The Last Stand (The Guardian Covenant Book 1) by Kevin Ikenberry & Chris Kennedy

Author:Kevin Ikenberry & Chris Kennedy [Ikenberry, Kevin & Kennedy, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Theogony Books
Published: 2022-10-18T05:00:00+00:00

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Chapter 19

December 15, 2097

10th Mountain Division

Long Island, New York

The soil in the bottom of the crater was almost smooth in comparison to the rubble-strewn rise on both sides of the lip. It’d taken Mott and the infantry squad more than 45 minutes to negotiate the steep, treacherous terrain. Now, at the bottom and nowhere near the center, walking became easier. The squad took up their familiar positions in a wedge formation, where they were just visible to each other. If anything, the dust and debris seemed less inside the impact crater than it did outside. The fires that had been there had long burned out, and only an eerie sense of desolation remained.

Biondo walked alongside, and Mott heard him say, “Everybody spread out. Keep your eyes and ears open. Keep your eyes on your left and right wingmen and be listening for anything that might tip us off. Watch out for the auto-digger vehicles. When we get close, I’ll back them out and shut them down. Let’s move out.”

The soldiers did exactly as he asked, quickly and without complaint. It was obvious the young officer really knew his stuff, and his soldiers appreciated him for that. Mott fell into step again, walking alongside, but separated, from Biondo and used his own senses. As they neared what he thought to be the center of the crater, there was a definite feeling of heat through his ACE suit. Sweat formed on his brow and ran around his integrated vision blocks. What felt like a river ran down the center of his back. The slick sweat made the suit even more uncomfortable, but Mott used his experience to push down his discomfort. His eyes and ears focused on the surrounding situation. The tablet on his wrist buzzed. Mott looked down and saw the message from General Feingold to turn on their cameras. It was obvious Biondo had received the same message at the same time.

“Everybody, cameras on. Watch your language. National Command Authority is listening.”

There wasn’t even a ripple of nervous laughter from the soldiers. They silently clicked over, activated their helmet lights and the embedded cameras, and continued walking without missing a beat. Mott expected Feingold to reach out for some back channel reporting from him, but to his surprise, his commanding general was quiet. In the silence, they walked forward. Two minutes later, they came upon the central impact point. Unlike in Namibia and other places, it had not buried itself deep within the surrounding ground.

The impact vehicle was oblong and not unlike a chicken egg. It lay broken in four or five pieces at the center of the deepest part of the crater. Inside one of the pieces was a writhing being. It resembled a larva, only much bigger. Mott couldn’t see a second one, which didn’t bode well. He looked closely and confirmed there was only one alien still in the crater. Based on the larva’s structure, it looked like it was a Flyer. But there was only one in the vehicle’s remains, which meant the second one was missing.

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