Battle Bound (Honor and Duty)

by Sam Schall

  But maybe it wasn’t too late. Please don’t let it be too late.

  “Bogie to my twelve,” she radioed. “Mech, looks like an auto-turret of some sort. I’m sending the readings. Locate the others. Heavies, form up. Keep an eye on the exits as well as the perimeter.”

  She waited, sweat running down her spine, as the other snipers reported in. twelve more turrets were located, including one not ten yards to her left. They had moved past them without notice. That meant not only had the turrets been powered down but they had not been installed until after the Callusian invasion. Now she had to make sure they were taken out before they opened fire.

  “Fire Team Sigma, switch weapons. I repeat, switch weapons. Go to your RPG. Once again, RPG. On my signal, fire on targets one through five. Heavies, rain hell down on the other targets.”

  “Angel, get your ass out of there before they open fire!” Adamson barked.

  “That’s a negative. No time. I trust everyone to be on target. Otherwise, there will be hell to pay not only from me but from Reaver.” She rolled onto her side and switched weapons. “One my count. Three – Two – One – Fire, fire, fire!”

  The moment she fired, she dropped her RPG and rolled down the hill. By the time she gained her feet, the world exploded around her. Smoke filled the air. Debris rained down on her. Over the battle-net, voices yelled back and forth, reporting in, sounding off. Then Adamson’s voice commanded all of them to shut up.

  “Sit-rep!” Ash ordered as she slid to a halt well away from the shelling.

  “Targets neutralized,” Adamson responded. “Heavies, regroup! Enemy targets sighted!”

  Ash cursed and raced back up the hill. The sounds of fighting filled the silence that had followed the explosions. Cresting the hill, she swung her sniper rifle up, sweeping the area below. Instead of lecturing the heavies for going outside her orders as they closed in on the building, she was going to buy them all a drink. Their foresight in clearing a path for the rest of the company might just save their lives.

  For the moment, however, the heavies were pinned down. The enemy had opened fire from the top floors of the building and had apparently barred the entrances. Well, that could easily be remedied. Now it was her time to go outside the box. The Admiral and FleetCom might not like it but she had to worry about her Marines first.

  “First Company, target the building. Second and Third Companies, move in from the north and rear. Make sure they aren’t trying to retreat under cover of fire. Heavies, you’re on the bounce again. Get out of there and leave them something to remember you by. Blow the front of the building on your way out. I repeat, blow the front of the building. Then bounce back in and let’s take these bastards down!”

  Less than a minute later, the heavies moved as one. Ash smiled slightly, pride filling her to know the sims she had her people run might not only save their lives but put an end to this particular fight. The heavy armor rose in the air and turned as one. Heavy weapon fire rained down like fire from the heavens. By the time the Marines bounced once and cleared the field, the SAID building was draped in smoke. Flames flickered through here and there.

  Then the heavy armored Marines returned, First Platoon following close behind. Ashlyn held position, covering them, watching as they breached the building and started the clean up.

  

  Ashlyn stepped carefully over yet another pile of debris. As she did, she cast a wary eye toward the ceiling. The top three floors of the SAID building were gone. Somehow the first floor and basement remained. She might not understand the engineering that had gone into the building to let it withstand the level of damage her Marines had leveled against it.

  They had been lucky in that. The SAID control center was in the basement. The assault on the building had taken it off-line but Pioneer’s Landing would be able to get it up and running again once the system was secured. In the meantime, with the system off-line, Tremayne had been able to move the taskforce closer to the planets and finally take the fight to the Callusians. Now they were mopping up the stragglers and the Admiral had promised to have reinforcements shuttled down soon.

  In the time since the assault on the SAID installation ended, Ashlyn’s suspicions that at least part of the Callusian groundside forces had been removed, along with some naval assets, prior to the taskforce’s arrival had been confirmed. The remaining forces had been there for months without a break and without much in the way of resupply. That groundside force might have been on the fanatical side, but they were not as sharp nor as well supplied as her Devil Dogs. Would that all their battles be like this.

  But the fight was far from over. They still had to find and clear out the remaining enemy. The Devil Dogs had learned the hard way that, like most Callusians, those still present were determined to fight to the death, even if there was little to no chance of victory. That was what made the Callusians such dangerous enemies. They didn’t care if they died in battle. In fact, to them, dying in such a way was the best way to insure their immortal souls – or whatever they happen to believe.

  Almost twenty-four hours after making landfall, the Devil Dogs had secured the last of the major groundside installations. It had been a hard battle. When she had time, Ash would be writing to the families of her three fallen Marines. More than two dozen others had been injured badly enough to be out of the fighting for a while. She had no idea how many walking wounded there were. There would be time later to study the reports and visit each one of her people to let them know how proud she was of them.

  One thing she would do was make sure FleetCom understood what made this mission different from the others she had been on. This time the enemy had been willing to sacrifice themselves in whatever manner it took to kill as many Marines as possible. Ashlyn had been injured, along with Adamson and half a dozen others, when the one Callusian officer they managed to capture activated an IED his people had secreted in a secondary command center in the SAID building. Fortunately for the Marines, they were still in full armor. That prevented their deaths but none of them would forget the lesson learned. Full scans of any location held by Callusians would be made before entry.

  Once morning dawned, the Devil Dogs, supplemented by those Marines permanently assigned to the ships of the taskforce as well as the resistance groundside, would start clearing the capital, building by building and block by block until the local forces could take over. As they did, word of what happened would be sent not only to Fuercon but to all allied systems. From there, Ashlyn knew the word would spread, proving the Callusians were not as invincible as they wanted their enemies to believe.

  As she sipped a mug of coffee, the first she’d had in much too long, Ashlyn thought back to her first mission. Back then, she hadn’t realized the so-called pirates they had encountered were, in actuality, Callusians. The war hadn’t officially begun then. Now, with too many battles like this under her belt, she knew the truth – as did the rest of the military. The Callusians were fanatics who looked at death in battle as a direct ticket to the afterlife. The only thing working in Fuercon’s favor was that the Callusians weren’t as well-off technologically and did not have the discipline of the Fuerconese Navy and Marine Corps. The good guys would win but too many

  At least their sacrifices hadn’t been in vain. Tremayne and the taskforce had secured the system. There had been losses there as well, mainly with the LACs and destroyers. Several of the larger ships would have to limp back to the repair docks. That would have to wait, however, until they were relieved. In the meantime, the repair ship sent with the task force would be kept busy making what repairs it could.

  “Big Red is making final approach.”

  Ashlyn scanned the landing area from her perch on the roof of a nearby bank building. She had chosen it because of the unobstructed view it had of the landing area and also because she trusted the architects and engineers to do everything possible to make sure the building wouldn’t come down under anything but a direct hit. Besides, it kept her far enoug
h away from the Admiral that she wouldn’t read Tremayne the riot act for coming dirtside before the capital was secured.

  Not that she blamed Tremayne. She just didn’t like it.

  The previous day, the Devil Dogs had located and freed the surviving members of the planetary government. When she reported in, the Admiral – damn her – had decided to come dirtside to meet with them. Ash understood the politics of it but she knew the danger was not over. There were still some Callusians out there, sniping at her Marines whenever they could. Unfortunately for Ashlyn’s peace of mind, the Admiral was determined. So she had done the only thing she could. She had heavy armor stationed around the landing pad and snipers, including herself, in perches high above. She would not let anything happen to Tremayne.

  From her perch overlooking the landing area, Ashlyn watched as the Admiral’s shuttle approached. She had been lucky this mission. They all had. None of them had expected the level of fanaticism they had seen from the Callusians. One thing was certain, this was the beginning of a new phase of the fight against the Callusians. The intel they managed to salvage from the enemy wreckage – none of the ships had been captured. Once it became clear the Fuerconese task force was going to prevail, the ships had self-destructed. The loss of life was something Ashlyn had a hard time accepting. How could any commander do that? Yes, you scrubbed the data banks. Yes, you made sure there was little if anything left for the enemy to use against your government and military. But to sacrifice so many men and women who served that government was beyond her. – was enough to let them know something had changed where the Callusians were concerned. They meant to destroy Fuercon and its allies and this had been just the first step. This was a war to destroy her homeland and all she cared for.

  She would fight, as would her Marines, to prevent that from happening, even if it cost her life. She was a Marine, a Devil Dog. Duty, honor and sacrifice.

  Ooh-Rah!

  OTHER TITLES BY THE AUTHOR

  If you enjoyed Battle Bound, please check out these titles.

  Written as Sam Schall:

  VENGEANCE FROM ASHES

  Honor and Duty, Book 1

  First, they took away her command. Then they took away her freedom. But they couldn't take away her duty and honor. Now they want her back.

  Captain Ashlyn Shaw has survived two years in a brutal military prison. Now those who betrayed her are offering the chance for freedom. All she has to do is trust them not to betray her and her people again. If she can do that, and if she can survive the war that looms on the horizon, she can reclaim her life and get the vengeance she's dreamed of for so long.

  But only if she can forget the betrayal and do her duty.

  DUTY FROM ASHES

  Honor and Duty, Book 2

  Duty calls. Honor demands action.

  Major Ashlyn Shaw has survived false accusations and a brutal military prison. Now free, she finds her homeworld once again at war with an enemy that will stop at nothing to destroy everything she holds dear. Duty has Ashlyn once again answering the call to serve. She has seen what the enemy is capable of and will do everything she can to prevent it from happening to the home she loves and the people she took an oath to protect.

  But something has changed. It goes beyond the fact that the enemy has changed tactics they never wavered from during the previous war. It even goes beyond the fact that there is still a nagging doubt in the back of Ashlyn’s mind that those who betrayed her once before might do so again. No, there is more to the resumption of hostilities, something that seems to point at a new player in the game. But who and what are they playing at?

  Will Ashlyn be able to unmask the real enemy before it is too late?

  HONOR FROM ASHES

  War isn't civilized and never will be, not when there are those willing to do whatever is necessary to win. That is a lesson Col. Ashlyn Shaw learned the hard way. Now she and those under her command fight an enemy determined to destroy their home world. Worse, an enemy lurks in the shadows, manipulating friend and foe alike.

  Can Ashlyn hold true to herself and the values of her beloved Corps in the face of betrayal and loss? Will honor rise from the ashes of false promises and broken faith? Ashlyn and the Devil Dogs are determined to see that it does, no matter what the cost.

  TAKING FLIGHT

  Taking Flight is a short story set in the Honor and Duty series universe.

  Duty, honor, sacrifice. That motto meant everything to newly commissioned Second Lieutenant Ashlyn Shaw. She thought she understood the meaning of those simple words. Little did she know.

  Challenged by those who believed she made it through the Academy on her family’s coattails, a roommate who just wants to see “some action” and a gunnery sergeant determined to make a real Marine out of her, Ash soon realizes what it means to be a Marine. As the signs point to war on the horizon, she is determined to do everything she can to serve Fuercon and do the Corps proud.

  Written as Amanda S. Green:

  NOCTURNAL ORIGINS

  Nocturnal Lives, Book 1

  Some things can never be forgotten, no matter how hard you try.

  Detective Sergeant Mackenzie Santos knows that bitter lesson all too well. The day she died changed her life and her perception of the world forever. It doesn’t matter that everyone, even her doctors, believe a miracle occurred when she awoke in the hospital morgue. Mac knows better. It hadn't been a miracle, at least not a holy one. As far as she’s concerned, that's the day the dogs of Hell came for her.

  Investigating one of the most horrendous murders in recent Dallas history, Mac also has to break in a new partner and deal with nosy reporters who follow her every move and who publish confidential details of the investigation without a qualm.

  Complicating matters even more, Mac learns the truth about her family and herself, a truth that forces her to deal with the monster within, as well as those on the outside. But none of this matters as much as discovering the identity of the murderer before he can kill again.

  NOCTURNAL SERENADE

  Nocturnal Lives, Book 2

  Lt. Mackenzie Santos of the Dallas Police Department learns there are worst things than finding out you come from a long line of shapeshifters. At least that’s what she keeps telling herself. It’s not that she resents suddenly discovering she can turn into a jaguar. Nor is it really the fact that no one warned her what might happen to her one day. Although, come to think of it, her mother does have a lot of explaining to do when – and if – Mac ever talks to her again. No, the real problem is how to keep the existence of shapeshifters hidden from the normals, especially when just one piece of forensic evidence in the hands of the wrong technician could lead to their discovery.

  Add in blackmail, a long overdue talk with her grandmother about their heritage and an attack on her mother and Mac’s life is about to get a lot more complicated. What she wouldn’t give for a run-of-the-mill murder to investigate. THAT would be a nice change of pace.

  NOCTURNAL INTERLUDE

  Nocturnal Lives, Book 3

  Lt. Mackenzie Santos swears she will never take another vacation again as long as she lives. The moment she returns home, two federal agents are there to take her into custody. Then she finds out her partner, Sgt. Patricia Collins, as well as several others are missing. Several of the missing have connections to law enforcement. All are connected to Mac through one important and very secret fact -- they are all shapechangers. Has someone finally discovered that the myths and bad Hollywood movies are actually based on fact or is there something else, something more insidious at work?

  Mac finds herself in a race against time not only to save her partner and the others but to discover who was behind their disappearances. As she does, she finds herself dealing with Internal Affairs, dirty cops, the Feds and a possible conspiracy within the shapeshifter community that could not only bring their existence to light but cause a civil war between shifters.

  NOCTURNAL CHALLENGE

  Nocturnal Lives, Book
4

  The one thing Lt. Mackenzie Santos had always been able to count on was the law. But that was before she started turning furry. Now she finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy to keep the truth from the public-at-large. She knows they aren't ready to learn that monsters are real and they might be living next door.

  If that isn't enough, trouble is brewing among the shapeshifters. The power struggle has already resulted in the kidnapping and near fatal injury of several of Mac's closest friends. She is now in the middle of what could quickly turn into a civil war, one that would be disastrous for all of them.

  What she wouldn't give to have a simple murder case to investigate and a life that didn't include people who wanted nothing more than to add her death to the many they were already responsible for.

  NOCTURNAL HAUNTS (novella)

  (Part of the Nocturnal Lives series)

  Mackenzie Santos has seen just about everything in more than ten years as a cop. The last few months have certainly shown her more than she'd ever expected. When she's called out to a crime scene and has to face the possibility that there are even more monsters walking the Earth than she knew, she finds herself longing for the days before she started turning furry with the full moon.

  SWORD OF ARELION