Merkiaari Wars: 02 - What Price Honour (51 page)

Gina nodded, expecting nothing less. “I want you to help Third Squad, Gwen. Clear the third level and check out the roof. As soon as you can, I want a fire team set up on the south side to cover the LZ.”

“Copy that, moving now.”

Satisfied that all was well, Gina advanced down her own corridor shooting everything that moved. She was hit in the chest, and was staggered, but her armour reacted instantly and wasn’t penetrated. She blasted the culprit with almost a full magazine. She dropped the spent one, slapped a fresh one into her rifle, and kicked a door open to empty it into the snarling faces of a pair of troopers attempting to break through the connecting wall. Farther along, she heard multiple explosions as grenades took out the last few troopers hiding in the second corridor, and that was followed by rapid fire from the second half of Fourth Squad just now completing their sweep. Her sensors detected movement; she spun to her right as a huge form slammed into her. She lost her rifle as a Merki male crushed her in a bear hug trying to break her back. She pushed back, and managed to free an arm.

“Let go you fucker,” she snarled in the monster’s face and chopped at his neck.

He grunted as her enhanced strength beat him to his knees, but he wasn’t ready to let go. Gina smashed her fist into his face repeatedly. He didn’t like that and bit her hand.

“Need some help?” Higgins asked casually as he rounded the corner.

“Nah, I’ve got him.” Gina shoved her hand down the monster’s throat, only to rip it out sideways a moment later.

“Ouch,” Higgins said. He skipped back from a fountain of blood as the huge monster went into shrieking convulsions.

“Phaw!” Gina shook her hand free of blood and slobber. “God that’s disgusting.” She tried not to smell it, and shook the worst of the goo off her hand.

Higgins casually pressed the muzzle of his rifle against the dying monster’s head and pulled the trigger.

Gina took her rifle back from him. “Thanks. Second floor clear?”

“All done. I have one dead and two wounded.”

“How bad?”

“Your hand, my leg, both slight.”

A few tooth marks were nothing, and John was still mobile even with blood showing. Their bots would see to both injuries without needing help.

“Alpha One, Alpha One-One,” Hiller said over the comm.

Gina finished cleaning the goo off her hand and replied, “Alpha One. Go ahead.”

“All clear. Consol destroyed as ordered.”

“Good, Ian. How do things look outside?”

“Pretty peaceful. The sun’s just coming up. Not much happening on this side.”

Gina nodded in satisfaction. “Okay. Hold the ground floor in case we have visitors.”

“Copy that.”

She turned to Higgins. “Collect your boys, John. I want to have a look up top.”

Higgins nodded and spoke quietly over his comm as they walked back toward the ramp through the mess they had made.

Gina selected a channel and contacted Second Squad. “Alpha Two-One, Alpha One. Report.”

“Alpha Two-One. Third floor just about… Third floor now clear. Third Squad on the roof.”

“Okay, Gwen,” she said pleased with their progress. “Get up there and set your fire teams to cover the LZ. I’m on my way up.”

“Copy.”

Higgins was waiting for her at the ramp.

“John, I want you to go down and sweep the grounds around the building. After that, send a couple of your boys back to the LZ for a quick resupply, and then take defensive positions. Have a word with Ian about coordinating a decent defence… just in case.”

Higgins nodded once, and led his men down the ramp while Gina went up to the roof.

Gina stepped out into the open, and took a deep lungful of the bracing air before looking about herself. Gwen had positioned three spotter/shooter teams along the south side of the roof to cover the LZ and its approaches, but she hadn’t neglected the other sides. Third squad was helping her people watch the north and west sides. The east was deemed of lesser risk. According to satellite surveillance, the area had been extensively cultivated, but very few people lived on those huge automated farms. It was of no interest to the enemy.

Gina crossed to the south side of the roof, and nodded to the others. “Anything interesting, Gwen?”

“Captain Hames is ripping them up.”

Gina commanded her processor to magnify the scene before her, and X4 strobed on her display. The battlefield rushed closer, and she watched the show. The enemy was dug in pretty good and they were holding for the moment. Captain Hames had positioned his AARs on the wings of his formation and they were strafing the enemy lines on a diagonal. The mortars and grenade launchers were popping their rounds among the Merki troops with frightening accuracy, but they simply stayed put and soaked up punishment.

As yet, only two of the regiment’s APCs were down. They had been deployed to help cover the LZ. Hames had a while to wait yet before he could call on artillery. The regiment’s self-propelled guns were heavy ordnance, and could only be loaded aboard the landers one at a time.
Grafton
had only two
Wolfcubs,
and they were currently ferrying the APCs filled to the brim with ammo and grenades.

From the west, a wing of fighters screamed by the terminal building, low enough for Gina to make out the pilots. In a widely spread formation, they strafed the Merkiaari with their guns before climbing steeply. The sonic boom of six SPAF-18 Nighthawks echoed in the cool morning air as they clawed for altitude.

Wevers shook her head. “They missed the damn mines. Flyboys…” her lip curled in disgust. “They can’t wait to kick arse.”

Gina nodded thoughtfully, and wondered what the General thought about it. She was willing to bet he was not happy. “The mines are stopping us from pushing them completely out of the port. The General will be coming down soon. We need to clear the area and access the city before then.”

“We could go and help.”

Gina nodded. “I’ll ask.”

* * *

The ground erupted and showered Kate with soil. The damn flyboys had screwed up and left her arse flapping in the wind. Captain Hames seemed to agree. He spat dirt, and propped himself up on his elbows to evaluate the strike. It was obvious he didn’t like what he was seeing.

Hames scowled and turned to give his orders. “Richmond—” his eyes went wide, and he slumped forward as the gauss slug sheared through his helmet.

Kate wiped grey and red gunk off her helmet’s visor with a shaking hand. Keeping low, she dragged the captain’s body down from the lip of the crater. She checked his vitals as a matter of course, but she didn’t need the flat line on his wristcomp to tell he was gone. She glanced around at the others trying to ignore the blinking blue icon on her sensors, but none of them had seen Hames go down. They were busy taking pot-shots at the enemy, completely oblivious to the disaster that had befallen one Lieutenant Richmond. She looked back at her captain for a long moment and shivered. This was not good, not good at all. Hames was,
had been
, the only veteran assigned to Alpha Company. Only he knew what he’d planned to do next. The General’s plan was screwed to hell and gone, and the goddamn flyboys hadn’t done their jobs…

Kate swallowed her insipient panic and took a deep breath. Okay… okay all right. She didn’t need a damn officer to tell her what needed doing, not even one as good as Hames had been. She could handle it. She
would
handle it.

She selected a channel, and took a deep breath. “Gold One, Charlie One.”

“Burgton, Charlie One. Go.”

“Sir. I have a situation here. Captain Hames is dead, sir. Orders?”

There was a long silence, but then, “Richard is… Hames is dead you say? You’re sure?”

“Positive, sir,” Kate said looking into Hames’ dead eyes. “I believe he was about to order another air strike. At least that’s what I’d like to think he was going to do. Are you monitoring our situation?”

“Affirmative,” Burgton said. “They have you pinned.”

“Exactly right, sir. They have us pinned down, but we have them pinned down too. It’s a stalemate, sir.”

“Not acceptable,” Burgton said coldly.

“No, sir, I agree. We need those mines cleared.”

“Katherine, here is what you will do. First of all, call the other platoon leaders and inform them of the situation. Secondly, hand over command of your platoon to Brice. He can handle it… you agree?”

Kate nodded to herself. “Yes, sir, Martin would be my choice. He knows what to do.”

“Good. I’m raising you to temporary command of Alpha Company effective immediately.”

Her mouth went dry. “Yes, sir, I understand.”

“Order your strike, Captain. Gold One clear.”

“Charlie…
Alpha Leader
clear,” she said feeling almost dizzy.

Burgton wouldn’t make her elevation permanent would he? He wouldn’t do that to her… would he? Kate shook her head and got to work. She couldn’t worry about it now. She called Brice and Dengler in to inform them about Hames’ death, and the General’s response to it. Brice was unconcerned about his promotion to command Third Platoon. He was more than competent.

Dengler frowned at Hames’ corpse and then at Kate. “You gonna order another strike?”

“Yeah.” Kate changed channels. “Jaguar Leader, Alpha Leader, come in.”

“Copy, Alpha Leader.”

“Jaguar Leader, you missed.”

“Come again?” Jaguar Leader said in surprise. “Er, I mean repeat please, Alpha Leader.”

“The minefield is still here, Jaguar Leader. I want it
gone!
The Merkiaari are not your target, what do you think I’m here for? Now listen: I want another run to take out those mines. If I don’t get it, I’m coming up there, and taking it out of your hide,
personally!
”

“Jaguar Leader copies,” the pilot said stiffly.

Kate waited for the strike while her people used the mortars to keep the enemy’s heads down, and the AARs to kill any that popped up for a look see. There weren’t many of the latter, not after the first few times.

“We should have landed a squad on the other side,” Dengler mused.

“No. The city is infested with Merki infantry. Vipers we may be, but we’re not invincible.” Kate nodded at Hames as proof. “Landing between two forces is not a good idea.”

“Maybe we should wait for Arty.”

Kate shook her head. When she had mentioned the possibility earlier, Hames told her the guns would take hours to get here. She wanted this over long before then. There was no way she would be responsible for the General landing in the middle of a battle.

“Alpha Leader, Alpha One,” Fuentez said over the comm.

“Alpha Leader. Go.” Kate ducked again as a persistent trooper popped up and fired at her.

“The terminal building is secure, and Second Platoon holds the LZ. All hostiles eliminated, but I lost a man.”

Shit
. “Who?”

“Chrissie Roberts.”

Ah hell, why did it have to be Chris? They had been so damn lucky so far, and now this. Perhaps it wasn’t so surprising they had another casualty, not when considering the opposition they were facing. It was a damn shame, but people died in war.

“Copy that, Gina. I want you to hold the terminal and keep an eye on the satellite feeds—especially over the city. Sing out if you see something I should know.”

“Copy that, but I could come over and support your right…”

“Negative, Alpha One. Sit tight and wait for the General.”

“Copy, holding position.”

Kate watched as the fighters bore in. This time they attacked the correct target and the minefield erupted.

WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!

She nodded in satisfaction as a path three hundred metres wide was blasted through the minefield all the way to, and through, the Merki’s lines.

“Alpha Leader, Jaguar Leader.”

“Copy, Jaguar Leader,” Kate replied.

“Returning to rearm. Jaguar Leader out.”

“She’s in a bit of a snit isn’t she?” Brice said.

“Too damn bad,” Kate said, and answered the call. “Alpha Leader copies.” She turned back to business. “On my signal, clear?”

Brice and Dengler nodded, and ran in a crouch to rejoin their platoons. Moments later the mortars and grenade launchers left off their methodical attack to go to rapid fire. The AARs laid down covering fire as both platoons moved up ready for her signal.

“Go,” Kate said simply and ran forward.

The enemy stayed down at first, but one brave troop must have poked his head up long enough to realise they were coming, because suddenly the entire Merki force opened up. Kate sprinted at full speed jinking left and right to avoid being hit. She leapt into a convenient crater, and then jumped out and ran forward to dive head first into another one.