“Cain,” she whispered. He leaned close to her, catching himself before he fell over. “Are we going to get out of here alive?”
He took a knee next to her, put a finger under her chin, and kissed her gently. “On this planet or any other, I want more of that, Ellie. Aletha made her choice, and I made mine. You and I made ours. We’re good together and together, we’re going to get off this planet so we can be together. And we’re taking all of them with us.” Cain waved one arm expansively.
The comm device on his collar crackled. “One bot inbound at high speed,” Flash reported.
Cain stood up straight and cupped his hands around his mouth. “PREPARE TO FIRE!”
***
Stalker stopped and sniffed the air. She wondered if she’d be able to smell the bots, but guessed that she probably wouldn’t. She had to try. They were without an early warning system. They were flying blind.
She waited at the edge of a clearing. When Spence arrived, she asked him if Tobiah sensed anything.
“Two rabbits and a fox.” He shrugged, cradling a softly moaning Aniston. The numbweed had dulled the pain from the physical injuries, but that wasn’t why the ‘cat keened.
Stalker nodded once, turned, and made a mad dash across the opening. She reached the other side and headed between two large trees. Spence and Tobiah followed, then Zisk. The rest made their way across the opening at best possible speed. Leaper brought up the rear, carefully checking behind him before he took his turn crossing the clearing.
On the other side, he waited for what seemed to be a long time, only a few minutes, before following the rest on Stalker’s chosen route.
The Firefight
Cain dove for cover when the bot broke into the open. The Wolfoids on the flanks opened up with their lightning spears. The bot spun in a circle and sprayed its beams across a broad front. Cain fired his blaster over the top of a mound, hitting the bot with every other shot.
Two blasters joined the major’s and danced their beams across the hovering enemy, but with its spinning, the blasters weren’t penetrating, only scarring the surface of the box-like body.
Flash fired his lightning spear from near-point-blank range and the shock stopped the bot mid-spin. More lightning overwhelmed it, and the enemy crashed to the ground.
Lightning Flash returned to his cover and resumed watching the road.
“They learn with each new attack, which means we need to change things up,” Cain spoke clearly into the comm system. He wanted everyone on the same page. “I need ideas, Marines. Tell me how we can surprise these things.”
“They are operating two-dimensionally,” Ogden offered, remaining behind cover and aiming his blaster at the open area.
“We hit them from above and below,” Cain answered.
“We move forward. They seem to know where we are. Now anyway. Catch them before they catch us. The first shot seems to determine the winner,” Bull added.
“Flash’s attack caught the bot unaware. Agreed, Bull. Forest, move forward opposite Flash. Trilok, climb the tree by our OP. Fire on the thing from above. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to dig a hole and ambush it from below.” Cain scanned the area, looking for better ways to engage the bots, but they had chosen the place because it was open and level, ideal for a landing zone.
“Improvised munitions, people, what do we have?” Cain asked.
“Major Cain,” Jolly interrupted.
“I didn’t know you were on this channel, Jolly, but I’m glad to have you.”
“We can run wire from the shuttle and set up an electrical barrier. Any bot that travels through it will get electrocuted. It appears that the power of the lightning spears causes them a great deal of anguish,” Jolly offered.
“How long to set it up, Jolly?” Cain wondered.
“No more than hour,” the AI replied. Cain sighed and shook his head. “We’ll put that one on the back burner for now, Jolly. We can’t spare the manpower at present. Maybe once second squad arrives, we will be able to break someone free, but I expect they’ll need to rest.”
“That’s affirmative,” Stinky answered. “Ten minutes out. We’ll be coming in through the trees to your right, I believe. Please don’t shoot us.”
“Roger. Be on the lookout, Flash. Trilok, are you in place yet?” Cain asked.
“Not yet, sir, still climbing. I used to be better at this,” the Marine complained.
“You were a little lighter then, Private. Keep plugging away.” Cain tried to sound encouraging, but he was tired. They all were.
He was afraid they wouldn’t sleep until they were off the planet. Less than sixty hours away.
A walk in the park.
“Sleep when you’re dead!” he bellowed, more for himself than for the others, but he was greeted with a chorus of oorahs. The Marines started stretching and exercising. Ogden punched himself in the chest to get the blood pumping.
Cain stood up, momentarily winning the battle against fatigue and heavy gravity. He walked tall and proud from Marine to Marine, encouraging his people to improve their fighting positions, eat something, drink a little, and be ready.
Daksha lay on the ground in the shuttle’s shade. His head drooped, and his eyes were closed. Ascenti lay in the cushion strapped to the Tortoid’s shell. Billy Joe lay against him, sound asleep. Cain petted the little orange man, understanding what the kitten had gone through.
Adversity makes you stronger, unless it completely crushes you, Cain thought, looking over at Ellie, lying in a shallow depression, while he stroked the kitten’s short hair.
Honor and glory, he thought. They all wanted a piece of the adventure. None of them saw the pain, the sacrifice. The Marines know. They were together on the RV Traveler, fighting to escape. Many of them were on Concordia. Bull has an artificial leg and most of us have scars, ugly scars. The Cygnus Marines are earning their place in history, writing the story in their blood on monuments to victory. Ooh-freaking-rah.
Major Cain clenched his teeth. Duty first. It was what made the Marines different. Their sacrifice gave them pride. It was Cain’s job to make sure their sacrifices were not in vain.
He made his way to the treeline from which second squad would emerge, and Brutus joined him.
‘They’re here,’ Brutus said, sitting down and cocking his head.
“Thank the heavens,” Cain said in a low voice as Stalker emerged from the trees. Her eyes looked gray and her coat dull. “Find yourself cover on the other side of the shuttle and put your squad over that way. We have the watch while you get some sleep.”
Next in was Spence carrying the injured ‘cat and then Zisk shuffling forward, carrying Silas’s body over his shoulder.
The rest came through wearing vacant expressions, shoulders hunched, eyes hollow.
“Corporal Spence. Get Silas into a body bag. Work with Jolly to address Aniston’s injuries. Use the medkit on board. It’ll have most everything you need, and here.” Cain pulled his complete stash of numbweed and tried to hand it over.
Spence shook his head, turning it down. “We’ll put her in the bag with Silas,” Spence whispered.
Cain had forgotten that ‘cats couldn’t live without their human life-links. She’d lost her will to fight against her injuries. She’d lost the will to live.
The major choked back the tears that glistened in his eyes. Spence wouldn’t look up. “Take care of her, Marine, and then get some rest. If we’re to take them home, we need to win this fight, and that means we need all of you as sharp as you can be. If we don’t win, Heimdall will be the final resting place of the Cygnus Marines. We can’t let that happen.”
***
“How can we fight it, Starsgard?” Rand asked for the third time. The corporal watched the video of the bot ship, checked the data stream, and re-watched the video.
“They come in fast, too fast. If we could put mines in their way, they’d crash into them and blow up,” Starsgard suggested, wincing at the thought. “I know, space is
a big place. That’s a stupid idea. We can’t just put mines out there and hope that’s where they stop.”
Rand looked at the video again. “They didn’t fire until after they stopped, whether it’s targeting or a limitation on power, maybe we can use that?”
Starsgard bit his lip and stroked his chin. “Jolly, how much precision can you give us regarding the stopping location of an inbound ship?”
“That is a good question, Doctor Starsgard. Of course we can refine the trajectory as the ship gets closer. The more data points we have, the higher my accuracy, keeping in mind that the ship could maneuver once it settles toward orbit. I’d give it seventy-three point one percent chance of predicting where it will enter orbit,” Jolly replied from the weapons deck’s sound system.
“Look at the deceleration curve, Jolly,” Starsgard told the AI. “Assuming a new ship flies identically to this one, what kind of accuracy can you give us?”
“Ninety-seven point four percent. One hundred years is a long time for an AI to evolve, if that’s what is driving the ship we see on the video. I would not assume that it would follow the same trajectory,” Jolly cautioned.
“I don’t mean that it would come from the same space. I mean from the second we detect it, assuming it approaches at a thousand gees, then does the rapid slowdown. That’s all I’m asking, Jolly.”
“Noted,” Jolly answered noncommittally. “Ninety-seven point four with two hours’ lead time.”
“The question is, what can we do with two hours?” Rand pressed.
“We can deploy a weapon system in their flight path, assuming that we don’t want to talk with them,” Starsgard said, knowing what the answer was. The Cygnus-12 was not equipped to fight a ship in space, despite the jamming and defensive missiles.
“If we stand toe to toe with the bot ship, we would die as quickly as that satellite did,” Rand emphasized, following the same line of thought that tugged at Starsgard.
“We launch a net that spreads out over a vast area, made up of filaments, explosives on the end. As the ship flies into it, the net wraps around the ship, and the bombs detonate. But that’s not quite a defensive weapon, Captain,” Starsgard whispered.
“Jolly?” Rand asked, but the AI had departed the conversation before it caused him to shut down.
Rand manually activated the ship-wide broadcast. “Briz, please report to weapons,” Rand requested.
***
“Incoming!” Flash said using his comm device.
Cain took two steps and dove behind a tree. He hit hard and crawled the last half step to cover. “Trilok, wait until it is beneath you. Don’t take the first shot so it doesn’t know where your fire came from,” Cain cautioned into the comm device on his collar.
As soon as the bot entered the open area past the observation post, Flash called out, “FIRE!” Three blasters and four lightning spears lit up the area simultaneously, engulfing the bot in light and arcs.
Trilok fired three short blasts from his perch in the tree, and the bot dropped to the ground. It remained upright for a second, then toppled.
“Incoming!” Flash called a second time.
The newest bot swung far to the side, away from the place Flash was using as his observation post. The bot fired into the trees, blanketing the Wolfoid and targeting the area of the OP.
The bot was nearly on top of Forest, opposite Flash. Forest fired into the bot at point blank range. The lightning blasted the back panel of the bot, shattering the internals.
The bot flew forward, arcing and sparking its death, scorching the grasses at the edge of the pavement.
Forest stepped back and fired again. The bot bounced away from the Wolfoid. No one else had fired at the bot. Forest had been too close and the others couldn’t risk hitting him.
Lightning spears were not known for their precision.
“Squad leaders, weapons status,” Cain asked.
The comm device crackled as Bull ordered his people to report. One by one, they responded. Thirty percent, twenty-five percent, forty percent, ten percent…
Spence was with his squad on the back side of the shuttle. His report was little better at thirty to fifty percent charges remaining. Night Stalker gave Silas’s nearly fully charged blaster to Ellie. She told Cain to switch, but he wouldn’t have it.
“You keep it. If you have to use it, you’ll need all the energy it has, because you’ll be Daksha and Ascenti’s last hope.
“Where’s Carnesto?” Cain asked, not having remembered seeing the ‘cat in quite some time. Her eyes unfocused as she talked with the big black Hillcat.
“He’s been hunting. He’ll be back shortly with food for the other ‘cats,” she said in a small voice. She sat on the ground, head hanging. It tore at his heart. He put his hand gently on her head and kneeled next to her.
“Why don’t you move under the shuttle, stay with the commander and our injured Hawkoid. They both need you,” he said, trying to sound convincing. “I need you, Ellie. I need you to help us engineer a way out of this, to fight like a banshee if that’s what you have to do. I need you to help us buy time.”
Cain didn’t remember grabbing her by the shoulders, but he had and was gripping her tightly. He let go and looked at his hands as if they’d acted on their own.
“Help us, Ellie. You know me. I’m going to go beat my head against the bots, pummel them into submission, but you’re the smart one.” He pulled her to her feet and pointed her in the direction of the shuttle. She struggled briefly and settled for taking his hand.
“We’ll make it back, Ellie, you and me. We have some lost time to make up for, and I don’t want to miss out on any of that.” Her smile was tired, but genuine. Cain watched her walk away. The usual spring in her step was gone as the heavy planet crushed the humans against it.
A New Plan
‘Jolly, this is a number one priority,’ Ellie pleaded via her neural implant. ‘You know what we brought down here. That’s all we have and we need to buy another fifty some hours of time. What can you do for us?’
‘I’m afraid there’s very little I can do. I told Cain that we could run a wire from the shuttle and place it across the bot’s path, but we’d have to dismantle part of the ship to do that. If there was any damage done to the line, then I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to use the shuttle to fly out. The only other thing I can recommend is recharging the blasters whenever you get a chance,’ Jolly said encouragingly.
‘We have two on chargers right now, but that’s all the chargers we brought with us, and we can’t take the weapons out of the mix since we don’t get more than ten seconds lead time before the bot is here. Can you see them farther away, Jolly? The ship’s sensors, maybe…’ She grasped at straws.
‘We are in a higher orbit than normal because of the planet’s increased size. Our sensors are limited at this range. We cannot see the bots at all, not through our optics and not through their electronic signatures. They don’t register like our bots.’
Ellie climbed the ladder and entered the shuttle. She opened the small compartments that contained tools, parts, survival equipment, food, and water. The shuttle wasn’t equipped as a warship. It was created for the sole purpose of moving people and limited equipment from one place to another. That was it.
The engineer looked at the control screens in the cockpit area, then the seats, and finally the overheads.
“Who designed these things?” she asked in exasperation.
“Practical people who never fought a battle, let alone a war. Their enemy was the vacuum of space and turbulence of the atmosphere,” Jolly answered philosophically, using the shuttle’s sound system to speak out loud.
The AI was right.
The Cygnus Marines were new. There hadn’t been a force like them in thousands of years.
“Maybe that’s why everyone died here. They weren’t able to defend themselves. They weren’t equipped to fight for their freedom. And here we are. The bots aren’t so tough. If there were mo
re Marines, Cain would scour the city, root them out, and eliminate them all.”
And then Cain would leave the people to their own matters. He was willing to risk everything for others. Ellie wasn’t sure why he did it. Honor? She knew that he didn’t do it for the glory. He was always uncomfortable receiving accolades.
Did he fight like he was possessed for the approval of a woman on the other side of the galaxy? Ellie thought he did at one point in time, but not anymore. He had taken on the entire universe, using his moral compass as his guide.
Ellie climbed from the shuttle, adjusting the blaster at her hip so she didn’t catch it on the hatch on her way down.
At the bottom, Daksha looked as if he was dead. The kitten and Hawkoid were sleeping peacefully. Carnesto staggered toward her from the trees. He was carrying a shock of rabbits in his mouth. When he arrived, he dropped them at Ellie’s feet.
‘You could have helped me, you know,’ he said sourly. She shook off his mood.
They left one rabbit for BJ and Ellie took two to give to Tobiah. Carnesto picked up the last three, taking one each for Brutus, Petey, and Thor.
The ‘cats dug into their meals, some having not eaten fully since planet-fall. Brutus and Tobiah had eaten, but one rabbit wasn’t much compared to the energy they were expending.
Cygnus Arrives: Humanity Returns Home (Cygnus Space Opera Book 3) Page 13