The Vanguard Emerges (Maraukian War Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  The people in them were the techs who were sent out to keep them running and confirm targeting coordinates.

  “Where is the legate in charge of all this?” Evan demanded.

  “He’s in shack 31D!” one of the techs in the room said, looking at the man covered in ammunition packs who couldn’t even make it into the door.

  “Here are my coordinates. Fire on them. This is from the legate in charge of the defenses of Indalia.” Evan sent the information to the tech.

  Their eyes went wide as they checked the orders they had been indeed sent down by the legate running the entire defense of the planet. For things to have reached this point…

  “Inputting coordinates now!” the tech yelled, quickly loading the information and then sending rounds down range in support of the mergers. The acceleration park came alive as the orders that Evan had given him started to be completed.

  Evan was even surprised with the number of requests that had been sent to the acceleration tube park and they hadn’t been completed.

  This was due to the legate not believing the people on the front line and instead of making a choice on their behalf.

  Evan turned and left the tech. The entire acceleration park was now alive with rounds flying over the defenses at the Maraukian lines.

  “Take the ammunition back to the rest of the mergers. I’ll deal with this idiot myself,” Evan said.

  The rest of the contubernium acknowledged his orders and took off at a run, heading for the edge of the park.

  He saw them taking off as he was still running between artillery pieces to where the legate was supposed to be residing. He busted open the door of the shack. Inside, a plump man at a console yelled into a headset.

  “I’m not going to be firing there. It’s too close to the defenses! If they get messed up, it’s going to be my ass on the line!” the man yelled, slamming his finger down on the screen in front of him and closing out the call.

  It was clear to Evan that for some reason, this legate was not willing to endanger his position by taking the fire orders that were coming back from the front line.

  “Legate! What the hell are you doing? You’re fucking all of the fire orders up! You’ve been relieved of duty. Are you his second-in-command?” Evan turned to the other man in the room.

  “That I am.” The other man jumped to his feet, a stern expression on his face.

  “Wait, what! Who the hell are you?” The large legate looked to Evan, his shock and confusion turning into anger.

  “I am on the orders from the legate of the planet Indalia, Yousef—you know, the guy you hung up on because you didn’t want to okay a fire mission and now my people are being fucking overrun by your incompetence! Centurion, see that you evaluate all the fire missions but we don’t care if the defenses will be lightly damaged. This is the Maraukians we’re talking about. I don’t want to hear of any these tubes being silent unless they’re being fixed. Else Yousef will strike your names from the records,” Evan said.

  “Understood! Could you remove this man from my sight? He’s done enough damage.” The newly promoted centurion pointed to the legate.

  Evan walked into the room, bending the doorway as the fat man in the chair yelled obscenities at him.

  “Do you know who I am! I am a legate in the legion! I have a cousin in the senate! I have served for fifty-three years! This will go on your record!” The fat man continued to yell, spittle flying from his lips as Evan grabbed him by his clothes and dragged him out of the room.

  He was greeted by the sound of the entire acceleration tube park being alive with fire, raining down death on the Maraukians.

  Warms the heart. I need to get back to the others as soon as I drop this useless fuck off. Evan threw the previous leader over his shoulder and started to run, being none too gentle about it as he continued through the artillery park. The legate’s complaints were thankfully drowned out by the electromagnets of the acceleration tubes and the whomps of their recoil.

  Chapter 22

  Eastern Defensive Line 563

  Indalia, Otarvi System

  6/3555

  “Got it. They’ll be ready!” Mark confirmed with Evan as he left the acceleration tube park.

  Mark and Chyna passed each other. Chyna slapped his sword to his waist, his M20s lowering. The Maraukians’ already thinned-out numbers were like wheat before a scythe under his fire.

  There was no room for them to escape as he cut open a path. Mark protected Chyna’s back as they started to move forward.

  “Advance!” Mark yelled.

  The mergers all reacted as one, moving forward as the rate of fire coming from the troopers’ defenses behind them came alive. Rounds whizzed over their heads as rounds tore at the Maraukian ranks, creating a space between the mergers and the Maraukian forces that weren’t able to rally themselves under such unforgiving weapons fire.

  There was no way to push them back but with brute force.

  Silver streams met Maraukian bodies, rolling back their lines as they fired missiles that exploded in mid-air, hit by the rain of shrapnel. Their plasma rounds and cannons exploded, turning into flaming bombs that cleared the area around them of anything living.

  Mark slapped his sword to his back. His second M20 locked into place as he fired on the Maraukians with both of his guns. He and Chyna worked together with the rest of the mergers perfectly.

  Mark let out a pained hiss as he saw Willow, one of the mergers, get hit by a missile that tore off the front of her armor. With it weakened, there was no protection from the shrapnel that the acceleration tubes were raining down from above.

  There was no time to react and no forgiveness as she fell under friendly fire.

  They had the ability to fight in the acceleration tubes’ bombardment, but only if their armor was in top condition. With the slightest opening, their assistance would be the thing that ripped them apart.

  A new howling filled the skies as Mark fired into a Maraukian, a line of bloody blue holes appearing in them before one struck the Maraukians head taking it clean off of the Maraukian’s shoulders, matter spread over ten meters behind the Maraukian. Its body dropped to the ground as Mark looked through the information that had flooded his head.

  Sarah was keeping him updated on everything that might have a bearing on the battle at hand.

  Mark checked his remaining ammunition, grabbing one of his swords he charged the Maraukians with a yell, firing until he got among them, hie led with his sword, his remaining M-20 folding away as hegrasped his other sword.

  He used the swords as if they were hatchets, kicking a Maraukiaj in the leg, staggering them as his sword came over in a savage chop, opening the Maraulkian from stomach across his chest.

  They dropped to the ground, their blood draining out as slashed, hacked, kicked and punched his way forwards.

  The Phantoms didn’t talk, using only yells and words of warning as they merged, their attacks became faster, pushing the Maraukians back and gaining them some room.

  “Metal rain incoming!” Rachel.

  The sky was filled with explosions. The shrapnel tore through the weak flesh of the Maraukians, flattening them in droves.

  Mark slapped his right sword to his back. As his arm came down, his M20 extended. He lowered it to meet the Maraukians; he pulled the trigger, lighting up the Maraukian’s face as his rounds tore through them. His sword fended off those that were close to him as his M20 blazed with light.

  Around him, shrapnel smashed up against his armor. He was constantly on the move so as to not get bogged down in a fight with the Maraukians.

  He fired, cut, and moved.

  “Don’t get caught up! Form a firing line! Here we turn them back!” Mark yelled. “Ortiz, get your people all on the firing line. We’ll push the Maraukians back some and try to get us some more breathing room!”

  “Come on, you mother fuckers! Lead was half price today!” Polwell yelled.

  Mark sighed in his helmet, not saying anyt
hing to the contubernium leader. His words seemed to have rallied the others.

  Their rate of fire only increased.

  In front of them was a wasteland. Artillery filled the air with dust and turned the ground into glass craters.

  M20s unleashed streams of gray light. Wherever the streams connected with the Maraukians, they were cut down. The Phantom Lords’ fire was concentrated and focused. As they moved one way, they moved the other, holding back the Maraukians.

  People dropped down into the trench system that they’d created, slapping their arms against their sides and connecting more ammunition blocks to their M20s before popping up in another location to bring more fire down on their enemy.

  Here and there, Phantom Lords took a knee, lightning ballistic missiles shooting out from their backs.

  The wind howled and raged as they returned on top of the Maraukians, opening up pockets in their protection.

  The Phantom Lords were well supplied with ammunition and although their lines were very thin, with the acceleration tubes firing nonstop, they were actually able to hold the Maraukians back.

  Mark watched as another Phantom Lord was killed; another was hit by a missile but they’d been protected from dying.

  Unless they were dead, their armor could put them together—for the most part. The injured only needed a few minutes to recover and get back to fighting.

  Rail gun and plasma rounds flew overhead or smashed into the ground. Missiles exploded over the Phantom Lords, raining down shrapnel on them.

  “Reinforcements incoming!” Sarah said, showing the forces that Legate Yousef had begged, borrowed, and stolen from across the defensive line.

  They came in a group, rushing over on drop-ships to make their best speed. They moved to support the troopers’ lines and ease up the pressure on the mergers. Mark checked his information, tracking that Evan’s contubernium with all of the mergers’ ammunition was just a few minutes away.

  He focused back on the fighting. Even though the pressure had lessened on him and his people, one mistake would mean falling to the Maraukian weaponry.

  ***

  “Whoa! Look who it is! You find any hookers?” Ilis said as Evan’s contubernium showed up. They’d landed behind the troopers and then run their way up to the front lines.

  “I’ll keep these LBMs to myself then!” one of them replied as the other mergers welcomed them to the front lines.

  They went up and down the lines, under Ava’s instructions, dropping off ammunition and LBMs, and reloading the other people as they went.

  “Feels good—just gotta drop the kids off at the pool!” Jarek squatted down. His back opened and an LBM lit off.

  “Ah, I think I pushed too hard!” Jarek joked. The others laughed as the LBM descended from the heavens in a thunderclap, blowing a hole in the Maraukians’ lines.

  They were thrown everywhere as the mergers got comfortable in their positions, moving from place to place when the Maraukians started to pick up on their positions and then reloading at different supply caches that were between the trenches.

  Things started to calm down and they could reduce the amount of artillery fire they had falling. The troopers continued to build like madmen and madwomen behind the mergers, adding in their supporting fire. The Bellonas were resupplied with ammunition and continued to add their fire, holding their area denial shells ready, but not committing them.

  They really were the last resort, if the mergers were being overrun.

  “Ortiz, how are we looking back there?” Mark ducked down and ran through the crude trenches, staying low and moving fast as he passed another merger. They tapped forearms as they passed.

  “We’re looking good. The defenses are nearly up. I think if we can get you lot back here, we’ll be able to hold out unless we have some mad charge come right at us.”

  Ortiz’s tone dropped as he continued. “Through some of the contacts I’ve made, I’m getting some back channel talk. Looks like some of the other defenses that were put up have collapsed as well. There’s a city called Edani—the defensive walls in one area have been overrun. Right now they’re dropping everything they have on the position and evacuating the people back to the next biggest city, Ducharev. We both know how the Maraukians might get beaten down by the artillery fire, but then some of them get through. I also heard that the mergers have been in the ears of most of the people who are running this all. I think that they might link the two together.”

  Mark nodded to himself. Ortiz’s thoughts made sense. “See if you can’t get some more information on what is going on there. We’ve pretty much sealed this area off. As long as we’re vigilant and can keep firing on the Maraukians, we should be good,” Mark said.

  “We should be done back here in no more than a few hours.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Mark said.

  Two more people were injured and a trooper died from an unlucky Maraukian plasma blast. Although they might be holding the Maraukians back, they still had to keep their wits about them. It was a hard time as they needed to be moving constantly and stay vigilant. Even though the Maraukians were at bay now, there was no telling whether this would stay the same.

  There was a high possibility that they would break through and push their lines once again.

  Being alert for that long and continuing to be under fire for such a long time would put most people’s nerves on edge, the stress eating at their minds.

  The mergers had all been trained in environments where they had been fighting without stop for days, weeks, and months. The troopers hadn’t been trained as long as the mergers in fighting conditions, though most of their ranks came from the EMF. They had lived, moving from one battle to another. There was a rare opportunity that they would get calm from the chaos of war.

  “Mark, we’re all good back here,” Ortiz said.

  “All right, mergers, we’re going to move by section back to the secondary defensive points,” Mark said.

  They had long discussed the plan. Charges now lined the craters that the mergers had been shooting from. The walls were caving in and more than one section was open to the Maraukians’ line of sight. The mergers weren’t just going to let them enter their trenches easily; they’d been laying charges and all kinds of surprises for the Maraukians.

  They’d also cut out ramps to make it easier for them to leave.

  With Mark’s orders, people started to retreat back to the positions the troopers had created. They dropped on their stomachs, skimming across the ground and using only their anti-gravity engines to keep them a few inches off the ground to shoot along at incredible speeds.

  The Maraukians seemed to sense something was going on as they opened fire on the now visible retreating mergers.

  It was easier said than done to kill something that hovered just inches over the ground.

  More and more of the mergers dropped to their bellies, shooting toward the defenses. The troopers increased their rate of fire to cover the mergers’ retreat and hold the Maraukians back.

  Without the firepower of the mergers, the Maraukians pushed forward.

  The first of the mergers entered the defenses and turned their attention to hitting the Maraukians. Their M20s lit up the sky as day turned to night.

  Mark was the last merger to leave. He fired off a spread of LBMs. As soon as they were flying, he dropped onto his stomach and shot toward Ortiz’s defenses, his back closing to hide the LBM ports on his back.

  The LBMs came down out of the sky and smashed into the Maraukians, disrupting their advance. They made it a few meters but the troopers and their pre-made and planned defenses were highly effective. With just a few mergers, they were able to keep the Maraukians in check.

  The mergers started to take over firing positions, the troopers continuing their work.

  Mark dropped over a trench wall. Finding he could actually stand up on the other side, he stretched, still not having his head reach over the trench. There were platforms all up and down the lin
e that heavy rail guns were mounted on. These were automatic versions that would fire on anything in their arcs.

  The troopers weren’t willing to stay in one position, knowing that staying still was the same as signing your own death sentence.

  Many moved up and down the lines, climbing up ladders along the trenches and firing at the Maraukians.

  Mark jogged through the defenses. Some sections were underground; others were being built in the ground. Multiple secondary towers were ready to be deployed in case the first towers filled with the automated heavy machine guns were taken out. These towers could pop up out of the ground, supporting the troopers’ and mergers’ forces.

  Mark dropped down into an underground series of trenches. These connected to various points of the trenches. Without a map, they would be confusing as hell. This was meant to make it harder for the Maraukians if they overran the lines. The explosives that had been built into the walls were to make them bleed for every inch they took.

  Mark passed through a doorway into a command center.

  “Looks like you’ve been busy,” Mark said, broadcasting through his suit’s speakers as Ortiz glanced up from the table he was overlooking. There was nothing on the table, but with the powered armor’s visors and their NIAIs linked to their eyes, the table looked to have a fully interactive map on top of it, showing the entire battlefield in real time and life-like reality.

  “Nice of you to join us.” Ortiz rose from where he’d been and smacked forearms with Mark in greeting.

  The two of them looked over the map together, seeing where their forces were positioned, planning out a few things to give the Maraukians a surprise, and then sorting out a rotation that their people would be able to get some rest.

  “We got any hot food around this place?” Mark asked.

  “No, but I’m working on it. Nothing like a bit of warm chow to make a trooper feel alive.” Ortiz laughed.

  “Ain’t that the truth.”