Furnace (Hunter-Killer #1)

Chapter 34 - Only Human

The siege ground on into its fifth day, and with every rise and fall of Rychter's twin suns more bodies piled up on the war torn plateau.

While not all the deep-strike mines had been detonated, the explosions on that fateful day had created new corridors, forcing Scraegan attack packs to advance along tighter fronts where the depleted wall gunners could concentrate their fire more effectively. The Scraegans also now seemed to be approaching the battle more cautiously after the horrendous casualties caused by the mine blasts.

Even they had their limits.

Nonetheless several more of the Scraegan demolition charges had finally reached the walls, despite the losses being inflicted on the attackers, and the battle for Brekka had turned into a desperate, scrambling defence from the human forces.

Hunter-Killer squadrons raced from breach to breach to shore up the vulnerable positions, and anywhere they couldn't be, the Brekkan militias and Scout Cadre soldiers sacrificed their bodies to hold the line. Evacuated civilian structures were now infested with sharpshooter teams that harried any enemy force trying to advance through the city streets, forcing the Scraegans to dig their way through the outer districts of Brekka building by building.

Houses and commercial buildings were reduced to molten rubble by the attackers. Other structures were deliberately demolished to form makeshift barricades to further slow the Scraegan push. A thick haze of gunsmoke and dust formed over the city outskirts as the conflict continued to rage.

Ryke and the members of HK-Rupture were right in the middle of it.

He thundered through the streets with Thaye and Preese flanking him in an arrowhead formation, fresh from another concentrated brawl to beat back a Scraegan advance on one of the northern district breaches. Out in front the Raptors piloted by Scantlin and Kim raced ahead through their next assigned sector as they rushed to bolster yet another ailing defensive position.

With the carnage that had been wrought on the Hunter-Killer squadrons surviving pilots were forced to shuffle around, with units being carved up or amalgamated together to form full strength companies. HK-Rupture was no exception. Koral had finally been cleared by the medics to return to her Riot mech, and the veteran Norville had taken over piloting a second Goliath for the squad to provide the hitting power they desperately needed. The final role was filled by Vaughn 'Smokes' Hotchkins, an pilot in his mid-twenties with several tours under his belt, whose original unit had been almost annihilated protecting the main gates of Brekka two days before.

There wasn't time to dwell on the worries of his integration with the others. Ryke needed enough bodies to do his job and now he had them. Smoke swirled through the buildings in the direction of their target zone, picked out by blinking indicators on his HUD and a moment later a confirmation from Scantlin pinged through his earpiece.

"Haze – Lockjaw. Breach is an all out shit-storm right now, boss."

"Copy that." Ryke flicked his gaze across the Hunter-Killer readouts again, double checking everything before they met the Scraegan force. The patch jobs were holding; indicators in the green. "Haze, Haunter, pull back to us. All units weapons hot – standard urban combat deployments. We have friendly forces fighting in the area so be careful what you're shooting at."

Acknowledgements filtered through from his squad mates and he spun up his cannon, loosening his warblade in preparation as on the HUD the Hunter-Killer unit moved into formation. The auditory filters began picking out the thunder of furnace cannon shots mixed with the sporadic crackling of rifle fire from the militia troops.

A few seconds later he could see them too.

The breach in the wall was comparatively narrow, but all it had taken was a small Scraegan force to bludgeon themselves a beachhead to allow the enemy packs to spill into the city itself. The broad street in front of him was thick with gunsmoke and flames, littered with gutted vehicles and bodies. The windows of intact structures strobed with gunfire and at the far and he could see the Scraegans, their dark shapes advancing in swift, surging motions.