After Jolly explained, Cain was wide awake.
Why can’t any of these ever go according to plan? he wondered.
He found Brutus and roused the ‘cat, earning himself a vicious scratch down his forearm.
“Damn it, Brutus!” Cain complained. “Less than a mile to go get Daksha and bring him back. It’s a walk in the park.”
Cain knew the ‘cat would catch up, so he turned and started a slow jog, speeding up as his muscles loosened. On the heavy planet, he figured a ten-minute mile would be a Herculean effort, so that was the pace he set.
A casual observer would have said the major was shuffling to a funeral dirge.
***
Daksha lost altitude until he was barely off the pavement and then finally his feet touched. He tried walking, but the strain was far too great. He settled to the ground, unable to keep going and unable to move off the road. He twisted his neck around to look for bots, but couldn’t see anything. His own shell blocked his view. The kitten fell from his numb jaws.
Fear gripped him.
He could only think of his father and the repairs made to his shell from the damage done by the Androids after he was captured. He’d been as helpless as Daksha felt now.
And this is the beginning of the end, he told himself, before his head drooped to the ground.
***
Cain saw the Tortoid on the ground, a ‘cat lying before him and a Hawkoid on his back. The major hurried, but was already running out of energy. He slowed to a walk, looking over the area to see if there were signs of an ambush, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary that he could see.
He had no idea what a bot ambush would look like. They hadn’t used stealth previously, counting on their superior weapons as they attacked directly.
Cain saw the bot lying in the roadway not far behind the Tortoid. He picked up the kitten to cradle him and then tucked him inside his shirt as he left the exhausted Tortoid and injured Hawkoid behind. There was nothing he could do for either of them besides leave Brutus to keep them company.
The major pulled his blaster, checked the narrow beam setting, and approached the bot.
He saw it vibrating on the ground as if trying to right itself. He ran to it as quickly as he could and started firing into it. He spaced the holes he was drilling in its body, hoping to hit something vital. The weaponry on its top was stuck in the ground, but it fired anyway.
The blast of all weapons fired simultaneously flipped it backwards and the concussion threw Cain off his feet.
He landed flat on his back and gasped in pain, but he held tightly to his blaster. He rolled to his side and fired into the side of the bot, again and again until the blaster’s charge was nearly gone.
He stopped, saving the precious remaining shots. He pushed himself to his knees and crawled to the bot. Tendrils of smoke drifted through the holes in its casing. It no longer moved. The weapons systems on top were locked in place.
Cain grunted with the effort to get to his feet, turned his back on the bot, and staggered down the road where Brutus waited patiently beside Master Daksha. Cain sat in the road beside the Tortoid and stroked his head.
“I need you to hover, Commander. I can’t carry you and everyone else. I can pull you along. All you need to do is float. I’ll do the rest.”
Cain winced as ‘cat claws jabbed into his stomach. A whine came from within his shirt. He unbuttoned it, careful to catch the kitten before he fell out. The ‘cat’s eyes whirled in his head as he tried to focus, but couldn’t.
‘I want my mom,’ the little man broadcast. Cain pulled the kitten tightly to him and stroked his fur. Brutus nuzzled his son.
‘Does it hurt?’ Brutus asked.
‘A lot!’ BJ replied, exasperated.
‘That’s what it’s like being an adult,’ Brutus told him. ‘It’s okay, Billy Joe, you’ll be fine. We’re here to protect you until you can take your turn and watch over us. Now climb in with the Hawkoid and let’s see if we can get back to the spaceship.’
“I couldn’t have said it better myself, Brutus.” Cain scratched behind the rough orange ‘cat’s ears. Brutus leaned into it for a second, then raised a paw as if to scratch the human. Cain looked at the scratch on his arm. It was no longer bleeding, but the scab was barely formed.
Cain removed his hand, not wanting to get scratched again. Brutus put his paw down and nudged his son onto the Tortoid’s shell. The Hawkoid raised his head and Cain gave him a drink from his flask.
“You’re safe, Ascenti. Drink as much as you can. Water is energy down here. We’ll get you some food when we get to the shuttle. It’s not much farther.”
The Hawkoid’s eyes rolled back in his head and he lost consciousness.
Cain got a good look at the terrible damage done to his wing, and grimaced. He couldn’t imagine the pain of losing half his arm, but he’d seen Rand work through it.
He made a mental note to ask Rand to help Ascenti in his recovery. Cain wondered how many of his people were going to have 3D printed body parts when it was all said and done, or how many names were going to be on the bulkhead plaque.
Cain forced those thoughts from his mind. “Commander, please. I need you to float.” Cain poured water on the Tortoid’s head and neck. He dribbled a few drops into the Tortoid’s mouth.
Daksha’s eyes shot wide open and he turned his head to look at Major Cain. “Where am I?” he asked, his vocalization device registering surprise.
“You’re on Heimdall, and I really need you to float, Master Daksha,” Cain pleaded.
“No problem, my boy!” the Tortoid said happily, almost catching Cain’s face on his shell as he zipped past.
Cain didn’t have a piece of rope, so he removed his shirt. “Grab on,” he told the Tortoid. The commander descended almost as fast, stopping just before slamming into the ground, then he rose again, but Cain caught his shell. “What’s gotten into you?”
“Water. If we drink it, unfortunately, it’s very much like alcohol to you,” Daksha explained.
“We don’t have time for that. Tighten up!” Cain bellowed, then shoved the corner of his shirt into Daksha’s mouth and took off running. The Tortoid bounced and sailed as he followed Cain.
BJ was hanging on for his life while doing his best to keep Ascenti in place. Cain grabbed Daksha by the shell and started pushing to better hold him steady.
Cain was surprised at how much lift the Tortoid was able to manage. The major found that he was leaning on the shell, using it for both support and balance. In the end, he wasn’t sure who was helping whom.
They staggered to the shuttle, finding that everyone was still asleep. Jolly opened the shuttle hatch and Daksha floated upward and went inside. The ladder descended, but Cain stayed outside.
‘Jolly, let me know what Ascenti needs and I’ll do it,’ Cain told his neural implant.
‘He needs to be back aboard The Olive Branch, Major Cain,’ Jolly replied.
‘We all do, Jolly. We all do,” Cain agreed.
Secure the Perimeter
Stalker opened her eyes and without lifting her head, looked around. The squad was arrayed in and around the bushes, mostly concealed, but lacking sound cover. Stinky was close by, head between his front paws, looking very dog-like. His eyes were closed and he breathed slowly, rhythmically.
She poked him with the butt of her lightning spear. His eyelids slowly crawled open and he stared straight ahead. The muscles quivered in his neck as he lifted his head. Yawning and smacking his Wolfoid lips, he looked at Stalker, then realized what had happened. He tried vaulting to his feet, but fell over as his legs didn’t respond as he thought they would.
Stalker took a head count, finding everyone she expected to find. She saw the window of her neural implant flashing. She opened it and contacted the AI. ‘Jolly, can you give me an update on the commander and Ascenti, please?’
‘Commander Daksha made it to the shuttle intact, despite an encounter with a bot, but the commander
dispatched it,’ Jolly reported.
Stalker growled in anger, driving the cobwebs from her mind. She rolled and stood up on all fours, then pulled herself upright.
“Daksha was attacked by a bot. He made it back, but we need to go,” she told Leaper. He exhaled heavily, then took deep breaths as he tried to force oxygen into his tired, aching muscles.
Stalker roused the others, telling them to get up but be quiet about it. Stinky watched for movement from the open roadway, gripping his lightning spear tightly. Mass fire had overwhelmed the bot. The more weapons they could bring to bear, the quicker they could eliminate their enemy.
The lieutenant had no doubt that the bots were the enemy.
Spence hurried the squad through their morning ablutions, but Stalker told everyone to eat and drink fully. They had two hard miles to cover and they couldn’t stop again.
Once the squad was ready, Stinky pulled them into a tight circle. “Listen up, people. The bots know we’re here. Daksha encountered one, but he took care of it. The rest of our people are hunkered down at the first shuttle. We’ll join them while we wait for our shuttles to refuel. Then we will conduct a tactical movement to the second shuttle and leave this planet. We’ll move in a diamond formation. If we encounter a bot, shoot first, mass your fire on it, and kill it.”
Stinky looked from face to face. He wasn’t completely sure about human expressions, but he knew what determination looked like. There was no way Spence and his people were going to be outdone by a Tortoid and a kitten.
Stinky activated the comm device on his harness. “Major Cain, Lieutenant Black Leaper, over.”
“Cain here,” the major replied.
“We are preparing to move out. If no contact, estimate we’ll reach your pos in ninety minutes,” Stinky said.
“We have no idea how many bots are out there, Lieutenant. Take the greatest care to bring our people here. Cain out.”
Stinky looked at his harness, agreeing with everything.
“Form up,” he ordered.
Spence took point with the Lizard Man at his side. With the lieutenant and the platoon sergeant as part of the team, he’d been relegated to little more than another trigger puller. He was good with that.
They didn’t lack confidence in him. It was about the most efficient use of resources. They didn’t need three Marines in charge of the other four. One in charge of six made the most sense and brought the greatest firepower to bear.
Stinky formed the diamond with Spence and Zisk up front, Tobiah walking with them. Tracker was on the right flank and Shady was on the left flank. In the rear, Silas walked with his ‘cat Aniston, Night Stalker on the right side where the most buildings were situated. Stinky stayed in the center to respond where he was needed the most.
The squad carried their blasters at the ready after ensuring they had narrow beams dialed in.
The group set off at the Lizard Man’s pace since he was the slowest. He and Spence aimed their weapons where they looked, scanning the windows of the buildings they passed, keeping their eyes and blasters in constant motion.
Stinky saw that none of the buildings had been destroyed. Some windows were missing, but the buildings and the planet’s infrastructure appeared intact. The bots had cleansed humanity from the planet, leaving the animals alone.
‘Jolly, do you have any more information on the bots?’ Stinky asked over the neural implant, making sure the information was being shared with Cain.
‘I do, Lieutenant. The bots arrived in a spaceship approximately ninety-seven years ago. They eliminated the satellites orbiting the planet, and this was our only source of information as we were able to recover some of the debris.’ Jolly then transmitted a picture of the ship that had destroyed the satellite.
Stinky didn’t answer. He minimized his window to watch for the more immediate danger. There was nothing pressing that Jolly was telling him.
“Incoming!” Silas bellowed. Stinky turned and the Marines ran to the nearest cover. Stalker triggered her lightning spear, but missed the fast-moving bot. It increased speed and raced down the middle of the road. No one fired for fear of hitting one of their own.
The bot silently blazed past Stinky, who almost fell down as he spun to follow. Spence and Zisk were nowhere to be seen, so Stinky took the shot and held the trigger down, to keep the lightning dancing across the bot’s surface and stop its momentum. The two Wolfoids on the flanks added their fire while Stalker and Silas joined the lieutenant, adding their fire to that of the others.
‘Behind us,’ Aniston shared with her human.
“Behind us!” Silas yelled and ran for the trees, leaving the lieutenant and the sergeant in the middle of the road. They saw the danger and dove, one right and one left. The bot fired through the space they’d just occupied. The power of the bot’s laser burned a trench into the pavement.
It stopped firing with one laser and picked up with two more. Stinky rolled to face the mechanized warrior, earning himself a laser crease down the hair on his side. The pain from the burn was searing, but he was energized by it.
Stinky fired, sending a lightning bolt over the bot. Stalker fired from her prone position in the road while Silas fired from behind a tree.
The bot focused all its weapons on the human, shattering the tree behind which he stood, sending splinters the size of spears into both the Marine and the Hillcat. The lasers continued to fire, crisscrossing the man’s body. The lasers winked out as the bot fell to the ground, sparked one last time, and toppled.
Stalker ran to Silas, but he was gone. Aniston yowled. The mental anguish of losing her human matched the injuries from the wood that penetrated her small body.
Corporal Spence appeared with Tobiah at his side. Spence touched his friend, his body still warm as if he yet breathed. Aniston continued to profess her grief to the world. Tobiah nuzzled her.
‘Is there anything you can do for her?’ Tobiah asked Spence over their mindlink.
‘I don’t know,’ he answered honestly. ‘But we’re going to give it a hell of a try.’
“Into the woods!” Stinky ordered, pointing toward the wooded area on the left side of the road. The buildings on that side were smaller and farther apart. On the right, there were too many multi-story buildings to block their progress and in which bots could hide.
As they established a hasty perimeter, Stinky activated his comm device. “We’ve lost Silas and Aniston is severely injured. Two bots engaged and destroyed,” Stinky reported.
Cain didn’t want them to dwell on the loss.
“Duty first, Lieutenant. Are there more bots?” Cain asked.
“The first one was flying down the road. Had we not fired on it, I believe it would have continued to you without bothering us. The second one attacked us as soon as it saw us.”
“Sounds like they’re learning that the non-humans are as dangerous as the humans. We need you back here so we can establish a defense in depth,” Cain replied.
“We can’t outrun them, so we’re going to remain under cover, travel through the wooded areas to get to you. I don’t intend to engage any more bots unless they engage us first,” Stinky said flatly, trying to sound emotionless, but he was afraid. He was afraid for his mate and his people, because he was in pain and tired.
He was afraid because he was looking at another dead Marine, and Stinky knew that there would be more before they left the planet. It was sucking the life from him, but the Marines never wavered, even when death was imminent. If duty demanded, with a hearty oorah, they’d run into withering fire, because that was what Marines did.
They were all afraid, but their courage and sense of honor demanded that they do what needed done. Marines knew fear, just like any other creature, but they didn’t let it dictate their actions.
“There’s no time to lament our dead. Zisk, you carry Silas. Spence, put some numbweed on Aniston’s wounds, leave the shards in place, and you carry her. We move through the woods, and we’re leaving now. Stalker on p
oint, stay in the heaviest cover, single file, now go.”
Stalker didn’t hesitate. She tipped her spear in a salute and headed into the brush, leaving a trail for the others to follow.
Shady followed her, then Zisk and Spence. Tracker wanted tail end Charlie, but Stinky wouldn’t have it. The lieutenant committed to bring up the rear, keeping his people in front of him.
After ten minutes, Stinky keyed his comm device. “We can’t see the road from where we are, Cain. I cannot give you a heads up on incoming. I say again, I can give no warning on incoming.”
***
Cain looked at the open area that led from the road to where the shuttle had landed. “Flash, I want you at the corner. We need eyes looking as far down the road as you can see. Without you, we won’t get any heads up that bots are inbound. We need you to give us a fighting chance. Go!”
The Wolfoid raced on all fours the hundred meters to the corner that Cain had pointed to. He hunkered down behind a tree and inside a bush, concealed but with little cover to protect him from a bot weapon. He accepted the risk because he had the visibility that the major wanted.
“OP is manned,” Lightning Flash reported.
“Bull, get everyone else into place, set up an ambush along that avenue of approach. Make sure we catch them in a crossfire.”
Cain breathed a sigh of relief. Ellie scowled as she fought her way into a sitting position. The bags under her eyes told the rest of the story.
Cygnus Arrives: Humanity Returns Home (Cygnus Space Opera Book 3) Page 12
