Valkyrie

by Lucas Marcum

  Satisfied that the defense of the command post was being seen to, Colonel Terrell turned back to his brigade command net. The battalion commander’s images were on the screens waiting for him. He spoke quickly and calmly, “Ok, ladies and gentlemen. We’re about to have company here, so I’ll be brief. Continue the push. Our recon drones are showing a significant concentration of Elai personnel and equipment in the area ahead. Might be a logistics point; if we’re lucky, it’ll be a command post. Whatever it is, it’s big, probably brigade level or the equivalent. Again, call for fires if you need them. The artillery commander is on the net as ‘Hammer Six’. We don’t have a lot, but what we do have is tasked to support your push. Support each other as you can. Hit ‘em hard, but remember, you must keep your unit as an organized force. Lieutenant Colonel Hall will be the maneuver commander for the assault. Questions?”

  Colonel Hall spoke up, “Sir, if we lose contact with you and the headquarters detachment, rally at predesignated points?”

  Terrell nodded. “Correct. If that’s unavailable, maneuver your units at your discretion. If we get hit here, the brigade is yours, unless my executive officer turns up someplace. If there’s nothing else, get to your people. Hit ‘em hard, Spaceborne.” The battalion commanders nodded and vanished.

  Outside there came a sudden cacophony, and a series of shudders that made the ground shake slightly with each impact.

  SssssBOOM…SssssBOOM…WHAMWHAMWHAM

  The sergeant on the local defense monitors spoke, “There they went. The loiter drones just fired.” He hesitated a moment, staring at the monitors. “Jesus. All of them fired. There were forty-five of them in the air.” He paused again, staring at his screens, and said, “Five hundred meters. No…casualties that we can see. I think we just killed a bunch of decoys.”

  Captain Esteban nodded. “Save the rest, priority on armor or heavy weapons.” The sergeant nodded and gave the orders to get the second round of drones in the air.

  The major monitoring the brigade command net spoke suddenly, “Sir, Alpha Company of the First reports infantry contact. They’re hitting improvised fighting positions.” He paused, then spoke again, relaying the information coming across his radios, “Alpha, Bravo and Delta Companies of the First are attacking. No contact from Second and Third.”

  Simultaneously, the sergeant across the room spoke, “Observation posts three and four have Elai infantry in sight. Four hundred yards. Pulling them in.” On the monitors over the sergeant’s shoulder, Colonel Terrell could see the view from the helmet camera of one of the soldiers moving rapidly towards the main line of defense, the view shaking as he ran. The blowing dust was picking up again, making the images difficult to discern.

  Suddenly in one of the monitors there was a flicker of blue light. Then another, and another. The line of drop troopers suddenly blazed away with ferocity. The responding red flickers of the Elai fire were immediate, but not as heavy. The sound of rifle fire could be heard through the walls of the command post.

  The sergeant on the monitors spoke, stating the obvious, “The main defensive line has opened fire.” The captain in charge of the defense nodded, acknowledging the report.

  The major manning the brigade net said, “Sir, Alpha and Bravo Companies report Elai lines are breaking. They’re working to force the gap and push the other companies in. Second and Third now in contact. They report they’re likely hitting the main Elai defensive line. Sounds like Colonel Hall is pushing for a breakthrough.” Colonel Terrell nodded. The major continued, “Three is requesting fire on an emplaced weapon. Artillery rounds going out.”

  Through the walls of the command post, the KA-Whump of the artillery rounds going out could be heard, in addition to the barking of the rifles.

  The sergeant on the defense net suddenly said loudly, “Sir, the perimeter defense teams report the Elai are withdrawing!”

  Captain Esteban scowled and looked at Colonel Terrell. “Withdrawing. Probably a probe, Sir.”

  Terrell nodded and responded, “Seems like it. Stay alert, Captain. They’ll be back. It’s not like them to quit.” Captain Esteban nodded and resumed his vigil.

  The firing outside had slowed to a stop. The major on the command net spoke again.

  “Sir, First has three companies through the gap and is attempting to roll up the Elai defensive line. Second has dispatched two companies to support them, and to exploit the gap.”

  For the next fifteen minutes, there was very little happening. Terrell grimaced at the monitors and went over to the coffee pot. Finding it empty, he set the pot down, and said loudly to the command post staff.

  “I’m going to see the troops. Major, call when you hear from Lieutenant Colonel Hall.” He stood and with the sergeant major beside him, stepped out into the night to check on the troops.

  ****

  Outside, Brian cautiously poked his head out of his fighting position. The firing seemed to have died down. Sliding his face shield up, he hissed at the next hole over.

  “Psst. Hey!” He waved at them. The trooper looked over and slid his helmet shield up. Brian stuck a thumb up, and raised his eyebrows, asking if they were ok. The trooper grinned and stuck a thumb up in response. Brian repeated the process for the troopers in hole to his other side, then dropped back into his hole and checked the indicator lights that told him the condition of the troops out of verbal range. The rows of lights shone steady green in his helmet. trying to decide if he should go check on people, he finally decided he should stay in his hole. He looked over at the trooper sharing his position, a young private, who looked nervous. He frowned, thinking.

  Hearing footsteps scrabbling above him, he stood up again and came face to face with Colonel Terrell, followed by Sergeant Major Binda.

  The colonel grinned at Brian and said, “Evening, Sergeant. Glad you decided to join us. How are the troops? Any injuries?”

  Brian grinned back. “Maybe a few dirty suits of armor, Sir. Nothing major.” He paused, the grin vanishing. “You know the next one is going to be a lot worse, Sir.”

  Colonel Terrell nodded, his face also sobering. “I know it, Sergeant. You know it. Some of the NCOs know it. But the troopers are young. They’re still bulletproof. Keep my boys alive, Sergeant. That’s an order.”

  Brian nodded. “Yes, Sir. It’s what I do.”

  The colonel slapped his armored shoulder. “Good man. I’m gonna check on the…”

  He stopped in mid-sentence as the blowing dust around them flashed chalky white, as if a giant flashbulb had gone off. Another popped a few seconds later, then three more in fast succession. Brian could see the entire command post illuminated, and when the light faded, he found his night vision was gone. He could hear Colonel Terrell speaking to Sergeant Major Binda in a grim tone.

  “Nukes. That’s the direction of the assault force. We need to get back to the command post.”

  The sergeant major nodded, turned to Brian, and ordered firmly, “S-s-sergeant Agawa, get ‘em low in their holes, n-now. The shock waves will hit any minute.”

  The colonel and the sergeant major turned and left at a run for the command post.

  Brian stood up and keyed the general defense net frequency. “Down! Everyone, get down! Blast shields down! Shockwaves incoming!”

  He could hear the NCOs repeating the order up and down the defensive line. He crouched in his hole and kicked the private crouching next to him. “Hey. Get in the middle of the hole. Put your blast shield down.” Brian slipped his own blast shield down and activated his suit sensors in time to see the private do the same thing.

  The wind had started to pick up, at first gently, but then gaining speed, rushing towards them from the direction of the flashes. It grew to a roar, then suddenly the ground bucked under Brian, bouncing him several inches into the air. He landed hard on his back, the private landing on top of him, their armor smashing together hard enough to rattle Brian’s teeth. Overhead, there was a tremendous howling wind, now blasting the opposite direction.
The earth shook mightily several more times, then settled down. The terrible winds started to slow somewhat, then dropped to near nothing.

  Brian reached up and tapped the trooper’s helmet. The young man popped his shield open and opened his eyes.

  He asked, “Is that it, Sergeant? That wasn’t that bad.” He rolled off Brian and reached out to help him up.

  Brian grunted, “No idea. Never been nuked before. Never even been close.” He sent out a status indicator ping and watched all the indicator lights turn to green, except for two that shone yellow down the line. He tapped the private. “Showtime.” Pointing at the private. he said, “Get your ass into another hole. No one stays alone. The Elai are too goddamn fast for that.” He turned and scrambled out of the hole, hearing the private moving behind him, switching holes. Brian moved off down the line into the dark, heading for the casualties down the line.

  -9-

  “Waiting for the Cavalry”

  42 KILOMETERS WEST OF VALHALLA STATION, FORWARD BRIGADE CP, 1ST BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM, 17th INFANTRY DIVISION (SPACEBORNE)

  1900 hours, March 15, 2245

  Inside the tactical operations center, Colonel Terrell picked himself up off the floor and looked around at his dazed staff.

  Clapping his hands, the colonel said, “Back up and at ‘em, people. Get a report from Colonel Hall and the maneuver units.” He turned to Captain Esteban, who was wiping blood from his face. “Captain, check your line.”

  Esteban stood unsteadily and made his way to the monitors, which were all resetting. He cleared his throat and spoke shakily, “Yes, Sir. Give me a minute.”

  Colonel Terrell turned to Major Martinez, who had climbed back into his chair in front of the brigade comm net. The screens were active, so it apparently hadn’t reset. He was working controls and speaking quietly into the microphones. Terrell gave him a few seconds, then ordered, “Major Martinez, report.”

  The major shook his head. “I don’t have anyone on the brigade net, sir. It’s all washed out with static. Probably the EMP. We’ll keep trying.”

  To Terrell’s left, Sergeant Major Binda’s low voice came, “They w-w-were pretty g-goddamn close, Sir. Let’s hope it’s just the net.”

  Terrell grimaced and nodded in agreement. He turned to the sergeant manning the sensor net. “Sergeant, how many and how big?”

  The sergeant nodded. “Sir, it looks like we had five distinct detonations, two that initially went off about five seconds apart, then three more in rapid succession. Estimated at zero point five megatons.” The sergeant stopped and tapped a few keys. “Looks like standard Elai tactical nukes, Sir. Based on the impact, it was a combo of ground bursts and air bursts.”

  Terrell considered this for a moment, then asked, “Fallout? How much are we talking, and how big a risk?”

  The sergeant shook his head. “Probably not much, Sir, they were small, and the winds on this planet will break up the concentration of any fallout pretty well. If we keep the troops in their armor, we’ll probably be ok here.” He stopped and looked at his instruments again. “Can’t speak for the assault force, though, Sir. It’ll be a lot hotter where they are.”

  Across the command post, the sergeant manning the perimeter sensor suddenly shouted, “Contact! Multiple vehicular contacts, bearing three five seven, three five, and three four zero”

  Captain Esteban said firmly, “Sergeant, no need to shout. We can hear you.”

  The sergeant looked abashed for a moment, then continued, “Range five hundred meters, estimate seven…correction: twelve vehicles, and one hundred plus infantry…sensor nets are unreliable, but no IFF. Type undetermined.”

  Captain Esteban nodded and asked, “What’s the status of our defensive equipment?”

  The sergeant tapped for a moment, then replied rapidly, “Loiter drones are gone; First Platoon is opening another case, leaving only one left after this one.” He tapped another key and continued, “One of the Mark 80s is gone. It was hit by a blowing rock and smashed the emitter array. The other is coming back online. All of the Mark 30s are up, and crews are reporting operational. Smart Mortars were in the holes with the crews. They’re good to go.”

  Captain Esteban nodded. “Ok, then. Hit ‘em as soon as they’re in range. Same plan. Hold fire on the Mark 80 and Smart Mortars until we have a big target for them.” The sergeant nodded and relayed the orders. The captain spoke again, “Ok, get ‘em up in their holes. We’re about to have company.”

  Colonel Terrell watched the organizing defense of the headquarters company and considered his options. He turned to Sergeant Major Bindu and Major Martinez.

  “Gentlemen, options? Not sure we can cut and run without getting chewed up; no time. Also not sure we can take armor with only one working Mark 80 and no air or naval fire support. Contact with maneuver units lost; can’t count on them. We need ideas.”

  The sergeant major scowled. “We d-dig in deep, beat off this wave, then get the h-hell out of here.”

  Major Martinez nodded. “Agreed. Let’s fight off this push and relocate. We don’t have the heavy weapons for this, not with our armor missing and the Navy not answering the phone.”

  Colonel Terrell nodded in agreement. “I agree, Major. In the meantime, keep trying to raise Lieutenant Colonel Hall and the assault force.” The major nodded and turned to his comm bank.

  Terrell traded a glance with Sergeant Major Binda, and thoughtfully checked to make sure his rifle was within reach and had a magazine in place.

  ****

  Outside, Brian heard the call over the defense net that there were hostiles incoming.

  “Shit,” he muttered. He made a few final taps to the soldier’s armor aid kit, giving directions to her suit system, then gently slapped the soldier’s helmet. “You’re gonna be fine, troop. Back up.” He helped the soldier to her feet, then handed her rifle to her.

  He started to climb out of the hole when she grabbed his shoulder and hissed, “Sergeant! Look!”

  Through the blowing dust, he could see dim figures advancing slowly. He slid back into the hole, turned, set his rifle on the berm, aiming it at the nearest figure, and waited.

  Somewhere off to his far left a Mark 30 crew-served lascannon opened up. The blue bolts began screaming out, and in seconds the entire line had lit up, answered by what felt like hundreds of red flashes singing back at them. Brian sighted on the figure and moved to squeeze the trigger, but before he could, the figure dropped out of sight, hitting the dirt. Further down the line, the other Mark 30s opened up, their green streams of bolts searing into the darkness. He could see dark figures running in the dust, then crumpling to the ground as they were hit.

  Off to his left, he heard a sound like water on a hot stove, then a pop. SssssssPOP! A bright green spear flew into the darkness and dust. Half a second later there was a bright flash in the dust, and the dust took on a muted blue-green glow. The trooper next to him muttered, “Fuck. They got armor.”

  Brian sighted on several running Elai and squeezed the trigger. The Elai dropped into cover. Out of the corner of his mouth he asked, “How do you know?”

  She took another shot at the three Elai pushing on their position. Without turning, she answered, “Cuz’ when the 80s are firing, they’re usually targeting big things, and that was a big ass explosion.”

  SsssssPOP. SsssssPOP. Two more green spears flew into the dark. One of the Elai stood up and began firing on full auto, pouring smoky red bolts toward their position, forcing Brian and the trooper to duck. His comrades stood and rushed towards the firing position, only to disappear in a bright white flash. They heard the plopping sound of bits of dirt and pieces of body parts and equipment gently falling around them. The third Elai hit the dirt and began to scoot backwards.

  The trooper grinned at Brian from where she hunkered against the front of their foxhole. “Loiter drones. Fucking awesome.” There was another SssssPOP, and the green spear flew out. This time there was a shower of sparks from the dust about fifty met
ers in front of the lines. From the shower of sparks a solid red beam returned, holding steady on something. KAWHUMP!

  From behind them there was a terrific explosion, and a brief push of wind. Brian and the trooper twisted around to see a rising fireball to their rear.

  She looked at him again and sourly observed, “Well, so much for the Mark 80.” The green tracer streams from the Mark 30s continued. A few seconds later another smoky red beam speared towards the line, this one lower. The green return fire stopped.

  Two status lights in Brian’s helmet turned yellow, and another began blinking red. He slapped the trooper on the back and said quickly, “Time to earn my paycheck. Be safe.”

  He scrambled out of the hole and, crouching low, made for relative safety behind the supply point, about ten meters behind the line. He moved behind the low sandbagged wall and peered through the dust. He could see the Mark 30 position, with three forms lying on the ground, one not moving, the other two frantically trying to get their weapon back in operation.

  Brian took a deep breath and charged for the hole, with red Elai bolts zipping around him. He dove in and rolled over. The two troopers there glanced at him and kept working to repair their weapon.

  One yelled over his shoulder, “We’re fine, Doc. Armor kits will cover it. Get Maria out of here.” There was another explosion down the line, and more lights in his helmet turned yellow and red. Brian flipped open the fallen soldier’s chest control plate and checked her vitals.

  He frowned, then yelled at the troopers, “I gotta get her to the aid station! Can you cover me?” The trooper nodded, charged the Mark 30, and shouldered the weapon.