Stories For Nerds by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction Fantasy Anthology, fantasy anthology, science fiction anthology, sci-fi fantasy
Publisher: Raphyel Jordan
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Butcher of Orcin

A Big Damn Heroes Origin Story

By Jeffery H. Haskell

Orcin III, June 8th, 2064

Hiro dove into the crater as the blast wave from the Orcin artillery washed over him. He pressed his face deep into the muddy water, filling his mouth with filth. The heat vanished and he risked looking up. His men weren’t as lucky. The sudden screams of pain and the moans of the dying filled the air.

For three days and four nights, they had fought on this stinking cesspool of a planet. An entire battalion had dropped from orbit; now, only two platoons remained. Over three hundred humans wiped out in less than a week.

Before they dropped, the Heleos commander had shared intel with them that the ground forces were light and sporadic.

Somebody had screwed up, because the fighting had been far from “light and sporadic.”

From the moment they hit dirt they had fought for every inch. The only saving grace of the whole damn thing was the weather—windy and raining, with occasional lightning strikes. No one dared to use air-power because nothing could fly safely in the high winds, much less see through the prolific cloud cover and electromagnetic interference of the upper atmosphere.

Which was good. The three destroyers Heleos had in orbit didn’t carry any fighters. Nothing other than the drop-ships used to get Marines to the surface.

This was Zenon’s HQ in the system. If Heleos could take it out, they would be in a much better position to negotiate the entire system away from them.

Of course, taking the HQ was easier said than done. All they had to do was shoot an ionic resonator at the damn thing and the three destroyers in orbit could rain down hell.

Unfortunately, the two battalions of Orcin and the artillery company had made that impossible. He had to hand it to the Orcin soldiers, they certainly fought like they were defending their homes.

Hiro picked himself up and dragged his body up the shallow curve of the crater. Somewhere along the line he had lost his helmet, but it didn’t matter. While it could protect him from debris, nothing short of powered armor would stop the mass-driver rifles the Orcin packed.

“El-tee, call from the Earl of Destruction,” a young man said, sliding on his ass in the mud next to Hiro.

He couldn’t be older than nineteen. Another Earth boy swept up in the dream of space travel and seeing alien planets. Hiro had the same dream. It had turned into a waking nightmare.

He touched his comms to link with the private’s gear. Despite the incredible technology of their implanted comms, they weren’t powerful enough to reach orbit, especially with this storm. Private Shepherd wore a battery pack and a collapsible directional receiver/transmitter which he had pointed up at the orbiting ships.

“Lieutenant Nakatomi? Report.”

Hiro took a moment to stifle his own tongue. He would like to shove his report up the pompous commander’s ass.

“We’re encountering heavy resistance, sir. They have two rifle battalions and an artillery company defending the bunker.

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