POSTHUMAN

Chapter Thirteen

                                                                4th December 2111

"A week ago you apprehended a rebel. He is proving himself a most interesting fellow. At first he was determined to be true to the cause, something I admire. Then as time wore on, he spoke less, all of a sudden he sings like a canary! They didn't even torture him..." Clement wavered in the face of Marcus' disbelief, "All...that...much. Nevertheless, we have information on what may well be the last great attack the rebels can ever muster. In Haut-Katanga Province, Stanley wants you to go to Likasi and then to Lubumbashi. We anticipate the last push will happen soon."

        "I suppose we should get going," Marcus led the way to a waiting Pegasus. His helicopter rose swiftly, he could hear dozens of them departing headquarters. The sound was like the buzzing of gigantic hornets, a deafening chorus of mechanical whirring. Not just Pegasus, but huge Atlas heavy-lift helicopters, capable of lugging a tank in the air for quite some time and ferrying just over 50 troops though not at the same time: limitations exist. A sea of undulating shadow passed over Kinshasa, to join the steel swarm that crossed the nation.

Their helicopter pulled sharply up, its dual cannons disintegrated an incoming rocket, a targeting computer seized momentary control from the co-pilot to make sure that pesky human capacity for error was removed. The Pegasus swung back into a comfortable position, before it approached the ground. As they descended, Marcus took in the view. Armoured vehicles poured into Likasi and scores of helicopters deposited passengers on the outskirts of the town. Platoons sprinted from Atlas helicopters; some boarded the mess of trucks and carriers clustered near landing zones. He watched all this through a dusty haze thrown up in part by the surge of activity but which was largely the work of warm winds which brought no respite from the African heat.

        Clement nudged Marcus, he stood outside the helicopter, battle rifle at the ready. Marcus nodded then hopped out of the helicopter, it hovered a foot or so above the ground. It wouldn't land, a Pegasus needed to be right in the thick of the fighting, where its guns could be put to proper use. The high-pitched whine that accompanied rapidly firing rotary cannons was a definite, if distant, component in the sublime dissonance of war. Marcus suddenly stopped after walking only a few metres from the helicopter, Clement glared at him.

        "You take Likasi, I'll head to Lubumbashi," was all Marcus offered Clement as he hopped back into the helicopter and flew off towards the south-west. Clement sighed so heavily he could rival any angst-ridden adolescent.

        Marcus stepped out of the Pegasus and watched it soar into the air. A rocket zoomed up after the helicopter and blew apart its tail rotor; Marcus was showered with burning metal. He quickly cleared the area where the ruined helicopter would come down. The colonel leapt and tucked to put space between him and the violently exploding aircraft, a blade from the main rotor sailed perilously close.

        Congratulatory remarks punctuated the air, cutting into the crackling fire of the helicopter's wreckage. He knew for a fact that Clement would have bemoaned the loss of an expensive asset.

        He searched through the chaotic, frenzied streets, intent on locating the rebels in charge; finding the serpent whose head needed removing. The trouble was that in anybody's book Lubumbashi was a big place, so the usual trekking about until some important-looking extremists miraculously appeared wouldn't work. A mortar exploded not too far from Marcus, blasting a car into tiny pieces of burning debris, he blinked hard. Learning to cope with your environment being violently destroyed came with the territory. Danger was a natural part of the job – he happened so quickly upon a thought that Marcus very much expected a light bulb to have switched on over his head. What he did next was up there as one of the top five stupidest actions of his life; he prayed his friends responded more swiftly than his foes.