“As you wish, my Queen,” Zikorah said as he started backing out of the room, head low and afraid to turn his back on her.
“Zikorah,” the queen said.
He froze. “Yes, my Queen?”
“Did you locate that human spy yet?”
Zikorah raised his head and looked at her. “I believe we have located the system and planet he is hiding on.” He was grateful he had at least one answer she was looking for. “We traced him using the account we deposited the credit into. It was not easy, and we had to bribe several high-ranking officers in that banking system. Would you like us to finish tracking him down?”
“No,” the queen answered. “Not yet. After I have these systems, I may have use for him and his skills. There are other systems waiting to be taken.”
* * * * *
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Salvage Fleet Combined Force
Harmon stood beside his mech, ready to climb in, and prepared to move with the rest of them. He looked over at Staff Sergeant Rinek and asked, “Are you sure those gun crews are going to be able to fire and move in time? You know rounds will be coming back at them.”
“Yes, sir,” Rinek answered. “The gun NCOs are the Withaloo instructors. They’ll be moving like they’re still in training with the instructors screaming at them. Same way with the tank crews.”
Harmon laughed and said, “I guess they will, won’t they? I appreciate you getting them ready to defend the home planet like you did.”
“Hey, sir,” Rinek said with a shrug, “I did what needed to be done. Well, what the lieutenant decided needed doing, anyway.”
“Right,” Harmon said with a wink. “He didn’t have your advice in the matter?”
Rinek shrugged. “I’m not an officer; I don’t get paid the big credit to make those kinds of decisions. I work for a living,” he said. “Seriously, the lieutenant’s young, but I think he’ll be a good one. Since he’s a tanker, he’s over with the five tanks we brought with us.”
“Sounds good,” Harmon agreed. “The Ground Force infantry trainees are over with their units. You handle your Monitors and the rest of the Bolt trainees. It’ll be a little different from your normal duties, but your prior experience will come back to you. It’s like riding a hoverbike.”
Harmon paused a moment. “Speaking of Monitors, it looks like you brought them all with you. Who’s keeping the peace back home?”
“I didn’t bring them all,” explained Rinek. “I left three new Monitors back at HQ. They have a ton of experience. Before I left, they had fifty volunteers helping. You should have seen the hundreds of armed residents who showed up at the gates at Headquarters, all willing to join in the planet defense. Every town and dome had them coming forward. Miners, farmers, shopkeepers, and every other trade you can think of. Technicians were rigging weapons on personal shuttles and hovercraft. It was great.
“Once we knew the Bleeve weren’t coming, they went back their daily lives. Corporal Sheemral interviewed some and gave them temporary contracts as Reserve Peace Monitors. Who would have thought of that? A couple of those old-timers have experience, too. I don’t think we have much to worry about.”
“If Captain Brink is good with it, I am,” Harmon said. “Besides, it’s a great idea.”
Harmon climbed up his mech and backed into the cockpit. Before he closed the hatch, he noticed Rinek looking at it with a funny expression. “What?” he asked.
“I don’t mean anything by this,” Rinek said with a grin, “but that thing is ugly.”
“Maybe, but I can wear it like a glove, and punch pretty hard,” Harmon answered. He slowly grinned. “Ok, maybe an ugly glove, but the punches still hurt.” He started to close the hatch, then it popped back up. “Did I mention I’m promoting you to lieutenant? You’ll be an officer.” The hatch slammed.
“Wait? What? An officer?” Rinek looked down and slowly shook his head. “I shouldn’t have insulted his mech,” he said to himself. He put his helmet on and walked away.
* * *
Stealth Shuttle
Nazrooth
Corporal Galooth felt the shuttle bank hard again. “Hey, Bahroot, are you trying to squish a gal against the bulkhead, or what?”
“You can’t be squished against a bulkhead, Galooth,” answered the young AI. “You’re in your mech, and you have both of its arms wedged against the sides of the cargo hold.”
“Well, I can still feel the G-forces,” the Yalteen complained. “Maybe I should have flown this time.”
“You always say that,” Bahroot said cheerfully, “every time we visit your family in the canyon. You can’t fly this shuttle. There’s little in environmental systems. Only the emergency chamber has them. That’s why you’re secure in your mech and not up here.”
The small shuttle moved across the lake, so close to the surface it threw up a stream behind it. Bahroot piloted it at speeds no organic pilot could hope to achieve and still maintain control that close to the planet’s surface. Timing was crucial. They had to accomplish their mission before the attack could begin in earnest.
“Coming up on the shoreline,” Bahroot announced. “I can transfer the visuals to your mech if you’d like.”
“No, thanks,” Galooth said. “I don’t want to see it. It might make me lose my lunch.”
“You brought a lunch?” Bahroot asked his friend and protector.
“Figure of speech!” She laughed.
“I knew that,” Bahroot said. “No, I didn’t,” he admitted, “but I do now.”
After a few more minutes of erratic movement, the shuttle landed softly. Galooth opened the hatch on the large mech, climbed out, and went forward to the cockpit. After Bahroot placed the shuttle in safe mode, she reached in and removed Bahroot, his slate, and his power cell.
Since the mech was on its knees with the arms still locked against the bulkheads, she was able to climb up, reach in, and place Bahroot into the slot designed for him and his connected pieces. Once he was secure, she got in and closed the hatch.
Using one of the mech’s claws, she pulled a lever, and the back ramp dropped. The mech crawled out. “I can’t believe I have to crawl in and out of this thing,” Galooth complained and stood the mech upright. “It’s embarrassing. What if someone sees it?”
“I detected no one within one mile of our location,” Bahroot said. “I’ve integrated into your sensors. We’re still quite alone.”
Bahroot sent a signal to the stealth shuttle and the ramp lifted. Without the proper codes, it couldn’t be opened. If anyone other than Bahroot attempted to enter the shuttle, they’d have to cut into it. Any unauthorized entry would result in several explosions inside, rendering it useless.
“We have ten minutes to travel one mile,” Bahroot said. “We’ll then be within sight of the closest anti-air battery.”
“Then we better get moving,” suggested Galooth. She began moving toward the marked spot on her map overlay.
Nine minutes later, they were on the edge of a large grove of trees looking at the battery. Four radars spun on twenty-foot towers. Centered in the small compound were two large quad lasers. They were connected to two large tracked vehicles.
“Those are the power sources,” Bahroot said. Indicators on the overlay highlighted the trucks. “The small one beyond those is the command vehicle. That’s where I need to connect. From there, I can get into the whole system. I could get in remotely, but I run the risk of detection. Don’t get me wrong, I could do it, but not in the time frame we’re working with.”
Without warning, the weapons came to life and the sky lit up. The sensors were picking up the slow-moving artillery rounds and shooting them from the sky. The Bleeve had learned their lesson.
“That’s our cue,” Corporal Galooth said. She moved the mech from the trees and fired a sustained burst from the railgun mounted on its arm. The armored hovercraft she aimed at blew apart. The dismounted security team turned from where they’d been watching the lasers in action to the
huge mech striding toward them.
Several shots from the Bleeve rifles hit the mech, knocking off pieces of outer armor. Galooth ignored them and concentrated on the other hovercraft as it rounded the edge of one of the large vehicles. It blew apart, sending pieces into the advancing soldiers. Galooth quickly took care of the rest of the security platoon.
“They weren’t able to notify anyone of our presence,” Bahroot said. “Jamming their frequency was easy. It’s not as complicated as the secure network used by the anti-air batteries.”
Galooth moved the mech over to the command vehicle, reached down with a claw, and ripped the back hatch off. The two occupants attempted to stop them with pistols. The beams didn’t penetrate the mech’s armor. With one claw, Galooth put a stop to their attempts.
Using the mech’s sensors, Bahroot scanned the equipment inside. He highlighted a cable running to a panel on the side. “There,” he said. “Put the clamp on that cable.”
With a delicate touch, Galooth manipulated the claw and pulled a cable out of the back of the other pincer, then she clamped it to the cable. She watched the screens fill up with rolling data. Realizing it might be a few minutes, she transferred the two outside screens of her three-screen display to show the view from her rear cameras and continued to watch the site.
After a few minutes, Bahroot said, “I got in. I’ve reprogramed all the lasers to miss their targets by five meters. They’ll continue to operate, but will miss the artillery rounds.”
* * *
Bolts’ Holding Position
The call came in, “Bolt Six, Arty Six.”
Captain Brink answered quickly, “Go for Bolt Six, tell me what you see, Shmitty.”
“Forward observers report the rounds have started to impact,” Lieutenant Smithers reported. “Increasing the rate of fire now.”
“Let them have it,” Nate said. “Keep moving. Now that the rounds are impacting, you can expect return fire.”
“Roger, sir.”
Nate spoke over the command network, “Looks like it’s a go. We move out in three hours. Be ready. I’m right here with you.” He cut the link. There was no need to give his call sign. They all knew.
* * *
Salvage Fleet Combined Forces
Harmon placed a direct call to Gunny. “Looks like Bahroot was able to reprogram them,” he said.
“Good,” Gunny said, “now they won’t be able to shoot them out of the sky. Why didn’t he shut them down or give them a virus or something?”
“Something about shutting down, rebooting with a backup system, and operating remotely,” Harmon said. “We would have to hit every site at the same time.”
“So he just made them miss instead?” Gunny asked. “That’s pretty smart. The Bleeve will think there are too many rounds coming in for their systems to handle. They’ll think they’re still hitting a lot of them. The kid’s smart.”
“That he is,” Harmon agreed. “We move out in three hours and fifteen minutes. That’ll be enough time for the Bleeve to shift some of their positions to cover their other flank.”
“Sounds good,” Gunny said. “Cameron reports a platoon-sized element dug in up ahead. They don’t have any drones left, so they stuck them out there to let them know which flank is getting hit. You can bet there’s one on the other side of the battlefield, too.”
“Can you believe he just walked up on them and they never fired a shot?” Harmon laughed.
“He’s out there in that mech of his,” Gunny said. “I didn’t realize it was a Bleeve design. He said he strolled right on by and waved with one of the pincers. The fools waved him through the line.”
“Amazing,” Harmon said.
“They didn’t send the brightest soldiers out here,” Gunny observed.
“They sent them out to die,” Harmon replied.
“You can count on it, sir,” Gunny assured him.
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty
Specialty Platoon
Eastern Front
“It’s go time,” announced Lieutenant Mayshire.
Moving to the edge of the trees, she scanned one last time. Seeing no change, she led her platoon of mechs across the open field. Several beams of light flew across from the other side. One of the smaller mechs spun and dropped. Leg shot, she thought.
“Private Nizerat,” she called out over the platoon network, “what’s your status?” She continued moving forward, her troops returning fire.
Suddenly a giant mech passed her. Across the front, the Taylahhs moved ahead and took the majority of the shots aimed at the platoon. Their shining mechs were too tempting a target for the enemy dug in ahead to pass up. Many of the beams ricocheted off into the air or down into the tall grasses. Some started fires, and the smoke provided some concealment.
“I’m good, ma’am,” answered the Prithmar. “I’m going to eject and grab my grenade launcher.”
“When we clear the area, you come ahead and guide Alpha Company in,” Mayshire said. “They’re right behind us. As soon as we clear these mechs, we have to move on.”
“Roger,” the private said. “Sswitching to their frequenccy now.”
Mayshire turned her attention back to the quickly approaching wood line. The giant mechs were starting to enter the trees. She was amazed at the havoc they wreaked on the Bleeve mechs. Private First Class Dooringo paused, and both railguns mounted on his shoulders fired sustained bursts. Tree trunks shattered and came apart, revealing several of the eight-legged mechs. One was slammed into a tree as Muraingo’s mech swept it aside with a huge metal fist. His railgun fired at it point blank, shattering its torso.
Up and down that section of the woods, her platoon hunted down the Bleeve as they abandoned their positions. Mechs and infantry scattered before them. She grinned to herself as she took aim at a trench where three Bleeve were firing a crew-served laser. When they were done, Alpha Company would be able to move right through and control the edge of the enemy’s position. Then it would be time to roll the enemy unit in this sector up.
* * *
3rd Company
2nd Bn 1st Brigade
Bleeve Front Lines
Captain Narwinklah raised up in the hatch of his tank, holding onto the edges with the pincers of six limbs, and scanned the open field. Satisfied nothing was coming from the distant trees, he went back to listening to the command network. All night there’d been calls as the enemy bombed them. His entire company had closed their hatches and waited it out in the defilades the engineers had dug.
Rounds fell all around them, exploding and rocking them in their original positions. Only two tanks had taken direct hits. They were total losses. Everyone knew the armor on a tank was thinnest on top where the hatches were. Two more tanks had tracks blown apart. Those had been fixed and were now in position.
Now he was listening to the frantic calls as the host of the enemy was hitting the front lines as predicted by General Fellgothah. Once the report came back of the direction of the flank attack, he ordered his company to their secondary positions. There’d been sporadic calls about mechs farther down the line, but that wasn’t his concern. There were none here. He was waiting for the enemy’s armor. His unit would stop it in its tracks.
He looked back toward the far side when he saw the large flash from a thousand yards away. At almost the same instant, the tank in the defilade beside his seemed to explode, and part of its turret flipped away as it was cut from the tank.
He frantically looked to his other side to see smoke billowing from another tank down the line. Calls started stepping on each other from panicked tank commanders as two huge tanks came roaring out of the wood line firing large lasers, followed by a dozen normal tanks firing kinetic rounds.
Without guidance, his gunner fired at the nearest tank. The startled captain saw the giant killing machine shake off the shot without slowing down. He felt the same panic.
“Driver! Back up…back up!” he shouted. The tank lurched into gea
r and started backing. He looked back and could make out a figure standing beside the tank commander in the open turret hatch on the monster tank. He was holding something in his hands, aiming. Their armor is here, and it can’t be stopped, was his final thought.
* * *
Salvage Fleet Combined Force
Western Front
Harmon ordered the two platoons of mechs to use their thrusters and get across the open terrain as fast as possible. Minutes earlier he’d received the call from Cameron, letting him know he’d destroyed the anti-air laser in their vicinity. Where they were, they could risk the short flights as they leaped and flew to the edge of the Bleeve fortifications.
The Marines with him knew to keep the patterns of their movements unpredictable, and only two had been hit in the air by laser rifle fire. Neither were injured, only shook up by the uncontrolled landings.
The eight modified mechs piloted by members of Cameron’s crew didn’t get hit. Their flight patterns and movements couldn’t be predicted by the enemy. Harmon didn’t think the pilots themselves knew where they were landing next. The flights were little more than controlled crash landings.
They passed an area with three small bunkers completely smashed in, the crew-served weapons destroyed, and several Bleeve bodies strewn about. Cameron and his mech, Harmon thought. Cameron preferred to fire his thrusters and gain a little altitude, enabling him to jump high and come down on the enemy with all eight legs of his mech. He tried to save the fuel for his flame thrower for big stuff.
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