Havoc

33 Red as Blood

When Dred hit the scene, she registered infinite carnage.

A score of Queenslanders were already dead or dying. Since Ike’s passing, she had charge of the Peacemaker unit, and she deployed it, but there was no safe haven for this battle, no place to shelter. The mercs came in hot behind their mech, mopping up with laser fire the men trying to crawl away in trails of their own blood.

It might be too late to defend her territory, but she could use one bot to take out the other. She keyed the commands on the remote and listened to the heavy tromp of her unit responding. Between the cries of pain and the rapid exchange of weapons fire, she had no idea where any of her closest comrades might be. Jael had dashed out of her quarters to investigate the alarm, and she hadn’t seen him since.

“Scatter!” she shouted. “Find a place to hide. It’s a big station. If they can’t find you, they can’t kill you. I’ll announce on the comm when it’s safe to return.”

If it ever is.

A chorus of assent came from those not too wounded to evacuate. Hiding might not be daring or glorious, but her people knew Perdition better than the mercs. It would take forever to search them all out, and maybe in the meantime, she could come up with a plan. From the moment the mercs jumped out of the transport, she’d known this day was coming—that there would be a time when they invaded.

They picked the perfect time to strike. Everyone’s got a hangover.

“They’re running like rats,” one of the mercs said.

“Don’t let them get away.” She didn’t recognize the voice.

But it’s definitely not Vost.

The merc Peacemaker was older than the one Ike had restored, banged up around the edges and with weapons that whirred and whined when they fired. Still enough to do us in. Across the way, she spotted Tam and Martine with rifles. They’d flipped a couple of tables in the common room and were creating a cross fire, permitting other people to escape. There were more weapons locked up in the armory, but only she and Tam had the code to retrieve them. There were also more acid carbines and the remainder of the poison grenades.

Have to get to them.

Leaving the Peacemaker to hold the room, she sprinted across and slid beneath a barrage of laser fire into the hall beyond. She skidded several meters on her knees and bounded to her feet, pushing to full speed. Calypso was outside the armory, kicking with all of her might. She had ten or twelve men with her. When she glimpsed Dred, she stood back with a huff of relief.

“Thank, Mary. I’ve rallied a few of the boys, but they need guns and whatever else you have stockpiled. This is not the time to hold back.”

“I know.” Quickly, she keyed in the code and darted into the storage room and tossed weapons out for Calypso to distribute.

The booms and rat-a-tat-tat from the common room told her that the Peacemaker was still intact, still firing. If they were lucky, the two mechs would take each other out, leaving the mercs in a position of vulnerability. They still have weapons and armor. Dred would feel better if they weren’t scrambling to regroup, but maybe all hope wasn’t lost just yet. We can play cat and mouse all through the territory. I just hope the men armed only with shivs have the sense to stay hidden. If there was no chance of winning a fight, there was no shame in avoiding it.

After she emptied the armory, she led the run back to the common room and returned just in time to see her Peacemaker fly back. One of its arms was missing, the one with the Shredder on it, and a big hole gaped in the center of its chest. Still, the mech fired a powerful laser burst; the heat made the other droid’s chest plating burn red-hot.

“Get to cover,” she called out. “Then let’s disable the Peacemaker. If they take ours out first, we’re done.”

Dred moved first, drawing the attention of the mercs who were bunkered down behind their mech. She took a couple of glancing shots, and the resultant burn lanced straight through her nerves to numbness. But the diversion allowed her people to charge in behind her and flip more tables. Calypso popped up and nailed the merc Peacemaker with the carbine. The acid pellets were strong enough to eat through metal, softening the droid for their Peacemaker’s next shot.

“I need some of you to focus on the mercs. Try to keep them pinned down.”

“Happy to help, love.” Jael appeared on the other side of the common room, and she had never been more relieved. He had Tam and Martine with him, so she signaled for them to fan out and create a cone of fire to pin the mercs down.

“I wondered when you’d visit,” she shouted to Vost. “How’s your armor by the way? It was looking ragged the last time I saw you.”

The only answer to her words came in the form of a volley of laser fire. It scorched the table she was hiding behind until the metal glowed red, and the hole appeared in the center. Dred slid along to the other side. Maybe trash talk is a bad idea. Two more acid pellets hit the enemy Peacemaker, then her unit followed with a barrage. With Jael and company keeping the mercs contained, she dove for the Shredder and rolled to the next overturned table. She banged hard on some fallen chairs, and the clatter drew the other droid’s attention.

This is gonna hurt.

As the Peacemaker targeted her and cycled to weapons hot, she raised up on her knees and opened fire with the Shredder. It was awkward, and it cut her fingers since it wasn’t a weapon meant to be operated by hand, but the heavy ballistic rounds tore through the other Peacemaker’s softened armor plating. Calypso and the others added laser fire as blood dripped from Dred’s sliced fingers, and she didn’t let up until all her ammo was gone. The bot staggered back, then went boom in a shrapnel explosion of armor plating and cascading orange sparks. Their own mech was in a hell of a mess, barely able to trudge forward, but it still had one functional weapon.

“Broke your toy,” she called to the mercs. “Come on in, and we’ll talk about it.”

Most likely, she wasn’t supposed to be able to overhear their conversation, but thanks to Jael, her hearing had improved. Her gaze met his across the common room and his slight inclination of the head told her he was eavesdropping, too. She ducked down and cocked her head, wryly amused.

“We don’t know what kind of defenses they have inside the barricades.” That was the voice she hadn’t recognized before, the one who said, Don’t let them get away.

“Or how many.”

“We should push,” Vost said. “They’re disorganized and at a tactical disadvantage. We heard her call a retreat.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. She might’ve moved the support staff out of the line of fire. For all we know, she’s got military training.”

“Someone does,” Vost admitted. “Her traps and ambushes have been top-notch.”

Dred stifled a smirk. If she kept quiet long enough, the mercs would talk themselves out of the attack. Seems like I’ve made them wary of me. That felt like an accomplishment.

The other man went on, “And they took out our Peacemaker. That was supposed to be our free pass to burn this place down. Unless you want all of us to die, maybe we should scour the facility for more of them.”

“They’ll burn the armor off us again,” someone else said. “And there are no more replacements on the transport. I’m not fighting these savages in my shirtsleeves.”

“I still can’t breathe right from whatever they put in those grenades.” To Dred’s ears, the soldier sounded worried. “The medical droid can’t fix it, either.”

There was a silence, as if Vost was weighing the best course of action. To goad him, Dred called, “I’m getting bored in here. Are you coming to play with me or not?”

Vost shouted back, “Another time. This was just a trial run. The next time, I’ll bring special gifts to remember me by.”

Shit. If he finds and recovers more Peacemaker units, we’re done. Ours is just about busted, and I don’t know if anyone can fix it with Ike gone.

For the sake of those who had her back, Dred infused her tone with more confidence than she felt. “Things haven’t turned out like you expected, have they, Vost? I guarantee that will continue. In fact, it’ll only get worse. See, you’re fighting people with nothing to lose and a lifetime of experience at surviving despite all odds. Your men already want to go home. As more of them die, it’ll only get worse.”

Vost didn’t reply to her, but his voice buzzed with tension. “Move out.”

Dred lowered her head, resting her brow against the cool underside of the table. Footsteps sounded behind her, and she recognized Jael’s tread before his warm hand dropped to her shoulder. Can’t believe I held them off Dread Queen–style. She was too drained to feel like celebrating, however, because if the mercs had pushed, they would’ve found fifteen poorly equipped men and women, easily killed, easily overcome.

What the hell’s going to happen next time?