Warsong (Hunter-Killer #2)

Chapter 14 - Off the Beaten Tracks

The centre of the human line concentrated their heaviest weapons and best troops, with Major De Lunta and the vaunted HK-Warlock at the tip of the sphere. Other hardened Brekkan units anchored chunks of the line, and behind a wall of Hunter-Killers the earth-cracking firepower of the northern armour rumbled onwards.

He suddenly wished he was there, in the main battle line alongside other Brekkan Hunter-Killers. HK-Rupture had earned their reputation in front line combat, not tiptoeing around on guard duty. Ryke flexed his metal jaw, allowing a moment of frustration to come bubbling to the fore. Orders were orders.

"SC-21 – Lockjaw," came Brackenshaw's sudden call over the comm link. He jerked upright in his cradle.

"Go ahead, SC-21."

"We've picked up a little something on the long-range seismics. Something odd."

Ryke raised an eyebrow. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Readings are consistent with a Scraegan pack, but they're waaay off the tracks. They're nearly twenty clicks west of us, nowhere near the combat zone."

Ryke's HUD pinged as Brackenshaw linked him her long-range readings. Not that he doubted her. She'd already proved her worth several times over in this campaign alone. He examined the readings nonetheless and quickly saw why the Scout Sergeant was confused. The reading matched up with what they might expect from a Scraegan pack moving fast underground, but from the seismics it looked to only be a small group, ten to twenty at the most.

"Do we have any targets in that sector?"

"Negative," she replied. "I've checked, there's nothing out there. No towns, no reported Scraegan bases. But they wouldn't be out there if they didn't have a reason."

He nodded. "Think it's worth checking out?"

"We're out here to keep our flanks secure. I don't like the idea of even a small pack sneaking around out there. They've already proved they're a cagey bunch of bastards."

"Your call, ma'am," Ryke said, shrugging. "You want us to go take a look?"

"Thanks for volunteering," Brackenshaw chuckled. "Head out there – see what they're up to. I don't need any heroics today, but whatever they're doing, put a stop to it."

"Understood."

"Boxley and Kalashnik, you're on advance guard duty. Form your skiffs up with HK-Rupture."

The two scout platoon commanders sent their acknowledgements through, and the next moment a pair of skiffs swung out of line, engines flaring as they accelerated.

"HK-Rupture, form up, standard skirmish line," he ordered, loping out of the main formation. The mechs of HK-Praxis spread out to fill the gaps alongside the more mobile armoured vehicles of Gaul's armoured brigade. On the HUD he watched his pilots execute their deployment.

Two weeks ago, he could have given that order with his eyes shut, but now with a trio of replacements, Ryke couldn't stop himself from watching every simple manoeuvre.

As it turned out, he had nothing to worry about. The new Raptor pilot, Ricardo, mirrored Kim 'Haunter' Lassange as they kicked out to the left and right to guard the flanks. The Riot mechs filled out to either side of him, Carpenter and Qadira locking into their assigned positions in amongst their experienced counterparts. Brigg and Brody thumped along behind them, shoulder cannons scanning for threats.