The Prisoner of Eldaron: Crimson Worlds Successors II (43 page)

Unidentified vessel.

*  *  *  *  *

“I think those are burrowers, Major. I read a dozen or more, positioned all across the surface.” Anders was flipping switches on his workstation, reviewing the data coming in from the few remaining scanners buried beneath the surface. “Yes,” he said, “I’m sure of it. There’s nothing else that could create that kind of vibration in the rock.”

Cranston sat quietly in his chair, staring out over the Eagles’ compact command center. He sighed softly, trying to keep the sound to himself. He couldn’t understand why the enemy didn’t just blast the vault door. Perhaps they lacked decent intel on the Nest, didn’t know where it was. Considerable effort had been made to hide the main entrance to the Black Eagles’ base.

The burrowers were a more indiscriminant weapon system, the kind of thing an enemy would deploy if they didn’t understand the layout of the target. The high-yield warheads would dig into the rock of the moon’s surface before detonating, gouging out great craters with each detonation. The Nest was buried deep, but the burrowers would work their way down eventually…and when they did, the Eagles base, and all the personnel in it, would be obliterated in the fury of a final thermonuclear blast.

This enemy knew what they would need to destroy us…and they knew the fleet would be away…when to strike. Who is this?

Cranston realized it didn’t matter. He suspected that whatever mysterious enemy the Eagles had encountered on Lysandria and Eris was behind the attack. But he still knew almost nothing about them, other than this demonstration of just how much power they could deploy. Even if he could figure it out, he couldn’t get the information out. He and his people would be dead soon.

Cranston felt the anger building inside him, the frustration. The Black Eagles were many things, but even those who hated and despised them acknowledged they were an elite corps, the best at what they did.

And now we’re going to die like rats caught in a trap
.

He stared at the display, trying to think of a way to strike back, to take the fight to the enemy. But there was nothing. Only the bitter taste of defeat.

*  *  *  *  *

“Who are they?” Caravalla’s com had exploded. It seemed like every one of his ships had sent out a message, reporting the mysterious vessels on the scanner, or asking who they were.

I have no idea who they are. More enemies? Friends?

He stared at the display, but the AI had not updated the labels. That meant there was still no positive ID. But that changed almost immediately.

“Attention Black Eagles.” The deep voice blasted from his com. “Attention Black Eagles, this is Jarrod Tyler in command of the Columbian fleet. We are here to assist you in your struggle against these invaders.”

Jarrod Tyler? Caravalla knew Columbia’s dictator and General Cain had a relationship of sorts, but he was surprised Tyler would come so quickly and forcefully to the Eagles’ aid. Still, now that he thought about it, the intervention made sense. Tyler was a highly suspicious man, far more apt to see threats where none existed than to ignore ones that were real. And Columbia and the Eagles did share the Eta Cassiopeiae system. A huge fleet of warships coming through one of the warp gates was sure to arouse Tyler’s concern.

He felt a wave of excitement as the realization set in. The battle wasn’t over yet. Far from it. Indeed, Tyler’s forces were about to move into combat range…and the enemy vessels were spread out, deployed to bombard the Nest, not face an attacking fleet.

He hit the button to activate his com. “General Tyler, this is Captain Caravalla, strike force commander for the Nest. My fighter squadrons are deployed, but the rest of the Nest’s surface weapons have been knocked out. The enemy is bombarding the surface, attempting to reach and destroy the main facility.”

“Very well, Captain. We’ll put a stop to that soon enough. My forces will be engaged in less than a minute. Then we’ll show whoever this is what happens when outsiders invade Eta Cassiopeiae.” Tyler’s voice was firm, grim. There was a coldness there, one almost devoid of emotion. Tyler had no bloodlust, not even any evident anger against the invaders. But Caravalla knew without a doubt that wouldn’t stop him from exterminating every one of them if he could.

“Your aid is most welcome, Mr. President. On behalf of the Black Eagles, please allow me to thank you…and to wish your forces good fortune in battle.”

Caravalla switched his com back to the strike force’s frequency. “Alright, things have changed just a bit. Now, we’re supporting the Columbians, so break formation and go pick your targets. It’s time to send these bastards to hell.”

Chapter 30

Below the Citadel

Eldaron City

Planet Eldaron, Denebola IV

Earthdate: 2319 AD (34 Years After the Fall)

“There’s an entrance to the detention area just ahead.” The Eldari captive’s voice was weak, his fear coming through with every word. But he seemed to have accepted that his best chance of survival was to cooperate with the Black Eagles. He was scared of the Tyrant, certainly, but he was no less afraid of Darius Cain. And Cain and his people were a lot closer.

Darius stared at the prisoner, his gaze alone reducing the Eldari to a near state of panic. “Where is the cell, Henri?” Darius’ voice was cold, ominous. “He has been here a very long time. I know you know who I am speaking of, and if you don’t tell me what I want to know…” He let his voice trail off. Nothing he could have said would match the horrors he suspected his captive’s mind would produce.

“It is a special cell, at the very end of the main hall.”

Darius nodded. Then he toggled the unitwide com. “Alright, Eagles. We’re going in…and we can damned sure expect some serious trouble. We know this is a trap, that we were lured here. Whether or not Erik Cain is in the detention area, the enemy knows that is where we are going. We have been fortunate not to have run into more resistance so far, but we can be sure that respite is at an end.”

Darius could feel his heart pounding. He was consumed by emotions…the tension before battle, and anticipation of seeing his father after so many years. His prisoner’s confirmation that there was indeed a special prisoner who had been held for many years beneath the Citadel was a cause for encouragement. Perhaps Erik Cain
was
alive. It was hard to imagine in any terms that felt real. Darius had lost his father when he was seventeen…before he’d left Atlantia, before he’d become a mercenary, before the Eagles. Everything that had happened since, the years that seemed now like most of his life…it had all existed in a reality where Erik Cain was dead.

Despite the captive’s words though, Darius knew the mission could still end in disappointment, in finding it was all a hoax, that Erik Cain was indeed dead. And he already felt the guilt for leading his people into an ambush, into a fight he almost certainly knew would be a bloodbath. If it proved to have been for nothing…he couldn’t imagine the pain of so many of his loyal soldiers killed for no purpose.

There were positive feelings too, though, beyond just hopes that his father was alive. Satisfaction that he had come this far, certainly. And pride in his warriors, and in the loyalty they had shown him. The Black Eagles were mercenaries, they fought for pay. But to a man they rallied to their leader, agreeing—no, demanding—to follow him to Eldaron, whatever the danger. He’d always been dedicated to his Eagles, but now he truly realized how special a group of misfits he had assembled.

Darius stepped forward, moving toward the front of the two hundred armored men and women crowding the passageway. He was pushing the prisoner before him, and Alcabedo was close on his heels.

“General…I think you should stay in the center of the formation.” There was obvious concern in his voice.

“Yes, Ernesto, I know you do. And I want you to know I appreciate your efforts.” He paused. “But there are some things a man must do, some times he must lead.”

“Yes, General, but…” Alcabedo’s voice trailed off.

“Don’t worry, Ernesto. I’ve been in battle before.” Darius took a deep breath. “Alright, Eagles, the enemy has to know we’re here, and the fact that we’ve seen so little resistance suggests they’re waiting for us somewhere…probably behind this door. So I want everybody ready for a fight.”

He motioned toward the two men standing by the hatch holding an explosive charge. “As soon as the door blows, we go in…and we take the entire detention area. And remember, you are all Black Eagles…so whatever is waiting in there, you will know what to do. And God help whoever stands in our way.”

He stepped back and nodded. The two men at the door affixed the charge and walked back. They crouched down and one of them looked toward Darius.

Here we come, father.

He turned toward the soldier and nodded again. An instant later, the door was blown apart…and the Black Eagles surged forward with a terrifying fury.

*  *  *  *  *

“Fuck.” Jan Kelly looked out over the field. There were burning tanks everywhere, the thick black smoke rising in a hundred columns above the broken ground. The fighter strike had been devastating, and the enemy armored vehicles had been stopped in their tracks, ravaged by the constant attack runs. But the fighters were gone now, the ones that escaped at least, and it was up to her people to finish off the surviving tanks. Major Darryk’s fighter-bombers had broken the back of the enemy force, but Kelly knew her people would have to hunt down the survivors and destroy them one by one. She didn’t doubt they could do it, but she knew it would cost.

She was still looking up at the darkening sky, the heavy clouds of black smoke obscuring the otherwise bright sunshine of midday. Darryk’s people were out of sight already. Indeed, they were off her scanner. She still looked up after them, grateful for the intervention that had restored her line, but sorry for the unexpected blast of AA fire that had taken down a number of them before Darryk managed to pull them out. Kelly had no idea where all that AA had come from so suddenly, but she had no doubt what it meant. The Eagles had lost their air support. No group of fighters, not even the state of the art machines the talented Eagle pilots flew, could go up against heavy ground-based AA. At least not for close support. And that’s what her people needed.

“Alright platoon, listen up.”
She finally forced herself to look down from the sky. The fighters are gone, and they’re not coming back. Not unless you take out all that AA
. “Those hotshot pilots took out a ton of tanks, but now it’s our turn. We’re moving out in three minutes…search and destroy all across the field. The job’s simple. Find tanks…and blow them to hell.”

She’d gotten the orders a few minutes earlier. The entire battalion was moving forward to hit the rear echelon of the enemy tank force…before it could pull back and redeploy. Taking it out was going to cost, probably heavily. But she knew it was better than letting them reorganize and pick another point of attack. As long as they were out there somewhere, they were a threat. Better to destroy them now. Eagle officers didn’t like to see their people killed and wounded, but the job came first. And the Black Eagles did what had to be done. Always.

“We’re not picking up any enemy infantry, but we’re going to have a section protecting each HVR team…just in case.” That was one thing Kelly couldn’t figure out. The Eldari had somehow managed to acquire a large force of main battle tanks…but they didn’t support them with infantry when they deployed. It didn’t make sense. Tanks were rare in post-Fall warfare, but the doctrines on their use were well-known.

Whatever. Don’t question it when the enemy makes a gift to you of their mistake
.

But it still nagged at her. She didn’t have a lot of respect for the Eldari or their military, but she knew they weren’t stupid. So why such a foolish error?

She glanced up at her chronometer. One minute.

“Everybody ready…we go over the top in one minute. I want those tanks dead, but that doesn’t mean I expect to see any stupid shit going on out there. Stay low, zigzag across the field. The strafing runs tore the ground to shreds. You’ve got lots of craters and blast holes out there.
Use them
.”

It was basic infantry tactics, and she realized her people had been trained again and again in all of it. But she also knew that it always helped to review before a fight, to remind her people of everything they already knew. Even Eagles were scared in battle, and fear had a way of overriding judgment. Even veterans could make stupid mistakes, screw-ups that got them killed.

She took a deep breath, twisting her foot around, looking for a hard bit of ground in the muddy trench, a good jumping off point. Then she pushed off, propelling herself up and over the lip. “Let’s go,” she shouted into the com, and she crouched low and moved out over the blasted, smoky plain.

*  *  *  *  *

“Yes, Lieutenant. Understood.” Jordyn Calfort’s voice was crisp, more a result of her skill at hiding fatigue than anything else.

“And good luck, Lieutenant.” Antonia Camerici sounded tired as well. Calfort knew Darius Cain’s communication officer well. Calfort had been a last year trainee when Camerici had arrived at the Nest, and the two had become friends. Camerici didn’t look the part of an Eagle, slim and no more than a meter and a half tall, but Calfort knew better. Antonia Camerici had her headquarters position because of her extraordinary organizational skills, not because she couldn’t fight. Calfort had seen her friend remind more than one hulking doubter, as often as not with a trip to the infirmary.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Calfort was a believer in formality on the battlefield, even though Camerici was ‘Antonia’ to her in all other circumstances.

Calfort was sitting in the foxhole she had dug herself a few hours before. The orders had been to stop and hold, but when the Black Eagles paused on the battlefield, they put that time to good use. Calfort’s people weren’t engaged at the moment—the enemy forces they had been pursuing had pulled back out of immediate combat range. But that didn’t matter…this was still a battle, and Eagles were trained never to be careless. So the first thing her people did was to dig some hasty works, a series of foxholes and small trenches that would give them some cover if the enemy reorganized and launched a counterattack.