Kill team, p.27
Kill Team, page 27
As I push myself to my feet, clutching my gut, he stabs at one of the controls. There’s a high-pitched tone and a tau voice says something.
‘Get out of there. You don’t know what you’re doing!’ I yell at him.
‘Back off, Last Chance!’ he shouts at me, a wild, possessed look in his eye. His left hand settles on a stubby control column while his right punches a few more buttons. ‘I think I’ve got it, the controls are actually really simple, all in the right places.’
The thigh panels flip back up into place, sealing shut with a clang, and then with a whining of motors the main canopy drops down. The last I see of Quidlon is his wide grin. The suit sits there motionless for a moment, and I wonder if he really has worked it all out. Then the war machine begins to judder, shaking violently for a couple of seconds. With a hiss, the chest plate opens up again. The canopy hinges away to reveal a charred corpse in the seat, still smoking, burnt lips peeled back from grinning teeth. There’s a few crackles of energy still playing around two rods inserted into either side of Quidlon’s head. Silently, the rods withdraw back into the sides of the cockpit. The thighs peel downwards revealing his ravaged legs, pieces of material burnt onto the bone. The stench of burnt flesh fills my nostrils and I gag. I gulp heavily to stop myself throwing up.
‘You stupid piece of sump filth!’ I bellow at Quidlon’s husk of a body. Losing my senses completely, I fire a few shots into the corpse, causing it to collapse into a pile of bones and ashes which spill out from the suit. I spit on the pile and then kick at it, scattering ashes and chunks of shattered bone around me. ‘Stupid, fraggin’, stupid, son of a bitch, stupid fragger!’ I scream hoarsely, punctuating my shouting with kicks, before pulling myself together.
I stand there panting and look at the slightly smoking battle suit. I pull a grenade from my belt and toss it onto the seat, before stepping back. The explosion tears the cockpit apart, throwing out shattered glass and pieces of instrument panel that drop amongst Quidlon’s burnt remains. Realising I haven’t got too many grenades, I use my autogun on the other four, spraying short bursts of bullets into each one, my firing rewarded by sparks of electricity and small fires breaking out across the various control panels.
More gunfire draws my attention back to the tower, and I turn on my heel and leg it. Glancing to my left I see fire warriors coming into the surrounding chamber, and fire off a few bursts of shots, taking one of them down and forcing the others back out of sight. I reach the tower and Trost is there, firing from the other doorway. I look over his shoulder and see three more downed fire warriors sprawled halfway across the concourse.
‘Keep it tight here, I’ll check on Sharpshooter,’ I tell him, before pounding up the steps two at a time, paying no heed to the fact that I could fall off and plummet to the ground below with a mis-step. It takes me some hard running to get to the top, passing rooms full of instruments and glowing control panels, but eventually I burst out onto an open platform.
Tanya is crouched behind the parapet, her sniper rifle clasped across her chest. Shots ring off the surrounding wall, and I duck and roll over to her.
‘How’s things?’ I ask, pulling out the autogun magazine to check how many bullets are left. It’s about half full.
‘They know I’m up here. I can’t prepare for a clean shot under this kind of fire,’ she tells me with a grimace.
‘Some hidden hunter you are,’ I snap, worming my way forward as more shells kick chips off the edge of the parapet.
‘They came in and started firing. They already knew I was here, they didn’t see me,’ she snarls back, giving me a sour look.
‘We’re gonna get surrounded pretty soon if we aren’t careful,’ I say, pushing the magazine back into the autogun.
I pop up out of the cover of the parapet and fire off three shots at a group of fire warriors crouched in one of the archways around the central chamber, causing them to duck back. Dropping back out of sight, I crawl across the platform to the opposite edge and peek a look over the top. Another seven fire warriors are closing in on our position from the other side. Again, I jump up, fire two quick bursts, catching one of the tau full on, before ducking down again.
Suddenly I hear someone bellowing in Tau, a much deeper voice than I’ve heard before. I scramble over to Tanya, and she nods. We both look down, and there we see a tall alien running amongst a group of fire warriors, wearing flowing red robes.
‘That’s Brightsword!’ I hiss at her and she nods again, bringing her sniper rifle into position.
It’s then that I hear another shout, this time in Gothic.
‘He’s heading for the armoury, stop him!’ I hear Oriel’s bellow, and see the inquisitor and the Colonel dashing into view from another archway, auto pistols spitting bullets, bloodied chainswords in their hands. Moerck follows them, firing shots at the fire warriors dashing across the chamber, taking a couple of them down. I join their fire for a couple of seconds, but can’t get a clear shot on Brightsword. Another fire warrior squad intercepts Oriel and the others, cutting off their line of fire to the tau commander.
‘Come on, Sharpshooter, take him down!’ I snarl at Tanya, but she doesn’t answer. As return fire makes me dive for cover again, I glance back at her. She’s there, crouched over her rifle, taking aim. But she does nothing, she just slowly tracks him.
‘Get a clear shot, Emperor damn you!’ I snarl, but she ignores me. Then her hands begin to tremble, I see the muzzle of the rifle wobbling in her grip.
‘Take it easy, relax, breathe, then plug the bastard,’ I say, trying to keep myself calm. I crouch there staring at her, willing her to pull the trigger. Now, I try to mentally shout at her. Now, damn it! With a choked sob, she drops the rifle clattering to the platform and falls to the ground.
‘Are you hit?’ I yell at her, jumping over to her side. She balls herself up, arms over her head to protect herself, and I can hear her sobbing over the rattle of gunfire and the snap of lasguns.
‘Tanya, are you hurt?’ I demand, grabbing her shoulder. She’s limp, and as I pull her arm away I see tears streaking down her face.
‘I… I couldn’t do it,’ she sobs at me. ‘I’m sorry, Kage.’
‘Fraggin’ stupid…’ I lose the power of speech, I’m so incensed. I backhand her across the face. ‘We are so dead now, you wouldn’t believe it.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she apologises again, in between sobs and sniffs.
‘It’s too fraggin’ late for that now,’ I yell at her, dragging her up by the hair. ‘Get your rifle, we have to get off this tower.’
She stands there dumbly for a second, staring blankly at me.
‘Get your damn rifle, soldier, and move out!’ I scream in her face. She seems to snap out of it, losing the glazed look in her eyes, and snatches up her rifle. She darts another look at me and then heads back towards the stairs. I take one last glance over the tower edge, just in time to see Brightsword and his bodyguard disappearing from view through the wide doorway just behind the damaged battle suits. I run after Tanya, changing the clip in the autogun, making an effort to slow myself as I dash down the treacherous spiral staircase. Tumbling down and breaking my neck would be such a stupid way to go. After all, I’m sure the tau are going to try pretty hard to kill me, I don’t want to spoil their fun.
When I reach the bottom, Trost turns around to me.
‘What’s happening?’ he asks, switching his attention back and forth between me and the fire warriors outside.
‘Brightsword’s escaped. We have to get out of here,’ I say, heading for the other door. I see Oriel, Moerck and the Colonel fighting hand-to-hand with a squad of fire warriors. I’ll say this, the tau have impressive guns, but they don’t know the first thing about close combat. Schaeffer and the inquisitor easily cut them to bits with their chainswords and head our way.
More fire warriors appear behind them and I give them some covering fire, squeezing off just a few rounds at a time, knowing I’ve only got one magazine left. Moerck stops and turns, firing a few shots at the tau as well, driving them back into hiding again. Oriel’s the first to reach the tower.
‘Which way did he go?’ the inquisitor demands, grabbing the collar of my camo shirt. I point at the doors, which have closed again now.
‘He has got inside the armoury,’ the Colonel says heavily, chest heaving from his recent exertions. ‘That will make things more difficult.’
He and the inquisitor push past me, and Moerck jogs over, ejecting his lasgun’s power pack.
‘Sharpshooter failed us,’ he says bitterly.
‘Yep, she did,’ I agree. ‘Time for us to get the frag out.’
‘The mission is not complete yet, Last Chance,’ he says, sliding another power pack into place.
‘In case you hadn’t noticed, the mission has gone up like a demo charge, it’s a fraggin’ major catastrophe,’ I snarl at him, trying to push past, but he grabs my arm. I wrench it free from his grip. ‘It’s over, we messed up, now it’s time to cut and run!’
‘Are you deserting, Lieutenant Kage?’ he says ominously, the barrel of the lasgun swaying in my direction.
‘Yes, I sodding well am deserting! You are not a commissar any more, Moerck!’ I point out to him. ‘You do not have to die here.’
‘No, I am not a commissar,’ he replies viciously. ‘I am Hero. Do you remember that? Hero. Which is why I do not cut and run and I do not desert in the middle of the mission and that is why you are not going to take another step.’
‘This is idiotic,’ I snap back at him. ‘Aren’t there enough tau to fight without us gunning down each other? Today is a lost battle, but perhaps we’ve scared Brightsword enough that we’ll win the war. Let’s get on the shuttle and live to fight another day. Hell, I’m volunteering right now to join the defence of Sarcassa, but I am not staying here a second longer.’
‘Hold your position, lieutenant,’ I hear Schaeffer bark from inside. He steps through the doorway, and signals Moerck to get out of the way.
‘Shoot me, cut me down, I really don’t care any more!’ I shout at the Colonel. ‘I am getting out of here, and I’m not going to come back for you this time.’
The Colonel smiles then, a grim expression.
‘Too late,’ he replies simply, pointing over my shoulder. I look around. The armoury doors are sliding effortlessly open and I realise why Oriel was so confident that Brightsword would pass by Tanya’s sniping position.
I feel the ground tremble under my feet as the five battle suits advance, striding between the smoking wrecks of the ones in front of the doors. They pound straight towards us with their guns brought up. Brightsword’s is easy to pick out: more decorated than the others, an intricate tau design on the front plate. A multi-barrelled cannon on his right arm swings in our direction, a missile pod mounted on his shoulder angling up towards the tower. On his left arm is a shield-like device which I can see crackling with energy. His bodyguard are armed with the same multi-barrelled guns, and a mix of other lethal-looking weaponry. I feel my legs buckle under me and I drop to my knees. Everything seems to slow down. I see the four barrels of Brightsword’s gun begin to spin, building up speed, and then he opens fire with an explosive burst of light, the shells tearing into the wall just behind me.
I hear Schaeffer curse and dive back into the tower, and somebody calls my name, Moerck I think. Everything snaps back in my head, the roar of the guns is deafening and I dive to one side and roll, feeling the whip of bullets screaming around me. Something hot and painful catches my foot, sending me sprawling again, and I look down to see blood oozing out of a hole in my right boot. Biting back a shout of pain, I bring round my autogun and open fire, spraying bullets at Brightsword. They ricochet harmlessly off his battle suit in a random pattern of sparks, leaving tiny little dents but having no other effect. One of the bodyguards peels off towards me, and points what is unmistakably a flamer in my direction. I hurl myself to my feet, ignoring the searing pain from my foot, and dive into cover behind the tower a moment before a jet of flame crackles past, spilling burning fuel across the concourse. The heat washes over me, stinging my eyes.
To my right I see the others sprinting from the tower. A couple of seconds later, a series of explosions wrecks the tower from inside, flames billowing out of the doorways. I try to stand, but my leg gives way, slumping me against the wall of the tower. The battle suit with the flamer stomps around the corner, weapons tracking from side to side seeking a target. It aims at the fleeing Last Chancers, not noticing me, and I open fire with the few bullets left in my magazine, aiming for the canister of flamer fuel on its left arm. The canister explodes, setting fire to the left side of the armoured suit and hurling molten shrapnel across the floor. The suit’s pilot ignores the damage, turning on me with the cannon. I take the only route open and dive between the battle suit’s legs, just as the gun opens fire.
The battle suit swings laboriously around to face me, forcing me to dodge aside again. I break for the cover of the smouldering tower and jump inside just as Brightsword turns and fires, the bullets tearing up great chunks of the floor behind me. Inside, the tower is littered with rubble from the destroyed steps, dirty great cracks in the walls. My foot has gone numb and I sprint lopsidedly out of the other door, limping heavily. The others are sheltering in one of the door alcoves on the far side of the concourse, shooting ineffectually at the battle suits as they split up and round the tower from each direction.
My foot slips on debris as I run out of the exit, twisting my tortured foot and sending me head first into the floor with a cry of pain. I look up and see the grey and black armour of Brightsword looming over me, one foot raised to stamp on me. I roll sideways under the foot, which smashes down just centimetres away from my leg, cracking the solid material of the concourse.
As I drag myself to my feet, Brightsword swings quickly, pivoting on one foot, the barrel of his cannon smashing into my chest and hurling me against the tower wall. I feel something break inside me, a couple of ribs probably, and my breathing becomes tight and short. The tau commander brings his arm back for another punch and I drop to one side, the blow smashing chips from the wall and showering me with dust.
The others direct their fire on Brightsword as he looms over me, las-bolts and bullets pinging around us. I get the strangest sensation that I’ve been here before. I then realise this is like the waking nightmare I had on the shuttle. In fact it’s almost exactly the same – the gunfight around me, the massive figure looming over me. He turns, raising his shield arm, and the shots ricochet off it wildly, causing small crackles of energy to leap from the disc. His shield still locked in place, he swings at me again, nearly taking my head off.
Strangely, I don’t feel so scared now though. It’s like I know somehow that he’s not going to kill me. Then I hear a sharper crack over the zip of lasguns and rattle of autoguns. Something slams into the shield, causing it to detonate in a bright shower of blue sparks, falling to the ground in three shattered pieces. More shots ring out, armour-piercing shells punching neatly through the battle suit in a tight cluster at the centre of the main chestplate.
The tau commander forgets me and turns on the others, swinging the burst cannon around to a firing position. The next incoming shot hits one of the barrels end on, causing it to split, and as he fires, the gun ruptures, shearing off the whole arm, which spins past and clangs to the ground just to my right. More shots in rapid succession cut through the struts of his right lower leg, causing it to buckle under the weight of the suit and toppling him down to one side.
There’s a hiss from the battle suit, and a moment later a section of the body is punched away on four small jets, hurling Brightsword from the crippled machine. The four bodyguards are leaping towards the Last Chancers, who are heading for the far end of the chamber, propelling their battle suits forward in long leaps on their jump jets. I look back at the escape pod and see the hatch swinging open. The others are cut off, the bodyguard in between them and Brightsword.
‘I’m coming for you, you alien meathead,’ I snarl, propelling myself across the concourse, the other battle suits oblivious to my presence, leaving blood red footprints behind me.
I reach the escape pod as Brightsword pulls himself clear, bleeding profusely from a wound in his arm. He slumps to the ground and looks up at me, anger in his eyes. He mutters something in Tau and takes a deep breath. I heft the autogun in both hands, and he makes no attempt to block me as I swing the butt at his head, cracking his skull and causing him to scream out in pain.
I hear a screech of metal on metal and look around to see the battle suited bodyguard turning quickly in my direction. Wasting no time, I dash Brightsword’s brains out across the floor with another two blows and then start hobbling back towards the tower.
‘Run!’ bellows Oriel, sprinting my way. One of the battle suits pivots in his direction and fires, a ball of white-hot plasma screaming past just behind the inquisitor to explode in a blinding flash on the distant dome wall.
‘I can’t!’ I snarl back at him through gritted teeth, as he reaches my position.
The bodyguard have split up, two of them pursuing the other Last Chancers, the other pair, including the one-armed suit I’d tangled with earlier, heading back towards us to exact some vengeance for their dead commander.
‘We have to rendezvous with the others back at the transport terminal,’ Oriel tells me, putting one shoulder under my arm and lifting me to my feet. He drags me through into the tower just as a plume of explosions outside heralds a rocket attack, the shockwave hurling both of us into the rubble.
‘Can you walk?’ he asks me, standing unsteadily on the shifting debris.
