“I’m here.”
Without stopping, Spartan took aim and fired. The onboard computer automatically activated the right shoulder weapon mount that contained a single XHEC-1, a High Energy Cannon prototype that looked much like an upscaled XC1 carbine. The first round blasted out, leaving a green trail and struck the group. Three Red Scars vanished in the blast of heat, and two staggered away with horrific burns.
“Yes!” Gun muttered.
Faster! Spartan thought.
Spartan waded into the group, swinging his fists left and right, butchering anybody coming in too close. Bodies crashed to the ground as they scattered at the sight of him. The enemy warrior with the huge harpoon weapon cleared the embankment, glanced at Spartan, and then took aim at Gun.
“No!” Spartan shouted.
He ducked to the right, smashed his fist into another soldier, and then jumped. It was a massive leap, and something he could never have done without the motor assistance of the Maverick armour. The metal lance rushed out and glanced off Spartan’s arm as he landed in front of his friend. He aimed with his arms and blasted more warriors, but the one with the harpoon launcher was gone.
More Red Scars clambered up the ridge to the top of the track, and Spartan fired one shot after another at point blank range. The XHEC-1 was incredibly powerful but had a slow rate of fire. With each shot it became hotter and hotter, sending partially burnt flesh and blood all over his armour. Spartan tagged every target he could find, from the scores of Reed Scars swarming up the embankment to the dozens of ground vehicles still coming their way.
“I need help this side!”
Four of the Grunts moved into position, forming a loose line with ten metres between each of them amongst the wreckage of the train. The smaller robotic warriors took aim with their standard issue L52 carbines, the weapon more commonly used in the Marine Corps. Though nothing as powerful as the weapons on the Maverick suit, they were still powerful and made short work of so many of the enemy soldiers. It was enough to keep the top clear for now, but did nothing to stop the overwhelming numbers still not yet in the fight. The robotic drones took multiple hits, but with no flesh inside them, they could fight until destroyed or disabled.
“How badly hurt are you?”
There was no response, and Spartan twisted around to check his friend, fearing the worse. Instead, he found an empty space. Gun was gone. Spartan swallowed uncomfortably and didn’t even notice as a rifle round struck his head. The armour sent out an alert, but luckily for him, the penetration only managed to open up a crack in the plating. The left shoulder mount had already tracked the aggressor and blasted away with thirty rounds. Spartan then saw Gun further back at the carriage, pulling at the crashed armour.
“You fool. Keep your head down.”
Rockets and projectiles rained down from all directions, and the continuous plinking sound of rounds bouncing off the Maverick armour reminded Spartan that just one could end this fight. He stepped back three steps but continued firing on the enemy. Now that the Grunts could handle the embankment, he turned his fire on the vehicles. The smaller ones were quickly crippled, but the larger ones had stopped a short distance away to create an improvised laager.
We can’t hold this for much longer.
Behind this furious assault more warriors were spreading out, trying to flank the defenders on both sides. Overhead a trio of Spires Hornets strafed the train. Some of the shots hit Red Scars soldiers, but at least one of the Grunts took a direct hit to the torso. It triggered a series of small blasts and left it a burning hulk. Spartan’s left shoulder mount automatically tracked the aircraft and hammered them with short bursts of coilgun fire.
“I’m back,” said Gun in relief.
Spartan watched as somehow the insane creature had pulled the JAS armour from the wreckage and dragged it upright. He clambered into the unit, and the weapons activated almost immediately. Spartan nearly laughed when he saw the Gatling guns fitted to the arms.
“Just like old times, my friend.”
That was the moment Khan and Olik withdrew to the train. They moved back, one step at a time, never turning their back on the hundreds of Spires soldiers. Spartan hadn’t felt as comfortable and relaxed for many years.
In that single moment, all four of them were together.
“Watch out!” Khan said.
He ducked down as one of the Red Scars wheeled vehicles raced up the embankment and crashed into the side of the destroyed rail engine. One warrior leapt out and hit Spartan, sending both down the embankment.
Dozens of Red Scars leapt out, but these were different to those before. They wore extra heavy armour, with plating on their arms. In their hands each carried a two-handed weapon. It was a combination between a glaive and a thermal shotgun. A CD1 Grunt took a blast from two of them before they charged.
“Stop them!”
Gun and Khan rushed amongst them, swinging their arms with the inbuilt semi-circular blades cutting deeply into them. At the same time, they blazed away with their firearms. Olik slid down the dust gradient and grabbed the fallen Spartan and forced him to his feet.
“Fight, brother. It’s not over yet.”
More soldiers ran at them, and Spartan didn’t even bother aiming. One shot after another from the XHEC-1 made a cruel mess of any that came too close. At that moment, the Red Scars shifted tactics and brought in massed gunfire from the scores of vehicles scattering the open space near the train. Guns, rockets, and missile systems all sent their deadly ammunition into the fight.
“Alert, aircraft.”
Spartan looked up. Two Hornets were coming in for a strafing run. He tagged them, and the computer began calculating their vector. He ignored the computer and fired two shots in quick succession. Both were perfectly aligned and destroyed them in bright green explosions. The wreckage came down on those trying to climb the embankment, instantly killing five more warriors.
“Look, they are bringing more to the party. Are they insane?”
Spartan looked in the direction of Olik’s arm. Two more armoured vehicles slid to a halt, and more of the heavily armoured Red Scars warriors leapt out. Behind them came a small group of three large animals the size of an Earth elephant, but reptilian and hairy. They were dull red in colour, with a dark pattern, almost like tiger stripes. The heads were large, and their mouths filled with deadly looking teeth. Among them was a tall individual, resplendent in coloured armour and severed hands hanging about his neck. He carried firearms in each hand and rode a creature like some ancient noble.
“Yeah, looks like a commander to me. Either way, you’re not going to be leading for much longer.”
Spartan laughed and shook his head. He’d never seen such a majestic looking enemy before, or one that seemed quite so primitive. He activated his primary weapon, but it refused to respond. The thermal overloads warning activated again, and he cursed loudly. He switched to the arm-mounted L52 coilguns. They felt puny in comparison, but it was enough to hurt them still. The creatures howled, a painful, agonising scream, and then charged at them like fleshy battering rams. Olik yanked backwards, twisted about, and fell over. A whole pack of the Anicinàbe warhounds leapt from the train wreckage and atop of Olik. They were ferocious, and soon he was buried under them, yet still shooting and stabbing.
“Human!” hissed the commander.
Spartan stabbed at the creatures around Olik, but his friend was on his feet and fighting back. Other Red Scars warriors clambered up to join the battle with Khan, while Gun appeared briefly at the top still firing, before he vanished again behind a group of warriors. This left just Spartan alone to face the Red Scars commander and his entourage of mounted beasts, and right now, he relished that opportunity.
“Okay, alien, let’s do this.”
They circled Spartan, the beasts snarling and snapping at him. He expected a close quarter fight, but instead the whole group opened fire at close-range. Even the Maverick armour had a hard time, and one of his blades and
the XHEC-1 cannon was ripped from its mounting. His chest was hit four times before he could return fire. The L52 assault carbines did their work, and he blasted away at them while striding towards the enemy commander. The first charged hard into his flank, and he groaned under the impact. It was so powerful that even though he dug his feet firmly into the ground, he was still pushed back several metres.
“Enough!”
Bringing his right arm down, he swung upwards in a powerful uppercut that would have removed the head of any creature he’d met before. The impact hit with a crash, and the creature twisted off to his right. Seizing the opportunity, Spartan leapt ahead and took aim at the commander. He fired with both of the carbines on his arms, hitting the creature and rider with dozens of rounds. To Spartan’s surprise, the thing lifted up onto its hind legs and struck out at him with its strong limbs.
“What?”
He staggered back, as the thing in front attacked him like a boxer. The limbs struck as hard as siege hammers. To make matters worse, the rider leaned over and blasted his left shoulder with gunfire. He twisted to the right, putting the creature’s head between the two of them, and then took another blow to the centre torso.
Spartan took two steps back and activated the hammers in his arms. The bulging lumps of metal pushed out where his hands were, instantly changing the shape of his arms into what looked like a pair of heavy maces. The creature turned back to face him; the other two moved in on each side. All the riders were sporting powerful looking guns, and they were pointing at his head. Spartan swallowed and adjusted his stance.
Good times.
He braced himself for the blows, but instead came a long, monotonous tone. It was so loud the nearest creature looked to the side for a split second. Spartan didn’t bother checking what it was and charged forward at the beast, striking out wildly.
“Come on!”
He crashed into the thing and pushed it back three metres. This time he brought up one arm after another in a continuous series of blows. Each one groaned under the pressure of the impacts until finally the creature staggered and collapsed to one side. The rider leapt off, and the other two moved in to protect him. Spartan pointed at the hidden figure.
“You’re next!”
Again the horn blared, and Spartan used it as a signal for him to attack. This time the creatures were ready, and as he struck one, the other leapt at his flank, caught his arm in its mouth, and forced him down to one knee.
* * *
Kanjana took her eye off the forward view for just a second, but when she returned, it looked as though they would crash at any moment. Gunfire rose up around her from the forces on the ground, and the strikes sounded like the patter of light rain on the hull. She took aim at a column of four-wheeled vehicles and opened fire. The hull-mounted coilguns rattled away, sending a long burst into their thin armour. It was a short pass, but hitting back even once made her feel better.
“Right, time to get this baby on the ground.”
“Haywire, this is Arana, are you receiving me?”
Kanjana was silence for a second.
“I read you. What’s your status?”
There was a short crackle, followed by the serious tones of Arana.
“We can see you’re in trouble. Set your bird down at this location. We’ll take care of the rest.”
A loud whistling sound cut the signal.
“Damned jammers.”
She checked the navigation screen and tagged the location. It was near the rail track, but closer to the Caldos side of the tunnels.
Why does she want me to land there?
Her gut instinct was to move as far from the scene of battle, but Arana was a known source, and she had spent time with the Byotai. Even though she had doubts, she used the last remaining power cells and changed the landing vector for the dropship. No sooner had she lined up when another stabiliser failed.
“Okay, people, we’re going to hit. Time to get ready.”
She leaned to the right and slammed her open palm down on the cylinder access control. The mercenaries were disconnected from the system, and they climbed out of their cylinder and into the passenger area.
“Twenty seconds, get ready.”
The first two looked to her, nodded, and moved to the clamp units. At the same time, the heavily armed soldiers checked their weapons and gear. Their priority was the clamps as the dropship shook violently. One opened his visor and called out to her.
“Why not leave us in there? The Grunts need our control.”
Kanjana still had the narrow triple access hatch opened so they could see her. She pointed directly ahead.
“Because we are coming down near the fighting.”
She looked back and shouted.
“Be ready, or be dead!”
The dropship moved closer and closer to the ground until nothing but a few metres separated them from the rock and dirt. Just before they hit the ground, Kanjana hit the reverse thrusters for the last time. The massive boost dropped their airspeed. It made a difference, but it didn’t feel like it when they made contact. The dropship bounced three times before sliding hundreds of metres until eventually stopping.
“Everybody out, now!”
Kanjana jumped from her seat, activated her own visor to close, and pulled a pistol from the mount next to where she’d been sitting. Two of the mercenaries were already at the port hatch and hit the release. The small units blasted out, and they jumped into the warm atmosphere. Kanjana did the same and was followed by the other four. As she hit the ground, she saw for the first time quite how much damage the dropship had sustained in the descent. The entire hull was burnt and pockmarked with hundreds of bullet holes.
“She’s one tough bird,” said one of the mercenaries.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“Look,” said another.
They all turned away from the craft and to the direction of the battle. It was nearly a kilometre away, yet it seemed right next to them. Smoke blotted out the skyline, and gunfire and explosions rippled along the low ridge. Kanjana was the last of them to see the four Hornets coming toward them. One of the mercenaries grabbed her and threw her down behind a low line of rocks.
“We’ve got company.”
The aircraft came in low and dropped off their three squads of Spires soldiers who opened fire immediately. The fourth came in low but then exploded in a bright yellow flash.
“What the hell?”
The sound of gunfire was blotted out by the sound of engines and heavy machinery. Kanjana looked to her left as a six-wheeled heavy transport skidded to a halt. At the same time, a massive land train steamed past and continued on to the battle. A soldier jumped down from the transport and opened her visor.
“Arana?”
She smiled at the Helion.
“Ready to end this?”
The six mercenaries had already climbed aboard to join their leader, and Kanjana needed little further encouragement. She moved to the ladder attached to the side and pulled herself up. Inside was an odd group of old Byotai, all of which carried a mixture of weapons.
“Who are they?”
The oldest of the Byotai spoke, and Arana listened before explaining, only after her own circuits did the work for her. He wore a strangely quilted set of armour, and the rings on his limbs gleamed in the early morning sunlight.
“I am Kras, and we are the Caldos militia.”
A pair of massive horns fitted to the land train blared away. The noise was deafening, and each time it sounded, the Byotai cheered and shouted. She moved to the side of the vehicle and looked ahead to the scene of the battle. They were travelling thirty metres from the top of the rail line and parallel to the tracks. Other Byotai vehicles had spread out and were moving down both sides of the line.
“Incredible.”
Arana laughed.
“Yes, I never once thought I would be in a Byotai cavalry charge.”
Again the horns blared, and then everything
changed. The warriors aboard moved to the sides of the open-topped section and began firing. Kanjana looked out from the left and spotted squads of Red Scars soldiers scattering. A Byotai four-wheeled passenger vehicle crashed into one of the larger Red Scars vehicles. There was no explosion, and the Byotai were already spilling out and wading in to fight them with guns and improvised hand weapons.
“Use it,” said Arana.
Kanjana looked back at her and followed her eyes to the shape of a cylindrical weapon fitted to the side of the transport area. It was short, much like an ancient swivel gun and attached to a u-shaped mount.
“Got it.”
Kanjana swung the unit around and aimed at four Red Scars soldiers climbing over a fallen CD1 Grunt robot. A squeeze of the trigger released a blast of white smoke, and the target vanished in the cloud. She looked back at Arana.
“Gunpowder, really?”
Arana bent down and pulled out a Byotai hunting rifle. With a smooth movement, she threw it over.
“Keep it up.”
Kanjana returned to her shooting, and the other Byotai did the same. She took aim at any targets of opportunity, but it was already clear that both the Spires and the Red Scars were falling back. All that remained were their aircraft.
“What about them?”
Arana nodded toward the Byotai.
“Thanks to the General, they are not much of an issue.”
On cue, a flash of light was followed by a smoke trail as a pair of surface-to-air missiles launched from the land train. One exploded too far away, but the second hit the engine, and it spun away out of control. They were now in the thick of the fight, and just before they reached the burnt engine of the train the vehicle skidded to a halt.
Arana leapt down from the vehicle, Kanjana and a dozen Byotai hot on her heels. They clambered up the embankment and to what little remained of the train. Scores of bodies lay about, but two were slumped against the side of a carriage. Both were still firing away to the North. She ran as fast as she could, ignoring gunfire.
“Syala!”
Her sister turned around and took aim before spotting her twin. She lifted up to one leg, using her left arm to support her weight just as Arana reached her. There was no embrace though, as a dozen more Red Scars were moving amongst the wreckage. The Byotai ran past, and at least two fell from gunfire. Kanjana joined them, but she continued to look furtively for the others.
Lords of War (Star Crusades: Mercenaries, Book 1) Page 28