AMP The Core

by Stephen Arseneault

  For three hours, the fighting moved from one section of wall to another as the Bulgar repelled the mechanical attackers time and again. The moment I felt encouraged that we were handily controlling the battlefield, another twenty Colossun mega-ships dropped down into the fields and began to dump their cargoes of fighting robots.

  Those fresh troops were soon followed by another fifty Dakar and Prassi ships with assault troops all their own. My feelings of control were dashed as more than a million new soldiers hit the fields around Nevil. I took note of a large breach in the Bulgar perimeter and raced towards it with my BHD glove.

  I landed on my stumps atop the wall, not far from where a multitude of Colossun androids were climbing up and over. I fired round after round of tungsten projectiles into the pile of androids stacked against the base of the wall. After a dozen such blasts, the android mob was routed and pushed back.

  Several hundred android fighters were pinned down just inside the wall as those on top worked to stop a new pile from forming on either side of the outside wall. I powered up and flew towards the small horde just in time to see one of them backing against the base of the wall. Several seconds later, a bright white explosion signaled the energy packs of several androids being detonated all at once.

  Where a high and very solid wall had once stood, there was now a crater with a ten-meter-wide breach just above it. The defensive walls surrounding Nevil had a Tantric plating on the outside. The inside construction was standard stone and concrete. The androids surrounding the outer wall were now streaming through. Blaster fire was concentrated on the breach, allowing further breaches over the top to form. The Bulgar were beginning to fall, and with their demise, the Durians would have their foothold on Tresha.

  As the fight reached its bleakest point, a new counteroffensive began. York, Frost, and two others were on the ground. I soon joined their efforts. Within minutes the main assault had been halted and pushed back through the hole in the wall. Bulgar reinforcements had moved from the ground reserves to assist on the wall-top overruns.

  The ebbs and flows of the battle continued for several hours. With every breach came a new counter surge to push them back.

  The Colonel came over my comm. “Grange! We have another twenty of those mega-ships dropping down followed close behind by another hundred transports. I would gauge this as being their big push. Continue to inflict what damage you can, but I expect this to be a losing-sum game now. The minute I feel control is lost, we will be pulling you, York, and the others out to address other needs.”

  I replied as I looked back over the Bulgar fighters stretched out across the walls of Nevil, “So, that will be it? We will essentially be abandoning the Bulgar.”

  The Colonel spoke. “It’s not a decision that is made lightly, Grange. We have a war to fight, and we have to make the best use of the resources we have available. Sometimes that means making decisions that might not be popular at the time. It’s the burden that comes with being in command.”

  I replied, “Sorry, Colonel. I didn’t mean to imply anything. Just taking out my frustrations at the situation.”

  The Colonel again spoke. “I’ve known you long enough to know what your intentions are, Grange. Just keep kicking as much ass as you can out there. The battle for this planet is just getting under way. There will be plenty more to be frustrated with as it progresses.”

  I fired off two tungsten rounds, ripping apart four Colossun androids along with a half dozen who had joined in behind them. The android parts filled the crater at the wall breach.

  York spoke. “We have a new wave of softer targets coming in! Aim low, and you have a good chance of taking multiples out with debris strikes on the ground in front of them!”

  The tan armor of the Colossun androids was soon replaced by the dull gray armor of the Dakar regulars and the yellowish armor of the Prassi. The contrast with the deep blue armor of the Bulgar made target identification and selection easy. The regular troops suffered horribly where the Colossun androids had sometimes succeeded. The killing fields around Nevil were soon strewn with tens of thousands of dead and dying enemy soldiers.

  My BGS suit worked to counter the effects of the anxiety I was feeling from the constant killing that was going on in front of me. My fingers ached from the constant pulling of the triggers on my weapons. I had last sensed that fatigue when fighting the Targ. Unlike the Targ, the Durians kept a constant pressure applied.

  When the Dakar and Prassi fighters turned to flee the fields of death, a new collection of Colossun androids met them in their retreat. I watched in shock as the androids butchered their retreating partners, no doubt under the orders of the Durian high command.

  I spoke. “York, you watching this?”

  York replied, “I am, Sir. And I would expect nothing less from the Duke.”

  I came to the realization that I had not had a comm from the Duke since our last conversation on the massive cannon ships. “York, has the Duke been talking to you?”

  York replied, “He has been constantly hailing me all day. I have his channel blocked, Sir.”

  I spoke. “Are you up for conversing with him? I would only ask that of you if you are able to keep information from him. He likes to let things slip out from time to time. I think he uses it to try to steer you in the direction he wants you to go. He will also try to trick information from you by dangling some juicy tidbit in front of you. Do you think you can handle his devious ways?”

  York laughed. “I doubt that I would be good at the psychology game, Mr. Grange. If you feel there is something to be learned, however, I will give it a shot.”

  I replied, “Please do so, York. And don’t give him any indication of my health or whereabouts. I think he has a way to track us that has somehow been switched off in me. I’m not sure why or how, but I think he can no longer track me.”

  York agreed, and her comm was silent for the next several minutes.

  As I focused my energies on a new wave of androids, York hailed me on the comm. “Sir, I spoke with the Duke. He was fishing for information on you, just as you predicted. After several attempts at prying that info from me, he gave up in a huff when I told him I was kicking the crap out of his crappy army. I think he has a short tolerance for people who are blunt with him, Sir.”

  I replied, “He does get agitated if he feels like you are onto him. If you can, talk to him every once in a while; he may throw you a bone to try to entice you into spilling your guts. He is watching the battle unfold from the other side. And I am certain he would love the interaction of a blow-by-blow account from the opposition. If you do choose to speak to him, just be careful with what you say.”

  I continued, “Has he been talking with Frost?”

  York replied, “I think she has him blocked as well, Mr. Grange.”

  I closed out the conversation with York and moved on to Frost. “Has the Duke been attempting to contact you, Frost?”

  Frost replied, “Constantly, Sir. He is real interesting to talk to until you realize his motive is to suck information out of you. He somehow makes you want to be his friend while he works you over.”

  I half laughed. “I can see how that would irritate you, Frost. You are the one usually playing the psych games with people. Anyway, I want you to occasionally answer that comm if you think you are up to a little intel gathering of your own.”

  Frost landed on the wall beside me and blinked in. “Name it, Sir. This constant pulling of the trigger gets boring. A distraction might do me some good.”

  I gave Frost the same speech as the one I had given York: keep the conversations short, watch what she said, and don’t offer any information on my health or whereabouts. Frost agreed just before blinking out.

  As I turned my attention back to the onrushing android masses, I had to laugh at the demise of several hundred androids as they moved towards the breach in the wall. Frost was now hovering just behind them about fifty meters out from the wall. As they grouped together for their assaul
t, she would obliterate them from behind with a tungsten round.

  I had a sudden rush of panic as I realized my tungsten magazine only had eight shots remaining. “York! Frost! Pass it on for everyone to keep a count of their magazines! I’m almost out of rounds! I’ll be calling down the Swift for a reload. Everyone should get a top-off if they can.”

  I pulled the Swift from its fast orbit, and as I spent the last tungsten round, it was hovering just below me on the ground inside the Tantric wall. I jumped, drifted down, deactivated the skin, and dropped the rear hatch. The others lined up behind me as I had requested. The reloads were fast, but not fast enough to stop the next onrush of androids.

  After a thirty-second break, I was again back up on the wall. The androids were once again rushing through the open section. We were relentless in the delivery of our new stockpiles of tungsten.

  The Durians had once again changed tactics. This time, instead of standing and firing as they moved forward, they would move in tight groups of four where the front three were cannon fodder for the advancement of the fourth. As the androids moved deeper into the Bulgar’s ranks, our focus moved from the wall to the center of the compound. That single mistake sealed the fate of the Bulgar and of Nevil.

  Four additional androids detonated themselves against the wall’s interior, opening a section more than sixty meters wide. A new onrush of soldiers forced their way through. There was no going back. New sections of the wall then began to fall.

  The fighting was fierce as the Colossuns pushed further down the wall line in both directions. Frost, York, and the others joined me in the southern section. Together, we were able to bring the enemy advance to a standstill. The Colossuns moving northward, however, were in an almost free run. Every attempt by the Bulgar to stop the Colossun progress was met with a new breach of the wall just behind them. When a kilometer-wide section of the outer wall had fallen, the defense of the inner wall began to crumble. There were not enough Bulgar fighters in reserve to fill the holes left by those who had lost their fight with life.

  York spoke. “I expect that call from the Colonel anytime now, Mr. Grange. Nevil is now a lost cause. If you look at the new stats on your HUD, you will see that the Colossuns just reinforced with another hundred or so of those mega-transports. I expect this city will be a landing pad for the next ten million or so soldiers.”

  I replied, “The thing that surprises me is the fact that we haven’t seen any vehicles. I would expect ground assaults to be loaded with tanks and armored transports. I think those fighters have proved to be a red herring as far as the strategic fighting has gone so far.”

  Frost cut in. “A red herring? Aw, please don’t start back with those sayings from the archives! It makes our conversations hard to follow!”

  York laughed. “He’s just saying that the fighters haven’t had any effect on the battle so far.”

  Frost paused from her firing. “I know what he meant, Yorkie. I just don’t want to have to spend my brainpower figuring it out.”

  With the inner wall breached, the ion inhibitors began to be taken offline as the Colossuns pushed ever forward. The dome that had kept the city secure from orbital bombardment was soon completely down. With the loss of the dome, the fighters were free to attack the three walls that ringed the city.

  The Colonel came over the comm. “Grange, time to pull out. Those fighters will have that place mopped up in fifteen minutes. The Bulgar put up a better fight than what could be expected. I’ll see if I can send a message on to their home world when this is over. The families of those soldiers will deserve to know how valiantly they fought.”

  The Colonel continued, “Fall back to Tackor; it should be on your HUDs. It is the least defended of the surrounding cities, and I would expect it to be the next in line for an assault. The fortification there is staffed by Admiral Chaulk’s men. Do what you can to help them out. If we can hold Tackor for half a day, we will consider that campaign a success.”

  I replied, “Can’t we just evac our troops from there to a better-defended city? I hate to give any ground, but I would do that to preserve our people.”

  The Colonel sent his battle projections to my HUD. “We are in a war of attrition now, Grange. Those fortifications will extract a toll before they are taken over. I’m afraid there is no better way to say this other than sacrifices have to be made if we want the bulk of our species to survive. It’s not an easy decision to make, but I can assure you that every Marine and soldier at that post is aware of what they are facing. We haven’t had a grumble come out of there. Chaulk’s men and women are as proud as they come. If this is what it takes, they are still in for the early beating.”

  I sighed. “Again, Colonel, I’m just venting at the potential loss of anyone. We will do our best to hold the line at Tackor for as long as we can.”

  As I powered away from the remnants of Nevil, I took note of the fields of destruction surrounding the once-thriving Gonta city. We had extracted our pound of flesh from the invaders. Hundreds of ships, and more than four million assault troops, had been sacrificed to gain a foothold.

  When I set down in Tackor, our troops were busy positioning stockpiles of blaster ammo. I took a moment to check the flashing yellow light on the top left corner of my HUD. My BGS computer was telling me I was in need of rest. The Colonel had placed a time estimate of twelve hours before the Durians would make their next move. Consolidation and supply of their new base would be their first item of business on the planet’s surface.

  I recalled the Swift from its current mission circling the globe, strapped myself into the pilot’s chair, and set it back to its previous program. I sent word to York and the others to take advantage of the break as well. The BGS suit injected a sleep aid, and I was soon dead to the ongoing war that surrounded me. My wake timer was set to answer a comm from the Colonel, or a four-hour limit, whichever came first.

  Chapter 19

  The defenses surrounding Tackor were better manned and better equipped. The same three-wall structure surrounded the small city. The outer wall was covered in Tantric armor, as was the inner wall of the innermost wall. The Admiral’s men had taken to heart the failures of the walls surrounding Nevil. Full efforts were under way to raise plating on the inner wall of the outermost wall. All breaches would have to come from over the top.

  In addition to the new plating, the thirty-meter-high outer walls were being raised another five meters. By the time my wake timer had sounded, nearly one-third of the updates had been completed.

  As the stimulants from my BGS suit kicked in, I raised the Colonel on the comm. “I’m just letting you know that I’m back online, Colonel. Any new developments while I was out?”

  The Colonel replied, “We had some great news from Molov! The first two Wrens arrived. They set down in the quad where you had programmed them to go. Frig left a note that he had successfully combined 1,024 portals into a single wormhole over a centimeter in diameter. He seemed very excited by his progress. We should see two more Wrens tomorrow and three the day after. Also, as a consolation, we have another twenty BGS suits to distribute to our Marines for training.”

  I removed my helmet and rubbed the sleep from my eyes before snapping it back on. “I’ll let York know that she has new troops to train, Colonel. How’s the occupation of Nevil going?”

  The Colonel half laughed. “That is the one area that we planned our defense around that has really paid a dividend. The Durians are losing 45 percent of the ships they are trying to land there. So long as the cities that surround it stay in our hands, we will continue to penalize them heavily for being on this planet. However, their minor losses are easily absorbed by that fleet up there.”

  I replied, “Any more ships join their ranks?”

  The Colonel sent a new listing to my HUD. “No more troop transports, but another 218 of those ships that put up that pattern showed up. It appears they may be trying to set up a shield surrounding this planet. If they are successful, we won’t be g
etting any more Wrens from Molov.”

  As I browsed through the data, I replied, “Well then, I guess we have to start thinking about how we can prevent that. In another couple weeks, we should be seeing twenty Wrens coming in a day. With that kind of force at our disposal, we will be able to put a real hurt on that fleet. Give me fifty ships like the Swift, and I will send the Duke into a raging depression over his losses!”

  The Colonel spoke. “In all honesty, I don’t think the Duke cares who wins. He’s just here to prompt us all into fighting one another. All we can do is oblige him while doing our best to be the lone survivor.”

  I replied, “Unfortunately, I think you are right. He indicated as much to me in our prior discussions.”

  The Swift had continued its circling of the planet during my rest. Another 6 Durian fleet ships had been destroyed and 108 damaged. All of the ships of the fleet now stayed in constant motion, making targeting difficult.

  As the Colonel had predicted, the new Durian ships were taking position around the planet with the goal of setting up a web to capture any incoming or outgoing Human ships. I suspected the Duke had passed information on to the Durians through his operatives. The Swift had a vulnerability, and the Durians were now able to take advantage of it.

  I stood on a wall that faced Nevil. The ground that once made up the city was covered with the small black fighter craft as well as arriving and departing transports. The Colonel’s latest estimates placed a force count of over five million soldiers standing at the ready. A battle for Tackor was coming soon.

  After several minutes of contemplation, I decided to pay a closer visit to Nevil. The high-resolution cameras we had aiming at Nevil from the surrounding cities had kept us informed of troop numbers and movements. I wanted to know the fine details of what might be coming our way. Besides, I had no tasks of my own to keep my mind occupied.

  I enabled my active skin and powered up my BHD glove. I was soon hovering over the mass of enemy troops that were standing in row after row. I took note of the twenty large transport ships that remained on the ground while the other transports had dropped their troops and returned to orbit.