The GDF Liberty entered the orbit of Copernicus a few days later. On a viewscreen near the loading bay, Nic spied one of the Hexadian ships, a Seed, in its own lazy orbit around the planet. It looked like any other speck of dust or debris from this distance, but he knew it could haul multiple Eggs, which could harbor dozens to hundreds of alien enemies—no... targets. He shifted his headspace back into combat mode.
Point and shoot. Collect credits. Get out safe.
He stood in his Achilles armorsuit in formation with the rest of the Red and White Battalions; they were assembled in the Beta-Class Carrier’s loading bay where all the smaller ships were docked. The commanding officers stood in front of the formation, with Colonel Harper Simmons present via hologram. Pertinent vitals and mission stats came alive on Nic’s HUD.
“Red and White Battalions,” said the colonel’s hologram, “your mission is unchanged. Mission phase one: retake the Copernicus spaceport. This will give the GDF Vindicator a base of operations to deploy vehicles and munitions. Phase two: reclaim the Achilles armorsuit factory. Kill any Hexadian enemy that tries to stop you. Is that understood?”
“Sir, yes, sir!” came the resounding reply from every soldier in the room.
“Give ‘em hell, soldiers! And Godspeed! Terra et populus!”
“Terra et populus!” The hologram deactivated.
A notification indicator blinked to life in the corner of Nic’s HUD. It was a private voice channel connection with Team Ivory. “No prisoners, right?” It was Korbin speaking.
“No prisoners,” Jarek agreed.
“Well, that’s technically up to them,” Nic chimed in with a grin. “I imagine not, though.”
“Upper atmosphere contact in five minutes,” said Lieutenant Colonel Goss. “That LZ will be hot on arrival! Squads, to your Patrol ships on the double!”
Each squad navigated to their respective Zeta-Class Patrol without delay. Nic climbed the airstairs into the cabin first, followed by Perri, Jarek, and Maqsud. The door sealed shut and they made straight for the control room.
“Let’s stick together this time,” Nic told Perri in a private voice channel.
“That’s the plan,” she answered. “A Patrol is a lot sturdier than a Gryphon, with the astrosteel.” She patted the polymer glove of his armorsuit with hers. “Don’t worry.”
“I’m not. Just preparing.” Nic was getting better at lying through his teeth.
The Liberty’s local paragravity generator shut off and the smaller Patrol ships launched one by one out and down through the planet’s thin atmosphere. The reentry friction was negligible, barely registering as turbulence. Nic set his jaw, took a deep breath, and steeled himself for his next battle.
Point and shoot. Collect credits. Get out safe.
It was good to have his squad by his side this time.
Close to the surface, past a uniform haze that rolled over a lower altitude, a gentle tink-tink-tink sound cascaded across the impenetrable hull of their ship.
“What is that, ice?” Jarek asked. “Debris?”
Nic shook his head. “Not with a hull this thick. We wouldn’t be able to hear it.”
“More spike missiles?” said Maqsud. “Is this becoming a modus operandi? I much preferred their smaller counterparts!”
“You’re telling me,” Perri agreed, nervously guarding her recently broken arm.
“They’re not pulling what they pulled on Telum again,” said Nic. “This is a ground fight now.”
“Red Platoons One and Two, White Platoon One, you’re with me,” said Lieutenant Colonel Goss. “Lieutenants, you have your assignments. Let’s get to work!”
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“Tagging my squads now,” said Lieutenant Welch. Nic saw in his HUD that ten squads were pinged—including Teams Scarlet and Ivory. “My squads, listen up: LZ is hot. Astrosteel cover is rolling out as we speak. Snipers are taking position first to pick off their Sharpshooters. If you got my voice in your helmet, it means we’re up next with SMGs and Rocket Launchers! Get in position and stand by for orders to move up. Ping confirmation!”
Nic did as he was told. Diamond-shaped bullet points appeared next to all the names in Team Scarlet, and then next to all the squad names under Welch’s immediate command. The front viewscreen displayed the planet’s ascending horizon, the beige landscape flattening, rising to meet them, and cover modules jettisoned from each individual Patrol. The compact boxes embedded themselves in the brittle dirt and unfolded into astrosteel walls of cover staggered across the battlefield. Tube-shaped weapon caches landed behind them.
Up in the distance, the Copernicus spaceport sprawled out like a stadium. All around it, Hexadians stood guard, ready for battle.
“Goes without saying,” said Nic, “but they’re in vacuum configurations, obviously. Aim for the lobes.”
“Stay close. Stay frosty. Let’s go!”
The four of them jumped from the Patrol ship door, landing one by one on the crunchy ground. Nic sprinted to safety behind an impenetrable black wall of cover. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the others joined him safely. Now all that was left to do was wait for the order to advance.
Behind them, snipers fired on their alien counterparts, the gangly, blue-skinned Sharpshooters. Spikes whizzed past overhead, sideswiping the contrails of the slightly faster sniper rounds. Over time, the volley of alien projectiles dwindled to a trickle, and the spikes that flew now came in bursts, desperate and imprecise from this distance—a clear sign that the Sharpshooters were out of commission.
“Sharpshooters down,” said Lieutenant Welch in the appropriate voice channel. “Cleanup crew, you’re up! Grab launchers from the drop pods and move!”
“Let’s go!” said Nic. “I’ll provide covering fire. You three grab launchers first and let ‘em rip!”
“Ain’t gotta tell me twice,” said Jarek. “’Bout time we got some real firepower!”
Team Scarlet moved up with the rest of the assigned squads. Weapon caches sprang open and extended Rocket Launchers and ammo crates. Nic’s three squadmates got to work on retrieval while he picked off a few aliens with Frag grenades. RTIFIS drew a holographic arc in his HUD marking the optimal green path for him to throw it—and, with the power assist of his Achilles armorsuit, he was able to hurl it far enough to land behind enemy lines.
When the dust settled, RTIFIS tallied his kills.
NIC [2COM, 18FOD] (+760 Credits)
Since it was a Priority Three mission, all squads on Copernicus would be earning Enhanced Commission—double the ordinary payout. He tried not to let his early success go to his head. Missions had a way of going sideways without warning.
Perri, Jarek, and Maqsud fired their Rocket Launchers while Nic grabbed and assembled his. Plumes of fire and black smoke blossomed in the crowd of Hexadians. Now it was the Fodders’ turn to return the offensive—the diminutive, knuckle-dragging aliens bounded at them, thrashing their oversized arms as they ran on all fours. Pop. Pop. Crunch. The thin air softened the sounds of rocket explosions even at closer range. Even in their sturdier vacuum configurations, the stubby-legged aliens were no match for human weaponry; chunks of pale yellow flesh splattered with blue blood were all that remained of them, the rest vaporized instantaneously.
“Move up... spaceport, now!” Welch barked. His voice came through garbled, just like on Telum. More electrical interference, Nic realized, and he remembered how Colonel Simmons had warned them of this added hazard.
“That’s the signal,” Nic told his squad. “Let’s move up!” At least the proximal channels still work... for now.
Nic and several other Red Battalion squads advanced toward the Copernicus spaceport. Team Ivory joined them. More Fodders needed mopping up along the way, and musclebound Commanders waited for them around the perimeter of the irregular gray dome. Rockets. Frags. When those ran out, SMG rounds. Nic even used his Pistol.
NIC [11COM, 45FOD] (+3,100 Credits)
Point and shoot. Collect credits. Get out safe.
Running out of ammo... We need another cache drop pronto!
Fighting on autopilot had its perks. By the time Nic took note of their depleted ammunition, this phase of the mission was already over. The alien dead lay strewn about the interior of the open spaceport. The humans stood victorious, not a casualty among them.
“Flare... -ing active now,” said Welch. “Await... F Vindicator... and Medusas for phase two.”
“Medusas?!” Perri and Jarek blurted out in unison. It was the intersection of their two specialties, vehicles and extra-heavy weaponry. Nic was delighted at the prospect of doing battle in an armed, impenetrable, mobile bunker; he didn’t mind how slow and hard to maneuver it was. He had a girlfriend who was more than capable of getting it where it needed to be.
The best part, he thought, grinning, is we’ll be untouchable all the way to the factory. No Hex weaponry can get through astrosteel! We’ll be safe again, just like on the Patrol and on the Carrier.
In the distance, thanks to telescopic adjustments on his HUD, Nic spied a column of bright yellow smoke rising into the sky. No electrical communication meant that the ground forces needed some other way to communicate with the orbiting Carrier. Now the GDF Vindicator would be planetside within the half hour, bearing ammo refills and railgun-armed Medusa tanks.
Nic indulged in a little relief, a little private celebration. Every part of the mission was going to plan.
If they were lucky, it would stay that way.