The Price of Liberty (Empire Rising Book 4)

by D. J. Holmes

  For the five hours of sunlight left, they carefully made their way through the thick Haven forest. As usual Johnston had to make an effort to stop himself from staring at all the strange plants they came across. Though he had spent weeks trekking through the multicolored forest, there were always new things to see. While the large trees provided a think canopy that cut out most of the sunlight, nevertheless there was a multitude of colorful plants carpeting the forest floor. As the sun set they picked up the pace, gaining confidence from the cover of darkness. When Johnston reckoned they were no more than an hour away from the cave, movement caught his attention.

  He froze. Behind him Clare followed suit, having spent days traversing through the forest with the Major, she knew what his every movement meant.

  “A drone?” she whispered.

  Instead of answering, Johnston signaled with his hands for Clare to crouch. “Worse,” he said, once he too crouched. “Indian soldiers in combat armor, lots of them. They are heading straight for the cave.”

  “We have to warn them,” Clare said in alarm.

  Johnston was already ahead of her, he had his radio COM out and was fiddling with a couple of buttons. “It’s not working. The Indians must be using some kind of jamming.”

  “Shouldn’t Pennington have sentries in the forest?” Clare asked. “They should be able to warn everyone to flee.”

  Johnston didn’t answer, instead he ducked deeper into the underbush and signaled for Clare to do the same. Less than fifteen meters away a dark shape appeared, pushing the leaves and branches out of its way. Claire didn’t need Johnston to tell her what it was, an Indian soldier, but not just any soldier. The markings on his combat armor made it clear that he was from the elite Indian Ranger battalion which had landed on the planet with the latest reinforcements. Since their arrival, any resistance attacks that came up against the Rangers had suffered heavy casualties.

  It had taken Clare years of traversing the forests with her father for her to hone the skills that allowed her to run rings around the regular Indian army. The rangers had appeared right at home in the thick Haven forests from the first day they had landed. If they have rangers, then the sentries could be dead and Pennington wouldn’t even know about it, Clare thought.

  Johnston was of the same mind. As soon as the dark figure disappeared, he turned to Clare, “We need haste more than dignity tonight. We will be able to move quicker if I carry you.”

  “All right,” Clare agreed. “But no one needs to hear of this.”

  “Of course not,” Johnston said. “Just make sure you keep your hands to yourself.”

  Clare made to thump him but Johnston’s lightening quick reflexes allowed him to catch her wrist almost before it started to move. “There’s no time for that,” he said as he turned his back to her. “Jump on.”

  Promising herself that if they got out of this she would pay him back, Clare did as she was told. As soon as she locked her legs around Johnston’s midriff, he was off. Just like last time he had carried her through the forest, the trees, branches and thick leaves zipped by her face faster than she could make them out.

  He was taking a huge risk, going so fast they could easily run into an Indian ranger before they knew it. He must be worried, Clare thought. Deep in the pit of her stomach she felt a tight knot form. In the past, Clare would have let that knot of fear grow and cloud her thinking. Her friends were in danger. Despite her own concerns, she slowed her breathing and forced herself to stay calm. With every movement, she could feel Johnston’s enhanced body flex underneath her. She had seen him pull her and others out of tens of scrapes in the past. Consciously, she knew the resistance base was in trouble, but she trusted Johnston. He would see them through.

  Or he will die trying, a voice said to her. Immediately, she recognized it as the truth. All at once a new fear threatened to overwhelm her, they had just found their feelings for each other. She couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to him.

  It may, Clare said to the voice in her head to control her feelings. But at least we had a couple of days together. And one thing is for sure, if he dies, it will be because I am already dead from protecting his back.

  Unaware of the conflicting emotions swirling around just above him, Johnston’s mind was focused on the task at hand. Guilt drove him on, if he had returned to the base earlier, he might have foreseen the Indian attack. Now it was almost too late.

  When they reached the spot he was aiming for without running into any Indian scouts or rangers he said a silent prayer of thanks. They were no more than twenty meters away from the cave entrance. He let Clare down. “Wait here,” he said. “I’m going on ahead. I will signal if it is safe to follow.”

  “Ok,” Clare said. Almost before she finished replying, Johnston turned and moved into the forest.

  As soon as the cave entrance came into view Johnston swore. Slumped against the wall of the cave were two bloody figures. Both of them were resistance fighters he recognized. Peering up the dim tunnel that led further into the cave, he could just about make out three dark figures sneaking their way into the base looking for more sentries.

  Whipping out his nano-carbon knife, Johnston stalked up the tunnel. He moved as quickly as he could without making a noise, but, as he watched events unfold, he knew he wasn’t moving quickly enough. There was one final guard station cut into the cave wall. It was about forty meters down the cave from the entrance and thirty meters before the reinforced permasteel vault door that Pennington had put in place.

  As he watched, the three dark forms reached the guard station. Johnston heard a couple of grunts but that was the only sign that a struggle had broken out. Almost before it began, the three shapes reappeared and continued on down the cave. Now all the Indian rangers had to do was get to the permasteel door and take out the guards there. No doubt they would immediately destroy the door’s power generator to stop anyone from closing it. The entire Indian army would be charging down the cave’s entrance seconds after that.

  Their brief pause had allowed Johnston to make up nearly half the distance between him and his targets. Throwing caution to the wind, Johnston stooped and picked up a rock. He hurled it past the Indian soldiers so that it cracked off a wall in front of them. They froze. Johnston was already accelerating to his full speed and when they paused he leapt into the air to cover the last few meters. Some sound must have alerted the Indians for they were already turning when he came crashing into them.

  With lightning speed, he stabbed out with his knife. Its nano thin blade easily pierced his target’s armor and sunk deep into his heart. Without pausing to make sure the soldier was out of the fight, Johnston pushed himself off the falling man’s body and lashed out with his knife at the next soldier.

  As the knife cut through his armor and deep into his thigh the Indian let out a startled gasp. Johnston didn’t have time to follow up the attack though. An armored fist swung through the air for his head. Ducking, he jumped out of range of the last Indian soldier.

  Johnston’s attacker was the largest of the three and as Johnston backed up, he stepped forward. In an effort to lure him in, Johnston casually threw his knife back and forth between his hands. The Indian soldier let out a laugh and reached for something from his utility belt. A second later a large green blade ignited from the handle he was holding. A plasma lance. The Indian soldier obviously wanted to take him on in hand to hand combat.

  “You fool,” Johnston said as he flicked his wrist, sending his knife sailing through the air faster than either remaining Indian soldiers could see. With a crunch, it embedded itself in the throat of the soldier who was clutching his damaged thigh.

  For a split second the last Indian soldier turned his head to see what had happened to his friend. When he looked back, he found a plasma pistol aimed at him.

  “It looks like you brought a sword to a gun fight,” Johnston said.

  With a growl the Indian soldier tried to charge close enough to swing his weapon. Jo
hnston didn’t give him the opportunity. He jumped back whilst firing a torrent of plasma bolts. The Indian ranger swung the plasma lance back and forth in a vain attempt to block the plasma bolts like some mythical hero from a science fiction novel. His efforts were useless, and within seconds he was on the ground, a number of holes brunt through his armor and body.

  “Sound the alarm,” Johnston shouted down the cave tunnel. “The Indians have found the hideout. There is more than a battalion outside right now. Sound the alarm.”

  “Major?” a voice shouted. “Is that you?”

  “Yes,” Johnston replied. “Now sound the alarm.”

  “We have,” the voice shouted back. “As soon as we heard your scuffle. What now? Should we close the vault door?”

  “Not yet,” Johnston replied. “Give me a minute. If I’m not back shut it and get ready to hold off the Indians for as long as you can.”

  “Yes Sir,” a voice shouted in reply.

  Johnston sprinted back to the cave entrance. Lifting his hands to his mouth he did his best imitation of one of Clare’s whistles. Come on, come on, he thought.

  Relief flooded through him when he heard the beginning of another whistle. It quickly turned to concern when it continued into a tune he wasn’t familiar with. The rangers, he thought. They probably had scouts watching the cave entrance. They were waiting for the all clear to advance. They are using their own whistling system. Whatever jamming equipment they are using must be blocking their COM units.

  With growing apprehension, Johnston waited for Claire to appear. If there were Indian rangers out there, they may have already found her. Johnston was torn, if he went to look for her he would be putting the entire base in jeopardy. Slowly, he counted to thirty, if she didn’t appear he was going to go back and order the vault door closed, and then look for her.

  Just when he was about to hit thirty, someone broke from the clearing in the forest right in front of the cave. Johnston immediately recognized Clare. As soon as she appeared the ranger’s whistles began again. Whoever it was wanted to know what was going on. Johnston didn’t bother trying to whistle back something that they might accept. Instead, he lifted his plasma pistol and sent a flurry of bolts in the direction of the whistling as he jumped out of the cave’s entrance to grab Clare and pull her in.

  Almost as soon as he opened fire, plasma bolts erupted from the surrounding forest and descended on the cave. Johnston got Clare inside in the nick of time. Together they ran towards the vault door.

  “Sorry,” she said when she saw the look on his face. “One of those rangers walked right past where I was hiding, I had to wait for him to move.”

  “You’re here at least,” Johnston said. “Though I don’t know what is going to happen next. We are all stuck like rats in a barrel.”

  “Pennington will have a plan,” Clare said between gasps of air.

  “Let’s hope so,” Johnston said. Then, he shouted to the guards to begin shutting the vault door.

  Moments later the mechanical sounds of the vault door creaking closed started.

  With just seconds to spare, Johnston bundled Clare through and jumped passed the closing door himself. On the other side, he was greeted by ten Havenite resistance fighters armed with gauss cannons.

  “Fall back at least thirty meters,” Johnston ordered. “The Indians will try to blow the door open, you don’t want to be too close to it when they do.”

  “Should we blow the charges we have set around the cave entrance?” one of the soldiers asked.

  “Not yet,” Johnston answered. “Wait until they blow the vault door, that will be when the

  most soldiers will be trying to get into the cave. Hit them with the explosives then, it should buy us some more time.”

  “Aye Sir,” the soldier replied. “Will you be fighting with us?”

  “Yes,” Johnston answered. “But I have to see Councilwoman Pennington first, you will need to hold until I return. Can you do that?”

  “Hell yeah,” the fighters answered as one.

  Johnston saluted them and pulled Clare after him as he headed deeper into the cave. The view that greeted them as they walked into the main cavern was one of pandemonium. Women and children were running about, frantically trying to gather their belongings. Everyone who could hold a gun was being formed into groups by the more senior resistance fighters. The rest moving to the back of the cavern as fear gripped them.

  “There,” Clare said, she pointed to one side of the cavern.

  Johnston followed her arm and saw what she was pointing at. Pennington had set up a makeshift desk and was giving out orders to a group of fighters.

  “Come on,” Johnston said as he took Clare by the hand.

  All but one of his special forces marines were there and Lieutenant Moony already had them fully equipped in their battle suits and all the munitions they had left. Recognizing their commanding officer, they jumped to attention as he approached. When Pennington saw who was distracting her soldiers, relief washed across her face. She made to greet Johnston but Moony beat him to it.

  Breaking from his rigid stance he pulled Johnston into a hug. “It’s good to see you Major,” he shouted in Johnston’s ear, almost deafening him with his exuberance.

  “When you didn’t return from the ambush on the supply convoy we thought we had lost you along with Harte. Though I see you were maybe just taking a few days to relax and unwind,” Moony added with a grin as he eyed Johnston and Clare holding hands.

  “Harte is dead?” Johnston asked, Moony’s sarcasm already forgotten.

  “Yes,” Sergeant Briar answered, a look of guilt on his face. Harte had been partnered with Briar for the ambush.

  “How did it happen?” Johnston asked the Sergeant.

  “When that damned Indian tank fired on our positions it caught us off guard. Harte was out in the open. He was killed in the blast,” Briar explained.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to mourn his death with you all,” Johnston said.

  “Don’t worry about it Major,” Moony said. “We are just happy to have you back, we weren’t sure if we should be mourning you as well. Though knowing you as we all do, we had a sneaking suspicion you would show up sooner or later.”

  “That’s enough of a reunion,” Pennington broke in. “If any of us survive this we can get reacquainted later. It is good to see you Major, but do you have any intel that can help us?”

  Chapter 8 – Delaying Action

  Humanity has been forced to fight for its place in the galaxy. Those wars have seen thousands of battles rage across planetary surfaces. Of all the accounts I have read, none have seemed more terrifying than the battle for the Antarian cave planet of Orfus. Those marines spent days and weeks in total darkness, constantly coming under attack from those arachnids.

  -Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD

  10th July, 2467 AD, Haven.

  “We came across the Indians on our way back,” Johnston explained. “They have some sort of jamming equipment so we couldn’t use our COM units to warn you. They are already at the vault door. I stopped a trio of rangers from capturing it, but there are one, maybe two battalions of Indians behind them. We will be able to hold them off for a time, but their numbers will begin to tell pretty quickly. What are your plans so far?”

  “We are trying to organize the non-combatants and the children for evacuation,” Pennington explained. We currently have one small cave system that leads to the other side of the mountain range. We can get about four hundred people through it every half hour. I’ve already sent the first group of one hundred away, each group will have five armed escorts.”

  “How many people are in the cave?” Johnston asked. He had never bothered to ask before because the number was constantly fluctuating as new fighters and refugees came in every day.

  “Over three thousand,” Pennington answered.

  “We’ll never get them all out,” Johnson said, there was no way he could hold back the Indians for four hour
s.

  “I have men working on another option,” Pennington said.

  Before Johnston could ask her to elaborate a boom blasted into the cavern. Most of the lights mounted on the caverns walls flickered and went out and dust and small rocks fell from the ceiling. At the sound of the blast the commotion within the cavern died down as everyone threw themselves to the ground. As soon as it became clear no one was in immediate danger, chaos broke out as hysteria threatened to take over.

  Pennington forced herself to ignore what was going on around her. She had to trust her subordinates to take care of the people. “The vault door I presume?” she said to Johnston once she got back on her feet.

  “The charges that were set along the cave entrance would be my guess. The Indians wouldn’t need such a large explosion to blow open the vault door,” Johnston answered. “I ordered them blown once the Indians breached the vault door. It will hold them up for a few minutes while they clear the rubble. Hopefully we got a few of them in the blast as well. But they will be upon us soon enough. What is your other option?”