Battle for Proxima (25 page)

“What have we got?” she asked.

“If you look ahead, that is the storm wall. The brief said it was built to keep most of the dust storms away from the main buildings. That means we are on the southern perimeter, about three hundred metres from the plaza and even further from our target.”

“Want to send the landing craft ahead with a few squads to scout?”

“No, definitely not. The enemy are dug in with greater numbers than expected. In my opinion, they must have arrived earlier that we thought and captured the surface level of the city hours ago. We need to get underground, where most of the structure exists, and help the civvies, fast!”

The leaders of the other squads approached along with Lieutenant Weathers.

“I assume we have a new plan?” asked Weathers.

“Revised plan,” corrected Spartan. He indicated to the rest of the marines.

“We have two platoons, a full six squads of Vanguards, plus an additional engineer squad.”

As if to emphasise the point, the team of engineers stomped past and towards two crates of tooling for their suits. Three more climbed out from the final landing craft. Their CES suits looked primitive and basic compared to their new, improved Vanguard armour but their worth was now well known, especially by the Vanguards.

“We will penetrate the wall and move through the southern levels of the city. We will work through the built-up areas and along the perimeter instead of the middle. We’ll make use of the cover and get to the precinct quadrant as fast as possible.”

“Are you sure there aren’t other ways inside the city?”

“There are some small access points but most of this surface layer simply exists on one level. It is like a large flat structure with only a few parts actually continuing underground. The shopping precinct and the transportation hub are both supposed to continue underground.”

“Why don’t we hit the hub instead? With us landing in the wrong place, it’s now much closer to where we are now. Surely if it is a transportation hub, there should be wider corridors and tunnels for vehicles and loaders?”

“Good point. Thoughts, Sergeant?” asked Spartan as he looked over to Teresa.

Teresa thought for a moment before replying.

“I agree with Lieutenant Weathers. The hub is to the south west and much closer. If it is accessible we take it, if not we continue around the perimeter till we reach the precinct. We need to only slightly alter our route to check it on the way.”

“We’re agreed then. Good. Lieutenant, take the right flank and keep your heads down. Look for any possible enemy reinforcements in the direction of the spaceport. 1
^st
Platoon will take the left flank and circle around the plaza till we meet at the hub. We’ll move through the wall one squad at a time and then split apart until which reach the objective. Each squad will ensure it is in sight of the next at all times. I don’t want any gaps the enemy could exploit.”

The small group nodded in agreement.

“Good, let’s go!”

Lieutenant Weathers turned back to his platoon and jogged over to them, the heavy metal of his armoured suit making clanking sounds as he moved. He called out orders on the internal platoon network. Some of the marines started to move into position before he even reached them.

Spartan looked back to the marines of 1
^st
Platoon. They were the men and women he had spent considerable time with in multiple operations. Marcus and Teresa, now both Sergeants, were the people he had known the longest now. All three of them working together since they started training back on CCS Santa Maria.

“1
^st
Squad take point, the rest follow on the flanks. Move out!”

Sergeant Harris, the new NCO and leader of 1
^st
Squad, waved to his group of marines. They moved forward in a loose skirmish screen, leaving a space of four or five metres between them. Advancing behind were 2
^nd
and 3
^rd
Squads, under Sergeant Lovett and Sergeant Keller. Spartan followed the 1
^st
Squad so that he and Teresa, who was now his Platoon Sergeant, were in the heart of the combat force. They all moved at a fast walk, each marine turning their upper bodies as they marched, checking for trouble. The low whirring of cogs and gears were the only sign that the suits were mechanical, rather than just armour plates fitted around their bodies.

The surface of Euryale looked dark blue with its rain-swept hills and thick cloud cover. Visibility was poor, and for those with exposed ears the sound from the constant whistle of the wind could drive a man to insanity. It was a miserable location and unsurprisingly one of the least desired colonies in the Confederacy. If it weren’t for the constantly expanding population through the Confederacy, and the demands on raw materials, it would never have been colonised. With so many of the civilians working underground, the colony had become a hub for computer based research and services.

The Vanguards continued forwards, their dark, drab armour moving like large metal bugs across the dreary landscape. From inside Spartan’s armour, the rain ran down the visor and slightly obscured parts of the ground. He watched for movement but so far, the only object of note was a flight of three Navy Lightning fighters screaming across the sky being pursued by two missiles. Spartan watched them for a moment, nodding to himself with pleasure as the automatic flare launchers distracted the missiles long enough for the fighters to escape.

“Sir, we’re approaching the perimeter wall. No signs of movement.”

Spartan inhaled slowly, this was where he expected trouble.

“Stay frost people, watched your sensors and check cover. We don’t want to run into an ambush out here.”

The outer storm wall of the city was somewhat of a misnomer. It wasn’t completely manmade. A large part of it was natural rock, reinforced with metal girders and plating to create a boundary of eight metres in some places. Where the natural rock was highest, it had been left completely untouched.

“Sir, I’m detecting damage along this sector. It looks like a part of the wall, roughly forty metres wide, has been smashed by artillery,” said one of the Vanguards at the front.

“Signs of the enemy?”

“Negative, Sir.”

“Good, keep moving. It’s probably damage from the fighting. Intel says they will have taken the spaceport first and then used the roads into the city to move men and materials.”

Teresa turned her head towards Spartan and contacted him via a private channel.

“Spartan, I don’t like it. What if this is the way they came in?”

Spartan checked his scanners. There was no sign of enemy moment or even military hardware. He tapped the button to activate the thermal imaging and instantly spotted a heat bloom.

“I’ve got something, thermal readings twenty metres behind the breach. Tread carefully!” he called out on the company channel.

The group kept moving forward though now they had slowed to a walk, each of them twisting their torsos and checking every rock or piece of cover for a potential target. From Spartan’s position, behind the 1
^st
Squad, he could see their skirmish line of a dozen marines moving up the dirt embankment and towards the ruins of the wall.

“This place is giving me the creeps,” said Teresa quietly, “Don’t we have any surveillance?”

Spartan almost kicked himself, completely forgetting about the extra equipment installed on the landing craft. There was a reason he had done so well as a private and then as a sergeant. He wasn’t used to being in charge of operations of this size.

“All units stand your ground,” he called, tapping a button in his suit. It took just a few seconds to establish a direct link to the craft. He checked the vessel’s status and received an immediate response that five automated drones were loaded and ready for use.

“Wait for tactical reconnaissance,” he ordered and then hit the launch button. Behind him, two puffs of smoke were the only indication of the two jet powered drones that blasted off into the sky. They were both fully automated. All he had to do was tap a point on his tactical map. Then they would move into the area and circle at a safe distance. No sooner had the first one moved over the wall, than he could see the problem. He pressed the company toggle.

“Lieutenant Spartan here. We have a problem. The drone is showing a large number of enemy forces preparing defensive positions further inside the city. It looks to me like they are expecting an attack from the west. That is exactly where our reinforcements from the spaceport will be coming from.”

“I see it,” replied Lieutenant Weathers.

The drone continued along its path, sending more footage to the Vanguards.

“Sir, look at the transportation hub. What are those around the entrance to the tunnels?” asked Teresa.

Spartan couldn’t quite see on the screen, so tapped several more buttons to zoom in. The video shook for a moment as the optical stabiliser of the drone tried to correct for the wind. It locked onto one of the objects and focused in. Spartan concentrated hard.

“No way. The animals!”

The video feed showed a multi-barrelled gun mount that had been set up to face inside the tunnel. Around the area moved a small number of foot soldiers. Most were wearing army issue carapace armour. It was more primitive than the marines’ PDS suits but was very tough and hard to damage.

“They’re setting up turrets to face the defenders. If they try to break out they will be cut down.”

“They must be expecting the civilians to try and fight their way out,” suggested Lieutenant Weathers.

“No, that isn’t it. I know how these people think,” said a bitter sounding Spartan.

“They are planning on herding the civilians to the guns. The Union aren’t interested in taking the colony or prisoners. They just want to bleed us, stop us from reclaiming Euryale and getting people and resources for our war effort.”

“Bastards!” muttered Marcus.

“Sergeant!” reprimanded Spartan.

“Sorry, Sir.”

“Listen up, Vanguards. Wait here and secure the immediate area. We need to get this data to the Fleet,” he said, lifting his arm to point upwards.

“Make sure you’re ready, the mission is still on. The objective hasn’t changed. We are still going to rescue the civilians! We’re also going to make sure our friends in the rest of the ground force don’t get creamed when they arrive!”

Lieutenant Weathers signalled for his marines to find cover. The sergeants did their jobs and in just a few seconds the two platoons were well concealed amongst the dirt and rocks, around the broken perimeter wall. Spartan ducked down behind a series of large boulders and connected to the CiC on the Santa Cruz.

“Major Howard here, what is the problem?”

“Sir. My team has hit trouble around the city limits. I’m sending footage from our drones. Looks like the enemy have dug in and are preparing defences along the main highways.”

There was a short pause, partially down to the distance for the signal to travel, and also probably because the Major was busy examining the video feeds.

“I see, what about the city itself?”

“Heavily defended, Sir. We are about to move though the southern wall.”

“Good work. I’ll pass the data to the ground forces at the spaceport. They are making progress and should be able to assist in your operation within the hour. I suggest you get inside and break through to the civilians as soon as possible.”

“Understood, Sir.”

“One more thing, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, Sir?”

“The last bomber run indicated approximately three battalions of ground troops, including Biomechs, have fallen back from the highway and are moving to the city. I’ll hit them with what I can, but in twenty minutes their survivors are going to be on you. When they get there, make sure your people are dug in and ready.”

“Yes, Sir, we’ll be ready.”

“Captain Daniels has started his drop, I’ll transmit your plans and data directly to his vessel. I understand his craft has two of the experimental mules on board. If you survive, I’d be intrigued to know how they perform.”

Spartan shook his head in surprise. No matter how many conversations he had with the second in command of the marines on board CCS Santa Cruz, he could never understand the Major.

“Yes, Sir, I’ll do that.”

He looked to Teresa who was waiting patiently for his orders.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Always.”

Spartan flicked back onto the open company network.

“Vanguards, we will move quickly to the hub. Hit them hard and hit them fast! The clock is ticking and we have enemy troops inbound!”

He gave a final glance at the position they were in and the aerial drone which showed him the same scenario as before. The enemy were busy and it didn’t look like they had much in the way of defences along the southern part of the city. With a final breath he lifted up to his full height.

“Vanguards! Let’s go!”

The skirmishers rushed the embankment in just a few seconds and for a brief moment Spartan winced. A feeling in his gut told him something terrible was going to happen as they crossed the high ground. Nothing happened though and they disappeared from view. His heart still pounding, he pushed forward and the rest of the Vanguards did the same. It looked like a scene from an old war movie as he watched those in front rush the embankment, much like infantry storming a breach in a fortress.

He reached the top but didn’t stop, aware of how exposed he was, and dropped down the embankment. As he hit the bottom, he jogged to the first piece of cover he could see and surveyed the ground around him. It was part of a damaged loading bay. Several wrecked trucks and forklifts were strewn about. As he took cover, he noticed half a dozen bodies, all civilians and all unarmed. Teresa dropped down next to him and scanned the area. Up ahead, the skirmish screen pushed forward. To their right Lieutenant Weathers and his platoon moved away and followed the perimeter wall. In this way, the two platoons would be able to ensure they couldn’t be outflanked, yet were close enough to provide mutual fire support. Here, there were no buildings taller than five metres anywhere in sight and a large part of the city seemed to be heavily damaged. It looked far worse on the ground than it appeared from the drones.