Naero's War: The Citation Series 2: The High Crusade (20 page)

They erupted in an orgy of celebration and vile gluttony.

Fights broke out among the meat piles, and the Ejjai fought with and murdered each other in their frenzy.

The lead general returned to the others, rubbing her claws together eagerly in the midst of the chaos.

“My sisters, I have a special treat that I’ve saved just for us, at this exact moment. Please, enjoy my precious gifts to you all.” She motioned to a large knot of troops off to one side among some gravtanks.

A full squad of Ejjai in heavy battle armor led out six terrified human women, all of them naked and extremely pregnant.

None of them had a mark on them. Yet.

But from the looks on their pale faces, they all knew very well what the enemy generals intended to do with them. Each of them was heavy with child, in the later stages of pregnancy.

That they had remained unspoiled and unharmed up until now would quickly change for the worse–the worst fate imaginable.

Although they were unbound, there was no chance for any of these captives to break free or escape on their own against so many foes.

The generals each glared at them and gloated. The Ejjai generals slavered and drooled, snapping jaws and smacking lips.

Each general had a set of rusty, bloodstained butchering tools that they began to place out in front of them in heady, eager anticipation of their coming feast.

Then the squad of Ejjai troops guarding the six women suddenly staggered a few feet away as if drunk.

Some melted into slag where they stood.

Other Ejjai troops exploded.

The six human captives looked around in confusion.

The next instant, they all vanished.

The six Ejjai generals shot to their feet in stunned surprise.

They couldn’t even speak, but a few flung cleavers and knives at the spot where the captives had stood.

Their weapons fell harmlessly to the ground.

All of this was captured and displayed on the big arena screens, and slowly attracted the attention of the astonished crowds.

Then Shetanna appeared as if by magic, right before the lead Ejjai general, resplendent in her full Angel of Death mode. She was all dressed in black, shining black hair flowing in the wind, violet eyes burning above her mask.

Twin bloodred katanas crackled and hissed in the damp air, at the ready in either hand.

Every eye fixed on her–while the mini-gravpods from her fixers whisked the six cloaked, female captives away to safety.

Naero only had to buy few more seconds for them to make it out. Fierce Marines waited nearby to take charge of them and keep them safe.

With the six captives out of the way, at last Shetanna could go to work.

“I have come for you, filthy Ejjai cowards. I am Shetanna!” she cried.

She rammed both of her swords through the lead general’s eyes and out the back of the Ejjai’s scorched skull.

Two of the generals tried to run.

The other three tried to attack her.

It did not matter.

Bolts of scarlet lighting tore forth from both her blades, ripping and blasting the other five into charred pieces of meat and bone.

Naero cloaked and shot away as the area around the tables was engulfed in torrents of enemy weapon fire the very next instant.

Then the gravtanks, gunships, transports, and other vehicles lined up nearby began to explode.

Naero projected multiple holos of herself all over the arena and in the in the air, drawing fire in all directions.

She used
the voice
, her words booming and echoing from several directions.

“
Ejjai filth. Prepare to meet Death. For Shetanna is The Dark Angel of Death, and has no fear of murdering cowards.
”

The Ejjai fired in panic from so many angles that they cut down each other by the hundreds–just as Naero planned.

Fear began to infect them.

Gouts of red lightning lashed into the arena stands from several directions like gigantic whips of destruction. The devastation flung dead and dying Ejjai everywhere in a cyclone of slaughter, adding to the total chaos and confusion.

“
No mercy, Ejjai scum. No escape. Fear is my mother, Death my sire, and I their daughter! You cannot harm me. There is no escape for you!
”

Just as the enemy started to figure out they were shooting at holos and murdering each other wholesale, Naero merged with one of her mirror images in the midst of hundreds of Ejjai in the arena stands.

Multiple thin rods of red Chaos energy shot from her, fanning out in a diameter of thirty meters.

First she impaled hundreds of the shocked invaders.

When she spun, the red blades chopped them all into smaller gory chunks and pieces.

Torrents of unleashed Ejjai blood suddenly gathered and swept down the arena, carrying others away in a sudden red, rushing tide of gore.

Naero cloaked and flashed away again.

More enemy fire stormed and tore at her former position.

She took the place of another holo, and sent forth a sweeping hurricane of of Chaos bubbles and orbs of every shape and size into another section of the stands.

The explosions collapsed that entire section. Wreckage toppled inward.

Next she appeared on the field before the horrendous meat piles, in the midst of hundreds of more frantic enemies.

Half of them flung their weapons away and ran in terror before her as she raced toward them. So much for the valiant Ejjai.

“
Stand and fight, scum
!”

Naero surged and fought with the mob of foes, sweeping one way and then the other, cutting them down by dozens, by scores.

She moved among them so fast they could not focus their attacks.

Then she would abruptly change direction and sweep another way before they could hem her in.

She unleashed more scarlet lightning strikes.

She sent random Chaos blasts into packed pockets of foes.

At times she just whirled and passed through them with her swords fully extended, mowing them down in lines and bunches.

Once she had shattered them completely, she merely turned her back on them and began walking away quickly and with determination, toward the nearest exit.

Naero set her shield pod full-on.

Three enemy tanks roared at her, cannons blazing.

Naero dodged and deflected their blasts into the stands.

Two gravtanks she exploded with Chaos bombs.

She sliced the last in half with her swords and kept walking calmly, straight through the burning wreckage as the gravtank exploded directly behind her to either side.

She ignored all enemy fire directed at her, kept walking, and cut down anything stupid enough to attempt to stand before her.

She crackled with destroying red lightning as she passed into one of the exit tunnels, laying waste to anything before her.

The enemy regrouped and poured into the tunnel in hot pursuit.

Just as Naero hoped they would.

Another kill zone. How convenient of them to all bunch up for her.

She turned at bay, just before exiting, and focused all of her energies in an intense Chaos blast cone.

The massive detonation tore the tunnel apart and blasted shredded pieces of the packed invaders out the other end, right before a massive fireball that followed hard thereafter.

Naero cloaked, and called out over her secure link.

“You guys ready? I’ve got them primed, but I’m also almost out of juice.”

“We’re in place and ready to join the show, Shetanna. You okay? Do you need us to extract you?”

“Negative. I can finish my part. It just takes a lot of energy to sustain attacks at this level. You guys know that. Did Intel take care of those genocide devices?”

“Almost all accounted for.”

“All right, I’m setting up for my final show. They’ll take the bait, all right. You guys hit them hard when they do.”

“Hard as we can, Shetanna. You know us.”

“I sure do, and I can’t wait to watch it all go down–right from the front row. Copy that. Make the legends proud, Bravo.”

She took up her position in the center of the fallen city nearby, just outside of the shattered arena.

She formed a Chaos construct around her that duplicated her and her every move.

Her construct became a scarlet, gigantic version of herself, semi-transparent and fifteen meters tall, red and glowing with huge blazing swords.

She stomped on a meatship and slashed at it until it exploded.

Then she attacked the cloneship factory next to it.

“
Face me, cowards. Shetanna shows you her might. Show me yours. Face me and perish
!”

Yet in actuality, her energies waned with each passing second.

It wasn’t like being back on Janosha where there was limitless Cosmic energy to tap into. Away from the Mystic Homeworlds, Naero’s energy levels and her abilities were not infinite or limitless. She made a good show of it, but even she could not sustain these levels of attack for very long.

The entire enemy invasion roared to life and locked on, bunching and sweeping her way, to engage her from all directions.

The Ejjai went insane with fury.

Up in the skies above and beyond Tholos-4, the Spacer navy sent the invader fleets spinning down in flames.

Thousands of Spacer Marines suddenly materialized out of the black at key points and positions.

Phantoms who owned the night.

The black was their domain, their element, and they surrendered it to no one.

Bravo Command unleashed a torrent of concentrated, interlocking fire against the bunched-up invaders. Veils of destroying fire, artillery, and ordnance rained down–a deluge of precisely timed destruction that no living thing could possibly survive.

Within a matter of minutes, a quarter of a million Ejjai invaders flashed and flared into a sweeping typhoon of white-hot death that overtook them.

Shetanna had done her job all too well.

Completely drained of all her Mystic energies for the moment, she could barely stand.

Even as she staggered away, a full platoon of gigantic Ejjai Sterodans in phaze armor appeared all around her.

They piled on and overwhelmed her with their greater mass and several shock charges that hit and rippled through both them and her. The shock charges rattled Naero’s teeth in her skull.

The Ejjai and their mysterious masters still wanted her and the KDM alive and intact, apparently.

Naero grinned.

Yet another trap, and she had stumbled right into it.

This time, the enemy thought they had her at last.

Yet Naero knew something they did not, and called out into her own mind.

Om–you’re up. They’ve got me.

Take these bastards down hard and fast!

16

Naero’s insertion probe was knocked down out of the sky over Shuji-9, the first Gigacorp world that Bravo Command struck right after the events at the Spacer Grand Conclave.

The enemy, however, didn’t give a crap either way. Somehow they detected her cloaked probe and filled the sky with so much fire and airbursts of ordnance that they had to hit something.

She and Om barely teknomanced enough to keep themselves from dying, but not from crashing.

Naero burst out of her insertion probe with her small cloud of fixers, just before the small craft crashed into a battalion of Ejjai gravtanks, with its power core and jump drive set to detonate.

The resulting small gigablast was nearly atomic in yield, and gave her cover to vanish and get away to assess her situation. Naturally, she and her fixers cloaked, and then shielded, under the additional protection of Naero’s Cosmic abilities and Om’s defenses.

But they were still more or less in the middle of a fully involved battlefield between the Ejjai invaders, and the locals, the avian/birdlike Quess.

The Quess were sentient, birdlike humanoids with various avian heads, styles, and colorations of feathers covering their bodies.

On some worlds, some of them had wings and could still even fly. On others, their wings or winged arms and hands were either vestigial to some degree, not even noticeable. All possessed the ability to reason and speak at very high levels of intellect.

They were a space-faring species in all of their many forms and variations, and held to be very ancient and wise. Yet such wisdom did not always avail them in combat. And the Quess suffered against the invasion as all the sentient races did.

Naero tried to reach some of the defenders to join up with them and attempt to explain that the Spacer Marines would shortly arrive to assist them. But the combat around her was too fierce.

Each time she attempted to move away, explosions from something batted her about. Being unseen did not save her from indirect fire. Her shields would serve to protect her, but only for so long. And the enemy bombardments seemed both heavy and endless.

The original plan had been for her to drop down and spearhead a big dropship assault by going ahead of Bravo and 36, and execute an attack on the invader’s central command and control. She would help coordinate the drop, and then race ahead, slicing through key enemy positions in order to soften them up and spread confusion.

Something Shetanna seemed created to do.

But this DZ was clearly too hot to drop into. Bravo or anyone coming down into this level of fire would be shredded and take serious casualties before they even reached the ground. Naero got on her secure link and delayed the intended assault for the moment.

She had to find a new place on the white hot combat grid for Bravo to drop in and then start putting the hammer down on the foe. But it looked as if she was going to have to clear a DZ all by herself.

Perhaps if she could do enough damage or wipe out enough of the Ejjai in one place, the Marines could come down and strike while the invaders were still reeling and trying to regroup. Bravo didn’t need a huge window to execute a drop and pop.

Shetanna would find a way to blow open such a window for them. She informed them to stand ready and monitor her progress.

Lucky her, she was right in the middle of the nightmare of an all-out invader attack on the native military defense forces. The Quess defiantly held their own, but they were slowly being chewed up and forced back by the intensity of the invader’s combined arms attacks.

For the defenders, this grim fact was complicated by the attack taking place right within a heavily populated gigacity. Civilians and refugees attempted to flee in panic, clogging the streets and skyways, and trying to escape while the invaders poured withering fire at everyone in an attempt to cut them all down.

Wherever Shetanna scanned, there was grim, bloody fighting.

Om, link with our fixers. This place is a total disaster. Let’s coordinate our attacks for maximum effectiveness on the local combat grid.

They picked their prime spot to clear for the new drop zone. Om and the fixers directed her to the site. Shetanna buzzed up her glowing red katanas and accelerated to attack speed.

She swept in and sliced her way through the enemy formations where they were heaviest, causing the most destruction.

She struck so fast that often she deflected defender fire just as much as invader fire off of her shields and swords, continuing to rip right through the hottest parts of several ongoing battles along the invader positions.

Shetanna lopped off enemy commander heads, sliced throats, and cut the barrels off gravtanks and autoguns.

A black and scarlet blur zipped through the mingled invaders and defenders alike, leaving behind destruction and death, but only for the Ejjai.

The local defenders had no idea what the hell this strange new weapon or phenomena was, but from their voices over their links, they quickly realized it was taking out the invaders. Orders went out not to fire upon this new force, whatever it was.

Soon the defenders rallied, regrouped, and charged in behind and around Shetanna’s lightning assaults.

Om cut in.
I’ve reported in to Bravo over the enemy jamming that just started up. They are on their way down to secure these positions.

Great, Om. We need them bad.

Shetanna spiraled up to take on a flight of enemy gunships roaring down out of the sky. She launched a full spread of float-seeker smartmines into the gunships, rocking and busting them up.

After a few minutes, she began to wonder. Where are our guys, Om? How come they’re not–

Blasts and explosions walked in and stomped in all over the enemy positions as the cloaked Bravo Marine dropships came down hot, hard, and fast.

Shetanna continued to strafe the enemy assault lines at the perimeter of the DZ, deflecting fire from both sides. She helped smash the enemy’s forward thrust at the dropships.

Om fed Naero the combat grid data as it evolved.
Our rapid deployment units have come out swinging and are already nailing the invader hard. Two other Bravo companies have gone ahead with your original mission to take out the enemy’s command and control. They’ll have to do without Shetanna’s assistance.

Good for them, Om. How are they doing?

Moderately well. They sent in two hundred heavily armed stealth strikers to perform the role that you usually serve.

Nice to know that it takes that many Marines to do what we do, Om.

They just want to be sure.

From that point on, Shetanna needed to conserve her Cosmic energies if she was going to fight all day and night beside 36.

She dropped the last of her microbombs and fusion grenades on an enemy arty position that continued to rain hell down upon the local population and its defenders and civies.

She left it behind her in flames.

Om, I’m out again. Get our fixers to regenerate a full spread of ordnance for me. I need to resupply.

N, hold still for a second and re-arm. The fixers can hardly keep up with you. Two full sets, ready and waiting to lock on and fill you up. Just give them a chance.

Naero chuckled. Hit me on the fly and let’s lock and load, Om. We’re burning daylight and I’m not letting up on these bitches.

Her fixers swarmed over her like bees on a queen bee, filling her pouches, pods, dispensers, and micro ordnance racks with all of the good stuff.

All while Naero maintained her racing attack arcs, her blazing red blades scything and hewing.

Om, maintain an automatic resupply of my weapons and explosives, bombs, and mines. Have the fixers fill me back up as soon as I use something, as able. If I brush them aside, just have them check back later and keep working on it. I don’t want to run dry.

Will give it a shot, N. You zip around pretty fast.

Everywhere Naero saw the local Quess defenders getting licked, she swooped down and lent them a very heavy hand.

The locals stared at her as she flashed among the lines, ripping down the Ejjai. They looked upon her in wonder and awe at her fighting prowess. She made such an impact and caused such havoc among the enemy, that Bravo Command HQ allowed her the freedom to act as a wild blade of Chaos upon the battlefield and go at the enemy wherever she thought best.

In fact, both they and the locals cheered her on, directing her toward the heaviest pockets of intense fighting to either quell or soften up.

They sent 36 to support her, but she kept moving out in front of them so rapidly and erratically that they couldn’t keep up with her.

They merely swooped in behind, adding their fury and firepower to the mix, pummeling the enemy further in her wake.

But at one point, Shetanna’s Marines got cut off as enemy reserves poured in.

Corporal Parsival Patton was cut down from behind by several enemy grenades. And the bloody fighting continued the rest of that day and throughout the night.

The slashers tried to make off with Percy’s body at one point.

Shetanna wasn’t about to let that happen, and led a charge with elements of 36 that not only got Percy back with them, but shattered the enemy’s entire left flank until the Ejjai broke in blind fear and ran.

When dawn rose up the next day, the invaders were on the ropes and on the run, routed and attacked viciously from nearly every direction.

The Dark Angel of Death had worked her black magic once again, and helped Bravo teach the Ejjai invaders the depths and the meaning of absolute terror.

The locals even started using holos and even human impersonators of Shetanna on the front lines. Wherever she or one of her fakes appeared, all over the gigacity, the invaders panicked in cowardice and battled each other in order to get away.

Shetanna and her sisters drove them like flocks of frightened birds, into trap after trap–destruction after destruction. The gutless enemy withered in the flames of battle and were consumed.

After a short rest, the real Shetanna calmly walked straight into the dissolving front lines, unknown to the enemy, protected by Om and several unit-sized cloaked shield pods placed over her in layers.

The invaders poured everything they had at the phantom. Withering fire that pulverized everything nearby, all to no effect.

Shetanna walked through those destroying waves of fire like an avenging spirit, an invulnerable juggernaut.

Let the foe do their worst.

Shetanna kept coming, drawing fire, getting the hysterical enemy to repeatedly expose themselves and all of their firing positions on the grid for Bravo to light up and take out.

The enemy continued to shriek and scream in panic, and withdraw against such apparent might. And thunderous cries went up from the defenders until they became a roar.

Shetanna.

Shetanna.

Shetanna!

On she came and the enemy threw down their useless weapons with shaking hands and open, shivering mouths and were routed. This was a foe beyond their comprehension–impervious, indestructible, and unstoppable.

Shetanna kept coming. Whenever one of her cloaked shieldpods went down, Om and the fixers brought up another in its place, maintaining the terrifying illusion.

Line after line, she walked straight into the teeth of their heaviest fire, her deep violet eyes shining, head held high.

Utterly fearless.

She used
the voice
and paced right at them.
Run, cowards. Flee you filth. You who can only butcher the helpless. Retreat and die, for Death itself follows me and falls upon you. Shetanna, the Dark Angel of Death comes for you all!

This is the blood I come from! And it is the fire of battle itself. No matter your putrid numbers, you shall never stand before our might!

Once the battles on Shuji-9 ended that night, 36 escorted and carried their Shetanna back to their dropship on a medbed like a champion upon her shield. Utterly spent once more, it would be nearly a full day before she could rise up again without weakness or pain.

They also saw to Percy, as they always cared for their own fallen.

The sooner Naero healed and regenerated her amazing abilities, the sooner Shetanna could fight once more. Bravo ghosted on toward their next objective, as they ever did.

Her mates came by as they always did, to check on her and give her shit.

She was up and around the following night, which was another Seventhday, and that meant both Sparring night and dance night, all over again.

Jonny Fox came to her as the sparring matches broke up and the dancing began. Naero still tried to slip away and hide somewhere, all to no avail.

This time, Jonny was not alone. He had an entire posse with him, including Trent Patton, Clive Luna, Razor Wilde, Acer Adams, Lance Allen, and Terrance Decker.

“What the hell is this?” Naero asked them. “You guys gonna take me on all at once? Let’s rock!”