Terra Ascending by J. R. Wise

Author:J. R. Wise [Wise, J. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-07-05T00:00:00+00:00

5.

Gadson did have better luck. The demolition and long range marksmanship expert proved quite adept at noticing minor details out of place as they patrolled through the trees, disarming four traps as they moved closer to the dome. She barely slowed down as she chucked rocks at pressure plates and trip wires, springing traps harmlessly before anyone moved into their kill zones.

Maduro kicked himself for not realizing that she would be so good at the task, but Wu was a rank lower, so he normally walked point. Gadson had her share of that when she’d been a young marine coming up through a line infantry battalion, but she didn’t seem to mind as they closed on the Caliphate lines. She called a halt as they neared the edge of the tree line. Beyond the trees lay a large open field of recently disturbed dirt. On the other side, the cyan glow of the Caliphate’s energy dome shimmered.

“What you got?” asked Maduro.

“Mines. Lot’s of ‘em.”

Maduro scanned the open field ahead with the thermal and EM overlays of his visor. Hundreds of hot spots littered the ground, each showing a potential explosive device. Those didn’t worry Maduro so much. It was the ones he couldn’t see that did. The Caliphate military used a lot of barely literate conscripts with low-tech gear as cannon fodder, but the bulk of their military was well-equipped and professional. They would have taken measures to hide some of the mines from various sensors. “How should we go through?”

“We shouldn’t,” said Gadson. “We should go around.”

“No time for that.”

More explosions reverberated through the valley as massive railgun slugs shot into the sky. They needed a way into the dome fast. We could blow a way through with breaching charges and Javelin drones… or…

A squad of panicked Caliphate soldiers, regulars based on their kit, sprinted toward the minefield from the direction of Alpha team. The man in the rear of the disorganized formation screamed for the rest to stop, but the lead soldier didn’t listen and disappeared in a flash of dust and fire when he tripped a mine.

When the dust settled, nothing was left of the Caliphate trooper. Only a crater and burn marks on the ground gave any suggestion he’d been there. The Caliphate squad leader calmed his troops and led them through a path in the minefield, using a handheld comm-pad as a guide.

Maduro and Gadson tracked the twists and turns of the troopers’ route in their visors, creating an augmented reality overlay to guide Bravo team through the mines. The Caliphate soldiers disappeared into the dome, which rippled like a pond disturbed by a small stone as each trooper moved through.

“At least we know we can just walk right through,” said Gadson.

“Eidolon Alpha, Bravo. You guys hit mines?” asked Maduro on the strike team comm.

“Affirm, Bravo,” said the Master Sergeant. “Working on a way through.”

“We have one over here.” Maduro bumped the AR overlay to Alpha. “We tracked a Caliphate squad moving through the mines.”

“Good work, Bravo.

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