Sliding the final knife home into its neck sheath, I retrieved my helmet. Covering my entire head and face, it contained multiple comlinks, puterverse link, image strobe and forty-minute oxygen supply, yet extended no further than three centimeters from my head at any given point. With no visible faceplate, I had painted on a shining gold cross, a final witness to those I was about to kill.
There was a heavy click as Aaron rammed home the arming bolt of his high-speed slug gun. Dressed in powered heavy combat armor from head to toe, he looked more machine than man. Painted on his battle helmet was a large, staring eye, a hideous object that had distracted or unnerved more than one NATech grunt.
"Ready, Sarge." Sarah stood beside me, gripping her high-velocity phased slug gun. Using a combination of energy and matter, the rifle projected a tight, fluctuating phase field that the fired slug traveled along. Any target within fifty meters would also enter phase mode, then be vaporized when the unmatched phased slug came into contact. A properly trained dog could demoralize and dismantle the most disciplined NATech cohort in seconds. Sarah was a highly trained dog.
"Good." I lifted my rifle and led them to the hanger and the lead PDQ hov.
"You be careful, Abby!" Susie called after me. I turned back to her, Aaron and Sarah holding position on my flanks, ready to aggressively protect me in an instant. She couldn't see my face, but knew it would hold little expression. Knowing her skills, I would have liked her with us. Sayonara Susie was a good combat dog, but she would serve us better here, coordinating our attack with the other Resistance units.
I considered her comment for a moment.
"No," I replied, and turned away.
***
Three minutes.
The hov cleared the glasslands radiation zone and began accelerating as it shot through the bedrock toward our target, four thousand kilometers distant. The display in my helmet flashed briefly, indicating that hovs seven and ten were out of formation. Less than five seconds later, I received the "in formation" green arrow. Good. A sloppy entry was always the kiss of death.
We were the lead PDQ, just Aaron, Sarah, the pilot and me. Ours was the hot spot. We'd go in first and open things up while everyone else positioned for full assault entry. Aaron was on my right, Sarah was behind me. Two of the remaining five seats contained equipment for our second follow-up mission, the one that counted. I ran a leisurely equipment status check through internal diagnostics and was satisfied.
Two minutes.
The attack was a coordinated effort of six regiments. Two local regiments, the Seventeenth and Nineteenth, would create a diversion. The Seventeenth was the regiment Kenny and Wayne belonged to, and I was glad to hear they'd both survived our adventure in Glendale. Their regiment and the Nineteenth would take out the two supply bases on the surface. Meanwhile, the Eighth, Sixty-sixth, 201st, and our unit, the 179th, were to hit the massive cavern in three waves. The cavern was three kilometers by two kilometers and nearly five hundred meters high, and we were going to hit it from all sides, then perform a collapsing action on the middle with three regiments in the second wave.
If it went according to plan, when NATech had fortified themselves in the center, we would pierce them with the third wave, the phased insertion of the 8th, the most elite regiment of our attack force, directly in their center.
Before all that, though, was the first wave: Aaron, Sarah and I. While the remainder of the 179th joined the Sixty-sixth and 201st in the second wave, we would blaze the trail for the Eighth, appearing in the most unlikely, most dangerous location of all: the main barracks of the NATech Xeno forces.
A unisex barracks holding roughly two hundred soldiers, it was located in the middle of the western end of the base. Our first objective was to do as much damage as possible to the Xeno personnel. Although there were six other, smaller barracks scattered about the compound, crippling this one with a surprise attack would be half the battle.
If we were successful, we would then have to fight our way through the collapsing front and work our way to our true objective: a small access tunnel located behind the backup power generators, half a kilometer from our phase-in point. From there we would set up a puterverse access point and I would go after Chris.
One minute.
"Arming PDQ." I worked the console quickly. "Activating on-chair gyros. Synchronizing with puterverse virtmap. Forty seconds. Employ explosive dismount."
"Acknowledged."
"Acknowledged." Both my wingmen had fallen into combat readiness.
"We've got a synchronized virtmap, Sergeant," Parkins reported. "Beginning attack approach. All safeties released, downloading onboard navigational array to chair gyros." He paused. "Regiment break-off in progress."
I flipped up the regiment display and saw the other twenty-three hovs veer off our flight path, beginning a wide circling maneuver that would bring them together, then join them with the second wave, which would hit the cavern five minutes after we did. I had just switched off the display when I heard my private comlink activate and Jody's voice came through.
"Make it messy, Sergeant," she said, "and we'll clean up after you."
"Acknowledged. Twenty seconds."
I settled back in the humming darkness as tons of rock passed through my body each second, and closed my eyes. My beast was still caged, but only just. The heat of imminent battle was like the scent of blood, driving it - and me - to a plateau where only the most ruthless, most cold, most driven can ever visit and survive.
Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred,
their shirts all soaked with sweat,
they're riding hard to catch that herd,
but they ain't caught 'em yet.
'Cause they gotta ride forever,
on that range up in the sky,
on horses snortin' fire,
as they ride on, hear their cry.
Yippee-aye-aaa. Yippee-aye-ooo.
Ghost riders in the sky.
"PDQ engaged. Two seconds." The deployment klaxon sounded and Parkins corkscrewed the hov violently, allowing for a tight entry. The ERF clamped down and the launcher jammed us clear of the hov and into hard, hard bedrock, 181 kilometers beneath the cool green hills of Earth.
For a moment only, I tumbled out of control as the gyro oriented itself and initiated the nav program. Then the jets fired and the chair steadied. The low power indicator began glowing, a dull yellow at first but quickly brightening to gold, as the power draw from the ERF, gyro, and phase unit sucked the battery dry. It began blinking red, and then I was clear of the mantle, and shooting through the cavern itself.
We traversed the seven hundred meters of open space and buildings, aimed for the barracks. The power light was steady red. I committed the unstable emergency battery for each of the five chairs and hoped we had enough power to phase through the barracks wall.
We did. I went through first, with Aaron and Sarah close behind and the two equipment chairs following. There was a brief sense of darkness and then a heavy jolt as the chair exploded me free. The ERF protected me from the force of the explosion and the sudden change in velocity. With an ear-shattering crash, the chair smashed into the wall bunks, crushing and scattering men and women. It slammed against the far wall with a deafening, hollow sound that tolled the beginning of the end of Xeno Brigade Four.
Still moving at a modest speed, I curled up and tumbled, landing on a metal cot. Its occupant, a woman, had been awakened by the dismount charges and was reaching over her head for her pistol. I slid a holoknife from its quiver on my right arm and made a straight, fast stroke, laying her open from stomach to armpit. Knowing the holoknife had a life of only five seconds, I needed to use it quickly before the micron-thick energy blade evaporated. I flicked it at the bunk of the woman on my right. The knife sliced through her neck, nearly severing her head before the blade disappeared into vapor.
I jerked out a magpuck and whipped it at a grouping of four about three meters in front of me. I chose them because
they held the optimum location for Sarah and I to divide and attack the soldiers while Aaron wreaked havoc on the bulk of the force. My infrared visor snapped on as the puck exploded, spraying molten magnesium on all four while blinding dozens others. Two similar flashes on my flanks came from Sarah and Aaron. I pulled the slug gun free.
There was no communication between us. None was needed. Each understood and trusted the others. Considered the best triteam in the Resistance - to the point that even NATech knew and respected us - we operated as one efficient warrior. The Xeno troops swarmed around us, already adjusting to the impossible, the very best NATech had. They'd been caught by surprise, but all carried their own weapons and all were fast and ruthless killers. One hundred and sixty nine very tough soldiers who would fight to the death, refusing to understand or accept fear.
Not one was going to live another three minutes.
A sudden, rending scream from the depths of hell made even these seasoned veterans jerk and twirl toward this terrifying, unknown enemy. Aaron's high-speed slug gun had the piercing screech of a banshee as he stood there - his legs so immobile despite the wicked recoil that they seemed bolted to the stone floor. With his upper body and shoulders, he muscled the gun in sweeping motions that disintegrated cold metal and warm flesh alike, each shredding like paper from the gun's heavy slugs. They danced and lurched on invisible strings that plucked them from both sides; the ricocheting pieces of jagged metal being even worse than the slugs.
Sarah dropped to a knee and brought her rifle up, smoothly opening fire at the far end of the barracks. I followed the phased slugs in, confident she'd not hit me. We had used this tactic over and over with devastating success. In attacking me, the closer and more vulnerable of the two targets, they'd have to open themselves up to Sarah's constant and accurate gunfire. If they chose to take out Sarah first, my own weapons and skill would tear them to pieces. The correct solution, split forces, would not occur to them for five to ten seconds - far too long a time when we were already attacking.
I tossed two more magpucks into the gathering crowd, then tossed one high toward the back. My solid-display visor kicked in as the pucks detonated. The image strobe in my helmet flashed for a millisecond, capturing both the location and movement of the forty Xeno troops directly in front of me, then downloaded the data to my helmet imager. Their forms popped up on my visor and I went to work.
Opening fire with the slug gun in my left hand, I snapped on the inducer charger of my energy gun with my right hand. Knowing I didn't have any allies in close, I shot freely at anything and everything.
The inducer required four seconds to charge - the energy signature conflicted with phase technology so it had needed to remain off until now - so I was able to empty the twenty-shot clip and reload. A hand grabbed me from behind. They had chosen me, leaving Sarah free to pick her targets. Continuing to fire the slug gun in my left hand, I swung back my right arm and snapped my hand down, releasing a holoknife from the quiver. It sliced up and along the arm of my attacker, burying itself in his throat, where it turned into a vapor that penetrated his brain.
The energy gun toned ready in my ear and I jerked my right arm down, cleanly drawing the gun. I slug shot two goons to clear a path, then fired the inducer. Just as I did, two more Xenos softly exploded as Sarah's phased slugs took them out. I now had a very clear path to about six others who had grabbed their rifles.
The gun kicked in my hand and my ears started ringing, despite the helmet. All six were affected by the sonic inducer, three immediately dropping to their knees, vomiting blood, and the other three staring at us, unaware of what was happening. I'd kill them later. Right now I had six more on top of me. Time to get nasty.
I dropped the empty slug gun into its holster and pulled out my boot knife. The first one was attacking. I rolled to my back and kicked my boot into his unprotected groin. He screamed, then fell away, a large, smoking hole where his chest had been. Sarah never missed. With my knife, I sliced through the feet of two who had come too close. They staggered back and fell. I brought my right hand around, but since I wanted to save the energy shot, I snapped my hand down and fired two holoknives. The first one caught the blade in her gut as she lay, and it sliced up through her, severing her spine. She'd live at least another two minutes, unable to do anything except experience her approaching death. The second was luckier. Having fallen down on his stomach, his head was closest to me. He looked at me just as I fired. The blade punctured his face and traversed his body, partially exiting from his right leg before evaporating.
Although I appeared in the weaker position now, lying on the floor armed with only a knife and energy pistol, the reality was much different. Spinning over to my stomach, I swept a leg around. Knowing I could easily break their legs in my armor, three jumped clear while one attacked. I jammed my gun into his stomach and squeezed the trigger just as his head snapped back. Between my laser and Sarah's slug, he died instantly. He nearly fell on top of me, but I scrambled free and rose to my feet.
The barracks was eerily quiet, Aaron's metal terror having fallen silent. Even the attack siren sounding from outside only seemed to intensify the stillness.
Covered in their blood, I lifted the visor and faced my enemy, who mustered a mere ten. They drew back in numbed horror In their faces was the fear of inevitable death. Though four were armed, they seemed unable to act, unaware they even had weapons. One had soiled himself. We had taught them to understand and accept fear. What they had witnessed had been too much. All that remained of Xeno Brigade Four were shattered bodies and memories of past glories forever tainted by this brutal, humiliating end.
Coolly, I sheathed my boot knife and reloaded my slug gun in front of them. Aaron's heavy gun hitting the floor as he discarded it made them jump like frightened animals. Having their measure, and needing to bivouac, I turned my back and walked toward the equipment chairs. Like a ravenous wolf, Sarah swept past me, her holoknives being far more fang than these shattered warriors could cope with.
The equipment chairs had survived intact, and we could begin loading up. Aaron pulled loose the heavy access grids and effortlessly carried them over to one of the two entries into the room. The barracks took up the entire building, and each door led to a relatively narrow outside walkway. Sarah had joined us and put on the energy tap and cloaking equipment. Not having strength-enhancing armor, I carried nothing extra. I pointed at the north door, then held up two fingers. She picked up two of the less damaged corpses and carried them to the door.
Standing to one side, I pulled out both guns. I would normally use a sonic grenade for this scenario, but since the fighters most trained to ambush us now lay dead at our feet, what lay on the other side of that door could be easily managed while lowering the risk of deafness and equipment shut-down from the blast.
Aaron picked up a heavy foot and kicked the door open. Sarah stepped up and heaved the two bodies out, her powered armor giving her the ability to hurl them three or four meters. Immediately the corpses were riddled by gunfire coming from our right. That was all I needed to know. I waited for the inevitable cease-fire when they realized they'd been taken, then launched myself into the momentary calm.
I didn't wait to identify my targets. I simply opened up with both guns, and used the normal course of combat to assess my latest enemy. Again my ears started ringing as the inducer discharged. I had no idea if they were in range of the inducer or not, but didn't care. My slug gun was accurate to two hundred meters.
They were just barely in range of the inducer. They were also just barely soldiers. Looking more like support personnel than front line combat troops, they didn't react at all when I appeared. It seemed likely that the inducer numbed them to an extent. But they were a solid twenty meters distant, too far for the inducer to have any lasting effect.
They were, however, well within range of the slug gun. Bringing up my left hand, I trip-fired the slug gun, going for percentages rather than accuracy. They snapped out of their thra
ll and scattered. All but five. We now had the walkway to ourselves. I stood up, reloaded, and headed east. Sarah and Aaron were quickly at my side. I motioned up and Sarah jumped easily to the roof of the barracks, drawing her forty-shot speed pistol. If they had been watching this door, they'd be watching the other, and would be running here to back up their friends.
Aaron and I split up and ran down the walkway in opposite directions, Aaron going west, where the attack would most likely come from, while I headed east, toward what would be their rear.
Running past the five I had gunned down, I snatched up one of their energy guns and glanced at it. Standard issue, eight-megawatt reservoir, six-second recharge, and on the bottom, twenty-second suicide switch. I didn't have twenty seconds, so I split open the reservoir casing with a holoknife. The knife lost cohesiveness as it neared the energy core, so the casing was only deeply scarred. Perfect. I locked on the suicide switch, pulled the trigger, and felt a tingle up my arm as the energy core began spilling its contents. I had maybe five seconds.
Rounding the corner, I caught a face full NATech goons running in terror. Aaron must have caught up with them. Heaving the gun toward their rear as hard as I could, I toned an incoming warning to Sarah and Aaron, then got to work with the dozen grunts who now surrounded me.
I felt a wicked blow in my gut as someone discharged their energy gun into me at point-blank range. The micro-armor absorbed the blast and spread it to the gel packs, but I was down to four layers.
The person who fired had been the most dangerous, but now had to wait for six seconds before she could fire again. I border shifted the slug gun to my right hand and pulled out my boot knife with my left. I spun in a tight circle, holding the razor-sharp knife at arm's length. Turning the haft up, I slugged the person nearest the wall, then stepped around his falling body, pulling and holding the trigger of the slug gun.
Final Book Page 18