Merkiaari Wars: 02 - What Price Honour

by Mark E. Cooper

  James’ heart sank when he failed to find him. “Where is Tei’Adeladja?”

  “Dead,” Nadisu said from where she sat slumped dejectedly upon the floor.

  Dead. James still needed more practice with the Shan language, but he knew that word very well. It was one he had heard too often on these forays to mistake. It was always spoken when he asked where a familiar face was. If he had to ask, then that person was dead. He looked around at the sadly diminished group, and then at Shima who flicked her ears. She had no idea what to do either.

  He crouched down on a level with Nadisu. “Who is Tei now?” Everyone looked at each other and then back at him. “Now wait a damn minute! I can’t be Tei, I’m not even Shan!”

  “It does not matter. When you die, we will choose another,” Nadisu said.

  “Thanks a bunch,” James said, and then laughed at his situation. A lone human—an alien visitor to an alien planet, leading aliens in a war against aliens.

  His friends watched him laugh with puzzlement that gradually changed to amusement. The wiggling ears and drop-jawed grins made it worse, and James howled with laughter. He sat on the dirty floor and hung his head, gasping for breath until his hilarity faded.

  “The others still hold the north?” James asked, thinking about the future. He would not let them down.

  “Yes, Tei. They are doing good work. The Murderers have not killed them all.”

  Not yet, at least. What they really needed to do was join up with the others and make a real effort to hold the city. While the Merkiaari were fighting here, they couldn’t be looking for the Keeps. Brenda was waiting for him in one of those sanctuaries. He would do anything to keep her safe.

  “We will join forces with the others in the north,” he said firmly. “We will throw the Merkiaari out of our city, or die trying.”

  His order was met with yips and growls of agreement.

  * * *

  Chapter 24

  Aboard ASN Grafton in geosynchronous orbit

  Gina watched Richmond giving one of her team some last minute instructions. She smiled when she remembered the look of horrified panic that had flashed on her friend’s face during the promotions. There was no sign of it now. It hadn’t taken Richmond long to settle into her new role.

  “I’ll see you when the company assembles for the push on the city,” Richmond said, turning to Gina at last.

  Gina nodded slowly and took her friend’s hand. “Good luck to us all.”

  “Luck has nothing to do with it,” Richmond said with massive confidence, and trotted up the ramp of the second transport.

  Gina, with Lieutenant Dolinski of Second Platoon by her side, climbed the ramp of Viper One. “Listen up,” she said to her platoon as Dolinski continued forward to the other troop hold. “We hit the dirt in less than fifteen. The General will be coming down just two hours later.” She closed the ramp behind her and leaned against it. “We do good work. Everyone knows First Platoon is the best in the Company.”

  “Damn straight!”

  “Everyone knows we kick arse!”

  Gina spoke over the comments. “I don’t want any mishaps. I want the enemy driven well clear of the spaceport before the General comes down. Clear?”

  “Sir, yessir!” the platoon shouted in synch.

  Gina strapped herself into a seat. It was the closest to the ramp. “First Platoon set,” she said over the comm.

  “Ten seconds…” the pilot announced.

  Grafton held position in synchronous orbit over the spaceport. To starboard, Sutherland lay not too far off in astronomical terms, ready to deploy her fighters. Grafton’s bay doors slowly cranked open, and two Wolfcub class transports were ejected from her launch rails.

  “Shit!” one man cried, as the sudden intense acceleration shook the ship.

  Viper One sped away from Grafton riding out on the impetus imparted by the mag cradles. At five hundred metres, the pilot went to max thrust and headed for the LZ.

  “Who the hell is driving this thing?” another unit said, grunting as the gees built.

  “My pet monkey.”

  “Yeah…”

  Gina ignored the complaints while she concentrated on TacNet. She was pleased when the pilot went to max thrust and bored into the atmosphere. The faster the better as far as she was concerned. Who knew what kind of anti-ship capabilities the enemy still had? Better to get dirtside before they found out.

  She listened to comm traffic as the fighter escort joined them.

  “Viper One, Scorpion Leader.”

  “Scorpion Leader, Viper One, go.”

  “Coming up on your six.”

  “Roger, Scorpion Leader. I have you on scope.”

  Gina turned her attention back to the mission and her target. She made the mental shift to access her internal processor, and considered what command to give it.

  “Access satellite Sierra Zero One,” she said hesitantly under her breath, and concentrated on the mental command.

  She relaxed when the command worked. Stone and Rutledge had promised that using her processor would become second nature in no time, but it still took her a lot of concentration to get it right. Did the others have the same problem? She shook her head. It didn’t matter because she wasn’t going to ask them. Doing that would undermine their confidence in her. As their lieutenant, that was something she couldn’t allow.

  Gina’s display cleared to reveal a real time view of the spaceport, and she studied it just as the General was doing on Grafton’s bridge. The satellites seeded around both planets were accessible by all units including the admiral, but the view seemed little different from Gina’s previous access during the briefing.

  Enlarge grid G-five.

  Grid G-five contained the largest building, which was her platoon’s designated target. Second Platoon was tasked with setting and holding a safe perimeter for Viper-Two to land in. Viper-Two was carrying Third and Fourth Platoons, along with Alpha Company’s supplies. It was vital to the mission.

  Gina studied the structure with an eye toward finding Merki heavy weapon emplacements. It would be ideal from their perspective, but if they had such things on planet, she was so far unable to find them. The wreckage of two landers was clearly visible in the open area behind the terminal. The General had asked for, and received, multiple air strikes on those ships yesterday to take out any anti-ship weapons they may have had. Nothing remained of them but scrap.

  Gina studied the terminal building, but she found nothing to suggest the enemy were even in possession of it, let alone finding heavy weapon emplacements. She doubted they had abandoned the port without a fight. They were there somewhere. The earthworks and trenches they dug at the perimeter of the port were teeming with them, but that was Captain Hames’ concern not hers. Her platoon’s mission was to take and hold the northernmost building, and that’s what she was going to do.

  “ETA one minute. One minute to landing,” the pilot announced.

  Gina gave another mental command, and her targeting display replaced the satellite imagery. She slapped her harness release, and pulled herself to her feet. The buffeting and turbulence threatened to throw her to the deck, but her enhanced muscles were enough to anchor her to the handgrip beside the ramp controls.

  “Thirty seconds,” she shouted. “Sensors up!”

  Viper One landed hard and fast with the landing struts slamming down on the pad. The struts were still recoiling on their dampers when Scorpion Wing flew overhead. Explosions shook the air as the fighters fired their guns into the buildings designated as hangars by the General. Flashes of light lit the pre-dawn sky as Merki anti aircraft batteries revealed themselves and fired, trying in vain to track the speeding fighters.

  Gina dashed down the ramp, and hit the dirt scanning for hostiles. Her platoon fanned out to protect the transport as Second Platoon debarked and took its place. Red icons began populating her display as her sensors found the Merki troopers.

  “Hostiles detected,” she said ca
lmly, using her platoon’s all units channel. “Merki in the target building. First and second squads, clear them out. Third and fourth in support.”

  She stood and sprinted away. The transport lifted and went to max thrust just metres from the ground. She felt the pressure wave at her back, but ignored it as she opened fire on a large shadow that her target recognition software (TRS) designated as a Merki female. The target was blasted back, and she wasn’t getting back up. Gina charged forward, leaping over the still twitching corpse. The roar of fighters overhead almost drowned out the sound of booted feet running beside her. The others were keeping pace.

  Cragg went to one knee, and Takeri covered him. He targeted an interceptor pursuing an Alliance fighter. Merki interceptors were fast and manoeuvrable fighters. No one wanted one chasing them. The Alliance ship was jinking and trying to shake its pursuer off, but it was stubborn. It wasn’t letting go. Cragg pressed the commit button on his rig, and the missile roared away to chase its prey. Ten seconds later, it detonated in the exhaust of the interceptor, and the ship spiralled down onto the taxiway. The explosion was intense, with a ball of fire climbing into the sky. An Alliance fighter flew through the fireball to launch its own missiles at an anti aircraft emplacement that had revealed itself on the roof of a building. It missed badly, and was hit on the starboard wing. It gamely clawed for altitude, but just as it appeared to be safe from danger, the pilot ejected, and his ship detonated in spectacular fashion.

  A flash of light to Gina’s right was the only warning she had. She threw herself flat, but she wasn’t the target. Gordon was. He was struck full in the chest and hurled onto his back.

  “Zack!” Cragg shouted and returned fire. The Merki trooper went down as Takeri added her own vengeance to his.

  “I’m okay,” Gordon mumbled. “I’m okay… am I okay?”

  Takeri checked him out. His armour was scarred, but not penetrated. “You’re okay. On your feet, soldier. We’ve got a job to do.” She pulled him up.

  Gina ducked as a Merki blaster tracked her and fired. She went to one knee, her display pulsed red, and she fired in the space of a single heartbeat. The trooper went down to stay. Ian Hiller stayed standing and fired at full auto as a squad of Merkiaari charged from one of the hangars. Together with Takeri, Gina added her weight to his fire. The troopers took a lot of punishment before they went down.

  Gina quickly reloaded and moved out again.

  The sky rained debris as more fighters howled overhead. An interceptor died here, an Alliance fighter there. Over it all, the battle chatter of Gina’s platoon sounded over her helmet comm and TacNet both. She ducked as a fighter skimmed the ground, and ploughed into the hangar wall. It exploded. The night was lit as bright as day for an instant, and then plunged back into darkness. The flyboys were taking heavy casualties from the batteries located on the roofs of the buildings. She had to knock them out fast.

  Engage light amplification mode.

  Gina carefully entered the terminal building’s ground floor as the fighters screamed overhead, and blasted their targets a second time for good measure. Anti-aircraft fire was suddenly cut in half, as a huge explosion announced the deployment of hornet missiles. Flyboys always did like overkill.

  Gina’s light amplification gave her world a monochrome cast. Her Marine helmet used to do the same, and it was somehow comforting to her. With her back against a convenient wall, she checked her sensors and waved First Squad down the right hand corridor. She added Second Squad as backup. Third squad came up and she deployed it to the left where her sensors reported the enemy moving this way.

  “Alpha Four-One, Alpha One,” Gina whispered, not wanting to be heard as she watched Rob Maxwell warily lead his squad passed her and down the left corridor.

  “Alpha Four-One, go,” Higgins whispered in reply.

  “John, you and yours with me up the ramp.”

  “Copy.”

  With her sensors probing ahead, Gina ran up the winding ramp. The natives didn’t use stairs. It had something to do with the way their legs worked. Halfway up, she braced her back into the corner created by a convenient alcove. She covered the next section of ramp, while Sergeant Higgins sent three units passed to sandwich her between the two halves of Fourth Squad. She moved up when Corporal Roberts waved all clear, and stepped onto the second floor. Her sensors insisted there was a large enemy force on this level somewhere ahead.

  She found them.

  Gina hit the deck and fired in one motion as a Merki squad charged her position. Fourth Squad opened up, and blew them into next year, but they didn’t have it all their own way. More fire came from the opposite direction. The corridor ran the entire length of the building, and the dead troopers were at the closer end. Sensors reported no live hostiles there, but in the other direction, there were more than enough to go around as the hail of slugs testified.

  Gina rolled to the side and pressed herself into the corner trying to make herself as small a target as possible. Slugs hammered the walls, and debris rained down on her. On the level below, she could hear first and second squads hammering the enemy, punctuated by the thuds of grenades. Thinking that a wonderful idea, she jacked the slide of her grenade launcher, and fired once then a second time for good measure.

  WHUMP! WHUMP!

  The explosions took out a large section of wall and flooring, but fire didn’t appear to be a problem. The attack was blunted but not stopped. Intermittent fire still came from the Merki troopers, but they couldn’t advance. They would have to find another route around the destroyed section, or chance leaping over it. Gina waited, willing them to try it; they would have to give up their cover, but they didn’t risk it. She watched her sensors as half of them pulled back heading for a corridor to bypass the damaged section.

  Gina waited until she was positive before giving her orders. “John, two units to clear the room on the left, another two on the right. The rest up the corridor to the next intersection. I want that branch in my hands ASAP. Move out.”

  “Copy that,” Higgins replied.

  According to sensors, Gina could work her way around the enemy on this level by using that branch, but they were obviously aware of it. The force they had left behind laid down heavy fire, both slugs and plasma, which was ripping the building to pieces, but had so far failed to stop her people. She vowed it wouldn’t.

  The room on the left succumbed to a pair of grenades pitched underhanded through the door, but the one on the right caused Gina’s first serious casualty. Corporal Roberts threw a grenade into the room, only to have it appear back out of the door when it bounced off a Merki trooper’s chest. She yelled and sprang away.

  WHUMP!

  The explosion was close, and Chris went down. Gina killed the trooper herself, and barrelled into the room to blast everything in sight on full auto. The computers died under her fire, and the windows did also, but there weren’t any Merkiaari to receive her anger. She quickly went back to check on her friend.

  “How is she?” Gina said, not noticing in the heat of battle that Chris’ icon was blinking on and off on her sensors, indicating a unit down awaiting pickup.

  “Dead,” Higgins said coldly, and moved off to see to his squad.

  Dead! But she was a viper…

  Gina knelt to make certain, but there was no point in querying Chris’ wristcomp. The back of her head and neck had taken the brunt of the blast. Her head was almost severed. Gina stared sadly into her friend’s empty eyes for a long moment and then reached over to close them. She turned resolutely back to business.

  The intersection was in Gina’s hands in short order. She sent half of Fourth Squad, led by Higgins, to check the rooms while she held the Merkiaari bottled up.

  “Alpha One, Alpha Three-One,” Sergeant Maxwell said over the comm.

  “Alpha One. Go,” Gina replied.

  “Section secured. No casualties.”

  “Good. Move up and cover the third level. Do not, repeat do not move in without support.”<
br />
  “Copy, we’re moving.”

  Gina changed channels. “Alpha One-One, Alpha One, report.”

  “Alpha One-One,” Hiller replied. “Most of our section is clear, but I have stiff resistance from two squads holding some kind of control centre.”

  “A control centre?”

  “Looks like it. Lots of consols. I swear one of them looks like a fold space consol.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Yeah I know—”

  “Break, break,” the General interrupted. “The consol is a Merki comm station. Seize it or destroy it immediately. Top priority. No one is to get within reach of that consol.”

  “Understood—” Gina began to say but Hiller broke in.

  “Sorry, sir,” Hiller said. “I just killed the operator myself, but he was already doing something with it when we went in.”

  “Understood,” Burgton said grimly. “Blow the damn thing and every Merkiaari you find off the planet.”

  “Yes, sir,” Hiller said.

  “Understood, sir.” Gina went back to what she was doing. “Alpha Two-One, report status.”

  “Alpha Two-One. In support of First Squad, no casualties.”

  “Can First Squad finish up alone?”

  There was the barest hesitation as Wevers sought Hiller’s opinion. “Affirmative.”

  Gina nodded, expecting nothing less. “I want you to help Third Squad, Gwen. Clear the third level and check out the roof. As soon as you can, I want a fire team set up on the south side to cover the LZ.”

  “Copy that, moving now.”

  Satisfied that all was well, Gina advanced down her own corridor shooting everything that moved. She was hit in the chest, and was staggered, but her armour reacted instantly and wasn’t penetrated. She blasted the culprit with almost a full magazine. She dropped the spent one, slapped a fresh one into her rifle, and kicked a door open to empty it into the snarling faces of a pair of troopers attempting to break through the connecting wall. Farther along, she heard multiple explosions as grenades took out the last few troopers hiding in the second corridor, and that was followed by rapid fire from the second half of Fourth Squad just now completing their sweep. Her sensors detected movement; she spun to her right as a huge form slammed into her. She lost her rifle as a Merki male crushed her in a bear hug trying to break her back. She pushed back, and managed to free an arm.