Star Crusades Nexus: Book 06 - Call to Arms (29 page)

What the hell is going on?

He rolled over and lifted himself back up to his knees. All around him lay bodies, but he could still see Thegns heading for him. He took aim, but more powerful guns slammed into them. These were no TEK40 rifles though. High rates of fire and powerful cannon tore them apart like the guns of armored vehicle. He twisted back and saw a dark shape on the platform. He'd expected a small shuttle, but instead the craft barely fitted on the platform. It was a small transport about half the size of Dauntless. Its engines sent dust flying all about and directly at his visor. Six shapes moved toward him, and he lifted his weapon.

"Spartan, stay down!" said one of them.

He didn't recognize the voice, but the fact it knew him gave him a moment’s hope. He kept his head down but only for a moment. More heavy gunfire followed, and then the dust began to clear a little. The shapes altered to show the forms of six warriors, each in dark red armor. They reminded him of conventional marines but were bigger, and equipped with the additional neck and collar protection fitted on all current issue armor patterns. They were much too big to be normal marines.

Jötnar?

They moved toward him, each carrying the biggest weapons he'd ever seen in the hands of a humanoid before. They carried on past him at a slow walk, each of them blazing away and cutting down every last Thegn. Spartan shook his head in shock, but it wasn't the Jötnar that made his heart almost stop. It was the shape of a woman that had just emerged from the flank of the ship. She reached the bottom of the ramp and then flicked open the outer screen over her visor. He knew the face instantly.

"Teresa?"

Spartan moved toward her, completely forgetting about the fight they were in the middle of. Even though the ship and its Jötnar had cleared an area, there were still Thegns about. One of them leapt out in front of him, its firearm pointing directly at his face. A hole appeared in its forehead, and blood sprayed over him as it slumped forward. Right behind it was Teresa, her carbine raised and pointed straight ahead.

"Spartan, where the hell have you been?"

She rushed to him and grabbed him hard, pulling the battered and exhausted Spartan to her. As they held on to each other, the Jötnar pulled back and formed a defensive curtain around the ship. More conventional marines came out with stretchers and helped carry the wounded back inside. A few of the machines attempted to climb over the sides of the pad, but with numbers now on the marines’ side, they were quickly shot down.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," said Teresa, ignoring all that was happening around them.

Marcus saw her and walked over to them both. He reached out to Teresa, and she spotted him at the very last moment. Without letting go of Spartan, she dropped her carbine so that it swung down on its sling, and flipped out her sidearm to point it directly at his face.

"What are you doing here?"

Spartan released his hold just a little so that he could see what was happening. At seeing Marcus, he placed his one good hand on her pistol and pushed it down gently.

"He's okay. It's a long story."

Z'Kanthu was back on his feet again and now looked even more battered and worn out than when they had found him. Four Jötnar waited in front, each with their guns trained on his head.

"I can hear your people. They are being attacked inside the refinery."

Spartan listened and looked back at Teresa.

"The last of them have taken the workers of this place prisoner. They are going to turn this place into another Prometheus."

Teresa raised an eyebrow at that unfortunate reference.

"You're more right than you know."

She then looked up at the Biomech.

"I suppose there is a reason you have a Biomech helping you?"

Spartan shrugged sheepishly. They were interrupted by the sonic booms of something overhead. They all looked up as the long black shape of a large capital ship soared overhead at very low orbit. It wasn't the ship that had made the noises. It was the half dozen landing craft coming down, each leaving long black trails of smoke behind them as they entered the Martian atmosphere.

"You brought friends?" asked Marcus.

Teresa ignored him and looked at Spartan.

"Admiral Churchill gave me access to a few ships and a battalion of marines."

Teresa signaled to Captain Rivers who had just come down the ramp along with Major Terson. He ran over and saluted smartly. Teresa pointed up at the craft on their way down.

“How long until the next wave lands?”

“Twelve minutes, Colonel. Any later and the storm will swallow them up.”

Another pair of medics ran past, and one thrust an L52 Mark II carbine into Spartan's hands before moving to one of the badly injured operatives. The second then joined his comrade. Spartan caught the carbine it in his right hand and rested the barrel on his left. It felt like an eternity since he’d held such a well-crafted and useful weapon.

“Here they come!” Captain Cobb shouted out.

Spartan twisted about and aimed the carbine at the first shape that emerged. More marines rushed out and formed a thin line, along with the red armored shapes of the Jötnar, and then the gunfire started. The first few creatures were cut down, but as before more came behind them. Olik looked back at Khan and waved his gun in the air triumphantly.

“Let’s finish this!”

The crazed Jötnar charged directly into the fight and blasted apart the new arrivals before vanishing into the entrance of the tunnel. Two had remained on the platform and were helping Khan to his feet. At seeing his kin rushing off, he tensed his shoulders and then called out to one of the Jötnar for a weapon. Only then did he notice Teresa. He staggered forward and grabbed her so hard he almost buckled her armor.

“It’s good to see you,” he said with a growl.

Teresa couldn't find the words and instead just laughed as he squeezed her. Spartan checked the status of his carbine and then looked back at Khan and Teresa.

“We have a few hundred Biomech warriors down there and thousands of civilians. What do you say?”

A Jötnar handed him a massive gun that looked more like a tank's main gun.

"What the hell is this?"

The Jötnar grinned.

"New standard issue, recommended by General Gun."

"General?" laughed Spartan.

He looked at Teresa.

"Well?"

Teresa slid her pistol back into its holster and raised her carbine to her waist.

"I say we take back Mars."

"Yes!" roared Khan.

One of the medics moved on to Marcus who watched the trio rush off into the tunnel, their weapons raised and their bloodlust up.

"They are in trouble now," he said to himself.

The medic heard him though, and as he applied the emergency dressing to the fragmentation wounds Marcus had suffered, he leaned in.

"Why, what's down there?"

Marcus looked into the medic's face and grimaced as the patch pulled down tightly onto his injured flesh.

"No, not them. I mean the Biomechs."

The medic shook his head.

"Haven't you heard? The attack on Helios is imminent. All forces are rallying at T'Karan for the counterattack. That's where we will be going after mopping up here."

"Perhaps," he replied.

"Even so, the Biomechs should be worried."

The medic tightened the last patch and then looked back to Marcus' face and raised an eyebrow.

"Eos was lost, and they are about to assault Helios. What do they have to be worried about?"

Finally Marcus smiled.

"Because Spartan's back, and his war has only just started."