Star Crusades Nexus: Book 03 - Heroes of Helios (27 page)

Stay calm, get out, and find the others,
she said to herself.

As she glanced about from her position of modest cover, she spotted the Zathee off in the shadows waving to her. At least she assumed they were Zathee. Unlike the Helions, they wore brown and gray clothing that looked more like homespun material. Most had scarves or other material wrapped around their heads, but the most obvious difference was that they all looked poor and out of place next to the richness of the Helions.

What do they want?

Her second magazine slipped in easily. It was a movement she could perform without looking after years of practice and experience. She then lifted the weapon, holding it with both hands for a stable platform, and saw Vigilis and the others running across the opening from their cover back to a line of newly arrived wheeled vehicles. In the distance, a number of the small flyers were moving about, their objective far from obvious. The defenders of the habitation block were doing well, at least for now, in protecting their area.

“Okay, then, what now?” she said, as if expecting somebody to answer.

Then she remembered her secpad. She had been able to reach the spire and the marines not that long ago. Perhaps now that she was away from the Helion vehicles, she would be able to reestablish communications with them. In a single fluid movement, it was out and in front of her face. As expected, the signal was completely jammed, but it didn’t stop her activating the recording mode. It would continue running like this for over an hour, recording full area video and sound. The Zathee was still trying to get her attention, and as more thermal rounds struck the fallen trade stand, she burst from cover.

“Stop!” cried a Helion officer.

For just a second, Teresa thought it was the same Helion that had turned on her, but his face was even gaunter than Vigilis. Unlike the commander, he carried a long rifle in his arms, much like the other Animosh.

Must be a junior officer. He will do for starters.

He was dressed the same as Vigilis in every other respect and was flanked by a single Animosh warrior carrying the same kind of weapon. He was in the perfect position to shoot at her. She squeezed the trigger, but before she could fire, a hole the size of her fist appeared in his chest. He staggered back, revealing a pair of Zathee who were shooting from a kneeling position. Several oversized figures moved in the shadows, and then she saw Wictred trying to move as discreetly as possible into a large foyer area and to a massive staircase that went below ground level.

Wictred? Jack might be with him.

That was all the signal she needed to keep moving. Her marine training and natural agility helped her rush across the open ground in full view of the Helion security forces. Some tried to shoot at her, but she ignored them and surged forward, relying on her speed and the defensive fire from the Zathee. By the time she’d reached the first of the steps, Wictred was long gone. Teresa slid along the ground and knelt down behind a black stone pillar that marked the corner of the immense staircase. Shouts from above heralded yet more Zathee. They ran down and directly into the gun line of the Animosh

Brave, but they don’t have clue,
she thought.

Teresa closed her eyes for just a moment as she tried to take it all in. It was clear to her now that the Helions were far from their friends. They must have been behind the crashing of ANS Conqueror, whereas the Zathee inhabitants of this city block had done nothing but avoid her or even help.

“Major Morato?” a familiar voice called out from the bottom of the staircase.

She glanced around the column and saw Wictred and a dozen other people heading in the darkness. There were others of a similar height to him, but she only recognized the young warrior and friend of her son’s. He looked away, and for a second she thought he hadn’t seen her, but then another marine appeared and looked up at her.

“Jack?” she said both to herself and those on the stairs.

Her son immediately recognized her and started to go back but was halted by Wictred. They spoke for a short time, and then Jack shouted up to her.

“Get down here. We’re heading for the shuttle!”

The group continued downward with only Jack remaining and waiting for her. She didn’t pause and moved out to follow him. She only made it two steps when a searing pain burned through her shoulder. She tried to steady herself, but it was too little, too late. With a howl of pain, she slipped and fell onto the hard steps. Teresa didn’t move far before sliding to a stop. She lay on her back, trying to move, but the burning sensation completely paralyzed the upper part of her body. Teresa shook her head and found Jack looking down at her. He grabbed her left arm and lifted her up to his shoulder. The pain was excruciating, but he was strong enough to move her. They made it another ten steps before he was forced to stop and try to alter his grip. As he moved his hands, she cried out.

“What happened?” she asked in a brief moment of calm before it kicked in again.

“Salene screwed us. The Ambassador’s daughter killed the leader of the rebels.”

They stumbled on a step, and Jack leaned to his right, swinging his carbine up with one hand to fire a burst. It shook violently, and only his firm grip and the strong sling kept it from hitting the sidewall. A thermal round melted into the stonework behind them, but Jack’s return fire seemed to keep them at bay, at least for a few more seconds.

“Right, keep going.”

They moved on down the wide steps, as Jack tried to explain as quickly as he could.

“She turned on them and us. This was never about helping the rebels. The Helions are using us to join them in a final war against the rebels.”

“War?” said Teresa, her voice now becoming weaker.

“Yes,” answered Wictred, “they have done it before against their own people. They plan to use us to assist in genocide, all because we will believe the Zathee murdered our people.”

Wictred pulled the device they had taken from the rebel leader and waved it in front of her. The blue ring pulsed with concealed energy and caught her attention, but she closed her eyes. Jack shook her, and they opened, though much more slowly this time.

“Hang in there. We’re going with the rebels to use this.”

Teresa looked at the object but had no idea what it was.

“To do what?”

Wictred grinned.

“This will bring down their security system and send out a signal to the rebels that the uprising has begun.”

Teresa shook her head, trying to absorb this new information.

“You want to help them in a war?”

Jack leaned closer to her.

“They know a war with the Biomechs is coming. If we help them, they will join us. They have billions of people…including synthetics like Wictred.”

Teresa looked at Wictred and laughed.

“Like Wictred? What, you mean they have Jötnar?”

A surge of pain shook her body, and she passed out once more. Teresa tried to understand exactly what he was saying, but the pangs of agony from the wound continued to wrack her body. It was unlike any injury she’d ever faced before, and the pain seemed to increase over time. Jack shifted her bodyweight, but Wictred leaned in and took most of her weight. Between them, they were easily able to continue further underground and into a wide open landing bay. The ceiling was nearly ten meters above them, but the entire floor was given over to over a dozen vehicles. Half were ground transports, but there were also four streamlined aircraft. Each was the size of an Alliance heavy bomber yet shaped more like a bird of prey. The group of rebels ran for the nearest where a pair of Zathee were busy disconnecting cables and pipes. The synthetic grunted and beckoned for them to follow him.

“I think that means ‘come with me’!” laughed Wictred.

“You don’t say,” replied Jack laconically.

They covered the ground quickly, and more Zathee moved from hidden places to hold off the Animosh from reaching the underground level. Teresa tried to stand, but whatever the weapon they had used was, it had a debilitating effect on her system. It took all her effort to open her eyes, let alone speak. She gripped Jack tightly.

“We have people at the spire. They are trying to reach the fleet.”

Jack looked at her, and fear reached his eyes as he watched his mother suffering.

“Jack, listen to me. Lieutenant Rossen and her team are there. Help them…”

That was all she could manage before finally passing out completely. Jack wanted to stop, but Wictred pulled Teresa and therefore him along to the craft. The side door opened, and the synthetics helped drag them in. An older looking Helion smiled as they dropped down inside. He wore the uniform of the Animosh, yet carried a bandolier across his body.

“What now?”

The Helion tapped a device on his arm and held it to his mouth. As he spoke, it translated into a machinelike voice, very much like the technology used by the T’Kari.

“We need to place the breacher into the communications grid.”

Wictred listened intently, but Jack was more interested in checking the wound his mother had received. She wore a basic armored gorget under her tunic, but her torso and upper arms were unprotected. With a slash from his issue bayonet, he ripped open the fabric at her shoulder to reveal a hideous looking wound. The impact area was no bigger than his thumb, but a blue web expanded around it like diseased veins. The Helion saw it also and leaned in. His robotic voice explained in a poor but simple translation.

“Animosh thermal weapon, always fatal.”

Jack shook his head angrily.

“No, we will fix this. Now, what about this spire she spoke of?”

The Helion seemed less interested, and instead, spoke to the pilot further inside the craft. The floor shook, and they were airborne and rushing out from their underground hiding place and into the fog ridden sky of Helios. No sooner had they left, and a half dozen Animosh Watchers chased after them on their ducted fan bikes. Wictred could see the fear in Jack’s face and reached out to grab the Helion about the throat. The two synthetics on board watched him but did nothing to intervene, as if they somehow understood what it was he was doing.

“The spire, where is it?”

The Helion spluttered but couldn’t speak without the device. One of the synthetics moved closer, moving his fist close to Wictred. For a second it looked like there might be a fight, but he grabbed the translator and held it up to the Helion.

“The spire…yes, it is that way.”

He pointed while shaking from the pain. Wictred used his left hand to pull open the side door. A gust of warm air rushed inside and blew dust in their faces. He pulled on the Helion until he was near the edge.

“You can worry about your device later. First, take us to the spire.”

The Helion hesitated, so Wictred pushed his head out of the side.

“Or you go out of the door. Decide now!”

“Wait, wait…” spluttered the man, though the robotic translator took much of the emotion from his voice, “The spire can be used. It is part of our communication network.”

“Good,” said Wictred, pushing the Helion back into his place, “take us there, now!”

He looked to the pilot and spoke quickly in his own language. The pilot seemed to argue for a moment but finally gave in. The craft banked hard to the left and accelerated with a roar. With the change of direction, the two of them could see the approaching Animosh from the left windows.

“Dammit, they’re close,” muttered Wictred.

It was almost as though the watchers had been listening. Flashes rippled around them as the lead riders opened fire on the shuttle. A dozen thermal rounds struck the metal framing of the craft, and it buffeted and shook from the impact. A stream of black smoke ran from one of the angular wings, and they dropped into a dive.

“Faster!” shouted Wictred.

More rounds blasted the craft, and they were quickly forced down to a height of just over a hundred meters from the ground. At that height, they needed to dodge in and out of the buildings that littered the surface of the Zathee district. The two synthetics moved to the right of the craft and pulled a series of levers. A metal layer slid to the right, revealing a cupola mount. Once done, the first moved to the other side of the craft and stumbled until finally reaching it. A quick tug on the matching lever revealed an identical cupola on the left. He looked at Jack and grunted. Wictred looked at him and then to the cupola.