Harris glanced over at the heavily breathing Tawn. “Burns the lungs doesn’t it. I say we put an end to these pukes and get our asses off this insanely hot planet.”
Tawn nodded. “Lead the way.”
A mad dash had the duo closing in on the thirty-four New Earth soldiers who inhabited their side of the hill. Harris stayed low as Tawn moved her way up the hill slightly to give her a better firing position.
In the course of the few minutes that followed, sixteen of the thirty-eight invaders found their lives at an end. The aim of the Biomarines made them deadly. The continuous movement made them near impossible targets. The NE squad commander called for a retreat.
Tawn yelled, “Make your move now! We’ve got them!”
Half of the retreating men fell silent before the others joined with the next group.
Harris gestured back toward where they had come from. “We make those rocks or we’re dead. Those other groups will be reaching the hilltop any second now.”
After another short run, the team found themselves huddled between two rocks.
Tawn said as she took heavy breaths. “That was one heckuva charge back there. Worthy of having a story told to the hillbillies back on Farmingdale.”
Harris said, “Squat down. Take advantage of this shade for a minute.”
Harris stood, running ten meters to the dead body of an Earther, dragging it back to beside Tawn.
Tawn chuckled. “You planning to pull a vampire on him?”
Harris shook his head. “Don’t have the filter here for that. What I want to do is see if he has any kind of water supply.”
Tawn nodded. “You check for that while I look for a comm. Maybe we can work up a truce.”
Harris laughed. “Good one. We’re badly outnumbered and outpositioned. They rush us again and we’re goners.”
Harris growled. “Nothing. Looks like the suit keeps that all internal. The open sections are already completely drying up. What’s it been, three or four minutes of exposure?”
Plasma rounds began to dot the grounds going out from their position. Harris looked out from behind the rock where they had taken refuge. A medium-size gray mechanical dog darted back and forth across the sands as they exploded upward. The robotic pet named Farker carried a satchel in his mouth.
Harris shook his head. “You believing this?”
The dog dodged a final few rounds as it entered the rock formation surrounding them.
Harris took the satchel as the loyal pet sat, wagging its mechanical nub of a tail. The satchel was practically ripped open, revealing two liters of cold water. Both Biomarines turned the containers up, swigging down the precious liquid with large gulps.
Harris grinned as he reached out to pet his friend and savior. He pulled his hand back with a frown as the synthetic fur coat began to come off in his hand. A brush of the side of the dog left it with the appearance of mange. Harris gestured for the dog to move into the shade.
“He’s gonna look hideous by the time we’re done here.”
Tawn chuckled. “Kind of like us?”
Harris looked at his dog. “We’ll heal. He’ll have to be repaired.”
Tawn flipped up the visor on the helmet she had removed from the fallen Earther. “I can hear their comm, but there’s no way I can use it. Can’t get that little helmet over my big head. Same for you.”
Harris held out his hand. “Let me see it.”
The helmet was flipped over repeatedly as Harris took stock of its structure. Placing the headpiece between two rocks, the heavy Biomarine stood. A jump up and a hard kick by his boots saw the biosuit helmet split into three pieces.
Harris handed them back. “There. Let’s see how your negotiating skills are.”
Tawn looked over the three sections. “Won’t make a difference now. You killed it. It’s dead.”
Harris shrugged. “Not like we could have used it otherwise. You willing to attempt your sniping on those above us?”
Tawn scowled. “Problem is, at this distance they can do the same. With that many rifles they are likely to get in a good shot.”
Harris grinned. “I’d say that leaves us with three options. We stay here and take a beating. We charge up that hill and try to take it back. Or we head out the way Farker just came in, hoping to dodge everything they throw at us.”
“Option two.”
Harris raised an eyebrow. “Hilltop charge? I’d place that at our lowest probability of success. That’s about thirty people up there. And the ones to the right and left of us will be firing at our backs the whole way up. And we have twenty meters of open to cross before we have any semblance of cover.”
Tawn looked at Farker. “All we need for that is a distraction. Three or four seconds and we’re on our way.”
Harris frowned. “You want to send my dog out to draw fire? After he just saved our lives by bringing water?”
Tawn shook her head. “It’s not alive. It’s mechanical. And yes, I want to send your dog out there to draw fire. We make it to those rocks and we have a shot at charging all the way up. And I tell you what… we make it out because of this he can hump my leg as long as his robotic heart desires.”
Harris turned to face his pet. “You up for this, boy?”
Three farks were returned.
“When I give the word, I want you to race back out across that sand. You’re objective is to get shot at, but not hit. You got that?”
Three farks were again returned.
Harris laughed. “I almost believe he understood that.”
Tawn replied, “Yeah, well get your ass together because we’re going in five. That group to the left is starting to move this way.”
Harris gave the order. “Go get ‘em, boy.”
The dog ran out into the open. Turned as sharply as it could in the sand. Multiple plasma rounds rained in from all three positions.
Tawn yelled, “Move it!”
The Biomarines jumped into the exposed area together, each racing up the twenty meters to the next set of rocks. A flood of plasma rounds came their way. Tawn lay prone, poking her plasma weapon around a low corner of the rock to her left as she quickly ripped off three rounds, ending the lives of three soldiers who decided it was time to rush forward.
Harris continued his climb as shrapnel from the rocks around them ricocheted and bounced. Down on the sand, Farker turned and darted, continuing to draw fire before a round exploded in the sand under him. The robotic canine rose five meters into the air before falling back and going silent.
Harris glanced back with a scowl before turning his wrath toward the occupiers atop the hill. A relentless assault of two shots fired followed by a quick move, propelled him up the slope as Tawn continued her sniping of the two groups who remained at the hill’s base.
As the upward charge continued, a plasma round entered a rock beside the stump. Shrapnel blasted outward, shredding the sunshield on the right side of his body. The intense heat of the Eden sun began to sink into his skin. Harris pushed his shoulder into the one spot that offered a moment’s shade, before popping up to continue his assault.
One by one the occupiers were picked off as the genetically-engineered warrior showed his worth. When the count on top had dropped to two dozen remaining, the squad commander ordered a retreat. Harris raced forward, reclaiming his prior position.
Round after round of plasma bolts found the backs of the retreating force with the last falling before reaching the base of the hill. With the top retaken and the retreating group finished, Harris turned his fight toward the lower groups. From his new position, many were exposed and began to pay the price.
The lower groups signaled retreat. Tawn Freely stood with her weapon, firing into their backs as they ran. As the fleeing men ran back across the expanse toward the trail from whence they had originally come. Harris lowered his rifle.
“Tawn? You OK down there?”
“I am,” Tawn yelled back. You?”
Harris glanced down at his red
dening shoulder. “Shield is half gone. Gotta get out of this sun… and fast.”
Tawn climbed the final few feet to his position. “How many we got left?”
Harris replied as he looked back down at the sands where his pet lay motionless. “I count close to fifty.”
Tawn nodded. “Impressive charge. That’s one for the history books for sure. Looks like they’re heading back out on the trail.”
Tawn turned to look at her partner. “Wow. You shoulder is already blistering. We need to get you some cover.”
Harris reached down, picking up the upper torso of a fallen Earther. The arms were snapped off and the suit split open. One half was used as a shield against the merciless sun.
“Let’s go collect my dog.”
As they walked toward the downed animal, Tawn said. “We should hustle over to the ships, come back and collect the weapons, and then catch the rest of those troops on their way back. If they surrender their weapons we’ll let them go. After that we pick up Trish and Gandy.”
Harris sighed as he leaned down to collect his defunct pet. “Hope they’re OK. Wasn’t exactly a good situation to leave them in. They aren’t trained to deal with conflict like that. I thought Gandy would faint when he saw the first dead body.”
The sprint back to the ships took twenty-five minutes. The two retired, Zwicker Class warships lifted into the hot Eden air, setting down beside the hill several minutes later. The area was scanned and the weapons collected. The bodies of the fallen were left to bake in the extreme sun.
A second run was made to catch the retreating troops. A single blast from the railgun of the Bangor was followed by a complete surrender. Again the weapons were collected. The captives were sent on their way. The two ships landed only meters from the Boxton compound.
Tawn and Harris entered the building to an immediate call for their surrender.
A call came from the first hall. “We have your people. Give up your weapons.”
Harris stood just outside the door exiting the welcome room. “Not gonna happen. And we have news for you about your assault. It failed. The last of your people are headed back this way. You turn over our people and your weapons and we’ll leave you alone. Otherwise you all die here.”
The voice replied, “How you figure? We have you outnumbered and we have your people!”
Tawn shook her head. “If you’d like we can go collect the fifty of your people who are still alive out there and bring them back here for an exchange. Hows that sound.”
“Sounds like you’re in the weak position. Our demand stands as it is.”
Harris replied, “Fine then. Be stubborn. I would suggest you move away from your reactor room though. It will be open to the sun in a couple minutes. My ship has a weapon aboard. A powerful weapon. I take out that reactor and you’re all dead. How’s that sound?”
The voice laughed. “Your ships are no longer yours! We have them surrounded!”
Tawn sighed. “Bad move on your part!”
She turned to face Harris. “You want the inside or the out?”
Harris thought. “As much as I’d rather stay in the cool. I’ll take the ships. I’ll signal you when I’m in the air. Maybe a well placed tungsten round or two will convince them they are the ones with the weak hand.”
Harris cracked the door going out only to be greeted with several plasma rounds impacting the walls beside the door.
He stepped back. “Looks like another rush job. When I fling this open, expect a few rounds to come through.”
Tawn grinned. “Won’t much care. I’ll be moving in three to four seconds.”
The Biomarine slug dove into the hall, firing as she rolled toward the far wall. At the same moment, Harris yanked the door going out wide open. Two additional plasma rounds struck the exterior concrete wall as a third came through the door. With a short run, Harris made his own dive out into sand. Two plasma rounds found their targets as he pushed himself to his feet with his left hand while firing with his right.
Two of the eight men guarding the ships lay dead, their chests blown out through the back of their rib cages. Harris stood against the near hull of the Bangor.
Tawn came over the comm. “How’s it going out there?”
Harris replied, “I’m out. I just need to push them around a corner so I can get in the ship. How about you?”
“I took out three. Have them pushed back to the main hall. They have the angles on me from here. I’m kinda stuck.”
Harris chuckled. “Well unstick yourself. We need control of that reactor room. You can threaten to shut it down, even if only temporarily. Let that temperature rise in there and they’ll be begging to give up Trish and Gandy. This fight comes down to life and death. And my guess is they all want to live.”
Harris ran, dove, and rolled up into a shooting stance, taking out the stunned Earther who was guarding that particular corner. Two additional steps had the back side of the ship cleared as the men attempting to hold it scampered around a far corner. The hatch slid open and Harris hopped inside.
The Bangor lifted, tilting down to take aim at an adjacent building. “Tawn. I have the ship.”
Several seconds passed before Tawn replied, “They got the drop on me. Came through a hidden door.”
Harris replied, “Tell whomever is in command I have one of their buildings in my sight. They have fifteen seconds or it gets destroyed.”
Tawn again gave a delayed reply. “Guess you have to destroy it. They said no.”
Harris pressed the trigger. A thunderous explosion shook the compound. The building that had once housed a supply room, now showed as a five meter deep crater. The hallway beneath it collapsed.
Chapter 23
_______________________
Harris opened a comm. “They have another dozen buildings and I have plenty of rounds. The choice is they surrender the three of you or I destroy these buildings one by one. And if any of you are injured or killed by their hand during that process, they will all die. Including the fifty still out on the trail.”
The comm was silent for almost thirty seconds.
Tawn said, “They want to know what assurance they have that you won’t kill them all if they release us.”
Harris laughed. “None. What they have is my word. A word that already spared the lives of fifty of their friends. That’s all the assurance I can offer. That next building goes in about twenty seconds.”
After another moment of silence, Tawn replied, “We’re coming out. Trish and Gandy are OK.”
Harris asked, “With the weapons?”
“With the weapons.”
Harris said, “Tell them to signal their team outside to lay their arms down in front of your hatch door. We’ll leave once they are disarmed. And I would advise them to all make their way back to the spaceport for a ride home. And tell them we’re willing to provide that ride should they accept.”
Seconds later, Tawn stepped aboard the Kingfisher. “How we gonna do that?”
“We have a thirty-two passenger shuttle do we not?”
Tawn scowled. “We don’t. The Retreat does.”
Harris replied, “We’ll I’m sure the foundation wouldn’t mind us borrowing it for a worthy cause.”
Trish stepped in from the heat. “That is insane out there. What happened to you? You look like you came out of a deep-fryer.”
Harris nodded. “Got caught out in the sun a bit longer than I was hoping. But it looks like we accomplished what we came here to do. We have the weapons and the threat to Eden is diminished. They treat you OK in there?”
Trish returned a half scowl. “They did, but I’ve decided being a hostage is not my thing.”
“How’d they get control of you?”
Trish sat in the copilot’s chair. “They turned off our lights and told us the oxygen and cooling were next. I tried to bluff about destroying the reactor, but they wouldn’t bite.”
Harris nodded. “A bluff during war is only as good as your willingness
to see it through.”
Trish half smiled, “Yeah well, I’m new to this war thing.”
Tawn stepped back into the cabin of the Bangor. “I offered the ride. They declined. Gandy performed a scan for plasma charges. Looks like we have them all. Might be best if we just leave.”
Trish added. “I like the sound of that.”
Harris replied, “See you up top for a jump back to our space.”
Tawn hopped out into the blazing heat of the midday sun. The two ships began to lift from the compound.
A comm came in from the pacifists at Dove. “Bangor and Kingfisher. This is the port director at Dove, speaking for the government of the planet of Eden. Your violent methods are not welcome here. You have chosen to violate our covenants, and from that a unanimous ruling by our council has been passed down. Both ships and their registered crews are hereby banned from Eden proper and Eden space.
“Any further intrusions into Eden space will be met with a stern warning, a citation and a fine. And please recognize that while pacifists, we are not above incarceration. We ask that you immediately comply with this ruling and as always… that you go in peace.”
Harris chuckled. “Well there go my dreams of being a pacifist.”
Trish replied, “You act like you enjoyed all that. Even your crusty smile says so.”
“It’s not that Tawn and I love war. Heck, we’d both prefer to not have to fight as much as anyone. But if someone is insistent on bringing it to us, well, it’s what we were made to do. We’re warriors and we fight wars. We trained our whole lives to do so. I’d much rather be gorging myself at the buffet than having my skin roasted off in some extreme climate while hostiles are trying to kill me.”
A wormhole opened and the two centuries-old ships passed through.
***
Harris sat in his soaker-tub, with bubbles covering the surface and a cigar in his mouth. A half eaten bucket of chicken sat at the tub’s edge.
Tawn walked in. “Figured I’d find you here.”
“Man’s gotta recover from the stresses of war. And thanks for knocking. Chicken?”
Tawn chuckled. “The door was unlocked. And thanks, I’ll have drumstick.”
ARMS War for Eden Page 21