Perfect.
'Our right flank is in trouble,' Corporal Brewer warned.
Trevor raced across the top floor of the main house. He felt a shudder from somewhere below, the result of missiles and shells pounding his command post.
From the south-facing window he saw the remains of a back yard complete with some kind of rock garden and patio. In that split second he thought of how much he had in common with the people of this Earth.
They had summer cookouts, too.
Further up the hill, four Golems and a half-dozen enemy infantry approached the cottage. The Geryon foot soldiers tightened their formation, using the metal bodies of the robots as cover the way Trevor’s home world soldiers might huddle behind tanks.
'First squad, you copy? Answer me, first squad! Use your grenades. Aim for the enemy infantry, forget about the Golems. Hit the infantry.'
Despite heavy suppression fire from the Geryon machines, first squad soldiers bravely broke from cover long enough to lob grenades at their enemy. Trevor heard a scream above the rip of bullets and the clap of explosions; someone paid a price for their courage.
The first grenade fell far short of the enemy, its deadly shrapnel wasted on open air.
The second hit in front of a Golem which merely stutter-stepped from the concussion.
A third exploded in a halo of carnage encompassing a Golem and two foot soldiers, barely scratching the paint on the former but tearing into the latter. Instead of dying immediately, the two Geryon infantrymen writhed on the cold ground crying in their alien language as blue-red blood streamed from sliced veins.
This bought more time for both the cottage's defenders and the entire line…
…Reverend Johnny bolted into the open with his machine gun blasting away. His shots killed one of the humanoid sentries instantly. The other dropped to the ground in search of cover.
Bullets bouncing off its metal exoskeleton, the Golem targeted the pesky intruder. Somewhere high above in the confines of the air ship the Golem's 'driver' watched a video feed and moved a joystick to take aim.
As the mechanical creature reacted to its operator's inputs and lined up a shot on Reverend Johnny, Nina took advantage of the diversion, raced in behind the remote-controlled machine, and deposited an explosive charge among the gears and servos of the beast.
Muffled among the metallic innards, the explosion sounded in a soft pop that belied its power. Gears, wires, and chunks of armor flew away, nearly catching Major Forest in her retreat.
A secondary explosion announced the breech of the Golem's ammunition cache and served as the final act of its destruction. As the cloud of shrapnel dissipated, two machine legs stood in the field supporting nothing more than a lonely steel rod.
Nina admired her work while Johnny shot the remaining Geryon soldier dead.
'Okay,' she said. 'Let’s do it.'
Two human soldiers emerged from hiding spots in empty external fuel pods. They joined Major Forest and the Reverend as they boarded a Skipper…
…With the flanks holding for the moment, the Steel Guard unit concentrated on the main house at the center of the defensive line, sending four Golems to assault while the remaining infantrymen stayed in the rear area with the supply wagons.
Explosive shells and missiles came with renewed concentration at the house. A slab of wall tumbled like an avalanche of rock but failed to cause a general collapse. A small fire started on the first floor but stamping boots quickly extinguished the flames.
Blast after blast, round after round peppered the defiant home, suppressing human counter-fire and emboldening the Steel Guard to close in to point blank range. From there they fired through broken windows.
Suddenly one of those Golems flew into the air, its rigid form looked nearly comical as it pin wheeled like a toy robot tossed across the playroom in a tantrum. The boom of the remote-detonated charge followed, shaking more stone loose from the house.
The machine returned to Earth hitting with a heavy thud. One of its 'eyes' flickered and ceased to function; one robotic hand twisted and broke. Nonetheless, the Golem struggled to its metal feet, still operational.
Then a second explosion detonated along the main home. A Golem fell on its side, another one staggered. While the beasts worked to regain their balance and bearings, a soldier leaned out a second floor window and dropped a package toward the attackers. That package detonated chest-high on one Steel Guard. The severity of the explosion cracked both eyes, spun the head entirely around, and blasted the torso area. The Golem shimmied in a mechanical seizure then fell.
From his position above, Trevor saw the entire Steel Guard assault hesitate. Apparently the operators decided the price in valuable machines might be too high, particularly when they could eliminate human resistance in one quick stroke.
It seemed Trevor's assumption would prove correct…
…Nina sat in the pilot’s seat, Johnny kept watch at the rear ramp, and the other two soldiers hurriedly opened supply crates and worked controls.
'I say! Major Forest! It appears their dirigible is on the move!'
Nina heard Johnny’s report. She moved faster. A discussion erupted between the three working to prep the Skipper.
'Arming missile warheads.'
'Opening fuel tanks and flooding lines.'
'Shutting down fire suppression systems.'
'All power systems on line and functioning at one hundred percent.'
'Ammunition crates are open.'
'What about these frags? Leave em’ here?'
'Leave them.'
Reverend Johnny boomed, 'The battle ship is approaching! It’ll be upon us momentarily!'
'Releasing engine safety locks.'
'Charging power cells to maximum.'
Nina stood and turned to access an overhead power regulator.
'Hells bells, Major, the beast is upon us.'
'Calm down, just calm down. We can't do anything yet,' she said. 'They know they lost a Golem at the landing site. They may be expecting us to go airborne.'
Johnny countered, 'Or they might blast us right here, on the ground.'
'We pose no threat on the ground. Well, unless they give it some thought.'
A shadow cast over the Skipper, causing Nina to go silent. However, the Geryon Battleship did not open fire but, rather, proceeded toward the battle zone, certainly aiming to obliterate Trevor's forces with its main gun.
'Excuse me, Major,' Johnny said. 'Waiting until they have passed us by would defeat the purpose, would it not?'
Nina glanced at him and ordered, 'Every one out!' while she remained at the cockpit controls with the shadow of the armored blimp passing by overhead…
…'Here they come,' Corporal Brewer spoke the obvious.
Trevor did not respond. Either they would be dead in a few moments or the Geryons would be mortally wounded.
The Battleship made of one big Zeppelin and-seemingly-two smaller ones slowed its approach. It drifted a few hundred feet above the tree tops east of the defensive line. Trevor felt confident-but not certain-that the craft was still at least partially above the clearing where the Skippers parked.
The main gun came to life. Conduits running along the undercarriage from the rear engine area to the bow glowed with a soft green light, flowing from the rear end to the hybrid cannon/transmitter-like contraption at the front of the craft.
A brilliant, thick beam fired from the main battery in one long stream of energy. That energy hit the guest cottage just up the hill from the main home.
The brilliant light caused Trevor to shield his eyes. It seemed as if the daytime sky added a dozen more suns to its blue canvas. A blast of heat swept across the battlefield. A sound like crackling flames filled the air.
