***
XXXVIII
‘Fall back!’
General Bra’hiv’s voice was almost drowned out by the ever-rising roar of the Arcadia’s massive engines and the cacophony of plasma blasts crackling through the air.
Evelyn grabbed hold of Teera and they began retreating once more as the Hunters swarmed in toward them, the remaining Veng’en plunging into the Marines with blades flashing in the dawn light. Evelyn noted that the Veng’en assault raiders had now completed their deployment and were sitting with ramps open, presumably awaiting the return of the Veng’en warriors and hordes of infected humans.
The wave of Hunters was frighteningly deep, surging forward as if by momentum alone, broad enough to cut off any escape route to the parked ships and almost reaching the cliff edges to Evelyn’s right. The only escape route back toward Arcadia was cut off by the frigate itself - moving past or beneath it as its engines wound up and with the danger of its hull braces collapsing upon take off was virtual suicide. Behind the frigate advanced further waves of Hunters relentlessly closing in on the beleaguered humans.
‘There’s no way out!’ Evelyn shouted.
A Veng’en warrior broke through the Marines and leaped high into the air on its muscular legs before crashing down amid the surging slaves, arms and legs wind-milling as thick talons sliced into densely packed human flesh. Cries of pain and fear rang shrill above the deafening roar of Arcadia’s engines and the nearby battle.
Evelyn rushed toward the Veng’en as it bit deeply into the shoulder of a fallen slave. She pressed her pistol against the back of its head and fired, blasted its brain from its skull in a bloody mess that sprayed down onto the injured man beneath it.
The man’s eyes stared up at her, poisoned with horror, and Evelyn felt sickened as she saw a splatter of Infectors pouring from the dead Veng’en’s mouth and into the slave’s bloodied shoulder wound.
Evelyn did not hesitate as she aimed and fired at the man, killing him instantly and frying the Infectors swarming into his body.
‘We can’t hold them off for long!’ Bra’hiv yelled.
Evelyn turned to look toward Qayin’s Marines, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw in the distance Bravo Company charging toward them, a pillar of smoke and flame obscuring the parked vessels behind.
‘They’re on their way!’ Evelyn replied as she turned and shot at another Veng’en as it ducked behind a low dune and then propelled itself into the air.
The creature rushed down at her and Evelyn hurled herself to one side as it landed with a dull thud right beside her. She rolled over and aimed up at the Veng’en only for her weapon to be batted aside with a single swipe of its muscular arm that numbed her as the Veng’en plunged down and tried to sink its teeth into her neck.
Evelyn screamed and twisted away from the creature’s bite, but she was no match for the Veng’en’s power as it leaned in, hot breath and razor sharp teeth brushing her skin.
Suddenly the beast was hauled aside and away from her. Evelyn gasped as she saw a huge Ogrin looming above her, its dull eyes shining with what looked like joy, the Veng’en held aloft in one gigantic hand as with the other the Ogrin tore its head off and hurled the macabre remains far across the barren land.
Evelyn scrambled to her feet as the Ogrin turned and lumbered toward the attacking Veng’en, blithely unaware of the danger to it from the swarming Hunters.
‘Cover it!’ Evelyn yelled as the Ogrin advanced.
Bra’hiv saw the Ogrin and began firing in support of it as it smashed its way past several Veng’en warriors. Plasma blasts hit it, leaving searing black welts of cauterised flesh smouldering as it moved, but the beast seemed in the grip of some kind of rage as it smashed its way forward.
Evelyn knew that she could do nothing to help the Ogrin, and moments later it plunged into the knee-deep wave of Hunters and smashed them aside with great sweeps of its giant arms. The Hunters were hurled by their thousands into the air like black water, as though the Ogrin were drowning in oil, and then they bit deep.
The Ogrin wailed in pain as the Hunters swarmed over it, consuming it alive. The bulky form of it was enveloped in black machines and as Evelyn watched it lost its shape as it was consumed and torn limb from limb, the deep, thunderous wails of pain lost to the seething symphony of the Legion’s advance.
The Hunters flooded past the rapidly collapsing form of the Ogrin and swelled as they reached the Marine’s defensive line.
‘That’s it!’ Bra’hiv roared as he got up. ‘Full retreat!’
The Marines broke ranks and fled, dashing toward Arcadia and firing as best they could against the handful of Veng’en still rushing at them. Evelyn began running too, and saw Qayin’s men pouring down the hillside toward them with huge blue drums rolling before them. Several scrambled to a halt nearby and began waving Bra’hiv’s Marines frantically past.
‘Keep moving!’ Evelyn yelled. ‘You’re not close enough to torch them!’
The Marines shook their heads and insistently waved Evelyn past. Alpha Company sprinted by in small groups, firing sporadically back at the Hunters as Bravo Company began spraying a thick, oddly-coloured fluid all over the ground nearby.
‘What the hell is that?’ Evelyn asked.
‘Devlamine!’ came the reply. ‘With a little something extra!’
Evelyn searched for Qayin but she couldn’t see him among the Marines. She hurried past and looked up at Arcadia’s huge ion engines. It could only be moments before they turned fast enough to fully engage, and then the frigate would lift off.
‘The ramps are still sealed!’ Evelyn shouted.
‘Get everybody as close as we can!’ Bra’hiv ordered. ‘We either get aboard or this ends here! It’s up to the captain and Atlantia now!’
*
‘Arcadia’s lifting off!’ Lael reported as the Atlantia’s bridge was rocked by another salvo from the Veng’en cruiser. ‘She’ll be leaving orbit within minutes!’
Mikhain gripped the rail that surrounded the command platform, his gaze switching from one tactical display to another as he desperately tried to keep track of the situation. Arcadia was about to lift off, and already they were tracking a small armada of pirate craft blasting their way off Chiron IV to leave the system. Bra’hiv’s Marines appeared to be pinned against the frigate’s hull and surrounded by a sea of Hunters and advancing Veng’en. Commander Ry’ere was fully engaged with the Veng’en cruiser, the jamming from which was blocking communications along with the violent solar wind blasting across the system from the parent star.
If Andaim failed, Atlantia would not be able to take control of Arcadia.
If Sansin was killed, there would be nobody in command of Atlantia.
If Arcadia launched under Salim’s command, Atlantia would have lost a valuable piece of Colonial war machinery and would likely find herself having to face battle again to regain her.
If the Veng’en cruiser kept hammering Atlantia with salvos, eventually her shields would fail and she would be destroyed.
‘What should we do, captain?’
Lael’s voice rang through Mikhain’s mind and for an instant there was no sound. Mikhain felt the burden of her question, the heaviest end laden with the word captain. Mikhain realised that everybody on the bridge was watching him, waiting for him to respond, to reveal some hidden knowledge or clever tactic that would extricate them all from the dilemma that they were facing.
But there was no clever tactic, nor hidden knowledge.
Mikhain did not know what to do.
Atlantia shuddered as a thunderous blast hammered her hull and the engineering officer’s alarmed tones rang out across the bridge.
‘Fires through all aft decks! Coolant breach in port engines!’
‘The Veng’en cruiser is attempting to cut off our line!’ the helmsman bellowed. ‘We’ll be defenceless if she broadsides us from dead ahead!’
Mikhain blinked sweat from his eyes as he scanned the bridge, seeking
some escape from his prison of command.
‘Starboard batteries fully charged!’ Ensign Scott reported.
Mikhain heard him, and in the desperate heat of the moment he latched on to the only command that he knew he could depend upon.
‘Fire all batteries, target the cruiser,’ he replied and then turned to the helmsman. ‘Then take us out of here.’
‘But the Veng’en cruiser?!’ the helmsman gasped.
‘We can’t win the fight!’ Mikhain roared as he pointed at the tactical officer. ‘Switch all power to our functional engines and take us out of here!’
The helmsman gaped at Mikhain, his features ashen. ‘Aye, captain,’ he uttered in response.
Mikhain turned and saw the tactical display showing the battle raging on the surface. The captain was down there somewhere, as were many Marines, Evelyn and countless of Salim’s slaves.
‘Nobody can save everybody,’ Mikhain murmured to himself.
A display showing the Veng’en cruiser above them distorted briefly as a targeting reticule appeared along with trajectory and range information. The glowing green digital display flashed suddenly red as the Atlantia’s massive guns locked on to the huge Veng’en cruiser.
‘Fire at will,’ Mikhain snapped. ‘Then disengage!’
*
‘Watch that crossfire, Five!’
A searing blast of plasma fire ripped across Andaim’s field of vision as two of the Veng’en cruiser’s cannons fired salvos toward the distant shape of Atlantia, the flickering spheres of red energy zipping past alongside a Raython diving to attack the same pair of guns.
Reaper Five pulled out of its dive and raced across the surface of the cruiser, with its shadow and Andaim’s Raython close behind.
‘I can’t target the power lines, boss!’ the pilot reported. ‘Too much interference!’
‘Where are the Corsairs?’ Andaim called.
‘Sector seven low, five thousand cubits!’ came the response from the lead bomber pilot. ‘There are too many Scythes for us to risk coming in any closer!’
Andaim pulled up, his Raython soaring high above the battle between the two capital ships as he pulled over the top and examined the shape of the battle through the top of his canopy from an elevated perspective. He ignored the two Scythe fighters that followed him up, their cannons firing but missing his nimble fighter as he weaved left and right.
Instantly, he saw the Atlantia moving in response to the Veng’en cruiser, which was trying to reach a position where it could fire upon the surface while minimizing the return fire directed at it. But Atlantia was creeping away from the cruiser instead of defending against it.
With a sudden realisation Andaim realised that Atlantia was preparing to disengage.
‘Oh no,’ Andaim gasped as a mental image of Evelyn leaped into his mind. ‘All craft, attack now, point-blank range!’
A chorus of disapproval roared back at Andaim from his pilots as they questioned his order, and he was forced to shout his reply.
‘Atlantia’s pulling out! Get that jamming down now or we’ll lose everything!’
The entire flight of Raythons rolled away from their engagements and accelerated toward the Veng’en cruiser. Andaim saw the specks of the two Corsairs, escorted by four Raythons, change course and race toward the Veng’en ship.
Andaim’s Raython roared toward the cruiser, the vast hull filling his vision as he came in under the giant plasma cannon’s field of fire and too fast for them to track him and then broke hard right as he opened fire. His cannons pounded the hull before him with bright blasts, but he knew that the cruiser’s powerful shields would prevent any serious damage from such small weapons.
He was about to pull away when he spotted movement across the surface of the hull, a mass of twisted, glittering metal around a massive ragged hole in the hull where Atlantia had hit the cruiser square-on with a salvo. The mass of metal looked like a black sea that was reflecting the glowing heavens around them, and for the briefest of moments Andaim’s eyes were fixated upon it as he flashed by and rocketed up and away from the cruiser’s surface.
His mind processed what he had seen, and suddenly he realised why the Veng’en had attacked them.
‘The Legion is aboard,’ he murmured to himself.
Andaim searched the battlefield around him, and then his eyes settled upon the immense glowing nebula filling the heavens. His gaze switched to the planet below them, Chiron IV: the perfect place for humans to hide out, and exactly the kind of place the Legion would search for them. Yet it had not come here.
And suddenly Andaim knew why.
***
XXXIX
‘Kordaz,’ Qayin greeted the Veng’en.
Kordaz remained stationary, his huge muscular bulk blocking Qayin’s access to the nearest spacecraft, the heavily armed X-shaped cruiser that Salim Phaeon had used as his command ship.
‘Going somewhere, Qayin?’ The Veng’en jerked his head backward slightly to indicate the ship behind them. ‘I wonder, if I had waited a little longer, whether I’d find that you’drolled a barrel or two of that Devlamine into one of these ships for future use?’
Qayin glanced up at the ship and then at Kordaz.
‘It’s tainted goods,’ he replied. ‘Mixed with flammable fuel as a weapon against…’
‘It’s filterable,’ Kordaz cut him off. ‘Just right for selling off to the highest bidder, and you get a ship out of it too. Not a bad plan, especially if you still have a supply of crystals with which to start your supply again.’
Qayin looked over his shoulder at his men now fighting the hordes of the Legion, their flamethrowers glowing in the distance beneath Arcadia’s massive hull.
‘Too far,’ Kordaz told him. ‘They’d never get to you in time and I don’t suppose they know that you’re intending to flee without them anyway.’
Qayin looked back at the Veng’en. ‘What the hell would you know about it? I was intending to fly down there and pick them up.’
‘Then why didn’t you fly down there to drop them off, Qayin? Would’ve saved some time, not to mention a few lives.’
The Marine’s jaw split in a wide grin. ‘You know, for a Veng’en you’re quite sharp. How about you join me and we get the hell out of this mess together?’
Kordaz flicked the plasma rifle’s safety-catch off and the weapon hummed into life.
‘How about you get on your knees?’
Qayin’s smile faded as he slowly got down onto his knees on the ground, then raised his hands behind his head and into his thick gold and blue locks.
‘We can work this out, Kordaz,’ he said quickly. ‘Ain’t no reason to put a round in my head.’
‘Who says I’m going to kill you?’ Kordaz asked as he approached Qayin’s kneeling form. ‘Maybe I’ll just slice you up a little, then take you back to Atlantia and learn why you sold me out to Salim Phaeon?’
Qayin’s eyes narrowed. ‘You got sold out?’
Kordaz kept the rifle pointed at Qayin. ‘Barely got out with my life.’
‘Nobody knew you were here,’ Qayin replied. ‘First we knew the captain had an ace up his sleeve was when the generators blew.’
‘You’re dealing, Qayin,’ Kordaz said. ‘I saw you in the sanctuary. I was right above you when you threatened the civilian and you never knew a thing about it.’
Qayin’s shoulders sagged as he realised that he was cornered.
‘You seriously give enough of a damn?’
Kordaz leaned closer to Qayin. ‘They gave me a home and you’re trying to destroy it. What do you think?’
Qayin’s arm flashed around and in his bunched fist was a slim, sharp blade that must have been tucked into his locks. Qayin bashed the rifle aside as he shot to his feet and slammed the blade into Kordaz’s chest.
The Veng’en shrieked in pain as he leaped backward, the rifle swinging back toward Qayin. Qayin dove forward and grabbed the handle of the blade as Kordaz plunged onto his back and slammed down ont
o the ground. Qayin landed on top of him and twisted the blade from side to side as he searched for an artery or one of Kordaz’s hearts to puncture.
Kordaz’s massive arms grabbed Qayin and heaved him aside, the Marine tumbling away and yanking the knife from the Veng’en’s chest as he went. Kordaz scrambled to his feet, pain wracking his chest and one hand grasping the wound as Qayin came up onto his feet with the blade held close to his thigh. His tattoos glowed malevolently as he stalked toward Kordaz.
‘You should have joined the Mark of Qayin,’ the Marine growled. ‘Better chance of survival.’
‘You’d cut out your own mother’s heart if the price was right,’ Kordaz hissed back at him. ‘I’d rather die.’
‘So be it.’
Qayin lunged forward and the blade flashed toward Kordaz’s throat. The Veng’en leaped up and to one side, the blade narrowly missing him as he landed with a deep thud. Off balance, Kordaz staggered as he coughed a globule of blood onto the waving grasses beneath them.
Qayin grinned, his head low and his eyes cruel as he stepped in.
Kordaz staggered backward out of range, giving ground to the Marine as his lungs began to pulse painfully with every single breath.
*
Teera ran up the hill through the swathes of smoke as Arcadia’s massive engines made the ground tremble beneath her feet. Her chest heaved and her lungs ached as she ran. The Atlantia’s level decks were not conducive to exercise of any real merit, and running up the rugged hillside in a gale was virtually impossible.
Teera staggered to the crest of the hillside and rested her hands on her knees as she bowed over at the waist, struggling to fill her lungs with enough air to continue. Behind her, the Marines she had passed with the blue barrels were hosing Hunters down in their millions with flamethrowers, scorching the ground in great swathes of apocalyptic flame and smoke. The whine of the engines and the crackle of gunfire urged her to push on, and through blurry eyes as she looked up she saw a pair of Raythons parked nearby amid spacecraft of various types.
Atlantia Series 3: Aggressor Page 28
