“Ouch,” Twist complained as he staggered to his feet. He swore as his mechanical leg locked up. Reaching down and fiddling with the damaged leg, he said “It’s all fun and games until a nuclear explosion gets you in the eye.”
“You crack me up, Twist,” Gabriel said as he began to scan their surroundings. He nodded in approval. “Came down right where I wanted to.”
“Is this that valley you were talking about?” Beeker asked as he pulled Joshua from the ground.
“Tristeza,” Gabriel acknowledged with a wave of his hand. “Then down to the coast. This used to be a floodplain, but since they built a massive hydroelectric dam at the head of the valley, it’s just really soft soil now.”
“How do you know all this?” Twist asked curiously. Gabriel thought about it for a moment before he shrugged. They might as well know what we were planning, Gabriel thought to himself.
“I was going to live here as my girlfriend’s servant,” Gabriel explained. “She’s a Perfect, so we couldn’t get married, you know? So, she came here first and I...was almost on the transport shuttle when word got back about the Nuevo Esperanza. The Deebs locked everything down and I joined the Wraiths.”
“Yeah, I’d only heard a little bit of it back at MITC,” Joshua admitted in a quiet voice as he joined Twist. “I’m still sorry about that.”
“We covered this,” Gabriel shrugged. “I’m sorry I lost control of my temper.”
“We’re Wraiths,” Joshua stated. “It’s what we do best.”
“Go crazy and break stuff,” Gabriel nodded. He looked at the others, his face curious. “You ever wonder why our suits are so expensive and yet they throw us away like candy?”
“That’s the Navy for you,” Twist grunted in reply. Gabriel shook his head.
“I’m sure there’s more to it than that,” Gabriel commented before shoving the thought to the back of his mind. Later, he promised himself. Assuming we survive.
“Perimeter’s secure,” Markus reported in minutes later. “There isn’t anything around for a long ways. I think the airbursts caught them off guard.”
“Not off guard enough,” Gabriel grumbled bitterly, his mind on his friend hopefully safe at the bottom of the sea. “They still got some missiles off.”
“I think those were anti-asteroid shots,” Markus informed him. “If they had been expecting Wraiths they wouldn’t have fired off only missiles; they would have used those lasers on us. I bet they thought we were asteroid fragments and were shooting at that.”
“Well, then some luck finally fell into our lap,” Gabriel nodded. He looked at the others. “Let’s go find the prisoners.”
“Assuming any are left,” Beeker muttered darkly. Gabriel ignored him and, following the path Markus had created, began to trek through the Tristeza Valley.
#
The sky overhead grew cloudy as the afternoon turned into evening, with dark thunderheads forming in the distance. Like most planets in the Dominion, Ptolemy had an abundance of water. Water was life for humanity, and every planet discovered so far that had it was either colonized or marked for later colonization.
Gabriel looked at the steep walls of the valley and noted, not for the first time, either a flash flood or an ambush would be deadly for the Wraiths. He had initially been reluctant to make his way through the valley, but since every other route was heavily guarded by the Abassi he had no choice if he wanted to try to sneak up on the Abassi base. The cliffs had made his initial scheme seem dangerous; the prospect of trying to go through the valley during a thunderstorm made it downright crazy.
He periodically checked in on Esau, who was unconscious and at the bottom of the ocean, just off the coast. No leaks had formed in the suit, for which he was thankful. Though down a man, he was grateful, for the time being, he knew his best friend would probably survive the mess he had gotten him into.
He realized, as a light rain began to fall, he had changed in some fundamental way. He had lost something, though he did not know precisely what, and it was disturbing to think about just what that might have been. Was it his humanity? His spirituality? He doubted it was either, but the sensation nagged at the edge of his soul.
He looked up at the blackening sky. The rain would provide a decent visual cover once they drew closer to the Abassi base, as well as cooling the heat their suits put out, although it made for treacherous footing. Gabriel knew from his guidance system they were nearing the end of the valley.
“Contact!” Markus said, breaking Gabriel out of his thoughts. Gunfire erupted from ahead of them, near the mouth of the valley. Gabriel swore.
“Everyone, move up and provide support,” Gabriel ordered. “So much for sneaking in.”
“I actually can see the watch towers from where I’m at,” Markus countered. “Of course, they can see me somehow, and they’re the ones shooting at me.”
“Okay,” Gabriel said as he ran forward, his speed increasing to faster-than-human as the suit responded to his commands. He thought it over for a minute before he swore. “Shit. They got us on thermals or something. Begin the assault. Joshua?”
“On it,” Joshua acknowledged. He slid to a halt and took aim, his Lynx extended as he tracked the guard tower. He began to launch HEAVY rounds as fast as he could at the tower and supporting wall around it. The explosive rounds detonated against the side of the tower, shaking the supports, and tore through the wall below.
Fire from the tower tapered off as is began to tilt to the left, Abassi soldiers trying to scamper down the stairs. Two more rounds from Joshua eliminated the stairs as well, and the remaining Abassi fell to their deaths as the tower crashed into the wall. A hole opened where the tower fell through, the combined damaged from Joshua and the tower more than enough to destroy part of the wall.
An alarm erupted from the base. Gabriel shook his head.
“So much for sneaking up on them,” he growled, angry at his own stupidity as he watched Abassi infantry pour from their barracks and run to what he supposed were their duty stations. Nothing ever seemed to go right. “Markus, any sign of a building like the one we saw on Ibliss? With that plasteel door?”
“Looks like one, yeah,” came a reply. “Actually, looks like two.”
“Any clue what they are?” Gabriel asked.
“Well, no guards came running out of one,” Markus informed him. “A lot came out of the second, so I’m guessing the first one is not the one we want.”
“I concur. Let’s hit that second building and, if we’re wrong, come back to the first.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Markus agreed.
“Beeker, Twist? In position?”
“Ja.”
“Okay, focus on the building then,” Gabriel ordered and designated the building on his HUD. It appeared on the other Wraiths’ viewscreens in a green hue, well-lit and obvious. “Lay down suppressive fire on the flanks. Markus, Joshua and I are going in the front. Once we’re through, kill everything out here and follow us in.”
“Okay,” Beeker said. “Let’s kill things, sulawandi.”
“Let’s do it,” Twist added.
“Execute,” Gabriel ordered. The two Wraiths opened fire, a steady hail of rounds slamming into the ranks of the Abassi, who were slowly assembling behind some light cover. The aliens began to return fire, albeit at a much lower rate than the two suits. Gabriel looked at his readings and nodded. “Let’s move.”
With Twist and Beeker covering them, Gabriel, Markus and Joshua approached the building. They fired occasionally, looking for Abassi who came out into the open but conserved their ammunition for inside. It was easy going, primarily due to the amount of fire Beeker and Twist were laying down, as well as the rapidity with which their assault was taking place. Gabriel smiled as they drew close to the building, satisfied that even though his plan was going to hell, they were still having an easy go of it.
Something large and hot streaked past their heads, the light blinding them temporarily. Gabriel cried out and jerk
ed back, his counterfire software immediately identifying the threat as a Shark transport which had turned its turret on his group. He swiveled and tried to fire, but was thrown off his feet when another shot exploded next to Markus, the blast covering Gabriel and Joshua with mud and weeds.
Joshua turned and fired his HEAVY rounds at the Shark in rapid succession. The shots bounced off the angular armor on front of the turret. Small panels on each side of the Shark popped open and began to spew smoke. The masking was completely ineffective in the rain, though it was enough to draw the attention of the Wraiths still in the protective cover of the Tristeza Valley.
Beeker fired first, his plunging shot striking the softer top armor of the Shark. The vehicle ground to a halt as his next shot exploded inside the engine compartment, causing a fire to break out. His third shot flew straight and true, slamming into the ammunition storage behind the turret. The HEAVY round penetrated the armor and exploded. The force of the explosion cooked off the turret ammunition rack and the Shark exploded spectacularly.
The fireball rose high into the air, and for a moment the firing paused as alien and human eyes alike tracked the expanding flame. The Abassi, closer to the explosion than the Wraiths, were scattered by the blast and retreated from the area, their return fire dropping down to a trickle.
Gabriel grabbed Markus and hauled the Wraith to his feet. He looked him over quickly before running an external diagnosis. He swore softly under his breath as he looked over the damage to Markus’ suit.
The Lynx was fine, though there was some cosmetic damage. Shrapnel from the explosive round the Shark almost pegged them with was sticking out of the arm, but the suit integrity wasn’t compromised. His other arm, though, closer to the blast, had been nearly completely ruined. It was non-responsive to his test, and was barely attached to the body of the suit. Gabriel knew inside the arm was simple robotics, but it still panged him to see his friend in such dire straits. Markus was safe inside the Wraith suit, for which Gabriel was thankful.
Beeker and Twist arrived and looked at the destruction the Zulu had caused. Twist whistled under his breath.
“That was impressive, doos,” he said.
“The suit told me the spot I hit was where they stored their ammo,” Beeker said with a shrug. “Not like I knew it would be there.”
“Holy crap,” Markus said as Gabriel finished inspecting his arm. “Humility from the Zulu. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Shut it,” Beeker chuckled. “It’s not humility. There is no honor if one steals honor in battle.”
“Whatever that means,” Gabriel murmured. “We need to get inside this building and scout it out.”
“I got it,” Twist said. “You coming, Beeker?”
“Yeah.”
“Good,” Gabriel nodded. “I need to do some repair work on Markus’ suit. Joshua, when we get inside, set up some sort of defense. I don’t care how you do it – be creative.”
“Sure.”
Once they were situated inside, Gabriel began to properly assess the damage to the suit as Joshua barred the doors. Twist and Beeker disappeared down one of the hallways only to report in almost immediately.
“Omelet, this is the same layout as the building on Ibliss, down to the length of the hallway,” Beeker said. “Same rooms on the left and right, same layout. I think this is the place.”
“Okay, hang tight,” he ordered. “I might need some help in a moment.”
“Trouble?” Twist asked.
“No, just need to rip Markus’ arm off.”
“Hey!” Markus cried out. Gabriel tapped the defunct arm on the other Wraith.
“This is going to hamper you in battle, especially if you forget it’s damaged,” Gabriel explained. “Right now you’re not getting a signal to the arm, but your suit says it’s still attached, which means your brain can’t compensate for the loss. Some weird kind of programming glitch I’m guessing. So, I rip it off, and your cortex quits telling your brain you can use your arm and stops trying.”
“My traps are set, Gabe,” Joshua interrupted.
“Good. What’d you use?”
“Pressure plate mines with the last of my HEAVY rounds. Like how you built that bomb on Ibliss, only mine’ll go off when something steps on them,” Joshua said. “And they won’t be dropping an entire city block.”
“You have them marked?” Gabriel asked, a hint of worry creeping into his voice.
“No need,” Joshua said. “They’re scattered on the inside of the front door. We’ll bust out a wall on the other side and make our escape from that direction.”
“That’s a nice plan,” Gabriel said. “Good thinking. Now come over here and help me out for a second.”
“Don’t I get a vote in this?” Markus asked.
“No,” Gabriel said as Joshua grabbed the Wraith’s working arm while Gabriel took hold of the ruined arm. He tugged a few times before he looked at Markus’ blank faceplate. “You ready?”
“No.”
“Well, I’m going anyway,” Gabriel said and yanked as hard as he could.
“Now my balance is all screwed up,” Markus complained as Gabriel tore off the shredded mechanical arm.
“You good to go?” Gabriel asked him.
“You going to kill me if I’m not?” Markus retorted. Gabriel snorted and laughed.
“It’s your lucky day. No.”
“I can fight. I still have my Lynx,” Markus said as he waved his cannon around. “Running is going to be a challenge.”
“Then we don’t run,” Gabriel stated.
“Hey! You were going to kill me over an elbow servo!” Joshua protested.
“Yeah, true. But I don’t like you,” Gabriel reminded him.
“Oh. Right.”
“Well, if they followed their layout like on Ibliss, then we should be getting close to the heart of the research facility,” Beeker said after the laughter had died down. “That’s where they’ll keep the experiments – assuming they have any.”
“Beeker, Twist, find that room. Don’t go in guns blazing, though,” Gabriel ordered. “Joshua, call our ride. Give Reukauf the news we’re going to be getting out of here in a hurry.”
“Once they get past the mines, they’re going to be out for blood,” Joshua said. “Those scythes are going to be a nightmare in these hallways.”
“Why do you think they’re designed wide and tall?” Gabriel asked.
“I knew that,” Joshua muttered as he moved away from the group. He made the call to the Eye and was surprised to find he was also picking up data from the Abassi. He glanced at it and was surprised. “Hey, I’m in the Abassi comms as well. Which are worthless. Anyway, the Eye is not in range for direct comm so I’ll just leave them a message. I’ll keep pinging them, though.”
“Are you using the Abassi sensors to hide the Eye’s presence?” Twist asked.
“Yeah,” Gabriel nodded. “Figured it would be prudent.”
“Smart.”
“I have my moments,” Gabriel smiled slightly. “I’ve got the suits locked in encrypted right now so even if the Eye calls us, the Abassi won’t understand the message. Though the Abassi will know a Dominion ship is in the system...”
“One thing at a time,” Joshua reminded him.
“Contact!” Beeker announced. “Multiple infantry, some drones. Need backup.”
“On the way,” Gabriel told him. “Markus, stay here. Protect Joshua while he gets the Eye on the horn.” He keyed his comm. “I’m coming, Beeker. Hang tight.”
“You told us to hang tight already,” the Zulu complained. “You joining this little party or not?”
Gabriel brought up the map of the building the two Wraiths had traversed and overlaid it on the map from the building he had blown up on Ibliss and shook his head. The layouts were identical, just as Beeker had said. He drew a path to the two and ran down the hallway, the suit leaving half-inch deep footprints in the flooring.
“Go to the room where you found
the civilians on Ibliss,” Gabriel said. “Guide me in.”
“Gotta work our way past these guards first,” Twist grunted. Gunfire grew louder in Gabriel’s ears as he drew closer to their position. He stopped and looked at their position on the map. He then peeked in on the image Twist was seeing, saw where the Abassi were positioned and nodded. He placed them on his map, and looked at the room next to their position. On Ibliss it had been empty save for some boxes, which held some sort of cleaning fluid. Odds were even that the Abassi followed form and used the room for the same thing.
Gabriel slipped inside the room and was not disappointed. He looked over his map again before lining up with the proper wall. He keyed his mic.
“Beeker, you two behind cover?”
“Yeah,” the Zulu responded instantly. “Otherwise we’d be dead right now. Their pulse rifles damage the suits.”
“Okay, wait one,” Gabriel said. He switched the Lynx to full-auto and began to fire, tracing his rounds through the wall as he shredded the Abassi from behind. He swept the area again with another steady stream of rounds, just to be certain. “Did I get ‘em?”
“Got them all, doos,” Twist said, impressed.
“All right, coming through now,” Gabriel said and smashed through the damaged wall. Dust and debris rose from the pieces of the wall on the floor, which was nothing more than a mishmash of alien body parts, blood and some kind of plaster he had never seen before. He tried to avoid stepping on anything too nasty as he pulled a piece of the plaster-like material from his shoulder joint. He spotted the two Wraiths hiding around a corner and motioned for them to approach.
“Damn,” Beeker said in appreciation.
“Where was that room, Twist?” Gabriel asked as he stepped off a dead alien. He tried to ignore the carnage he had wrought as he waited for the Boer to respond.
“About halfway down that hall, then left,” Twist said after consulting his map. “It’s the fourth door on the right. It’s a holding pen, but more like a barracks. Comfy. Better than where we slept at MITC.”
Wraithkin (The Kin Wars Saga Book 1) Page 28