Merkiaari Wars: 02 - What Price Honour (4 page)

“Rank is important to you isn’t it?”

Gina shrugged. “No more than any other. I’m a Marine. I want to be the best I can be. Rank is just a way to keep score.”

“There are other ways, but I’m not here to discuss such things. Have you heard the news yet?”

“I haven’t been out much.”

“President Thurston won the vote by a landslide this morning. No one was surprised—well maybe Thurston himself. Anyway, the opposition have disappeared back into their holes.”

She shrugged. “That’s good.”

“Not really. Before they left, they tried to blow him up. When that failed, they left a recording that amounts to a declaration of war.”

“You’re kidding,” she said gaping in surprise. She hadn’t heard a thing about it.

“Nope,” Eric said with a grin at her surprise. “His residence was completely destroyed, but he and his family were out celebrating with friends. They’re fine. What I came to see you about is a mission.”

“You should be talking to Stein, not me.”

“Already done. He says you’re the best person for the job.”

She frowned; Stein hadn’t mentioned anything this morning. “Well then, I expect I’ll be called for a briefing and… this is it?”

“Afraid so,” Eric said with a smile.

It was highly irregular, but then she had never worked with a viper before. Maybe they were all unconventional.

“Well… go on then.”

“I’ll lead you and your squad into the Freedom Movement’s base.”

She cocked her head. “To do what?”

“To take out the control centre and perimeter security. I worked inside for quite a while. You wouldn’t believe the stuff they’ve got. No way they found it all here. Most came from off world. Serious stuff.”

“Such as?”

“Surface to air missile batteries for starters,” Eric said with a nod at her surprise. “There’s an extensive minefield both proximity and pressure activated. Laser turrets, but they weren’t online when I was there. They might be now. The sentry guns are definitely operational. I saw a test firing. There are pulsers for ground troops by the hundreds, and men to use them. Slug throwers for everyone and a good many grenade launchers like the one you saw. They have plenty of combat body armour, but no mechs—powered armour costs too much, thank God. No tanks, hoppers, or aircraft of any kind, but they do have some old tracked vehicles they converted into mobile launchers. I haven’t seen any railguns or handheld rockets, but that’s about the only things they didn’t have.”

“Goddamnit!” Gina jumped to her feet and began to pace. “They could take out the entire battalion.”

“That’s the problem,” Eric agreed. “Stein launched a drone detailing the situation and requesting reinforcement, but help won’t reach here for weeks. It will be all over by then.”

“So we take out the control centre for the missile batteries and mines,” she said thinking ahead to the mission. “What about the mobile launchers?”

“I’m glad you asked. Did I ever tell you I’m a dab hand with explosives?”

She groaned. He was a viper; he was a dab hand at everything.

Eric gave her another grin. “Once we’re done, we pull out and let the flyboys soften the place up ready for a battalion of Marines to come in and kick arse.”

“That should do it.”

“Let’s hope so. President Thurston declared his intention to apply for Alliance membership. Over eighty percent of his citizens voted to support him. The rebels seem to think that reducing the number of voting citizens will even things up in their favour. Let’s stop them shall we?”

“Absolutely.”

That night saw them on their way. The noise of the C-120’s thrusters drowned out any conversation Gina might have had with Eric, but that didn’t matter. She could speak to him via comm, but it had all been said back at base. For this mission, Eric had been outfitted with the full Marine armour and sensor package. He was designated Eagle Two. His own sensors were superior of course, but he was still maintaining his cover. As far as the others were concerned, he was just a gifted amateur attached to the squad to lead them to the target.

It was night outside and they were racing at tree top level above the jungle toward the drop zone. Gina stared into the darkness mentally preparing herself for what was to come. Eric had briefed her regarding the layout of the rebel base before they left. The defences were formidable, but if all went well, she would open the way for the others before the night was out.

“Two minutes,” the pilot said over the comm.

Gina opened a channel. “All units, comm check.”

“Eagle Two, five by.”

“Eagle Three, no probs.”

“Eagle Four, reading you five by five.”

“Eagle Five…”

She counted off her people trying to ignore the knowledge that she was two men short. She was three short if she didn’t count Eric. He was a considerable asset, but she still missed her friends. Pike was recovering from surgery; he would probably rejoin them on the ship taking them off this rock.

Two minutes passed in a flash.

She tensed as the pilot shut down the interior lights and activated the bay doors. As soon as the doors were fully open, the transport went into hover mode, and Gina pulled herself to her feet.

“By the numbers people,” she yelled before throwing herself into the night.

Gina grunted as the speed brake on her harness brought her up short. Her panting breath was all she heard as she eased the clutch and lowered herself quickly through the trees. There was no way the transport could have landed here. The foliage was much too thick, but there was enough room for her people to descend without too much snagging. Once on the ground, she released her tether taking no notice as it shot back to the transport. All around her, Marines were dropping to the ground, but again she took no notice. Her eyes were surveying the jungle and the data that her sensors were displaying upon her HUD. Both reported no hostiles, but she had another resource.

“Eagle Two, Eagle One,” she whispered.

“Eagle One, Eagle Two. Go,” Eric replied softly.

“I have no hostiles. Do you concur?”

“I have no hostiles in range. Repeat no hostiles.”

“Good,” she said breathing easier. “Take point, Eagle Two.”

“Copy.”

She changed channels. “All units, Two has point. Keep your sensors on passive. Move out.”

“Eagle One, Eagle Four,” Westfield said.

“Eagle Four, Eagle One. Go,” she said as she followed Eric at a crouching deliberate walk.

“We won’t find nothing on passives, Gunny. I think I should go active.”

“Negative, Eagle Four. Follow the plan.”

“Eagle Four copies,” Westfield said with a sigh.

She couldn’t explain about Eric, or that his viper sensors were already trawling for rebel emissions. Even if she could, she knew Westfield would still want to go active. Moving through the jungle on passives felt like walking through a minefield with her eyes closed—not much fun, but announcing her presence to all and sundry wasn’t her idea of fun either. She trusted Eric’s abilities, and she trusted the plan they had worked out.

Gina had her night vision optics set on X2 to magnify what little there was to see. Trees, trees, and more trees. Her mikes were set on high gain, but all she heard was a gentle rustling as her Marines moved carefully through the undergrowth. Eric was utterly silent. She knew what he was, and she was still impressed. Her Marines were good. The little noise they made would not be heard, even her mikes barely picked it up, but Eric seemed to float through the jungle. He was like a shadow moving across the ground—utterly silent.

Eric crouched and waved everyone into cover.

Gina went to one knee amid the foliage and scanned her surroundings. Ignoring the dampness that seeped into her uniform from the mulch she knelt upon, she dialled up X4 on her optics and looked beyond Eric’s position. Nothing. Her sensors reported the usual background heat sources, but nothing the size of a man. Animals often showed up on scans, but her sensors reported nothing Human ahead of them. Eric was a viper. If he thought there was something, then there was.

Dialling back to X1, she checked her back trail and found her people ready for action. Satisfied they were all under good cover, she turned back to speak with Eric, but he had moved. She swore under her breath until she located him stalking something up ahead. She didn’t dare distract him. According to her sensors, he was stalking a target that her software insisted was a bear. Not that this God-forsaken planet had bears, and if it did they wouldn’t be in the tropical zone, but that was what her software insisted it was. A bear, not a man. As she had come to expect in the Border Zone, the software had interpreted the sensor data into Earth terms. Its programmers could hardly be expected to know that she wasn’t on Earth could they?

She snorted in disgust.

The core worlds provided the Alliance with downloads detailing the native wildlife to avoid this kind of thing, but border worlds rarely had the money for the in depth studies required to compile them. The military had to make do, but that meant the sensor data was often interpreted incorrectly. Luckily, humans were quite distinctive. The software rarely interpreted a Human profile as anything else. It seemed to have failed this time however.

Gina watched her sensors as Eric went to ground again. His target was not moving, which said to her it was unlikely to be an animal. Suddenly, Eric moved in a burst of speed that only a viper could produce. He pounced like some kind of big cat. He was a predator in that moment, and she shivered in excitement as he took his prey down.

“Eagle One, Eagle Two,” Eric said under his breath.

“Eagle Two, Eagle One. Go.”

“One hostile neutralised. You can bring them up.”

“Copy one hostile neutralised. Is he a single?”

“Seems to be. I have no other targets in range.”

“Is this standard procedure for the rebels?” she asked intently.

“No,” Eric said sounding grim. “She had comm equipment, but she didn’t have time to fire off a warning. I have no idea what she was doing out here. Unless they know we’re coming.”

Gina nodded. That’s what she had been thinking. “We’re moving up. Eagle One clear.”

“Two clear.”

Gina stood and waved the others forward before moving out. When she reached Eric, she hunkered down beside him, while the others took position in a circle around them looking outward in all directions. Eric was speedily searching the corpse, but he hadn’t yet found anything of note. The rebel was a woman of approximately twenty-five years of age. Eric had killed her with a knife across the throat. Silent and efficient.

Gina approved.

“Anything?”

“Nothing much,” Eric said. “She hasn’t been out here long.”

She looked the question at him.

“She brought her lunch with her, it’s still hot.”

Gina nodded and moved to the perimeter to keep watch. Why had the rebel been set to watch this approach? Why alone? Surely, it made more sense to watch in pairs.

“No way he’s a civ, Gunny,” Westfield whispered through his open visor. “Did you see how easy he made that kill? He a spook?”

Gina shrugged. “He’s a concerned citizen who knows the target.”

“Yeah right, he’s a damn spook,” he said this time with assurance.

Gina didn’t disabuse him of the notion and a moment later Eric was again leading the way. Gina slapped her visor down and followed Westfield who was now in the number two slot. As before, they moved in single file. Silent and careful. If her data was accurate, they should reach the target in another hour.

The darkness was utterly complete, but the low light amplification of their optics brightened the night sufficiently for their needs. Although it would take a miracle for the rebels to locate their frequencies, conversation was kept to a minimum. Scrambled as they were, overhearing wouldn’t get the rebels very far, but it would give away the fact someone was coming.

Gina found herself envying Eric. He exuded confidence and strength. Whether or not he felt that way within himself, she didn’t know, but he certainly gave that impression. She had worked and trained for fifteen years as a Marine. She knew she was good at her job, but she also knew that she was a child compared to a viper. They were stronger, faster, and deadlier than any Human could ever hope to be. They healed faster. They could take horrendous damage and keep on going. They lived much longer—or rather, they would if they weren’t killed in action. Viper losses during the Merki War had never been replaced.

Vipers frightened people. Unenlightened people said they were dangerous to the Alliance. She knew it was crap, but many believed it. Those from Bethany’s World were the most vocal in opposing new construction, but none of the core worlds had fought the decision very hard. The Merkiaari were defeated they said, what need for vipers now? Short-sighted politicians made her want to puke. The Merkiaari might have been defeated, but that didn’t mean they were gone forever. Who knew what they were up to?

Eric slowed his advance then went to his belly and crawled the last few metres.

Gina didn’t need to give the order to her people. One moment they were moving in a crouch, the next they went to ground and hid themselves in the foliage. She crawled up beside Eric and followed his pointing finger to the target.