Merkiaari Wars: 02 - What Price Honour by Mark E. Cooper

adjusted the launcher’s targeting display.
    “Sometimes,” he agreed and killed another pair of men trying to set up a tripod mounted AAR behind the cover of a low wall.
    Gina found what she was looking for—a group of rebels that seemed to be directing the fighting. They were doing a passable job, and she didn’t like that. The rebels were amateurs, yet they had succeeded in keeping her head down and were advancing to a point where they would be ready to storm the building.
    “Time to take care of business,” she said and pressed the commit button on her display.
    A high-pitched beeping told her the rocket was locked on. She depressed the trigger. The rocket flew straight on target and detonated in the centre of the command group. A crater was blasted into the plaza and a nearby building collapsed with a thunderous roar. Collateral damage was extremely heavy, she noted with approval. Rebels were dead on all sides, and those not wounded were attempting to retreat.
    “Load me,” she said and Eric did.
    Gina targeted another group and fired. She didn’t kill many, but the explosion added to the chaos she had generated by taking out the leaders. Eric loaded her again as rockets began launching from the upper floors. She had hoped, but not counted on it. Stein had wanted damage kept to a minimum, but there had been no word from him since the battle began. By using her rockets, she had likely opened herself to criticism, but better that than her people dead. She launched one more rocket then discarded the rig in favour of her pulser.
    Gina tongued a control in her helmet and selected communications. “Eagle One to any surviving officer, come in.”
    “Eagle One, Red… Red One…” a halting voice came over the comm. “I’m hurt bad. Stein is down… don’t know if he’s alive.”
    “Orders, sir?” she said intently. “Orders, sir!”
    “Orders?” Lieutenant Strong said vaguely. “Kill them all,” he whispered. “…out and kill them all…”
    “Red One? Lieutenant?”
    “Eagle One, Blue One,” Sergeant Denton said. There were screams and shouting in the background.
    Gina ducked as one of the rebels targeted her. Eric glared and killed him before she could even take aim. “Blue One Eagle One, go.”
    “Stein is down, unconscious. Strong is dead. What are we doing?”
    How the hell should she know?
    “What about Captain Noble and the others?” she asked and fired a burst out the shattered windows.
    “Dead.”
    “Lieutenant Goldman?”
    “Dead too. They’re all out of it, Gina. The rebels got lucky. They were on the way back to their units when Charlie Company got hit.”
    “Wake up Stein,” Gina said and ducked as rebel fire hit her position again and showered her with plascrete fragments. Something was burning nearby, but she didn’t have time to worry about it.
    “I’ve tried. No go. You’re senior to me, what are we doing?”
    “We’re following Strong’s last order.” She switched her comm to battalion wide before she could change her mind. “Alpha and Bravo Companies move in pursuit of the rebels by squads. Charlie Company will hold here and see to the wounded.”
    “Blue One copies.”
    “Green Two, moving out.”
    “Copy that, we’re moving.”
    “…One copies.”
    “…Three, on our way.”
    “…Two, on our way…”
    Gina listened only absently to the acknowledgements as they came in. She was too busy to answer or pay very much attention. She had no doubt her order would be followed. They were Marines.
    Gina waved her people forward giving them covering fire until they could find good firing positions of their own. Eric was by her side as she ran in a crouch across the plaza toward a doorway. Using it as cover, Eric fired from one knee while she stood above him and took pot shots at what was left of the rebels.
    She fired and took down a rebel attempting to retreat. She noted others pulling back in the same direction. Her thoughts raced as she realised they were