Of all the locations that Kaly had ever served her nation in, the very last one that she had ever expected to find herself in was a Christian graveyard, in the middle of the night. But thanks to two children who had spotted some people digging up one of the graves, and a policeman with Rightist sympathies, there she was. She was lying on her belly on the cold, wet earth, and using a headstone for concealment. Thirty meters away from her position, two Loyalistas had excavated another grave and were burying a crate inside of it. The container was filled with weapons.
She dearly wanted to shoot them both, but her orders prohibited this. The Major, and Ben Di had made it abundantly clear that her role was only to observe. Vasquaaz and Margasdaater, lying on the ground next to her, were just as eager, but they too maintained their vigil and let the terrorists go about their work.
Once the two men had finished with their macabre task, and were safely out of earshot, Ben Di sent the signal and Team 201 and 265 rose from their hiding places and made for the cache. There, they broke out collapsible entrenching tools and started digging.
It didn’t take long for them to find what they were looking for. The cases had not been buried deeply; the Loyalistas had covered them over with just enough earth to prevent casual discovery, but still allow for easy retrieval.
There were a total of two armored containers in the cache. One held half a dozen AE-14 energy rifles with spare battery packs, as well as an equal number of AE-42A pistols. The other contained Republican Army uniforms, field aid kits and all the components needed to turn salvaged munitions into a workable bomb. It certainly wasn’t the largest hoard that her team had ever discovered, but it was still substantial enough to justify the night’s work.
Unlike their previous finds, this one would not be destroyed in place though. The Major and Ben Di had other things in mind for it. While Kaly stood by, feeling a little like a medieval witch gathered with her sisters for a midnight sabbat, Ben Di opened her shoulder pack. Inside were all the ingredients that she needed for her mischief, and adding a silencing finger to her lips for dramatic effect, she went straight to work.
The uniforms received tiny tracking devices which were inserted into their seams. The aid kit also received a tracker, but most of the bomb-making materials were left alone--with the exception of the initiator devices. These were Republican Army issue, and they were swapped out for inert versions that looked exactly like the originals.
Next, the Aran focused her attention on the energy weapons. Each one had its battery case replaced and several of them lost the all-important chips that allowed them to function. Without these components, they were nothing more than useless conglomerations of plastic and metal.
When she finished, everything was put back exactly the way it had been found and the team reburied the cases, and quietly left the area. All of them, and especially Margasdaater and her opposite number with the Specia, Soldada Mendaz, had malign smiles painted on their faces. Now all they had to do was wait, and let events take their course.
It didn’t take long. Two nights later, Claire d’Layne was attacked again. As before, shoulder-fired rockets tried to score hits on its buildings, and small arms fire sought out the troopers in their trenches. But on two occasions, the weapons that the Loyalistas were using exploded, killing their wielder and injuring everyone else around them. Battery packs filled with explosives tended to have this unfortunate side-effect.
The disaster did not end there either. The next morning, the Republican Army officer who had furnished the Loyalistas with these weapons was gunned down in front of his home in full view of his family. This time, the energy rifles worked properly.
With his death, another source of weapons had been eliminated, but not all of them by any means. One of these, which had been overlooked for the last two years, would prove this to the Sisterhood’s regret.
Aljofar District, Nuvo Bolivar, Magdala Provensa, Esteral Terrana Rapabla, 1048.10|19|07:08:45
Reesy was surprised when Roza and a group of men pulled up to the safe house in a ’lectri and began unloading boxes. She hadn’t expected to see the woman so soon, and from her serious expression, she could tell that something very important was in the offing. Right away, she moved to help them as they brought the containers into the living area.
“What is it? What’s happening?”
“A blow against the Sisterhood,” Roza declared, her eyes alight with passion. “The General has called for an all-out offensive against the invaders, and we are going to be one of the first units to strike! We’re going to show them that their best isn’t good enough against determined patriots!”
She opened up the nearest case and waved Reesy over to inspect the contents.
Reesy gasped and looked up at her. “How can I help? Please, I don’t want to be left out of this!”
Roza closed the case. “Don’t worry, meya pica ermanyaa. You won’t be. Migehl has an important job picked out just for you.”
***
The assault shuttles took off in tandem, rising quickly and heading east, away from Claire d’Layne. Several kilometers out, they changed course, turning northward and flying out over the rugged Santo Annya Mountains, hoping to fool the watchers that were below them.
Several minutes later, the shuttles altered direction again and came in low over the northwestern section of Nuvo Bolivar. Their target was coming up fast, and Kaly readied herself.
Intel had been receiving whispers that something big was getting ready to step off, and this had coincided with a report of a large concentration of Loyalistas who had gathered together for some kind of meeting. There was the strong possibility that some extremely high-value assets would be present at this assembly, and it sounded like the perfect opportunity for a raid.
Which also meant that it could just as easily prove to be a trap. The teams had been hurting the Loyalistas, and the rebels had even placed a bounty on their heads. With such a highly charged atmosphere, everyone was on edge…
…Reesy watched as the assault shuttles flew towards her position, and spoke into her air phone. “Targets confirmed, times two,” she said.
There was a pause, and then her listeners responded. “We see them. Keep eyes on.”
“Got it. Eyes on,” she responded.
The shuttles passed over the invisible line of demarcation, and Reesy’s pulse started to race. For several seconds, nothing happened and she began to wonder if the ambush was going to be called off after all…
…Three seconds to landing, Ben Di made an announcement. “Overwatch just reported that our targets have moved into positions on the roofs to either side of our flight path. This LZ is hot!”
A cold chill ran up Kaly’s spine. It was an ambush after all.
At the same moment, she heard the distinctive ‘thump, thump’ of countermeasure pods being launched. But they were too low, she realized. They wouldn’t have enough time to deploy properly.
Suddenly, something streaked up from the ground and flew past the sally port. It was followed by a loud explosion, and Kaly’s stomach lurched as the shuttle abruptly lost altitude.
The machine belly landed onto the street with a bone-jarring impact. A nanosecond later, thick, acrid smoke began to fill the troop compartment, and she felt a blistering wave of heat blossoming up to her right.
We’ve been hit by some kind of rocket, she thought. We’re on fire! It was a troopers worst nightmare.
“Bail Out!” someone yelled.
Kaly grabbed her rifle, punched the release clip on her seat harness, and let herself fall forwards. Hitting the deck, she crawled towards the sally port. When she reached it, she threw herself out, spilling onto the pavement. For a moment, all she could do was crouch there on her hands and knees, puking out the fumes and gasping for air.
Then asphalt began to splinter and shatter all around her. Forgetting her seared lungs, she scrambled to her feet and started to run, trying to activate her suits camouflage mode.
But instead of be
nding the light around her and offering concealment, it only flickered, and failed. Kaly didn’t have any time to puzzle out the reason for this malfunction however. She was still under fire and she pelted for the nearest sanctuary. This was the door way of a single story house directly across from her. It was only then, hiding behind the meager cover of the doorframe, that she hazarded a glance back towards the shuttles.
The machine on point had been completely destroyed, and the one that she had been in was belching ugly black smoke from the troop compartment. As she took this in, something came rolling out of the sally port. It was on fire, and only when it sprouted legs and stood, was she able to recognize it.
It was their Liverna ‘bot. Impervious to the flames, it swiveled its oval head around and began to fire at something on the roof, up and behind her. There was an agonized cry, and the ‘bot launched a grenade towards the sound. The explosion sent pieces of masonry showering down all around her and she cringed, hugging the doorway as the debris rattled off her helmet and bounced into the street.
When she looked up again, the ‘bot was moving down the road, engaging another target. Then, through a break in the smoke, she spotted Ben Di, T’Jinna and Margasdaater. The door gunner from the shuttle was with them.
They were across the street, using a ‘lectri for cover. As they made eye contact, Ben Di flashed her a grin and gave her a quick thumbs up before she and her companions started shooting down the road.
Kaly briefly considered making a dash for them, but another spray of gunfire tearing up the asphalt changed her mind. She knew that she would never make it.
She also realized that the pilot and co-pilot were not with her friends. Neither were Vasquaaz and the two male Specia soldiers who had been riding with them.
A movement on the rooftop across from her cut off any speculations about their whereabouts, and she fired at the shape instinctively. The Loyalista quickly ducked back out of view and she wasn’t even certain that she’d scored a hit.
Looking around her for a less vulnerable position, she spied the mouth of an alley. Reaching it would require a short sprint through the open, but it was better than remaining where she was.
In the process of deciding this, she finally discovered what had happened to the pilot and co-pilot of her shuttle. They were still inside the disabled machine. She could see them through the canopy windows.
The co-pilot was unconscious, and her partner was desperately trying to free her from her straps. As the woman tugged at the restraints, she looked up through the broken plastiglass and met Kaly’s gaze.
Her eyes were filled with desperation, and hopelessness. She knew the same thing that Kaly did; that she and her companion were doomed.
Then the cockpit exploded, turning the space into a roiling mass of flame. Bits of plastiglass and metal sprayed everywhere, and Kaly ducked and covered her face.
This is what saved her life. The Loyalista had reappeared on the roof line, and barely missed hitting her upper body with a burst from his chemical weapon.
Instantly, she threw herself down, and returned fire, driving the rebel back. The moment that he was out of view, she was up and running towards the alley for all she was worth…
…All hell had broken loose around Reesy’s position. At least half of the Sisterhood troopers had survived the ambush, and now they were furiously raking the surrounding area with gunfire from whatever cover they had found for themselves. Doorways, parked ‘lectris, and even the curbing, became fortresses as the invaders counterattacked.
One of them shouldered a rocket and fired it up towards the nearest roof top. The projectile hit the parapet and went off with a blinding flash, sending a shower of bricks flying into the night sky.
Reesy couldn’t tell if any of her comrades had been up there, but she knew that if they had been, they were probably dead or wounded. Then, over the sharp cracking of gunfire and more explosions, she heard the order on her air phone for everyone to withdraw.
The fight was moving her way and a group of assault shuttles had been spotted leaving Claire d’Layne. It was heading straight towards them at top speed. In minutes, the entire area would be saturated with the enemy and escape would become next to impossible.
Hands trembling, Reesy disconnected the phone, stuffed it into her pack, and ran for the stairway. Her ultimate destination was an alley only a few streets over, where a ‘lectri was waiting to drive her and some of the others away.
The rest of her group would make their escapes using the service tunnels under the street, or by fading into the warren of alleys and back yards all around them. With luck, everyone would get away, leaving the Sisterhood with nothing to shoot at but thin air and shadows.
Her feet hit the ground floor and she pounded through the building to the rear exit. Shoving it open, she ran out…
…Kaly backpedaled into the alley, firing down the street in the general direction of the ambush. Her fatigues reeked of burned fabric, and a portion of her arm and a leg were finally letting her know that they had been burned in the flaming shuttle. The pain wasn’t overpowering though. For the moment at least, adrenaline and terror were providing plenty of anesthetic.
On the Com, it was complete pandemonium, with shouts for air support, calls for medics, and alerts about enemy targets. One voice managed to reach her above all the chaos however. It was Margasdaater.
“Kaly! Overwatch sez zat zere iz zomeone coming out of za building right next to you!”
Kaly saw the target at the same time. It registered on her englobed feed as the bright red outline of a human, with an object in their left hand. It was a pack of some kind.
Satchel charge! her mind screamed. The terrorist was running out with a bomb, straight at her.
Then the door burst open, and the figure appeared.
Kaly pulled the trigger of her submachinegun. The burst stitched a bloody line straight up the Loyalista’s torso. The insurgent spasmed, hit the wall, and slid liquidly to the ground, leaving a bright red trail of blood behind her…
…Reesy couldn’t breathe, and for some reason, she wasn’t able to get her legs to work either. Her vision had also narrowed down to a long tunnel and a grey nothingness was eating away at its edges. She could still see the uniformed trooper though, and despite the distortions of fear, anger and battle rage, she recognized her face. It was her sister, Juana.
Why is Juana here? she wondered. Why is she pointing a gun at me? And why was it so hard for her to catch her breath all of a sudden? The answers eluded her as the world around her transformed.
She was ten years old again, and she had just fallen out of the tree near their home and injured herself. She tried to beg Juana not to tell their mother about the accident, but the words would not come to her lips.
Somehow though, Juana still seemed to hear her, and smiled. Then, high in the sky, over her sister’s shoulder, Reesy saw it. The bright, beautiful star that had always shone down on their home. Their real home--the one that she had come to believe had been lost to her forever. The School.
Everything was going to be okay, she realized. She and Juana were going to go there, together. Back to the School and happier times. Everything was going to be all right after all…
…Covering the Loyalista with her weapon, Kaly nudged the satchel out of reach with her boot. She knew that this was a stupid thing to do even as she did it; the charge inside could have been set off just by moving the bag, but right then she was more concerned that the terrorist, in her last few moments of life, would make a grab for it, and kill them both.
Then she saw what it really contained. A pair of field glasses had spilled out along with a handset for an air-phone. There wasn’t a bomb anywhere in the pack, or even a weapon.
Ben Di and the others came up the alley. “Kaly? Are you all right?”
She nodded affirmatively, realizing as she did so, whom she had just killed. Despite changing her hair color, and wearing it differently, it was the young woman that they had been s
ent to arrest just a few weeks earlier. It was Reesy Hernan. There was no doubt about it.
The sight of her mirror image lying there dead at her feet was unsettling, and for a moment, Kaly was forcefully reminded of the fact that they were fighting their own kind. But an enemy was an enemy, she reminded herself, and they still had a battle to win. Leaving the corpse where it was, she followed Ben Di and her Teammates towards the sound of the fighting.
***
Jaw clenched, Sarah watched the firefight conclude on the monitors in the COMINT center. Although Reesy Hernan’s tracking device had alerted them to the gathering, none of the intel they had received had even hinted at the presence of the Harpy missiles. Instead of catching the terrorists by surprise, the Sisterhood had been the one caught in the net.
The Loyalistas would pay dearly for their little ‘victory’, she vowed. For now however, she had to concentrate on containing the situation.
A group of Valkyrie fighters had responded, and they were hunting down and killing the insurgents faster than they could run. This mollified her somewhat. On another screen she saw that Captain n’Kyla’s killer had finally met her end.
The display showed the alley, and Reesy’s body, as seen from space. A pop-up image floated in the corner, displaying the match that the AI’s had found between the corpse and the young woman’s prison picture. There was no doubt that the two shots depicted the same person.
“Well, Amandra,” she said over her shoulder, “It seems that Captain n’Kyla has been avenged at last. And from the look of it, the cell that Hernan was part of won’t offer us any further trouble either.”
“Yes,” Sa’Tela replied darkly. “It’s a pity that it had to cost us so much to accomplish that.”
“Indeed. We shall have to see about bringing things back into balance,” Sarah replied.
Sisterhood of Suns: Daughters of Eve Page 28