plan B as we get moving.” Barick pulled up the Ostia Station layout on his HUD. A thick yellow line raced across the map, outlining the fastest way to Engineering. He ordered the mechs into spear formation, with the three Centuriae forming an arrow tip, leading the way to their goal.

  Using his strength neuromod, he quickly cleared the solid bulkheads barricading the Medbay door. “Lieutenant, unlock the door please.”

  Hyden walked to the exposed door controls and placed two wires into a port in her gloves. The Medbay doors slid open. The overhead lights in the dimly lit hallway flickered intermittently.

  Barick scanned the corridor but found no Reapers. “I’ll take the rear.” He gestured for Hyden to exit after the mechs.

  They began their trek to Engineering. Empty Commonwealth uniforms littered the hallway, soaked in black goo. In the sections without gravity, bodies and spacesuits floated listlessly in the vacuum.

  Hyden stopped to look at one particular name tag on a green and black Fleet pilot uniform. “Lieutenant Wyke…” she whispered. Wyke was a close friend and Commander of Ostia Station's Air Group. “I guess we never launched our counterattack if she’s here.”