“Spartan, Khan?”
General Daniels nodded to his right and down to where the Red Scars assault had ground to a halt. Kanjana didn’t say a word. She slid down and began running into the mist. Syala looked to her sister and grimaced.
“Help her.”
Arana nodded and moved away to give chase.
* * *
“Duck!”
Spartan dropped down to his haunches as a metal arm swung overhead. He rose to find Gun and Khan at his flanks. The armour of both of them was covered in bullet holes, yet neither was slowed down by the fight. Gun stepped in and grabbed one of the creatures about the throat. Even with his huge arms, he needed to use both to do the job.
“We’ll take this one,” said Khan.
He moved to the left, jabbed at the monster, and then grabbed one of its front legs. Spartan jumped to the right, ducked past its head, and leapt up, using every ounce of power from the suit. He rose up to a height slightly above its head and took aim. The rider didn’t even see him as he put a dozen rounds into his head. Spartan hit the ground, shortly followed by the corpse of the rider.
“Put it on the ground,” he yelled to Khan.
Using all of his effort, Khan managed to destabilise the creature, and Spartan pushed hard to tip it on its side. At the same time, Gun pulled his own foe along and proceeded to smash its head against the side of a wrecked vehicle.
“Khan, watch out.”
Spartan spotted the enemy behind the creatures lifting some type of heavy weapon from the wreckage of a Red Scars vehicle. It was so big that two other warriors helped support its weight as it took aim. Spartan moved to protect his friend, but distraction proved enough for the creature to jump up from the ground and smash Khan aside.
This is it.
Spartan stared down the barrel of the weapon, and at the face of both the rider less creature and the Red Scars leader. Instead of firing, he removed his mask to show a pale skinned warrior with a sickening grin. That terrible horn sounded again, but it was a lot louder now. From the mist lurched the shape of an odd-looking land crawler. It had been hastily armoured, and along the top were dozens of Byotai. It crashed into the flank of the creature and kept on pushing until the two ended up as a mess of broken metal and flesh.
Gun was till busy smashing his own enemy as the Red Scar leader nodded slowly. The weapon fired, and a hardened metal dart blasted out. Spartan lifted his arms to block the projectile, but it punched through the left arm and embedded deep into his chest.
“Bastards!”
The impact was so great that he fell back to one knee, and then tipped over onto his side. The motor system shorted out, and now the only way he could move was to use his own body. Spartan lifted his left arm with great effort and took aim at the commander. The gun system bleated a warning failure, and at that point he knew it was over. That was not going to stop him, though. Even without power, he forced himself to his feet, barely able to move the partially seized armoured joints.
“I’m not done yet.”
The face on the Red Scars commander was all the reward he needed. At the same time, one of his comrades had pushed another reload pack onto the weapon.
“Hey!”
The voice wasn’t his. It was female and tinged with the alien tongue of the Anicinàbe.
Kanjana?
A single hole appeared in the chest of the commander, and he slumped to his knees. His comrades spun about as Arana and a horde of Byotai ran amongst them. Some fought, but most of them turned and ran. Gunshots flashed everywhere. Kanjana and Arana moved to the right with a number of their heavily armoured mercenaries. Spartan watched them move to the creature Gun was fighting.
Good timing, damned good timing!
He turned his attention back to his tormentor and licked his parched lips. He had just one objective. He dragged his heavy feet until he was in front of the mortally wounded warrior. Then he hit the release button, and the front shell hatches opened, at the same time snapped the tip of the lance from his chest. It pulled out of both sets of armour with a whooshing sound.
Spartan stumbled out and landed in front of the Red Scar. His armour was a mess, and blood ran freely from the wound that had penetrated through both the Maverick armour and his PDS suit. He moved again, but his left leg gave way, and he dropped down in front of his enemy. All power had failed in the PDS armour, and he was forced to open the visor, just to get air into his lungs.
“I am Ogimà Takosk, of the Red...”
Spartan coughed, and blood pumped out from his chest. He looked to the alien and laughed.
“Son, I don’t give a damn.”
The Red Scars leader blinked twice, pulling his head back a little in surprise.
“Who...are...you?”
The translator the alien carried was nowhere as advanced as those Spartan had used in the past. It paused with each word, and yet bore no emotion. Not that he cared, because at that moment he noticed the alien had his gun pointed at his face.
He began to laugh and looked to his left. The enemy made the mistake of looking there, to see nothing but Gun still wrestling the creature. When he returned his gaze, Spartan’s arm was touching the gun. It went off, but Spartan had already pushed it aside. He locked the warrior’s arm, snapped it, and then ripped the pistol from his limp limb. In one smooth motion, he turned the weapon back around and pointed at his face.
“My name...is Spartan.”
He fired a single shot between the enemy’s eyes. The alien snapped back and hit the ground, flat on his back. Spartan then dropped slowly to the ground. Blood loss injury and fatigue finally proving more than even his body could handle. As his eyes darkened, he started to relax, and the pain faded.
EPILOGUE
The glory days of the Private Security contractors were long past up, to and during the Great Biomech War. Too many botched missions and illegal operations had led to a massive loss of confidence in the system. The organisations were not banned, but the awarding of contracts for Alliance protection was cancelled, and with this, the largest companies collapsed overnight. Those that remained either provided security to the private sector, or set up for unregistered operations for whichever clients would pay the going rate. These black market mercenaries could be found protecting organisations, as well as moving illegal goods and services through the Alliance.
CTC would attempt to change this for the first time by working alongside the Alliance military to create a new combat formation, one built upon the technology of the private sector, but with the resources of the Alliance and its expanded territories. This would become the much-vaunted Interstellar Assault Brigade.
Private Security Directory
ANS X-45 ‘Titan’, Low Orbit, Karnak
Spartan opened his eyes. He was lying down on a bed in a white room filled with bright lights. He spotted a pair of Thegns to his right, and his first instinct was to reach for them. As his arm lifted, he spotted Syala waiting near the wall. She wore a hardened cast on her left arm, and a tight bandage around her head and down to one ear.
“You’re awake,” she said excitedly.
She moved close and leaned down over the bed. Spartan looked at her and waited for a moment for his eyes to adjust. He tried to speak, but his mouth was dry and hoarse. Syala pushed a cup to his mouth. He took a few swallows, licked his mouth, and slowly lifted himself off the bed. There were tubes attached, and all of them popped out with a disconcerting sound.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Spartan lowered his feet to the floor, tensed his legs, and then stood up. Arana came in, shaking her head.
“You crazed fool. I guess you want to check on your friends?”
Spartan nodded and followed the two sisters out of the small room and into a larger one that adjoined it. A Thegn was treating one of the mercenaries that had a head wound. At the other end were the three he was looking for. Khan and Gun were upright, though both covered in dressings. Olik was on an improvised bed made
from three military stretchers.
“Spartan?” Khan asked.
All three looked at him, but Khan grabbed Spartan and squeezed him happily, much to Spartan’s discomfort. He almost passed out from the pain but somehow remained standing. Gun remained with the badly wounded Olik, but gave him the biggest smile he’d seen in days. The door hissed open, and in came the familiar form of General Daniels. His bloodied face had been cleaned up, but like most of them, he was still bruised and looked a little worse for wear. He stopped in front of Spartan and cleared his throat before speaking.
“I see you’re up. That was quicker than expected.”
Spartan already recognised the medical quarters of the ship, and that could only mean they were back aboard the Titan.
“We did it?”
“Spartan, General Makos arrived after we cleared the rail sector. He’s brought with him a small army and has landed to support Caldos and the other remaining outposts. They are beginning to fight back.”
“Yeah,” said Gun, “But with Makos there, they will not let Karnak go easily.”
“Makos?”
“Yes,” said Kanjana, “He escorted Titan in so the Colonel could send in another dropship by remote.”
Spartan dreaded his next question, but he had to know.
“Our losses?”
Arana closed her eyes and looked to her sister before answering.
“Three of my mercenaries are dead. ” She looked over to the three Jötnar, “Olik and Gun are still being treated for multiple injuries…not that you could tell.”
Khan lifted up his left hand.
“And I lost a damned finger.”
Spartan had to stop himself laughing at the last part.
Arana sighed before continuing.
“The Byotai lost eleven killed, and twice that number are wounded.”
General Daniels rested his chin in his hands.
“Spartan…Caldos is secure, and the Spires have fallen back to their base at Montu. The Red Scars are scattered, but they are far from gone. Tahkeome will not be happy about this, and we are expecting escalation.”
Spartan rubbed at his eyes and swallowed, doing his best not to retch. His body had been pumped with drugs, and not even his physique was able to withstand their effect for long. The other looked at him with concern, but he soon steadied himself and lifted his hand.
“I’m all right. Did we make a difference?”
General Daniels nodded quickly.
“Definitely. The remaining enclaves have declared for Makos and his mutineers. He brought ten ships, along with the crew and some of the regular soldiers from the Byotai shipyards, without orders. That, with the news of the victory is making one hell of a difference.”
“What?” Spartan asked, incredulously.
“That’s right,” said Daniels, “Makos has declared the Tenth Quadrant independent, and they are calling on the Alliance to honour our old agreement. They won’t rejoin the Empire until real support is sent to the outposts from their homeworlds.”
Spartan continued shaking his head and stumbled a little. Syala grabbed his arm and held him.
“He needs rest. I’ll take him back to his room.”
Khan grabbed his arm and squeezed it one last time.
“It was a good fight, Spartan. Get fixed. We’ll be going back soon, I’m sure.”
Spartan and Syala moved back to his smaller room, and as they reached the door, he looked back at them. Arana and the General both looked stern and concerned, but Gun and Khan seemed positively excited. The General had just one last thing to say before he also left.
“Spartan, I will be reporting to Alliance High Command shortly. They will want a full debriefing, and I suspect Karnak and the entire quadrant will be the first thing on the docket.”
He was at the door when he stopped and looked back to Gun and then to Spartan.
“Something tells me this Interstellar Assault Brigade of yours is going to get the thumbs up. And I have little doubt where they will be heading when they’re ready.”
With that he was gone, and Spartan was left looking at Gun and Khan.
“It never stops, does it?”
They moved a little further as he nodded back at them. They still seemed to be far happier than they had any right to be.
“Really, what are those two like?”
Syala waved her hand over the door security control, and the door hissed open. She helped him inside, and Spartan slumped onto the bed.
“They haven’t seen action for a long time. Now they think we’re back in business. This Brigade of yours has been years in the making, hasn’t it?”
Syala turned around, and it looked like she was leaving. But she placed her hand on the control, and the door shut. She looked at Spartan.
“How about you?”
Spartan grinned through the pain.
“Syala, I’m ready for anything. I promise you.”
She gave him a coy smile and moved towards him.
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Lords of War (Star Crusades: Mercenaries, Book 1) Page 29
