Desperate, Keira took aim at the gunner and fired. The rifle recoiled in her shoulder, which was becoming sore. It was a good shot. The gunner slumped forward over his weapon. She swung her rifle back to cover MK. A regulator stood over the struggling and damaged mech. Aiming downward, he fired a long burst into MK. Her friend fell still.
“No,” Keira screamed. First Vex and now MK. She shot the man who had killed her friend. He staggered away. Shots slammed into the fountain around her. Plaster and stone flew through the air.
Keira ducked down and looked at the resort only meters away. She knew she had delayed too long. The chances of making it to safety now were nil. Still, she had no choice but to try. Putting the fountain between her and the oncoming regulators, she turned and ran. Her lungs burned and her legs ached almost beyond belief. She was nearing the end of her endurance. Her body had been stressed to the breaking point. She thought of the emergency beacon Chris had given her before they set out. It had been lost with the rest of her gear in the control room. Even if she had it, she knew it would not help now.
Something punched her hard in the shoulder. She crashed to the ground. White hot pain hazed out her vision for a moment. She’d been hit. Keira cried out as the agony lanced through her. She grabbed her shoulder and felt hot blood.
She was only ten meters from the broad stone steps that led up to the resort. Keira tried to stand and fell. Her shoulder was on fire with pain. She looked back and saw more than a dozen regulators a few meters from her. They were advancing and there were even more just behind those. Too many.
Was Crecee with them? Maybe he had been killed in the earlier fighting. She hoped so. Then fear stole over her. They were no longer shooting. They intended to take her alive.
“No,” she breathed and looked around for her rifle. It had fallen over a meter away from her. She had failed. It had all been in vain. Her anger became a wild thing. Her right arm was not working. She could not even feel her fingers. The pain in her shoulder flared as she drew her pistol with her left. She had to reach across her entire body to do it. “I will not give up,” she shouted at them. “I will not let you take me.”
With effort, she brought the weapon up and around to face the advancing regulators. She aimed and squeezed the trigger. The pistol cracked, bucking in her hand. She missed the first shot. Keira realized her hand was shaking badly from the pain. The regulators hesitated. She pulled the trigger again—a hit. The stricken enemy fell backward. She screamed. It was primal and filled with all the rage born of this day. The others dropped to the ground, seeking cover. Still, they did not fire back at her. She realized they must have their orders. She fired at them until there was a click. The magazine was empty.
She was out.
Keira knew she could not reach the extra magazines in her backpack, not injured as she was. There was no cover to be had either. She had failed them, failed herself. They would take her now. That would likely be a fate worse than death. She wished she had saved a round for herself and cursed the lack of foresight. Then she remembered her rifle. It had fallen just out of reach.
Dropping the spent pistol, Keira started to crawl for her R35. The effort alone was agonizing torture. She glanced back toward the enemy. They were advancing again, cautiously. Several more were standing on the sand berm, watching. Keira crawled onward, trying to move faster as they drew nearer.
“You will not take me,” she gasped from gritted teeth. “Never.”
“It’s done,” one of the soldiers said. “Give up.”
“Screw you.” Keira continued to crawl. She had almost reached the weapon. The ground around her began vibrate and shake. The rifle moved with it, bouncing as the sand shifted. Confused, she wondered what was causing it. The vibration became more violent.
Was it an earthquake?
She almost laughed at the absurdity. An earthquake in the middle of a firefight? What were the chances? She glanced over at the regulators. They had all come to a stop and were staring at the resort. None were looking at her. It was as if they had forgotten her. On her hands and knees, Keira looked around. The front of the resort had begun to crumble, falling apart before her eyes.
No, this was not an earthquake. Something was coming through the front entrance. It was large and mechanical. The front of the building burst outward as a vehicle ground its way inexorably through. The machine was similar to the Beast, in that it was tracked, but far larger and meaner-looking. A turret was perched on top of it, with a long barrel pointed outward.
It was a tank.
The regulators had brought a tank. She knew she should not have been surprised by it. They were the UPG’s fire brigade and frequently got the best equipment.
A rocket flashed overhead, just a meter or more from her, and struck the front of the tank. There was a tremendous flash, followed by an earsplitting bang and a roaring fireball. Keira covered her head with her good arm and balled up as a wave of heat rolled over her.
When it subsided, she looked toward the tank, expecting to see it destroyed. It was still there, and apparently undamaged. The tank ground its way steadily forward. It rolled down the stone steps, ripping them up as it advanced toward the park.
What was going on?
The UPG fighter roared overhead, at tremendous speed, fairly screaming by. It was at rooftop level. She heard a boom as it curved away and went supersonic, climbing high up into the sky. A heartbeat later, there was a screaming of powerful engines that hammered at the ears. Two more fighters flashed by, following after it, clearly in pursuit. These aircraft were different. They were longer and sleeker-looking. Both went supersonic with nearly simultaneous concussive bangs.
Keira jumped as the regulators behind her began to fire on the tank with their rifles. They were also backing up toward the sand berm and cover.
Having made its way down the broad stairs, and rocking slightly on its suspension, the tank ground to a halt. The turret traversed, aiming across the park, in the direction the regulators had come from.
It fired.
Bang.
Keira felt a blast of air with the shell’s passage. There was a solid-sounding crump across the way on the other side of the park, followed a heartbeat later by a larger explosion. Whatever it had fired at, the gunner had hit his mark.
Then everything around her erupted in shooting. It was stunning, overwhelming in its intensity. With the firefights she had been in this day, Keira had not experienced anything like it. She lay there on the ground, looking on, stunned. The firing mainly came from the buildings adjacent to the resort. The buildings themselves seemed to be spitting fire at those regulators out in the open and at those in the buildings across the park.
The regulators who had made it over the berm were running. Some had even thrown away their weapons. One by one they fell.
What was happening?
The tank fired again with a concussive blast. It rocked with the aftereffects of the shot. Three figures emerged from behind the armored vehicle, and hunched over, began working their way over to her. It took her a moment to realize they wore powered armor, Marine Corps armor.
She almost cried with relief. She wanted to shout for joy but had no more energy. So, instead, she just lay there and waited for them.
The one in the lead wore a cape. The wind gusted and the cape fluttered, seeming for a moment to hang on the air. Why the cape? It hit her as absurd, but in truth, she did not care. This was the help that had been promised, the cavalry. They finally had arrived.
The man with the cape knelt by her side while the other two moved forward and up to the berm, providing cover. If she was reading his rank right, he was a captain. There was a flag painted on his right shoulder armor that consisted of three colored stripes, green, white and then red.
“We’ve met before, princess.” His voice was deep, with a slight accent she had never heard before.
He was strikingly handsome with a hard, almost square jaw. His brown eyes were just as piercing a Chris’s. H
is hair was brown and had been cropped short. He was also young, much younger than Chris, and appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.
“Hold still a moment,” he said as he eyed her shoulder. He pulled out a white packet, shook it, and then tore it open. He began pouring a gray powder on her wound. “These nanos will stop the bleeding.”
With a powerful revving of its engines, the tank began to roll forward again. As it moved by them, the noise from the engine and the creaking tracks was so loud, speaking was impossible.
“Captain Scaro?” Keira asked, after the tank had passed.
He offered her a trace of a smile. “Were you expecting me?”
“No.”
“Captain Scaretti at your service, ma’am.” His gaze went distant, and he looked away. Keira recognized it. He was listening to someone else on comms. A moment later, his attention returned to her. “My apologies for arriving late. My company had to be woken from cold sleep. That takes time and then we had to get organized and moving.”
“Your company?” Keira looked around at that. Marines seemed everywhere, as if they had just appeared from thin air. They had fanned out and were moving past the two of them, in the direction of the regulators. All wore powered armor like the captain. She heard shooting in the distance. She could not believe what she was seeing. Where had they come from? Keira tried to stand and couldn’t. Instead, she settled for sitting.
“Relax,” Scaretti said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You’re safe now. I only have one medic with us and he’s busy at the moment. As soon as he’s able, he will be over. We’ll get you fixed up in no time.”
“Vex,” Keira said, looking in the direction of the berm.
“The medic’s with her now,” Scaretti said. “She’s still alive. With luck, we can get her to the Seri and into a surgical pod and under the care of a proper doctor.”
A wave of raw emotion swept over Keira. Vex was still alive? She gave a sob filled with more relief than she could imagine possible.
“Do you know where Gunnery Sergeant McCandless and Corporal Mendes are?” Scaretti asked.
Keira felt a tidal wave of loss crash over her. In an instant, it washed the relief away. She suddenly found she could not speak.
“They didn’t make it, did they?” Scaretti asked, as more of a statement.
Keira saw a hardness in the captain’s expression. There was also a deep sadness there. She knew in an instant he had lost people before and it pained him.
“They saved me,” she whispered.
“That’s what marines do.” Scaretti blew out a breath. “Both were good men.”
Keira swallowed. “The best.”
“Yes, they were.” His gaze became distant again. “No, I don’t want that,” the captain snapped. “Push up to those buildings and make sure they’re clear, so the evacs can land safely. I don’t need any yahoos taking potshots at our birds. They’re too valuable.” He listened for a moment more, then turned his attention back to her. “I saw you take that machine gunner down. That was some damn fine shooting you did there. Where did you learn to shoot?”
“Chris taught me,” Keira said.
“I should have known. Maybe there’s a marine inside you just waiting to come out.”
Keira grimaced as a wave of pain wracked her body. When it subsided, she looked back up at the captain. “I’d settle for some powered armor next time.”
“I might be able to arrange that.”
Keira glanced around. She was behind the fountain and could not see either Vex or MK.
“What about MK?” Keira asked suddenly. She had forgotten about the mech.
“I have no information on him yet,” Scaretti said. “From what I saw, he was hit pretty hard though.”
“Help me up.”
“You need to rest until the medic can get to you,” Scaretti said.
“I need to see MK first.” The urge was strong, almost overpowering. He too had sacrificed himself for her.
Scaretti sucked in a breath, clearly preparing to deny her.
“Please. He gave everything for me. I woke him. I need to do this, to pay my respects before we go and leave.”
That decided the matter. He reached out a hand, grasped hers in his armored grip, and gently pulled her to her feet. The effort of standing left her panting and in terrible pain. Blood from her wounded shoulder was running down her side. It had soaked her sweatshirt, and in the cold air, she began to shiver. Was it the cold? Or was she going into shock?
Keira resisted the urge to look at the wound. She did not want to see it. Her only thoughts were on Vex and MK. She started to walk in the direction she had come a short while before, only to stagger on the uneven sand underneath her feet. She almost fell.
Scaretti grabbed her arm and steadied her, then shifted the arm so that it was around her back, holding her upright.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yes.” Keira felt her strength beginning to fail. Determination was all that kept her going. She had to do this. One painful step after another, they made their way around the fountain and up to the berm. She paused for a moment, studying the view over the sand mound.
The tank had moved beyond the park. She could see its broad tracks in the sand, snaking away behind it. There was still sporadic firing, but it was distant now. Several marines were with the tank. Moving alongside it as it advanced onto a broad avenue, the marines were actively clearing the buildings to either side.
Her gaze shifted to closer at hand. Just ahead, three marines clustered around Vex. They had removed her from her armor. Vex’s body looked small, broken, and terribly bloodied, vulnerable in a way Keira had never seen.
One of the marines was bent over her, working to finish up installing an IV in her arm. Another marine held the IV bag up in the air. Vex appeared to be blessedly unconscious.
Keira’s eyes went to MK, lying almost next to Vex. He was a wreck too. The eye-light was dark, and he was still and unmoving. With Scaro’s help, she hobbled over and up to them both. She gazed down on Vex briefly. Her left leg looked to have been shattered below the thigh. Keira could see bone amongst the twisted flesh and blood. There was also a large hole on the left side of her chest and one in her hip. Keira knew death was a real possibility, but her friend was getting care.
A marine at Vex’s side sprinkled something white over the wound on her hip and then placed a bandage against it. The outer edges of the bandage melted around the wound, adhering to Vex’s ebony skin.
There was so much blood, Keira had no idea how Vex was still alive. Keira turned to MK, hobbled over to him, and sank down by his side on the sand. Her oldest friend was clearly dead.
There was a loud humming behind them. Keira half turned to see a large drop ship in the process of landing. It was painted gray. The Imperial Navy’s Eagle was stamped clearly on its side, as was 002-Seri. Landing legs deployed and extended as it dropped toward the ground.
She turned back to MK and reached out a hand, touching the EGA on his chest plate. If only he was still in there. Behind them, the drop ship finished its landing sequence, blasting sand outward and over them. The gravity drive cycled down to a low humming idle.
Keira glanced back to see a ramp had extended. Four people had come down and were running toward them. Two were carrying a stretcher between them. They wore shipsuits, similar to what people wore on the orbital stations, and did not appear to be marines.
Keira felt the tears again at all she had lost this day. She bowed her head, her shoulders shaking as the sobs consumed her. Life would never be the same. So much had been sacrificed for her.
Scaretti put a hand on her good shoulder. She cried harder. “It’s all right. Go ahead and let it out. The strong cry too,” he said.
The mech under her hand suddenly stirred slightly. Startled, she opened her eyes and looked up to find MK looking at her, his eye-light flickering. His only working hand reached around slowly and took hers in its mechanical fingers. The grip
was gentle.
“Thank …” The mech’s voice was strained. “Thank you for being my—friend.”
“The construct lives,” Scaretti said and knelt beside him. He placed an armored hand on MK’s chest. “The reactor is shutting down, going into safe mode.” He turned to one of the marines, who was attending Vex. “Merik, I need you over here as a power source to share your reactor.”
“Yes, sir.” Merik moved over to the other side of the mech and dropped to both knees. He pulled out a cable from a compartment at his side armor and then did something that popped open MK’s dented and damaged chest plate. He plugged the cable into a socket, and almost instantly, MK’s eye-light brightened.
“Oh, that is much better,” MK said, his voice stronger. “I did not like the thought of dying, not one bit. Dying seems sort of permanent.” His head gave a twitch as it turned to look on Keira. “Once this shell is repaired, I would like to play a game with you. Would you like to play a game with me, Keira?”
Keira gave a sob filled both with sadness and joy. “We will play as many games as you want. I promise.”
“I think I would like that,” MK said. “Oh, yes. That sounds like so much fun.”
“It does,” Keira said, still holding the mech’s hand. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. He would live. It was almost too much for her strained nerves to handle, but she’d take it.
“Oh, Captain Scaretti,” MK said, now aware of the captain’s presence. With difficulty, the mech’s head moved to look directly at him. “I would like to thank you for saving my life and putting me into sleep mode all those years ago. Were it not for your actions, I would certainly have died with the rest of the Unity and Conclave.” The head gave another twitch and looked down at the wire plugged into his chest. “How interesting. I guess you just saved me again. Thank you for that.”
Fallen Empire: A Military Science Fiction Epic Adventure (Born of Ash Book 1) Page 35
