“Roger, One. Hold tight.” I called, hoping that would calm the Resistance leader down.
“Amini,” I called. “We are in position behind the enemy and are preparing to attack. I want you to attack when we do but perpendicular to our line of fire. I don’t want to get hit by you if you overfly.” That piece of tactical wisdom had come from Sif and his training on Argos.
“Got it, Nick. I have all of you on my screen here as well as the enemy. You make the call, and I’ll do support runs as you requested.”
No sense waiting at this point, so I gave the command to open fire. Wow, was Wizzy right. The firepower from the bots was amazing. The enemy positions in front of us erupted in a blaze of red and white light as laser and explosive-tipped rounds impacted the enemy and the ground around them. After a sustained minute of fire, I was sure we must have wiped them all out. But we hadn’t. Their positions were good and well protected. Plus, they moved quickly to redirect fire at us. They couldn’t see us, but they could see the trails of laser fire and explosive rounds and had a good idea where we were. Time for Amini. And I didn’t have to ask. Just like we talked about, she rolled in from our left to right, in stealth, firing her lasers and cannon into the full length of the surprised enemy. This time the enemy cover was compromised in several areas, and their fire diminished but didn’t stop. We repeated the whole evolution again and again, but there was still resistance.
“Resistance One, this is Support One. The enemy has taken a beating. Can you attack from where you are? We can get them between two fires.” I read about that at some point in my training for Iraq and thought it was a good tactic.
“This is Resistance One. No, we cannot. Our ammunition is almost gone. You will have to rush them. They are weak now.”
Rush them? That didn’t sound like fun. On the other hand, we were armored and had stealth capability. Plus, we should be fast based on the mechanical advantage of my battle armor and the design of the bots. What the hell.
“Amini. We need to end this. We are going to rush them after you make your next pass.”
There was silence just long enough to suggest Amini wasn’t liking this.
“You sure?” came the short response.
“Pretty sure. I think we have an advantage in armor and firepower.”
“Ok, if you say so. I’m turning now to make another run. This time from your right to your left.”
Smart girl. Changing her attack path to throw off the expectations of the enemy just like Sif taught us. She was on them in minutes.
As I saw her first volley of weapons fire, I gave the command “Up” and “Attack.”
In a way, it was all downhill. We had about half a football field to go in distance, and it was actually downhill. The enemy remaining had their heads down during Amini’s attack, but as soon as she passed, they popped up and started shooting with everything they had. I was knocked off-balance several times by the hit of heavy rounds, but the combat armor’s internal gyro kept me from falling. Same with the bots. I could see what looked like sparks coming from the bots but figured that was ablated armor fragments. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one bot go down, then another. That left three other armored attackers and me. Before I had time to worry more, however, we were among the enemy who then had the good sense to give up, with their hands raised. I had to yell, “Cease fire!” to keep the bots from killing everything in sight and then “Stealth off” to give the enemy more to fear from my menacing combat-suited form and the bots themselves. My next bot command was “Watch them” as I walked toward the Resistance fighters. I knew the bot commands because they kept showing on my helmet visor. Wizzy must have realized I would need the help.
“Who is One?” I asked as I approached the Resistance and opened my visor.
“I am One now,” answered a tall, tired-looking, bloody woman with matted hair of undetermined color. “Our original team leader was killed at the start. We are very glad to see you. We weren’t sure our message for help got out.”
“We got it but weren’t sure we could help on short notice. We have another team at sites 20 and 35.”
The tired woman looked alarmed. “Are they alright?”
I didn’t want to let on that I didn’t know. “We have our best team there. I’m sure they’re fine. I’ll be contacting them once I’m sure you’re okay.”
“Then call them now! We lost contact some time ago, and they were in a bigger fight than this one.”
“Wizzy,” I called in alarm. “How is Sif’s team doing?”
“Ah, not so good. I didn’t want to bother you until you had this mess taken care of, but I think they can use your help.”
Crap. I was coming off a high after my first real dirt combat and feeling good to have survived and won. Now my emotions were falling fast.
“Amini!” I called.
“I heard, Nick. I’m landing now just off to your right.”
Sure enough, the shuttle was setting down with a slight whirl of dust and debris.
I turned to look for our bots and was surprised to see them all standing a few feet away. Well, not all standing. Two were being held up by the others. Several of the remaining Resistance fighters had taken control of the prisoners.
“Follow” was the command I gave the bots as we slowly entered the shuttle “dragging our bots”, so to speak.
Before the ramp closed, however, I heard “Support One, wait!” and I stepped back outside the shuttle. The woman we knew as Resistance One was running toward us along with others, all carrying boxes, weapons, and clothing.
“What’s the matter?” I asked the tired-looking woman.
“Do you have more forces other than what you have here?”
“Nope. What you see is what we have at this site.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be enough where you’re going. How many more can you take in your shuttle?”
“Ten to fifteen with gear, but that doesn’t matter now.”
“Yes, it does. With the fighting done here, we finally breached the storage facility vault and found ammunition, limited but effective armor, night vision, and other supplies. That’s what all these people are carrying. We want to go with you. You will need us. We can add twelve armed combatants, and we’re self-sufficient.” I’ve never seen such a determined person in my life. And she was right. We needed more people based on my limited but disturbing knowledge so far.
“What’s your name?”
“Tiana. What is yours?”
“Nick. Get your people on board.”
A smile broke across Tiana’s battle-stained face, and she hurried her people and supplies aboard the shuttle. I followed, closed the ramp, and let Amini know we had some help and to pass that to Sif and Doc.
After Amini took off and headed for 20 and 35, I gave Wizzy a call.
“Wizzy. Two of our battle bots here are damaged. Will there be enough to help Sif?”
“Never worry, Captain Nick. I have the other three bots making repairs now from spare parts I placed in the shuttle before you left. When you arrive, you should have all five up and running again, fully armed.”
“That’s good. We picked up a dozen more fighters from the Resistance.”
“Good work Captain Nick! That will be good news to Sif, who is having a hard time. They were able to take control of location 20, but 35 is bigger, and all the enemy combatants that survived 20 have fled to 35. It will be tough there.”
Relieved that the fighting here was done, I took a seat in the cabin and leaned my head back, still in my battle armor. Except for the bots, which were working feverishly on their two comrades, everyone else was doing the same. I thought back over the past. What was it, thirty minutes? Only thirty minutes, and it seemed like a lifetime. Nobody can prepare you for this kind of intense ground combat. You have to experience it for yourself. Now I understood why so ma
ny veterans never talked about what they did in war. Nobody would understand if they hadn’t been there and done the same thing.
Chapter 13
Night had fallen over the next combat zone by the time our shuttle circled the area. Amini alerted me to our arrival about ten minutes out, and I nudged a sleeping Tiana next to me to give her some time to ready her team. From a viewscreen in the cargo area, we could all see an enhanced view of the area below. Site 20 was the most visible of the two sites in that lights had been rigged around the front of the storage bunker and in a small area about thirty feet from the entrance. Amini announced that she had a clear area to land near the bunker and was making her approach.
Site 35 was also visible, but not so much by lighting as by the dancing light of lasers and the explosions of various munitions. This was a big fight compared to the one we left. I was glad that Tiana and her team were with us, but as we got closer to the ground, I wondered if even our combined team would make a difference. Did I say it was a big fight? No, it was a huge fight for my limited experience. What made me think I could lead forces against something like this? Too late now.
Amini set down about a hundred yards from the 20 bunker, and the ramp lowered even before the dust of our arrival settled. Before I could say anything, Tiana and her team burst through the open ramp door and headed for the bunker and her friends as fast as they could. I blinked my eyes in amazement, then worked my way forward to Amini in the cockpit.
“What do you think?” I asked like a dummy.
“We are way over our heads if that makes you feel better.”
“Thanks. Imagine what it would be like if Tiana hadn’t come along.”
I thought if we could joke about this, it might make us feel bolder, or at least better. But it didn’t.
“Any word from Sif or Doc?” I asked.
“Talked briefly with Doc, but he didn’t have much time to elaborate except to say HELP.”
“Wizzy, can you connect us with Sif and pipe it into the shuttle speakers?”
“Done.”
“Sif, this is Nick. We just landed at 20. In addition to me and five operational bots, we have twelve armed Resistance fighters led by a woman named Tiana. What’s your situation?”
“All my battle bots are down. I am with the ten remaining Resistance fighters and trapped in the entrance to the bunker. I estimate that we are facing as many as fifty of the enemy down from maybe sixty. It has been a good fight.”
“Ammunition?” I asked, ignoring Sif’s relative enjoyment.
“We gained access to the bunker interior and found some ammunition storage, but it is limited. Our problem is not being able to leave the area of the bunker — too much open space in front of us. No concealment. Doc has been doing well, but his shuttle has taken hits, and his stealth system is out. He is out of cannon rounds, and his laser power is fading.”
Amini and I shared a knowing look that silently said she was ready to join the fight. I heard a noise in the shuttle and turned to find Tiana listening over my shoulder. I nodded in recognition.
“Mr. Sif,” Tiana said, not knowing that Sif was an Arkon Red. “What are the enemy positions?”
Wizzy must have been listening, and the forward cockpit windscreen turned into a viewscreen with positions noted in red and blue, red being the bad guys. Tiana stepped back for just a second, surprised by the technology, and then leaned in to get a closer look.
“Never mind, Mr. Sif. I see them. The 35 bunker is on a small plateau above 20. My scouts say there is a well-traveled path leading to 35 from 20. It is flanked on both sides by dense trees. As the path approaches the plateau, there are rock emplacements along the plateau rim, providing cover for the enemy. To make matters worse, the bunker’s back and sides are also rimmed by densely packed trees making potential progress slow should we want to circle behind the bunker to attack from the far side.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” came the voice of Wizzy over our radios. I noticed Tiana trying to tell where the sound was coming from and who it might be.
“You got something, Wizzy?” I asked with hope.
“How about a back door to the bunker, will that help?’
I looked around to see who might have the answer. Tiana spoke up.
“If we assume the enemy doesn’t think we know about such a door, they won’t expect us to use it.”
Looking worried, I said, “I’m afraid the enemy might use it to get behind Sif and his team. What about that, Wizzy?”
“Not to worry, Captain Nick, the amazing Wizzy has solved that small problem. One of my little mantis bots, as you call them, has just changed the access code. We are now the only ones with access. Oh, I’m soooo clever.”
If anyone was watching me closely, they would have seen me tense, my eyes squint, and my jaw tighten at Wizzy’s smugness. Then, realizing the good thing he had done, my shoulders and legs relaxed a little knowing Sif was safe from the rear. I was about to ask what the advantage would be for us when Tiana spoke up.
“That is good. Very good. Some of Mr. Sif’s team can come out the back and meet with us. Our reinforced group can then split into two parts and work our way around the bunker and to the far edges of the enemy positions using the trees as cover. When in place on their flanks, we can then attack from two sides they don’t expect and meet in the middle.”
“I like that plan,” came the unsolicited voice of Sif over the speakers. “That may open the opportunity for us to come out and attack the middle. It will be a great fight!”
Tiana laughed, and when she recovered, said, “I like that Mr. Sif. I will enjoy meeting him.”
That was going to be a problem. Did I mention that Tiana was an Azelian, who were the first inhabitants of the planet Azel? When the Arkon captured the planet for their use, they either killed off the native people or put them to work as slaves on the planet and in a variety of hellish places far away from their home planet. Tiana told me all that in the shuttle before we all fell asleep. She also let it slip that she was from a royal family and, in fact, a princess of her people. She was also trained as a warrior, which explained her ease in combat. Somehow, I don’t think she would like to find that her friend on the radio, Mr. Sif, was, in fact, an Arkon Red, a warrior. I also don’t suppose it would matter that Sif was not part of the savagery that stripped the Azelians from the planet. That would have to be addressed later. Right now, we had a strong and nasty enemy to defeat. My reverie was stopped when I heard a sharp slap on the side of my helmet.
“Nick! Are you paying attention?” That was Tiana’s method of getting me to focus.
“Ya, sure, I like Sif too.”
“That’s not what I was talking about. I was suggesting that when we get behind the bunker and take out whatever guards might be there, we split our forces. If I took two of your bots, would they obey me?”
Good question, and I didn’t have the answer. “Wizzy?”
“I heard you. What would you do without me? Of course Tiana can take and control two of the bots. I just downloaded a program that will cause them to react to her voice and commands. I am sure she will understand, however, that she will not be able to direct the bots toward any of our team. Just a security precaution. No offense, Tiana.”
“No offense taken, Mr. Wizzy. I would have done the same.”
Tiana’s scouts were right, the denseness of the trees surrounding the bunker made progress slower than we liked. Our progress was also hampered because we were trying to be quiet. We finally made it to the bunker’s rear and the door. To all our surprise, there were no guards. As I told Sif I would, I used my armored fist to pound out three short knocks, followed by a pause, and then two more. The door opened slowly, and a head partly emerged to verify who was there. Then the door swung fully open, and five Resistance fighters in their combat gear came out, locking the door behind them. That was now seventeen Resistance fight
ers, including Tiana. She gave me six, and she, including herself, took eleven along with two of the bots. I thought the distribution was fair given I had three of the bots, and I was also encased in a full battle suit. We nodded at each other, and each team headed around their designated side of the bunker on the way to flank the enemy.
The enemy had not yet tried to flank the bunker and was content at the moment to continue their frontal bombardment. That might have been a puzzle had it not been for Amini and her attacks from the air. She alternately worked one side of the enemy and then the other. Once or twice, she came at them from head-on just to add spice to the fight. Sif and his friends also continued to fire, making the combat zone a noisy, dangerous place. No wonder they never saw us creeping up on their flanks.
Tiana and I agreed to commit the bots first, given their stealth capability, armor, and rapid firing. We timed the bots’ move to start when Amini made another perpendicular run on the enemy. This had the effect of keeping the enemy’s heads down and for the bots to get even closer before opening fire. When they did fire, it was crazy. The volume of fire was intense, and the enemy began to retreat to the center like we hoped they would. I would have said planned, but hoped was a better description.
As the enemy was pushed together, their firepower became more concentrated, and one by one, the bots’ stealth systems began failing as lucky hits scored, and the mechanical wonders began to stagger from the increased accuracy of the enemy. To us, they were like the tanks we used to see in the movies that led the way with the ground troops following in their protective wake. That is, until the tanks were taken out, and it was everyone for themselves.
Amini must have seen the bots falling out of the fight because she made another perpendicular run at the now clustered enemy in the middle. As she started her run with cannon and lasers blazing, a long white-orange trail of fire exploded from the enemy and flew up.
“Amini, they fired a missile!” I called out too late. It was close range and a short flight for the missile to hit. As bad luck would have it, a spot on the shuttle’s shields had been weakened early in the flight, and the missile hit it. I lost sight of the shuttle as it was surrounded by fire and trailing debris. I watched as the burning ship kept going on a trajectory that I knew would end in a crash away from the fight and away from us. My mind was reeling at the thought of Amini going down, but I had to refocus and re-engage. It was Sif who drew me back with his godawful battle cry. He had seen Amini fall from the sky and was ready to kick some ass for revenge.
Crucible: Records of the Argos Page 14
