The Last Charge of the 1st Legion (The Last Hero Trilogy Book 3)

by Nathaniel Danes

  Hottie, his CAL, broke his train of thought. “Major Silverberg has requested a status update.”

  He sighed. “Please inform the major, again, that we are in position and awaiting orders to attack.”

  The century was laying low, three kilometers from the extreme left flank of the line. The heavies and supers were even further back. He didn’t like that. His century would hit the enemy and engage unsupported for minutes until the real firepower arrived. He was a grunt, though, and would follow General Trent Maxwell’s orders to the gates of Hades itself. He prayed his old friend had another trick up his sleeve.

  Visor on max-zoom, he watched the line begin yet another withdrawal. It was time to attack. They needed to get moving now if they wanted to hit with maximum effect. The order didn’t come.

  He opened a channel with command. “Major, if we’re attacking, we gotta go.”

  “Patience, sergeant. We’ll attack in just one more minute.”

  “That’s too late, sir.”

  “You’ll see, sergeant. Just follow orders. The general has something planned.”

  He smiled. He always does. “Understood, looking forward to it.”

  ***

  Susan looked at her HUD to check on her squadron. “Dark Knights, keep formation! Tighten it up. We’ve only got a small window to hit.” At the end of the battle for space, she’d found herself in command of the last seven fighters on Earth’s Fist. Promotion by attrition wasn’t her idea of career advancement, but she stepped up.

  “Sorry, lieutenant.” Ensign Earl Rubio’s Avenger eased back in. “It ain’t easy flying this slow.”

  “I feel your pain, but this is only gonna work if we stick to the plan and hit ‘em together. We need to drop our ordnance right in the pickle barrel.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Looking beyond her fighters, she shook her head in disbelief. She was making an attack run with shuttles. Not only that, they were making a close ground support strafing run.

  The outrageous expense of transporting modern fighters in space and highly effective automated anti-air batteries meant aircraft were rarely used to support inexpensive ground troops. It was a cold-blooded calculation of war and economics.

  This was different, though. More than just the fate of a single legion was at stake. Earth and all of humanity were on the line. General Maxwell was going all in because there was no other choice.

  Her Avenger handled like a pig in atmosphere at slow speed. The damn boxy-shaped shuttle couldn’t keep up otherwise. They were hitting the enemy-lead element in a double-stacked V pattern. Forty-eight shuttles would make the run. Two were kept in reserve to ensure something would be left to extract the ground forces after victory.

  The small valley came into view. Background radiation kept her from getting detailed information. That wasn’t necessary, however. This was a good old-fashioned saturation bombardment.

  Valkyrie flashed a warning. “Ten seconds to target.”

  “Lock and load, people, here we go!”

  Low and slow, the motley air wing rained down hellfire. The Avengers sprayed two thousand rounds of ten-centimeter-long depleted uranium bolts at supersonic speeds. Direct impacts reduced enemy soldiers to atoms. Far more were killed when near-misses impacted the ground around them and for all intents and purposes exploded. Their lasers raked the surface, turning dozens more to ash.

  The shuttles soaked the valley with smaller-caliber projectiles that proved effective at mowing down lightly-armored infantry. Rockets swept the ground as well. There was nowhere to hide.

  Their victims weren’t helpless. Lasers and small missiles rose from the surface to exact a terrible toll.

  Susan floored the throttle and climbed. Speed and altitude offered life. The com channel filled with panicked voices. Each one that abruptly cut off signaled the demise of a comrade.

  A violent jolt shook her craft.

  “Damage report!” Not again!

  “Minor damage sustained from glancing laser strike.”

  “Will we make orbit?”

  “Yes. Non-critical systems were affected.”

  “Thank God.” She relaxed for a fraction of a second, then the weight of casualties came crashing down on her. Clouds surrounded her. She’d made it through another mission while many others had not.

  ***

  Gabriel was at a full sprint when air support harvested the valley. Soldiers all around cheered and pumped fists. Their exuberance died as craft began crashing to the surface. Small mushroom clouds dotted the valley ahead.

  The sacrifice wasn’t for naught. Only sporadic, ineffective fire from stunned and shellshocked troops met his century’s charge.

  “Don’t stop until we meet strong defensive fire,” he reminded his men.

  Light infantry soldiers flowed into the killing field like an army of executioners, gunning down countless enemies who could barely offer token resistance. The air strike had wiped out whole units and disintegrated any semblance of organization.

  It was a turkey shoot. It was almost murder.

  Gabriel put down several able-bodied soldiers too dazed and confused to even know he was there. Hottie kept highlighting targets and he worked his MRG with lightning reflexes to take them out.

  Near the end of the culling, he came upon a man with both legs blown off. The enemy combatant still held his rifle, however. In half a blink, Gabriel performed the moral calculus and fired a burst into his chest. The act left a sour taste in his mouth. This was a brutal, inhuman fight between humans.

  The air strike was devastating but failed to sweep the entire length of the enemy advance. Warnings flashed in his mind. Diving to the ground, he found cover in a foxhole dug out by Avenger KKC rounds.

  “This is as far as we go.” He sent command his position and popped over the edge to return fire.

  Out of nowhere, an enemy trooper plunged over the foxhole’s edge, tackling him to the ground and knocking the rifle from his hands. They both went for the weapon and their arms became entangled. It was an intimate battle of strength and Gabriel was shocked to learn he wasn’t the stronger.

  His opponent broke free of his grip with relative ease. How is that possible? Fear shot through him as hands were applied to his throat. He gagged and the vertebrae in his neck strained just before beginning to crack. Fruitlessly he tried to pry the steel fingers off.

  This is it.

  Suddenly the pressure was removed. The man over him was still for a second then fell over dead. Gabriel coughed violently.

  “Are you okay, sarge?”

  He nodded and waved for them to take position on the line. They couldn’t let the enemy get close.

  I hope we didn’t bite off more than we can chew.

  ***

  This was why Braun had joined the Super Heavies. Drivers considered themselves to be modern day tankers. Like their battlefield ancestors, they preferred to fight on the move. Firepower and mobility, that’s what made them so deadly.

  He felt invincible trotting across the open terrain. He couldn’t wait to meet the enemy.

  “There they are,” Private Tanya Lee was the first to call out. “Holy shit! They’re huge.”

  Ten Krakens stood tall atop the first hill on the enemy’s right flank. Their sixty total arms whipped around as three squads of enemy heavy infantry prepared to defend the high ground. The hunters had become the hunted.

  Lee picked up speed. “Let’s get ‘em!”

  The order came in. It was to be an all-out attack. A reinforced century of Super Heavies with hundreds of heavy infantry in support turned and accelerated for the hill. Thunder emanated from their feet, echoing down the valley.

  Taking evasive maneuvers, the horde avoided some of the fire, which was intense for such a small defending force. One super fell, then another. A dozen registered at least some damage.

  He was surprised to see the enemy’s version of Super Heavies utilize more than two arms. He’d heard that had been tried and failed as th
e brain-machine interface couldn’t reconcile more than two.

  Nevertheless, there were far more attackers. The hill erupted into flames as grenades, lasers, and KKC rounds impacted by the hundreds. He pushed straight ahead with the big boys while the swifter heavy infantry swarmed to encircle the objective, firing as they went.

  Opposing fire grew weaker.

  Midway up the slope, he paused and swept the ridge. “Hurry up!” He waved his squad forward.

  He could see the landscape flattening out when one of the final enemy shots clipped his shoulder. The KKC round ripped a chunk off the right side of his armor. Its force spun him like a top and he fell face first into the mud. That sense of invincibility evaporated.

  “Braun!” Lee rushed to him. She kneeled and covered him with a bristling barrage.

  Massive metal feet stomped past. Shock from the impact rattled every cell in his body. A deep soreness soaked in. He wanted to lay there and rest.

  “Get up!” Lee hammered his back with a fist.

  Rising onto all fours, he forced himself up and turned. “Is it over?”

  “We took the hill, if that’s what you mean. It’s far from over.”

  Orders flooded in. “Grab some cover on the other side and start pouring fire into their rear.” He turned to Lee. “We’re holding here at all costs.”

  ***

  Trent studied the 3D display with muted satisfaction. The air strike and immediate attack had cleared most of the valley and almost wiped out the enemy’s light infantry. There were a couple centuries’ worth of holdouts on the far right flank, but they could be isolated and wouldn’t play a further role in the battle.

  It was a painful victory. Just two fighters and five shuttles survived. Thankfully, Susan had been one of them. He felt guilty for valuing her life more than the others, but he couldn’t help it. He was only human.

  The armored charge had been the key to exploiting the initial success. Taking the hill denied the enemy an anchor to solidify their right flank. From the hilltop, they also caught several advancing units in the open and were able to hurl fire into much of the enemy position. The enemy had to retake the hill or endure a hurtful withdrawal under bombardment.

  He selected units on the display. “Send the Second, Fifth, and Seventh Cohorts to the breech. They’ll help hold the line or harass the enemy if they wimp out.”

  Amanda turned to him. “General, fleet reports they’ve picked up low-flying shuttles coming from the other side of the canyon.”

  Dammit! Had it been too much to ask that half their force would stay trapped over there?

  “How many?” He bit his lower lip.

  “Just three.”

  “Okay.” He drifted off. The shuttles wouldn’t risk bringing the reinforcements near their front lines. They likely only had a couple. That meant he had time until their weight could impact the battle. With the enemy’s light infantry virtually eliminated, he had superior numbers and mobility in the rough terrain. It was use it or lose it time.

  He jerked his head toward Amanda. “Tell DeWalt we’ll need that final nuke to fuzzy up their sensors soon. Once those cohorts are in place, we’re attacking downhill.”

  “Sir?” Captain Raj cocked his head.

  “You heard me, captain.” He put his hands on his hips and stood straight. “We need to take the field while we still can. Once those fresh troops arrive in force, it will only be a matter of time. Their armor doesn’t have much support. We can swarm ‘em under cover.” He punched a fist into his palm. “We’ll break through their line and get in close.”

  “DeWalt is on standby,” Amanda announced.

  He nodded. The end game was here. “Here’s how we’re gonna do this.”

  ***

  The warhead filled the sky with its raw power, as though it were the starting pistol for a desperate fight. Legionnaires charged down in such a mass that it seemed as if the hillside itself surged forward, clearing their path with brute force. Heavy infantry led the charge. Entangling themselves with their opposites, they opened a door for hundreds of fast lights to sprint through.

  Using the natural features of the landscape to their maximum advantage, the army of ants brought down giants by dividing into groups of twenty and stinging their targets until they died. Deeper and deeper into the rear they fanned out.

  “You ready for this, Lee?” Braun’s feet twitched and shifted.

  She expanded their link to squad wide. “It’s what I was born for. Ya’ll save some for me.”

  The major broke into the conversation, “Now!”

  Ninety Super Heavies cruised into the avenue paved with blood. In seconds they were slicing through hastily formed defensive lines. Focusing three at a time, they destroyed Kraken after Kraken. The mighty enemy machines were too few in any one place to stem the tide. It was a classic mistake, repeated throughout history. Armor is most effective when massed and can be picked apart piecemeal when not.

  Lee pointed. “Watch your nine!”

  Without looking, Braun swung his Slayer-equipped left arm around, blindly spraying KKC rounds. He cut down half a squad of heavies who walked right into his line of fire. He couldn’t enjoy the victory. Others took their place.

  The daring attack’s momentum built, grinding the opposition under its heels. The enemy readied to make a stand on a hilltop deeper in their territory. Reckless charges by the First, Sixth, and elements of the Third Cohorts surged across the valley to fall upon the thinned lines, slaughtering everyone.

  The field was theirs, but the battle wasn’t over. New orders flashed into the minds of every soldier at once. More like a mob than a professional military force, they headed north as fast as they could. They were exhausted but victory had re-energized them.

  Braun ran at the head of the final fourteen supers. They were outpaced by their quicker comrades.

  Fresh troops appeared ahead. Three, maybe four, centuries worth of light infantry. Their presence added vigor to the horde. This wasn’t a military operation of strategy versus strategy anymore. This was retribution by common soldiers against their tormentors. The running mob let out a sickening battle-cry and unleashed fury.

  Some fell from a burst of defensive fire, but the enemy kept coming and threw more shots back than they took. At first only a few defenders lost heart and ran, but the disease spread like wildfire. No weapon confronted the First Legion.

  Braun struggled to keep up. He’d fallen two hundred meters behind by the time the light infantry crested the recently-occupied high ground. Soldiers dropped to their bellies and knees to steady their aim as they poured death itself onto the fleeing enemy.

  Reaching the summit, he couldn’t believe his luck. Three shuttles sat on the ground. Frantic soldiers fought their own to board the craft. They must’ve rushed them while they were unloading. It was chaos and they were sitting ducks.

  He highlighted the juicy targets on the remaining supers’ HUDs. Extending both arms, he unloaded the last of his KKCs and grenades, then switched to lasers. Others came alongside. Shoulder to shoulder, the supers pounded the shuttles until they exploded. The blasts killed hundreds.

  If the nuclear flower was the starting gun, this was the whistle.

  Scattered remnants of the defeated centuries littered the perimeter of the blast radius. They would’ve been easy pickings. The fight had gone out of the legionnaires, though. Enough had died today. Surrenders were accepted.

  Adrenaline abandoned Braun, leaving him an empty husk. Linked into the machine, he actually had barely moved a muscle the entire battle. His mind felt raw, like an exposed nerve after too much stimulation.

  All he wanted to do now was sleep. Legionnaires rested whereever they could. A silence had draped itself across the field. A string of curses shattered the serenity.

  He was startled out of the twilight. “What?”

  “Get up and let’s move out,” a light infantry lieutenant ordered. There wasn’t any kind of unit organization left. Officers sought to tak
e command of whoever was closest.

  Lee shook her head. “Where the hell we goin’?”

  The lieutenant gestured with his arm to the north. “To the canyon’s edge. We’re going to shadow whatever forces they have there.

  “Ugggh.” Braun sighed and picked himself off the ground.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Coup

  The scientific and support staff sat in stunned silence before erupting simultaneously with questions. Words flooded York’s ears, but he couldn’t discern specific questions. They’d taken it better than he thought. He’d half expected them to lynch him on the spot. However, news that they were being manipulated by a secret organization bent on creating an all-powerful government and who also planned to steal their work and liquidate them went over relatively well.

  He extended his hands and patted down air. “Please, please. Not all at once. We mustn’t make too much noise. We don’t want to let them know we’re in here. They’ll get suspicious.”

  Natalie Woods stepped alongside him. Jamming two fingers in her mouth, she projected an ear-piercing whistle that froze the room. “Sit down.” She nodded at Smut. “Doctor, what’s your question?”

  Smut was well-respected, and the others accepted her asking the first question. No one sat down, though. Everyone was too worked up for that. She cleared her throat and pointed at York. “First things first. Who the hell are you?” She made a fist and popped out the thumb, jerking it toward the door. “And who the hell are those goons? For real.”

  York sucked in a breath. This was a delicate situation, but he felt great. Better then he’d felt in months. He had a mission, a goal, now. He was getting out of this hole. “My real name is Nathan York.” It wasn’t his birth name but would do. “I work, worked, for UES Internal Security. I’m a spy and it was my job to harvest this facility for every last drop of advanced alien tech. As for those goons, their job is to protect this place and ensure it doesn’t fall into the hands of anyone else.” He narrowed his eyes into slits. “By any means necessary.”

  Smut examined the faces of her colleagues who seemed willing to let her continue the line of questioning. “All of that is very troubling. Frankly, I want to string you up and leave you for dead.” The crowd murmured their agreement. “But you’re telling us this now for a reason. You need us for something. I think you’re scared. You’ve been acting strange for a while now.” Her eyes burned into him. She was collecting data; he could see her mind racing to analyze it.