The Vanguard Emerges (Maraukian War Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  Chyna was hiding behind a turn in the trench line as he reloaded and kept on firing.

  Lightning missiles were raining down from above and artillery strikes landed occasionally on the hills around the city.

  The Maraukians were a solid mass moving through the trenches that had been carved into the ground.

  The mergers had been pushed to the very rear. Chyna watched as his ammunition supplies were burned through. Even as he pushed back the Maraukians, they were unable to push more into the trenches; they were actually being turned into paste. The maze was running blue with Maraukian blood.

  Chyna let out a yell as he reached his last ammunition blocks.

  He rushed forward and pulled out his sword. Using the walls, he jumped from side to side to make it harder for the Maraukians to hit him. He slammed into them with his sword cutting two apart. His blade moved, humming with speed as he displayed the viciousness of a veteran swordsman. There was no flowing from one movement to the other; there was parrying, stabbing, slashing, punching, and kicking—anything to kill his opponents.

  “I need ammunition!” Chyna yelled out.

  There were mergers who were moving through the maze to resupply those who were fighting the Maraukians directly. There were five moving around to resupply the twelve or so who were holding off the Maraukian horde.

  Another merger was hit, getting shot in the side at close range. Their body shook, being destroyed by the rounds that pinged around inside.

  Chyna’s body was powerful and he had great endurance, but under the press of the Maraukians, he was being pushed backward.

  Another ammunition bearer was on their way over. They flew over the trenches. There the Maraukians couldn’t get them before they dropped down into the trenches once again to give the supplies to those who needed them.

  “Ammo!” Polwell yelled, throwing out blocks of ammunition to Chyna as his M20s came up. Chyna dropped to the ground, his NIAI using the anti-grav to attach the much-needed ammunition blocks to his body.

  Chyna’s M20s swung back into position as he used up the remaining ammunition block.

  Under their firepower, the Maraukians were torn apart with weapons fire and forced backward.

  Polwell threw out another load of ammunition to Chyna. “Good luck!” With that, he used his anti-grav to jump over the trench line and shot off to get more supplies and help out others.

  “I’ve got word from above! VCF Osdal is overhead and moving to drop support units at Ducharev. There is a plan for us to pull back. We just need to hold out.” Mark relayed all of the information he had got to the other mergers.

  Chyna felt a glimmer of hope appear as he finished reloading. Maraukians appeared around the trench corner in front of him. Chyna fired and moved forward.

  The forces still needed to get down to the planet, get set up and then they could try to force a path to Edani. If the mergers wanted to get out, then they would need to force a way out of the city and pull back toward Ducharev somehow. It would be a large undertaking and some of them might not make it. But it was still hope.

  Chyna’s reaction speed increased. He had left the limits of a human behind long ago, able to fight Maraukians with his fists; unknowingly, the mental fatigue of fighting for days had worn on him.

  His body was in perfect condition but his mind was jumbled from the loss of others to his constant fighting. He truly didn’t feel human anymore, his every action related to killing more Maraukians.

  Chyna advanced to the corner in the maze and jumped across, nice and low, his two guns blazing as he pushed the Maraukians backward.

  “We’re weak on the left flank!” Ava called out.

  They were being pressured hard on different sides. When they had ammunition, it was possible to push Maraukians back; when they were out, then it was much harder, needing to rely on their melee weapons. They could still kill tens of Maraukians, but with just one of them facing three at a time, the Maraukians were still able to push them back under the press of bodies.

  “Ready shields!” Mark yelled.

  Chyna gritted his teeth. He agreed with Mark’s words, but once they pulled out their shields, it would be the beginning of their last defense.

  “Partner up and move back. Activate traps as you go!”

  Chyna grabbed grenades with his left hand, getting to his knee as he continued to fire with his right M20. He threw the grenades down the corridor and sprinted the way he had come. As he went, he activated the mono-wire and directed explosives that lined the maze.

  His grenades went off, with dust shooting up from the trench.

  It wasn’t much longer when another explosion went off. Chyna ducked. Rounds hit the wall and trench around him. He turned a corner. The rounds died down as he picked up his pace, looking for the nearest rally point, where his partner was waiting.

  The Maraukians let out their war cry and rushed after Chyna.

  The walls of the trenches were wracked with explosions and cries of pain as they came into contact with all of the traps. A savage smile appeared on Chyna’s face as he reloaded his M20 and checked his swords. With a jump and the use of his anti-gravity, he was up over the trenches. He got low and shot across the trenches as fast as possible. He could see the other mergers moving over the top of the trenches. It was faster than moving through the winding maze.

  ***

  “Good to see you, Uncle.” Ava fired with both of her M20s down a corridor.

  Chyna dropped down into the trench behind her. Pulling off ammunition blocks from his waist, he threw them at her. She moved her weapons slightly so that they locked into their mag wells, not needing to pull her finger off the trigger.

  Chyna moved up beside her and started firing. “Grab some ammo.”

  She dropped her right arm, taking ammunition from Chyna, then moved around him, shooting with her right as she grabbed a few extra blocks.

  This allowed them to both keep up the most fire as possible.

  They were in a long corridor and the Maraukians were being wholly suppressed in a corner. But with so many of the Maraukian corpses in the trench, they were creating a hill.

  They had to let the Maraukians advance more or else they would be able to climb over the trench walls and attack the mergers from every direction.

  Ava grabbed two shields that were next to the fallback position. She locked them together before putting her M20s into the firing slot. Nanites seeped out and fused them all together, giving her a gun shield.

  She moved back into the trench and smacked the shields into the ground. Bracing herself, she fired both of her guns.

  “Covering!”

  Chyna moved to the other two shields and did the same. He stood over Ava and smacked the top of his shields to hers, making a wall.

  Rounds pinged off the shields that were fused together with nanites.

  They could still turn their M20s from side to side. Their two minds linked together allowed them to operate all of the M20s as if they were four people sharing one brain.

  Ava would finish firing a burst and Chyna would start, their coverage not slowing as they worked perfectly together. The trench around them filled with scars as rounds and plasma struck the walls and their shields.

  Their shields were made from carbon hendral armor, the strongest material in existence. Even if they were hit by these kinds of weapons fire, it would take a lot more to destroy their shields.

  A missile was fired by one of the Maraukians. The ejection killed a half-dozen behind the shooter as the pressure wave killed another dozen.

  “Brace!” Chyna yelled out as they both altered the angle of their shields to try to deflect as much power as possible.

  The missile struck their shield, sending them both flying backward and their shields scorched. Their M20s were broken but they were being quickly repaired by nanites.

  Chyna and Ava didn’t need to communicate to each other as they removed their M20s from their shields and drew their weapons to charge forward. It wo
uld take time for their weapons to be repaired; if they retreated now, then the Maraukians would get behind their allies guarding other key points.

  With wordless yells, they rushed through the fog made by the missile.

  Their blades flashed as Maraukians fell. The injured received a savage blow to keep them down while those behind the shooter that hadn’t been turned into a melted carcass weren’t able to recover their senses before they were cut apart by the duo. With two of them, it was vastly different from how Chyna had fought by himself. Under their blows, the Maraukians were pushed back. They pulled their vibro-blades to join battle, getting in a few hits but their blades were fast and accurate, their movements savage as Maraukians fell like wheat before them, not knowing how they died.

  ***

  Mark yelled out as his hands move quickly. He held two identical daggers that cut off limbs before diving into his target’s vital points. Blood covered his armor and his blades.

  Beside him, Rachel used her sword and shield, slamming the shield forward and then cutting down the Maraukians swiftly. The two of them protected the other without thinking about it.

  Their attacks were savage, each aimed at a weakness or vital point to take out the enemy, or looking to protect their ally.

  Mark’s mind was split between seeing the fight and what was happening across the maze.

  All of the mergers were locked in close combat now. Even as they were killing dozens of the Maraukians, they couldn’t help but be pushed back. The {3seven-hundred-thousand strong Maraukian force had been squashed down to three hundred thousand, with most of that heading off to attack Ducharev. The remaining one hundred thousand were inside Edani, pushing up against the mergers.

  They had been fighting for days and although all of them knew that there was a chance to make it out of this, they would need to deal with these Maraukians.

  If they wanted to pull back to Ducharev right now, then they would need to fight through all of the Maraukians. There was no way that was going to happen.

  In Edani, they had made a city of death. Here, they knew every inch; here, they were on their own ground and they could hold back the Maraukians—or at least bleed them and give the others some more time.

  Mark’s thoughts turned to Ava and the memories that had passed to him when they had merged together as she fought to bring him down from his anger.

  The genuine care and love rested there; he knew the pain that she felt with his rejections and how she had steeled her heart. There might be many years between them, but she knew Mark better than anyone. After all, she had been inside his head.

  Here as he fought with the Maraukians, he couldn’t help but think what-if. His careless thoughts brought a vibro-blade down on his shoulder.

  Mark let out a yell as he turned away from the blade. It cut deeper into his armor, slicing up his shoulder before it came out. But it stopped its original path, aimed at trying to cut his head off.

  Mark punched the Maraukian in the face until it was nothing more than a bloody mess. He stabbed another in the side and took out the neck of another. His blade stabbed into his attacker’s head and came out the other side. The Maraukian dropped to the ground as he rushed forward.

  Silver nanites filled the area where his armor had been broken and started to repair it, adding another scar to his body and his armor.

  Mark no longer had time to think about Ava and the complicated thoughts and feelings that lay between them. He knew that she had become quieter and more reserved due to his memories and the rejection. Mark might be able to lie to himself and to her, but Ava knew his thoughts and knew what he truly felt.

  Mark used merging to hide his feelings and continued to slow the Maraukians. As his blades were covered in blood, more Maraukians piled around him and Rachel.

  Rachel deployed her M20s, firing into the Maraukians at point-blank, pushing them back and giving Mark the time he needed to regain full mobility in his shoulder.

  “Thanks,” Mark said.

  “No worries,” Rachel said.

  “We pull back together. Once we’re at the center, turtle up and let them come to us!” Mark said to all of the mergers.

  He got confirmation back. They were all tired. They were worn out from the constant fighting, the losses and the injuries.

  They had needed to be at the top of their game since they started fighting on Indalia.

  Even if their bodies wouldn’t run out of energy, the fatigue on their minds was wearing.

  It was due to their stubborn nature they would never willingly die, nor would they give up.

  A howling noise started to fill the sky.

  “Incoming artillery!” Mark said. Where the hell is this coming from?

  “Relief force based at Ducharev. Nerva, Jerome, Pullo, Hall—all of them came.” Sarah seemed to find it ridiculous as Mark laughed.

  “Looks like it’s time to dance in the rain, ladies and gents! Make sure that armor is sealed up!” Mark yelled out to them as he checked all of their suits’ statuses.

  “Sarah, I’ve got coordinates for the artillery. Have them start hitting the ones in the larger trenches and then move them up to the smaller ones closer to the maze.”

  “Understood. Creating fire plan and submitting,” Sarah said.

  With the support of artillery, the battle might just change.

  The mergers were strong by themselves, but they were truly terrifying if they were able to call in long-range support and combine it with their own firepower.

  It was like comparing how they had fought with artillery and long-range kinetic strikes as support compared to when they were fighting hand-to-hand.

  Thousands were killed with the right support being pinned in place by the mergers. Without support, they could kill tens of them a minute, but it was a drop in the bucket compared to the Maraukians’ numbers.

  Chapter 64

  Ducharev City

  Indalia, Otarvi System

  8/3555

  Nerva looked over the force that was gathering at the gates: the four hundred thousand troopers, the ten Bellonas that would support them, and combat shuttles that were waiting with their engines warmed up, ready to be used in support if needed.

  The drop-ship pilots weren’t used to flying under fire, so Nerva had eliminated them. He had also left his legion forces commanding the wall. They were the best at holding a position, but attacking was something that had been trained out of them by the legion.

  He looked to Ortiz, who stood beside him.

  “Bellonas, lay down some supporting fire. Artillery park, support the wall primarily. We need something to come back to. Any extra support is to be directed to the mergers in Edani,” Nerva said as he checked his M19.

  The supporting Bellonas started to open fire. They were packed with acceleration rails and with their massive main cannon, they were able to drop massive payloads right on the Maraukians.

  “Pullo, have your forces lay down suppressing fire. Jerome, get your people ready to remove. Remember—watch for friendlies!” Nerva continued.

  Ortiz was checking everything himself. As Nerva gave out his orders, it was Ortiz’s part to resolve them and add in any detail that was needed. They might not have fought together for a few decades, but to Ortiz it hadn’t been that long, and the two of them were like a well-oiled machine, fitting back together perfectly.

  Being a commander of a massive fighting force himself, Ortiz was an outstanding secondary.

  “Fire!” Pullo yelled. His words transmitted to the carrier group manning the wall. Across the frontage of the wall, thousands of rifles opened up. The Maraukians were cut down, not knowing how they died as they met a wall of rounds as E13s and repulsors fired alongside M19As.

  “Advance!” McDougall yelled. The gates that had been sealed were reopened. The Bellonas’ massive bulk surged forward.

  Their secondary turrets mounted at the front fired as they passed the wall.

  The battlefield was being turned up by the suppo
rting fire as the troopers that had been waiting surged forward. Orders were yelled out over comms as people spread out and covered the tanks. Here and there people were hit. Their armor wasn’t as strong as a legionnaire’s so instead of the rounds bouncing around, they’d directly pass through the armor, which led to less straight-up fatal wounds.

  Armed with the best medical equipment from the legion that had happened to fall into the hands of the trooper’s medics, as long as someone wasn’t dead outright by the time a medic got there, it was likely they wouldn’t die.

  The Bellona tanks moved forward, creating a long wide line. Their massive area clearing barrels fired occasionally. The shotgun-like blasts cut down anything living in their path.

  Nerva checked the rounds that were hitting the mountains. They were systematically taking out the different paths that the Maraukians had taken to gain access to the area between.

  Their advance had started.

  We’re on our way. Hold out for a bit longer.

  With this thought, Nerva moved with his squad of troopers. A few of the legionnaires had raised doubts but seeing these troopers’ hard faces and the clear status Nerva held in their eyes, their arguments had fallen on deaf ears.

  Chapter 65

  Edani

  Indalia, Otarvi System

  8/3555

  One of the mergers was struck by an errant round, spinning them. Before their fellow could save them or they could escape, a blade cut through the armor of their neck and dropped them to the ground.

  Even though it was on the other side of the maze, Mark could see it clearly as if he was there. He let out a hiss. They had fought with everything they had but it simply wasn’t enough.

  They were pushed back again and again mercilessly, driven to the end of their fates.

  Artillery fell around them, giving them cover and allowing them to distance themselves from the Maraukians and break contact.