Sons of Abraham: Pawns of Terror (16 page)

“I’ve ordered your dinner,” she started. “I’ll make the arrangements for transport for nine in the morning. Will there be anything else?”

“Yes,” he stated. “Change the transportation to TONIGHT, and have them bring me a glass of wine with dinner. I’ll sleep on the way to Parasus.”

“Of course, Sir,” she replied, taking her leave.

Lache thought of Hannah’s generation, pondering whether there was a set of balls amongst them that could carry on after he’d left this Earth, and not by starship. He knew there were older generations that’d thought the same of his, but he decided it was within his rights to question the younger people who worked under him.

6 CHAPTER six

Soldiers were already pouring from every exit as Sargent Bearden drove the tank along the exterior walls of the compound. He handled the smaller caliber weapon, opening fire on them as they pointlessly fired their rifles at the surging, armored vehicle. Bodies fell to the ground as the high caliber bullets from the turrets tore through their inferior armor. As the tank approached Central, the wave of soldiers grew thinner as less were available to fire upon them.

“A Hundred yards,” Janys shouted over the engines of the tank.

“Let her rip!” he shouted.

Janys took the two sticks that controlled the main turret and lined up the square sights with the hub of the Central command post. The dust clouds did little to distort her view as the imaging of the tank removed obstructions from the screen. The program could see through snowstorms, sandstorms, and even the cover of night. The Central hub showed clear as day through her screen as she squeezed the trigger.

The cannon on top of the tank roared to life as a heavy shell fell empty inside the compartment. It clanged off the metallic floor before the exploding walls of the facility drowned out all sounds. The walls burst in a cloud of smoke, sending shards of the metal walls flying into the sandstorm. She waited for several seconds before the smoke settled, showing a hole big enough for the tank to drive through. There were heaps of bodies everywhere on her screen, but she had no way of knowing if they were her targets or just the leftovers from the cowardly massacre.

She adjusted the alignment as Bearden brought the tank to a stop. She lowered the sights, aiming for the middle of the room. The sounds of the engines were nullified once more as she pulled the trigger. The shot exploded from inside the compound, blowing out the far wall and collapsing what remained of the dome ceiling.

“We got incoming!” Bearden shouted over the roar of the engines.

Janys checked the four monitors that surrounded her but didn’t see anything besides a few soldiers, running AWAY from their location. She swung the turret around, taking a full view tank’s cameras and targeting systems.

“They’re running off,” she shouted. “Just turn around and use yours on them.”

“Not those pussies,” he replied. “We have two incoming ships, on our six.”

Janys took control of the cameras, pointing them into the sky and hitting the tracker button. The program obeyed, sifting through the dust clouds, searching for a target. True to the Sargent’s words, two military harriers were closing in behind them. Before she could lift the cannon, a series of shots rained down from the sky, smacking off the hull of the tank.

“Hold on,” Bearden yelled, shoving the controls forward.

The tank roared to life as the eight wheels dug through the sand and dirt, tilting as the vehicle steered left of the destruction before them. Janys shifted in her seat, barely managing to remain in the swing under the heavy turret. The tank lunged forward as Bearden hit the accelerator as more shots slammed against the tank’s armor.

“Just keep it still,” she shouted. “They can’t even break her skin.”

“Not yet,” he replied. “But they’ll pull out the heavy shit soon enough.”

She was about to protest when a missile thumped into the sand behind the tank, exploding into a sea of dirt. Clumps of the moon’s surface slammed against the back wall of the tank. Janys swore under her breath and aimed the turret up towards the sky. The harriers split apart, weaving back and forth, as she tried to target the harrier on the left. She had the harrier in the site for a moment, then the nose of both dipped down, lifting higher above them. She tried to raise the cannon, but the turret had reached its limit in height.

“I can’t get high enough!” she shouted.

“Hold on then,” Bear replied, slamming the controls to the console.

The tank lunged forward once more as the Sargent kept the vehicle tight with the walls of the facility. The harriers maintained their altitude, remaining too high for the tank to reach them. Another blast exploded next to them, blowing another hole in the walls of the facility. The tank broke hard, veering to the right to stay with the walls.

“We can’t outrun them,” Janys yelled from the turret. “If ya got a plan, best use it now!”

The Sargent remained fixated on the terrain before them, keeping the tank as close to the walls as possible. The eight wheels continued to spin, kicking dirt and sand in their wake. They hit a dip in the ground, a path worn to the exit where Bearden had originally left the two soldiers standing guard. He tried not to think of them as the tank bottomed out on its springs, then lunged upward as the ground inclined beneath the tires. The eight wheels lifted off the ground, less than a foot, slamming the vehicle down hard upon impact. Bearden lost his grip on the controls, causing the tank to ease up.

Another blast from a missile struck the building, far out in front of them. Brick, stone, and metal rained down, but the tanks massive wheels broke through the debris. A large chunk of the ceiling fell down into the hole, angled from the ground to the remaining ceiling. The visual ran through the Sargent’s mind, a plot forming.

“Be ready to fire,” he shouted, twisting the controls to the left.

The tank broke left, the wheels lifting off the ground as the vehicle arched a path back to the facility. Bearden slammed the controls back right, straightening out the tank as the wheels touched the ground, jarring its crew.

“Keep the turret facing back, and up!” he shouted.

The harriers circled around as the tank aimed for the newly formed hole in the complex. The Sargent lined up the tank, praying that the fallen ceiling would be able to hold the weight of the vehicle for more than a few seconds. He pulled back on the controls, locking the wheels of the vehicle as it slid across the sand, digging ruts into the ground. The front wheels hit the large chunk of the ceiling as the tank smacked the edge hard, then drove up and over the lip. Janys kept her eyes in the sites of the turret, the screen showing her the ground, then a swirling sky. The harriers closed in, still maintaining their altitude. The tank reached the far end of the fallen ceiling, still wedged on the wall. The weight teetered the fallen ceiling as the back of the tank raised up, the nose falling down and to the right. The harriers drew in, firing a missile each as one rested perfectly within the turrets sites.

“Got you!” she hissed, pulling the trigger.

The shot echoed through the halls of the facility as the empty shell fell to the floor. The projectile found its mark, though slightly left of center. It struck the engine that was mounted under the right wing, exploding into the sandstorm. The harrier’s nose fell to its lower right as the ship crashed into the ground. Its momentum forced it along the terrain, spraying dust and debris into the air. The nose buckled under the force as the tail flipped over, causing the fallen harrier to tumble end over end. The smile on Corporal Janys James’ face faded as she calculated where the crashed harrier was heading.

“Get a move on Sarge!” she shouted.

“I’m fucking trying!” he replied, pulling and shoving on the controls.

The tanks wheels were caught in the debris, the back left tires still hung up on the remains of the ceiling. Janys felt the tank sliding to the right, realizing that they had nowhere to go once he managed to get the tank’s wheels off the fallen debris. She swung the turret to her left, trying to maintain the tumbling harrier in her sites.

“Gonna try something,” she yelled as she squeezed the trigger.

She closed her eyes as the next loaded shell fired, exploding dead center in the tumbling harrier. The ship broke into hundreds of pieces, the cockpit still lunging towards them. It caught the lip of what once was a wall, kicking it off the ground as it slammed into the back right corner of the tank. The vehicle slid forward, chunks of metal wedging between three of the wheels as the front left of the tank crashed into an interior wall.

Janys fell from her seat, tumbling into the inside wall of the tank. Her shoulder took the majority of the blow as she managed to tuck her head into her chest, keeping her safe from smacking her skull against the metal. She slid on her back, an empty shell tumbling towards her, narrowly missing her face as it slammed into the radio on the front panel. For a brief moment, all she could hear was the hum of the tank’s engines.

“Get up,” Bearden yelled.

She was dazed, her eyes desperately trying to focus as she saw a blur of a person crouch over her. She felt her body lifted from under her arm as her feet kicked the floor, trying to catch grip with the treads of her boots. Her legs shook as she felt lifted from the floor, then slowly sat back down on her feet. Her arms reached out, grabbing onto the massive shoulders before her as the inside of the tank slowly came into focus.

“You with me Soldier?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m here,” she muttered, noting the look of concern on his face.

“That some fine shooting,” he informed her. “But there’s still one more out there, so look alive.”

She came around at the remainder of the second harrier. Her knees were shaky, but she managed to stumble back to the turret’s controls. She grabbed the handles, moving them from side to side. Gears ground in protest, the targeting screen completely blacked out.

“I’ll check it,” Bearden told her.

He threw open the hatch, but it only opened halfway. With only a few metal rungs to aid in his effort, he was unable to force the hatch all the way open. Smoke filled the cabin as Bear’s hand grew hot, forcing him to drop down.

“I think the harrier fused itself on our back,” he muttered. “I might be able to pry the hatch enough for you to get out, though.”

“Oh, fuck that!” she yelled. “I’m not leaving you here Sarge.”

He listened but was unable to tell if the harrier was coming around for another assault. His mind formed a plan. He wasn’t too crazy about what it entailed, but he saw no other option at the moment.

“Wasn’t asking you,” he replied. “Get the fuck outta my tank Corporal. Get down to the air defense and bring that last bitch to her knees. I’ll get this baby back outside and bring the harrier around to you. You up for this?”

She thought through the steps of his plan. She needed to cover a mile and a half and hope that Central hadn’t completely collapsed. Assuming she didn’t run into trouble, she’d need at least ten minutes to reach the defense turrets. They were working when she’d left, but that didn’t mean the saboteurs hadn’t messed with it since.

“I don’t like this plan,” she muttered. “What if Central is collapsed or I run into more soldiers? Hell, what if they destroyed the controls to the defense turrets? You’d be a sitting duck out there!”

“You got a better plan?” he asked. “Believe me, if you got something better, I’m listening.”

She ran it through her head again. The turret on the tank couldn’t move more than a few feet in either direction and there wasn’t anything else in the garage big enough to take down the harrier. Other than forcing them to come inside and get them, she could think of no better solution.

“Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of,” he stated, taking off his shirt and wrapping it around his right hand. “I can only hold this hatch for a few seconds. She’s heating up fast outside, so you gotta be quick. Take the rifle, take all the ammo, and haul that scrawny ass of yours back to the turrets. I’ll circle around the cliffs and rock formations to buy you time.”

She watched the large man stand on the rung in the wall with one toe, leaving her room to slide up past him. She climbed the rungs, using his harness for support as he grabbed the hatch with his wrapped hand and shoulder pressed it open as far as he could.

“I’ll see ya soon Janys,” he grunted, his face straining as his muscles held the hatch open.

She couldn’t think of any proper words as she slid up his torso. She closed her eyes and pressed her thin lips against his. He returned the gesture, his lips still tasting of the salami and cheese from earlier. She said nothing else as she threw herself through the hatch of the tank, trying not to kick him as she squeezed her butt through the opening, then dragged her feet through. The hatch slammed shut as she crawled to the edge of the tank, taking a look back at the wreckage. Bearden was right, as usual, the cockpit of the harrier crushed into the ass of the tank, making the two vehicles one.

The rifle remained in her hands, tucked neatly against her body as she ran over the debris and squeezed through the partially collapsed doorway. Her boots pounded the metal grating, her head hung low, her pale blue eyes focused with determination. She would get to the turrets, she would get them back on, and she would bring that fucking harrier to the ground. She didn’t care if there were a dozen soldiers between her and the target, or if the harrier flew through the hole in Central’s ceiling and tried to take her down, she was getting to those controls.

“That’ll go over well with the committee,” Bearden mumbled to himself as he returned to the helm. “Kiss someone in your command. Always a good idea when you’re about to die.”

The thought weighed heavily on him as he pulled back on the tank’s controls. The vehicle obeyed, rearing backward as the back of the tank crashed into the short barrier that was once an exterior wall. The wheels lost traction as the wall bent, but didn’t break. He shoved the controls forward an inch as the tank rolled forward. He was about to pull back again when he heard the harrier’s engines overhead, the high-pitched wail raging over the moaning of the tank’s engines.