Thieves' Guild Series (7 eBook Box Set): Military Science Fiction - Alien Invasion - Galactic War Novels

by C. G. Hatton

  NG took it. He could feel the weight of the axe as the Bhenykhn hefted it in its hand, feel the anticipation and barely constrained need to attack hammering through its veins.

  Ships thundered overhead, sweeping around and firing pods, pod after pod that thudded into the ground and opened with a hiss of released gas, more of the heavily-armoured figures stepping out, weapons up.

  They stood, motionless, then he heard the command, not understanding the words but picking up the meaning clear enough, and as one, the line began to move forward.

  He jerked as if waking, adrenaline rush pounding as if he’d just dropped out of a nightmare. He was staring at a map on the table, no memory of what he’d been looking at. A hand was resting on the back of his neck.

  “You’re burning up,” Martinez whispered.

  “They’re here.”

  He could feel Fiorrentino staring, steadfastly ignored the son of a bitch and reached out to LC and Duncan. ‘They’re organised in units, each controlled by a squad leader. Take out the SL and they have to regroup. They’re going to hit us on all five sides simultaneously but three of the five are holding actions to spread our defences; they’ll be concentrating their attack on the front gate and the north fence to get to the power matrix for the defence grid. Duncan take the gate, LC take the north side. I’m sending reinforcements. Don’t let the Bhenykhn get to the power plant or we’re screwed.’

  ‘You are screwed.’

  He waited for affirmatives, cut the link, then called Elliott and told him the same.

  Then he sat back. Waiting was always the hardest. Attacking was easier on the nerves. That was when you got to prowl and time the action to suit your every whim. Defending was tough. He’d learned that the hard way a long time ago and had decided to never put himself in that position again. And here he was.

  It sucked.

  Even more than he remembered.

  When they attacked, they hit hard. To plan. And that was the only thing that saved the hour. Every heavy weapon and mining bot, every defensive position they’d set up held, deflecting the assault and inflicting enough damage to give the Bhenykhn a cause to back off and reassess.

  NG looked up as Martinez placed a lit candle on the table. The emergency generators must have failed at some point.

  She pushed a plastic cup into his hand. “Tea. Sorry, I couldn’t find any sugar but it’s hot.”

  He took a sip and rubbed his eyes.

  The Bhenykhn had been expecting it to be a walkover and at each turn, he’d orchestrated a solid counter attack, throwing as much back at them and matching their superior firepower with sheer numbers. The aliens depended heavily on their personal energy shields and he’d used that, setting up crossfires that had worn them down faster than they could move forward.

  It wasn’t a strategy he could maintain. And the only thing in their favour now was that the Bhenykhn had no idea how little ammunition they had left in here.

  The flame danced. He hadn’t even realised it was dark. And sitting there at that table, in a pitch-black darkness broken only by a flickering orange glow, it was hard not to fall into the weird unreality of worlds that were colliding. He caught himself holding his breath, half expecting to look down at a chessboard and a goblet of steaming wine.

  Martinez sat next to him. “We can’t keep this up, can we?” She was frustrated. Not used to working like this, hiding away while the real action was raging outside. It wasn’t how they operated. They’d never shied away from the frontline to let others take the heat and it was damned hard to sit in this protective bubble and listen in as the reports on damage and losses came in.

  ‘She should try listening in as they die,’ Sebastian murmured.

  He didn’t know how to reply but the door opened and LC walked in with Hal Duncan, both of them breathing heavily and wet through. They were running themselves ragged. Luka was bleeding, blood streaming down his face from a cut across his cheek, Duncan chiding him for not wearing a helmet and verging on yelling at him for getting so damn close a damn Benny had sliced him with a machete.

  “It was worth it,” LC was arguing, dripping a chill mix of chemical rain and blood, holding something in his hand that he tossed forward as NG stood to meet them. “You need to see this.”

  He caught it.

  In the faint glow of the candle, it almost looked like a human heart. Part torn red flesh, part hard shell, it had spikes protruding from one side and a leathery cover on the other. It was pulsing, the energy in it fading slowly.

  “Oh god,” Martinez muttered.

  NG looked up. “Don’t tell me this is a heart.”

  LC almost choked, laughing and blotting his cheek with the back of his sleeve. “It was wearing it on its belt. Jesus, what do you think I am?”

  “The energy shield.”

  The kid shrugged. “I don’t know. I got all this too.” He pulled other stuff out of his pockets, piling it all on the table. He’d taken the strapping off his arm, the shoulder looking stiff but mobile. The snapped collarbone had healed a hell of a lot faster than NG had ever managed to heal a broken bone.

  Duncan walked past, tugging on LC’s belt pouches as he passed, not impressed that the kid hadn’t used much ammunition, and heading for the door to go find some more for himself.

  NG picked up a couple of the weird items. He couldn’t tell if the blood smeared on it all was alien or from LC. “We’ll get it to Elliott, see what he makes of it.” There were also a couple of tech guys from the Tangiers. Not that they had much time to make anything of it.

  ‘Indeed. Heads up, Nikolai, your little tea-break is about to end…’

  “Luka, go get cleaned up. I need you back out there.”

  LC didn’t move.

  He switched to direct thought, ‘Go.’

  There was something wrong, something uneasy in the way the kid was looking at him.

  ‘LC, we have incoming and I need you back out there.’

  ‘You don’t expect to get out of here.’

  NG turned away. ‘We have to stop them. That’s all that matters.’

  If the first wave had been like a steady strangling hold, squeezing in on all sides, the second was like a spear thrust. The Bhenykhn kept a solid perimeter surrounding the facility but attacked one point with such force it was almost overwhelming.

  Knowing what they were about to do wasn’t so much a saving advantage as a last ditch shift to throw enough in their way to deflect the blow.

  NG was stationed in the centre of it all, keeping an open line to Elliott, and relaying calm and controlled instructions in an almost pre-emptive feed to their joint forces via LC and Duncan, anticipating each move by the enemy, giving them an edge that was keeping them alive.

  Sebastian was giving him an extra perspective, looking deeper into the Bhenykhn’s immense network of communication and tapping directly into their plans. It was like choreographing a dance, moving pieces around the board, bringing units into play, but with a greater insight than he’d ever had before.

  Sebastian laughed. ‘You’re enjoying this. We should have worked together years ago. Imagine what we could have achieved together…’

  He was hardly enjoying it but there was an elegance to the flow of intel that was almost hypnotic.

  They drew the Bhenykhn into a trap, surrounded and cut off five squads of their heavy ground troops and detonated enough explosives to blow a hole in the ground that swallowed up half the ore processing plant.

  He let the dust settle then reached out. ‘LC? Duncan?’

  ‘All good,’ came back from the big ex-marine.

  ‘That was too good,’ Sebastian murmured.

  Possibly.

  He felt the shift in their communications, a distinct pause as they reassessed.

  Shit.

  ‘LC?’

  No reply.

  NG felt himself become the sudden and intense focus of attention.

  He looked up at Martinez. “I…”

  Sebastian
faltered and the barrier shattered. It was agonising. A burst of red, shot through with brilliant white forked lightning flashed behind his eyes. Every pain receptor in his brain sparked in an instant of total overload. It felt like he was held there, scream frozen in his throat, heart stopped in time. Then just as suddenly, he dropped, plummeting into darkness.

  Chapter 36

  She watched as he opened the new bottle and prepared the wine, following each movement, biting back the question that was on the tip of her tongue.

  “Ask it.”

  “Why did you not give Nikolai more intelligence on the Bhenykhn? You could have prepared him so much more.”

  The Man watched the powder react with a billowing of vapour, considered it for a moment, then added more. “I was intending to. Of course I was intending to. He…”

  He looked up. She wasn’t judging or condemning. That wasn’t her purpose. She was making him question so that he could proceed with more care.

  “Events occurred far faster than I anticipated. He was gone before I could give anything to him. Before that? He wouldn’t have listened. That’s the nature of these creatures. They need to experience to learn. And too often, that experience must be hard.”

  •

  Cool fingers were pressing against the pulse point in his neck.

  Raised voices filtered through the fog. Angry voices.

  NG could feel his heart pounding, each beat thudding in silent slow motion through his eardrums. Someone was holding his hand but he couldn’t move it as much as he tried. He tried to speak and open his eyes but nothing would work. And most disturbing, he couldn’t hear or feel Sebastian. The darkness beckoned and he sank back under.

  Every muscle was aching. Whispers of conversation drifted into his awareness as he lay there.

  “I can’t wake him up,” he heard Martinez say harshly. “Don’t you think I’ve tried?”

  He couldn’t move. Someone was trying to speak to him, mind to mind, but it sounded muted as if they were speaking through fog. There was another nudge, then grey. Then black.

  “Send reinforcements to that quad,” someone was saying, “and tell them they better make sure the Bennies can’t advance an inch.”

  He blinked open dry eyes that still felt like they were burning.

  ‘About time. Did you enjoy your little nap?’

  It was strangely comforting to hear Sebastian’s voice. ‘What happened?’

  ‘You managed to get their attention. It took me by surprise but I have it under control again. You can thank me later for saving your pathetic life. We have a real problem.’

  His senses swirled as Sebastian linked with the alien hive, sharing a snapshot glimpse into the state of their current battlespace intelligence, shifted priorities and a razor sharp focus that was chilling.

  ‘They know you now. Whatever you do, don’t get captured by these creatures, Nikolai.’

  ‘I don’t intend to.’

  He moved to sit, arms reaching instantly to help him.

  “How long was I out?”

  “Ten minutes.” Martinez pulled him to his feet, no ceremony of checking that he was alright. He wasn’t. She wasn’t. None of them were. He could feel the panic around them, hear the gunfire closing in. She propelled him towards the table. “We’ve lost the south wall and they have the power plant. We’ve lost contact with Elliott and the defence grid is down. We don’t know why they’re not sending in gunships.”

  ‘Because they want you alive…’

  “It doesn’t matter,” he muttered.

  “What?”

  “We’re losing. Get runners out. We need to get a new defensive line established.” He coughed, throat parched and shivers still running through his body. “We can’t hold here much longer but maybe we can distract them. Get me a team together.”

  Someone brought body armour, battlefield kit, weapons and ammunition, dumping it in a pile on the table. It was all wet and mud-spattered, blood spots in places. NG didn’t bother to wipe it.

  ‘Like old times…’

  Martinez was watching him as he strapped on armour, casually tying a neck guard in the way only Earth marines ever did, and bending to fasten a holster round his thigh.

  “You’ve done this before as well?” she asked.

  He nodded. She’d be horrified, and probably wouldn’t believe him anyway, if he told her the names of half the battles he’d seen first-hand from the frontline.

  She was curious, wondering what else she didn’t know about him. “Were you at Derren Bay?”

  “Nope, after my time. Did you know Hal Duncan was there?”

  She nodded. “So when…?”

  “A long…”

  She finished the sentence for him, “…time ago. NG, how old are you?”

  He picked a lightweight mobile infantry helmet from the pile, tore all the comms wiring out and jammed it onto his head.

  He looked at her as he tied the chinstrap. “A hundred and twenty four.”

  She couldn’t tell if he was joking but she smiled as something bizarre occurred to her. “You’re Andreyev,” she said.

  He dropped his eyes to the pile of weapons, couldn’t help the half smile and couldn’t admit it. It had been a hundred odd years ago. No one had ever got near his points total, not even LC. He’d wiped the slate clean when he’d taken over as head of operations, made all the field-ops start from scratch.

  She was torn between amazed and incredulous. “Does LC know?”

  He rummaged through the guns before looking up. “No, he doesn’t.” He grabbed a rifle, checked its mechanism and popped out the magazine, switching to direct thought as he went through the drill. ‘LC, get in here. Duncan, get ready to pull back. I’ve got people moving in to cover.’ The rifle had been well cared for. He slotted the mag back into place and slung the weapon over his back.

  He turned back to the table to pick up more ammunition and paused, unease prickling at the back of his neck. ‘LC?’

  The reply that came back was terse, strained. ‘NG, I’m trying. They’re doing something weird… oh shit.’

  ‘They’re trying to cut him off. They’ve connected him to you. Can you feel it?’

  He could feel that the rest of the kid’s fire team were dying around him.

  ‘LC, get out of there.’

  ‘Trying.’

  NG grabbed two extra magazines and headed for the door. ‘Duncan, close in on LC’s position. Both of you, listen to me – whatever you do, do not get taken alive.’ Martinez was right behind him, with the team they’d been assigned. He stopped and turned to her. “LC’s trapped. They know what we are.”

  “What who is?”

  “Angel, I probably should have told you this before. LC and Duncan. We can…” He didn’t know how to say it.

  She scowled. “Don’t you think I know? NG, I’m not fucking stupid.” She shoved him forward. “Let’s get out there.”

  “Don’t let them get anywhere near the three of us,” he muttered. “If any of us get caught, shoot us. Twice. In the head.”

  It was still dark outside and it was still raining. They moved out fast, tight formation, NG taking point. He could feel the battle raging around them, a taste of blood in the air mixing with the acrid chemical emissions spewing from the ragged ruins of pipelines overhead.

  He felt the hit as LC’s team leader bought it, the last one trying to protect him, felt the punch of void and the desperation as the kid backed off.

  NG ran flat out through the complex until he could sense he was close then he slowed, raised his rifle and moved in, combat ready stance, gauging angles and moving round on them as they moved in on LC.

  The kid was out in the open, completely exposed but he was hyperfocused, something NG had seen in him in the Maze but never in the field. LC and Hil always went out alone. NG had seen the aftermath before, the crash and burn, but he’d never shared this intensity in a real situation. LC had a rifle tucked into his left shoulder and was emptying a mag into on
e of four Bhenykhn around him. Each round sparked against its shield, flaring in the glow from the solitary floodlight that was struggling to illuminate the clearing.

  NG opened up on the same one.

  It spun, raising a massive rifle to aim at him but holding back.

  ‘Wrong target… the one with the grey cloak is in charge.’

  He didn’t stop firing but he glanced aside. There was no way to tell how close they were to taking out the shield and he had no idea if taking out the squad leader would affect the others. The Bhenykhn in the grey cloak was a good three or four inches taller than the others, hefting an axe in one hand and a knife in the other. It was staring at him through yellow eyes.

  ‘It knows you…’

  LC’s gun clicked dry. He tossed it aside and turned to run. One of the others flung out an arm and a weighted chain went spinning through the air. NG switched his aim and shot it off its trajectory as LC jumped, defying gravity to flip himself backwards to avoid it. He landed, pulled out a handgun and stood there shooting again.

  It was eerie to sense the change in the kid. LC had never killed anyone before and now his mind was cold and closed as he sent shot after shot aimed perfectly at its head.

  NG didn’t stop firing, hoping that its damn shield couldn’t take much more, yelling behind him for the others to stay in cover and moving round slowly as the other Bhenykhn started to circle, knife blades flashing in the glare of the floodlight. It didn’t take much to calculate that, even between all of them, they didn’t have enough ammunition to take down all four of these massive alien warriors.

  ‘Never mind the other four that are inbound, right now. Trust me, Nikolai, take out the squad leader.’

  Bullets started flying in from all directions as the others opened up.

  NG blinked rain from his eyelashes. He fired his last round, ejected the mag and reached for a new one, hardly a break in the stream of lead he was throwing out but enough to break the standoff.

  Knives flew.

  He staggered as one pierced his thigh, straight through the light Wintran armour, watching as LC took a hit that sent him to his knees.