A shield of dust kicked up by the impact blocked his vision but he heard the fire of Duass energy weapons peppering his vehicle as well as the wall it rested against. Then he heard a roar; a human battle cry. The Duass energy bolts stopped firing in his direction.
"Sir! You okay?"
Pickering stood by the buggy with a bloody gash across his forehead and the way he favored one shoulder suggested dislocation. Yet he worried first about his leader.
Stone felt his safety harness unlatch, then gravity pulled him down but Pickering's uninjured arm steadied him. Once free of the wreck, Pickering directed him to cover.
Trevor’s senses slowly rebooted. Pickering had moved him next to the crashed buggy. They were behind the War Skiff and the other Duass defenders. To their west was a passage between a line of buildings-an alley-leading to the villa's center.
"Why am I not dead?" He thought aloud.
Pickering answered by tapping his shoulder and pointing toward human infantry engaging the Duass defenders in close-quarters combat. Yes, several of his men lay dead in and around the main entrance, but the defending line had broke.
Trevor staggered to his feet and shouted, "Rally the squads and push forward!"
– Nina fired her two pistols, killing a pair of enemy soldiers at the forest rim, ending yet another half-hearted attempt to flank her force.
At the center of the battle, three Duass War Skiffs held sway over the open ground between the forest and the town. The splintered and burning remains of a fourth sent a plume of black smoke into the air and covered the battlefield in an oily odor.
"What are they waiting for?" She said but no one could hear because the constant racket of small arms fire, Skiff plasma bursts, and outgoing rockets filled the woods.
She had expected to make a hasty retreat, but the Duass appeared content to trade shots. Nonetheless, she had drawn the enemy to the northern perimeter, exactly as instructed.
– General Gronard’s voice transmitted over Trevor's radio, "Major Forest has their full attention. She’s got about sixty fighters and three Skiffs taking pot shots at her. They don’t look like they are going any where any time soon."
Trevor glanced around at his re-constituted attack force.
"Good. We’ll be at the citadel in a few minutes."
– Gun fire, plasma rounds, and anti-personnel grenades shot back and forth between the human troops in the forest and the Duass soldiers and War Skiffs at the northern perimeter.
Despite the shots blasting around her and the lethal energy beams from the War Skiffs cutting apart the forest, Nina felt pleased. She even smiled.
While the battle appeared a stalemate, that served her purpose. She merely had to keep the Duass' attention while-Nina’s smile faded.
The War Skiffs, still firing, rolled backwards, retreating toward the town. The infantry they covered did the same. In fact, the entire Duass line disengaged.
"What the..? Morris! Wilson! Move your squads forward. We can’t let them pull back!"
Nina ordered two rocket troops to her side and charged from the forest in pursuit of the larger, better-armed-but-withdrawing force. Energy from a War Skiff’s main gun hit the muddy ground in front of her. The shock wave knocked the Major skidding through the mud and singed her battle suit.
The rest of her infantry attempted to re-engage the Duass. To do so, the humans had to leave behind the cover of the woods and cross the open ground, making for easy targets. Several fell. The rest pressed on bravely, but the enemy all but ignored them.
Nina gained her senses, retrieved an anti-armor missile launcher from the dead soldier next to her, and charged at one of the War Skiffs, dodging enemy rifle fire on the way.
At twenty yards-nearly point blank range for a missile launcher-she fired. The projectile walloped the Skiff, penetrated its thick outer skin, and exploded inside the crew cabin. Smoke and horrid squeals poured out from the ruptured hull.
It made no difference. The defenders continued to pull back.
"Keep going! Keep after them!"
Like a mouse chasing a lion, the human soldiers bound across the open field and into the northern streets of Erie Coast in a vain attempt to halt the Duass’ movement as…
…Trevor’s Combat Group entered the center of town dominated by the imposing citadel in the middle of the village, guarded by one War Skiff and a handful of infantry.
"All squads!" He yelled. "Assault the citadel! Get inside and disable the guns!"
What his combat teams lacked in firepower and numbers he planned to compensate for with pure audacity. His men would bull-rush the doors, overpower the few defenders left behind, and capture the big guns before they could do much damage. Then he could turn those guns on the Plats.
One of the big cannons fired, resulting in a huge eruption that ripped open the cobblestone street, broke four of his men into little pieces, and split the last remaining assault buggy into halves.
"Keep moving!" He shouted, urging them toward the safe haven beneath the firing arc of the heavy guns. With no ground forces of consequence to stop them he could A plasma bolt sliced down the street from the north and killed a soldier three paces ahead of Trevor. He turned and, to his horror, saw a mass of Duass appear on the main thoroughfare supported by two War Skiffs, a sight that sucked the momentum from his spirited charge.
Rifle fire and heavy energy streams from the infantry and War Skiffs tore apart Trevor's right flank. Men fell one after another, screaming first in shock then from pain. At the same time, more big blasts from the tower guns, shredding the forward tip of the attack and splintering the formation into little pieces.
Adding to the confusion, he saw Nina's forces appear behind the Plat infantry, actually pursuing them. Had she somehow turned her feint into an attack? Could she be stupid enough to chase the enemy right into his flank?
The enemy's vehicles hurried to cover the approaches to the citadel, cutting off any hope of storming the fortress and leaving the attackers with no place to go other than retreat.
"Covering fire!" Trevor yelled. "We need cover to fall back!"
A soldier standing next to the new Emperor disintegrated in a flash of energy. The concussion from the shot threw Stone into the air. He hit the cobblestone-like road head-first, the world turned fuzzy and a horrid pain erupted at the top of his head.
Gronard’s voice came over the radio, "Trevor, what is your status? Trevor?"
– Forest’s soldiers pursued the retreating Duass to the center of town. At that point, the enemy formed a defensive line supported by the citadel’s big guns. Most of the troops in the Major’s first wave died and so would have the rest if the Duass did not appear more interested in obliterating Trevor's combat group first.
Nonetheless, she ordered her men to hold their positions despite being outnumbered and outgunned.
"Keep firing!" She ordered knowing that maintaining pressure from her side of the battle might be the only way to keep the Duass from completely overwhelming Trevor's group.
–
His head aching and his vision blurred, Trevor and the remains of his unit took cover around the corner of a small building and waited. He could do nothing other than wait; wait for Gronard to salvage the situation.
What the Hell was Nina thinking?
The Duass fortress’ cannons chipped away at the buildings and, at the same time, provided cover for their infantry to begin a flanking maneuver. Trevor knew this. He could feel them working through alleys and side streets. It was only a matter of time until enemy soldiers appeared to their south and north, possibly even behind them. At that point, they would be easy targets and the end would come fast.
The only hope lay with Gronard. Not a hope for victory, a hope of survival; escape.
Trevor worked his radio. He kept his voice as calm as possible considering the blaster fire raging around him, despite the feeling of failure, and despite his anger.