Star Crusades Nexus: Book 03 - Heroes of Helios (21 page)

“Get Salene to the block and dig in. We’ll find another way.”

Jack and Wictred shouted something, but a burst of fire from two more of the Animosh Riders drowned out the sound. Hunn blasted the nearest and was rewarded by the two diving down and out of the line of fire, at least temporarily. The sound from the fighting on the lower level had subsided, and that could mean only one thing.

“Just jump!” shouted Wictred.

Hunn leaned over the side of the building and prepared to leap but was rewarded by being struck by a searing hot projectile. It ripped through his right shoulder and burned through to his back. He roared in anger and pain but didn’t step back. He merely moved his bodyweight back and out of the gunfire.

“It’s too late. Get going!” shouted Lieutenant Rossen.

Jack looked at her and then to Hunn, who growled again before nodding in agreement. Thai Qiu-Li had already moved back a short distance and almost completely from view, watching for the arrival of the rest of the Animosh.

“Yes, Sir,” he called out.

Salene moved as close to the edge as she dared.

“Find Makwa. He will know what to do!”

Lieutenant Rossen placed her hand on her ear and leaned slightly closer.

“Who?”

Jack grabbed Salene and pulled her away from the edge. She shouted the name one last time. In seconds, the two marines and two Helions had disappeared inside the dull gray structure. Hunn and Thai Qiu-Li looked to her for suggestions, but something about their Lieutenant had changed; the indecision and fear that had plagued her for the last hour, had been replaced by grim determination.

“Well, what do we do?” asked Thai Qiu-Li.

The officer reached to the side of her tunic and pulled out a jagged looking bayonet. It was the standard issue M11 tactical bayonet, a piece of equipment that was issued to every single marine in the Corps. Though technically a bayonet, it looked just like a traditional fighting knife and was fitted with a standard grip, hardened tip, and serrated edge on the one side.

“I say with fix bayonets, and show these primitives what a marine with a bayonet can do!”

Hunn looked surprised. Much that he liked her words; he didn’t understand the sudden change in her demeanor. Even so, he attached his own bayonet, and Thai Qiu-Li did the same.

“Sir, you want to fight them all?”

The Lieutenant lifted her carbine to her shoulder and looked back to the stairwell entrance on the other side of the level.

“No. I mean to break through and work our way via the smaller buildings to the habitation block. You’ve seen these Helions, what have you noticed about them?”

She was already walking toward the stairwell, the other two following. She indicated to Thai Qiu-Li to move opposite her, and then they were ready. They waited with their weapons raised and pointed down into the darkness. The carbines were shorter than the old L48 rifles previously used by the marines, but with the M11 bayonet fitted, they transformed from a conventional firearm to an assault weapon, one that was perfectly designed for such an environment. Thai Qiu-Li and the Lieutenant took up positions on either side of the stairwell entrance. Hunn stayed further back to face it.

“Let them come through, then we hit them. We smash them hard, and then rush the stairwell, understood?”

Both nodded to the Lieutenant and then waited. The sound of the approaching Animosh was much louder than expected. Doors were kicked open, and the shouting from inside reminded them that the building was still occupied. Then came a dull light. At first it sent nothing more than a modest tone through the stairwell, but very soon was joined by others. Hunn faced them, lifting his weapon as though surrendering. Two emerged from the darkness and stepped out onto the rooftop. Thai Qiu-Li and Lieutenant Rossen pulled themselves as far back into the shadows as they could as yet more Animosh emerged. In seconds, there were eight quickly moving in around Hunn.

This is it,
thought Lieutenant Rossen.

She watched them, taking in the details of this new foe. They were still smaller than her, even in their elaborate and excessively detailed clothing. Helms covered their heads. Although their lower faces were open, she couldn’t see them from this position. She looked down at her carbine and its dulled steel bayonet. The fingers of her right hand moved to the trigger selector where she checked for the fourth time that she’d selected the correct option. The catch was in the right place for rapid-fire mode. Each coil would fire separately and then reload while the next shot. This increased the rate of fire to well over a thousand rounds a minute with little recoil.

They are feeble and soft. We can do this.

She looked to Thai Qiu-Li who seemed equally nervous. All it took was a simple nod, and the two lifted their weapons. The Animosh were now just two meters from Hunn, and they stopped as quickly as they had arrived. Hunn started to laugh.

“Now!” cried Lieutenant Rossen.

The flanking fire from the two marines slammed into the four nearest Helions. Normally, the magnetized projectiles would slam their way through armor, but in this case, they ripped holes into the unprotected torsos of the enemy. A dozen rounds each pulverized the four before they hit the ground. Hunn threw his carbine at the first of the Helions who caught it as if merely as a reaction. The great warrior jumped at them, and they panicked. A Biomech was a terrifying foe to face, but Hunn was more than that, he was one of the greatest and more aggressive Jötnar. His left fist smashed the face of the first while the second vanished off the edge of the building from nothing more than a powerful shove.

“Stop!” cried one of the last two.

Thai Qiu-Li thrust her bayoneted carbine into his back, and he fell down onto his stomach, calling out in his own tongue. Now there was just one, and he dropped his weapon, facing the three marines with nothing but confusion showing on his face.

“You are to surrender to us,” he said firmly.

Rossen moved in front of him, lifting her carbine as if to stab him.

“Stop…”

With that, she slammed the butt of her carbine right into his chest. He staggered back a step, desperately trying to stay upright. This incensed her even more, and with another blow hit him under the chin. This time he slipped and fell to the ground unconscious.

“…using our language!”

The first group was out of action, but the flickering lights from inside showed more were coming up, and now they knew exactly where the marines were. Lieutenant Rossen wiped the sweat from her face and moved to the entrance.

“You ready?”

Thai Qiu-Li and Hunn both nodded quickly. Finally, the Lieutenant had found what she needed from deep inside. She took a short but deep breath and took her first step forward.

“Don’t stop till we hit the bottom.”

Her voice was calm and collected, as if on parade. She was the first to move. Hunn and Thai Qiu-Li were right behind her, all carrying their carbines low and in front of them. As the light rushed up, they were met with the screams of the marines and the stabbing of steel against flesh. It was the first time the Helions had fought the Alliance in battle, and the result was a resounding defeat for them. As the humans burst through their assailants, they continued onward and down into the building, chasing the fleeing and terrified Helions as they went.

The shape of the Alliance was something few could ever have guessed just a century ago. There were some in the twenty-first century that surmised Titan or perhaps Mars might be our final destination. Who could have even dreamt that humanity would explode from the exhausted worlds of the Solar System to Alpha Centauri, Epsilon Eridani, Gliese 876, and Procyon? The great prize of Helion and a billion worlds out in the far reaches of the Orion Nebula would shape the thoughts and dreams of humanity for millennia to come.

Musings on the Alliance

Jack waited at the open door on the lowest level and looked out into the street. The fog and dust had returned, leaving a thick and confused layer drifting at different heights around their building. Although it was located next to the one they’d started in, the lowest level covered an entire block, and the doorway was on the side furthest from that structure. He looked to his right and back in the direction of the crashed Alliance ship. At least he thought that was where it was because the mist had blocked off that part of the street. Only a few of the buildings to the right showed through the mist. He could see no further than a hundred meters, and it surprised him that he couldn’t see the ground but could spot the tops of tall buildings in just a few directions.

Which way did she say?
he asked himself, forgetting Salene was behind him.

The trip down from the top floor had disorientated them all, and it wasn’t helped by the fact the debris and damaged buildings looked the same in every direction. Wictred sniffed the air and pointed off to their left.

“That way.”

Jack made to move as suggested by Wictred, but Salene stopped and touched his arm. He wanted to move, but her arm held him back.

“What?”

“How does he know?”

Wictred grinned, his large teeth gleaming at her. He pointed behind her. Jack said nothing and looked where he was pointing.

“That way smells of burned ship. We go in the opposite direction.”

The sound of more vehicles caught their attention as two eight-wheeled vehicles rushed past and toward where Lieutenant Rossen and the others were presumably still trapped. A third moved past the building and stopped between them both, blocking off any chance they might have to reach them. The motorized turrets moved left and right as the occupants searched for their quarry.

“What about the others?”

A burst of heavy weapons fire tore into the wall and continued until striking their open doorway. Jack and Salene threw themselves to the floor. Wictred ducked back inside to avoid the projectiles. Behind it came another group of the Animosh rushing down both sides of the street. The screech of Riders came from above them, and yet another of the heavy aircraft landed half a kilometer away to disgorge further warriors.

“They have us on the three sides. If we don’t break out to that habitation block, and fast, we’ll be trapped here.”

Wictred nodded in agreement from the shadows of the doorway.

“I agree. Hunn can look after them for now. If we turn back, we’ll be surrounded as well, and then we’ll be screwed. We can come back for them later.”

Wictred leaned out to look at the dark buildings in the distance. He scratched his head for the briefest of moments.

“Remember what the Lieutenant said, we have to get Salene to the habitation area. But why? Who is there?”

Salene might have kept quiet, but the stern looks from the two of them seemed to dissuade her from staying silent. She glanced and spoke quietly.

“The Zathee resistance is mobilizing for an assault on the capital. This information is needed by their leader.”

She held the small unit that had more in common with a chunk of Onyx than an electronic device. It was about the size of a chicken egg and could easily have been mistaken for a stone, if it were not the disc of glowing blue beads running around its widest point. They flickered, instantly betraying some form of power source from within.

“What is it?” asked Wictred. The light reflected in his eyes and caught the attention of Salene. Jack grabbed her, shaking her to get attention.

“We don’t have time for this. Another minute, and we’ll become a permanent part of this place.”

He leaned out and glanced to the left and then to the right.

“Okay, follow me and keep low!”

Jack didn’t even check they were with him but crept out of the doorway and rushed along the side street to the next building. This one was much smaller and looked almost intact. It was made from the same black stone material, and its windows appeared undamaged. He moved right past it and then turned left, toward the cover offered by some kind of engineering works. Gantries and metal walkways ran like a maze in every direction, and the site reached nearly five stories in height. Only then did he look over his shoulder to see the others right behind him.

Good, we might even make this!

He jumped over a metal fence and landed within the industrial site. In seconds, Jack was in amongst the rusted metal, covered in every direction with barriers and metal plating. Wictred’s steps were loud enough for him to hear, and he could only hope Salene was behind him. He moved on as fast as he could without crashing into the many obstructions in his way. As he pushed his way through, he began to notice the dark shapes of people moving through the cover.