machine to Booly, Santana turned to tell him as much. But the general and his aides were already on the run, with the globe-shaped vid cam in hot pursuit.
The essence of Booly’s plan was clear. If he could lead the camera away from the Warrior Queen, the Ramanthian ship would follow. But could he execute the move in time? The freighter had come much closer. Santana could see the flare of the vessel’s repellers, the dust they churned up, and flash after flash as missiles hit the already devastated hull.
Should he take the Queen and make a run for it? Or would that make the royal even more vulnerable? Santana was still thinking about the pros and cons as the wedge-shaped ship began to turn its nose away from the rise and toward Booly. Then, with increasing speed, the freighter entered a shallow dive and followed the signal in.
Booly looked up, saw the huge mass coming straight for him, and ordered his party to scatter. Then his thoughts turned to Maylo. Good-bye, dearest, good-bye… I’ll be waiting.
Then the ship was upon him, crushing all that he was under its unimaginable weight, as the freighter’s blunt nose began to plow its way across the Plain of Pain. Waves of dirt curled away from the bow as the hull slid for the better part of two miles before the ship finally came to rest. And, in addition to killing the Confederacy’s highest- ranking general, the spaceship obliterated two quads and more than a dozen T-2s. That opened a path that ran deep into the Confederacy’s ranks. A road to victory.
“Now!” the Queen shouted, as the freighter struck. “Follow it in.” The original plan had been compromised. She knew that. But the way was open, and that meant it was possible to salvage victory from the jaws of defeat. So with a company of Imperial Guards for support, and careless of the bullets that buzzed all around her, the Queen stood as the command car pursued a zigzagging course between smoking wrecks, groups of combatants, and occasional rock formations.
And then the command car was there, within sight of the bodies that lay in bloody drifts, and the defiant creature that stood on top of the rise. It produced a bloodcurdling chittering sound, sent a ball of coherent energy flying at the royal vehicle, and scored a hit. The impact sent the Queen and several members of her party tumbling out onto the ground.
Then the Queen was up and moving forward as the Kathong creature came out to meet her. And neither one of the royals were alone. A dozen animals were present to support the Warrior Queen and an equal number of Imperial Guards were gathered around the other royal as she and her standard-bearers advanced.
Vanderveen and her T-2 were right behind the Warrior Queen and moving forward when a Ramanthian rocket struck the center of Haskins’s chest and exploded. Owing to her position on the cyborg’s back, Vanderveen was sheltered from the blast. But as the cyborg fell over backwards, there was a very real possibility that she would be crushed under the T-2’s considerable weight.
So Vanderveen hit the quick-release button located at the center of her harness and threw herself sideways. The ground came up fast and knocked the wind out of her as the two groups of combatants came together. Projectiles kicked up geysers of dirt all around her as Vanderveen struggled to rise.
Then Dietrich was there, standing over her, firing a grenade launcher. More than half a dozen Ramanthian soldiers had circled around the center of the battle, hoping to attack the Warrior Queen from behind. Four of the charging Ramanthians were killed as Dietrich’s grenades exploded around them. But the noncom’s luck ran out as the two survivors emerged from the smoke. They were so close that he couldn’t employ the launcher. So Dietrich was in the process of reaching for his pistol when a bug, who was carrying a lance, thrust the needle-sharp weapon at him. The legionnaire produced a grunt as the spearpoint penetrated his armor, passed through his abdomen, and emerged on the other side with the bloodied pennant still attached. Then, having taken hold of the shaft with both hands, Dietrich fell.
Vanderveen was back on her feet by then, firing her carbine. Bugs came at her, and she fired. A hail of bullets took them down. One of them tried to rise, and she put another bullet through his visor.
As Vanderveen knelt next to Dietrich and pulled his helmet free, she saw that his eyes were open. They blinked rapidly as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. “So you’re alive,” he croaked. “That’s good. Real good. The major told me to make sure.”
“You were supposed to watch over him,” Vanderveen said gently. “But thank you.”
Dietrich forced a smile. “Sorry, ma’am… But I report to the major. Or I did. And I was honored to do so. You tell him…”
“Yes?”
There was no answer. Dietrich was gone.
Vanderveen stood, began to turn, and felt something strike her head. There was an explosion of pain, followed by a long fall into endless darkness.
18
For there among the fallen lie the best and the brightest, their blood forever comingled with our sacred sand and the sky a bove.
PLANET HIVE, THE RAMANTHIAN EMPIRE
As the bloodred sun began to set in the west, the Warrior Queen uttered a primal chittering sound and threw herself forward. It appeared to be an uneven match because the Kathong body was so large. But, because the usurper was wearing a suit of power-assisted armor, she was nearly as strong as a T-2. So as the two of them clashed, the outcome was anything but certain.
Santana’s platoon had suffered more than 50 percent casualties by that time, which meant there were only six T-2s and an equal number of bio bods left to guard the Warrior Queen as two dozen Imperial Guards sought to flank her. Having run out of ammo for his rifle, Santana fired his pistol into an enemy visor from less than four feet away. It shattered. But as the Guard fell away, the legionnaire felt an unexpected weight land on his back. A Ramanthian! The bugs could fly for short distances, and this individual had taken advantage of that.
Santana swore as the soldier managed to pull his helmet back and began to saw at his neck seal with a serrated knife blade. All he could do was bring the pistol up and fire blindly. Suddenly, the additional weight fell away. And not a moment too soon as more “fliers” landed on the Kathong-like body and began to attack it with high-speed power drills. It was a very savvy choice of weapons and one that suggested advanced planning.
Meanwhile, the Warrior Queen was using one set of electromechanical pincers to hold her rival in place while the other pair sought to throttle her. But the usurper brought both of her tool arms up, broke the chokehold, and delivered a very serviceable punch to the Warrior Queen’s face. Sparks flew as an eye was destroyed, and the cybernetic body lurched in response.
Having jumped from his T-2 onto the Warrior Queen’s back, Santana shot one of the fliers in the back. The Ramanthian jerked spastically and fell away as the other flier struggled to withdraw his drill bit. Santana aimed the pistol and fired. The bullet went wide as the Warrior Queen jerked away from a blow calculated to blind her remaining eye.
Once he’d freed the drill, the Ramanthian soldier shoved it forward. Santana felt a stab of pain as the spinning bit went through his armor and entered his flesh. Having shed his armor in order to save weight, the Ramanthian’s head was bare. So Santana snapped his head forward. There was a satisfying thud as the helmet made contact with chitin. As the trooper fell backwards, he took the drill with him. Santana fired again. That bullet flew true, passed through the trooper, and hit the Queen. She bucked both of them off. Santana hit the ground, felt a jolt of pain, and rolled away.
The Warrior Queen was dying. That was how it felt, and the readout on her HUD confirmed it. The drills had
