“Understood, after this run you’re due for a clean,” the flight controller said.
Yu wanted to argue but he’d seen how Combat Shuttles failed after too long in Earth’s dust.
“Got it, make sure our next ride is ready,” Yu said.
“Will do.” The flight controller cut the channel.
“We’re switching rides after this,” Yu said.
“Was going to suggest it, the turrets are getting gritty and the ramp’s hydraulics are gummed up,” Bobbie said.
“Sometimes I miss flying in space,” Yu complained.
“I remember a time when we had the Triple Twos stacked in the cargo hold, and all you wanted to do was fly in atmosphere,” Young teased.
“Grass is always greener on the other side,” Bobbie replied.
“Coming in to landing zone, prep ramp,” Yu said, and dust billowed out around them, making his visual sensors useless. He was just using his instruments to guide himself to the ground.
Red dust whipped into the cargo hold, covering everything. Yu looked back as Troopers rushed in, grabbing their seats.
They looked like phantoms as they appeared out of nowhere.
Wounded were deposited as the medics Yu was carrying got out of their harnesses and took over from the medics on the scene.
The Troopers were well trained in medical extraction, and in a few minutes they were filled with wounded.
“Sealing up!” Bobbie said, and the wind died down as Yu powered the engines, pushing them upwards. They got out of the worst of the dust and set off for Mega City.
He pushed the engines to full power, following the route Young had made, and he only saw the occasional roof and home in the Slums as he passed over.
Then he was descending again. They touched onto a landing pad and Troopers and medical personnel moved out with the wounded. The landing pad stopped next to the underground medical facilities.
As soon as the wounded were off the landing pad they continued on, Young communicating with flight control.
Yu sat back in his seat.
They had been flying for eighteen hours. Things were getting fuzzy around the edges but the augments kept him functional and alert.
“Grab what you need, let’s see our new ride,” Yu said, shutting down all of the controls and opening up the Combat Shuttle’s armored panels. Some of them didn’t open; damage from missile hits or weapons fire were holding them closed.
Dust was already coming off the Combat Shuttle, and they stepped off the landing pad as a maintenance crew got to work, clearing the dust out of the craft, repairing, refueling, and re-arming.
In ten minutes they were in their new Shuttle, checks done, and moving out onto their landing pad.
“We’ve got a Chosen base, the commander wants us to hit them, then they’ll continue with the attack,” Young said.
“Looks like we’ve got another job. You got a flight plan?” Yu asked.
“Working on it.”
“Weapons are good, loading them up,” Bobbie said as they rose back into Earth’s dust storm.
“If this storm keeps up, Flight Control is thinking about grounding flights unless they’re coming from Mega City,” Young said.
Yu opened his helmet to make sure it wasn’t transmitting. “Next time we get recalled, make sure we go to Mega City. I don’t want to be stuck on the ground twiddling my thumbs.”
Young nodded in agreement.
Yu pushed the engines to full power and climbed into Earth's atmosphere. Flying was hell with the dust storm that was now swirling in at full force.
“With this I don’t think that we can risk any landings outside of the sector’s compound,” Yu said.
“I was thinking that might be the case, informing flight control,” Young said.
Chapter 41
Central Sector
Earth, Sol System
12/3348
Jerome moved into position to get a better look at the area that the Chosen had turned into a base. There were ten thousand Chosen soldiers in the area; the people had fled and not even the gangs were trying to attack them.
They’d destroyed the surrounding buildings by simply smashing them down with their Powered Armor.
There were Heavies all over the place and Shuttles came out of the sky, dropping off more supplies.
Jerome looked as a Trooper climbed up next to him.
“The hell are you doing?” Jerome hissed. Even though no one could hear him outside of his helmet, being so close to the enemy made him want to whisper.
“It’s like old times. Don’t tell anyone I’m here, will you?” Ortiz asked.
“Damn it, you’re supposed to be back in the citadel.”
“I’m not going to be leading my army from that shabby tower. I’m no EMF general that sits on his Carrier and moves the pieces around on his tactical board,” Ortiz growled.
Jerome sighed, knowing that there was no getting rid of the man, and knowing he’d be doing the same thing in his place.
“So, what you got?” Ortiz asked, laying beside him.
“Heavies moving into position around us; the dust storm is too heavy for the Combat Shuttles to hit them with any kind of accuracy. If the storm doesn’t clear, then we should leave them. They’re in a position of strength. If we go in there we’ll take it, but we’ll lose people we can’t get back.”
“So what are we going to do?” Ortiz asked, as if he didn’t know. Jerome knew that Ortiz, like Nerva, was testing him and seeing if the lessons had paid off.
“We leave them be, have a scout section watch them, and we hit other groups. When we don’t have any other targets, we hit them with artillery. Once the storm clears up we hit them with rockets. With Earth, the storm might last for years. There’s little to stop it,” Jerome said.
“But they need to get to Mega City if they want to complete any of their objectives. They’re going to have to move and there’s no way that they have enough food to last for years.”
“That’s why we’re putting mines all around it. If they try to leave, they’re not going to have a fun time.” Jerome sent a map to Ortiz.
“Shit, I can barely see them.” Ortiz sounded impressed. The map showed scout sections that were working their way from the area the Chosen had secured, back to the rest of the Slums, dropping mines as they went. It was painfully slow work, but when the Chosen decided to run, Tyler was planning on turning it into a nightmare.
“Tyler trained them himself,” Jerome said.
“That guy is a ghost.”
“I’m not that bad,” Tyler said, and what looked like a rock shifted beside Jerome.
“You motherfucker, you owe me new underwear!” Ortiz growled.
Jerome and Tyler laughed as they crawled backwards.
“You planned that, didn’t you?” Ortiz asked.
“Ah, well, we thought you might wander around and Tyler was bored…” Jerome tailed off.
“This is what I get for promoting smartasses,” Ortiz complained.
“Now that the Chosen are going to ground, I’m thinking that it’s time to leave the Powered Armor at home and get in there with the scout sections and artillery,” Tyler said.
“You sure love your scout sections,” Ortiz said as they moved between buildings, away from the Chosen’s area.
“Well, it’s the fastest way to make someone be scared to take a shit,” Jerome said.
“Why’s that?”
“We hit two groups first, the officers and anyone around them, then those trying to take a dump. Have them take it anywhere but the bathroom, and you start getting dysentery. We might have augments to deal with diseases and that, but these people are from Housapel. Their systems aren’t used to our viruses and the stuff that likes shit, so that’ll get them sick as hell,” Tyler explained.
“That is nasty as hell.” Ortiz sounded like he regretted asking Tyler. “If they’re already half out of the fight with sickness, then it’s all the better for us.”
“The Chosen are well trained and disciplined. Almost as good as Troopers. They’re reacting faster and banding together. I thought it might take them months to do that,” Ortiz spat into his dip bottle. “So yeah, I think there’s someone that’s pushing them ahead, hell, they might be on the Carrier still. Though I doubt it, there’s too much interference.”
“Well if you find them, I’ll put a bullet between their eyes,” Tyler offered.
“I think the most spectacular thing that came out of that hit was how Mark blew up that reactor,” Ortiz laughed.
“Come on, I killed their general and a whole bunch of their leaders. His bomb didn’t go off for like thirty minutes!” Tyler complained.
“But when it did, I never even thought of doing that,” Ortiz said.
“Well that’s easy, no one’s as crazy as Mark.”
“That sounds about it,” Ortiz agreed.
Chapter 42
Westerly Three Sector
Earth, Sol System
12/3349
General Fusaro climbed out of his Powered Armor; the entire thing was gummed up.
Fucking cesspit of a planet. Covered in rust filled dust. It’s destroying my PA. It’s only a matter of time until they’re stuck solid.
He nodded to the officers that were waiting for him in the basement of the latest rally point that his people had put together. They were sorting out their units and preparing for their push.
They had lost some of their momentum, but rushing the Troopers in unorganized was just inviting defeat. He’d brought in supplies and sent orders that all Powered Armor was to be cleaned and serviced, ready to work at one hundred percent when he needed them.
The room shook as dust fell from the ceiling.
Fusaro looked at the swinging light and the faces of his officers. They were hard men and women. They might not have fought an enemy before Earth, but he was proud of them.
Housapel and Fernix were gone. All of them wanted to avenge their families and those that had been left behind.
We need to succeed. If we don’t then the sacrifices of our families and all of the Chosen will be for nothing.
“We have come far, a long way from being the colonists that the corporations ruled over. We became an army, and now an army at the heart of the corruption of humanity. Many of us might die, but we will take down a score of the corporation’s dogs.” He spread his arms encompassing the Slums that surrounded them.
“This, this is what corporations bring to our planets. They wish to make us like those that live in the Slums. That care nothing about the gain that they might make from killing their neighbor. From their ranks, the worst murderers, rapists, and sociopaths join Earth’s Military Forces. Rely on your Chosen brothers and sisters. We will prevail against these dark forces. For now, we wait, we grow in strength, and we prepare for our attack. I promise you all, we will gain entrance to Mega City. Our enemy, while blind to their own slavery, are fighters to their core.” He looked around the room, everyone was listening.
“They have come from Fernix, they fought on the Blue Moon and killed Fernix Prime. They might be mass murderers, but they are soldiers. They are good fighters, so do not underestimate them, destroy them. We have the numbers, we have the faith, and our cause is right. No matter what, we will prevail.”
It started quietly at first, then grew as the officers took up the chant.
“We will prevail!”
It rang through the base’s corridors; it rang through the blocks that the Chosen held. Chosen charged Troopers screaming those words.
That’s all they are, words. Though hopefully it will be enough to get the most bull-headed Chosen to wait until I command them to move forward.
Chapter 43
EMFC Fearless
Earth Sol System
1/3349
Hall looked over the reports from Fearless and Justice. They had been reloading their magazines, repairing their systems and patching up the holes in their armor.
We aren’t the prettiest things at the ball, but we can damn well dance.
“Let’s do this again,” Hall said.
“Fearless and Justice are both ready and capable of combat,” Guy said from his position at communications.
Yeltsin, Rasalov, and Celik were all looking to Hall and his command team, the heart of their two ship fleet.
“We’ll go for the weakest ones first. We move from target to target. Flush out the atmosphere, we can take more of a pounding than those Harmony bastards, so let’s put an end to them,” Hall said.
They looked back to their stations, and Hall looked at Guy, his eyes narrowed. “You sent that out, didn’t you?”
“Maybe, Admiral,” Guy smiled.
“Sir, uh, it looks like the Harmony fleet is moving,” Rasalov reported.
“Where to?” Hall snapped.
“Away from Earth and not towards us, they might be trying to pull back together, but I think that they’re running,” Rasalov looked confused.
What the hell is going on?
Chapter 44
HC Tempest
Earth Sol System
1/3349
“Start bringing the fleet together, we’ll give Hall a united front and hammer his two ships into nothing,” Hawking said.
“Belay that order, get us to Mars. There are people there that we can get some security from and then come back to help out our people on Earth. I want us headed for the planet at best speed,” Peter Quinn ordered, entering the command center like he owned the place.
Hawking wanted to yell at the man, to tell him that they could defeat Hall right here, it would be costly, but he could do it, damn it!
“Yes, sir, changing course,” the communications aide said.
If Hall wanted to yell at Quinn, he wanted to rip off the aide’s head and stuff it down a garbage chute.
Hawking looked at the aides as they bent to follow Quinn’s commands.
“Will there be a problem, Admiral?” Quinn sounded almost curious. His security were sizing Hawking up, their hungry looks sending a shiver down Hawking’s spine.
“Not at all, great leader. We will carry out all orders, for the sake of Harmony!” Hawking could have been an actor for the way he hid his feelings.
This is not the man to cross when he has security and is in the public eye.
“Of course, Admiral, let me know when we will reach Mars. I will be meditating in my rooms.” Quinn turned and left.
More like screwing Miss Choi and playing with the stock markets. If I had everyone’s credits and was using it to play the system there’d be more than a dozen Choi’s jumping over me.
“Once we have a flight plan for Mars let Mister Quinn know as soon as possible,” Hawking said.
Hawking had learned two things. The Harmony devotees were blind to any of Quinn’s wrongdoings, and Hawking needed more allies. Thankfully most of the forces on the ship were mercenaries of one flavor or another.
It seemed that Quinn trusted money more than people’s morals.
And so he should; look at how he manipulated all of these sheep. Hawking stared at the command crew, barely hiding his sneer.
Chapter 45
Westerly Three Sector
Earth, Sol System
2/3349
No amount of speeches or wandering through Chosen’s bases could get them to wait much longer.
Sometimes you must know when to give an order you hate, in order to remain in control.
Fusaro looked up from the planning table to his second in command. “Baashir, send the command. We advance for Mega City.”
“Yes, sir.”
Fusaro looked back at the table.
Fools, they could have cleared out two of the three combat capable ships in the system and then provided us with orbital bombardments. Now they’re running off to Mars on Quinn’s whim.
Quinn had promised that
there would be forces to rise up and support Harmony’s cause. Behind closed doors he had talked about how he had secured the services of several security contractors.
The people of the Slums might hate Harmony, but enough money could buy any kind of information. Fusaro had learned who his enemy was and that they had stopped any security contractors from even thinking about grabbing a weapon in support of Harmony.
General Ortiz and the Troopers of Reclaimer and Fearless.
His mind kept coming back to one person that hadn’t been bought, one that had worn the patch of the Westerly Three Complex Crew.
The Troopers weren’t just fighting on Earth, they controlled the Westerly Three Complex crew.
“Come on then, kill me, kill me you fuckers! I’ll be seeing you soon enough on the other side. SWAS and Diablo will see to that, they bring the Triple Twos with them. Ain’t nobody that can stand up to the Triple Twos!” The teenager had said, grinning through blood, eyes crazy and maniacal.
That had stuck with Fusaro.
He knew that look, he’d seen it on the faces of his own soldiers. It was a following, a trust and belief. If Harmony was Housapel’s calling, the Troopers were the Slum’s calling. They had come from Earth, their best and worst, and they had shown the colonies what they could do.
Earth was a fight, the strong and smart survived, the lucky ones got into Earth’s Military Forces.
And it’s my job to pull it all down. Fusaro looked at the maps.
“The army is ready to move, they are arming and preparing themselves,” Baashir said.
“Good, we want to push forward as fast as possible. We need to keep up momentum and crack these bastards. I want the colonels to have their units rotated out regularly. Have the freshest units on the front. We will group together and advance as one unit towards Mega City. I want isolated units to wait until the first groups are moving before making a push. They will join with the already moving forces. The Troopers’ first goal is to defend Mega City and the VIPs.” Fusaro stood, nodding to himself.
“As we push to Mega City then the dog’s masters will recall them to defend their lives,” Baashir said, understanding the plan.
“Exactly. When that happens it will be us with the ability to move as we please, and the Troopers will be stuck in one position, right on top of the corporation officers.” Fusaro and Baashir shared a look.
Earth (Harmony War Book 5) Page 12
