Warriors’ Pride
Chapter 2
Forward Trench
Chandler Front
Repleetah II
Of all the tasks Nrsah had not thought of when he enlisted, the constant cleaning of equipment ranked high up as one of the most tedious. He understood the need to keep weapons and environmental suits in working order, at least he did intellectually. What boggled his mind was the amount of time he spent cleaning proportional to how much he spent killing. War was suppose to be about killing the enemy, about taking what rightfully belonged to a Kilrathi. The movies he watched as a youth, they never showed just how much hurrying up and waiting was involved in warfare.
Aside from the occasional firefight over the rim of the trenches, there was little in the way of action. Like the Second Claw, he too witnessed a recent batch of replacement go roaring out into no-man’s land. He also witnessed them getting cut down by an Ape ambush. He shuddered to think that he would have fallen into the trap if not for Kruq’nov. Ok, he saw that the Apes were clever and devious, but it was not until the raid upon his line of the trench did he discover just how well they fought in a stand up fight.
“It still don’t make any sense,” he muttered, bearing his fangs for the whole world to see.
“What are you grumbling about now?” Kruq’nov asked. The Second Claw squat next to Nrsah in the recently repaired barrack. Repaired in the sense that the atmospheric curtain was back in working order. He scrubbed away at the nooks and crannies of his rifle with a small brush. He took it off a dead Terran during some push, a couple of Kahrik back. The Apes called it a tooth brush. It made a certain amount of sense to Nrsah; with such puny and flat teeth, they certainly could not clean them with a good, solid bone.
“That raid,” Nrsah said. He need not specify which one, like the other veterans, for he only experienced this last one. He paused before continuing. Veteran. When did he become one of them? His time on Repleetah has thus far been short, but the planet had a way of making cubs grow up real fast. Who would have though; Nrsah among the honored known as veterans. That would get the attention of the females– the young ones anyway.
He shook the thoughts from his head. Not the best place or time to be thinking of the Queens. For one thing, his mane was pitifully scraggly compared to the majestic golden collar around Kruq’nov’s head. Back to the matter at hand— “I’ve learned the Apes are smart, and never do anything without reason. Yet, their raid seemed pointless. They could have killed up all with a good push, yet they abandoned the battle.” Utter foolishness.
Kruq’nov growled in indifference. “From what I hear, some files vanished from regimental headquarters, along with one of our Lord Officers,” he added a sharp scorn to the last two words. “Looks like the Apes just wanted a prisoner to interrogate.” Neither warrior knew if the officer was dead or alive. Kruq’nov had told him that Terran rules of warfare prevented the outright killing of prisoners.
Nor did they eat their captives. Kilrathi usually did not either, but in a pinch, the prisoners were food. Nrsah wondered if Terrans tasted anything like the rats from their homeworld. He quickly discovered those rodents, when cooked, were far superior tasting to the dried meat rations that every Kilrathi soldier tolerated. He thanked Sivar and every other God he could think of that Terrans were not as prolific as their rodents, otherwise they would swamp the Empire in sheer numbers. Nothing short of a week long bombardment with one of the Apes’ nasty chemical weapons would take out the rat population. Even after losing the atmosphere for several days, the rat population still clung on inside the barracks.
As Nrsah went back to work checking filters and seals on his E-suit, Kruq’nov spoke. “As much as everybody’s cleaning their gear, there must be some truth to the rumors.”
Nrsah nodded. He heard the same stories up and down the trenches, that a push, or at least a big raid, was in the works. He hoped it was true, but Nrsah had long since learned that rumors were like raids and counter-raids; just part of the cycle of life and death upon Repleetah II.
No-man’s Land
Chandler Front
Repleetah II
Kruq’nov, along with octaves of other warriors, slithered across the barren and charred land upon his belly. It was not that difficult, since any Kilrathi worthy the name can already run upon all fours. Still, as a warrior, he would prefer in his blood to stand and fight. As a veteran of many kahrik upon this Sivar-cursed world, he knew better than to expose his head. Stalking forward like so might remind him too much of females stalking prey, but as long as he was not the only one, it was not a bother.
What did bother him was that this stalking might put the idea into some his comrades’ head, especially the younger ones, that the Apes are nothing but prey to be pounced upon. Anyone who thought that was either a newcomer or dead. He glanced through the faceplate of his combat environmental suit towards his left, remembering the day Nrsah arrived, and how he almost fell for that Ape ambush. He might have been a cub freshly expelled from his birth Pride when he arrived, but a whole kahrik upon this abysmal world matured him fully.
Overhead, the screams of octaves upon octaves of shells flew carelessly through the air. The sound of the end of the world filled his ears. He bared his teeth at the thought. Hopefully, it was the end of the world in the Terran trenches. Sure, he wanted to get up close and kill the Apes in plain view, but he would not shed a tear if everyone of those accursed combat drones was destroyed. With soldiers, you could wound them and that would bring them to a halt. The drone– he could have blown away all three of their legs and exposed weapons, but they would still explode if any warrior drew too close.
Though he hoped, he knew better than to depend upon them being destroyed. The shells that artillery flung over the trenches were primitive devices; simple explosives encased in low-grade metals. In space, or even against some of the Apes’ better ground vehicles, they would be useless. Infantry in trenches was another matter. No matter how ancient these shell may be, fist-sized chunks of steel, lead or whatever they are made of, will tear any exposed soldier in two, E-suit or not. As long as none fell short, he had nothing to fear from them.
Land mines were another story. Again, shells would destroy them, and no-man’s land got a good working over before the warriors in his unit went over the top. That still did not mean they were gone. Not by a long shot. Any warrior luckless enough to crawl over one, would soon find himself very high in the air, and very scattered across the landscape. E-suits were little protection against them. Come to think of it, E-suits only protected one from hostile environments, or those so utterly poisoned as to not make a difference. Repleetah was already a marginal world before it was invaded. Afterwards– assuming there ever was one– it would not be worth having.
As he crept towards the lip of the Apes’ trench, Kruq’nov’s bloodlust was high in anticipation. He fought to keep his claws retracted. It would not do well to puncture his gloves and expose his fingers to whatever deadly gas the warring parties were tossing back and forward this day. Instead, he clenched his hands around his rifle. His eyes darted to and fro through the dust. As the shelling gradually crept ahead, it left behind not only death and destruction, but a cloud of dust. The HUD of his helmet switched over to infrared.
Kruq’nov, Nrsah and all the warriors in this push came to a halt, awaiting the shelling to move on further and orders to pounce. It was not a raid, but a true offensive, the first in over a kahrik. His young comrade was not even on the planet when the last one happened. Not that he missed out on much; the Apes came forward and captured a couple of trenches, only to lose them during a Kilrathi counterattack. A lot of warriors died that day, and for what? So some scion could claim glory, or some Ape officer to actually have something to report back to his own HQ. That was the way of war on Repleetah. Back and forth, glory and death for all.
The death party he saw readily, but never the glory. He knew that plenty of Prides received news that their scions died in glorious combat for the Emperor and for Kilrah. How many of those mothers actually believed it any more was anybody’s guess. Kruq’nov certainly did not. The cub he took under his wing was starting to see the same. Sure, Nrsah still saw glory in combat, but has long since learned that Repleetah is not combat. It is a butcher’s shop, plain and simple.
With abruptness that brought his ears straight up, the bombardment had ceased. A high-pitch whistle chimed in his helmet, as well as all those warrior on the front of this offensive. Without verbal orders, octaves of warriors on either side of Kruq’nov leapt with him in unison into the Apes’ trench. The younger warriors expected to see mangled bodies of Terrans strewn across the landscape. Kruq’nov was like that once, but soon learned that low-tech shrapnel, while just as lethal as any plasma weapon, did little to kill entrenched enemies.
He landed with the agility of any predator, and quickly traversed his plasma rifle to his left and right. The only Apes visible were the few dead ones. Like his own kind, the Apes would soon rouse from slumber within their own bunkers. He, along with three other nearby warriors, aimed their weapons at the nearest atmospheric curtain. As soon as the blast door slid open, all four opened up at the protective barrier. It was designed to keep out poisons and keep in atmosphere, not to withstand ionized pulses. As the barrier fluctuated, one of the warriors tossed in a grenade, which detonated with a low thump. Any Apes near the blast door controls were dead.
With the curtain down, and the polluted air of Repleetah flowing freely, Kruq’nov lead the charge into the bunker. He knew not if this was the one of his sworn nemesis, and only Terran to come close to an equal in his eyes. He did not think much of it. When storming an enemy position, his mind was void of most thoughts and his honed warrior instincts took over. He threw himself to his right before even consciously seeing the Ape fire at him. On Repleetah, there was the quick and the dead. The warrior behind Kruq’nov was not so quick, and now joined the ranks of honored dead. Kruq’nov did not have time to wonder what sort of weapon it was, but knew it was powerful but the way it sliced through his comrade’s E-suit as if it were cloth. Plasma rifles could not penetrate so easily, or cleanly. Not that he saw anything clean about having a warrior’s guts blasted out of his back and shredded to pet meal.
Kruq’nov took aim at the Terran, only to have glimpsed him taking cover. He had raided these trenches enough times during his tour of duty to know they connect to each other underground, as well as via trenches. He poked his head from cover long enough to let out a short burst from his rifle. One Terran was hit. Unlike the Kilrathi, the Terrans wore only breathers to keep from instantly dying. Their cloth uniforms did nothing to halt shots as hot as the sun. Where the Ape’s heart had once been was a neatly cauterized hole. He bared his teeth savagely as he watched the Apes pull back further into their bunkers, the same way they forced his own barracks to do some days prior.
With this room secured, he glanced around to take stock of his forces. As Second Claw, he was more than likely to outrank these simple warriors. He saw no officer E-suits in the room, nor did he notice Nrsah. The cub must be in the next bunker over. With a good push from both sides, they should meet up further into the network.
“Form a parameter!” Kruq’nov growled out the order. The forces now under his immediate command numbered eight-and-seven, almost two squads worth of warriors. Six of them snarled acknowledgments and moved back to set up control over the entrance as well as the length of trench beyond. With no Apes rushing in from behind, Kruq’nov knew this section of the front was now under Imperial claws.
Kruq’nov took a moment to listen to the comm chatter in his helmet. Other Second Claws, as well as some junior officers reported their own stretches secured. None had yet to push further than the outermost bunkers, instead opting to await further command. It was a good call in his eyes; if the Kilrathi charged in piecemeal, only the Apes would benefit from it. He had seen enough pointless combat on this world to last several lifetimes, and wanted nothing more than to make this victory permanent. Perhaps that was not the whole truth. What Kruq’nov really wanted was to get off this rock and return to a properly civilized world. Perhaps one where a male could take a deep breath without keeling over.
The wait for a push was short, giving Kruq’nov enough time to double-check his weapons and inspect his suit for damage. He received no hits, and only one in the bunker was killed. Other warriors did the same, checking the backs of each others’ suits. A young cub, arriving on the load of replacements after Nrsah, checked Kruq’nov’s suit. “All is well, Second Claw,” he said in jovial tones. Kruq’nov smiled. Yes, nothing put fire into the heart like being on the offensive.
“You’re clean, warrior,” Kruq’nov replied in kind as he went over the life support equipment on the young warrior’s back. Nothing was damaged. In fact, it appeared as if the suit was fresh from the factory. Probably was, in a sense. Since the younger warriors had arrived, there had been no battle requiring full environmental suits.
The wait to continue the push was short, yet still long enough to bring out restlessness in some of the warriors. Their blood lust was up and they wanted to kill. If they stayed put any longer, Kruq’nov grew concern they might turn on each other. It was the curse of his own people; to fight amongst themselves when external enemies were abound. If not for aliens, the Kilrathi might already have wiped themselves out.
“Move forward!” Kruq’nov snarled at the warriors, a bare instant after the lord high officers snarled it at him.
The soldiers obeyed. Kilrathi may be natural-born fighters, but only the ruthless discipline of basic training drilled into them the ability to follow orders. Without it, they would be not an army, but millions of individual warriors, just waiting for Ape snipers to pick them off. Kruq’nov pointed at the two warriors closest to the inner door, ordering them on point. Neither protested. Despite the Kilrathi male’s fiercely independent streak, no warrior would pass up the glory of first kill, even if they could be that kill.
Neither charged in like rookies. Instead, the slipped into the next chamber quietly, their eyes looking down the barrels of their own weapons. Two more followed after that. Kruq’nov did not like the silence his ears heard. Both pointed straight up and forward, straining to hear even a foot step. He heard none from his side; predators made no sounds while on the hunt. He called for the warriors under his immediate command to stay alert. It was not an order for veterans, who learned the hard way that Terrans are crafty animals, but more to remind the rookies of this fact. More than a few were already dead today because they forgot. Of course, in open combat, even battle-hardened veterans were just as dead.
The second chamber was far more spacious than the first, a true barrack. His entry was not the only one into this room, which could have easily held an octave of warriors, and likely twice as many Apes. It was also dark, not pitch dark, but not enough to cause his eyes to adjust— “Darken your visors!” he, as well as two other Second Claws roared. It was too late for some.
Kruq’nov tinted his helmet a fraction of a second before the sun went off in the room. Eights of flares brightened darkness to full day under a blue star, destroying night-vision in an instant. Warriors hissed in pain as the blue light pierced eyes evolved under a red sun. After the flares died down, smaller blasts of blue light raced forward, slamming into the forward most warriors. Half of them fell, their E-suits burned through by blue-hot plasma. Kruq’nov and the rest took whatever cover they could find. He overturned the nearest bunk, a tiny thing fit for still-growing cubs, and ducked behind it. It covered him barely, which was little comfort. A few direct hits by weapons’ fire would turn it into scrap.
Kruq’nov took in the scene, spotting only a few Terran defenders. They must be a rear-guard, permitting their comrades to pull back to a more defensible position. He took another glance at the leader of the Apes. No, he was too small to be Mac Fear’son. That and his enemy was an NCO, same as himself. This Ape was a junior officer, by the markings on his uniform. Like his soldiers, the officer wore no better protection from the atmosphere slowly leaking in that a breather.
A second flare, almost as bright as the first barrage, took Kruq’nov’s vision. He swore loudly, cursing the Apes and their mothers back eight generations. His curses were not the only ones to spring across the airwave. The Lord Officer above him demanded a status report, which Kruq’nov quickly gave him. He and his warriors were half-blinded, in a large room, with wily armed Apes bounding freely. Kruq’nov blinked, slowly bringing the room back into focus. It was still a swirl of colors, but he could spy motion. He trained his weapon on the motion, knowing the Apes were on the move.
When he heard action, it was not in front of him, but rather to his right. He snapped his gaze towards the sound of a howling Terran. With a hint of admiration, Kruq’nov noted the howl was one of rage and surprise, not pain. He could not tell what the Ape was saying in the barking language, but had no doubt his curses were every bit as vile as any Kilrathi’s. As his vision cleared, he watched the Apes manage a fighting withdrawal, further into their labyrinth. A few fell under the guns of Kilrathi warriors, but most, including the wounded– officer?– managed to escape.
“Second Claw, do you still live?” came a familiar voice. It was Nrsah.
“I live,” Kruq’nov said, his vision returning. He looked in surprise, genuine surprise not known in quite a while, at Nrsah’s hand. It was covered in blood, his claws extending through the protective glove. Seals within the E-suit would protect the rest of him from the toxic air, though his hand must be in considerable pain.
Nrsah stood proud before his mentor. “That Ape, the one without the arches on his sleeves, he was leading a flanking maneuver towards you. He flanked right past one of the entrances to this cavern, which I and a few other warriors had forced our way through. I leapt upon him the moment I saw him–“ Nrsah paused and looked down at his own hand. “Forgive my brashness, but I let my instincts get the better of me, slashing with claw instead of the razor edges of my rifle. I still nearly took his face off.” Though the helmet, Kruq’nov could see Nrsah smiling a vicious, predatory smile.
Kruq’nov nodded in approval. “An excellent kill,” he said, though he left off the part of how foolish it could be to attack an unknown Terran in hand-to-hand combat. He ran across a few on Repleetah armed with melee weapons of steel, diamond and the Gods only knew what else. Those weapons could severe limbs. He could not bring himself to scold the cub, who just saved his life, and likely the lives of half the blinded warriors in the hall.
“Yes, an excellent kill,” he said, slapping Nrsah on the shoulder. The cub stood taller, if that were even possible for a Kilrathi standing upright. “Now go find a medic and get those claws cleaned and your suit repaired.” Though damage to the suit was minimal, as was toxicity, neither would remain so. Without a curtain, the heavier byproducts of chemical warfare were already filling the room. Nrsah did not argue. He merely saluted and obeyed.
He turned back to the other warriors in the room, searching for officers. No, the Lord Officers have yet to come underground to dirty their claws. “Why are you standing around like livestock!? You four, form a perimeter against that entry,” he pointed across the room. “And you four, take that door!” Kruq’nov might not be the highest ranking Kilrathi in the Apes’ trenches– he might not even be the most senior in the room– the other warriors obeyed without question. By the looks of the dead, he might be the only Second Claw left standing. The Apes were excellent at picking out Kilrathi rank markings, as he was with their own. Unlike Lord, oh so high and mighty, Officers, Kruq’nov had already proven himself in battle, earning the respect of his comrades. If he was to lead his own corner of the offensive to victory, he would need all the respect he could earn.
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Two days into the offensive, Kruq’nov found himself and his squad already into the Apes’ secondary trenches. The battle had gone smoothly. A little too smoothly. The younger warriors in his squadron could already taste victory. Kruq’nov knew better. He knew the Apes were up to something. Though the past days’ fight had not been easy, it had progressed rapidly. He would have liked to see a victory, but if the old warrior was going to waste a wish upon anything, it would be getting off this forsaken rock.
Next to Kruq’nov in their precession down into the labyrinth of tunnels the Terran dug, marched Nrsah. He was once as raw and shiny as the other cubs in the squad. No more; he had seen enough days of fighting that Kruq’nov was able to make a soldier out of him. Furthermore, he had the Second Claw’s back during the start of the push, nearly tearing the face off one Ape who planned to blast him.
The tunnels were dark, though by choice or by damage, Kruq’nov was not certain. He ordered his warriors to rely more upon infrared than light amplification. If the Terrans were pulling his tail about power outages, a sudden increase in luminosity would blind his warriors long enough for them all to be cut down in their tracks. He seen that sort of trick before. He had seen a lot of tricks before, and nothing the Apes did anymore was of great surprise.
He called a sudden stop to his squad’s march. There was light up ahead. It was dim, and coming from a room. More to the point, it was fluctuating. It could have been an electrical problem, but his instincts disagreed. Somebody stepped in front of the doorway, momentarily blocking the light. He knew it. He called up a map on his E-suit helmet’s face plate. Another passage branched off from the one they currently held, this branch before the door in question. It lead to another entry into the bunker.
“Shahresh!” Kruq’nov called for his squad’s Third Claw. “Take three warriors down the side passage up there. Wait for me to get in place. We’ll attack the occupants from both sides.”
“As you command,” Shahresh replied. Shahresh was rare among those of the rank of Third Claw; he respected his Second Claw more than he feared him. Kruq’nov’s own experience at that rank was not the same. His Second Claw was an outright tyrant, cruel for the sake of cruelty. That was not the style of Kruq’nov; as long as those under him obeyed without question, he would not throw them around. Unless they did something foolish, and risked the lives of comrades. Then he would drag them over the coals.
Unlike the Apes, higher ranking enlisted warriors had to able to throw underlings around. If an underling grew too strong, he might just promote himself at his former commander’s expense. Kruq’nov should know for that is how he earned his rank. That, and the fact the former Second Claw rushed a little too far ahead of his own men to meet the Terrans. The result was predictable; a sniper picked him off at an octomak. Sometimes even seasoned veterans lose their focus when the enemy presents them with a juicy target.
Kruq’nov swore he would never make such a mistake. Why present the Apes with an easy mark when there were so many other ways to die on this accursed planet, few of which are glorious. More than a few warriors died due to malfunctions of their E-suits. The air inside the Terrans’ underground fortifications had yet to grow as toxic as the air above, but Kruq’nov was not about to take chances. His own filter still retained half of its operational life, as did the rest of his squad.
He threw up a hand to bring his half of the squad to a stop, just before the entry to the Terran bunker. Sometimes he envied the warriors in space, though they were hardly worthy of the name. At least they could see what the foe was doing. The only way Kruq’nov could imitated them beneath the surface of Repleetah II was to stick his head around the corner. An invitation to having it removed, if he never heard of one.
“Second Claw, we’re in position,” came the voice of Shahresh over his helmet’s vox.
“Wait eight seconds until after I make my move,” Kruq’nov told him. “That should draw enough of their attention to the front, while you leap upon them from their flank.”
“It shall be done,” his Third Claw replied.
It had better be done. Kruq’nov wondered how badly Shahresh wanted promotion. No better way than over the dead body of those above you. It was a little late in his life to worry about such things. Besides, if half the squad was cut down, how did the other half plan to escape this patrol?
Kruq’nov would just have to worry about that later. “Move!” he roared to the three warriors at his side.
As expected, Nrsah was the more cautious of the three. He bound over to the opposite side of the entry from Kruq’nov, and began firing blindly around the corner. Kruq’nov did the same. The other two warriors attempted to leap forward under the covering fire, their own rifles blasting away at all opposition. The Terrans within were well dug in, and not all were killed. Kruq’nov heard the unmistakable charging and barking of a chain gun, an instant before its rounds chewed apart the two warriors.
Kruq’nov cursed loudly at their death. Those were two warriors on the trail of becoming half-way decent soldiers. “Grenades!” he barked at Nrsah. Both he and his younger comrade pulled a charge off their E-suit’s belt. Grenades were simple enough weapons; just remove the arming pin, push the priming button, and throw. All three motions took less than a second, as he and Nrsah tossed grenades blindly through the door simultaneously.
The resulting blasts sent serrated chunks of metal, primitive but quite lethal, through the room. One grenade packed enough force to kill or wound everyone in the room. Two would have omitted the wounding. The chain gun fell silent, bringing a calm in the middle of the storm. Nrsah began to fidget, but Kruq’nov told him to hold. It would be just like the Apes to be playing dead.
Instead of sticking his head through the door, as some cautious warriors might, Kruq’nov leaned his rifle around the corner. He jerked it back, nearly losing his hand, as the chain gun came back to life.Sneaky Apes, he thought with a toothy smirk upon his face. Whoever was leading them was good. The optics in his rifle displayed a brief layout of the room in his helmet’s HUD. A table, a thick one at that, was on its side. Instead of having the chain gun stand over it, the table had a small hole punched through it, wide enough for the barrel. Not only that, but the barricade was built so the blast of any unaimed grenade would be deflected outwards. That would explain why the concussion had not knocked anyone cold.
The other entry was covered by a similar barricade, meaning Shahresh was walking into certain death. Sure enough, as the eighth second ticked away, four more Kilrathi charged the room. A second gun rattled away. Kruq’nov did not know how many were defending the room. Certainly not more than squad. Terran squads were bigger, usually with eight-and-two warriors. A chain gun requires three, so that could leave four more with rifles.
Since the guns did not fall immediately silent, Shahresh must have met with limited success. Kruq’nov risked another peak around the corner. This time, the chain gun did not try to severe his limbs. Instead, he saw a couple of Ape heads and weapons aimed toward the other door. Must be a reduced squad. He decided to make the best use of this distraction while it lasted. He pulled a second grenade off his belt, and tossed this one in a high arc. It cleared the barricade and went off with a loud whoomph.
This time, the guns went silent for real. He gestured to Nrsah to rush, and both barreled into the room, leaping over the barricade. The jump was tight, as Terran rooms were not designed for the bulk of a Kilrathi’s body. He speared the first Ape he saw, writhing on the floor with a bloody wreckage where his arm once rested, with the blades of his rifle. Nrsah was quick to dispatch two other Apes. A fourth one stood before the two, a blade in each hand. They were not the small utility knives Apes often used. In fact, they were not even knives. They were those axes so favored. Toma’hawk they were called.
The warrior, a Second Claw by the marking of stripes upon his own E-suit’s sleeve, charged forward and slashed at Kruq’nov’s faceplate. He deftly dodged the blow. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nrsah take aim at the Terran. “No! This one is mine.” Nrsah relaxed, but did not lower his weapon. Good. Kruq’nov knew that should he fall, the younger warrior would avenge his death. Knowing he would be avenged gave Kruq’nov great relief. Not even his own blood-kin would bother with such an honor.
The Terran warrior dodged Kruq’nov’s own attacks. He was instantly recognized as a veteran, an Ape who seen more than his fair share of fighting. Just like Mac’Fearson. Perhaps it was even his own foe. He was about as tall as him. For Kilrathi, height was similar enough to not be very useful in distinguishing individuals. With Apes; their height had a degree of variety that made it useful. Of course, plenty of Apes were that tall, but only the best could still be standing after a grenade landed in his midst.
Kruq’nov continued to thrust with his bladed rifle. He could have gunned down the enemy easily enough, but after waiting so long he planned to savor this victory. He aimed to end the battle, once the Ape was backed into a corner. Instead of dying, the Ape hurled one of the axes straight at Kruq’nov. He felt the impact as it buried itself into the chest of his E-suit. The impact sent Kruq’nov back a step. It took but a second to regain his balance, but that was all the Ape needed. He leapt forward, his axe aimed for Kruq’nov’s faceplate.
The look of furious glee upon the Ape quickly turned to furious surprise, as Kruq’nov brought his rifle up with enough force to punch through the Ape’s E-suit as if it were nothing but fatigues. So much force, that he lifted his foe off the ground, and flung him over his shoulder. He slammed into the ground. Kruq’nov knew little of the Apes’ languages, but could tell the Ape was cursing him with his dying breath. He used some of the same words that a certain’s officer’s Green Bird was taught to say to taunt captured Apes.
“He died bravely,” Nrsah said with some admiration. Though his own stint on Repleetah was nearly one Kahrik, he still sounded surprised.
“He was good,” Kruq’nov said with respect. “I happen to be better.” Kruq’nov reached down and grabbed hold of a tag dangling from the dead warrior’s neck. He yanked free the identification tag and dropped it into one of his E-suit’s pouches. He would use a translator later to learn the name of his foe. A foe like this was worthy of having his name recorded. Had the Terran been large enough to match him in strength, Kruq’nov was uncertain as to who would walk away from that fight.
Kruq’nov glanced over at Shahresh, pleased to see him still alive. Along with himself, two of the other warriors from that half of the squad survived. The fourth lay face down in the room, the back of his E-suit blown out. The dead were lucky, for they died brave and were now in the hands of the Gods. Kruq’nov was not so lucky, for now he had to request three more replacements. Veterans, even those with as little experience as those freshly killed, were worth a whole squad of cubs on this planet.
There was little Kruq’nov could do about that. Repleetah took in warriors and spat out grounded flesh. He glanced from the dead back to the living. “Move out. Many more opportunities for death in battle await us.”
Chapter 2
Forward Trench
Chandler Front
Repleetah II
Of all the tasks Nrsah had not thought of when he enlisted, the constant cleaning of equipment ranked high up as one of the most tedious. He understood the need to keep weapons and environmental suits in working order, at least he did intellectually. What boggled his mind was the amount of time he spent cleaning proportional to how much he spent killing. War was suppose to be about killing the enemy, about taking what rightfully belonged to a Kilrathi. The movies he watched as a youth, they never showed just how much hurrying up and waiting was involved in warfare.
Aside from the occasional firefight over the rim of the trenches, there was little in the way of action. Like the Second Claw, he too witnessed a recent batch of replacement go roaring out into no-man’s land. He also witnessed them getting cut down by an Ape ambush. He shuddered to think that he would have fallen into the trap if not for Kruq’nov. Ok, he saw that the Apes were clever and devious, but it was not until the raid upon his line of the trench did he discover just how well they fought in a stand up fight.
“It still don’t make any sense,” he muttered, bearing his fangs for the whole world to see.
“What are you grumbling about now?” Kruq’nov asked. The Second Claw squat next to Nrsah in the recently repaired barrack. Repaired in the sense that the atmospheric curtain was back in working order. He scrubbed away at the nooks and crannies of his rifle with a small brush. He took it off a dead Terran during some push, a couple of Kahrik back. The Apes called it a tooth brush. It made a certain amount of sense to Nrsah; with such puny and flat teeth, they certainly could not clean them with a good, solid bone.
“That raid,” Nrsah said. He need not specify which one, like the other veterans, for he only experienced this last one. He paused before continuing. Veteran. When did he become one of them? His time on Repleetah has thus far been short, but the planet had a way of making cubs grow up real fast. Who would have though; Nrsah among the honored known as veterans. That would get the attention of the females– the young ones anyway.
He shook the thoughts from his head. Not the best place or time to be thinking of the Queens. For one thing, his mane was pitifully scraggly compared to the majestic golden collar around Kruq’nov’s head. Back to the matter at hand— “I’ve learned the Apes are smart, and never do anything without reason. Yet, their raid seemed pointless. They could have killed up all with a good push, yet they abandoned the battle.” Utter foolishness.
Kruq’nov growled in indifference. “From what I hear, some files vanished from regimental headquarters, along with one of our Lord Officers,” he added a sharp scorn to the last two words. “Looks like the Apes just wanted a prisoner to interrogate.” Neither warrior knew if the officer was dead or alive. Kruq’nov had told him that Terran rules of warfare prevented the outright killing of prisoners.
Nor did they eat their captives. Kilrathi usually did not either, but in a pinch, the prisoners were food. Nrsah wondered if Terrans tasted anything like the rats from their homeworld. He quickly discovered those rodents, when cooked, were far superior tasting to the dried meat rations that every Kilrathi soldier tolerated. He thanked Sivar and every other God he could think of that Terrans were not as prolific as their rodents, otherwise they would swamp the Empire in sheer numbers. Nothing short of a week long bombardment with one of the Apes’ nasty chemical weapons would take out the rat population. Even after losing the atmosphere for several days, the rat population still clung on inside the barracks.
As Nrsah went back to work checking filters and seals on his E-suit, Kruq’nov spoke. “As much as everybody’s cleaning their gear, there must be some truth to the rumors.”
Nrsah nodded. He heard the same stories up and down the trenches, that a push, or at least a big raid, was in the works. He hoped it was true, but Nrsah had long since learned that rumors were like raids and counter-raids; just part of the cycle of life and death upon Repleetah II.
No-man’s Land
Chandler Front
Repleetah II
Kruq’nov, along with octaves of other warriors, slithered across the barren and charred land upon his belly. It was not that difficult, since any Kilrathi worthy the name can already run upon all fours. Still, as a warrior, he would prefer in his blood to stand and fight. As a veteran of many kahrik upon this Sivar-cursed world, he knew better than to expose his head. Stalking forward like so might remind him too much of females stalking prey, but as long as he was not the only one, it was not a bother.
What did bother him was that this stalking might put the idea into some his comrades’ head, especially the younger ones, that the Apes are nothing but prey to be pounced upon. Anyone who thought that was either a newcomer or dead. He glanced through the faceplate of his combat environmental suit towards his left, remembering the day Nrsah arrived, and how he almost fell for that Ape ambush. He might have been a cub freshly expelled from his birth Pride when he arrived, but a whole kahrik upon this abysmal world matured him fully.
Overhead, the screams of octaves upon octaves of shells flew carelessly through the air. The sound of the end of the world filled his ears. He bared his teeth at the thought. Hopefully, it was the end of the world in the Terran trenches. Sure, he wanted to get up close and kill the Apes in plain view, but he would not shed a tear if everyone of those accursed combat drones was destroyed. With soldiers, you could wound them and that would bring them to a halt. The drone– he could have blown away all three of their legs and exposed weapons, but they would still explode if any warrior drew too close.
Though he hoped, he knew better than to depend upon them being destroyed. The shells that artillery flung over the trenches were primitive devices; simple explosives encased in low-grade metals. In space, or even against some of the Apes’ better ground vehicles, they would be useless. Infantry in trenches was another matter. No matter how ancient these shell may be, fist-sized chunks of steel, lead or whatever they are made of, will tear any exposed soldier in two, E-suit or not. As long as none fell short, he had nothing to fear from them.
Land mines were another story. Again, shells would destroy them, and no-man’s land got a good working over before the warriors in his unit went over the top. That still did not mean they were gone. Not by a long shot. Any warrior luckless enough to crawl over one, would soon find himself very high in the air, and very scattered across the landscape. E-suits were little protection against them. Come to think of it, E-suits only protected one from hostile environments, or those so utterly poisoned as to not make a difference. Repleetah was already a marginal world before it was invaded. Afterwards– assuming there ever was one– it would not be worth having.
As he crept towards the lip of the Apes’ trench, Kruq’nov’s bloodlust was high in anticipation. He fought to keep his claws retracted. It would not do well to puncture his gloves and expose his fingers to whatever deadly gas the warring parties were tossing back and forward this day. Instead, he clenched his hands around his rifle. His eyes darted to and fro through the dust. As the shelling gradually crept ahead, it left behind not only death and destruction, but a cloud of dust. The HUD of his helmet switched over to infrared.
Kruq’nov, Nrsah and all the warriors in this push came to a halt, awaiting the shelling to move on further and orders to pounce. It was not a raid, but a true offensive, the first in over a kahrik. His young comrade was not even on the planet when the last one happened. Not that he missed out on much; the Apes came forward and captured a couple of trenches, only to lose them during a Kilrathi counterattack. A lot of warriors died that day, and for what? So some scion could claim glory, or some Ape officer to actually have something to report back to his own HQ. That was the way of war on Repleetah. Back and forth, glory and death for all.
The death party he saw readily, but never the glory. He knew that plenty of Prides received news that their scions died in glorious combat for the Emperor and for Kilrah. How many of those mothers actually believed it any more was anybody’s guess. Kruq’nov certainly did not. The cub he took under his wing was starting to see the same. Sure, Nrsah still saw glory in combat, but has long since learned that Repleetah is not combat. It is a butcher’s shop, plain and simple.
With abruptness that brought his ears straight up, the bombardment had ceased. A high-pitch whistle chimed in his helmet, as well as all those warrior on the front of this offensive. Without verbal orders, octaves of warriors on either side of Kruq’nov leapt with him in unison into the Apes’ trench. The younger warriors expected to see mangled bodies of Terrans strewn across the landscape. Kruq’nov was like that once, but soon learned that low-tech shrapnel, while just as lethal as any plasma weapon, did little to kill entrenched enemies.
He landed with the agility of any predator, and quickly traversed his plasma rifle to his left and right. The only Apes visible were the few dead ones. Like his own kind, the Apes would soon rouse from slumber within their own bunkers. He, along with three other nearby warriors, aimed their weapons at the nearest atmospheric curtain. As soon as the blast door slid open, all four opened up at the protective barrier. It was designed to keep out poisons and keep in atmosphere, not to withstand ionized pulses. As the barrier fluctuated, one of the warriors tossed in a grenade, which detonated with a low thump. Any Apes near the blast door controls were dead.
With the curtain down, and the polluted air of Repleetah flowing freely, Kruq’nov lead the charge into the bunker. He knew not if this was the one of his sworn nemesis, and only Terran to come close to an equal in his eyes. He did not think much of it. When storming an enemy position, his mind was void of most thoughts and his honed warrior instincts took over. He threw himself to his right before even consciously seeing the Ape fire at him. On Repleetah, there was the quick and the dead. The warrior behind Kruq’nov was not so quick, and now joined the ranks of honored dead. Kruq’nov did not have time to wonder what sort of weapon it was, but knew it was powerful but the way it sliced through his comrade’s E-suit as if it were cloth. Plasma rifles could not penetrate so easily, or cleanly. Not that he saw anything clean about having a warrior’s guts blasted out of his back and shredded to pet meal.
Kruq’nov took aim at the Terran, only to have glimpsed him taking cover. He had raided these trenches enough times during his tour of duty to know they connect to each other underground, as well as via trenches. He poked his head from cover long enough to let out a short burst from his rifle. One Terran was hit. Unlike the Kilrathi, the Terrans wore only breathers to keep from instantly dying. Their cloth uniforms did nothing to halt shots as hot as the sun. Where the Ape’s heart had once been was a neatly cauterized hole. He bared his teeth savagely as he watched the Apes pull back further into their bunkers, the same way they forced his own barracks to do some days prior.
With this room secured, he glanced around to take stock of his forces. As Second Claw, he was more than likely to outrank these simple warriors. He saw no officer E-suits in the room, nor did he notice Nrsah. The cub must be in the next bunker over. With a good push from both sides, they should meet up further into the network.
“Form a parameter!” Kruq’nov growled out the order. The forces now under his immediate command numbered eight-and-seven, almost two squads worth of warriors. Six of them snarled acknowledgments and moved back to set up control over the entrance as well as the length of trench beyond. With no Apes rushing in from behind, Kruq’nov knew this section of the front was now under Imperial claws.
Kruq’nov took a moment to listen to the comm chatter in his helmet. Other Second Claws, as well as some junior officers reported their own stretches secured. None had yet to push further than the outermost bunkers, instead opting to await further command. It was a good call in his eyes; if the Kilrathi charged in piecemeal, only the Apes would benefit from it. He had seen enough pointless combat on this world to last several lifetimes, and wanted nothing more than to make this victory permanent. Perhaps that was not the whole truth. What Kruq’nov really wanted was to get off this rock and return to a properly civilized world. Perhaps one where a male could take a deep breath without keeling over.
The wait for a push was short, giving Kruq’nov enough time to double-check his weapons and inspect his suit for damage. He received no hits, and only one in the bunker was killed. Other warriors did the same, checking the backs of each others’ suits. A young cub, arriving on the load of replacements after Nrsah, checked Kruq’nov’s suit. “All is well, Second Claw,” he said in jovial tones. Kruq’nov smiled. Yes, nothing put fire into the heart like being on the offensive.
“You’re clean, warrior,” Kruq’nov replied in kind as he went over the life support equipment on the young warrior’s back. Nothing was damaged. In fact, it appeared as if the suit was fresh from the factory. Probably was, in a sense. Since the younger warriors had arrived, there had been no battle requiring full environmental suits.
The wait to continue the push was short, yet still long enough to bring out restlessness in some of the warriors. Their blood lust was up and they wanted to kill. If they stayed put any longer, Kruq’nov grew concern they might turn on each other. It was the curse of his own people; to fight amongst themselves when external enemies were abound. If not for aliens, the Kilrathi might already have wiped themselves out.
“Move forward!” Kruq’nov snarled at the warriors, a bare instant after the lord high officers snarled it at him.
The soldiers obeyed. Kilrathi may be natural-born fighters, but only the ruthless discipline of basic training drilled into them the ability to follow orders. Without it, they would be not an army, but millions of individual warriors, just waiting for Ape snipers to pick them off. Kruq’nov pointed at the two warriors closest to the inner door, ordering them on point. Neither protested. Despite the Kilrathi male’s fiercely independent streak, no warrior would pass up the glory of first kill, even if they could be that kill.
Neither charged in like rookies. Instead, the slipped into the next chamber quietly, their eyes looking down the barrels of their own weapons. Two more followed after that. Kruq’nov did not like the silence his ears heard. Both pointed straight up and forward, straining to hear even a foot step. He heard none from his side; predators made no sounds while on the hunt. He called for the warriors under his immediate command to stay alert. It was not an order for veterans, who learned the hard way that Terrans are crafty animals, but more to remind the rookies of this fact. More than a few were already dead today because they forgot. Of course, in open combat, even battle-hardened veterans were just as dead.
The second chamber was far more spacious than the first, a true barrack. His entry was not the only one into this room, which could have easily held an octave of warriors, and likely twice as many Apes. It was also dark, not pitch dark, but not enough to cause his eyes to adjust— “Darken your visors!” he, as well as two other Second Claws roared. It was too late for some.
Kruq’nov tinted his helmet a fraction of a second before the sun went off in the room. Eights of flares brightened darkness to full day under a blue star, destroying night-vision in an instant. Warriors hissed in pain as the blue light pierced eyes evolved under a red sun. After the flares died down, smaller blasts of blue light raced forward, slamming into the forward most warriors. Half of them fell, their E-suits burned through by blue-hot plasma. Kruq’nov and the rest took whatever cover they could find. He overturned the nearest bunk, a tiny thing fit for still-growing cubs, and ducked behind it. It covered him barely, which was little comfort. A few direct hits by weapons’ fire would turn it into scrap.
Kruq’nov took in the scene, spotting only a few Terran defenders. They must be a rear-guard, permitting their comrades to pull back to a more defensible position. He took another glance at the leader of the Apes. No, he was too small to be Mac Fear’son. That and his enemy was an NCO, same as himself. This Ape was a junior officer, by the markings on his uniform. Like his soldiers, the officer wore no better protection from the atmosphere slowly leaking in that a breather.
A second flare, almost as bright as the first barrage, took Kruq’nov’s vision. He swore loudly, cursing the Apes and their mothers back eight generations. His curses were not the only ones to spring across the airwave. The Lord Officer above him demanded a status report, which Kruq’nov quickly gave him. He and his warriors were half-blinded, in a large room, with wily armed Apes bounding freely. Kruq’nov blinked, slowly bringing the room back into focus. It was still a swirl of colors, but he could spy motion. He trained his weapon on the motion, knowing the Apes were on the move.
When he heard action, it was not in front of him, but rather to his right. He snapped his gaze towards the sound of a howling Terran. With a hint of admiration, Kruq’nov noted the howl was one of rage and surprise, not pain. He could not tell what the Ape was saying in the barking language, but had no doubt his curses were every bit as vile as any Kilrathi’s. As his vision cleared, he watched the Apes manage a fighting withdrawal, further into their labyrinth. A few fell under the guns of Kilrathi warriors, but most, including the wounded– officer?– managed to escape.
“Second Claw, do you still live?” came a familiar voice. It was Nrsah.
“I live,” Kruq’nov said, his vision returning. He looked in surprise, genuine surprise not known in quite a while, at Nrsah’s hand. It was covered in blood, his claws extending through the protective glove. Seals within the E-suit would protect the rest of him from the toxic air, though his hand must be in considerable pain.
Nrsah stood proud before his mentor. “That Ape, the one without the arches on his sleeves, he was leading a flanking maneuver towards you. He flanked right past one of the entrances to this cavern, which I and a few other warriors had forced our way through. I leapt upon him the moment I saw him–“ Nrsah paused and looked down at his own hand. “Forgive my brashness, but I let my instincts get the better of me, slashing with claw instead of the razor edges of my rifle. I still nearly took his face off.” Though the helmet, Kruq’nov could see Nrsah smiling a vicious, predatory smile.
Kruq’nov nodded in approval. “An excellent kill,” he said, though he left off the part of how foolish it could be to attack an unknown Terran in hand-to-hand combat. He ran across a few on Repleetah armed with melee weapons of steel, diamond and the Gods only knew what else. Those weapons could severe limbs. He could not bring himself to scold the cub, who just saved his life, and likely the lives of half the blinded warriors in the hall.
“Yes, an excellent kill,” he said, slapping Nrsah on the shoulder. The cub stood taller, if that were even possible for a Kilrathi standing upright. “Now go find a medic and get those claws cleaned and your suit repaired.” Though damage to the suit was minimal, as was toxicity, neither would remain so. Without a curtain, the heavier byproducts of chemical warfare were already filling the room. Nrsah did not argue. He merely saluted and obeyed.
He turned back to the other warriors in the room, searching for officers. No, the Lord Officers have yet to come underground to dirty their claws. “Why are you standing around like livestock!? You four, form a perimeter against that entry,” he pointed across the room. “And you four, take that door!” Kruq’nov might not be the highest ranking Kilrathi in the Apes’ trenches– he might not even be the most senior in the room– the other warriors obeyed without question. By the looks of the dead, he might be the only Second Claw left standing. The Apes were excellent at picking out Kilrathi rank markings, as he was with their own. Unlike Lord, oh so high and mighty, Officers, Kruq’nov had already proven himself in battle, earning the respect of his comrades. If he was to lead his own corner of the offensive to victory, he would need all the respect he could earn.
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Two days into the offensive, Kruq’nov found himself and his squad already into the Apes’ secondary trenches. The battle had gone smoothly. A little too smoothly. The younger warriors in his squadron could already taste victory. Kruq’nov knew better. He knew the Apes were up to something. Though the past days’ fight had not been easy, it had progressed rapidly. He would have liked to see a victory, but if the old warrior was going to waste a wish upon anything, it would be getting off this forsaken rock.
Next to Kruq’nov in their precession down into the labyrinth of tunnels the Terran dug, marched Nrsah. He was once as raw and shiny as the other cubs in the squad. No more; he had seen enough days of fighting that Kruq’nov was able to make a soldier out of him. Furthermore, he had the Second Claw’s back during the start of the push, nearly tearing the face off one Ape who planned to blast him.
The tunnels were dark, though by choice or by damage, Kruq’nov was not certain. He ordered his warriors to rely more upon infrared than light amplification. If the Terrans were pulling his tail about power outages, a sudden increase in luminosity would blind his warriors long enough for them all to be cut down in their tracks. He seen that sort of trick before. He had seen a lot of tricks before, and nothing the Apes did anymore was of great surprise.
He called a sudden stop to his squad’s march. There was light up ahead. It was dim, and coming from a room. More to the point, it was fluctuating. It could have been an electrical problem, but his instincts disagreed. Somebody stepped in front of the doorway, momentarily blocking the light. He knew it. He called up a map on his E-suit helmet’s face plate. Another passage branched off from the one they currently held, this branch before the door in question. It lead to another entry into the bunker.
“Shahresh!” Kruq’nov called for his squad’s Third Claw. “Take three warriors down the side passage up there. Wait for me to get in place. We’ll attack the occupants from both sides.”
“As you command,” Shahresh replied. Shahresh was rare among those of the rank of Third Claw; he respected his Second Claw more than he feared him. Kruq’nov’s own experience at that rank was not the same. His Second Claw was an outright tyrant, cruel for the sake of cruelty. That was not the style of Kruq’nov; as long as those under him obeyed without question, he would not throw them around. Unless they did something foolish, and risked the lives of comrades. Then he would drag them over the coals.
Unlike the Apes, higher ranking enlisted warriors had to able to throw underlings around. If an underling grew too strong, he might just promote himself at his former commander’s expense. Kruq’nov should know for that is how he earned his rank. That, and the fact the former Second Claw rushed a little too far ahead of his own men to meet the Terrans. The result was predictable; a sniper picked him off at an octomak. Sometimes even seasoned veterans lose their focus when the enemy presents them with a juicy target.
Kruq’nov swore he would never make such a mistake. Why present the Apes with an easy mark when there were so many other ways to die on this accursed planet, few of which are glorious. More than a few warriors died due to malfunctions of their E-suits. The air inside the Terrans’ underground fortifications had yet to grow as toxic as the air above, but Kruq’nov was not about to take chances. His own filter still retained half of its operational life, as did the rest of his squad.
He threw up a hand to bring his half of the squad to a stop, just before the entry to the Terran bunker. Sometimes he envied the warriors in space, though they were hardly worthy of the name. At least they could see what the foe was doing. The only way Kruq’nov could imitated them beneath the surface of Repleetah II was to stick his head around the corner. An invitation to having it removed, if he never heard of one.
“Second Claw, we’re in position,” came the voice of Shahresh over his helmet’s vox.
“Wait eight seconds until after I make my move,” Kruq’nov told him. “That should draw enough of their attention to the front, while you leap upon them from their flank.”
“It shall be done,” his Third Claw replied.
It had better be done. Kruq’nov wondered how badly Shahresh wanted promotion. No better way than over the dead body of those above you. It was a little late in his life to worry about such things. Besides, if half the squad was cut down, how did the other half plan to escape this patrol?
Kruq’nov would just have to worry about that later. “Move!” he roared to the three warriors at his side.
As expected, Nrsah was the more cautious of the three. He bound over to the opposite side of the entry from Kruq’nov, and began firing blindly around the corner. Kruq’nov did the same. The other two warriors attempted to leap forward under the covering fire, their own rifles blasting away at all opposition. The Terrans within were well dug in, and not all were killed. Kruq’nov heard the unmistakable charging and barking of a chain gun, an instant before its rounds chewed apart the two warriors.
Kruq’nov cursed loudly at their death. Those were two warriors on the trail of becoming half-way decent soldiers. “Grenades!” he barked at Nrsah. Both he and his younger comrade pulled a charge off their E-suit’s belt. Grenades were simple enough weapons; just remove the arming pin, push the priming button, and throw. All three motions took less than a second, as he and Nrsah tossed grenades blindly through the door simultaneously.
The resulting blasts sent serrated chunks of metal, primitive but quite lethal, through the room. One grenade packed enough force to kill or wound everyone in the room. Two would have omitted the wounding. The chain gun fell silent, bringing a calm in the middle of the storm. Nrsah began to fidget, but Kruq’nov told him to hold. It would be just like the Apes to be playing dead.
Instead of sticking his head through the door, as some cautious warriors might, Kruq’nov leaned his rifle around the corner. He jerked it back, nearly losing his hand, as the chain gun came back to life.Sneaky Apes, he thought with a toothy smirk upon his face. Whoever was leading them was good. The optics in his rifle displayed a brief layout of the room in his helmet’s HUD. A table, a thick one at that, was on its side. Instead of having the chain gun stand over it, the table had a small hole punched through it, wide enough for the barrel. Not only that, but the barricade was built so the blast of any unaimed grenade would be deflected outwards. That would explain why the concussion had not knocked anyone cold.
The other entry was covered by a similar barricade, meaning Shahresh was walking into certain death. Sure enough, as the eighth second ticked away, four more Kilrathi charged the room. A second gun rattled away. Kruq’nov did not know how many were defending the room. Certainly not more than squad. Terran squads were bigger, usually with eight-and-two warriors. A chain gun requires three, so that could leave four more with rifles.
Since the guns did not fall immediately silent, Shahresh must have met with limited success. Kruq’nov risked another peak around the corner. This time, the chain gun did not try to severe his limbs. Instead, he saw a couple of Ape heads and weapons aimed toward the other door. Must be a reduced squad. He decided to make the best use of this distraction while it lasted. He pulled a second grenade off his belt, and tossed this one in a high arc. It cleared the barricade and went off with a loud whoomph.
This time, the guns went silent for real. He gestured to Nrsah to rush, and both barreled into the room, leaping over the barricade. The jump was tight, as Terran rooms were not designed for the bulk of a Kilrathi’s body. He speared the first Ape he saw, writhing on the floor with a bloody wreckage where his arm once rested, with the blades of his rifle. Nrsah was quick to dispatch two other Apes. A fourth one stood before the two, a blade in each hand. They were not the small utility knives Apes often used. In fact, they were not even knives. They were those axes so favored. Toma’hawk they were called.
The warrior, a Second Claw by the marking of stripes upon his own E-suit’s sleeve, charged forward and slashed at Kruq’nov’s faceplate. He deftly dodged the blow. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nrsah take aim at the Terran. “No! This one is mine.” Nrsah relaxed, but did not lower his weapon. Good. Kruq’nov knew that should he fall, the younger warrior would avenge his death. Knowing he would be avenged gave Kruq’nov great relief. Not even his own blood-kin would bother with such an honor.
The Terran warrior dodged Kruq’nov’s own attacks. He was instantly recognized as a veteran, an Ape who seen more than his fair share of fighting. Just like Mac’Fearson. Perhaps it was even his own foe. He was about as tall as him. For Kilrathi, height was similar enough to not be very useful in distinguishing individuals. With Apes; their height had a degree of variety that made it useful. Of course, plenty of Apes were that tall, but only the best could still be standing after a grenade landed in his midst.
Kruq’nov continued to thrust with his bladed rifle. He could have gunned down the enemy easily enough, but after waiting so long he planned to savor this victory. He aimed to end the battle, once the Ape was backed into a corner. Instead of dying, the Ape hurled one of the axes straight at Kruq’nov. He felt the impact as it buried itself into the chest of his E-suit. The impact sent Kruq’nov back a step. It took but a second to regain his balance, but that was all the Ape needed. He leapt forward, his axe aimed for Kruq’nov’s faceplate.
The look of furious glee upon the Ape quickly turned to furious surprise, as Kruq’nov brought his rifle up with enough force to punch through the Ape’s E-suit as if it were nothing but fatigues. So much force, that he lifted his foe off the ground, and flung him over his shoulder. He slammed into the ground. Kruq’nov knew little of the Apes’ languages, but could tell the Ape was cursing him with his dying breath. He used some of the same words that a certain’s officer’s Green Bird was taught to say to taunt captured Apes.
“He died bravely,” Nrsah said with some admiration. Though his own stint on Repleetah was nearly one Kahrik, he still sounded surprised.
“He was good,” Kruq’nov said with respect. “I happen to be better.” Kruq’nov reached down and grabbed hold of a tag dangling from the dead warrior’s neck. He yanked free the identification tag and dropped it into one of his E-suit’s pouches. He would use a translator later to learn the name of his foe. A foe like this was worthy of having his name recorded. Had the Terran been large enough to match him in strength, Kruq’nov was uncertain as to who would walk away from that fight.
Kruq’nov glanced over at Shahresh, pleased to see him still alive. Along with himself, two of the other warriors from that half of the squad survived. The fourth lay face down in the room, the back of his E-suit blown out. The dead were lucky, for they died brave and were now in the hands of the Gods. Kruq’nov was not so lucky, for now he had to request three more replacements. Veterans, even those with as little experience as those freshly killed, were worth a whole squad of cubs on this planet.
There was little Kruq’nov could do about that. Repleetah took in warriors and spat out grounded flesh. He glanced from the dead back to the living. “Move out. Many more opportunities for death in battle await us.”