That Which is Human
Sample
"Dustoff, this is Apache," Gunny Turner's voice was tight but controlled. "We're taking heavy small arms fire from buildings to the north and east of our position. LZ will be hot. We'll pop green smoke as soon as you make your first pass. Say again, Apache will be green smoke."
Mac keyed his transmitter twice but said nothing. The two clicks would tell Turner that his message had been understood. The forest gave way to cultivated fields and occasional farm buildings. Ahead, a line of low rocky hills rose from the flat countryside. A column of black smoke rising from behind the hills was visible as a blot on the starry sky. Mac eased the Intruder's nose up to follow the contour of the hills. The rocky slope swept under them, just meters below the landing skids. Then suddenly they were over the top, angling down into the valley beyond.
Mac could see a cluster of low buildings ranged around a circular concrete pad. The APC lay on its side near the center of the pad, burning. Tracer fire arched from the buildings toward a cluster of rocks south of the pad. A plume of green smoke appeared from the rocks. Then they were past the buildings and into the night. Mac swung around in a gut-wrenching turn.
"What have you got, Ivan?" he asked. "I figure the bad guys are in the buildings and Turner and his boys are in the rocks."
"The buildings are shielded," said Ivan. "Why put shielded buildings way out here?"
"Never mind," said Mac. "Give me a heading."
"Give me a slow pass behind the buildings at twenty meters," said Ivan, crouching over his weapons console and activating his helmet fire control system. Targeting information was fed directly to an eyepiece in the helmet. Ivan could select, aim and fire the Intruder’s weapons by simply moving his head and eyes.
The Intruder started its pass at parade ground pace. Mac flew by instinct, the stick and controls extensions of his hands as fire erupted around them. The Intruder bucked and heaved as exploding ordnance bracketed the wings. Reactive armor countered the hits, adding to the din and confusion.
Ivan fired back, launching cluster grenades at the buildings and manipulating the nose and turret guns. Mac couldn't tell if he was firing at targets or at random, but the insistent rattle of the reactive armor slackened as Ivan's rate of fire increased. Smoke billowed out of one of the buildings and across Mac's canopy, obscuring his view. Then suddenly they were beyond the building and the night sky was clear above.
"Another pass?" Mac asked, checking the status board to the left of his seat. Several of the starboard hull integrity indicators were showing a yellow tinge where repeated hits had thinned the armor.
"Negative," said Ivan. "I've got two targets on long range scan - 500 klicks out and closing fast. Fighters, I'll bet. Time to beat feet."
"Right. Crack the rear deck and get ready for dustoff. I'll try to bring us in behind the APC. Maybe the smoke will help some."
"Rear bay is open," said Ivan. "I'll drop the ramp when we're on the LZ. Try to keep nose on to the buildings. I'm going to try to take out the shield with a couple of Raptors."
"At 50 meters?" Mac shook his head as he swung the Intruder's nose around and added thrust to the main engine.
"Targeting sensors," shouted Ivan. "We're being scanned. I'm jamming." A warbling tone sounded in Mac's ear. A steady tone would mean that someone had them in a weapons lock. Ivan increased the jam and the tone faded.
"We've got maybe a minute and a half and then we've got trouble," said Ivan.
Mac swept across the concrete pad, the landing skids less than a meter above the surface. The Intruder pivoted like a wild animal seeking its prey. Sheets of tracer fire exploded from the nearest building. The Intruder staggered as a cluster grenade detonated under the port wing. Hull integrity lights flashed red on Mac's status board. He pivoted slightly to present more of the starboard side and protect the wing. He was rewarded with more yellow lights from the starboard indicators. Ivan cursed as his fingers flew over the weapons board. A steady ratcheting sound filled the cockpit as grenade after grenade launched from the starboard tubes. Tracers from the nose gun formed a solid line that swept back and forth across the building.
"Nose on! Nose on!" shouted Ivan.
Mac held his breath and pivoted to starboard. More red lights flashed from the port wing sensors, then smoke and flame engulfed the Intruder as Ivan launched Raptors from both wing pods. The large missiles homed in on the discontinuity between the building's sensor shield and the adjacent solid ground. Mac's visor went opaque a millisecond after a blinding flash exploded in front of them. When it recycled to transparent a second later, the building was gone. Mac looked left and right, momentarily stunned by the concussion. Rather absently, he noted the smoking remains of a reinforced concrete wall where the building had stood. Beyond it, the glowing vapor trail of an unexploded Raptor coursed back and forth as the missile sought a target.
"Set us down, Mac!" shouted Ivan.
Mac shook his head and eased the Intruder to the ground.
"Ramp down," said Ivan. "High speed targets at 220 kilometers and still closing. I'm still jamming."
Mac reached out and activated the rear gun camera. Dark figures approached the Intruder, leapfrogging past one another to provide covering fire. The last two walked back-to-back, turning in slow circles. As the first Marine reached the ramp, there was a dull thump over the Intruder's tail section. Secondary explosions rippled around the Marines as the submunitions of the cluster grenade struck the ground.
Ivan cursed again. He swung the nose gun in long sweeping arcs across the remaining buildings. Tracers poured in from all sides. The rattle of the reactive armor deafened them. Red overload lights flashed on Mac's status board. Hull integrity alarms squealed as holes appeared in the port wing. Half of the Marines were down, being dragged toward the ramp by the others. Mac darkened his visor to keep from being blinded by the brilliant tracers and explosions around the Intruder.
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