Beyond the Gates of Antares, page 28
“My thanks,” was all Kale said, keeping her eyes fixed on the area before her. Nothing moved.
“What do you make of this madness?” Be’uc probed.
“It is just that - madness,” she said forcefully.
The AI leader chuckled again. “That it is. Those are our orders all the same,” he said almost remorsefully. He lifted his head slightly, scanning the area ahead. “Mines?”
“No,” Kale said, noticing the undisturbed ground before them. “They’re content enough to shoot us to bits.”
Be’uc shrugged, his armor clanking as he moved his massive shoulders. “I’ve faced worse odds and lived. Remember the Huuj system?”
“The jungle,” Kale recalled, images of the humid tropical climate and the heavily defended Concord outpost both her and Be’uc had assaulted and taken. “I remember that was a close call.”
“No closer than this.” He sighed, and then reached out to pat her on the shoulder. “Good luck, Kale. We wait for your order.”
“Good luck, Be’uc. It’s been an honor.” The big Algoryn shuffled away, easing through debris clumsily in his hefty armor. Daesto approached Kale, her voice as low as always.
“It’s almost time for the attack. The other squads are in position.”
Kale nodded, drawing her attention back to the killing ground ahead. It was eerie, watching the still area, knowing that was where she would be spending the last seconds of her life in agony. “Are you afraid, Daesto?” Kale asked, her eyes still fixed on where she knew the enemy would be waiting.
“I’d be lying if I said no,” her second replied.
Kale smiled. “I wish I had longer to get to know you, Soldier.”
“Yes, Leader,” Daesto said flatly.
Kale nodded and readied her mag repeater. She lifted her hand, ready to signal.
The Boromite lines erupted with the sound of gunfire.
***
“Repeat order?” Vagar asked through the communication monitor in his helmet.
A unfamiliar yet authoritative voice hissed through his combat interface. “Ravens to engage Boromite position K, gridlock 82-9. Execute attack formation.”
“Our last orders were to await further instruction from the commander,” Fannra reminded Vagar.
The ebony clad Interceptor leader supposed that was true. “Our orders are to wait here,” he told the voice, “and not disrupt the attack on the Boromites.”
“Your orders come from the High Command. You are to scour that position and neutralize those mag launchers.”
“The High Command?” Vagar whispered, flattered that the masters of Algoryn strategy had contacted him. “Who is this?”
The voice sounded severely antagonized. “Does it matter who this is? Get in there now, that’s an order. Communications out.”
The interface crackled dead. Vagar attempted to re-open it, desperate to receive confirmation that the High Command had chosen him for such a task, but it remained unresponsive. Fannra was by his side.
“What should we do, Leader?” he asked. His squadron was around him too, waiting.
Vagar didn’t know what to do. Fantris had expressly ordered him to hold position until further notice. It was getting too close for his liking out there anyway, and Vagar was glad to keep his perfect squadron out of the line of fire. Yet that recent communication had provided new orders which came from High Command, which meant they would supersede Fantris’ orders. It was possible that the Algoryn Command had finally arrived and assumed control of the assault, yet Vagar did not wish to go against Fantris, who had praised him so highly. Praised and rewarded him for his heroism.
Yet… How much more would he be rewarded for his heroism by the High Commanders themselves…
“We follow our orders,” he addressed his squad. “Mount up. We’re going to join the attack.”
***
The Boromite line was in chaos. Kale watched the scene with awe. The enemy rose from their fortified position, scurrying about in disarray. Boromite brutes jerked and fell upon broken pavements and shattered walls, blood misting in the night air. Behind them, illuminating the dark with repeated fire, were Interceptor squadrons.
Among them, Kale noted, the Sky Ravens.
“How is that for a distraction?” a familiar voice crackled through her interface.
“Ghalris?” Kale responded.
“Yes, Leader. I heard you were in a bit of a tight spot so I did what I could to help.”
“You did this?” She looked at the devastation occurring before her and wondered that Ghalris was even capable of such things.
“In light of a thermal strike, it was all I could do,” he said. “I haven’t long, Leader, these channels aren’t the best.”
“Go,” she said. “And thank you Ghalris.”
His response was muted and lost as the monitor whirred and went dead.
“What now?” Daesto asked at Kale’s side, watching the scene unfold with uncertainty.
“What do you think? We attack.” Kale stood, up, raising her arm to signal the rest of her attack force. “Open fire,” she called out, “Forward!”
“About time,” Be’uc called behind her.
They charged, AI and Infiltrators screaming as they brought their weapons to bear on the Boromite lines. Kale felt alive, the sound of battle echoing around her. The Boromites were in disarray and she felt a rising sense of satisfaction as shots from her mag repeater felled a fleeing brute. To her left, Be’uc bellowed with joy, his x-slinger erupting with fragmentation bursts along the enemy lines. Some return fire came, and Kale felt her body shudder slightly as shots broke through her thin energy field and rattled down her light armor. She shook it off and pressed on, advancing with her new squad, whom she noted hugged cover and skirted forward dexterously. Daesto was ahead, sending sporadic bursts into the Boromite positions, keeping them pinned while the AI squads moved in to finish them off.
A bellow sounded to Kale’s right and a huge Boromite warrior shot out of cover, heading straight for their lines. Kale opened fire, her shots ineffective, bouncing off the Boromite’s shielding, nodes on the warriors back fizzling. The brute grabbed a hold of a nearby Algoryn and crushed his skull in his armor with one squeeze of a massive hand. The Boromite cast the corpse away, shrugging off more penetrating fire with his huge form before firing his own weapon, keeping those that tried to advance at bay. He was the biggest soldier Kale had ever seen, and despite her battle anger, she could admire his bravery.
Then, the Boromite disappeared in a shroud of fog. Kale halted, her vision straining through her visor as she attempted to discern what had happened. When the fog subsided she saw the Boromite had fallen, his arm severed from his now still form. Be’uc approached, his x-slinger smoking.
“That’s how it’s done, eh?”
Kale nodded and together they advanced, effective co-ordinated fire dispatching the last of the scattered enemy. Kale mounted the edge of the Boromite line, firing down on already dead bodies, her mind lost in the whirl of battle.
And in a brief moment it was all silent once more. Voices rattled through combat interfaces, filling the air with a cacophony of battle orders.
“The Boromites are falling back, the entire force is retreating. We’ve secured the city. The transmats are ours.”
Kale sighed, and slumped onto her knees, exhausted with exhilaration. Around her, more Algoryn advanced, relishing in dispatching their fleeing foes. Kale remained still, for now she could rest. The battle was over, and the Algoryn had won.
Yet her eyes strayed to the corpse of a nearby AI soldier, blood oozing from an open wound in his back. The battle was done, she knew, but the fighting would never stop. There would always be war.
She rose to her feet, hefting her weapon to her shoulder and moved out, because war was what she was made for.
War was where she belonged.
* * *
[1] 1 yan (1y) = approximately 5m
Bancroft, Tim; Rospond, Brandon;, Beyond the Gates of Antares
