"Brothers! The gods have sent us this day! Take no prisoners! He who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind! Shakim Dar On Gukal!"
"SHAKIM DAR ON GUKAL!"
A shitty bone prosthesis, clearly made on the fly, thrust into the air. The response was a wave of raised fists clutching weapons of every conceivable kind. The effect was akin to a drop of water falling into a puddle. Like a wave, the horde of frenzied Korunnai erupted in shouts and screams, brandishing their blades. Here and there, captured blasters and other killing tools were visible, but it all vanished against the general backdrop...
"Good God, there are so many of them. We clearly overdid it."
Biting her nail, Somnia could barely keep herself together as she surveyed the multi-million crowd gathered beneath the walls of Pelek Baw, the planetary capital of Haruun Kal. The fairly large city had been fortified for a long time and gradually, over the course of six months, had turned into a veritable fortress, behind whose thick walls lay an island of civilization in the middle of the planet's wild jungles.
The Helldivers had done good work, and now the capital could not be taken by storm. All vegetation for a couple of kilometers around had been scorched and destroyed, a moat had been dug, and numerous firing points had been established...
But seeing the size of the crowd gathered beneath the walls of Pelek Baw, even the most unhinged Helldivers doubted their success. The soldiers glanced in my direction, shifting nervously from foot to foot and gripping their rifles tightly, hoping they would provide more confidence.
But knowing the plan for our victory, they were still terrified, and I couldn't blame them.
Gripping the railing while standing on the balcony of the spaceport's communications tower, I had the best view of the fact that the Korunnai had decided to finish us once and for all.
Tens, hundreds of thousands of natives had gathered beneath the walls and were preparing to storm the city... And that wasn't the end of it. By our estimates, about fifteen million savages were heading toward us from all over the planet. Almost three-quarters of the planet's entire indigenous population.
Enormous numbers. Insane. Driving the soldiers into a state of horror...
But I felt delight and anticipation. Anticipation of the victory looming on the horizon. Of an unprecedented triumph that would secure unfading glory for the Helldivers. And no wonder. Fifty thousand against fifteen million.
Standing not far from me was a representative of the Balawai militia. The leader of the local colonists seemed to have created a new shade of white, so drastically had the color of his face changed. A man in the prime of his life, who had fought large Ghosh for years and often emerged victorious from those battles... was now ready to faint, so deeply was he impressed by the numbers of the enemy marching on the capital.
"And this isn't even all of them yet."
Letting out a loud grunt, which drew the attention of those gathered, I also clapped my hands for good measure, making many jump.
"Gentlemen... Ladies." A nod toward the fair half of our gang turned out marvelously elegant, so much so that even the jittery Somnia and Mira smiled. The men grinned knowingly and, on the contrary, began to puff out their chests pompously to reassure our worried women that everything was fine. A small manipulation I often observed in the regular forces of Super Earth. "Today is a great day. Today is the day we write our names into the history of this galaxy."
"On gravestones." The one who delighted me most was Shorty. The little Jawa was so "don't-give-a-damn" in her attitude that her mere presence made the others embarrassed by their fear. "Your madness is contagious."
Pointing a finger at me, my best friend moved from a crate of ammunition to the table and, cheerfully swinging her legs, began to study the map. Her spontaneity and ease of behavior were winning, and the atmosphere on the balcony-command post became lighter.
"And that's good; it means dying won't be so scary." Surveying my emboldened friends, comrades, and colleagues with a stern gaze, I leaned my palms against the map-table. "You all know the plan perfectly well, so I won't waste breath. We need to hold out as long as possible to kill the majority of the savages with a single blow. I don't intend to spend years hunting them through the forests..."
Grim, I would even say spiteful, chuckles were my answer.
"We need to hold out for two weeks to finish off absolutely all the bellicose Ghosh that have entered the war, but by the most optimistic calculations, we'll hold for four days," I said, turning on the holomap and tapping it with jerky finger movements, showing the concentration of enemy forces. Large highlighted dots moved asynchronously, at different speeds and along incomprehensible routes. "We'll go from there. The primary task is to hold the city for four days..."
"Forgive me, permission to ask a question... Commander?" Unsure how to address me, a colonel of the local militia stepped forward, pressing a fist to his chest. Dressed in the classic armor of the local colonists, he made a good impression, so I gave him an encouraging nod. "We have a fleet in orbit. So perhaps we could blast the large clusters and..."
"The rest will have time to scatter before the ships reach their targets. The Korunnai are excellent at bleeding away into the jungle into small tribes; you of all people should know that." Interrupting the man with a wave of my hand as he opened his mouth, I continued measuredly explaining the reason for such a decision. "We would need to bring the entire fleet here to bomb everyone at once..."
"It won't be enough," Somnia interjected, folding her arms over her chest and eyes flashing fiercely. "We simply don't have weapons of that scale... and besides. You didn't want to turn the planet into a scorched wasteland, did you? We'll strike in one place and for sure."
Choking back his indignation, the colonel nodded respectably, accepting the answers, then jerked his chin and returned to his place at the head of the other militia officers.
"Well then," I said, looking over my colleagues once more, as I began to establish contact with the mortar positions, "let's begin."
****
"SHAKIM DAR ON GUKAL!"
The tribesman's cry was choked off in a stream of laser beams that sliced off his scalp and those of ten others. A laser pillbox was firing from the front line. Three beam-emitters worked without stopping; powered by an entire generator, they rained a continuous stream of plasma down upon the heads of the Korunnai.
"A-A-A-A-A-A!" An explosion of green liquid with clouds of smoke engulfed the pillbox, dissolving the Helldivers and Second Echelon fighters inside alive. Shielding his face from the detonated Tibanna ammunition and the generator, Billy nonetheless did not stop firing.
The Captain's son clenched his teeth tightly, trying not to be distracted by the pain in his lower back and left leg. A stim, an antidote, and a heap of other chemical junk were entering his system at a rapid pace. Without moving a step from his position, the man didn't even flinch when a pair of medics began working on him while he still stood at the embrasure, firing at the advancing enemies.
"Die, you sons of bitches! Die!"
Resting his machine gun on the edge of the wall, Billy Booker poured fire onto the primitive ladders and the Korunnai climbing up ropes. Streams of lead tore the savages apart, but crazed and gorged on local flora, they surged forward, fearing neither death nor wounds. Large-caliber bullets tore their bodies to pieces, broke ladders, and left hundreds of mangled bodies on the ground, but the insane savages ran over the bodies of their fallen brothers, climbing the fortifications on mountains of corpses.
"Reloading!"
To the left, they began to drag away a repeater battery. The overheated barrel of the beam-emitter was smoldering with smoke and glowing red, so a couple of militiamen urgently had to deal with its replacement. But the first took a spear to the back, pinning the poor soul to the ground, and a massive Korunnai jumped onto the second. Burying the colonist beneath him, the black-skinned tribesman swung his bone axe in a spinning motion—bringing it down on the head of the nearest Helldiver. Smashing through the helmet's visor and crushing the skull bones, he announced his presence to the area with a joyful roar, only to fall from the wall a moment later, riddled with laser bolts.
"Grenades away!"
Obeying Altman's order, Booker, along with everyone else, pulled out a detonator and, pressing the button, hurled it from the wall. Without even watching for the result of the throw, Billy began hurriedly picking off the Korunnai who had managed to sneak close. Only a couple of seconds for a grenade toss, and these bastards had already crawled right up to his position.
Huge eyes burning, whites flooded with blood from burst vessels, and a bone blade from a local lizard clenched in their teeth...
He only had time to remember how one of these creatures had scaled the wall and, grabbing a militiaman by the upper half of his torso, threw the remains of the body over the wall before rushing further along the battlements, with other Korunnai jumping up after him.
"Feel all the values of Democracy for yourselves!"
Smashing through the door of the guard tower, a boxy walker crushed the flimsy remains of the wall and, leaving the cargo elevator zone, walked right along the wall, sending large-caliber shells from twin autocannons attached to it in place of arms.
Bursting like bloody bubbles, the savages were scattered into shreds, after which the war machine froze in place, turning toward the rest of the army. Out of the corner of his eye, Billy watched the expensive robot, which was single-handedly holding back a significant stream of black-skinned freaks. With its weapons, it protected nearly twenty meters of the wall; therefore, when an akk dog tried to jump onto the walker's back, Billy unhesitatingly raised his machine gun and cut the huge lizard down in mid-air with a long burst.
Only guts and two uneven halves of the beast's body hit the ground, but Booker couldn't enjoy the good deed, as he had to retreat urgently.
A bone spear flashed before his face. A melee broke out around him. Shots flashed from all sides. Blaster bolts flew centimeters from his body—striking other Korunnai crawling onto the wall.
Managing to find a moment, Billy parried a spear with his machine gun and struck the attacker in the stomach with the barrel with all his might. Drooling and foaming at the mouth, the tribesman wailed on a single note, but in the next instant, he went silent forever.
Squeezing the trigger, Booker sent a burst of lead through his body, killing everyone behind the asshole as well. Heavy bullets kicked sparks off the steel wall, twisting the edges of the embrasures and punching through the bodies of the tribesmen.
Dropping to one knee, Booker pushed the body away with difficulty. His entire armor was covered in blood, and his fingers slipped on the entrails and other fluids with which his dead opponent had generously gifted him.
A swarm of rockets flew overhead. Crashing in a wide front into the attackers, they roasted several hundred savages to the bone, but it was of little use.
Thousands of bastards gladly took the place of the fallen. Ready to throw themselves at the enemy with bare hands, the Korunnai stubbornly crawled toward their positions. Shouting their battle cries, to the beat of drums and the sound of war horns, riding various beasts from the deepest corners of the forest, the savages continued their offensive.
***
"Sam!"
Ducking my head, I felt a blaster bolt fly over my nape—thudding into the face of another Korunnai who had tried to attack me from behind.
The body tumbled face-forward, collapsing at my feet. I spun on my heels, letting another opponent stumble past me over the first corpse.
My hand leveled the blaster at the loser's nape. Shot.
The skull burst into charred pieces. Some of the hair was still burning in the air, surrounding me with thousands of sparks, against which my black armor looked like an elusive shadow.
Working with the buttstock—I knocked the teeth out of another. A kick under the knee, a shot into the presented crown of the head. A spear thrust came from the side. The blade passed tangentially, catching the edge of my helmet and leaving a long diagonal gash on the visor.
Without looking, I drew the blaster from the holster on my belt and fired toward where the thrust had come from. But I didn't have time to finish the bastard; a new savage lunged at me.
Another blow landed on my arm. A bone spear slid along the bracer, leaving another mark. I pinned the shaft with my elbow and, without ceremony, struck the old Korunnai's throat with the blaster's grip, crushing his Adam's apple. A kick to the chest sent him into a crowd of young men who were running at his heels. Together they tumbled to the ground, forming a heap. Someone tried to get up; others fired at me haphazardly, hoping to catch me somehow, but I had already raised my blaster.
My finger flipped the mode. The hum of the battery was more sensed than actually heard. A moment of heating.
A burst of red bolts stitched through the group of five, riddling them with red-hot Tibanna. They screamed and reached their hands toward me. Inexpressible malice and a thirst for my death burned on their faces, but I didn't even grant them my attention.
From the side, Arkam flew out on a jetpack, struggling with a large black-skinned brute. They were both suspended in the air, and due to the imbalance, they were constantly tossed from side to side until Einz and his brother came to the Mandalorian's aid. With four hands, they dragged the clinging Korunnai off Sula and, without a second thought, slit his throat.
A new crowd of tribesmen burst out from behind a neighboring house at us.
I shot another jumper with a spear in mid-flight. Dropped to one knee in a spin and released a burst into a couple of bastards sneaking up on Somnia, felling them to the ground... The girl would finish what was started herself; I had new enemies on the horizon.
I didn't have time to level the blaster before the massive bulk of an akk dog knocked me off my feet. Massive jaws snapped in front of my helmet, trying to get to the soft interior. Saliva dripped from the giant lizard's mouth—blocking my view. Its claws scraped against the armor, beginning to slowly dent the metal chest plate...
I didn't even pull the pistol blaster from its holster. Set to maximum power, it sent one bolt after another into the monster's belly, spilling heated entrails onto me. Steam rose from them, and the armor's sensors flashed warningly, but that wasn't the main thing now.
The lizard wailed painfully, tossing its head back, and I allowed myself to free my second hand, which had been struggling with its jaws all this time.
The blade of my drawn knife entered exactly into the eye, reaching the brain and instantly killing the scaly wretch. A scream rang out nearby, meaning the akk dog's sibling and its master were close. Without throwing off the dead carcass, I tilted my head and opened fire on the approaching silhouettes. The beast's foul blood had covered my entire helmet, and the previous blows to the head had broken the fragile visor-cleaning equipment.
An explosion went off beside me. Most of the chemical slime was taken by the akk dog's body. The monster's tough scales easily handled the corrosive liquid, unlike the armor on my right arm. The half-dissolved glove flew aside, and I finally began to climb out from under the heavy carcass of the beast.
A squad of militia soldiers ran past. Finishing off the wounded Korunnai and their beasts, the Balawai took up positions around me, giving me enough time to catch my breath.
My breath was labored. My head was spinning slightly, but I was still ready to continue. Ready to fight. My eyes darted across the battlefield, which stretched for many kilometers. The end of the first day, and the crazy Korunnai had almost burst into the city, managing to set a couple of houses on fire.
Fists clenched, my tense body responded with a dull ache in every muscle. Leaning on a fist, I stood up, feeling a slight dizziness and a drum beating in my temples.
"I could use a drink right now..."
"Hold on until evening, Boss. Then maybe I'll treat you," Arkam said, standing nearby, with one Zabrak twin behind him repairing the other's arm. All three were wounded but ready to go further, even though this unexpected battle on the descent from headquarters had caught us off guard.
"Cordon everything off here. Have the militia sweep the surroundings. I need a Helldiver squad right here to keep a constant watch. Take the wounded or those on rest." Issuing orders, I retrieved my dropped blaster and, reloading it on the move, continued our way to the wall, where the Korunnai had managed to break through the defenses and drive the capital's defenders to the second line. "Shit... The savages have broken into the second line of fortifications in the sixth square."
I gave the answer to the unspoken question immediately and then broke into a run. Our delay had cost us dearly; now driving the natives out of the breakthrough point would be even harder, but we were used to it.
On the way, another Helldiver team joined us, bringing the total number of people to twenty. All battered, covered in blood or beast guts... Perfect.
"Somnia, take the brothers. You go to the second line. Arkam, you and your team follow me. We're going to the wall."
"Oh, yeah!" Raising a beam-emitter in one hand, the Mandalorian even began to run faster, as if fearing I might change my mind at any moment. Damned psycho... Just like me. "Whoever kills the fewest is buying the drinks on Rishi!"
Activating his jetpack, he and his inner circle soared into the air, jumping over a couple of houses and stopping somewhere on a roof.
Turning to the others, I saluted with two fingers, then repeated Sula's maneuver and soared into the air, feeling the streams of jet thrust carry me upward.
***
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