While Kat held the door, Bri and Biloxi set the weapon in place, Pauly hacked into Earther communications, and Hinks did his best to play medic.
More than a few people had taken shrapnel from the walls and stairs and they were already low on nano kits.
The only thing they talked about was defense. They had enough weapons that they might be able to defend the tower which meant there was a chance they could holdout long enough to rescue everyone who had made it to the top.
But for how long?
“They know we’re here,” Pauly looked at Bri. He listened to the chatter over his comm.
Bri didn’t rush him. She had a feeling the news wasn’t good.
If Andrews’ theory was right, the frigate that had shown up at Kilter Field was alone. They had dropped crates, but they obviously hadn’t expected resistance because there was no armor on the ground, only marines. Lots of heavily armed marines.
“Autocannon,” Pauly pointed to the west.
Bri ran to the window. Three Earther marines were just beginning to setup the automated turret. “Biloxi?” Bri pulled her rifle over her shoulder. There wasn’t time for anything else. She could taste the fear. A few more seconds and the gun would be tearing the top floor of the tower apart. It wasn’t a weapon that could take a building down, but it would claw the front wall off.
The diagnostics flashed across her weapon and she locked onto the first marine. He was carrying one side of the weapon’s generator, slowly walking backward. She took a quick breath and watched him fly ten yards before crashing to the ground. She swung the rifle to the right and heard the Broadrail fire.
In the time it takes to blink, both marines and the autocannon became a bright blue explosion of twisting lightning, dust, and smoke.
“That did it,” Pauly said.
Bri moved back from the windows. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. The windows absorbed a handful of rounds before they cracked and fell away. People screamed and Burster fire pelted the ceiling.
“They’re ordering artillery.”
Bri looked over at Pauly. When their eyes met, they both understood the question, but Pauly only shook his head. There was nothing on the feed about reinforcements. There was no one coming to save them.
“Another one!” 62’s sweeper, a young man with an angry looking scrape across his cheek pointed out the window. His left arm was in tatters, the exo that had been connected to the back of his arm, elbow, and wrist, hung down like Spanish moss.
Bri ran across the room and looked. Her visor synced and she saw three soldiers struggling with the massive autocannon. She dropped to her stomach and took a breath. She wanted to think. Her arm reached back for her weapon, her suit integrated as she glanced through the optics.
They didn’t have much time. The room was filled with civilians, moms and sisters and daughters.
Bri squeezed the trigger and the marine’s chest plate crumpled and he flew back into a wall.
There were seven of them left, mostly 62’s, and the world below looked like a sea of marines. How long could Kat really hold the door? How long before their ship dropped armor? They were going to die in fire.
It was barely a motion, the movement it took to shift the rifle to the next marine. As soon as the optics flashed, she pulled the trigger and moved to the next.
The autocannon fell to its side.
More Burster fire tore into the top of the tower. The gentle curves of metal that had held the windows in place were riddled with holes and shredded. The sound was deafening, even with visors and auditory implants.
She looked over her shoulder and saw a little girl cover her ears, squeeze her eyes shut like she could disappear if she really tried, and scream in terror.