by J. N. Chaney
They couldn’t see me, but they could still hear me.
I was tempted to swing around and attack from the riverside cliff, especially since it would take longer for the ships to prime their engines and meet me there. I might even be able to land in one of the cliff ports before the ships got to the sky, but that wouldn’t be enough of an advantage. They could still attack and cave in the ports, trapping us in a warren of tunnels I knew nothing about.
The most immediate threats to deal with were the cannons on those two ships. I had to take them out first, and unfortunately that meant attacking from the more heavily defended side of the house.
The plan was straightforward. Take out the ships. Take out the gunners. Storm the fortress. Save the kid.
Simple.
On the holo, several heads lifted toward the sky, squinting as they tried to pinpoint what they could no doubt hear. Our engines probably rumbled loud enough for the people inside to notice, but they weren’t expecting a cloaked attack.
“Are you guys ready?” I asked through the comm.
The holo briefly switched to show a live feed of Ruby and Hunter in the cargo bay, both sitting in the hovercar. The vehicle was primed and ready to go, loaded with more weapons than I’d even realized they’d had on them. Ruby sat in the driver's seat, while Hunter stood at the machine gun mounted to the back.
“Damn right,” said Hunter, angling the machine gun toward the closed cargo bay door. “Edwin's not dying today. None of the Carson kids are.”
“Ruby?” I asked.
“Enough talking, let’s just go get Edwin back,” she retorted.
“Good talk,” I said.
There wasn't far to go now, and I was grateful there were no trees to give away where we were. The exhaust from the ship would’ve rattled the leaves and given away my position. Ironic, since Colt had probably chosen this alcove because of its tactical value as an open plain.
He could see everything for miles, but what was once a strategic advantage was finally going to bite him in the ass.
Served him right.
I wished we could get a reading on the heat signatures in the house, but it was beyond Sigmond's capabilities. Ruby's contact hadn't been able to get us anything in the interior, and that meant we’d be flying blind after a certain point in our attack.
Once we reached the front door, we would just have to wing it.
I let out a slow breath as I prepared for Phase One—disable their ships and destroy as many guns as possible.
The car would play a key role once I destroyed the ships and machine guns. I had to find a way to give Ruby and Hunter a chance to drive down the narrow path to the house and gain us some ground. They were exposed in that open hovercar, but they would just have to do their best with what they had.
We all did.
“Siggy, show me the house,” I ordered.
“Switching displays,” said the AI.
The fortress appeared once again on the holo, and this time more of the soldiers posted outside lifted their rifles toward the air, squinting in every direction.
I steadied myself and briefly drummed my fingers along the controls in my palms. I wished we could fire the weapons with the cloak activated, but all tech had its limits.
“The guns are primed?” I asked Sigmond.
“Weapons at the ready, sir,” replied the AI.
No time like the present.
“Drop the cloak,” I ordered.
The moment the cloak fell, utter chaos reigned on the ground below. I immediately opened fire on the first ship to the left of the house. Below me, men ran toward the machine guns, quickly angling them toward me as they opened fire.
“Shields holding,” said Sigmond as machine gun bullets rattled off the hull.
I gritted my teeth, focusing my full attention on the ship before me. I had to destroy this thing before either craft primed its own weapons or activated its own shields.
I fired the quad cannons rapidly along my target’s hull in a straight line from the front of the ship to the back, doing everything I could to take it out as quickly as possible. As I fired, I briefly glanced at the other ship, wondering how much time I had left before it opened fire.
Every second mattered, and every moment stretched on far too long.
“Both ships’ weapons have activated, sir,” said Sigmond. “Their shields are also now active.”
“Damn it,” I muttered.
I floored it, shifting out of range of the second ship’s weapons seconds before their first shots flew through the air. They missed us, but only barely, and I doubled down on my attack. My quad cannons blasted the first ship.
It couldn’t be much longer now.
Men scattered below, aiming their guns up at me as they began to fire as well. The morons were wasting bullets while my shields were hot, but I knew they were panicking.
Good.
I had to focus on one threat at a time, and right now, that meant destroying this ship. I was close. I could almost taste victory as I fired the quad cannons relentlessly along the hull. I didn’t let up for a moment, planting shot after shot as I tested its shields.
Despite the relentless fire from our quad cannons, the first ship’s shields were strong.
I was putting everything on the line here. If the Star got blown to bits, I had nothing.
“Both ships have locked onto our position, sir,” said Sigmond.
The second ship, the one I wasn't currently attacking, opened fire once more. Its cannons hit us, and the entire Star shuddered from the force.
And still, the first ship wouldn't die.
The ship I was attacking finally let off its first shots. To take this long, they must’ve had an inexperienced gunner on board—a stroke of luck for me, and bad news for them.
Their guns hit us hard, and yet again, the Star shuddered from the sheer force of the blow. They began to take off, the ship hovering as it slowly eased into the sky.
“Our shields are holding at 85%,” announced Sigmond.
Their shields finally broke, and explosions ripped through the ship as black smoke billowed into the air. It plummeted back to the rocky ground below and crashed into the cliff. More explosions ripped through its interior, shooting glass and shrapnel into the air. Men on the ground took cover as they bolted out of range, two of them leaving their posts by the machine guns as they retreated inside and left their comrades to die.
“Finally,” I said, grinning as I pulled the Star out of the range of fire of the second ship.
Their gunfire sailed through the air around us, missing us by a narrow margin as I dove out of the way.
One down, one to go.
I wasn't one to celebrate too soon, and the Star streaked through the air as I trained our weapons on the second ship. It was still grounded, probably because I had truly caught them off-guard. Any attention and power they put into taking off would detract from firing their weapons.
I couldn't let these guys take off.
Heavy gunfire rattled the Star from the ground-mounted guns as the second ship and I exchanged fire. Several more shots hit us, and the Star shuddered once again.
“Our shields are strained,” said Sigmond. “They continue to hold, but we can't take much more damage without them failing.”
I gritted my teeth as the Star took hits from all sides. Two more devastating blows from the surviving ship rocked the cockpit, and I tightened my grip on the controls.
“I'm afraid the shields can't hold much longer, Captain,” warned Sigmond.
“How much longer will they hold if I take out this ship?” I said, still training my fire on it.
“Significantly longer,” said Sigmond. “They serve the greatest threat to the shields at the moment, barring any weaponry Mr. Lockwood hasn’t shown us yet.”
“Hold on to something!” I shouted into the comm.
“Like what?” asked Hunter. “There’s nothing—”
I didn't give him the chance to finish.
>
I pulled the Star sharply to the left, and the second ship lost its lock on us. It took them a second to shift its weapons, and as the Star slid through the air, gunfire whipped past the side windows.
Through the comm in my ear, Ruby and Hunter yelled obscenities at me, and I heard something heavy slide along the cargo bay floor.
It didn't matter. I had to focus.
The moment of delay between my quick piloting and the ship's weapons catching up to us was all I needed. As their guns rotated, I opened fire directly at their cannons. I unleashed everything I had, firing as rapidly as I could in the same spot until I saw a hint of smoke. At first, it was just a thin black ribbon spiraling into the air, but explosions followed shortly thereafter. The enemy hull splintered as its shields finally gave way.
“Congratulations, sir,” said Sigmond. “The second ship has been destroyed.”
“Don't congratulate me just yet,” I said, shifting my attention to the machine guns still mounted to the ground. Without pausing to savor my victory, I trained our quad cannons on the first one. The guards dove out of the way while the operator focused on me, his machine gun firing bullet after bullet in rapid succession.
As powerful as that gun was, it didn't stand much of a chance against quad cannons.
I opened fire, doing a broad sweep along the ground to make sure I hit him. The man went down, and the gun exploded, shattering to pieces as it collapsed to the ground.
I trained my cannons on the second machine gun, but the operator didn’t even try to face me. He retreated, running after the other soldiers who had already begun to fall back to the house. Just for good measure, I opened fire on the gun to destroy it anyway.
“A window on the top floor just opened, sir,” said Sigmond. “A gentleman with a rocket launcher now poses a considerable threat. I would recommend you attend to it immediately.”
I shifted my attention back to the house. “You don't have to tell me twice.”
Before I could fire, a rocket flew from a window on the top floor. I cursed under my breath and barely managed to pull the Star out of the way as the missile flew past us. The rocket hit the ground not far from the destroyed machine guns, and a plume of smoke billowed into the air.
It would be easier if I could just shoot the fortress and destroy it. Taking out every window or, better yet, dropping a bomb on the place would’ve been my preference.
If I did that, though, there was too great a chance of killing Edwin in the process. Since the retreating men had funneled into the house, they probably knew full well I wouldn't blow the place to shit with Edwin in there.
Phase One had been a success, just as I thought it would be. Risky, sure, but we’d been going off of good intel.
Time for Phase Two.
This was where the stakes got higher. We had to storm a heavily barricaded building, all while we were outnumbered at about six to one.
“It's your time to shine, kids,” I said into my comm.
“Let's do this!” shouted Hunter.
“You know the drill, Siggy,” I said, unbuckling myself from the pilot's chair as I got to my feet. “Pivot and lower the Star so that the cargo bay opens onto the front of the house. Open the gate during descent, but don’t fully land. I need you to give us cover once we’re off.”
“I do feel obliged to remind you, sir, that that is a considerable risk,” said Sigmond. “There is a high chance of breaking the gate off in the process. With no gate, we will be unable to create the necessary seal to safely return to space. We would be grounded on this planet, Captain, and there are no repair stations here.”
“Yeah, well, none of this is ideal, Siggy,” I pointed out. “Everything about this is risky.”
“Understood,” said Sigmond.
I bolted through the Star and grabbed the rifle I’d left on the sofa. With every step, the rattle of gunfire along the hull mixed with the hum of the cargo bay gate opening.
There was no going back now.
I cocked the rifle and swung the strap over my shoulder. My pistol and revolver were already in their holsters on my side. Though I would have liked to go in with more firepower, there was only so much a man could carry into an open war zone.
As I reached the top of the stairs, the hovercar floored it and charged the still-opening cargo bay door. It sailed through the air and skidded across the rocky terrain as Hunter opened fire on the house. He yelled as he unleashed a steady stream of high-caliber bullets on anyone unfortunate enough to be in his way, and Ruby gunned it across the gray rock on her way to kick in the front door.
In the distance, men screamed over the thunder of gunfire. I raised my rifle as I reached the bottom step, the barrel trained on the open cargo gate. Hunter swept his gunfire along the front of the building, and someone fell from the second-story windows as he nailed his first kill.
All the while, the kid yelled bloody murder as he fired off the gun. Not to be outdone, Ruby pulled a pistol from her holster and unleashed several shots over the top of the windshield.
Glass shattered. Wood splintered. Men screamed. Bodies thudded to the ground, limp and lifeless. It was chaos, and the hail of gunfire from the building slowed to a lull as the kids took control of the clifftop.
It wouldn't last.
As optimistic as I was about finding ways out of impossible situations, I was also a realist. We didn't have to hold this ground for long. We just had to create enough chaos to reach the front door.
With Hunter and Ruby raining hell on that fortress, I reached the cargo bay gate and jumped onto the rocky cliff as the Star hovered.
“Siggy, I want you to shoot anyone who tries to enter my ship,” I ordered.
“Of course, sir,” said the AI. “Best of luck.”
“Thanks,” I said, training my rifle on the first warm body I noticed as I swept the open windows along the bottom floor. “Now let's all try not to die.”
27
With Hunter and Ruby barreling toward the house in the hovercar, they were clearly the main attraction at this moment. That was good news for me, since I was running through an open stretch of rock with nothing but a rifle and the Star behind me to give me cover.
I ran after them with my rifle aimed at the windows along the front of the building, doing my best to take out any threats from a distance as they blazed ahead of me.
Hunter blasted the front of the fortress, firing at whatever window he saw rather than at the silhouettes I noticed darting behind the glass.
I cursed under my breath. For all we knew, Edwin was in one of the rooms Hunter was actively blowing to hell. He was putting Edwin at risk every time he did that, but the odds were still in our favor.
Colt wouldn't keep his bait that exposed. Edwin was likely in the center of the building, still tied to that chair while Colt waited for a clear shot at me.
It was a risk and an assumption, but it was one we had to make.
There was a temporary moment of silence before the gunfire continued. When the thunder resumed, most of it was trained on the car as it sped toward the house.
Ruby swerved to avoid being hit, and the machine gun swung wildly with the car’s sudden movement. Hunter’s bullets trailed up the front of the house in a zigzag as he briefly lost control, but the perk of having a gun that big was that aim wasn't really necessary. Several windows shattered, and somewhere a man screamed out in pain.
A shadow moved on one of the first-floor windows, and I fired off a few rounds through what was left of the glass. It was mostly just to force whoever was in there to lay low. From this distance, I wasn’t going to get many kills.
Our advantage was slipping through our fingers with every minute that passed. Hunter’s ammunition wouldn't last much longer, and we needed to reach the door before he ran out.
Ruby tossed her spent pistol over her shoulder as she drew a second handgun from a duffel bag in the passenger seat. She fired off a few rounds into one of the second-floor windows as she closed the final gap bet
ween them and the building.
They were so close, and I was only minutes behind them.
A face appeared in one of the second-floor windows that hadn't been broken yet. The stranger slowly lifted the window and carefully inched the barrel of a gun out into the cold morning air, probably in an attempt to remain undetected. The rifle shifted, and in seconds, it was aimed at the car. Hunter, still yelling like an idiot as he fired off his machine gun at the first floor, didn't seem to notice.
I lifted my rifle and aimed at the window, but I wasn’t fast enough.
The guy fired. Two bullets hit the rocky ground, sparking briefly as they missed their target. The car swerved as Ruby realized what happened and tried to get out of the way.
I fired off three shots at him. The first two missed, but the third one hit him in the head. He fell backward into the room behind him, and his rifle slid through the open window. It careened toward the ground and landed with a thud.
To my left, another soldier on the second floor aimed his rifle—this time, at me. Without so much as a pause to breathe, I shifted my gun and fired. I didn't have a chance to aim, but I didn't have much choice except to go on the offensive. I wasted four bullets before the fifth one hit him in the throat. He dropped his gun and grabbed his neck, falling to his knees as blood poured through his fingers.
“You can’t have much ammo left, Hunter,” I shouted into my comm. “Make what you have count.”
Without acknowledging what I’d said, Hunter shifted the machine gun and fired at the front door. Men visible through the first-floor windows yelled and dove for cover as Hunter concentrated his remaining bullets on the entrance. The gunfire from within the building ceased again, giving us a few precious seconds to get inside.
“That'll do,” I said into the comm.
Ruby slammed the brakes, and the car fishtailed as they reached the front of the house. She jumped out, a duffel bag in each hand as she ran toward the gaping hole.
“Ruby!” I shouted when I spotted two men pop their heads out of one of the top windows and instantly opened fire.