Clad in Steel

by Kevin McLaughlin

  Without warning, laser fire tore through the air near the doorway. They’d left the main entrance to the engine room open and blocked off all the other portals, hoping to funnel their opponents through one approach. It seemed like it was working. Blasts of energy poured through the door, stabbing and then vanishing again. The Naga still working on defenses dove for cover.

  “Contact!” Owen said over the radio. Not that he thought it was truly necessary. There was no way to miss the frenzied attack.

  He crept up to the edge of the doorway and peeked out. Laser fire shot past his face, narrowly missing. Owen ducked back. That had been close, but they weren’t aiming for combatants. He’d spotted the Bugs. They were a good distance down the hall, and they were all firing weapons from their own armored suits. But they were targeting the fortifications.

  One of the spikes welded to the wall above Owen snapped off under the barrage, tumbling to the floor. More shattered or melted. Right in front of the doorway itself, the Naga had piled up deck plates and other debris to use for cover. Those were holding under the assault, but they were beginning to glow with heat. Soon they’d start melting, and their protection would be gone entirely.

  “With me!” Owen said. He reached his right arm out into the hall. It was a small target. With luck, he could get off a few shots and not lose the limb.

  Using the camera mounted in the arm, Owen sighted in on a Bug with the railgun mounted there. He squeezed off a single round. It blasted down the hall and tore the Bug in half. Then he pulled his arm back before they could target it. He wouldn’t be able to pull that trick off too many times. They’d be watching for his gun, next time. The railgun was a formidable weapon, but it took too damned long to charge for his taste.

  A small volley of short-range missiles tore down the hall. The shock wave from their detonation reverberated through the plates beneath Owen’s feet. He glanced at the person firing. It was Kowal. She’d darted out into the line of fire, lit off her rocket launcher, and then dropped behind the cover blocking the doorway. It was a bold move. Owen thought he saw at least one Bug laser score a hit on her Armor. But it looked like her gamble had paid off. The enemy laser fire dropped to a patter, then stopped altogether.

  As the barrier cooled off, Naga rushed forward with their rifles to take positions behind the cover it provided. They stood there, guns facing out, but nothing came at them.

  “They took out half our defenses without even breathing hard,” Roberts said. “What are they waiting for?”

  “I nailed one. Maybe they’re nervous,” Owen said.

  “My missiles had to have stung some, too,” Kowal said. “But they don’t seem like the type to back down from a fight.”

  She was right. All at once the Bugs opened up fire again, pulsing blasts of laser fire down the hall again. This time was different. Instead of aiming at the fortifications, they were trying to hit the Naga hiding behind them. The Naga returned fire, shooting as rapidly as their weapons were able.

  Owen stepped out into the line of fire. A laser sliced into the armor near his left shoulder, gouging at the steel there. Droplets of hot metal poured away, but the armor held. He returned fire, blazing away with the machine gun mounted in his left arm and saving the railgun shot. He needed to make those rounds count.

  The Bugs were no longer trying for a stand-off battle. This time they rushed forward while they fired. Naga rounds had taken down two of them, but the rest continued on. Owen targeted one with the railgun, shot, and missed. The round blasted a gaping hole in the passage wall instead, and the Bug kept coming.

  His machine gun fire raked them as they ran forward, coming along the floor, both walls, and the ceiling as well. The few spikes still mounted on the walls slowed them a little. That gave the defenders some time to land effective fire on the otherwise fast-moving targets. Then the Bugs were through the defenses and in among them.

  “There are a lot more than eight!” Owen said, blazing away with his gun. The Bugs were too close now for the railgun, but he had a blade mounted on that arm as well and used it to slash wildly at the attackers.

  They slashed back, each of their many legs a swordlike weapon capable of punching through a steel plate. Two of them surrounded Roberts’ Armor and sliced both his arms off, then the legs. He toppled helplessly to the floor. The Bugs both darted in for the kill.

  Owen rushed at them and impaled one with his blade. He brought his machine gun arm in close to the hole he’d just punched in its armor and fired a long burst into it. The Bug thrashed and died. Hernandez had grabbed the other and was wrestling with it. It looked like a scene out of manga — giant robot warrior in hand to hand combat with bug monster.

  Hernandez struggled to keep the Bug’s claws away from him, but there were just so many! He could defend effectively against a few, but the others sliced at his Armor, cutting chunks of it away. Hernandez toppled sideways, the Bug coming down on top of him.

  Then Owen was there. He stabbed his blade into the alien’s back. Then, using the knife like a handle, he ripped it off his friend. Owen torqued his Armor around with such force that the Bug sailed sideways and smacked into the nearest wall. Two Naga aimed their rifles at it and finished it with well-placed shots.

  “Hernandez, you OK?” Owen asked.

  There wasn’t any answer, and he didn’t have time to check on either of the fallen teammates. More Bugs poured through the gap into the engine room, threatening to overwhelm the defenders entirely. Owen found himself back to back with Kowal. She was screaming something incoherent, blasting away at the enemy.

  In contrast, Owen found himself strangely calm. In the past when he’d gotten into fights, it had been inspired by rage. The fury had governed his actions. But this wasn’t about his anger, so he felt strangely relaxed in comparison. He pivoted and fired, taking down one Bug, then swatted another back with his arm. Its claws dug into his railgun, and red lights on his control panel warned Owen that it was no longer operational.

  But he still had the machine gun, for the moment. His ammunition was running low. If the gun went dry, he would be left with just the blade to defend himself.

  Somehow that felt right. Owen wondered if this was how medieval knights felt, encased in armor and wielding swords against likewise armed foes. He was surrounded by a seething mass of Bugs. At least a dozen of them were in the engine room now, and the defense had broken up into a bunch of individual fights for survival.

  Owen spotted Garul, standing alone by the control panel for the engines. Bugs were closing in on the Naga warrior. “We need to help Garul. If they take him down, they can undo the overload!”

  “It’s too late. We can’t win,” Kowal said. “Blow the bomb, Mac.”

  Maybe she was right. The fight looked hopeless. If they couldn’t stop the Bugs one way, then the nuke he carried was the other. Owen’s hand went to the bomb’s control system, then he pulled it away.

  “Not giving up just yet,” Owen growled. He started off toward Garul, machine gun blazing away with the last of his ammunition, trying to force the Bugs back.

  “Dammit!” Kowal replied. But she followed him in.

  Twenty-Six

  Owen wasn’t quite sure how Garul had survived in the thick of things so long, but there he was. The Naga’s battle armor was scraped and scored, but he seemed to be enjoying the fight if the wicked, toothy smile he displayed was any indication. He stood with one foot planted on top of a dead Bug, blasting another with his rifle and still flashed a smile as Owen came up alongside him. “Good to see you!”

  “Might be better under other circumstances,” Owen replied. His machine gun spun to a stop, the cannister of ammunition empty. Owen raised the useless arm like it was a shield. It would stop a few attacks, anyway. His blade was his final weapon.

  “No, this is best,” Garul roared. “Warrior’s fate. Is fitting.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Owen replied. He thought it was a strange form of fate, though. He’d spent so long hating
the Naga, yet there he was fighting alongside them, defending them. It wasn’t how he expected to go out, that was for sure!

  Owen readied himself for the next attack. There were few other defenders left alive. Kowal found a spot next to Owen and Garul. A handful of other Naga had struggled over to make a stand with their captain as well. Against them were arrayed about twice their number of alien insects.

  The Bugs didn’t attack right away. Instead, they fanned out, encircling the last defenders. One tried to scuttle in at them along the ceiling, but Kowal blasted it down.

  “I’m low on ammo, not out, asshole,” Kowal said.

  Owen smiled. She’d probably keep on with the insults and sarcasm right up until she was killed. “Good fighting with you, Kowal.”

  “Ditto, now look sharp! Here they come,” she replied.

  The Bugs rushed them from all sides. Owen battered one away. Two Naga shot it as it sailed through the air. Another Bug sliced at him, but he blocked the attack with his right arm. The alien’s blade-legs cut the machine gun apart, sending chunks of it in all directions.

  Owen pivoted and stabbed it with his blade. It backed away, chittering with what he hoped was intense pain.

  Behind him, Kowal went down under a pile of three Bugs that swarmed her all at once. Owen whirled and stabbed one, while Garul shot another. Then they both had to back away. If Kowal was alive she was still trapped beneath the weight of the aliens, two of them still writhing.

  It was time. Owen didn’t want to give up, but there was no hope of winning this fight. He tapped the console and changed the countdown on his bomb, dropping it to two minutes and locking it with a six-digit code. Even if he died in the next few seconds, there was no way the Bugs would be able to disarm the nuke in time. He and the other defenders were all going to die, but they would take their enemies with them.

  That meant in theory that Owen could rest now, but something inside him didn’t want to give up. He would keep fighting until his last breath.

  “It’s set. Two minutes,” Owen said over his Armor’s speakers. Mostly for Garul’s benefit. The Naga captain still battled beside him.

  “I understand. You fight on?” Garul replied.

  “Damned right,” Owen said. He pushed forward, slashing into the Bugs. It didn’t matter if the enemy took the console, now. They could turn off the engine overload. It wouldn’t matter.

  Half the remaining Bugs gathered around the console, working on it. They were trying to shut down the overload. They had plenty of time, and Owen figured they’d probably succeed. But that meant he could get out of their circle and into more open space.

  There were still too damned many of them. The Bugs came in, a crushing mass, and his right arm finally gave way. It crashed to the deck, sliced clean off his body. Owen was still secure inside his cockpit, but that wouldn’t last. Another blow toppled his suit to the ground.

  Smoke filled his nose. Something was burning. He coughed and slapped the quick release for the harness holding him in place. Then Owen grabbed the Naga rifle Garul had handed him from where he’d racked it behind him in the Armor. Still coughing, he pressed the button to pop his canopy.

  A Bug was waiting just outside. It stabbed down, impaling his Armor. If Owen had still been inside, he would have died instantly. Instead, he was out of the Armor, almost directly under the Bug. He fired upward with the rifle. The shot tore through armored plates, blasting a hole in the Bug. It tottered and began falling.

  Owen dove sideways, turning the dive into a roll that almost but not quite brought him back to his feet. The alien crashed down onto his Armor behind him. He’d narrowly avoided being crushed.

  How much time left on the bomb? A minute, maybe? Not long.

  Bursts of light slammed through the air, the concussion knocking Owen back against the side of his Armor. The blasts struck one Bug after another, blowing them to pieces. Shrapnel flew, pinging against the walls. A shard struck Owen, slicing his shoulder open.

  At first, he wasn’t sure what he was seeing, but then a familiar voice came over the radio. “Second Squad, move in and sweep up the mess. Let’s finish them. First Squad, anyone left?”

  It was Mateo! Owen tried to speak, his voice a croaking sound. “Yes. Here. You came back?”

  “With reinforcements!” Mateo replied. He and Second Squad marched through the doorway into the engine room, mopping up the last Bugs.

  The bomb! Owen tried to clear his head enough to think straight. How much time was there left? It would blow any second!

  He scrabbled back toward his armor. The way in was blocked by a mass of Bug. Owen squirmed to get past it. It’s sharp legs sliced into him as he wriggled through, cutting long gashes along his skin, but he couldn’t stop. They were all counting on him. If he didn’t stop the explosion, everyone who’d just risked their lives to save him would die.

  The console was just there, so close he could almost touch it. Owen reached out. His fingers brushed it. He slid in further and cried out as the blades blocking his way bit deeper into his skin. But he could reach the datapad. He tapped in the code to disarm the bomb.

  They were safe. It was over.

  With that thought, Owen drifted away into unconsciousness.

  Twenty-Seven

  When he came to, Owen was surrounded by light. His vision blurred, forcing him to close his eyes again as a wave of dizziness swept over him. “Ow.”

  “You’re awake. Good. I get the others now.” The voice was familiar, but Owen’s head was too fuzzy to place it at first. Then he recognized the speaker. It was Garul.

  “Wait,” Owen said, opening his eyes the tiniest bit. “What happened?”

  Garul looked down at him. “You almost died. I use Naga tech to save you, but not made for Humans. Is imperfect. Was not sure would work.”

  “Ow,” Owen said again. Everything hurt. He felt pain from all over, especially his left leg. He looked down at the offending limb. It was wrapped with a clear plastic-looking dressing, but at least it was still there. The way it hurt, he hadn’t been sure for a moment.

  “The others?” Owen asked.

  “He’s awake!” Kowal cried, dashing in and thumping Owen on the shoulder.

  Owen gasped with pain and winced. “Hurting here!”

  “Aw, big baby. Next time don’t try to get so up close and personal with a dead Bug,” Kowal said. “Bug necrophilia? Really? Ew.”

  “It wasn’t...” Owen started to protest.

  “Uh huh. Sure. Keep telling yourself that,” Kowal replied.

  “She knows better. Close call on that bomb, there. The timer was down to twelve seconds,” Mateo said from the doorway. “You almost made me regret jumping the Lynx back to Earth and bringing you reinforcements.”

  So that’s what had happened. Mateo had jumped home, grabbed another squad of Armor, and brought them back. He’d gotten there just in time. It was Second Squad’s withering fire that had demolished the last Bugs and won the day.

  Roberts and Mateo came in, walking side by side. Mateo looked fine, but Roberts had his left arm in a sling. Owen was glad to see him alive, but looked around and didn’t see their other teammate.

  “Hernandez?” Owen asked.

  Roberts shook his head.

  Damn, so many good people had died out there. Owen wondered if there was more he could have done. Some way he could have prevented some of those deaths.

  “Stop. Don’t do that,” Garul said.

  “Do what?” Owen asked.

  “I know the look you have. You wonder about past, second-guess self. Don’t. Commander always makes best decisions he can at the time. Learn from mistakes, don’t dwell on them,” Garul said.

  “He’s right, Mac,” Mateo said. “It’s hard, but it’s true. You did all you could out there.”

  “He certainly did,” General Hereford said.

  Owen looked up, surprised. He hadn’t seen the general enter the room. When had he arrived on the Naga ship? He assumed they were all still
on the Naga ship. The place looked alien, not like a Human hospital. Owen tried to rise and failed. Gasping, he lay back down.

  “At ease, man. You don’t need to come to attention when you’re wounded, damn it,” Hereford said.

  “Sorry, sir,” Owen replied.

  “For what?” Hereford said. He flashed a wolf’s grin. “You did damned well out there, son. That was a mess, and you all did outstanding for recruits. Armor is proving its value over and over, it seems.”

  Owen closed his eyes, seeing the faces of the dead again. But they hadn’t died without reason, at least. Their sacrifice hadn’t been for nothing. In the end, maybe that was the best thing a warrior could ask for.

  “Patient needs rest. All out,” Garul said.

  That was the last thing Owen remembered for a while.

  When Owen woke again, it was to the sound of two voices speaking with one another. They kept to a whisper, making it difficult for him to pick up what they were saying. He opened his eyes. The room lighting was dimmed. Hereford and Garul were both near his bedside, facing one another.

  Hereford looked over at Owen. “He’s awake, Garul. Ask him yourself. I’m not honestly sure what is best for him.”

  “Sir? What’s going on?” Owen asked.

  “Garul has something he’d like to ask you. I’ve already provisionally said yes, but the final call is up to you,” Hereford said. He took a step back and let Garul approach Owen’s bedside.

  “You fought well,” Garul told him. “A true warrior.”

  “Thanks,” Owen replied. “I don’t see how I could have done any differently, though.”

  The Naga made a sound in his throat that Owen realized was laughter. “Even among Naga, a true warrior spirit is something we value highly. To see such in mammals? Well, some of your people have already surprised us. They are legends now, the mammals-that-kill.”

  “On Earth, many mammals are predators,” Owen said.

  “On our world, the mammals are small prey,” Garul replied, holding his hands up to about the size of a mouse. “We never expected to see mammal warriors.”