"When we going?" Kallio said. She crawled up and popped her head into the empty TC compartment. "Tomi? You heard from Mick?"
"Negative," Tomi replied. "He's with the captain."
"I wanna get out of here," Kallio said. Her voice was tired.
She was on the current watch. The rest of the tank crew was huddled up, asleep or trying to sleep. Gous was the only one who hadn't slept yet. His single-handed typing hadn't stopped since they got the sticks. When anyone asked, he'd type faster.
The comms system clicked. Then a second later, Sergeant Mick came online. "Tomi, get ready for a resupply. How's the ammo loadout?"
Tomi glanced at the readout. "Sixty percent on the HIPEN."
"Bring it to fifty, get the rest ready, and top off the auxiliary canister with HEP."
Tomi frowned. The high-explosive penetrator, or HEP, was great for soft targets but did virtually nothing against the Emflife armor. For that they needed a specially tipped penetrator that relied on velocity for a sure kill. "Roger."
"Get everyone up. I'll be there shortly."
Tomi called into the back, and the crew stirred to life. A few minutes later, the supply trucks crept up in the darkness. They offloaded crates of the HEP. When Tomi went to transfer the HIPEN back, they just tossed it onto the earthen berm.
Mick came into the tank a few minutes later. He slapped his hands on his legs, and clouds of dust puffed up.
"What's up, Mickey-boy?" Puck said.
Mick looked at the crew and licked his lips. "Tomi, get down to the complex, we're topping off."
"Roger," Tomi replied. He backed away from the berm and drove toward the gate.
"So here's how it is." Mick leaned back against the firewall. "Those pillars are sending up Kadan troops. They're gonna keep sending up capsules to invade Kalivostok. And they ain't gonna have to go through no gate. Which means in a few days, they can transfer enough troops to overwhelm the outgate and domino the rest of Vasilov space."
Domino. It was a verb everyone had heard before. If one planet fell quickly enough, the others wouldn't have time to react and mobilize. It was always assumed to be a fiction. The experience on Lishun Delta, thirty-five years of war, had reinforced that fiction. But now it was almost happening.
"We're headed back to the pillars."
The crew groaned. They swore, and bitched, and complained.
"Shaddup. If the Kadan take Kalivostok, we're kind of stuck. So we get in, nail those pillars, and then get the fuck out."
"Wait a second," Gous said. "Didn't we try this once before?"
Tomi drove down the road. Just up ahead, he saw a truck half askew on the road. He grabbed the controls for the autocannon and then remembered it was thrashed.
"We're gonna hit it with HEP, try and unbalance those pillars, and break one off."
"Sergeant? Something's wrong," Tomi said.
Mick spun around and hopped up into the TC position. "Slow down, stop here."
Tomi stared out and saw a body on the edge of his view. Two legs stuck out from behind a building. It wore a a woman's dress, and her legs were askew at odd angles.
"Lock and load!" Mick yelled. "FEP! Might be a synthetic! Now go, go!" He radioed in the contact a second later.
Tomi's heart thumped in his chest. A synthetic was serious.
"Roll up, Tomi, nice and slow," Mick said. He slewed the main cannon over and pointed it right at the edge of the building.
The infantry ran up along the cover. Even Hutchins was in the line with a combat shotgun. Veriha was in the lead with his weapon at ready. Slowly the tank crunched ahead.
"Stop!"
More bodies came into view. Three men lay dead. Civilians. A pile of luggage was torn apart. Clothing was strewn everywhere.
Veriha stepped out with his rifle right to his shoulder. "Come out!"
A soldier stepped into view. His uniform was that of the 19th ACR. In one hand was a pistol, and in the other was piece of dirty luggage. The pistol hung limp. The man stumbled to the side. His pants were unzipped.
A woman screamed behind the vehicle.
"What the fuck?" Mick said.
Someone took off running into the darkness.
Veriha snapped up his rifle.
The first man stumbled back and fired the pistol at Veriha. The round slammed into his dust mask, and Veriha fell before he could fire his weapon.
Puck fired into the soldier. The first rounds slammed into the man's legs and stitched their way up until the last ripped out his throat.
The rest of the squad raced up with weapons at ready. Kallio dropped to her knees next to Veriha. The med kit was already open, but then she stopped. Her hands fell to her side, and her head drooped.
Mick slammed his hand into the hull of the tank. "Fuck! Fuck!"
Tomi stared over at Veriha and couldn't believe it. To have survived so much only to be shot down by a looter. His friend, dead. "Oh God."
"Ain't no God here, Tomi. There ain't no God here," Mick said.
#
Chapter Thirty-Five
Deep Space near Kalivostok System
Three days later, the starship entered the Kalivostok system. The navigation computer disengaged the stardrive on the very outer reaches. The star was still but a tiny speck of light, just larger than those around it.
The EVA crew immediately disembarked, with Bill leading the way. The goal was to diagnose the external health of the starship. What they found was about what they'd expected. A mess.
The weapons system was a mix of fusion launchers and mass drivers. The fusion launchers expelled a single pellet of ultra-high-mass elements that coalesced upon impact in a fusion bloom. They were a devastating weapon but only useful at close range.
The mass drivers filled the long-range role; they hurled slugs of depleted uranium and tungsten carbide. This was to harass at long range, but up close could be cranked up for a wicked barrage.
Raziz explained all of this to Vaughn. Umi and Vik listened with mild interest. They were spectators and knew it. A soldier learns a special sort of indifference to violence he can't control.
The airlock cycled, and Bill came through with the rest of the team. Rachel entered from the hall and waited for them to unsuit.
None of the EVA team looked happy.
"We should have found a nicer ship," Bill said. "Did we save the receipt?"
Umi glanced at Vaughn. "What's a receipt?"
Bill threw up two spindly legs in disgust. "Most of the mass receptors are burned out. She'll not take a fight. One mass driver is functional, kind of. On top of that, though, we've got one fusion launcher."
"That's it?" Rachel said. "Is the rest repairable?"
One of the EVA crew spoke. "Maybe? We've got spares from the recovery operations."
Rachel nodded and bit her lip.
"Any sign of the other ship?" Umi said.
Rachel shook her head. "No, but they could have arrived and are just too far away."
"Prepare the drive, Bill. We're headed in to Kalivostok." Rachel turned and left the room.
Umi followed after and walked with Bill. He glanced down at the little alien, but Bill paid him no mind.
On the bridge, Rachel stood before the large display with her hands behind her back. Bill clattered to one console and started working. Umi hung in the back.
"Spectrum, please," Rachel said.
The display shifted and highlighted orbital bodies. Further out, a few planets wandered. Up close, Kalivostok lived in that planetary sweet spot.
"Navigation is updating metrics."
Raziz slid in the door with Vaughn. She nudged the engineer. "The computer has to reacquire navigational data. It's smart enough to pick up that things are just a bit off."
"Which is why we didn't just jump right in," Rachel said without turning around.
The engineers at the consoles sounded off.
"Nav ready."
"Stardrive ready."
"Comms clear."
&
nbsp; "Atmospheric a go."
Rachel leaned over the shoulder of the nav engineer. "Tuck us in behind that moon."
The display shifted, and an arc shot across the star system. It halted just on the back side of a minor moon near Kalivostok.
"I don't intend for anyone to know we were here," Rachel said.
Umi caught the jab and couldn't help but crack a smile. He took a particular pleasure in making someone uncomfortable, especially when he felt they were wrong.
The screen shifted. The arc halted just short of the moon. A green cube blinked at the center of the display.
"Stardrive locked," Bill said.
"Final scan. Any sign of the second?" Rachel said.
Umi leaned a bit and searched the displays. Half the screens showed text he couldn't read, the other half were dark. "Raziz, how can they read that?"
Raziz grinned. "Very carefully!" She smiled even wider and then looked serious. "It's ancient Ken-Ashi. Just a matter of learning the syntax. More of a programming language than a spoken one."
"Sounds boring."
"Well, they weren't known for their poetry."
The engineer at the astrogation panel turned to Rachel. "Scan clear."
"Engage the stardrive."
Bill tapped his console.
The display shifted, and the stars winked into arcs of lights that diffused into nothing. They were barely moving any distance at all compared to how far they had already traveled. Then it was over, almost as quickly as it had begun.
They arrived on the back side of the moon. The surface took up almost the entire display. Far off to one side was a yellow-gray planet. Icons winked up around it, and the bridge crew suddenly came alive.
"The hell is that?" one of the engineers said.
Rachel ran over to the astrogation panel. She talked quickly with an engineer, and then a magnified feed was clear on the display.
A metal canister two hundred meters long flew through space. On the leading nose was a massive heat shield. Panels were tucked tight, deployable drogues, with fuel tanks interspersed throughout.
"Drop capsule," Rachel mumbled. "Get us on the opposite side from them!"
The starship started to move under normal propulsion. The ion engines in the rear flared, and slowly they gained velocity. The long string of capsules disappeared from view. A sliver of Kalivostok was visible now, blue and green and white.
"They're invading," Umi said. How the hell was that possible? He watched the astrogation display. All of those capsules were coming from the other planet, Squire. Mixed in were slender platforms that he recognized from Lishun Delta. Orbital bombardment platforms. It wasn't an attack but an all-out invasion.
"Prepare to embark," Rachel said. "This position isn't secure."
Umi moved toward Rachel. "We can fire at those capsules, those platforms. The Vasilov can't defend themselves."
"Nor can we, Captain Matsuo. Our defenses are inoperable."
"But—"
"You either shut up, or you leave." Rachel turned around and faced the screen. "Prepare to leave a radio beacon. Inform the second ship we're headed for Sigg Prime."
Umi clenched his teeth. He looked over at Bill.
The little alien tapped quietly on his console.
Umi had to work very hard to keep the grin off his face.
"Woah!" one of the engineers called. "Orbital! Right there!"
An orbital bombardment platform came into view. It circled in low orbit around Kalivostok. Jets fired, and the heat shields broke away. The massive structure was braking in the atmosphere while placing itself into orbit. Then it opened fire. The clouds parted beneath it and revealed a green landscape.
But only for a second. The fireballs rose up a moment later.
Rachel seemed locked where she stood. Caught in the moment. One hand was half in the air, as if about to make an order.
Umi hoped—prayed—that she'd make the right choice and stay.
Then Rachel shook out of it. "Engage the stardrive."
Bill tapped the console.
All of the lights on the bridge died. The consoles blinked and information scrolled down. The engineers all started talking at once. Error messages came up with faults.
"What happened?" Rachel yelled. "Bill?"
"Stardrive overload," Bill called back. "The power conduit fried. I'll need to rewire it."
"How long?" Rachel snapped back.
"Hour, maybe two," Bill said. He rushed through the door, and his legs clattered down the hall.
"Rachel..." Umi said.
Rachel raised a hand and stared up at the display. Before her the orbital platform was magnified. The nose glowed white, and then another charge plowed through the atmosphere.
Umi watched her face. He could see her concentrating, thinking; her brows were furrowed. This was the moment of command, the one that would define the moment. He knew it. He'd felt that same weight himself. Nothing he could say or do would impact it now.
"Hold position," Rachel said.
Umi took a step. "We can help them."
"And risk losing this starship? It's worth more than one planet."
"Worth more than a planet? You damned fool!"
Rachel spun and jabbed a finger at Umi. "Get off my bridge—"
An engineer yelled out, "New contact!"
"Is it the other ship?" Rachel said.
"Negative! Another ship."
"The Vek..." Rachel said. "Weapons live! Plot a course around this moon."
"AI live?" an engineer asked.
"Negative, get everyone in EVA suits. We don't know if our AI will treat us as friend or foe," Rachel said. She turned to Umi. "Get suited up. We’ve been running on manual control. If we engage the AI you might have some crawlers to shoot. It will either ignore us, or hunt us like intruders."
#
Chapter Thirty-Six
Planet Kalivostok III, Kalivostok System
Kali-Squire Defense Facility
The orbital bombardment struck with catastrophic effect. From orbit it looked like pinpricks of light that blossomed into clouds. On the ground it was like an earthquake melded with a hurricane.
Each round blasted deep into the earth. The seismic shock wave from each rippled through bunkers and passages. The tremors tore through earth, shattered concrete, shredded steel, and collapsed structures. Then a geyser of debris blasted skyward. About then, the shock wave arrived in the air and dispersed it all out.
The soldiers in the base were prepared for every single potential threat except an orbital bombardment. The masses of stores, chemical and nanite weapon defenses, and the amazing quantity of anti-artillery umbrella systems, did nothing to stop the orbital platforms.
Each strike was followed by a pause of about five minutes. Enough time for the terror to set in. Defenses were abandoned as troops surged out of cover, though on the outside they found little shelter. Debris rained down, as terrible as any shrapnel.
They dug into the debris, confident that the bunkers were deathtraps. The odds seemed better topside. If the debris didn't get you, maybe, just maybe, you'd get out fine. Still, all eyes were on the stargate.
The bunkers nearest to the stargate were the least touched. The orbital platform steered its fury to those farther away. The troops there waited and watched. Officers marched up and down the ranks, stood men up, quieted the hysterical, and prepared to be invaded.
The next surprise came when a capsule descended through the tortured clouds. It was silvery, glistening with rain. A dozen landing legs spread out, a crackling heat shield dropped away, and a set of retro-rockets fired to slow the descent.
The heat shield exposed not only the rockets but also a battery of weapons. Artillery and rockets poured down from the sky. They descended onto the trenches in a terrible fury. The capsule came lower; it was large now, enormous, nearly two hundred meters tall.
Troops fired upon it with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and portable antiarmor weapons. One group sent
out new homing rockets that exploded without effect against its hull.
A surviving entrenched turret swung to the side and fired just as the capsule touched down. Its round finally pierced through the hull. Flame gouted out, followed by a hiss of gas. Kadan troops tumbled to the ground, burning. But they weren't the only ones to fall.
Black-clad Emflife synthetics launched from the capsule. Some were shredded by the shock of the emplaced gun. Others landed on the concrete and raced for the Kalivostok trenches.
The entrenched guns fired into the capsule. One of the massive landing legs sheared off. The capsule wobbled; it was ungainly to watch, like a building tumbling in slow motion. Finally it rocked from one side and fell.
By then the Emflife had struck the trenches. The Vasilov fired in masses. Grenades arced out, mortars slammed into the ground, heavy weapons teams poured out the fire. The intensity was beyond even Lishun Delta.
Had the Emflife capsule landed untouched, had it deployed the full complement of troops, had the armor disembarked, then the battle would have been finished. Instead, the fight raged in the trenches, an affair of horrible violence. The Emflife synthetics waded in, reaped bodies, and sowed destruction.
But they fell. One by one the Vasilov slew the black-clad synthetics through sheer mass of fire. Finally, after an hour, the trench line was clear. Internal explosions racked the drop capsule. Kadan troops still fought from the edge. But the Emflife shock troops were dead.
The entire time, the orbital continued to strike further out. Those who survived waited for the end, for how could they halt something striking from above?
***
General Vic Makinen regained consciousness inside of his holding cell.
He groped and felt sloped walls where a flat floor should have been. The light in his room was dead. Only a dim, blue glow echoed from the hall. About then, he realized the cell door was gone.
Another rumble shook through the walls. Dust and concrete cracked apart and fell.
He looked out into the hall. The floor was at an odd angle, the whole thing skewed. The tile floor was rippled and cracked. He tried to move and felt the pain of the beating.
Steel Storm (Steel Legion Book 2) Page 22
