“I hope you aren’t trying to fish.” Stanner knelt next to her.
She chuckled. “That’d be a waste of time, since there’s no wildlife on this planet. Well, except for some insects, but I don’t count them as wildlife.”
He brushed the water’s surface with his palm. “Me, neither. I wish the terraformers had seeded real animals. It’s so empty here without them.”
“Animals were part of the plan, like on our world. They just were all on the Indian colony ship.” She regarded him. “You ever wonder what happened to the Indians?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. It’s the greatest mystery of the Eden System. One minute their transponder is pinging their position, and the next a one-word message...”
“Croatoan.”
“Yeah.” He plunged his tube into the stream. “Then nothing. They simply weren’t there anymore and our colony ships had too much velocity to change course to investigate.”
“Croatoan.” Stephanie stared off into nothing. “It’s so creepy. They vanished and all we have to go on is it’s the same word the lost colonists of Roanoke left behind all those hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”
Stanner shrugged. “The transmission was garbled. Maybe that’s not what they said but we just want to believe they said that because everyone loves a good mystery, a conspiracy. Maybe every unexplained event has a simple answer? What do you think happened?”
She sighed. “Who knows, and it doesn’t really matter. They didn’t get here and now we’re fighting over the planet they left behind. What I really want to know is why haven’t we heard from Earth in years.”
He popped his mouth open to speak but a rumble rolling across the ground stopped him. It grew stronger and the faint sound of metal tracks rattling could be heard.
“Get down.” Stanner put his finger to his lips. “Cover yourself up and don’t move.”
She laid flat as she watched him move up the slope, staying as low as possible.
The rumble grew more intense. She felt the vibrations in her butt.
Her heart pounded so loud she feared it would give away their position.
Stanner inched his head over the edge and immediately crept back down, not moving a muscle.
Shouted voices drifted over her, becoming audible as they grew closer. Seconds later the words emanated from the edge and were clear. She still couldn’t understand them, as the official language of the Euros was German. She cursed her decision to learn Mandarin.
The soldiers leapt into the valley, fanning out in search of surprises. One of them came within two yards of Stanner. She held her breath as the enemy trooper scanned the stream left to right, inching his feet toward the concealed corporal.
“Kommen sie jetzt hier!” a voice called out.
The soldier nearing Stanner whipped his head toward its source and ran to it.
She breathed for the first time in a minute,
Individual sounds could be made out from the rumble. A thoop, thoop rattled her guts. A pair of Goliaths appeared overhead and marched across the running water. Metal tracks rolling across the ground came to a screeching halt. A high-pitched whine spliced into the air.
Her eyes darted to the source. A giant crane extended over the valley as its top half separated, raising from a joint at the far end. Like the hand on an old-style clock, the slab of steel locked into place, creating a single straight piece that lowered onto the ground, landing with a thud.
The tracks roared. Metal-on-metal screeches filled the valley as a long train of boxes rolled over the bridge, which folded up once the vehicle was clear. A thin picket line of rear guard soldiers hurried to keep pace.
Mercifully the rumble faded, but neither of them moved until it was a faint hum.
Stanner crawled to her. “That was close.”
“That’s an understatement.” She looked in the direction they’d gone. “Do you think they’ll come back?”
“Not if we don’t give them a reason. What was that thing?”
“It’s one of their mobile aerial drone control centers I told you about. That thing is a key part of their entire counter-offensive.”
He chewed on his lip. “You mean, if someone took it out, the Euros would be in deep shit?”
“Yeah...” She cocked her head. “You can’t be serious. Did you see the Goliaths and the infantry company guarding it?”
He shrugged. “Just thinking out loud.”
“Well, stop. It’s crazy to think we have a chance to destroy or even disable that command unit.”
`“Okay, okay.” He rose onto a knee. “I don’t hear them anymore. I’m gonna take a look.”
“Shouldn’t we stay down for a little longer?” Her eyelids drew back.
Stanner stayed low, taking a step into the stream. “Don’t worry, lieutenant. I’m not going to get us caught.”
“Wait.” Stephanie sat up. “You’re not leaving me this time. We go together.”
“I don’t think that’s smart, but you’re in command, sir.”
She splashed into the flowing water. The cold bit into her. She wanted to cringe but fought the urge, not wanting Stanner to think she was soft. “Lead the way.”
Chapter Twelve
“General.”
The word pierced Kyle’s consciousness like a whisper through a fog. It registered, but he was unable to comprehend it. He remembered lying down to steal a few hours of sleep and now something poked at his slumber.
“General.”
Kyle’s body shook and that pulled him from his waking sleep. Horrific realization dawned on him.
The battle!
He gasped for air and shot upright. “Have they broken through?”
Captain Luke Lynchburg retreated. “No, sir, but the situation has changed. You wanted to be informed immediately of any new developments. I’m sorry to wake you, sir. I know it’s the first sleep you’ve had in days.”
Kyle waved off the apology, setting his feet on the floor. “You did good, captain. What’s changed? Are the Euros pressing harder?”
“No, sir. They’ve — they’ve stopped.”
“What do you mean, they’ve stopped?” Kyle slipped on his boots. “Their counterattack had us reeling. We’d preemptively pulled back to buy time. There’s nothing but open space for them to advance into. You’re saying they aren’t driving forward like bats out of hell?”
“That’s what our scouts are reporting, sir.” Luke handed him a tablet.
Kyle took it as he rose. He studied the information, swiping from page to page. None of it made any sense. The Euros should be pressing their advantage, keeping him on his heels. “What are they doing?”
“Maybe they don’t have the strength to push on.” Luke handed Kyle a protein bar from his pocket. That was the kind of aide he was, he thought of everything. “We made ‘em pay a price when they revealed themselves.”
Kyle ripped the bar open with his teeth and spat out the wrapper. He took a bite and chewed vigorously before swallowing a large chunk. “I don’t think that’s it. My gut tells me something’s up.”
Luke put his finger on his earbud. “Sir, General Pendergast is on the line for you.”
“Put her through.”
Luke walked out of his tent.
“Kyle, I assume you’re aware of the change in enemy activity.”
“I’ve just been briefed. Not sure what to make of it.”
“Agreed. We don’t yet have enough data to draw any conclusions. I’m allocating a large force of recon drones to gather intel. Consolidate your position and prepare to attack, but don’t do so until I’ve given the order.”
“Understood.”
“Stay alert, Kyle. I believe the enemy is up to something.”
The line went dead.
Yes, but what? Kyle asked himself.
***
Stanner tuned his visor to max zoom to study the command convoy from cover. He was surrounded by thick bushes; Stephanie was a hundred yards back.
�
�What are you up to?” he muttered to himself.
The land-train and accompanying security force had stopped in the open. They’d erected tarps to hide them from recon drones that managed to penetrate this far. Goliaths stood close to the control center while the infantry created a wide perimeter.
They weren’t just stopping for a break. They clearly planned to wait here at least for several hours. That wasn’t odd by itself.
Rolling onto his back, he scanned the sky. It was clear, not even a cloud floated overhead. Shouldn’t there be drones nearby? I haven’t seen one.
He flipped over and focused on the land-train. A few trucks carrying supplies and infantry were all there was in support. There should have been dozens of drone pilots in there, but only a handful of women had exited and they didn’t seem in a hurry to get back in.
He crawled backwards to slip deeper into cover and made his way to Stephanie.
She’d have been impossible to find in the brush if he didn’t know where to look. She regarded him. “What did you see?”
“I’m not sure, but I got a funny feeling about it.”
“What?”
He pressed his lips together. “If I had to bet, I’d say that’s not an aerial drone control center.”
Her eyes bulged out. “What else could it be?”
“I don’t know.” Stanner shook his head. “Maybe nothing.”
“Either way, there’s not much we can do about it. We should make your way around it and back home.”
“If those are your orders, sir.” He broke eye contact, shifting his gaze to the ground.
“You disagree, corporal? Speak freely, it’s just the two of us.”
“Well.” He gazed in the direction of the enemy. “It could be worth our while to keep observing them. If I’m right and they’re not simply a drone control unit, then we could be gathering valuable intel.”
Stephanie nodded. “You have a point. I suppose if we keep our distance, the risk is acceptable for another day or two. After that we’ll be running low on food and we’ll have to start back.”
“Absolutely, lieutenant. It’ll be dark soon, so I’ll head back to the bushes’ edge and see if I can learn anything. If you stay tight here, you should be safe.”
Stanner lifted an elbow to move away but Stephanie reached out. She looked deep into his eyes. Her eyes glowed like amber jewels. “Be careful... corporal. Don’t be a hero.”
“Nothing stupid, I got it.”
The moons were somewhere over Stanner but a thick layer of clouds had drifted in to block them out. It was as dark as it could get on New Calcutta.
He swept the enemy camp for the hundredth time with his visor, gaining no more definitive answers than the last ninety-nine times had yielded. The same group of women exited and entered the land-train like it was their personnel transport. That didn’t make a lot of sense.
A familiar rumble behind him grabbed his attention. Like at the stream, it grew louder. The escorting Goliaths were the first thing to come into view. The new convoy stopped half a klick from the first.
The same ominous noise drifted in from the west. He watched in curious horror as another convoy took up position.
“What the heck is going on?” he muttered, slack jawed. Is it a trick or...
Gunfire dead ahead ripped him from his thoughts. His heart jumpstarted into a frightened pace. The urge to run struck him. His body jerked but he arrested the burst of instinct. The shots had been at least a couple hundred yards away, on the edge of the enemy perimeter. There was no way they’d been meant for him.
He took a deep breath and scanned the enemy line. More shots rang out and a frenzy of activity in a foxhole caught his attention. A lone American soldier finished off an opponent and looked straight at Stanner as if he knew he was there. The man’s face was smeared with black earth and blood, but Stanner recognized him instantly.
Veech.
The sergeant sprinted for the bushes, zigging and zagging at random intervals. His uniform did all it could to hide him in the darkness.
He’ll never make it.
Without another thought, Stanner was off to the races, closing the gap between himself and Veech.
A smattering of enemy soldiers on the thin fringe of their line fired potshots as they chased after Veech. They gained on the beat-up sergeant, who had to expend effort to make him myself a hard target.
Stanner was within two hundred yards when a round grazed Veech’s shoulder, spinning him like a top to the ground. Stanner pumped his legs harder, digging deep for strength.
Veech struggled to get up as the Euro troops moved in for the capture. They didn’t see Stanner coming.
Stanner raised his rifle, slowing to steady his aim. The weapon bucked as it sent a three-round burst into the ragged line of pursuers. His finger pulled the trigger again and again. Most of the smart-bullets missed, self-destructing to bring some value to their expenditure. A few hit home, dropping the targets like rag dolls. Hit or not, every Euro fell to the ground.
Stanner kept firing until a click signaled an empty mag. He reached for his belt and tossed a grenade over Veech’s head.
Boom! A flash of light silhouetted the dead and hiding Euros.
With a flip of his thumb, Stanner released the spent mag, which bounced off the ground. “Let’s go, sarge!” He jammed in fresh ammo. His rifle spat wildly at the cowering foe.
Veech didn’t say a word. He glanced up at Stanner with raised eyebrows, picked himself off the ground and ran like hell.
Click.
Stanner threw another grenade and ran for all he was worth.
Boom!
The explosion added a fresh surge of adrenaline to his blood. Catching up with Veech, he egged him on. “Faster!”
Stanner slammed in a new mag and fired the weapon over his shoulder. He couldn’t imagine hitting anyone, but it had to slow them down.
Shots detonated all around them as they entered the field of bushes at full speed. Twigs snapped and whipped against their legs. They drove deeper into the vegetation, disappearing into the night.
***
The pop, pop, pop of distant gunfire with the occasional punctuation of a loud explosion had put Stephanie on edge. She lifted her head just above the bushes. The helmet she scavenged cut through the moonless night but revealed nothing.
The firing ceased.
What’s going on, Stanner? You’d better not have gotten yourself killed. Her heart sank at the idea of him dying. It was a perplexing sensation. Sure, she appreciated his company on this adventure and respected him as a soldier, but she’d seen several men die. Their losses had saddened her, but this felt different.
That emotional confusion was replaced with survival instinct. Rustling branches ahead and heavy breathing steeled her nerves. She raised her weapon and applied a tickle of pressure on the trigger.
Two figures emerged out of the void. The muscles in her trigger finger tightened, the sliver of metal was being drawn back.
“It’s me.” Stanner held his hands up and they both stopped.
A mixture of relief and horror at what she’d almost done washed over her. “What’s going on? Who’s that?”
Stanner shook his head. “No time. We need to run and hide. They’re coming.”
She jumped to her feet. “Where?”
“The stream.” Stanner moved off, leading the way.
She and the mystery man followed.
Exhaustion and thirst had taken hold by the time they plunged into the shallow valley flanking the stream. The trio gulped air and then water. Minutes passed before anyone spoke.
Stephanie was the one to break the silence. “What the hell?” She cocked her head at the sergeant. “Veech?”
Veech nodded. “Yes, sir.”
She threw her hands in the air. “Where did you come from? What happened back there?”
“Well.” Veech winched as he applied pressure to his shoulder wound. “Long story short, after the squad I led ran smac
k-dab into the Euro counterattack, I was cut off and on the run. I was making my way back to our lines when this convoy appeared out of nowhere. I hunkered down, figuring they’d pass me by. The bastards stopped that damn long truck of theirs right on top of me.”
Stanner wiped his mouth with his arm after a long drink. “He ran into trouble when he was sneaking out, so I rushed in to cover him.”
“You tried to sneak out of a heavily-guarded enemy camp?” She took a drink.
“They didn’t seem like they planned to leave any time soon, so I took a chance.” Veech regarded Stanner. “I would’ve been dead if it weren’t for you.”
“Nothing you wouldn’t have done for me, sarge.”
Stephanie squatted to splash water on her face. “Well, they know we’re out here now. So how do we get back to our lines?”
“We’ve got bigger problems than that, sir.” Veech stared at her.
She cocked her head. “How so?”
Veech pointed in the direction of the camp. “That’s no air control center.”
“I knew it.” Stanner snapped his fingers. “It looked fishy from the start.”
“Agreed, but it’s not what I saw that sent up warning flares.” Veech tapped an ear. “It’s what I heard.”
Stephanie stepped closer to him. “You speak German?”
Veech nodded. “More than enough to tell me something’s up. They talked about waiting for the Americans to renew the offensive and then revealing some kind of surprise.”
“What else?” Stephanie’s mouth went dry.
Veech grimaced and looked at the bloody hand on his wound. “I’m not sure. Most of the other stuff seemed like gossip or else was technical shop talk, way over my head.”
She licked her lips. “Tell me what you can remember.”
“They mentioned they’d had issues with something called, and this is a gross translation, a visual input surge projector.”
The blood drained from her face. “A sensory overload failsafe?”
BattleMaster (The BattleMaster Corps Book 1) Page 9