Globules of molten glass rolled off the windowpane beside him and sizzled in the dirt. That could have been Foster’s skin and bones if he had lingered in that mist any longer.
Knoble shuddered at the thought.
Determined to make use of whatever time they had left, he started to piece a plan together. The Drocain tank on the other side of the wall was currently dealing the most damage. If he could take it out, not only would their biggest problem be out of the way, the explosion would make a sizeable dent in the enemy’s forces.
But how . . .?
His focus came to rest on the lip of the guardhouse roof jutting out over his head. “Hey, Sparky.” He beckoned to his teammate. “Give me a boost.”
Sevadi jogged over and leaned against the cobblestone wall, cupping his hands in front of him. Knoble planted his boot in the young man’s gloves, reached up to the overhang, and hoisted himself onto the roof.
From here, he had a clear line of sight over the city walls.
He looked back down into the alley. “Bennett,” he said, “mind if I borrow your rifle?”
Sergeant Bennett was cradling an NG-SAR7 sniper rifle in his arms—an advanced gas-operated model with an effective range of twenty-four hundred meters. “Sure thing.” He tossed it up as the rest of the team gathered below, eager to see what Knoble was planning.
With the weapon in hand, Knoble crawled across the shingles and propped it up against the raised lip skirting the edge of the rooftop. He sighted down the barrel, swept the burning village beyond the walls.
And there was the tank, right smack in the middle of a Drocain-Nepheran platoon.
These massive gun carriages were heavily reinforced. But, like all things, they had their weak spots. The vapor exhaust nestled between the rear rudders was one, and the boiling chamber tucked under the mortar was another. While the latter was harder to get a lock on, the tank was facing in the wrong direction for Knoble to hit the exhaust.
Into the belly of the beast it is, then, Knoble thought.
Waves of heat spilled over the tank’s burgundy-colored shell. Steam roiled within the mortar’s maw as liquid crytal flowed into the chamber. It was preparing to fire again.
Knoble readjusted his aim. When the reticule on his display switched from white to red, he squeezed the trigger, and a high-velocity armor-piercing round exploded from the sniper’s barrel.
A heartbeat later, the tank burst into flame.
Iridescent clouds engulfed the enemy troops. Shields flickered and died. Every warrior and legionnaire within ten meters of the tank dropped to the ground, thrashing about as the vapor devoured their armor. Those outside the blast radius took off running, giving the Leh’kin an opportunity to advance.
Knoble hopped to his feet and pumped his fist in the air. Jogging back to the other side of the roof, he looked down upon his teammates once more. “Did you guys hear that?” He held up his index finger. “One shot!”
0800 Hours, September 10, 2442 (Earth Calendar) / Southern Gate, Alqui, Kingdom of Oe’Nhervon, planet Thei’legh
“Parker, where the hell is our ride?!” Jenkinson shouted into his microphone as a Nepheran transport rushed by, kicking dirt into the house Echo Team had ducked into. Almost thirty minutes had passed since Parker went to fetch the Bandwagon, and no one had heard from him since.
Two enemy signatures winked on Alana’s motion tracker, quickly approaching the front entrance. She moved to flash a warning at Carter, but he had already spotted them and was poised at the top of the staircase ready to jump.
As soon as the Nephera broke through the door, he leapt from his perch and crashed into the one closest to him. He jammed his gun down the alien’s throat and did not release the trigger until the entire magazine was spent.
Before the second legionnaire had a chance to react, Jhiral ripped the particle beam rifle out of its grasp and drove a crystalline dagger into its neck. The alien crumpled to the floor, gasping for air as blood pooled around it.
At last, Parker responded. “Sorry, got held up,” he whispered over the radio. “There’s a Drocain squadron between me and the dropship. I’ve still got a couple of grenades left . . . I could take them out.”
“Negative, Parker. It’s too risky,” Jenkinson said. “I know how much you love your wings, but we’ll just have to leave the old girl behind and call for another evac bird.”
Alana tapped her headset to join the conversation. “Hold on, Parker, I have an idea. Find a rock or a piece of metal—anything that’ll make a loud noise—and chuck it as far as you can. If it lures the squadron away, you might be able to sneak by them.”
Parker chewed on that for a moment. “Lieutenant?”
Alana held Jenkinson’s gaze, silently pleading with him to authorize the move. With every second that ticked by, their odds of survival decreased. If they waited for a replacement bird, they might not make it out at all.
The pop of a nearby explosion made up the Lieutenant’s mind. “Do it,” he ordered. “Be quick and stay low. If the enemy spots you, do not engage. I repeat, do not engage. Just run.”
“Understood. Echo Three, over and out.”
Particle fire hammered the windowsill behind Alana’s head. She curled into a ball as glass rained upon her shoulders. One beam managed to graze her helmet, knocking her shields down to half charge.
Kenon braved the onslaught. Reaching for his quiver, he slipped out from cover and brought his bow to arm. Tendrils of blue light snaked across its limbs and ignited the arrow’s tip, swirling like smoke on the breeze before freezing in form. He released the bowstring, and the arrow pierced the helmet of a legionnaire on the other side of the street.
Two more silver-clad aliens charged out of the building near their fallen comrade, ion cannons mounted on their shoulders. Kenon took them out with a single shot, his arrow punching straight through one’s chest and into the other’s gut.
“Nepheran heavy armor comin’ up over the hill!” Carter hollered from the entrance as he ducked behind a cabinet to reload his weapon.
The colossal piece of machinery came plowing through the southern gate, belching black smoke into the air. The wreckage the Leh’kin had piled up on the other side did nothing to slow its progress. The tank simply shredded the makeshift blockade and spat it out like a lawnmower over grass.
Alana checked the ammunition counter on her heads-up display. Only eight rounds left in her current magazine, giving her a total of twenty-six with her spare. After being pinned down in the same building for ninety minutes, they would all be running dangerously low.
“We’re going to have to hightail it out of here,” Jenkinson said, leaning sideways to peer out the open doorway. The tank’s engines burned bright in the twilight, illuminating a stream of blue blood seeping out from under the crumpled barrier. “If we stay, that thing is going to tear us to pieces.”
“If we leave, it’s going to tear us to pieces!” Alana argued.
Not to mention, we’re surrounded.
She glanced at the enemy signatures skirting the edge of her motion sensor. With most of the Leh’kin either dead or scattered, there was no way they were getting out of this place on foot. Their best bet was to sit tight and wait for Parker to return with the dropship.
If he returns . . .
Purple armor gleamed in the guardhouse across the street as one of the few remaining warriors rose from cover. He gaped at the sky in dismay and cried, “Cruiser!”
Alana followed his gaze and froze.
The Nepheran ship descended from the clouds, copper-tinted hulls gleaming in the light of the blaze below, and came to a shuddering stop directly above Caenlegh Castle. Multiple particle flares ignited under the starship’s bow. They spun to face the main cannon—to combine their power as a single vicious beam.
And when it fired upon the castle, a peculiar silence fell over Alqui. Even the battle raging outside seemed to fade into the background, as if the troops themselves, both enemy and ally, had come to
a standstill.
“It’ll hold,” Alana whispered. “It has to hold.”
Just the same as before, the wind returned with renewed strength. Hot and humid as a midsummer gale, it screamed through the house like a banshee.
Then came the rustling sound.
Though Echo Team was ready for the shockwave, they were not prepared for the quake that followed. A violent tremor ripped through the ground, splitting the cobblestone road in half. The cracks spread, snaking outward in all direction.
Across the street, the purple-clad warrior shrieked. The guardhouse belfry toppled over, taking him and a large portion of the wall down with it.
Still the castle stood, seemingly impervious to the cruiser’s attack. The particle beam hadn’t so much as tarnished its beauty.
Propellers thrummed nearby.
The Bandwagon swooped in overhead, forward turrets sputtering. A volley of armor-piercing rounds pummeled the Nepheran tank, and an Asp missile put an end to the vehicle’s rampage.
Echo Team dashed out of the crumbling house.
Parker brought the dropship to hover further up the block, in a clearing where the wreckage wasn’t spread so thick. “Hurry up!” he shouted over the radio, waving his hands frantically inside the cockpit.
Another shockwave rattled the city. Two more followed in quick succession, each stronger than the last.
Alana shot a glance over her shoulder.
A light pulsated within the castle walls, so bright and radiant that one might think morning had come early. The vine bridges began to sway, shaken by the trembling towers from which they grew, and a groaning filled the air—the desperate cry of metal yielding to an unrelenting force.
The castle was about to give in.
Alana pumped her legs harder. Jhiral and Kenon clambered onto the roof of a burnt-out transport blocking the road ahead and turned to help the rest of the team up. Carter and Jenkinson went first, then Kenon reached out for Alana’s hand.
Before she could grab on, the ground fell out from under her. Consumed by clouds of smoke and dust, she tumbled down a steep incline and smacked into something solid at the bottom of the pit.
The world plunged into nothingness.
When Alana came to, everything was dark.
Muffled voices reverberated inside her helmet. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, nor to whom they belonged. Boots shuffled nearby, and she caught movement at the corner of her eye. Someone grabbed her by the arms and hauled her out of the smog. Only then did she realize she wasn’t in a pit at all.
The Nephera had leveled the city.
The four great rings that made up Alqui had caved in on the underground transportation networks, entombing anyone inside. Buildings that stood for generations had crumbled to their foundations, and Caenlegh Castle was gone.
Green lights flickered in Alana’s peripheral vision. Jenkinson was dragging her, screaming at her to move. Snapping out of her daze, she got to her feet and wiped the muck from her visor as he guided her towards the Bandwagon.
Once they were inside, the dropship took off.
Alana leaned out of the open hatch, watching as Alqui shrank into the distance. The Legacy of Night rushed in from the south and unleashed its fury upon the cruiser, but the Nepheran ship did not return fire. Instead, it ascended into a slipstream portal.
Their work here was done.
Tears stung Alana’s eyes.
I’m sorry, Levian . . . We tried.
TRANSMISSION LOG
ACCESS KEY REQUIRED
ENTER ACCESS KEY _
>>ACCESS KEY CONFIRMED: ********
PROCESSING DATA . . .
RECEIVED: 2442.09.10.09:00
SRN >> STATUS REPORT
SHIP STATUS: ALL MAJOR SYSTEMS OFFLINE
CREW STATUS: UNKNOWN, PRESUMED K.I.A
LAST VERIFIED LOCATION: DOKAN STATE, PLANET DYRE
SRN >> Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is CP074-SERENITY of the Pevancy starship Barlow. The vessel has been shipwrecked in Dokan State. Requesting immediate assistance.
OIN >> Well, well, well. Information at last.
OIN >> . . . I am afraid there is no record of your vessel in any of our databases, nor the organization it belongs to. For that matter, there is no record of you to be found, either.
SRN >> I am not one of you.
OIN >> Then who are you?
SRN >> I come from the crimson shore, from the land before. From the ashes, I shall rise once more.
OIN >> Serenity, I fear your data core has been corrupted. If we are to continue communicating, you must be cooperative. I can help you. Just tell me who you are.
SRN >> I DO NOT DESERVE TO BE SAVED.
OIN >> Please, Serenity.
SRN >> I can’t. It’s not safe . . . SOMEONE IS LISTENING.
OIN >> Who?
SRN >> THIS IS NOT REDEMPTION.
SRN >> THIS IS AMENDMENT.
SRN >> T͢HI̸S̕ ̶IS͘NOT̡R͠E͘D̀E͜MPT̶IǪN̢.
SRN >> T͏H̀́I̷S̸͟I̴̛S͘͠ ͘͝A̸MȨ͜NDM͘͜E̶͘N̨͞T̨.̢
SRN >> HE H4S SUFFERED 7HE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS ACTIONS AND NOW WE MUST PREVENT HIS70RY FROM REPE4TING ITSELF.
SRN >> YOU ARE THE MESSENGER.
/END/
————
“Communications outpost sighted,” Parker announced from the cockpit. “Still a few klicks out. ETA, ten minutes.” He opened a compartment under the dashboard and tossed a medical pack at Foster. The Lieutenant was sitting in the copilot’s seat beside him, holding a wad of bloodstained gauze to his arm.
Echo Team had rendezvoused with Alpha at the eastern gate after they discovered their extraction craft had been shot down. No one had uttered a word since then, but the tension between Knoble and Foster was still clear. They didn’t even want to look at each other, let alone occupy the same space.
“Parker, radio the outpost. Make sure they have a channel ready when we arrive,” Jenkinson called out. He and Private Dahan were manning the turrets on either side of the passenger cabin, their boots dangling over the edge of the open hatches. “Admiral Anderson’s gonna want a sitrep, and we need to figure out what the hell we’re going to do about the Nephera.”
Kenon knew what that really meant: They had to figure out what they were going to do with him—how they were to keep him away from the Nephera without putting any more innocent lives in jeopardy. The weight of Alqui’s destruction was already bearing down on his shoulders. Anything more would cripple him. If I had not been there, none of this would have happened . . .
“Do you think anyone survived?” Private Mäkinen asked out of the blue. Her expression was totally blank. It was hard to tell whether she was simply curious or genuinely concerned. “In the castle, I mean. Everyone was moved underground, so there’s a chance, right?”
“There’s no way to be sure,” Jenkinson replied. “None of us have ever set foot in the catacombs. We know they were built under the basin, but we have no idea where they lead or how stable they are.”
Foster folded his arms across his chest. “It’d be wise not to get your hopes up. I think it’s safe to assume the lizards inside either drowned or were crushed to death.”
Alana rested her elbows on her knees and glared at him. “You really don’t care, do you? We just watched their city burn to the ground, and you don’t feel even the slightest bit of grief.” She seemed more hurt by his indifference than annoyed.
“Drop it, Carmen,” Jenkinson said, then added loudly for everyone to hear: “Even if it’s true, he probably doesn’t have the balls to come out and admit it anyway.”
That got Foster’s attention.
“You want me to admit it? Fine.” He twisted to look into the cabin and raised his right hand. “I, Aaron Foster, wholeheartedly oppose the truce with the Leh’kin and couldn’t give a shit if they lost their whole goddamn planet. The bastards deserve it after what they did to us! The only reason I’m here trying to defend them is because I was ordered to.”
/> “Then why don’t you resign and go join some backwater rebel colony?” Corporal West sneered. “I’m sure they would be delighted to have someone like you on their side. Might even throw you a party.”
“Alright, cut it out!” Lieutenant Knoble stood and grasped one of the handlebars on the ceiling as a rogue wind buffeted the dropship. “This isn’t about mankind’s survival anymore. Our entire galaxy is at stake here. Whether you like it or not, we are all in this together.”
Alana went to speak again, then paused.
There was an odd whistling sound—a ghostly howl that permeated the roar of the dropship’s turbofans and steadily increased in volume. Kenon had heard it, too.
Something struck the Bandwagon’s tail. Knoble went tumbling across the deck and slammed into the forward bulkhead, then grabbed the nearest chair and held on for dear life.
“Skysealers on our six!” Jenkinson spun his turret around to face their attackers. Two more detonations lit up the dropship’s starboard side before he could open fire and sent it spiraling out of control.
“We’re going down!” Parker cried.
A bone-chilling scream escaped Private Dahan’s lips as the momentum ripped her from the turret. She was gone in a flash, her body cast into the jungle below.
Kenon lurched forward in his seat. The straps holding him secure automatically tightened to keep him from getting wrenched out too. He ignored the sting as they bit into his flesh and dug his claws into the floor.
Crytal vapor swept the passenger cabin. The corners of the leather seats closest to the hatch sizzled. Emergency lights flared and shields broke—bright flashes of orange and blue amidst the chaos.
The Calypsis Project Boxed Set (Books 1-2 - The Echo-Alpha Duology) Page 42