“Did I hear gunfire?” Vance asked over the force-wide channel. “Who fired?”
“I heard it, too,” Dallis replied, “but no one reported firing shots.”
“Find out who fired….”
“Michael,” Halo interrupted, “two of your soldiers’ vital signs just bottomed out.”
“Who?” He felt the situation slipping out of control.
“Roberts and Gythrun. They flat-lined within seconds of each other.”
Vance hastily motioned Decker and Dallis to join him. “Who has eyes on our point men?”
“I did,” Decker admitted, “but we were receiving interference from the buildings in the business district. I can’t pinpoint their exact location.”
Dallis shook his head.
“Halo,” Vance said, switching channels, “do you have eyes on either of them?”
“I’m sorry, Michael, but I lost them once they went inside the building. I’m working off satellite imagery, so I can track you only when you’re visible from space. Once you’re inside, you’re on your own.”
Vance pulled his mike away from his ear and stormed away from the others. “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
Regaining his composure, he returned to the group and readjusted his microphone. “Platoons Two and Three, hold your position. We have a situation.”
“Anything we can help with?” Onclav asked, his gravelly Lithid voice carrying clearly over the radio.
“No. Just hold tight right now.” Vance’s voice calmed, and a hard look came to his eyes. “We’re going in to the area directly ahead, then rendezvous at the outpost on the far side of the city.”
“Roger that,” both warrants replied.
Vance scanned the collection of soldiers and team members holding their positions on both sides of the street. Rubbing his black beard absently, he looked at the behemoth buildings looming nearby.
“What are you thinking, Sir?” Decker asked.
“I’m thinking that an intelligent man doesn’t march forty healthy soldiers into an area where two have mysteriously died. An intelligent man turns around, gets back on the ship, and blows the whole city straight to hell.”
“But we aren’t going to do that, are we?”
“I wish we could, but we have our orders.” He felt slightly dejected. “Whatever information is in the military outpost, we need it. If we hadn’t been ordered to scan the city, I would’ve just landed near the outpost, taken what we need, and left.”
“No one ever accused the infantry of being smart, Sir,” Decker joked.
Vance caught himself smiling. “Get the men ready to move. Something’s in the business district, and we’re going to find it. Then we’re going to kill it.”
The infantry and Vance’s team broke from concealment and moved carefully down the road, scanning for any signs of movement from the buildings. As the long shadows of the skyscrapers began to fall over them, the group slowed, taking time to search every potential ambush location thoroughly.
Searching the next three blocks was arduous and took nearly an hour-and-a-half before Vance was confident whatever was in the city was still ahead, not flanking them to come around behind. Raising his hand in a fist, he halted the group. Soldiers melted into the shadows, finding defensive positions until given further orders.
Dallis and Decker joined Vance, who stood defiantly in the middle of the street.
“Our time of stealth and subtlety are over,” Vance said bluntly. “Decker, split your men into groups of four. I want sweeps conducted of all buildings, floor by floor. Either find me something to shoot or the bodies of our fallen soldiers. I also need one soldier to act as spotter for my sniper. Normally, I’d have one of my own pulling that duty, but I need Yen on the ground with me this time.”
“No problem, Sir,” Decker replied. “I’ve got just the guy.” Pulling his microphone away from his mouth, he called for one of his men.
An Uligart broke from cover and hurried toward them. Vance, meanwhile, motioned Ainj to join them, too.
“Ainj, this is….”
“Topher Reese,” the Uligart responded, a look of stern consternation on his face.
“Reese will be your spotter and cover your six,” Vance said. “I want you on top of one of these buildings, ready to cover us on the ground. You need anything from us before you take off?”
“No, Sir.” Ainj adjusted the straps on his mesh vest, having forgone the heavy body armor the others wore. Aside from being constrictive when he tried to fire, the body armor weighed him down to the point that his hollow bone structure couldn't support the weight when he tried to fly.
“Good. Move out, and be ready for anything.”
As Decker called out commands to his men, splitting them up and supervising their entry into nearby buildings, Vance switched his microphone to the team’s internal communications channel. “Rally on me.”
The other five team members broke from their positions and hustled to Vance. All saw his concerned expression, which seemed drastically out of place.
“Bad juju, Boss?” Tusque asked.
“Yeah.” His eyes never left the towers looming over him. “Bad juju.”
“Where do you need us?” Eza idly spun his ax with one hand.
“Here, on the ground.” Looking around, Vance pulled them closer, so the infantry couldn’t overhear them. “Nothing against our brethren here, but, if things start to go bad, I want you all on the ground, so we can beat feet to the outpost.”
“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” Nova asked.
“Maybe.” He couldn’t shake the memories of the lost teammates over the past seven years. The sense of dread burrowing deep into his gut made him want to ensure his current group didn’t meet the same fate. “Nova and Yen, you two take north. Tusque and Eza, head south. Ixibas, you’re with me as reserve. Any questions?”
They shook their heads and adjusted their weapons.
“Then move out.”
Vance stood in the middle of the street, savoring the ambient light filtering between the buildings. Decker and Dallis, having established a search cordon, joined him and Ixibas on the road. Minutes dragged painfully by, as infantry soldiers searched each of the twenty-story or taller buildings floor by floor. Minute after minute, Vance asked for updates and received the same reply-no sign of the missing men or any enemies.
Chewing his bottom lip, Vance grew increasingly impatient.
“Anything up top?” he asked for the tenth time.
“Still nothing, Sir.” Ainj’s irritation was apparent even in his singing Avalon voice. “Nothing on the scope, nothing on thermals. There’s nothing out here, Sir.”
“Belay that,” Halo said. “I’ve got movement on the satellite sensors.”
Vance stood straighter, shedding the monotonous boredom that crept into his body. “Where?”
“Due north of your location, approximately a block and a half. Left side of the road.”
“Nova, Yen, you copy that?”
“Yes, Sir.” Nova pulled the spear from the holder on her back. “We’re moving toward it now.”
“Ixibas and I are heading your way, too,” Vance said. “Ainj, are you tracking?”
“I’ve got something on thermals, but it’s behind cover. I can’t make it out from here,” Ainj replied.
Nova and Yen hurried up the road, quickly covering the distance. They slowed, as they approached the area, pulling out flashlights to search dark corners. With the sun setting, the shadows grew deeper, blurring details. Their flashlights panned across the side of the street, searching for the signal Halo saw.
“There,” Yen hissed, his heart like a lump in his throat.
Nova followed the flashlight beam and saw it. Behind a dumpster, partially hidden from view, a gray-skinned creature huddled as if hiding.
Nova moved around the street for a better view. Slowly, the creature came into better perspective. Splayed out on the sidewalk, partially concealed by the alley behind it, lay a Seque. Seemingly unharmed, it had its two elongated arms tucked firmly under its long, narrow jaw. The squat back legs, which gave it a Seque an unnatural gait when it ran on its legs and the knuckles of its long arms, were spread out behind it.
Its thick, gray skin glistened in the setting sunlight. That light also captured its saucer-like eyes. Exceptionally broad and overdeveloped cheekbones extended from its broad nose to its disproportionately small ears. It looked at her in fear, mewling softly.
Nova lowered her flashlight and chuckled, as she approached the Seque. Her nervousness fled, as she realized how worked up she’d been over one of the planet’s beasts of burden. Standing a few feet away, after visually confirming the Seque wasn’t injured and nothing else hid behind it, she activated her throat mike.
“False alarm, Sir,” she said, a bit of mirth in her voice. “It’s just a Seque.”
“Nova, move!” Yen shouted, as waves of hostile energy washed over him.
Nova turned back in time to see the Seque rise on all fours and push off from the ground to stand on its back legs. At its full height of nearly twelve feet, it towered over the Uligart female. The Seque bellowed in rage, as it slammed its clawed fists against its chest. Looking down at the stunned woman, it opened its mouth in a snarl to reveal rows of jagged teeth.
Nova broke from her stupor, as the Seque swung its arm in a wild backhand. Sharp claws passed inches from her head, as she ducked and rolled to the right. The second arm came down in a crushing blow that cracked the concrete.
Rolling back to her feet, she set her shoulders and drove the spear forward. Clutching its clawed hand in pain, the Seque didn’t move. The spear split the skin of its chest and slid all the way through its body until the tip jutted from its back.
Nova expected the creature to tumble to the ground, dead or dying. Instead, she was stunned when it looked at the protruding spear and thick, green blood that oozed from the wound, then turned back toward her. Opening its mouth wide, it yelled in rage and pain.
Ignoring the spear, it stepped forward, covering the distance with its short legs and pushing Nova backward. She fumbled with the spear, but it remained solidly lodged in the creature’s chest.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” she said through clenched teeth, as it tried to step forward again. With the spear embedded in its chest, she remained just beyond reach of those long arms. “Shoot him!” she shouted at Yen.
Yen pulled his rifle free and fired over her head. The sounds slammed into the Seque’s chest with little effect. Many of the bullets were still visible to Nova, having been stopped by the abnormally thick hide. Snarling at Yen, the Seque pushed forward another step.
“Fine!” Nova snapped. “You want to do it the hard way?” Her forearms strained. “Why don’t you just burn?”
Reaching down the shaft, she pressed a concealed button. One million volts of electricity charged down the shaft and electrocuted the Seque impaled on the end. Its head threw back in shock, and the body writhed in uncontrollable spasms. Spittle flew in sheets from its lips.
Around the spear tip, the skin smoldered and turned black. The scent of cooked meat filled the air, as flesh boiled away, cracking in the heat. With froth on its lips, the Seque pitched forward. The spear shaft ripped from Nova’s hands and fell like a victory flag, sticking straight up from the Seque’s body.
Nova turned, as Vance and Ixibas finally arrived. With her free hand, she pushed disheveled hair from her face, her breath coming in labored gasps. Though fear slowed the event to a seeming eternity for her, the fight lasted less than thirty seconds.
“What the hell?” Vance asked, seeing smoke rise from the dead Seque behind Nova.
“It attacked me,” she said breathlessly, seeing disbelief in Vance’s eyes. “I know what you’re thinking, but it attacked me. It had strange sharpened claws and pointed teeth. It stood on its hind legs, for crying out loud! How many Seques have you seen do that?’
Vance turned toward Yen, who met his gaze with a disbelieving expression.
“Don’t look at me for answers,” Yen said. “She’s telling the truth. I never saw anything like it.”
“This could be our culprit, Sir,” Ixibas said. “It’s big enough to….”
He stopped in midsentence. Though his face remained expressionless, the looks of disbelief on Yen and Vance’s faces told her what she needed to know. She heard a wrenching sound behind her, as her spear was pulled free from the tough Seque hide. Slowly, a dark shadow was cast over her. She didn’t bother turning. Instead, she locked eyes with her teammates, her eyes pleading for salvation, as they moved in apparent slow motion.
Vance and Yen raised their rifles to their shoulders and fired a volley into the second Seque. The twelve-foot beast, straddling the corpse of its fallen comrade, was unfazed by the gunfire. It clutched the spear tightly in its hands and drove it into Nova’s spine.
She staggered a few steps forward with the force of the blow. The tip of the spear jutted three feet beyond her stomach, leaving the haft buried in her. She tried to speak, but blood spilled from her lips, dribbling down her chin before falling to the ground.
Crouching, the Seque hid as much of itself as it could behind Nova’s lithe frame. Yen and Vance held their fire for fear of hitting her. Her eyes pleaded, begging an end to the pain, when the Seque slowly withdrew the spear until the tip was back in Nova’s abdomen. She wretched a mixture of bile and blood onto the sidewalk.
“Ainj,” Vance said softly, “tell me you have a shot at it.”
“I….”
“Ainj,” he said sterner, “tell me you have a shot.”
“I don’t.” His voice was thick with emotion. “The son of a bitch has her in my way.”
“Listen to me closely. I want you to shoot through her.”
“No,” he whispered into the radio. “I can’t.”
“She’s already dead, Ainj. Look at how she’s suffering. Take the shot!”
“I can’t!” he screamed.
Nova’s legs felt like led. She wanted to slump to the ground and feel the cool concrete on her face, but the Seque kept the spear taut. Though her legs were becoming useless, the spear tip in her stomach kept her upright.
The Seque ignored the argument between her teammates and leaned close to Nova’s ear. In a guttural voice, it muttered gibberish in her ear, as if trying to form unfamiliar words. Backing away, it slid its hand down the shaft until it found the concealed button.
Though she already lost most of her blood and was near death, her screams erupted through the silent city, as one million volts poured through her body. Her skin, not as resilient as the Seque’s, boiled away from the spear. Cracking, it spouted jets of burning bile. Her eyes rolled up in their sockets before they ruptured in the heat. Her hair danced wildly before bursting into flame.
Three high-caliber rounds slammed into the Seque. The first tore through Nova’s body, ending her suffering and catching the Seque’s shoulder. Muscle and bone exploded from it, and the Seque dropped the spear and Nova’s body. Its right arm hanging useless at its side, it looked up sympathetically, as the second round struck its left hip.
The Seque spun and collapsed to the ground. With its good arm, it tried to push itself to a seated position, mewling like an injured pet. The last round, fired through tear-filled eyes, caught the side of the Seque’s face. Bone, muscle, and brain matter vaporized in fine, green mist that coated the alley wall. It fell atop is brethren, finally dead.
Vance’s radio was alive with chatter, but he didn’t hear it. Unable to pull his eyes from the charred, mutilated corpse of his teammate, he felt the weight of leadership pressing down on his chest. Laboring for air, he fought the urge to vomit.
A dark, clawed hand settled on his shoulder, breaking him from his stupor. “Halo’s calling,” Ixibas said. “It sounds important.”
Vance activated his microphone, trying to keep his voice from shaking. “Go ahead, Halo.”
“Michael,” Halo said, panic evident in her voice, “switch to thermals.”
“What am I looking for?” He lowered his helmet visor. Switching to thermals was as simple as pressing a button. In the fading twilight, the city should’ve appeared in dark shades of blue, with most of the day’s heat expended. Instead, the entire city glowed bright red.
“Please tell me those are our people,” he whispered.
“No.” Halo’s voice shook. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. The whole city’s alive. Whatever you did, the Seques are awake, and they’re everywhere.”
“Give me a way out of here now!” He hurried back toward Dallis and Decker. Since his communications were being broadcast to the entire force, he wasn’t surprised to see panic mirrored on their faces.
“You aren’t listening, Michael,” Halo said. Though she was incapable of crying anymore, she sounded near tears. “There’s no way out. You’re already surrounded.”