The War Across the Stars (33 page)

“So we’re killing their leader?  Excellent.  I suggest explosives,” Malum stated.

“We already had this problem sir, our explosives are with…” I paused, sighing deeply.  “With Ryan sir.”

“Then we go get them.  I don’t want the enemy knowing we are there.  It will allow you to capture the transport easier.”

“But sir, we could snipe them just as easily… it’s what snipers do!” I protest.

“Enough excuses.  A dead soldier is a dead soldier.  Just because you can’t get over it doesn’t mean I will let it hinder my mission plans.”

I looked around at my team, Malum clearly not making sense.  Every fiber of my being wanted to strike him across the face and let Boone lead the way.  But the thought of Ryan catching Boone’s attempt played back in my head.  Ryan had expected us to follow Malum’s orders, regardless of whether or not we agreed with them.

“Okay, how do we use explosives?” I asked.

“We strap them to your friend.”

“There’s no way he’ll—” I started.

“I’ll do it.  Strap the Eupholium to me,” Robert said, the devilish grin on his face frustrating me.

His smile was no doubt the result of him piecing together that Ryan was dead.  The satisfaction he received from it disturbed me.

“At least let us act as a failsafe, what if the explosives don’t go off?” I proposed.

“Fine, two of you may go.  I need our presence there to be small, nearly undetectable.  You will NOT engage the enemy unless you are certain the explosives failed to activate.  Do you understand that soldier?” Malum inquired intensely.

“Yes sir.”

“Now, let’s go get our explosives,” Malum concluded, walking from the secret room back into the dark hallway.

Chapter 20

Endgame

The Corsair slowly eased itself to the ground near the Tredecim capital.  The dead still littered the ground, though many were half-buried by the endless snow.  I alone stepped out of the warmth of the Corsair and approached the site where my life had been changed dramatically, just as it had in Ebony.  Rising partially from the snow was the helmet of a warrior.  The helmet of a leader and a friend.  I walked toward it, the cold biting away at me.  When I reached it, I brushed off some snow, revealing the body of Ryan. 

Emotions once more flooded through me, but I had a mission, and I would complete it.  I removed enough of the snow to slip off the backpack that was still strapped around his arms.  Inside it was a sizable portion of Eupholium, Ryan’s favorite explosive ordinance.  I slipped the pack over one of my shoulders, then carefully removed the helmet from Ryan’s head.  I reached down and pulled his tags from his neck, and then placed the helmet back.  I slipped the tags into my pocket before proceeding back to the Corsair.

When I reached it I silently climbed back aboard, letting the pack slip to the metal floor with a clank.  Without a word Malum nodded his approval, and we soared toward the location provided by Robert. 

As we flew, Phil and Boone did what they could to strap the Eupholium to Robert without giving any sign that it was there from the outside.  When they finished, they had done a fair job, nicely securing it to his chest and thighs without any exterior bulges. 

“We’re close enough.  Land the ship,” Robert instructed as he watched from the door to the cockpit. 

The pilot nodded and the Corsair sank down toward the snow.  A soft thud was heard as it touched down on the solid ground, pressing into the deep snow.  The hatch dropped and I looked around at those who survived.  My team, my friends, each knew how close we were.  Boone rose from his seat and approached me.  He extended his hand.  I took it, and shook it once, looking Boone in the eye, despite them still be obscured by his shades.

“It’s been an honor James.  Good luck out there,” he said softly.

“We’ll be back Boone, and we’re all getting off this rock together.”

I then turned my head to Cassidy and Phil, who would be staying behind as we went out to capture the transport.  It seemed so foreign to see them without their armor and know we were in a combat zone.  While the sight itself wasn’t so unusual, considering we lived together on base, the danger of the environment and the notion that any one of them could die at any time was haunting.

“You two get us that ship,” Cassidy said, her eyes sad and her tone tired.

“Will do,” Nevin chuckled.

“You stay safe Cass,” I said, stepping down from the Corsair.

“You too James… You too,” she replied.

I turned slowly, hoping Nevin and I could survive one final trial. 

“Uh, James?” Cassidy’s voice asked.

I paused, turning back toward the Corsair.

“I wanted to tell you… Um… Thank you.  I appreciate what you’ve done for us… for me.”

At first I was unsure how to respond, but I pondered a response briefly.

“Yeah, it’s been… this mission is rough.  But we all just needed some hope.  We’re going to make it through Cass,” I finally answered.

Without a response, we continued into the snowy wastes.  As we proceeded away Malum finally spoke.

“Don’t get caught.”

Nevin and I both opted not to respond to his parting comment, and as we had done on Sontonos, followed Robert to our destination.  We pressed on through the snow for a good twenty minutes before reaching the peak of a massive hill.  From the hill we could see a sprawling UED camp, tents scattered in tight clusters and soldiers ambling about. 

“This is it.  And look guys, I’m sorry for what I did.  I’m sorry for your family, for your soldiers, for everything.  I know it’ll never make up for it, but my life is all I have to offer… My life and Admiral Cope’s,” Robert stated smoothly, seemingly unfazed by his eminent death.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Nevin replied first.

“I don’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth anymore Rob, but at this point I don’t really care.  Go ‘redeem yourself’ and get out of our lives,” he said angrily, his face red with fury.

I looked up to see a silhouette in the sky, likely an approaching ship.  Cope was here.

“Light me up,” Robert said.

With the timer on the Eupholium preset by Phil and Boone, I tapped the activation button and concealed the explosive again.  Five minutes.  Robert would be dead in five minutes.  He smiled slyly at me, and then took off in a sprint toward the camp. 

Nevin and I assumed prone positions overlooking the camp.  I passed him my SF-42, equipped with a scope, and he loaded it with his last mag.  I peered through my Oracle scope briefly, then watched carefully as some sort of UED gunship landed on the far edge of the encampment.  I breathed in carefully, keeping a steady eye on the transport.  Robert reached the base and walked toward the center.

We were watching, waiting in the cold, harsh weather of Marzoc.  Nevin was to my right.  Our fingers were on the triggers, despite them being numbed by the cold.  Admiral Cope was in our scopes.  We could have fired but instead we held our fire.  We followed orders and waited.

The man in charge of the entire UED fleet marched from his gunship toward a larger tent in the center of the camp.  Admiral Cope entered the central command tent.  Robert followed him in.  We waited for the explosion.  It didn’t come.

“Hasn’t it been five?” Nevin asked in a hushed tone.

“It has to have been.  Or the adrenaline has severely slowed our time perception.”

“Gah, C’mon!” Nevin called out, though still not loud enough to be heard from more than a few meters away. 

The main tent, larger than the others, had two guards standing near the door, and several more patrolling nearby.  If the Eupholium would detonate, it’d easily kill them all.  But still the only sound was the heavy wind that blew the snow across the surface of the planet.  My eyes began to feel heavy as I watched, and I felt my focus begin to slip away. 

The tent flap ruffled suddenly, and then Robert appeared. 

“What’s he doing?” I whispered.

“Living.”

His finger pointed toward us, my scope identifying the details of his second betrayal.

“Shoot, he’s busting us!  He must have disabled the Eupholium!” I said, my crosshairs dancing around his head.

As I steadied the rifle, I heard the crackle of gunfire and soon the sound of bullets pelting the ground around me.  Snow began bursting up as the bullets tore into the ground.

“They’re headin’ for the gunship!” Nevin said, the sound of his rifle firing overwhelming that of the enemy MG. 

“Keep them off it, we need that ship!” I said, frustration setting in as Robert turned around, about to reenter the command tent.

I breathed slow, processing the situation.

“Ross, you need to work on your aim,” Colonel Miller’s voice boomed in my head.

I was tired.  I was hungry.  I was cold.  But above all, I was a Ranger. 

My crosshair moved, as if in slow motion across the front of the tent, then across Robert’s back.  I lifted, the to bars marking an X across the back of his head.

I fired.

The singular 12.7mm round soared through the air, freed from its prison within my SR-4.  The same SR-4 I had used on Enphuerzo, the same one I’d killed my first man with on Sontonos, the same one that had been by my side to do my bidding for every mission that it could be used. 

A burst of blood and a fragment of skull raced from Robert as his body fell into the tent’s flap.  His head remained exposed, as the tent’s flap was pushed aside by his arm.  He may have been dead, but I couldn’t be sure.  I fired again, once more striking the head of my former squadmate.  He could not have survived.  Looking back toward the gunship, too many troops were closing in on it.  They had to be preparing for Cope’s escape.  We needed to be there.

“Nevin, let’s go!” I screamed, leaping up and charging down the hill. 

Without another thought he was on his feet sprinting beside me.  I watched as round after round rippled past me, though left me untouched.  The freezing snow fell from my body in large chunks as I continued the sprint.  All I could think about was taking that gunship and getting home.  Everyone was depending on us.  Toward the end of the hill I slipped, sliding down the slick hill until I tumbled at the bottom.  Though like Nevin at the Cover Point during training I gracefully somersaulted, once more on my feet and running.  The tents were directly beside us as we tore alongside the camp.  I saw a man nearing the gunship’s side entrance and quickly pulled out my pistol. 

With my SR-4 held with its stock beneath my shoulder, I raised my pistol left-handed and fired two shots.  The man nearest the gunship dropped and I picked a new target, still moving nearer the ship.  He dropped.  Another target.  Two rounds to the chest.  Then I saw Cope.  He was close, just a few meters away.  From the essentially un-aimed position beneath my shoulder, I fired a round of the SR-4, the kick stumbling me due to the awkward stance.  Against the odds, the round struck Cope’s leg, splintering the bone and instantly bringing him to the ground.

I holstered my pistol and made a final dash to the gunship.  When I reached it, I leaped through its open hatch in a single swift move.  Not even a second later, Nevin had done the same, slamming the hatch behind him.  I checked the other side hatch, which was sealed, and then quickly entered the cockpit.  Gazing down at the controls, I realized that Ryan was our only experienced pilot.  We had made it this far, but how were we to fly the gunship away?

To my surprise, Nevin seized the controls and began punching buttons.  I heard the engine engage and just as I heard something slam into the hatch I also felt a strong jerk upward.  We were airborne.  I backed up, grabbing the controls for the gun mounted directly beside the port hatch.  The digital interface provided me line of sight for the gun, and I squeezed its trigger.  The minigun’s rounds unleashed a hail of lead onto the UED forces, shredding anything that couldn’t retreat, including Admiral Cope’s body. 

Soon Nevin had pulled away and the ship was returning the direction we had come.  We had done it.  The gunship was ours, Robert and Cope both dead in the cold, unforgiving snow.

“Nev, we… we did it!  How did we just… how are you flying that?” I asked, exhausted, though jubilant. 

“I’m improvising James.  I’m no pro, but I’m doing the best I can,” he said, the gunship rocking uneasily for a moment.

“We are going to make it Nevin, we’re going home.”

He nodded, his hands shaking has he held the controls.  We had all picked up the roles that Ryan had left behind, filled the void of his absence.  Nevin ran the controls of a gunship.  Phil had set up explosives.  Cass filled the same combat role, wielding an assault rifle.  And lastly, I was the leader.  My team looked up to me to guide them through this mission.

The sound of a few final bullets pinging off the exterior of the gunship faded away as we soared toward our team.  Within a few minutes, we had traversed a distance that had taken twenty to walk.

“There they are,” Nevin said, pointing with his head, unwilling to remove a hand from the controls to show me.

I smiled, knowing what it meant.  We were in the final stage of our escape.  We were in the endgame.