A Hero

by Stephen Arseneault

  The two pairs hustled away.

  Sheila said, "If we're fighting up here, we're not slowing them up down there, Sarge."

  "Just keep pulling those triggers."

  Hayden scowled. "Can't see the little buggers. Except for the occasional head pop."

  Max said, "I've been targeting whatever is next to them. Nothing like a good debris shower to cause damage. We should count ourselves lucky they're wearing uniforms and not hardened gear."

  Hayden huffed as he squeezed off another round. "Speaking of that. Our body armor could use an update. Too much exposure if you ask me. And I'm certain we have the technology to do far better."

  Sheila chuckled. "It's a question of money. The military doesn't have any. It gets spent on parties for the policymakers. We wear the result."

  I replied, "Can't fault the government on this one. We haven't had to fight in centuries. Threats have been non-existent. These Togmal came out of nowhere."

  Sheila shook her head. "They've been attacking us for ten months. Our government is inept. We should be under martial law, with everything being poured into defense. I mean, look at us here. A dozen small missiles to protect an entire town? And where has command been on this? Why aren't they coordinating with us on the comms?"

  I stared through the binoculars at the nearest Togmal transport. "That would be Davis's concern. I have to believe they're communicating with him."

  "Then why hasn't he commed us?"

  "Good question."

  I opened a comm. "Lieutenant. What's the word from command?"

  "They're getting their asses kicked up above. We're on our own. The Togmal have taken out our fleet command ship. I'm waiting for a new commander, but that hasn't happened. What's your status?"

  "Two platoons advancing on us. We're taking action to see if we can flank them. If they get much closer, we may have to abandon our position. That would put them right above you. Have you set up a defense?"

  "Just getting onto that now. We're still moving the wounded. It's a mess down here, Sergeant. A complete mess."

  "We have that company pinned down, but they are slogging your direction. Any way for you to evac?"

  "There are eleven of us who remain capable. Twenty-six wounded. I'm uncertain we can move again. And we lost both our medics. Our most qualified Marine functioning as a medic at the moment was once a dental hygienist. That should tell you something about our situation."

  Hayden cut in. "Sarge, the Togmal are closing on their position. Lieutenant's got about eight minutes before they reach his street."

  "Lieutenant. You have less than eight minutes before they are on top of you. You should scout a retreat path."

  "Not happening, Sergeant. We make our stand here."

  A comm came in from Sam. "Sarge. We have the platoons outflanked. I'm looking at the backs of several dozen Togmal right now and they have nowhere but open space to retreat into. Permission to fire on them, Sarge?"

  I opened a second comm. "Clark? You in position? Sam is ready to cull the herd."

  "We have them in sight, Sarge. If they have the angle, I say take it."

  I switched channels. "Sam. You have the go-ahead. Make every shot count. We need to keep this hill."

  "Consider it ours, Sarge."

  Clark and Mitch opened fire from their positions. I could hear the whumps of plasma fire coming from the north side of the ridge we occupied.

  The firefight raged for several minutes before Clark opened a comm. "Mitch is down and out. And so is Sam, from what I can see. There are still six of them kicking. We no longer have the angles. And neither of us can get back without exposing ourselves."

  Max moved from his firing position. "Let me go help, Sarge. I can't hit anything down below, anyway."

  Sheila nodded. "They've moved into a set of buildings where we don't have a shot. Let him go if they need help."

  I gestured with my head. "Go. And bring them back alive."

  Max hustled off.

  The whumps of plasma being fired and the cracks of impact continued for another few minutes.

  Layla opened a comm. "Sarge. Clark is hit. Max is down. I can't see him. We neutralized the threat."

  "Check on the others and report back."

  Clark came over a comm. "I'm in bad shape, Sarge. My guts are showing. Don't think I'm surviving this."

  I heard Layla in the background. "Ugh. That is some unlucky crap, Clark. Here. Giving you an injection."

  Seconds passed before she replied, "His last action was to refuse the shot, Sarge."

  I asked, "Layla? Is Clark... ?"

  "He's gone, Sarge. Nothing we could have done."

  "And Max?"

  — Chapter 24 —

  * * *

  "Gone too. Took a bolt to the fa—let's say it was bad, and immediate. He didn't feel it."

  Hayden stood, firing his blaster rifle toward the Togmal below as he yelled. "Argggghhhh!"

  Sheila pulled him back toward the ground as several plasma bolts flew over his head. "Get down, you idiot."

  Hayden stood defiant for several seconds before kneeling and going back to the prone position. "Shouldn't have been him."

  "It's not looking good for any of us. They send another platoon up this ridge, we've got no way to stop them."

  I hustled down to where Max's body lay. It was a scene I wished I could un-see. Only his torso remained. His blaster rifle was blown in half, its circuits exposed. The image of his defunct weapon burned into my memory.

  I opened a comm to Lieutenant Davis as I hustled back to the others. "Sir, we've secured the hill, but it cost us four people. The Togmal below us have moved into the buildings. Unless they jump out into the open, we can't help you."

  "I thought about what you said earlier about going south. We're moving some of the wounded. We need another ten minutes before we're fully back on defense."

  "You don't have ten, Lieutenant. No word yet from command?"

  "They've assigned us a new CO, but I've yet to raise him. Word is the Togmal have transports landing all over this planet."

  "You still at a strength of eleven?"

  "Nine. Two went forward to slow them down. Both comms have disconnected."

  "Make your move south, Lieutenant. We'll do what we can from up here to slow their progress. My guess is we're still facing two hundred warriors."

  "Will let you know when we've arrived."

  The fight for Bigguns continued for another hour. The Togmal were relentless, moving ever forward and strategically staying out of sight of our weapons on the hill. We had moved from our initial position to the one nearer the south end. The situation then took a turn for the worse.

  The Togmal went into a residential section. They dragged civilians from their homes and executed them in the street. I liked to think of myself as hardened, but the barbarous acts of terror had me on the verge of chucking guts. The Togmal were doing little more than terminating pests. It was a horrifying situation and we had no power to stop it.

  Sheila said, "More bad news. Looks like we have another couple platoons heading this way. They must have split off from the others."

  "Where are they?" I asked.

  "Just coming onto the base of the hill at the far end. In three minutes they'll be on top of our old location. Two minutes beyond and they'll be here."

  I opened a comm. "Lieutenant. We may move your way. Two platoons are heading up the hill."

  Layla said, "Sarge. The flanking maneuver worked until the end. If we hustle, we might catch them with it again."

  I looked a Sheila. "You ladies think you can swing around from behind?"

  Sheila grinned. "That's what we do best."

  Hayden said, "I can't fathom what that even means."

  Layla added. "Like snakes in the grass."

  "I don't get that reference either."

  Sheila sighed. "How about we'll kick their asses up and down that hill?"

  Hayden nodded as we ran that way. "I can get behind that."
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  Layla glanced over her shoulder. "Just don't leave the cover of those rocks. That's what got Sam, Mitch, and Max."

  We moved into position at just the right moment. The girls shot from the side as we fired from behind our rocky protection. The Togmal attempted a rush forward, losing a full platoon as they went. Half of those who remained fell prey to our plasma as they ran for the nearest cover. The set of shrubs the remainder dove behind were soon in flame. Two minutes later, the last of the Togmal platoon fighters fell.

  Hayden stood. "That wasn't so bad."

  Sheila came walking toward us with a scowl. "They got Layla. Lucky shot perfectly between the rocks we were behind."

  Hayden's chin dropped toward the ground as he closed his eyes. He then gritted his teeth as he growled.

  I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. "Come on. The Lieutenant and the others still need us."

  We hustled back to our prior location. The Togmal down below were on the move.

  I opened a comm to the lieutenant. "We're back in position, sir. Tell us where you want fire concentrated."

  The lieutenant was in the middle of a firefight. The whumps from his plasma rifle echoed over the comm. "We're down to six of us, Sergeant!"

  "We're on our way."

  "Belay that move. They're closing in from two directions now. Take your squad and be a thorn in the side of these lizards for as long as you can hold out. That's my final order!"

  Hayden said, "We move down to that ledge and we might just open a fire lane."

  "That would expose us. I'm not looking to die in a blaze of glory. I want to inflict as much pain and punishment as is possible. If we live out today, we remain to fight tomorrow."

  "So, what do we do right now?"

  "We keep picking off the singles until we have a solid plan."

  A comm hail I didn't recognize pulsed on my display.

  "This is Sergeant Jackson." I answered.

  "Jackson, Major Stacker. I have command of your company. Your CO and his lieutenants aren't responding to their comms."

  "One moment, sir."

  I tried the lieutenant's comm. There was no reply.

  "Major. I think Lieutenant Davis is no longer with us. Most of them are dead."

  "I have a gunship on the way, Sergeant. Should be about two minutes out. Are you in a position to pass on firing coordinates?"

  "We are. One moment, Major. I'm pegging the last known locations of our people. Have the gunship pummel everything around those going back one hundred meters. You have our location, pass that along to the pilot. We'll sit tight and report. Probably close to two hundred hostiles still in the town."

  I sent the coordinates. Only a minute later, the gunship came slipping in just above the hilltops. The pilot targeted the two transports first. Then came a rapid-fire barrage on the town surrounding the last known location of Lieutenant Davis. Plasma shredded the already-damaged buildings. A cloud of dust and debris rose from below. The blasts seemed to take an eternity but were over in only seconds.

  The gunship captain opened a comm. "All we can give you, Sergeant. I'll comm-in a transport. How many?"

  "Three. Unless we have any survivors below."

  "Got it. Keep yourselves alive, Sergeant. They may pull the plug on this operation at any moment."

  "Our fleet above?"

  "All I can say is the fight didn't go much in our favor. Good luck down there."

  We stood watching, picking off a half-dozen Togmal survivors from above. When the dust cloud moved away from town, we made our way down. Townsfolk were coming out from where they had barricaded themselves in. It surprised me how many there were.

  We hurried our way to the lieutenant's last position. Sheila found his body... or what remained of it. Hayden executed a check of the building where the lieutenant had taken the wounded. There was evidence a Togmal squad had gone through it, meaning there were no survivors. A quick sweep of the area found a single Marine, knocked unconscious, under a pile of rubble.

  After extrication, Sheila pulled his waterline from his pack. She removed his helmet and dribbled water on his face. A groggy Marine opened his eyes. "Mom?"

  Hayden roared. It was a moment of levity we all needed. Sheila had a good laugh with us.

  She asked, "What's your name?"

  "Mayhew, Arthur T., private."

  "Well, Mayhew, Arthur T., private, this is your lucky day. Depending on how you want to look at it."

  Hayden said, "Arthur T. Mayhew. The Master of Disaster."

  It was a nickname that stuck, but it was only used by Hayden.

  Art asked, "The lieutenant?"

  "Sorry." Sheila shook her head. "Davis didn't make it. The four of us here. We're it."

  Art sat up. "The wounded?"

  "Massacred."

  "The Togmal?"

  "Defeated here. But from what we're hearing, we didn't do so well up above."

  I opened a comm. "Major Stacker. We have four of us remaining. And it's looking as though maybe five hundred civilians made it through. Could easily be more."

  "I'm sending over coordinates for a pickup. Expect your ride to be there in about... six minutes."

  "And the civilians?"

  "I've been told the civilians are being worked, Sergeant. Just get your Marines to the coordinates. The gunship that helped you a short while ago is swinging by on their way back in. It's a slightly larger model with a cabin. Good luck."

  "The bigger fight, anything you can tell us?"

  "I'll brief you when you're in the air, Sergeant. Get your butts to the coordinates I sent."

  "Yes, sir."

  The comm closed.

  "Help him up."

  Sheila asked, "You okay to stand?"

  Mayhew nodded. "I think so. The blast must have happened behind me. Took a blow to the head."

  Sheila smirked. "Safest injury for Corporal Roth too."

  Hayden pointed as he got under Arthur Mayhew's arm. "I'll remember that, Missy."

  I looked up from where we were and noticed a woman and a young girl calling out a man's name as they walked through the rubble. I felt compelled to assist. Thoughts of Denise and Pea flooded into my consciousness. I had only moved a short distance toward them when a Togmal warrior, covered in dust and blood, rose from the debris just a few meters away. I charged, yelling to grab his attention from the innocents.

  When he turned in my direction and raised his weapon I unloaded with my blaster, vowing to sacrifice myself if that was what it took to save them. I was rewarded for my effort as a plasma bolt hit him center mass, shredding his insides and sending him back to the dead from where he had come. At that same moment, a man came running to the woman and child. My heart lifted as the trio embraced.

  Sheila had come after and was standing beside me. "That has to hit home. Nice work, Ray."

  As we walked toward the coordinates given, two of the other civilians ran up beside us. "What's happening? Are more of you coming?"

  I shrugged. "Command said it's being worked. If I were you, I'd gather your family and have everyone else do the same. When a transport comes, you'll want to be on it as fast as possible."

  "So, a transport is coming?"

  "I can only assume so."

  Several minutes later, the silhouette of the gunship dropped through the sparse clouds. Dust billowed up as it settled on the ground and the ramp deployed.

  The civilian asked, "Where do we wait?"

  "Find an open area where you can all board as fast as possible."

  We hustled up the ramp. I glanced back at the civilian as he and his friend hurried toward the others. I walked into the cockpit, anxious to see if a transport was coming.

  The pilot looked back as the gunship lifted from the ground. "We've got five minutes to get to Citadel City. The last of the big ships are leaving from there."

  I stared down through the cockpit viewport at the group of civilians who were gathering up. The men who had questioned me were waving their arms at the othe
rs.

  "What about their transport?" I asked.

  The pilot shook his head. "There are no more transports, Sergeant. Consider yourselves lucky. The fleet is pulling out. We've lost Richland."

  A shock went through my body. The civilians who remained on Richland were being abandoned. I had just saved the woman and child only to abandon them minutes later. I wanted to scream out, to demand we turn the gunship around. But the fleet would only be pulling out for one reason. We could not defend Richland. I stumbled back into the cabin and plopped down on a bench. I pulled my helmet, allowing it to drop from my hands and roll to the floor.

  Sheila looked up from tending Mayhew. "You look like you just took a kick in the gut, Sarge."

  "They aren't sending a transport."

  "What?"

  "The civilians back there. No one is coming for them. The order has come down to abandon Richland."

  Hayden pounded an angry fist on the bench. "Who says? We have Marines back there we need to retrieve!"

  My eyes never lifted from the floor. "This battle is over. We lost. The full price of this loss is being paid by those we're leaving behind."

  Sheila's usual chipper expression turned to one of sadness. It was the first time since Juan's death where she wasn't laughing or joking. We took the resounding defeat hard. I fell into a depression.

  — Chapter 25 —

  * * *

  Failure on Richland was a devastating blow to the Union. The politicians were all pointing fingers and naming the names of those to be held responsible. They fired the fleet admiral who led the defense. They did the same to the three admirals who made up his command. All were from long-time military families, something considered an asset before the start of the war.

  Most members of command now viewed family ties as a detriment. Many had not earned their positions. In years past, politicians who wanted to align themselves with important family names, granted promotions liberally. Numerous admirals had children who had become admirals. Politics had its claws deeply entrenched in our military, and it showed.

  Even in the Marines, the lack of experience was telling. The military had curtailed training to the point where if you had tenure, they didn't require you to take part. Change was being called for. Implementation of any change was slow.