Star Corps

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Chapter One

2 JUNE 2138

Giza Complex
Kingdom of Allah, Earth
0525 hours Zulu

The trio of TAV Combat Personnel Carrier transports camein low across the Mediterranean Sea, avoiding the heavilypopulated coastal areas around El Iskandariya by crossingthe beach between El Hammam and El Alamein. Skimmingthe Western Desert at such low altitudes that their slip-streams sent rooster tails of sand exploding into the pale predawn sky, the TAVs swung sharply south of the isolated communities huddled along the Wadi El Natrun, dumping velocity in a series of weaving banks and turns. Ahead, silhouetted against the brightening eastern horizon and the lights of Cairo, their objective rose like three flat-sided mountains above the undulating dunes.

The defenders would know that something was happening;even with stealth architecture, the three transatmosphericvehicles had scorched their radar signatures in ion reentrytrails across the skies of Western Europe as they'd descended from suborbit, and the mullahs of the True Mahdihad been expecting something of the sort. The only questionwas how long it would take them to react.

Captain Martin Warhurst, CO of Bravo Company, sathunched over in his travel seat in the rear of CPC Delta'sred-lit troop compartment, crowded torso to armored torso with the men and women of 1st Squad, First Platoon. Therewere no windows in the heavily armored compartment, noviewscreens or news panels, but a data feed painted a small, brightly colored image within his Helmet Data Overlay, showing the outside world as viewed through a camera in the TAV's blunt nose.

There wasn't a lot to see, in fact -- abstract patterns of light and darkness wheeling this way and back with theTAV's approach maneuvers. The area beyond the Giza complex,along the west bank of the Nile, was brightly lit. Theextensive archeological digs behind the Sphinx and betweenthe two northern pyramids, those of Khufu and Khafre, werebathed in harsh spotlights reflected from aerostats hovering high above the ground-based beam projectors.

He knew the mission orders, knew the lay of the land andthe location of the company's objectives, but it was almostimpossible to make sense of what he was seeing on his HDOdisplay. Balls of yellow and red light floated up from theground -- fire from enemy antiaircraft positions. Coloredlines and symbols glowed among alphanumerics identifyingtargets, way points, ranges, and bearings. His cranialink provided analysis, based on data jacked through from the CPC's combat computer. He could see the area marked as the platoon's drop-off point, midway between the Sphinx andKhafre's pyramid.

"Captain Warhurst," the phlegmatic, female voice of theTAV's AI pilot said in his helmet receiver. "Thirty seconds. Hot LZ."

"I see it," Warhurst replied. His grip tightened on hisweapon, a General Electric LR-2120 Sunbeam pulse laser,with its M-12 underbarrel 20mm RPG launcher and data hotlink to his Mark VII armor. He'd been in the Marines forsix years and made captain two years ago, but this would behis first time in combat, his first hot drop, his first time in command with a live enemy.

God, don't let me screw it up....

The TAVs made a final course adjustment, shrieking low above the sands between the middle and southern pyramids,their dead-black hulls slipping through crisscrossing targeting radar beams like ghosts, evading hard locks. Air brakes unfolded like ungainly wings as their noses came up, and billows of sand exploded from the hard-driving plasmathrusters arrayed at wing roots and bellies.

"Hold on," the AI's voice said, as deceleration tugged at Warhurst's gut and the steel deck tilted sharply beneath his booted feet. "We're going in."

"Hang onto your lunches, boys and girls," he called overFirst Platoon's comm channel. "We're grounding!"

A jolt ... a moment of suspense and silence ... and thenanother, harder jolt as the TAV decelerated on shriekingthrusters to a slow-drifting hover. With a shrill whine of hydraulics, the first CPC was extruded from the side of theTAV's fuselage on unfolding davits as raw noise banged andshrieked inside the sealed troop compartment. Plenumthrusters already spooling howled now as all four onboardhovercraft personnel carriers swung free of the floating TAV and detached their cables. Sand blasted around the hovercraft as they floated half a meter above the surface, skittering sideways to clear the overhang of their huge, black transport while the TAV engaged full thrusters and rose clear of the drop zone. "Good luck, First Platoon," the AI pilot's voice announced.

"We're clear of the TAV, Captain!" Lieutenant Schulman,the CPC commander, yelled over the vehicle's comm system.Hammer blows clanked and pinged and sang from the hull outside. They were taking small-arms fire. "Objective insight, range two-three-five. Moving!"

"Roger that!" Warhurst's helmet display feed had shiftedautomatically to a pickup on the CPC's hull now that thehovercraft was free of its ride. He could see the flash andwink of gunfire in the darkness, the streaking tracers ofheavy automatic weapons. Somewhere in the distance a round of HE went off with a deep-throated crump, briefly lighting the dune shadows nearby. The CPC's turret shrilled as it rotated in its collar above and forward of the troop compartment, and Warhurst felt the steady thud-thud-thud of the 50mm autocannon slamming high explosive rounds into an enemy gun position.

The armored Marines remained strapped in their seats,weapons muzzle up between their knees, silent while boilerroom noise boomed and banged around them. Once, theCPC lurched heavily to the left as a near miss rocked thehovercraft over on its plenum skirts like a boat listing inheavy seas, but Schulman righted the stubborn, tough-hulledmachine and swerved hard as armor-seeking missilesstrobed in dazzling cacophony outside ...

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Excerpted from Star Corps by Ian Douglas
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.