himself to fall.
He dived into one of the equipment racks, which brought a hail of components down on him. Several of the pieces detonated in midair under the heavy barrage of pulse fire, dousing him in a flurry of white-hot sparks and acrid smoke. Sweeping the debris out of his way and keeping his head down, Tiernan tried to get a fix on the enemy. Sensors were useless in this much clutter, making it impossible for him to tell how many—but their position was obvious enough. All the weapons fire originated at the basement entry.
So much for our way out.
“Talon Leader,” he spoke into his transmitter, “this is Talon Point. Do you copy?”
Silence greeted him on the other end—not static, not interference, but absolute silence. Tiernan tried rotating frequencies, but all bands were the same.
“Talon Leader, we have hostile fire. Acknowledge.”
Nothing. Communications were off-line, probably jammed.
The Inru had him bottled in.
If that’s the way you want it…
Tiernan slowly crawled beyond the shelter of the rack, figuring out his options. The dead merc’s body was slumped nearby, the charred remains giving off a sweet, smoky odor. Looking past that, he spotted the other merc, still on the floor where Tiernan had left him, still breathing as far as the lieutenant knew. The Inru, of course, would want him dead, to preserve the secret of what they were working on here—which meant, more than ever, that Lea would want him taken alive. The longer he waited, the less likely that would happen.
Come on, Lea. Where are you?
Tiernan strained to get a look across the basement, in the general direction of the hatch the advance team had used to gain access to the lower chamber. Another pulse blast was his punishment, this one close enough to singe the top of his helmet. Completely pinned down, there was no way he would see them, even if they were coming. And the thought of lying there while the Inru took the place down was more than he could stand.
He pushed the gain on his rifle up to full.
You wanna play? Then let’s play.
Tiernan took aim above the entrance and blasted a hole in the ceiling, raining plaster and concrete down on the enemy position. Huge chunks, large enough to crush a man, tumbled to the floor, followed by a haphazard volley of Inru fire that erupted from scattered positions. Tiernan continued to lay it on, pummeling every place he saw those blue bursts, until the Inru ’s synchronized strike fell apart. He then dragged himself toward the fallen merc, tossing a couple of flash grenades for good measure.
Thunderclaps ricocheted across the confined space, along with explosions of poison light. Tiernan still couldn’t see the Inru gunmen, but he heard their screams—and that was enough. Popping up from the floor, he sighted a line that cut straight across the basement at waist level and opened fire. Tiernan spotted two of them trying to run for cover and shredded them. Another charged straight at him, only to get hollowed out by a stray shot from one of his comrades. By the time he ducked back down, Tiernan could taste their panic. Their attack, ferocious at the start, was disintegrating along with their numbers.
It was time to end this.
He squeezed off a few more quick blasts, discarding his rifle when it started to overheat. A punch against the hip compartment of his body armor ejected his backup, a pulse pistol good for a couple of shots at maximum power. Tiernan held his fire and kept moving. The Inru put a few more bolts over his head, but nobody approached. They were scared now, reduced to taking potshots at an unseen target.
He ignored them for the moment, closing the distance between himself and the fallen merc. Reaching for the man’s shoulder, Tiernan immediately knew he was too late. The lieutenant had been around the dead and dying enough to know, even before the merc flopped over and proved him right.
Vacant eyes stared back up at him in amazement. Then there was the blood.
He dived into one of the equipment racks, which brought a hail of components down on him. Several of the pieces detonated in midair under the heavy barrage of pulse fire, dousing him in a flurry of white-hot sparks and acrid smoke. Sweeping the debris out of his way and keeping his head down, Tiernan tried to get a fix on the enemy. Sensors were useless in this much clutter, making it impossible for him to tell how many—but their position was obvious enough. All the weapons fire originated at the basement entry.
So much for our way out.
“Talon Leader,” he spoke into his transmitter, “this is Talon Point. Do you copy?”
Silence greeted him on the other end—not static, not interference, but absolute silence. Tiernan tried rotating frequencies, but all bands were the same.
“Talon Leader, we have hostile fire. Acknowledge.”
Nothing. Communications were off-line, probably jammed.
The Inru had him bottled in.
If that’s the way you want it…
Tiernan slowly crawled beyond the shelter of the rack, figuring out his options. The dead merc’s body was slumped nearby, the charred remains giving off a sweet, smoky odor. Looking past that, he spotted the other merc, still on the floor where Tiernan had left him, still breathing as far as the lieutenant knew. The Inru, of course, would want him dead, to preserve the secret of what they were working on here—which meant, more than ever, that Lea would want him taken alive. The longer he waited, the less likely that would happen.
Come on, Lea. Where are you?
Tiernan strained to get a look across the basement, in the general direction of the hatch the advance team had used to gain access to the lower chamber. Another pulse blast was his punishment, this one close enough to singe the top of his helmet. Completely pinned down, there was no way he would see them, even if they were coming. And the thought of lying there while the Inru took the place down was more than he could stand.
He pushed the gain on his rifle up to full.
You wanna play? Then let’s play.
Tiernan took aim above the entrance and blasted a hole in the ceiling, raining plaster and concrete down on the enemy position. Huge chunks, large enough to crush a man, tumbled to the floor, followed by a haphazard volley of Inru fire that erupted from scattered positions. Tiernan continued to lay it on, pummeling every place he saw those blue bursts, until the Inru ’s synchronized strike fell apart. He then dragged himself toward the fallen merc, tossing a couple of flash grenades for good measure.
Thunderclaps ricocheted across the confined space, along with explosions of poison light. Tiernan still couldn’t see the Inru gunmen, but he heard their screams—and that was enough. Popping up from the floor, he sighted a line that cut straight across the basement at waist level and opened fire. Tiernan spotted two of them trying to run for cover and shredded them. Another charged straight at him, only to get hollowed out by a stray shot from one of his comrades. By the time he ducked back down, Tiernan could taste their panic. Their attack, ferocious at the start, was disintegrating along with their numbers.
It was time to end this.
He squeezed off a few more quick blasts, discarding his rifle when it started to overheat. A punch against the hip compartment of his body armor ejected his backup, a pulse pistol good for a couple of shots at maximum power. Tiernan held his fire and kept moving. The Inru put a few more bolts over his head, but nobody approached. They were scared now, reduced to taking potshots at an unseen target.
He ignored them for the moment, closing the distance between himself and the fallen merc. Reaching for the man’s shoulder, Tiernan immediately knew he was too late. The lieutenant had been around the dead and dying enough to know, even before the merc flopped over and proved him right.
Vacant eyes stared back up at him in amazement. Then there was the blood.
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