I wonder what their deal is.
They made their way along the stream toward a supposed clearing well ahead. Trees provided reasonable cover from a flanked assault, meaning the troops they saw earlier needed to come down the hill to get at them. It wouldn’t take them long if they were determined. As a result, Tiller had to keep a sharp eye behind them.
Scans picked up though they remained shaky with the interference. He figured they worked better because they moved away from the site where the explosion went off. If the detonation happened underground, he had no idea how far it might spread on the surface but maybe they didn’t have too far to go to be out of its influence.
“Where the hell is Andrews?” Hans called out. “We should at least hear him by now!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Gunny replied. “Spread out more, men! You’re too tightly grouped!”
Tiller gave himself a good eight feet from Vesper and slowed down to let the rest of their unit pull ahead of him. Scans showed several blips on fast approach. They were nearly to the bottom of that steep decline, less than twenty yards from the stream. He took cover behind a particularly large tree, taking aim.
“Contact in five seconds,” Tiller called. “I’m in position.”
“Likewise,” Vesper said, “we’ll get first strike but we might need some help after that.”
“Hans, take your guys around to the east. See if you can’t give them a decent crossfire. We’ll keep going with the VIPs. Andrews? Do you read? We really need you down here ASAP!”
“Working… it… some… here…” Half the message came through garbled, indicating he was likely still far away or flying around in the area near the explosion. Whatever the case, he was far enough off that his engines weren’t audible from their position. “Be… soon as… ly… po—” The rest of the message turned to static.
“Gunny to Triton, come in.”
Yeah, Tiller smirked, that’s like asking for fifty cred then hitting them up for a hundred. Chances of getting through to a ship in combat seemed optimistic to say the least. If the Triton answered, it would only be because of the new super advanced tech. And I’m thinking there are limits even to that stuff.
Light caught dark armor, making the material glisten for just a moment. “Contact!” Tiller shouted as he opened fire, blasting at his initial target. Beams brightened the area, sending a glow down the way until it struck the ground just behind the Kahl. Water burst into the air, turning to steam in an instant. He followed up, shooting again and again.
The enemy spilled out onto the path, some taking cover, others taken down by the heavy assault. Vesper and others had joined him, throwing some serious firepower on the enemy position. As they scattered, a few random shots came back at them, here and there, beams going high and wide.
Even after a couple hours in the range, Tiller found it hard not to compensate for recoil. He kept anticipating it which caused him to miss. The weapon vibrated a little, became warm, but sinks quickly cooled the handles. Once I settle down, I’ll be tearing these bitches up. Fortunately, even with a bit of inaccuracy, his attacks drove the enemy forces to cover.
“On your left, Vesper!” Tiller called. She switched cover to the opposite side of the tree to lay down some fire. The enemy forces tried to spread out, covering more ground in a line. He had ten blips left on his HUD, indicating someone took down at least two. Add that to however many died on the hill, and it felt like they were doing pretty well.
“Gunny,” Hans said, “I’m alone over here. These guys are crack shots when they catch you. Everyone stick to cover. We need to withdraw. Taking them on like this with as many people as we have will be suicide.”
“We’re nearly to the clearing,” Gunny replied. “Break off, stay low, and get back here.”
“Sir,” Alon jumped in, “we’ve got a great firing solution…” He stopped as a shot nearly cleaved his head, missing by a couple inches. “Never mind. We’re on our way.” He crawled away from his cover. “Give me a moment to find some more cover and I’ll lay down suppressive fire to cover you.”
“I’ll do the same,” Hans said. “My position is solid. For a few more minutes.”
Great, Tiller thought. More running with these assholes on our backs.
“Are we saving the grenades for something?” Vesper asked.
Hans replied, “Those things will turn this place into a blaze fast. They’re a last resort in a major way.”
Tiller blasted one of the Kahl in the leg. It didn’t put him out of the fight though… just made him withdraw. “I feel like this might be damn close to such a thing!”
“I’m in position!” Alon laid down some heavy fire along the stream. “Go, guys! Go! Get to the next point and call it!” Hans joined him. Their combined attack bought a momentary reprieve.
Tiller broke first, staying low as he rushed toward Alon’s position. Vesper followed him close behind. As they passed by their sergeant, they moved a good ten feet before each took some cover behind the next tree. They started firing, calling out for the others that it was their turn to move.
Flames consumed the forest behind them as some of the trees became massive torches. Smoke gathered low near where they descended the hill but the whole area would be consumed soon. Tiller only imagined how much there had to be above the treetops, up where Andrews had to be flying around.
I wonder how insane this looks from up
