Frontier's Reach: A Space Opera Adventure (Frontiers Book 1) by Robert James (beach read TXT) 📗

Instead, he climbed the excavator’s footholds and took a seat at the controls. He turned the key, and the engine buzzed to life.

The two soldiers rounded the corner to find no one behind the bucket. With the engine fully engaged, they stared up and saw Conrad in the operator’s seat. They raised their weapons but were too late.

Conrad pushed the levers forward, and the bucket extended, knocking them to the ground. As they tried to get up, Conrad tugged another lever and plunged the bucket on their heads. Their helmets cracked, and the pair went tumbling like a sack of potatoes.

He jumped from the excavator and bent down to behold his handiwork. Both bodies were sprawled, faceup. Conrad picked up a rock and held it with one hand while he pulled the helmet off with the other. His mouth opened, agape, and he dropped the rock to the ground.

“What the hell are you?”

Twenty-Five

The antechamber was large, but even Jason realized there would only be so much air for the nine remaining souls buried alive. While Marquez, Tai, and Petit paced back and forth trying to figure a way out, the Marines did their best to move the avalanche of rock that was blocking their exit.

Everyone had already attempted shifting the collapsed boulders, all without any luck, but the stompers, being stubborn, weren’t likely to give up. Even if they budged some out of the way, it would likely cave them in further.

“If we just had a commband,” Tyler said, “then we could contact the Argo.”

“It wouldn’t matter.” Jason shook his head. “We’re surrounded by decium deposits. It jams all wireless communications at this depth.”

“If Conrad survived, he’d be able to get word to them.”

“Maybe. Even if he’s not dead, it’d depend on how long Nash’s ship is hanging around up there. The Argo can’t come out of hiding until they’re gone or they’ll be—”

“Detected. Yeah.”

“We’d run out of air before they have the chance to rescue us.”

Tyler nodded. “Why didn’t he line us up and shoot us?”

Jason tilted his head. “What?”

“Nash. Why didn’t he have his soldiers kill us? From everything we’ve seen so far, he hasn’t wanted any witnesses. He could have shot us like everyone else.”

Tyler was right. Why didn’t he kill us?

Before Jason had another chance to ponder the question, Captain Marquez walked over to him and Tyler.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he asked Jason.

“Not at all.”

“This will probably be of little solace to you guys, but I wanted to thank you for coming to our aid.”

Jason chuckled. “We made a really good hash of it, didn’t we?”

“They had the numbers on their side. I’m sorry I was a jackass when you first came down here.”

“It’s okay, you weren’t to know.”

A moment of silence ensued before Marquez continued. “I was friends with Captain Pizzeri. We went to the academy together. Seems like a lifetime ago now. Back then, no one would ever have guessed either of us would’ve got a command of our own.”

Jason remembered the former captain of the Raptor fondly. The image if his lifeless body was still seared into his memory. “He was a good skipper.”

“Yes. His death… Well, I remember reading what happened when you went after Tyrell. The service lost a good man.”

“And a few more.” Jason wasn’t in the mood to go to his grave rehashing the past. And it seemed Marquez realized that. He put a hand on Jason’s shoulder.

The cave entrance rumbled. Then again. Some of the rock shifted and everyone stepped away from the boulders rolling toward them.

A small gap emerged.

On the other side, an excavator appeared.

It pushed its way through the heavy curtain of rock and at the controls a familiar face emerged.

“Althaus?” Jason couldn’t have been more surprised at how relieved he was to see the old bastard.

The excavator punched a hole straight through the caved-in entrance and Althaus peered through the cab at everybody. “So, you are alive?”

“Who is that?” Marquez asked Jason.

Jason shook his head. “One son of a bitch I’m happy to see.”

“Don’t get mushy with me, kid, I couldn’t handle it.” Althaus stepped down from the excavator. “While you don’t deserve it, I thought I’d bring you some gifts I picked up along the way.”

Everyone walked around to the back of the digger where atop the storage shelf lay two bodies. Both were wearing the black armor of Nash’s soldiers.

“Are they both dead?” Tai asked.

“They didn’t give me a choice.”

One had their helmet off.

They gathered around the dead being. It had a thick cropped beard, with slightly larger ears than a human and a pronounced forehead. His eyes were small, with dark-brown irises, and his chin was almost square with a chiseled jawline. His skin was olive in complexion, while his hair was jet-black.

Jason looked up at Althaus, who seemed rather pleased with himself. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

Cargo Ship Argo

As Jason stepped out of the Maybelle’s airlock, Aly nearly squeezed the life out of him in her embrace. “I didn’t know whether you were going to get out alive.”

She blushed for a moment, realizing she was the center of attention, while Tyler appeared behind Jason. She immediately hugged him as well. “It’s good to have you back, too.”

“If it hadn’t been for me, we wouldn’t be here at all,” Althaus grumbled, exiting the pod and passing everyone.

Kevin appeared from the elevator chute and walked toward the group, now comprising the personnel they’d rescued from the surface.

“Captain Marquez, Doctor Tai, and Professor Petit. This is Alyssa and Kevin Rycroft.” Tyler introduced the parties. They also exchanged pleasantries with the four surviving Marines.

“You’re Professor Petit? The Professor Petit?” Aly’s eyes lit up. “Wow, I, um… I’m a big fan.”

“Smooth, Aly, very smooth,” Jason teased her before receiving a playful slap on the arm.

“I’ve read all your works,” Aly continued. “Comes in real handy when you’re trying to keep the Argo in one piece.”

Petit smiled politely.

The Marines broke up the party bringing the two dead Seeker bodies out of the