First Contact : Legacy Earth 2
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons— living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
First Contact
Legacy Earth Book 2
Ross Buzzell
Contents
Books in the Legacy Earth Universe
Stay Informed
1. Pirates
2. The Big Question
3. The Terrifying Answer
4. Red Alert
5. Familiar Faces
6. First Contact
7. Emissaries
8. Slam
9. Galio
10. THE Mess
11. Highjack
12. Prep
13. Joint
14. Mission Accomplished
15. Checkup
16. Debrief
17. A New Race
18. Moving Forward
19. The Short Flight
20. Journey to the Center of Technology
21. Perseus Observatory Station
22. Shady Dealings
23. Pig and a Poke
24. R’n’D
25. Malfunction
26. Infiltration
27. Cavalry
28. Aftermath
29. Packing Up
30. A Familiar Sight
31. Equilibrium
32. Integration
33. Sharing
34. Rounds 1 & 2
35. Semi-finals
36. Finals
37. Medical
38. Truth of the Matter
39. Revealed
40. Raining Fire
41. Fight
42. Round Up
Epilogue
Books in the Legacy Earth Universe
Stay Informed
Books in the Legacy Earth Universe
1. Legacy Earth
2. First Contact
Stay Informed
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One
Pirates
“Do you think they even know we’re here or do you think they suspect it’s only a civilian settlement down there?” Dexter asked as he inspected a weapon far too large for the delicate mission at hand.
“We are a top-secret facility, so it’s doubtful,” Michael replied while running diagnostics on his multi-tool and weapons.
He scanned his pistol and shotgun. A green outline of the weapon systems appeared on the hologram of his bracer.
“I’m just surprised they’d be dumb enough to go after the research station on Phobos knowing how close it is to Earth,” Lance replied as he looked through a series of blueprints projected into his HUD. “Justin, how long until touch down?”
“Give me a minute!” Justin replied in a strained tone. “This isn’t like the dropships I’m used to. This thing is a freaking boat!”
“Just fly easy,” Mattias said while sliding a knife in and out of its sheath on his thigh.
Having trained with Mattias four months now, Lance picked up on the surprisingly quick man’s nervous ticks. Picking up his HRG, the squad leader inspected his weapon. It was flawless, fully loaded, and ready for battle.
“Everyone take a deep breath,” Lance said as he looped the rifle’s strap over his shoulder. “We’ve trained for this. It’s a simple breach and clear. Security sensors show ten hostiles and we believe their target is this.”
Lance looked at his multi-tool. He pressed a small folder icon, which projected the image of a massive engine. Its hexagonal shape was heavily reinforced. The fan blades were wide from end to end and it held at its heart, a rare and very expensive antimatter engine.
“That seems a little big to get on their craft,” Dexter said with a grunt.
“It’s not the actual engine they’re going for,” Lance replied. “It’s the blueprints. As you know, thousands of these things were built by the Reeves before the war to get Mars’ mantle circulating again. It is directly because of these things that we were able to terraform the planet. Unfortunately, they can also be used to destroy a planet by stopping mantle flow and eventually the core’s rotation, leading to the target world being fried by solar radiation in a matter of hours.”
“Can’t forget those antimatter engines go for a fortune on the black market,” Michael added. “If you’re dumb enough to try and use one in a ship, remember, that’s how Proteus got cracked nearly in half.”
“Descending now,” Justin said over the coms. “Prepare for craft secondary exit.”
Lance unstrapped himself from his chair and stood up. The magnets on his boots held him to the deck, as the ship they flew wasn’t large enough for artificial gravity. He looked around at the tied-down cargo freight and approached the emergency exit hatch on the floor.
“Prepare to move out. We’re likely to be boarded the second we touch down,” Lance said as he knelt and grabbed the emergency exit hatch.
His other team members unbuckled and lined up behind him with Michael in the front and Dexter at the back.
“Touching down in three, two, one,” Justin said.
Just as the ship rocked from the touchdown, Lance pulled the exit hatch. With a hiss, it slid open while the main doors of the freight vessel opened as well. One by one, the team left the ship.
Clung, clung, clung!
The clank of low-grade mag-boots rumbled through the craft as two red dots appeared on Lance’s heads-up display. Jumping through the emergency exit, he pulled the hatch shut above him and latched it.
“Justin, you’ve got two bogies on board,” Lance whispered.
“Copy that. I’ll make sure you don’t have to deal with them, without blowing my cover,” Justin replied.
Lance looked around. Four thick pieces of steel supported the ship near its four corners. He looked around the landing platform for a hidden exit for the base. His HUD highlighted a rock right next to the slab they set down on.
“Michael, you’re up!” Lance whispered, pointing to the small boulder.
They crouch-walked out from under the boxy freighter. Lance lifted his rifle and swept the horizon with his gun. Dexter watched behind them as Mattias covered their sides. When they approached the rock, they moved behind it. It was large enough that dropping to a knee kept them invisible from the facility built into the moon’s surface.
“Interfacing now,” Michael whispered as his multi-tool synced with the hidden door.
Lance forwarded the door’s codes to his former classmate. A click followed by a tuft of dust flew from the boulder’s edge. Lowering his rifle, Lance reached under its edge and pulled. With surprisingly little effort, it leaned back, revealing an airlock large enough for all four men to fit.
Lance was the first to slide in. As he passed the chamber’s upper barrier, he dropped to the ground with a thud. His armor cushioned him from the
facility’s artificial gravity kicking in. A glass pane ran the height of a curved door. Raising his rifle once again, he pointed it into an empty room.
Michael, followed by Mattias, entered in behind him. Michael’s multi-tool glowed with holographic interfaces as he continued to delve deeper into the facility systems. Dexter jumped in, pulling the hatch down above him as he did, causing the room to automatically equalize with air.
“Disabling the alarms,” Michael muttered. “Opening door in three, two, one.”
The door slid open, revealing a white room. On the wall to their right, dozens, if not hundreds of mice ran on wheels, ate, or slept. On the other side, a ventilation hood hovered over various chemical compounds secured behind glass. The rest of the room was empty with creases in the floors hinting at retracted tables.
“They’ve started unloading the cargo,” Justin said. “They’re pretending to be employees and doing a bad job at it. They’re likely going to try and commandeer the vessel.”
“Negative, Justin, they do not get that vessel,” Lance ordered as he led the team across the room.
“Copy that,” Justin replied.
Reaching the door, Lance lined up on the left with Michael behind him, Mattias on the right with Dexter behind him. Lance looked at his mini-map. A layer of static prevented him from being able to see any information.
“Signals are being jammed; expect to lose us the deeper we move into the compound,” Lance said to Justin.
When he waved his hand in front of the door, it slid open. Both Lance and Mattias cornered their portion of the hallway before stepping out and sweeping it to ensure they were clear. A hand patted the second lieutenant’s shoulder, indicating Michael and Dexter were in position.
“I’ve got a blood trail,” Mattias whispered.
“Take Dexter, follow it, and render aid where you can,” Lance replied as he recalled the blueprints he’d studied forward and back. “The plans are this way, Michael and I will retrieve them then rescue the scientists.”
“Roger that,” Mattias said.
They split up, and Lance pressed forward. He kept his shoulder as close to the wall as he could while approaching a bend in the hallway with Michael a few inches behind him. Slowly rounding the corner, the young man kept his eyes and rifle up.
It was just like the training they’d done a thousand times. With the endless repetition, his body reacted almost before his mind told it to. His heart rate beat evenly in the low fifties. The next corner was empty too.
“We’ve got two injured scientists; one’s pretty bad,” Dexter’s voice cut through the silence. “Rendering aid and getting what information we can.”
“There’s a hidden elevator to our left, ten yards,” Michael whispered. “I’m picking up a void in the wall.”
“Is there any other way to get to the lab?” Lance asked as he approached a metallic panel on the wall.
He leaned back and counted the crease lines from the end of the hallway. Twenty-one. Holding his hand up to the panel, he gently pressed his palm against it. Just like the intel showed, it lit up with an arrow pointing down.
“I hate elevators,” Lance muttered as he stepped back and raised his rifle.
“So long as they don’t have grenades, we should be fine,” Michael replied.
“Find some wood and knock on it… that’s an order,” Lance said as he shot the tech a stern glance.
“We’re in space; there isn’t an…” Michael paused.
Tink, tink tink.
The sound of a glove rapping on space suit metal echoed through the hallway. Lance sighed and shook his head.
“I was just following orders, sir,” Michael said while changing from his pistol to shotgun.
DING!
The wall slid open to reveal a box barely big enough for both of them. A small spray of blood stained the back wall with the grease from a forehead smeared just above it. Lance stepped in and looked in every corner. It was clear.
Stepping back, he waved Michael on. With both of them inside, Lance pressed the button for the lower levels. Reaching onto his belt, the team leader grabbed a stun grenade and pulled the pin. Holding the detonator so the ordinance wouldn’t blow, he pressed himself against the door’s wall.
Michael did the same. Having only one free hand, Lance lowered his rifle and drew his Oath-Keeper.
Ding!
The door opened.
THWOOM!
A bright ball of light flew through the door. It hit the polished elevator wall, leaving scorch marks but almost no damage. Without compromising his cover, Lance threw the stun grenade into the room.
FWOOSH!
A blinding flash of light tore through the room sending screams throughout the facility. Lance emerged from the elevator to see a man holding a shotgun, covered head to toe in thick metal plating.
Noticing a tiny portion that was unarmored at the neck, Lance fired his weapon. In a spray of crimson, the pirate crumbled onto the ground like a tin can. Michael stepped out and fired as well. A flash of red spattered in the young man’s peripheral.
“DROP YOUR WEAPONS!” a man roared.
Lance and Michael both turned toward the voice. A man in what looked like an armored exoskeleton designed for mining held a scientist by the throat with a strange bulbous pistol in hand. The young man’s heart jumped into his throat as he froze in place. He looked at his comrade, who shook his head.
“Put your gun down,” Lance ordered before looking at the pirate again.
His armor was crude, heavy, but most importantly, outdated. It still ran on hydraulics to move the heavy suit and rocks. Hoses arched around the armor and toward the back. Slowly, Lance lowered to a knee and set his pistol down before holding his hand up and carefully dropping both his rifle and shotgun.
Michael followed suit, putting his pistol and shotgun down, then made eye contact with the scientist and gave her a nod as if to tell her everything would be okay. She swallowed hard and shook her head.
“That’s an interesting weapon you’ve got there,” Lance said as he slowly stood up.
“I have allies who are powerful and wealthy,” the pirate replied. “They’ve got access to things you’d never even dreamed of!”
“You know, I actually think I might have seen that before,” Lance lied. “Is that an ASCALON?”
“Maybe it was one of the weapons in the lab?” Michael asked with a shrug.
“W-we haven’t been able to solve for the overheating variable to effectively make plasma weapons,” the scientists informed.
“SHUT UP!” the pirate roared as he pointed his gun at Lance.
Click, click, click, click.
Four rapid taps of the multi-tool undercut the pirate’s words. A whistle sliced through the air as a silvery blur cut through the hydraulic line leading to the armor’s gun arm. As the pirate’s arm lowered, Lance flexed every muscle in his legs and dashed at his enemy.
In a blur, the second lieutenant closed the gap between him and the hostage-taker. Slamming a shoulder into the pirate’s chest, he ripped the scientist free. Lance grabbed the armor’s breastplate as tightly as he could, and with a swift spin, threw the pirate into a wall, back first. The impact ruptured all of the hoses, sending fluid spewing in all directions as it confined the criminal into the suit with no way to move.
“In the lower labs, three pirates neutralized,” Lance called out over his radio.
“In the upper labs, three pirates neutralized,” Dexter said.
“By neutralized, he means dead,” Mattias chimed in.
“I don’t think the two in my ship will be going anywhere any time soon,” Justin added. “Are the plans secured?”
Lance looked at the scientist. She nodded as she pulled herself up.
“Affirmative,” Lance replied. “They’re secure. Let’s clean up our mess and take the survivors of this would-be raid back to base.”
“Copy that!” Dexter and Justin said in unison.
Lance leaned do
wn and picked up the strange weapon that was fired at them. He turned it this way and that. As far as raw basics went, it was a gun. Trigger, sights, magazine, all familiar pieces. Only the ordnance and internal workings were vastly different from anything he’d seen before.
“Round up their weapons,” Lance ordered as he picked up his own. “Command is going to want to get a look at them.”
“May I keep one?” the scientist asked. “This facility is perfectly suited to reverse engineer that technology.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. That won’t be possible,” Lance replied as he walked over to the unconscious pirate leader and grabbed part of his suit. “You may be able to put in a request with command.”
Pulling the leader into the elevator, Michael went and yanked his blade out of one of the concrete walls that it buried itself six inches into. Both men picked up the dead bodies as well as their weapons and returned to the surface.
“Ascalon,” Michael mused after a few moments of silently dragging bodies and equipment. “Nice reference; I didn’t think you’d read them.”
“I have to say, they weren’t half bad for being such old books,” Lance replied.
Both men met up with Mattias and Dexter. They carried three dead pirates and plasma guns with them as well. Opening the airlock, they made their way to the brutish rectangular ship that sat on the landing pad as Michael scanned them for explosives. They were clean.