There was no response.
“Fire the line!” Novotny roared, and via the commander’s override, he slung the main gun to sight directly on Saber One’s position. Without a second thought, he squeezed the trigger three times, firing three hyper-velocity rounds in rapid succession. Saber One detonated like a cherry bomb, taking a host of MinSha with it. Another tank, Saber Nine, swung into the position and kept the line moving forward.
“Where are you, Warthog Six?”
“...zzzzzzzzz...holy shit! Airborne contacts bearing two six five!” Hogshead replied. “There’s more MinSha on the way, Saber Six. Hold your attack. We’re going to have to defend again.”
Novotny stood in the hatch, firing a stream of machine gun fire into the diminishing MinSha infantry forces, and glanced at the incoming dropships. Five of them braked for landing not more than a few thousand meters from the rear of the original main effort. Caught in a vice between tanks and CASPers, the main effort’s attack had stalled. There were at least twenty skiffs and a few hundred infantry onboard the landing ships. One dropship, a little bigger and better armed than the others, stayed on course for the heart of Lovell City. “Command, Saber Six. Incoming vessels. We’ll take them out here, you’ve got the one positioning behind us.”
“Roger, Saber Six. We have them.”
Novotny scowled at the situation. The MinSha in front of him screeched and tried to attack again, pushing dangerously forward toward his tanks. A hail of direct fire came down at them. Over his shoulder, Novotny saw more than two dozen CASPers jumping into the fray.
“Saber Six, Warthog Six with Trogdor Six aboard. Let’s drive these assholes out of the valley.”
Novotny grinned. Crazy bastard.
“Warthog Six, hold the line, and we’ll push forward. We’re going to need some help to get through the remainder of these forces before we hit the new targets.”
No sooner had he said the words when a new voice, calm and strong, came on the frequency. “All elements, this is Avenger Six. We’re moving from Quincannon now and hitting that last group of MinSha. Eliminate the threat in front of you and prepare to support our attack. Avenger Six has forward command.”
Novotny chuckled. He pressed the transmit switch. “Avenger Six, Saber Six. Get us to the gates of hell. We’ll be right behind you.”
“Saber Six, roger that. Be advised, there is a friendly vessel approaching. I repeat, there is a friendly vessel approaching. We’ll establish comms and relay information when connected.” Vuong disconnected.
Novotny stared out into the long valley and saw the strange oblong ship descend from the morning sky. Is that a Flatar ship?
Gods, I hope they brought some Tortantulas. He laughed at himself for ever wanting to see the giant, ten-legged spiders up close and personal, but if they were friends, that changed things.
They won’t stop until the MinSha are down once and for all.
Novotny smiled and pressed the transmit button. “Let’s do this, people. Sound the fucking charge.”
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty
Chinayl’s Personal Dropship
Victoria Bravo
Chinayl watched her forces stalemated by the Human lines with growing frustration. The Humans were merely competent fighters with nowhere near the tactical expertise to pull off such a coordinated defense. Her antenna bobbed side to side in thought, but she realized she knew the answer as easily as if it stared her in the face. The barrage of ships in orbit equated to most of the entire orbital holdings of the planet, and they’d flown a coordinated attack that effectively killed six of seven ships and almost two thousand MinSha. Their tactics were crude, but effective. In their sacrifice, the Human ships kept the MinSha from deploying the full brunt of their missiles and orbital projectiles. Had they not been effective, her forces would have rolled over the embers of the Human defenses and into Lovell City with ease. Instead, they fought a pitched battle and held her forces at bay more than two thousand meters west of the city. But she had at least one more surprise for the Humans.
On the way down, her dropship rendezvoused with five dropships of mobile infantry. With twenty skiffs and two hundred infantry at her command, Chinayl ordered the complete annihilation of the joined forces at the distant rock outcropping the Humans knew as the Sentinel. All they were doing was wasting time and ammunition. Destroying both Human and MinSha forces from the air had been the merciful thing to do. Yet, there was no mercy for Lovell City.
Chinayl turned to the communications officer. “Order the dropships to deploy their forces to bolster our forward lines. They should accelerate forward, engage the Human forces, and drive them back to Lovell City.”
“Orders transmitted, General.”
Satisfied, Chinayl turned to the command pilot. “Are you monitoring the Human frequencies?”
“Affirmative, General.”
Chinayl rubbed her foreclaws together. “You’ve located their transmission point?”
“There is a building matching the profile of a Human command center. We have identified it and are working to identify individual targets within. We compute a ninety percent probability the Peacemaker is located there. The Humans have deployed all their forces forward except for a small complement of unmoving, armored vehicles acting like artillery pieces.”
“You will land at the headquarters. As soon as we depart, leave the area until you receive my signal. Eliminate their artillery when you do.” Chinayl looked at her slate and checked a small countdown timer. There wasn’t much time to make things happen and get away. Without her fleet, it should have been impossible, but she’d planned for every eventuality.
“What about the Flatar?” The command pilot asked.
“I don’t care about them,” Chinayl said. “Engage them if you are able, but do not risk this ship. Escape is paramount.”
Chinayl turned and walked from the cockpit in the direction of the crew bay. Her personal guards waited there in heavy armor, adorned with multiple bladed weapons and laser rifles. Four warriors rose to a position of respect. The two others held up the armored carapace Chinayl would wear into battle. Without a word, they dressed her and ensured her weapons were ready. Her thoughts were elsewhere. The confidence of Peepo and the Mercenary Guild council in her MinSha forces teetered on the brink of collapse. Her own plans for a council seat seemed further away than she could imagine.
The only thing capable of restoring her standing with the guild was a simple trophy—the head of Jessica Francis. Chinayl let her blue blood boil with rage as the dropship flared and started its descent into the city.
“Find Peacemaker Francis but leave her death to me,” Chinayl warned her guards. “Kill anything else you see, but the red-haired bitch is mine.”
* * *
Command Center
Victoria Bravo
“Where the fuck did they come from?” Watson roared. The six MinSha dropships, having poured fire on everything engaged at the Sentinel, raced eastward toward Lovell City.
“The lead one is Chinayl,” Jessica replied. “The profile of the craft is all wrong. It’s not like a normal dropship. It has more weapons and armor; it’s the kind of thing a general officer would want just because they could have it.”
Watson snorted. “You’ve known a few generals then, huh?”
Jessica turned and saw a slight smile on his face. She grinned at him. “You could say that.”
“Where are they heading?”
Jessica stroked her chin with her right hand for a moment. “If I’m Chinayl, I can see we’ve stopped their attack. She’s going to try and push her forces—whatever she has in those ships—into the fight to build her own combat power. We’ve taken most of their maneuverability away, and with our forces in pursuit, it’s easier for them to bolster numbers.”
Watson shook his head. “Maybe, but I think they’re coming here. She’s going to bypass the fight and drop all those ships on the city. We haven’t even finished the evacuation.”<
br />
Jessica had to admit Watson was on to something. She wished Tirr was available to talk. His counsel on the MinSha’s fighting tactics would have been valuable. “It’s possible she’s coming here, but I think she’ll put more forces on the ground out there first.”
“Why?”
“She knows they can overwhelm us here, in the city, and the maneuver corridors suck.” Jessica stared at the display as the six ships raced into view and slowed. Five of them flared and prepared to land to the south of Novotny’s advancing forces. “They’re executing a flanking maneuver.”
“The hell they are.” Watson grabbed his rifle and stomped toward the exit. “Rally the QRF. Have them meet me at the forward gate. Move the remaining CASPers to back us up.”
A quick reaction force of Watson’s infantry didn’t stand a chance against the MinSha. Jessica followed him. “This is crazy, Watson. You’re not going to make it—”
“Execute the evacuation, Peacemaker. Get my family to safety. We’ll stop the MinSha attack.” Watson ran through the command center’s exterior door and into the bright daylight beyond. Jessica followed the scrambling quick reaction force into the command center’s paddock and saw a few pilots boarding a handful of CASPers. One by one, the four CASPers and Watson’s twenty-man QRF ran down the hill toward the deploying MinSha skiffs. While they were technically behind Novotny’s tanks, it looked as if the armor commander was already moving to cut them off. He’d need to know. Jessica turned to run back to the command center and saw little Inara, teddy bear dangling from her left hand, running down the hill.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Jessica intercepted the young girl, sweeping her off her feet and settling her weight naturally on her left hip. “He’ll be right back.”
Inara screamed and wailed against her chest. Eyes squinted in red-faced rage, the little girl screamed. “DADDDYYYY!”
Jessica wrapped her arms around the girl and walked back to the command center. “Why aren’t you in the evacuation? Where did you come from?”
“I was hiding, but I got scared.” The girl sniffled and rubbed her face with one arm. “I want my daddy!”
Jessica buried her face against Inara’s neck and hugged her close. “It’s okay, baby. Your daddy is going to be right back. He’s just going down the hill to check on his men and—”
A fusillade erupted down the hill as the dropship landed. With a glance over her shoulder, Jessica kept walking toward the command center. She looked back to the left and froze. Her first thought was that the feline was a typical cat, either a feral cat searching the colony for a meal or a house cat suddenly outside in a world at war. Then she realized it wasn’t. There was no fear in its eyes, and it stood its ground silently regarding her. She involuntarily squeezed Inara as an icy river of fear ran down her spine. The Depik was no more than three meters away, regarding her coolly.
Jessica turned to face it, Inara in her arms. “You’ve been with me since New Persia.”
The Depik didn’t respond. After a few seconds, it blinked its eyes slowly at her. Jessica realized it was as much of an acknowledgement as she was going to get.
“You saved my ship. Saved this whole mission. Why?”
The Depik stayed mute. Its head snapped to the right toward something Jessica couldn’t see. She’d had cats throughout her life who’d done similar things. Jessica looked to where the Depik stared and saw nothing. When she looked back, the Depik wasn’t there. Still holding Inara, Jessica turned and saw it in the doorway of the command center, poking its head out from behind the jamb like a typical cat would have done.
How did it get there so damned fast?
“Peacemaker!” The distinctive screech of a female MinSha rang through the corridor.
Jessica turned toward the voice. Through the dust cloud of the battle below, a single MinSha walked up the hill. In full combat armor, the three stars of a Lieutenant General on her armored carapace, Chinayl emerged from the battle and stalked toward them. Jessica turned her face to Inara.
“Inara? Baby? Can you see the kitty behind me?”
Inara wailed but didn’t look.
“Inara! See the kitty?”
Inara’s head moved. After a moment, she said. “The black and white one?”
“Yes!” Jessica sighed. “I’m going to put you down. Go catch the kitty. Run fast and catch it for me, okay?”
“Okay.” The little girl sniffled and wiped her nose with one arm.
Jessica slid Inara down her left leg and carefully pulled the little girl behind her left hip to block her from seeing Chinayl. The general towered over them, almost as large as Queen Taal had been, but the queen hadn’t brandished multiple knives in her claws as she stomped forward. Silently—and trying to keep Inara from seeing—Jessica drew her pistol but did not level it at the approaching monster.
“Go, Inara. Get the kitty! Go get him!” She released the child’s shirt, and Inara ran toward the command center. Jessica turned her head and watched for a few seconds before looking back at Chinayl. The MinSha’s antennae stood rigid on her head in abject rage. Ten meters separated them. Jessica risked another look behind her and saw Inara and the Depik vanishing into the command center. She didn’t hear the door close, but it was. The little girl, she hoped, was safe.
Jessica turned her head toward the advancing threat but did not raise her weapon. The MinSha hadn’t opened fire which meant there was a chance for discussion, as remote as it seemed. There wasn’t a breath of wind in the air, and the sounds of the battles, both near and far, were muted and quiet. The MinSha general stopped five meters away from Jessica and flexed her limbs. Neither spoke. Jessica watched Chinayl’s ruby compound eyes for any sign of movement or intent, but there was nothing. Her antennae danced for a moment, then she spoke.
“I’ve waited for this moment for quite some time, Peacemaker.”
Jessica took a deep breath. “I’m sure you have, Chinayl.”
“You were a decent mercenary, Jessica. You could have gone far in the guild,” Chinayl chittered. “Instead, you’re a lowly Peacemaker trying to stop the people who trained you and took you to the stars. You give us no choice but to kill you.”
Jessica nodded. “Master Rsach warned me from day one I would be a target. That this distinction comes from my old guild isn’t a surprise. All you want is power and credits, Chinayl. Do you really think Peepo is going to reward you for terrorizing the communities of the outer rim?”
“I did what I was told to do, with distinction,” Chinayl replied. “My work has merit.”
“Merit? You hit targets of little military value and succeeded. Here, faced with a better than average threat, your forces have stalled. You lost your orbital forces. Your ground forces will fail, too.”
Chinayl laughed and took one long step forward. Four meters separated them now. “Your orbital forces died glorious, pointless deaths in stopping my fleet.”
Jessica smiled with one side of her mouth. “No Humans died on those ships, Chinayl. We’re not stupid.”
Chinayl grunted. “You fight without decency. Without honor. That is why you must not be allowed in our guilds. You are an abomination.”
Jessica forced herself to laugh through her growing rage. “Tell me about this honor you speak of, Chinayl. Is that the kind where you kill a few million unarmed non-combatants on a resort planet? Is that honorable?” Jessica spat. “Bullshit. You’re not an honorable military commander, Chinayl. If anything, you’re a murdering, terrorist bitch. It’s time you understand you’ve lost here on Victoria Bravo. Do you hear me? You’ve lost.”
Chinayl stepped forward again and brandished her knives. “Then I take you with me, Peacemaker.”
Jessica’s hand flexed around the grip of her pistol, but she kept its barrel pointed down at the ground. She settled her heartbeat and focused on Chinayl’s thorax, not the general’s eyes or antenna. Determined not to shoot first, to try and find another way, Jessica lowered her chin slightly and said, “Try.�
�
* * *
Forward Line of Troops
Victoria Bravo
The landing MinSha dropships held Captain Novotny’s complete attention. He pressed the transmit switch, “Warthog Six, do you see what I see?”
“Roger that,” Hogshead replied from the far northern end of the line. “And I’m thinking what you’re thinking, too.”
“Swing around behind me. Avenger Six is rolling in. Just watch their flank.” Novotny opened his hatch but stayed inside the turret. While he trusted his visual sensors and the information networks between his vehicles, nothing replaced his own eyes and ears when it came to seeing the battlefield.
“Copy all, Warthog Six moving.”
Novotny changed frequencies and stood up, the warm morning air swirling around him as they moved. “Avenger Six, this is Saber Six. Moving Warthog Six elements to my line to clear off the ships and hold them in place.”
Vuong chuckled on the frequency. “Perfect, Saber Six. We’ll roll them up directly. Warthog Six, you are clear to move, just do it with purpose. We’ve got a flank to roll.”
Off to the right, eight CASPers leapt into the air and arced toward Novotny. MinSha infantry turned weapons on them, thinking the mechs would be easy targets, but the CASPers returned fire with far more accurate, not to mention deadlier, MACs. In a matter of two minutes, the Warthogs came alongside the tanks and advanced slowly forward.
Vuong’s voice broke into the frequency. “Avenger Six crossing the battlefield now. Saber Six, hold your line where it is. We’ve got help coming.”
“Driver stop,” Novotny called. “Maintain rate of fire.”
He switched frequencies and heard Hogshead calling him. “Saber Six, Hog Six. We’re going to take up a spot behind your tanks for cover.”
Novotny smiled. For a brash youngster, the CASPer pilot had a good head on his shoulders. “I was thinking the same thing, Hog Six. Maintain fire, and we’ll get to watch the show.”
Stand or Fall (The Omega War Book 4) Page 34