Rogers slapped James on the shoulder, the latter now having switched out the heavy machine gun for a carbine, Duke by his side and ready to move. “Lead us out, James,” Rogers said.
James grimaced and stepped off, running ahead at a jog with Duke beside him. Rogers led Karina ahead of him as they fell in with pockets of other soldiers advancing forward. The team ducked down a narrow street and headed for the main road that would take them in the direction of the orb. Jacob followed with his rifle up, covering the way. The Delta resistance had been broken; any of the remaining black-eyed creatures were now separated into small pockets and easily cut down by the approaching soldiers.
The Ursus were nowhere to be seen. The way ahead appeared clear, with an empty street all the way to the orb. “Where the hell are your friends?” Rogers barked after they’d reached a narrow street flanked by small cookie-cutter homes.
Karina stopped and looked ahead pointing. “They will set their final defense in the landing ship.” She turned back to Rogers. “Please… you must give them the opportunity to submit.”
Rogers shot her a hateful glare. “Like the one you gave us at Meaford?” He turned and signaled for James to press ahead into the quiet neighborhoods.
Along the route, the men stopped to pound on doors while others provided security. Along the outer walls, they could still hear heavy fighting as The Darkness drew toward the fighting in the community. Soldiers were working desperately to evacuate the last remaining civilians from the community, showing them the way out.
Jacob passed by the fleeing civilians, checking every face as the people passed. He was still surprised at the way the base fell and the inability of the invaders to put up a solid defense. “Karina, where is everyone? You must have more than this,” Jacob asked her as she trudged along beside him with her head down.
“Only two legions came down with the lander; we rely heavily on the witnesses for defense,” she said. “Your people have killed many of the Ursus in the field.”
“Why haven’t they sent reinforcements?” Rogers asked.
She stopped and rubbed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. “When our Messenger was killed at the reception ceremony, it brought great shame on this communal. Not only that, but it brought great attention on our failures. The council decided to write this place off, determining the population too dangerous for habitation. There will be no reinforcements.”
“You know, I was the one that tagged that fruit cake,” James grunted, overhearing the conversation.
She looked at him, puzzled.
“Your Messiah character, that was me,” James boasted proudly. “Easy shooting too. Right through the brain bucket. Split the dude’s grape wide open then punched two more into his chest for good measure.”
Karina turned away, horrified. “When you killed the Messenger, you took away the communal’s means of negotiation; only the Messenger has the privilege to settle for peace with the local population.”
James laughed and spit on the ground near her feet. “Some luck, huh?” He grunted and moved away, not expecting a response.
Uniformed men were bounding forward, moving tactically toward the final perimeter near the outer edges of the orb. James guided them through what appeared to be an alien motor pool divided into cubes. The nearby soldiers were swiftly moving the last pocket of survivors to safety through the maze of heavy rock barriers that separated sections of the motor pool from other areas while Jacob’s team moved into an empty bay that overlooked the front entrance to the orb.
No longer glowing, Rogers noted the dull object’s hatches and exits were sealed. A small balcony that ran along the roof of the object revealed small groups of the Ursus soldiers. They appeared to be randomly engaging the men on the ground with pot shots. Rogers quickly fell back into cover beside the others. An organized unit of combat engineers was moving ahead, supported by a Stryker vehicle, its 30mm gun blasting away at the sides of the ship.
Suddenly, the main hatch of the orb fell back. The void quickly filled with a large vehicle equipped with a massive turret that opened up with its main gun, destroying the Stryker with waves of plasma. The vehicle drew fire as it raced down the ramp to engage the engineers on the ground. The red-sleeved soldiers used the frenzied action to try to gain momentum. They poured out of the orb, firing at the dug in soldiers surrounding them.
“You must stop this,” Karina pleaded with Rogers. “Pull back! This fight is already over.”
Rogers shook his head. “No, we have to end this place and keep them from creating more of the Deltas.”
Karina’s eyes couldn’t grow any wider. She grabbed at Rogers, pleading with him to stop the killing. Ignoring her, he turned away. A group of soldiers ran to their position and knelt down next to Rogers. A sergeant leaned in close to report. “We have all of the survivors located. These are the last of the enemy holdouts; we finish them off and were clear to egress. The captain wants to know if there is anything your scouts can do to assist us in assaulting the craft.”
Without warning, the enemy fire intensified. Another hatch opened and a second assault vehicle rushed out of the orb, leading a wave of Ursus into the open. A soldier escorting the reporting sergeant was hit with splatter from the blue plasma; his face vanished in a hot flash. Rogers drew the other soldier deeper into cover before rising up to return fire.
Jacob watched in horror as a group of civilians were caught in the open. A man sprinted to the barrier, carrying a child in his arms. A
