Furnace (Hunter-Killer #1)

Chapter 12 - Make a Stand

For what felt like an age Ryke and his companions played a game of destructive cat and mouse with the Scraegans, occasionally rushing into brief melees with isolated units, before breaking away to avoid the collapsing pack that threatened to descend on them any moment. They dragged snaking columns of enemies through narrow alley, bringing buildings crashing down to trap and delay groups of two or three at a time. Furnace cannon blasts hunted them every step of the way, tearing up streets and vaporising walls as they fought their dogged holding action.

His right hand ached with the constant recoil of the cannon, sweat pouring down his face from the exertion of fighting in Rychter's heat. Whole buildings vanished around them as the Scraegans tried in vain to pin down the small group of mechs that still fought. Through the mayhem small groups of desperate citizens surged for safety while the invaders were occupied, forming a steady trickle of displaced humanity.

Ryke checked his clock. Ten minutes still to delay.

"Ryke, cannon's low," Thaye told him, her voice hoarse and rasping. Her fearlessness stunned him and her mech had been in the thick of the fighting for every second of the battle, but it was taking its toll. The muzzle of her cannon glowed red from the heat, and the armour of her mech was scarred, scorched and dented in dozens of places. "We can't keep this up much longer."

"We have to try. We'll take them through that alley there and choke-,"

A bloodcurdling scream cut off his order, piercing his hearing loudly enough to make him wince. Anxiety clawed at him as he zoomed out the HUD, just in time to see a signal from the other squadron sputter and die. His heart slammed into his stomach when he realised it was Green Six – Vela.

"Vela, do you copy?!" he blurted helplessly, knowing it was too late.

"She's down, she's down! Riverlords damn them I-," A grinding creak and an explosion ripped over their comms and a second signal from the other squadron winked out. For a moment he could only stare at the HUD.

"Ryke, we're pulling back," the panicked voice of Preese sounded a few seconds later. "There's too many. Vela and Laquen... they, they..."

"Get out of there," Ryke growled through gritted teeth, fury boiling inside him once more. "Rendezvous at grid ref D12 – the main transit artery. We'll consolidate there and dig in – hold them as long as we can."

"Copy... copy that."

The others in his squadron heard the order and were already moving, Jarrko's Raptor out in front, a nimble sprinter by comparison to the rest of them, with Thaye following behind. Brigg clumped along in their wake and Ryke remained at their rear, keeping a wary eye on the pursuing Scraegans who continued to wreak havoc in the town.

Making their way through abandoned streets and burnt out buildings, the four battle mechs emerged into the smoke wreathed highway of Alldeep's main transit artery, its structure clogged with a steadily moving mass of fleeing civilians. His gut twisted. They were moving too slowly.

"Pick it up, people!" he barked, increasing his pace, driving his mech onward, its mechanisms groaning with the effort. On the HUD the structural integrity of the outer armour remained intact, having withstood the worst of the Scraegan attacks, but half a dozen amber warnings blinked insistently with non-critical damage reports. The battle was taking its toll on his machine.

"Contact!" he heard Jarrko holler. "Right flank in the buildings!"

Ryke turned to face the new threat and his eyes widened at the sight of no less than ten Scraegans crashing through the side streets towards them, cannons snarling with deadly energies. In an instant he cranked up the volume on the Hunter-Killer's outer speakers, ensuring that the nearby citizens of Alldeep would hear him over the sound of battle.