Prometheus and the Dragon (Atlas and the Winds Book 2) (48 page)

“He’s pretty out of it,” the doctor said. “I think we’ll be ok.”

“When you’re ready to make the run, let the Flight Infantry know you’re coming out and they’ll put down some suppressive fire to cover you,” Tom said. “They’ve got the area under control at the moment.”

“Gotcha, he said, “I’ll grab my stuff, and then we’ll make tracks.”

A thunderous explosion rattled its way through the Biome and Tom ducked back out the door. “Good luck, Doc. Take care of him.”

He darted across the medical center patio and looked up to see sunlight poking through a hole in the roof. There were a hundred men standing around the balconies on the end of the Biome, covering the opening. It was about to get messy.

***

Above Stormhaven:

“We need some air support out there,” Daryl said. “They’re pushing through the hole, and we’ve got a firefight in the east end.”

Two minies dove toward the roof and another hiss caused Dave to flinch. Fortunately this time, whatever it was missed. The first mini slipped in low, while the second one came in higher and swept the area with a wider blast from its gun. People dropped like flies.

Off to the side, two missiles locked in on the upper ship.

“Incoming!” Dave yelled into the com, having to jink at the same moment to dodge an attack. A fireball erupted where the ship had been, and he saw it tumbling toward the roof of the Biome, completely out of control.

“Gunner, grab that ship,” Dave barked, twisting the
Draco’s
nose over so the big gun could reach. He watched it stop falling and arc up well clear of the roof. If the pilot wasn’t dead from the explosion, he was sure as hell unconscious from the gravity laser.

“Where do we put him?” his gunner asked.

“Christ, I don’t know,” Dave said, thinking frantically for a place to set it down where the pilot would be safe. “Let’s get him—“

The hiss of the radio cut him off in mid-thought. They were falling again, flat this time, from well over five thousand feet. Worse the mini they’d had in their beam was dropping too, and it was only a few hundred feet up and right over the concrete roof of the communications center.

The
Draco’s
AI burped again, rebooting in the same instant the mini drove itself through the top of the building.

“Holy shit!” Shapiro bellowed. The com system came online as Dave pulled them out of their plummet.

“Incoming,” Dave said feebly, knowing it was too late anyway. “Recommend you evacuate to a lower level. Like the physics lab.”

“Roger that,” Doug said. “We’re moving out now.”

Another hiss and he watched one of the minies spin end over end, its pilot recovering well before he was close to the ground.

“I don’t know about anybody else, but I’ve had about all of this I’m going to take,” Dave snarled.

“I’m with you on that,” Sophie said, coming on a visual channel. She looked like she’d been pounded hard herself, and Dave flashed back to the memory of seeing her after she took the hit in the mini over Prometheus.

“I don’t know what they’re using, but I think it’s time we put an end to it,” he said.

“It seems to have a limited rate of fire and doesn’t do anything except shut us down. If we can stay high enough to not crash before we reboot then—“ Her face disappeared in static and he looked out the window in time to see the
Raphael
hit the ground once. Fortunately they’d been almost on the deck. Apparently her engines caught before she bounced a second time, because she shot upward at close to full power.

“Fuck! That hurt,” she whimpered a couple seconds later when she rematerialized. Behind her the computer interface cover panels in her ship had ripped loose, and there were wisps of smoke curling around the screen. She looked shorter too, but he was sure it was just that her chair frame had collapsed a bit under the impact.

“Are you still operational?” he asked, shocked the ship had survived at all.

“According to the AI, all we lost was the landing struts,” she said, twisting her neck and rubbing it. “I’ve got bruises on my ass though.” She shot up well past him before the
Raphael
quit climbing, clearly not wanting to go bump again. Dave looked down at the huge dent they’d put in the ground and immediately wished he hadn’t.

***

Stormhaven:

Gunfire rattled through the Biome. It was a strange echoing sound, impossible to locate. Doc Winston walked with Colton, holding his arm to keep him balanced. He was mobile, and almost functional, even if he was a bit confused.

“What’s that?” Cole asked, his speech slurred by the medications.

“Nothing to worry about,” he said. But Cole’s eyes said he knew better, even if he was doped up.

“Who’s fighting out there?” he asked, his awareness forcing its way through the fog. “How many people do we have left?”

“Everybody’s evacuating,” the doctor said. “It’s our turn to get out of here.” They were climbing the stairs toward the exit nearest the fabrication shop when a loud pinging noise nearby caused Winston to jump.

“Who’s running the battle?” Cole said. Each time he spoke, his voice was stronger. The doctor tried to decide if he had anything else in his kit to give him. Another ping and a spray of concrete exploded beside them. This time Cole spun around and stared across the open space.

“Mica, we’ve got a breach on level seven near the com center,” he said.

“Mr. Taylor, you’re supposed to be evacuating to the
Michael,”
Mica said, managing to sound surprised.

“Whatever,” he snapped. “We’ve got people shooting at us.” Another crack and a splatter of concrete. He stood there without a sign of self-preservation instinct, trying to pick out anything that might be a sniper.

“Get back!” Doc Winston grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the edge. Cole stumbled backwards as a bullet whistled past, shattering the glass door behind them.

“There he is,” he said. “Mica, he’s in front of the old intake interview room. I think he’s got a hunting rifle, but he’s not good with it.” Cole hunkered down and watched the far side. A group of their security people worked toward the sniper.

Several seconds later there was a faint buzzing sound and the man and his rifle went toppling over the rail. Unconscious, he made no sound until he hit the ground. Cole cocked his head, watching the situation with a casual detachment.

“Come on, let’s go,” the doctor said, standing up and grabbing Cole’s arm again. They still had two floors to climb before they got to the door. Cole shrugged, and shaking his arm loose, walked toward the stairs on his own.

Another set of gunshots rattled across the canyon. Cole stopped again, at the next landing, to watch.

“Colton we’ve got to get to the
Michael,”
Doc said, trying to move him again. This time he refused to budge. He squatted, twisting around the corner and then ducking back, his survival instincts starting to manifest.

“Wait,” Cole whispered, holding his arm out to block the doctor’s way. His voice sounded almost normal. Probably the result of adrenaline pushing the chemicals through his system. They had to keep moving. If the drugs wore off and he took the full emotional brunt of the situation, there’d be no way to predict how he’d react.

“Come on Cole, we’ve got to get out of here,” he said, stepping around him and grabbing the handrail. Cole stayed low, resisting moving.

A second later, a shot caught Doc Winston in the back, sending him toppling forward onto the stairs.

Cole blinked twice, spun around and headed back to the floor of the Biome.

***

Above Stormhaven:

“
Gabriel
and
Uriel
, cover the breaches and stay high enough to have drop-time if you get hit,” Dave said. “Sophie, let’s see if we can find their gun.” The two ships spun and dashed over the battle lines toward the enemy encampment.

“Mica’s got some intel on the possible location of their weapon,” Shapiro said. “She says there are several semi-trailers with independent power located on the other side of that stage Sommerset’s using as a pulpit.”

“Copy,” Dave said, feeling his ship drop just before he heard the hiss. This time it twisted into a slow roll and the AI stayed up. One engine pod blinked red on his display but the rest of the ship was unaffected.

“The effect was localized that time,” he said.

“If it’s a beam weapon we’re getting clo—“ the hissing cut her off. He watched her ship’s tail drop, but she gained altitude in spite of being hit.

“I see what you mean,” she said. “It took out both back engines and a generator, but they came back online as soon as the static cleared.”

“The only time it gets dangerous is ...” he paused, waiting for the static to clear, neither ship seemed affected this time “... when they hit the AI or the bridge.”

“I think we’re making them nervous. They’re firing a lot more often,” she said. “Let’s fan out and see if we can stir some shit.”

***

Army of the Holy Right Encampment:

Nathaniel Sommerset almost dove into the pit beside the satellite truck. They’d pulled a thin tarp over the truck to try to hide it. He’d seen the two carriers break away from defense and start coming toward them. For all his faith in God, it wasn’t something he wanted to face standing outside. He jerked the door open and flung himself inside. Erik caught him as he tripped over a bundle of thick cables looped inside the door.

“Careful Reverend,” he said. The room was hot and stunk of ozone and sweat.

“They’re coming,” Sommerset gasped, dusting his suit coat off and listening to the hum and crackle of dust drifting into the electronics.

“I’m watching them,” Erik said, punching a button and causing the room to vibrate with the sound of electrical power supplies stretching to the limit. A cloud of noxious vapor rolled out from under the console in front of him, but he didn’t seem to care. He held the button down for several seconds and pointed to the screen with his other hand.

One of the two ships was spinning sideways and losing altitude. When the ozone was to the point of burning the Reverend’s eyes, Erik let off the button and the vibration died away. The approaching ship continued forward.

“They’re learning to compensate,” he said. “And I don’t have the firepower to take out the big ships up close. I’m also having more trouble spinning the dish to target them.”

“Why?” Sommerset asked.

“Up close the beam only affects a small portion of their systems. When they’re clear across the field it’s diffused enough to cover more of the ship,” he explained.

“So shoot at the ships over there,” he said. “We need to give our people cover so they can get in.”

“If I do that, they’re going to get us,” Erik said, shock written all over his face.

“They’re still coming as it is,” the Reverend said. “I want to get inside before they get us.”

He hit the button and the ozone rolled out of the console once again. Reverend Sommerset opened the door and climbed out. One of the massive ships hung straight overhead, blocking out the light as it drifted past. He grabbed the ladder and hauled himself out of the pit.

Behind him he saw the dish swing almost straight up and he ran, trying to get away before Erik pushed the button again.

***

Chapter Thirty-One:

No Stillness in Which to Sleep

Above the Army of the Holy Right Encampment:

“Dave, you’re right on top of him,” Sophie yelled, seeing the shape of a microwave dish through the thin canvas that didn't quite cover the pit.

The
Draco
leapt forward but the weapon went off at the same moment, catching the rear port engine assembly at point blank range. Part of the hull glowed orange just before it swung straight down like a pendulum on top of the dish, crashing through the canvas and into the pit, flattening the satellite truck under it. An elephant sitting on a Volkswagen.

The tail section of the ship wedged into the pit facing straight up, but the ship’s forward momentum tried to twist it back to horizontal. The starboard interconnecting truss sheared under the torque and exploded into a million pieces of composite fiber, flinging loose its mono-carbon skin in huge inflexible sheets of razor sharp shrapnel. The crew section tumbled once in the air and skidded to a halt on its front surface. The nose snapped free and carried several hundred yards before it slammed into the ground.

Sophie watched in horror, seeing the
Draco
shred in slow motion. She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it.

“The
Draco
is down.” she said. “We need rescue teams out here.”

“Copy,” Shapiro said, sounding calm. “Secure the area if you can, we’ve got flight infantry on the way.”