War of the Exiles Page 27

"Yeah," agreed Khan, but his voice dripped with sarcasm.

  Cheers ran along the wall and out to the forward trench and bastion. Khan lifted his arm as the excitement spread like wildfire among them all. The Iron brothers looked back from their new position at the bastion, along with two-dozen Blood Pack warriors, and hundreds of Exiles and Red Scar warriors.

  "That is one beautiful sight," said Khan.

  The eight Jackal MK II Assault Dropships came in almost vertically; with their engines directed backwards and upper missile mounts fully extended. They unleashed dozens of laser-guided rockets to the formations on the ground. There was no sound at first, just scores of flashes off into the distance as they hit one target after another. Then came the sounds of explosions and the hammering of the pair of gun turrets.

  "I knew those would come in handy at some point."

  Kanjana shook her head in amazement.

  "You think you'll get away with this?"

  Spartan tried to come up with an amusing comeback but was distracted by an urgent notification appearing inside his visor. He accepted, and an image of Arana appeared.

  "Good work on the air cover. I've signalled for Gun to get them back on board fast. The less time they spend here, the less chance they have of being identified."

  "Yeah, good plan. What's up?"

  Another ripple of explosions filled the horizon, one yellow right where the siege guns had been positioned. Spartan wanted to shout out the good news, but it seemed everybody already knew what had happened.

  "Look, Spartan. We've got a problem. The breach at section four has widened. It's big enough to march a full company through. I've got a squad of Exiles working on it, but its going to need at least three hours to get something even close to workable."

  Spartan began to answer, and then stopped as he watched a single shell begin its descent from its high apex. He'd missed the launch of this one. It must have been fired just seconds before the air attack started. The shell came down at high speed and aligned perfectly with the previous impacts.

  Not good.

  The shell came in low, with its rocket motor firing one last time to give it a final boost in speed and hitting power. It hit just inside the breached section of wall. Five minutes earlier the area was nothing but wall, but now it was filled with groups of Exiles and Byotai settlers, working shoulder-to-shoulder to fix the damage. The group of exhausted individuals slaved away atop the five-metre high mound of rubble. It was all that remained of this section and served as a large ramp that led inside Melantias.

  Here is comes.

  The entire area vanished in a white flash and for a brief moment blocked his vision. It was an automatic defence mechanism, and part of the shielding system built into the lenses on his armour, much like a welding helmet. As the light subsided, his vision returned, and the view of the carnage became clearer.

  "No."

  Spartan leaned over the top of the wall and looked out at the breach. It was even larger now, but much worse was that the entire area was covered with a white, noxious cloud.

  "White phosphorous. That is barbaric," said Khan.

  The powdery smoke covered an area hundreds of metres in all directions. Burning hot, it was incapable of causing much damage to the walls, but it did cover clothing, armour, weapons, and flesh in a burning material. The smoke filled lungs and blinded any exposed to the material. Dozens of workers staggered about, some covered in the white, burning powder and screaming in agony.

  "Listen," said Spartan.

  Far off into the distance, yet not as far as Spartan would have liked was the sound of cheering. The chorus echoed like a sports crowd calling on their favourite team. With each shout, the sound became louder and angrier. Khan crashed his fists together and then checked his Thumper. He reached forward and grabbed both Spartan and Kanjana with one arm, pulling them close to his chest. Spartan was silent, but Kanjana let out a grown from the squeeze. He then released them and lifted his weapon to his shoulder.

  "It's time, my friend. This will be a fight to remember. Make sure Olik is with the rearguard."

  Khan nodded.

  "He is, and the Iron brothers are commanding the volunteers in the primary bastion. They will hold as long as possible and then withdraw through the sally ports."

  Spartan felt his throat go dry at the mention of the primary bastion. It was a strong position, but he had no doubt that it would fall and anybody left inside killed. Escape would require careful timing and coordination.

  Spartan activated the command network on the Secgrid.

  "This is Spartan. The wall is breached, and they are coming for us. Stay at your posts and hold your ground. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to flee. Only battle, and victory can save us now. We can do this, if we work together."

  That was as much as he intended on saying, but Khan gave him a disappointed look. Spartan shook his head and reactivated the communications unit.

  "For Melantias!"

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The violence occurring in the Tenth Quadrant meant very little to the men and women of the Alliance. The bulk of the population lived on the other side of the galaxy, far away from the alien worlds and their troubles. Even the Great Biomech War had thankfully occurred away from the core worlds of the Alliance. Was it so surprising then that when both the Byotai and Anicinàbe fought for this region, many in the Alliance wanted to wash their hands of the problem?

  Orion – The Future?

  South of Melantias, Stone Teeth Hills, Karnak

  The two groups of aircraft at first appeared to be well matched, and Nakoma bit her tongue with the anticipation of the kill. Blood ran freely in her mouth, and she let a few drips run down her chin. The new arrivals had come in fast and performed a substantial amount of damage before turning away to the West.

  "Hunt them down. Do not let them escape!"

  The fifteen Abn'dak dropships moved away from escorting the great airborne force of Spires warriors and towards the snub-nosed vessels. The Abn'daks were fast, agile, and perfectly suited to low-level dog fighting, whereas the new arrivals were large and cumbersome. Even so, as the Abn'daks gave pursuit, the unidentified spacecraft activated their launch engines and manoeuvred into a high-angle ascent, ready to move up into orbit.

  Nakoma shook her head angrily as she watched the group of eight unidentified gunships climb up to rejoin their ships. Her lip quivered with anger as her own fighters struggled to chase them and failed. Several fired missiles, but even they could not match the acceleration of the four-engined spacecraft.

  Fools. How could they let this happen?

  The craft shuddered, and she was forced to grip even more tightly as her Ma'heen armoured gunship and its escort broke away from the main group, sweeping in low over the advancing Anicinàbe forces. She glanced back and smiled to herself at the great fleet of aircraft she'd assembled. There were scores of Abn'dak dropships and a dozen of the much larger Ma'heen armoured gunships.

  They are still too late. The wall is breached, and the clans will break their way inside. When the time is right, I will strike.

  The dust cloud was beginning to thin out, and Nakoma had the perfect view of the attack. Her interest was on the distant grey line that was the Byotai Wall around the Southern side of Melantias. It moulded itself in and around the rocky outcrops and cliffs running along the sides of the hills. More, taller hills protected the other three sides, making the only feasible area to strike on this one front. Smoke rose all round it, and its entire length was engulfed in the small flashes of small arms.

  Good, very good.

  She looked off to the left where the combined forces of the two newly arrived clans were assembled and moving at great speed. They had little in common with her Spires in terms of equipment and tactics, but at least they seemed to have the right idea. The Zuni were moving inside their armoured transports; large, multi-wheeled machines that carried a full company at a time. At their flanks were the massed soldiers and creatures of the Zuni
clan.

  That is...not quite what I expected.

  She had seen the use of these ancient beasts by the Red Scars but never witnessed such great herds of the things. They varied in size, some ridden and others moving of their own accord. Tahkeome had originally arranged for the four clans to move to Karnak to secure the planet, and though she'd rather have done it alone, she now felt a little satisfaction at being given overall command to such a horde. Nakoma grabbed the communicator and called out to her assembled warriors below.

  "Unleash all remaining ordnance!"

  Every single short and medium range gun the Zuni had brought opened fire, many using up their last few rounds of ammunition. The sky turned to fire as hundreds perhaps thousands of rounds came down, almost scattering the defences on the broken wall. When the last of the bombardment was over, Nakoma began to laugh, enjoying the scene of fire and smoke more than she ever thought possible. She connected to her own clan first.

  "Move to the holding area and await my command."

  She then contacted the sub commanders of the Zuni and Kolchan clans.

  "Commence the assault. Do not stop until the city burns."

  That thought made her body tingle. Knowing the last Byotai fortress was minutes from defeat sent spasms of pleasure through her body.

  Melantias will be mine, and so will Karnak.

  "Leave none alive!"

  * * *

  Kanjana ducked down, but even her great speed was not enough to stop the hardened spike from striking her left shoulder. The metal buckled and then glanced off, leaving a deep scar in the plating and Thegn armour. She staggered backwards, managing to right herself just in time to watch three more strike Khan. Spartan had twisted behind one of the remaining stone barricades and avoided the worst of it.

  "You okay?" Khan asked.

  Kanjana nodded, and then moved to the broken crenulations and took aim with her C1 Carbine.

  "Right! This is getting irritating."

  Kanjana opened fire with three shots in quick succession. Spartan glanced downwards. A marksman was blown backwards from a vehicle and landed flat on his back in the dust.

  "Nice shooting."

  From here the three of them had the perfect few as the first major assault began. The mounted troops of the Kolchan clan, as well as their hordes of beasts ran through the channels created between the bastions. They moved quickly and blasted away at any defenders caught out in the open or in the last line of trenches.

  "Khan, the hidden trenches, you finished them, right?"

  There was no time for an answer, and Spartan watched in silence as the first wave made it to within a hundred metres of the trench, where dozens of Byotai and Red Scar warriors waited. The great Sekieki beasts were fast, and the ground shook as they collapsed the hidden pits with their weight. Beneath them were carefully hidden mines and traps that entangled the beasts and then activated. Dozens were killed, but many more survived, albeit badly wounded and enraged. Those that made it through crashed into the trenches, and their passengers leapt off, guns blazing and blade flashing.

  "Look," said Khan.

  Spartan turned his attention off to the nearest bastion where the two brothers were commanding. Smoke covered three sides as they defended their position like soldiers in an old fort. A group of Kolchan beasts were climbing up the Southern slope, and facing them were a dozen Blood Pack, each blasting away and swinging clubs and blades.

  Spartan checked the overview map of the defences and tagged multiple reserve units to move to new broken sections of the wall. Both of them wanted to be on the ground, getting stuck into the pitched battle, but knew commanding the battle was more important right now. Khan, Spartan, and Arana had split command of the defences between them, and so far there were no major breaks in the line.

  "Arana, I need two squads of mercenaries to support the Iron brothers; they're getting hit hard to the South."

  "I'm on it."

  Spartan and Khan looked to each other, and Spartan almost relaxed for a moment.

  "So far so good."

  "Why did you say that?" Kanjana asked.

  Both looked to the West, the same direction as Kanjana. The sky was full of black shapes as at least a hundred Spires aircraft came in low and fast. Missiles launched upwards to greet them, but this was no minor assault. This was a full assault by air, and a dozen missile systems would not be enough to drive them away. Spartan ducked down and called out on the Secgrid network.

  "Incoming aircraft to the West. It's Nakoma and the Spires. Look to the sky!"

  Spartan placed a new power pack onto his carbine and activated the unit.

  "If she's here, then this is the high-water mark. We hold now, or this is all over."

  * * *

  Yunn and Reshal, known together as the Iron brothers, climbed to the top of the Southern rampart of the bastion. They were no more related than any of the other Blood Pack. They were armoured in the same fashion as the other Blood Pack, but for some reason known only to themselves bore extra plating on their torsos, making themselves look even bigger than the rest. It was the source of their name, but not even Spartan was sure the armour was necessary. The two always worked together, and it was now said they were the two bodies of the same man.

  Both brothers roared as they cut down the last of the Sekieki creatures. Four Blood Pack warriors lay shattered and torn apart, but they had done their job. A small number of Byotai remained, but the others were already streaming back towards the trench, and the safety offered by the sally ports in the base of the wall. Lieutenant Yunn fired a long burst from his Thumper and then looked off into the distance. A hundred metres away was a line of massive wheeled transports, moving slowly and grinding rock, dust, and bone beneath their wheels. Their front sections were heavily reinforced, and guns on the top cleared away anybody stupid enough to get close.

  "I don't like this," said Jax.

  The young member of the Blood Pack opened fire on the nearest vehicle, but his Thumper did little more than make loud banging sounds and leave scratch marks on its thick armour. It screeched to a halt as it reached the top of the Southern rampart of the bastion, and a ramp dropped down, hitting the top of the earthen defence with a crash.

  "Fall back to the trench!" Yunn called out.

  The interior of the vehicle flickered as scores of Jezzail rifles opened fired. Seven Byotai were cut down, as well as a single Blood Pack warrior who took five direct hits to the chest.

  "Back I said, move it!"

  Out surged hundreds of uniformed Zuni soldiers. Their gleaming breastplates and long flowing robes looked out of place here, yet they moved with professionalism rarely seen amongst the Anicinàbe. The rest of the bastion's defenders were running, leaving the last fifteen remaining Blood Pack. They moved backwards, walking slowly and taking their time to shoot the approaching enemy.

  "Watch your aim, bleed them, my brothers. Bleed them."

  The first wave of Zuni soldiers ran down the slope and right at the Blood Pack. On their own they would have been easily defeated, but six more of the vehicles did the same and deposited their own full companies down into the bastion. At the same time, even more Kolchan riders rode around the bastions to cut them off at the rear.

  "Bring them down. They will encircle us!" Reshal yelled.

  A creature moved into view, and rather than shooting the animal, Reshal aimed at the rider. The first shot went wide, so he held down the trigger and raked the occupants, hitting them with at least a dozen large calibre armour piercing explosive rounds. As their lifeless corpses fell to the ground, the animal twisted about and charged directly at a group of Zuni soldiers. They scattered in panic as it ran them down. A cheer rang out among the small number of remaining defenders.

  "That's more like it!" said Yunn.

  He then took aim and continued to shoot.

  "Now drive them back!"

  * * *

  "Get the standard back up!" Spartan shouted.

  Khan grabbed the
broken piece of metal and lifted it up high so that the defenders on the wall, and those out fighting at the front could see it. Khan then found a crack in the wall and jammed the pole into the gap.

  "There."

  From the wall, Spartan could see what was happening below. He had only just reached the last tower alongside the breached wall when the first aircraft arrived. This tower had been hit twice, and the roof and one part of the upper wall had collapsed, leaving it open to the elements. Spartan ducked low as the aircraft screeched overhead, not even stopping to fight. He took aim and opened fired, joining in with the hundreds of others who added fire to the constant sound of missiles being launched.

  Here it comes.

  Spartan braced himself for the bombs, but the Spires soldiers dropped down, using their packs to slow their descent. Some landed on the walls, and others came down on either side, but most landed South of the Wall and near the breach. It was little different to the attacks days earlier, except this time they were already busy fighting those outside the wall. Seven landed right next to him and Khan. They both waded in; firing at every target they could see.

  "Just like old times," said Khan.

  He kicked one of the clan soldiers off the wall and laughed as the unfortunate fighter screamed until hitting the solid ground below. Off into the distance, and on the other side of the breach was Olik and five Blood Pack. Part of the wall had half collapsed, and they were at the crest, holding back a wave of soldiers with their bare hands. Explosions filled the skyline in every direction as the enemy descended upon the defences, even as shorter-ranged artillery sent shells indiscriminately between attacker and defender alike. A great howl filled the area, and Spartan felt as though he was in space. He reached for Khan, and then he hit the rocky ground with a thud, and his visor went dark.

  * * *

  Missiles and rockets whistled overhead and crashed against the thick wall, or along the line of broken barricades being hastily pushed into position along its peak. At the same time a great wave of gunfire erupted from both the top of the wall, as well as the hundreds of lower positions where work teams had recently been slaving away. Hundreds of Anicinàbe lay dead in the open ground around the trench; Kolchan, Zuni, and Red Scars scattered together.