Eagle X, Mission 20: Quantum Bonds(Editing)

Part 3: Liam

He carried Lance over his shoulder, the pain in his back a raking tearing thing which threatened to sap what little energy he had left.  All around them the facility collapsed under the assault of the constant bombardment.  Liam had chosen the building because it provided the best coverage, but the structure proved useless against the enemy ordinance.  Their refuge would soon be their tomb.

He kicked open the door marked NEXUS and put his brother down.  The facility was still under construction, the Core AI not yet installed.  The room would be the sturdiest in the building and vacant.  Lance mumbled something, but Liam couldn't hear it over the rumbling of another artillery shell.  Liam took his brother's rifle, and his extra clips.

"Don't worry, Little Brother.  You wait here, I'll get us out of this."

Spider ran from that room, through the structure, and out into the war zone.  Their unit lay in shambles, body parts scattered like a mad child's bloody toys.  The stink of it was enough to make one violently ill, the sight enough to break a sane mind.  Liam blocked it all out, survival depended on it.

He ran through the wreck and ruin as the BEAR-class BACK pulverized the old city.  The first group of enemy soldiers didn't notice his approach until it was to late.  He delivered swift death and moved on.  By the time he reached the BEAR he was covered in blood, equal parts his enemy's and his own.

He had two grenades which he knew were useless against the walking tank's armored plating.  However Liam knew a thing or two about BACK pilot tactics.  The machine could fire its heavy weaponry on the go, but the generated heat would quickly disable the firing system.  A competent BEAR pilot would anchor the walking tank and open up the cooling vents in order to support continuous fire.

Liam looked back at the smoking husk, once a colonial city, and readied himself mentally for his assault.  Failure would mean his brother's death, an outcome he couldn't accept.  Success might call for his own demise.  For Liam it was an acceptable risk.

The BACK's auxiliary we're waiting for him, but they weren't prepared for his tenacity.  He fought like a man with nothing to lose.  Liam reached his target, the central cooling column along the vehicle's center.  He primed his grenades, and threw them in.  Exhausted, he stumbled from under the tank and into the waiting enemy.  He laughed and put his hands up, mission accomplished.

The ensuing explosion leveled the city.  Liam watched in horror as all of his heroics were for naught.  It was all gone.  The colony, the unit, his brother, his brother, his brother.

My brother

MY brother

MY BROTHER!!!

Liam sat up from his dream in a cold sweat.  His heart raced as he sucked in quick ragged breaths.  The cool room air sent a chill up his spine, but the cold wasn't what made him shiver.  Liam stared at the door on the other side of the room, but what he was seeing was Dachshund Colony.

"You alright?"

Liam shook his head.  He wasn't alright, hadn't been for quite some time.  He took a deep breath, and for a moment he could still smell the ash from the burning city.

"Another nightmare then?"  Patricia moved closer, the bed shifting under her weight.  She put an arm around his waist and rested her head against his back.  "You smell like a chemical fire."  She released him and moved around to lay across his lap.

"You smell it too?"  Liam ran his fingers across her scalp eliciting a gentle pur.

"It's the R.Nano reacting to your thoughts.  I haven't been able to isolate enough of the active strain to analyze, but the implied possibilities are endless."