Guard at the Gates of Hell (Gladius Book 1)

by George Olney

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  The ride down was hectic for Shana. She reviewed the download, issued a fragmentary order then made sure all of her people had appropriate information, to include overhead imagery of the area where the patrol was trapped. The area looked like a field of boulders on a small plateau in some rough low mountains. According to the sitrep, the patrol was forted up in one of the rock jumbles and at least had their back protected. Apparently the crabs were just coming at them frontally like Intelligence said they normally did. The enemy was soaking up casualties in the process, but kept coming anyway. The crabs were going to overrun that patrol unless things changed fast. Well, she'd see if she couldn't give the bastards an entirely new tactical problem... her. She was excited, but not uncertain. She had a mission. She had good men. She had a target. Her mind was working with lightning speed and her decisions were coming just as fast. Sergeant Smith's expression and minimal suggestions told her she was right.

  Time to check in with the POC. She changed bands. //"Patrol advisor, 1-2-4-6 Victrix."//

  //"Sergeant Koonz. Go, 1-2-4-6 Victrix."//

  //"Request updated sitrep."//

  Sergeant Koonz recognized a Corps platoon designation. Good enough. Just what they needed. He was a bit concerned the platoon leader's voice in his helmet was a female soprano, not the usual male baritone, but he didn't stop to ask questions. He was more interested in having that platoon on the ground. //"Aye. Sitrep follows. Patrol location WB347564. Covered position. Strength two-zero. One-five mission capable. Wounded four. KIA one, body retrieved. Ammunition yellow. Rations and support green. No indirect except five grenade launchers. Enemy positioned in a roughly 1600 mil arc to our front, at about 500 measures separation from us. Enemy has two rapid fire slug throwers, approximately thirteen millimeasures - equivalent to the Ma Deuce - located at roughly 5200 mils and 3900 mils relative to magnetic north. They're trying to come in under crossfire from the Ma Deuces. Hasn't worked so far."//

  //"Aye. You didn't say enemy strength."//

  //"Undetermined, 1-2-4-6 Victrix. Estimate a shitload."//

  //"This is Lieutenant Ettranty. Say again more precise estimate, Sergeant."//

  Sergeant Koonz's lips quirked. Must be a new lieutenant. Just wonderful. //"Terrain won't permit a count, Lieutenant. Better estimate is a shit pot load."//

  //"Aye. See that you give me those kinds of precise estimates in the future. ETA approximately one zero mikes. Gladio alieyo, Sergeant."// The people on both ends of the transmission smiled.

  //"Looking forward to it, Lieutenant. We'll keep 'em busy for you."//

  //"Aye. On the way."//

  Shana broke contact and then felt something strange. It was like the shuttle was shifting under her. The pilot's voice came over her earphones. //"We're taking evasive action due to ground fire, Lieutenant. No problem at the moment, but putting you down directly on the crabs might cost us."//

  He wasn't trying to talk her out of anything, simply giving her information. If she told him to put them down right on top of the crabs he'd do it, ground fire or no. Shuttle pilots were like that. Still, there was a high risk of casualties if they gave the anti-air a better target, maybe the loss of her entire unit. There had to be a better way. She could see it, but didn't like it. It would take longer. //"Pilot. How about coming in behind the patrol's location in a clear area and making an NOE approach to the DZ? That should keep us below their anti-air envelope. We'll do a low altitude drop just behind the patrol while you cover with air-ground fire."//

  //"Sounds like a plan, Lieutenant. Always liked low and fast, anyhow. More like very low and very fast in this case. Just hang on back there. I'm going to be stressing the inertial compensator a little."//

  Shana grinned. Despite the situation, she was enjoying herself. This was why she'd wanted a combat command. She felt at home. //"Just go for it, pilot. We'll hang on."//

  //"Aye."//

  The shuttle dropped like a crazed meteor, spinning, corkscrewing, and sideslipping. The stuff the mass drivers below were tossing their way would go right through a shield but the EFO had a few tricks of his own and the pilot was crazy. Unbeatable combination.

  In the back, the platoon was already in Link. Time slowed for Shana and she reveled in the sensation of knowing her troops as more than faces and voices. She felt each of them and they felt her. Again, she knew down deep that this was right for her.

  Shana could feel the lateral pressure shift direction and force, even though the platoon was already braced in drop position and waiting for the green light. The pilot was right, she thought with approval. His moves were stressing the compensator, but their seats had them braced against the constantly shifting pull of inertia. Being pulled and pushed in five or so different directions at once beat getting a big hole in her transportation. She heard the pilot call red light and did a final check of her people as the air in the troop compartment glowed red. She also checked to see that Smythe was ready and was relieved to see the boy squared away, his attention already on her. It looked like she had a shadow. Good. Now to hope he lived through this.

  #####

  Sergeant Jame Koonz didn't waste time cursing the fact that he and the patrol were trapped in these rocks. That was just a part of doing business. Nobody's fault but the crabs, really.

  The mission was to scout enemy frontage, and who'd have guessed they'd poke their heads around the side of a small hill and find what looked like a central depot, literally crawling with crabs. Lieutenant Toombs called immediate action drill when they were discovered and the patrol responded with well-trained precision that belied their inexperience, leapfrogging by fire teams and hitting the crabs hard. That gave them enough space to break off, but the triple-damned crabs were on their trail almost immediately and damn near caught them. It was pure luck this comfy little patch of boulders was right on their egress route. Now all they had to do was get out of their hole and back for pick up. Until Lieutenant Ettranty's call, that part looked like it was going to be a problem.

  He eased his B-42 up between two rocks and let the sight look for a target while he watched his HUD. There. He snapped a shot into the back of a shell and put another round into the belly of the crab as it rose on its back legs. Another one down. Time to shift locations.

  He took a quick scan down the line. Most of the patrol were hugging their rock cover. They'd already found out the hard way the crabs could ricochet a slug into their position. Fortunately Champus was only hit in the foot. Lieutenant Toombs yelled, "Grenadiers, be alert for another charge!" The boy was doing the right things. Made him feel good to hear it. Toombs was going to be a good one if they just got him out of here.

  Nearby, Magnificent Mouse was running through a steady stream of invective as she popped the occasional shot - and the crab she was aiming at. They'd nicknamed the girl in training because her small size and unstoppable energy reminded everyone of that children's tridio cartoon character. Now she was cool and professional, if a bit noisy. Another good one.

  "Here they come!" The crabs were scuttling out of their positions again. Fortunately, they had a hard time moving through the rocks that fronted the patrol. Too much shell was showing. Sergeant Koonz wasn't going to argue with good fortune as he fired, shifted targets, and fired again. A small wave of AP grenades detonated and the charge dissolved into bloody fragments. Thirteen millimeasure slug fire swept their position, throwing rock fragments and ricochets everywhere. Someone screamed. He thought it was the Mouse, but, no, she was still shooting and cursing. He'd love to put down those two Ma Deuces, but the crabs were shifting them after every burst. Nobody said the damn crabs weren't smart.

  He heard Lieutenant Toombs call out, "Jaksn, Kate, shift to grav grenades. Try to hit those gun positions." Good. Those micro black holes would just swallow up everything for five measures around their impact point. They were limited in the amount of grav heads they had, but this was the time to use them. One in the right location might nail one of the guns.

&nb
sp; A burst of heavy caliber slugs shattered rocks just above their position and a few slugs got in among them. Looked like two centimeasure fire. His HUD said they were now down to twelve effectives. Two more dead. Where the Hell had a Deuce come from? The crabs must be pulling up reinforcements.

  Grav grenades went out, looking for the Deuce. A gun that size was slow to shift in these rocks and vulnerable to return fire. Apparently, they took it out. At least there was no return fire from it. That still left the crab reinforcements that had probably come with the gun. Wonderful. The party was getting bigger. The Mouse looked over and grinned at him. "Ain't we havin' fun, Sergeant?"

  He popped a bolt at movement in his zone of fire. "Marvelous. Simply marvelous. Keep shootin', Mouse."

  "Triple-damn it, Sarge!" she snarled back with some heat, her attention on her HUD. "I keep telling you bums my name is Elen!" She finished her comment by snapping off a couple more bolts at the crabs.

  Sergeant Koonz heard a sonic boom in the distance behind them. He knew what that was. Gladio alieyo. Thank the Lord Above. Another shot, another crab down, and he mentally told the Corps to hurry and get them out of this mess while there was anyone left to get out.

  The rocks hiding the crabs to his front suddenly shattered from two centimeasure bolt fire. Sergeant Koonz could hear the scream of strained thrusters and feel the heated atmosphere as the shuttle banked hard nearly over their heads and roared off at an angle designed to keep it out of the crabs' low altitude air defense envelope. That damned thing must have been just over the cliff behind them! That also meant its passengers were on the ground somewhere nearby. He resisted the urge to call the platoon leader. She'd contact him when she was ready.

  #####

  The platoon was indeed on the ground, moving in a relatively fast combat weave through the boulder strewn terrain. It was difficult to do, but that was what drills were for. A small portion of Shana's mind was proud of her troops' performance while the major part of it was concentrating on getting the Fourth around where the crabs' right flank looked to be. If she could do it, she wanted to hit them slightly from the rear at an angle. To that end, they were moving as fast and as silently as they could in a tactical mode.

  She checked her helmet HUD for locations and did some range estimation. This looked about right. //"Heavy weapons. Locate just past those big boulders to your right front. I need rockets on the flanks of the crabs. General area of where the Ma Deuces are operating. Grav heads. On my command."//

  //"Aye."// The three man weapons team found a good spot just about where the Lieutenant wanted them, set up their launchers, and dialed in their sights. //"Ready to go, Lieutenant."//

  //"Aye. Stand by."//

  //"Break, break. Koonz, Ettranty."//

  //"Go."//

  //"Put your patrol leader on this net as soon as you can. I need both of you. When I call for it, I want max fire from your people. Can you come out at them if I ask you to?"//

  //"Aye. We can hit them from around the left. Haven't been crazy enough to do it before now."//

  A second later. //"Lieutenant Toombs is up."//

  //"Aye. Confirm crazy. Toombs, when I tell you, attack their left front. Stay on their left. I say again, stay your left, their right. The right flank will be our kill zone. Meanwhile, I'll call you for max suppressive fire on their left before I kick off. Focus their attention on your fire. We're coming in on your right. Be ready to go when I call."//

  //"Lieutenant, Koonz. We won't be able to see you. Don't have your IFF. They can't link with you, either. I'm the only one that can do that."//

  //"Aye. We're already Linked. Join us. Lieutenant Toombs, shift your fires left when you get a visual or my call. I don't want friendly fire casualties. The crabs will be trying hard enough as is."//

  //"Toombs, aye."//

  //"Aye."// Sergeant Koonz linked up with Shana's platoon. For the first time in too long, he felt a part of the Whole again. He also took note of the platoon's location. They only had a few minutes before things started happening. Tell Toombs.

  Shana was closely monitoring the icons on her HUD. They were just about ready... Now. //"Weapons. Three round burst on each designated target."//

  Ballistic rockets sailed overhead followed by cracks and rumbles as rocks shattered and compressed under the grav heads. //"Toombs, suppressive fire."//

  She could hear bolts impacting on the crab left flank. It was time. //"Platoon."// she gave the order in combat for the first time in her life. //"Follow me. Let's hit 'em."//

  The chain saw that was the Fourth bit into the crab flank and started chewing. Shana's view was multiple targets from constantly shifting directions as she and her team wove in and out of the platoon formation, firing as they went. She wasn't firing unless necessary. Most of her concentration was on her troops. The platoon's constantly shifting movements through the rocks could have been hard to follow, but they weren't, not to her. Instead, their constantly varying attack was confusing the enemy. This was what she and her men trained for and they were good at it.

  She called Lieutenant Toombs. //"Patrol, come on now."//

  Something whacked her helmet a glancing blow, knocking her down in a daze. She felt herself picked up and carried, headed for a space between boulders ahead.

  //" L. T. 's down."// That was Smythe, Shana realized as her senses cleared. The boy was carrying her, making pickup on his wounded leader.

  //"NEGATIVE... negative. I'm good. Put me down, Smythe."// She landed abruptly on her feet and her team rejoined the weave. She'd think about her caretaker later. Right now, they had crabs in the rocks around them. Just where she wanted to be. Amid the firing, she heard loud yells and more fire from the patrol's direction. Toombs was attacking. //"Fourth. Be aware the patrol's hitting their left front and we don't have their exact locations. They don't have ours, either. Drift right to stay out of their fire."//

  She paused and shot twice, killing two crabs as they were scuttling backwards towards their rear. Attacks from two different directions had the crabs running. Fine. Keep 'em moving. //"Break, break. Shuttle, land directly behind the original patrol location and be prepared for them to board with us."//

  //"Ettranty. Toombs. Do you want us to pull back?"//

  //"Aye. Don't get stuck into them. The shuttle will be just behind your original position. Pull back now and get all of your people aboard. We'll be right behind you."//

  //"Break, break. Fourth, drift back. We want to get on that shuttle ASAP. Leave these Lord Above forsaken rocks to the crabs when they get up the guts to come back but maintain your fire. We want to keep them running for the moment. Start... now."//

  #####

  When everyone living and dead was aboard the shuttle, it lifted and screamed away from the crabs, still in NOE. They were headed for the Legion's landing site on the other continent now. All of them but the wounded and dead were standing, crowded into the troop compartment and holding on to something to brace against the shuttle's weaving as it danced to avoid anti-air fire.

  Shana was elated. Her first mission a success and no casualties! Well... except for her headache.

  A figure in baggy camo uniform and refractive body paint lifted the HUD/commo visor under his soft cap and grinned at her, holding out a hand. "Lieutenant Ettranty, Lieutenant Adm Toombs. Thanks for coming to get us."

  She shook hands. "Glad to see you, Adm. Shana Ettranty."

  His grin got wider. "Not as glad as I am to see you, Shana."

  A figure in Corps soft cammo combat uniform also lifted his visor and grinned. "Sergeant Koonz, Lieutenant. You did good. Thanks."

  Shana nodded at him with another grin. It felt good to get a pat on the back from a combat veteran. Sergeant First Class Steel also smiled at her. "Good first mission, L. T. Other than forgetting to duck once, you did well."

  Her grin got wider. Being awarded the title "L. T." meant she was considered a real member of the platoon and not just a new single pip. That felt better than getting a co
mmendation from the Legate. Boyfriend or not.

  #####

  Once her platoon was settled back at the forward operating base, Shana was ready to look for her quarters and a beer, in that order. Instead, Sergeant Steel flagged her down in the corridor of Officer's Quarters. "L. T., "he said, "you need to get over to the platoon CP."

  "What's up, Sergeant?" she asked.

  "Little something going on and you need to be involved. You'll see when you get there." Oh Lord Above, what now? With her guys, it could be anything.

  When Sergeant Steel led her to the CP, she found the Fourth waiting for her. Sergeant Koonz was there as well. "L. T.," Sergeant Steel said, "we've been talking about having a platoon leader in pants. Pants aren't any sort of uniform for a good officer, so we've decided to change regs a little."

  Smythe held up a kilt. The Fourth wanted her to wear a kilt! The young trooper started to stumble through what was obviously a short prepared speech. "L. T., we figured our platoon leader ought to be dressed just like the rest of the platoon so we got this kilt from supply." He blushed slightly. "We tried to guess your measurements right, so it ought to fit. We want you to wear it. You're our platoon leader."

  Shana took the offered kilt from the boy and held it up to look at it, then measured it against herself. It was about the right length, just around her knees. "Thanks, people," she said. "This means a lot to me. It really does." It meant more than the world to her.

  She couldn't resist ragging them a little. "It looks like it'll fit. It's a man's kilt, so it might be a little loose around the waist and tight across the butt."

  Smythe blushed again. One of her squad leaders said with a completely innocent expression, "Oh, we won't mind that L. T. Just tighten your belt."