He came back to reality when the CO touched him on the shoulder. Both of his pistols were smoking, both were locked back and there were eight dead Demons in the compartment. One was right at his feet. It had been shot three times in the back.
“Hey, I’m pretty sure I got one,” the COB said. “Two rounds in the side.”
“Yeah, I think that’s yours,” the CO said. “The rest appear to be PFC Berg’s here. You can put the guns down, now, son.”
Berg automatically holstered the right, reloaded, holstered the left and reloaded the right.
“Compartment is clear of threat, sir,” Sergeant Jaenisch reported. “Two-Gun, you okay?”
“Fine,” Berg said, suddenly shaking his head. “What just happened?”
31
“This is unusual,” the queen said, looking at the three armored suits. Weaver had explained to Miriam that with the report from the Vorpal Blade, she could get in her suit or she could stay in the barracks and he would try to explain what was happening through pantomime.
“Your Majesty,” Weaver said. “We have a report of a Demon breakout that has attacked our ship. It has lifted to avoid further attack, but Lady Che-chee’s manor is under assault. We intend to support her, but at this time we need to expect—”
There was a scream in the distance and the guards on the door of the audience room shifted stance.
“Commander Weaver, Marine One. Three-Charlie reports Demon breakout near the main entrance of the palace. They’re coming up through a hole in the ground.”
“Roger,” Weaver said. Over his external pickups he could hear the fighting spreading. “Your Majesty, if there is a more secure spot…”
“Your Majesty!” General Chuk-tuk said, coming through the doors on a board. “You need to retreat! The Demons are here!”
“I will do no such thing,” the queen said, rising to her full two meters of height. “Bring my armor!”
“No time, Your Majesty,” Chuk-tuk said, just as one of the low-slung beasts came through the door.
“BACK!” Miller boomed, cycling his Gatling gun.
7.62 mm fire from the M-10s might have bounced off, but the laserlike fire from the Gatling gun spun the creature around and splashed it across the doors as mush.
Weaver cycled on his own and the two strode forward, covering the door as the ceremonial guards clustered around the throne.
“That was a small group,” Miller said as they finished off the Demons. “Where are the rest? And where is this tunnel?”
“They zero in on electromagnetism,” Miriam said. “Which means we were probably the targets. The only other source is the barracks and the science arboretum next to it.”
“Uh, oh,” Weaver said. “Marine One…”
“We’re rather busy at the moment, Commander,” Captain MacDonald said calmly. “The Demons seem rather bent on entering our quarters.”
“They zero in on electromagnetism,” Weaver said. “The suits are primary targets.”
“Well, then you’d better get away, hadn’t you?” MacDonald said.
“What about you?”
“Don’t think that’s an option at the moment…”
“Die behanchods!” Lance Corporal Clay said, plastering the hole with cannon fire.
The problem was, the Demons just kept coming. Already they’d broken through in two more places, digging around the initial hole. And there didn’t seem to be any end to them. They were piled up around the holes like dead ants at a poisoned hive. When the hole got blocked they’d dig through their own dead or dig around.
“Poison,” Clay said. “There’s an idea. Next time, we need VX.”
“Claymores,” PFC Jonathan Smith said. “Grapping artillery.”
“Air support,” Staff Sergeant Rocco said. “Grapp. Gunny Hedger. Doesn’t the ship have lasers?”
“Got one, Mother!” Cha-chai called, swooping up to avoid the bouncing Demons.
“Bloody good, Son!” Lady Che-chee called. The Demons had stopped coming out of the hole once the ship was gone, but quite a few remained on her lawn. “Time to refresh our weapons, boy!”
“Mother?” Cha-chai called as he swept past where the retainers were holding spears up for the warriors. “Why is the lawn smoking?”
Lady Che-chee was wondering that herself. It was a small patch and it looked as if a volcano had started on her lawn. More of those damned Demons?
“Wait,” she said, holding up her hand as the smoking spot suddenly swept to the side, cutting one of the Demons in half. It appeared to pause again then, suddenly, all the Demons were severed, many of them into pieces.
“What just happened?” Cha-chai asked.
“I think we just saw a demonstration of our friends’ weapons,” Lady Che-chee said. She was impressed less by the power than the precision. There were narrow lines of burned grass across the entire lawn. And they were perfectly spaced.
“Right,” the CO said, satisfaction in his voice. “Head for the palace.”
“Dr. Beach, you need to get to the upper floors,” Gunnery Sergeant Hedger said. “These things are digging up through the ground. They could break in here at any time.”
“Very well,” Dr. Beach said. The stairs were wide enough, and sturdy enough, for his armor. The Marines had made the climb. But it looked… difficult. “I’ll just head up then, shall I?”
“If you please, sir,” the gunny said.
“Digging up through the floors?” Dr. Beach said, putting his foot on the stair, gingerly. “That’s interesting.”
“Yes, sir,” Gunny Hedger said. “If you could possibly hurry, sir.”
“Digging… digging,” Beach muttered, taking cautious steps. “Digging… mining!”
“Yes, sir, I suppose it could be called…”
“No!” Beach said. “That’s it! The seismic readings! They were mining indicators!”
“Is this really important, because…”
The gunny had stayed down in the lab, to cover the scientist’s retreat. So he saw the head of the Demon pop through the floor immediately.
“Dr. Beach, if you would please run now?”
“What?” Beach said, turning to look and sliding to the side. “Aaaaah!”
“Maulk!” Gunny Hedger snapped. “Dr. Beach!”
The Demons popped up through a half dozen holes and swarmed the scrabbling armor.
“It’s important!” the scientist screamed. “Tell Runner! The readings! Aaaaagh!”
“Grapp,” Hedger said, backing up the stairs and filling the room with lead. “We have breakthrough in the basement! Dr. Beach is KIA!”
“…Demons have broken through in the basement,” Captain MacDonald said. “They’ve also breached the lower doors. We’ve three KIA, including Dr. Beach.”
“Hang on,” Spectre said. “We’ll be overhead in ninety seconds. We’ll clear the courtyard then exit the building and we’ll deal with the Demons in there.”
“Roger, sir,” MacDonald said. “I’m sure we can hold ninety seconds…”
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Sergeant Samson said, firing down the stairs at the wave of Demons scrabbling up it. “You want some?”
The Gatling fire smashed the Demons to the side, spinning them to where their more vulnerable flank was exposed, then blasting them apart. But more and more were pouring up the stairs, climbing over the bodies of their dead.