The Lightning touched down gently, going from flat out straight down, to horizontal and stopped, in a way that had everyone in a hundred meters running for their lives. I jumped down nonchalantly, or as nonchalant as you can be in a combat suit. The Lightning lifted immediately.
BA was the only person standing nearby. But then, BA has bigger brass ones than anyone else I know.
"Where is everyone?" I asked her.
"Cowering over there somewhere."
"Why would they be doing that?"
"Absolutely no bloody idea."
Forty Four
I had everyone leave their combat suits, and we did a communal mess in the main square of the village. It was a bit surreal, since we were all using our PC's for night vision. Food just doesn’t look the same.
We were on the clock, but Jane was monitoring. Lunch was necessary before all hell descended on us. I was seriously wondering why we were here now. We'd had it ably demonstrated to us we couldn’t mix it with the aliens in space, once they had numbers. The only reason for being here I could see, was to get our arses kicked the same way, only on the ground. And the only reason for allowing that, was to prove it was so, so no-one else made the same mistake.
What I wanted was the now equivalent of a Panzer Division. They didn’t exist. They'd died with the exodus from Earth. Spreading everyone out had more or less eliminated the need for divisions of mechanized and armoured troops to conquer others with, and since no-one did any serious conquering any more, they hadn't been needed for defense either. The remains of them had remained on Earth. The small mobile mercenary teams had taken over the role. Most planets had some marines and infantry, but they were not for galactic conquest.
If only we'd had more time! There'd been too much to do, and not enough time and resources to do it in as it was. In an ideal computer game, you'd get enough time to build up entire Panzer Armies, with the ability to drop them wherever they were needed. This wasn’t a computer game, and I hadn't even thought of it.
"What's up with you, boss?" asked BA.
"Panzer Armies."
There was a moment's silence.
"Would have been nice, yes."
"What's a … oh," said Aline, obviously having looked it up.
"We have giant suits," said Amanda.
"Enough of them?"
"Maybe not," said Aleesha.
"What's the plan?" I asked Jack.
Annabelle was with George on Fearless, now hiding in the densest cloud they could find. Jack had command here, although I could override him if I wanted to. But I had too much else on my mind to plan and execute a ground action. Not to mention, I wasn’t trained for it. As a ground pounder, it was a damned good thing I was an Admiral.
The plan was simple enough. A breastwork had been thrown up around the village. Teams three through six each had charge of one primary direction. Teams one and two had giant suits, and waited in the center of town to see where the attack came. A bit like medieval times. Defend the wall. Except they could also come down directly on top of us if they were so inclined.
Suited up again, the waiting didn’t last long.
"Heads up people," said Annabelle over team coms. "They're on the way down to you. Landing site is the gentle sloping valley on the other side of the ridge to the north of you. I begin to understand their mesh thing. They're landing the ships precisely one centimeter apart in all directions. It's like a carpet."
"Any sign of movement our way?" asked Jack.
"Not yet. It's getting hard to make out. The more of them group together, the less reliable our sensors are. The whole area is going black."
"We are in a cloud," said George. "All just fog here, so sensors is all we have. I could go down for a look."
"No," I said. "Not worth the risk. I want you to move as you can to the south side of our position, so we can fall back directly to where you'll drop for us. And take your finger off the trigger George. We'll leave them some presents when we leave, and not before."
There was a mumble.
"I didn’t hear that."
"Understood," he said.
I closed team coms so I could talk to Jane privately.
"Any risk to us if we form a single line?"
"I don’t think so. Looks like they chose a spot to come down, and are sticking to it. Literally. I can see a second layer now, where they are landing ships on top of ships."
"Keep us posted."
"Confirmed."
I returned to team coms.
"Recommend we move into a single line," I said.
"Is that wise?" asked Sam.
"Seems to be only one landing zone," said Annabelle. "We'll let you know if something changes, but for now, might be an idea to meet them with our full strength."
Jack started giving orders.
We waited until the battalion had moved into position forming three distinct ranks, and then the giant suits moved up behind them. They towered over us, and were not too well protected as a result. But the position was designed to protect the ordinary combat suits, and for the giant ones to draw fire.
"Movement," said Annabelle suddenly, after I began thinking we'd be waiting here all day for them to suddenly show up at our rear.
And yes, at the top of the ridge, we could see black pouring over, and coming down hill really fast.
"Damn," said Alana. "They could outrun us easily."
Half way down the slope, black became nightmare cockroach-spider shapes.
"Bloody hell!" said someone.
"No, black death," said someone else.
"Darkness," said Amanda. "Get your terminology right."
Someone sniggered.
"Stand ready!" bellowed BA.
Rifles came up, lines of fire pre-determined. We all had upgraded Mesons. They were a mix of streamers and pulsers, since we weren't sure which would work best in live fire.
A wall of hairy black came down the hill at us.
"Wait!" bellowed BA.
"Fuck they're ugly," said someone.
"Focus," growled Jack.
"Fire!" yelled BA.
Nine hundred and fifty Mesons fired within a half second of each other. Fifty giant Mesons fired at the same time.
The front rank of aliens simply vanished.
"Yes!" cried Agatha.
The guns were effective, which was a relief. But I thought she was being premature. The guns cycled, and fired again, but the new lead rank of aliens were closer. They also vanished, but in the cycle time, the next lot gained a little further. A memory surfaced.
"BA! ZULU!" I yelled.
I long time ago, I’d watched a square screen where a small camp of British soldiers were being attacked by thousands of Zulu warriors. It had been a recreation of a real event, and a lot of Victoria Crosses were issued that day.
"Giant suits continuous fire," bellowed BA. "Front rank only fire this time on my command. Fire."
"Second rank on my command," yelled Jack. "Fire."
"Third rank on my command," I yelled. "Fire."
And so we cycled the guns. Each time fired fewer, but it was still enough to stop the leading aliens. But they were only some thirty meters away now.
"First rank fire."
"Second rank fire."
"Third rank fire."
Repeated over and over, some ten seconds apart.
"They're eating their own dead!" said someone in a horrified tone.
And they were. In fact, they were eating everything in their path, while still moving very quickly. The hillside was bare now. Grass gone, bushes gone, trees mown down and gone. Animals running away in terror. Birds flying away.
"First rank fire."
"Second rank fire."
"Third rank fire."
And all we could do was stop them in front of us.
"First rank fire."
"Second rank fire."
"Third rank fire."
And suddenly we weren't. They began slowly moving forward.
"Their numbers are growing rapidly," interjected Annabelle.
"Amanda," I said, "take rank three."
"First rank fire."
"How many are there General?"
"Second rank fire."
"Five thousand and increasing rapidly.
"Third rank fire," said Amanda, and I noticed she fired with them.
I lowered the volume on team coms so I could think.
"George."
"Boss?"
"First rank fire."
"Have they detected you?"
"Don’t think so."
"Second rank fire."
"Will they when you land?"
"Not immediately."
"But it won't take long," said Annabelle. "Especially if the lead ranks of their troops can see the ship when it gets down, and assuming they have coms."
"Third rank fire."
"First rank fire."
"BA, how long do you think we have?"
"Second rank fire."
"Ten minutes tops, and it'll be hand to hairy."
"Third rank fire."
"Jack, prepare to pull the troops back."
"First rank fire."
Jack passed second rank over to Sam, and started giving withdrawal orders.
"George, come down now, as close behind us as you can.
"Second rank fire."
"On our way, two minutes."
"Third rank fire."
"Giant suits," I said, "prepare to rearguard the withdrawal."
"First rank fire."
They were almost on us now.
"Second rank fire."
"Third rank fire."
"Begin withdrawal," I yelled.
"First rank fire and withdraw fifty."
They fired, turned and ran fifty meters, and then reformed.
"Second rank fire and withdraw fifty."
They did the same, forming up again behind the first rank, but slightly to the side so they could fire past them.
"Third rank fire and withdraw fifty."
As the third ranks turned and began to run, I holstered my Meson on my back, pulled my sword off instead, and rushed forward.
"Giant suits close up," I bellowed. "Rank one fires to our right. Rank two fires to our left. Rank three picks off anything passing us."
The giant suits were firing nonstop down into the mass of hairy black coming at us. I stood on the top of the breastwork, a midget beside the giants, facing an entire army of nightmare shapes.
"Down," said George.
"Jack, go!" I yelled.
I looked at the combat suit sized sword in my hand. It wasn’t big enough.
"Double," I said, and it doubled in length.
"Again," I commanded, and now it was only just steady in my hand, being too long now for proper balance.
"Adjust," I muttered, and it shortened about a meter.
I was just in time to thrust it into the center of the nearest alien. Black fluid burst from its torso, and it shrieked in the most haunting sound I’d ever heard. I made a mental note they could actually make noise, maybe even communicate verbally if they wanted to. I stepped forward, and started wielding it in an arc before me. Torsos fell from bodies, black blood ran, screams. Cut, reverse, cut, reverse, cut, reverse, cut. On and on.
"First rank loaded," said Jack.
We were about to be overrun. Someone down the right end suddenly raised a leg and stomped down hard. Black blood spirted everywhere. Then someone did it down the left end. I saw both as my sword arc brought me facing them.
This wasn’t going to work, it was too slow. I stepped out into the main flow of the aliens, cutting as fast as I could.
"What the hell are you doing Jon?" yelled Amanda, but I ignored her.
"Maul," I said, stopping swinging for a few seconds, and moving both hands together on the handle grip.
The sword grew a second blade, as long as the first. Now I wielded it all around me at once, dancing around in a figure eight to keep myself from getting too dizzy.
"Second rank loaded," said Jack, but I barely heard him over the screams of the dying.
"Incoming," said Jane. "Fearless, you need to get out of there now."
"George, go as soon as you have the last of the troops on board."
"I'm not leaving you guys behind," said George.
"No choice. Do as your bloody well told!" I yelled.
I went down. There was no ground any more. Just bodies and black blood, and a moment yelling at George had undone me.
Use the force Luke.
Yeah right.
Stop using the mundane. Use the power of the scepter.
A shape landed on me, and the suit's diagnostics suddenly started panicking. I realized an alien was eating me.
"End sword," I muttered.
The sword vanished.
"Force punch," I yelled, at the same time punching my right suit fist upwards.
The alien on top of me went flying, as did all of them for a dozen meters around me.
A giant suit plucked me off the ground, turned, and ran.
"I got you Jon," said Aline.
She put me down again next to the line, and took her place again.
"Third rank loaded," said Jack.
I could hear every gun on Fearless start up, and missiles started going in all directions as well, including into the black mass in front of us.
"George. GO!" I screamed.
Fearless lifted, and shot skywards. I breathed a sigh of relief. The troops were safe.
"We can't hold them," said Amanda.
"Keep firing," I said.
I closed my eyes, right hand outstretched, and hand open as if holding a real scepter. I could feel its presence, and I brandished it high.
"Light!" I commanded.
Blinding white light lit up the entire hillside, and aliens dropped where they were. More surged over the top of the hill to replace them. I fell to my knees feeling totally weak all of a sudden. It saved my life. Over my head went a pulse from ship weapons.
Giant suits fell, struck by other pulses. Before they could rise again, aliens fell on them, and they weren't able to move again.
I knelt there, watching my friends fall one by one, to ships firing down on them, and to aliens who prevented them from getting up again.
Déjà vu. This was exactly what I'd seen. One by one they all went down, and all there was, was black.
Forty Five
"JON!"
It sounded like BA, but she was dead. She'd been one of the last to fall. It was a fact. There was no emotion behind it, yet.
Something really strange had happened in the last few seconds, and it wasn’t me hearing dead voices. All the suits were buried in aliens now.
But around me was space. My suit was failing, its external surface looking like it was partly melted, and partly hacked at. But I wasn’t being attacked. They stood there and stared at me, a ring of cockroach-spiders all around me. My suit gave out warnings, and I was forced to open the back while I still could, and step out. Alien eyes shifted from the suit to me. They stared at me, I stared back.
"JON! Behind you and jump!"
It was BA. I looked around and saw an arm hanging in midair.
My turn must have been a signal, as the aliens started forward at me.
I jumped, putting as much belt suit energy into propelling my feet up as I could. The hand gripped mine, and pulled me up and in, where I landed face first on a deck.
I knew this deck. I was on Gunbus. I looked around.
And the whole team were there.
I didn’t need to ask how. The Cargo Bay was covered in simulators, and I assumed there were fifty of them. Some of them were still occupied, with the operator desperately trying to get their giant suit to rise again. One by one they gave up.
I picked myself up off the deck, feeling like uncooked toast, with holes poked in it. The girls stood around me.
"So," I said. "This is where you've been hanging out recently."
"Meant to tell you boss," said BA, "but you were kinda busy with other things."
Kinda busy? So they let me believe I was sacrificing all of us to save the battalion, when the only one I was actually sacrificing was me? If I wasn’t so tired, I'd have been feeling very pissed off about now.
"You're pissed at us," said Amanda.
I looked at her, then around at all of them. I walked out without saying anything. On the Bridge, I found a Jane avatar. I dropped into my chair, and wondered how long it'd been since I was last in it. I couldn’t recall. Jane looked at me, but stopped herself from saying anything. I opened ship coms.
"George, everyone's safe here."
"Great news boss. How?"
"I've no idea. And for the moment, I don’t care. Head straight through into Morocco, and RV with Galactica. Add your efforts to the evacuation there."
"Will do."
I closed ship coms, and sat there. I was physically and mentally drained. A butler droid dropped water in the holder for me. I nodded thanks, and began slurping it. Finally I turned to Jane.
"What the fuck is this?"
I could see my normal witty response on her lips, but she saw my face, and the humour died.
"This was an experiment Jon. In two parts. Amanda and Aleesha were adamant that if the teams were in the giant suits here, they'd all die. Something about a prediction from one of your recurring dreams. So they and BA have been working on remote control of the giant suits. Until a couple of days ago, there wasn’t anything to tell you about."
"And the other part?"
"You asked for a way for us to view what happened on the ground here, without being vulnerable to attack. Up until twelve hours ago, it wasn’t possible. Now it is."
"And?"
"The belt suit development team finally came up with a way of covering a ship this big."
"What took them so long?"
"Covering the ship was easy. But pointless without it actually being able to do its job. The belt suit draws energy from the wearer, utilizing the heat the human body generates. The droids I use also generate their own power, and radiate the excess as a small amount of heat. But a suit big enough to cover a Corvette sized ship requires a whole different magnitude of power, and there's no heat out there in space. You know why cloaked ships in fiction couldn’t do anything else with the cloak on?"
Hunter Legacy 12: Hero in Darkness Page 20