Battleground Mars (12 page)

“Kaz, Brad, keep a sharp eye out, we’re almost there. The Taurons may have picked us up already.”

They both acknowledged and he drove on at a slower pace. Then everything happened so fast that they all reacted automatically. Directly in front of their lights was the Tauron camp, they hadn’t heard the approach of the buggy, a group of them were standing around a piece of equipment. Rahm made an instant decision. “Hold tight, I’m going to run those bastards over.”

He accelerated to maximum speed and the vehicle flashed over the ground, it covered the intervening space in only a few seconds. For some reason the monsters were too stunned to react, they stood dumbly as he ran at them. Brad had seen them and started to shoot, the heavy bursts from the cannon took two of the Taurons had cut them to pieces. Two more went under the wheels of the buggy, and Kaz swung around and nailed them with quick, accurate shots from his pistol, the others moved aside at the last moment. As they passed Brad swung around with the heavy cannon and began shooting up the camp, more Taurons went down to the crushing bursts of fire. Then they were past and the enemy hadn’t even had time to fire a shot. A dark opening in the rocks showed them the entrance to the valley, but Rahm ignored it and kept on driving until they were well past and out of sight. He stopped behind a small mound of rocks.

“What’s going on?” Kacy asked. “I thought we were going in to rescue them. You drove straight past the valley”

“If we drive in there, we’ll never get out ourselves, they’ll block it and cut us to pieces as we try and come out. I’ve got a better idea. Kaz and Brad, un-mount the rear cannon, we’re going to carry it from here on in.”

“It’ll be a bastard to take it any distance,” Brad objected.

“Don’t worry, it’s not going far. We’re going to give our bug-eyed friends a surprise. We’ll set up the cannon with you and Saul to cover the Tauron camp. I’ll drive back and hit them again, this time we’ll do all the way into the valley. When we come out, you’ll hit them from this side too. I’m hoping it’ll be enough for us to force out way through.”

They worked to remove the cannon. Then the two men went forward on foot with Rahm to find a suitable position for the gun. Once more they found themselves looking at the enemy camp, the freakish creatures were running around, dragging their wounded to their own vehicle, it look similar to a buggy but was much larger, more like a troop carrier. Rahm reflected that it was probably a combination troop carrier and mineral transport. The Tauron way was war, so they wouldn’t design any vehicle without it having the capability to be used in battle. The position they agreed on was another of the endless rock piles that littered the Martian surface. Saul and Brad positioned the cannon to give good coverage of the camp. Rahm got up to leave them.

It’ll take us about an hour to get in there, install the new power units in their buggies and start bringing them out. We’ll be in touch by radio the whole time, so it all goes well, you keep your heads down and don’t start shooting until we’re coming out.”

“You may need covering fire when you go in,” Saul objected.

“That’s true. But that’ll give the game away and make it harder to get out. I want you to start shooting when they’re fixated on us leaving the valley, not before.”

Saul nodded. “I hear you. Don’t worry, we’ll be waiting.”

Rahm walked back to the buggy and climbed aboard.

“Are we all ready?”

Kaz called down from his position on the front cannon. “I’m set to go.”

“Kacy?”

“All ready,” she replied in a voice that suggested otherwise.

“I’ve got my laser rifle here,” Nathan said. “If I see one of those bastards he’s toast.”

“Be careful and make sure he doesn’t see you first,” Rahm warned him. “All of you know the enemy. They learn how to fight almost from the day they’re born. The only way to beat them is to keep your eyes peeled and as soon as you see one, kill it. No second guessing, either we kill them or they kill us. Kacy, you should be armed with a pistol.”

“I’m not much of a shot,” she replied weakly.

“Then you’d better learn quickly. If any of those creatures manage to climb onto the buddy you’ll have to shoot them before they get you. This isn’t going to be a picnic.”

“Alright, I’ll have my pistol ready.”

“Good. We’re going now, this is going to be fast and furious, so hang on tight.”

He went to maximum acceleration and the buggy surged forward. They were seen almost as soon as they appeared close to the camp. The crew leveled their guns at the charging vehicle. They used a weapons technology that wasn’t understood by the armorers on Earth, it operated in a similar way to their laser weapons, but used a different system to project and focus kinetic energy. The effect was the same, when you were hit by a burst it was devastating.

The aliens were waiting for them. They fired first, a burst that slashed past the speeding buggy. Rahm worked up to maximum speed, ignoring the obstacles, he knew that if they slowed they were dead. Kaz opened fire, a series of clever, short, well-aimed bursts that sent the monsters scattering for cover. One of their shots slammed into the buggy, but it hit a part of the bodywork that was not critical. Then they were past, Kaz swinging the gun around to keep it trained on them, an unearthly scream as the buggy ran over an alien and they were turning into the narrow valley entrance. Several bursts knocked chips of rock from the valley walls ahead of them, but none hit. They were through.

“That didn’t seem too hard,” Nathan said. His voiced sounded harsh and exhilarated, it was if the speed of action had made him temporarily forget whatever had been bugging him ever since they'd come to Mars.

“You’re right, but now that we’re in they’ll put the blockade back across the mouth of the valley. That’s why we’ll need our ace in the hole.”

The drove another half a mile and came upon the DeVries’s crew and the security team. They had formed a defensive barrier behind their broken down buggies, Rahm was worried they were going to fire on them but they recognized the Mars Base buggy in time and ran out to welcome them. Josh DeVries ran up to Rahm as he was climbing out of the buggy.

“Hot damn, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

“How’s everything looking, Josh?”

He grimaced. “We’re alive, that’s about all I can say. We’re low on air, and the buggy power is drained, other than that we’re fine. What’s the plan?”

Rahm told him about the power cells in their buggy, but it was the portable air scrubbers that caused him to smile with delight.

“Some of us are running really low. I thought it would be touch and go, we were about to start pooling our last supplies of air. Can I start issuing them to my crew?”

“Go ahead, Josh.”

He walked over to Damian Hacker, the militia chief, they shook hands.

We thought we were finished, it’s good to see you.”

Rahm told him about his plan. “As soon as your buggies are up and running, we’ll go out and deal with the Taurons. The cannon crew outside should shake them up, that’ll give us a chance to clear the blockade. It wasn’t in place when we came in, but they’ll sure as hell put it back now they know we’re here.”

“My boys have a laser cannon mounted on our own vehicle and we each have laser rifles. Other than that, the drilling crew has sidearms.”

“That’ll have to do. We’d better see how they’re getting on with the power cells.”

“Rahm, before you go, how are things at Mars Base? We’ve been out of touch for some time.”

“Yeah, of course, you don’t know. It’s not good, the air scrubbers are down. They’re going to Emergency lockdown, they weren’t happy about us coming here.”

“That’s a bastard. Nothing we can do about it?”

“Maybe. Look, Damian, I need to talk to Gabi Aaronsen.”

“Sure, I’ll leave you to it and make sure we’re ready to shoot the shit out of them when we go.”

The militia man walked away. Rahm saw Gabi looking across at him. She was standing next to the drilling frame, her expression was strange. He went towards her but before he reached her she rushed out and held him tight to her. As tight as it was possible to hold someone in a pressure suit and helmet. He held so that he could see her face. She was crying, tears pouring down her cheeks.

“Rahm, I thought we were dead.”

“You’ll be ok now. You’re in my crew, I’ve got a rule. You don’t die until I give you permission to die. Clear?”

She nodded, the beginnings of a smile coming to touch her lips. “You mean I’m really in your team?”

“If you want to be, yes. I’ll ask Kacy to supervise your technician work, but I doubt you need much looking after, I gather you’re ready to take a job as a fully fledged technician-engineer.”

“I’d like that very much. I’d even kiss you if we weren’t wearing these helmets.”

“I’ll take a rain check on that, Gabi. But there’s something more serious I need to talk to you about. “

She looked worried, but he put a hand on her arm. “It’s nothing you’ve done, but it’s more of what you can do. For all of us. What do you know about Hughes-Kettler air scrubbing equipment?”

She looked thoughtful. “Isn’t that out of date now, they took it all out of service years ago. They had several systems at training school for us to practice on. Everyone complained bitterly that there was no point in doing it, we’d never encounter that stuff in the field.”

He smiled. “There’s a good chance you’ll be renewing your acquaintance with ‘that stuff’, as you call it, here on Mars. Our scrubbers have broken down, so I’ll give you one guess about what type they are.”

“Hughes-Kettler! Oh, shit. I wish I’d paid more attention now.”

“Can you do anything with it?”

“I’ll do my best, of course. It depends on the reason it failed, do you know what caused it?”

He shook his head. “No idea, sorry. The first priority is to get out of here, and then we’ll worry about the air scrubbers after. How’s your air?”

“Not good, I’m down to less than an hour. How long will it take to get back?”

“Four hours.” Her face fell, but he continued. “We picked up some portable units from the wreck of the old Eastern Star, a ship that went down a few years ago. Come over to the buggy and I’ll give you one.”

Her face lit up again. “Rahm, you’re my hero.”

He laughed. “Tell me that later when we get back.”

“No, I’m serious. If we never get out of here, I want you to know, well, I thought at one time you were some kind of a wash-out. I was wrong.”

“That’s ok, Gabi. I’ve made more than my share of mistakes, so maybe I'm not quite the guy you think I am.”

“I know what you are, Rahm. The question I have for you less complicated. Am I the kind of girl you can take out for a celebratory drink afterwards?”

He looked into her eyes. “Yes, you are, Gabi. You’re that kind of girl.”

“Good. I owe you that kiss too, so maybe we can make it a date.”

He nodded. “I’d like that.”

They were interrupted by a shout from Damian Hacker. “Attention, everyone. We’ve put the power cells in the buggies, they’re both up and running. We’re set to go, all we need do now is fight our way through the reception party waiting outside.”

He nodded to Rahm as he walked up to him. “I've issued the portable scrubbers to everyone, we were all running low. We’d never have got back. My thanks again. Are you ready to leave?”

“For sure. What’s the running order?”

“I’ll take the lead and try to blast them as much as possible when we hit their blockade. The drilling crew can travel in the center and your men in the rear. I’d suggest you remount the cannon on the back of your buggy, it’s likely you’ll need to discourage them once we’re past.”

“I’ve got that.”

He turned to his crew. “Ok, people, let’s mount up. Kaz, would you re-site that cannon on the rear.”

“I’d like to travel with you,” Gabi said. She’d come up behind him.

“Ok, can you use a laser rifle?”

“I’ve used one, yes.”

“Good enough, you can join Kacy in the rear of the buggy. She’s not so hot with weapons, so make sure nothing happens to her." He smiled. "You’ll need her later to bring you up to date with the technical things. She’s the number one technician on Mars.”

“Understood.”

“I’m ready with the cannon,” Kaz called down.

He acknowledged and climbed aboard. Nathan was armed with a rifle, as was Gabi. He looked ahead and the other two buggies started to move forward, he fed power to the motor and followed.

They didn’t get far, as they round the outcrop of rock to bring the entrance in sight, the enemy aliens opened fire. They’d erected a barricade as expected, but they weren’t sheltering behind it. It wasn’t the way of a warrior, they stood in front, blasting at the approaching buggies, but the drilling crews weren’t about to let them have a clear shot. They weaved dangerously from side to side, but it was enough to avoid the worst of the incoming fire. Then they were on them, it happened so fast that the monsters had no time to take evasive action. Damian’s lead buggy swept broadside along the blockade and one of his men through a high-explosive charge. They veered away as the explosion blew more of the Taurons off their feet. There was a gap, a gaping hole in the barrier, Damian’s buggy made a three hundred and sixty degree turn and headed straight for it. The other buggies fell into line, all the time the crews poured fire onto the aliens. Then they were through, unscathed, blazing across the ground outside the mouth of the valley. Ten of the Taurons leapt for their vehicle to follow, the rest manned their heavy guns ready to open fire. That was when Saul and Brad let loose with the heavy cannon, bursts of fire hammered into the Taurons, sending them racing for cover. Their vehicle was damaged too, a burst smashed into the front drive train and it slewed useless into the dust. Some of them were still running after them, trying to prevent their escape, but they gave up and went back to their ruined camp. Damian Hacker stopped long enough for Rahm to collect his men, together with their heavy cannon, and then they put their vehicles on the course that would take them back to Mars Base.