The officer nodded grimly, turning to run. Captain Dugachard shouted after him, her voice strained, ‘Activate our first beacon on the tower above…’ She sighed, indicating upwards towards Sam’s position, ‘Make sure the snipers have all the ammunition available…there may not be time to re-supply them later…’
The officer spun round and nodded again solemnly, his jaw flexing as he raised a fist to his chest, ‘Yes Ma’am, consider it done!’ He jogged across the square, shouting orders at the soldiers as they emerged from the adjacent buildings rubbing their eyes or yawning, their sleep broken by the arrivals. As they heard the commands, their eyes widened, some shaking their heads as they moved forward, their weapons grasped nervously.
An explosion in the distance caused Sam to look up, the flash in the valley followed by another larger fireball rising into the night sky, the sounds of the secondary explosions reaching them seconds later. He pointed out, glancing down to the captain, ‘Artillery firing into the valley Ma’am! I think it’s the Mobile Brigade!’
Captain Dugachard turned back to Tregan, noticing the tank commander stood next to him, ‘Get your vehicles moving, fire at anything you see…you need to get to the mine!’ She swallowed, ‘The Mobile Brigade is trying to buy us time. Get back here with as many survivors as possible!’
Both the men saluted formally, the tanker turning to mount the back of his armoured vehicle. Tregan indicated to Riaz and Shino, ‘Can you make another run in the carriers?’
Riaz stepped forward, his expression determined, ‘We are with you…’ He glanced at Shino, seeing her frightened eyes as she nodded solemnly. He indicated around them, ‘Most of these soldiers are militia…they will need the regular marines as support. We probably already have more fighting experience than these militia…just put us in the same carrier please. If we don’t go…we will just regret it!’
Tregan nodded seeing the large guns arrive behind them, the weapons attaching to an open top armoured emplacement fitting into the hatch above the passenger seat. Four soldiers struggled towards them with each of the heavy weaponry additions.
He looked at Debra, his head slipping to an angle curiously as she stared back at him. Her voice shaking, she forced a weak smile, ‘I am coming too…let’s mount up!’ She glanced at Shino and Riaz, her tone becoming stronger, ‘You two in the same carrier as us…this is a team effort!’
The hover tank’s engine whirred as it started to move forward across the flattened snow slowly, heading to the intersection ahead, the tanker waving for them to hurry from his open hatch as it lowered.
Riaz scrambled into the first carrier, making his way to the hatch at the front. Tregan grabbed his arm roughly, his voice rising, ‘What are you doing?’
Riaz slowly turned to stare at him, his brown eyes strained but stubborn, ‘I am going to do my job…you keep the women company in here…what would happen if you fell? We would just be three inexperienced troops! Now show me what this weapon can do!’
Tregan nodded, Riaz turning and pushing himself through the hatch into the front compartment. He looked up, hearing the small gun emplacement snapping into place, the stars above him glinting. Seeing the driver screw a cable from the passenger side into another dangling down from the armoured cupola above, he swallowed hard and began to push himself upwards in the seat. Rising towards the darkened sky above, he squeezed through the opening, his shoulders and arms resting on the inside of the armoured hexagonal cupola as the cold breeze swept over him.
The soldier above smiled knowingly at him, placing his gloved hand on his shoulder. He coughed as the cold air caught in his throat, slapping the metal gun in front of Riaz, ‘This weapon fires laser pulses. Fire short bursts or the gun will overheat and require time to self-cool…a few seconds at the most, but enough to get you killed.’ He grinned at Riaz’s startled glance up at him, pointing to a metal bar on the side of the weapon, ‘Pulling this back makes the gun go live, it will reset if it overheats…you will then have to pull it back again to fire, understand?’ Riaz nodded slowly, his eyes wide. The soldier continued, ‘Keep your head below the armoured sides and swing your body round to turn the turret. The rear gun will no longer be able to turn as far as you, so concentrate on an arc in front of the vehicle…you clear the way ahead…start firing to the sides and you will be vulnerable to frontal attack…and so will the driver. Lose the driver and it’s all over!’
Riaz gingerly clenched the weapon within the cupola, the barrel long and hanging over the front of the drivers cab. He indicated to the two closed barrels beneath the main gun, ‘What do they do?’
The soldier nodded, ‘They stabilise and focus the laser charge and add extra power to the weapon. These guns are too bulky and heavy to be issued to ground troops, but we can use them in fixed positions.’ He patted his helmet twice, ‘You are good to go, take out anything that moves…and remember…keep your head down. This is a scary position to be in…you will draw a lot of fire up here! Good Luck!’
The soldier patted his helmet again, scrambled away and dropping down the side of the vehicle as it rose slowly and pulled backwards, the engine whirring. Riaz glanced round, beginning to regret his choice of position, the nausea rising through his stomach as the fear swept through him. His mouth dry, he looked up at the tower above, the distant shrieks from the valley startling him. Distant gunfire from the west, towards the mine could be heard as the sky glowed red to the south east, the battle for the planet continuing. He strained his eyes, seeing the silhouette of Sam looking down, his head just above the balcony wall.
Sam raised his hand, swallowing as he recognised the soldier in the cupola. He grimaced, his emotions swirling as his work teammate raised a hand weakly in reply.
The armoured vehicle swept forward, Riaz being pushed back into the shoulder rest as his hands started shaking. As the tank turned right in front of them, the hatch lowered, Riaz swallowing as he heard the quad cannons swing round behind him, Tregan testing their movement. A crack from the tower startled him, Sam firing out into the darkened valley below. Sporadic bursts of fire broke out along the edge of the hamlet, the nervous defenders opening fire on any movement.
Inside the vehicle, Shino and Debra sat pensively, feeling the vehicle swing round to the right. Tregan leant out of the firing compartment pointing to the side of the armoured carrier, ‘There are two hatches on the sides…open the middle of the hatch only to fire out, and keep your heads down. If Riaz falls…I will need to know. One of you can replace me and I will go to the front to replace him.’ He sighed, ‘If he is wounded we will not have time to help him…you must keep firing, understand?’
Debra and Shino nodded, their horrified expressions causing Tregan to continue, raising his voice, ‘If you stop to help him, they may overwhelm us, then we will all be killed….remember, this enemy does not take prisoners…they have no compassion or mercy…they just kill!’ He jumped as several rounds hit the vehicle, the armoured carrier speeding out from the village into the darkness as the defenders behind dragged the barriers back across the track.
Debra glanced across at Shino seeing tears in her eyes through the gloom of the passenger compartment. She reached across grasping her shoulder, her voice reassuring, ‘Let’s get to our positions.’ Shino nodded, the compartment door for the quad cannon slowly closing.
The cold air swept across Riaz’s face as the vehicle swept forward on a carpet of air. The small headlights of the tank piercing into the swirling dust and low ground fog. He ducked instinctively as several rounds ricocheted off the right side of the carrier, struggling with the escalating fear within him. The shadows of the jagged rocks swept past on either side as the vehicles descended the slope from the village, the mountains before them black against the night sky.
Riaz struggled with his fear, realising he was more terrified than he had ever been before. His mind struggled with his body’s inaction, the air sweeping across his features becoming colder as they began to gradually climb towards the mountain tra
ck. He bit his lip hard, forcing his arms to move, pushing his right shoulder hard against the butt of the weapon. He grimaced as he forced the hard resin end of the gun against his frame, the pain clearing his mind as he gritted his teeth. His right hand slowly slipped into the trigger mechanism of the weapon, grasping the handle hard. Reaching across, his left gloved hand dragging the bolt of the weapon back. He heard a click, then his eyes widened as the barrel of the weapon began to glow slightly, sparks and electrical charges flowing from the two cylinders below along the length of the gun.
He began to force his erratic shallow breathing under control, taking deeper and deeper breaths and blowing the air out gradually to relax his emotions. He lowered his head to the sights of the weapon behind the raised armoured shield, his visor snapping down and beginning to glow red at the edges as a light blue formed across his vision. Then the visor synchronised with the turret, the sensors outside the armoured plate projecting the shadowy exterior images onto his visor, dust rising from the rear of the tank in front. His breathing became more erratic again as he spoke to himself firmly, ‘Keep your head down Riaz…the incoming rounds will go against the armoured plate…not towards you…make a mistake and it really will be ‘Game Over’ this time! There is no in-game re-spawn here!’
He stared out over the turret of the tank, his body shivering with nerves, straining his eyes into the piercing pin lights of the tanks headlights. Dust and the low tentacles of fog swirled as the heavily armoured vehicle ahead swept along the track, beginning to climb the gradual slope into the mountains.
He tensed as he thought he saw movement through the murky light, the shadows behind the jagged rocks seeming to dart and shake as the lights flickered across the surface. As another shadow moved, he instinctively pulled the trigger, the barrel crackled as electric charge shot from the lower barrels to the weapon, the full length of the metal glowing as it discharged. Three blasts of red laser light shot out of the end of the weapon, the searing light flying over the tank turret towards the snowed rocks and bouncing off the smooth surface, missing the gap. The point of impact glowed red, smouldering as the tank turret shuddered ahead, a flash of flames from its guns.
The explosion lit up the darkness as the as one shell flew between the rocks, the flash of flame shooting upwards as it hit the terrain behind. Two broken bodies flew into the air, the Silakian scouts killed instantly. The other shell impacted on the outside of the rocks, the blast throwing rock fragments and fire into the night air. The tank swerved right through the smoke, the fragments of earth bouncing off its outer hull. As the large armoured vehicle swung round, the flashes from its two machine guns lit up the darkness once more, sparks flying as bullets bounced of its hull.
Riaz shuddered and pushed his head lower as the armoured carrier swung to the right, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the images on his visor. White topped rocks and boulders were across the track at the top of the slope, blocking their route. Bullets and rounds clanked against the carrier’s armoured plate as the flashes in the distance prevented him from seeing the figures. Shrieking filled the air as he strained his eyes through the dust and smoke. Numerous Silakians and Morgons were firing from behind the obstruction, their rounds sparking as they bouncing off the tank’s armoured plate.
Riaz’s eyes widened as he saw the streak of light shoot from behind the barrier, the armoured piercing round being fired from a shoulder held missile launcher. The shell swept towards the tank, glancing its left side and exploding into the rocks at the side of the carrier. The carrier shook with the impact next to it, Riaz ducking his head as dirt and debris fell across his helmet and head, falling within the cupola. He pulled on the trigger again as the whine of the tank’s engines increased, the heavy armoured vehicle accelerating in an attempt to ram the obstruction.
The barrel crackled as the shirt shafts of red light flew towards the boulder across the track, bouncing off the obstructions. One laser blast swept through the boulders, hitting a Morgon in the chest and sweeping through his armour, killing him instantly as it seared through his internal organs.
The hover tank smashed into the barrier, its machine guns still blazing. Rocks and debris splintered and cracked, the sound echoing around them across the rocks as the carrier behind braked hard. Riaz was thrown forward, the front of his helmet hitting the edge of the cupola. Stunned, he shook his head forcing his eyesight back along the sights of the laser. Static lines twisted across the light blue of his visor, then it swept clear, the light blue fading away. He glanced above the cupola quickly, the dust and smoke ahead obscured his vision, ducking back as bullets clanked against the metal plate. The tank was grinding slowly forward as it forced the rocks aside. He pulled the trigger again, seeing shadows through the smoke as he peered over the cupola, the rocks screeching along the tank’s metal sides. Several rounds hit the armoured car and tank as the barrels flickered and crackled, the shafts of red light flying into the dust clouds.
He jumped as the cannons behind him chattered into life, the heat from the guns sweeping over him as the four barrels fired out over the rocks. Screaming and shrieking filled his ears as the carrier moved slowly forward, the tank in front still pushing its way through the boulders. Riaz jumped as the clanks on the sides of the carrier heightened, the cannon behind him swinging dramatically back and forth as Tregan realised the real reason for the obstruction on the track…not to stop them, but to slow them down. Morgon reconnaissance soldiers jumped from behind the rocks, their black exoskeleton armoured bodies mounting the sides of the carrier as the vehicle began to accelerate slightly.
Hearing the driver shout frantically below, Riaz jumped, ‘They are on the sides!’ He swung the cupola round to the right, the barrel smashing against the shiny black armoured helmet, the Morgon falling back over the side of the carrier. The personnel carrier swept through the hole in the obstruction, its body bouncing over the broken rocks below.
His muscles tensing and searing in pain, he swung the cupola back to the left, a metal helmet ducking as he did so. Then the black armoured body rose up above him as he tried to swing the armoured plate back round. Staring upwards in terror, his heart pounding in his chest, he saw the red eyes glow as the Morgon soldier brought his weapon down swiftly towards his face.
His eyes closed instinctively, his face screwing up in anticipation of the incoming blow. The high-pitched scream that filled his ears was almost deafening as the Morgon soldier dropped his weapon, the laser blast from the carrier behind cutting him in two, his limp body parts toppling from the top of the carrier. Riaz felt the impact of the cold blood upon his helmet, face and neck as the body above him disintegrated, an armoured limb hitting the back of his helmet before topping over the side. The weapon clattered across the top of the carrier, falling off the back as the vehicle accelerated through the gap in the rocks.
Wiping his face frantically with his padded glove, he glanced over the cupola. Riaz desperately grasped the laser rifle again, firing a blast beyond the tank as he glimpsed several black figures clambering up the sides of the large armoured vehicle in front. The cannons chattered behind him, the heat sweeping over the back of his head.
The visor swept light blue, the sides glowing red. He ducked his head back below the armoured plate, squinting down the sights of the laser rifle as the visor swirled in front of his eyes. The vision cleared, his breath held in his chest as he saw the shiny black armoured figures swarming on top of the tank, tugging at the hatches and ducking down to attach explosive charges. The tanks turret turned in a futile attempt to dislodge them, its manoeuvre limited by the narrow rock sides to the track, the red leopards snarling face seeming to shiver in the darkened gloom.
Riaz squeezed the trigger, the electricity crackling and surging around the long barrel as he held the trigger depressed. Shafts of red laser charged light swept towards the tank, cutting through the bodies clambering around it. Several were simply torn apart, the power of the energy too much for their armour to resist. A black ar
moured head bounced from the back of the tank as Riaz moved the weapon from side to side, the blasts of laser lighting up the rocks around them.
The shaft of fire swept past Riaz’s head as a missile fired from further up the track soared past the carrier, the heat from the vapour trail sweeping over his face. He ducked back in terror, his finger still depressing the fire button as the lasers continued firing in bursts. Electronic beeping filled his ears as the weapon overheated, the crackling ceasing as the weapon began to auto-cool. Pushing his face forward onto the sight, he saw the tank accelerating ahead, a dust cloud rising in its wake. The carrier shuddered as it bounced over the bodies below, the shrieking on the other side of the rocks terrorising the occupants.
Hot steam poured over him from the laser rifle as the auto-coolant was automatically pumped along the barrels. The tank swung hard left, the metal sides grinding against the rocks as the armoured vehicle negotiated the hard turn to rise up to the left of the carriers.
The shrieking rose as the tank fired at another obstruction on the track ahead, the flashes lighting up the road above them. Dust and debris showering over the steep rocks sides and onto the carriers below, Riaz spitting the dirt from his mouth and wiping his eyes as the carrier accelerated towards the bend, his hand grasping the bolt on the side of the weapon.
He stiffened, his fear rising once more as figures rose up from behind the rocks on the sharp turning, tightening his grip on the laser rifle. Rounds and bullets ricocheted off the carrier’s front as he ducked instinctively, depressing the trigger as he did so. The crackling ensued, bolts of red laser light flying towards the darkened exoskeleton armour at the bend on the track. Several figures fell, a jet of light flying towards the right side of the carrier from the missile launcher. The driver swung the vehicle left, the shell glancing the side of their armour as Riaz bounced against the right side of his hatch, jabbing pain searing through his shoulder. The carrier slewed left across the track with the blast, dust and shattered rocks peppering the side of the vehicle.
The Last Marine in the Galaxy (Galaxies Collide Book 1) Page 19