Alien Mine Ch. 24

Sergeant Hunt squeezed both triggers, firing the cannon and the laser at the same time. The laser lit up the Trangrod but failed to penetrate the screen, though his cannon rounds took chunks out of the front of the beast. Hunt turned the tank toward the left side of the tunnel, taking the next round from the Trangrod on the right side. The noise was intense; the armored vehicle rang like a bell from the hit, and the defensive screen lit up and promptly failed as the Om energy beam raked down the side of the armor. Sergeant Hunt knew the next one would kill them, so he accelerated toward the Centipede, his cannon firing twice a second, throwing Drans armored shells into the face of the thing in front of him.

The Trangrod tried to back up, but the Tank was quick enough to continue closing the range until they were almost touching each other. Another explosion rocked the tank, taking out the laser, but now Sergeant Hunt squeezed the trigger for the disrupter. It was the first time he had fired the weapon, and he was relieved and amazed when it cored right through the mechanical monster. The beam spread was huge, and it had entered the front of the Trangrod, creating a hole the size of a baseball that quickly expanded into a meters wide beam. The destructiveness decreased exponentially after about fifteen meters, but that was plenty enough to make most of the Trangrod just disappear. Hunt breathed a sigh of relief. That had been close. Another hit from that energy beam would have fried them.

Hunt was glad to see the second tank assigned to the company maneuver around him, taking the lead. His tank was strong, but that giant Trangrod was equally tough. The only chance they had was to get to a wide enough area where two tanks could engage at the same time or get up close and personal to use the Disruptor.

"Let's go, let's go, Marines," Dixon shouted as the tanks went by, and the rest of the platoon came running through firing. "Not you, Sharp, you're done. Head back to the surface, get fixed up, and you can rejoin us later." Dixon's armor was scarred and dented but still had full integrity. Corporal Dixon looked at the remaining men with concern. Salazar was dead, Sharp was wounded. That left four out of six still combat-capable, and they were already running low on drones. However, there were only two survivors from the fire team behind them, and they were wounded. That explosion had torn through the armor and decimated them.

Sharp stood looking at the remains of his friend and the Trangrod as the rest of the company passed by him. The look of terror on Salazar's face would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. Salazar had wanted to be saved, but it had been too late for that, so he had killed him first. The other Trangrods would have dragged him off, and he couldn't let that happen. If his turn came, Sharp hoped someone would do the same for him.

***

"We have penetrated into the Om Nest almost a kilometer but are meeting fierce resistance," Jack reported. "Casualties are increasing, and progress has all but stopped."

"I know, Jack," Kiania replied. The Marine's thrust had gone better than Kiania had expected. Jack had pushed them hard, soaking up casualties but still breaking through all resistance as they descended deeper into the maze of tunnels. It was hard fighting in tunnels with almost no cover, and where the Om had the tactical advantage. Thea's armor helped, of course, even slowing the energy beams, and the tanks appeared to have caught the Om by surprise. "I need you to keep up the pressure for a few more hours. You have drawn enough forces away from Nelya that she is making progress again. Fresh troops are on the way. Rhys says it's time to send in the Army."

"Roger," he replied. The Marines probably didn't want to hear that; they had pressed as far as they could, and fresh troops and more armor would be needed.

"Good," now move Jessica's forces down through that tunnel," Rhys said, still feeling clear-headed. He pointed at the hologram, moving his hand, and yellow arrows lit up, indicating the path he wanted them to take.

"Why don't they move further to the north and meet up with Nelya's forces?" Kiania asked.

"I want them to draw off the Om. They will see an opportunity and will move to strike. Move Nelya's forces here and tell her to attack. I need to keep the pressure on. As soon as Jessica and Nelya move, launch your next attack; let the Army hammer them for a while, then it will be our turn," he said grimly.

Leslie sat in a chair, completely relaxed to all outward appearances, but her mind was working furiously as it watched fifteen things at once. She was analyzing Om communications in different parts of the nest, and she hadn't seen anything like this in the previous encounters; the complexity astounded her, but then they had never assaulted a nest this large. The Om swarms were communicating using background radiation frequencies. Leslie had seen that before. It was also something she could disrupt, but only when in close proximity. Leslie couldn't decipher the encryption, but she was mainly watching for spikes indicating increased activity. There was also some kind of quantum signal that seemed to be coordinating regionally. The signal was different between the Om forces fighting Nelya and those arrayed against Jessica, as well as the Marines. That suggested there were at least three super Trangrods of some kind that coordinated the swarms, but the most interesting was a background vibration she was picking up throughout Aksai Chin.

"I have some information on their communications," she told Kiania and Rhys. It has been difficult to sort out, but as before, some are disguised as differing background radiation frequencies. However, I think I have identified local commanders, or at least multiple regional signals that suggest something is coordinating the various swarms. I haven't been able to pinpoint the locations, but I have a general idea of where each is located. There is also something I haven't seen before; subtle ground vibrations are running throughout Aksai Chin that appear to be communications as well, and they are originating deep within, approximately here," she said. A red dot appeared in the hologram deep within the nest structure.

Kiania quickly saw that three of the larger tunnels they were fighting in pointed down in that direction. "Rhys, it seems we have found the main chamber, probably similar to what we discovered in Moscow."

"That is where the controlling Nest Leader resides," said the entity, known to the humans as an AI, overriding their communications and speaking directly to them on the tac-grid. "You must destroy it, or it will rebuild the nest."

When Rhys saw the map, he knew where his foe was; he could feel it as his senses became laser-focused. "Yes," he thought, "I am coming for you, and this time I will destroy you."

The entity was alarmed at the reaction it sensed in Rhys. It had thousands of years of living in captivity under the control of an organic being that had been altered and defiled by a symbiont and turned into a robotic warrior. Soldiers the Drans created were designed for one purpose: to fight to the death to defeat the Om. They became hyper-aggressive soldiers with little sense of "self," living only to fight. Deadly and effective warriors, to be sure, and unable to resist commands from leaders who sacrificed them in their millions. In all the millennia the entity had been forced to serve the Drans; this was the only species that had not shown signs of being subsumed by the symbiont until this moment. The entity needed These Drans warriors to succeed; its own fate was closely entwined with theirs. So it focused on the creature called Hua that it had helped create, and tapping into the strange energy, it sent a trickle flowing through her to the 'One'. It had the desired effect, the symbiont, and the human, each absorbing some. A flicker of something like satisfaction flickered through the disembodied intelligence as the human's equilibrium was re-established. There would be a need for the One later when it fought the Om nest mother, but for now, the cold, calculating warrior was restored.

The Binary focused on the patterns of Om communication, activating more and more cicadas, then adding all the comms data being collected by the drones as the battle raged beneath the ground. "This must be the central control by whatever resided in the center," Leslie's voice said as the binary attempted to parse and identify the millions of data packets being transmitted by the cicadas. The volume of data was overwhelming, even for the Binary's mind, but then it felt the presence of the AI, and new algorithms appeared, and the overlapping communication inputs resolved into manageable data packets and then into usable information projected onto the tac-grid.

"Rhys!" Kiania exclaimed; it shows the locations of every Trangrod. The AI is processing the data and giving us the locations of every Trangrod!"

As the information slotted into his brain, the large hologram depicting the fighting in Aksai Chin lit up with the alien positions clearly defined, and he and Kiania both realized the Russian forces and Nelya were dangerously exposed. It was Rhys' fault; he had overridden Kiania's caution and ordered Nelya too deep into the Om Nest, and now they were in danger of being surrounded and cut off. It was clear now that the Om were massing for an attack there, and red dots representing individual Trangrods curled around her position from above and below. Jessica and the forces from the Middle East and Africa were in a better position, but Trangrods were also swarming to her position. "Like fire ants," Rhys said grimly, "they swarm to the first hint of danger, but their forces are dangerously thin to the northwest."

"Nelya risks being overrun; she needs to pull back," Kiania said, mentally picturing a counterstrike to relieve the pressure. "We can launch our attack here," she said, indicating an arrow that swept down from the surface to take the Om from behind. If we strike now we can surround and eliminate those forces, crush them between us and Nelya."

"No, order her to pull back just enough to avoid being surrounded, make sure she shifts forces to block the attack from below, that's the most dangerous. We will attack here, Rhys said; the Om has given us an opening, we will take it. Kiania could see it also; the northwestern flank was now lightly defended. If they struck quickly and directly for the center of the nest, the Om would have to react, taking the pressure off Nelya and Jessica.

"We run the risk of losing Nelya's forces; they are nearly surrounded, Kiania cautioned again, concerned for one of her lovers and the damage the battle would do to the Russian and European forces if they could not get out of the trap she and Rhys had gotten them in to.

"Shift Jessica's attack; tell her to attack down these tunnels," Rhys said. "That should force the Om to shift their attacks on Nelya."

Kiania gave the orders. "Hurry, she added; "Nelya may not survive."

Rhys could sense her emotions and those of the other girls surrounding them. Rhys recognized the risk, but it was one he must take. A swift, devastating strike into the heart of the Om nest would end this. "Get in Armor," he ordered the girls. Kiania, launch the attack; we are going to kill that monster."

Kiania's order sent the shuttle and eight Drans warriors, thousands of drones, armor, and five hundred armored men held in reserve rocketing across the surface of Aksai Chin. The shuttle arrived first, its disrupter beams clearing debris and boring down into the maze of tunnels. Kiania watched as over a thousand drones poured into the gaping hole they had created. The hatch to the shuttle opened, dropping the eight of them behind the last drone, and Rhys led them down into the darkness.

***

"They're coming through behind us," Bugrov shouted in warning as his tac-grid showed a swarm of dots pushing up from below behind their position. Thank God they had warning; otherwise, they would have been overwhelmed. Bugrov had only thirty minutes to rearrange his forces to meet the new threat while continuing to fight on all fronts. The Trangrods were counter-attacking in swarms, and they had been forced into a difficult position. Forward progress had all but halted as he was forced to defend against attacks from both the right and left flanks, from above and below, and now being forced to protect their rear position. Bugrov had never seen the "fire ants" Rhys described, but he knew how hive-minded insects swarmed. As a kid, he had learned the lesson painfully when he threw rocks at a large wasp nest built under the bank of a stream. Then he ran as fast as he could with the insects following and stinging him. It had been a painful lesson, but now he felt like that kid again, but this time with no place to run.

"Defend the Empress," he ordered as the ground behind them opened up, and Trangrods poured into the tunnel behind them. His men were in an exposed position; there was nowhere to cover in the tunnel; they could only stand and fight, taking casualties. At least the Trangrods showed little tactical acumen, swarming through the opening below in a mindless rush to kill the invaders. His men poured everything they had into the hole in the ground. Missiles exploded, blowing Trangrods apart as they climbed out of that hellish hole in the ground. The armor positioned in reserve moved forward, adding their heavy weapons, and men poured rounds from their guns at anything that moved. It seemed that nothing could withstand that volume of fire, but the Trangrods kept coming and dying. Even as they died, they also killed, and Bugrov's men started dying. Most of the drones had been expended, and Bugrov ordered the armor forward to plug the tunnel.

Nelya stood in a "safe" area, surrounded by her guard. Bugrov had insisted she move to the rear, and though she had wanted to stay and fight, she had left when Rhys ordered her to. Now, though, there was no choice as casualties mounted. Their position was precarious, assaulted on all sides, and there was no room for maneuver; they had to fight or die. The Trangrods were trying to overlap Bugrov's defenses, moving along a lower tunnel and then burrowing up to take his forces in the rear. There were no reserves to spare; her guard would have to meet this threat with no support. Nelya knew the African forces were moving to take the pressure off her troops, and the US-led forces were also pushing their attacks. However, none of them could reach her quickly enough to be of significant help. Nelya gave orders to her guard; they would take their stand here. It was as good as any place to die if they must.

Rhys followed the surge of drones into the maze of tunnels left exposed by the shuttle's weapons. The seven Drans warriors raced ahead of their supporting forces, using their speed to quickly outpace them. The surge of drones into the tunnels eliminated the Trangrods they encountered using their overwhelming numbers. "Rhys, Nelya is in danger," Kiania said.

"I know," Rhys said, realizing he had pushed her forces to an untenable position. The Om had reacted more strongly to her attack than he had expected, and now they were surrounded on all sides, fighting for their lives. Jessica had shifted her attack in an attempt to draw off some of the forces, but it wasn't working. "Her only chance is for us to take out whatever is controlling them. Tell Jack to throw everything he's got at them, never mind the casualties."

"Done," Kiania said. Jack will do his best; he is pushing men into adjacent tunnels, trying to spread the defenses and find a way to break through." She was still managing the battle while running behind Hua and taking an occasional shot when the opportunity allowed. Before her symbiont, Kiania had to focus her attention on one thing at a time, but now she followed Rhys while another part of her mind saw a sprawling three-dimensional grid of the battle space that she managed. It was nearly too much to handle now and would be impossible once she was in combat against whatever lurked in the chamber below. Then Kiania felt Hua's emotions gently tugging at her. She instinctively responded and then nearly stumbled and fell when her brain was directly connected to the AI. A vast amount of processing power was abruptly made available, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief as it freed up her mind to focus on the danger that lay ahead.

Rhys didn't bother to answer; the urge to kill was almost overwhelming. His body was shifting, but now he was ready for it. Sandy gasped as the world slowed for her, and energy filled her. She recognized the change in Rhys, but this time, something was different. The hot rage she was used to had been replaced by a cold iciness, and where she expected to sense his anger, there was only a void, a black hole of emotions.

***

Nelya examined the tac-grid and did not like any of her options. Their forces had been pushed into a ball. They could probably break out to the rear and back to the surface, but that would leave Jessica exposed and in danger of being overrun. Nelya could see the path of Rhys's attack straight into the heart of the Om nest and knew he needed her to keep the alien monsters engaged and off his back.

"Bugrov, we must keep them attacking us; we can't let them withdraw to block Rhys' attack. Fall back to here," she ordered. Then, we will launch an attack down this axis toward the center of the nest. We must make them fight us."

"Yes, Empress. I am ordering Colonel Mikoloiv to block the attack from below. The rear guard is in danger of being cut off."

No, order him to start the attack. My guard will provide cover. We are launching the counterattack now."

Nelya moved her right arm, and a faint blue beam shot out. She carved a path through the floor of the Om tunnel, the rock below, and into another tunnel below. "Follow!" she shouted as she jumped and slid down the steeply sloping hole her disrupter had created into a lower but narrower tunnel. Nelya let herself be shoved aside as her guard took the lead, and armored soldiers and drones surrounded her. The tunnel led them horizontally about one hundred meters, then curved sharply to the left and downward to unknown depths.

"Nelya stopped them there. Get ready," she ordered; "this will take us into the tunnel behind the Trangrods." She lifted her arm and carved another hole into still another passageway above her head. Before they could stop her, Nelya sprinted into the passage above and into the rear of the attacking Trangrods. She launched the last of the available "bird" drones in front of her as she ran. They each transformed into a spear of Drans metal that drove into the brains of the Trangrods before her. Missiles followed, and explosions consumed dozens of the aliens before they could turn and face their attackers. Nelya and her guard were on the Om before they had a chance to react. The wide tunnel seemed to explode as fire was exchanged, almost point-blank, and the faint blue beam ripped into one armored carapace after another.

Nelya deftly stepped aside as a centipede sought to impale her with its razor-sharp forelegs, then ducked as cannon fire exploded overhead. Slashing with her right hand, she cut the centipede in half, then drilled a hole in the armored Trangrod, firing the cannon. Instead of pausing to let her guard catch up, she sprinted forward, leaping over the dead and dying alien insects, and used her disrupter to slice the legs out from under another before it could even turn to fire at her. Nelya didn't stop to finish it; she left it for the men behind her as she continued her wild plunge into the rear of the aliens. Nelya was thrown violently aside as the ground under her exploded, but she rebounded off the side of the tunnel, slashing another centipede down the middle before landing on her feet.