Tomi couldn't believe it. He'd failed. It hit him hard as he stared at the blaring maintenance alert. He jumped when the crew started firing from inside of the crew compartment. It was unbelievably loud.
Waslinski screamed and thrashed.
"Where's her pain patch?" Puck said. He pushed Kallio away and dug through the med kit. "Where's the fucking pain patches?"
Kallio glared back at Puck.
"You! You dirty fucking addict!" Puck screamed. He slammed his fist into a storage bin right next to Kallio's head. "Look at her!"
"Shut up!" Mick yelled. He pushed Puck back. "We handed 'em all over to the aid station. Don't fucking blame her. Kallio, keep Waslinski stable. Everyone get ready!"
Tomi looked around the tank. The Kadan were advancing. They had realized that the tank was out of ammunition and the only point to worry about was the hatch. "They're coming close!"
"Fuck!" Mick said. "Everyone get ready! Hutch, help Vinovy, you two get Waslinski. Gous, leave that fucking box."
Gous turned away and clenched the case of credits tight.
Mick ripped it out of his arms and pitched it out the door. It sailed ten meters and then exploded onto the ground. A thousand plastic white credit chips flew into the air and disappeared into the mud.
"No!" Gous howled.
"Yes!" Mick said. He tore Gous's tablet away and threw it outside into the mud.
"Everyone ready?"
Kallio stood and slapped a fresh magazine in her rifle. "I'll stay."
"Bullshit," Mick said. "You ain't no fucking martyr."
Kallio turned away.
"Tomi, c'mon!" Mick called.
Tomi pushed himself out and grabbed his rifle. His hands shook, and he could barely check the action.
Hess and Wellington fired nonstop out of the open hatch. Rounds pinged and slammed into the edges of the door. Wellington fell back and yelped, shaking his hand.
Mueller grabbed a cargo backpack and loaded it with ammunition. He ran to the front of the tank and stuffed in what supplies he could.
Tomi knew if they didn't go now, then the Kadan would come in around the sides of the tank and toss in a grenade. It wouldn't take more than one or two. Then they were all dead.
Devastator fired again. The round cracked through the air like thunder.
"Go in three, two—"
Then the chain plate parted.
Gravity itself slammed back down into the ground at the center of the pillars. The rain that fell was almost a sheet of liquid. It was an epic roar.
Then the earth shook. The pillar that they'd fired at tipped slowly, and the very base tore free from bedrock. A cascade of mud and water lifted up like a tsunami that barreled all around. The pillar fell, almost impossibly slow.
When it landed, it crushed a waiting capsule without even pausing; it had gained enough velocity that it simply flattened it. The pillar pushed through every bit of mud and only stopped when it hit bedrock.
The gravity around the catapult went crazy. Around two of the pillars it spun sideways, and the mud and water washed away, with Emflife tanks and Kadan infantry mixed in.
At two other pillars, the gravity went right to zero. Supplies floated into the air amid globules of water that grew into massive spheres.
The crew of Bulldog was rooted to the tank with shock and fear. The sounds and roars and tremors were too much.
Mick couldn't be heard over the sound, so instead he pushed Hess and Wellington out. Everyone else rushed out past him. At the very end, he grabbed Kallio and tossed her out as well.
Tomi ran into the rain and snapped up his weapon. The first Kadan he saw, he fired at. Then the next. He was only vaguely aware of Gous shuffling at his side. The two trudged through the mud.
Rounds slammed around them. Wellington was hit, and he fell screaming. Kallio was on him, with Gous propping him up. Hutchins knelt down and poured fire from his heavy machine gun. The crew came into a circle, knelt down, and struggled to stay alive.
"Keep moving!" Mick yelled. But he too finally crouched down. It was too much. The sound. The tremors. The explosions. Bullets flew everywhere.
Tomi fired as best he could and remembered what a terrible shot he was.
A cool blast of air sheared the rain sideways. The clouds cleared above the center of the pillars. A shaft of sunlight blared down and cut across the single fallen pillar. A dot of a shadow grew larger on it.
Tomi looked up just in time to see the drop capsule slam into the earth. He saw the blast of light, and by the time his brain wondered where the sound was, the shock wave hit them.
It had been still rising through the atmosphere when the chain plate parted. They had managed to slow the rate of ascent just enough by weakening the chain plate. Then it fell straight down through a guided cone of negative gravity, right into the center of the pillars.
Shrapnel and debris rocketed through the air. Clouds of vaporized mud rose into the sky. Two seconds after impact, the seismic shock wave dropped the squad to the ground.
The gunfire completely stopped. Now the only sound was the roar from the pillars and the crashing of debris as they tumbled into the mud.
"Run!" Mick yelled.
The squad slogged through the mud. Running was impossible. All they could do was plow through the path of those before them. Hutchins was in the lead for a while, but then he dropped back as well and the others took turns.
The line of friendly armor was lost in the swirling winds. The air tasted of mud and smelled like burnt plastic.
Tomi trudged on. He kept a grip on Kallio with one hand and Gous with the other. He stared ahead into the torrent of rain and mud. Waslinski was still screaming; Hess had one arm, Puck the other.
"Almost!" Mick said. His voice was hoarse, his breathing labored.
A shape grew in the rain. They trudged toward it and found themselves at a tank named Devil Dog. The infantry ran out, met them, and helped them get into cover.
The clouds broke, and the rain fell in light sheets. Gone was the storm, the angry clouds, the torrent from the sky. The air was strangely quiet, just the memory of the wind.
Gunfire broke the stillness. Down the line an autocannon opened fire. A ragged line of Kadan troops fled from the devastation.
Tomi left Waslinski and Kallio with the medic from Devil Dog. He leaned against the tank and sighted down the barrel. But he couldn't bring himself to fire; the devastation was too much. It shook him to the core, and he started to weep.
"S'OK Tomi-boy, it's OK," Mick said.
The mass of steam and vaporized mud drifted away. In the distance was nothing but destruction. All of the Kadan positions were demolished. A wall of mud and debris rose up in the center, a crater from the impact of the capsule.
"Look at it," Tomi said. He stared out into the field of destruction. He saw Bulldog, alone and forlorn. He saw a line of tanks, some burning, others untouched. The exhaustion slammed into him, and all he wanted was to sleep.
The gunfire finally dropped off. Far in the distance, fires raged. A light wind rose up and blew away the last of the clouds. For the first time in a long time, the sun shined on Squire.
#
Chapter Forty-Two
In orbit around Kalivostok III, Kalivostok System
Rachel braced herself on a console. "Bill! We gotta go now!"
"The stardrive is still down!"
Umi watched the visual display and felt helpless. No, he thought, I am helpless. They had no more offensive capabilities, no defensive armor, no place to take cover, and no way to escape.
The spread of missiles soared out from the Vek starship.
"Everyone brace for impact!" Rachel called.
Umi wasn't sure how to properly brace for impact. So instead, he grabbed onto a chunk of conduit.
Raziz hammered on her console. "It's not enough!"
"What?" Rachel said.
"It's not enough to degrade the—"
Then the missiles struck. The first ones plu
nged right into the dead armor and detonated. The next wave exploded in space, detonated by the first wave. Had it been in atmosphere the shock wave would have punched through the hull, but in space only the kinetic energy blasted through.
Alarms raged on the displays. The very spine of the starship was failing. One quarter of the armor panels had been vaporized. Electrical wires, sensor banks, and life-support equipment burned.
The final wave bored right into the softest parts of the ship. Explosive shocks blasted through the central hall. People screamed out on the open comms. Calls for med kits sounded, followed by silence. The door to the bridge blinked a heat alarm.
Umi wanted to kick off and escape. But there was no escape. Instead he watched the Vek cruiser come closer. At that range, he could see the missile launchers tuck back into the hull to reload. It wasn't even maneuvering anymore.
He remembered home. The smells of Sigg Prime in the summer. The way the streets would fill up for markets and how the air smelled of bratwurst. He settled on bratwurst. If, somehow, he survived, his first meal back home would be bratwurst. It brought a smile to his face.
"They're going to fire again! Thirty seconds!" Raziz called.
Rachel jammed the AI cube back into its holder. Her eyes were filled with fear. The bridge crew all watched, but nothing happened. Then a second later, characters flashed on the display.
"No available options," Raziz said flatly.
Umi looked between the two. "That's it?"
Rachel didn't respond. The bridge crew was silent. Everyone sat at their stations, gently floating in the zero gravity and watching the display. They lacked any options.
Umi racked his brain, tried to think. But nothing came.
"Bill!" Rachel yelled.
"I'm sorry!" Bill said.
The missile launchers slid up and out of the Vek ship.
"Contact!" Raziz squealed.
Just on the far side of the Vek ship, a starship suddenly appeared. The hull was worn, torn, scorched, and completely bored through in places. Nothing about it looked terribly functional, and it was greatest thing Umi had ever seen.
A half-dozen fusion launchers prepared to fire on Rachel’s ship. The tips glowed a dull green, and electricity crackled down the length.
A comm channel opened. It was Koric. "Captain Umi Matsuo. We have debts."
The Vek starship engaged its stardrive, and it disappeared.
The bridge crew erupted in cheers. Rachel pumped her fist and rolled gently in the zero gravity. When the bridge crew finally quieted, another comms request came through.
"Cap?" Kelly Dell said. "You look like hell."
Rachel spoke. "Kelly? So nice of you to make it. Screen us while we go through damage control."
"Yah, about that," Kelly said. "We don't have any ammunition on this pig."
"Well then," Rachel said.
"You OK, Kelly?" Umi said. His shoulder throbbed and ached. It felt wet, and he was sure he'd torn some of the glue. But he had to get away from that robot; it just gave him the creeps. He glanced over, and it was repairing one of the consoles.
"Uh God," Kelly said. "We have one room with atmosphere. It stinks like piss. But I have to say that Dandelion did us right."
"Dandelion?" Rachel said.
"What? You got a problem with that?" Kelly said. "What name did you pick?"
"We didn't," Rachel replied.
"Well, that's your fucking problem. Bad luck to have no name," Kelly said.
"Hold orbit, then. We need to get a grip here."
"Okey-dokey," Kelly called.
Rachel soared across the bridge and leaned over a console. She tapped out a dozen keys. One by one she called out the names of the crew.
They called in with tired voices, excited voices. She ticked off each name as they went. Finally one name remained. Rachel looked up at Umi. "Check the hall."
Umi pushed himself off and bounced at the door. He tried to open it, but it was sealed. There was a low-power crank system, but he couldn't use it with only one hand. "I, uh, I need help."
Raziz pushed out from her console and cranked open the door.
When the door was cracked open, Umi knew the hull had been breached. On the other side, the walls were stained black with shrapnel floating down the length of the hall. There, in the center, floated a suit.
Umi pushed off the moment it was wide enough and glided in silence. He swatted away bits of scorched armor and torn metal. He'd seen it all before. But this time it felt different. They were soldiers before, legally bound to the Sigg military. Now, though, they were just mercenaries, his mercenaries. And this was his fault.
When he reached Vaughn he spun him around. The face mask was totally black. Shrapnel punctured the suit on one side. He still held his assault rifle.
Umi wasn't sure what to do, so he gently pushed him against the wall and lashed the body with an electrical cord. He rested next to his old friend with his eyes closed. Was it worth it?
They'd travelled halfway across human space and then back again. All to drag along a pair of priceless starships. Was that what he was now? Just a pawn being dragged from point to point? He thought on it and decided that he had always been a pawn, or maybe a rook or a knight. Moved from one point to the next. Except before it was for the Sigg, and lately for himself.
It didn't sit well with him to be part of a massive system of gears. At least with the Sigg, he knew what the gear was. Now, though, he wasn't sure what the big picture really was. His friend died for something, but he didn't know what that was.
"Cap," Vik said. He rested a gloved hand on Umi's suit.
Umi looked up through a cloud of tears. "Vik. We doing the right thing, Vik?"
Vik looked around him. He raised a single hand up and dropped it at his side. "If ya gotta ask, ya already know."
Umi tapped his arms and the suit ventilation system sucked the tears away. "Yah..."
Umi left Vaughn lying in the shadow of the stars.
They made their way to the bridge. Others filtered in shortly after. The excitement was gone. Everyone was quiet. Rachel floated from one console to the next. Bit by bit the main display came back to life.
"Bill?" Rachel said.
The bridge door opened, and Bill glided in. He latched onto a console and stared up at the main display. "It's ready. Or it should be. Well, maybe. I mean, as ready as it can get."
"Bill..." Rachel said.
The Opoolio threw up two of his legs, as if shrugging. "I can't work miracles here."
Rachel nodded and started working with the astrogation engineer.
Bill pushed off and landed next to Umi.
Umi switched to a private comms channel and waited for Bill to respond.
"I'm sorry about Vaughn."
"Thank you. I owe you one for shutting down that drive. I'm sure we made a difference on the ground." Umi had wanted to call down to the planet, but no one knew how to interface the ancient comm system to that of the Vasilov army.
"About that," Bill said. "I didn't actually do it on purpose."
"What?" Umi turned and looked at Bill. He wasn't sure if Bill was kidding or not. "Are you—"
"Yes. I'm serious."
Umi felt a pit in his stomach.
"Kelly?" Rachel said. "Can you make it to Sigg Prime?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely."
Vaughn tapped Umi on the shoulder. "Should we tell her?"
"No." Umi turned away and looked at the star chart. At least they were going home.
Bill laid one of his legs onto Umi's shoulder. He tapped twice and then moved away. "I have to get ready to jump."
Umi turned away and watched Rachel move from console to console. He decided he'd wait till they were on Sigg Prime to tell her he quit.
Rachel floated in the center of the bridge, just in front of the display. She raised up a hand and pointed at the navigation panel. "Engage stardrive."
Umi took one last look at Kalivostok and hoped it was all worth it.
Chapter Forty-Three
Planet Squire, Kalivostok System
It took the 19th ACR a week to trudge through the terrain that, just a day before, they'd crossed in hours. The rain had mostly stopped, but it didn't matter. The dust was gone, replaced by a sticky-slimy mud.
On the second day they came upon an Emflife tank. It was beyond stuck. It had slid down a ravine, and now a river washed over it. The turret was half buried. They gave it a wide berth and kept walking.
On the third day, Carco called. "Clarke, you've got troops headed your way to secure the Squire outgate."
Colonel Clarke squatted down. Commander Arap leaned on a crutch next to him. Around them troops marched like zombies. "Roger. See if they can bring some supplies. Do they plan on opening the roads?"
"Eventually. They've never had to deal with this much mud before. Normally we keep the roads clear."
"Understood," Colonel Clarke said.
"Clarke, Duke Kornilov is dead."
No big loss, he thought. He remembered Maki's conversation. A coup? He almost didn't want to ask. "Bombardment?"
"Yes, in the bombardment."
"What of General Makinen?" Colonel Clarke asked.
"He's assumed command." Carco's tone was flat. "Duke Kell has Duchal Charter."
"The hell is that?" Arap said.
"Clarke out," Colonel Clarke said.
Colonel Clarke stood and stretched. He nodded toward the rest of the troops and started trudging through the mud. "Duke Kornilov had no heir. So Duke Kell can press a claim."
"Doesn't sound too bad."
"No," Colonel Clarke said slowly. "But Kornilov's nobles are in an odd spot. If they don't swear fealty to Kell, then he can revoke the lands."
"And then they have a fancy title, and not much else."
Colonel Clarke nodded. "This hasn't happened in a very long time."
The men walked, and Colonel Clarke thought on it. He knew Kell was willing to step in, but it all seemed too convenient. But in this day and age, one simply didn't assassinate another duke. Things were stable. But now the death of one duke would destabilize the rest.
They slept in the mud that night and woke up stiff. In the dawn they could see for miles. The countryside was stark, brown, with hills and ravines rising up in the distance. It was impossible to take it in when the dust flew. Now everyone was too tired to see the beauty in it.
Steel Storm (Steel Legion Book 2) Page 26