Star Crusades by Michael Thomas (whitelam books txt) 📗

is like something from a dream,” she said in stunneddisbelief.

They were moving through a canyon of rocky mountain, and it wasas jagged as the teeth of some ancient dragon. The edges caught thelight and glistened as they reflected whatever was shone upon them.There was no fixed colour, but a constantly changing shift betweenclear diamond and dull red, depending on the angle she looked atthe mountains.

“It really is made from diamond.”

“Elevenhundred metres to the cavern,” said Lieutenant Sterling, “And we’vegot company.”

Valentine rotated her gun and swivelled it to the right asthreat indicators activated. She knew they were close, but it washard to tell in the strange world of glistening mountains, deeptunnels, and wisps of fog that hung over much of thesurface.

“Got them!” Hawkins said,“Below and coming fast.”

Valentine tracked her gun into the sameposition and then spotted them.

“I see them. Six hostiles, looks likeSki’ligs.”

“Good eyes, Hawkins.”

“Do we fire?”

“Not yet,” said Sergeant Jablonsky, and before the Lieutenant couldanswer, “Our rules of engagement are clear. We can fire upon anyconfirmed threat.”

“Sergeant!” Lieutenant Fletcher snapped back, “Those are Ski’ligs. Openfire!”

Hawkins almost fired, but henoticed Valentine was waiting. Then something flickered in thelight, followed by multiple hardened spikes that burst through thedamaged skin of the spacecraft. Oneglanced off Valentine’s shoulder armour, leaving hercursing.

“Okay,” said Hawkins,“That looks hostile to me. Openingfire!”

Unlike the standardJackal, the upgraded AD-72 was theSpecial Forces variant of the venerable D-72. Though the same size,much of the internal space had been removed and replaced withthicker and more durable armour. The loading spaces had been openedfor faster egress of Novas and other heavily armoured warriors. Butperhaps the most noticeable change was the two blister turretsfitted one each side of the loading doors. Now the passengers couldtake the fight to the enemy as they headed into battle.

“Firing!” Valentine said.

The single squad barrel of theXHEC cannon swung into position as she took aim. Itwas the exact same weapon she fitted to hershoulder, and perfectly suited for ripping apart armoured warriorslike the Ski’ligs. Streaks of green light blasted away as she firedshort bursts at them.

“Yeah!” Hawkins said as one exploded in a flash of light, while asecond tumbled away, “Val, on your six!”

Valentinebrought her gun back just as a Ski’ligwarrior tried to land on the dropship. It managed to place one handon the hull as she opened fire. At this range the weapon explodedthe creature, scattering its remains into the deep chasm ofrazor-sharp diamond rock.

“Hold on!” Lieutenant Sterling shouted, “We’re entering thechasm.”

The dropship pulled up andswung into what looked like a massivemouth cut into the side of the cliffs. It was so wide, Valentinecouldn’t even make out the side to her right, and the entrance tothe massive cavern dropped down at a steep angle.

“Wow! Where are all…”

Then a glint of colour betrayedpositions on the surface. She used theweapon’s enhanced optics to get a better look, but as it zoomed in,she could see an array of tunnel entrances and people. To hersurprise they didn’t all seem to be Ski’ligs, or at least not onesshe recognised. But then a handful of armoured shapes moved outinto the open and began firing at the dropship. She could seetunnel after tunnel with more openings by the moment. It remindedher of some great termite mound, with a limitless number ofcreatures hiding inside.

“Uh, there’s something going ondown…”

She swung the gun around and opened fire, sending bolts ofenergy right at them. The diamond rock exploded like glass, sendingrazor-sharp spikes in all directions. Shot after shot hit home,quickly scattering those that dared to return fire. They quicklywent into the chasm, and Valentine could see other Jackals nowmoving in with them. The nearest were the heavily armoureddropships of the Novas, and right behind them came nearly identicalcraft carrying entire platoons of IAB marines. Seeing them sweepingin, with their forward turrets blasting away reminded her of herearly days.

I so wanted to be an IAB marine.

Ski’ligs swarmed around them, using their speed and agility tocircle around like bugs, all while blasting away with theirweapons. Streaks of fire from the dropships cut them from the sky,but not before more arrived. One fell and hit the front of aJackal, and then rolled away and plummeted to the ground. Valentinewatched the flailing warrior as it struggled to survive beforelanding on a series of serrated rocks. The body split apart like apiece of overripe fruit being thrown at a wall. She looked away inhorror and found Lieutenant Fletcher looking right back ather.

“This is just the beginning, Lance Corporal,” he said happily, “This isthe first day of the end of their lives. Now…keepfiring.”

She focused on her weapon andlooked for hostile targets. There werestill many people on the ground, though most were entering smallertunnels to escape the fighting. As her gaze moved to the left, shecould see a series of heavily constructed emplacements, eachhanging from the ceiling and bigger than a navy cutter. Below themwere cylindrical pillars that curved back into the diamond itself.The batteries were fitted with a pair of massive cannons, with eachbarrel surrounded by glowing rings as they built up energy to fire.Once they unleashed an energy blast, the entire cavern turnedred.

“I’ve never seen anything likethis.”

She looked over her shoulder, and Texhad already calculated potential targets.

This shaft is at anangle of forty degrees and gives the defensive weapons protection from direct verticalbombardment. It also gives them a clear line of sight out of thetrench, and up into low orbit.

Valentine was about to ask himsomething when a cloud of dark shapes dropped down from holes inthe upper surface of the cavern. Herfirst guess was that some of the structure was breaking away, butthen some of the shapes rushed past her peripheralvision.

Tex, what was that?

Valentine tracked to the right, but theshapes were gone.

Objects moving aboveus, and they areclose.

Valentine stopped as somethinghit the top of the spacecraft. The craftshook as the pilot used the forward guns, but she could tellsomething was on top of them. A crack appeared in the upper armour,and then a flash of light as a denotation charge blew an opening inthe Jackal. One Nova blasted away, and the shapevanished.

“What’s going on?”Alexis asked.

Valentine