William popped around the corner and mounted the Beretta onto his shoulder. A pair of simple sights needed only the general direction of the target. The three rounds inside of the multi-point launcher would do the rest. One would arch over the top of the target and slam down while the other two would flank it.
The autocannon swung and pointed its deadly tip at the concrete buildings and fired. The rapid thump-thump rang across the hills. Rounds shattered into the aged concrete spraying dust and aggregate everywhere. The sheep were caught in the fire and either ran or dropped in agony.
The Marines and Soldiers focused the small arms fire onto the APC but it did nothing. It didn’t move, it didn’t dodge, it just continued to fire. From the peak of the vehicle came a series of pops and the drones were out.
“Shoot it!” Crow yelled across the yard. He laid back into his position and pumped round after round towards the sleek beast.
William aligned the sighting tubes onto the target just as the drones exited. The APC noticed the launcher and the turret swung towards William. He pulled the trigger hard. Nothing happened except the autocannon opened up on him.
Maybe it was the salt water, maybe it was the sand, maybe it was just a factory defect. But whatever it was William dove down with the Beretta on his shoulder and was peppered with concrete shards. The sound of the cracking walls was deafening.
The drones settled in and swooped down from the APC. Had they been full military issue drones the battle would have been done. The unarmored unsupported crew would have fallen. But these drones were razor drones, a weapon of terror. Each drone was a set of cascading blades that would set upon unarmed targets and savage them.
William lay on the ground while the concrete peppered down on top of him. He opened his eyes to look down the street. Von Hess held out a pistol before him and was firing at an unseen target. A sudden burst of smoke appeared above the roofless structure and a shower of steel rained down.
This, he thought, would not do. They had nowhere to run, no way to get close enough to toss grenades and in a short while no ammunition. Already around him the rate of fire had almost ceased. His hands slapped every joint and piece on the supposedly failproof launcher. A sharp click issued from inside.
The autocannon continued to pepper projectiles near William. The wall was slowly disintegrating above him. The only thing that was saving his life was the fact that concrete is at its hardest after 100 years, this was nearly 80 years old. The rounds were beginning to penetrate.
William crawled forward through the broken shards of concrete. The Beretta was cradled in one arm as he felt for the corner with his other. The air tasted chalky and gritty.
One second, maybe, he knew that was all he had. His fingers felt open space and he took a deep breath. The Beretta snapped up to his shoulder. He sprinted forward faster than the turret could track, or so he hoped. The blister turret paused and began to swing those scant few degrees.
He stopped in the midst of the green grass and hammered the trigger once more. He was rewarded with a hiss and a delayed blast as each of the rockets fired. The first arched almost straight vertical while the other two went out sideways. He could see the autocannon stop and pause with the darkness of the barrel firmly on him. Then the rockets landed.
The hull of the APC buckled outwards as each of the rockets burst. Only three tiny holes, no larger than a mans finger, betrayed any wound at all. The autocannon fell silent. A sooty black smoke emerged as it began to burn.
William rose slowly and with a wide smile on his face. He released his grip and dropped the empty launcher onto the ground. Amazing, he thought, I didn’t get shot. He could feel the bile rising in his throat followed by an urge to get sick, the adrenaline was ebbing.
Screams sounded from across the town. William turned and ran, drawing his sidearm. The Marines and Soldiers sprinted before him and ran towards where the civilians were. He began to limp as the fibers in his leg screamed at him.
Gunfire echoed down the street as William struggled to get to the building. He turned a bend and saw women and children laying around the front of the building. The razor drones had struck.
Crow stood with his rifle to his shoulder and side-stepped into the doorway. His muzzle flash illuminated the dim interior showing several of the drones floating nearby. He backed out and around the corner. The others were arrayed around the entrance waiting.
“I’m out!” Crow called as he drew his sidearm.
“Call it,” Sebastien stated as he held his rifle aimed at the door.
“Grenade?” Aleksandr asked as he clutched a dull sphere in his hand.
“Negative, still got civvies inside,” Crow said.
Selim sidestepped in front of the doorway and cracked off two shots. A whirring hiss panged out from the door. “On me,” he said to Leduc. He popped into the doorway and sidestepped with Leduc moving the opposite way. The rest of the crew followed suit.
By the time William reached the building the firing had stopped. Vito was tending to a wounded woman while others writhed around him. He knelt down and pushed his hands against a fast bleeding wound just below a boys arm. It was Saul. “Vito! Get out the patches.”
The final supply of patches was all they had left. William knew if they used them now they’d have none for themselves.
“Tik! Bring the case!” Vito yelled. His eyes were focused on stopping the bleeding coming from the legs of the woman in front of him.
The Soldiers and Marines exited the room and began to assist with the wounded. Sebastien broke off with Crow and ran to inspect the truck and APC. Tik limped into the mess with one arm carrying the nanite patch case. Von Hess came slowly behind.
“How could they do this?” Avi asked. In his arms was cradled a bloody child, mother at his elbow with tears streaming.
Vito stripped the case out of Tik’s arms and tore the case open. He dropped to his knees and began slapping fresh patches on the most heavily wounded while the less wounded wore the used patches pulled from the dead and dying so long before.
“The Sa’Ami use them,” Von Hess said slowly. “I saw them on a drop on Tunis Prime, anytime the civilians rallied to us they would send in the razors, it took all of our drones to clear them out.”
“But why? Good god man, look at what they have done!” Eduardo said.
Von Hess shrugged. “They are not for military use, they are to keep a planet in fear.” He waved a hand around him. “They maim, and in a simply public manner. They find the largest group of unarmed people and strike.”
William brought Saul into a clear building and laid him down on a wool blanket. The wound was slick with a crimson sheen but the flow of blood had stopped. The nanites were working.
He walked outside and met Sebastien returning with Crow. Crow held three sets of pattern armor.
“Look what we found,” Crow said as he hefted the clunky looking jacket and a trio of slender rifles.
William grasped a corner of the armor and was amazed at how light it was. “What is it made of?”
“They foam alloy and impregnate it with elastomers to grab onto projectiles. Nanites self repair it, expensive stuff, K743 make the best, but this looks Hun,” Sebastien said.
“Can we use it?”
“Oh yes, absolutely.”
William nodded. “Issue it. What of the truck and the rifles?”
“The truck is fine, well, as fine as that dinosaur is. That thing’s got to be eighty years old. Rifles will work, not much ammo though.” Crow dropped the vests and whistled. “Leduc, Aleksandr, get over here.” He handed the vests to the pair and saved the last for himself.
“Anything of the APC?” William asked.
“Cooked. It thermited when it was hit,” Sebastien said.
“Did they get a message out?” William asked.
“Unsure,” Sebastien said, “but I’d say likely.”
William nodded. He had expected as much. “Did David survive?”
Crow nodded. �
�He isn’t hurt.”
“We’re taking these people with us,” William said. He looked at the two men for a reaction.
“They’re not our responsibility,” Sebastien stated.
“The hell they’re not, they took us in, no fault of theirs that an APC showed up,” William said.
“Why did an APC show up, he said it was a regular run.” Crow questioned.
William shrugged. “Patrol, who knows, but if it happens again we’ve got no way to hit them.”
“What do we do with these people? We need to move fast,” Sebastien said.
William nodded slowly. “We pack into that truck and drop them at the first town we come to, if anyone asks they say they were held hostage.”
“I don’t like this, we need to move and now!” Sebastien said.
Crow nodded. “I agree, we can’t move with these people in tow.”
“Then find a way, load them up and now,” William said as forcefully as he could manage.
Sebastien looked at him with cold eyes. William held the gaze and fully expected the augment to slap him aside. Crow stood to the side and shook his head.
“We’ve got to go, now. If the VTOL is on the way we’re screwed regardless,” Sebastien said as he walked towards the building with the wounded.
William let out the tension he was holding inside and took a deep breath.
Crow noticed and slapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s go, we’ve got to get these people loaded.”
David protested along with the older women as they were herded into the truck. The wounded were gently laid down on beds of piled wool blankets. The painkillers had quieted all but the most severely wounded. Vito sat in their midst.
“We need to take it slowly, these wounds could open back up,” Vito said loudly to no one in particular.
Sebastien hauled himself up into the passenger position and stirred the sleepy reactor into action. William hauled himself up onto the sideboard and tucked his sidearm into his jacket. The rust crinkled in his hand as he focused on holding on as the wobbly truck lurched forward.
“How far?” Selim called to the back of the truck. He sat in the driver seat. “How far old man?”
David sat hunched with his head held low “200 kilometers.”
“How far to the next town?”
“50.”
Selim nodded and settled himself into the worn seat.
William turned to the sea for one last glimpse. The water stretched out northwards with a low line of puffball clouds racing south. Only the inky smoke from the APC broke the horizon. Another storm was coming from the North.
The green hills rose like gentle furrows as the crew and refugees meandered South. The weather slowly shifted from a drizzled horizon to a variety of blue sky and fluffy clouds. It all seemed vaguely odd and abandoned. Only a lonely spire broke the horizon. Below it a spreading carpet of small shrubs and scrubby trees.
Tik rode with eyes closed and teeth clenched. Her back still crunched and shooting pains ran down her legs when she walked. But what she hated most was the shame.
She was ashamed of being pulled, carried, lifted, assisted, helped, and worst of all she couldn’t do a damn thing about it. The feeling of being an invalid was against everything she had worked so hard for. To now be the ideal of a damsel burned her to the core.
She stole a glance at the men around her. Each was tired, worn, injured, and beat. Only the jockey was more mangled than her, he didn’t seem to mind being pulled. She reflected on that a moment and looked to the civilians. She turned her nose up at them.
“Tik, you OK?” Leduc asked.
“Yah, why Corporal?” she snapped back.
“You look, hmm, uncomfortable.”
She looked back at him. She thought he was the one who looked uncomfortable with a frost blackened nose. “I’m doing fine.” She didn’t want, or need, anyones help.
The truck bounced over a slab of stone and the entire vehicle began rocking and bouncing. Tik braced her back and felt the crunching at the base of her spine. It took every bit of her concentration to keep the tears from streaming down. It passed like a subtle burn. And then something was on her lap.
A small girl, no more than four years old, had climbed up onto Tik’s lap. The tiny thing latched one hand into her jacket and squeezed Tik’s arm with the other. The girls face was against her chest with crystal blue eyes looking upward. Her eyes were the only thing that was clean.
The girl caught Tik off guard. She looked around quickly to the others in the truck. No one seemed to pay any mind to the little girl on her lap. She relaxed her back and felt the girls weight resting on her.
What should she say? Motherly thoughts didn’t come easy to her, she focused everything on being a Marine. “Who are you?” she asked in a quiet voice. Was that her voice? Shit, she thought, I sound like a sissy.
The little girl squeezed tighter and buried her face.
Tik looked down and slowly lay an arm over the little girl. It felt awkward at first, tense, unusual. She frowned slightly and shifted herself. The little girl tightened and gripped more. “It’s OK.” She relaxed her arm and drooped it over the little girl squeezing her in.
The added weight made her back sore. The little girl looked up at her with eyes that said nothing. Tik looked down and nodded. She ran her hand through the little girls grubby hair and watched as her eyes fluttered and closed.
The vulnerability struck her as she realized that not long ago she was the one asleep. Her anger over being the invalid blinded her to the fact that she was the vulnerable one. She ran her hand over the girls cold cheeks and watched her sleep.
“Nice kid,” Avi said with a smile.
“Shut the fuck up. I’ll come over there and shove my boot so far up your dumb fucking ass that your teeth will scrape the sheep shit out of my soles.” She glared at Avi. “You’ll wake her up. Now piss off.”
Avi grinned back at her. “I knew you were feeling better. A proper Marine.” He nodded and closed his eyes.
Tik looked down and watched the child sleep until the sleep came for her.
The truck had the unfortunate tendency to bounce with any bump of significance. The bounce would amplify until the wheels would nearly hop off the ground. Selim had to slow to nearly a crawl before starting forward once more. Every lurch brought the cries of the wounded.
William turned and looked into the back of the truck. His crew, he thought. Were they really his crew? He felt a nagging desire to ask each and every one about his command but quickly tossed the idea aside. He knew he needed to stand tall, if not for their sake definitely for his own.
A set of eyes caught Williams attention. Saul. The boy was looking up from the gray blanket right at him. The nasty wound looked congealed but not set. He suddenly had an odd envy, he didn’t even have scars from his ordeals as a child.
“Mr. Grace, explain to me what the plan is?” Selim said. His hands were tight on the ancient worn steel steering wheel.
“We drop the Civilians off at the next town.”
“Then?”
William looked to the Civilians. “If there’s only a Company, we might be able to rally the folks in town.”
Selim stole a glance, his eyes were angry. “Why in the fuck would we do that? We need to get off the planet.”
“Because what better diversion than starting a revolt?”
Selim narrowed his eyes and squinted another glance. “Go on.”
“We don’t have the ammunition to engage a company of mercenaries, regardless how fat and out of shape they are, so we need to use it wisely.” William gripped tight as another dip lurched the truck. “Once we stir the pot we can hit the mercs with a riot, while we seize the elevator. If they succeed then better for all of us.”
“And if they don’t?”
“They will,” David answered strongly. His back was against the cab and his eyes closed.
“How do you know?” Selim asked over his shoulder.
“My
son works in a refinery, no one wants to do it anymore, but the options are a bit thin. Things have been a bit tense as of late. Quotas up and the beatings as well.”
“Who are you old man?” Selim asked.
David smiled with thin lips and nodded. “I was a Councilor, ‘the’ Councilor. I ran the Colony, my grandfather was Redmond, so I get some votes for that. I also, unfortunately, agreed to let them land.”
“Redmond?” Vito said as he perked himself up. “Is his tomb in the Capital?”
David looked confused a moment. “No, he left. Supposedly back to Earth.”
Vito blinked and took his turn as the confused party.
“So you let the mercs land?” William asked.
“At that point it was engineers, they offered work, medicine, things we didn’t have.”
“Hmph,” Selim snorted.
“Don’t judge me,” David turned and yelled up front, “we live in the shadow of what our forefathers were.”
“Enough. How many refineries are there?”
David turned to William. “Maybe two hundred, the raw ore is extracted from the south and shipped north. From there the stamp mills break it up and the refineries in the city extract the raw metals while the main refinery purifies it.”
“Two hundred? What does your capital look like?”
David closed his eyes. “Not what it used to.”
William nodded. “I would imagine.”
Selim sat with a scowl.
“Once we get into the Capital we’ll find my son, he’ll know more.”
“Time is not on our side David, this needs to happen and fast. The longer we wait to pounce the greater the chance that we are caught,” Sebastien said. He turned slightly and nodded to William. “I’m with Mr. Grace.”
Selim drove on in silence with his brows furrowed. He chewed his lower lip and concentrated on something. “So it shall be, but we need to scout it, we can’t go in like the wind. We need to do some recon.”
William nodded and looked back to David. The old man had set his jaw and looked proud. He didn’t remember what Redmond looked like very well, but he didn’t think he had any resemblance. Vito continued to stare with his mouth slightly open.
Trial by Ice (A Star Too Far) Page 13