Task Force Mars - Kevin Dockery [86]
“Sorry, ma’am,” Ruiz replied. “But they look like the cavalry to me. They sure pulled our asses out of a sling back there.”
“That was purely accidental, I assure you. They are making an attack in force on Batuun, probably for the purpose of thievery, perhaps even to take captives as slaves.”
Jackson considered her assessment. He could see dozens of the attackers in their motley ships. A few were engaged in the freewheeling dogfight, and many more were swarming around the pyramid, directing fire against the massive structure and taking some nasty shots in return. In the space of a few seconds, the lieutenant saw three or four of the Assarn ships blasted out of the sky. Whatever kind of people they were, they had courage.
And they had numbers. Flying in pairs and larger groups, they continued to flash across the skies above Batuu City. The Eluoi were mounting a more concerted defense now, sending in wings of a dozen or more jetcars and larger aircraft. Contrails twisted and spiraled through the air in ornate patterns, and the roar of engines was frequently, if temporarily, overwhelmed by the blasts of explosions.
Clearly, the center of government was the primary target. Rockets rained down on the pyramid, and one by one the batteries on the sides of the massive structure were knocked out. Smoke billowed from many of the impacts until the mountainous building was obscured like a peak buried in a storm cloud. Massive blasts tore great chunks of stone and steel out of the thick sides of the massive structure.
“We going to move out on foot, LT?” Ruiz asked.
“I’m thinking about that,” Jackson replied. “Doesn’t look like we could salvage any of these wrecks, does it?”
Indeed, there were more than a dozen Eluoi jetcars scattered around the huge field, but every one of them was a complete wreck. Some were still burning, and the ones that weren’t actively aflame were already charred, blackened hulks.
“No, sir. But I don’t like the thought of crossing three kilometers of open ground just to get to that line of buildings.”
“I hear you, Chief. At the very least, I think we should stay put here until nightfall. The men could use a break.” He saw that the sun, with agonizing slowness, was still creeping gradually down to the west. In disgust, he estimated that they had been in daylight for some thirty hours.
For another hour they continued to watch the air battle from the shelter of the grove. The Eluoi were clearly gaining the upper hand as they massed their ships in larger and larger formations, a dozen or more of them swarming around each pair of Assarn attackers.
Still, the “brutal, violent savages” continued to give a good account of themselves. The SEALS saw two Assarn ships weaving back and forth, each covering his wingman, as the Eluoi jets tried to line up a killing shot. Finally, one of the intruders was hit by a volley of missiles and disappeared in an explosion. The second Assarn dived away, with the Eluoi in pursuit. Flying low, the target of all that attention skimmed over the rims of the buildings flanking the large park and then dived almost to ground level.
Rockets flew toward it, but the pilot maneuvered frantically and the shots all missed, many of them plunging into the ground to erupt in geysers of dirt and grass. The Assarn flew toward the grove, then banked sharply, using the pyres of smoke from the wrecked jetcars as cover. Wheeling through a tight semicircle, he came out shooting, picking off one of his pursuers with a blast that shattered the cockpit windows and dropped the jetcar like a pigeon hit by a blast of birdshot.
Amid the unique and varied shapes and colors of the Assarn ships, this one looked strangely familiar. Jackson noted the twin forward-firing barrels and the now-empty rocket launchers under the short wings. Shaped like an old X-15 test rocket he’d seen only in pictures, the fighter seemed to have incredible maneuvering powers; they all stared as it almost came to a halt in the air, then pivoted to pursue a trio of jetcars they dived past it. With one snap shot from the coaxial guns,