The Red Frontier: Wrath of the Vanquished

Chapter 40: The Enemy of My Enemy...

Speeding into cover just as he felt the shriek of an autocannon shell speed past his head, missing him by literal inches, Marcus landed behind a building. Looking up, he saw the remainder of the Orbital Commandos 5th Company standing with him, clutching their SMG's close to them. Of those who Marcus hadn't sent to deal with the snipers, only twelve remained. Also, the Xan-Klar Knights towered over him, their shadows bathing the area in darkness.

"You okay, Marcus?" he heard a female voice say his name and recognised it as Jennifer.

Marcus nodded. "I'm fine, Jenn," he replied, looking at those who stood next to Captain Sakong. His men all opened their helmets' faceplates, revealing faces he recognised. Ichiro, Arjun, Elizabeth and others who had survived the attack. As Jennifer's helmet opened, Marcus' eyes were drawn by a glint of red in the sunlight, and he looked to see a thick scab of crimson had formed over Captain Sakong's right eye – the result of blunt force trauma.

Major Winter's heart swelled for a moment, then he turned around. Peering out from behind the building and looking down the street, taking great care not to be seen, he analysed the situation. About twenty anti-tank teams and three War Mechs was the summary of the Hand of Reclamation forces. They weren't moving to attack the humans or Xan-Klar, nor where they trying to flush them out of cover.

Instead, they had planted themselves in the street and refused to move – no doubt to delay their enemy from going after the lorry that the ambassadors were held in.

A frontal assault? Very risky.

Flying overhead? Suicidal thanks to the tracking rockets and the Mech's advanced targeting systems.

Long-range flanking around them? Possible, but no guarantee that the lorry would still be on the road. It could have pulled into a hidden location, never to be seen again...

It was then that an unexpected voice ripped Marcus from his thoughts.

"Unborn Brother!"

The voice was deep and growling, with a slight synthetic tint that denoted that it was coming through a speaker. Twisting around and looking up, Marcus saw one of the Xan-Klar knights looming over him. Instinctively, he looked at the armour's face – a titanic piece of engineering shaped vaguely like a Xan-Klar's head, long and robust, with a wide back and a metal snout that tapered to a point.

The armour had no visible eyes, but Marcus couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. Nonetheless, he responded to the towering object.

"Yes?"

The armour's chest cavity opened up, revealing a red-skinned male Xan-Klar sitting in the cockpit.

"I am Qolvar Karugen, leader of these knights," he briefly explained. "My brothers and I will take down those War Mechs, but we need covering fire from those anti-armour rockets." As he spoke, he shifted slightly, his red and gold-painted armour stained with ash and scarred from blaster fire and shrapnel. "Assist us, and we can save Lady Taneera and your ambassador."

Marcus didn't need telling twice. Every second they tarried was one second more that the dignitaries of their species were in mortal danger.

"I hear you," the Horusan replied with a simple nod. "Ready when you are, Qolvar."

The red-scaled Xan-Klar smiled and nodded back before reaching up and pulling his cockpit closed again. Meanwhile, Marcus turned back to his own men. Opening his helmet's face and feeling the cold rush of fresh air wash over his sweating face, Marcus was about to speak to his men.

But then, another voice then filled Marcus' ears through his helmet's comms, this one very familiar and full of self-confidence.

"... Need some help, Horus boy?"