“We’ve been ordered to bring you home,” Blazer replied. “The fleet is moving in to dust this place. Where’s the rest of your squad?”

  “We’re not leaving until we complete our mission,” Saldray roared as his own helmet opened.

  Zithe snarled as he looked around the room. “The rest of our squad is checking the other safe houses. Are the rest of your men there or dead?”

  Chertsin whipped around, Saldray fighting back the urge to stand beside him. “No, they’re still trapped at the hydroelectric plant. Where’s Markus taking that dropship?”

  Blazer lowered his weapon and opened his hand, palm up to Chertsin, an old Tomeris sign of respect. “Gavit’s not on the dropship. It’s headed out system. We have to secure our own transport out of here.” Blazer tapped the side of his head.

  Chertsin scowled and resealed his helmet to cut off the smell of chlorine. “You’re kidding me. The Geffers own the space port. A dust mite couldn’t get in there undetected.”

  Blazer resealed his own helmet. “That’s why Gavit’s fire team is checking out the outlying airfields. We spotted what looked to be a few usable torchships on ingress. Now I suggest we move towards the rally point. What’s the situation at the hydroelectric plant?”

  Chertsin looked over at Saldray then back to Blazer and brought up his arm. A holographic map of the dam appeared in response.

  “What’s your wave filter set at,” Blazer asked as he stared at the empty space above Chertsin’s arm. The special filters and projectors built into their ACHES worked within set wavelengths so that only those with the same filter settings could see the projected images.

  “Oh, uh Filter sixteen encode Delta Four,” Saldray responded and Blazer’s fire team inputted the filter settings using their micomms.

  Chertsin shook his head and explained. “The team there was laying the last of their charges at their last call. They’re having to work slowly to avoid detection. We’ve rigged the explosives to collapse the mines and destroy the hydroelectric plant and the solar farm.”

  Distinct with his reverse hinged knees and snouted helmet, Gokhead walked up to look at the map. “What about the fusion plant?”

  Chertsin reached down with his free arm and slipped on his rucksack. “Our orders were to leave it intact. We’ve installed a trio of gremlin pods around it to harass anyone who takes it.”

  “I don’t get it,” Zithe replied. “Why leave them anything operational?”

  “Simple, they’ll use it,” Chertsin explained, contempt in his voice. “Look, if we took out all the power plants then they’d bring in their own and we’d have no idea of what their capabilities are. If we leave one, damaging it on the way out to make it look like we fouled the job, they’ll repair, and keep using it. That way we’ll know their power capabilities. Throw in a gremlin pod on top of that and they’ll have continual small, annoying problems keep cropping up. It’s nothing bad enough to replace the power plant, but enough to keep them from operating at peak efficiency.”

  Blazer crossed his arms and looked out towards the nearby facility. “Don’t you think the Geffers will realize that?”

  “Whether they realize it or not, they’ll still be forced to use it until they can bring their own power plant online. That should take at least a few tridecs unless they hook the power grid into something like that assault lander.”

  “Okay,” Blazer relented, and looked at the corvette-sized dropship in the distance.. “Can your people evac from the hydro-plant or do we need to go in and get them?”

  “There be a good chance that Geffers know they be in there and be keeping all the entrances and exits covered. They be good and trapped,” Saldray explained.

  “Show me the facility,” Blazer ordered. Saldray glanced at Chertsin who gave a reluctant nod then activated the holographic projector in the arm of his ACHES revealing a three-dimensional relief of the facility. Chertsin shut his down.

  “What about those sluice ducts?” Gokhead asked pointing at the areas on the floating projection.

  Chertsin shook his head. “No good. The water flow is too strong. They can’t swim against it and the walls are a carbon-nanotube infused composite. They won’t be able to climb them without some heavy equipment.”

  “The intakes too?” Zithe asked from the window.

  Saldray scoffed. Blade Force, they didn’t know anything beyond their little rescue world. “Those be the sluice ducts, learning your terminology.”

  Blazer stepped between the pair, hands up. “Stand down. It’s a common mistake. What about the outflow into the river?”

  “No good,” Chertsin replied. “They’d be detected the moment they came out the tubes, assuming they could even get in.”

  Gokhead scratched his head. “How about opening the flood gates? That much water flowing should help hide their thermal signatures if they swim deep.”

  Chertsin shook his head again. “Considered it. They’d still need to get into the outflow lines, or make a run from the powerhouse into the flow. Neither of those options are viable unless we shut down a turbine or have them blow a hole into the outflow pipe. The Geffers are sure to detect that.”

  “So, shut it down.”

  “Easier said than done,” Chertsin explained. “We can’t do it by remote. Someone would have to cut incoming water to the turbine while the others gained access to the pipe before the flow is restored.”

  Gokhead scoffed. “None of your people can program in something to temporarily halt the flow?”

  Saldray stamped at the floor. This conversation is going nowhere. “It be an old-age plant. The turbines might be newer, but the controls be all buttons and levers, full manual operation.”

  “So they shoot their way out or get left behind. Is that it?” Zithe asked.

  “Looks that way,” Chertsin said, holding up his hand to Saldray and lowering it, calming the bigger Tomeris. “But with you guys adding fire support, we might be able to sneak up on the Geffers and give them a surprise. Give them a fighting chance to escape.”

  Blazer looked up, checking his micomm. “Still leaves the problem of transport. We would have to make a fighting retreat back to whatever Gavit and his team can muster, and I doubt that would be pretty.”

  “I won’t leave my men behind,” Chertsin snapped.

  “I had no intention of doing so,” Blazer bit back. Blazer called over the joint tactical micomm link.

  Gavit replied.

  Acknit interrupted.

  Blazer ordered.

  Saldray snickered at that. So the great Blazer Vaughnt be having dissention in the ranks, good. Too bad it had to be happening while they be here to get our team out of trouble.

 

  Chertsin asked, drawing a hard look from Blazer.

 

  Blazer ordered. Blazer ordered. He waited a moment, listening, then turned to Chertin, Saldray figured that his two other fire teams were checking in. “Contact your people and instruct them to standby for orders. We’ll have to formulate on the bounce,” he said, bringing his rifle back to the ready position.

  Parwek Dam Overlook, Flamgle 3

  Arion felt like it shouldn’t have been a surprise that they were here to pull out Chertsin’s team. After all, they were the top Fac-Demo team in their class at the academy. I wonder when Blazer figured it out? I’d bet not until he met with them. He turned to Matt and Bichard. With the active camouflage in their ACHES, he almost missed them and he was right by them.

  Bichard made a meticulous survey of the area. His fleet of insectlike drones blended in with the local pests as they fed data back to him. Bichard was ideal for this duty, as each drone fed back its data to one of the multiple facets on his eyes. It afforded Bichard an almost level 5 WSO interface view of the battlefield. Arion almost felt a tinge of jealousy about that, almost. The sheer volume of information was incredible and he couldn’t imagine processing it all without a computer. How does Bichard handle it?

  Matt reached over and tapped Bichard’s shoulder. “I need to make every shot count Bichard. At this range and in this atmosphere I’ll burn through half a cell in six bursts.”

  Bichard nodded. “Uploading thermographic scans to your suit. I show Chertsin’s dam team in position. Shall I report Arion?”

  “Neg, I’ve got it,” Arion replied as he kept Big Red trained on a Geffer APC near the powerhouse, venom in his eyes. he reported, his tone even as he quadruple-checked the charge on his capacitors and plasma tank.

 

  Marda replied from her group’s position at the foot of the overlook. Their job was to secure the egress route.

  Chertsin hissed as his team hung opposite him on rapelling lines.

  Saldray reported as his team waited on the near shore, hidden behind one of the dam’s many buttressed supports.

 

  the leader of the dam team reported. He and his two remaining men took position near one of the emergency escape doors.

  Arion swallowed, looking at the thermal. Oric had been part of that team, and he had died with Alieha. It almost made him wish that these were Gorvians instead of Geffers. He might gain a bit more satisfaction in killing them.

  Arion looked up at Blazer’s team as they took up position inside one of the emergency spillways. They were all but invisible from Arion’s position, their ACHES active camo blending well with the steel-crete surface.

  Blazer ordered.

  Matt and Arion traded quick nods then returned to their weapons as Arion tapped Bichard’s extended antennae to begin the count.

  Before Bichard could finish his count a sudden temblor rolled up the canyon ahead of the dam and the sound of distant secondary explosions washed over everyone.

  Chertsin ordered and his fire team burst from their hiding places. Staccato fire exploded from their rifles as they raced down the sheer cliff face.

  Blazer ordered. Blazer’s fire team took off down the face of the dam, long rapelling lines in their wake as coherent light and energy raced around them.

  Arion opened fire. He pumped three rounds into the APC. Explosions shattered its armored side and blew out one of its de-grav generators. That was all he needed and the vehicle slid sideways into the waterway. There were at least half a dozen troops still onboard.

  Matt wasted no time. He fired off six rounds in rapid succession. Each one dropped one of the troops below as they fired on the Confederation forces rushing towards them. Cursing from the heat, Matt flicked the plasma-cell release. The emptied cylinder fell away as he grabbed another from the stack next to him and slapped it into place.

  Arion noticed that the heat radiators on his rifle were already glowing a dull red. A light glowed blue in Arion’s HUD again. Big-Red had recharged and he leveled it on a squad rushing the power house. He opened fire ahead of the troops. He didn’t have the sophisticated sights that Matt did, so he had to go old-school. The first two rounds tore at the steel-crete deck, halting the troops as they looked around for the weapon. His third round cut into their flanks, dropping several.

  An instant later the wall of the power plant blew outward, revealing the members of the Fac-Demo team. They immediately fired on the stopped troops. The Geffer troops were caught flat-footed, trapped in a three-way crossfire between themselves, Chertsin’s, and Blazer’s teams as they dropped down from above.

  Arion hated the cycle time for Big Red to recharge and watched as Matt sped through two more plasma cells before the light glowed blue again. He checked the position of Blazer’s team’s lines and saw troops rushing towards them. Blazer’s team was heavily engaged providing fire support to Chertsin’s team. It was taking longer than expected for them to attach buddy lines to their comrades. Once affixed, they backed towards the sheer wall they’d just descended.

  He opened fire on the approaching troops. He pumped another three rounds into the lip of the dam beneath their feet. The dam face exploded and the walkway they were racing across,collapsed beneath them. A dozen troops fell with it, skidding and bouncing down the dam face.

  Blazer replied right before one of the troops crashed to the ground a few metra from his position.

  Gavit hollered over the link.

  Blazer replied as he, Zithe and Gokhead concentrated their fire on the troops racing up the footpath from the river.

  Arion cut off that avenue a moment later. A burst from his cannon shattered the metal frame of the ramp and collapsed it into the river.

 

 

  Bichard’s hum click voice responded.

  Blazer called.

  Chertsin yelled as he activated the retraction motor on his line and it jerked him back up the cliff face. The rest of his fire team and their charges followed in rapid succession.

  Blazer ordered before his own retraction motor activated and he began to run back up the dam face.

  Bichard reported as the slab-shaped craft came into view.

  Arion stared up at it. It looked like death coming down on them. Its heavy turrets would be able to reduce all of them to their component atoms if its crew were so inclined. If I thought Big Red had a chance to pierce that beast’s shields I would open up on it. Wait a pulse, why wasn’t it lending fire support or dropping troops? Armond Corvettes tended to act as assault landers as well as corvettes. Instead, it was heading away from them towards the airfield. Arion reported.

 

  “Be belaying that order,” a familiar voice barked, his voice distorted by the sound of braking thrusters. “All units to be falling back to this Armond. Fly Team get that tub airborne and we be making for a link up before we be breaking orbit.”

  “Capture Prime?” Blazer asked, confusion in his voice.

  “Confirmed Rescue Lead,” Trevis replied. “Be hearing you be in the area and thought we be giving you a ride,” he continued. “Be making it quick though. The Geffers be bound to realize something be up once we don’t be releasing any troops.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  Main Loading Ramp, GFS-6178 “Garrison”

  Blazer bounded towards the waiting loading ramp. Lindil’s fire team waited for them, laying down covering fire over their approach. He couldn’t believe it. What are the Explosions doing here, and with a Galactic Federation Corvette? He didn’t have time to ask as the dust cloud the corvette was kicking up obscured his visibility. He spun around to guide the rest of his team and Chertsin’s onboard. His thermal vision had trouble tracking however, the flying dirt heated by the corvette’s hull. He activated his beacon and vaulted up the ramp.

 

 

 

  Telsh replied.

  Blazer looked back into the dust cloud. The last of their fire teams emerged, Marda’s. He scowled at that. he asked as Marda neared, Rudjick in the rear.

 

  Blazer didn’t like her tone but took a calming breath. I might tolerate that kind of talk outside of a mission, but this isn’t the right time.

  Trevis didn’t even reply before the loading ramp cycled and the ship began to rise. Blazer dropped back into the bay, and after the doors had closed, decontamination foam rained down upon them. He grimaced at the ceiling. He couldn’t believe the Geffers didn’t use nanoscreens. He waited a long, tense moment as the corvette shifted around him and broke for orbit. As his suit read blue, he reached to unseal his helmet.

  “No don’t,” Porc yelled and grabbed Blazer’s hand. “Seriously, everyone keep your lids closed until the foam dissipates. It’s a nanofilm and if it senses that you’re not a Geffer it’ll eat your flesh away. It’s a nasty way to go.”