Fireteam Delta: Alliances by J. F. Halpin

Author:J. F. Halpin [Halpin, J. F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-17T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19: Self-Repairing

Asle watched from the comfort of a ridge while a man with black eyes paced at the center of a camp, overlooking others unloading the burdens of several beasts and wagons. The men and women moving around were a mishmash of creatures, probably mixed with what beasts used to be around here. Whatever they were, they looked far more dangerous than a normal person.

More disturbing, however, was the “supply line” Asle saw. Fuel, apparently, was not a luxury the samr could afford to waste on simple supply chains. That was handled by the less useful or injured people among them.

Asle closed the portal she’d been using for recon, giving Summers a signal.

“This about right?” Summers called up to her.

She checked the distance one more time, then shouted back to him.

“He’s a little to your left!”

Summers adjusted, then shouldered his rifle. After a moment, Asle opened a small portal and Summers dumped his magazine into the man who appeared in front of him. The portal closed, and he moved on.

They’d been doing this for two weeks now, clearing out the more dangerous of the camps they could find of the samr, based on what little scouting they’d managed. Tel’s people had jumped at the chance to help. While most weren’t suited for fighting, they knew the land and how to stay out of sight well enough. Asle could appreciate that. They were trying to help in any way they could. And assassinating the leaders despite the numbers at their backs had shown some effect on the movements of the samr themselves.

“We’re leaving the perimeter unguarded. What if they run?” Orvar yelled from the ridge.

Orvar had taken up a position to protect Asle from anything in the obsidian world that might pop out. Five others—a squad that Orvar was training—stood around him on similar duty. So far, they hadn’t seen anything, but they were being careful all the same.

“They can try. Kind of hard to outrun a bullet,” Summers punctuated the statement by slamming a fresh magazine into his rifle.

Asle checked the portal one more time and noted that the man who used to command this company of soldiers was now a smear on the stone. She instructed Summers to move to one of the few working vehicles.

They couldn’t do much about the bulk of the soldiers without exposing themselves, but they could take out things like ammunition stores or transport with a tactically positioned grenade or two. Things that would slow or cripple the enemy force. If some soldiers happened to get caught in the blast, that was just a bonus, as her teacher would say.

Asle looked through another portal, searching the field, only to reflexively close it as an explosion rocked the world. She was launched back off her feet by the blast, but it had surprised her more than anything.

“You okay?” Summers called over

Asle rubbed at her face. The explosion was bad, but the portal must have collapsed before the worst of it came.

“I’m fine,” Asle said.

“Must have hit a stockpile of explosives,” Summers said.

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