The alien hunter came in quickly, shielding its left side with a winged arm as it lunged in for the kill. There was something a little unreal about the thing, with it looking more like an undead Ski’lig than the real thing. But as it swung for Colston, the other members of the lance began to cheer.
“Come on, Colston!” Alexis shouted, “Use your armour.”
He must have listened, because as the next blows rained down on him, he appeared transformed. The attacks came down hard, but he waved them away with well-placed parries. Instead of using weapons, he used the thick armour and enhanced structure of the lattice framing to block the attacks.
“Better,” said Valentine, “Now use weakness against strength, strength against weakness.”
He seemed confused, and one blow slammed in hard on his right arm. He stopped the attack, but by the time he countered the robotic Ski’lig, it had moved away.
“Colston, use weakness,” shouted Valentine.
He hesitated, and then grunted in agreement as the others began to cheer.
“Put that thing on its back!” said the usually silent Bandu. Other Novas from the platoon gathered to watch as the bloodied and tired Colston continued to fight. Maybe he would have given up if it had not been for the encouragement. But now as the others formed a loose crescent around them, he took on a second wind.
“It’s time for you to go down!” he said angrily, much to the pleasure of the crowd.
“Stay cool,” said Valentine, “Use its strength.”
The Ski’lig moved left, then right, and then threw itself at him. The rifle came down like a club, and this time Colston behaved differently. He lifted his left armoured limb, but the impact forced his arm back down. It happened quickly, but as his arm dropped, he moved his rear leg back behind him and twisted at the hips. The motion allowed the Ski’lig to glance off him like an angled piece of plate armour. The Ski’lig was thrown off balance, and as it moved past, he swung his right arm around like a club, slamming it into the thing’s back. It was a brutal strike that would have shattered its body had his power not been reduced. Instead, it toppled forward and fell flat on the ground.
“Yes!” Tsarkov howled, “Finish him!”
Colston moved over the fallen beast and placed one foot on its head.
“Stop!” Sergeant Jablonsky ordered.
Colston hesitated, and then removed his foot and turned back to face the others.
“Good,” said Jablonsky, “Very good.”
He tapped something on his arm, and the Ski’lig robot lifted itself up and moved back to the Sergeant’s flank.
“Alliance techs have been working on these for some time. What did you think, Private?”
Colston coughed, spitting blood to the floor before answering.
“It’s fast, really fast. Is that what they’re like?”
The Sergeant seemed satisfied with that answer as he raised his gaze to the others.
“Anybody want to answer the Private?”
Kallias lifted one arm, and then spoke once the Sergeant gave him a nod.
“Yeah, they’re that fast, but there’s more.”
He moved towards the machine and touched the arm. The wing membrane was missing, with just a simple metal structure to represent the shape.
“They use the wings like knives. Not such a problem for us, but against regulars or civilians it’s brutal. Plus…they can glide.”
Colston looked confused.
“And that’s a problem?”
“Maybe not on a ship like this. But if there’s enough space then, yeah, it’s a problem. They swoop in low and fast, attacking with rifles and blades, or they stand off and snipe while continually moving.”
“And hasn’t anybody told you about the heavies, or the big ones?”
“Wait, what?” Colston asked.
Valentine glanced over to Sergeant Jablonsky, and she was certain he was smiling.
The cunning bastard, he set this up to try and pull us together. That’s why he’s the Sarge, and we’re not.
He let them talk for almost a minute before clearing his throat.
“We’re going in with the IAB the second we arrive, so I want this lance, and this entire damned platoon up and ready to fight. Treat this Ski’lig robot as a training device and get started. Do not smash it, though. We’ve only got one. Who’s next?”
Tsarkov moved in front, and the Sergeant tapped the device on his arm. He looked to Tsarkov.
“You ready for this?”
He moved into a fighting stance, his feet wide apart, and his hands hung down low.
“Cocky,” said Valentine in hushed tones, “But it might work.”
“Okay,” Alexis said, “Fight!”
The machine moved in, and both exchanged a series of high-speed attacks, most of which failed to land. Lieutenant Fletcher moved to the side and watch the first few engagements before leaning in and speaking into the ear of the Sergeant. This went on for some time until the Sergeant nodded. Fletcher stepped away and looked directly towards Valentine.
“Lance Corporal. A word.”
Valentine turned away from the fight.
“Yes, Sir?”
She spotted Tsarkov wrestling with the machine before being separated, and the Novas clapping to his messy, but successful bout.
“Next up. Yes, Private Bandu. Show us the Byotai approach.”
Valentine would liked to have watched, but the Lieutenant stared at her intently, focusing on her only.
“I’ve spoken to the Sergeant and Corporal Kleinlercher about the mission, as well as the NCOs from the other lances. All of them seem confident about this mission and our part in it. What about you? Is there anything I’m missing?”
Valentine hesitated, wondering if this might even be a test.
“We’re trained, equipped, and good to go, Sir.”
“Of that I have no doubt. But that’s not what I mean. The mission is the thing that concerns me, not your performance. You know our part in the mission. What do you think?”
Valentine considered that for a moment, and at the same time used Tex to bring up the data she’d seen on the alien ship. Though it provided them with a level of detail so far unheard of, it still unsettled her.
“Sir, what bothers me the most are the unknowns.”
“How so?”
“We’re going right to the Skils’ front door, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, doesn’t that sound a little reckless to you, based on almost no reconnaissance? We know the layout of this system, but we don’t know its purpose. Is it their homeworld, or is it something else, like a staging post or a fortress? What if we land there to find it is impregnable?”
“Well, that is a possibility. But the data we brought back correlates with other intelligence obtained in the fighting around Mars. We know this system is the heart of their territory, and the primary world is there for the taking.”
“But what if the data we discovered was all just a plant. Something left for us to find?”
She could tell right away he had been thinking the same as her.
“You’ve already discussed this with Captain Olik, haven’t you, Sir?”
He smiled as he looked at her.
“Lance Corporal, have you considered the officer programme? There’s more to being a Nova than simply smashing and destroying.”
“I like smashing, Sir. It was never my dream to be an officer.”
“I see.”
He seemed almost disappointed to hear that, but then his expression changed.
“Yes, I passed on my concerns to the Captain, and it’s made its way up through the chain of command. That’s why the mission has evolved. The IAB will perform a reconnaissance in advance of the main force. We will be followed six hours later by the rest of the battle fleet, including the heavies and the Rift control stations and support vessels.”
“What about ground forces? Or are we expected to do this all on our own?”
&n
bsp; The Lieutenant shook his head.
“Not just us. Once the Spacebridge is open, we will send in elements of the 1st Division, with the 2nd and 7th joining them in reserve. We’ve got close to a hundred thousand marines coming up right behind us.”
“That’s more like it. That will give us some flexibility.”
“Exactly. Now…your lance, is there anything you need that you don’t have?”
She looked back to them as they continued practicing.
“No, Sir. Just point us to the enemy, and we’ll do the rest.”
“Outstanding. Let’s hope the gods are on our side, and we can rid this place of these heinous creatures.”
“Creatures, Sir?”
Something flickered in his left eye, and she could tell her words had somehow triggered a response. He looked around the deck as if checking to see if anybody else was listening before continuing.
“Humanity can never be safe while these things infest our colonies, Lance Corporal.”
She spotted something odd in his look, almost scorn as he mentioned the enemy. She had little real sympathy for the Ski’ligs, but something about his mannerisms suggested it was not just the avian race that concerned him.
“Infest, Sir?”
He looked into her eyes and could see the confusion.
“You’re not from Terra Nova, are you?”
“No, Sir.”
“We are a world used to conflict and have seen the ravages brought on by the Biomechs and a host of other debased monsters.”
He shook his head, and she could see genuine sadness.
“My father almost succumbed to his wounds at the steps of the palace when the rebels landed and ended the war against them. That was a generation ago, and still, there’s a fear of their return. Every soul on Terra Nova knows that no alien lands on that planet without evil in their hearts.”
“He’s still there? On Terra Nova?”
“He didn’t die. No, he travelled back to Mars where he’s worked on weapons technology for decades. He’s a weapons specialist, a master of the art.”
Valentine knew what was coming next and braced herself.
“And he was of the thousands of citizens those Ski’lig beasts turned against us.”
Now it all became clear to her. The loss of the past was nothing compared to what had happened on Mars and its moons. He licked his lips before going on.
“The siege we fought was not just against the alien threat. It was against the people we love. One of us…maybe even me was responsible for his death. His body was riddled with gunfire from our own weaponry.”
He moved in closer to Valentine, and she could see his eyes were a little bloodshot. He’d never been quite like this before, and it left her feeling a little queasy. She tried to move away, but it was too late.
“We have to stop them. Every one of them before it is too late.”
He pointed to her chest, and for a second she thought he was about to blame her.
“Sir, I understand.”
He seemed surprised to hear that.
“Oh, how so?”
She knew she was in a dangerous position, but she also understood his suffering, perhaps more than most.
“My family, Sir. My father was one of those taken by the Biomechs. Every soul on his transport ship was reported as missing, presumed dead. That was until he was identified much later inside the catacombs on Proxima Prime.”
The Lieutenant looked shocked.
“They changed him?”
Valentine swallowed, and then nodded.
“It wasn’t him, not by the end. But the material…”
Her nostrils twitched as she tried to continue.
“I understand, a different enemy, but the same result. That’s why you joined the military?”
“No, my brothers were both in the Marine Corps before me. They were en route to the Nexus to join the war effort. My mother demanded they go for vengeance on the death of our father, all as long as I agreed to stay with the family business. Their convoy was hit before they made it into battle.”
Valentine looked down and shook her head.
“The loss of my father and my brothers broke her. Her mind failed, and she died a year later. My uncles were next in line with the family company, leaving me nothing, nothing but the promise she asked me to make.”
The Lieutenant’s face softened as he listened.
“Promise?”
“Yes. She wanted one thing, and one thing only, vengeance for the Valentine family. With just me left, she wanted it to be me to bring back the head of an alien warrior, one that has cause as much pain as the Biomechs, and to bury it beside her grave on Proxima Prime.”
“That’s quite a promise.”
“In her last months her mind failed, but the rage was always there. The Biomechs had been crushed, but she was certain there would be others. She was one of the executives at the company that refused to flee in the fighting on Prime. She remained at the doors, pistol in hand when the creatures came for them.
“Prime, huh? That saw brutal combat at the start of the Uprising. I mean seriously brutal.”
He then sighed.
“If your brothers had made it, they might have found me on Spascia. I did a tour there in the War. We lost so many soldiers. It would have been an honour to serve with the Valentine boys.”
Valentine struggled, but a handful of tears ran from one eye as she nodded.
“Listen,” he said carefully, “These alien races, they do not think like us, they’re savages looking to kill and conquer. We have to stop them if we’re to have any chance. We’ll make them pay for this, Lance Corporal.”
He then walked away, leaving her standing there.
“Val?”
She turned and found Alexis looking back at her. The rest of the lance was taking a break as a tech made some adjustments to the machine they had been fighting. Two pieces of armour were missing, as well as a bulked wing mount. The technician seemed quite irritable as he worked on it, made worse by the random sparks that crackled around the damaged wing.
“I need to fit new parts,” he said, repeatedly shaking his head.
“Then get them,” said Sergeant Jablonsky, “We’ll wait.”
The man ran off, while the Sergeant went over bayonet drills with the Novas of Tsarkov’s lance. It gave Valentine and Alexis a moment of respite from the brutal training. Even so, Alexis lowered her voice and continued.
“Uh, what the hell was that all about?”
“He’s having a tough time.”
“Oh…he told you, right?”
Valentine made sure he was gone before saying more.
“You could say that. He’s changed. I’ve not seen him for some time. He was cocky, arrogant, and confident for sure, but I always thought he was a bit of a rogue. Now…I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
“I know. We noticed on Deimos while you were in surgery. There’s a rage there now. Something about him makes me think he doesn’t want to come back from this mission.”
“You’re serious?”
Alexis nodded.
“Maybe we should tell someone.”
“Who? He’s our CO on this ship.”
Valentine looked back in the direction of the Lieutenant. Over the years she’d buried her own feelings deep inside her mind, but now it was starting to come back, the loss of her family, the loss of her fellow marines and pilots, and then the brutality of the fighting on Deimos. It was all building inside her, and she knew it would take little more to send her mad or turn her into an enraged monster. She didn’t like the idea of either of them.
“Okay, Novas,” said Sergeant Jablonsky, “The drone is ready for training again. Now, let’s practice paired drills, ranged and close combat operatives working together. Valentine and Kallias, front and centre!”
Valentine gripped her friend’s hand and then stepped away towards Kallias.
“Yes, Sir!”
“Let’s see what the two
of you have got!”
Valentine hunkered into position on Kallias’ right side. She pushed out her left arm and activated her integral shield. It was nothing particularly sophisticated, merely a series of movable plates that pushed out to create something akin to a small hexagonal shield. It was bigger than a buckler, and closer in size to the kind of wooden shield used in the Dark Ages of human civilizations back on Earth. She rotated it slightly, making an adjustment so that it partially covered Kallias’ flank.
“What?” Tsarkov complained, “We had to…”
The Sergeant lifted a hand, and then nodded towards the two Novas waiting to fight.
“This is not a drill to test your pre-practiced drill. This is preparedness against the unknown. Weapons down and turn away from the Ski’lig.”
As they moved away, the Sergeant moved in front of the Ski’lig and removed its long rifle. He was armoured like the rest of the Novas, but carried no extra equipment or weaponry, just his armour and his experience. He lifted the rifle like a club and adjusted his stance.
“Ready?”
“Yes, Sergeant,” replied the two of them.
“Good. This time I’m increasing power and force metric to half of normal. We’re about to get serious.”
He waited and looked to them with interest. They were tense and whispering to each other. He waited until they were in mid-sentence and then called out.
“Defend yourselves!”
He brought the rifle down hard, and as Valentine turned, she spotted it coming right for her head. She lifted her shielded arm, exposing Kallias for an attack. Most combatants would probably not even see the gap, but the Sergeant fought like a machine. With a beautifully angled cut, he adjusted his aim and brought the rifle up under the shield and into Kallias’ arm. It was a powerful blow and twisted his arm back, throwing him to one side. He then attacked again, splitting them apart as he activated the Ski’lig.
“Watch out!” Alexis yelled as the robotic warrior moved in to assist the Sergeant. It was brutal and messy, and after less than a minute of combat, both Novas were on the ground, and the Ski’lig was missing an arm. Blood ran down the Sergeant’s cheek, but for all that he didn’t seem particularly tired and actually smiled for a second.
“Good, very good. Now…who’s next?”
Star Crusades Page 11