From the drill I could see them realize they were about to lose their shuttle. One man viciously waved his arms and two security men made a run for the ramp carved in rock from the valley to the plateau. “Team Three! A couple armed security coming up. Snipers, take them out!”
“Yes, ma’am!” I got multiple responses and saw the two security dodging the hail of bullets and laser fire coming their way now. One went down, the other jumped to the valley again and gained cover.
The one who’d sent them shoved another man from the protection of the drill’s massive body. He made it to the far side, hiding behind another tire. I passed the information to Schaeffer and our line to work around to his position.
I looked back to the shuttle as the other half of the team appeared at the edge of the forest and made a dash for the shuttle. I saw the first of our men hit. He staggered, but recovered.
“Where’d that come from?” I swung around to the various trajectories and saw two men on the other side of the valley, what must have been their perimeter security. “Snipers, Southeast…” I passed on the reading from my visor. Immediately we returned fire, trying to provide cover as the team made the shuttle.
I could see Remy, inside a knot of soldiers. The security detail didn’t let up, even under combined fire. Remy jerked and fell.
“NO!” I started to lunge forward, through the perimeter, but my liaison officer drew me back. I struggled against her grip, looking to Remy. “REMY! Report.”
Two soldiers grabbed him by the arms, towing him up the ramp while the rest of them closed ranks.
“REMY! REMY!”
“Col. Kazan!” The liaison officer jerked me around. “Kazan! Col. Schaeffer reminds you of battle protocol. Maintain open channels.”
“Let go of me!” I jerked loose. “I know protocol.”
“Col. Kazan! This is Team Three. Batista says to chill!”
It was what he’d say, relieving me slightly. “Fine. Secure that shuttle. Kazan out!” Knowing they had him, I returned my focus on the battle. As hard as our first line tried to keep the miners contained, the purpose of our second line was tested.
From my higher vantage point we passed on the coordinates of weak points in our line. Orders were clear, return fire, but subdue anyone surrendering. I doubted there’d be many with valuable information, other than those under the drill.
I kept Schaeffer aware as they moved closer to the cave opening. “Schaef, the one in the grey jacket is in charge. We need him.”
“From the heavy fire they’re laying down, I doubt this will end well.” He’d sorted out his own assault team, our snipers providing backup as Schaeffer moved closer and closer to the drill.
The grey-coated man kept himself surrounded by his security people, but part of them had moved to the other side of the drill, where I’d seen the man earlier. They started to return our fire, covering him as he climbed up onto the drill. Our snipers took out several of the men, but he made it into the operator’s box.
As he started to pull the drill from the hole, I saw the operator’s intent. “Schaeffer, that’s a laser drill. Get the men in the east quadrant out of there.” I turned to the officer in charge of the second line. “We need to get him, at all costs.”
Freed from the rock face of the mountain, the laser started cutting a swath through the camp. The operator was shooting a slow broad band of laser fire, strong enough to cut through rock. He didn’t need to aim, simply sweep an area and destroy anything in the beam’s path.
“Everyone clear that quadrant, come around from the backside… wait!”
He shifted the laser upwards as he moved closer to the plateau. “He’s going for the shuttle! Team three, get that shuttle out of there, now!” I shouted the order, just as the skids lifted off the rock.
“They won’t shoot their own shuttle down.” My liaison officer tried to sound confident.
“Yes they will. This is a kill or be killed scenario.” I felt sick saying those words. Sicker as the weapon crested the cliff. “Get out of there!” I shouted over the comm, but nothing could stop what was happening as the laser grazed the port engine.
It exploded and the shuttle started spinning. Whoever was piloting fought the controls, but the spin brought it back into the beam, slashing into the fuselage. A second explosion in the damaged engine did what the pilot couldn’t, throwing the shuttle away from the ledge, out of range of the laser and into trees.
“Shuttle, report!” I was on my feet before my liaison could stop me.
The only ways to the plateau was the camp or the forest. Without the help of the Parredet, I couldn’t make it all the way around on my own, so I plunged down the steep path to the camp, ignoring the shouts of my liaison.
I ignored Schaeffer too, but not my training. I had my weapon charged and used it as I made my way across the rubble. The ramp to the plateau was on the other side of the drill. With the shuttle no longer a target, the laser was cutting down the cliff, rotating towards me. No, towards our second line.
Reaching Remy was my first priority, but duty kicked in. I slipped between tents and mining equipment, making my way to the drill.
Schaeffer wasn’t yelling at me anymore. Crouched behind an ore crawler, I saw him between a rock crusher’s tires. He signaled me to stay put, but that wasn’t going to happen.
Signaling him back I got a scowl, then a nod. He passed a coded message to both teams. Between several deep breaths I studied my path, fixing it in my head, leaving my every reaction for the plan. Four…three…two… one! I burst out from my hiding spot and did a mad dash for the giant wheels of the drill.
Every weapon from our
