Three minutes later, the first column was completely destroyed.
“Target group three. The remnants of the second column are too close to the colony now,” Rhodes commanded.
“Yes, sir. Unless they try and join up with column two at the west end, they won’t ever be at range that’s safe for us to fire…” Rick said.
--
“Oh hell,” Dave said to no one in particular. He had destroyed the first two vehicles before the third one came to a stop. Ten men stepped out of it. They were all in suits similar to his own. “We have a problem. They have armor. It looks like ours.”
--
“Sir, we are at a standstill,” Dave said to Cort over the comm system. “As long as we have ammunition and they do not storm the colony, we are good. Their armor does not appear to be as good as ours, but they have numbers. All their vehicles have been destroyed. Right now, we estimate thirty targets still active. But only the railguns have been really effective. Rhodes has taken out nearly two hundred of their suits, but he cannot target the remainder because they have moved too close to the colony. The only one we have gotten was when we missed and hit a rock behind it. It was crushed. In the mean time, I have told the FALCONs to evacuate the outer modules and load them up with Claymores. It will not stop them if they get past us, but it might slow them down.”
“Okay, if their suits are like ours, the power source is on the back. That’s their primary weakness. Can you get behind them? Also, what kind of rounds are they firing?” Cort asked.
“Ballistic rounds. Nothing special. But we cannot get around them. It would leave a hole in our defenses. They can’t get around us either, though.”
“Don’t compromise your defenses,” Cort commanded. He thought about the CONDORs strengths and weaknesses. “Okay. Do you have double-coverage on any targets?”
“What do you mean?” Dave asked Cort.
“Are there any targets that two of you can see? Specifically, that two of you can hit.”
“Yes, sir. Maybe five or six.”
“Okay, show me. Send your tactical map to me. Rhodes, are you listening?”
“Yes, Cort.” Rhodes was at the console, where he had been for five hours, since the assault began.
“Look at the tactical map. Start firing railguns behind the bad guys. Push them to areas where there is double coverage. Try not to damage modules, but if you have to that’s okay. Dave, link your targeting computers. Then pick one target at a time and aim for the suit joints. Preferably where the legs meet the torso, but shoulders might work too. Try a charged round combined with an explosive round at the same joint. If that doesn’t work, double up on explosive rounds. The idea is to incapacitate the suits. When this is over, we need to come up with a grenade of some sort, but this is our best option for now. I’m two hours away. You have to hold on that long.”
“Yes, sir. Gaines out.”
“Dave, wait. Are you still there?” Cort asked.
“Yes, sir. I am here.”
“Don’t forget. Our family is in there. You can overload your suit. Do you follow me?” Cort left his true meaning unspoken.
“Yes, sir. I understand.” There was silence for fifteen seconds before Dave Gaines spoke again. “If it comes to that, sir, well, it has been an honor.”
“The honor’s been mine, Dave. You’ve done me proud,” Cort said.
--
When Cort finally topped the last ridge, he was about two hundred meters from the nearest terminal module. The carnage outside the colony was incredible. The dust cloud was so thick Cort had to use his onboard sensors to discern what was going on. Terminal module three had imploded. Cort knew from the comms that no one had gotten in yet, but clearly it was about to happen.
Dave was already dead. The invaders had caught on to the new strategy and began employing it themselves. Only one CONDOR
“Target group three. The remnants of the second column are too close to the colony now,” Rhodes commanded.
“Yes, sir. Unless they try and join up with column two at the west end, they won’t ever be at range that’s safe for us to fire…” Rick said.
--
“Oh hell,” Dave said to no one in particular. He had destroyed the first two vehicles before the third one came to a stop. Ten men stepped out of it. They were all in suits similar to his own. “We have a problem. They have armor. It looks like ours.”
--
“Sir, we are at a standstill,” Dave said to Cort over the comm system. “As long as we have ammunition and they do not storm the colony, we are good. Their armor does not appear to be as good as ours, but they have numbers. All their vehicles have been destroyed. Right now, we estimate thirty targets still active. But only the railguns have been really effective. Rhodes has taken out nearly two hundred of their suits, but he cannot target the remainder because they have moved too close to the colony. The only one we have gotten was when we missed and hit a rock behind it. It was crushed. In the mean time, I have told the FALCONs to evacuate the outer modules and load them up with Claymores. It will not stop them if they get past us, but it might slow them down.”
“Okay, if their suits are like ours, the power source is on the back. That’s their primary weakness. Can you get behind them? Also, what kind of rounds are they firing?” Cort asked.
“Ballistic rounds. Nothing special. But we cannot get around them. It would leave a hole in our defenses. They can’t get around us either, though.”
“Don’t compromise your defenses,” Cort commanded. He thought about the CONDORs strengths and weaknesses. “Okay. Do you have double-coverage on any targets?”
“What do you mean?” Dave asked Cort.
“Are there any targets that two of you can see? Specifically, that two of you can hit.”
“Yes, sir. Maybe five or six.”
“Okay, show me. Send your tactical map to me. Rhodes, are you listening?”
“Yes, Cort.” Rhodes was at the console, where he had been for five hours, since the assault began.
“Look at the tactical map. Start firing railguns behind the bad guys. Push them to areas where there is double coverage. Try not to damage modules, but if you have to that’s okay. Dave, link your targeting computers. Then pick one target at a time and aim for the suit joints. Preferably where the legs meet the torso, but shoulders might work too. Try a charged round combined with an explosive round at the same joint. If that doesn’t work, double up on explosive rounds. The idea is to incapacitate the suits. When this is over, we need to come up with a grenade of some sort, but this is our best option for now. I’m two hours away. You have to hold on that long.”
“Yes, sir. Gaines out.”
“Dave, wait. Are you still there?” Cort asked.
“Yes, sir. I am here.”
“Don’t forget. Our family is in there. You can overload your suit. Do you follow me?” Cort left his true meaning unspoken.
“Yes, sir. I understand.” There was silence for fifteen seconds before Dave Gaines spoke again. “If it comes to that, sir, well, it has been an honor.”
“The honor’s been mine, Dave. You’ve done me proud,” Cort said.
--
When Cort finally topped the last ridge, he was about two hundred meters from the nearest terminal module. The carnage outside the colony was incredible. The dust cloud was so thick Cort had to use his onboard sensors to discern what was going on. Terminal module three had imploded. Cort knew from the comms that no one had gotten in yet, but clearly it was about to happen.
Dave was already dead. The invaders had caught on to the new strategy and began employing it themselves. Only one CONDOR
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