“Remind me not to piss her off.” Wang pulled Riot to her feet.
BAM!
The Spartans succeeded in blowing the third engine that pushed the massive Zenoth ship skyward. A wave of heat hit Riot for the third time. The ship was aflame as it tipped front end first and began to plummet to the cavern floor.
“Out—now!” Rippa screamed over the comms. “It’s going to blow!”
Riot and her Marines hightailed it back the way they had come. Ketrick bled from a dozen different wounds across his upper arms, legs, and neck, but he refused help as he hefted a limp Vet over his shoulder and ran for the tunnel. Wang helped a limping Rizzo.
“Go, go, go!” Rippa yelled. “It’s our turn to cover you. Spartans, switch to flame throwers.”
Doctor Miller still stood atop the fallen rock, pumping round after round into the oncoming Zenoth. Riot couldn’t see her eyes due to her visor, but she imagined they would be wide with a mixture of fear and exhilaration.
Riot jumped onto the stone next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Stop. Let go now. You saved us. It’s time to go.”
Doctor Miller’s chest heaved. She finally let go of the triggers, looking to Riot for meaning to a feeling she had never experienced before. “I just killed. I mean … I’ve killed so many of them. They deserved it, right? It was us or them.”
Riot felt some long-buried emotion surge within her. It was a question everyone struggled with when taking a life. Apparently, this emotion even extended to bug aliens on faraway planets.
Riot could feel Doctor Miller shaking underneath her hand. Her actions had rocked her moral compass so hard, it was spinning. As much as Riot wanted to tell Doctor Miller she had done the right thing, there was no time. The Zenoth craft was seconds away from imploding on the ground. The Zenoth aliens still surged toward them, only kept at bay by the flames warding them off by Rippa and her Spartans.
Doctor Miller came to her senses long enough to follow Riot off the rock. The two women followed Ketrick and the rest of the Marines as they ran for the tunnel that would take them to the hive entrance.
Riot chanced a look behind her before they rounded the corner. Rippa and her steel giants formed an impenetrable wall. They walked backwards. From their right hands, flamethrowers erupted into the Zenoth lines that still surged forward.
Any Zenoth who braved the flames and charged was met with three metal claws that sprouted from each of the Spartan’s fists. The metal claws were as long as swords. They came from housings located between the armored giants’ knuckles.
Riot and her crew were around the corner in minutes. Ketrick carried Vet on his shoulder as if he weighed no more than a newborn kitten. Riot grabbed Rizzo around his other arm, opposite Wang, as they ran with him up the sloping tunnel hall.
“Run! Run! Run!” Rippa yelled over the comms. “Impact in three!”
Riot braced herself for the explosion she knew would be strong enough to come around the corner. Ketrick was the only one of them who didn’t have armor. Sure, he had in him the nanites that would eventually heal him, but he would feel the full weight of the burn as it scorched his skin.
You idiot, Riot thought as she looked at Ketrick’s exposed shoulders, arms, and neck in front of her. You’re wearing armor next time we enter the field.
“Bubbles,” Riot said, motioning to the stunned doctor who still traveled beside her. “Take Rizzo’s arm.”
Doctor Miller numbly obeyed, draping Rizzo’s arm over her shoulder and aiding Wang in taking the large man up the slope.
BOOOOOOOM!
The whole cavern shook once more. Riot raced toward Ketrick. The impact of the crashing Zenoth ship was enough to shake the floor itself. Stalactites rained down all around them. Flames from the explosion raced around the corner and up toward the tunnel and hive exit looking for a way out.
Riot was hurled through the air, lifted by the shock wave of the explosion. She tackled Ketrick to the ground, shielding as much of him as she could.
Riot grabbed him around his arms and pressed her helmeted head against the back of his neck. Orange flames raced all around them and toward the surface. In an instant, the flames were gone, but the cavern rocked and quaked like a dying man in his death throes.
“Rawwwww!” Ketrick roared at the pain.
“Get up,” Riot screamed at him, even as she regained her own feet. A quick look at his body told her she’d had minimal effect in saving his skin. Angry red splotches grew over his legs and feet, though his upper body was slightly less burned, thanks to her effort. “Pain later! Get up!”
Ketrick grunted as he pushed himself back on his feet. Without asking for help, he grabbed Vet’s still body once more and swung him over his right shoulder.
A quick look behind her told Riot the others had been saved by their armor and were already on their feet. Beyond them, the Spartan mechs had turned from their position fending off the Zenoth. That close to the blast, the Zenoth on the ground were either dead or in no shape to give chase.
“Hurry,” Rippa said as she ran toward Riot and her wounded Marines. “The hive is going to come down any second.”
As if to punctuate her words, more rocks fell from the ceiling. The floor below their feet rocked and quaked once more.
Dodging the falling debris, Riot led her unit to the relative safety of the chamber they had first descended into when entering the cave. Riot looked up past the bright blue luminescent glowing walls to see tiny specks of sunlight from above.
“Mount up!” Rippa shouted as she transitioned her mech down to one knee. The three other armored units did the same.
Riot helped Ketrick lift Vet onto Rippa’s unit. Wang and Doctor Miller aided Rizzo on Ragnar’s back before climbing up, themselves.
“Hang on,” Ragnar said over the comms.
Riot held on tight to Rippa’s mech’s helmet as she transitioned to a standing position. The thrusters under her unit’s boots roared to life and began carrying them to the surface.
There was no question that the hive was coming down. Rocks ranging from the size of Riot’s fist to Rippa’s mech unit fell from the sides of the walls and rained down on them like a storm of hail.
Riot was struck violently, but managed to hold on. One particularly large fragment hit her in the back of her head, sending stars dancing across her vision.
“Almost through!” Rippa said to the team.
A moment later, they were past the worst of it. The tunnel below them collapsed, burying the Zenoth ship and any Zenoth survivors. Riot looked up to see the edge of the hive only a few hundred yards ahead.
“Prepare yourselves,” Ketrick yelled over the comms. “The fight is not yet done.”
“Wha … what are you talking about?” Riot looked over at Ketrick, who rode on the shoulder opposite her. He held on to Vet with one hand and his weapon in the other. “The ship is destroyed, so we completed the mission.”
Ketrick’s red eyes were a mask of stern severity. He shook his head and was about to say something, when Rippa started to talk.
“Our feeds were down while we were underground, but I’m getting word from the Dreadnaught now.” Rippa was quiet as she took in the information. When she came back over the comms a few moments later, her voice was strained like a cord about to break. “Get ready. The other strike teams sent to take out the other two ships haven’t been heard from. We have to expect the worst.”
Riot was full of questions, but before she could ask any of them, the Grovothe mech units crested the edge of the hive. Riot blinked while her helmet adjusted for the severity of the scorching sun.
Vikta was flapping her massive wings overhead as she flew in a circle over the exit point. The constant vigil she had promised over their escape route had remained intact.
Out in every direction, the desert-like planet was a sea of red sand. Too small to see with the naked eye but made visible by the technology in their heads-up display, a hive mound rose to the north. At the same time, a
shadow approached from the east.
Rippa lowered as steadily as she could, along with the rest of the Grovothe on the sloping hill of the hive. They bent their knees and dropped the Marines to the ground.
Riot’s heart plummeted as the realization of what Ketrick had meant gripped her. Rippa’s words were made clear, as well.
A Zenoth ship, an exact duplicate from what they had been successful in destroying, was traveling to their location from the east.
“I’m opening the line,” Rippa said over her comms as she shouted orders to her Spartans. “Laser cannons need time to recharge. I know you’re low on ammo, but conserve what you have in your gauss forearm blasters.”
“The other two units haven’t responded since their attack, but with the emergence of the ships, we can assume they have failed,” General Tricon’s firm voice said over the comms. “I’m ordering the Dreadnaught in to take on the ships that have broken through the surface. Your job is to keep them preoccupied. Buy us enough time to get there. Don’t let them enter orbit.”
“He said two ships had broken through to the surface?” Riot scanned the horizon searching for the second. “I don’t see—”
To the north where the other hive was just barely visible, the ground was undulating. A Zenoth transport ship’s bulkhead broke through the sand.
“You had to say something,” Wang said from his position where he checked on Vet and Rizzo. “You just had to say something.”
“How is he?” Riot looked down at Vet. Wang had removed his helmet and was checking his vitals. More than anything, Vet looked like he was sleeping.
“That blast hit him pretty hard, but his armor protected him from the majority of the damage.” Wang bent down and hit a few buttons on Vet’s forearm control panel. “He’s unconscious, but his nanites are already at work. He’ll be fine once he wakes.”
Riot wanted to do more for Vet, but right now, there was no time. She turned to Rizzo, who sat with his helmet on next to Doctor Miller. “Rizzo, you ready to rock and roll?”
Nanites kicked in. Let’s do it! Rizzo said in big red letters over her heads-up display.
“How are we going to take the one in the sky as well as the one breaking through the ground?” Ragnar asked in his excited hyperactive tone. “We were barely strong enough to take down one.”
“We’ll find a way,” Rippa’s resolved voice answered back. A crack in her confidence showed as her next phrase came out a bit stressed. “We have to.”
68
Let me and Vikta go.” Ketrick looked up to Rippa’s mech. “We can keep the airborne ship at bay until the Dreadnaught arrives.”
“What?” Rippa looked over at Ketrick.
“You heard me.” Ketrick was already motioning for Vikta. The dragon obeyed immediately, digging into the side of the hive hill with massive talons. “You showed the strength of your people, as did Riot and her Marines. Let me show you what the Trilords are made of.”
“Well, I guess we don’t have too much of a choice, since you have the only airborne asset at the moment.” Rippa looked over to Riot.
“If he says he can do it,” Riot said, hating the words coming out of her mouth, but understanding this was the only way, “then he can do it.”
“I still don’t like you, giant,” Rippa said over her comms. Her tone was lighter now as if she had a grin on her lips. “Go and make your people proud. If you come back, maybe we’ll let you dine at our tables.”
“Whatever you say, dwarf.” Ketrick climbed onto Vikta’s back. He looked to Riot and give her a wink before Vikta rose into the air, kicking up a maelstrom of sand.
In a flash, Ketrick flew off to meet the Zenoth ship headed in their direction. If Riot estimated correctly, it was no more than three klicks away.
“That leaves us with the ship breaking through the surface,” Riot said, pausing to give Rippa the space to lead the mission.
“Any ideas are welcome,” Rippa answered back, sensing the reason for the hesitancy in Riot’s words. “Now is not the time to be prideful. If you have any ideas, I’m open.”
“How long are those claws?” Riot asked, motioning with her chin to the three sword-length points that had receded into each of the Spartan’s fists. “The Zenoth won’t be able to travel in space if there are multiple holes breaching their hull.”
“I take your meaning,” Rippa said, already shouting orders to her unit.
Riot ignored Rippa’s shouts to her Spartans for the time being. She had her own unit to worry about.
“Weapons check,” Riot said, reaching over her own shoulder to unclip the war hammer from her back. “What do we have left for round two?”
Wang held the handle of his molten blade in his hand, along with a Destroyer T9 he had recovered from Vet who used it as a secondary weapon to his rifle. Rizzo produced a Cannon FP290 from his hip holster.
Doctor Miller still seemed stunned. She opened her hands, showing she had nothing.
“This will be enough,” Riot said. Hands on her hips, she worked out the details in her mind.
“Oh, almost forgot,” Wang said, reaching into the sides of either boot. He pulled out four throwing knives. He was an expert marksman with the blades and never left on a mission without them. “I’ve got the trusty foursome with me, as well.”
Great, Rizzo wrote on his keypad. The words popped up on all of their heads-up displays. We’re saved.
“You’d think you’d be nicer with having to write out every word, but you’re just as sarcastic,” Wang said, shaking his head at his friend.
Rizzo responded by clapping Wang on the shoulder. He gave him a thumbs-up sign for good measure.
“All right,” Riot said, reining in their attention. “Someone has to stay with Vet.” Riot picked up Rizzo’s Cannon FP290 and handed it to Doctor Miller. “You watch over Vet like you watched over us in the hive and you’ll be fine. I don’t think you’ll even have to use this weapon, but better be safe than sorry.”
“But what if I—”
Riot didn’t let the doctor even finish her thought. In times like these, there could be no room for doubt or second-guessing herself. “You’ll do fine, because I know you. You’re not going to let anything happen to Vet while he’s in your care. You’re stronger than you know.”
Doctor Miller nodded slowly.
“Say it,” Riot ordered.
“I’m stronger than I know,” Doctor Miller said, and with each word she gained more strength. “I’m not going to let anything happen to Vet.”
“Again,” Riot said, punching the doctor in the arm.
“Ouch!” Doctor Miller rubbed her arm. “That hurt.”
“Say it again,” Riot repeated.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to Vet,” Doctor Miller said with more emphasis. “I’m stronger than I know!”
“Oohrah!” Wang added for good measure.
“Good.” Riot tossed the Destroyer T9, that looked like a cross between a tommy gun and a Benelli shotgun, to Rizzo. “Riz, you’ll watch Wang and my back while we do the hacking. Wang, the molten blade and throwing knives will do the most damage in your hands.”
Before Wang could say or Rizzo type the words “roger” in the heads-up display, Rippa’s voice entered the comms. “Time to mount up. The Zenoth ship is getting through the ground slowly, but it’s going to take us some time to sprint there.”
Riot and the remaining members of her team climbed on top of the outside of the mech units. They held on for dear life as the monstrous armored machines began to sprint to the emerging Zenoth ships. Amid the long strides of the metal warriors, Riot found herself worried about Ketrick.
He was being a brave idiot, but still an idiot. Riot searched the sky for him as Brimley’s mech unit ran down the hive hill underneath her. The second Zenoth ship loomed larger and larger in the distance.
Riot’s helmet shaded her eyes from the planet’s harsh rays. The Zenoth ship was easy to spot in the cloudless sky. Vikta and Ketrick
were a bit harder to identify as they maneuvered around the gargantuan craft.
Riot used the zoom feature in her heads-up display to get a better look at what she was seeing. Ketrick and Vikta maneuvered around the much larger ship like a fly around a dog’s ear. Both dragon and Trilord prince were wreaking havoc on the ship. Strictly a transport craft, the Zenoth had no weapons to fire back. The ship’s bulk was the only thing they could use to try to hit Vikta from the sky, but the dragon was much too fast and the ship much too slow for that to be effective.
Fiery blasts shot from Vikta’s maw. Ketrick dragged the axe side of his weapon across the ship’s hull, as well as sending a barrage of yellow blaster fire into the ship for good measure.
You gotta trust he can take care of himself, Riot coached herself. He’s a big boy. He’ll be fine. Concentrate on the objective in front of you right now. What the heck are you going to do about this ship?
Riot turned her attention to the task at hand. The Zenoth ship breaching the sandy floor of Raydon was still a klick or two out, but Rippa and her Spartans were covering the distance quickly.
So far, only a quarter of the massive ship had reached the surface. It was a slow act of getting the entire ship’s bulk through the underground hive’s ceiling, but it was happening minute by minute.
“We have to assume they’ll use the same tactics here that they did in the hive,” Atlas barked. “Orders, Major?”
“We’re not going to be able to bring it down the same way we did before,” Rippa said. “And we don’t have to. We just have to buy the Dreadnaught enough time to get here. We’ll all rip it up and do whatever damage we can. When they offload their troops to stop us, the Spartans will keep them at bay, while your team continues to inflict damage, Riot.”
“Roger that,” Riot said. Her right hand on Brimley’s mech’s helmet tightened as she reached behind her shoulder with the left hand and grabbed her war hammer once more. “Wolves, when we land, follow my lead.”
“Roger,” Wang said.
War Wolves: Boxset 1-3 Page 32