The Great Betrayal (21 page)

“I’ve seen the information sent over by your tactical officer; this is worrying, very worrying. You might be surprised to find it is exactly what we expected to happen, though. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Rivers has already suggested to me that the military government on Helios might look outside for support. Even so, if this flotilla is in fact a mercenary force, it will be more overt than I would have expected. It could destabilize the entire situation for us, and that is something we cannot afford.”

Admiral Lewis looked at the data while wiping his brow. His position was a difficult one. The Alliance had already moved troops down to assist the civilian population, but on the understanding that it would allow the Zathee to end the military takeover of the planet and the reprisals against civilian areas. The arrival of mercenaries would cause a seismic shift on the planet.

“The Khreenk have a long history, it would seem, of providing equipment and military services for those who will pay.”

A series of images from Alliance files appeared around him, each outlining important information from the T’Kari and Alliance archives. Admiral Lewis noticed one describing an incident with a moon dispute between the Khreenk and T’Kari. It showed that a Khreenk trader had supplied arms and even mercenaries to fight on behalf of the T’Kari. Admiral Lewis shook his head at this piece of information. He looked to the next room where the marine officers were busy conducting the ground operations. They had their hands full already in trying to provide support to the Zathee. The arrival of mercenaries was something General Daniels would not be happy about.

“My orders for this sector are clear, Admiral,” said Anderson.

Admiral Lewis knew immediately that he had something significant to say.

“Helios cannot fall under the control of a military dictatorship with a population waiting to revolt. The planet must be stabilized, and a representative system of government returned to power. The President has been in discussion with the Joint Chiefs for the last three days about this. There was to be an announcement in a week, but your report is going to accelerate the process. You’re the first to know.”

Here is comes,
he inhaled slowly, waiting for the ticking time bomb.

“This comes right from the top; it follows negotiations with the Helion government in exile, specifically the Helion called Naglou, one of the officials your forces helped rescue has been sending us daily messages. Now that he is under our protection, we’ve been able to firm up an agreement, one that will see them support Naglou and his council of representatives.”

He nodded as he reached the last part.

“That’s right; we’re throwing in our lot with them, the whole deal, military, economic, and political. Helios and the Alliance are forming a permanent bond as allies.”

He wasn’t so much surprised at the idea of support, but the alliance with them during this crisis was unexpected.

By throwing the entire weight of the Alliance military onto one side, it risks provoking the other Powers. I just hope they won’t take advantage of that.

“We are making an official announcement to the other Powers in the next six hours that Helios is under the protection of the Alliance. We will assist the legal government to restore authority on the planet and their colonies. As of now, the Centauri-Helion treaty grants us authority to use all and any means to keep the planet secure.”

Admiral Lewis’ brow became a furrow as he listened to the last part. Finally, Anderson finished speaking, and he was able to ask his most pressing of questions.

“Your rules of engagement are to revert to Alliance territorial rules. All of Helios space under the terms of the treaty is to have its sovereignty protected by Helios and the Alliance.”

Anderson smiled in that wicked way that immediately gave away his intentions.

You planned this from the start, didn’t you? That’s why I have my ships and a marine regiment in Helion space.

* * *

“Artillery, get down!”

The sound was almost as loud as the gunfire from the rebels who manned the majority of the outer defenses of the precinct. The voice of the marine in the next section of the precinct was loud enough that he could have been heard over the sound of the battle, but there was of course no need for him to do so, his voice carried over the data network used by every one of them in this part of the battle.

Here we go again,
Jack thought.

First one round came down outside the building and then another. Two seconds later the first barrage struck like heavy rain. It was the one weapon truly feared by the marines; the indiscriminate and indirect artillery fire that could kill a man without them even knowing it was coming. No matter where you took cover, there was always a chance one of the shells would tear through the roof or a wall. The calm voice of their Captain spoke to them in their helmets.

“Animosh forces have surrounded us. The good news is the 17
^th
have landed and linked up with the rebels. Even as we fight here, Colonel Koerner is bringing in reinforcements on the ground captured by the 17
^th
. We have marines in the transport hub, and they are still fighting in there.”

Jack winced as a dozen more rounds crashed into the precinct. Half of them exploded uselessly outside, but the rest slammed into the walls and towers. A hole appeared off to the left that was large enough for two men to fit through. Another shell landed nearby that shook the walls and widened the hole even more.

“Defend the breach,” snarled Sergeant Stone.

Within a few seconds, a trio of Animosh fighters burst in through the breach. Quite what they expected to achieve was anybody’s guess. A dozen rounds from the defending marines killed the first two. The third was hit in the arm, and he staggered back outside, leaving behind the bodies of his dead comrades.

“They aren’t exactly Biomech shock troops, are they?” laughed Wictred from the middle of the tower’s ground level. He’d jumped down from his window to help secure the breach, but the gunfire had been more than enough.

“Watch the street, they are getting closer,” said Sergeant Stone.

Jack returned his attention to his small window and followed the dark shapes of the Animosh. They were well equipped, trained, and even extremely disciplined, but Jack could see what Wictred meant. They were not used to dealing with a motivated foe, and marines were certainly that. The Animosh were more like the police security units on Alliance worlds. They might be very professional, but they were not expected to take casualties. The line of shields reappeared, and three groups of the Animosh were advancing one step at a time to the improvised barricades, now abandoned by the rebels. A warning tone beeped in his helmet, and his attention was drawn to the aerial overlay provided by the drones.

What’s going on?

At first he couldn’t see what the drones had spotted, and then as he zoomed out on his tactical map, he could see it. Colored shapes showed the convoys of Animosh vehicles as they thread their way across the multi-level highways and roads in the city. Almost all of them were making their way to the precinct. Another color showed even more movement, but he couldn’t see anything from the aerial view, just the artificial marker added by the computer targeting system of the drones.

“Good work, marines. We’re doing our job,” said Captain Carter over the audio channel, “Over fifty percent of the Animosh forces have withdrawn from their operations against the rebels and are coming this way. Keep at it.”

Then Jack spotted the movement outside. His line of sight was blocked, and it was only through the digital grid that his helmet could show him the outlines of the enemy. He counted over twenty of the paramilitaries and four more of those dreaded machines.

I thought they had less than a hundred to begin with?

“Sergeant, we’ve got hostiles. They’re coming this way!” he said, keeping his eye on them.

“Good eyes, I see ‘em!” said the Sergeant as he examined the data on his own helmet overlay.

“Okay, marines, you know what to do.”

A few had already opened fire but now the rest joined in, filling the street with a deadly hail of fire. Two of the machines used cover like the earlier attackers, but two more advanced forward, each raising a thick plate about the size of a man in front of them. Jack recalled the images of ancient mantlets being used in medieval battles on Earth. He took aim and fired a high-power blast. The triple-round slammed into the armor, and the machine shuddered; yet it failed to penetrate.

Not good!

Jack looked over his shoulder.

“Sarge, we’ve got trouble. They’re outside the tower!”

None of this came as much of a surprise to the seasoned marine. He had already brought his reserves to form a double line of marines. The front rank knelt, and the second closed up behind them. The end result was a formation resembled a Napoleonic regiment armed with muskets. Wictred stood to their right with his arm pointing at the outer wall and the gun loaded and ready.

“Wait till they are inside,” he said slowly.

Next to the other marines, Wictred looked almost super-human. Even so, it was a modest number of marines, and the sound of gunfire outside was getting louder. Half a dozen more marines from the Second Platoon ran into the tower, along with another corporal. They fanned out inside the tower and caught the attention of Sergeant Stone. Before he could speak, one of the Helion combat drones crashed through the thick stone wall. Dust and broken stone fell around it, and then it was inside the tower. Behind it came a group of Animosh fighters. The drone opened fire at close range, and one marine was cut down before even seeing what was going on.

“Bring it down!” shouted Wictred.

As one the marines opened fire, but the piece of siege equipment in the first machine’s arms deflected the fire. It moved on to expose the breach, allowing more inside. The second drone climbed through and aimed its main weapon. The heavy automatic gunfire ripped into the interior of the tower. Luckily, the marines were primarily on the outer wall itself and were spared the worst of the gunfire. Private Callahan, however, ended up in its sights and was forced to jump from his position on top of a broken table, barely in time to avoid being struck by the burst. Without saying a word, Wictred jumped forward to the machine and grabbed the armored shield. As the two beasts wrestled, the marines spread out, putting round after round into the newly arrived enemy. Excited by the moment, a pair of the rebels broke from cover and ran at the second machine, along with Vadi.

“No!” cried Jack.

It was too late, and the machine’s arms hacked the two rebels down before it took aim at Vadi. But unlike his comrades, he had seen battle before and was aware of the strength, speed, and accuracy of these combat drones. He ducked around it, jumped to the side, and then pulled past its arc of fire. The machine’s sensors tracked him, and it twisted around to shoot, exposing its back to the marines. Jack couldn’t tell if this was deliberate or simply a fortuitous moment.

This had better work!

He didn’t hesitate and took careful aim with his L52. The machine was moving, but because of Vadi had stopped its forward movement. It twisted about on its waist pivot point, trying to strike the synthetic Helion. Jack didn’t know the machine’s construction particularly well, but it was fair to assume the exposed power unit, cabling, and joints on the lighter armored rear were its most vulnerable parts. He sent a single high-power shot directly into the control stem. The blast struck below its armored helm and sent the magnetized projectiles into the heart of the machine. The impact was followed by a blue flash, and it dropped to its haunches, to all intents dead to the world; a lifeless metal statue with thin trails of smoke hissing out from the cracks in its back.

“Good shooting, Private!” Sergeant Stone congratulated him.

Wictred still hung onto the front of the combat drone to keep the machine with him. The struggle between the raw muscle of the armor-clad Wictred and the machine servos of the combat drone appeared to be evenly matched. A trickle of Animosh fighters ran in through the breach, but a single deadly volley from the new marines scattered them. They quickly retreated through the breach, leaving a number of dead and wounded. All that remained was Wictred and the shield-carrying machine.

“Stop playing with that thing and finish it!” barked Sergeant Stone.

The struggle wasn’t easy, and both were heavily marked from repeated impacts of metal on metal. Jack took aim once more, but the movement of the two stopped him. There was no chance of him firing if he might strike his friend. Sergeant Stone was having none of this though, and he ran out from the protective line of marines and to the side of the combat drone. It detected him and tried to strike with its left arm. He lurched back and fired three shots with his carbine into its thick armor.