I heard the roar of an aircraft, an actual aircraft, not MEF’s ripping through atmosphere.
“Vort, find out who the hell is piloting the aircraft in my area and tell them to fuck off, they’re just going to get shot down!” I said, even on the ground I was linked to Hic Stamus.
“On it!” Vort said
“They’re not turning away,” Vort said, coming back a few seconds later.
“Shit,” I said, knowing it was out of my hands.
The aircraft’s volume increased as they got closer. Kalu looked to the noise, their lasers tracking burned into the skies. It took some pressure off of us, but the explosions and tumbling wreckage that had been fighters and bombers let out rippling booms like the worlds biggest fireworks.
“Watch for falling debris, we hold for five minutes. Commanders check your evacuation routes, no one left behind,” Yasu said.
Agreement went back to her. I might be Commander of the Fleet but on the ground right here and now she was the Commander of the area and one of the best I had.
I had no time to focus on that line of thought as the Kalu’s attention once again focused solely on our positions. We dug between buildings, through pavements, flowerbeds, and anything we could punch through.
Buildings continued to explode with incoming artillery, now nothing more than a side attraction, the human mind was very good at adapting.
A laser blast came at where I was harnessed into my HAPA.
I jumped sideways, snagging my ammunition belt on my left gun and pulling it free. the laser passed overhead.
Krom and Shreesht had a few rounds to say about the Kalu’s attempt.
I stayed down my first belt receding into the ammunition magazine on my back as I released my cannon it slid back next to the pack, a second belt locking into the feeding mechanism.
I got my feet back under me, using the thrusters instead of my cannons.
“Back in!” I said grabbing the cannon’s command toggle, bringing both cannons to bear and firing.
“We are clear for nukes, follow fire plan,” Yasu said.
I slaved my HAPA’s firing controls to the incoming plan. My launchers slapped into position, I didn’t pay them any heed as I walked and fired across my targets, resorting to bursts as Kalu fell under the weight of my fire.
I felt the HAPA buck with the missiles, but it mattered little to me, I was in the zone.
My hands moved as if by themselves drawing bursts of fire across haloed Kalu.
“Move positions, they’re zeroing,” Rick said.
“You move first, we’ll cover!” I said, over the channel that connected Wruck, Krom, Shreesht, Rick and myself.
“Wruck, moving!” Rick barked.
Some people thought that Rick was my calmer alter-ego.
My answer to that was, when he chose to be.
He was a good fighter, damned smart and by god he loved to blow shit up.
Whereas I got wrapped up in emotions, he was a cool cucumber, sure he raised his voice and barked orders but he could plot a firing solution with the kind of brutal efficiency that I had only seen an AI come close to imitating.
Nukes that had launched just seconds ago dropped, an atomic wave of destruction spreading in every direction.
The flash made everyone’s visors darken.
“Down!” Yasu barked, everyone following her orders, the shock-waves came next, throwing more than one Commando that hadn’t had their ass deep enough in cover was tossed backwards.
Building’s looked like they were sand sculptures being hit with a fireman’s hose, they tilted ever so slightly, then physics reminded them who was boss and shit went everywhere.
“Building!” I said, seeing the apartment building coming for me. Standing up would get me caught in the shockwaves so I just watched it happen, turning my armored back on the sight.
This is what I get for calling fire on their cousins across the road, I thought switching my cannons to plasmid blades just as the building slapped my and my HAPA into the ground.
Okay it didn’t slap me into it, but it definitely pushed me in some. The trenches we’d been in weren’t deep enough to hide all of a HAPA but most of it.
“Salchar?” Krom asked.
“Yeah I’m fine, looks like you lot are too,” I said, checking the channel which didn’t just connect our communications but relayed all of their information
Lying face down I had some wiggle room. I got myself sideways, enough to get my left blade into play and start cutting the concrete up.
I got to the limit of my mobility and powered up my thrusters, my HAPA’s shoulder pushed into concrete, nothing giving for long enough for me to start panicking, then it cracked and I was moving sideways out of the trench and building. I cut the thrusters and turned to look at where the shoulder-nukes had gone.
Dust, debris and crap was still falling from the sky, but the land in front of me looked like someone took a sledgehammer across every building and then started punching the ground for good measure.
There wasn’t anything taller than a few feet left standing.
Red halos started appearing in the distance.
“Fucking Kalu,” I growled. “Whose stuck?” I asked louder.
“Me,” Shreesht said.
“Same,” Rick said.
“Almost free,” Krom said.
“It will take me a few moments,” Wruck said.
“Alright, Krom get Shreesht, Rick, Imma comin’ for you,” I said, moving to where his transponder was actually showing him underneath me.
“Don’t move,” I said and stabbed my plasmid blades down, cutting through the collection of concrete and crap on top of him.
“Fuck!” Rick squeaked, probably seeing the plasmid blades jab right in front of his head and start drawing lines.
“Next time a bit more warning!” He said.
“I said don’t move,” I said.
“Don’t move Shreesht,” Krom said.
“That somehow doesn't instill confidence in me,” Shreesht growled. “Hey watch where you’re putting that blade pervert!”
A new fire plan came out, the Kalu were close but we needed time to get our people out of the new facelift we’d given a portion of the town.
My launchers twisted as I cut, plumes rushing over my head as I focused on my cutting.
“Looks good,” I said, stepping back.
“Watch out,” Rick said, seconds later the rubble started moving and he pushed himself out into daylight. Rubble and crap rolled off of his armored arse.
New suns flared to life in the distance, my HUD reported the incoming shock wave.
“Another wave coming in!” I barked over the local channel. People that had freed themselves from the rubble or were helping others, quickly ducked.
The shock wave came, it wasn’t bad this time, mostly cleaned the place up a bit.
“Move it double time, I want everyone out of the line and moving beck to the secondary!” Yasu barked.
Effort redoubled and the remaining people under buildings were pulled and hauled free.
“You owe me a new pair of underwear,” Rick growled, his cannons gesturing to my blades.
“Whoops,” I said, getting a snort from him. We split and started helping people, we knew Kalu and we knew that the peace wouldn’t last.
We were moving in ten minutes, twenty thousand Commandos made one hell of a sight, especially after those nuclear blasts.
Some of the faces on the Chinese military. Well I didn’t doubt that they needed new underwear.
We got into our new positions, ammunition moved out from the dumps across the three hundred kilometer line we’d set up. It looked like the Kalu for all their aggression were keeping to their pack mentality, while they had the people to go around us on the far edge, instead they were coming in as one body and hammering us.
That wasn’t to say that Yasu hadn’t planned for them trying to flank us.
There was a reason most of our reinforcements
were locked into their shuttles, ready to deployed anywhere.
My mind went to the information that I’d been given yesterday when we had been digging the positions we had just left.
Daestramus’ reinforcements were now coming direct to Earth, Mars had secured the ground and were readying forces to assist us. Also Monk would be leaving Parnmal tomorrow, leaving Henry in the care of Cheerleader and Min Hae. He’d be bringing with him another two hundred thousand Commandos.
Over the next two weeks the forces on Earth would grow by a factor of five.
Then it would be the Free Fleet going on the offensive.
Now’s not the time to think about that. Hope for the best prep for the worst, I thought an ammunition cart rolled in, feeders getting slapped into my ports as a tech pulled off my launchers and slapped on new ones.
It didn’t take long before the two-person team was moving down the line.
I checked to make sure everything was good to go, limbering my arms and facing the direction I had run across.
“Kalu!” Someone yelled as the first halos started marking the lead forces.
A week is a long fucking time, I thought, Kalu Fighters rushed through mushroom clouds.
Being a commander I could see as Yasu put in a call for MEF help, it looked like someone had been keeping the majority of them back.
Fuck, I hate it when the enemy’s smart.
***
The great clouds of destruction grew in front of Orshpa, he was having shrapnel pulled from his hide.
It was the only reason that he hadn’t been where those clouds were.
“We need to push faster, harder, close with them, bring them under claw and tooth!” Orshpa barked, moving, the Kalu pulling the shards from his body was not pleased by the movement. Orshpa’s body likewise didn’t like the movement, but he had bloodlust and hormones of battle working to push past such a minor inconvenience as pain.
“If we get closer they will not bring their weapons down on their own heads. We must close with them,” Orshpa said, looking to his primes and leaders.
“Rip their armor from them, and color yourselves in their life essence, we will yet claim this planet! No battle like this has ever been recorded by the stories, rejoice, we have found foes that our ancestor clans would greet on the battlefield in full honor!” Orshpa yelled, his voice carrying across the plains where his Kalu rested, all of them had been bloodied but wounds, need for sustenance held them back. Orshpa’s clan was not like others that would rush on until they either died or starved.
He would wait, bring his people to full strength, hitting with the strongest each time. It was a trend that had spread through the clans for it’s use.
Atmosphere breaking cracks came from above, ships from the Free Fleet descended onto the planet.
They didn’t use their cloud weapons of destruction until we were just Ticks from their positions. Before they fought us back with heavy fire and the screaming weapons of above. The only thing that changed was their unarmored weaklings were not close. If they are close, maybe they cannot use the cloud weapon? He turned to his primes.
“Take the strong and our Kalu of above, write your histories,” Orshpa said, getting bellowing agreement from his primes. He looked to Daskil, shifting his mane, ordering him closer as the Primes tussled in excitement and headed to rally their followers.
“You said that the armored one’s lines stop?” Orshpa asked.
“Yes, we’ve found that the ones called Commandos, line stretches far, but it does not block us in,” Daskil said.
“Commandos,” Orshpa said, turning the odd word around. “Odd name, take two primes of your choosing, under my orders and go around the line. Harass their supplies as they have done with us. If we keep these cloud weapons from them we can close with them as we should have,” Orshpa said, shaking his mane in anger.
They should be fighting the Commandos with claw and teeth right now, but their clouds had put a stop to that.
“It will be done clan leader Orshpa,” Daskil said, showing his thanks and respect for the honor of carrying out his won attack.
“See you do not fail, or you do not come back to me,” Orshpa said.
“As you say clan leader,” Daskil said, staying down for a few more moments before heading off to do his masters bidding.
***
Daskil looked over those that Orshpa had given to his command, three hundred Kalu rested and waited.
“Today we will search out our quarry’s sides so that we might wash them from the holes they bury in the ground. We will go by the ways of old, searching for new hunting ground in teams of two. Range to the colder reaches of this ground to find open hunting areas that might allow us to come down like rain on the hidden Commandos.” Daskil’s words interested them, the scouts of a hunting party were given a great honor, they no longer rested, their gathered their battle-mates and waited for the order.
“Search and find me their open hunting lands,” Daskil said, shaking his body and mane in aggression. The others returned the salute, their voices rising to begin their hunt.
The first started rushing towards the colder regions, they would range up and down the line and look for a weakness, it might take them days or weeks, but Daskli knew they would find it. He would not fail Orshpa and they would not fail him.
His claws cut into the ground, sharpening them. Either they would be fed with Commando’s blood, or the carcasses of those that failed him.
***
Isaz looked at the destruction that had been brought down on Ershue. Entire swathes of forest had been destroyed, homes were gone, trees that had stood longer than recorded history nothing but burned ground.
It ripped at his very soul.
These Commandos, aliens, had come to his planet and they had waged war across it, only living for destruction. It was their fault this had happened.
The destruction he saw around the mound only proved it. Kalu bodies littered the forests and the exterior defenses.
Commandos moved around the battlefield some grabbing their fallen, others just wandering, or staring over the scenery.
Disgusting creatures should go back to their planet, he thought and continued on, knowing that he would find the stain that had created this mess, that should have died from his own actions to make up for the loss of the forests.
Righteous anger filled him, Fal was no Ershue, he was one of these war Commandos.
Isaz snarled at all of them, walking over the bodies of Commandos that were being picked up.
“Hey fuck head!” One barked moving to him with violent intent, Isaz looked at him with disdain, tilting his chin up in challenge.
“What do you want Commando? Defiler of my world?” Isaz said.
“Have some fucking respect,” the Commando growled, pointing a finger at Isaz.
“I will not respect a creature that destroyed my planet!” Isaz said.
“You little...” Isaz didn’t move fast enough, the Commando grabbed his wings and pushed him just inches away from a dead Kalu.
“See that you pretentious prick, that is what we stopped, that’s what my fucking friends died for. To save you and your fucking people. Trees will regrow, people will not.” The Commando dropped Isaz and walked away.
“You know nothing but how to commit violence,” Isaz cursed, a high Ershue cuss.
“And you know nothing of sacrifice,” the Commando spat and walked on.
Isaz’s anger now further incensed moved further into the Commando base.
He found Fal asleep in the command tree.
“Wouldn’t expect anything less, lazy on the duty given to him by the people,” Isaz said, loud enough to startle Fal awake.
That got glares from around the room, Isaz relished in being the point of their anger, hoping for more opportunities to record their savage behavior.
“What do you want Isaz?” Fal asked, sounding tired.
Probably from sleeping so much as we huddled in the tunnels scared and
fearing, Isaz’s anger was making him shake.
“You are no creature of Ershue, you have burned our planet. My warnings went unheeded and you have got many killed. Your stain must be wiped from Ershue. I so banish you!” Isaz said, looking at Fal blink.
Fal looked as if he was going to rally against the deceleration and then sighed, the fight going out of him.
“I served Ershue with every fiber of my being, I have no regrets. I love this world more than I can express, or you that would believe in your anger,” Fal said.
“I am not angry!’ Isaz snapped.
“Yes you are, don’t worry I will leave. Leave a planet that does not know how to treat those that gave their lives to it’s defense. Poj, please submit my application to the Free Fleet, I would rather be a citizen of a group that cares for one another, than one that just blames the other,” Fal said, slipping from the limbs.
“You did this, this destruction, the horror you have reaped on your own homeland. You deserve the Fleet and their thirst for blood. I will not have our world be part of a group built on being the aggressors,” Isaz said.
“Isaz,” Fal said, looking at Isaz with the same regard as one might look at a list of chores.
“Fuck off,” Fal said looking to two Commandos that moved to Isaz.
“You are a stain on this planet, you do not deserve to own the name of Ershue! May you be haunted by your actions on this planet till you die!” Isaz yelled, the Commandos grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back.
Fal looked at him, the darkness and sorrow written on his features making him pause.
“I will never forget my actions here. Kurft told me of the nightmares,” Fal looked to the main screen, “now he too will join them,” Fal said, bowing and raising his hands in a sign of mourning.
The Commandos pushed Isaz out of the room another Commando in heavily damaged armor waiting.
“Best remember the Fleet has a long memory, Isaz,” the waiting Commando said, his human eyes made Isaz shudder.
He saw the stained covered ‘Wesom’ carved into his armor before the Commando walked into the command room.
War's Reward (Free Fleet Book 6) Page 19