Merkiaari Wars: 03 - Operation Oracle Read Online Free Page B

rooftop. Gina chuckled and then laughed hysterically. Melee mode was doing weird things to her self-control. Her legs became a pumping blur. She barely felt Cragg’s weight.
    Merki fire sought her life and debris kicked up around her feet. She was moving too fast to dodge sharply, but she did what she could by swerving left and right. An explosion to her right peppered her with shrapnel. It hurt, she thought it must have, but it was a distant thing. Something clanged off her helmet and the visor starred. The helmet display started flickering. She didn’t need it anyway. Helmet comm and HUD were just a backup for a viper. She kept it on, damaged as it was, for the minimal protection it lent her.
    Explosions chased her, and finally caused a reaction from Alliance forces. Colonel Jung wouldn’t know why the Merki were worked up yet, but she had to wonder if this was a prelude to a new offensive. Artillery began zeroing in, and Gina cursed. Friendly fire might still nail her. She ducked and jinked as buildings came apart around her. Stone and glass flew outward, and buildings roared as they toppled or imploded. More fire and smoke added itself to the chaos.
    “Friendly fire my arse!” Gina screamed into the night. “Alpha-one-one, Alpha-leader. I’m heading your way with many new acquaintances hot on my heels. Cragg is in hibernation. I’m bringing him in!”
    “Alpha-leader, Alpha-one-one. A few friends dropped by for a visit. Lucky break, eh? Bring your buddies right through the middle of us.”
    “Affirmative, ETA three minutes!” she yelled over the noise of buildings falling. “Shit, Ian. Jung’s trying to kill me again. Tell her the enemy is behind me, not in front!”
    Ian snorted. “Like she’ll listen. Alpha-one-one out.”
    “Alpha-leader clear.”
    Gina had Hiller’s blue icon on her display, and more viper icons had arrayed themselves near him and along a particular street. She couldn’t know without checking satellite feeds, but she guessed they were undercover in the buildings. If she could lead the Merki up that street, they should be slaughtered.
    That was the plan then, she decided. She kept running while she plotted a least time course to lead the Merkiaari through Hiller’s gauntlet. She didn’t slow as she sped by the first blue icons on her sensors. Those vipers were well hidden. She saw no sign of them. She was just approaching Hiller’s hiding place when her people opened fire all at once. She dove for cover in amongst a bombed out building’s remains. She stashed Cragg behind a wall, and found a good firing position. Hiller didn’t acknowledge her presence; he was busy about a hundred metres away targeting the Merki with a bipod mounted AAR. They were usually mounted on a unit’s armour with a stedimount to stabilise it, they were heavy, but the bipod was better here. It allowed Hiller to fire while lying down for better cover. He was making good use of it too. He was piling Merki bodies up in the street.
    Jung’s artillery had finally stopped lobbing shells in, maybe realising the danger of blue on blue. Plasma and rocket fire rained down upon the Merki from the buildings and rooftops, and they scattered looking for cover. There wasn’t much in the street itself, and the buildings were already occupied by Merkiaari killers. They tried to fight back. That’s what Merki did, pretty much their default setting for every situation, but they were completely over matched. The vipers had good cover and elevation. The Merki were utterly slaughtered.
    Gina watched the last Merki troop die, and turned away to check on Cragg. He was still dead, but he would wake up fine. She shook her head at the thought. Two years ago, such a thought would have been macabre and ridiculous, but now it was just a part of life.
    “We are such freaks,” she muttered.
    “Yeah,” Hiller said looking down at their sleeping friend. “But handy freaks, and I’m still cute.”
    Gina rolled her eyes. “Cute