The only weapon he had at his disposal was a Boa. The only defense he had was the 120 odd meters of distance from the opening of GC-2 and the ditch in which he had taken cover. Tuwile gave himself 20 seconds before he took over his designated drone. As he was waiting, he noticed the rest of his mates jumping into the ditch next to him one by one.
Every one that is, except Pvt. M’bwane. He was lying halfway between the opening of GC-1 and the ditch. The Shaitans may be poor shots, but 12 naked Marines in their underwear running out in the open for 150 meters was hard to miss with multiple machine guns even for the Shaitans. They had claimed their first casualty in this battle. It won’t be the last. Pvt. M’bwane was lying in a pool of blood, and Tuwile knew that the sight up close would not be pretty. The saving grace was that Pvt. M’bwane would have died instantly without suffering.
The Predators were doing fine for the moment. They were being handled by 6 Marines. It were the Boas that had not been gainfully employed, so Tuwile took control of his Boa, while he was still recovering. Boas were specialized drones meant for confined space combat, ideal for fighting in the tunnels of Jehannum. The five meter long, 35 centimeters thick drones were basically all muscle. Synthetic muscle to be precise.
The Boas didn’t carry any firepower. In many ways the Boa was the most simple piece of engineering as far as drones go. Simple but deadly. It had a 5 meter long, 20 centimeter thick, flexible cylinder battery at its core which stored the brute power of the drone. On top of the battery was a layer of 10 centimeters thick synthetic muscle covering the entire length of the Boa.
So much muscle mass gave the Boa a nightmarishly fearful strength. It could crush a full grown warrior Shaitan to death with almost no effort. In fact Boas were known to have crushed passenger vehicles to a fraction of their size with nothing but their sheer muscle power back on Earth.
The Boa’s method of fighting was a contact sport. It was a non-ranged weapon that came in contact with its enemy, so it needed extra protection on the exterior. The skin of the Boa was a layer of Titanium scales modelled on the scales of a snake. Nature had perfected the design, and human engineers simply copied it.
The five centimeter thick exterior of the Boa consisted of two centimeter thick Titanium scales arranged in an overlapping fashion. The scales gave the Boa protection from most gunfire and sharp weapons, and yet kept the drone flexible and supple to move like its namesake. The scales performed dual function. The Boa could raise the scales like the hackles of an animal, and the sharp edges of the scales could cut through any animal tissue. The Boas were a specialized Shaitan killing machine.
Unlike their namesake however, the Boas moved at a tremendous speed. Their serpentine motion was more akin to that of a desert viper. Tuwile noticed that the other 10 Marines had the same idea, as 6 Boas headed into opening of GC-2. Tuwile had taken over the Boa of the unfortunate Pvt. M’bwane. Operating two Boas simultaneously was only minor strain. The Boas had the same level of sophisticated processors as the Predators, so they didn’t need to be micro-managed.
Like the Predators, the Boas had a basic level of pseudo-AI built into them. They could take simple decisions like optimal method of attack on a target, keeping in mind the maximum probability of damage to the target while suffering the least damage itself. Left on its own, it would chose the closest or easiest target once put into combat mode. If left on its default settings, the Boa would mindlessly slash and crush its opponent until it was shredded and pulped beyond redemption.
The pseudo-AI had no sense of tactic or overall priority of choosing a target keeping the overall objective of the battle in mind. This is where a human operator came in. The drone systems operated optimally if a human being supervised the target selection and degree of attack, including when to leave a wounded enemy and go after a new one.
The Predators were pumping out a copious volume of fire to keep the Shaitans bottled up within the GC-2. At that rate the drones would soon be out of ammunition. Once the main body of the Shaitans reached the mouth of GC-2, any amount of firepower would not be enough to keep them bottled in. The Shaitans wouldn’t think too much about sacrificing a few of their own in order to rush out and overwhelm the drones. What was needed was the brute force stopping bower of the 6 Boas.
It was possible to take the camera feed of the Boa inside his head, as Tuwile was sure the Predator operators must be doing at this very moment. For operating the Predator remotely, it was an ideal thing to take the drone’s point of view in one’s head. One got to zoom and target using the Predators’ scope, and the Predator’s motion did not give a feeling of motion sickness.
The point of view of the Boa however was a different story altogether. The serpentine motion of the Boa was so alien to the human mind, that most people immediately felt motion sickness when they took a Boa feed into their head. Tuwile avoided taking the Boa feed inside his head as long as possible, directing the two Boas with his own vision. Once the Boas had entered GC-2 though, he had no option but to endure the incredibly jerky camera view of the Boa.
The five Marines operating the Boas initially concentrated on simply crushing or slashing the gun limb of the Shaitan and then leaving it alone. That immediately reduced the volume of fire coming out of GC-2. This enabled the Predators to get closer to the mouth of GC-2, improving the efficacy of their firepower and enabling to be more discriminating in choosing their target, thus wasting less bullets.
Unfortunately the mouth of both the canals were too big to be blocked by the melee of 6 boas fighting with Shaitans as they appeared. Many of the Shaitans were simply sidestepping the Boas and emerging to open up on the Predators and even take potshots at the Marines hiding in the ditch. The main body of the marching Shaitans would be upon the mouth of GC-2 at any moment, and the valiant efforts of the 12 drones and their operators would not be enough to stop them from getting out.
It was at that moment, the first Mule emerged from the mouth of GC-1 heading straight for the ditch. Although the Mule didn’t have any offensive capability, it still was able to provide immediate relief to the predators. A large volume of the Shaitan fire was immediately directed at the moving object, which the Shaitans mistook for a combatant.
The Mule was designed to take gunfire and plasma fired from hand held weapons. In fact it was often used by the Marines as a cover from fire, so the firing of the Shaitans did not bother it. The Mule simply kept ambling away towards the ditch where the 11 Marines were holed up. The few seconds of respite from firing however enabled the operators of the Predators to command them to make a dash for the Shaitans who had emerged out of GC-2 past the Boas.
The Predators had been weaving in and out behind concrete structures which were part of the dam, using them as cover. One of the Predator had been hit badly at the thigh and one of its leg was inoperative. The computer had compensated its gait, and it moved similar to a three legged dog. The rest five Predators were fully operational and made a dash for the Shaitans with an incredible burst of speed which even a cheetah could have never dreamt of.
By the time the Shaitans realized what had happened during the time they had let off the firing pressure on the Predators, the drones were upon them slashing and stabbing in a mad frenzy which would have been the envy of a demented devil. Left to themselves the Predators would have kept slashing till the Shaitans were chunks of meat, but their human operators withdrew them back to their cover position within a few seconds, letting the Shaitans bleed to death.
The Mule came right to the edge of the ditch and then its legs folded as it squatted down into a sitting position, such that its boxy body provided cover for the Marines to stand up and retrieve their gear. By the time the Marines had put on their armor and taken up their weapons, a new set of Shaitans had emerged from GC-2. This time however there were 11 more guns firing at the Shaitan emerging from GC-2.
“Use the Predators for close in combat to support the Boas in providing stopping power. We will provide the firepower now. The Predators
must be low on bullets anyway.” Tuwile told his mates who were controlling the Predators as the 11 Marines slowly crept towards the position that the predators had occupied, all the while firing, while the Predators made a dash towards the opening of GC-2.
The Mule had returned back to the mouth of GC-1, patiently awaiting the arrival of the 13 Marines who were only minutes away. Tuwile shouted on the general channel. “The main body of the Shaitans had reached the opening! If you guys don’t get your ass in here soon, we will be overwhelmed! We are going in. There is no other way to stop them!” The 11 marines left their cover and started progressing towards the mouth of GC-2 in a leapfrog manner with half the Marines crouching and giving cover fire, while the other half leapfrogged to provide cover in turn.
“Hang on… almost… there.” Came a strained voice. That voice was that of the first of the 13 marines following the lead group. He had pushed his reserves to the utmost and along with two others managed to break slightly ahead of the others. When the three of them reached behind the patiently waiting mule, they stumbled and fell, hardly being able to pick themselves up from the floor.
None of the three could see properly, and they were seeing flashing spots in front of their eyes, a typical symptom of the blood pressure having reached a critical point. The Mule did not have their armor, which was coming on the next Mule, but there were six guns and plenty of ammunition. The three Marines picked up a gun each and fired in the general direction of GC-2 without raising their head.
The Marines could take input from the guns directly into their head, so they did not have to raise their heads to see where they were firing. Unfortunately the Marines were so exhausted and disoriented at that moment that the feed from the gun’s scopes was not registering in their brains properly. So they just fired in the general direction in the hope of diverting some of the Shaitan fire towards them. They succeeded.
A volley of fire struck the Mule, which despite its robust design was at the edge of its endurance. There were a few holes in its holds. It would not last too long if it continued taking this kind of a beating. “Man down!” Tuwile heard someone shout. The lead group was now down to 10 with three naked Marines supporting them from the sides. One of the Boa and the injured Predator were also down. Things were not looking good for the Marines as a large number of Shaitans emerged from GC-2.
Tuwile and his mates were lying prone taking shelter behind fallen Shaitans, but it wasn’t much of a cover. He flinched as a Shaitan jumped on to him. This is it he realized. The Shaitans have been able to reach the Marines. If it became a hand to hand combat, then it meant that it was all over. The Shaitans would overwhelm the Marines with their superior physical strength and greater numbers.
Tuwile reached for his hip knife to begin his last mortal combat, when he felt an unusual jerky sensation of the Shaitan on top of him. Then the Shaitan leapt away and went into its death frenzy. Tuwile was puzzled because he had not put a single lead or blade into the Shaitan. He looked to the side and the sight of six fully armored Marines rushing from the mouth of GC-1 was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
Tuwile was about to shout a cry of relief when he saw an even more amazing sight that stunned him into silence. A Marine running at top speed on a vertical wall! It took Tuwile a moment to realize that the wall was not exactly vertical but a steeply sloping wall of the underground canyon through which GC-1 and GC-2 tunneled.
The Marine was small but moving with amazing grace, using the momentum of the body to defeat the low gravity of Jehannum and literally run across the wall. The movement left no doubt that the Marine was a woman. There were only two women in his Company – Sgt. Awiti! Then she jumped! It was an impossible jump even in the low gravity of Jehannum.
She had been at a 45° angle to the ground running at top speed across the face of the wall. She stepped on a stone jutting out of the wall and jumped higher but straight towards the mouth of GC-2 and the horde of Shaitans fighting below! Tuwile almost closed his eyes to avoid looking at what was to follow, but she did not fall! Instead she managed to hold on to a narrow ledge a few meters above the GC-2 entrance.
The ledge in reality was a part of the massive sluice gates that was used to shut GC-2 when required. Sgt. Awiti raised herself with the grace of a cat. Then Tuwile got too busy to notice what Sgt. Awiti was doing. He had much more pressing matters at hand.
The Arrival of the 13 fully armored Marines had lowered the pressure and pushed the Shaitans back into GC-2, but it was only a temporary lull, because it was obvious what the Shaitans were doing. They had quit trying to storm out and instead were systematically trying to overwhelm and kill the drones first. The Boas were fighting valiantly, but multiple Shaitans shooting and stabbing the drone was bound to kill it sooner or later.
The Shaitans had also managed to trap and kill four of the much more delicate Predators. Two had managed to escape and were standing next to the Marines awaiting orders as all of them waited for the next rush of Shaitans to exit.
“Fire in the hole! Clear GC-2! 20 seconds 100 meters! Repeat fire in the hole! Clear GC-2 NOW!” Everyone heard Sgt. Awiti shout over the com, as she made one more of her graceful catlike jumps from the raised sluice gates of GC-2 and started running for cover towards GC-1. Tuwile and the Marines along with the two remaining Predators did the same.
The location of the sluice gate on the mouth of the canals was perfect for a demolition job. Sgt. Awiti had studied it while riding the Mule. She had overcome the shame of having to ride the Mule and decided to redeem herself by doing an outstanding demolition job. The sluice gates were constructed with the typical hallmarks of Shaitan engineering – simple, reliable and robust.
Instead of a metal gate that would corrode over time, the sluice gates were made out of concrete, probably reinforced with metal on the inside. Its operation was simple, so nothing could go wrong. A geared teeth raised it and gravity brought it down. When the gate was down, the pressure of the water would press it against the wall and make it watertight.
For a demolition job, there could have been no better gift that the sluice gate. It was made out of reinforced concrete that was well over a meter thick and nearly 200 square meters in area. It must have weighed a few hundred tons. The sluice gates were at the lower level of the dam. If the dam were to be opened up and the sluice gates needed to hold, they had to withstand tremendous pressure, hence such a massive gate was required.
All that a demo expert had to do was to have a few well-placed explosives within the sluice gate mechanism, and the entire gate would come crashing down. If the demo expert was skilful, which Sgt. Awiti was, then a few extra sticks of plastic explosives drilled into holes next to the anchors of the gates embedded within the wall would ensure that the force of the gate crashing down would also bring a good part of the sloping wall along with it sealing the canal properly.
In the thin atmosphere of Jehannum, all sounds were softer than usual for an earthling, and yet when the sluice gates of GC-2 came crashing down, the sound was deafening to the Marines. A loud cheer went around, as someone shouted “Three cheers for Sgt. Awiti! Hip, Hip, Hurray!”
Sgt. Awiti in turn reported back to her commanding officer. “Mission accomplished sir! GC-2 is sealed shut for good. No Shaitan is coming out of it in a hurry, sir.”
Lt. Odoyo was out of breath badly. He ordered all Marines still running trying to reach the dam to come to a halt and take a few minutes break, as he stopped himself and resisted the urge to sit down. The last thing he needed was a cramp. He strained while speaking. “Task accomplished sergeant, not the mission. Our primary mission was to blow the bloody dam and flood the canals. We have only managed to buy ourselves some time Jata. I just heard from the wounded Marines we left at the cave-in site. The Shaitans have started drilling through the fallen debris. It is only a matter of time before they get through.
From the sound of it, the Shaitans have managed to bring heavy drilling machinery to the site. They will be able to get t
hrough in less than an hour, possibly in the next ten minutes. The Marines listening could not say. One thing is for certain, the Shaitans will break through a lot earlier than our rescuers drilling from the top.” Lt. Odoyo said in between his panting. He was trying to come to a decision, but it all depended on what Sgt. Awiti said, so he connected back to her.
“Sergeant, I know it was not our Company’s mission to blow up that dam, neither are we carrying specialized explosives for that task. However I want your opinion. Is it possible to crack that dam with what we are carrying?” Lt. Odoyo asked Sgt. Awiti.
“I haven’t had a close inspection of the dam sir, but from what I can see from here, I would say this. The dam is a modern arch dam design similar to the Hoover dam, which was one of the first of its kind. This fact in itself gives me hope because arch dams need a lot thinner walls and gates due to their clever design. If it had been a gravity dam or a buttress dam design, I would have told you straightaway that we don’t have the kind of explosive. Give me 10 minutes sir, let me reach the dam and inspect the sluice gates before I let you know for sure.” Sgt. Awiti replied.
“Make it as quick as possible Jata. The wounded marines out there waiting for the Shaitans to break through may not have too much time.” Lt. Odoyo said and then connected to Tuwile.
“Tuwile, congratulations on the greatest Marathon ever run by a human. Unfortunately there is no time to rest, I want the Marines to empty out the two Mules that have reached you and send the Mules back to carry the wounded Marines... and Tuwile… fan out the Marines and try to find high ground. You know… the kind where we can take refuge if the dam bursts. When you find such a place, carry whatever you can to that high ground, especially food.” Lt. Odoyo paused to let the implication of what he was saying hang, then he added. “And one more thing Private, send the two surviving Predators back to the wounded Marines to help them to whatever extent they can. Just reload the ammo on the Predators before you send them.”
Retribution (Shaitan Wars) Page 45