Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [203]
Jan Covitz transmitted again. “Hey, you’re starting to make me nervous here. Is something wrong with your comm systems? According to my written formal procedures, I’m supposed to sound an alarm if something like this happens, and you don’t want me to do that. Come on, can you give me some sign that you’re hearing this?”
“At least give them a chance,” DD pleaded. “Send them a message.”
“They will understand our message well enough.” Sirix turned to the Soldier compies at the Juggernaut’s tactical stations. The battleships soared forward; the first colony buildings were visible up ahead, clearly centered in the crosshairs of the EDF targeting systems.
“Open fire. Begin total bombardment.”
Chapter 103 — ORLI COVITZ
Before Orli could make her way out of the hidden cave in the cliffs, the roar of approaching battleships echoed like cannon shots through the canyon. The EDF Mantas and Juggernaut came in so fast that they trailed sonic booms behind them.
When she heard the giant thrusters designed for propelling a ship through empty space rather than thick atmosphere, Orli hurried to the crack and poked her head outside to see what was happening. Below, the sheer vertical cliff dropped off, dotted with random crystal blocks. Dizzy, she caught herself, held on to the half-melted edge of the cave opening, and stared.
The EDF battleships charged down the funnel of the canyon like a pack of rabid animals. But the vessels slowed as they approached the human settlement in the Klikiss ruins—slowed in order to begin their attack. Orli wondered if they were staging some sort of military parade or air show. She had never been much of a military buff, but she did identify the battleship designs of the Earth Defense Forces. It didn’t occur to her to be worried. These were, after all, the human armed forces whose mission was to protect and defend Hansa colonies.
The EDF craft opened fire.
Jazers lanced out from the bow weapons systems of the leading three Mantas. The bolts were like incandescent spears of lava that tore the open ground and turned it into a smoking glassy mass. Coming behind them, the Juggernaut shot explosive projectiles, specifically targeting Klikiss structures that had withstood erosion for ten thousand years—structures where the colonists had made their new homes.
Orli screamed as she watched the devastation. Her voice was swallowed up in the thunder of weapons fire, and she was too far away from the settlement to help. When her throat was raw, she clamped her lips shut and continued to scream inside, knowing there was nothing she could do.
Below in the settlement, the colonists panicked. Many had been outside tending garden plots or serving on construction crews to erect new buildings separate from the Klikiss ruins. After the battleship marauders swept past for the first time, all the ancient structures were engulfed in a flood of fire.
The leading Manta reached the end of the narrow canyon, roared past the opening where Orli hid, then swooped up in a high-G ascent, pulling an acceleration greater than any human could withstand. The armored cruiser circled like a prehistoric bird of prey and came back for a second attack run. Jazers traced a deadly embroidery, incinerating the colorful prefab dwellings the Hansa had supplied for the initial colony setup.
Orli saw men and women flailing, surrounded by flames. Some dove into buildings hoping to find shelter. Others, their clothes and hair on fire, fled screaming until they fell smoldering to the ground.
Her father was down there somewhere.
With hot tears streaming down her face, Orli leaned out of the cave opening again and looked at the long way down. She’d climbed up here by hauling herself from one alum crystal to another, not realizing how far above the ground she was…and how long it would take her to get back to the valley floor. She’d need an hour or more to get her feet on solid ground again; the colony would be nothing but ashes by the time she got there. And if she climbed down the cliff now, Orli would be desperately exposed