The second airlock door hung loosely from the wall - somebody had already torn it down - and Myers and I quickly passed through it, anxious to maintain our offensive. My finger hovered over the trigger as I searched for my prey, but no targets appeared on my visor.
The chamber beyond was packed with electronic equipment, much of which appeared to be intact. The Guardsman I shot lay dead a few metres away, but the other man was out of sight. Another plastic airlock covered an opening to the far left corner, glowing with an eerie blue light that appeared to emanate from the chamber beyond it. There was nothing to our right that anyone could hide behind without us noticing, so I deduced that there was nowhere left for our foe to hide other than around the immediate corner.
My headset confirmed my suspicions, cutting out the background noise of the gun battle raging behind me and instead magnifying the distinctive sound of a man breathing slow, laboured breaths, desperately trying to remain quiet. For a second I imagined him trapped and hiding around the corner. No doubt he had made himself a small target, crouching into a ball and waiting for me to emerge. He knew he was going to die, he just wanted to take someone with him.
I crept as far into the entrance as I dared, pointing with a closed hand toward the second airlock. Myers obeyed the silent command, switching his aim to cover my back whilst I prepared to finish the job.
People don’t like using rifle cameras to hold weapons around corners whilst remaining in cover - not in holograms anyway. Some might say it’s cowardly, but those are the same people who tell you that there’s honour in modern war. I needed to kill the man hiding around the corner, and it didn’t matter how I did it.
I stood up, tall as I could, and then held my rifle high over my head. Then, aiming the weapon downward and to the right, I slowly moved it around the corner whilst watching the camera view through my visor.
Just as expected, the man was indeed crouched in the corner of the chamber, no more than a few metres away from me, aiming his rifle at chest height. It wouldn’t have made a difference even if he had been aiming at the point where my rifle emerged, because I didn’t wait until I could see into his eyes with my rifle camera, I fired the second I caught a glimpse of the first part of him, his shoulder. The Guardsman jerked as the dart struck him, and then I fired another two rounds into him for good measure, stepping around the corner before thrusting my bayonet into his chest to finish him off.
The next pair in my section, Weatherall and Griffiths, stormed past us, quickly sweeping through the chamber before taking up positions at the second airlock. The access tunnel screamed with magnets as the platoon continued to fend off an unseen enemy.
Satisfied that the chamber was clear, I moved back into the entrance just in time to see Two Section’s Delta fire team run further up the tunnel, firing wildly. Puppy was there, waiting to bring up the remainder of the section to continue our assault. The sergeant major was crouched beside him.
‘Room clear,’ I said. ‘Two enemy dead. One doorway.’
The sergeant major peered through the shredded airlock. ‘Good. Keep assaulting, but don’t over extend.’
Puppy and his fire team piled past me, hurrying toward the second airlock without need for any orders from me. They quickly exchanged positions with Weatherall and Griffiths, stacking up ready to assault.
I followed after them, stopping just behind them as they launched into the blue-lit chamber beyond.
I leant out and watched Puppy’s fire team sweep through the second chamber. Like the chamber my fire team had assaulted, it was packed with electronic equipment. In its centre was the source of the blue light, a large holographic map of the warren that slowly rotated.
Sensing that something was amiss, one of his men fired a burst of darts into a piece of machinery. Seconds later, a Guardsman emerged from behind it, only to be shot square in the chest before he could fire his own weapon. The man stumbled backward through the hologram, the movements of his arms causing icons to swirl and dance around him as the projector beneath him assumed he was trying to give it commands. He then collapsed beside the projector, legs kicking and hands scratching at the floor involuntarily.
‘Room clear,’ Puppy announced to me as he and his men reached the far end of the chamber. ‘One enemy dead. One doorway.’
‘Roger,’ I replied, and then turned back to my fire team. ‘Let’s go!’
I lead my team through to Puppy’s chamber, hurrying toward yet another connecting tunnel. The shot Guardsman continued to twitch as we passed him, green hologram icons still dancing around him almost mockingly.
As I approached the tunnel, I saw that it was no more than five metres long, opening up into yet another chamber filled with machinery. A quick check of my map confirmed that it was a similar size to the other chambers, with two connecting tunnels. Up until now there had been no need to worry about threats from more than one tunnel, so I was happy to assault again with the manpower at my disposal. I decided to re-evaluate our situation once I had cleared the third chamber.
We stacked up against the tunnel entrance. The second I was happy that we were all together, I squeezed Myers by the shoulder, launching us once again.
I braced myself as we exploded into the third chamber, expecting Guardsmen to emerge from the shadows as we spread out between the scattered equipment . . . but nothing happened. The chamber harboured none of the rogue guardsmen, and not a sound came from within the two darkened connecting tunnels.
Hope glimmered in the back of my mind as I considered the possibility that we had already killed what remained of their forces, but I quickly swept the thought away. Though this shady sub-group within the Presidential Guard were heavily indoctrinated, they were far from stupid. Trapped in the warren headquarters defending against a rapidly advancing enemy, they would more than likely fall back to create a gap between them and us. That way they could leave us to waste our time slowly clearing every tunnel and chamber whilst they consolidated their forces and formed a more robust defensive position.
I knew by my map that one of the two tunnels led to a storage chamber, whilst the other led to one of the larger chambers in the headquarters - most likely where the majority of the Guard communication equipment would have been housed. The tunnel was twenty metres long, with a prominent bend halfway along it that prevented us from being able to see all the way through it.
I gestured for Weatherall and Griffiths to cover the dead end tunnel just in case somebody was hiding in there, whilst Myers and I moved up to the second tunnel.
As we moved into position I considered my options, deciding whether it was wise to advance further. With the manpower at my disposal it was well within my capability to clear the dead end tunnel, but I risked separating my section from the platoon by continuously attacking again and again without any reserves plugging the gap behind me. I needed further direction from the sergeant major. Only he knew the layout of the entire battle.
I never had time to pass a message back to him, however. Just as I began to transmit, a grenade bounced around the bend in the tunnel, no further than five metres from my feet.
I swore, ducking around the corner just before the grenade detonated. A rush of hot smoke and burning phosphor blasted out from the tunnel, the force of the confined blast knocking me down to the ground.
Clutching my respirator to make sure I hadn’t broken the seal, I scrambled to my feet, hurrying away from the tunnel entrance. Somebody fired a long burst from within the smoking tunnel, the darts striking electronic equipment in showers of sparks.
‘They’re assaulting!’ Myers’ voice turned shrill as we ran away from the tunnel.
‘Rapid onto that entrance!’ I ordered, running to get clear of the enemy line of fire. ‘Rapid fire!’
My fire team withdrew, returning fire with wild sprays of darts as we sought the safety of Puppy’s chamber.
Another object flew through the tunnel in front of us, this time striking a piece of computer hardware within the chamber it
self.
I turned and bounded the last few metres to safety, managing to hurl myself through the tunnel just before the grenade detonated. More smoke blasted over me, instantly filling the warren and blinding my visor.
Several troopers cursed at once as I lay dazed on the floor, expecting my visor to flash with warning messages as my combats detected injuries across my body.
‘Grenade them!’ somebody shouted from within the inky black smoke. I recognised the voice, it was Puppy.
‘Get him out the way!’
Hands gripped my arms, dragging me clear of the entrance.
‘You OK, Andy?’ Puppy asked, his visor emerging through the smoke as he stooped over me.
Wildgoose tossed one of his grenades into the chamber, then threw another immediately after it exploded. The terrible noise caused the whole warren to shudder, and for a moment I wondered if the ceiling might collapse.
Puppy shook me. ‘You OK?’
The second grenade detonated with a mighty thump.
I returned to my senses. ‘Yeah. Just about . . .’ I stood up, seeing that my entire section was crowded around the entrance. Everybody had managed to get clear of the third chamber before the grenade had detonated, but now they all stood together, as if shocked by the sudden counterattack.
‘Griffiths!’ I shouted, as I spotted the Welsh trooper panting with his back against the wall. I gripped him by the daysack and propelled him toward the entrance.
He responded instantly by firing a long, sweeping burst into the smoke-filled chamber. I allowed him to continue firing for several seconds, his powerful mammoth gun screaming like a banshee as it sprayed the chamber with thousands of steel darts. Then, confident that nobody could have survived such an onslaught, I tapped his shoulder to tell him to stop.
Stunned silence fell over the warren. The smoke slowly cleared from the third chamber, revealing a scene of utter devastation. Our exchange of grenades and darts had torn through much of the electronic equipment, leaving little more than piles of smashed panels and wires.
For several moments there was total silence, and then a voice called out from somewhere within the chamber. ‘You are going to die down here, FEA!’
We all exchanged glances. This was the first time that our enemy had spoken, and he sounded close. I guessed that he was taking cover in one or both of the tunnels at the far end of the third chamber.
Myers lifted his head as he shouted back into the haze. ‘No FEA here, mate!’
There was a long pause before the voice spoke again. ‘Who are you?’
‘Union troopers!’ I answered.
A hail of darts whipped through the entrance in response, causing us all to duck back into cover.
‘Fucking belters!’ One of my men uttered.
‘Not fans of the Union, then,’ Myers said with weary sarcasm.
I realised that all of my section were still crowded around the entrance. Curiosity was getting the better of them, causing them to forget how easily a single grenade could wipe them all out.
‘Spread out!’ I hissed, waving them away. ‘Puppy, get your boys back into the first chamber. Brief the sergeant major.’
Puppy nodded. ‘Roger. Let’s move, lads!’
As they hurried away, I held my rifle around the corner of the entrance. ‘Fire in the hole!’ I said. With that, I fired a grenade from my underslung launcher. The grenade detonated with a flash of light, and more smoke poured out from the chamber beyond.
‘Shall I get my launcher out?’ Myers suggested.
I considered the option. Smart missiles were a surprisingly effective weapon underground, with the ability to navigate tight spaces with miraculous ease and a blast that could shatter a man’s visor and burn him to a crisp, but I wasn’t sure I wanted one detonating only ten metres away, with or without a wall of rock between us. Still, if the rogue Guardsmen tried to rush us, it would bring any offensive to an abrupt end.
‘Yeah, get it out,’ I said.
The young trooper dropped his daysack and quickly removed his launcher before preparing it to fire. It beeped back at him as he uttered an instruction to its computer.
‘What do you want?’ the voice demanded, returning my attention to the smouldering chamber.
I knew that the rogue Guardsmen were merely stalling us whilst they figured out what to do next, but two could play that game.
‘You have our platoon commander!’ I said. ‘We want him back!’
‘No,’ the voice returned, ‘there are none of your men here, trooper!’
‘We’d rather see for ourselves!’ Myers returned.
‘Fuck you!’ The tunnel roared with another spray of darts, as the Guardsmen fired blindly into the smoke.
‘Charming,’ a gruff voice said from behind us. I looked over my shoulder and saw that the sergeant major had arrived. Rusakov was with him, along with his signaller - the remains of the sergeant major’s original four-man team.
He gave me a small nod as he crouched against the chamber wall a few metres away.
‘What’s going on, Moralee?’
I explained the situation as quickly as I could, conscious that our enemy might attack again at any moment.
‘OK. Do you think you can assault?’
‘I could . . .’ I replied with uncertainty, ‘but I think they’ll simply retaliate. It’s a bottleneck. We’re just gonna end up throwing grenades at each other all day . . .’
‘Go away, Union troopers!’ the voice demanded, cutting me short.
‘The rest of the headquarters has been cleared,’ the sergeant major told me, ignoring the voice. ‘That leaves these few chambers as the last pocket of Guardsmen. They’ve obviously fallen back to the main command chamber to mount their last stand.’
‘They are trying to keep the FEA from regaining control of the warren communication network,’ Rusakov said in agreement. ‘The command chamber will be important to them for this reason.’
‘If the network even works,’ I said. ‘We’ve already smashed up most of their equipment getting this far.’
Myers snorted. ‘Yeah. I think it’s safe to say the communication network is already fucked.’
‘The network is just a series of optical cables and wireless transmitters.’ The sergeant major dismissed the young trooper’s comment with a wave of his hand. ‘It doesn’t need all of this equipment.’
‘Go!’ the voice repeated.
‘They’re getting agitated,’ the sergeant major observed.
Rusakov nodded. ‘They are frightened.’
The sergeant major looked down at his datapad, manipulating his map with his fingers as he sought an alternative approach to the Guard stronghold. I already knew that there wasn’t one, not using the tunnels that currently existed.
He glanced at Rusakov. ‘Do you think you can talk them down?’
The Guard NCO raised an eyebrow. ‘Talk them down?’
‘Convince them to surrender.’
Rusakov shook his head. ‘They will never surrender. They are afraid, but they will still fight to the death.’
‘Let’s give it a go. We have nothing to lose, and it will buy us time to find another way in.’
Rusakov cleared his throat, then raised his voice to speak to the Guardsmen in their own language. I listened whilst my headset translated his words back into English. ‘Listen to me, countrymen! The Union have beaten back the Militia. They control the surface, and they have returned to the warren to collect their officer. They are the only thing that stands between you and the Militia, so it would be wise for you to co-operate with them before they choose to leave.’
‘Why do you listen to the lies these Union troopers tell you, FEA?’ the voice demanded scornfully. ‘They are the enemy.’
‘I am not FEA!’ he returned. ‘I am a Guardsman!’
‘You are no Guardsman!’
Rusakov said nothing for several seconds, before suddenly bursting out into a song. All heads turned to stare at him in bemused surprise
as he sang, the words echoing through the warren tunnels. My headset failed to translate the words, unable to decipher the rhymed slang he was using, but I presumed it was some kind of traditional song that only a Guardsman would know.
Once Rusakov had finished, a surprised silence fell over the warren. Rusakov’s presence had caused the rogue Guardsmen to stop and think. I could almost hear their minds ticking - why was there a Guardsman amongst the Union troopers?
‘I am Corporal Rusakov, from Robot Guns Platoon,’ the Guard NCO said.
The voice became suspicious. ‘Support Company withdrew!’
‘I chose to fight,’ Rusakov replied. ‘I am not a coward, like you.’
‘We are not cowards!’ the voice shouted angrily.
‘You are cowards!’ he returned vehemently. ‘Traitorous cowards! You would hide in here when your comrades die around you?’
‘The FEA attacked us!’
‘They attacked you because you have cut off their communications!’
‘We have done no such thing!’
Something scraped on the floor somewhere ahead of us, just loud enough for my headset to detect. My heart jumped at the noise. It sounded like a boot scuffing against something.
Myers and I leant carefully outward, trying to catch a glimpse of our enemy through the parting smoke. One of the problems with having a headset to magnify sounds was that it could sometimes make things seem closer than they really were. I suspected that the sound was coming from the tunnel that led to the command chamber.
There was the sound of something striking the ground, and I instinctively moved back behind the wall.
‘Grenade!’ Myers shouted in warning, and we all ducked.
The Guard grenade detonated within the third chamber, rocking the ground beneath my feet, but instead of remaining hidden, I emerged instantly from my cover. I suspected the grenade had been thrown as a prelude to a possible attack.
I fired a string of darts into the smoke, and then fired my grenade launcher for good measure. We were wasting ammunition, but I knew that we needed to keep the Guard back whilst the sergeant major came up with his plan.
RECCE II (The Union Series Book 5) Page 4