13
Before we reached the surface, I could hear intense gunfire from the landing outside. Leaving my men on the stairs, I crept up along the wall by myself and peered around the corner. The front doors were wide open and had not been breached by explosives. Outside, I could see a thick wall surrounding the courtyard, and dozens of the aliens were using it as defensive cover from human soldiers on the other side.
I leaned back and waved my men forward. With all the commotion out front, we had not yet been spotted and I wanted to keep it that way. We formed two lines inside and silently glided out the front door directly behind the alien defenders.
Giving a quiet signal over the radio, we opened fire. Neither side had any cover to speak of, nor did they give up without a fight. Several of my men were hit before we put down the remaining enemy forces.
While our medics helped whoever they could, I approached the wall, put a few more slugs into whatever was still moving, and leapt onto the rise of stone. Soldiers everywhere relaxed their stances as I appeared.
“Area secure!” I shouted out, before dropping down onto the ground.
Moments later, Major Stine appeared from the door of a darkened building. He took a few steps closer as I approached.
“It’s about time you get here!” he announced, and quickly looked me over. “Looks like you’ve had some trouble along the way.”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” I replied, ignoring his crack about my appearance. “I commanded my operation. What do you need us to do next?”
“Well,” he began, “It’s hit the fan out there. The aliens have got a force at least triple what we had predicted; they’re all out on the plain giving the entire regiment a beating. We’ve had to redeploy most of the forces designated for dome-clearing to the battle outside, which has slowed down everything. Thank God you showed up when you did.”
Most of my soldiers had scaled the wall in similar fashion to my previous attempt, and Stine estimated the numbers.
“I need you to move your men outside to start subduing some of their armor. There’s not much in the way of vehicles left, so you’ll have to go on foot, but you can resupply on my gunboat.”
I nodded. “Will do.”
I got a few more details from him while my team formed up before heading down the street toward the nearest airlock.
It was still pitch black outside, and the wind howled with swirling ice. Following the major’s instructions, we ran straight out from the dome into darkness and soon could see a few lights illuminating the ground from the ship. The ramp to the vehicle bay was still deployed, and I ran straight up through it to the hall before the armory. Stine was right: There were only a handful of lighter trucks left. None of them had heavy enough weapons to be effective in the battle.
The mass of soldiers assembled around me and filled the hallway.
“Listen up!” I shouted, while drawing a quick sketch of the field on the wall. “The guys out here are outnumbered pretty severely, and we’re gonna go even the odds.” I paused. “We’re splitting into three-man fire teams. We’ll use the remaining trucks to drive a wedge into their formations here.”
I added a thick arrow on my plot. “We’ll unload and go on foot, taking out everything that gets in range. Once you’re out of ammunition, go back to the ship to resupply. Everyone max out on rockets and explosives.”
In the weak gravitational field, I loaded twenty-four rocket tubes onto my back, along with six satchels on my chest and a few magazines for each rifle. Next went the standard combat visor from my helmet. In its place, I mounted an upgraded model enhanced for nocturnal combat. Not counting the armor, my equipment weighed in at nearly 140 kilos, but I could still move with relative ease.
After getting loaded up, I pointed to two other men who had already assembled their gear. “You two are with me,” I ordered. “Don’t let me down. I’d hate to waste ammo on you.”
They looked at me and back at each other before grabbing their weapons and falling into line.
“We’re with you, sir!” one announced.
“Good thing you agree,” I said as I left the armory. “Let’s get the trucks started up. We don’t have much time.”
After starting the engines of all ten light transportation trucks, I climbed into the back of the lead one along with my fire team and about five others. I studied a crude map I had made minutes earlier, but I didn’t think the drive in would be too bad. We had about a 20 kilometer stretch to cover and hardly any turns to make along the plain.
My driver maneuvered our vehicle into position on the ramp and waited for the rest to form up. Over my radio, I overheard the human forces losing another heavy tank.
“That’s it,” I ordered, “We’re moving out now, or there won’t be much left for us to rescue!”
We roared out down the ramp and into the snow. The light trucks were the fastest vehicles we had with us and tore up the land before our column. Minutes passed and the seconds ticked by.
“How are we doing?” I asked the driver, with one eye still on the map.
“Making good time. We’ll be at the estimated destination within four minutes,” the private replied.
I opened the rear loading platform and instantly bits of ice whirled inside. Only the dimmest of lights were to be seen from the truck behind us. I took a knee on the plank and looked out to either side.
We should be able to see something by now, I thought to myself while tuning the sensors in my helmet. They took several seconds to adjust to the environment and features on the ground began to come into view.
Looking out farther, I started to see dozens of heavy targets become marked by small flags in the display: red for alien, blue for human.
“Slow us down, we’re just about there,” I radioed to the entire group.
We slowed, and I tried to make out the best route to the targets to our left. They were easily 300 meters out, but something caught my eye much closer. It didn’t look like an alien tank, but more like a dull, static-filled blob.
“Look sharp – we may have something here!” I hardly got my words out before I could see structure appear in the shape. It was definitely alien.
“Contact! Fifty meters left! Evac now!” I shouted and dove from the truck, which was still doing nearly 30 k’s.
Several alien tanks materialized out of the darkness and opened fire on our convoy. I barely cleared the metal edge of the plank before a blast slammed into the nose of our truck and sent it spinning in the air. My display showed that my fire team had been thrown clear and were still alive, so I didn’t wait for anything else. I sprinted from the light of our burning trucks and armed my first rocket.
I stood defiantly against the massive alien battle tank, raised the rocket launcher, and fired. The first shot impacted right in the center mass, and the entire unit exploded in a massive fireball. I took off on a run again, dropping the spent launcher and switching to the second.
Four more shots and I had ventilated the three other tanks that had ambushed us. I was maybe 80 meters off of the last target when I took my shot. As I pulled the trigger, the wind kicked up and blew the missile sideways. Keeping the sight on the tank, the rocket tried to correct itself but could not. It impacted the ground harmlessly and dodged incoming fire from the tank while I armed and fired off another round, which hit dead center.
Our numbers had only ticked down to eighty-nine percent so far, and I was far from giving up. I led what remained of my battalion across a few hundred meters of the wasteland until we got in range of the rest of the battle. Clearing a slight rise in the terrain, the field before us was far from motivating.
Twenty to thirty humans were entrenched far to the left and were under siege on three sides from the extraterrestrial forces. If we didn’t move fast, I could see they would be surrounded in minutes. I overheard a couple grumbles, curses, and words of disbelief from the men around me.
“Shut it!” I growled. “We’ve got to move now or all those guys do
wn there aren’t going to make it.”
Thinking on my feet, I continued, “We’ve got a bit less than 200 meters to the nearest targets. The rockets can probably hit under 100 meters, but don’t take chances in this environment. We don’t have the ammo to waste.
“We’ve got to run within range. Spread out on your way down and engage them as soon as you can get a shot off. I don’t see any of the aliens on foot, but I wouldn’t count on not needing our rifles. Ready?” I casually asked, as if I was asking the group to jump into a pool of icy water. Taking a few deep breaths, I focused my mind on the task at hand. I heard no objections.
“MOVE!” I shouted through my radio.
I took off first with the rest behind me. The lesser gravity carried me along easily, and I never remembered running so fast. I got within 100 meters and began arming my remaining rockets.
I shot first while still on the run. The blast impacted the dead center of an alien transport, which erupted in fire and smoke. I ditched the tube and pulled out my next as the battalion launched off their first volley over my shoulders. Several hit their marks, and I ran in between the first few burning wrecks.
Gunfire flashed in the distance from the other human engagement, and we began to take fire as well. Shots from cannons flashed like balls of fire in the night, and they impacted the ground before me as I dodged to avoid the blasts. I had a round ready for the nearest one that was trying to take me out. He saw me coming and put a shell right over my shoulder.
I dove sideways to avoid the glowing round and felt its heat as it passed. Rolling up to my knees, I had the next target in my sights and took it out. From my position, I could see two more tanks in range, which I eliminated before going further in. Running continuously deeper into the fray, I was soon completely alone.
I knelt behind a burning tank that I had just hit seconds earlier to catch my breath. Panels were still blowing off of it, but I took the chance that it wouldn’t blow me up with it.
Rockets from my squad blinked by me but most took out targets to either side. I only had seven shots left and at least a dozen armored vehicles between me and the human lines. I didn’t like those odds and stacked up my rocket supply in my left arm. All of them were armed, and I took the first one in my right hand before rounding my cover and continuing on.
I had no feeling left in my body. I felt no pain in my extremities and didn’t even feel the ground beneath my feet. With each shot I took, I mechanically dropped the spent round and grabbed another. I was almost through the mass of enemy forces, but could see one group remaining.
About eight heavy alien tanks had the humans pinned down and were firing from an elevated position behind heavy cover. There was no way for our armor to directly return fire. I had just fired my last shot at a light tank seconds earlier and I knew I couldn’t go back.
All I had left that could possibly work were the satchel charges. I armed them with a single detonator and ran closer. Shots rang out around me from the various enemy forces, but I ignored them all.
Holding the explosives by their integrated handles, I got within throwing distance and tossed the first two onto the roofs of the tank hulls. Infantry came out of hiding and tried to hold me off. With one hand, I lifted my assault rifle and engaged them at point blank range. More approached from the side as I made my deliveries on the third and fourth tanks, and I wove in between the rest, depositing the fifth on the side.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a beam of light above tank number six, and I knew the aliens were trying to stop me. I drove up the body of the tank and met a very surprised alien gunner when his head protruded from his sanctuary. I gave it one shot to the face with the battle rifle before I gathered my strength and leapt clear from the sixth vehicle to the seventh and then to the eighth.
Dropping the last charge, I pushed off with all my might and flew at least ten meters out before hitting the detonator. The shock wave propelled me farther in the air.
Even in the diminished gravity, the ground pulled me down sharply, and I landed hard. I didn’t care; the nearest human tank was now only about 50 meters away. I could see the commander step out toward me as I approached.
“Soldier, you’re a lifesaver!” he proclaimed. “We’d all be dead right now if it wasn’t for you.”
I nodded. “How much longer until we get this cleaned up?”
The officer looked quizzically at me. “Didn’t you hear? Colonel Wolf has ordered us to pull out from the battle. He feels we don’t have the manpower necessary to take the planet.”
I stared back at him. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was, but we can’t survive these losses. Command underestimated the enemy’s forces by at least 200 percent.”
“So what happens now?” I asked, feeling my skin burning despite the cold.
“According to the colonel’s orders, you are to take whatever men you have left and cover our exfiltration. In order to land the gunboat safely, we need a kilometer between us and the remaining enemy armor. Any closer and they’d take us apart with their anti-air guns.”
“All right,” I said, nodding as members of my team began to approach. “Can you give me some more men and ammunition?”
“Sure, we can spare some. Just follow us on the route out and get on the gunboat behind us.”
As it turned out, the aliens didn’t have much interest in pursuing our forces much farther. We escorted the human tanks back though light enemy engagements and secured the perimeter around a landing zone. While the commander said we had one Kilometer to go, I swear we had to go at least three.
I breathed a sigh of relief as the command ship appeared through the storm and loaded up the ground vehicles. Once they were secure, I gave the signal to my battalion to evacuate as well. What happened next, I never saw coming.
14
Colonel Wolf was standing on the landing platform of the ship. The soldiers under my immediate command rushed past him to get aboard. He was dressed in a complete set of armor and carrying a battle rifle. By his stance, I could clearly see he had spent his fair time in combat. He stood in my path.
“Captain, wait a moment.”
I stopped 2 meters from him. I pulled back my visor so I could see him better in the dim light. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“Something has come to my utmost attention that I need to address.”
I never saw it coming. In a fraction of a second, he drew his weapon and fired a single shot into my chest. The bullet landed square on the forward plate, deflected sideways, and plunged through the joint and into my shoulder. The force knocked me in a circle, and I tumbled down the ramp. My rifle slipped from my hands and disappeared into the darkness below. It felt like I had been hit by a train. I clutched my chest, trying to stem the flow of blood now pouring out through my armored plates.
“Pilot, we’re lifting off. Now,” I heard him announce through my pain. I struggled to raise myself off the ground to my knees. I had gotten one foot out before the colonel erupted.
“What in God’s name were you thinking?” He shouted. “Killing one of your own men? You’re a monster!”
“It was the only choice I had!” I shouted back, wincing as I spoke. “I got us back! We did our job!”
“Is that all that matters to you? Half of our battle is our conduct! We are men of honor! What kind of animal do you think you are?”
I could hardly bear to speak anything more. “What proof—” I didn’t even get a chance to finish.
“Don’t even try to call me out like that!” He stepped closer. “When word of this gets back to Earth, you’ll face death, ruination. You’ll be remembered as a murderer.”
“You can’t do this,” I stammered.
“I can guess that someone else said the same thing to you not very long ago. Fortunately I’m not afforded the luxuries of feelings like revenge and bloodlust. We’re all professionals here.” The colonel relaxed his stance, opened his hand and pulled me to my feet.
�
�Let me see that,” he said, removing my hand from the wound and inspecting it.
“Don’t let me go like this.”
“I wouldn’t worry about being remembered as a traitor.” He paused and glanced back from the bullet hole to my eyes. “You’ll be dead long before anyone else even finds out. Maybe I’m not perfect, but I’ll have no problems living with this,” he stated simply, and struck my injured shoulder using an open palm and with all his might.
My entire body felt on fire as I lifted off my feet, tumbled out the back of the ship, and fell a dozen meters through the air. My eyes were nearly sealed shut, but through the storm, all I could see was the colonel staring back at me. I couldn’t tell if it was a look of disgust or disappointment as the platform high above disappeared through the blowing ice into the night. I hit the ground with a sickening crunch and couldn’t come to comprehend what had just happened. Wolf had left me to die.
I wanted to stand up and curse his name, to enact my revenge on him, but I could barely even breathe. For a moment, I felt as if I might die there in the alien wasteland. Something still burned inside me and kept me alive. It wasn’t my family; for the first time I couldn’t see their faces in my mind. It was rage. One thing I knew, I was not going to let the colonel get the best of me. I made the decision right there that I was going to survive.
Writhing about, I tried to cover the hole in my suit as best I could. Blood had drained all the way to my waist and was now completely frozen. My right arm hung limp refusing, to respond. Looking about, I tried to find some manner of shelter to fix myself up.
A few meters away, I spied the rifle I lost on the ship. I half crawled over to it, sliding all over on the ice, having no arms to steady myself in the storm. The wind was shifting, and I could see something burning in the darkness, just a flicker of red light piercing through. I got within maybe 30 meters before I made out the form. It was a burned-out human personnel carrier.
MissionSRX: Confessions of the First War Page 10
