Second Sun
"Hostiles to our left! Hammer 'em!"
The MOMAG roared to life as I sliced up the earth beneath the encroaching Helghast platoon. Infantry fell to my bullets without offering a single shot in resistance. Their blood drenched the thirsty Helghan soil. They wanted to give their all for the planet and they got what they wanted. Fire from my right drew my attention toward a group of Advanced Assault Infantry. I hosed them down, throwing a few bursts from the mounted cannon for good measure. The buggies and HAMR's in front kicked up sand, browning-out the air around me. The coarse grains lashed at my face, and I found myself thankful for my hood. Muzzle flashes kept me from reaching for the goggles, forcing me into a constant battle to keep sand from breaching the protective layer of my eyelashes. A layer of the finer dust stuck to the beads of sweat built up on my face from the heat of the inhospitable Barrens. I felt a trickle down the back of my neck amid the chaos of orange goggles and muzzle flashes. A rocket lunged my way. It landed short but forced the HAMR into a rough evasive maneuver. A geyser of sand shot up from where the missile hit. A jeep pulled up, blocking my sight of the crater as its gunner fired in the direction of the rocket. Another rocket slammed into the buggy head on, flipping it in a smoldering heap while the gunner slammed headfirst into the back of my transport. The sickening thud of impact and the crunch of his neck breaking sent a jolt through the whole crew.
"Did a rocket clip us or something," the driver barked at me.
"Negative. It was the gunner on one of the buggies," I shouted back. His response was deafened by the MOMAG fire I unleashed upon the enemy.
The column approached a knoll where a squad of Helghast armor was waiting for us. Tank fire made dust out of one Archer. Another Archers sped up and returned fire. The gunner on the coax went insane, nailing every Helghast pouring out of the APCs. Bodies fell like dominoes as another HGH tank pulled up. Kicenzki bludgeoned the tank to death with cannon fire from his HAMR. His MG sent the support crew scurrying for cover. Our enemies kept us at bay with suppressing fire while their tanks pushed through the Barrens. Several Archers broke away from the convoy to engage the HGH tanks in an old fashioned armored brawl.
"Driver, those tanks need support!"
"With all due respect, little lady, I've got to continue to the DZ. These are probably skirmishers."
"You think they'd send an entire armored brigade as skirmishers? The Helghast got the jump on us!" Bullets bounced off the vehicle and showered me with sparks. "You either turn toward those Archers or you'll be short a gunner!"
"Face it, hot stuff; you wouldn't last a minute out there!"
"Boy, you better not piss me off; I know more about the tech systems on these HAMRs than your own crew does! If you break down without me, you're S.O.L!"
"Alright already! Command, this is HAMR Six. Request permission to break off from column and provide support to Armored Nine."
The Major's voice came through the headset. "Negative, HAMR Six. A team of EXOs are on their way to provide support. Stay on mission."
My hand slammed down on the console. "Fucking officers can't get their heads out of their asses."
"Easy there! Sorry corporal; I tried." The whirring of mechanical feet turned my attention away from the bitter taste of the major's refusal and toward a pair of mechanized suits leaping over several buggies to get to the tank column. The ostrich-like legs of the LS 209s carried them quickly through the sands. Their machine gun arm cut down any Helghast resisting their approach while rockets from their launcher arm knocked a platoon of Helghast into the broken remains of their armored carriers which were used as platforms for the EXOs to come down hard on the flank of the Archer column. They showered augmented Hellfire Missiles down on the HGH light tanks.
"Looks like the Rabbits have it under control," the driver assured me.
Not satisfied, I turned the turret to the nearest group of enemy tanks and let the cannon loose. The iron fist punched holes in closest tank and sent the gunner headfirst into a bead of machine gun fire. My cannon battered another tank, this one blowing up moments after I was out of range.
"Turn us back," I demanded.
"Goddamn it, you heard the Major! We have to-wait? What the fuck is that? TANKS!"
I looked to the front of the column as four Heavy HGH hover tanks trudged down the hill in the distance. Close behind were anti-air APCs whose twin mounted Chimera guns tore three of the buggies to shreds. Kicenzki, Brown and I lined up our shots and began hitting the APCs. One of them detonated, its top half slamming into a Heavy Tank. The larger vehicle swerved from the force of impact. The Helghast inside must not have felt a thing because the tank aimed its main gun at Brown's HAMR. With Kicenzki busy it fell to me to smash the tank. My cannon fired burst after burst into the hardened carapace of the tank. No doubt the crew was starting to get rattled; the gun took much longer to fire than it was supposed to. When it did fire, though, Brown's HAMR flipped from the back end forward like a man tossed from a bull and crushed a buggy. Both went up in flames and halted our advance.
The frantic chatter over the radio made me skittish. My MG and cannon peppered the tank column while the rest of the column formed a ring around the fallen HAMR.
"Punisher Convoy, what is your delay? Why have you stopped?" The Major's voice was as angry as it was distraught.
"One of the HAMRs is down, sir," my sergeant replied with a pleading urgency in his voice.
"Leave it behind. You are to continue to the designated zone and stave off the Helghast counterattack, do you hear me?"
"With all due respect sir," I cut into the conversation, "we are facing the attack in question seven klicks away from your designated zone."
"Acknowledged; sending a team of fast movers to your current posi-" The feed fizzled out. I couldn't even hear the sarge anymore. I tried switching the button on the headset as Kicenzki shouted and pointed to another APC in the distance. Arc Carriers. The blue rod crackled with lightning as it aimed for our column.
I tried the radio in vain; either my driver was unaware of the danger or in awe of the weapon's ability to tear up the first row of our lightly armored column. With our tanks still engaged and no hope of EXO support, it fell on me and the rest of the HAMR gunners. I aimed at the Arc Carrier and showered it with explosive shells. The beast managed to fire another fire hose stream of lightning before it detonated in blue rings of angry electricity. The shockwave disabled a couple of the surrounding vehicles and probably fried the men inside with lethal doses of Petrusite. The Arc threat eliminated, I tried the radio and to my relief found it was back online.
"Driver, get us to the side of those tanks. We'll flank them and take some of the fire off our men!"
"The major's gonna have a cow when he finds out you-"
"Major's not here, driver! Now step on it!"
"Alright, corporal, but if I get slapped with a court martial it's on your head."
"Don't worry; I won't let you stand in front of that firing squad alone. Now hustle!"
The brute of a vehicle jerked to life and sped away from the safety of the pinned down convoy into the no man's land of the Barrens. The cloud of dust kicked up by the half ton tires of the HAMR alerted the HGH tanks to our position. Turrets began to track our movement.
"Faster! We can't let them lead us," I radioed Kicenzki and the sarge, who was not very happy with the way I wanted to seize the initiative.
"Robles, you get back here this instant! If the Major finds out you went against his orders he'll-"
"Major's orders don't matter anymore, sarge. You're in command now!"
"Then I order you to fall back. If not I'll see to it your court martial is expedited!"
"I guess I better die out here then, huh?"
"Robles, you-"
I clicked off the headset and took cover as fire from the twin mounted Scylla's threatened to rip my head clean off my shoulders.
"I'll drench the graves of my ancestors with your blood, Vektan," the gunner screamed at me. His body ended up slumped over the turret of the tank. The gun wheeled my direction as one of its companions fired. The shell landed short, dumping sand over the HAMR. I kept my finger on the trigger, blasting the tank until its turret flew off in an explosion. The smoke hid my position from the rest of the forward column. Perfect. I turned my attention to a supporting Light Tank and took it out with ease. The treaded vehicle collided with one of the heavier tanks, throwing the hovering beast off balance and sending it crashing into the exposed rock of the Barren floor. In its panic the Heavy Tank fired a shot into the earth, drenching the other craft in the vicinity with sand.
I noticed cannon shots from our side. Kicenzki and the others were convinced of my tactics. Even the sarge cut in to my fucking up the Hig formation.
"Whatever you do, Robles: DON'T STOP POUNDING THEM!"
My gun ripped the escaping tank crews to shreds. A Light Tank broke rank and moved out to engage me. The machine gunner sought me out. I replied with a torrent of bullets as the faster HAMR ran circles around him. I popped a few shots from the cannon into the chassis of the Light Tank. The bastard swerved but kept pursuing. I sent both MOMAG and cannon rounds into the tank. The pinging of the bullets and the hard crunch of the cannons ripping through steel was soon drowned out by the dying screams of the crew. The tank crashed its carcass into the sand.
"Sweet baby Jesus," the driver yelped, "Almost flipped her there! You okay up there, corporal?"
"Fine," I shouted back and sent bursts of bullets into the advancing line of Helghast troops. A rocket slammed into the HAMR and I hung on for dear life as the driver tried desperately to gain control. "Driver, get this situated now!"
"Driver's dead," the navigator informed me as he took the wheel. "And I don't know how to drive one of these damn things!"
"What do you mean you don't know how to drive one of these things? You're the navigator, aren't you?!"
"I don't even have my license yet! Cut me a break, lady!" The craft swerved, nearly throwing me off the turret. "Sorry about that!"
I'm sure the navigator squirmed in his seat when he heard me growl. "Stop this thing! I'll drive and you get on the gun!"
"But I don't know how to use the turret-"
"It's like using your rifle, idiot!"
"But I don't-"
"Just stop the damn-!"
The tank shell was dead on. I heard the dying gurgle of the navigator as my world was turned upside down. Gravity brought me hurtling down on the sands of the Barrens. It was not the hard landing I expected; it was far worse. I blacked out for what seemed like a millisecond second before coming to. The HAMR landed ten feet away, its shattered windshield soaked with blood. Another tank shell slammed into the HAMR but the damage was done. Any attempt by me to stand resulted in excruciating pain. I cursed and crawled over to the HAMR. The sharp burst of wind as one of the battered EXOs leapt over the wreckage had me reeling. The EXO landed and fired a salvo of rockets at the remains of the armored group. Its machine gun battered the Hig line as I finished the crawl to the wreckage. Using the burnt out shell of the craft as support, I managed to get to my feet.
After making sure the lieutenant's possessions were still in one piece, I reached for the M4 and fired a single shot. It didn't jam in spite of the dust-choked air it was exposed to. I made my way to the driver's window as bullets meant for the EXO struck the wreckage. A limp and bloodied hand hanging from the driver's seat greeted me. A quick peek inside found me face to face with the mass of bloody pulp which was once the driver. I searched for a better weapon to complement my pistol and found a couple M82's snug in their wall-mounted holsters.
Three tracers greeted me. I grabbed the rifles and booked it. Fast movers streaked across the sky. I covered my head as they dropped their ordinance. The blast threatened to throw me back to the sands of the Barrens. Sand slapped my hood as the headset crackled to life with the sarge's voice.
"Echo Five to… Delta Hotel… Requesting another pass!"
"That's a no-go, Echo Five. We're at Bingo and bugging out."
"What the… you mean by Bingo?"
"Cruisers… fleet under attack… need… AAHH!"
The unmistakable interference and sizzling of the air around me meant one thing: another Arc APC. I peered over the edge at the armored vehicle and spotted the blue finger unleashing an unholy spout of light that split one of the aircraft in two. The HAMRs tore into the Helghast as I made a break for the ruins of the cockpit. I kicked up a small dust cloud which thankfully went unnoticed by the 'Ghast manning the mobile Arc. I leaned up close against the twisted metal but not too close. My hair rose on end, sliding up against the back of my hood. I planned out my attack: several grenades to get them running for cover, a quick leap from cover to put down a couple of them, then reaching the Arc cannon and disabling it… somehow.
The first part went according to plan. A couple frags got the Higs scrambling for cover amongst the burning skeletons of their armor. I burst out from cover, taking a moment to line up my shots with the reflex scope and pelted a couple of their Commandos before their shotguns got a bead on me. As they fell I slid into cover behind the Arc APC, checking my clip. Ten bullets to go before I had to reload. I peeked over from my cover and found a Shock Trooper racing towards me. The agile little shit rolled to evade my bullets, rising as I ditched the weapon and went for my sidearm. He pissed bullets in my direction, which I rolled to evade. The shots spat up sand as they followed me behind a smoldering shard from one of the Light Tanks I had murdered earlier.
"Taste my liquid steel, Vektan!"
The Shock Trooper's taunts ended with a mouthful of liquid steel. As he crumbled I raced from my hard point. Another Shock Trooper met me on the way. Once again rolling to avoid their fire, I ended up close and personal with him. My M4 went to his chin, spattering pieces of his skull into the sand around us. I kicked his weapon into cover, fell in behind it, and reloaded both the pistol and the M82. Salvaging ammo for the StA11 from both Shock Troopers, I slung the SMG over my hip and scanned for more Helghast as I rounded the APC. Imagine my surprise when I was greeted with three more Assault Infantry and a grenade spitting Commando. The hijacked Thumper detonated against the mobile Arc's shell, drawing the attention of the crew. They lowered the cannon enough to walk out into my line of fire. As their bullet-riddled corpses wilted, their newly arrived comrades rushed my position. I cut down two of the Assault Infantry as the Commando continued launching grenades to cover the three troopers attempting to flank me. They hadn't counted on the extremely high rate of fire from the StA11.
The Commando rounded the bend, his StA18 aimed right at my head. I ducked, the shot going wild. I fired off my pistol, striking his shoulder. The old Helghast resilience came through and he closed in. His pistol whip failed as my one free hand managed to hold him back. Fighting dirty was the best way to get him to stop; I let my left leg slip, carrying my right foot straight into his crotch. He groaned as his knees buckled. On the way down I plugged a few bullets in his chest, but he got the last laugh and pinned me to the sand. A body is a tad bit heavier when it's dead. Just a tad.
"Get off me!" I tried to push the Helghast off but his fully loaded two hundred something pound corpse wasn't going anywhere.
"Robles, come in!" The sergeant.
I clicked on the headset. "Jammer here!"
The sigh betrayed the sergeant's relief at hearing I was okay. "What is your current status, corporal?"
"Still breathing, sir, although the Hig pinning me to the floor is doing a good job of making it hard."
"Come again?"
"Nothing, sir. Will deal with the situation presently." I could only imagine the look on the non-com's face as I grunted the body off me. "Situation dealt with, sir."
The blast from a HAMR cannon sent me flying into the shell of the Arc APC. When the throbbing in my head subsided for a second, I clicked on the headset.
"Sergeant: tell those HAMRs to stop firing in the direction of the mobile Arc. Say again: divert fire away from the mobile Arc!"
"What; are you gonna try to use their own weapon against them?"
The wheels turned. "Thanks for the idea, sarge."
"Stand down, corporal! Do you even know how to use Hig tech?"
"Much as the Higs themselves. Gimme a minute and everything will be one giant Charlie Foxtrot."
"For them or for us?"
I climbed into the mobile Arc. After tapping a few keys and trying a few manual overrides, the device was mine to control. The orange screen came to life and I got a perfect wide-angle view of the ISA line. Half a dozen buggies lay in flaming heaps throughout the line. Rockets and cannon bursts flashed from my buddies as tank and MG fire from encroaching armored craft threatened to break through. The camera panned toward the Hig line. Two more Heavy Tanks and a Light Tank joined the party, navigating the mess we'd left behind for them. They opted to stop just far enough for their turrets to pick off our guys. I primed the cannon. The electric finger roared to life with a charge-up sound that was the stuff of nightmares. The motor controlling the movement of the cannon lowered the beam in the direction of the tanks. A simple flip of a switch and pull of a lever sent a stream of volatile Petrusite into the tank. The blue-white streak punched clean through the vessel. The resulting explosion drew the attention of the Light Tank. The slow speed of the turret gave me enough time to prime the weapon for another shot. The Light Tank went up in a blaze of glory. Several Hig troops raced out from the fire to offer the obligatory resistance. I ignored them and aimed for the second Heavy Tank. I unloaded pure Petrusite on the Heavy Tank. Streams of the arc broke off and shocked the shit out of several infantrymen. Poor souls must have had Teslite Grenades handy.
"Tank reinforcements eliminated. Now redirecting fire to the tanks currently battering your position."
I turned the electric howitzer towards the no-man's land where the HGH tanks continued their decimation of my troops. Ignoring the Hig fire to my left, I primed the gun and lined up my shot via the screen.
Then came the flash. I closed my eyes before the shockwave hit. The mobile Arc flipped over, its systems going offline seconds before it slammed into the rock of the Barrens. I rolled, gravity no longer holding me back. The shockwave sent me into one of the walls. Everything went black right after.
Even in the darkness, the light of Pyrrhus managed to cut through as a million tortured screams reached me, half Helghast and half human, all incinerated by the second sun.
