Merkiaari Wars Series: Books 1-3

by Mark E. Cooper

  “Copy that. My pleasure to serve.”

  She grinned and changed channels to give Frankowski similar orders. Eric was watching the base intently while she spoke with her people. He had a vaguely puzzled look upon his face. Gina opened her visor and was instantly plunged into darkness. She didn’t need her imaging systems to see Eric.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Eric shook his head. “I don’t know, something isn’t right. It’s too quiet.”

  That was a bonus to Gina’s way of thinking. She had surprise on her side. “It’s after midnight.”

  “That’s the point. When I was here last, the rebels moved around mostly at night to avoid detection.”

  Gina frowned. There was nothing to cause concern, and that lack suddenly sparked it. It made her nervous. Trying to shake her unease, she concentrated on business.

  “I’ve ordered the towers lit up after the guns. With luck they won’t know what’s hit them until too late.”

  Eric nodded. “I’ll take out the guards. Be ready to lead your people after me. Do not deviate from my path, Gina, and that is an order.”

  “Aye, aye, sir,” she said automatically and was glad the others hadn’t heard her when Eric glared. He was supposed to be a civ. He really didn’t like her calling him, sir.

  Eric held up five fingers and began counting down.

  Gina quickly slapped her visor closed and contacted her people. “…three, two, one, now!”

  Pooomf! Pooomf! Pooomf! Pooomf!

  The first four rounds were still in the air when another four were launched to join them. Explosions shattered the night. Gina’s optics flared white as the flashes overloaded sensitive pickups. She switched to thermal imaging for a moment before giving it up as a bad job. She would have to rely on her MK1 eyeballs for now.

  Pooomf! Pooomf! Pooomf! Pooomf!

  The sentry guns were gone, turned to pillars of fire and flashes of light as their ammo cooked off. She winced as a particularly violent detonation shook the air. She ducked as something whirred overhead and struck the trees behind.

  It’s bloody dangerous out here!

  Eric’s pulser was tracking and firing. She watched him pick out one target after another with unfailing accuracy. It was like watching a sentry gun. He was machine-like in his precision. She had never believed the propaganda about the 501st. That they were consummate soldiers, yes. That vipers had saved Humanity at a time when nothing else could have—absolutely, but that they were inhuman robots incapable of real feelings… robots that killed without compunction or mercy? No. Seeing Eric like this shook her convictions, but then she remembered that this was Eric and not some machine. She knew him. At least she knew him enough to discount most of the stories.

  Pooomf! Pooomf! Pooomf! Pooomf!

  She watched the first tower fall, but she didn’t have time to see it strike the ground. Eric had finished his methodical butchery and was getting ready to move into the minefield.

  “Eagles Four and Nine, hold your positions,” she ordered over the comm. “The rest of you follow me. Two has point.”

  Gina hastened to follow Eric as he meandered his way toward the objective. She was careful to follow his movements exactly. Only he knew the safe route through the minefield… if the rebels hadn’t changed it. She breathed easier when they reached the perimeter fence without mishap. Eric cut the wire and was inside on his belly before Gina could blink. She followed and lay next to a makeshift APC. Both vehicles, though civilian in design, had been extensively modified through application of armour plating. She could see the twin snub barrels of what looked like an M306-AA pulser. That kind of weaponry was a serious threat to the regiment’s transports and needed handling.

  Gina quickly assessed her squad. They were prone and well hidden by cavorting shadows caused by the fires. “Eagles Six and Seven, take care of those pulsers.”

  “Copy.”

  “Copy.”

  While her people were taking care of the pulsers by application of CTX15 (remote detonated charges), Gina followed Eric as he ran across the compound toward the mineshaft.

  “No guards?” Gina said as she peered into the mine entrance.

  “Over confident,” Eric said though he didn’t sound sure.

  Gina used her sensors to scan for the rebels, but the shaft seemed deserted. “Take us to the command centre.”

  Eric nodded and led the way inside. The tunnels were dark. Without her sensors, Gina would have been completely blind. Light amplification needed some light to work with and here there was none. She switched to thermal imaging and followed Eric carefully. She had to rely on his enhanced abilities now more than ever. Her own sensors were giving fuzzy readings and shadows where there should be none. There was something in the tunnel walls interfering with her equipment. She tried to refine the data her sensors displayed on her HUD, but after a moment, she gave it up as a bad job. Eric gave no sign that he was having the same difficulties; he crept by one side tunnel after another as if sure they were unoccupied. She hoped he was right.

  Gina had her pulser ready, but she was still taken by surprise. She hit the dirt as the rebels opened up on her. Eric rolled to the left and used the tunnel wall to shield himself while she laid down covering fire. Eric aimed and took a rebel’s leg off at the knee. The shrill screaming was an efficient way of distracting the man’s comrades, and Eric took full advantage. Almost as soon as the screaming began, the fight ended with his pulser bolts finding targets. Fire from the rebels ceased as the last man fell. The remaining rebel continued screaming in agony, but they took no notice. They were too busy charging into the empty command centre.

  “What the hell is going on?” Gina said, and squinted around the brightly lit but empty control room.

  “Don’t know,” Eric said absently as he sat at an empty board and used the controls to change the views on the security monitors. “The barracks and motor pool are both empty,” he murmured. “They’ve abandoned the place.”

  “Abandoned it, or is it just empty at the moment?”

  Eric turned toward her with a frown upon his face. “What?”

  “Those guards you killed didn’t abandon it did they? They fought as if this place was important.”

  Eric looked back at the monitors. “They’ve gone on a raid.”

  She nodded grimly. “Disable the mines and missile batteries.”

  Eric started trashing the consols. While he took care of that, Gina took a moment to contact her people.

  “Eagles Four and Nine, Eagle One. It’s all in the crapper here. Come in and meet me.”

  “Eagle Four copies.”

  “Nine copies.”

  “I’m done,” Eric said looking up from a smoking consol.

  Gina looked around at the destruction with approval. “Let’s go, and don’t forget your prisoner.”

  Eric ducked out the door to retrieve the still screaming rebel.

  From the doorway, Gina glanced back at the destruction and decided the rebels might be able to repair the damage. She couldn’t allow that. She slung her rifle and unclipped a brace of grenades from her webbing. She depressed the triggers and lobbed them underhand through the door.

  “Fire in the hole,” Gina shouted and sprinted down the tunnel. Both grenades went off and the tunnel roof collapsed behind her.

  Outside in the compound, numerous bonfires lit the night. She took a second to reassure herself that all her people were unharmed before contacting base.

  “Gold One, Eagle One.”

  “Eagle One, Gold One. Go,” Major Stein said.

  “The mission is a bust, sir. We neutralised the lasers, missile launchers, and pretty much the entire base.”

  “I hear a but coming, Gunny.”

  Gina grimaced. “Yes, sir, there’s definitely a but. Apart from a few guards, the damn rebels are missing. Eric thinks they chose tonight for some kind of raid. I concur, sir.”

  “Copy that,” Stein said grimly. “I think I know their target and the
re’s not much time. I’m sending the transport to pick your team up.”

  “Understood. Eagle One clear.”

  “Gold One clear.”

  Gina turned her attention to Eric and his prisoner. Her Marines had fallen-in and set up a defensive perimeter around her and Eric. The prisoner stopped screaming as Hollings pumped a dose of Fentanyl into him. Although its effect was of a short duration, Fentanyl Citrate was the strongest narcotic they carried. The rebel was hardly likely to die from something as minor as the loss of a leg, but if he didn’t cooperate, he would wish he had.

  “What is the target?” Eric asked intently.

  “Fuck you!” the wild-eyed man spat.

  “Fuck me?” Eric said mildly. He reached out and crushed the man’s stump viciously. “I don’t think so.”

  “AEiii!” the rebel screamed and jerked trying to free himself, but Eric wouldn’t allow it.

  Gina swallowed but didn’t look away. Westfield glanced over his shoulder at her, but she waved him back to his survey of the compound. They didn’t need to be taken by surprise twice in one night. Looked at one way, the mission was a success. Her single squad had destroyed the rebel’s entire base. Looked at another way, the mission was a bust. Destroying the base without killing the rebels was pointless; they would just set up somewhere else. Eric must be sick at the thought of all his work wasted. He had lived here undercover for weeks to learn what he needed to finish the rebels, but now all his work was threatened. No wonder he was pissed at being bad mouthed by this scum of a rebel.

  The rebel screamed again. “God don’t! No more… I’ll talk!”

  “Are you sure?” Eric said with another twist of the bloody stump. “I don’t like lies.”

  “No lies I swear! They’re hitting the parliament building!”

  “When?”

  “Noon! The President reconvenes parliament at noon!”

  “Good boy.”

  Gina turned away and opened a channel. “Gold One, Eagle One.”

  “Eagle One, Red One. Gold One is out of contact.”

  “Copy, Red One. I have the target, Lieutenant. The rebels are hitting the parliament building at noon today.”

  “Copy noon today,” Lieutenant Strong said. “Stein guessed the target, but we didn’t know exactly when. Well done.”

  “Thanks, Lieutenant. Eagle One clear.”

  “Red One clear.”

  “They’re sending the transport,” Gina said over the all units channel. “Stein guessed the target would be the parliament building. If I know him, he’ll be laying on a reception for them.”

  “We’ll know soon enough,” Eric said, turning to the west and watching the sky.

  Gina tried to find what had caught his attention, but she couldn’t see anything until she used her sensors at max range. A small blip appeared on her HUD marked with the regiment’s IFF signalling its identity. It was a C-120—a Marine armoured transport and probably the same one that had brought them here.

  “As soon as the transport lands, I want you all on board,” she said to her squad.

  “What about the prisoner?” Westfield asked.

  Before Gina had a chance to answer, Eric did it for her with his pulser. One shot, and they no longer had a prisoner. She stared at the smoking hole where the prisoner’s face had been, and then at Eric who was just then flicking the safety back on his weapon.

  “What prisoner?” Eric said ignoring all the pulsers now aimed at him.

  Over the noise of the transport’s landing, Gina ordered her squad to lower their weapons. She glared at Eric, furious with his actions, but she didn’t want to start an argument in front of her squad. She marched a short distance into the darkness knowing Eric would follow and then rounded on him.

  “Don’t ever do that again. Not ever! Marines don’t work that way.”

  “No?” Eric said coldly. “Lucky I’m not a Marine then.”

  Gina stared at him for a long moment, and then turned away to order her people aboard the transport. Minutes later, they were speeding over the jungle toward the city and another fight.

  “He’s a spook,” Westfield said privately to Gina. “What do you expect?”

  Gina shrugged. She knew Eric wasn’t a spook, and that made his actions worse to her mind. Vipers were special. In her opinion, Eric had just dishonoured his unit.

  * * *

  3 ~ Showdown

  The Parliament Building, Planet Thurston

  “I’m no hero,” Eric said to Gina later that day while waiting for the order to open fire. “Get those notions out of your head. I do my duty to the Alliance with every breath I take. My decision was to execute a terrorist last night, and that too was my duty.”

  “Duty? Who decides when duty becomes murder?”

  “I do as a captain in the 501st.”

  Gina shifted position just a little. She wanted to keep an eye on the elevator doors behind her. Lieutenant Strong was with Stein, and had been for almost an hour. She wished he would hurry back from the briefing. If he didn’t show up soon, she would have to start without him.

  She glanced at Eric and then back outside at the plaza. “You must report to somebody, be held accountable by somebody.”

  “I report to my superiors as you do. General Burgton reports directly to the President.” Eric took a breath and went on in a milder tone. “Don’t judge me, Gina. You know nothing of what it takes to be a viper. We aren’t robots that kill to order. We were designed to kill Merkiaari, and we do it well. That frightens people. These days I spend all my time pissing on fires—trying to stop those wilful children we spoke of burning the Alliance down. We have discretion, perhaps too much, but without it the Alliance couldn’t have survived as long as it has. Besides, you have less right to judge me than others I could name.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Aren’t you the one who nearly allowed the torture of a prisoner because he killed some of your people?”

  “That was different,” she said hotly.

  “I don’t see how. I’m nearly two hundred and thirty years old, Gina. You can’t know what it’s like seeing the Alliance stumbling from one avoidable bush war to another over and over again. I have penetrated terrorist cells so many times that the number blurs in my memory. No matter what I do, the same types of people go on repeating the same types of mistakes. I chose to stop that man permanently. If I hadn’t, he would have been setting bombs and killing the innocent again in a year. They just never learn. So don’t judge me until you have lived as long as I have and seen what I have.”

  Two hundred years of fighting terrorists? God, she’d had no idea. What must it be like seeing mistakes happen over and over, knowing they were going to happen, yet being unable to prevent them? It must be appalling.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Forget about it. I would have reacted exactly the same way at your age, except I was fighting Merkiaari then.”

  “You fought in the war?”

  “Of course,” Eric said in surprise. “We were constructed for that purpose.”

  “I thought you might have… you know, been built after.”

  Eric shook his head. “No. We fought and there were eighty-nine of us left at the end. The Council allowed eleven more units to be constructed to bring our numbers up to a nice round politically correct one-hundred, but those eleven were already part way into the construction process. It was a mercy they were allowed to be completed.”

  “Surely the Council wouldn’t have left them half finished,” Gina said, shocked at the thought. Surely no one would have denied those soldiers a normal life.

  Eric’s face twisted into a snarl. “You have more trust in the Council than I then. The councillor for Bethany’s World campaigned hard to have us all scrapped, but public opinion was on our side. For a time, we really were heroes, but then fear replaced gratitude and here we are two hundred years later.”

  Eric had a bitter streak a klick wide, but it was hard to blame
him. His regiment decimated and everyone afraid the vipers would turn on them; it was enough to make anyone sour. Gina wished she didn’t know all this. She had been far happier in her ignorance.

  “Look alive people,” Major Stein’s voice said over the comm and everyone stopped to listen. “The rebels are making their move. I have ten APCs approaching the plaza from the north with many civ vehicles as escort. Approximately a thousand rebels inbound. Satellite feeds indicate assorted pulsers and small arms as well as AA pulsers on the APCs.

  “Alpha Company will concentrate on the APCs. I want them burning before they turn those pulsers on us. Bravo Company will concentrate its fire on the civ vehicles. Charlie Company will take targets of opportunity and defend the parliament building from any incursion. Good luck.”

  Gina selected squad wide on her comm. “All Eagles, Eagle One—you heard the Major—we take out the APCs, and that doesn’t mean giving up our cover. Let them come to us. Frankowski, you hose them with the AAR. Try to bottle them up as they approach the fountain.”

  “Never liked that thing anyway,” Frankowski said with glee.

  Gina ignored that to sight into the plaza. She and her squad were just inside the main doors and should see some action. Other squads were with them, but the bulk of Alpha Company was on the first floor. It looked as if she would have to start without Strong after all. Boy, was he going to be pissed.

  “Wait… wait…” she said as the vehicles entered the plaza. “Now! Let them have it!”

  Gina added her fire to that of her squad, but it was a mere sideshow to the heavy thudding of the AAR. Frankowski targeted an MPV near the rear of the rebel formation and it blew up spectacularly well. The burning vehicle crashed back to earth blocking the route out of the plaza. She nodded with approval at his choice of target.

  The rebels were taken by surprise by the first explosion, but as the APCs blew up one after another, they went to ground. They had lost a considerable edge with the destruction of the heavy pulsers in the APCs, but each of the surviving rebels took it upon himself to open up on the parliament building with an awesome barrage of pulser fire and grenades. Rocket propelled grenades struck the building launched from every side of the plaza. So many, that Gina feared her squad would be buried in the debris raining from the upper floors. Glass and chunks of plascrete crashed down on the street outside. She tried not to notice when uniformed corpses added themselves to the growing piles with meaty-sounding thuds.