Red Company: Steel Rain by B. V. Larson

Author:B. V. Larson [Larson, B. V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Iron Tower Press
Published: 2024-09-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19: Enemy Fire

The following morning, klaxons blared through the cramped berthing compartment, wrenching me out of a fitful sleep. I shot up, banging my head on the bunk above.

“Dammit,” I muttered, rubbing the sore spot.

Around me, Red Company was already in motion. The constant hum of machinery and muffled curses filled the stale air. Metal lockers clanged open and shut as marines scrambled to gear up.

“Emergency drill?” Cox asked, half-dressed and looking bewildered.

“Doesn’t sound like it,” Ledbetter said, pulling on his boots with practiced speed.

I grabbed my gear from the footlocker beneath my bunk, my fingers moving on autopilot. Helmet, flak vest, laser carbine. Every piece had its place.

The berthing compartment wasn’t much—stacked bunks, narrow mattresses, barely enough room to turn around without bumping into someone. Photos and mementos tacked onto walls gave it a personal touch, but nothing could mask the utilitarian nature of the space.

“Move it, Puddles!” I barked at Simmons, who was still fumbling with his gear.

The wall-mounted view screen flickered to life just as we finished suiting up. Captain Hansen’s face appeared.

“Listen up, Red Company,” she said, and the room went silent. “We’ve received reports of devastating strikes on Dione and Rhea. Both outposts have been destroyed. Titan is under attack as well.”

Murmurs rippled through the room as everyone paused to absorb the news. Dione was an icy moon with a research station studying water reclamation systems. Rhea was a smaller moon with mining operations for rare elements. Both were… gone.

Hansen’s image shifted to show the moons themselves. Dione appeared first, its surface a glistening expanse of ice with plenty of cracks and fissures. The research station lay in ruins, a twisted mass of metal and ice.

Next came Rhea. Its pockmarked surface was dotted with mining rigs now reduced to smoldering craters. The devastation was absolute.

“The enemy took a shot at us when we went to the fueling station,” the captain continued. “They seem to have surmised by our behavior that we were looking for them locally. In response—they’ve decided to tear up the local installations. They’re not hiding any longer.”

The men in the berthing chamber buzzed among themselves. All the noncoms chided them for talking—except for Cox. He was punching people. Anyone who got in his way.

“Get ready for immediate deployment,” Hansen continued. “We’re en route to Titan’s military base, that’s where local Governor Murata is stationed. We’re not hearing from him, but we’re still holding out hope. Titan’s installation has been heavily damaged but is still operational. Some of the outlying fortifications have been assaulted and overwhelmed by enemy cyborgs.”

“They’re going all out!” Cox shouted to anyone who would listen. “They know the game is up—they know we’re onto them. They’re going to announce war and wreck everything in this system. It’s them or us, boys!”

No one could refute his logic. The situation seemed clear. The cyborgs were here, and they weren’t interested in hiding the fact any longer.

Titan loomed large on the screen—a hazy orange ball shrouded in thick atmosphere. The military

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