War's Reward (Free Fleet Book 6)

by Michael Chatfield

  “I think we can scramble up a few things,” Ursht said sending a query to the supply shuttle set some thirty kilometers away.

  It was time to move and see if they couldn’t reel some more Kalu into Avarian territory.

  ***

  Ipox marched down to his awaiting shuttle, he could feel the tension, fear, anxiety and recruit excitement because no veteran would be excited in the slightest to drop onto AIH and go hunting Kalu.

  A good number of the veterans had come off of Heija, staying at Parnmal for limb regrowth, or advanced surgeries that couldn’t be completed on-ship.

  They’d been at the wrong end of the Kalu once and by the stories Ipox was not looking forward to crossing the bastards.

  That said the Free Fleet had just been defending, holding to give the fleet time. From the reports it looked like Asul had already held up against the largest concentrations of the Kalu.

  Now the Avarians and Commandos were working in tandem to wither down the Kalu and generally fuck with them.

  Ipox was only too happy to get some payback on the fuckers who had killed people he had trained with, and known better than any of his brothers that he’d spilt blood with.

  He might be a Kuruvian, but he was looking forward to putting the fear of the fleet in the fuckers.

  “Board shuttles in an orderly fashion, watch for departing shuttles.” The automated sirens blared as he stepped onto his shuttle a harness clamping him in place as he looked to the Commandos around him. They gave grim nods, a few that were capable of it gave indications of weak smiles.

  They might be Commandos, but under it they were just a group of sentients standing by one another against whatever some fucker might throw at them. They weren’t related by anything other than their drive to complete their duty and keep the creature to either side alive.

  It was one hell of a family, and they were being attacked.

  We’ll have to put that right, Ipox assured himself as the ramps started closing.

  Next stop, Avar Interim Hermanti.

  Chapter Move it

  Despite all the arguments and all of the bickering, hell they’d even got Bok Soo on the line, while he was in a damned trench system. I was standing up from my position on the bridge, taking in the sight, preparing myself for the walk to the armories.

  I remembered Yasu’s expression when Rick had told her about my desire to go to Earth.

  “Rick, you and I know that trying to control him is like telling the sun to piss off. It isn’t gonna happen,” she said, to him, her mild manner turned severe as she looked to me however. “That said if you start putting yourself in the middle of danger and pissing around the front lines again I will firmly plant a boot in your ass,” she said, pointing at me.

  “Promises,” I said giving her a smirk and a wink. She closed her eyes but I could see the tension at the corner of her lips.

  “Don’t get yourself killed,” she said in a softer tone.

  “I’ll do my best, you best keep yourself alive,” I said, some of my Commander Salchar coming in as I held back emotions.

  “I’ll try,” she replied, we shared a look. We had both been doing this long enough that we knew promising to make it back was beyond our control. All we could do was hope that we did.

  “See you down there babe,” I said, James coming out with a smile.

  “Same back at you hot stuff,” she said, smiling at me. The transmission ended.

  “Dayum I have one hot baby momma!” I exclaimed, trying to cut Rick’s frustration down a few notches with a bit of humor.

  “Well shit, if you’re going down, then I’m coming too. Marleen can run the damned ship, it’s nothing but an orbital platform and fueling station for the fighters once we get there,” Rick said.

  Dealing with Yasu, possibly the best hand-to-hand fighter in the Free Fleet was one thing, talking to Rick’s wife Marleen, my tactical commander, close friend and survivor of my squad. Shit.

  I’d got through the altercation mostly intact and given them their room.

  Now that was moot. Rick was strapped in with his gear a few shuttles over as I was stuck in mine. My protection detail had checked me over so thoroughly that I now understand why little Henry wasn’t very pleased whenever we changed his diapers.

  That kid could damn well poop! Plus, had a few nasty surprises if he didn’t like your frisking him.

  The thought made me laugh as we closed with Earth.

  “Ramps are closed and sealed, powering up engines and readying to depart Hic Stamus,” the pilot said, all of them had a different start-up.

  Here we stand, I thought, translating the name of the ship. It was pretty apt if I said so myself. The nervous energy that kept me hyper was fading away, James got cornered and closed down. Commander Salchar was in the reins. I checked my HAPA weapons and gear again before feeling the shuttle push off of the Super-carrier’s deck.

  There were a few moments of realization of just what the hell I was doing and then the cold fact that I was dedicated now. I like the brave men and women around me were on our way to Earth one way or another.

  All of us were scared, from the newest recruit to the most grizzled veteran. The longer someone spent doing this kind of thing the more they could hide their feelings and settle into something like a routine.

  If such a thing as dropping through atmosphere right onto an inhabited planet to fight massive fucking wolves could be routine.

  Those thoughts rested in the back of my head as we rocked and rolled, the shuttles applied thrust, heading out of their homes.

  My HUD showed the shuttles and their fighter escort spreading out, being close in atmospheric entry would be damned annoying.

  We hit atmosphere, it wasn’t that bad, until we got a bit deeper. Earth’s atmosphere threw a damned tantrum and started shaking us about.

  Instead of gritting my teeth against the motion I rocked with it.

  Someone threw up on the shuttle, probably a mix of nerves and the turbulence.

  Luckily they’d been able to get their visor open before decorating the floor.

  Some other idiot probably started by the first emptied their stomach as well.

  It was understandable and god was I happy that my visor was closed. The Cargo master was not as relieved as me, staring daggers at the two who’d soiled his cargo hold.

  The two held their heads low.

  “Looks like we’ve got two more vomit comets, welcome to the club Commandos!” The Company Commander said, making the two perk up. They still didn’t look quite a hundred percent but the friendly jostling made them relax.

  “Just don’t puke on someone else’s armor okay?” The Commander said.

  “Yes Commander!” The two responded, no longer looking mopey and dejected.

  The shuttle leveled off, through the worst of the friction, the shuttle angled and we headed towards our defense point. We would be trying to protect Asia. The region was covered with varying terrain, groups that didn’t much like one another and the Kalu had pretty much mauled through a hell of a lot of the civilian population.

  That said they had the biggest population density of any other region on Earth.

  The plan was to deploy from Shanghai to Xi’an across the East side of the country, cutting off the northeast and the advance of Kalu from Beijing towards Shanghai and south into the heavily populated areas. More lines would be drawn until we cut a third of China off from the south, another group of Commandos moved from North Korea up to Mongolia, stopping any Kalu and pressing towards Beijing.

  Mongolia’s borders would be reinforced as well.

  It was all heavily populated, or had been. People had been moving as fast as damned possible.

  It was personnel intensive, but this was a large portion of humanity, we couldn’t just let them fight by themselves.

  China’s military is nothing to look down at, I thought their reaction time to the oncoming threat was, scary came to mind after living in South Korea for so long.
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  Their military was one of the most disciplined, the most powerful and with a command and control that was undisputed.

  Right now it mattered less about their methods and more about their results. They had pretty good weaponry that could hurt the Kalu but they needed something more.

  They’d accepted our help, after some rather long discussions.

  Mongolia’s forces were roused and happy for the help. North Korea was, well they were being royal fucking pains in my ass. I was going to have to have a talk with their leader at sometime. The prick kept wanting to fire nukes. Which in turn meant we had to keep a ship covering the country at all times. Any that they shot up, we waited to get high enough and blasted it with clean nukes, minimizing fallout.

  Even China was starting to get annoyed with the North Koreans. Especially when some of the nuclear tracks were headed into their region.

  I kept the hell out of that mess, politics were messy at the best of times. Suicidal and deadly at the worst. I just had one job, try to keep as many people alive as possible.

  “Coming in on approach, twenty seconds,” the pilot said into my helmet. My hands started checking my gear, something that the majority of the shuttle did as well.

  “Load,” the commander said, charging handles were cocked and safeties applied, once out of the shuttle they’d be flicked off, we’d rather not have a stray round going off. I flicked a switch on a panel, my ammunition belts clicking a few times as rounds fed from the belt into the cannons, waiting.

  Ramps opened and night streamed in. I looked at what should have been a familiar sun, but it was different from the light of the ships, it felt oddly foreign now.

  People started pouring off of the shuttle, HAPA’s and Commandos getting the hell out as fast as possible. I clunked out of the shuttle, Krom and Shreesht waiting for me, their HAPA’s already covering possible areas that a threat that might come from.

  Gravity feels weird too, I thought, interested by the fact I had now grown away from my home planet. I might have been born and raised here, but it was more foreign than some planets I had visited. The odd lights of the Free Fleet, the higher gravity and tangy air, that was home.

  I pushed these thoughts down and read my HUD, finding my area commander.

  “This could be interesting,” I said, sighing and leading the way to the command center. Rick on another shuttle disembarked, he and Wruck joining my growing party.

  We made it to the command center, two people were clearly in charge. They were talking to the General in quick mandarin, at least I assumed it was mandarin, my HUD converted it for me but I tuned it out, instead looking at the updating positions on my HUD. Strategy was my thing, if I could help the region commander I’d do my best.

  The two looked up from the maps, a tac-table had been assembled and a myriad of commanders were standing around it.

  “Alright, we’ve got a frontage of almost thirteen hundred kilometers to cover, we’re going to deploy north of Shanghai at Dongying and then up to Mongolia. We’re going to concentrate forces to the southern areas, that’s where the people are and the Kalu seem to be following the coast. The Chinese forces are going to be digging in south of us. We need to keep the Kalu entertained long enough for them to get some positions in the ground,” Yasu said, looking to her people.

  “We’re going to have a third of our forces in shuttles, with an area so big we’re going to have to slap a sensor network up and then send the shuttles charging off at any Kalu we sense. Connolly will have your assignments and positions to you momentarily.” That was when she caught sight of my tell-tale armor.

  “It also seems that Commander Salchar and Rick are in for the ride,” Yasu said, tapping her fingers on her HAPA’s front, probably trying to decide how she felt about the whole situation.

  “Rick who organized our drop?” I asked on a private channel.

  “The AI’s based on skillset and such,” Rick said.

  “Remind me to have a talk with them,” I said slowly, not sure how this situation was going to turn out.

  The Commanders turned, nodding, no one tried to give a two-finger salute here, that was one way to get you marked for a sniper.

  While the Kalu didn’t have snipers, it was a bad habit to get into anyway.

  “They’ll be riding with me on the point,” I said, Krom, Shreesht and Wruck seemed displeased. Even in armor I could tell what they were thinking.

  “Let’s get to work, we don’t have time to waste. People are dying every second we sit around,” Yasu said, the Commanders turned into movement dispersing to their people and shuttles.

  “I know you three don‘t like having Rick and James at the front, but their Commandos, and not bad ones,” Yasu said.

  “Thanks,” I drawled.

  “No problem,” she said, her voice tense.

  “Don’t worry I’m only here as a Commando, if you need me, let me know,” I said.

  “Same, just a dude with cannons and missiles,” Rick said.

  She tapped her fingers, a trait she got from me.

  “Rick you coordinate with the Chinese forces and our own. James, use that strategic brain of yours and check out my plan. See if you’ve got anything to add,” Yasu said.

  Rick got to work on one of the tac-tables consoles as I came around the other side, Connolly was still there, working a console and tilting to Yasu occasionally, obviously consulting her and passing orders.

  She took up a station next to me but I honestly zoned her out and focused on her rough plan, seeing if I could work in some tricks.

  With so many civilians and unprotected people, even the Chinese military in their basic armor made things like nukes a bad idea, batteries of warship rail cannons, nope, laser mines, nope.

  We were down to the basics, Commandos versus Kalu.

  ***

  Takahashi looked over his people, they were tired, bloodied and determined.

  Hachiro had turned into a bloodbath, a cornered Kalu was a vicious creature. Too many had died but the station was secured.

  Nancy, wasn’t.

  The shipyard was massive with open areas, but it also had seven slips, all filled with different manner of craft from corvettes to super-carriers.

  The Kalu had charged into the shells of ships being built, the various living, control and manufactories of the shipyard.

  Making holding and taking the whole place a mess. Reserve forces had become front-line, front-line units were hundreds of meters and a ship away from the front.

  He looked at the Commandos, the Kalu were terrible in zero-gravity, having to orientate themselves to their targets. Getting shot from various directions crossed some wires as they contorted and tried to bring normalcy to their situation.

  Takahashi was using this to full effect, turning off all the gravity generators of the ships and the station. Commandos had trained in this very facility; Takahashi had been the instructor for many of them.

  They were in slip three, a half-completed destroyer waited in the middle of the slip, five star-warriors had bored their way into the hull.

  “Spread it out over there,” Takahashi said to the converging forces below and to his right.

  The Commandos listened, blue flares pushing them apart.

  They continued on their advance, jumping from the slips girders letting them quickly make it to the hell of the Destroyer.

  Alerts went off as laser fire started coming from an open section of the Destroyer’s hull.

  The lasers were invisible in space, but their affects weren’t.

  Two suits red-lined, one going yellow, the other staying red.

  Takahashi acknowledged them even as his rail gun thumped. The zero-recoil mode fired slower than normal, but the rounds still had a devastating affect when nearly a hundred Commandos were firing at the same point. The Kalu were inundated with fire and the alerts stopped, the Kalu were either dead or hunkering down.

  “Keep you eyes about you, one person from each section watch first con
tact area, everyone else look for possible Kalu,” Takahashi called out, his scanners and eyes roving over the Destroyers hull for any other Kalu.

  “Echo squad, take the position that fire came from and Delta-three assist,” Takahashi said, their advance continuing.

  “Topside, hull breach, third level,” Someone called out a haloed Kalu appearing, and disappearing under overwhelming firepower.

  “Rome-five, Kilo-two, see to that,” Takahashi said, getting back two affirmatives from the squad commanders.

  He tilted angling his feet towards the hull, powering his magnetic soles. They grabbed onto the ship as he bent his knees, absorbing the momentum that had carried him across the girders.

  Five hadn’t made it that distance.

  Takahashi angled for an opening in the hull, other squads were already making entry.

  Takahashi linked up with a squad.

  They pushed into a hull opening which was going to be a gun-deck. They spread out in all directions, using the ceiling, walls, machinery and floor to move around with a tap here, push there.

  Kalu charged in, engaging the two on the floor, they immediately pushed for cover.

  With a kick against the ceiling a bit of thrust to his left, Takahashi grabbed a grenade in one hand, letting his rifle dangle from his chest as his other hand caught the lip of the bulkhead over the doorway the Kalu were coming through. He thumbed the grenade, tossing it and applied thrust on his shoulders that pushed him back towards the ceiling.

  The grenade went off a flash of destruction, but without any noise. Other Commandos had moved to the sides of the doorway, upside, sideways and the right way up.

  As one they peeked over the edge and fired as soon as they saw targets. The Kalu reaction speed and inability to re-orientate themselves meant they didn’t even get a shot off at the nearest attackers before their holed armor was floating away.

  The group around the doorway threw themselves into the corridor, using the walls ceiling and floor to drag themselves.

  Takahashi watched their movements, you would have thought that they were born in zero-gravity.