by M. R. Forbes
"How do you figure that?" Donovan asked through the mech's external speakers. He had heard the fairy tale a couple of times from his grandfather when he was young. He didn't see any connection to their current circumstances.
"You're the giant, and I'm Jack," Kroeger said. "My father's name was Jack. Did you know that? He was a car salesman. Can you imagine? A damn car salesman. Talk about a dying trade."
"I always thought your father was a soldier."
"Why?"
"You have a soft spot for the military. I assumed either your father, someone in your family or you were enlisted at some point."
"You know what they say about assumptions and assholes, don't you Major?" He laughed. "No. Nobody in my family was military. I had a sister who was a cop. That's as close as I ever got to organized violence." He laughed again. "I've always had an appreciation for those who risk their necks for others. A lot of respect."
"That didn't stop you from trying to rob us."
"Should it have? Besides, I thought we were over that? It's old news, Major. We're on the same side now. Anyway, I always loved military stuff. The jets. The tanks. The female officers. Let me tell you, Major; military women are the best kind of women. Tough. Strong. Confident. I know Ehri's a clone, but she's like that."
"She is," Donovan agreed.
"So, you do it with her yet?"
Donovan almost choked on the statement. He had kissed Ehri once, back in Mexico, and there was a definite attraction there for him, at least. But Diaz's death and the constant threat to their lives had stolen away any thoughts of romantic anything, and besides, Ehri seemed have cooled on him in the days since. He didn't blame her for that. He appreciated that she was as focused on their mission as the rest of them.
Kroeger knew he had hit a nerve, and he laughed raucously at his reaction.
"I can dump you off this thing," Donovan said.
"I'm just screwing with you, Major. It's what I do. When you've seen what I've seen, done what I've done, you need levity to stay as sane as you can. When I say I'm surrounded by crazies, I mean me, too."
"You've said that before. What have you done that's so horrible?"
Kroeger was quiet for a few seconds. "I don't know what I'm going to tell you this. I haven't told a soul since it happened." He paused again, hesitating. "Okay. I used to run with these jackals up in what used to be Phoenix, Arizona. They called themselves the Way. Seriously. The Way. It's like a bad band name or something. Some emo boy band or some shit like that. Anyhow, their leader was this messed up asshole who called himself Itchy. I kid you not."
Kroeger paused again.
"Sorry major, I can't do it. I thought I could. Some things need to stay buried, you know? Long story short, they had an initiation. I was starving. Desperate. Half mad. I killed someone. That was the easy part. There was more. That's all I'm going to say. Whatever you infer from that, whatever you think it is I did, I can almost guarantee the truth is worse than that."
Donovan looked over at the soldier. Kroeger was leaning on the mech, his head in his hands. Donovan looked back to the road ahead. A long silence passed.
"Anyway," Kroeger said. "This reminds me of Jack and the Beanstalk. Only in this version, the Giant and Jack are working together, trying to right all of the wrongs in the world. Right now, that's a damn shot better than the truth."
"What is the truth?" Donovan asked.
"You don't want me to tell you."
"Go ahead."
"The truth, Major? We're going to die. All of us. But at least we can die like heroes."
THIRTEEN
DONOVAN WAS ALMOST READY to believe in Kroeger's prophecy by the time they neared Austin.
The area around the former city was as bad as he had ever seen, apparently owing to the larger flock of people who had come to the area to find refuge near the rebel base there. They started coming across the bodies from twenty-five kilometers out, finding random groups of corpses scattered along the one-time highways. Some had been gunned down by clone soldiers, their bodies burned with two or three plasma bolts each. Others had been torn apart by the Dread's armors, the heavy projectiles they carried chewing human flesh and bone into little more than a mist that settled on the area around them. A few had been hit by the enemy fighters, their remains surrounded by craters from the attacks.
He lost count of the dead within the first few kilometers. It was over four hundred, and that was only adjacent to the road. He was sure there had to be more scattered throughout the surrounding countryside, forever lost amidst the trees.
It got worse as they moved closer, the dead becoming more frequent, more concentrated, and more recently killed. By the time they were fifteen kilometers out, the blood on the ground was still wet, the carrion being picked over by circling vultures and other animals. The smell of death began to reach into the cockpit where Donovan was sitting, and a growing sense of foreboding started eating into his thoughts.
At ten kilometers, they began to hear the echoes of gunfire in the city ahead, still partially obscured by rolling hills.
At five kilometers, as they gained a vantage point to the decaying metropolis, they found that the battle for Austin wasn't quite over yet.
In fact, it appeared to Donovan as though it might have only been beginning. Not because there was a lot of opposition to the Dread units they could spot from their position, but because the Dread were still organized as though they suspected they might be effectively attacked.
"What do you think?" Donovan asked, opening a channel to Soon and Ehri.
"I believe they attempted to accelerate their assault and destroy the rebel assets here before we could arrive," Ehri replied.
"I concur," Soon said.
"What took them so long to get here in the first place?" Donovan asked. "We weren't exactly covering a ton of ground, and look." He pointed to the outskirts of the city, where he could see the edge of a transport. "They flew in. At least some of them. They should have been done with this place days ago, if not longer."
"I'm not sure, Major," Ehri said. "It is curious."
"Are we going to just stand here and watch them kill our people or are we going to go kick some ass?" Kroeger said.
Donovan scanned the Dread forces, trying to estimate their size. A few hundred foot soldiers, at least six mechs, and a handful of the tanks as well. The lack of fighters suggested the fighting was too spread out for them to be of any use. Maybe his initial impression had been wrong. Maybe they were there to mop up.
"We can't take them head on," Donovan said. "We need to find the rebel forces and start handing out rifles."
"How do we find them?" Soon asked.
"Follow the noise," Kroeger suggested.
"Kroeger, join Thompson and Mendez on Soon's mech. Soon, I want you to bring up the rear and carry the others down into the city. Ehri, you and I will advance on the east side of the city, and try to get ahead of the Dread. We'll try to locate the rebels, clear out any targets in the area, and arm them as fast as we can."
"Yes, sir," Soon and the others said.
"Good hunting, Major," Kroeger said, before sliding down the side of the mech to the ground. He hurried over to Soon's armor, easily scaling the side of it.
"Ehri, let's go," Donovan said, putting his mech in motion. He moved it horizontally across the slope, angling it parallel to the city below.
Ehri followed him, her mech easily keeping pace with his. The top speed of the machines were limited to the full extent of the biomechanical muscles that powered them, but also dictated by the skill of the pilot. Donovan knew she could have easily outdistanced him if needed.
They went nearly one kilometer on the parallel and then adjusted course to take a gentle vector down the side of the slope and into Austin proper. The complexion of the battle wasn't changing much as they made their way toward it, and after a few minutes, Donovan began to wonder why the Dread weren't advancing further into the city at greater speed.
He had his ans
wer a moment later when he witnessed a massive bolt of plasma launch away from the city center toward a mech that was trying to close in. It hit the armor square in the chest, knocking it backward as it tore a hole through it and into the cockpit.
"Whoa," Donovan said. "What the hell?"
The profile of the burst looked like it came from a Dread tank. How could the rebels have gotten hold of one?
"I've locked onto the source of the blast, Major," Ehri said. "That must be the rebel position."
"They have a Dread weapon," Donovan said.
"Clearly."
"How?"
"I do not know. We must be cautious. They won't recognize us as friendly."
"That's definitely a problem. Can we adjust the frequency of the communications equipment?"
"Not from inside, Major."
Damn.
"Soon, what's your ETA?" Donovan asked.
"Three minutes, Major," Soon replied.
"Okay. Hopefully, if they see you carrying human soldiers they won't shoot at you. Ehri and I will try to pick off the Dread blocking your path."
"Hopefully?" Soon said.
At least now he understood why the battle wasn't over. Somehow, the rebels had gotten a Dread tank into a highly defensible position and were blasting anything that got too close.
"Stay close, let's hit them together," Donovan said. "Full speed ahead."
FOURTEEN
DONOVAN GLANCED TO HIS left, finding Ehri's mech right beside him, so close he flinched in fear they might collide before remembering who was piloting the machine. They were bearing down on the edge of the city, almost on top of the torn and broken skyscrapers that littered the area. The rebel tank hadn't fired again, but now that they had moved in closer they could see there were other rebel soldiers on the ground, armed with Dread plasma rifles and firing on the enemy clones.
Somehow, the Austin rebellion had gotten their hands on Dread technology, before Donovan even had a chance to bring it to them.
They skirted through the war-torn streets, moving in tight synchronicity across the urban battlefield. Donovan checked his sensors every few seconds, tracking Soon on his way down behind them. It was their job to give him breathing room.
He aimed the mech's cannons, launching a barrage of projectiles into a squad of clone soldiers taking cover behind an old car. It burst apart under the assault, leaving a trail of metal and smoke that disguised the death of the enemy behind it. He found another target and opened fire, a plasma bolt ripping into another group of enemy combatants.
Beside him, Ehri did the same, seeking targets and cutting them down, creating a swath of destruction as they advanced toward the city center. They had to be careful they didn't draw too close and risk getting hit by friendly fire.
"Rebel One, on your right," Ehri said.
Donovan rotated the mech. The remains of a once massive building blocked his view, but his sensors had tracked another mech heading their direction. He immediately stopped moving, taking a few steps back. The mechs weren't able to register one another as enemy targets, and the Dread pilots didn't know they were there yet.
"On three," Donovan said. "One. Two. Three."
He and Ehri both moved out into the open ahead of the mech. They fired simultaneously, their combined plasma bursts ripping right into the cockpit of the armor and killing the pilot before he had a chance to react.
"Looks like you didn't need me after all," Soon said. "You've got friendlies cheering at your back."
Donovan turned his head to look toward his rear. Three human soldiers were at the corner of a building, fists in the air at their victory.
"Get Kroeger over to meet them," Donovan said. "We need word passed to that tank that we're the good guys."
"Affirmative."
"Rebel One, it looks like the bek'hai commander has realized we are here."
Donovan glanced at his sensors. They were picking up the signal of seven remaining mechs. All of them had turned to head their way.
"Damn," he said. "Rebel Three, drop your cargo and form up. We've got a fan club."
"Yes, sir," Soon said.
Donovan headed down a wide street, before ducking the mech through a tighter alley, crunching over a layer of rubble and attracting plasma attacks from clones on the ground. He hit them back, cutting them down and shaking his head at the futility of their efforts. Why didn't the pur'dahm let them run? It was so pointless. Ehri tracked down a separate lane, staying close but split apart as they moved to intercept the incoming mechs.
"Cargo unloaded," Soon said. "I'm on my way. Leave a dance partner for me."
"I don't think that will be a problem, Rebel Three," Donovan said.
"Incoming," Ehri said.
Donovan's HUD was showing red marks coming toward them. He ducked his mech, pressing it against the side of a building as most of the projectiles slammed into the area beside him, sending shards of concrete and glass and rubble everywhere. He cursed as two of the missiles hit the already damaged arm, the impact shaking the mech and causing the appendage to fall off completely, leaving only a trail of exposed biomechanical muscle and wires behind.
"Son of a bitch," Donovan said. His mech wasn't carrying any missiles. In fact, he was pretty sure his cannon rounds were nearly depleted as well.
"Back up, Rebel One," Soon said. "Lead them in. I've got you covered."
"Roger," Donovan said, moving his feet to put the mech into reverse. It backed away, crossing three streets as the enemy mechs appeared ahead of him. He took a few potshots with his plasma cannons and then reached a wider thoroughfare.
"Sharp left, Rebel One," Soon said.
Donovan made the turn, still backing away. The Dread pilot had sped up to reach him, and as he finally turned the corner, he left his back exposed to a waiting Soon. It didn't take much to destroy the armor from behind, taking one of the mechs out of the fight.
"This is Rebel Two. I could use a little help over here."
"On our way," Donovan said, checking his HUD again. Ehri was mixing it up with three of the mechs. The other three were still circling them, trying to get a better attack vector.
"Like sharks," Soon said.
"How do you know about sharks?" Donovan asked.
"I saw it on an old vid. I'd love to see a real one."
"Then let's finish off these assholes."
"Affirmative."
They reached Ehri, breaking around the corners on opposite sides and catching one of her assailants in a crossfire. The mech shook as their plasma dug into it, and then toppled over.
"That's two," Soon said.
"Watch the outliers," Donovan warned, noticing the three circling mechs beginning to close in from behind. "We're getting cut off."
"Crap," Soon said. "There's too many of them."
"One at a time," Ehri said. "Let's take the one on the left."
"Good idea," Donovan said.
They adjusted their vectors, using the buildings as cover while they circled the lone mech. It left them open to attack from the others, but there was no way around that anyway. They needed to thin the numbers, to have fewer weapons able to target them.
"Rebel Three, break left," Donovan said. "Rebel Two, ease off. Let's meet him at the same time."
The other two mechs followed his commands, angling in and emerging on the target as one. They blasted it with their combined firepower, knocking it into a pile of rubble and taking it out of the fight.
"Three," Donovan said, checking for the next target.
His heart raced as he caught sight of his tail. Two of the Dread mechs were closing in behind him, about to clear the cover he had inadvertently positioned himself behind.
"I need backup," he said as they reached the open space.
He swung his mech, rotating it around to clear the delicate backside as they opened fire. Plasma bolts tore into the side of the armor, ripping into the remaining arm and one of the legs. More red symbols appeared on his HUD, and a warning beep began to soun
d.
"Rebel Two, what does the beeping mean?" he asked as he tried to back away from the onslaught, fighting to remain calm.
"Critical damage," Ehri said. "You need to get out of the mech now, Major."
Donovan looked ahead to the two mechs. Another plasma bolt crossed the distance, slamming into the torso directly below him.
He grabbed at the cockpit release, finding some relief when it responded, and the mech opened up to let him out. He didn't give much thought to climbing down. Instead, he grabbed one of the Dread rifles before sliding down a leg, feeling the heat of the damaged mech against the gori'shah he was wearing under his clothes. He heard the stomping of feet, and watched as Ehri cut in front of his downed mech, unleashing her ordnance on the two attackers. The strikes hit them in the legs, blistering through delicate joints and knocking them off-balance. One fell, hitting the other, and they both collapsed in a heap.
Donovan couldn't communicate with them now that he was out of the mech, and he was reduced to little more than a bystander. At least for a moment, until the Dread clones started shooting at him. He ducked behind his mech, and then ran down an alley, turning his head back every few seconds to try to keep track of his squad.
Soon's mech passed in front of him, crossing his path as it tangled with one of the Dread armors. It had taken some damage but appeared fully operational.
The remaining enemy mechs were closing in, and even from the ground he could see Soon was in trouble. Every instinct in him told him to run toward the fight, not away from it. He tried to resist. What was he going to do on the ground?
Soon was going to die if he did nothing. Ehri, too.
"Major."
He heard Kroeger's raspy shout over the din of the battle. He looked that direction, finding him surrounded by rebel soldiers, all of them already armed with Dread rifles. Mendez was with him.
"Where's Thompson?" he asked.
Kroeger shook his head. Damn.
"We need to help Soon and Ehri. They're about to get pummeled."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that, Major," Kroeger said. He put his arm around one of the soldiers. "Give it up to my man here, will you Corporal?"
