Nemesis (The MechaVerse Trilogy Book 2)

by Jeremy Cunkle

  “Intrepid, all systems green, Eclipse missiles locked on,” Kiryl stated matter-of-factly.

  “Atalanta, rail gun optimal and locked on targets, all systems green,” Vera said, all traces of nervousness gone now that her veins were filled with adrenaline.

  “NightHawk, point defense cannons ready. Argos has established the link, missiles prepped and ready to fire,” Kurtis called off.

  Alyona took one last deep breath before replying, “DawnsLight ready. Here we go people! FIRE!!”

  All four units shuddered as a steady stream of missiles began flying in staggered formation out of the tubes on the backs of their units. Vera waited half a breath, and then unleashed the rail gun, watching in amazement as the timer keeping track of how long it would take the capacitor banks to refill announced less than a five-second interval until she could fire again. The Eclipse missiles were next, the four large missiles launched from Intrepid in a staggered wave, flying low to the ground as they headed towards the unsuspecting infantry formation.

  * * * * *

  Amidst the chaos of sixty thousand moving parts, hundreds of simultaneous explosions at any given moment, and two armies doing their best to slaughter each other, an algorithm in the situation room deep inside the PDF Central Command structure known as the Mountain performed a task few humans could. The algorithm managed to identify the nearly simultaneous destruction of two separate companies of artillery, as well as the advancing formation of infantry and Mech armor as something other than an anomaly. In the fully staffed situation room, buzzing with activity as nearly two hundred men and women monitored every aspect of the battle, the algorithm then automatically created a priority alert on a technicians workstation. Seeing the high-priority alert, the technician immediately forwarded it to the cluster leader, who saw the high-priority alert and flipped a single switch on the workstation in front of him.

  The switch connected to an alarm on the slate SGM. Anderson held, causing him to stop what he was doing and identify which station triggered the alarm. Above each cluster of five workstations, a slender pole rose to the roof that had several different lights on it that could be activated in a coded sequence. The alarm triggered was coded to a pattern of red-orange-red, and SGM. Anderson quickly identified the station with the matching alarm code. Seconds later, he approached the station. The clever operator had already opened the information set the algorithm provided, displaying it on the four monitors in front of him. Three monitors each showed a different location that was attacked, along with identifying information, while the fourth monitor provided a summary created by the algorithm, along with its conclusion.

  Seeing what he needed, SGM. Anderson used his slate to trigger an alarm that went directly to the slate General Akari held in his hands. The entire process, from the moment the series of attacks began, until the time the information was in front of General Akari, took less than thirty seconds.

  General Akari quickly read the summary of the data and its conclusion, before looking for and finding SGM Anderson. With a wicked smile on his face, he mouthed, “Gotchya.” He then pushed a single red circle that had been set aside in the corner of his slate for this very moment.

  The technician then directed the algorithm to run a tracing program that triangulated the most likely position of the force that attacked all three positions. Almost immediately, the algorithm identified the position, a small hill at the outskirts of their attacking force, and marked its location as an ultra-high priority target.

  Together, the technician, SGM. Anderson, and General Akari turned to stare at a dedicated monitor hanging on the side of the situation room that had so far remained blank. It instantly turned on, showing a dozen different views of the same scenario playing out from different angles. Two dozen large containers had the doors on each end explosively detach themselves the second General Akari pressed the red button on his slate. Next, nearly four dozen Hellcat Special Forces Mech armor raced away from the crates where they had been hidden, towards the location marked on all of their HUD’s as ultra-high-priority.

  * * * * *

  Argos identified the series of explosions that led to the container doors being blown off as something that was out of the ordinary in the middle of the battlefield. He analyzed the source, and then directed various optical sensors he rapidly compromised to turn and examine the location, immediately identifying the HellCat Special Forces units now headed their way. Sensing the impending complication, he re-arranged the threat assessment on NightHawk’s HUD, prioritizing the HellCat’s above anything else.

  “SHIT! It’s a trap in a trap!” Kurtis screamed into the common frequency as he marked the HellCats for the other units to see as well.

  The inside of his cockpit was now pulsing an angry red as the threat assessment of the forces directly targeting them climbed beyond a maximum survivability threshold.

  “Priority targets inbound!” Alyona yelled, as she directed DawnsLight to turn and head down the side of the hill into cover behind a small ridge on its side. She set the barrels of her main cannons down on the ridge, using it to steady their aim, as well as use the frozen cold rock for its inherent thermal abilities while reducing the overall profile of her unit, using the ridge for natural cover. She only had ten missiles left, four of the medium class, and six of the smaller class, and using them now would only see them shot down by the highly capable units now headed their way.

  “Contact in one minute, fifty seconds!” Kurtis announced again, mouth dry with fear.

  Vera still had more than forty slugs left, and as soon as Kurtis first identified the incoming HellCats, she turned and engaged. They were less than four miles away; General Akari having masterfully anticipated the location of the trap. From the short distance, Vera could not miss. She pulled the trigger, already destroying a second unit, forcing the rest to spread out and take evasive maneuvers as they advanced. The timer counting down their arrival adjusted, adding another seven seconds to reflect the change in situation.

  For Kiryl, the waiting and doing nothing as the other three each assumed roles that allowed them to act; meant that he had the hardest time dealing with his role of remaining still and defenseless. Intrepid had the largest reactor of any unit, which meant that it was the most useful to assist in powering the rail gun, by far their most powerful and useful weapon in this situation. Powerless and unable to act, Kiryl licked his dry lips and fought the urge to move with everything in him until Kurtis’ face suddenly appeared on his full HUD.

  “You’re in the way, do your thing big guy,” was all Kurtis said.

  Recognition took a few moments as Kiryl realized he had closed his eyes, unable to sit, watch, and not act. He glanced over, and saw that Kurtis had linked NightHawk with the rail gun, in the process dropping the connecting umbilical cord to Intrepid. Suddenly free, Kiryl simply nodded gratefully and then kicked Intrepid into gear, the HUD instantly morphing back to a tactical view as he began moving. With Alyona guarding a 120° arc from the Southwest of their position to the North, Kiryl moved into position on her opposite side, covering the Southeast to the North. Vera took the North, only needing a 60° arc in front of them to cover all of the advancing HellCats.

  Being the capable fighters they were, the HellCat pilots began fanning out. They were clearly planning on encircling the small hill the Omnos squad members were encamped upon. The rail gun coughed again, and a fifth unit exploded, but otherwise no one else on either side fired, knowing that the act was still futile from this range.

  “We are outnumbered! This position isn’t tenable!” Kurtis screamed into his mic, evaluating their options as his fingers raced across the keyboards in front of him.

  “We will whittle them down, and then make a break for it. Don’t stop until you reach Mount Olympus or I’ll kill you myself!” Alyona commanded across the squad frequency. “Vera, you take out as many as you can, and then destroy the rail gun. Be sure to leave nothing they can eventually piece back together.”

  “Co
py that,” Vera replied, as she once again pulled the trigger.

  “I used all the Eclipse missiles,” Kiryl lamented, as if he was apologizing for not already wiping out the force encircling them that was more than capable of killing them under less than optimal circumstances.

  Just then, a squadron of eager HellCats broke off, and unknowingly headed directly for Intrepid in a staggered wing formation. Kiryl still had four medium missiles left, and ripped off two towards the outer pair of units. He watched satisfactorily as human nature took over, and the enemy pilots bunched together to provide coordinated anti-battery fire as a squad and knock down the pair of missiles. With a grunt, he fired all four main cannons at the same time. The distance in between the opposing sides meant that the HellCat pilots had less than a second to recognize the impending danger and dodge. Human cognition required half a second to identify a threat, leaving no meaningful amount of time for the pilots to dodge. Each of the four shells found its destination, piercing through the energy shields covering the Special-Forces Mech armor, before exploding against their outer layers of armor, obliterating the torso’s of each unit that they struck. A wave of mini rockets, grenades, and sub munitions followed behind, chewing up the remaining pair of units until they buckled and collapsed under sustained fire from NightHawk’s 3.57” rifle.

  Although linked to the rail cannon, and directing the vast majority of his reactors powers thusly, Kurtis was still able to lay down accurate barrages of fire because the rifle rounds used their own propellant to fire, not relying on energy from cannons built into the unit itself unlike each of his peers. A pair of enemy units fared no better as they pushed against Alyona’s position, finding DawnsLight to be a force of reckoning unto itself.

  With the sudden destruction of a quarter of their force, the Special Forces pulled back out of range of the other three Omnos squad members. They continued moving in evasive patterns, unable to dodge the rail gun that slowly continued to pick them off.

  Seeing the sudden change in tactics and recognizing that it would only lead to one inevitable conclusion, Alyona yelled into her mic, “It’s time, GO now!!” Not waiting for a reply, she turned DawnsLight and began skirting the outside of the hill, headed towards the Southern side that was defended by the least number of HellCats.

  Intrepid did likewise, while NightHawk performed an emergency detachment from the rail gun and began following. Vera’s job was more complex. She waited the two seconds required to pull the trigger and take down one last HellCat before disengaging from the rail gun. In the process of turning to flee, she dropped over a dozen grenades at the base of the rail gun along with the unused slugs, all timed to self-detonate in thirty seconds. Vera then turned Atalanta, engaged the metamaterials and active camouflage, and then ran for her life.

  The AI Athena, took command of the rail gun, waiting patiently as the capacitors built into the weapon itself charged the rail gun enough to fire one last time. With all of the dust in the air, the HellCats could not be certain that the cloaked Omnos squad members turned and fled, hesitating a few more crucial seconds before charging across the interval separating them from their targets. They would have been able to detect that their prey had left its roost, except for a confluence of events designed to confuse even them.

  All four Omnos squad units launched the last of their missiles once on the other side of the hill, using it to cover the launches until the last second when the missiles crossed to the front side of the hill and headed straight towards their objectives. The HellCat pilots were too busy focusing on knocking down nearly twenty-six missiles to continue tracking the Omnos squad members. On top of that, the AI Athena, remotely fired the rail gun one last time, eliminating what she believed to be a squadron leader. Two seconds later, the grenades exploded, blowing the rail gun, and the top of the hill, to oblivion.

  Once clear of the hill, Kurtis actually chose to steer the Omnos squad members farther into the enemy army that loosely surrounded them on all sides. The dust was thicker in their midst, and the various elements of the army were spread out in order to avoid incoming artillery and missile fire, allowing the Omnos squad to use the dust to hide them while they began trekking towards safety. Argos focused the majority of his resources to the extreme, towards hacking his way further into the PDF network, slowing, and even eliminating, the reports of sensors that discovered their location. The HellCat pilots never stopped pursuing them, although they were thrown off by them moving farther into the midst of the army. In an ironic twist, Argos used the PDF’s own network to track the HellCats, keeping Kurtis aware of where they were located at all times.

  They were making good time, successfully passing undetected between the various PDF elements working their way towards Kerrak, when Argos announced the HellCats had split into three groups in a last ditch bid to identify, surround, and eliminate the Omnos squad members. Each enemy group consisted of twelve units, which by themselves would be difficult to defend against. The Special Forces units were nearly able to keep pace with the fleeing Omnos squad members due to their inclusion of Intrepid, the stalwart unit that was incapable of any flight abilities. Intrepid could use its incredibly powerful engines at full output, combined with its afterburners, to perform a series of leaping jumps, crossing distances very quickly. However, while in the middle of an enemy army, the necessity of keeping a low profile limited their options. For now, the only thing the Omnos squad members could be grateful for was that the rest of the army surrounding them remained entirely oblivious of their presence.

  Several gut wrenching minutes passed as the AI’s split the tasks of keeping watch over their human charges. Argos kept track of the three separate groups of HellCat pilots, while Athena took over plotting their course and monitoring their surroundings. Their heading had them pointed directly at a ravine that most of the PDF went around, on either one side or the other. The Omnos squad had a choice to make.

  “We will reach the ravine if we maintain this heading for another two minutes. Once there, it goes for several kilometers and then again takes us to the edge of the PDF army. If we take that route, we leave Kerrak and the defenders there to their very obvious fate. Also, I believe that the HellCats have lost our trail, but one of the groups has anticipated our use of the ravine, and is moving to cut us off where it ends. It’s just a rough guess, but we will likely have to fight them there before having a clear path back to Mount Olympus if we choose that route,” Kurtis said, summing up their situation quietly.

  “And the other option?” Vera asked.

  “The other option is we head to Kerrak. We are out of missiles, but our regular munitions are mostly unused. It would be hairy, no doubt, but if we could make it inside, we could do a hell of a lot of good,” Kurtis said.

  Silence stretched for a few moments as they continued approaching the ravine until Alyona spoke. As he often did, Kiryl let the others speak for him, trusting them implicitly. “I don’t like it any more than the rest of you, but our primary objective on Mars is Mikkhael, not the rebels. We did promise Commander Ultor that we would assist in the defense of Kerrak. I would wager to say that the forces we destroyed were actually more than what he anticipated. Kurtis, what is the probability of Kerrak being destroyed if we don’t assist them further?”

  “There are too many PDF, their losses will be heavy, but Kerrak is doomed. Argos believes there is no probability of the rebels holding out,” Kurtis said sadly.

  “And if we made it to Kerrak, and assisted the rebels with defending their outpost?” Alyona pointedly asked.

  Kurtis checked the number Argos displayed for him, adjusted some of the input variables, and then despondently answered. “Argos has determined that in the end, our direct involvement in no way changes the inevitable outcome. The chance of the rebels holding the outpost is still inconsequential.”

  With no other reply needed, the Omnos squad members ducked their units down into the ravine, engaging their engines and afterburners to full output as they began racin
g away from the fight continuing behind them. With large numbers of mechanized vehicles passing to either side of the ravine, the amount of dust their passing kicked up, over, and around the ravine, hid them completely. Even Intrepid began performing the long, engine assisted jumps that many Mech armor used to cross-distances quickly on Mars, using the ravine for cover. Speed and distance became their only goals.

  * * * * *

  They were halfway through the ravine when Argos broke the silence in the cockpit. “Master, I believe the closest group of HellCat’s will reach the end of the ravine before we do.”

  Checking the HUD, Kurtis visually confirmed that fact. “Well then, we have to do something about that then don’t we?”

  “There are no real options, master. You are surrounded and about to be cut off. Once that happens, the HellCat pilots will almost certainly call for reinforcements from the other two groups, and other mechanized forces that currently surround us. It’s been fun.” Argos flippantly said, his machine learning code recognizing the need to emotionally jolt his wards’ survival instincts to their fullest.