Joined In Battle by Toby Neighbors

Author:Toby Neighbors [Neighbors, Toby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mythic Adventure Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-12-21T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Dusk on Lars felt strange to Dean. Perhaps it was the knowledge that he would soon be fighting for his life, or maybe it was the soft pink glow of the setting sun that turned the slate gray mountains around him a dark purple color. He felt as if he were surrounded by heroes—legendary giants from the past who had gathered to watch his valiant last stand. He did his best to shake the feeling off, telling himself the mountains were just rock formations and that he was on a planet far from his own, but the strangeness remained.

“You believe in God, Jefe?” Chavez asked him as they leaned against the side of a flatbed truck.

“Yeah, actually I do,” Dean replied. “I wouldn’t say I understand him, or that I have all the answers. But I do believe.”

“I sometimes wonder if the old Norse mythology is true,” the staff sergeant said, surprising Dean a little. “Not the creation stuff, but the part about warriors going to Valhalla when they die. I get that concept, you know?”

“Yes,” Dean replied. “Although I didn’t take you to be such a philosopher.”

“I ain’t, really, but there are times when I feel like I’m doing more than blasting bugs, you know? Like there’s more weight to what we’re doing out here.”

“More than saving lives?”

“Maybe, I don’t know. I mean, saving lives is important—noble, even—but that just feels like it’s part of the job.”

“We fight for the people beside us,” Dean suggested.

“True that, but it’s more. It’s like my ancestors are calling to me when I’m getting ready for a fight. You ever feel like that? Like someone, somewhere, is filling you with a sense of calm determination and strength before battle?”

“Yes, I feel that too. Can’t say what it is, but I feel it,” Dean admitted. “In fact, I was just thinking about it before you spoke up.”

“Makes me think there has to be something that ties us together, you know? I mean, I don’t know much about God or religion, but there are times when I can feel the connection. Even hundreds of light years from home, I feel more human, more tied into my history, and more like I’m making a difference than I ever felt on Earth.”

“We don’t have to understand it to use it,” Dean said. “I feel it too. It makes me want to succeed.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Chavez said. “I get that.”

They were both quiet for a while. The platoon was spread out, with the Heavy Armor Specialists filling in the weakest spots around the vehicle barricade. Dean had planned a multifaceted attack and fully expected the fight to come in waves the way it had at the outpost. There were thirty-four crawlers on the other side of the barricade, which Dean suspected was only a fraction of what they would face throughout the long night. If more of the creatures arrived, which Dean fully expected to happen, the row of trucks wouldn’t hold them back very long.

“Won’t be long now,” Dean addressed his platoon.

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