Sacremon (Harmony War Series Book 1) (33 page)

           
“So they coming?” Jerome said trying to sound calm, but his anxiety crept through regardless. Mark sat against the window, not looking out, or trying to think of how the glass might give way at any moment.

           
“Yeah, looks like the general went for the plan and is sending down shuttles. At least that's what it sounded like. What's a lowly grunt like me know?” Mark shrugged.

           
Jerome made a noise of agreement grabbing his water bottle as Mark bit into his bar, they were kind of chewy and tasted a bit salty, but he could deal with the bland taste any day. He had eaten some truly nasty things after he and Tyler left the orphanage to survive.

           
“That's one hell of a sight,” Jerome said, his voice trailing off as Mark followed Jerome's eyes, chewing on the bar absently.

           
The slightly overcast sky was alight with red streaks that marked combat shuttles entering atmosphere. The city was quiet for a few moments and then weapons systems started firing.

           
The combat shuttles were far away and evaded the cities defenses with ease. Auto turrets rounds reached down towards missile trails, explosions igniting the night air.

           
Combat shuttle after combat shuttle fell through the atmosphere, the clouds turning red with the colors of re-entry before shuttles plunged through them.

           
They leveled out and then it wasn't just the colonists that were getting their licks in.

           
Auto-cannons fired their heavy rounds into the towers as missiles raced towards their targets.

           
Using their tilting engines, the shuttles didn't come at the city straight on, they stayed at a distance and hammered the city, rotating around and taking out anything that dared to fire at their armored hulls. The first shuttles used the cover of the weaponless towers to move closer.

***

           
Yu jumped into his combat seat, pulling his harness around him, sleep falling away as Young powered the engines and pushed for the new flight plan.

           
“What we got?” Yu said, his harness good.

           
“Trooper drop and fire plan. Our people are in a tower and pinned down,” Young said.

           
“Taking control,” Yu replied.

           
“I am relieved,” Young said, working her screens to refine the flight plan and listen into the nearly platoon sized group left.

           
“How we looking Bobbie?” Yu asked, the armored doors coming up, Yu was on the front landing pad and he was going as soon as he got clearance.

           
“Five minutes!” Bobbie said, yelling before he turned the channel off. Yu could feel the boots clanging through the cargo bay, the Troopers had kept four regiments ready to go at all times.

           
“Good!” Bobby said, the rear hatch closing.

           
“Flight control this is CS one-four-nine, we are good to go, submitting flight plan,” Yu said, sending the information.

           
“Plan received and cleared, go for launch,” the flight controller said.

           
“Understood flight control, One-four-nine out.” Yu was already increasing power to his engines by the time they had finished talking, his shuttle rose and headed out of the still opening doors.

           
He angled on for the new flight plan Young had supplied.

            “
Bobbie, how are the guns?” Yu said, looking at the tactical situation which was now covered in red halos. Someone had put out a sensor net across the city, how they’d done it through the enemy lines Yu didn’t know, or care at this moment.

           
“Five by five and ready to shoot something,” Bobbie growled.

           
“Good shit, seal up the armor panels, don’t want to burn the sensors off on entry,” Yu said. His blood was beginning to boil, he could already feel himself coming alive.

           
“Young we cleared for hot entry?” Yu asked seeing Bobbie was sealing up the ship while he checked their fuel.

           
“Cleared, we control the air,” Young said.

           
“Shit,” Bobbie growled.

           
“Oh, I know you love a ride Bobbie,” Yu said, dropping the formality.

           
“I hate pilots,” Bobbie said.

           
Yu only grinned as he pushed the engines power up and started hitting real atmosphere, the shuttle bucked and skewed.

           
Yu hummed, clicking his tongue here and there as he adjusted flaps, worked thrusters, and adjusted to inter-atmosphere flying.

           
The shuttle bucked for a few moments before skewing as Sacremon’s atmosphere resented  their presence.

           
Yu adjusted his flight, bringing him back onto plan.

            “
They’ve lost the lobby and pulled back to the third floor,” Young said, her voice tight and harsh as if she was to blame for their predicament.

           
“Shit,” Yu answered.

           
“Weapons and sensors check, I want rounds on as soon as we got eyes on,” Yu said.

           
“Roger,” Bobbie said, opening the armored panels again to reveal the sensors.

           
“On it,” Young said while working with synchronized rhythm on various screens.

           
“On target in three,” Yu said, banking hard to bleed speed and bring them on target.

           
“I’m going to do a shudder hover,” Yu warned. two green lights came up on his HUD, his people were readying themselves and the Combat Shuttle for battle.

           
The timer wound down and Yu pulled up, angling the engines so they pushed against the ground. The sudden deceleration made everyone grunt and flex their bodies to stay conscious. It lasted for a matter of moments before Yu angled his flaps and engines, bringing them into a hover Across from the towers.

           
“Drop!” Bobbie yelled as a panel showed the lines playing out with troopers dropping below.

           
Yu ripple-fired his missiles, they streaked off, tracking the largest groups of enemy contacts.

           
Tower faces exploded as missiles shattered glass and turned floors into a bonfire.

           
Bobbie and Young were working the auto-turrets, red lines of tracers spitting through the air like an angry hornet at their targets.

           
“Clear!” Bobbie said, the lines whipping back into the reels of the ceiling, trapdoors slamming shut behind them.

           
Yu didn’t run away, he lined up a gun run on the towers.

           
The auto-cannons pounded, adding to the falling glass and deformed tower sides.

           
“Missile launch!” Young said, Yu had seen it but he was now pushing the engines fast and hard, throwing them in an erratic path.

           
Young blew out counter measures, smart-flares bursting from their sides.

           
The missiles lost them and slammed into a tower, fire exploding out the opposite side as Yu banked fast and hard around the tower.

           
“Woo fucking Hoo! GET SOME YOU FUCKS!” Bobbie said the auto-turrets ripping into colonist filled floors as they passed.

           
The odd round twanged and pinged off of the side, sounding like hail landing on a tin roof, but the Combat Shuttles were made to take such punishment.

           
Yu brought them out of the city, putting them into an aggressive turn, angling engines and flaps to bring them around like a boat doing a sweeping turn, cutting their motion and pointing them back towards the city.

           
He fired with the thumb trigger on his acceleration leaver to his left.

           
Yu tilted and moved the craft, bringing more weapons to bear and giving them better angles.

           
“Left, nose down,” Bobbie said. Yu adjusted with smooth movements, working against turbulence.

           
“Right rack, three,” Young said, three missiles piling into the tank’s coming over the ridge.

           
Words or simple phrases connected the three of them, as they worked to protect their people.

***

           
Mark used his scope to look at the shuttles. He saw lights appearing under them with troopers dropping out of the craft and to the ground.

           
Mark couldn't make out individual people and the shuttles under-lighting quickly disappeared. They rose and turned, heading away from the city and back towards Reclaimer.

           
“You're going to want to see this,” Mark said to Gupta and Pullo pushing the bar to his mouth and finding that the wrapper was empty.

           
Gupta came over, staring at the scene around Growing city.

           
Towers were ripped apart by fiery missiles and lines of tracers, the city shaking and quivering with the blows. Flames ate at the towers, lighting the night sky.

           
It was odd to see it but not see it from inside the sound-proofed CEO apartments.

           
“Alright, we're going to have a platoon arriving at the base of the tower in a few minutes, be ready to move as soon as possible,” Pullo said through their helmets, everyone checked their gear as the city around them was hammered.

           
New combat shuttles were now pouring down from orbit, old ones moving past them as they fired their payloads into the city before settling down. The colonists fire had been cut back severely, no more missiles were firing up into the sky and rounds no longer arched up at oncoming shuttles.

           
Some combat shuttles were moving into the city, raining hell down from above on those that had dared to leave their towers.

           
Mark's eyes turned to the tower that fourth regiment had made it's stand in. It was easy to find with smoke that was coming from various levels, massive holes had been carved into the building from the impacts of missile fire.

           
Combat shuttles were circling it, their turrets laying waste to any resistance. Mark just hoped that there were still people holding out and keeping his brother safe.

           
“Platoon is getting close, let's get in the elevator and get out of here,” Pullo said, escorting the CEO to the elevator. CEO Harrison glanced out of his massive windows, looking over the view as if seeing if anything was awry, then with a nod, like everything was to his satisfaction he continued to the elevator. Mark and Jerome went first, opening it for the others who piled in. It was big enough for at least ten people so Jerome and Mark were able to get around to the front of the lift again as its doors shut and it began descending.

           
Mark used his implants to see what was going on around the tower. The fourth regiment were holding out and Charlie company that had been waiting on Reclaimer were now wading through the lobby up to their comrades.

           
Other regiments were working to take towers around the exterior of the city. Alpha company was raising havoc, they had planted bombs, hid and waited for their moment to strike. Their bombs killed dozens as they moved through their towers, using the confusion of the sudden attack to keep the colonists on the run. Reinforcements only added to the confusion. Half-sections were everywhere and peeled off as soon as the colonists started getting organized, a combat shuttle would hit whatever they designated.

           
Rounds smashed into the city, all amassing from the firepower of the combat shuttle’s auto-turrets and forward facing cannons. The crystal matrix might stand up to the strongest hurricanes across the majority of Earth’s colonies. Auto turrets were a different beast.

           
The glass shatter, fell like reflective hail. Explosive fires illuminated the towers from inside, causing any surviving windows to blow out.

           
There was nothing quite like seeing that sheer destruction being hurled at the city.

           
None of the noise made it into the main tower. It was odd seeing all of that firepower being used and silently watching it. Knowing that people were dying in droves but you could hear none of their anguish.

           
Mark turned to reading updates on the net.