The Navigator (The Apollo Stone Trilogy Book 1)

by P. M. Johnson

  “They all nodded their heads and said in unison, “Yes, Lance Corporal Heath.”

  “You can call me L.C. Heath. Now follow me.”

  L.C. Heath quickly walked in the direction Lieutenant Styles had gone. Logan, Lena and Cap double checked their K-45s and swords that were in in their battle packs. They checked their bracers and fell in behind L.C. Heath. They soon joined a line of marching troops heading west down the slope of the hill.

  As they marched, L.C. Heath introduced them to the other members of his fire team. Bedford, Franks, Thompson, Lee, Flores, and Garcia. Franks, a big man with a deep baritone voice, and Flores, a broad-chested muscular man with tattoos on his neck and as far up his forearms as his rolled-up sleeves would reveal, were from Indianapolis. They had fled across the river when the SPD sought to arrest them for dealing in false buy cards.

  “Were you guilty?” asked Cap.

  “Hell yes,” laughed Franks.

  “Of that and more,” added Flores with a grin.

  “Then we should get along great,” said Cap with a grin.

  “Pipe down,” said L.C. Heath.

  Moments later, Logan heard the sound of artillery firing from their base on top of the hill in the direction of the bridge. Momentary flashes illuminated the still-darkened sky as the shells exploded in and around the Dellian camp. The troopers then broke into a trot for the next fifteen minutes.

  As the edge of the eastern horizon began to glow with the rising sun, Dog Patrol and the other five hundred marching troops joined the five thousand already in place on the northwest side of the hill on which the Sahiradin had established their camp.

  As the stars disappeared from the morning sky, Logan heard the high whistle of artillery being fired on the Sahiradin position. He looked up expecting to see explosions on the hill above, but was disappointed to see the shells were detonating high in the air. They were apparently striking a dome shield that protected the camp. Shell after shell exploded two hundred meters above the ground without touching the target below. Logan looked at the faces of the troopers at the foot of the hill. They were all watching the bombardment, waiting for the order to advance. Some wore fearful expressions, others were angry, but none of them were happy with what they were seeing.

  “Damn it,” whispered Flores. “Come on, boys, soften ‘em up a little for us.”

  The bombardment ceased and the seconds ticked by. Logan assumed the order to attack was about to come, but then he heard a whistle in the air. It was a lower-pitched sound than the other shells, more of a hum. The surface of the hilltop flashed with an explosion. Then another and another shell found its target. Logan suppressed a cheer as his feet felt the rumbling of the explosions in the Sahiradin camp above.

  “We must have switched from high-velocity shells to mortars,” said Lena.

  “Chew ‘em up, boys,” said Franks.

  Thirty seconds later, even the mortar shells couldn’t penetrate the Sahiradin shield.

  “Looks like they tightened up the shield,” said Lena.

  “Tighten it enough and they’ll suffocate,” said Cap. “I’d dig that.”

  “Always the optimist,” said Logan.

  Seeing the artillery was no longer having any effect, the order came down to engage shields and advance. Logan had been told that League shields could hold their charge longer than PRA standard-issue shields, but L.C. Heath warned his team not to count on them for more than one hour.

  “Listen for my order to disengage shields to save your charge,” he said. “And you all know that the Sahiradin have shields too, so be ready to switch out your K-45s for swords.”

  Logan looked at Cap and Lena as the line quietly advanced toward the base of the Sahiradin hill. They were carrying their short K-45 assault rifles but were prepared to draw swords if necessary. As they began ascending the hill, Logan could sense his fellow soldiers were growing increasingly tense. They had not seen any movement from the camp and everything was eerily quiet now that the bombardment had ceased. Logan knew the others must be thinking the same thing as he was. With each step forward, the likelihood of a close-quarters engagement with the Sahiradin grew greater and greater.

  To his left, Cap stumbled and fell to the ground. Franks reached down to help him to his feet. As Franks bent down, Logan noticed dirt crumbling into a crack in the ground. Cap got back on his feet, and he and Franks quickly caught up with the rest of the fire team. Fifteen meters behind Logan, the next line of League soldiers was approaching where he stood.

  Logan slowly drew his sword, making as little noise as possible. Using the sword tip, he touched the edge of the crack in the ground. More Earth tumbled into the darkness. He slid his K-45 into the slot in his battle pack. Placing both hands on the hilt of his sword, he moved the tip back and forth. He found the edge of something solid. As he lifted with his sword, the object began to move. Then it suddenly burst open, and five white-haired Sahiradin leapt out of a shallow hole in the ground.

  Startled by the sudden appearance of the Sahiradin, Logan stumbled backward but managed to block the swinging sword of a screaming Sahiradin. The other four dashed toward the approaching second line of League soldiers, who fired on them but to no effect due to the Sahiradin shields.

  Logan heard the sound of gunfire erupting along the League line as hundreds of Sahiradin sprang from hidden positions on the hillside. Soldiers yelled in a mixture of anger, fear, and pain as many were cut down by Sahiradin blades. Those who survived the first few moments of the surprise attack drew their swords and charged the enemy.

  Logan regained his balance and deflected two quick strikes from his opponent. The Sahiradin moved with lightning speed, but the surrounding tree trunks and branches limited his range of motion. Logan used these obstructions to his advantage, ducking and gliding behind trees or low-hanging branches. Fortunately, several League troopers rushed forward to assist him. As the Sahiradin blocked the attacks of two soldiers, Logan drove the tip of his sword into the Sahiradin between his shoulder and breast protection. Although Logan pushed hard, the alien’s tough, scaly skin prevented the blade from reaching deep into the Sahiradin’s flesh.

  The Sahiradin turned to his left, pulling his wounded shoulder away from Logan’s barely embedded blade. Then he quickly struck down two League soldiers. Suddenly, Flores came from behind and cut a long gash along the alien’s back parallel to the edge of his armor. Screaming in pain and anger, the Sahiradin turned and swung twice at Flores, who blocked the first attack with his guard and the second with his blade. Then another trooper cut the unprotected back of the alien’s right leg, causing him to stumble. The Sahiradin recovered his footing and stabbed the trooper in the throat with a short blade that popped out from the pummel of his sword.

  Logan looked at the Sahiradin withdraw the blade from the trooper and felt a rage surge through him like he’d never felt before. He roared and swung for the Sahiradin’s wounded leg, but he blocked Logan’s blade with his own. Logan then lunged forward and thrust his sword up through the Sahiradin’s jaw and into his skull. The alien’s pale blue eyes opened wide, but the light quickly left them. Logan withdrew his blade and the Sahiradin’s body collapsed to the ground.

  Logan looked at the three dead troopers and then at Flores. Flores was breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on the Sahiradin body. Then he held up his sword for Logan to see. The Sahiradin’s blow had cut the trooper’s blade in two. He dropped his broken blade and picked up the Sahiradin’s black sword. He swung it a few times, admiring its weight and balance.

  Logan nodded and said, “Let’s go.”

  The two of them dashed up the hill, but couldn’t find anyone from L.C. Heath’s fire team in the confused melee that surrounded them. Before the fighting began, Logan had expected a swift, pitched battle against the Sahiradin with his comrades fighting next to him shoulder to shoulder. Instead, the battle consisted of hundreds of isolated but vicious sword fights. The hillside echoed with the sounds of screaming combatants and ringing
swords. He and Flores ran through the trees, engaging in fight after fight, assisting fellow troopers to overcome Sahiradin. And with each fight the same story playing out - two, three or even four dead troopers for every one dead Sahiradin. Yet, the momentum of the battle was shifting, despite the confusion the surprise attack had caused and the Sahiradin soldiers’ remarkable skill with the sword. The troopers were gaining the upper hand and slowly advancing up the hill.

  Logan finally spotted L.C. Heath and Lena fighting a Sahiradin near the top of the hill. Cap was on the ground, motionless. The rest of the fire team was still alive by some miracle and fully engaged in a fight with two other Sahiradin to the left of Heath and Lena. Heath ducked under his opponent’s black blade and Lena drove her sword into the Sahiradin’s right side, but it was not enough to bring him down. The Sahiradin spun around to face her. She blocked two of his attacks, but had to backpedal to avoid a third. Heath attacked the Sahiradin’s exposed leg, cutting his calf muscle, but it was also not enough to drop him.

  Logan and Flores screamed and charged forward. Together, they launched a flurry of attacks, but the Sahiradin managed to deflect them. Lena and Heath attacked from the Sahiradin’s flanks, slashing and piercing his body in multiple places. He finally fell to the ground with a dozen wounds. He tried to rise, swinging his sword at anyone within reach, but his body wouldn’t comply. Finally, Heath stepped on the alien’s sword hand while Flores drove his black Sahiradin blade through the alien’s breast protection. He kept pushing until it went all the way through his hard scaly back.

  Lena ran a few steps toward Cap, who lay on the ground with a head wound. A knot formed in Logan’s stomach as he watched her examine the injury. Then she looked at Logan and nodded.

  “He’s okay,” she said. “Saved my life with a stupid screaming attack when this pasty bastard popped up from the ground.”

  She reached into Cap’s battle pack and removed a small packet containing antiseptic powder and a bandage and applied it to Cap’s still-bleeding wound.

  While Lena attended to Cap, Logan ran to join L.C. Heath and the others at the edge of a large clearing on top of the hill. What he saw when he emerged from the trees made his heart sink. Standing thirty meters in front of them were thousands of armored Sahiradin in a four-line-deep formation.

  Logan looked to his left and right along the tree line. Scattered groups of troopers were appearing out of the forest and stepping onto the field. They were all breathing heavily, and each one held a bloody sword in his or her hand. Logan returned his attention to the silent and perfectly still Sahiradin formation. In the distance, he heard the sounds of battle as the main League force attacked the Dellian position near the bridge.

  After a few moments, a Sahiradin standing just to the left of their front line drew his sword. He held it high in the air and barked out a command. The other Sahiradin shouted a reply, reached over their shoulders, and drew their swords in perfect unison. The sound of all those voices shouting as one sent a chill down Logan’s spine. Then the Sahiradin officer shouted again, and the formation started its advance.

  Chapter 70

  “Sir, you’d better have a look at this.”

  “What is it, lieutenant?” said General Longmire as he looked at a view screen depicting the current Dellian position near the bridgehead. The Dellians were deeply entrenched, more deeply than anticipated, and they had received heavy guns from their PRA allies; the new artillery was proving difficult to silence. The handful of PRA soldiers who had come to work on the bridge were also fighting with considerable tenacity.

  “We’re getting reports on the attack on the Sahiradin camp,” replied the lieutenant.

  “Finally,” said Longmire. “What have you got?”

  “We’ve reached the camp, but suffered heavy casualties in the process.”

  Longmire took the PDD out of the lieutenant’s hands. “How heavy?”

  He read for a few seconds and said, “Damn it. Send the order to withdraw. Immediately!”

  Longmire quickly walked across the command center to a soldier sitting in front of an array of communications devices. “Corporal, get me Lt. Colonel Brinks.”

  He toggled his ICS attached to his belt and said, “Captain Martins, we’ll need mortar shells on the northwest side of the Sahiradin camp, just past their shield dome. Start there and move north into the tree line. The Sahiradin are advancing and we need to provide our troops cover as they pull out.”

  “I’ve got Lieutenant Colonel Brinks, sir,” said the corporal as he handed Longmire a headset.

  “Lieutenant Colonel Brinks, I’m activating your reserve troops. I want you to hit the Sahiradin camp from the south side. Colonel Ambrose’s forces are taking a pounding and we need you to get some of those Sahiradin troops off his back. Do not engage in close quarters if you can avoid it. Withdraw if they push back hard. I’m going to direct artillery fire on the hillside above you and on the tree line to soften up any enemy troops waiting in the woods.”

  “Yes sir,” said a woman’s voice. “We’re ready.”

  Longmire ran to the forward observation post about thirty meters away from the command tent. He raised his field sensors to his eyes and surveyed the Sahiradin camp. On the northern edge of the hill, he saw the dark-armored Sahiradin troops quickly marching toward the tree line, where a few League troops could be seen disappearing into the trees. Suddenly the ground erupted in the midst of the Sahiradin line, sending many of them flying in the air. As mortar shells exploded around them, the Sahiradin quickened their advance, running across the field and into the forest in pursuit of the fleeing League soldiers.

  The bombardment of the northern side of the hill ceased. Then, after a brief pause, artillery shells began ripping up the ground and shattering trees on the southern slope. Lieutenant Colonel Brinks’ five hundred troopers began marching up the hill as the artillery fire advanced ahead of them.

  Longmire toggled his ICS. “Captain Park.”

  “Yes sir,” said a voice a moment later.

  “We’re going to need your birds to disengage against the Dellians and swing around the Sahiradin hill. Hit the enemy units pursuing our troops down the northern slope.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Moments later, Longmire looked to his right and saw six Nightwing combat helicopters abort a strafing run against the enemy position near the bridgehead and fly north up the river valley. As they turned toward the hill’s northern slope, jagged red beams of energy shot into the air from a long gray object in the Sahiradin camp. One of the helicopters exploded, and the burning hulk hurtled toward the ground. More leaping red fire shot out from the base and damaged a second helicopter, which began smoking and rapidly lost altitude.

  “Park, get the hell out of there!” Longmire yelled into his ICS. “Pull back!” The remaining four helicopters turned away from the Sahiradin camp.

  Longmire raised his field sensors to his eyes again and looked at the Dellian camp below. The League forces were finally pushing the enemy from their position at the bridgehead. Some Dellians tried to flee across the bridge, but the majority retreated north in a disorderly mob along the river bank toward the boats they had used to cross the river a few days earlier. A number of half-full boats were already crossing the water.

  “Captain Park,” said Longmire. “Swing wide around the Sahiradin hill and see if you can’t come down the river to provide support to our withdrawing troops. If you come under fire from the Sahiradin camp, disengage. Your secondary target is the Dellian boats crossing to the east side of the river.”

  “Roger wilco,” said Park.

  Moments later, Captain Park said, “General Longmire, sir. We’ve got a situation on the north side of the Sahiradin camp.”

  “What situation?” asked Longmire.

  Chapter 71

  Logan and Lena supported Cap, who was barely conscious, as they ran down the hill. Mortars exploded on the hilltop behind them. Based on the troopers he’d seen on the hilltop, Logan e
stimated only two thousand of the five thousand troops who marched up that hill were still alive. They had tried to withdraw in an orderly manner, but discipline quickly broke down and everyone simply fled as quickly as possible down the hill.

  Cap pulled his arms from around Lena and Logan’s shoulders and began to run under his own power. Lena drew her sword, which Logan noted was a Sahiradin black blade. Three Sahiradin rushed down the hill behind them. She ducked behind a tree to avoid one Sahiradin’s attack and thrust her sword through his side. The blade pierced the alien’s scaly skin and went deep into his body.

  Lena turned and ran just as the other two Sahiradin arrived. Logan blocked an attack from one of them and knocked him over with his shoulder. The Sahiradin fell awkwardly to the ground. Logan drove his sword toward his stomach, but it slid off his armor. He thrust again and sent the tip of his blade through the alien’s left eye, killing him instantly.

  Cap stopped running when he saw Lena fighting a third Sahiradin. The Sahiradin took hold of her sword arm, preventing her from escaping, and was preparing to run her through. Cap grabbed a log from the ground and smashed the Sahiradin in the back of his head. The unexpected heavy blow knocked him to the ground. Lena pulled her sword hand free and drove her blade into the Sahiradin’s throat.

  “Let’s go!” yelled Logan as more Sahiradin charged down the hill toward them.

  They all raced as quickly as they could, dodging around tree trunks and ducking low branches. To their right, some of the Sahiradin had caught up with fleeing troopers and cut them down from behind. And those who turned to fight were quickly overwhelmed and killed.

  Logan, Cap and Lena burst through the trees and dashed across the small field at the foot of the hill. Lieutenant Styles stood on the far side. She was facing the retreating troopers with her sword raised high in the air. Logan looked over his shoulder and saw the Sahiradin had slowed their pursuit.