by Shawn Jones
“Okay, if their suits are like ours, the power source is on the back. That’s their primary weakness. Can you get behind them? Also, what kind of rounds are they firing?” Cort asked.
“Ballistic rounds. Nothing special. But we cannot get around them. It would leave a hole in our defenses. They can’t get around us either, though.”
“Don’t compromise your defenses,” Cort commanded. He thought about the CONDORs strengths and weaknesses. “Okay. Do you have double-coverage on any targets?”
“What do you mean?” Dave asked Cort.
“Are there any targets that two of you can see? Specifically, that two of you can hit.”
“Yes, sir. Maybe five or six.”
“Okay, show me. Send your tactical map to me. Rhodes, are you listening?”
“Yes, Cort.” Rhodes was at the console, where he had been for five hours, since the assault began.
“Look at the tactical map. Start firing railguns behind the bad guys. Push them to areas where there is double coverage. Try not to damage modules, but if you have to that’s okay. Dave, link your targeting computers. Then pick one target at a time and aim for the suit joints. Preferably where the legs meet the torso, but shoulders might work too. Try a charged round combined with an explosive round at the same joint. If that doesn’t work, double up on explosive rounds. The idea is to incapacitate the suits. When this is over, we need to come up with a grenade of some sort, but this is our best option for now. I’m two hours away. You have to hold on that long.”
“Yes, sir. Gaines out.”
“Dave, wait. Are you still there?” Cort asked.
“Yes, sir. I am here.”
“Don’t forget. Our family is in there. You can overload your suit. Do you follow me?” Cort left his true meaning unspoken.
“Yes, sir. I understand.” There was silence for fifteen seconds before Dave Gaines spoke again. “If it comes to that, sir, well, it has been an honor.”
“The honor’s been mine, Dave. You’ve done me proud,” Cort said.
--
When Cort finally topped the last ridge, he was about two hundred meters from the nearest terminal module. The carnage outside the colony was incredible. The dust cloud was so thick Cort had to use his onboard sensors to discern what was going on. Terminal module three had imploded. Cort knew from the comms that no one had gotten in yet, but clearly it was about to happen.
Dave was already dead. The invaders had caught on to the new strategy and began employing it themselves. Only one CONDOR was still active. Cort had never met the female operator of the suit, but knew she was the woman that Kay was giving her unborn child to. She was standing between the west entrance to the colony and eight enemy suits. As Cort watched she went down on her side. The left leg of her CONDOR was blown twenty meters behind her. It tumbled to a stop against the airlock of the terminal module. She was going to die just a moment too soon for Cort to help.
“I’ve got augmented visual,” Cort said, “I’m targeting now.”
“Mr. Addison, I’m Jan Mines.” Cort could hear the agony in woman’s voice. “I was going to adopt Miss Gaines’ baby. Please protect them, sir.”
“I know who you are, Jan. I’m sorry I got here too late.” The enemy were moving through the cloud of dust. They split up as they walked around Mines, ignoring her.
“Protect the baby, sir. Please. I’m overloading my suit.”
The explosion threw the eight invaders in all directions. One of them smashed into the terminal module and crushed its airlock. The other spread were killed just as instantly. Not even Cort’s CONDOR would have survived the overload of Mines’ power system at that range.
“Cort, the last four of them have entered the south terminal,” Rhodes said. “One down. The Claymores got him. The FALCONs are gathering there.”
“FALCONs, this is Addison. Use MATs. Charged rounds only. I’m coming in behind them.”
The voices of several FALCONs said, “Yes, sir.”
“Rhodes, if I come in through the west terminal is there any armor inside for me?”
“No. We couldn’t get another suit online.”
“Okay, my FALCON will have to do. I’ll grab Dave’s MAT on my way in. When this is over, I want more fixed railguns set up. I never dreamed they would launch an overland assault. We need guns protecting us from this too. Maybe the armory people can just change out the mounts.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Rhodes said.
A minute later Rhodes spoke again, “Cort, go in from the north. We need you inside. I’ve only got four FALCONs left.”
“Okay, stand by.” Cort squatted the HAWC suit down directly in front of the terminal airlock. After deactivating the system, he unjacked from it and jacked into his FALCON. He said, “Rhodes, you have to operate the airlocks for me. I have to cover my mouth and run. Otherwise Clare gets her wish. Open it five seconds from my mark. Close it in six. NOW!” Cort lifted the operator’s couch out of the way, popped the hatch, and did a somersault out of the HAWCs butt and into the open airlock. It closed behind him and filled with air. Oh shit. The Claymores. “Rhodes, the mines!”
“Damn! Stand by!” Rhodes said.
A minute later, the inner lock opened and Rick was waiting with tactical helmet and a fresh MAT. The helmet would give Cort a full HUD and comm system to track the battle. “Sorry about that, sir.”
“Not as sorry as I would have been. What’s the situation?”
“Twenty FALCONs down. Three left. Two of their suits are still active.”
Cort activated his system and said, “Rhodes, where are they?”
“My last man just went down, Cort. They are in section three, corridor two. One more suit down. Damn. My last FALCON is dead.”
Cort grabbed two of the Claymores from the corridor and began running toward the enemy. What is wrong with me that I run toward death instead of away from it? “I’m headed there now.”
“Cort,” Rhodes said, “he knows right where he’s going. He’s headed for Kay.”
--
Kay Gaines was in the Mines’ quarters and was listening to the comm system. Sköll was at her side and very alert. The Mines’ wolf pup was next to his human. Kay was armed only with a .45 automatic, but she knew where to aim it. The room rattled. A second blow shook the wall again. The door began to bend inwards with each blow of the suit. Our suits wouldn’t be having trouble with this. Either this one is compromised, or theirs aren’t as powerful. Can I use that?
--
Cort turned the corner and saw the enemy armor pounding the door to the quarters. None of the powered armor’s joints were visible. Cort dropped his MAT and rearmed both of the Claymores.
--
Kay saw one great hand reach into the door. It gripped and peeled the metal backward and the metal tore away from the frame before the man in the suit through it across the room, crushing Mike Mines and his wolf pup instantly. Sköll lunged at the suit, aware it was impervious to him, but at an instinctive level, he had to protect Kay. He was caught in mid air.
--
Cort saw the suit holding Sköll at arm’s length. As the two powered arms tore the head from the wolf’s body, Cort screamed.
--
Kay was in shock. Sköll was dead. It didn’t seem possible. She raised her .45 and began firing. The man in the armored suit raised his own sidearm and fired at her. Then she saw him disappear in a cloud of blood and metal fragments.
--
Cort saw Sköll’s body and head hit the ground as bullets began bouncing off the armor. Just seconds from the armored enemy, he held both Claymores at arm’s length and triggered them.
The M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mine dated its development back to World War Two on Earth. It was originally developed as a trench mine. A layer of C4 explosive, when detonated, propelled a matrix of seven hundred 3.2mm steel balls at an optimal velocity of twelve-hundred meters per second. That velocity was achieved at about fifty meters. When Cort trig
gered the mines, he was just over forty meters from his target. He was gripping one mine in each hand. The last two segments of all his fingers were blown off in the detonations. The plastic casings of the mines severed his thumbs as well. The twin shockwaves were directed forward, but still shattered the bones in his palms and broke both of Cort’s wrists. Without the FALCON’s carbon nanotubes, he would have lost both forearms below the elbows. But if Cort’s hands were mutilated by the explosions, the powered armor he aimed the Claymores at was nearly vaporized. There were only small, bloody pieces of the armor left in the corridor. It was much more damage than the mines should have done.
Cort was in too much pain to question Lady Luck. It was incredible. Both arms burned as if they had been cast into a furnace. He staggered forward, trying to take off his combat helmet, but only succeeding in covering the visor with blood and pieces of his own ruined flesh. He saw Sköll’s head just inside the door. The wolf’s body was gone, mixed with what was left of the invader. He fell to his knees and crawled on his elbows to where Kay sat staring at him. Her eyes were cold and distant. One hand still held her sidearm, its slide locked open, the magazine spent. The other was over a massive hole in her swollen abdomen. Cort felt someone pull his helmet off. He heard voices. There was so much blood. It was all around him, under and around Kay, all over Sköll’s head. It was everywhere. He reached up to Kay’s neck to feel for a pulse. Where is my hand? Why isn’t Angela here? He wondered why the light was fading.
Nine
“Mr. President,” the aide interrupted his leader’s supper, “you are needed in the control center, sir.”
“What is it?” Beards asked.
“It appears that Addison is in orbit above us, sir.”
“What? Addison? How?” President Beards had been informed a week before that his people had lost contact with the assault staging facility at Mars’ northern pole. Given the harsh polar environment there, it wasn’t terribly surprising. They were due to hear from the Oxia Palus assault team at any time. Beards had expected that to be the news his aide was bringing him.
“We don’t know, sir. But a large ship appeared in orbit fifteen minutes ago.”
Beards was walking out of the dining room with the aide and said, “That means he launched months ago, doesn’t it?”
“It would seem so.”
“Well, at least no one can say our new attack on Mars was unprovoked now.” Beards was in politician mode now. “Spin it as ‘We detected the launch and immediately dispatched a security team to protect our scientific interests on Mars.”
As they arrived in the government control center, Beards saw several cabinet members already seated. “What do we have?”
Pan said, “We don’t know, sir. A ship appeared between us and the Moon and immediately slipped in a medium earth orbit.”
A general said, “Sir, it can only be Addison. I will have a military satellite in position to take the ship out in three minutes.”
“We don’t know it is Addison, Mr. President. We haven’t even seen a visual of the craft yet. It would be unwise to attack it without identifying it first.”
President Beards asked, “Is there any chance that it is from another alliance?”
“No sir,” the general answered. “We monitor them closely. There have been no Earth-sourced launches since the last three from the Addison facility. Other than our own, that is.”
“We have to consider that is a craft of other origin, sir,” Pan argued.
“Mr. President, we have two minutes to decide. My satellite’s orbit is converging with that of the Martian ship. They will have less than ten seconds to react.”
“NO. You have two minutes until the first attack window. We can wait longer!” Pan said.
“If we don’t attack now, we might not get another chance, sir.”
Beards was lost in thought. If we attack, we might be throwing away any chance at peace with Addison. If we don’t, we might be condemning our entire nation to his wrath. What if it isn’t him? Can I take that chance?
“I’m sorry, Doctor Pan. We cannot take the chance. General, fire everything you have the moment the ship is in within range. Gods help us all if I am wrong.”
Pan said, “Mr. President, I prot….”
“Noted, Dr. Pan. My decision stands.”
Pan said, “I can no longer serve you Mr. President. I resign, effectively immediately.” Without waiting for a response, Pan left the room.
“Good riddance.”
“That was uncalled for General. Keep your opinion of Doctor Pan to yourself,” Beards said.
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry sir. Launching weapons now.”
Earth Orbit
“The planet is much more advanced than we expected sir,” First Arjoul said to the Captain. “We are picking up a full range of electromagnetic and photomagnetic transmissions. There is also a multitude of artificial satellites.”
“This complicates things. The planet was in queue to be seeded. Notify Director Speral immediately” Captain Wilzch commanded,
“Yes, sir,” the communications officer said. A moment later he added, “Message sent, sir.”
“WEAPONS INBOUND!”
“What? Activate beacons! Evasiv…” The command was not completed.
1200 Light Years From Earth
“Sir, it’s Pagztay. We have received two communications from Scout Vessel 17.”
Speral rose from her bed. “What is it Pagztay? You don’t wake me for messages from scout vessels.”
“It’s system 432, sir. The accelerated examination. The first message indicated a much greater evolution than was expected, including artificial satellites.”
Interesting. Artificial satellites could disallow seeding. “And the second, Pagztay?”
“Less than a fraction later, sir. A distress signal. They were under attack. We have received signals from thirteen personal beacons since the distress signal. They have all since discontinued. We cannot link the ship or personnel back to our location.”
“Opinion?” If we cannot link the ship back, it is destroyed. The beacons being activated support this. But they are gone too. Definitely an attack. Last time the personal beacons remained active. But the rescue ship didn’t recover them. Technical constraints, I believe.
“I am of two minds, sir. One, we were attacked fractions after transitioning into system 432. Two, It would be very unusual for a scout vessel to be attacked so quickly. In past similar situations, we’ve either had time to evade the attackers or we have been able to establish communications. And remember, it’s the second time we’ve lost a ship in orbit around the third planet of system 432,” Pagztay said.
Speral closed her eyes and began reading the report on the previously lost scouting expedition. When she reopened them, she said, “The previous loss was two expeditions ago and it was determined to be due a natural impact. The extensive effect on the planet’s atmosphere made beacon recovery impractical. The collision was probably a comet or asteroid.”
“But sir, two losses around the same planet. It certainly warrants a more thorough investigation.”
“Yes it does, Pagztay. It definitely does.” Speral closed her eyes again. A moment later she opened them and said, “I have authorized a three ship patrol to divert to the system and investigate. Please keep me informed.”
“Yes, sir.” Pagztay broke the connection.
Earth
“Mr. President, three ships have appeared in orbit above North America. They have begun neutralizing satellites.”
Beards had been waiting for his aide to bring him this news. Debris from the first ship had been analyzed and the leader of the Atlantic Alliance knew he had ordered an attack on visitors from outside the solar system. Combined with complete silence from Mars, he knew his presidency would be lucky to survive its elected term. Reelection was out of the question. His administration was in damage control mode and failing. All while he was supposed to be running a government.
Beard
s activated his comm and said, “Thank you, Newl. I will be ready soon.” After he closed the line, he began to dress. I ran on a promise of scientific promise. But I’ve started two wars. What do I do now?
