by Isaac Hooke
The snow was quickly turning to slush underneath the battalion, as the carriers, troops and mechs dodged the acid and tentacles.
“Break off the attack,” the lieutenant colonel was transmitting. “Break off! Make for the LZ!” Landing Zone. “Companies B and C, provide cover!”
Mechs and armored carriers broke formation. The gargantuan headed them off by dropping two of its long, thick tentacles in their paths. The mechs easily jetted over the blockade, but then another tentacle slammed down, crushing half of them.
“Looks like it doesn’t want us to run,” Lui commented.
Other carriers retreated in a vector directly opposite the gargantuan. It released more acid streams from its heads, attempting to strike them down. Many carriers were struck, but most escaped unscathed.
“Do we join Companies B and C?” Manic said. “Or do we flee?”
“We stay and fight for as long as they do,” Rade said.
“Thank you,” Skullcracker said.
Rade fired his laser directly at one of the eyes. The associated head howled, and then unleashed a stream of acid directly at him. Rade was forced to dive to the snow. Tahoe, Luxe and the other Marine passenger were flung aside.
“You all right?” Rade asked.
“Never better,” Tahoe said.
“Fine,” Luxe added.
“Next time fasten your seat belts,” Rade joked.
As he waited for the three to rejoin him, he realized the creature wasn’t done with him yet. One of those giant tentacles was bearing down toward him. Fast.
Rade fired at it, fleeing, but the tentacle mirrored his movements as it plunged. He activated his jumpjets as a last resort, but it wasn’t enough: in seconds the appendage wrapped around his Titan and hoisted him into the air.
Rade tried activating the Lighter; as expected, it had no effect.
Tahoe and the two Marines jetted onto the tentacle and fired into it at point blank range. No good.
Other Titans tried to join them on the appendage, but more tentacles came in and swatted the mechs aside. Snakeoil was almost snagged by one of them.
“How the hell did you three get on there?” Snakeoil said.
“We’re smaller,” Luxe replied.
“What the hell did you do?” Tahoe asked Rade as the snowy ground receded behind him.
“Shot it in the eye.”
“Apparently it doesn’t like that,” Luxe said.
“Apparently,” Rade agreed.
“Can you eject?” Tahoe said.
“It’s blocking the hatch,” Rade answered.
“I’ll try a charge.” Tahoe placed an M117B on the tentacle. He ran upward along the tentacle with the Marines.
The detonation came; the volume levels of Rade’s internal speakers dialed way down to protect his hearing. When the smoke cleared an instant later, the tentacle remained intact. The only damage was some exposed flesh, oily and black, where the red hair and skin had been blow away.
Tahoe and the Marines returned to the site and fired into the wound with their laser rifles, but it had no effect. The tentacle clung to his mech tighter than ever.
“Tough bastard,” Tahoe said.
“You’re going to have to jet away as soon as it releases you,” Luxe said.
“Too bad I’ll be right over it’s maw at that point,” Rade said. He noticed that the ground was precariously far away by that point. “Get off, you three. That’s an order.”
“I don’t obey your orders,” Luxe said.
“You do this time. Trust me, I got this.”
Luxe and the other Marine leaped away with obvious reluctance. Tahoe lingered.
“Tahoe...” Rade said.
“You better make it.” Tahoe jetted from the tentacle.
“One of us will come up there and grab your Titan when the creature releases you,” Lui sent.
“That’s a negative,” Rade said. “It’s too dangerous. Stay on the ground. I repeat, stay on the ground.”
“Like it’s any safer down here,” Lui replied. But he didn’t jet up, to Rade’s relief.
In moment’s Rade’s Titan was carried to that open maw.
“Be ready to thrust at maximum burn,” Rade instructed his mech. “Jet free the instant it releases us.”
“I’m ready,” Jerry replied.
But the tentacle didn’t just drop Rade. It literally tossed him toward the open maw.
The jumpjets fired at full burn, but the deceleration wasn’t fast enough to counter the imparted momentum in time.
The Titan plunged into the maw. The acid-dripping walls of the creature’s throat surrounded the mech.
Not going to make it.
thirty-four
Eject!” Rade instructed the AI.
Free of the tentacle, the cockpit opened easily and the Titan spit out Rade. He activated the jetpack of his jumpsuit at full burn; the faster acceleration of the unit allowed him to jet away from that mouth just as the jaws clamped shut behind him.
Goodbye, Jerry.
Rade fired countering thrust to cushion his fall and landed on TJ’s mech. Since the passenger seat was fully occupied by Marines, Rade gripped the rungs near the cockpit. Tahoe clung to the opposite side of the same Titan.
“B and C Companies are fleeing,” TJ said.
“Time for our own tactical retrograde,” Rade said. “Let’s move! Zig-zag directly away. And avoid those damn tentacles!”
As the platoon followed the two companies in retreat, the creature launched its acidic spray once more. The mechs leaped aside, employing their jumpjets. Two armored carriers were scooped up by tentacles and the onboard Marines jetted free.
In moments Alpha Platoon and the two companies had moved beyond the gargantuan’s reach. They swung north, following the path the remainder of the battalion had pressed into the snow with their articulated metal tracks.
“Looks like it’s not even trying to pursue us,” Fret said. “It’s just sitting there, howling in outrage.”
“I wonder why the enemy never attacked us with anything like it before?” Mauler said.
“Maybe because it’s not really designed for combat?” Manic said. “It’s too damn big and cumbersome.”
“Actually we were attacked by something similar before,” Tahoe said. “Or at least as big, anyway. I’m thinking of the giant whale-caterpillar thing from the methane lake. The one Lui nearly lost his mech to.”
“True enough,” Mauler said.
“Did you see that cave it emerged from?” Lui said. “The creature’s shell was the same shape. I don’t think the aliens ever meant for it to attack us. They simply deposited the thing in that cave, where it’s been growing all this time, living out its entire life. Feeding on whatever passes by. It was just our bad luck that we trekked in front of its nest. Who knows, it might even be native to the planet.”
“That thing must have been hungry,” Mauler said. “Considering that we wiped out its food source with our nukes.”
“Speaking of nukes, how are the radiation levels out there?” Rade transmitted, acutely aware that he now only had a poorly armored jumpsuit to protect him.
“Oddly low, according to my AI,” Snakeoil said. “Our proximity to the powerful magnetic field generators some of these carriers are equipped with certainly helps. But even so, in that jumpsuit you’re still exposed to a fair amount of the stuff. I’d say with your current subdermals, you shouldn’t stay out there for more than an hour.”
“You can ride in my cockpit, boss,” TJ said.
“TJ’s inviting you to ride his cock,” Bender said.
“Cockpit,” TJ corrected.
“No,” Rade said. “We’ll all be aboard troop carriers no later than thirty minutes from now, flying far away from the radiation zones. I’m good.”
“You probably should,” Tahoe said. “All joking aside.”
“If I receive a rad saturation warning,” Rade said. “I’ll shack up with TJ, deal?”
“All right
,” Tahoe said.
Rade watched the gargantuan recede behind them. “C Company, how many did we lose?”
A major from C Company answered. “Thirty armored carriers, eight mechs, and five men. Many more injured.”
Rade shook his head. “Too many.” Lucky it wasn’t more. “I want to get some proper overwatch positions set up. TJ—”
“Ah!” Bomb interrupted.
Rade glanced toward Bomb’s Titan. The mech had collapsed.
“Bomb, what’s wrong?” Rade sent.
“We’re taking fire from the rear!” Lui said. “He’s been hit!”
TJ swung around, bringing his shield to bear.
Harlequin’s Titan, Lion, leaped across the plains and deployed its shield in front of Bomb. Harlequin ejected to help Bomb’s passengers cut him from the cockpit.
“More laser fire is coming in...” Snakeoil said.
Rade peered past the edge of TJ’s shield and activated his faceplate zoom to enlarge the horizon. Large robots were rolling through the snow, coming from the direction of the city. They looked like the scorpion class on treads. There were about fifty of them. Probably more.
Rade ducked behind the shield. Bore marks appeared along the edges, indicating laser impacts.
“How is he?” Rade asked as Harlequin secured Bomb to the passenger seat of Lion.
“Hit bad, but he’ll live.” Harlequin jetted back inside Lion, and the displaced Marines from Bomb’s mech grabbed on to whatever hull grips they could find. “His Titan is gone, however.”
“Keep your shields pointed at the enemy, people,” Rade said. “You see what an unshielded shot can do.”
“The shot was somewhat lucky,” Harlequin explained. “The rear armor of Bomb’s mech was severely weakened: the gargantuan’s acid splashed him at some point.”
“Either way, our shields can’t take much more of this!” Trace said.
Rade realized B and C Companies were fast retreating.
“Retrograde!” Rade said. “Zig-zag pattern. Randomized.”
TJ swiveled his legs forward, keeping his torso pointed backward so that the shield covered most of the Titan’s body. Rade and Tahoe hugged the hull tightly, keeping behind that shield.
The Titans rejoined the two companies and made good speed across the tamped down snow. The armored platoons in B and C Company fired their turrets at the enemy as the vehicles rolled onward. The mech platoons occasionally peered past their shields to return fire as well. The Titans likewise fired, those without too many Marines clinging to their hulls, anyway. TJ, for example, couldn’t unleash his weapon without exposing Rade and Tahoe.
More bore marks appeared inside TJ’s shield. The edges were becoming completely frayed as the shield failed there.
“Shield won’t hold for much longer,” TJ said.
“We’re almost there...” Rade said.
The bore marks abruptly ceased. Several moments passed without any incoming fire.
Then a carrier abruptly ground to a halt. An ATLAS mech toppled next.
“They’re concentrating their fire!” Lui said.
That made the shields useless.
“Keep up the zig-zag pattern,” Rade said. “More randomization. Move faster.”
The ground sped past as TJ’s mech rapidly zig-zagged along the packed surface. Rade bobbed against the hull of the Titan, repeatedly slamming against it, hanging on for dear life. The enhanced strength of the exoskeleton could only boost him so far, and his arms were beginning to get sore from the strain.
It’s like doing push-ups during PT, he told himself. Embrace the burn. I’ve been through worse.
More carriers were failing—with their treads, they couldn’t zig-zag as fast as the mechs. Marines ejected from the disabled units and continued across the snowpack on foot.
In the distance, Rade saw craft take off as the lead companies of the battalion reached the pickup site. The carrier shuttles banked sharply to avoid incoming fire, and basically hugged the landscape as they sped away. Despite the low altitude, one craft got shot down as he watched.
Defensive pulse platforms had been placed about the landing zone, and as Rade and the others grew near, those platforms began adding their fire to fray. M139 laser miniguns poked through the door hatches of the waiting shuttles and opened up; several of the craft fired rockets at the enemy as well.
Rade had linked his Implant to TJ’s Titan so that he would receive any warning messages, so when the missile alarm sounded, he started.
“Incoming missiles...” Mauler said.
Rade glanced at his overhead map. He saw at least two dozen red streaks hurtling across the plains toward them, coming from the direction of the scorpions.
Trench Coats fired across the platoon. The armored carriers and mechs in both companies likewise launched missile countermeasures. Explosions rocked the snow. The shockwaves caused TJ to falter in his sprint, but he was otherwise unharmed.
“Anyone hit?” Rade said.
“Just me,” Harlequin answered. “I lost Lion.”
Rade spotted the Artificial in its redundant jumpsuit, jetting across the plains with the body of Bomb in its arms. Harlequin landed on Lui’s Titan.
“How is he?” Rade asked.
“Critical,” Harlequin responded.
The other Marines Lion had ported attached themselves to nearby Titans; some even jetted across to the armored carriers in the trailing B Company.
C Company reached the landing zone and the different platoons raced onto their respective carriers. B Company followed shortly thereafter. The pulse platforms lining the perimeter continued to fire upon the enemy, as did the shuttle miniguns.
“Enemy tangos are starting to fire their lasers separately again,” Lui said.
“That’s because they’re close enough that it doesn’t matter!” Mauler said.
A big piece of TJ’s shield broke away.
“Close one,” TJ said.
“Which carrier do we take?” Mauler asked.
Rade glanced at the overhead map, which displayed labels for all of the shuttles. “MC3,” he said. MC stood for Mech Carrier.
The Titans zig-zagged toward the aforementioned shuttle, passing beyond the line of pulse platforms and snow screens that had been set up.
“The platforms are drawing the incoming fire,” Snakeoil announced.
“Good!” Fret said.
A new voice came over the comm.
“No infantry passengers!” the carrier pilot transmitted. It spoke with the mellifluous tones of an AI.
“But we’re only—” Rade began.
“I said no passengers!” the pilot continued. “We’re designed to carry mechs. You’ll be crushed if you’re anywhere on the hulls while the mechs clamp in, even if you’re in the passenger seats. And you’ll be tossed about like salad if you think you’re going to find a place on the floor. All infantry passengers go to the troop carriers!”
“All right, you heard the AI,” Rade said. “Tahoe, Harlequin, and Marines, with me. The rest of you load up here! Harlequin, bring Bomb of course.”
Rade leaped down, feeling utterly exposed for a few moments out there. He jetted behind the mech carrier MC3 for cover, and then ran across the snowpack toward the troop carrier labeled TC5, which MC3 partially screened from the enemy. Marines ran in front of and behind him, providing a further screen. Tahoe and Luxe were at his side. Harlequin, carrying Bomb, was just ahead.
Shuttles began to take off all around them, flying low over the landscape.
“Hurry up!” a voice said over the comm. Rade’s Implant labeled the speaker as the pilot of TC5. Another AI.
Luxe fell.
Rade halted immediately, as did Tahoe and the Marines behind him.
“Keep going!” Rade said. “I got her.”
“Boss—” Tahoe began.
“Go!”
Tahoe obeyed, and continued toward the troop carrier with most of the Marines. Despite his order, some of the latter remai
ned, forming a protective shield around them.
Air misted from a tiny hole in Luxe’s back, between her jetpack tanks. There didn’t appear to be an exit puncture on the other side of her body. She hadn’t been hit by a combined enemy shot, then.
He retrieved the suitrep kit from the left pocket of her leg assembly.
“Where are you hit?” Rade asked Luxe, though he already knew. He said it mostly to distract her.
“Feels like... stomach,” she moaned.
He grabbed a patch from the kit and slapped it over the punctured fabric. “Can you walk?”
“Not like this.”
He scooped her up and hurried toward the shuttle. He used his jetpack to add speed to his sprint, and he moved in leaps and bounds.
The Marines who had stayed with him and Luxe were falling all around him. He realized MC3, the carrier that had been screening them, had taken flight.
Goddamn AI.
He saw Tahoe, Harlequin, and the lead Marines race up the ramp of the troop carrier.
Almost there.
Rade suddenly had the wind knocked out of him. He fell, dropping Luxe.
A puncture warning sounded on his HUD.
thirty-five
Rade tried to sit up so that he could retrieve the suitrep kit from his left cargo pocket. But for some reason, his body didn’t want to listen to him. He was just too weak, despite that he wore a strength enhancing jumpsuit.
Obviously he had been struck by something, probably an enemy laser, yet he wondered why he wasn’t feeling any pain. He realized he was having difficulty breathing. He stared at the flashing puncture indicator on his HUD.
Got to... retrieve... suitrep.
A trailing Marine knelt to help Luxe. A moment later a portion of the Marine’s faceplate shattered, and the inside of her helmet turned completely red. She toppled.
That Marine was the last one out there.
“Where’s the sergeant?” someone asked over the comm.
“What about Rage?” Someone else.