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  The next day, so to speak, they arrived at the planet Hyson. Almost everyone was on the bridge. Onak had the helm for most of the trip. Binda was working with Adam. Andrea and Menah sat at tactical going through some simulations on the board. Elan was in engineering and E’Aria was keeping tabs on her. Once they were close enough, the scans set off a number of alarms.

  There were still pieces of battle damaged ships floating in various orbits all around Hyson. The Allith, Cjittan, Colonial and Trillond were all represented in the space junk competition. Although they most likely would not show up on any scan, there were bodies of all races, frozen and floating amongst the wreckage. There seemed to be a lot more than what Ben could recall before they departed. Andrea's rescue, saving the others, had been his priority, so maybe he didn’t notice just how many damaged and destroyed starships there were.

  "E'Aria, we are receiving two signals from rescue beacons down on the planet," Andrea reported. "They are weak and there is no ship identifier attached to the signal." They knew that info already, but it was repeated for the new crew.

  "We should at least check them out for a couple hours," Ben added, dying to get off the ship for a while.

  "I am not picking up any ships in the area and we are still too far out to pick up signs of any life forms on the planet," Andrea continued, ignoring the interruption.

  "I want to go," Natalia added. She felt about the same way and Ben did. She sat at the coms station looking bored.

  E'Aria looked at everyone before speaking. "There could be survivors but they would have to be very tough and very stupid to have active rescue beacons transmitting. My people are not known for cunning, skill in combat or surviving a two species invasion. Thousands of years of peace have made them soft. It could be the dying signal from crashed starships with no one around to turn them off." The new Trillond crew members looked at her.

  "That may be true and if the invaders have departed the system and they did survive, they do need our assistance." Ben wasn’t going to give up. "We have the time. You could stay in orbit while I take the gunboat down to check it out."

  "I want to go!" Natalia said again, with a little more force.

  "I am ok with you going, but the captain has to agree," Ben said.

  "What about me? Don’t I get some say in whether she goes or not?" Andrea was a little put out with Ben not asking her first if it was ok.

  "It is the captain’s decision first, then ours. I spoke out of turn myself," Ben replied looking at her. "I would like to work in some vac suit training with her as a part of the trip down to the planet," he added, "If the captain says it ok."

  "If the scans stay clear, then you have one hour to have a look around and come back."

  "E'Aria, permission to accompany those two and make sure they can tell time?" Andrea asked.

  "Yes, go ahead. Lorelei and I can handle everything."

  Andrea replied, "You know you do have some new crew members. Menah can handle it while I’m gone."

  "What's going on?" Emily asked from the door to the bridge.

  "We are going to check on two rescue beacons and then return. Natalia is going to further her training on starship procedures, practicing using a vac suit."

  "I want to go," Emily said.

  "Damn," Ben mumbled. "You know, we probably won’t even leave the ship. It is a fly by, nothing more."

  "Please, I am so inundated with Colonial and Trillond politics, I can’t absorb any more."

  "Ask the captain if she says yes, then fine. Let’s go, Natalia." Ben walked off at brisk pace, hoping no one else would want to join them. Natalia was right on his heels. Andrea got up next and walked to her quarters. She found Ben explaining to Natalia the different types of vac suits and the use of thermal underwear as she entered the room.

  "There are two types of thermals; the civilian and the military version. Basically, they serve the same purpose. You will find on a civilian-operated starship they wear them as needed, whereas in the military, we wore them constantly. The military issues are made to take more time in service. Take this set I bought for you and go change. Just leave your clothes. You won’t need them for this."

  Natalia went to change. Andrea took off her clothes and took her black armor out of the wall locker. Ben did the same, watching her change.

  "Still like what you see?" she asked, punching him the arm.

  "The lint stuck to your thermals? No, I should give you demerits for that," he deadpanned.

  She took a quick look. "There is no lint where you were staring, liar!"

  "There is and I think when we return, I should inspect every inch of you just to make sure you're in compliance." Andrea's smiled as she played along.

  "Ok, Inspector General, but you must be very thorough in your inspection. Some things have been neglected lately."

  "What are you two talking about?" Natalia asked entering their room.

  "Nothing!" They answered in unison, finishing.

  They walked to the hold. Ben retrieved a small vac suit from a locker along with a pair of boots. Natalia sat down on the metal bench, slipping her legs in the suit then putting on the boots. She stood to zip up the inside liner. The belt was attached with its power pack and initialized. Once the helmet was in place and locked down, the suit would evacuate any air from between the layers around the enclosure of the sealing mechanisms.

  Andrea and Ben's combat armor had the same characteristics. A touch of a button told the suit the wearer was preparing for EVA. Ben liked to call it an Extra Vehicular Adventure. The drawback of most of their suits was that oxygen packs were not built in. In combat, that would make the soldier a walking bomb. The only suits with built in O2 tanks were the suits the miners wore. They were similar to the big mechs that Ben had operated in the marines except tools replaced the weapons and the armor wasn’t as heavy.

  "Take it all off and put it back on," Ben told Natalia. "This time, do it as fast as you can, like your life depends on it."

  "Get Emily, so we can get moving," he asked Andrea. He opened the gunboat and made his way to the bridge. He started the pre-flight checks while he waited. Natalia walked on the bridge. When Ben turned to look at her, she twirled in a circle like she was wearing a new Sunday dress. The belt indicated a green light for a good seal.

  "Very good. Do it again, then find me and I will show you were you will sit when we make entry through the atmosphere. After that, you can get up and move around if I tell you it’s ok."

  Andrea returned with Emily in tow in a set of thermals. A quick decision, looking away was the smartest thing when faced with a tight-fitting body suit on a body like hers and with his significant other looking straight at him.

  "I thought it would be a good idea to take a refresher while you were teaching Natalia," Emily said.

  Ben took an oxygen pack from the storage locker and set on the floor at his feet. They were flat, with foam on the side that rested against the back of the wearer. Natalia picked it up and slid her arms into the straps, cinching it tight to her body. Ben indicated where to hook it up even if it was obvious to her already. A second green light indicated another good seal and the rest was automatic. The helmet had a small built-in display for the wearer, whereas the lights on the belt were for observers. The age-old green, yellow and red told an observer what they needed to know to initiate a rescue action or just remind the wearer to change tanks. Emily was next and Andrea checked her out.

  Satisfied they both knew what to do, Ben put the tank away. They removed their helmets and gloves and sat them in the space next to their seats.

  "Next lesson will be mag boots and lanyards but we will do that tomorrow. There are oxygen tanks located in lockers on all four of our ships. If anything ever happens to cause a hull breach, you put your suit on first before you do anything or help anyone else. You can assume there will be people panicking. Drag their asses to the hold and put them in the gunboat or shuttle. That will protect them until the situation is resolved. It takes a lot
of practice and will power. Your first instinct needs to be self preservation."

  Natalia looked at Ben. Seeing the weapons, he had remembering he always had something on his person to defend himself with. "I will be right back." She walked past everyone. She returned three minutes later with her pistol and combat knife around her waist. Emily stared wide-eyed at her as she sat back down. "Self preservation," she said and smiled. Ben nodded to her and went to the pilot’s seat. Andrea took seat two and buckled in.

  Ben messaged the bridge. "E'Aria, we are ready for departure."

  "Opening the bay door now. You have an hour to check things out and get back here or I leave you behind."

  "Stop trying to be a hard ass. We will keep you in the loop. If we find survivors, we will have some decisions to make. They will probably be your people, princess. Think about what you want to do if that happens."

  "The Trillond navy should still be in the area. I will contact them if you find anyone. The scans are still showing negative for life forms." Ben had the conversation over the speaker while he finalized his take off. "Be careful. This could be a trap."

  "I will. I don’t want to take any chances."

  "It shouldn’t take us long to get to you if something happens. Do you have the widow maker onboard?"

  "Oh yes. it is in the locker. Why do you ask?"

  "Because I know you and you won’t listen."

  The gunboat took off out of the cargo bay a little faster than Grubb and Shan liked. Ben flipped the screen to rear view and could see Grubb shaking his fist at the ship. He saw the bay door closing as he started inputting the coordinates for the first stop. He looked back over his shoulder at Natalia. He could see, but Andrea couldn’t. She was buckled in and ready. A big smile was on her face.

  "Natalia, turn your boots on and unbuckle your harness. You can leave your helmet on the seat till I tell you to hold it. I am going to seal the bridge and turn off the artificial gravity. Watch your helmet now and grab it when it gets chest high." Ben had explained all that through her personal com. He didn’t tell Emily anything. She sat reading her data pad as if she was bored already.

  Natalia touched the button on her power pack and felt her boots pull down. Ben shut it down quick. Natalia's helmet rose fast. Emily, who wasn’t buckled in and didn’t have her mag boots energized, floated up fast and let go of her data pad. She put her hands above her head so she didn’t bang it on the steel inner hull. Natalia grabbed Emily's pad and put it inside her helmet. She grabbed Emily by the belt and pulled her down till her feet could touch the steel deck and she energized her boots. Emily was smiling. Natalia handed back her pad but not before noticing the picture on the screen. It looked like younger versions of her and Ben. Emily saw her and said, "It was a long time ago."

  Ben brought the gravity back up and opened the door to the bridge. "That was just a test run. Go ahead and buckle in. We are going to drop dirt side now." Andrea and Ben both had some time in the pilot’s seat since returning with the gunboat. Then, if your coordinates are correct, there was no reason to not get where you are going. The computer would do most everything. They practiced a lot on manual to get the feel you didn’t get with the computer flying the craft.

  The ride in was not smooth, but it wasn’t bad either. There was a slight rise in temperature as the hull heated up. That was not bad at all either. He remembered some drops that were bone-jarring, then they cooked in their armor, then the neck snapping stop, that was the fun part. You had to run like hell off the shuttle because it was a sitting duck and if you had good intel, you had a place to go for cover. If not, well that was fun too.

  "Whatcha thinking about?" Andrea asked.

  Ben answered, "Just daydreaming about naked women. I do that about every twenty seconds. My sensei used to remind us often to exercise our minds as well as our bodies. That is my favorite exercise."

  "You are such a liar."

  "He did tell us almost those exact words."

  "Oh, I believe that. You are just lying about the naked women. Your face was too serious and hard. You were having a flashback."

  "Can you take over? I want to talk to those two for a few minutes. Are the scans picking up any life forms?"

  "No, nothing we have programmed. There could be small animals."

  "More than likely not, depending on how long they were camped out here. I am sure they ate everything in sight." Ben sat down next to Natalia with Emily straight across.

  "The odds of this being a trap are higher than actually finding any survivors. I want you two to stay within ten feet of the ship. Turn your recorders on and slowly pan the surrounding area. Get a 360 degree vid. Any sign of trouble, I want you in the ship with the doors closed and locked."

  "We have inbound!" Andrea yelled. "I have three shadows moving too slow for a ship; they must be some kind of bird."

  "Ok, I will take a look. You two stand just inside the door and power up your weapons."

  "We could help you," Emily said.

  "Turn your vid on and watch, ok?" Ben slipped his helmet on and strapped it in place. He flipped two switches on the widow maker and heard the familiar whine. He stepped out the gunboat door. He saw the rescue beacon. It was not from a crash. It had been placed there and activated. He tilted his head up and watched the sky. He could see the three flying creatures and recognized them as just like those he had met.

  The turrets on the gunboat turned in the same direction. Even if it wasn’t the same three, they would know him. They have that whole hive collective thing going on. Having E'Aria is bad enough. Everybody knowing your business would suck. He stood relaxed and easy, waiting, looking the beacon over trying to figure out how to turn it off. He had one solution and it usually worked but he would wait on that.

  The three landed about 20 yards from him. He watched as they turned their heads slowly in a circular motion. Whatever was going on must have worked itself out. They started walking towards him. He could hear the motors and servos as the turret adjusted, moving as they walked up at a slow deliberate pace.

  "You have returned." Ben assumed it was the larger of the three speaking to him, just like his last encounter with them.

  "Only for a brief time. Did you place this beacon? Are you expecting a ship from your world."

  "Yes, but it is long overdue. The Allith departed and the horde followed them. There has not been a ship return from either. There are some Allith on the planet. They have set a beacon also. They have become wise to our ways and allude us."

  "So, you are hunting them for food?"

  "Yes."

  "I may be able to help you."

  "One day, you may have to kill us."

  "Yes, but until then, let us see what we can accomplish."

  Ben saw one of the mantis turn his head towards the wood line. He looked also, counting at least ten Allith watching. He turned and started walking towards the woods.

  "Where are you going?" Andrea asked.

  "Hunting. I won’t be gone long. Lock down the ship."

  "Are you out of your mind? No, don’t answer that. There is something very large just waiting on the other side of the slope at your 6."

  "The Cjittan put out this beacon and the Allith the other one. There are no survivors in this immediate area. They two have turned on each other. It is probably with the Cjittan so I don’t think I will have to worry. I am going to wound a few of the bastards so they can be caught. I think they have reached a point where neither has an advantage over the other. I am just going to tip the scales. Maybe accrue some future goodwill," Ben said, as he kept walking towards the wood line.

  "I am going to get airborne and take a look around," Andrea answered.

  "Not leaving me a fallback position if this goes south?"

  Andrea replied. "You just run fast and hard and it will work out. Besides, this is your dumb ass idea, not ours."

  Ben looked behind him and saw the Cjittan were not following. They were just staring, that really creepy way that insects sta
re. He thought, Probably not the smartest thing I have ever done getting between two very hungry groups of killers. He could see the Allith milling around, some hiding behind trees to hide their bulk.

  Ben sat down and crossed his ankles. He allowed himself a look to the rear; no changes in their positions. He placed an elbow on each knee then turned on the optics. He was well out of effective laser range. A laser rifle blast may reach him, but with degraded effectiveness. He was counting off the seconds in his head as he made two sweeps with the optics down and back, and on the return sweep, he started firing. He fired at whatever was exposed; hot tungsten ripping through flesh and bone. The Allith, who were able, bolted deeper into the woods as he started firing on his back sweep.

  Evidently, the Cjittan had seen enough and burst forward in a sprint run towards the woods. Ben felt the ground shake. He threw himself flat on his back as a giant black spider, the size of a shuttle ran, over the top of him. He rolled onto his belly to see about twenty five more, the size of a hover car, following. He had an opening and he stood up. There was plenty of room and they all ran around him, giving him some distance except one.

  A single spider was headed towards him at full run. It was not as large as the others. He side stepped a few feet and it changed course slightly. The three mantis watched from twenty feet away. Ben had flash backs of a hungry tiger charging him. Ten feet away, it leaped. Ben saw it squat before it jumped and held the widow maker out in front of him with both hands, while falling backwards. He had the grand idea of using its weight and momentum to flip it over him. But, never having fought a giant spider, his variables were off. Plenty of momentum but he underestimated the weight as he got slammed into the dirt.

  He pushed against its face as hard as he could and the armor chest plate saved him from 5 inch fangs. It was a stale mate for a few seconds, then it pulled back and reared up in a second attempt to sledge hammer its fangs home. Ben barely had time to pull his knees up and push up with his feet and arms. The spider’s weight and strength were too much, although he was able to stop it because of his legs. The fangs were scraping on his chest as it shook itself, trying to work them into him. It was hard to breathe. He could hear the gunship in the distance returning. "Damn, she was right this was a dumb ass idea, I am going to have to kill this thing," Ben thought. "So much for good will and all that shit." The spider reared again for a strike. Ben pointed the widow maker one handed at its head. The sun was blocked out, he felt a whoosh and the spider was gone. All he could see now was a giant hairy underbelly with legs. "Out of the frying pan into the fire."