Chapter 8
It took Robinson 326 seven days to reach Hercules. Having some fuel
reserves he managed to knock down a few Chig fighters before he shot
into the airstrip and came to a stop by the doors of a bunker. The
doors quickly opened. A man rushed out with a cable, attached it to the
front wheel of the ship. It was quickly hauled inside. None too soon!
As three Chig fighters strafed the airfield. Only two climbed back into
the sky. One suddenly started trailing black smoke, dove from the sky,
plowing into the ground with a tremendous blast. A female AI rushed up,
as Robinson exited his craft. "Are they coming?" she asked. Robinson
shrugged. "Listen to the broadcast," he answered. In a few minutes he
was at the command post. A tattered looking AI with wires hanging from
half his face greeted him. "Give me full intercom hookup," Robinson
snapped, "will you, Winston?" The other AI quickly worked switches then
handed Robinson a mike. "This is Robinson 326," he began. "I made it
out and got the information to the makers. They made good use of it,
and have destroyed three Chig task forces. I don't know if they're
coming or not. From what I saw coming back The Chigs think they won't.
But all we can do is keep fighting, hold out as long as we can, and
take as many of them with us as we can. End transmission." He put the
mike down and began to look at the charts. "We've lost the west ridge?"
he commented.
"They're keeping pressure on all three living areas," Winston answered.
"They keep hammering at us but it's hard for them to get at us and it's
costing them. But they keep coming." Robinson nodded and went to work.
For five bitter days they kept fighting. On the morning of the sixth
Winston came to him with a report. "Fighting around the other two
shelters has died off. Observers have seen large craft picking up
troops. Some of ours have seen ships landing. We think they're shifting
everything they've got up here, to make a drive to break our lines!"
Robinson ran his finger along the map. "They'll come along here," he
remarked, "try to reach these entrances and blow their way in. Probably
lay down a barrage to keep us pinned down. Take two thirds of the
people from all the other sectors. Bring them up here. Reinforce this
line." "If you've guessed wrong," Winston warned, "we might not have
time to get people back to the other sectors."
"I know!" Robinson answered. He was watching the line of trees below
them. when the shells started, and the fighters began to strafe.
Suddenly Winston grabbed his arm. "That frequency you told me to
monitor," he snapped, "listen!"
Robinson switched over to that frequency. "AI command. This is Wild
Card 1, do you read? AI command, this is Wild Card 1, do you read?"
Robinson answered "We read! We read, Wild Card 1!"
"AI command, artillery attack will stop in a few minutes. When it does,
pull your people back. Get them under cover. Let The Chigs have the
field. Do you copy? Let The Chigs have the field."
"Understood, Wild Card 1!" Robinson answered. He switched frequencies
and told his people to make a run for the bunkers as soon as the
artillery stopped. The barrage suddenly ceased, and setting off smoke
to cover their retreat the AIs fled.
Out in the field before them, line after line of Chigs broke from the
trees. At a standby run they got out of the field. They were two thirds
of the way across when the hammerheads roared over them and cluster
bombs rained down on them. Some exploded in the air, some exploded when
they hit the ground. But when the dust settled most of The Chigs
weren't moving and those that were were retreating.
The hammerheads came back around. This time their bombs fell into the
woods, catching most of the retreating Chigs. Right behind them came
the landers. The first two groups touched down only long enough to
discharge their troops, who hurried off towards the woods. The third
wave landed and the crews headed for the bunkers. Col. McQueen stood at
the door of one and his voice boomed through the ship's loud speakers.
"Come on, citizens! Let's go! The President sends her regards and
requests you return home. These men will help with your wounded. Let's
go!"
Robinson switched on his P.A. "Clear the bunkers! Get up to the west
exits! Bring the wounded. They're here! They've come! They're here!
We're going home!" The next few minutes were chaos, as they began to
get the worst of their damaged out to the ships. Robinson found McQueen
at a portable operations center directing ships. As he came up McQueen
snapped "We've got tankers at your air field. They're refueling and
remissiling your ships. We could use some help up there!"
"All pilots," Robinson screamed, "all pilots to the airfield! Let's go!" He nodded to McQueen and hurried off to join his men.
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