The Vanguard Emerges (Maraukian War Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  With sharp angles on each side of these trenches, they created the perfect killing funnels.

  Some roads that couldn’t be covered were filled in and then covered in cement, making walls the Maraukians couldn’t scale.

  Firing slits were cut into the walls with mono-weaponry so that the mergers would be able to fire from cover.

  Crews moved over the ground, planting explosives and creating traps.

  Pits were dug everywhere. The Maraukians couldn’t climb, so they would be pushed into these pits, being crushed by those on top until those behind could walk over the Maraukians and advance.

  Automated machines hurtled reclaimed materials into refiners and fabbers created the different explosives the mergers had planned out.

  Mark was working with the other members of the Tenth, digging a pit out on the hills that led to the city down from the mountain.

  Digging being the operative word.

  An explosion went off as the cratering charge did its job. Dirt covered Mark but it didn’t matter to him while in his armor.

  He quickly threw in another charge, rewarded with another explosion and more flying debris.

  “How’s it going out there?” Mark patched through for Ava and Dodger.

  “We’ve hit most of the passes we can find. We’ve got roaming Maraukians but that’s about it. If we just keep an overwatch going, we should be fine,” Dodger said.

  “Agreed. I’m pulling my people back. Give you a hand,” Ava said.

  A series of explosions went off. Mark didn’t move his head as his vision changed to look behind him.

  He saw as one of the large skyscrapers’ first floor was blown out, causing it tilt to the side. Almost in slow motion, it cracked more and then fell.

  The impact made the ground shake as a few of the other buildings in Edani were damaged.

  “First tower down,” Chyna said.

  They were dropping towers on either side of the city, hoping to funnel more areas in to the city and make it harder for the Maraukians to advance quickly.

  While they were making pits, traps, mines, and killing funnels toward where the Maraukians were coming from, it all helped give the people of Edani longer to escape.

  On the side of Edani that faced Ducharev, the plan was to simply drop the buildings and try to make as many obstacles as possible to slow the Maraukians.

  They’d be able to get over the rubble, but it would take them more time, more time for Ducharev to get ready for their fight.

  Another charge went off as Mark’s pit grew a little bit. Seeing it wouldn’t get any bigger, he used a hand held digging machine that spit the dirt and rocks out through a tube.

  “All right, let’s try to make these defenses in-depth as much as possible. Dodger, get as many mines as possible and get them laid out beyond the second defensive line all the way to the city.”

  “Understood. I would have suggested it myself. That valley is one of the best ways to bottleneck the Maraukians. With just a few mines, we’ll be able to blow them right to hell.”

  “I was thinking—there are a few people with mono-wire like me. We could lay traps out with that, have the Maraukians slice off their feet with it. If we could attach them to something that spins, then, timed right, they’d tear through the Maraukians,” Ava suggested.

  “Sprinklers,” Chyna said.

  “Huh?” Mark had no idea where Chyna was going with this.

  “Sprinklers. I saw that there was a store with all kinds of gardening stuff. There are sprinklers there. We take off the thing that governs the direction so they just spin, attach the mono-wire and just let them rip,” Chyna said.

  “Sprinklers of death—twisted but it works,” Dodger said.

  “Do it. Priority change on the fabber for the mono-wire,” Mark said.

  “The sprinklers will work on the plains for some time until the water hose is cut or the sprinkler is destroyed. Though the low-lying wire would be best in the tree line. If we just put them on stakes or something, take more time and they hit one of the stakes before the wire, they take it out completely,” Dodger said.

  “Yeah, the trees would be better. Could also run them through the killing corridors—take the Maraukians’ feet out and at their head height so when they raise themselves up for battle they cut their own heads off. Also, if we’ve got nail guns, if we can up the power of the rails on them, then weld the wire to two nails on two different guns. We fire the guns at the same time and it’ll send out a mono-wire to cut down Maraukians in close. If the nail hits them before the wire it won’t be as useful,” Ava said.

  The conversation went on for some time, giving Mark enough time to finish the deep pit. He jumped out with the digger and tossed down a holoprojector.

  The pit disappeared and it seemed to blend in with the rest of the hill.

  “You have a call coming in from Captain Chen.” Sarah interrupted the chatter.

  “One minute. Chen is on the other line.” Mark switched channels.

  “Okay, we’ve got some more resources and we should have three supply drops ready for you within four hours. They’re filled with ammunition. Do you have any requests for things you might need?”

  “Sending you a list now. Also, will you be able to give us any more kinetic strikes from your position?” Mark asked.

  “We can still support with kinetic strikes, but be aware we’re cannibalizing most of our rounds so that we can send you guys supplies. So it’s either more supplies or kinetic strikes.”

  Mark winced. He knew what Charles was like. Damned scientist would eat the whole ship if he thought he could get away with it. They had limited support from the artillery park and the other ships in orbit wouldn’t okay a kinetic strike.

  “Keep at least ten volleys ready.” Mark knew how much ammunition the Tenth went through. If he had support from the artillery park, then there was little need for the kinetic strike from orbit.

  Chapter 30

  Edani City Center

  Indalia, Otarvi System

  8/3555

  Quina watched as the towers at the edge of the city were felled. The dust clouds and debris shot high into the sky and blocked most of their view.

  Without her HUD and the constant stream of information from the others, she would have felt blind panic at this maneuver. However, now it was all coming into place and was giving them the time they needed to finally get far enough back that the Maraukians weren’t that much of a threat.

  Her legionnaires were giving as much hell as they could beside Mark and his team. Now she had to do what she was first tasked with—retreating—and that was the hardest thing for her. She wanted to be in on that fight.

  “Keep those lines moving,” she ordered as the movement ahead slowed. Pulling up her second, she asked, “What the hell is the problem?”

  “Some severe debris up ahead, Legate. We need to move around it.”

  Quina shook her head. “No, we’ve only got so much of a lead. We need to get over it. Help those who struggle but keep those lines moving.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  She watched as the heads of her command legionnaires stepped up onto the debris and finally started to get the line moving and over the debris. They’d only so much time to meet the ships on the other side that would take most of the refugees to Ducharev. They had to meet it, or they’d still be stuck with Maraukians on their tail.

  “Mark.” She messaged him. “We’ve hit a slight snag. Getting through as quick as we can.”

  The reply came through with a burst of gunfire and explosions on his end. “Copy that. Quick as possible, Quina.”

  Quina began to move through the people around her and helped where she could. As the lines cleared and the area filtered out of people, Quina heard something. Crying. There was a child nearby, she knew it.

  Her second commed her. “What is it?”

  “I can hear a child. You keep going. I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

  “You’re not staying
here without support. Where?” Within a moment, the younger man had dropped in beside her.

  Quina pointed over to a collapsed building. The two of them headed on over. Once Quina could see the child, she backed her second off. She was the one to approach.

  Once the girl saw Quina, she held out a hand immediately and Quina took it. “My mummy’s in there.” The girl pointed to the pile of debris. “Get her out.”

  Using her HUD, Quina looked into the debris pile. There was indeed a human form, but it wasn’t alive any longer. Quickly scooping up the young child, she lied. “Your mum made it out on the other side. She asked me to come get you.”

  “She did?” The girl’s eyes lit up and it broke Quina’s usually hard heart.

  “Yes. Come on, we have a long way to walk yet.”

  The young girl allowed herself to be picked up and Quina walked back to her second with tears streaming down her cheeks. She knew he’d overheard her, and quickly he took the child out of her arms.

  “Let’s get the two of you to safety.” He ushered them on and away from the pile of rubble and the young girl’s very dead mother.

  Chapter 31

  SLS Moby

  Indalia Orbit, Otarvi System

  8/3555

  Chen saw Liang answering a communication before he turned to face him.

  Liang looked him dead in the eye. “Captain, Charles has confirmed that we have enough to make the first supply drops,” Liang reported, saying the words that Chen had been waiting for two hours.

  “Good. Taelyon, move us to the launch point. Travestki, keep us updated if the launch point needs any changes,” Chen said.

  “Flipping ship.” Taelyon maneuvered the ship.

  Chen had been waiting for Charles to report when they were good for the first drop. He was keeping updated through the link to the mergers, but they had no overhead coverage. Every minute they’d waited felt like hours for Chen.

  Travestki had picked a launch point that would keep them away from the main fleet so that Admiral Hesra wouldn’t be able to send ships after them. The debris field was chaotic but it was the Moby’s shield right now.

  Mark knew they were coming. Now all that mattered was that they truly had enough for them to make that stand.

  “Get us back into that damned fight,” he said.

  This might very well be his last battle as the captain of the Moby. Seeing their determined faces, he knew that he would look to defy Admiral Hesra’s orders again in another life.

  He surged with the pride that only a captain would have: his men were loyal and true; despite the admiral in their faces, they’d carried out the orders he gave them.

  The ship changed direction and was soon headed back to the main battle. Chen watched on his display. The legionnaires were finally in range of the first commandeered ships and transports. As people were loaded up, others continued to run.

  They were well past the city now but still miles from Ducharev. The transport was the only way that they would get to the city in time before the Maraukians.

  Chen’s face hardened as he looked at Edani. The city was being torn apart. Towers had been collapsed across the city to create ad hoc walls and form killing corridors.

  The legionnaires had a chance to make it to safety, but to do so, the mergers would be stuck right in the front of the Maraukian charge. Chen frowned as he heard a squeaking noise behind him. He looked at the air grate that circulated air through the bridge.

  He shook his head and looked away. He had more important things to worry about than a squeaky fan.

  “Time to launch point, twelve minutes. We won’t be able to give the forces on the ground any readings of the situation around them,” Francis reported.

  “We’ll do what we can,” Chen said, sensing Francis’s bitterness at not being able to help more.

  “Hello, Captain Chen, people of the bridge.” A man’s voice came from behind Chen as he turned around in his chair.

  That air grate had been removed and a man stood there with a pistol in his hands.

  “What the hell is this?” Chen stood straight up.

  “This is the part where you sit down in your chair calmly, Captain.”

  Chen hadn’t seen the man before, but from his overalls he was part of the engineering crew. Liang and Carla, who were closest, grabbed at their pistols, only to hear the engineer pulling back on the hammer of his old-style gun. It might use a chemical-backed round but it was no less effective than a rail round in close quarters.

  “I don’t think you really want to do that, do you?” the man asked.

  They slowly raised their hands from their pistols, seeing the calm and calculating look in the man’s eyes.

  “You all heard the admiral’s orders. Captain Chen is to be apprehended,” the engineer said.

  But Chen could see that there was a gloating look in his eyes as he looked at Chen.

  Chen held himself calm and collected. “Now, really, is this something you want to do? The only way you’re getting me off this bridge is if you shoot me, so get it over with or put that gun down and sit in a holding cell until this is all over.”

  “Admiral Hesra ordered your arrest—that’s exactly what I’m doing.” The engineer’s eyes thinned as his finger tensed on the trigger slightly.

  Carla was the one who next spoke out. “Taelyon is busy flying our asses back to the planet’s surface, where there are millions of people waiting on our air support to get them to safety. Do you want innocent lives on your conscience?”

  Ray Sina’s eyes drifted to the main screen, where he could see the devastation on the planet’s surface. Blinking dots here and there were taking their final blink and then were gone. Sina shrugged. “Orders are orders. This is the space legion. We’re not legionnaires.”

  Carla also edged in closer.

  Ray made a tutting noise as he pushed his gun against Chen’s head, forcing him to tilt his head to the side.

  “Come now, first mate. How about you all sit back down?” Ray said.

  With the calm way that he talked, Chen felt that this man had killed others up close before.

  Chen jumped for the man. Pain and noise flared on the left side of his face as he lost the ability to see out of his left eye.

  He was screaming as he grabbed the man’s hand and pistol, pointing it at the ground and getting another bullet in the side as he punched the man in the face.

  Chen stumbled back a few steps. He made coughing noises as he reached up to feel the left side of his face.

  There was a ringing noise and the pain started to hit. His body started to turn hot then cold and clammy. His head started to pound and his body seemed to fight back at him. He knew the signs of shock, but he couldn’t do anything to stop it. He collapsed to the ground, feeling cold as he kept coughing.

  People ran around and he could feel the deck moving with the boots. He saw the man being dragged away as Carla’s face appeared.

  Chen tried speaking, but he couldn’t. His NIAI could still understand him and information readouts covered in a red haze flashed in front of his eyes.

  “Make sure that supply drop gets there on time!” Chen’s thoughts passed to Carla as he heard hurried calls and people moved him, starting to administer first aid.

  He kept coughing. His tongue felt distorted; his whole face didn’t feel as if it was his anymore.

  He didn’t know what the damage was as he sunk deeper into his shock and people kept calling out to him.

  The panic was clear in their faces as Chen started to shake.

  Is this how I die? Am I going to die?

  Fear, gripping fear shot through Chen. He started to think of the things he wanted to do: to have a family, to just live simply, drink coffee, watch the world go by, maybe have a ranch to work on or an asteroid mining permit.

  With the fear of death, even heroes cry.

  Chapter 32

  Edani City

  Indalia, Otarvi System

  8/3555

&n
bsp; “Liang, what the hell is going on up there?” Liang had just opened a channel to Mark when the line went quiet. He could hear people talking and then two rounds going off.

  Most of the others in the legion might not know what a chemical-backed round sounded like, but Mark had lived around those kinds of weapons most of his life.

  “Liang!” Mark yelled.

  “Captain Chen has been shot twice, once in the face and another time in the stomach,” Sarah reported.

  “The fuck is going on?”

  “Admiral Hesra told Chen to not go into the debris field to recover materials, to be used for our ammunition and supplies.

  “Chen disregarded the order and Admiral Hesra broadcasted that Captain Chen was to be pulled into custody as a mutineer. An engineer called Ray Sina used his knowledge to get access to the bridge through an air vent.

  “He held Chen hostage and wanted to turn him in.

  “Chen attacked the man, but was shot. He is being rushed to medical right now but it is not looking good. He has bone fragments in his brain and has bad brain bleeds. He’s in shock and it doesn’t look like he’s got much time.”

  Sarah had relayed the feed from the bridge of the Moby.

  “Mark, Captain Chen has been shot. Carla is in command. We’re en route.” Liang’s words were terse, his training overtaking his emotions.

  Sarah was inside the med bay’s sensors, relaying the information to Mark, who had linked it to Ava, Chyna, and Dodger, who’d sent it to the rest of the mergers. All of them watched, updated on the situation.

  “Shit,” Mark spat, feeling useless stuck on this planet without anything to do.

  “That brain bleed is bad. The fragments of his skull are deep in there.” As a medico, Ava was able to quickly understand what was going on.

  “If we can’t fix it, can we rebuild it?” Dodger asked.

  “Dodger is right. If we were to make Chen a merger, then we can create a new brain for him to integrate with,” Chyna said.