Follow the Leader

A beleaguered team of colonial soldiers struggles to evacuate a planetary governor from the middle of a warzone.

Another explosion rocked Irbit’s capitol building. Corporal Ailen Walsh sheltered in place inside the stairwell as chunks of debris bounced off his helmet. He checked the ammunition counter on his rifle. They’d killed half a dozen Insurrectionists fighting their way into the building and then another dozen or so dragging Governor Hailstrom out of her office. From the status reports filtering in over the radio, Ailen had a feeling there’d be more rebels between his squad and the extraction zone on the roof.

“Keep it moving!” Medina ordered. The burly staff sergeant pushed past Ailen and swept her rifle up over the stairwell. “The window on that evac Pelican is closing fast!”

The rest of the squad filed onto the stairs. The small, nervous figure of Governor Angelica Hailstrom was walled in by nearly half a dozen armored bodies. Aside from Staff Sergeant Medina, Ailen only recognized a handful of faces. They’d lost too many people on the streets outside, replenishing their fallen only with stragglers from other platoons. Things must be a mess all over the city if there were this many soldiers cut off from their units. Ailen could hardly believe how heavily the attack had come. How could the Insurrection mount an attack like this.

“Move it, Walsh!”

Ailen scrambled to his feet and joined the others in ushering the governor up the stairs. Just get to the evac zone. That was all they had to do and then they could hop on the dropship and get clear of this mess.

“Sergeant Medina!” he called up ahead. “I don’t think any of us have a clue how to get to the roof from here.”

“Well that won’t be a problem, Corporal,” she said over her shoulder. “I do. So stow the lip and just follow me!”

Ailen and the rest of the squad did just that. Their boots pounded up the stairs as they hurried to keep up with their squad leader. Governor Hailstrom stumbled on one landing and soon found herself carried between two burly privates.

A shout went up from the stairs ahead. Ailen’s training kicked in and he dropped prone as gunfire erupted from down the corridor. Two men beside him weren’t fast enough and died instantly as a hail of bullets cut through their body armor. Someone screamed from behind. Ailen gritted his teeth and fired up at the rebel position. Somehow the bastards had managed to set up a makeshift barricade and mount a heavy machine gun behind overturned tables and bookshelves.

“Damn it!” Medina cursed, pushing herself to cover. “Walsh, get a grenade in that gun nest, now!”

He didn’t know exactly why she’d picked him for the duty. There was no time to argue. Ailen wrenched a grenade free and lobbed it at the rebel gun crew. It was a pathetic throw; he didn’t even rise from where he lay against the stairs. But somehow the explosive cleared the barricade and blasted the rebel position to pieces.

Medina raced forward and pushed through the smoldering corridor, pausing only to finish off a wounded rebel leaning against the wall. “Come on, let’s go!” she called back to the squad. “We’re almost there!”

“Almost there” turned out to be two more floors, all crawling with rebel kill teams. By the time the squad reached the rooftop they’d lost four more soldiers and nearly all their ammunition. Ailen dropped to his knees, panting and nursing the medigel pack slapped over the spot where a rebel bullet and punched through his arm. How long had they been fighting now? He wasn’t sure his body could keep any of this up.

“On your feet, Walsh! Pelican’s here!”

Sergeant Medina was right. A Pelican dropship swept in over the government building and pulled down to land. Ailen gasped with relief as its ramp lowered and disgorged a team of ODSTs. The dark-armored troopers moved to pull security as their commander—his armor marked by dobs of orange paint—waved the squad forward.

“Governor Hailstrom?” the commander asked in a muffled voice.

“Here, sir!” Sergeant Medina led the governor towards the Pelican. Ailen followed, his vision clouded by relief. Their mission was over. They could get out of here now.

The ODST commander rested a hand on the governor’s shoulder. He inspected her for a moment and gave a terse nod. Then he drew his sidearm and shot Medina through the head.

Ailen yelped in surprise. He fumbled with his rifle and then he was on his back, tearing up in pain. The ODST had shot him, too. Dark armored shapes moved across his swimming vision as the other ODSTs cut down the rest of his squad before anyone could react. Seconds later the only ones left standing on the roof were Governor Hailstrom and the treacherous ODSTs.

Hailstrom cowered in fear as the ODST commander approached. He tugged off his helmet, revealing a bearded man with a fierce expression. A patch covered his right eye. “Governor Hailstrom.”

“You—you’re Redmond Venter.”

“I am. You’ll be coming with us. Don’t struggle or it’ll go badly for you. I’ve lost too many people today as it is.”

“It doesn’t matter what you do to me. The Colonial Alliance has already lost.” Ailen struggled to hear the governor’s words. Everything was foggy, but he could dimly make out Medina’s body lying nearby. Her sidearm was still on her hip. If he could just reach it…

“We’ll see. I’m just here to bring you in.” The man named Venter signaled his troops. “Get her onboard. We’ve got a planet to secure here.”

Ailen almost had the pistol. Just a little closer and he’d…

The corporal’s blood ran cold as Venter turned to look directly at him. The bearded man didn’t hesitate. His gun came up and fired again. Ailen felt his body jerk, his vision going white.

The last thing his mind ever registered was relief that there was so little pain.