by John Davis
“That is correct.” Avery replied formally.
“Job well done. I would much like to see the prisoners at once, especially the one called Roman.” Anwick replied.
“Then it will be arranged at once.” Avery replied, extending his arm as to welcome the Hunters into the compound.
“Two Hunter Carriers will land here for a short period, deploying troops as well as a handful of Fangs, at which time the Carriers will group with your Legion ships and prepare for an air assault.” Anwick said as the group walked down a well lit hallway of solid white walls and ceiling.
“Indeed,” Avery responded. “The force that we have assembled should be more than enough to shred the Colonial Fleet within minutes.” he added.
“Good. Very good.” Anwick replied.
The lights in and around the cell switched from dim to full bright as the prisoners jumped to their feet, Lassiter much slower, pulling himself up through the pain of his injuries.
“Roman Raines,” Anwick said proudly as he approached the cell. “Much has changed since my friend Lexion lay dead by your hands.” he added.
“If you are referring to my ability to kill Hunters, actually, not much has changed.” Roman said insultingly.
“Yes. I was not aware of your past until your crew slipped from my grasp on Tameca. The deeper I dug into your files, the more impressed I became. So, do you mind if I ask you exactly how many of my kind you killed during your time with the Gali Special Forces?” Anwick asked, knowing Roman had never officially been a Gali soldier.
“I stopped counting after the first hundred or so.” Roman replied, gaining instant stares from the other prisoners.
“Hundred? You said a couple?” Dalton added in amazement.
“You see, it seems that your crew has been carrying a cold blooded killer for some time now. Isn't that right Roman?” Anwick replied, looking heavily at the hardened soldier.
“In fact, the only reason he is with you is because he is being hunted by his own government,” Anwick said as Roman looked up at him brashly. “Seems he turned on his own kind, killed a handful of Gali Special Ops soldiers in the process. As much as I want to kill you with my own hands, even I couldn't turn down the bounty they have placed on your head. I wonder what your precious Captain Michaels would say to this?” he added.
“I'd say ten percent sounds about right, don't you think Roman?” Michaels said from behind the group, standing beside Sarah and two of the Colonial soldiers, the remaining two on the opposite side of the group.
“I'd rather rot in this Legion prison cell, ten percent is chump change,” Roman replied smiling as Anwick and his group stood in shock. “On the other hand, fifteen sounds about right.” Roman added as Dalton grinned widely, his beard nearly falling from his face in the process.
“I can do fifteen,” Michaels replied, looking over to Anwick, Avery and the escort soldiers. “Now open the door.”
“Captain Michaels. You must know that there is no place you can hide that will be safe?” Anwick asked.
“Lieutenant Michaels, actually, and I'm done running.” Adam said, pulling a long black lever on the stock of his rifle; arming it to fire. “Now. Open the damn door.” he added.
As the group stood there waiting for Anwick's reply, Adam fired a shot, hitting one of the Legion soldiers in the head and deadening him on the spot. Pulling the pin back again, Avery stepped to the front, yelling, “Open the damn door!”
As Roman and Dalton exited the cell, Steiner followed close behind, helping Lassiter. As Michaels began to hand the men sidearms, Sarah walked toward the group, bluntly slapping Avery across the cheek of his face.
“That's for handing me over to them!” she yelled as Anwick, the three escort Hunters and a Legion soldier looked on.
“You bitch! I should have killed you myself and been done with it!” Avery managed to yell before having nearly an entire side of his face blown off by Roman's combat pistol.
“That's me keeping a promise.” the Gali warrior remarked as they bolted the cell door shut, getting into position to move out.
“Ya'll hang tight now.” Dalton said tauntingly.
“This isn't over Adam, I promise you that.” Anwick said calmly with his face pressed against the bars of the cell.
“If not, this puts you down two to nothing.” Michaels smiled, infuriating the Hunter, who began shrieking loudly.
“Damn glad to see you guys.” Dalton said, getting a slight pat on his shoulder and nod from Lieutenant Michaels.
Commander Blaine stood in the command center of the Colonial Star Five, which was rendezvousing with three more of the Colonial Stars before launching the assault against the Legion. It was nothing more than a staging ground, ships falling into formation, giving the operation the best chance for success while limiting damage as much as possible. Surrounded by neon green grids on all of the walls and a huge grid which was mounted to the floor in the center of the room, crewmen used special graphing markers to update the grids with the position of the ships, while Colonial chatter broadcast throughout the room on several com units.
Even Blaine, who was the ranking officer on Colonial Star Five, didn't know what each panel in the room was used for. All he knew is that they were individually manned by members of his crew, who monitored everything from communication between Spartan pilots to damage control and assessment of the ship. There was no window in the Command Room that overlooked the stars; instead, he had to rely on the information of the grids to be correct. As he watched, a crew member listened to the chatter over his headset for a moment, before aligning the three ships on the central grid that represented the Colonial Star Ships.
“Everyone is in position commander, awaiting your go.” the crewman said as Blaine took one last look around the Command Center, taking in the sights of a ship untouched, the looks on every soul's face as they awaited his command to officially send them into war with the Legion army.
“I wanted to take a moment to personally thank each and every one of you for your service to the Allied Colonies. To say that it is an honor to serve with you would be an understatement. Even as we get set to embark on an act of war that will forever change the complexion of this star system, I want you all to hold to the belief that we are doing so in the most innocent of fashions. To preserve our freedom and the freedom of those citizens who cannot defend themselves. Good luck and God speed,” the commander said proudly through a hand held com unit, his message ringing throughout every ship, every headset and every Spartan pilot's helmet. “You have a go.” he calmly said to the crew member as he mounted his com unit back onto the wall.
“So where's our ride?” Dalton asked.
“There is no ride, at least not yet. We find a place and dig down until the Colonial force arrives.” Adam answered.
“Nice, but there will be thousands of people shooting, and that's only here on the ground. How the hell do they expect to find us?” Dalton replied, looking at Adam dumbfounded. Rather than replying, Lieutenant Michaels simply grabbed the medallion signifying his rank and flipped it over, exposing a tracking beacon.
“Oh, well, I guess that will work, but I would have done it differently.” Dalton replied in an attempt to save face.
“We need to make it to the outer perimeter of the compound, much better chance of hanging out unnoticed.” Adam said to the group as he strategically scouted the horizon.
Several rifles shots rang out as two of the Colonial soldiers fell to the ground abruptly. The rest of the group dove for cover, finding refuge behind a stack of metal shipping crates nearby. A small squad of Legion troops had noticed the intruders, sounding a screeching alarm that rang throughout the compound, prompting several sets of soldiers to follow in the pursuit of the Colonial group.
“Well, there's our dick flapping in the wind,” Dalton said, pulling one of the seriously injured soldiers to cover, his body dragging roughly across the solid dirt surface. “Well, not all of us.” he added after a punishing stare
from Sarah. It was a solid spot of cover, but it wouldn't last long with the large number of enemies closing in on them, the metal shipping crates taking a pounding from the relentless gunfire.
“Well, looks like this may be it.” Lassiter said.
“Just hold as long as we possibly can.” Lieutenant Michaels replied as Roman and Steiner both grabbed rifles to join up with Dalton while Sarah helped tend to the fallen troops.
Pressing a makeshift bandage down firmly onto one of the gunshot wounds of a Colonial solider, Sarah stopped suddenly as she heard a thunderous scream nearby.
“What... the fuck...was that?” Dalton asked cautiously, joining the other men in staring at one of the Fang soldiers. Hulking tall, it was at least ten feet in height and the largest creature any of them had ever seen walking on two legs. A huge fang extending from the bottom of its mouth on each side, at least as wide as a human hand, solid white hair thickly braided and falling down the upper portion of its back. Heavily armored with a thick chest plate of black plate mail, it quickly became apparent to the Colonial soldiers that the weapons they were firing were having little to no effect as it continued a full sprint toward them unhindered.
The commanding officer of the group simply stood in amazement, having never seen anything like a Fang before.
“Adam! We need to move, NOW!” Sarah yelled, bringing him back into reality for a moment.
He nodded, frantically checking his surroundings in hopes of finding a way out of the impending slaughter of his team. He needed a miracle of some kind, they were surrounded and pinned down in a spot that provided no exit.
The bloodcurdling screams of the beast grew louder, before suddenly being silenced by the overpowering booms of hundreds, if not thousands of ships hitting the planet's atmosphere at full burn. The Colonial fleet had arrived with not a second to spare, the attack force descending onto the Legion fortress quickly and without retaliation. Adam noticed the Legion troops, who had been moving in on their position, had began scrambling to nearby buildings to prepare for the inevitable battle at hand. He prayed that the Fang who was bearing down on them would follow suit.
No such luck. Michaels quickly checked, only to see the monster continuing his rush towards them. Trying his best to hold back his emotion; wanting only to begin firing his rifle into the sky and curse the Gods who had returned the favor his entire life, he simply threw the rifle to the ground in favor of his two revolver style pistols. Adam closed his eyes, tightly gripping the wooden handles of the weapons as he knew the Fang would be on them in only moments.
“Adam get them out of here, now.” Roman replied, as he stood there holding a combat pistol and hand length blade.
Steiner quickly joined the other hero, unsheathing his machete and pulling a shotgun to the ready with his free hand. Adam realized at that moment, Roman was prepared to die in a much different fashion than the one he had lived it, as a hero.
“GO!” Roman yelled as the Fang was close enough to hear the warrior's command. Adam pointed into the direction of the nearest building he could find as Sarah, Dalton and the remaining Colonial soldiers who were able, helped the wounded quickly to the building's position.
Lieutenant Michaels slowed his run down long enough to turn and look back at his friend, who alongside Steiner, was fighting valiantly in the face of death.
Having been shot several times, at least two rounds hitting it from point blank range directly in the face, the Fang fiercely struck Roman in the area of his neck and face; dropping the former Gali warrior. Before Steiner could intervene with a swing of his machete, the Fang fired two shots from a Hunter rifle, both finding their mark into the chest of Roman who lay limp in a quickly formed pool of his own blood.
Time seemed to stop. Adam considered going back for his friends and trying to help them take out the Fang. He also knew in his heart that Roman was either dead or committed to the act of dying. He glanced the other way, seeing Sarah waving him to her in slow motion, Dalton yelling to him with no sound reaching his ears. This was truly a moment that would stick with him for the rest of his life. He had to make a decision between what he knew was the right and running to the woman that he loved. He was tired of running.
As he loosened the grip on the handles of his pistols only slightly, Adam turned his attention back to the Fang, who was fighting fiercely with Steiner as Roman continued to lay lifeless in the same spot; blood soaking into the surrounding ground. It was time to fight back or die trying. Adam started a path in the direction of the fight when he was thrown several feet, before hitting the unforgiving dirt with tremendous force by a nearby blast. Explosions rang out around him as the Spartans had made it to near ground level, firing their weapons onto the compound in unison.
It took only moments for Michaels to recognize the desperation of Sarah's voice, yelling loudly enough to get his attention; his ears still ringing from the deafening explosion. He slowly stumbled toward them, shell shocked and heavily disoriented.
“What were you thinking?” Sarah yelled as she and Dalton helped the Lieutenant into the door of the small building. He didn't reply, instead, looking back to his friends only to see nothing but empty ground.
The thunderous booms of the explosions began to multiply as Legion forces sprang the trap, sending hundreds of air defense missiles into the sky followed by squadrons of Strikewings burning at full speed. Tracer rounds finished lighting the breaking dawn sky as hundreds of Colonial ships engaged the Legion attack planes in dog fighting tactics. Meanwhile, the Colonial Stars moved into position, firing their multiple ship to ship cannons at the approaching Legion Capital ships and Hunter Carriers.
“Have you located Lieutenant Michaels' tracking beacon?” Commander Blaine said, standing firmly at the central grid inside of the Command Center.
“Yes sir, he's indoors and the area is too hot for extraction. Will have to wait for the area to secure or they will have to come to us.” one of his crew replied, charting several positions on a nearby wall mounted grid.
“Very well. Concentrate guns onto Legion ships, they will be much more populated than the Carriers.” Blaine instructed as his crew members acknowledged the order and began relaying the instructions to the ship's weapons room.
“Our Spartans are taking a pounding up there.” Lassiter said as the strike team continued to look outside.
“The entire Fleet is taking a pounding,” Sarah replied. She was right, the Colonial Fleet was heavily outnumbered and taking great losses across the board. “Listen,” Sarah said, quieting the rest of the crew. “Mini-guns!” she added as a Colonial sweeper team moved into sight, escorted by two of the very capable Goliath units.
The heavily armored soldiers of steel slowly made their way through a small portion of the compound, mowing Legion forces down in their wake. The lead continued to pour out of their automatic weapons, chewing into the flesh of the outmatched foes in red and black leather as the Colonial forces had almost reached Lieutenant Michaels and his team; when a group of two Hunters escorted a single Fang into the area. Aiming down the sights of one of his pistols, Adam's arm was quickly pushed away by the swift hand of Sarah.
“We are no match, not without Roman and Steiner. Gunfire would only give our position away.” she said, pleading with Adam as he looked back at his team for a moment.
Lassiter, as well as two of the Colonial soldiers were wounded, one of them life threatening. She was right, they would be of very little help to the Colonial force outside, all they could do is remain sheltered and wait for the skirmish to end, hoping the Goliaths could end the life of the Fang.
However, hope was soon cut short. As the half dozen Colonial soldiers exchanged fire with the two Hunters, the Goliath units began to circle the Fang. The small-arms fire of the others tapered off quite a bit, which was an indication that everyone was watching the battle between the Goliaths and Fang ensue. It was the first of its kind, and a very good bookmark as to which side had the advantage throughout the star system.
<
br /> For several minutes, the Goliaths maintained a combination of gunfire and punishing punches by way of their solid titanium arms. As it seemed the mechanical menaces were gaining the upper hand of the fight, one of the Goliath units made the mistake of overreaching during a wide angled punch, the Fang thrusting up to tear the mechanical arm from the shoulder of the super soldier. As the Goliath staggered several feet back, the Fang then pummeled the unit to the grown using its closed fists, turning its attention to the second Goliath. Falling back, the remaining Goliath began to lay down cover fire as the Colonial soldiers retreated.
It had quickly become obvious to Adam and his crew that the Colonials would fall in defeat at the end of this battle. Their only hope now was to find a way back to the Colonial Star Five before time ran out. The courtyard of the compound was littered with fallen Legion soldiers, ship wreckage from the thick sky above, Colonial men and women who had died for a cause they believed in and even the occasional Hunter.
They covertly moved from position to position, careful not to alert any of the units in the open that were engaged in the mass bloodshed. The plan was to move back to the rear of the compound, leaving the same way they had arrived and hope that Colonial ships spotted their beacon before Legion forces caught up to them. It wasn't the greatest of plans, but Adam had thrown it together under fire and it was all they had to go with.
“Lieutenant Michaels.” Commander Blaine's voice announced through Adam's ear mounted com unit.
“Go ahead!” Michaels replied, shocked to hear the Blaine's voice in the midst of he loud fighting around him.
“We have picked you up on the grid. If there is any chance you can move two clicks to the Southeast, there is a large Colonial unit dug in there to assist you.” Blaine replied.
“Southeast. Move out now!” Michaels yelled to his group, responding to the commander's request. “Yes sir.”
“Is Sarah alright?” Blaine asked cautiously, the few seconds of silence seeming like eternity.
