Code Breakers: Beta by Colin F. Barnes Page B

city, three heavily armoured trucks using conventional hydrogen fuel engines waited. All of those vehicles he knew didn’t belong to the citizens of GeoCity-1 or the Bachians. Two were sat stationary, water vapour coming from their exhausts. The third had the rear shutter pulled down and locked before moving off. For a brief second, Gerry thought he saw Bilanko, the so-called Queen of GeoCity-1 and her prized server ‘Old Grey’ being bundled to the front of the truck’s hold.
    Of the melee he counted fifty-three Bachian fighters. Eight were manning the machine gun turrets, of which there were five, attempting to keep the Jaguars at bay, but their shells were no match against laser and particle weaponry.
    It was easy to segregate the numbers of insurgents. They all emitted a unique short-range radio signatureobviously their own proprietary communication system. Gerry tagged the IDs and used his AIA to present them on his HUD display. The concentration of the fighting took place in the middle of the town, turning it into a bloodbath. With the narrow streets and the main gates to the front and rear of the city closed and guarded by the Jaguars, there was no way out.
    A stray particle bolt crashed into the compound just above his head, sending a spray of debris down on to him. Using that as cover, he sprinted from the building, and sticking close to the rear city wall, ran across to the other side where the buildings were more tightly packed and offered more cover within the alleyways.
    Over his VPN he heard Malik’s voice.
    “Sir, are you alive?”
    “I’m here, Malik, what’s your status?”
    “Alive, just. I don’t think they’ve seen me yet.”
    “Hold your position and hide. Stay out of the way.”
    “What’s going on?”
    “Let’s leave the briefing for later if we make it. Keep your head down and you might live. Out.”
    Gerry cut off his VPN wanting to keep his attention focused on his HUD as the various figures and vehicles moved around the display. If he could get to one of the vehicles he might be able to hack their systems, give the Bachians time to organise their defence.
    The alleyway between the next two buildings appeared empty. Using his stealth protocol he eased round and into the darkness. The buildings were a food store and a residential dwelling. Both shot to hell with various sized holes in the exteriors, but they would act as good enough cover for now.
    In the middle, and amongst the dust, he got a closer look at the attackers: they carried modern-looking shotguns and large single-handed sickles that appeared to be both a cutting and a stun weapon.
    Who the hell were these people? And where did they get all the weapons?
    The Bachians were holding their own in hand-to-hand combat—for now. Gerry recognised a particular dervish in the middle hacking limbs and heads at a frightening pace: Cheska, one of Enna’s transcendents. Gerry was pleased Enna had got her all fixed up, and seemingly upgraded. What a sight she created, and yet the numbers were too many.
    Even someone such as she couldn’t stand up to shotgun blasts. But still, she hacked, moved, slashed, and dodged her way through the fight, leading her group, keeping their enemy on the back foot. A particularly fierce-looking robed attacker pulled away from the central melee and raised her weapon, aimed at Cheska’s back.
    Without thinking, Gerry launched himself into combat mode, sprinted across the battleground like a cheetah, and shoulder-charged the woman holding the shotgun, crashing her to the ground. Before the woman could react, Cheska spun, bent, and grabbed the shotgun. She pulled the trigger, spraying the woman’s skull and brains into the blood stained dirt and dust.
    Gerry stood back-to-back with Cheska as she continued her death-walk, pulling the trigger again and again, clearing a path through the melee. Two robed women ran towards them, screaming some phrase with their sickles held high. Their screams were short