The Word Is War (Doomsday War Book 1) by Richard Tongue

Author:Richard Tongue [Tongue, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-15T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The shuttle soared over the jungle, Ortiz grinning as he wove from side to side, riding the thermals to gain height as they raced towards the distant base. Theoretically, they were flying low in order to escape detection from the enemy ship overhead, but somehow, Mendoza believed that Ortiz would have been riding his helm in exactly the same way whether they were in danger or not. Next to him, Volkov looked at the engineering controls, then turned to the pilot, his face pale.

“Watch it, Nick! I swear we’re going to have leaves in the landing gear if you don’t pull up.”

“Just relax, buddy, I know what I’m doing,” the pilot replied. “I keep telling you that you’ve got to go with the flow a little more. You’ll live longer.”

“I’ll live a damn sight longer if you watch the helm,” Volkov retorted.

Shaking his head, Fawcett asked, “What did I do wrong?”

Mendoza smiled, and replied, “I think you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, this is going to be a lot more fun than sitting up on that starship watching the enemy get closer by the minute.”

“You see,” Ortiz said. “She gets it.”

“There it is,” Volkov replied, wiping his forehead. “Just ahead.”

Mendoza peered into the gloom, storm clouds raging overhead, and spotted the two domes in the distance, barely piercing the undergrowth. Underneath, great blackened strips had been gouged into the surface, ample evidence that something dreadful had happened here, not long ago. Fawcett glanced at her, then leaned forward to Ortiz.

“Take us over the base, low and slow, so we can get a good look down there before committing to a landing. Don’t set her down until I give you confirmation. Understood?”

“Sure, baby, I’m with you,” Ortiz replied, his hands sliding across the controls. “Though we’re going to have to land somewhere, I mean, we don’t have anything like the delta-v to get back to the big tuna can in the sky any more, not without sliding right past our nasty little friends out there.”

“He’s right,” Volkov said, nodding in confirmation. “This isn’t a normal ride. Xenophon is already way above orbital velocity. Unless we refuel, we’re going to struggle to get back to the ship unless it comes back into orbit.”

“There’s fuel on the surface if we can find it,” Mendoza confirmed. “Standard shuttle servicing system.”

The shuttle slowed, the pilot expertly firing the lateral thrusters to guide them gently over the landscape, the base rolling out beneath them. At this distance, it was easy to see that it had been attacked, bodies sprawled on the ground, scattered around by the local predators feasting on the remains, leaving bloody debris torn across the landing field. Both of the domes had been cracked, gaping, blackened wounds ripped across their surfaces, but some of the landing lights were still on, and the faint pinging of the landing beacon echoed over the ceiling speakers.

There was no sign of life, none at all. No sign of activity, no sign that any effort had been made to clean up the mess or conduct repairs.

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