Fulcrum Gun (Savage Stars Book 4)

by Anthony James

  Private Baylor and Private Haley were amongst the group and they cried out in dismay. Sergeant Vance spoke to them and it was the calmness in his voice that was the most chilling part. The man knew the soldiers were lost and this was his way of saying goodbye.

  “Into the building,” snapped Recker on the comms.

  Summoning up his last reserves of energy, he hauled Vance closer. Vance in turn pulled the next soldier and, within seconds, the final members of the chain were into the room.

  The water inside swirled and eddied, though not with nearly as much strength as it had outside. Once the last man was through the doorway, Recker hit his palm onto the access panel and the door closed, sealing the building against the rising water.

  “How many did we lose?” he asked, checking the list of comms receptors.

  “Maybe some of them survived,” said Steigers hopefully. He occupied the inner doorway, the dark water only a little below his waist.

  “You saw the direction of the flow, Private,” said Recker. His overstretched muscles were recovering quickly with the help of the booster drugs, but his mind felt suddenly tired. “They all got carried into one of the construction trenches. It’s a long way to the bottom.”

  “Yeah,” said Steigers. “Shit.”

  “Nine lost in total,” said Sergeant Shadar. “Seven of mine.”

  Recker met the Daklan’s gaze. “Seven of ours, soldier. Plus two more of ours.”

  The alien nodded once and that was only recognition he gave. “We should not delay.”

  Pulling his rifle clear, Recker waded for the inner door. The water was no longer pulling at him and the level hadn’t risen noticeably since he’d sealed the building. That, at least, was a positive, though he couldn’t think of many others. The CX1 module was underground in a facility currently being flooded by what might be the first of several huge waves.

  “Lieutenant Burner, we made it to what an optimist would call safety. The price was nine soldiers.”

  “Damn.”

  “We’ll mourn them later. What can you see from the air?” Recker asked.

  “Water, sir. Most of the base is covered now. Those enemy soldiers approaching from the far wall of your building are gone. Nothing this side of a tank will be able to operate away from shelter and I can’t see any active vehicles or shuttles.”

  Recker closed the channel and entered the next room of the building, which was about twelve metres square and with three additional exits. The lights were on and Meklon consoles protruded above the surface, many of them with their screens turned on. Technology didn’t run off electricity and kit like this could likely function – for a time, at least - at the bottom of an ocean without requiring anything more than a power supply.

  Corporal Montero continued to show Recker that he hadn’t made a mistake in promoting her, and she’d set up defensive positions in this room and had already led a small squad through the opposite door, where they checked the lay of the land.

  “Report in, Corporal Montero,” said Recker.

  “This room’s clear, sir. More tech, more corpses under the water for us to trip over.”

  Recker couldn’t see any dead bodies in this room. He remembered that a corpse would start floating a few days, maybe a week or two, after death, and he was sure the Lavorix had wiped out Oracon-1 a long time before that. Doubtless the life support in the building had kept the occupants as fresh as they day they’d died, which meant they’d be out of sight below the surface. The water was murky enough – even with the overhead lights – that little was visible within it.

  “Corporal Montero – hold position while I find out if these consoles can do what I need them to,” said Recker on the open channel. “There’s a chance they control the surface doors.”

  “A big chance?” asked Raimi.

  Recker didn’t answer. He leaned over the console and called up the menu. It recognized him as being on the highest security tier and he experienced a flickering hope that he’d be able to access the Lodor bay doors.

  “How’s it going, sir?” asked Hendrix. As usual, she was playing the role of squad snoop, except this time when she grinned, Recker felt a real connection.

  “No dice,” he said. “This console is on a separate network to the Lodor bay control systems.”

  “That sucks,” she said.

  Recker opened one of the final sub-menus and discovered something that was rather more than a consolation prize. “According to this, we’re above the Lodor bay and the CX1 module is definitely inside.”

  “Which is great.” Hendrix didn’t quite say it as a question.

  “We didn’t know for certain if the CX1 module was on Oracon-1, Corporal.” He offered a grin of his own. “It might have been destroyed or lost in flight to its intended destination.”

  “Yet here it is, waiting for a bunch of passing soldiers to come and steal it.”

  “That’s right, Corporal, but I’d call it justified appropriation.”

  “After this justified appropriation, we’ll put a hole the size of a moon straight through the centre of the Galactar!”

  Hendrix’s enthusiasm was infectious and Recker fought not to be caught up in it, since the mission wasn’t nearly over yet. He contacted Lieutenant Burner and filled him in on the details. As soon as that was done, Recker stepped away from the console.

  “We need to find a way down,” he said. A sense of excited anticipation was building within and Recker didn’t believe it was wholly a product of the booster drugs.

  “And hope the underground facilities didn’t leak,” said Vance.

  “We have to fly the CX1 module out of this place, Sergeant,” Recker reminded him. “That means opening the surface doors.”

  “I don’t know much about what damage saltwater does to alien hardware, sir. Should we wait for the wave to recede?”

  “We can’t wait, Sergeant. If we find the CX1 module, we’re getting it out of here as soon as we can – before the Galactar arrives.”

  “Whatever comes, we’ll handle it, sir.”

  Recker ordered Corporal Montero and her squad to resume their progress into the building. At the same time, he left the console and strode carefully towards the open exit, keen join the search. He gave orders to Vance and Shadar as he went, and they began dividing the soldiers into squads.

  Through the opening, Recker could see yet more consoles, as well as the soldiers accompanying Corporal Montero. Two of them crouched low in the water, covering a doorway, and two others flanked the door.

  “Ready,” said Montero.

  Recker’s foot caught against a heavy, yet slightly yielding object beneath the water. Cursing inwardly, he extended his stride and stepped over the body, keeping himself out of the visible arc of the door in the next room.

  “Clear,” said Montero a moment later. “No sign of a way down.”

  The water began to flow gently around Recker as it washed into the new space Corporal Montero had provided for it. The current wasn’t threatening and he crossed into the next room, keeping a wary eye on the two other exits which were still closed.

  A worrying thought prompted him to open a channel to the Fulcrum. “Lieutenant Burner – are there any further entrances to this building on the opposite wall?”

  “Yes, sir. Two other entrances.”

  “You remember those Lavorix which you saw coming in our direction along that wall?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “What if they did the same thing we did and made it inside?”

  “I can’t tell you one way or another, sir - the enemy were staying close to the building, making it hard to watch you and them at the same time. The water came to them first, so hopefully they were swept away.”

  Recker closed the channel and ordered the soldiers to be vigilant. Not that the discipline was lower than normal, but at times like this it made sense to remind everyone.

  The interior of the building was large and comprised many rooms. The extent of the search, along w
ith the requirement for caution, meant Recker didn’t see a result for ten minutes. It was Sergeant Shadar with his group of five Daklan who discovered a room containing three airlifts. The moment he got word, Recker ordered every squad to make their way over.

  By this time, the water was spread over many rooms and it barely troubled his ankles. Hundreds of now-revealed Meklon corpses suggested that this building had been occupied by many personnel when the Galactar fired its Extractor. Recker didn’t enjoy the sights, but he’d seen enough of them that adding another vision of war’s darkness to the pile wasn’t going to tip him over sanity’s edge.

  The airlift room was ten metres square and accessed from three directions, two of which hadn’t been fully explored. Having set his troops to guard the approaches, Recker hurried to the airlifts. The width of the lift doors suggested their cars were designed to carry a dozen or more personnel at once, and the software controlling the adjacent access panels had a basic menu which wasn’t present on the other doors.

  “Let’s see…” said Recker, poking a fingertip at the screen.

  “What’ve we got, sir?” asked Hendrix, glancing across from nearby.

  “Three levels above this one, none of which require additional security to access. The lift car is on the top floor.” He smiled without humour. “And a single level below us, this one on a higher security tier.”

  “Will the lift take us down?”

  “Yes, Corporal. I have access to everything on Oracon-1.” Recker motioned her to be ready and gave Sergeant Vance the same signal. “I’m calling the lift.”

  “It’s moving, sir.”

  The words caught Recker by surprise, since he hadn’t yet put his statement into action. “Shit,” he said, pressing himself against the wall to one side. “Get ready!”

  A flurry of activity followed and the soldiers readied their guns. The airlift travelled fast and it stopped at the ground floor. After the shortest of pauses, the doors began opening.

  “Fire!” ordered Shadar.

  Bullets poured into the widening gap, filling the room with sound. Recker held his position and waited for the gunfire to end. The crack and whine of small arms persisted for longer than he expected and then silence returned, only for Shadar to interrupt it.

  “Clear.”

  Recker leaned across so he could see into the lift. The car was spacious and it was filled with Lavorix corpses. Their blood was sprayed copiously, while entrails and yellow pieces of bone were identifiable amongst the carnage.

  “Urgh, stinks,” said Private Carrington, wafting a hand in front of her visor.

  “Lavorix guts smell good,” lied Raimi.

  “Let’s get this shit out of here,” said Recker.

  He wasn’t scared to get his hands dirty and stooped to grab one of the Lavorix bodies, which he hauled out by the arm. The closest soldiers got started, allowing Recker to abandon the task so that he could think.

  “Those Lavorix came from the top level, not the bottom,” he said.

  “The enemy have been here long enough to have gained access to all areas of Oracon-1,” said Vance.

  “Yes,” Shadar agreed. “We cannot allow ourselves to believe the subterranean areas will contain no Lavorix.”

  Recker saw sense in the words. “We’ll be as watchful as ever,” he said. “It’s brought us this far.”

  Soon after, the lift was empty of bodies and most of the body parts. Private Drawl scooped up a roughly severed arm and struck the unflinching Raimi a couple of enthusiastic blows until Vance told him in no uncertain terms where the full length of the limb would be inserted if he didn’t stop. Drawl let the arm fall to the ground.

  “Captain Recker, you are the only one who can command the lifts to descend to the lower level,” said Shadar. “I do not believe we should commit our entire force to a single car; therefore two trips would be wise.”

  “We’ll put half in the car and they’ll descend with me,” said Recker. “At the bottom, those soldiers will secure the area while I return for the other half.”

  Shadar nodded his acceptance and Vance did likewise. After that, Recker chose half of the platoon and ordered them into the lift.

  He entered the car last and stood at the inner control panel. Once everyone was ready, he pushed the screen option that would take them to the subterranean level. He had little idea if the Lavorix would be waiting for him, but he was sure the aliens would find a way to make recovery of the CX1 module difficult.

  The lift doors closed and he felt the lurch of acceleration as it headed down.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The lift door opened onto an empty room and a couple of the soldiers cursed to release their tension.

  “Go.”

  Sergeant Shadar was leading the first squad and he was halfway into the room even as Recker gave the order. The rest of the soldiers went with him and they hurried towards the three closed exits. Since the Meklon hadn’t installed signage, Recker was left guessing as to which led to the main area of the Lodor bay.

  The moment he was alone in the lift, he activated the panel for a second time and the car went up. Recker was concerned that the Lavorix on the top floor would attempt another attack and thinking about it made him grind his teeth.

  The lift stopped and the door opened. “Inside!” he ordered.

  The second loading was completed without fuss and seconds later, the lift was once more at the bottom level. In the room beyond, Shadar and his squad were watching the exits but had not made efforts to open them, as had been agreed.

  As soon as he exited the lift, Recker tested the comms link to the Fulcrum. The battleship’s receptor was grey and the comms unit in his helmet wasn’t picking up any signal at all.

  “Our comms to the Fulcrum are gone,” he told the squad. “We’re on our own.”

  “Not much they can do to help us while we’re underground anyway,” said Drawl.

  “Except we need to speak to our air support to find out what’s going on topside,” said Enfield. “Stupid.”

  “Shut up,” ordered Vance, his voice holding the dangerous edge which only came in the toughest of situations.

  The soldiers didn’t require much guidance when it came to indoor fighting, since both humans and Daklan had more than their share of experience. Recker signalled it was time to start and pointed at the exit directly opposite the lift.

  “Sergeant Vance – keep watch over those lift panels,” he ordered. “Any sign of our car leaving or those other ones coming down, shout about it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Shadar tried to activate the panel for the exit door and the door stayed shut.

  “I lack the required authority.”

  Recker hurried across and Shadar made room. A thump on the panel got the door open and Reklin called the all-clear.

  “Another room,” said the Daklan. “And consoles.”

  “In,” said Recker, motioning with his gauss rifle.

  Shadar brushed past and led his squad into the room. Since he was the only one who could operate the consoles, the Lodor bay doors, or the CX1 module, Recker accepted his best position was in cover until he was sure it was completely safe to follow.

  “This room is secure,” said Shadar.

  Staying low, Recker entered, while Vance held the other soldiers in the lift room. This new room wasn’t much different to those on the upper level, with lights, four exits in total, dead Meklon and a few consoles. The main difference was that everything was dry, suggesting that the underground facility was watertight.

  Recker stopped at the closest station, which was powered up and ready to use. “Let’s see,” he muttered.

  The installed software offered plenty of options and Recker scrolled through the menus. He soon learned that the Lodor bay had been established decades ago, and it was where the Meklon worked on experimental technology. From the name, Recker had assumed it was little more than a construction and holding place for completed hardware. When he discovered a
map of the underground workings, he found that they extended far beyond the squad’s current position. In fact, the Meklon had a weapons factory down here, a command and control station, as well as numerous research facilities.

  The map was intricate and Recker leaned in closer to study it. Then, Sergeant Vance gave a warning.

  “Sir, our lift closed and the car is heading to the top level.”

  It was tempting to say shoot anything that sticks its nose out, Sergeant, but Recker had seen enough of the Lavorix to assume they wouldn’t be so easily slaughtered for a second time. Maybe they’d send down explosives. Maybe they had other surprises that Recker couldn’t anticipate.

  “Get your squad out of that room, Sergeant.”

  Vance knew the dangers. “Yes, sir.”

  The moment Vance’s squad was inside, Recker stepped from his console and activated the panel, closing the door and sealing everyone in the room.

  “I don’t know if that’s going to keep the Lavorix out,” he said.

  Recker didn’t want to be near the door if the enemy had packed the lift with explosive charges and he sprinted with the others towards the far wall, where Sergeant Shadar was waiting by one of the exits.

  He heard a muffled boom coming from the other side of the entrance doors and knew he’d been right to think the enemy would send an unpleasant gift to the bottom of the shaft. The closed doors to the current room didn’t show any sign of damage, so the Lavorix had likely not gone overboard with the blast charges. Taking out all three of the lifts probably wouldn’t do them any favours.

  A moment after the detonation, an alarm sounded from speakers mounted in the ceiling and the lights turned a deep red. From his position at the exit, Recker saw all the consoles go into automatic lockdown.

  “That blast triggered the Lodor security,” he said.

  “Is that good or bad?” asked Vance.

  “I don’t know,” Recker admitted. “It shouldn’t stop me accessing the hardware. Maybe if the Lavorix have cracked the base mainframe, it won’t stop them either.”