Suppressing Fire (Fern 001)

"Major!" I call, breaking from the thin cover of tangled flora, dodging laser fire and returning bursts of my own. I drop beside the CO, but incoming fire is wild - random. Hard to pinpoint their positions.

They don’t seem to share that problem.

"Sitrep, Gunny," the gray-haired man asks, terse as ever. Lured from retirement, but sharper than ever.

"I've got nothing, sir," I reply, just before Costa is caught behind a rock - his face slagged. Seconds later, Kincaid meets the same fate.

"They're making a statement, sir. We've been pinned - "

Laser fire rains down like I summoned it. We hit the ground. Carson isn't fast enough. Another melted face. Velasquez takes a glancing shot to the shoulder.

"Where are they?!" the Major barks over the din.

I fire toward the source but hit nothing. No silhouettes. No blood stains.

Scanning the terrain, I mutter, "Too much EM interference. This planet’s a mess."

"Psi?"

“Duck!” I yell, diving into the mud. The blast misses the Major by a centimeter.

“Gunny!” he shouts again.

I stretch out my awareness - difficult here - but something’s out there.

Someone.

Her.

She takes hold of me - psionically - slamming a psi blast through my defenses. My body whips back. I collapse.

…

"...Gunny..."

…What?

"I..."

Then - clarity. Incongruous. Violent.

“It’s her, sir.”

“You’re sure?”

I nod. “No one else it could be. And…”

“Spit it out.”

"Mindsift, sir. I’m sure.”

“I thought you were shielded.”

“Not against her,” I answer, noticing the abrupt silence. “Looks like they’ve stopped again.”

“They’re shifting positions - "

ZAAAAAAAAAAP!

The unmistakable scream of an AIG weapon.

BOOOOOOOOOM!
Explosive force, the blast and heat knock us back.

Then again. Both scouts - atomized.

“Firing antimatter in a rainforest,” the Major mutters, “is suicidal.”

“Apparently not for them.”

“Any idea where she is? Her capture is the mission.”

“She intends to kill us all,” I say. “That much came through. And she’ll savor it.”

“She’s welcome to try,” he replies. The platoon stares, rattled.

“You’re not getting paid by the hour!” I shout. “Fire at last known positions!”

Compression lasers slice into the foliage.

“Your sister would know how to handle this,” the Major says under his breath. “What would she do?”

Not being a multi-decorated war hero, I don’t know - but I remember her words:

"Be unpredictable."

“Right,” he says. “We take the fight to her - ”

“Begging the Major’s pardon, sir, but she’s expecting that.”

“I meant a flanking maneuver. You take Gamma, swing east with the heavies. I’ll lead the rest - ”

The rainforest erupts - small arms fire from all directions.

I sense movement just beyond visibility. Barking orders, we split and push forward -

In search of her.

* * *

“Still can’t reach Gamma, sir,” Corporal Dennison reports.

“Not surprising,” I say. “Stealth approach, keep moving.”

“We seem to have lost them.”

“Or they’ve engaged her.”

“She’s amazing,” Dennison says, a blush rising.

“Cut from the same mold as her sister,” I nod. “Ionescu DNA might be more valuable than the botanicals we’re here for.”

“Sir! Picking up a signal.”

“She broke through the interference. Put her through.”

A hologram shimmers into view. The platoon gathers.

“Commander Jansen,” the woman chuckles. Not the Gunny. “Apologies, but I’m at the northern polar cap annihilating your forces. Your plan has failed, but don’t worry - I’ll deal with you soon.”

“Triangulate that,” I order.

“Already did,” Dennison says. “No way a tightbeam connects from the pole. Coordinates are twenty klicks northeast - where the Gunny was headed.”
"Clearly she plans to misdirect us," I surmise. "Send us back to our shuttles and head for the pole."
"Very good, sir."
“She’s engaging the Gunny. This is a desperate move.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Double-time it,” I say. Denny flashes a wicked grin to match mine.

...

“Gunfire ahead,” Denny reports.

“Better ears than mine,” I smile. “How close?”

A few shots zip past us.

“Return fire!” I shout. The platoon responds - hungry for payback.

* * *

The rainforest falls silent.

No gunfire. No insect hum.

“I’d call that textbook,” mindspeaks Ellen, the telepathic tabby.

“Absolutely.”

“Luring them into splitting up, then letting them annihilate themselves - that was genius.”

“Always better when the enemy finishes the job for us,” I say.

“Fern will be yours, My Queen.”

“That’s the plan. Then the Confederacy.”

“You recruited?”

“I did,” I say, as two Confed soldiers step into the clearing.

A tall, imposing brunette - sister of the war hero. A sharp blonde - analytical. Both are under my psionic control. Perfect additions.

“Come, sisters,” I say, heading to the APC. “Join the winning side.”

Desire radiates from the blonde like a hot blue-white star. The brunette is guarded, but something smolders deep within.

I’ll cultivate that.

As I build my army of worshipful Amazons to crown me empress of the galaxy.