Nemesis (The MechaVerse Trilogy Book 2)

by Jeremy Cunkle

  The Confusers did their job, distracting all of the incoming missiles, radar beams, and lock on designations, rendering him a like unto a ghost come to haunt the PDF. In the midst of all the confusion and vulnerability in the PDF ranks, Argos fired a missile with the pre-designated coordinates of the jamming unit, destroying it, eliminating the PDF’s wide area jamming.

  With his first goal accomplished, Kurtis ignored the remaining defenders as he went to find his friends.

  * * * * *

  “Something is happening to the South,” Athena announced over the common squad frequency.

  DawnsLight came to a halt at the front of the convoy, Intrepid, and Atalanta coming to rest next to her. The three of them had taken advantage of a lull in the side attacks and attempted to overwhelm the infantry blocking the path of their convoy path in a desperate bid to get the convoy moving again. It seemed like they might actually pierce through the horde of infantry blocking their path when suddenly the Mech armor, which had been harassing them from either side, ignored them and went for the supply convoy instead. The sudden attack shift forced the trio to retreat from their infantry battle and become embroiled in a bitter, no holds barred brawl with the enemy Mech armor on the outskirts of the convoy.

  They had just finished pushing the Slayers back, leaving dozens of them destroyed after the latest round of fighting, sustaining moderate damage to their units in the process. Behind them, more than twenty of the mules were burning, reduced to smoldering piles of wreckage and sending up dark plumes of smoke. Somehow, the trains were still able to continue moving if the path forward somehow became clear; so far, the PDF had mostly focused on the mules and the trio of Mech armor standing in their way. Many of the train cars had suffered damage, but overall the enormously powerful engine cars were able to compensate and continue traveling if the path ever became clear.

  “Athena, what do you mean something is happening to the South?” Alyona asked, breathing hard from the exertion of fighting

  Athena replied over the common squad frequency. “Something approached from the direction of Mount Olympus at incredibly high speed and then landed on the outskirts of the PDF. Although I cannot be certain because of all the interference occluding the sensors and the distances involved, I believe it is currently fighting against the PDF. I believe an ally has arrived, but I cannot begin to say with any degree of certainty who it may be.”

  Alyona’s heart skipped a beat as thoughts of Mikkhael, arriving in Starkindler flitted through her imagination. She shook her head, clearing away the images, knowing they were but a fantasy. He was still in a coma back in the medical ward in Mount Olympus, and Starkindler was still barely a concept taking shape. There were few options for who could have arrived though. “You’re sure the PDF are fighting whatever appeared, and that it is not some lone reinforcement for them?” She asked Athena, not waiting for a reply before she followed up her own question. “You know who it is don’t you?”

  “I can hardly make anything out from the distance involved because of all the interference.” Came the AI’s cryptic reply.

  Alyona was about to force her to answer, when the wide area jamming effect disappeared, giving them the opportunity to begin using their radar and sensors aboard their Mech armor again. It also allowed them to access the true feed from the Iris satellite and not the corrupted signal being fed them by some PDF hacker. Simultaneously, all three of them saw the new green marker appearing on their HUD. A blue marker identified an ally, a red marker identified a foe, and a green marker identified a squadron member. The new green marker had a hawk symbol above it with outstretched wings, signifying it was the NightHawk, and that Kurtis had arrived on scene.

  Just as they began to hope they now had a way out of the mess they were in with the appearance of NightHawk coming to join them, the feed from the Iris satellite adjusted to show the large number of enemy markers barely ten minutes away, heading straight for their position.

  Dread overtook Alyona and she considered the implications of the size of the force nearly upon them. Realizing they had no choice, she keyed the common squad frequency, and this time much to her relief Kurtis’s face appeared alongside Vera’s and Kiryl’s. “We’ll save the how’s and the whys for later. It’s good to see you NightHawk. We need to get this convoy moving right now. Ready?”

  As they watched their HUD, NightHawk began racing towards them, by far the fastest unit in the Omnos squad. “Copy that DawnsLight,” came the terse reply, the video feed showing Kurtis gritting his teeth and closing his eyes from the pressure of the acceleration.

  Events happened rapidly after that. Alyona designated the infantry and drones, blocking the convoy’s path forward, in red on their HUD’s, upgrading their current threat to red level from yellow. She followed that by issuing a priority alert for Atalanta to engage the mixed infantry and drones. Vera immediately moved to engage them with her sniper rifle, targeting drones that were exposed to her pinpoint accuracy. Alyona and Kiryl were given opposite sides of the convoy to protect, moving to engage the seriously reduced numbers of PDF Mech armor and drones to either side of the convoy, now that their own units had once again restored their energy shields. Kurtis was given the task of clearing the infantry in front of the convoy with cover from Vera, by far the most suited for the task with the myriad of point defense cannons NightHawk utilized.

  Knowing that they were out of time, the amount of firepower the Omnos squad members unleashed over the next few minutes was terrifying. Athena redirected as much power as possible from the rest of Vera’s unit, supercharging Atalanta’s sniper rifle, allowing Vera to fire in rapid succession. With no need to disguise their locations because of the futility of doing so, Vera opened the vents on the side of the sniper rifle, using the frigid cold air to keep the batteries cold and allow her to fire as rapidly as they could recharge. With a large number of drones and enemy Mech armor destroyed from successive engagements, Kiryl unleashed the four Eclipse missiles now that they were more likely to detonate before being shot down. Only one made it through the PDF defenses, but the explosion wiped out nearly a squad of the outdated Slayers in its blast radius, leaving only a few remaining. Kiryl immediately followed through the missile attack, crashing into the dwindling ranks of drones, using Intrepid’s sheer power to overwhelm their numbers. Using the main cannons while leaving his powerful energy shields overcharged to handle their weak laser attacks, Kiryl began systematically eliminating the drones.

  Alyona ripped off successive series of missiles against the Slayers and drones in her quadrant. Now that the Iris satellite feed was clear, Athena guided the missiles as they raced across the dusty plain, hugging the ground, weaving back and forth, so the Slayers and drones had a difficult time shooting them down. Alyona followed up by alternating between her main cannons and mini rockets, continuing to pour fire into the ranks of Slayers and drones, holding nothing back as she cut them down, waiting for her missiles to reload in order to finish the job.

  Kurtis raced down the side of the convoy towards the infantry blocking the way, ordering Argos to take control of the convoy and get what was left moving again. He slowed as he approached and then passed Vera who continued firing steadily, making sure not to cross her line of fire. Kurtis selected the Confusers, and then began firing from maximum range; leaving them and the point defense cannons to handle the missiles the infantry began launching at his approach. The Confusers performed their job exceptionally well, serving as decoys and removing the infantry’s ability to fight back.

  With the infantry de-fanged, Kurtis focused on the drones. Between Argos’ hacking skills and Vera’s steady assault, they were as defenseless as the infantry. Kurtis ignored the consequences of the ammo counter on the rifle and the point defense cannons working their way steadily lower. In less than a minute, the munition counter for the rifle turned yellow, while the point defense cannons quickly went from orange to red. He keyed a command and they went into standby mode. The P.D.C.s would remain on standb
y unless Argos needed them to compensate for a situation that overwhelmed the laser cannons. With only a few dozen-priority targets left for him and Vera to handle, he let the laser equivalents finish the wet work, already turning to focus on the rest of the squad members and the slowly accelerating convoy.

  During the next few minutes, the combined capabilities of Kurtis, in NightHawk, as an extension of himself, were on full display. Argos handled the smaller weapons for him, while he maintained full control over the rifle, using it to continue hunting drones. On monitors next to the HUD, Kurtis watched over each of the other Omnos squad members, linked through cameras in their units while watching over the entire area of battle through the eye of the Iris satellite displayed on the HUD, always keeping track of the big picture. He designated priority targets and kill orders for his friends, while Argos simultaneously guided the supply convoy and continued hacking the drones.

  As suddenly as everything began, the fighting came to an abrupt halt. The few remaining PDF infantry, and Mech armor, were literally fleeing for their lives, completely broken. The army of drones that had surrounded them on all sides lay decimated, not a single one still functioning. Argos guided the convoy between a pair of sand dunes and then back on track towards Kerrak. Across the squad members’ HUDs, not a single target remained.

  Behind them, an immense cloud of dust rose into the thin air, growing steadily larger as the battalion of PDF closed in on their position. Alyona ordered all four members into cover behind the sand dunes, only moments before occupied by PDF infantry. They raced into position. Vera, the first to get into cover and prepare to fire, was quickly followed by Kurtis. Alyona joined them just as the first PDF Mech armor came into view. Together, the three units began a steady barrage of fire, no longer needing to spare any of their munitions as Kiryl’s unit lumbered towards them.

  The wave of PDF began to fan out, forming into a wide line in an attempt to wash over them. Between the Mech armor advancing on them, armored vehicles appeared, full of infantry in powered combat suits, the three groups prepared to wash over the Omnos squad, covering the terrain with their dark stain.

  “These Mech armor are as outdated as the ones we just fought!” Vera yelled through the common frequency as her sniper rifle fired, eliminating another enemy.

  “Doesn’t matter if they get close enough, their numbers will be just as big a problem as the ones we just eliminated.” Kiryl growled in reply, finally able to assume position with the other three behind the sand dunes.

  Using the sand dunes as natural cover, the four Omnos squad member’s unleashed powerful barrages with devastating accuracy, stopping the PDF with the ferocity of their attacks. Athena and Argos worked together seamlessly, designating targets, not wasting a single munition or missile. Constricted by the terrain, the PDF had no choice but to advance through the deadly barrage or call off their attack. Their commanders made an honest attempt at pursuing their objective. Without any drones, since all of them in hundreds of miles had been included in the first force ambushing the convoy, dozens of Slayers and Stalkers were destroyed. The infantry poured out of their armored carriers, in an attempt at escaping those caskets on anti-grav struts. They sought out any protection that presented itself.

  Seeing the destruction of the first force all around them, and the level of firepower arrayed against them, the PDF ground to a halt at the maximum range of Vera’s sniper rifle. They turned and retreated out of range. To go any further was suicide.

  The Omnos squad members watched the force arrayed against them shuffle back and forth nervously, while the supply convoy continued to pick up speed as it moved farther away from the attackers and closer to Kerrak. The Omnos squad needed to buy another few hours before the supply convoy reached the rebel outpost, but the PDF Mech armor were slower than the convoy when it traveled at full speed, meaning that they needed, at most, five more minutes to ensure the convoy was out of danger for the rest of the trip.

  The stare down continued; neither side willing to make the first move and thereby show weakness. Under Alyona’s command, Kiryl was the first to turn his unit and slink away behind the hill, chasing the convoy. Intrepid was the slowest unit and unable to fly, meaning that if speed became an issue, he could actually prove a liability. The big man did not complain at the order as the logic behind it was clear.

  Time continued to pass until it was too late for the PDF to catch the convoy. Alyona, Vera, and Kurtis abandoned their positions to join Kiryl and the supply convoy. Together, they had achieved a miracle.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN – TENTH MAN RULE

  I with my brother against my cousin,

  I with my cousin against the stranger.

  - Arab Proverb

  “I don’t know how, or why, but General Akari is behind this,” Colonel Mathias growled as he pointed to the map displayed on the far wall of Commander Ultor’s office. He absently drew his finger in a circle around Kerrak, pointing to the three locations of known PDF forward operating bases now surrounding the outpost in the shape of a triangle.

  “Our sources confirmed he was re-located to Hellas after the Tegra campaign. He has a desk job and everything.” Chief Thorsten said, with just enough doubt showing in his voice to render that reply part statement, part question.

  “This is how he works, how he thinks, dammit. Whether he is here in person, or behind a desk in Hellas, this is his plan.” Colonel Mathias replied wearily.

  Silence stretched as everyone in the room stopped to stare at the regional map with Alba Patera at its center, three red stars, one at each point of the triangle, surrounded the base. The triangle depicting a trio of PDF Forward Operating Bases. The Officer’s meeting had been called after the Omnos squad returned from their near disastrous supply convoy escort mission, relaying the story of their encounter with the huge force of outdated Mech armor and waves of drones destroyed a fair amount of the convoy mules before its eventual arrival at Kerrak.

  “How long before the construction of the other two FOBs is finished?” Colonel Mathias asked no one in particular.

  As Chief Engineer, Thorsten replied. “You mean how long do we have until we can’t do anything about them? I’d say less than two months. It’s really hard to say. The number of engineer’s they are using means they will finish construction in less than a month, but it will take them a while to staff them completely enough to feel comfortable about us pre-emptively attacking them. Then they may as well as push an attack large enough to wipe out Kerrak.”

  “This is typical Akari though. He’s telling us exactly what he’s going to do and how he’s going to do it, and there’s nothing we can do to stop him. Somehow, he’s gotten his hands on enough men and supplies to put this operation together which makes the Tegra campaign look small. I’ve never even heard of anything like what we are seeing. Where the hell are they even coming from? Then, once he’s done with Kerrak, they’ll come for us.” Colonel Mathias said as he continued to talk aloud while staring at the map, searching for an answer which none of them could find.

  “How can we be sure their goal is to wipe out Kerrak, let alone come after us afterwards? Maybe they will be content with just slowly strangling the outpost,” asked Dr. Hesken. She had remained silent until now, but knew that someone needed to play the role of devil’s advocate.

  Captain Cartwright turned to her, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “The tenth man rule? Has it really come to that?” At his mention of the tenth man rule, a chill fell about the room as it suddenly went silent and all eyes turned to the Captain and doctor.

  “Wait, tenth man rule … what?” Chief Thorsten asked.

  Oddly enough, Drogdyn was the one to explain, coming to Dr. Hesken’s defense. They were often the odd ones out in the war room meetings, giving them the natural tendency to stick together. The normally complacent information specialist began to grow fired up as he explained. “Over a century ago now, Israel instituted a policy known as the tenth man rule in response for failing to identify the bui
ldup of enemy forces on their borders, several times, resulting in being attacked by surprise a number of times. Basically, it means that a room full of people all agreeing on something, can’t be right and that they are missing something important. So, it was the job of someone to not only disagree with the conclusion of the group, but do everything they could to figure out what the room full of people were missing, regardless of how strongly the evidence supported their conclusions. The tenth man rule becomes more necessary as the case for a certain set of actions seems stronger. Sometimes that meant the tenth role assumed the role of poking holes in the prevailing theory. Sometimes it meant they need to actively put plans into action that are opposite of what the group had proposed. Once the tenth man rule is enacted, the rule binds the group. They have to assume they are all wrong and immediately prepare for the worst case scenario under the leadership of the tenth man.”

  Drogdyn continued, “For instance, if all the evidence points to a massive attack on Kerrak, then the question becomes what are we missing? Are the PDF, instead, simply staging what they will need to storm Mount Olympus, a much more valuable target, skipping Kerrak altogether? Or, do we need to question their overall objective, which may very well be different. Kerrak is going to be a potent future outpost for the Lazarus faction, but I am confident the losses the PDF would incur in taking it would far outweigh what they might gain by its destruction. Keeping this in mind, I believe the tenth man rule should absolutely be in effect.”

  “Shit,” was all the reply he received from Chief Thorsten. For everyone else, the silence simply continued to stretch, unbroken, as they considered what they might be missing.

  After a few moments, Commander Ultor turned to Drogdyn, catching his eyes and attention. “The tenth man rule is officially in effect. It’s time to tell them,” he said quietly.