War Vessel of the Ax’Kol: Guns of the Federation Book 2 by James Anthony

Author:James, Anthony
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

The second encounter with the Kijol came soon after the first. Having arrived at the next intersection, Maxwell checked the way was clear. East, the passage opened into a space about four hundred metres away. West, the tunnel came to a corner after about 250 metres, and then went north. Here, the alloy cladding was blackened and heat-damaged, though it was cool to the touch. The flames were long gone.

“The Kijol incendiaries burned this area,” said Grisham. He looked in both directions. “It’s hard to tell which direction the fires came from. Maybe they came from both sides.”

“We’ll go west,” said Maxwell.

He set off into the passage and the soldiers followed. Grisham noticed that Maxwell had once again increased the pace and it was a test of his stamina to keep up. He could only marvel at the fitness of Private Lowe and Private Vaughan, who each had a heavier loadout than the others. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Adler – who was by almost two decades the oldest member of Grisham’s crew – was finding it the hardest.

“I won’t slow us down, Captain,” Adler panted, after Grisham asked how he was coping.

That was enough reassurance and Grisham didn’t ask again.

When the far corner was no more than a hundred metres away, he saw a sudden movement. A head appeared and then was withdrawn.

“Sergeant Maxwell!” shouted Grisham in warning.

Again came the movement and this time, it wasn’t a head, but a Kijol shoulder launcher. The alien holding the weapon didn’t expose much of itself. Maxwell reacted quickly, firing his gauss rifle towards the corner. He was running hard and his shots missed.

“Get down!” he yelled.

It was too late. Grisham could see it already. In the confines of this passage, a single Kijol rocket might easily kill every one of the mission personnel. Even so, he threw himself towards the left-hand wall and fell flat, his rifle underneath him. Maxwell had gone right, leaving a gap through which Grisham could fire. He got off a couple of snap shots, knowing they weren’t anywhere close to hitting.

Private Lowe stayed on his feet. Reacting even more quickly than Maxwell, he spun his launcher onto his right shoulder. The weapon’s coils whined.

A rocket burst from the Kijol launcher at the same time as a missile flew from Lowe’s shoulder tube. Grisham readied himself for burning death. The incineration of his killer would be little consolation.

Incredibly, the Kijol rocket missed everyone. It raced along the corridor at chest height. Grisham felt it pass by overhead. A split-second later, Lowe’s return shot struck the far wall near the floor. Somehow – and miraculously given the pressure – the soldier had managed to aim his shot so that much of the blast was channelled north around the corner.

Not all the explosive force went north. Pressurised and searingly hot air washed along the corridor eastwards. Grisham kept his head down and felt the shockwave through the solid floor beneath him. The rumble of the blast was physical and incredibly loud, and

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