Hunter Killer: Legacy Earth 7 by Ross Buzzell

Author:Ross Buzzell [Buzzell, Ross]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Archimedes Books
Published: 2022-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

24

AMBUSH

Lance held his pistol at his side. Its weight was too much to keep at the ready while waiting for the other crew. Valdivia’s hand gently rested on his shoulder as he heard her shotgun chamber a round.

The captain kept his eyes locked on the helmet lights as their enemies closed in. He could make out a human, Galio, Thalagran and whatever race Nisan was in the group. Their leader attempted to turn the light in his weapon on. Lance heard him curse before commenting the continual sandstorm broke the light.

“Val,” Lance whispered. “Run a diagnostic on your shotgun. Lincoln, you do the same.”

“What are we looking for?” Valdivia asked.

“If the cooling cells were damaged in the storm above.”

“I’ve got barrel degradation,” Lincoln said. “I won’t be able to hit the broad side of a barn with this.”

“My cooling system is compromised,” Valdivia replied. “And the firing mechanism on my backup is worn away too.”

“My loading mechanism doesn’t exist anymore,” Mattias called out.

“They don’t have to know that,” Lance replied.

“If our weapons are done for, so are theirs, so they’ll know,” Valdivia countered. “But we can use them as clubs.”

“Aggressive, but I like it,” the captain said.

Unloading his pistol, to be safe, he turned the weapon around and held it like a club.

“They’re down here somewhere,” the human snarled. “Rasha, flashbang.”

The birdlike humanoid moved a little bit differently as they closed in. Several clanks cut through the reduced yet still present clanks of debris that collided with his helmet. A grenade flew in front of the enemy crew’s faces and landed directly in the middle of Hrafn squad.

Lance closed his eyes and held an arm in front of his face. After several seconds, nothing happened. Lowering his arm, he looked at the mercenaries a few dozen meters away.

“A dud?” the human scoffed. “Use another one!”

Once more, the munitions expert pulled another flashbang and threw it. Lance just closed his eyes this time. Again, nothing.

“I thought you said your equipment doesn’t fail!” the human hissed.

“I thought your light worked!” the bird-like humanoid countered.

“Fan out, find them and kill them!” the human ordered.

“I’ve never met a race more willing to kill its own kind than humans,” the Galio muttered.

“It’s what we do best. Keep it up and you’ll learn firsthand how good we are at it,” the leader replied.

Lance stood straight up. Taking a deep breath, he fought to keep himself calm. The darkness closed in around and stretched endlessly in all directions. A weight bore down on him, encased him and constricted.

He hadn’t felt this way in months, years even. Claustrophobia sent his mind into panic as it equated the endless, overwhelming void and the unknown monsters that lived within to the elevator, the monolith, Ibex and Cytes.

It all rushed at the captain at once, slamming into him like a freight train. His breathing became shallow as his vision blurred. He struggled to regain control of his trembling hands. His fight or flight reflex kicked in, screaming for him to run as his knees went wobbly under his enhanced weight.

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