Макс Глебов – Foothold For A Loner (страница 3)

“My helmet’s data processing system has a special co-processor for calculation of deflection that’s used while firing on quick moving targets, and it’s interfaced with the visual recognition system. Then it’s connected to the exoskeleton’s pseudo muscular system that helps to aim the machine gun or the cannon. I just took up a position for shooting, identified the target, chose the weapon and pointed the machine gun at the missile. The equipment did the rest.”

“Have never heard about gear like that before…” began Shefferson, but he had no time to finish his sentence. The dropship touched down and it shook. There was no time for talking. The ramp went down abruptly and the landing started.

Chapter 1

Long before that…

“So, Colonel, how do you feel?” there was clearly tension in General Clay’s voice.

“Just the same for now, General, Sir,” I smiled joylessly. “The doctor thinks there’s a bit more than one month of normal life left for me. Then my brain will start deteriorating at an increasing rate. As far as I understand nothing can be done.”

“Hmmm,” the General clearly struggled for words, but then gave up and sat down on the bed's edge. “Let’s put aside ranks. You’re right, Dean. They don’t know what to do. This is a new weapon. The enemy used it for the first time. Those who were at the epicenter saw their brains fried and fail immediately, and irreversibly. Your troop carrier just nicked the edge. At first, no one had any symptoms at all, some light-headedness at the most, but…”

“Clay,” addressing the General without ranks felt more appropriate. I’ve got a request…”

“Go ahead. I can deal with it.”

“I’ll be fine for one more month. I saw the guys from the Hawk while I was on the rescue operation after the attack. I know what awaits me. I don’t want to die slowly in a hospital like a vegetable. I’m not just a planetary commando. I’ve got experience commanding a squad of assault robots. A major counter-offensive was launched in the 17th sector. Let me land with the first wave of commandos on one of the planets occupied by the toads. I won’t be able to command any human, that’s understood, and I’d never ask men to follow me to certain death. But to lead ten autonomous assault robots and to rage one last time – that’s another story. A warrior with no fear of death can save many soldiers.”

My words got the general thinking. The look on his face didn’t change, but there was a gleam of understanding in his eyes and, as it seemed to me, approval.

“Fair enough. Although your case is unusual. I’m not 100 percent sure, but I’ll do my best to make it happen.”

For three days I was left alone except for the standard daily check-ups and medical procedures that were unavoidable for patients at the hospital. Doctors averted their eyes from me, and so everything became quite clear. On the fourth day the General came again.

“Get dressed. Quit warming up your ass here,” the harsh words were an attempt to cover the awkwardness that Clay felt. “There’s no point for a brigadier general to hang around here in the rear ward when his army has been assaulting Delta Kirsani for the second day already.”

“I don’t understand,” I looked at the General raising my eyebrow.

“Ain’t nothing difficult to understand. For the recent operation you've been promoted to brigadier general earlier than planned. My congratulations, Sir. At the same time your new insignia is an extra headache for me. Your request has been considered in Fleet Headquarters. The Imperial Technological Consortium has just delivered 10 brand-new assault robots to the Armed Forces. They have to face testing under the most difficult conditions. This task was entrusted to you by headquarters. I had to rack my brains on how to appoint a brigadier general to a lieutenant’s post and not to seem as if I was fucking with the brains of all the captains, majors and colonels who will be your immediate supervisors.”

“So, you managed to do it, General, Sir?” I gave him a little smile.

“What else was I supposed to do? Here’s the deal: you and your robots will form a strike platoon reporting directly to me as before. These assault robots are new and a secret weapon, so they’re not to be tested on the level of a battalion or even a regiment. I’ll wait for you at the flyers’ lot near the main entrance. The hospital staff has been notified. Your new uniform will be brought here.”

I won’t say that I was very happy to know what lay ahead, but I was relieved. After all, death in battle – that’s honorable for a soldier, as well as for a general. It’s much better than dying in a hospital, slobbering and wetting one’s bed.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t get everything done without messing with the minds of some officers. When I arrived to take command of my strike platoon I saw that the assault robots, which were still in their shipment packaging, were stored in a separate hangar under the guard of two boarding robots. I had to ask the technicians for assistance. Despite my rank those in charge of the logistic base clearly had enough of their own concerns, and had no time to bow and scrape before a visiting general, who with all due respect, is neither their commander nor inspector. I had a job to do, so I tended to it myself. The head of the local technical service, who appeared to be an elderly major, was extremely surprised to see a commando general at his office. Rather amused by the situation and keeping a straight face, I was the first to salute the major who came towards me from behind his desk.

“Major, Sir, this is Brigadier General Dean reporting. I arrived to get 10 Quantum-C assault robots and a small Cuirassier troop transport. I need your assistance to make the machines combat-ready.”

“Eh… General, Sir.” The head of technical service was clearly dumbfounded. “Why have you come in person? You’d be better off sending the robots’ pilot, and we’d give him everything as best as we could. Or his company commander could come in case of the need for a special inspection.”

“I’m the pilot, Major.”

“You? Eh… I beg your pardon, General, Sir, that’s probably not my business, but it’s very unusual. In my many years I’ve never seen a brigadier general in command of a platoon of assault robots… Not even a colonel, not to sound too…”

“Just relax, Major. There's a first time for everything,” I smiled. “Just get them prepared, and I won’t inconvenience you any more with my presence.”

“We’ll do that in a jiffy, rest assured, General, Sir. Probably four hours, tops. I've already called the guys to the 16th hangar. I’ll oversee everything personally.”

“I have no doubt, Major. No doubt.”

Delta Kirsani greeted me with the commotion following a major battle that had ended. The toads had dug in very well here. Everybody calls them ‘toads’. Our enemies have another name, an official one, but after seeing these oversized frogs at least once you could only call them ‘toads.’ They’re just toads.

Within a year after our fleet had left this binary star system the toads gained a foothold on all three planets that supported life, deployed orbital defense systems and built many bases within the asteroid belt. That's not to mention numerous minefields and automatic gun-missile platforms at the most strategic directions. Also, a fleet was stationed here. How could they manage without it? Orbital fortresses alone can’t provide flexibility for a proper defense.

Our side took this matter seriously, and I can’t even imagine how many star systems were deprived of additional forces in order to build this invasion armada. No less than 10 aircraft carriers, 14 battleships, nearly 100 cruisers, as well as a host of destroyers and corvettes. All this power came pounding down on the toads, and after busting through the mines and pilotless battle stations they hit the orbital fortresses over the fourth planet. No orbital defense could withstand such an assault. The toads’ mobile forces did their best to hold onto their battle positions above the planet, plugging holes created by destroyed fortresses, but that didn’t last long. Once our fleet had finished off the enemy orbiting the system’s main planet, it proceeded to the neighboring planets and by now there were no enemies left in the space.

That was a glorious victory but a very bloody and costly one. You couldn’t look at the victorious ships without choking up: pierced boards, gun turrets crushed by enormous explosions, gnarled and twisted flight decks. And these were the survivors – less than a half of the forces had arrived here. The toads are able to fight hard even outmatched, even when caught unawares…

Well, the orbital defense had been neutralized. It was now up to the commandos.

I piloted the Cuirassier myself. Essentially, this small troop transport was designed to be steered by the pilot of assault robots aboard. The Cuirassier was created for intersystem flights and for landing troops directly on a planet surface under favorable conditions. It can’t make a hyper-jump, so I arrived to this system on the outer hangar of a large troop carrier that transported heavy assault tanks. Its captain wasn’t at all happy to make a center-of-gravity recalculation before the jump and nearly told me to bug off, but then he compared his shoulder straps to those of the ballsy Cuirassier pilot and refrained from any objections.