Twin suns of Carrola (Starshatter Book 2)

by Dark Knight

  “We will commit ourselves to an attack, but it will be a diversion.” – grumbled their XO after finally gulping her last drop of ale – “How goes the preparation?”

  “We’ve incorporated part of their own attack dog algorithm that the bastards used against Starshatter, boss!” – chimed back Lilly. Her gloved paws swiped a preliminary version of their creation to Cat’s PDA and it looked good. With the help of an experienced engineer like Brynjar and linking the processing power of all their portable devices, they could probably trick the taz’arans into seeing something on their sensors that wasn’t there. Or was somewhere else. That could work but their timing had to be perfect because the firewall back door could be used but once.

  “Another thing guys. I remember this forest well, since last time there was a GAV chasing me over there.” – the bunny pointed a ridge behind where their enemies had landed their transport ship – “It has another patch of Mumpa trees that... we can try asking for help.”

  “Wait, what? How can we even ask a tree for help?” – Dozan was amazed, and almost spilled what ale was left in his bottle.

  “Well, we can at least try!” – mumbled Lilly scratching her nose – “They didn’t exactly see anything good from the taz’arans. And if one tree was hurt by somebody, all of them will eventually know about it and remember!” – she looked at the rest of her crewmates responding to their somewhat confused looks with a shaky, but confident smile.

  “I was just one of the many exobiology apprentices who researched the Mumpa trees. We learned little, really. Even after a decade of study, nobody understood the true scope of those trees’ abilities. Older, more experienced scientists than I, suspected that they were really important to the local ecology, more than just a simple source of oxygen. It is why we had that tractor and moved the trees to safety gently, instead of outright chopping them off. Probably another reason why our crops were so bountiful we had plenty of water. The trees had formed some form of symbiosis with our colony. We didn’t harm them and always used our leftover fertilizer to feed them, when any of us did visit the forest taking scans. Those critters, the wozzies that taz’arans had spread – we killed them too, since they were nibbling on their roots and such. So you can imagine what happened when the taz’arans shot their way deep into the forest, killing dozens of trees with their particle-beam cannons and blowing them to bits with bombs. It wasn’t exactly that they were hunting for me, the holes-for-ears tried cleaning a big enough space to build their base and our forest stood in their way.”

  Lilly’s mind returned back to those final moments, when her fight with that scout trooper looked all but lost. Mortally wounded, she asked not for her own life but the tree’s, and in his arrogance the officer entertained her request ready to deal the killing blow and then – then it was darkness. When she woke up it was on board of that colonial marine troop transport, healing in its medbay. Nobody was able to answer her questions and could only tell Lilly that after recovering her and her gear, they hyper-jumped immediately back to Cav.

  Battle in orbit of Carrola was finished too. Cav colonial navy unit had quickly annihilated all taz’aran starships, and enraged, their starfighter pilots had chased down every single taz’aran ship, shooting them all down without mercy. Years ago Lilly would’ve argued that such actions were needlessly harsh. After all, in their nativity, her kind refused to engage in violence unless directly threatened. Thankfully her elders were thoughtful enough and trained their kids well – those survival lessons and time spent on the firing range with Alberto made the difference between life and death for her. Lilly sighed and started rummaging through her memories, trying to find anything useful that she could possibly use to entice the Mumpa trees with.

  While she was strolling around the battlefield her foot suddenly sunk in something... juicy. At first in the back of her mind she imagined it to be a simple mud filled puddle, yet a second later came an instant realization – there were no puddles around. At least not so full of water. Lilly looked at the severed taz’aran limb and then her gaze wandered off in the direction of that forest patch.

  Cat looked at her holo-map. Indeed, the Mumpa tree patch was straight behind the taz’aran’s landing site, but how would they even approach a plant based life form to ask it for assistance? The soldier in her disliked fashioning complicated battle tactics, while incorporating such unpredictable “allies”. Nevertheless Cat quickly planned for another attack, trying to use the trees at least as another source of distraction, since she was unaware of their capabilities. Cat decided that to be a single strafing run type of attack without using Dozan directly.

  Quick and deadly, targeting the enemy’s transport ship with the intent of damaging the vessel as heavily as they could. Then they would retreat behind the traps and mines that Lilly would plant all over. Brynjar could try and use some of her leftover grenades to fashion couple more IED’s and sprinkle them around. She would ask Dozan to boost them over the comms with his inspirational chants, but not charge over the open field sword in hand. He had a better chance to shoot and suppress the enemy, even in their now entrenched positions the taz’arans could still be made vulnerable to railgun fire.

  What she wanted was to keep their heads down for as long as possible, while the rest of her crewmates were pulling a fast one on them. Those railgun cannons on ’Princess frog’ were an amazing asset and Cat would be an inept commander if she didn’t use them. As Vasilisa mentioned, it was dangerous flying more than once above a transport ship with that many point defense guns. Its shields might be a problem, yet if what their navigator said earlier was true (and she had no reason to disbelieve her), they could perform one successful, sweeping strike. That older model starship’s aft shield emitter slow cyclic rate of projection could be exploited, and a well timed shot bypass it completely from a close range.

  The gorilla was unsure how their new acquaintance Mack could aid them in their plan. She swiped their new orders via PDA and turned to face the biker:

  “What can you do, except driving around that bike of yours? I mean, you mentioned that you’ve got a ship, so, where is it?”

  “Out of juice, as I mentioned a couple of times earlier.” – the man burped loudly and threw the beer bottle casually behind his back – “I can kite the fuckers though.”

  “Kite?” – Cat blinked confused for a second before noticing Lilly’s paw pointing at the long railgun installed on his bike, and then nodded – “Alright, let us plant the mines first and then... then Lilly will visit those trees and negotiate an alliance.”

  “I will try my very best, boss.” – the bunny was already pulling mines and a bobby trap kit from her scout’s backpack. Brynjar ran the first part of their sensor interference program, leaving it in Vasilisa’s capable hands and then picked Cat’s backpack clean of explosives.

  After planting a well hidden minefield, Lilly, under the cover of their sensor hack vanished into the forest. Her small, cloaked figure, slipped quietly around the taz’aran positions. Soon her goggles caught glimpse of their tall trunks, branches and wide, sharp leaves – the Mumpa trees were close. Lilly shouldered the Manlicher rail-carbine and pulled a grizzly package from her pack. The smell of now rotting taz’aran blood hit her nose even with it being double wrapped. Careful not to slit the cover prematurely, Lilly found the closest tree and gently touched its lowest branch while spilling some of the package’s contents on its roots. The ground slowly shifted, engulfing the food, while one of the tree’s roots ends remained above. The bunny then moved slowly away a couple of feet repeating her actions. With an earthen sound the trees started moving towards her. First one, then more and more; slowly the entire patch of Mumpas began slithering through the soft jungle soil. She sighed and unwrapped the package completely, planting piece after piece, guiding the trees. It would definitely take some time but they all will be there.

  “And so we meet again, my lovelies.”

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  Nedal saw how that officer ran, or at least tried limping quickly, toward the transport, energy drained due to his ordeal. Yet, instead of hiding deep inside the vessel somewhere, he climbed and positioned himself near one of the upper escape hatches. This way he could fire from a prone position and then duck inside the vessel, shutting the hatch behind. Nedal’s confused troopers sent him a link and he finally took command back from that crazy person.

  Obviously, the officer had recognized that particular Terran, and seemed to be terrified of her. After all he had seen and experienced, Nedal was inclined to agree. Suddenly there was movement. Terrans were slowly creeping around the battlefield. Most probably pilfering the expensive equipment and supplies to use it against him! Moreover, the transport ship’s sensors had detected the bike’s advance, and that disgusting thing had gotten closer too. Nedal’s body suddenly got numb. He remembered that the man was armed with a long railgun, most definitely armor piercing... and he didn’t forget which weapon that bike was equipped with either.

  He wasn’t going towards the fire like everybody else! Quickly organizing the typical taz’aran fluid six point defense, Nedal positioned his last AFV in the middle and used it as a mobile reserve. The rest of the sections her ordered to use their entrench tools and clear all fields of fire, then pulled the spare heavy particle gun from the cargo hold and fielded it on a second fall back defense circle around the vessel. Nedal did all that while carrying the last reactor part into the transport’s hold.

  Strangely enough, the Terrans were no longer moving, not attacking. His troopers had time even to start building ground works, finish them, dig individual wozzie holes, and then turn those into connected trenches. In a strange moment of collective brilliance, he, and those soldiers, all acted to the best of their ability, everyone was working hard. The last power packs were prepped, grenades pulled out and ready, bayonets affixed and the field medics treated everyone as best they could. Nedal couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d never seen something like this, not on Sirius, not afterwards in his later command.

  Suddenly three figures disengaged their TOC fields next to him. All wore advanced taz’aran armor suits and were apparently part of a star commandos team.

  Their ship’s team!

  Nedal had to switch his comms to a secure channel before speaking with the Operators. Nothing was to be recorded either. Idiots who tried extorting or manipulating the specialists didn’t live long. It was evident from their demeanor that something bad had happened, and Nedal gulped nervously before receiving the link:

  “This is Slag 1, commander Nedal. Lord Captain Omasa has sent us to support your efforts, and make sure that the reactor assembly is delivered back to ’Empress Throne’ safely and without incidents .” – the commandos spoke with an almost intimidating voice, and that never boded well. Nedal of course had to ask, or at least try, what was so important that they were risking exposure? Some of the star troopers nearby, who had been threated by his medics, were already exchanging startled, worried looks.

  “Am I privy to that important piece of information, Slag 1?”

  “Yes, that person,” – and the commando pointed at his new ’commander’ – “has in his possession the data-streams, and all information carriers from this colony’s concealed scanning array. We trailed his footprints starting from the bunker where that device was hidden and they ended here. It is imperative that we retrieve that data, in addition with the reactor assembly and then evacuate this planet immediately.”

  The specialist looked uneasy after uttering those last words and Nedal’s eyes widened. It took a lot to shake the iron nerves of a taz’aran commandos. In almost all cases they deployed, completed their objectives, and then vanished without leaving a trace. Nothing, except the corpses they’d left in their wake. Slag 1 continued:

  “Also, commander Nedal, there is something else I must warn you about. A certain Terran colonist, whose actions were crucial to what had transpired here, was located and engaged by the rest of my team.”

  Nedal looked around. He knew that a full team of commandos consisted of six operators. There were only three of them standing beside his mech, and he unintentionally made a questioning sign with the hand of his mech.

  “They are all dead, commander. She killed them, by herself...” – the commando made a pause and it was evident to Nedal that he was not only disturbed by this, but looked anxious and ready to cloak back into the safety of his TOC field.

  “So you see, commander, I hope that your defenses can hold the Terrans while the transport is preparing to launch. That bunny faced our entire troop detachment deployed on this trice accursed planet alone, and survived. Moreover our previous attempt to capture this planet failed miserably afterward. And now, she is not alone. As you have witnessed, her companions are strong and were able to best your troops in open battle.”

  “What is your advice then, Slag 1?” – Nedal heard his transport ship’s engines spooling one after another and the air around it crackled after its shield projectors extended both their deflector and force fields. The smelly noble had given his orders, and pilots were more than happy to obey them. While his troopers were standing ready to repel the Terran’s attack with itchy fingers on the triggers of their guns, and after learning about this important piece of information, things started to look pretty grim. Nedal had to admit that if he could persuade the commandos to bolster their defense, together they all might stand a chance and perhaps even achieve victory.

  “Use your prepared positions and wait for them to attack. Your vessel needs some time before it can launch, an..” – the man wasn’t able to continue as his thinking faculties exited his shattered faceplate!

  Hit by a silenced rail pellet from behind, the body slumped over Nedal’s mech. As he looked with stunned amazement on his own scanning screen appeared part of those Terran sensor contacts. It was the Bunny, Gorilla, Asgardian and another contact that he suddenly recognized as the human woman from his previous command.

  It was the same one whom his troopers faced on ’Bremen’ and were then shot dead to the last! The two remaining commandos leaped into cover and he grabbed the heavy particle-beam gun from his mag-lock, switching it to pulse auto fire. Those Terrans had managed to fool the transport ship’s scanners, and by use of fake sensor contacts were now launching a surprise attack! He tried shouting in his comms, yet the noble was quicker:

  “You failures! Incompetent Idiots! Wretches!! How could you not notice something that obvious? This is treason, betrayal!”

  Yet the man had still some of his faculties in order, since he was already shooting back at the Bunny. Dodging shots and leaping for cover from turret to turret on the hull of the transport, she was hopping, rail-carbine in hand, aggressively aiming to reach the sniper’s position. But that was another man’s problem. The most important thing now was the protection of their starship.

  Nedal didn’t survive the hell of Sirius Prime and onslaught of Terran colonist forces by being stupid. Using his cyber-link to the PA’s systems he reconfigured his scanning array. He had time to look up after his scanners had detected another contact, this time forming around the human woman – it was a shuttle!

  The same shuttle he laughed at while their transport was racing to land here.

  As he fired on full auto aiming his weapon at the low flying Spacer shuttle, it actually shot the back end of their transport. The twin railguns fired one single bout from a range so close that the two spaceships’ shields scraped, producing an arc of plasma as tall as his power armor. With a loud bang one of the three main drives exploded, aft shield emitter short circuiting. Nedal managed to graze the shuttle’s ventral hull as it unlocked its folded wings, simultaneously performing a turn with such speed he’d wage all of the decats in his pocket none of their pilots would dare emulate.

  The vessel actually flew for a few short seconds with its engines forward... Stunned, he missed the ship completely with his next attack. Instead of
turning back into their ship and attacking again, the Spacer darted away almost at full burn, particle bolts following its flight. His second pilot had finally engaged the PD system of their transport in an effort to chase the Terran away.

  All too late.

  Soldiers screamed in his comms. Under attack, they sporadically returned fire but using the scan-feed from their ship had proved useless. Their Terran adversaries were all over the screens and suddenly the front of his defensive line came under attack by long range railgun fire. His troopers, some of them pinned in their trenches, were unable to move fast and cover the full length of the earth works. As he was reloading the now overheated gun of his mech, both of the commandos ran up the hull of his transport ship. By the time they reached it, the Bunny and the noble officer, who was frothing from his mouth, screaming and raving, were shooting each other basically from point blank range. Since he was in close range, Nedal could listen to what was happening, using the sensors of his mech:

  “You ruined everything for me! My noble title, my new posting! Filthy rodent, I will rip your furry flesh to pieces! Diiiieeeee!” – The noble fired at the Bunny with his sniper rifle, red glowing particle beams continuously missing her rapidly moving body. Something suddenly hit Nedal like a power fist in the face. The Terrans had almost the same effect on him last time he faced them. Was he that unbalanced by their presence?

  Leaping and rolling in the air with feral grace, that Terran client shot each of the officer’s legs shredding them to bits, before she landed on top of one of the rotating PD turrets and screamed back:

  “Not before I free all my neighbors from your clutches, slaver scum! Where are they! Not that your kind deserves anything, but if you tell me, I promise to make your death quick!”

  By that time both commandos were too up there on the transport’s ventral hull, running towards her, weapons firing. She had to dodge, step back and then take cover behind the same turret she landed on. Rotating, the glowing beam cannons swiveled, controlled by his pilots who were also trying to aid the fight. They, in time honored taz’aran tradition, rotated the barrels of their cannons, bashing anyone invading the sanctity of their vessel’s outer hull.