Existential Threat: Chapter 19 Part 3 of 3 (Patreon)

Luke fired focused bursts into the Adraxi defensive trenches around the city, bots charged forwards collapsing under the fire as smoke cannisters were hurled out.

Rounds ripped up along the city’s edge, disappearing into the lines the Adraxi had dug, detonating like a rising wave through the Adraxi fighting position, cutting off their fire.

Brrrrrrt. The fighter howled away, its atmospheric engines screaming as another stream of dirt was shot skyward by the second fighter. The sound of rounds coming after the craft had headed off.

“Push into the city!” Luke yelled, rising, keeping his weapon at the ready as he half jogged forward.

Adraxi recovered, firing across the broken landscape of splintered trees, mud and water filled craters.

Heavies and bots returned fire, cutting down defenders.

“Grenades if you got ‘em!”

Those closest hurled grenades like they were going out of fashion, sending up fountains of debris.

Bots fired into the slit trenches, jumping overtop of them

“Tanks head around to the South, Heavies into the city. Clear them out building by building.” Luke ran through the muck towards the village, a grenade went off in the Adraxi position, bots clearing the honest to god trench they’d made, crabs smoked and burned behind the earthworks, clogging up the roads.

Tanks blowers ramped up, their frames and metal creaking as they flowed after the bots, cutting along the border of the city, forward tanks aiming ahead, those behind looking in either direction.

Luke cut a recording and sent it to the intel channel. He jumped over the trench, people moving into buildings.

An Orkaran body lay in the street, two others with them, the spores had got to them, trying to convert them, the signal from the command posts leaving half melted bones.

Shit.

“Ken, head down into the tunnels quick as you can.”

“Sir!”

“Contacts to the south,” Akran, Item’s squad leader said at almost the same time his tanks opened fire.

Light from the hellbore cannons illuminated the city like new-day sun with the fzzst like water poured into a hot pan as they evaporated water along their path.

The detonations happening at almost the same time as the deep bassy thuds of their heavy machine guns opened up, nearly overwhelmed with the V-type rounds detonating.

“Lots of infantry, could use some support,” Arkan’s voice tightened.

“Adraxi coming from the South, they took out one of the fighters, artillery is hitting the location, but its tight and they’ve got some overhead cover,” One of the other company leaders said.

Great.

“Enemy incoming from the South,” Luke went from company to squad. Assessing his options. “We’re going to bypass the city, link up the tank lines. It looks like they got a lot over there and infantry.”

“Alright, everyone up on the line, ready if we have to push back a fight. Moose, Shiro, Have Delta act as security for Ken and his people. I want them to establish contact and get them the hell out of here.”

New markers for sensor rods spreading outwards from the city.

Luke moved around the edge of city, more tanks howling as they moved through the churned up ground, finding craters and positions to aim from and fired. The bot’s sensors blacked out the trail of light, as best it could as Luke ran between other tanks from another company, reinforcing those on the Southern Edge. Luke barely ducked from the detonation above the city.

Sensor rods hit the ground with a thwip like a hundred oversized toothpicks thrown into the mud, each of them smoking as they bled off heat.

There were too many for the sensors to get a clear reading on individuals.

Crab rounds struck a bot and the building behind them, disappearing the bot and collapsing the building.

“Well shit,” Luke muttered, quickly sketching out lines to be dug on his map. They needed to get dug in and hold. “Load Vee-threes.” He joined the supply channel for his company. “Get pumping up rounds, we got plenty of incoming.”

“On it.”

He skipped over to artillery battery he’d been assigned.

“Heyo,” He tapped his teeth together, thinking as he surveyed the ground. “Gonna pre-mark these here, I’ll adjust as things go on.” He added markers by sight and checked them against his map.

Adraxi ran out of cover, Luke caught them with a burst and kept updating information on his map.

“Got your markers, we’ll adjust the guns.”

“Thank yee kindly.” His map showed the up-armored movers with the Orkaran bouncing over the ground as they reached the side of the city.

Thankfully fighting inside the city was sporadic, most of the Adraxi just barely formed.

They put it all on the line outside. Trying to buy time for their reinforcements? That sent a chill through his mind, he tapped it out, and sent it to the intel channel as he found a nice crater to sit in.

His supply line pinged him.

“Go.”

“Sir, we’ve got dropships loading with ammunition, we’ll have the first load in ten.”

“Good shit.”

“Supply out.”

A tank opened up with its co-axial gun.

Luke followed the tracers, Adraxi emerged from a shadow in the ground. He zoomed in on the shadow. Of course its never easy. He keyed the command chat.

“Watch out the enemy are using tunnels and caves to move.”

A round crashed into the thr ground, covering Luke in mud.

“Crabs! Hey, check bearing two-six five tanker!” Fin yelled on local to the tank nearest him.

“Copy!” The tank shifted aim and fired.

Luke’s vision compensated for the line of pure light, fighting it away as a section of  ground exploded upwards, the water in the mud evaporating in a split second, detonating and collapsing.

“Delta how are things looking over there?”

“Coordinating with the dropships for pick-up, the Orkaran are in the tunnels.”

Bots moved to reinforce Luke as the tempo picked up, the buildings in the city cleared.

“Get any info you can on the natural caves around here.”

“Got it command.”

***

Ken held up his hand, spotting the popper markings, disabling the trap and waving the others forward.

The ground rumbled with faraway artillery as he reached a turn in the tunnel he rubbed a part of the wall, revealing rusted metal, covered in dirt. He tapped out a two, three, four staccato.

The door opened into a corridor of stone with a single slit.

Ken opened his mask, the lights illuminating his face.

“Ken?” A gruff older voice came through the slit.

“Dra?” He squinted.

“Thought you were at the mine, what you wearing?”

“I was at the mine, there were people that came from the sky, not Aer, humans, they gave us weapons and armor, they’re fighting above us, cleared the city. We’re here to get you away.”

Dra coughed. Ken’s heart rising into his throat. “Open it.”

Metal scraped on stone, the ‘wall’ next to the slit opening.

Ken moved down the corridor, others following, the door didn’t open all the way, having to go through sideways. He pushed a plastic sheet out of the way, coughing from the ash.

Older Orkaran, too old to work in the mines coughed and moved around, holding their crude weapons.

“Humans dropped from the skies, killed Adraxi, pushed them out of the mine facility and out of the city. We’re here to get you up to the transports and back to the mine or to the freighters that’s been converted for our use and taking people to the Sphere World.”

“What they want from us?” Dar asked.

“I don’t know, they have given us armor and weapons,” He tapped both. “They taught us how to use them and fight like nothing I have seen before. They fight to heal our people and look after them if they are wounded.”

“Are you sure it is not Aer trickery,” Dar frowned.

“They fight and spend resources as if it is un-ending, the Aer would never do such a thing.” Silence spread through the room.

The door opened and a woman walked in, holding a young child.

“Ken!” She stepped forward, noticing the room’s atmosphere. “What happened?”

“We’re here to evacuate everyone to somewhere safe.”

“Ken!” Delta’s squad leader Johnno came through his helmet.

“Johnno?”

“Luke just told me that there are Adraxi using the tunnels across the planet to move around, there anything that connects to your tunnels?”

He snapped to those behind him.

“Lar, Ore, Ild, watch the connection the tunnels, place the poppers there and be ready to blow it if you have to.”

They nodded and moved back out of the room, Lar chatting to them as they went.

“We need to go, now.” Ken said to Dar and the others.

Dar turned. “Kre, tell the others, we’re leaving.”

The woman nodded bouncing the boy on her hip and opened the door.

“Pack up, we’re leaving!”

Noises came from the room beyond as she pushed through, leaving it open, revealing a cave with water flowing down one corner, rough bathrooms in one corner, sleeping areas carved into rock, dozens of families.

“What about the other caves?” Dar asked, moving closer, the other guards moved to packs and gear along the walls, throwing stuff into the crude carrying items.

“Per and the others are gathering them, this is the furthest one,” Ken said.

Dar grunted, “Well guess I’d best get packing.”

“All clothes and food can be re-created where we’re going,” Ken raised his voice to be heard through the cave and guard room.

He turned back to Urs and Dol.

“Watch the entrance.”

“On it,” Dol said, the two closed their visors and moved to the entrance.

Ken pulled his visor down.

>Adraxi Spore detected.

He heard the people coughing in the next room over, glancing at the ash covered plastic.

“Hurry up we need to get a move on!” he walked into the cave, he’d push them out the tunnels himself if he had to. I hope that they haven’t contracted too much of it. He shivered, his lungs, stomach and throat reliving coughing up the grey muck.

An Explosion rumbled, not above ground as weapons fire echoed afterwards.

Orkaran were moving for the door, he pushed them on and got into the cave, children complained, others, too young or tired cried out, their siblings, mothers comforting them. Ken harried his people on.

Lar’s maker going red and then black.

Ore and Ild’s markers still green but pulling back towards him. Another explosion went off.

“Hurry everyone, food and clothing can be made where we’re going!” People were loathed to leave behind even their meager belongings. He grabbed a bag a lady was struggling with and kicked it away.

“Why!”

“You want your clothes or your lives?” Ken growled.

She backed up, cowing back, Ken felt sick in his stomach, but kept up the glare as she covered her younglings and moved with the crowd.

I’ll be the Kra’s own to save just one more.