The Trevakian smiled confidently in return, ‘The laser turrets are buried into the terrain, they only activate when the enemy approaches or if we signal them remotely…it is unlikely the bombardment will damage them too much.’ He waved to the west, ‘We have a reserve unit of self-propelled artillery behind us and that should open up once they break over the ridge…’ Debris poured down, the group ducking their heads as the officer screamed louder, ‘Once they are driven back or stopped, we will counterattack and hopefully break through to the cut-off defenders ahead.’
Lieutenant Kim nodded, edging forward, the Trevakian’s helmet reflecting across his visor, ‘What else do you have? Most of the earth troops are probably not fit for offensive operations…I have some men, but only a limited number.’
The officer grimaced, shaking his head in frustration, ‘I did not know…’ He turned, indicating for them to follow, ‘I will come to the bunker, explain the situation…we will need another Trevakian unit up here then to drive the counter attack.’
He let the two commanders pass, nodding to Jozefina behind them, her lower face solemn as she forced a smile. The Trevakian patted her shoulder, following her forward as she shouted, ‘Your English is very good!’ The blast nearby unbalancing them, a billowing cloud of flame and acrid black smoke rising into the air and catching in their breaths.
The officer grasped her arm roughly, steadying her as they stepped over outstretched legs of the soldiers below, ‘We all had to learn! We studied from your satellite transmissions…internet I think you call it. It was English or Chinese…your two most common languages?’
Jozefina turned briefly, nodding as dust swept over them, the tears concealed beneath her protective visor, her voice broken, ‘I’m glad you chose English…’ Her breath suddenly caught, seeing the green splatters across the defensive positions, several shattered bodies lying in the half-collapsed bunkers and defensive emplacements on either side, her head shaking as she saw the half melted uniforms, the name on the shoulder armour indicating the nine bodies were originally perhaps airport staff.
The green slime bubbled as it burnt through lifeless limbs, the smouldering broken bones extending through split and burnt skin slowly disintegrating and falling into the mush of gurgling liquid and blood. Body parts simply melting away as the acidic aroma steam drifted towards them.
The Trevakian officer pushed her forward forcefully, past the gruesome sights, ‘Many more will die today…you will eventually get used to it…’ Laser cannon swept above them, the whoosh of the intensely bright lights startling the figures…then the high pitched screech of remote rockets, their smoke trails soaring upwards before dropping vertically, falling beyond the ridge, a wall of flame rising in the distance as the numerous projectiles detonated.
The narrow walkway turned west, progressing down a gradual incline as they moved away from the front line, equipment boxes and ammunition cases lining the trench walls as they slipped through. Several Trevakian marines moved in the opposite direction, their uniformed bodies moving sideways to pass, black visors staring blankly at the passing men and Jozefina.
Two sentries stood at the entrance to the heavy polymer bunker, the emplacement mechanically buried deep into the scorched earth. Lieutenant Kim saluted, the two soldiers smacking their fists to right breastplates as the group progressed past into the gloom beyond. Further shell blasts erupted behind, peppering the roof of the bunker with shrapnel as they walked down a narrow light grey corridor, the gentle hum of machinery filtering through the emplacement.
Captain Mason glanced at the two closed doors on either side, both marked with black lettering he could not read, the symbols seeming to be almost skeletal characters. Following Kim round to the right, the corridor bending as the neon lights flickered above, he realised the section to their left was circular, the mechanical hum coming from the other side of the smooth walls in the centre.
Jozefina and the Trevakian officer followed, her eyes darting to the left circular passageway as three marines emerged from a side room, each soldier carrying a large black assault rifle, the weapons sturdier and longer than their own. She hesitated, seeing the blue piping around their body armour, their chest plates bubbled with additional heavy polymer style armour on their arms and legs, sturdy metalled boots with shining front plates clanking against the floor. Indicating to them, she glanced inquisitively at the Trevakian next her as they moved to the side, her visor lightening slowly, ‘Who are they?’
The officer nodded, his eyes widening in excitement, raising his fist formally to his chest plate in recognition as the soldiers moved past, one returning the gesture, his voice lowered but excited, ‘They are special combat troops of the Blue Leopard battalion…if they are here, then we will really see some action…that unit is used for heavy combat operations…something is planned!’ He touched her shoulder comfortingly, the two moving after the American and South Korean, his voice a whisper, ‘My name is Nao by the way…’
The eastern European airport supervisor turned briefly, nodding a weak smile, ‘Jozefina…Heathrow Battalion.’
Two more sentries stood ahead before closed silver doors, their uniforms the same as theirs, the inscription on their shoulder armour showing ‘2nd Infantry’ in bright white lettering. The soldiers nodded as Mason and Kim approached, their hands rising slowly to indicate for the men to stop, ‘Purpose?’
The Trevakian officer stepped forward, his visor now clearing, showing dark grey eyes, his face deeply scarred across the upper right side, ‘We have come for a situation report…I have urgent information for the commander…’
The sentry stood aside, nodding his approval for them to proceed, the doors sweeping aside as they sensed the soldier moving to the side. The visors tinted darker, the bright neon lights from the large room ahead causing pupils to contract as they stepped forward.
The sparse room was circular, the armoured protective walls thick and virtually shell proof. Four Trevakian officers stood around a large rectangular table, the smooth glass surface projecting a holographic image of the defensive positions. To the right, sat behind a small communications desk, a blue uniformed operator nodded a greeting, his eyes dropping to the dark angled screen below as reports from across the line appeared from the numerous ground sensors.
The four officers around the table turned to inspect the new arrivals, all dressed in combat uniforms, one with blue piping and bubbled shoulder armour. A Trevakian captain stepped towards them, the two pips on his shoulder armour and numerous coloured pips below indicating a highly decorated officer.
Lieutenant Kim and Captain Mason saluted, the Trevakian next to them and Jozefina raising their fists to their chests as the man smiled warmly, returning the gesture as the others nodded. His features angled and scarred below his helmet, his eyes sparkled in the light, ‘Ah good…our earth allies…’ He half turned, indicating to the oldest of the other three officers, ‘Welcome to the command centre for this section of the front. This is Major Hecklan, commander of this sector…’ The commander nodded, beckoning them forward and pointing to the table before them, the captain continuing as he nodded to the female Trevakian opposite, ‘Captain Mekeert…’ He smiled, indicating to the officer with blue piping, ‘Lieutenant Malikkas of the Blue Leopards special operations unit and I am Communications Captain Tarkai from fleet ground liaison.’
The Trevakian officer next to Jozefina nudged her, his voice a whisper as he pointed to the Blue Leopard officer, ‘He is Herrakian…from the far side of the next galaxy…brown skin and white hair, they are very vicious troops…they know no fear.’ The Heathrow battalion officer nodded, her eyes widening as she stared at the man’s unique yet appealing features.
Captain Mason stared down at the table, ‘Pleased to meet you all…’ The American nodded approvingly at the defences laid out before them, then his eyes darkened, ‘The unit in this sector are volunteers…my apologies, a mistake seems to have been made, they may be too weak to hold the line, let alone functi
on in any offensive capability.’
Major Hecklan shook his head, his helmet adorned with three white lines at the back, ‘That is regrettable, but not fatal if they hold.’ He looked up at the female Trevakian, ‘Captain Mekeert, what reserves have we assembled behind the combat zone?’
The female officer nodded, sweeping her hand across the map, the holographic image moving to display the rear areas, numerous figures and armoured vehicles stood amongst jagged rocks and bunkers, ‘The 2nd Infantry and my own 16th Motorised Division have just moved up in reserve once we discovered the Morgon breakthrough. They are some distance to the rear but can offer fire support and move up on your command, Sir.’
Major Hecklan nodded, examining the armoured vehicles, ‘Hover Tanks and armoured cars…good…’ He glanced up at the Lieutenant with blue piping, ‘…and you Malikkas?’
The officer’s darkened skin was tinged and swept with lighter shades across his cheeks and lower chin, his bright eyes flashing red in the light, his voice seeming strained with a heavy accent as he smiled confidently at Jozefina, ‘Sorry my English may not be as good…the Herraka Blue Leopards can drive the counterattack, we have heavy weapon infantry and low level air support…’ He flicked the map with two fingers back to the front line, nodding, ‘The Morgons will have moved up quickly, their blood eagerness pushing them beyond their heavy ground based anti-air cover…’ He looked up, his eyes sparkling with adrenalin, ‘They will only have hand held rockets against our own air specialists…once we have thinned their numbers, my troops will drive them back with support from the 2nd and 16th on the flanks. The reserve unit can follow on behind us and mop up the survivors and any wounded, it will be good experience for them.’
Communications Captain Tarkai awaited for the Blue Leopard officer to finish before speaking, his hands placed on his hips, ‘Fleet have some interesting equipment to add to the counterattack…I will arrange its deployment to the north and south of the specialist unit.’ He grimaced at the map before them, ‘There will be no other units to add to this sector for some time I think, so we had better limit casualties.’ He panned the map across, ‘Some earth soldiers and Trevakians are clearing the tunnels to the north, and we have two units holding the front defensive line…one or two companies will have been destroyed in the Morgon breakthrough…’ Pointing his fingers at the villages to the east as the map zoomed in on the holograms, ‘We need these troops back, and safely…there are some earth units amongst them…as well as the civilians that lived in the hamlets…it is our responsibility to protect them.’
Major Hecklan smiled grimly, ‘Let’s hope our defences hold up then…before we launch the counterattack…’ He nodded to Jozefina, ‘It seems the reserve battalion…your Heathrow volunteers are about to come face to face with our enemy…we do not have enough soldiers in this sector to remove them from the line…let us just hope some of them survive to tell the tale…’ He indicated to Captain Mason, ‘Move the Americans to the north, I need some soldiers in the tunnels to release our own troops.’
The American shrugged, ‘But Sir…the volunteers here have little to no experience…I should command them…’
The Major raised his hand, ‘There are too few Americans to make a difference…we do not want to endanger your specialists…the tunnels need to be secured and quickly. Once we have driven the counterattack forward, I will release the reserves back to you…’ His eyes softened as he saw Mason’s frustration, ‘Don’t worry captain, they will only be used in the rear areas as per your wishes…perhaps this Lieutenant Kim can command them in the interim until they are returned to you.’
Chapter Two: Flight from Contax Base
Shino stumbled on the stoned and snow covered track, her exhausted body dropping forwards as her knees skidded along the dirt. Gasping, she attempted to force herself upwards, Riaz grasping her right arm roughly and propelling them forward as she struggled to rise. She desperately sucked air in, coughing through the dust and smoke as her senses began to panic, vaguely aware of the abandoned airstrip to her right, the snowflakes beginning to drift and swirl to earth around them.
Screaming from behind broke through her stinging half-blinded sight, the tears and dirt smeared across her face as she forced herself upwards. Riaz winced as his muscles tensed, the agony shooting through his limbs as he gritted his teeth, a whine of pain slipping from his lips in desperation, ‘Come on Shino…we need to keep moving!’
Debra Hardie grasped Shino’s other arm, wrenching the small Philippine upwards, her voice feverishly raised as the blasts of warm air hit them from further back up the slope, explosions rocking the terrain as they were showered in dirt, ‘Get up…you are not on an effing break now!’
More screams, the shouts of the wounded, panicked fleeing miners and soldiers next to them loud in their ears as running bodies swept past. Crashes behind as buildings collapsed in the mining village, the Morgon troops and grenadiers firing rockets into any structures that offered resistance, the remaining desperate Trevakian marines buying time for their escaping countrymen, time paid for with their lives.
At the brow of the track, Captain Dugachard was shouting desperately at her remaining marines, the soldiers ducking behind any available cover to fire at the pursuing enemy. Smoke and dust billowed around them, their muzzle flashes lighting the terrain as clouds of acrid smoke rose and spiralled from the burning buildings ahead. Standing just below the rise, she fired blindly back at the village, her visor pulsing deep red as engines roared to the right, the remaining damaged hover tank and armoured car attempting to retreat towards the fire. Morgon infantry mounted the armoured hulls, wedging armoured piercing grenades into any gap they could find as the blinded crews inside fired desperately out into the swirling smoke.
The captain swore under her breath as a plume of fire erupted through the smoke, the turret of the heavy tank blown from its ring as red hot shrapnel tore through the crew, killing them instantly as their screams were cut short, the hull sinking downwards as the motor died. The armoured car, blocked in the narrow dust filled street by the burning tank surged forward, flames pouring from its sides as the driver crashed into the advancing Morgons, screams of hatred filling his ears as the scared enemy swarmed over the sides. The top gunner was overwhelmed, his helmeted head torn from his body as the decapitated corpse slumped back into the vehicle, the quad gun spinning in automatic mode as it blasted from side to side, the cracking of armoured plate as enemy soldiers fell from the sides.
The engine belched, the motor dying as a rocket smashed against the cowling, thick smoke pouring through the driver’s compartment as the two remaining Trevakians scrambled from their seats, the vehicle lurching sideways. Bullets clattered against the hull as they heaved their bodies into the rear section, the blood from the gunner’s body seeping through the sealed upper position and dripping onto the steel grooved floor.
The male crewman turned to his female driver, his visor cracked, voice desperate as he listened to the metal armour clambering onto the hull outside, ‘I think this is it!’ He smiled weakly at his long term companion, their relationship blossoming from their initial recruitment three years earlier.
She smiled, lifting the helmet from her face, her short brown hair ruffled and matted from sweat and the close confines. She pulled him to her, feeling his muscles tremble as they kissed deeply, the shrieks outside intensifying, the Morgon’s sensing victory was theirs. She pushed him back, looking into his brown eyes as she smiled, her eyes filling with emotion as the quad gun above fell silent, ‘Shall we go together?’
He looked away, grimacing as she rubbed his arms fondly, grinning at his tensed frustration as the Trevakian she loved nodded silently, lifting a pulse grenade from his tunic. He looked back into her eyes, his hand flicking the top cap of the grenade and clicking the timed detonator. Leaning forward, he kissed her gently and tenderly, the five second timer detonating, their entwined bodies imploding inside the hull.
Captain Dugachard grimaced as mo
re explosions emanated through the smoke, shouting at the soldiers around her to keep firing. A couple pushed themselves upwards, turning to run in panic, a clearing in the smoke sweeping across her vision causing her eyes to widen. At the outskirts of the village over one hundred metres away, the Morgon walkers stepped forward, the smooth armoured plate now smeared with dirt and blood as she instinctively turned, shouting in despair, ‘Retreat!’ There were no survivors between the two arch enemies, just lifeless bodies contorted in death.
The twenty plus marines scrambled from their cover, sprinting back down the track as she waved them on, glancing back one final time and seeing the Morgon commander staring at her, his arm rising to point forward as over one hundred of his grenadiers emerged from the side streets. Heart pounding, she spun round, her desperate shout caught as dust swirled around them, ‘Run!’
Riaz’s breath was coming in short gasps, the combat uniforms anaesthetic capability exceeded by his intense pain as he struggled to half drag Shino. Gasping, they reached the foot of the airstrip, his knees buckling as miners and marines ran past. Shino collapsed next to him, her chest heaving in the poor oxygen as Debra stumbled in the snow, her voice a scream in desperation, ‘We need to keep going!’
The Asian security officer struggled to the nearby cold rocks, the pain in his injured chest and shoulders almost overwhelming as he dragged Shino to him. Debra dropped to her knees next to him, tears filling her eyes as she raised her assault rifle, Riaz propping his weapon against the rocks with one hand as he coughed violently, his senses reeling.
Shino scrambled upwards to a crouch, biting her dried and dust covered lips as she stared back up the track. Debra Hardie glanced down, ‘You ok, Shino? We need to move…’ Her voice trailed off as the young Philippine slowly looked grimly at her, dust and dirt covering her face, her jaw tensing as she raised her assault rifle, a hand rising slowly to point.
The Red Leopards of Zaxon B (Galaxies Collide Book 2) Page 3