Duncan Pryde Series

Prologue

The convoy was moving slowly but with purpose through the countryside. Four vehicles in all, the lead vehicle was smaller than the others. It held two soldiers in front, Captain Hanley was in command of the convoy and he sat next to Sergeant Johansson, his second on this mission.

Behind them was the first armed vehicle, which held four armed soldiers who manned the weapons platform; behind this was the payload, followed by the rear armed vehicle with the same complement of soldiers.

The payload was a complement of experimental missiles being transferred to a testing site for the final stage of testing before deploying to the military around the galaxy. The testing was nothing more than confirmation by the military"s highest echelon, putting a rubber stamp on their approval, which meant the weapons could then be used.

“Approaching last kilometre of the op lads, we’re almost there so that means we keep our vigilance. This isn’t the time to get lax, heads on a swivel, let’s not screw the pooch at this late stage,” Hanley said through the comm link they all shared.

“Area is clear in front and to the rear, no threats detected, your way is clear,” said the pilot of the forward aircraft, providing air support for the convoy. Both jet copters were variants of the old Osprey, tilt rotor V-22 aircraft. Each had the ability to keep pace with the vehicles below, to hover over them or speed off if the need arose, and were armed with a variety of weapons—rockets, missiles and pulse cannons.

Hanley glanced at Johansson, his driver, to say, “We’re on the home stretch now. We should be free and clear in just over an hour.”

Johansson was about to agree when the sound of an engine rocked their vehicle.

“What the f**k was that?” Johansson said as he peered up through the windscreen at the aircraft that had suddenly come into view. It had appeared from nowhere, or so it seemed, passing over the two air support aircraft to position itself in their path, hovering thirty metres off the ground facing them.

“What is that?” Hanley said, looking at it. He had seen nothing like it before. Shaped like a flat egg with a weapons pod popping out from under, where he assumed the pilot sat at the front, two pulse cannons appeared from inside the hull at the side aiming right at them. Bright lights shone from these weapons and twin beams of particle energy fired right at the leading aircraft. The beams struck the aircraft, slicing through like a hot knife through butter, cutting it into three slices which then erupted in explosions as critical systems were destroyed. A fireball lit the sky up as the aircraft was destroyed and then fell to the ground in front of Hanley’s vehicle.

“Incoming,” he shouted, and Johansson steered the vehicle around the burning wreckage that had slammed into the ground blocking the convoy’s path.

“Light that thing up,” he shouted to all support craft. The trailing aircraft acquired a target lock immediately and opened fire with missiles which were blown out of the sky before they had travelled more than a few metres from the pods holding them. The armed vehicle behind the payload truck opened fire with its large calibre pulse cannon; it’s major weapon then followed it with its full complement of rockets.

The attacking craft turned slightly, then targeted the smaller ground vehicle with its twin particle beam weapon. In seconds the rockets had all been destroyed and the vehicle sliced down the middle, killing all on board.

The last remaining aircraft fired more missiles and opened fire with its pulse cannons as well. The missiles fared no better than last time and the pulse cannon blasts struck shields that stopped them without causing any damage. Another burst from the particle weapon sliced the aircraft into pieces as it tried to turn and evade further attacks. As it erupted into a huge fireball it lost all power, then slammed into the ground seconds later.

Hanley had seen all this and wasn’t sure what else they could do. He was staring defeat and possible death in the face. Johansson had pulled their vehicle up to a halt and both of them were outside firing up at the strange vehicle attacking them with as little effect as the last aircraft had. They watched as their bullets bounced off the shield erected around it.

The forward armed vehicle had pulled up, allowing the soldiers to deploy to add their firepower to that of the pulse cannon on board.

A blast from the particle weapon sliced through the pulse cannon and vehicle, destroying it in seconds. The soldiers spread wider, looking for cover from the trees that lined the road they had been travelling along when the attacker had struck.

Taking a stand behind stout looking tall trees, both Hanley and Johansson used covering fire to help the four remaining soldiers to join them. Spraying bullets from their rifles at the shielded craft, Hanley saw the bullet strikes impact the shield.

The hovering craft fired the twin particle beams into the trees, severing them just above where their heads were. The massive trunks were sliced through, felling them, toppling them over. Bodies went scuttling as their cover suddenly disappeared.

The huge trunks fell down, crushing two of the soldiers like rotten fruit. The others were more fortunate to reach the cover Hanley and Johansson had found.

As the craft hovered, lines were dropped that soldiers rappelled down to the ground from. As soon as they were on the ground, they began to spread out, targeting anything that moved with rifles. One of the soldiers who had escaped being crushed put his head out from behind a tree to see what was happening and received a bullet through the forehead for his curiosity.

“This is looking worse by the second,” Hanley thought.

“This is looking worse by the second,” Most of the soldiers who rappelled down from the strange craft congregated around the payload truck. They began to offload the missiles and ferry them over to below the craft.

Hanley and Johansson, along with the last remaining soldier, came out from under cover to fire on the soldiers walking in their direction.

Bullets slammed into all three of them the moment they emerged, knocking them all off their feet.

Hanley lay on the ground and pain filled his senses as he managed to turn his head to see the soldiers walk over to them all. A bullet to the head killed Johansson, then the other soldier. He lay there unable to move as blood pooled on the ground from all his wounds. Beyond the approaching soldiers he could see the missiles being hoisted up into the craft and he knew his mission had failed.

He looked up into the face mask of the soldier standing over him just before a trigger was pulled and a bullet through his brain turned out his lights for good.