Chapter 10

With the real possibility of being ordered to hold our position Whisky got a little more aggressive.

"Capt. Lets not die with any slugs left," I sent to Simmons.

"Light 'em up," came Simmons over the Company channel.

A few Marines replied with an 'Oorah' but most just got busy.

Our disciplined rate and fields of fire were opened up. Marines were dialing up the slug size and speed and burning ammo like it might be their last. We made sure our slugs were tearing through lizards and into the ranks behind. The lizards further back found themselves under sustained fire instead of sniping.

And it worked. It was not the best way to fight a protracted holding maneuver like this because ammo didn't grow on trees, but if you had to die let it be with an empty slug pack. The lizards were no longer coming in waves in a coordinated manner. Their discipline and control broke down and it was every lizard for itself for a while. Their effective advance stopped.

There was not a lot of chatter from Whisky. Everybody knew their job and no excited shouts of revenge or defiance filled the channels. There were only calls of grids and sectors of fire and the occasional "slugs," as a Marine gave notice that a slug pack needed swapping out so their fire would not be interrupted. The battlecomp noted the load left on each Marine's slug pack but in the middle of a firefight it was easier to just say 'slugs' than notice the alert on your display.

The Lizards though, did recover. Dragons moved up and took control. I sniped at them, but they kept their heads down. We could see a group of snailed gators moving up. It was some of their elite troops and once they were in the mix they got control. We were killing just as many but they were gaining ground again.

"Santiago told us to move when we needed to. We've been cut off from the unit," Amy said.

"Capt. Simmons. Let's get the fuck out of here now," I said getting ready to kick somebody in the ass if need be.

What he was waiting for was beyond my understanding. I think the guy had a fatalistic streak in him a little too big for my liking. Most officers did have a bit of fatalism, at least the ones who survived. It was a bit ironic but that is what I had noticed over the years.

"Oorah. Pick Sweeney. We'll follow," he said.

"Bumblebee," I said to Amy.

It did not look good. There was no weak area so I hastily looked for terrain that would work to our advantage. There was a stream and a tree line down a ways. Beyond that, were some rolling hills. That was our best bet.

"Whisky, we are leaving. Follow Sweeney and Lt. Swanson," Simmons ordered.

I jumped up and skipped off to the side. As I passed our lines I saw nothing to get my hopes up. Towards the rear I followed the rest of the unit's path then turned right. I could see the rest of Whisky on my trail. We were ignoring our rear for the most part. I was skipping on the double. The Lizards would not be able to pursue.

We focused on the front and worked to break out of the mass in front of us. My coilgun was firing at a high rate and we tossed grenades in advance to clear space. The Lizards were caught off guard.

I think they expected us to try and catch up with the rest of the unit. It was what I was hoping for. We moved in a loose formation and would let Lizards pass between us as we skipped along. It was an old tactic. The Lizards would end up hitting each other aiming for us. The pattern of each Marine's movement was random. We did not skip in straight lines.

At the double we were hard to hit, but Whisky was good at hitting them. The rear element dropped an occasional grenade set at proximity to keep them from feeling too confident at our six.

There were not too many Skinks in the sector after breaking through the front ranks. It was mostly unsnailed gators followed by snailed gators. A Marine caught a dart and his Armor blew when triggered by Simmons clearing our rear briefly. We had a few wounded but they were able to keep up.

The snailed up gators rushed in trying to block our escape. I turned us a little again and as they shifted in response I turned right back into them catching them off guard. It was a near thing. Whisky broke through in two spots. My charge into them opened up a hole, as other Lizards shifted to get in on the action, Simmons directed the trailing Marines through. They slowed their skips and fired to the rear finally clearing the way for us.

The tree line afforded us some concealment and we straightened our lines up and put more distance between us until the Lizards broke through the tree line.

We made for the hills at the double. It was always a bittersweet moment for me to be skipping in the lead with the illusion I was alone on a green world. I would sometimes imagine I was free, then kick myself and get back to the task at hand.

I was a distance away from the rest of the company, moving at my speed. Cresting the hill there were no signs of Lizard activity so I turned right and moved off putting a few more hills between us and the main Lizard body but heading in the same general direction as the rest of the Regiment.

"Sweeney, head to this point on the map. The regiment will meet us there," Simmons said giving me a grid point.

"Aye Aye Sir," I said.

"And good job getting us out of that cluster fuck," he said.

"It was my ass too," I said.

"And don't get too far ahead. Fuck you're fast," he said grumbling.

"Simmons reminded me to keep your ass from getting to far ahead," Amy said.

"He told me the same. I get a little carried away when I'm on a green world."

"It's the only way you get to be on one isn't it? On a drop?" Amy said realizing the answer when she asked. I could tell she was sorry she asked.

I didn't reply.

At the rally point I waited. Whisky was about a minute behind me. Santiago had broken free of the swarms chasing the Regiment. They would not give up though. Making resupply difficult they would try and wear us down.

Amy sent me the latest aerial surveillance and there were swarms coming at us from all directions. We had to fight. The only question was where. Nothing stood out to me as being preferable. My gut told me to turn the Regiment around and plow back through the Lizards trailing us. We at least knew that ground and the tunnels that ran through it should have been sealed if Santiago was following SOP.

"Sweeney. Anything to report there?" Santiago asked me.

"No Sir. What next?" I asked wanting him to bring it up.

"We run and gun of course," he said.

I waited.

"What?" he asked.

"Which direction sir?"

"Forward," he said.

I was silent again. A Private didn't tell a Colonel he was doing the wrong fucking thing without being asked. It was a good way to make sure the Colonel continued doing the wrong fucking thing.

"I gather you have a different idea," he said.

"Turn around," I said.

"The unit won't like that," he said.

"Fuck 'em. They're not paid to think," I said.

He chuckled at that.

"Tell me why, quickly," he said.

"We know the ground. Tunnels sealed. Skinks in the rear of the swarms. It will goad the gators. Dragons will get confused," I said knowing he would fill in the blanks from there.

He didn't reply but the rest of Whisky showed up and set up a perimeter.

"You know, if I had a company of people with your abilities in Armor I think we would just roam around killing whatever we found with near impunity," Amy told me.

"Hi, back at you sexy," I said as she stopped near me.

With no quick reply I knew I had got her. That was my intent. I thought she was sexy of course, but I wanted to derail her line of thought. It would not go anyplace constructive.