by Rob Howell
Four Forester dropships came over the ridge and the situation turned into a furball that Tiny Jim couldn’t keep track of. At the end, all of the Zuul dropships were smoking messes, along with two of the Foresters’. The other Forester dropships curved back to the south.
There was a momentary pause.
“Bravo Two to Bravo Actual.”
“Go ahead.”
“We’ve got movement on the base. Looks like the Zuul might be moving toward Alfa and Delta.”
“We can hope. We gotta cross that river, and I’d like to get my tiny ass drunk at the Lyon’s Den a few more times.”
He heard laughter on the channel. “Me too, Captain. Bravo Two out.”
* * * * *
Chapter 52 – Pvt. Rhan’Kiial’Tala
East Gate, Forward Base Maquon
Jeriasker Province, Maquon
“Delta 21…Go!”
Kiial launched his K-bomb and jumped through the trees, his 12.7mm machine gun pointed straight down his sector. He bounded down a steep hill, thanking McWhorter for all those trips up and down the Escarpment as he kept his balance.
A rocket flew past him as he charged out of the tree line.
He trained his 12.7mm machine gun on the movement and fired a three-round burst. He had no idea where the burst went.
Then he saw a pair of Zuul lining up on Ericson. This time he remembered his training and sent a pair of bursts through them, turning them into fine mist.
A rocket zinged off his shoulder, fortunately not the one with the machine gun. He jumped ahead, hoping 31 would take care of whoever it was.
Another brace of Zuul fired from around a rocky outcropping. His HEAT rounds carved half-meter holes in the local version of limestone but probably did nothing else. However, Ericson had advanced enough to get an angle, and his shots launched Zuul body parts into Kiial’s path.
“Delta 21a, veer right,” snapped Schmidt. “Delta 21b, veer left. Remember, we’re clearing a path.”
Kiial clicked in acknowledgement.
As the right hand member of 21a, he needed to hold long enough to allow the section to pivot. He was almost down the hill when a huge explosion behind him knocked him into the wall.
“Delta 21a, keep advancing. Get to your sector.”
He shook his head to clear it.
“Goddamnit, Kiial, move your fucking badger ass!”
“On it, Sarge!” He got to his spot and focused on his sector. He saw movement and fired at it, but had no idea what the movement was or where his bullets went.
“21, we’re getting to our corner. On my mark.” Schmidt paused. Then, “Go, go, go!”
She charged to the right, firing her 12.7mm and adding a few K-bombs.
Kiial followed her example and reached the wall where he could peek out to the right. First though, he looked left. “21b, you’re clear.”
Johnson ran across the street. Several Zuul popped out and fired at him but missed.
The only one Kiial could fire at without hitting Johnson was on the second floor. He traced a line across the window, and the Zuul disappeared. Wounded, dead, or hiding. Whatever works.
Schmidt had moved next to a building across the street from Kiial. Ericson was behind her, covering the gap between the buildings. 21b had done basically the same thing, facing the other way.
Kazinski suddenly fired at his head. Kiial flinched, but realized Kazinski had actually fired at the window above him. A small object fell beside him.
Kiial jumped without thinking.
The good news was he was far enough away the grenade’s concussion didn’t bother him. The bad news was that he had jumped into the middle of the street.
He dove back to cover. Two rockets zinged off the back of his CASPer.
Now that’s the most frightening experience in my life. Please, Mizar, let that be the last time I have to say that.
“What the fuck are you doing, Kiial?”
“Learning, Sarge.”
She laughed. “Right. Get your eyes back on your sector.”
Kiial clicked his comm.
Schmidt continued, “21, both teams. Advance to the end of your buildings and get the hell out of the way for 31 and 41.”
Clicks of acknowledgement answered, and Kiial moved ten meters up. Schmidt leapfrogged him. He advanced again.
He watched the windows above them.
He looked down the road.
He looked left.
He looked right.
When he saw a couple of Zuul pop their heads out, he was so keyed up he took a half-second to fire. He killed one, but the other one fired his launcher. The rocket zoomed right at him.
He dove, and it slid off the top of his CASPer.
“Kiial!”
“I’m okay, Sarge.” His sensors started flickering on and off. “Sensors aren’t working, though.”
“Mark One Eyeball.”
“That’s it, Sarge.”
With his sensors out, he decided to keep putting rounds down range. He kept firing, aiming his shots at the corner of the next building over. One every couple of breaths.
Ericson moved next to him and waited until Kiial had fired a shot. Then he jumped past the gap between buildings, his 12.7mm on full auto as he ran along the road.
“Kii—”
Suddenly things started moving slowly. Kiial watched a huge rocket creep across the road. It impacted Ericson’s CASPer. Pieces of his friend and his CASPer flew all around Kiial. He watched with idle interest as the Martian’s arm flipped over the wall.
He didn’t realize he had jumped over his buddy’s remains until he saw the heavy rocket team frantically trying to get back under cover. One turned toward him, and his doggie eyes widened.
Kiial’s HEAT rounds turned the team into blue stains on a heavily cratered wall.
He kept firing at the stains.
“Kiial! Move it!” shouted Schmidt. “Get past the corner!”
Kiial had no idea how much time passed, but Schmidt’s words finally registered, and he moved to a less exposed spot.
Then the rest of Delta Company advanced past him and down the road.
“Delta 21. Hold in place. We have gate security.”
While he stood there and watched the other sections pass, he took stock. Ericson’s CASPer wasn’t the only one in pieces. They never found out why Kazinski was an asshole, and they never would. 11 had taken some casualties as well. Sadly, Corporal Bag O’Dicks came through the skirmish unwounded. Given the destruction inside the motor pool and guardhouse, Kiial guessed 31 and 41 had lost their share as well, though he couldn’t see them.
All in all, it wasn’t Recruit Platoon Alfa-29’s best day.
But it wasn’t our worst. We took the objective. That’s what matters.
Right?
* * * * *
Chapter 53 – Kal’shin Tahnerif
Forward Base Maquon
Jeriasker Province, Maquon
“Rei’shin Akuwin, status of our air cover?”
“Looks to be at a standoff, sir. We outnumber them, but their dropships are quicker than ours. We’ve done no better than one for one in every dogfight. And they seem to have ten squads worth of handheld SAMs. They’re mediocre, but they’re everywhere.”
“I understand.”
“One thing we’ve noticed, though, is that they’re staying away from Jeriasker. Their dropships veer away as ours come back to base.”
“They are?”
“Yes, sir. They seem very conscientious about civilian casualties.” Akuwin hesitated. “Very concerned with fighting honorably.”
“Not the sort of unit who would kill their prisoners.”
“No, sir.”
Tahnerif’s shoulders slumped. “That’s good, but the Great Hunter will know my shame.”
“No, sir. The Great Hunter will know the shame of Kukuluki and Streetho.”
“That he will, and we’ll send their souls to his judgment.”
“After we win this
battle.”
“Exactly.” Tahnerif paused. “Concentrate our ships in full waves, make two passes, then send them back to the base to rearm. Keep doing that. Clear the sky for me.
“It’ll be cumbersome to fight with that many in the same sky.”
“For both sides, Akuwin. They can’t have much resupply. Engaging them will do the job. Tell your pilots to hunt as long as possible.”
“They won’t like that.”
“Tell them to howl at the Slyest Prey and do what I tell them.”
Akuwin guffawed. “As you command, Kal’shin.”
Tahnerif glanced at the tac display. “Rei’shin Qarsh, are you holding?”
“Yes, sir. We hit their lead elements hard. They’re trying to flank us, but we’ve got a hard boundary on one side. The Great Hunter will have many warriors to welcome, but the Slyest Prey will get nothing here.”
“Good. Do not, I repeat, do not let yourself get trapped. If you retreat, go to the west gate, the one nearest Jeriasker. We’ll have air cover for you there.”
“As you command,” growled Qarsh.
“Speaking of air cover, it’ll be flying over in large waves, which means long periods of no cover.”
“Akuwin—”
“Is doing as I instructed. I haven’t seen the Human dropships make any ground attack runs, have you?”
“No, Kal’shin.”
“I believe they’re using them as CAP because they don’t have that many and few supplies.”
Qarsh took a moment before replying. “Perhaps it’s as you say. But if you’ll pardon me, it looks like they’re preparing a fresh assault.”
“Go fight your fight, Rei’shin.”
Almost immediately, “Kal’shin!” came over his comm.
“What, Fahrissthan?”
“A group of Humans has penetrated the east gate.”
“Size?”
“At least a company.”
“Did they break out?”
“No, Kal’shin, our warriors have them contained.”
“But the terrain makes it hard for either side to push?”
“Yes, Kal’shin.”
“Rei’shin, there is no shame in respecting a foe’s ability to fight, even if you don’t respect their honor.”
Another pause. “If it weren’t for what they did to the Trackers, the Great Hunter might welcome them.”
Tahnerif blinked at the concession. “I’ll send a reserve company to help you push them back.”
“Good.”
“Strike hard, Rei’shin.”
“As you command!”
* * * * *
Chapter 54 – Lt (j.g.) Maxwell Jackson
Just South of Forward Base Maquon
Jeriasker Province, Maquon
Jackson crept from clump to clump. Moving through Maquon’s jungle was now second nature to him.
He saw movement ahead.
Just a tree in the wind.
He continued.
A small stream ran before him. Hill 296 was on the other side. He had approached from the base side of the hill, at the Zuul rear. Even so, he was close enough to hear Zuul rockets explode, answered by the chatter of 12.7mm HEAT rounds and the crump of the occasional K-bomb.
A huge flight of CAS and dropships skimmed over him, quickly disappearing from sight. A bunch of SAMs rose from the jungle. The CAS birds eluded them, firing rockets at the launch points.
Not my momma’s son’s fight.
He watched carefully for a long moment. He saw no movement except the wind. He decided on his next destination and ran.
Next to the flimsy shelter of a tree, he caught his breath.
It ain’t nothing but walking to school, Max. Just staying alive.
The noise on the other side of the hill increased. Not aircraft, but Forester HEAT and Zuul rockets.
Making a charge? Better stay out of their line of fire.
He skirted to the west. If he remembered correctly, there was a large drop-off that would make that flank a less likely target for a Foresters’ attack.
He sensed something to his left and froze. Four Zuul came into view, facing away from him. They set up a large rocket launcher.
Memories of the blond Forester filled his mind.
Keep cool, man. Four of them. They’re thirty meters away. Gotta get closer to make the shots count.
He crept forward to a better firing position.
Twenty meters. Best I can do, I think. One shot each. Center of mass. Then three-round bursts to clean up the survivors.
He leaned into a tree for stability, let out a breath and fired.
One dropped.
Again. A second one went down and the others turned.
Again. Winged a third one.
The fourth fired wildly in his direction, not quite sure where the shots came from.
Maxwell put a bullet up his snout, and blue blood sprayed over the rocket launcher.
He was tempted to finish them off, but decided to move.
It was good that he did, as another four Zuul arrived in less than a minute. By then he was fifty meters away, uphill by about twenty, trying to catch his breath.
The Zuul looked confused, but they mostly turned back toward the Foresters main angle of attack.
Let them be confused.
Jackson continued to the west. He came to a trail recently trampled by many paws.
To cross or not? Cross. Only three meters, and the sight lines are short.
He double-checked, then jumped across. In his haste, he landed on a root and twisted his ankle. Fortunately, he fell into a clump of underbrush, still holding his GP-90.
Damn, shoulda brought the first aid kit.
He pulled himself up with the help of a tree. He looked around and found a small niche in the stone to crawl into. He pulled himself inside and looked back toward the path. He could still sort of see it through the foliage.
I’m on the Zuul axis of retreat. Edmonds needs to know that.
Jackson pulled out the phone and activated it. It took five seconds for the phone to boot up and connect to Blaine’s comm pathway.
“Jackson to Sunray Actual.”
“Sunray Actual to Jackson. Where are you? Steele told me you disobeyed my order and decided to be a hero.”
“Won’t happen again, sir.”
“Sitrep?”
“Sitting in a little niche overlooking the path the Zuul used to get on this hill.”
“Where are you relative to the base?”
“Not quite directly between it and the hill on the northwestern side. I think I’m close to the drop-off, but I can’t be sure.”
Edmonds paused. “I see the path on the topo map. Does it curve a couple of times from the stream at the bottom? First to the right, then left from the bottom of the hill?”
Jackson looked. “Yes, sir.”
“Okay. Got it. Stay there. Do not, I repeat, do not leave your hole, or I’ll chase you down in whatever hell you end up in and kill you again. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now stay the fuck alive. Cherry el-tees! Edmonds out.”
* * * * *
Chapter 55 – Capt. Jim Helman
River Docks, Forward Base Maquon
Jeriasker Province, Maquon
“Sunray Actual to Bravo Actual. Commence assault. I repeat, commence assault.”
“Bravo Actual to Sunray Actual. Commencing assault.” Helman switched his comm. “Up and at ’em lads. I’m tired of Alfa having all the fun. Sapper units commence assault on my mark.” A pause. “Mark!”
Most of the assault positions were within one hundred meters of the river. Even though they stuck to cover, the sappers were able to slide into the river within thirty seconds.
“Sappers to Bravo Actual. River clear.”
“Confirmed. All Bravo units. Attack!”
The sections with M-8s fired at the vehicles carrying quad-mounted MACs. Those vehicles had less armor than the Mk 6 CASPers, but the M-8s ha
d light warheads. It took at least two direct hits on each MAC to disable them. Fortunately, the sections had a lot of launchers. All three of the vehicles in sight disappeared in a cloud of M-8s. When the smoke cleared, they were all in various states of destruction.
The quicker teams fired at the SAM launchers they could see. They disappeared, along with the tops of the buildings they were on.
All of Bravo’s CASPers had entered the river. The swim across was surreal, with the remains of mines and two shuttles here and there and the shadows of M-8s across the water.
Then they were climbing up. This was the hardest part, and they had to do it by fire team, first boosting one up to provide cover, then another who helped the last two up.
At first it looked like they had gotten across cleanly, but then two companies of Zuul opened fire and launched two heavy rockets.
That Zuul commander’s on the ball.
The heavy rockets flew at the M-8 firing positions.
Sure hope those missile teams moved.
Everywhere he looked there were Zuul. Fire, move. Fire, move. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The veterans of Bravo Company, fortunately, didn’t need him to do much else. It was a target-rich environment where the CASPer Mk 6s gave the Foresters a huge advantage.
However, they were caught in the open on the docks and shuttle landing pad and there were lots of Zuul rockets.
A rocket skittered past Helman, and he fired instinctively. A Zuul died, but his buddy killed one of Bravo’s men.
Tiny Jim blasted him, then an entire Zuul fire team.
Just killing aliens to get paid.
* * * * *
Chapter 56 – Kal’shin Tahnerif
Forward Base Maquon
Near Jeriasker, Maquon
“Kal’shin! This is Mar’shin Biranthiss. Troops coming over the river. The remaining reserve companies are holding, but the fighting is hard.”
