Under the signature was a postscript that said, “Watch out for my kukris for me while I’m gone. If I don’t make it back, kill a MinSha or two with them for me.”
Walker looked at Rapp. “Who’s in the CASPer?”
“Corporal Reynolds, sir.”
Walker switched to his radio. “Reynolds, Colonel Walker. Have you seen Top Wethington?”
“Yes sir, I have. He went by here about 15 minutes ago. He said he was going to go scout their positions and to hold where I was.”
“Do you still see him on any of your monitors?”
“No sir. I saw him get to about where their lines are, but then his heat signature laid down. I thought he was trying to sneak up on them, but it has kind of faded away now. I’m afraid they got him sir. Want me to go take a look and see if I can recover him?”
“No, hold your position for now.” Walker’s shoulders slumped. “Damn. He was a damned good trooper. It’s a damn shame to lose someone for something as stupid as this mission.” He shook his head and looked at Rapp. “You’re Top, now,” Walker said. “Don’t do anything foolish; I can’t afford to lose you too.”
“Colonel, this is Reynolds again. It looks like the whole damn MinSha force is coming!”
“Copy that, Reynolds. We’ll get everyone up and moving, but I need you to do what you can to hold them off as long as you’re able. Most of the troops are asleep; we’re going to need some time.”
“Will do, sir. Reynolds, out.”
Chapter 7
“Reynolds, out.” The trooper did another scan of the CASPer’s systems, but he was already intimately familiar with what he’d find. The suit was low on power, low on ammo, and badly in need of some heavy-duty maintenance. There were more red lights than green, with most of the systems showing at least a little yellow. Worst of all, he was out of jump juice and wouldn’t be able to go three dimensional anymore. Even the suit’s occupant wasn’t fully functional; he was so tired he could barely see straight, and had already caught himself nodding off twice. The only thing that was still fully functional was…he laughed; the suit was one of the early Mark 7s that was equipped with a climbing mode. That was the only fully mission capable system; not that climbing would be especially helpful against the forces his sensors indicated were coming his way.
He tried to think back to the early CASPer training classes, but couldn’t remember a lesson titled, ‘How to Stop a Battalion of MinSha with One Broke-Ass CASPer.’ He chuckled. They needed to put that into the syllabus. If he made it back, he was going to become a teacher; that would be the first lesson he taught.
Taking the MinSha head–on seemed a bit of a waste, though. He’d get dead fast, and then the bugs would roll on by him. He looked up the large proto-tree he was standing next to and reconsidered his earlier assessment. The suit still had enough power to let him climb, and the cedar-analogues were big enough. Hmm…it was going to make him a huge target if seen, but the platoon needed time, and he was going to give them that time.
Reynolds made the motion for climbing mode, and small spikes snapped out from the toes and insteps of his boots, as well as the palms of his hands. He wasn’t as quick as a cat going up the tree, but he was fast enough. He climbed up 20 feet, jammed the spikes in as far as they would go, and put the suit into low-power mode.
He didn’t have long to wait; one of the MinSha flew past his position five minutes later, followed 30 seconds later by two he could see on the ground. He waited until they were past, brought the spikes back in, and dropped to the ground.
Although he bent his knees before he slammed into the ground, and the suit absorbed some of the impact, he still hit much harder than he was used to, and it took him a second before he could spin around toward the MinSha. Having heard the half ton suit hit the ground, they were already starting to turn as his MAC began firing. He killed two, then triggered his jump jets to avoid the return fire.
The “No Juice” light flashed in his display, and the suit went nowhere. He was too tired from lack of sleep; his ingrained reflexes were working against him. A laser bolt hit him but didn’t penetrate the suit, and he dove forward to avoid additional fire, turning the fall into a roll. Coming up on one knee he fired the MAC again, killing another MinSha. A MinSha MAC round hit his CASPer shoulder. More lights illuminated and several turned from amber to red.
He turned to return fire, but the MAC was mounted to his right arm…and the entire arm went dead.
Reynolds turned and ran, going deeper behind the MinSha lines. If he could just lead them away from the rest of the Roughnecks, his mission would be complete.
The suit lasted another hundred yards before he got the red light indicating it had 10 seconds of fuel remaining. He barely had time to dodge behind a tree before the systems began shutting down. The canopy only opened about six inches; he wasn’t getting through that. He blew the emergency jettison, and the canopy dropped away from the suit.
Free, he climbed down, grabbing the items he could, and turned to run. Suddenly, he was thrown forward, and he got a mouthful of the detritus on the jungle floor as he face-planted. He spit it out and tried to lift himself up, but his right arm wasn’t working. He glanced down and saw that his arm had been removed at the shoulder and was laying several feet away; the blood was already pooling next to him…so much blood.
The light in the forest, already dim, began to get darker. He brought his left hand up to his mouth before he could forget, pulled, and then spat out the tiny piece of metal. Movement caught his eye as a chitinous leg stepped into the pool of blood still trickling from his body. How…disrespectful.
The device rolled free from his nerveless fingers and stopped next to the squad leader. The MinSha had just enough time to recognize it before the grenade exploded.
Chapter 8
“Fire and retreat!” Walker ordered. He took a shot at a MinSha, but the alien ducked back behind a tree. He didn’t know what Reynolds had done the night before, but his sacrifice had given them another day of freedom. The MinSha force had finally caught them, though, and the aliens were pushing hard to eradicate the remaining Humans. If the Roughnecks didn’t make it to the city soon, they were going to be overwhelmed. He could see flashes of blue to his right as the MinSha scouts tried to flank them; if that happened, it was game over. They had to retreat faster; they had to break contact with the enemy and avoid encirclement, but he didn’t see how that would be possible. Time was rapidly running out for the Humans.
“Colonel Walker, you better get up here to the point, right now!”
Walker ran to the front, conscious of the MinSha rounds whipping past him. As he ran by Corporal Jennings, the soldier slumped, a large hole in her chest.
He sprinted to where Staff Sergeant Rapp waited…at the edge of the forest! He was standing at the last tree, and beyond it, a large open space beckoned. “We made it!” Walker exclaimed. “How close to the city are we?”
Rapp pointed to the left, and Walker could see the spires of the capital city in the distance. “It’s only about seven miles that way, sir. Or…about five miles beyond the battalion of MinSha that’s dug in out there.”
“What?”
“Yes, sir. There’s a battalion of troops, with heavy weapons, waiting for us out there. In addition to the ones chasing us. There’s no way we’re getting past them. Pickett had a better chance of getting to the Union at Gettysburg than we do at making it past them.”
“So…we’re screwed.”
“Yes, sir, we well and truly are. We’d be better off trying to get past the ones behind us than trying to get across that cleared area.”
“Hey, sir!” Corporal Stevens called. “The MinSha wants to talk to you. She says she has a way out of this.”
Walker strode over to where the trooper guarded their prisoner. “What’s that?” he asked. “If you have a way out of this, I’d love to hear it.”
“I will tell you how to get out of this trap if you promise to let me go,” the MinSha said
. “Certainly, even you must know by now that you are trapped; the plan all along was to drive you here, where you could be surrounded and easily destroyed. There is no way out for you; you are doomed.”
“You just want us to let you go?” Walker asked. “You’re not going to ask for money? What kind of a mercenary are you?”
“I am a practical one,” Proptayl said. “I might as well ask a stone to give me water. Telling you how to beat our commander is not the same as actually having you do it. You would have to win in order for me to get paid, which is highly unlikely. But even if you did win, it would not look good for you to send me money. My egg-mates might get the wrong idea if I were to receive money from someone who defeated my unit while I was his captive…they might think I told you how to do it, when in fact I only advised you of the possibility.”
“So, are you going to tell me, or what?”
“Are you going to let me go?”
“Are you sure you want to do that, Colonel?” Staff Sergeant Rapp asked. “She’s probably the only thing keeping them from hitting us. If we use her as a hostage, maybe they’ll let us pass.”
“They won’t,” Proptayl said. “Our orders were to keep you from getting to the city. Even if my life had any value, which it does not, they would kill me in order to complete the contract and keep you away from the city.”
“I think we’re about out of options, Staff Sergeant,” Walker said. “If this is my last card before doing something that is going to get a lot of us killed, I’m going to play it.” He turned to the MinSha and said, “Yes, if you tell me how I can get out of this trap, or at least get my unit to safety, I give you my word as the commander of the Roughnecks that I will let you go.”
“Then I give you my word that if you let me go, I promise I will tell you how you can get out of the trap.”
“If I let you go, do you promise not to shoot at us or harm myself or my troops?”
“I do.”
“Cut her loose.”
Staff Sergeant Rapp pulled out a knife and sliced through the zip ties, then he cut through the tape holding her wings closed. “Sorry,” he grunted, “we don’t have any of the solvent needed to take the tape off your carapace.”
“That feels better,” the MinSha said, spreading her wings.
“Okay, Proptayl, you’re free,” Walker said. “How do we get out of this trap?”
“The only way I foresee you getting out of this alive is to challenge the leader of our force to a one-on-one duel. If she decides to fight you, you can ask for free passage to the city as your reward for winning.”
“And what if I lose?”
“I suspect she’ll kill all your troops…but that’s what’s going to happen in any event.” Propayl cocked her head and looked up. “There are two of our fighters circling above us. If you take one step outside the jungle, they’re going to attack you. Without your suits, you have a very limited chance of shooting them down, at best. Meanwhile, the rest of our troops are going to assault this position and kill all of you.”
Walker risked a glance up. He could see two specks in the sky, but couldn’t tell what they were. As the Roughnecks were out of aerial assets, though, it was unlikely the aircraft were friendly.
“Regardless of how this turns out,” Walker said, “I’m glad we had a chance to talk. It was interesting getting to meet you. You aren’t as bad as your civilization is made out to be.”
“It was…interesting getting to meet you, as well. I could say the same thing about your civilization.” She looked around. “Am I free to go?” she asked. “If so, I can fly to my unit and tell them you released me so that I could bring the challenge to my leader, since you were afraid any of your people would get shot if they stepped outside the jungle.”
Walker nodded. “You are free to go.”
Proptayl spread her wings, but Walker waved at her. “Yes?” she asked.
“Thanks,” Walker said.
“You’re welcome,” Proptayl replied. She launched into the air and was gone.
Chapter 9
After an hour of tense waiting while the MinSha forces continued to press in on them, killing two more troopers, the assault finally ceased. After a few minutes more, a MinSha flew across the intervening no-man’s land beyond the forest, bearing the parley flag. “I don’t see any weapons,” Staff Sergeant Rapp noted. “Still, everyone stay alert and keep her covered. It wouldn’t be the first time someone attacked under a parley flag.”
The MinSha landed at the edge of the woods and dropped the flag. “I am here to speak to Colonel Walker,” it announced.
“I’m Colonel Walker.”
The MinSha waved him over away from the rest of the platoon. When they had a limited amount of privacy, the alien said, “I have a message from our commander. She says that she accepts your challenge with the following provisos. If you win, your force will be allowed to pass freely through our lines to the city. If she wins, all your force will be taken to our home world of Chitaa where you will be slaves.”
“Unacceptable. I—”
“She expected you would try to caveat her terms, and I am to tell you that no modifications will be allowed. She said to let you know that, although what the locals did was wrong, she cannot rectify it. Therefore, if you have not thrown down all your powered weapons and left the forest by 10 minutes after I return to my force, our assault will re-commence, and will not stop until all of you are dead. I am authorized to tell you, since you can’t do anything to stop it, that this section of the jungle will be firebombed 10 minutes after that, which will most likely terminate any resistance. Your choices are to either duel our commander or die. That is all.”
The MinSha nodded once, turned, and flew off toward the waiting mass of MinSha.
“Everyone, here’s the deal,” Walker radioed. “We were just given an ultimatum. I can either duel their leader, or they will firebomb us until we’re dead. If I win, we will be allowed to pass through their lines; if I lose, everyone will be taken back to their home world as slaves. There is no way we are going to be victorious here, so I am going forward with the duel. If you are with me, leave your powered weapons in the forest and come out with me. If you don’t come out, I suspect you will be killed…probably badly.” Walker paused a few seconds, then he added, “No matter how it works out, it has been an honor serving with you.”
Walker set his rifle down, nodded to Staff Sergeant Rapp, and stepped out onto the hard-packed ground that surrounded the forest. After a couple of minutes, Rapp joined him.
“Are you it?” Walker asked.
“They’re still deciding,” Rapp said, “but you’re my colonel. I’m with you, regardless.”
After a few more minutes, nine other troopers filed out of the forest. A MAC fired once from within the forest. “Corporal Jones chose the third option,” Sergeant Booth said. “Sorry, sir, I tried to talk him out of it.”
“Now what?” Rapp asked.
“Well, I’m not wearing myself out walking to them,” Walker said. “I’m tired enough as it is; they can come to us.”
“They already have,” someone muttered.
Walker looked back at the forest; at least a battalion of MinSha ringed the edge of it. How many freaking MinSha were there, anyway?
When Walker glanced back to the other force, he could see they were in motion. Although some drove vehicles, the majority flew. Within a few minutes, the group of Humans was completely ringed by more MinSha than Walker had ever wanted to see, and all of them pointed weapons at the tiny, outmatched group.
At some unknown signal, the entire force shouldered their arms, then relaxed in place. A single MinSha approached the group.
Walker did a double take as he looked at the MinSha. Although he had often thought they all looked alike, this one was the exact twin of the one they had held captive. Including the line around her middle, where dirt clung to the glue from the tape they had used to keep her from flying. Proptayl. He nodded once. “Well done.”
“Are you referring to the ease with which I tricked you into believing I was just a minion, and used that knowledge to get you to release me?”
“Yes, that.”
“You will notice I never gave my word to anything, besides the fact that I wouldn’t shoot you or do anything else to cause you direct harm. Since I gave you that oath, I have held to it.”
“You haven’t ordered your troops to kill us?”
“Not since I gave you my word, no.”
“So, was this whole challenge thing made up, too, or are you actually going to duel me for our freedom?”
“Oh, it is very much real,” the MinSha said. “After I kill you, I look forward to taking one of your people as my slave. You will, of course, have to free me from my promise not to do you any harm first.”
“Of course,” Walker said. “Can I ask you one—no two—questions before we begin?”
“Certainly. You are in no danger of escaping, and I am feeling somewhat magnanimous, having beaten you. Ask your questions.”
“I’ll let the outcome of our duel determine whether you have beaten me. As for my questions, first, I’d like to know how I can be sure your troops will honor your promise to let us go once I kill you.”
Proptayl’s red compound eyes didn’t flinch. “They will do so, because I have given my word, as leader of our clan, that they will do so. To do any less would be to bring dishonor on the clan.”
“Won’t that violate your contract?”
“Our contract says to kill you. When I win, you will all die. The contract doesn’t specify whether that is by weapon on this planet or a life of servitude on Chitaa.”
“I see. Well, thanks for that,” Walker said, sarcasm heavy in his voice.
A Fistful of Credits: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 5) Page 37