“Seriously?” Luke said looking at the pack. It had to be a coincidence unless the Topa had known it would happen. There had to be something else. How could they have known this would happen a month ago?
“Um, yes sir,” Nelson replied, not used to being questioned like this.
“You are fine Nelson, I didn’t mean you,” Luke said.
“Thank you, sir,” Nelson replied sounding relieved.
Luke looked at Brita.
“My head just exploded,” Brita said, looking around again. “Can the Topa see the future? If not, this is an elaborate setup.”
Putting his helmet back on Luke nodded.
“I have a preliminary report,” Gray said. “Which ties in with current data.”
“Go,” Luke said, heading back to the command tank.
“Looks like a small column of humans came through, estimated sixteen. They stopped briefly on the pillar and then left a small team on the fallen pillar about three hundred meters to our north and headed to the corridor to the south. At some point the team on the pillar was attacked, someone dropped a sticky bomb on them. Two stragglers from the main column engaged the attackers and were joined briefly by another team and then they all retreated. Based on some blood we found, it appears one of the humans was injured. At least one Tonkan was also injured.
“There are also a lot of Brazat tracks mixed in with what must be the Tonkan tracks. The Brazat were barefoot and carrying staffs or maybe spears. I suspect the Brazat were local scouts or maybe trackers for the Tonkan. I have about forty Tonkan with around thirty Brazat. They took off after the human column after the fight, except for a smaller detachment with prisoners, alive or dead we aren’t sure yet. The group with prisoners went up. We are analyzing the tracks now but I suspect they had transport available up top.”
“Shit. Gray?” Luke said. “Get the recon drones out. We are going hunting Tonkan.”
“Aye, aye sir,” Gray said.
“Nelson?” Luke said. “Launch Alpha Company.”
“Aye, aye commander,” Nelson said. “Full assault burn, they will be there in about two hours.”
“Jeremy and Amanda?” Luke said.
“Go sir,” they echoed each other.
“I want you to find out about the local barons. Who was interested in the refugees, who hires Tonkan mercenaries and who would be most likely to try to capture them.”
“Aye, aye Commander,” they said.
“Soma my ass,” Luke said under his breath. “That bastard Topa sent me to find a cluster fuck.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Retreat
Four hours of sleep was not enough, Leonessa thought as she sat up. Her back hurt. Felix was still curled up against her, but stretched when she got up and pulled on her backpack.
“Rise and shine!” Carmichael said sounding excessively cheerful. “Another wonderful day inside alien ruins. Time to explore and see what’s here.”
Leonessa looked at Carmichael with a glare. The ensign shrugged at her Captain and kept moving among the other sleeping people, giving some a gentle nudge or shake.
With her pack on, Leonessa looked around, making sure her officers were getting their people up and moving. They needed little encouragement though.
Felix finished stretching and looked around. Some people looked at it in surprise but everyone kept their distance. People talked among themselves and some people came over to see. Felix just sat there and watched everyone.
After a minute Felix’s eyes locked on the corridor they had come from and its ears perked up. A low hiss escaped it and it looked up at Leonessa then back at the door.
Felix looked between Leonessa and the door.
The hissing increased and a low growl escaped its throat before it moved in the opposite direction, ignoring the surrounding crew who moved back from it. After about ten steps, it stopped and looked at Leonessa, then hissed louder.
Leonessa looked at Doc and Carmichael who shrugged. Felix looked at the doorway and growled then came back to Leonessa and placing its back to the door head butted Leonessa toward the back door.
“It wants us to leave,” Doc said. “Something is distressing it.”
There was a pair of crew members from Carmichael’s team watching their back trail.
The doorway, missing its door, looked out over a larger hallway big enough for four lanes of traffic and a sidewalk; it had been full of trash and unidentifiable wreckage. It stretched on into darkness in both directions.
Felix’s hissing grew, and one of the crew members watching the door way ducked back.
“Captain,” Starman first class Banks said. “I’m hearing movement out there. Might be the scouts.”
“Fiddle sticks,” Leonessa said. “Carmichael, take point. Move out fast. I’ll guess Felix doesn’t like what is out there and knows a way to go.”
When she moved toward the back-entrance Felix sprinted ahead, occasionally stopping to make sure Leonessa was following. Felix moved at a sprint but the humans could not keep up. Felix led them out a back door into a similar corridor like before, across the street into another building. Its purpose was as unidentifiable as the first one. Everything looked abandoned, unused, ancient, and mummified.
“We should start calling it Hiss,” Doc said during one rest stop. Felix/Hiss was pacing back and forth, hissing, and watching the way they had come from.
“It sure is angry,” Carmichael said.
“Contact,” someone said and fired a small burst.
Everyone got down, Felix/Hiss crouched low to the ground looking back toward the firing.
“Smaller scout aliens,” Burke said. “I got one, the others retreated, but I would say they have our scent.”
“Can you lay another trap for them?” Leonessa said.
“I’m running real low on explosives,” Burke said.
“Fiddle sticks,” Leonessa said. “What about non-explosive traps?”
“We need time to set those up,” Burke said.
“The rat bastards will try to pin us down and wait for the armored goons. I bet the goons aren’t far behind,” said Carmichael. “You think we can surrender to them?”
Leonessa shook her head. “When they shot at us before they didn’t act like they were in the prisoner taking mood.”
“Shit,” Carmichael said. Everyone was tired and spent. Even after six hours of rest, they were still physically drained and mentally exhausted. Tired people would make mistakes and those mistakes could be fatal. Because of the need for people to stand watch nobody had gotten over four hours of sleep.
“Set a trap,” she said to Burke. The traps seemed to slow them down the most. “Then we follow Felix.”
“Aye ma'am,” Burke said.
“Carmichael,” Leonessa said. “Have your team lay down a base of fire. Keep them back until we are ready to bug out.”
“Aye ma'am,” Carmichael said taking charge of the shooters and sending someone to a window to shoot out. The Jupiter Alliance weapons did not generate light or reveal their presence but the crew could not be sure of their targets without turning on their lights. They had discovered earlier that turning on a light would draw fire, probably before the light user could acquire a target. If only the helmets had decent night vision.
“Conserve ammo!” Leonessa said watching Burke work and Carmichael deploy her people. Felix hissed at everyone and head butted Leonessa.
A spear came in through a window and slammed into the wall.
“Done!” Burke said and threw on his pack.
“By the numbers Carmichael, pull them back. When the last person is past, Burke will arm it, then we run!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
To the Rescue
“Recon bots have detected the rear element of the Tonkan,” Gray said. “They aren’t far ahead.”
“I want prisoners,” Luke said.
“Tonkan aren’t into being taken prisoner,” Gray said. “They have suicide pills, brain bombs and several
other guarantees. That is another reason they are favored mercenaries. They are deniable.”
“I know,” Luke said. “I said I want them. Take one or more if you can. If not, I won’t lose any sleep.”
“Are you sure they are hostile?” Brita asked.
It made Luke pause for a second. It hadn’t occurred to him they weren’t.
“Good question,” he said. “I would be tempted to stop and ask if they hadn’t been shooting at humans or taking prisoners. I’ve dealt with Tonkan before. They are focused. It is one of their weaknesses. I think they make good cannon fodder but that’s about it.”
Brita nodded.
Musashi walked behind Luke, his rifle scanning upper level windows and possible ambush sites. He was always looking where Luke wasn’t.
A squad of warbots proceeded them and the other two squad trailed them. The warbots seemed to flow through the ruins like stalking ghosts, their weapons scanning their surroundings and their armor had taken on a black camouflage pattern. When they stopped, they disappeared among the garbage. With the platoon commander, Lieutenant Puller, up near the front directing the warbots, Gray had remained with the tanks to coordinate things and Brita walked behind Luke next to Musashi. This corridor was not big enough for the grav tanks and Luke did not want to wait for anything smaller to be brought down. This was urban terrain, and here infantry ruled.
Small humming bird like drones flitted in and out of the buildings to their left and right and Luke knew he was only seeing the inner perimeter of recon drones. There was a wider network of them further out.
“Their rearguard is not being very attentive,” Gray said. “I can almost fly a drone right up their tail pipe.”
“Just make sure they don’t set up an ambush for us,” Luke said. “We are moving fast. I want good flanking cover.”
“Copy that. Looks like the area is a combination office and industrial sector abandoned a few hundred years ago. It is set up in blocks. You are on a main street. They are a street up and one over. This should let you get closer to them without the risk of them turning around and seeing you.
“Looks like they are moving faster,” Gray said. “They found something.”
“Acknowledged,” Luke said.
“Pick up the pace Lieutenant,” Luke transmitted to the platoon leader. “Get us closer to them!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Trapped
Felix was hissing as it hunkered down under some piece of furniture, a desk, or a chair, Leonessa did not know which, and did not care. They had run into an ambush by the enemy scouts. Carmichael was unconscious and being worked on by doc. A spear had penetrated her armor and pierced her abdomen and Doc had her unconscious while he tried to remove it. Another Crewman named Borelli was dead with a shattered face plate and spear in the eye.
Several crew members were firing out the front and there were some firing out the back. Leonessa looked around. There were no other routes. They would have to rush one of the two groups but they couldn’t do that until Carmichael was ready to be moved.
A spear flew through the window nearly hitting one of the crew members in the head.
There were windows looking out over the streets but there too many scouts swarming outside with spears and exceptional aim.
Several of them were dead, but they were too close and too dangerous to make a break for it, even if the humans had not been burdened by wounded.
“We have to get out of here,” Burke said. “Shit.”
“I’m open to suggestions,” Leonessa said. “Can we blow a hole in the floor or ceiling?”
“Out of demo,” Burke said.
A burst of blue flashes cut up the doorway to the front. The crew member there jumped back in surprise.
Leonessa looked at Carmichael who was covered in blood and Borelli who lay lifeless beside her.
They were all too tired, too spent. For days now they had been running, trying to escape. Felix crawled up next to Leonessa. It had kept them going, just out of reach of the scouts. If it had not been for Felix, they would have been trapped hours ago.
Leonessa wanted to cry but her heart was ice. It was hopeless, but they would die well.
“Why don’t you run?” she said looking at Felix. “Flee?”
She pushed Felix and pointed to the back door. It looked up at her sadly and leaned against her. It whined.
Blue flashes slammed into the back door area.
“Well,” Leonessa said. “Let’s teach those knuckle draggers what it means to mess with humans. It looks like there is no escape people. Let’s take them with us.”
Another crew member, Leonessa could not tell who from where she was at, took a burst of blue flashes and went down. He or she was in two pieces.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Surprise Attack
Luke heard plasma fire and had a bad feeling.
“The Tonkan are joining in a firefight. Looks like the Brazat have the target pinned down and the Tonkan are moving in,” Gray reported.
“Give me an overview,” Luke said and took a knee. Brita moved up to watch and slaved her InnerBuddy display to Luke’s.
A basic grid appeared, showing the area. Gray had marked the suspected location of the humans based on the Tonkan’s fire. They were still unaware they were being followed. They were just on the other side of the buildings, and they were advancing down the street on line, their weapons in their shoulders, walking at a slow steady pace, firing short bursts. Someone popped out of the building and fired a burst but it did not penetrate the Tonkan’s armor. Return fire chewed up the building where the person had popped out.
“I’m guessing they can’t blow a hole through the wall,” Luke said. With Tonkan advancing down both streets, keeping the humans pinned in the buildings between them, Luke doubted there were any side doors or ways up or down. Nowhere for them to go and it was unlikely Gray could get any drones near the humans without alerting the Tonkan.
“Based on what we’ve seen so far I don’t think so,” Gray said.
“First squad hit the Tonkan in the far side, second squad hit the Tonkan in the main street. I’ll go with third squad and try to flank the main street group. I just want to tie down the far side group so they don’t advance. I want to wipe out the group on the main street so we can evac the survivors.”
The battle droid named Lieutenant Puller acknowledged the commands and Gray concurred. There was not any time for fine-tuning the battle tactics. Luke, Brita, and Musashi sprinted down the street and the third squad followed.
Luke put up a display of what the recon bot was watching on his heads-up display as he sprinted down the street. Another display showed an overhead view that was a compilation of what the battle droids saw and what Gray suspected. After a hundred meters, Luke gave the command and the battle droid squad started into the building ahead of where the Tonkan column was advancing. They were thirty or forty meters from the human’s hold out, and they took up positions. The Tonkan were focused on maintaining a good firing line and advancing. They were not watching their flank, they were focused on their target and nothing would stop them. When Puller ordered the third squad to open fire, first squad and second squad also opened fire from behind.
The Tonkan were decimated and the few survivors scattered into the nearby buildings to return sporadic fire. Luke smiled. Tonkan were easy to deal with sometimes, and payback was a bitch.
Now it would just be a nasty room to room fight.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Rescued
Three crew members were down and Leonessa had a burn on her arm from a near hit. The enemy had been advancing down the streets on either side in a line, moving at a slow steady pace and placing accurate fire on the doors and windows. The smaller ones had all but disappeared when the armored aliens started firing, but they had done their job and kept the humans from escaping.
Anybody who revealed themselves to take a shot was subject to several enemy shooters who would try to shoot through
the walls to get the shooter. The beam weapons they were using could chew apart the buildings, and the enemy seemed to enjoy it as they advanced.
Then all hell broke loose. Another group of shooters opened fire and Leonessa heard screaming. The incoming fired stopped abruptly but she could still hear their attackers firing. The newcomers had quieter weapons but nothing seemed to come in their direction except for a rare blue flash. She poked her head out to look.
Bodies littered the street, and it looked like two forces on opposite sides of the street were shooting at each other from the buildings. In the distance, she saw movement coming down the street, following the footsteps of her attackers. She did not dare to take a good look.
Were they here to help? Or were they going from the frying pan and into the fire?
* * *
Luke broke through a door across from where the Tonkan targets had been. The room he entered was full of crouching Brazat and they turned on him with their spears slashing. It was a short fight in extreme close quarters as Musashi pulled a long blade and Luke fought with hand and foot. Brita fought beside him as well, just as fast and lethal. Luke’s forces were wearing powered armor, impervious to spears, and his only concern was a Brazat with an energy pistol.
The Brazat fell over themselves to escape after the first few seconds and they ran out into the street where they were cut down by the warbots of first squad coming down the street. Luke burst through the doorway in pursuit of the Brazat and saw humans shooting at the Brazat. Their weapons swung in his direction and he dived back behind the wall before they could fire.
“HOLD YOUR FIRE!” Luke yelled over his external speakers, hoping English was their primary language. Not all of the Jupiter Alliance was English speakers.
“We are with the New Alamo Defense Force!” Luke yelled. “Check fire! Check Fire!”
The Return: The Conglomerate Trilogy (Volume 1) Page 19
