When Alpha Squad came in sight of the target buildings, they saw a large mass of pale-bodied Arkana soldiers and a smaller number of black-armored ESS Marines. Andy could see Atad and Beta Squad—minus one—coming out of different streets, and neither group hesitated to rush into the fray. Some Arkana were fighting, while others were trying to gain entry into the building.
Coming in range, Andy pulled up short to bring up her rifle. She targeted the first Arkana she could get that wouldn’t send the bullet through a Marine first. She took out one and then a second, while the rest seemed to shift. It was an ebb and flow of combat that put too many enemies in the way of her shots.
Anallin managed a little better and took out a couple with superior sniper skills.
Andy sought out another target, but whirled around at the last minute when she heard boots pounding the pavement. She didn’t know what made her realize they stood out from the other sounds, perhaps it was the sound of running, but she knew it was different and it was coming for her.
As she turned, an Arkana soldier barreled into her. The pale woman didn’t appear to have any weapon and her immediate proximity made it impossible for Andy to use hers. Instead, she brought the weapon up and blocked with it like it was a polearm rather than a rifle. She pressed her weight into her feet, but the power behind the charge still made her slide back.
Andy twisted the weapon suddenly, bringing it from horizontal to vertical with a speed that sent one end cracking into the other woman’s face as it broke her attempts to get a hold of Andy. The Arkana’s head snapped to the side and she spat blood on the ground, cursing in ways Andy had never heard before.
Seizing the initiative, the major brought the rifle back a little—horizontal again—then shoved forward, hard and fast. It caught the other woman across the chest and sent her onto her back. Spinning the rifle around, Andy moved to take a shot but a long leg with a pale-colored boot flew up and around in a one-eighty that caught the rifle and would have sent it flying had it not been attached to Andy’s person.
It was enough to throw Andy off balance, though, which was enough for the soldier to get back on her feet. Andy let the rifle slide down and to her back, bringing up her hands while the Arkana came at her again.
The Arkana sent a kick towards Andy’s midsection and she jumped back, swinging her arm down to deflect the leg and to try to throw the other woman off balance. Just as the kicking foot hit the ground, Andy moved in with a right hook. It split open the other woman’s cheek, but she returned with a punch of her own that cracked against Andy’s chin and jarred her skull.
She clenched her teeth against the feeling of reverberation, and brought her hands up in time to block a second strike. Shifting back a step, she put a little space between her and the other woman and then caught the next hit before it landed. Gripping the woman’s wrist tight, she pulled and pivoted. Andy drove her elbow into the Arkana’s head and then down into her gut, letting go as the soldier stumbled back, gagging.
Andy spun back around and drove her elbow into the back of the woman’s head, sending her to the ground where she didn’t get up again.
As she swung back around and brought her rifle up to aim into the enemy lines, she heard a cry behind her. She turned her head to see Jade gripping her side, staggering back a step. The girl’s face was contorted with pain and she couldn’t hold her rifle for that moment, but she had the presence of mind to pull her sidearm and return fire at the one who had injured her.
Andy hurried to Jade’s side as the woman turned and fired another shot. “I’m fine, Sir,” she called over the sounds of combat, even as her hand remained against her side. “Just caught me by surprise.”
“Whatever you say, Martin,” Andy replied. If Jade was still on her feet, then that was all Andy needed to know right then. She turned enough to put their backs facing one another and Andy took another sweeping survey of the fight.
She lifted her rifle to take out a soldier that was flanking one of Beta Squad’s Marines, but before she could pull the trigger, a blast of energy hit the ground just beside her. She cursed and pushed Jade back, moving them away from that target zone as her dark eyes rushed towards where she felt certain the shot had come from.
At the edge of the field, toward where one of the streets let out into the lot that these buildings sat on, was an Arkana soldier holding one of their rifles. He was one of the few not engaged in direct combat, probably because he was standing on the outside of the field of fire and so was less of an obvious threat to those on the inside.
The gun was still up and even at this distance, Andy thought she could see the faint blue glow around the muzzle that suggested it was about to fire again.
“Move!” she shouted, pushing Jade again in some instinct that she knew where he was going to fire next. And her instinct was right. She had moved them out of the way just in time to avoid being melted by that next shot. The rapid succession of dodges kept her grip on her weapon loose, but she brought it up tight now.
She sighted down the length and put the Arkana sniper in her sights. She saw the telltale glow again and squeezed her own trigger fast, and first. The bullet shot through the space between them in a second. He didn’t move fast enough but did avoid a kill shot. Instead, her bullet hit his hand and he dropped the rifle to the pavement.
As he bent down to pick up the weapon, her second shot didn’t miss.
Andy looked back towards the buildings, which were at the center of everything.
This building and its doors and windows appeared to be particularly well-constructed and able to withstand attempts to tear it open. Although she thought that the Arkana didn’t look like they had been well prepared to physically break anything down to get in. Between these two facts, they hadn’t yet breached the power plant door, but she knew it wasn’t going to take much longer.
“We’ve got to stop them from getting in,” Andy declared. “I don’t know what they’ll do, but I’m sure we won’t like it.”
23
“If you have any ideas, Major, I’m open to them,” Jade said, sounding out of breath but determined.
Andy didn’t have any ideas, though. At least not any really good ones. She had thought about trying to take them out one by one, but there was too much movement at the building and in between them for clear shots. She knew they would have to get closer, but a swath of battle stood between her and that objective. There was no easy way through.
Suddenly, there was a purple figure beside her. What Roxanna had to say made it seem like her empathic senses suddenly were telepathic, but Andy wasn’t going to question it.
“Access street,” she declared, panting slightly. “The Arkana haven’t found it yet—or blocked it off. I just barely caught sight of it, but if we can get to it, we can get around the main fight and get behind where they are trying to break in. Then we can flank the Arkana on both sides and close on them like a trap.”
That made Andy grin, though it was a mirthless expression. “Get Anallin and Thomas if they can disengage, and pull any from Beta Squad who aren’t heavily engaged. Then double-time it back here and show us where this access road is.”
Roxanna nodded sharply. “Yes, Sir!” She hurried off and Andy watched their surroundings cautiously, but it seemed like the fighting was concentrated below.
She let her eyes swing to Jade, checking her over. The younger woman looked worn, but who among them didn’t by now?
A moment later, Roxanna returned with Atad and two other members of Beta Squad, as well as Thomas. Anallin was still standing back and trying to pick off enemies from a distance to even the odds below. Andy decided that was the best use of the Hanaran’s sniper skills.
No one said anything because there was nothing that needed to be said. Andy nodded at Atad, then turned and followed Roxanna. The group made their way in a wide arc around the back of the fighting, crossing through an alley between two buildings to conceal what they were doing from the Arkana.
As they e
merged, they saw what the Selerid had seen: a narrow, rougher-kept road that seemed less like a street and more like a path. They started onto it, keeping their eyes open for any surprises that might come their way. Andy brought up the rear, letting Roxanna lead them while the major made sure they all stayed safe.
“Just ahead,” Roxanna whispered and Andy looked around the moving group and could see the southern side of the building. Around the curve towards the east, she knew the Arkana were trying to beat down the door.
The Marines hurried to the side of the building and then started sliding around it, moving towards the loud banging.
Soon even the curve of the building couldn’t conceal them and they came in full view of the battering ram crew, although they weren’t using any sort of special device. It was just a large piece of hard debris that they were using the “old-fashioned” way. Luckily, they didn’t have any demolition or tech experts to short circuit whatever locking system had been used and were still struggling to gain access.
The Arkana suddenly realized they were no longer alone and turned their guns on the Marines. It was an instant firefight. The Marines already had their weapons ready and fired first. Several of the Arkana dove for cover, but there was little to be had.
The battle was over quickly. In the end, all of the Arkana had been eliminated, but they had lost one of the Beta Squad Marines, and Thomas had taken an apparently non-fatal wound.
“Let’s finish this fight,” Andy ordered. There was always time to grieve later, because right then, they had a fight before them. She looked at Thomas, who only nodded in response to the question she hadn’t asked. He was able to continue. With that, she gestured for the group of Alpha and Beta Squad Marines of the 33rd to enter the battle lines once again.
“That building is the sensor array annex,” Jade said, pointing to a smaller building next to the main power plant. The young woman looked pale, but alert. “If I can get in there, I can use the planet’s sensors to track the rest of the Arkana. They’re more accurate than our shuttle sensors or handheld scanners.”
The Marines now stood on a battlefield gone quiet. The tide had turned, and now it was survivors, prisoners, and the unlucky ones. Medics moved among the Marines treating the wounded. Prisoners were bound and set aside, while the wounded were also moved off the field and treated. At least, they were given triage medicine—just enough to keep them alive until they could return to the ship.
“Let’s see what we can do,” Andy agreed with a nod. She left everyone to their tasks, because they knew their jobs, and walked with Jade to the sensor array.
It was locked, but unlike the Arkana, she had a specialist...and a communications link to the citizens of the town. The two Marines were inside quickly. The building had been evacuated so it was just Jade and Andy.
Jade sat down at the console, but paused and took a deep breath. Andy watched her carefully.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, Sir,” she replied, getting to work on the controls. The console lit up and she quickly navigated through the security system, as if she had been using them all her life. The main screen in the center of the console showed little dots, but Andy wasn’t as sure of what she was looking at as the younger Marine was. She hit some more buttons, lights changed and dots moved.
“Well?” Andy asked after a few moments’ pause.
“As far as I can tell, the Arkana on the planet have been neutralized,” Jade said. “There are none coming to the planet, and there are no active groups currently...on...” She began to slur her words and sway.
Just as she was about to fall out of the chair, Andy ducked and caught her. The girl was out cold, but she still had a pulse.
“Medic!”
24
Jade was laid out, still unconscious, on one of the medical beds in the Star Chaser’s sickbay. They had treated her enough to get her onto the shuttle and back to the ship.
The ship itself had been something of a mess after its own battle, but the tactical officers had done well enough. They weren’t her Marines, of course, but they’d held their own. Now sickbay was full of injured members of the 33rd as well as a handful of tactical personnel. The place was nearly filled to capacity, but it was doing its job.
“I think the girl took ‘Marine toughness’ a little too far,” Andy commented quietly to Roxanna, who was standing beside her with a freshly sealed wound showing over the sliced edges of her uniform. They were all ragged and dirty. They all needed a shower, a hot meal, and a night’s rest.
It would come, in time.
The Arkana ships had retreated when they realized they couldn’t win. They had left all of their people there on the planet and on the ships they had attempted to control.
Lovely people, that half of her genetics.
“The doctor says she’ll make it,” Roxanna said. “They’re going to keep her under for a while, though. Make sure her body has a chance to heal. Girl wasn’t going down without a fight. You should be proud of her.”
“I am,” Andy said soberly, “but proud only goes so far when you nearly kill yourself.”
Roxanna smiled a little and patted her commander on the shoulder. “Did you hear about our new ally?”
Dark brows knitting, she turned to look at the Selerid. “Who?”
Andy walked into the far corner of the sickbay, where a very unusual patient was sitting up on one of the beds. It was a familiar face in a familiar pose in a brand new location, and one that shocked her to no end.
“They tell me that you fought with the tactical crew after brig security went down,” she said, skipping any sort of greeting or pleasantries. She was just too tired, and there wasn’t time. She just wanted to know what was going on.
“I did,” he replied laconically, looking as warily at her as she was at him.
They both just stared for a long moment, and she was reminded of the soldier she’d had the standoff with on the planet. At least this time, there weren’t any guns.
She let her eyes roam over him. He had changed into ESS standard “general” clothing with long, loose dark grey pants and a sleeveless dark grey shirt. She could see several wounds in his pale skin that had been covered with sealant, the liquid bandage gleaming slightly in the white, sterile lights of sickbay.
“Why?”
He continued looking at her for a few minutes, then offered a faint smile. “Anath.”
Andy blinked. Was that an answer to her question? It didn’t sound like one.
“That’s my name,” he clarified before she had the chance to ask. “My name is Anath. I thought you’d want to know.”
She nodded slowly. “Alright. That’s good. But I ask again...why?”
Anath took a long, deep breath and looked down at his pale arms. He rubbed his hand over a few of the wounds. “I told you before,” he said. “I’m dead if I go back to my people. I have broken the law.” He laughed ruefully. “It wasn’t the first time, but this was a big one. I have always...rebelled.”
“So, you figured that you’re dead if you go back, you might as well switch sides?” she asked, not able to hide a hint of derision in her voice.
“That’s part of it, I suppose,” he said plainly, looking up at her with those striking blue eyes set in the snow white face. “But...it’s more than that. This is wrong. I don’t believe in what my people are doing. I don’t believe in what my father is doing...” He held her gaze without blinking, and she felt a sudden weight pressing down on her. “What...our father is doing.”
Andy was too tired to stop herself from openly gaping.
He gave her a few moments to process that before continuing. “Your doctor can check my blood and prove to you that it’s true,” he said. “I know it sounds like a pretty handy story, a good lie to tell to get you on my side, but blood is blood. I am your half-brother, although my mother was an Arkana woman.”
The room started spinning and she had to put her hand on the nearest wall to keep from falling over. Figuring ou
t how not to throw up was another matter entirely, of course, but she managed to keep her stomach where it was supposed to be.
This...captured Arkana—sitting in her ship’s sickbay with only a single guard out front—was her brother? How could that be?
She would be asking the doctor, but the possibility was overwhelming on its own. Just the possibility. Since the room wouldn’t stop spinning, she pushed off from the wall and found the nearest chair to drop herself into.
“I know you don’t trust me,” Anath went on. “And honestly, I do not blame you. I wouldn’t trust me either. I was fighting, with the other Arkana, to take over this ship. When I realized you were on this ship... Well. Something changed.”
“What?” she asked dully.
“I thought maybe I wouldn’t be alone anymore,” he said with fervor in his eyes. “I have never been well-loved by our father, because I rarely agreed with him. His other children, his other subjects, would fawn on him. I would not. And neither did you. Our people came for you, but you resisted. That was...heroic.”
Andy swallowed hard. “The family I have found is more important than a few drops of blood I didn’t even know I had until six months ago,” she said quietly.
“You’re the first to ever resist in that way. The only one. Until now.” Anath blew out a breath. “I would rather fight with you than with them. It took me a little while to sort out all of my feelings, but I knew I had to help you as soon as I knew you were here. But now I have, and I know what I need to do.”
She stared hard into his eyes, trying to find any sense of deceit or half-truths, but it just wasn’t there to be found. It didn’t mean it wasn’t there, of course, but she couldn’t see it. She ground her back teeth together, trying to calm her rising agitation.
Earth Space Service Space Marines Boxed Set Page 22