Machine Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 2) (3 page)

“
Dea
d T’Kari and Raiders here,”
his nearest comrade said.

Gun threw him a
quick glance. T
he Jötnar was about to
lift one of the bodies to check.

“No!” he snapped back in reply.

Gun was no ordinary
Jötnar. He was the first of his people to fight against his
creators. Now he was their leader and the most revered of all the
Jötnar. When he spoke, his people listened. The Jötnar operative
instantly removed his hand from the body and bowed down
gently.

Gun looked at him
intently but kept his voice low,
“Good.
Mines under bodies are a classic. Waken learned that the hard way
Terra Nova.”

He looked back to the arched entrance to the
plaza.

“
So I
hear.”

“Omega, we’re going in!” he said in a calm voice
over the intercom.

“Affirmative.”

Gun leapt out from
the entrance and into the plaza. Now that his vision was cleared of
obstructions, he could see the damage wrought by the Raiders. Small
numbers of bodies lay scattered, and although most were armored, he
suspected they were thorough attackers. The great machine in the
middle somehow spotted him and turned around. It roared something
in an unrecognizable tongue, and in a flash the Raiders were
rushing to Gun. He didn’t hesitate and killed two with his coilgun
before they could even reach him. Then he was in the middle of the
group and swinging his rifle like a club. His three comrades
followed in a wide line. They went to work like a farmer moving
across a field.

A shredder grenade
exploded in the middle of the melee, killing one Raider and tearing
a leg from one of the Jötnar. He fell down but continued to
fight.

The great machine
settled down on its haunches and lifted its clattering arms to
defend itself. Gun was unable to shoot before it swung at him. He
ducked to the left and grabbed the massive metal appendage as it
moved near his face. Even three meters in height, Gun was dwarfed
by the machine that towered another meter above him. He was thrown
off to his side, and the great beast strode in, kicking one of the
Raiders out of the way to reach the wounded Jötnar. Gun shook his
head and pulled himself up, but he was too far away to help his
wounded comrade. The machine lifted one of its heavy metal feet
ready to bring it down on its head.

“Hey you!” came an amplified voice from the tunnel
entrance.

A volley of
high-power coilgun rounds tore at the machine’s head. It staggered
back, losing its footing. Gun wasted no time, pulled a thermite
charge from his left leg, and leapt onto the flailing machine. Both
arms waved at him, but incredibly, he was able to fasten it to the
waist and then rolled off to the side. A bright white flash filled
the plaza, followed by a massive heat surge, setting one of the
Jötnar on fire. All of them watched in silence as the machine
burned and melted from the intense heat of the charge while the
reinforcements helped extinguish the fire on the wounded Jötnar.
Teresa Morato emerged from the darkened entrance, her coilgun held
up to her armor shoulder. Her visor lifted up to reveal her smiling
face as the Jötnar rounded up the dozen Raider
survivors.

Gun staggered over
to her with an equally please look on his face. At the same
time
, the T’Kari civilians started to
emerge from the safety of their homes and businesses. They all wore
the traditional protective suits that looked like lightweight
armor, but only a few wore helmets or head protection.

Two of the Jötnar
dragged one of the surviving Raiders over to Teresa. His clothing
was more ornate than the others, and embellished with details on
the shoulders and chest. Teresa noticed the shape of Echidna, the
great, coiled beast, on his right breast. He snarled at her and
shouted. She raised an eyebrow at the noise before his translators
unit kicked in.

“
The T’Kari are not
your friends. They hide Helios from you
,
and you will suffer for it!”

Teresa looked to Gun
and exchanged a bemused look before turning her attention back to
the Raider. She was surprised that the T’Kari turncoat was able to
communicate so easily with her. It had taken the T’Kari much
longer. It was as though he’d already had significant exposure to
her people already.

“You tell me then.”

The
R
aider lifted the side of his mouth up
with a cruel smile.

“
The devourer of
worlds is coming. It will start with Helios. The T’Kari will be
next, then you!”

He
started to laugh, a high-pitched laugh that did
nothing to engender sympathy from Teresa. Gun seemed even less
impressed and stepped closer still before tapping him on the
shoulder.

“
Raider,”
h
e said calmly.

His fist followed
and struck firmly into the Raider’s open visor. It struck his nose
with a sickening crunch. He pulled back his hand to reveal gushing
blood and a bitter-looking Raider.

“
Take him!”
Teresa ordered a newly arrived team of APS
operatives.

“
The rest reform
your teams. W
e have a compound to clear
out, and according to my scans, there are a few of them left
waiting for us.”

Gun laughed as APS
operatives flooded the place, checked the wounded or secured the
prisoners.

“Pah! Cowering in fear more like!”

Teresa looked back
at him and realized for the first time in what seemed like decades,
how much Gun enjoyed this kind of violence. It instantly brought
back thoughts of Spartan. She shook her head at the
idea.

Those two are much too alike!

The world of Private Military Contractors was shaken
apart by the Terra Nova incident of 358CC. A PMC team from Alpha
Company assaulted an Alliance Special Operations Group in the
middle of a major operation. The blue-on-blue incident resulted in
thirteen military deaths and the crash of a civilian aircraft, with
the loss over more than two hundred citizens. Cuts in military
spending, and reliance upon faceless security companies, started a
purge of unprecedented proportions. This took place just a year
after organizations, including Alpha Company and APS Corp, took
over low intensity security operations throughout the Alliance. The
incident brought about a public outcry that saw dozens of contracts
torn up and the stocks in these companies plummet. The gold rush
years were gone and of the thirty-two security companies, just
seven remained a year later, each fighting for the meager work that
remained.

Private Security Directory

The Alliance Marine
Corps squad of four moved slowly through the main access
c
orridor. Leading them was gruff-looking
Sergeant Maria Belgard, who moved with speed and aggression in her
step. The other four marines carried their L52 Mark II carbines
across their bodies as they marched down the left-hand side of the
Prometheus Seven Space Station. Navy crew stepped aside to let the
security team pass by. From the way they moved, it was clear this
was no simple security detail. They were going somewhere in
particular, and the fact that they had their weapons at the ready
indicated they expected potential trouble. They reached the end of
the corridor and split to cover both sides of the thick glass
doorway. To the side was a metal plaque that read simply APS Corp.
The Sergeant looked to the other marines, and each nodded they were
ready.

“Do it!” she snapped.

The first marine
placed an electronic device over the control unit for the door. It
flashed once, and the door hissed open to reveal a small foyer area
leading to three rooms and what looked like an eating area.
Directly in front of them stood just one man, a three meter tall
Jötnar, with thick, muscular arms and a scarred upper body. His
head and neck were almost double the size of a normal man, yet
obviously still just a man. He was stripped to the waist and
evidently not expecting to see the marines. As the five entered the
APS Corporation space, he turned and glared at them.

“What?”

“
Under Title 72 of
the Centauri Alliance Constitution, passed through the Alliance
Senate seven hours ago, all Private Security contracts, operations,
and establishments aboard Alliance military installations are
revoked. You will hand over all PMC personnel and equipment to our
authority for repatriation back to your civilian headquarters. The
Jötnar took in a long, deep breath and then moved a step closer to
the marines.

“
Stand
down
, civilian. I am authorized
to...”

He swung his right
arm, knocking the carbine from the first marine’s hand, and then
delivered a heavy punch with his oversized paw of a hand. The man
was unconscious before he hit the ground, much to the shock of the
others. He took advantage of their confusion and grabbed the next
nearest marine, lifting him up by his neck. The other two marines
jumped forward to help their comrade and to take up his weight to
prevent him from being hanged.

“Do you know who I am?” growled the Jötnar.

Sergeant Maria Belgard shook her head and
simultaneously drew her sidearm from her waist. She lifted the
pistol and pointed it directly at his forehead.

“
I don’t care if
you’re the P
resident of the Centauri
Alliance. I have the authority to arrest any unauthorized civilian
on board this station. Now, drop the private and put your hands
behind your head, or I’ll shoot you where you stand.

The side door opened
and in walked a middle-aged Hispanic woman. She was
short, lightly built, and wearing cargo pants
and a white t-shirt. Her face was red from exertion, and both of
her hands covered in cloth wraps for sparring. She looked at the
scene and then directly to the Jötnar.

“Commander Gun, drop the marine.”

Without even a
glimmer of hesitation, the massive Jötnar dropped the marine. He
hit the ground gasping for breath, and the two marines that had
been trying to help their comrade bent down to help him to his
feet.

“
I’m Teresa Morato,
and this is Commander Gun. If you lay a finger on him, you can
expect two things to happen. One, you’ll be dead within the minute.
Two, every single Jötnar from Prometheus to Hyperion will turn on
the Alliance like the Biomechs did back in the Uprising. We’ve only
just got back from an operation, and I have zero tolerance from
assholes with ego issues. Are you that stupid,
Sergeant?”

The female marine
looked at Teresa carefully. She was aware the senior executive had
been a marine in the past. In fact, the exploits of Spartan and
Teresa Morato in the Uprising and the years afterwards had become
infamous. Though neither had achieved a major rank in the military,
they had both been instrumental in ending the War. She had no idea,
however, that the woman would be present. The Sergeant replaced her
pistol in her holster and indicated for the four marines to leave
the room.

“
I apologize, Mrs.
Morato. I have to...”

“
No,” replied Teresa
in an irritated tone. “My name is Ms. Morato, and you will take me
to see Admiral Anderson immediately. I’m sure you are aware that to
carry out orders such as these requires the full authority of the
senior officer on this station.”

She paused and
watched the S
ergeant, looking carefully
at her body and face for signs of the strength of her position. The
Sergeant said nothing.

“Well, do you have it?”

Sergeant Belgard
looked confused, if only for a second. She was clearly angered at
being spoken to by a civilian, but she
was also well aware of Teresa’s reputation as both a
warrior and a businesswoman.

“
The paperwork has
been signed by my Captain, and he is the senior Marine Corps member
on board.”

Teresa turned away a
fraction and smiled inwardly. It was a minor victory but a face
saving one at that. She’d already seen the news and had sent her
data off-site and away from the station. Even so, she’d expected to
be contacted privately by the Admiral, not by the rough hand of
some jarhead. Teresa noticed the look the Sergeant had when looking
at Gun who was standing nearby. The figure of the Jötnar commander
was certainly impressive to one unfamiliar with his people,
especially as he had become something of a legend in the Alliance.
The synthetic giant was famous for creating a sanctuary on the
hostile jungle world of Hyperion, much to the consternation of
Alliance citizens. Any Biomechs that were captured alive were sent
there to be integrated with the Jötnar. With the creation of the
Spacebridge to New Charon, the Jötnar had spread to moons and
worlds. Even so, even Sergeant Belgard knew that Gun, their most
famous leader and warrior, was sacred to them.

“
I see. In that
case, I would be happy to come with you to see the
Admiral.”

The young
S
ergeant seemed to relax and moved to the
door before realizing that Ms. Morato still hadn’t moved. She
looked at the older woman’s body and couldn’t fail to be impressed
at her fitness and muscular build. Teresa spotted her looking at
her and was forced to hide a grin.

“
When I’m changed,
of course. I’m getting enough attention dressed like this as it
is.”