Alien Mine Ch. 22

"Crap, look at all of them," exclaimed one of Alpha Squad's men.

"Fifty-seven and half of them are kids, Amancia's voice said in disgust. "Must be some Trangrods nearby, perhaps some of those that look almost human."

"Binary," Rhys' voice cut in; you are in charge. Deploy your men; Hua will assist. Command Squad and I will provide perimeter cover. The Trangrods may be close by but not in the building. Sandy and Thea will provide air coverage from the shuttle.

Hua was pleased to hear that Thea was nearby. She needed Thea to keep her human and had missed their deep emotional connection. Her two bodies had begun moving as soon as Rhys gave the command, flowing quickly through the darkness while maintaining fire support. It was more efficient this way; a binary would always be more deadly than five or even ten men. Hua consistently scored highest in the sims, even against a whole squad experienced fighting Trangrods. A lucky shot that disabled one of her bodies was the only time she failed, and even then, she would usually take five or six of them down. Hua doubted she needed help for this, but having the other binary there would free her up to support Rhys if required.

Sandy mentally flinched as Tac-grid sprang up, integrating all the sensors. The data wave was immense, and with her hair connecting her to the shuttle, it approached overload. Then the shuttle AI took over the additional processing, and she shifted into combat mode. That always slowed everything down as her brain sped up. She felt Rhys there stabilizing everything, and the two Binaries and Thea. It was a familiar feeling, and Sandy could identify each by the feel/taste of their emotions. Thea was all business, her mind focused like a laser. Hua's emotions looked neutral as they always did now, except when she was with Rhys. The Leslie/Amancia Binary was all excitement and arousal. Violence excited the Leslie part of the Binary, and Amancia wanted to please Rhys. After combat, they were always highly aroused.

"Sensors do not show any Om bases or nests, but then we did not detect the one under Moscow until you found it," Sandy observed. Rhys nodded but didn't reply as he monitored Alpha Squad's movement. The warehouse was located on the southwestern edge of the populated area, on a road labeled only with the number 6314. The road ran south, then west over a tall mountain range, then south again, going into the Ladakh region where the primary nest of the Om was located. "Focus the sensors on the pass, where the road turns west and winds through the mountain range," Rhys said. This was where the Om first established themselves; there was no telling how wide they had spread themselves throughout the mountains. Except for the major towns, the area was sparsely settled.

"Rhys, the surrounding villages up in the mountains show no sign of life; they appear empty," Sandy said, horrified. "It looks like the Om have taken everyone."

"Deploy some drones," he instructed Thea, "let's get some sensors on the ground. The Om have had free rein here for too long. We must find a way to keep them bottled up in their caves until we can destroy them, but first, let's take care of these guys."

Sandy brought the shuttle down, letting Rhys and Charlie Squad deploy before taking a position above the warehouse. Sometimes it was possible to distance herself from the horrors they faced routinely; Rhys and the symbiont saw to that. However, what she had observed, the emptiness where there should be people, families, and children, brought home what they were fighting for. The whole world would be like that if the Om won, and this was just a remnant that had survived from their ship. What chance did they have if another Om spaceship arrived in the solar system? Sandy relayed this to Anita, Nelya, and Mika. The world needed to know what they faced and what the future could bring.

Sergeant Marek and Alpha Squad had arrived immediately after the truck from the village. He watched the drone feed as the two were dragged from the truck and into the warehouse. He had positioned his men at the front and rear entrances, the binary split between them. Rhys and Command Squad deployed and spread around the perimeter in a thin defensive line. Too thin, Marek thought, but then Hua was out there, and the shuttle was overhead. "Go," he commanded as his armor body punched through the front entrance, followed by two tiger drones.

The Om collective nest noted the intrusion of the Drans symbionts. If there had been human-like emotions, what the Om felt might have been described as "inconvenient." The attack and destruction of the nests had come as a surprise, and the subjection and preparation of the planet for future nests had suffered a setback. Nevertheless, the Om was not concerned; if it failed, another Nest-Ship would eventually arrive and subdue the troublesome organisms. For now, it would continue preparations for the survival of the small nest here. There were no other "Nest Mothers"; they had been destroyed by the weapons the Drans had constructed. Preparations now had to be concentrated on survival, but attempts to destroy the symbionts would continue. This minor interference in the acquisition of carbon stock for Trangrods was annoying but would serve as a distraction for the attack that was now underway.

Mike let his eyes roam over the terrain to the south and west of the warehouse, using the armor's integrated sensor package that scanned at multiple wavelengths. It even had a sonic input that would detect subterranean movement. He dialed down the magnification; he didn't need to see grasshoppers; what he was looking for was much much larger. The weapon he held was his most prized possession and one he would have traded his left nut for when he was in Afghanistan. Ten-kilometer range, flat trajectory, and the power to punch through Trangrod armor. It was a brutal-looking gun, but it fit him and vice versa. "Not a thing bigger than a rabbit moving he reported, though he was confident the Shuttles sensors would see anything before he could.

Command Squad had been through a lot, and they were all still here. When they first realized what they were up against, Mike wouldn't have bet a copper penny they would all still be around drinking beer in the bottom of an alien base. William (don't call me Bill, also known as boom boom) was behind him nearer the warehouse. He had an even bigger weapon, almost portable artillery that a drone had to carry around for him. It was bulky, but it was like having your own artillery support. Furthermore, the new rounds would make one of those Trangrod caterpillars think twice once it started firing.

Rhys was out there in front, and that hot chick Amancia was nearby. The other one, Leslie, well, she was hot too but seemed as if she would gut you like a fish if Rhys ordered it. That attitude sorta spoiled a man's fantasies. However, she was much warmer than the Chinese duo. They now looked so similar they could be sisters, and those long legs that went on forever and the tits that bounced when she walked were a sight worth paying for, but she was just plain weird. Nice but weird, but still the stuff of fantasies.

He heard Alpha Squad go in and the sound of gunfire, but it was short and brief. "Secured," Merek reported," eleven dead, prisoners alive." Mike relaxed, just starting to get up when Sandy reported incoming. A contact appeared on his display, moving fast, very fast, and low to the ground. At those speeds, it was Om.

Mike could tell when Sandy fired a missile and a beam weapon at the incoming aircraft. However, before the missile hit the aircraft, the target appeared to dissolve, and suddenly numerous contacts were moving across the ground toward him. Mike didn't need any orders; he immediately began firing. He heard the noise as William opened up, and the ground seemed to explode in front of him. The Trangrods were moving faster than they should be, but Mike was an old hand at this now, and with Rhys, two Binaries, and the shuttle, he had every reason to be confident.

Rhys was surprised as Sandy when the Om aircraft seemed to dissolve before it was struck. It must have been Trangrods locked together with some sort of propulsion unit. He began assigning targets, but Sandy killed them faster than he could direct fire. So instead, he watched as Command Squad performed flawlessly, Sarge coordinating their fire with Sandy. Of course, it wasn't as effective without a tac-grid, but they were good at it now.

"Rhys"! Nelya screamed, "we are under attack," Rhys tac-grid shifted to Moscow and at least a hundred Trangrods. Then he felt Yaneta die.