by Aer-ki Jyr
As he drifted over it in mid ‘air’ he glanced to his left, seeing the crack trace off a good 100 meters or more before it disappeared into the sand. What had made it he didn’t know, but given the dim light he couldn’t see the bottom and was glad that Star Force’s engineers had given the mongooses the jump ability. He’d figured it was more for urban settings and sidewalk lips, but it worked quite well for the Lunar cross country trek, vaulting him well over the gap and dropping him on all fours in the tracks of the others with him barely losing a mph as the Archons continued on silently across the desolate terrain.
“Target in sight,” Jason noted some time later.
Paul swung out of line slightly to get a better view and noticed four tiny bumps on the horizon…the tops of the Udaris domes. They were still several kilometers away, but Paul felt his body stiffen slightly. The enemy city was now in sight, and before long they’d be back in the thick of it again.
They’d had 3 days to rest, refuel, and regroup after the nasty fighting in the spaceports, and to a lesser effect in the auxiliary sites, some of which the Chinese had tried extra hard to hang onto. During that break they’d also had the chance to study the Chinese territorial zones and plan out their assault while Star Force reinforcements began to flow into the lease zones, replacing the personnel that had been killed and quickly repairing the damage the fighting had caused to the infrastructure.
With security maintaining a partial lockdown until the Chinese presence on the moon had been permanently dealt with, the trailblazers had relinquished their posts and moved on, transitioning to the sectors bordering the Chinese territorial zone, in which all 14 of their sectors resided. Other countries had split theirs up, spacing them around the planet as they tried to grab the most valuable regions in the first 10-year allotment, but the Chinese had preferred to carve out their own little niche of the moon, which ironically made containing them all the easier, now that Star Force had the advantage.
With no rail line connections to the outside, the only way the enemy had to assault Star Force’s holdings now was by dropship lift…which the orbital naval presence was not going to allow…or by surface attack, and while the Chinese maintained a large number of transport rovers, the distance to the nearest spaceport was too far for any reasonable assault, given that Star Force would see them coming hours in advance from orbit and could prepare accordingly.
How many troops they had left to oppose them with was a question mark at this point, but Paul didn’t figure that they would have held too many back, and those that they’d used in the attack didn’t deploy from here. The ones they’d been fighting had been surreptitiously delivered via civilian berths initially, followed up by ‘cargo’ containers reconfigured into troop transports for the final surge.
Their handiwork, along with personnel transfer records, had been captured along with the rest of the Chinese possessions within their former lease zones…all of which indicated that they believed they could launch a lightning fast strike and seize a significant portion, if not all, of Star Force’s sectors before their war fleet could respond, at which point they’d hold onto the surface of Luna at all costs and weather whatever orbital reprisals would ensue, figuring that in the long run so long as they held onto their foothold they would be able to maneuver or negotiate their way into a position of power, checking Star Force and elevating themselves into the preeminent space nation.
Based on the captured reports, as well as the initial debriefing of some of the English-speaking prisoners, the Chinese had not counted on Star Force’s rapid response to their invasion, nor had they known that the space corporation maintained an army of supersoldiers to supplement their naval fleet. They’d believed that the visible security forces were all that Star Force had available to oppose them with, meaning that the likelihood of the Chinese having a strong defense force waiting for them in the city ahead was unlikely, but without eyes on the inside Paul wasn’t sure what exactly to expect…which meant the trailblazers went in first and sized up the situation before calling in the newbs and Knights for backup.
As they continued to zip their way across the barren landscape the domes rose continually higher, until a myriad of smaller buildings manifested themselves around them, stretching out more than 3 kilometers in diameter.
“Looks bigger from down here,” Randy commented.
“Too much for us to secure on our own,” Megan added. “And we have no idea how many people they have in there. Even if they’re all unarmed we’re going to have a logistical mess securing the place.”
“That’s what we’re here for,” Jason reminded them. “Take it one step at a time. SAMs first. Entry second. Foothold third. Then we can pass the tedious work off to the newbs.”
Paul took a hand off the handlebars and adjusted his comm settings via a panel on his left wrist. “Emily, Sara…either of you copy?”
“Barely,” Sara responded, her voice scratchy. “Where are you?”
“We’re still several kilometers out, but we’re getting one hell of a view of the city.”
“Same here, but we’ve got that ridgeline in front of us so we can’t see anything yet. How’s it look?”
“Wide…and a lot of ground to cover.”
“Have you spotted the SAM yet?”
“No, we’re too far away. I think it’s hiding behind one of the outer buildings. What’s your ETA?”
“GPS says 23 minutes.”
“Good, looks like we’re going to beat you,” Paul said playfully.
“You don’t have this many rocks to dodge,” Sara argued. “Save me somebody to shoot.”
“No promises,” Paul said, readjusting to his team’s frequency. “Sara’s group is 23 minutes out. No word on Emily’s yet.”
“Are we in radio range yet?” Jason asked.
“Barely.”
“23 minutes huh?” Jason said, studying his own GPS. “We’re ahead of them.”
“Let’s keep it that way,” Randy prompted, closing up on Jason’s mongoose a bit, with the others following suit. Jason responded wordlessly, eeking another mph out of the gravely surface as they sped towards the mismatched construction of the Chinese city.
3
“Found it,” Jason announced as they closed within a kilometer of the city’s perimeter. “Far left.”
“I see it,” Randy confirmed as the SAM site became partially visible behind one of the buildings with the tip of the missile box extending above the low roof.
Jason eyeballed the nearest gap in the building cluster and steered their 5-man line of mongooses towards it. They crossed the open plain without incident, decelerating on the outskirts and pulling up short of a small rise where a submerged tunnel was buried connecting the two closest buildings.
Paul pulled up last and slid off the mongoose’s seat a few seconds after the others, disconnecting the tether running from his armor’s oxygen intake port to the tank attached to the back of the four wheeler. He pulled a much smaller version out of the cargo compartment and clicked it in place on the back of his neck, then retrieved his equipment pack along with his stinger rifle and joined the others as they hiked up and over the meter high dirt rise.
Randy and Jack had their rifles slung over their backs, attached to the frame on their equipment packs, as they each carried a rocket launcher in their hands. After a short jog across an open area, then two more hops over tunnel bumps, they arrived in a wide gap between buildings that gave the SAM launcher a decent field of fire.
Jack took a knee just past the last tunnel bump and aimed carefully, knowing that a miss would probably hit the buildings behind, depressurizing and killing those inside. Also, he had only one shot to work with. Randy had a backup shot, though today it wasn’t going be necessary. Jack’s rocket fired off true to its mark and soundlessly streaked a fiery line directly into the SAM’s missile box.
The tip penetrated briefly, then the whole assembly blew apart, enhanced by the missiles’ fuel loads’ secondary detonations. D
ebris from the pieces scattered everywhere, some of which arced up high enough to fall down on the surrounding buildings, but none appeared to break through the rooftops…at least not from Paul’s vantage point.
“Nice,” he commented.
“This way,” Jason said, wanting to get inside and back into atmosphere as soon as possible. He led his fellow Archons a short distance through the city until they reached one of the larger Star Force manufactured buildings that contained an exterior airlock.
Like all Star Force designs, the airlock had no actual lock on the outside, just a trigger mechanism that opened up the Chinese base to the invaders. Jack and Randy left their launchers outside, propped up against the side of the building, and pulled their rifles off their clasps, ready to get into the action again.
Megan went in first, carrying a personal shield and pistol, cycling through the small airlock by herself with the others waiting outside. Given the smaller confines of these modular habitats and their recent combat experience against the Chinese troops, they knew it was unlikely that they would have much opportunity to duck, dodge, or hide behind cover during this assault, meaning they would probably be walking into oncoming fire more than their armor alone could stand up to.
So for this mission Megan was the designated blocker, with the other four being the shooters. When the hiss of the incoming air sounded through her helmet’s external audio and the inside door ground open she stepped out into the face of...nothing, just a blank wall and a clear hallway.
Megan held position and a few moments later Jason cycled through the airlock and stepped out behind her, with both of them shifting positions to cover alternate directions, taking a few steps forward to make room for the others to come in behind them. As they waited, Jason pulled out a small, compact beacon from his pack and hit the activation button, sending the ‘all clear’ signal up to the dropships waiting in orbit.
Once all three teams signaled that their target SAMs had been destroyed the full assault would begin…until then it was up to them to cause whatever havoc they could. The room by room sweeps were going to have to wait for the others, given the size and complexity of the prefab labyrinth that the Chinese had put together.
When Paul finally came through Megan stood up and began to slowly walk down the hall towards the closed door at the end. She reached a hand around the side of her shield and pulled the slide lever on the wall that activated the powered door, which slid aside revealing a small lab filled with ore samples, chemistry equipment, and two scientists.
Megan walked in and stepped aside, letting Randy shoot both men unconscious. They fell slowly to the floor in the low gravity, knocking a few beakers aside in the process, but otherwise leaving the cluttered lab just as it was.
Jack and Jason came forward and bound the hands of each scientist behind his back, then the team moved on to the next room, which was an empty storage area, before eventually emerging into a slightly larger central hallway that connected to the underground tunnels heading out at all four compass points to the nearby buildings. The Archon team shot a few more scattered personnel on the way down to the small center square where they hung a right and ran across a few more, all unarmed.
The 2s dispatched them without trouble, but stopped restraining their targets after the first dozen or so, opting to keep on the move through the smaller prefab structures towards the center of the city before their presence was widely known so they could get to the more strategic positions with some measure of surprise still intact.
Without eyes on the inside, and only satellite reconnaissance to work with, they really didn’t know what they’d come up against inside the city. Where were the barracks? The security stations? Armories? Control centers? Security doors? Or was this entire base purely civilian in nature. Paul didn’t figure it would be the latter, but so far they hadn’t encountered a single armed enemy.
“Anyone else get the feeling that they didn’t expect we were coming...at all?” Randy asked over their helmet to helmet comm.
“I wouldn’t count on that just yet,” Jason cautioned. “Let’s see what they’ve got in those big domes.”
“I thought we were heading to the landing pads?” Paul asked, still bringing up the rear of their short formation.
“That depends on who’s closer,” Jason said, trying his comm again. “Emily, Sara? Are your teams in yet?”
“Not yet,” Sara answered, the static gone from her voice. “We’re just pulling up to the perimeter. I assume that explosion was your handiwork?”
“Nope, that was us,” Emily cut in. “We’re approaching the airlock now, be inside in three minutes. Any resistance?”
“Not yet,” Jason answered. “We’re trying to figure out who’s closer to the landing pads.”
In response to his question, a tracking marker lit up on his helmet’s internal display, set against the orbital snapshot of the base.
“Looks like you’re a hair closer,” Jason measured. “You guys secure the LZ while we check out those domes?”
“Deal,” Emily answered eagerly.
“Don’t leave us out of the party,” Sara interrupted.
“Just get that SAM down or there won’t be a party,” Jason reminded her.
“We’ll get it, then see if we can flush out some opposition and draw attention away from the pads.”
“Sounds good. Let us know if you find anything interesting.”
“Will do,” Sara echoed.
“See you in a bit,” Emily said, signing off.
Megan pulled open the door on a non Star Force module, tipping her head down slightly as she walked through the smaller opening and into a long barracks with thirty or so bunk beds and a scattering of half dressed personnel.
She immediately broke right and started firing with her pistol down the row at the people standing or sitting next to their bunks while Jason went left, taking the other aisle. Both of them walked forward quickly, but purposefully, splattering the conscious men and women with paint and returning them to sleep. One of a pair of women chatting quietly between two bunks screamed a warning and suddenly many more bodies manifested themselves from beneath blankets and began to spill into the walkways.
Jack closed up quickly behind Megan and tapped her on the shoulder twice. She responded by bolting down the aisle in a heavily forward leaning run, trying to gain as much traction as she could in the low gravity.
She bounced one man aside with her shield and shot another still sitting in his bunk, then pulled her gun arm in and just smashed through and over the others now littering the narrow walkway in a state of panic. Jack followed up behind her, shooting the people she knocked down and quickly cleared each of the bunks. Paul followed up behind them, making sure they didn’t miss any, and met up with the other four at the far end of the crowded building, stepping over a pile of unconscious Chinese to get to the door…none of which had been armed.
The five of them moved on into the short connecting tunnel and then the next module, working their way in towards the larger buildings, with one of the domes some seven structures away. They encountered a myriad of personnel, some of which seemed to already have been on alert, but they didn’t draw any fire until they crossed the connecting tunnel and opened the door that led into the first dome.
Megan took several hits against her shield and instinctively curled backwards around the corner while her teammates disappeared against the walls and out of the doorway.
“So much for the easy part,” Jack commented.
“Anyone get a good look?” Jason asked.
“Barricade a few meters ahead,” Randy reported. “Open air, looks like room to move around. At least three tangos behind cover.”
“Probably more than that,” Paul reminded them, ducking his head into the doorway to take a peek…and drawing five more shots through the aperture. He reached back over his shoulder and dug into his equipment pack, drawing out a stinger grenade.
“Pop and push,” Jason said, guessing what Pa
ul was thinking.
“Ready when you are,” Megan said, knowing that she was the pusher.
Paul pressed in the button on the grenade and held it motionless for a second, letting the paint soak up the stun charge and triggering the built in timer function to truncate the delay down to 1.5 seconds. When he was sure he’d waited long enough he leaned out into the doorway and side-armed the grenade through as fast as he could throw it, exposing him to some fire in the process.
A bullet bounced off his right pectoral, then the grenade exploded and sent a few splatters back his way. He felt a hint of the cool numbness hit his chest, but it disappeared as soon as it began. The tiny bits of paint didn’t hold much energy, and his armor had blocked most of it from getting through anyway, then ate up the last bits, soaking it back out of his body.
The rest of the grenade’s spray flew into the barricade, propelled by the small explosive charge and the momentum Paul’s throw had added. Before he could see how many tangos had gone down, Megan’s armored body eclipsed the doorway and she charged forward, with the others jumping in right behind her and spreading out once they hit the other side.
Paul followed them through, looking for targets. He found several off to his left, firing from behind a lateral bunker. Two of them went down from Jack’s shots, but Paul managed to get to the third before the others did and took him out with a precise shot to the forehead. The Archon flipped around, looking for others, but none remained standing.
With no nearby threats, Paul’s mind opened up and he took in the geography. They were standing underneath the curved edge of the dome, which was visible several meters over their heads as the wall curved slightly to end up at a smooth peak capping several small skyscrapers that looked like they’d been plucked out of a city on Earth.
