by Mike Smith
“Fair point. I only said it reminded me of it, not that it was exactly the same. Ready?”
“Ready,” Jonas agreed.
Almost simultaneously the two marines swung around, bringing their weapons to bear on the guards who were now only a few meters away.
Less experienced soldiers would probably have panicked and opened fire soon after the guards first appeared. However, that would have been disastrous, as the guards could have quickly fallen back, taken cover and then returned fire. With only a few meters separating them, and no cover for the guards offered by the long corridor, both marines opened fire. Aiming low, their weapons on full automatic. The initial volley was devastating. While protected by tactical armour, this did little to stop the heavy shells fired by assault rifles, as the armour was designed to protect against energy weapons. In any case the armour did not cover their legs. The first wave of guards did not even get a chance to raise their weapons and fell to the automatic gunfire. The second wave fared little better, stumbling over the bodies of the dead or dying front rank. The bullets penetrated armour, flesh and bones indiscriminately. Half of the guards were already down, dead or dying before the remaining even had a chance to react. It was only then they recognised the full horror of the choice facing them. Either to continue to advance the few meters ahead, straight into the guns, or to fall back, to retreat down a straight corridor, tens of meters in length.
With blank expressions, the two marines effortlessly replaced empty clips with the ones at their side—the break in gunfire almost imperceptible. The remaining guards wavered for an instant, then broke, running back down the corridor. However, even then, the marines cut them down with short bursts of accurate gunfire as any survivors would simply reinforce the next wave of attackers.
Further down the corridor, lost in the dim light and smoke came further screams of fear and pain. As the smoke parted Jon appeared with sword in hand. Covered in blood, he proceeded down the corridor towards the marines, slashing and thrusting at the retreating guards. He was relentless, unforgiving and no guards made it to the other end of the corridor alive. All of them were dead, slain either by the marines’ guns or Jon’s sword.
The corridor had become a killing ground.
“Commander,” Jonas called out in greeting. Lowering his rifle upon recognising the Commander’s now blood-stained white uniform.
“Jonas, Jackson,” Jon greeted the two marines who seemed little affected by the death and destruction he had just walked through. “Have the Emperor and Sofia arrived?”
“Yes Commander,” Jonas replied. “They arrived several minutes ago. It appears the Emperor had been wounded by a shot from a pulse pistol. The medic is with him now.”
While Jon seemed perturbed by the news, he simply nodded his head in understanding and stepped through the door into the hangar bay ordering, “Continue to hold this position.”
*****
Stepping into the dimly lit hangar, Jon approached Gunny. “Report Sergeant.”
“We’ve secured the hangar Commander. Miranda is already securing and prepping us a suitable ship. The Princess and her father arrived several minutes ago.” Lowering his voice so as not to be overheard he added in a quiet voice. “The Emperor is in a bad way, we need to evacuate him to the Sunfire immediately.”
“Very well,” Jon acknowledged. “I’ll assist Miranda in preparing a shuttle. Hold the entrance to the bay here until I signal you. Then fall back to the ship and we will get the hell off this rock.” Gunny acknowledged the order, stepping through the door to check on Jackson and Jonas. Meanwhile Jon observed Marcus on the floor, off to one side, being stabilised by the medic. Sofia was on her knees hovering over her father with a worried expression. Crossing the room towards the pair, Sofia noticed his approach and rose to meet him. Enfolding her in a tight embrace he kissed her reassuringly on the crown of her head. “Stay here with your father,” Jon ordered. “I’ll go and help Miranda procure a shuttle, then we can all leave.”
Sofia nodded her understanding, once again taking her place at her father’s side, taking his cold hand in hers and whispering reassuring words to him.
Jon went to look for Miranda, to try and find out what was taking so long.
*****
“Ma’am.” Came the voice of one of the marines hurrying in her direction.
Miranda had spent the past few minutes trying to decide on a cramped assault shuttle that looked older than her, or a decrepit freighter that would take them all easily but looked like it would fall apart long before they made orbit. “What?” She asked in irritation, surely there was one serviceable ship on this god-forsaken planet?
“It’s the Commander, ma’am.”
“What’s wrong with him?” She asked. Jon had hurriedly approached her a few minutes earlier, urging her to make up her mind. He was going to look in the back of the hangar where the ships in long-term storage had been parked.
“There is something wrong with him. He is over at one of the far shuttles, ignoring our calls and he keeps talking to it…” The marine added nervously after a short pause.
“He’s doing what?” Miranda whirled around in disbelief, wondering if Jon had finally suffered some sort of mental breakdown.
“I think you should come quickly ma’am. As when I left him he had started to… fondle it.” The marine uttered with obvious distaste.
*****
Jon was motionless, standing in front of one of the ships as she hurried to his side. He was running one of his hands across the flight control surfaces, in wonder. Miranda was just about to demand what he was doing when she looked up at the ship. Her jaw fell open in shock. “It’s not possible,” she uttered in disbelief. “I saw that ship crash into the Imperial Star, they are both gone.”
“It’s not the Eternal Light,” Jon replied almost reverently.
“Of course it is,” Miranda insisted. “It’s identical.” Ever since Miranda had first seen Jon’s personal shuttle she had been in love with it. It was the most beautiful ship she had ever seen. Glowing white with its sharp pointed bow, a smoothly elongated body, which flared out into a pair of tapered wings designed for atmospheric flight before ending in a pair of elevated aft tails. Miranda had almost been heartbroken at the thought of having to destroy it, when she had been sent to kill Jon. Fortunately it was one of the few missions she had failed to complete.
“It’s her twin sister, the Endless Light; the Emperor’s personal shuttle.”
“Perfect. We’ll take it,” Miranda said delightedly, as it was just large enough to fit everybody aboard, although it would be a tight squeeze.
Jon shook his head and replied, “Not so fast. There is only one person who has the authentication codes for that ship and he’s not conscious to give them to us, not to say the least the ship is genetically coded to him. Even if we could get on board, the ship’s computer would not acknowledge anybody but him.”
“Well you said the Emperor gave you permission to fly the Eternal Light, maybe he did likewise for this ship?”
Jon was about to reject the suggestion out of hand, when he stopped, deep in thought. He had been Marcus’s chosen successor, even if he had never wanted the role. It was obvious from what he had overheard Marcus had planned on bequeathing everything to him, even his own daughter. Maybe, just maybe…
Jon reached out towards the controls for the entrance, stumbling back when the doors slid smoothly open.
He had not even touched the controls!
“See, I told you so,” Miranda said confidently.
“I didn’t do anything, somebody opened the ship from the inside. Stay here,” he insisted, taking a hesitant step into the ship, loosening the sword at his side, his eyes darting in all directions. The air seemed musty, stale, as if it had not been disturbed in many years. A thin film of dust seemed to cover everything. Jon quickly made his way through the passenger cabin, taking a few moments to confirm the small bedroom and adjoining washroom were empty before making his wa
y towards the cockpit.
“There is nobody else aboard, Commander Radec,” the voice seemed to come from all directions. Simultaneously. Surrounding him.
Jon stopped in his tracks, eyes darting everywhere. “If there is nobody else on board, then where are you?” He queried in reply. However, the voice seemed almost recognisable. It reminded him in some way of Sofia’s, but was deeper, huskier with warm overtones. Suddenly Jon had a sneaking suspicion and began to understand why Marcus did not allow anybody else on board his personal shuttle.
“According to the ship’s internal sensors currently you are the only person aboard. I am the voice interface for the ship, the Endless Light.”
“And you are based on Marcus’s dead wife, Sofia’s mother?”
“My voice and personality imprint was based on that individual. Yes.”
Marcus had a talking ship. With a voice and personality of his long dead wife. Seriously. Jon had no idea how it was possible to top that.
“What is the status of the ship?” He inquired, very much aware they needed to leave immediately.
“All systems are currently functioning within normal operating parameters. The only system currently non-functional is the active stealth system.”
“Stealth system?” Jon inquired hesitantly, afraid to ask.
“This is an experimental system, designed to absorb all electromagnetic and visible wavelength radiation emitted during flight. It was installed at the Aurelius’ shipyards in—”
Jon let the computer drone on, ignoring it. No wonder the shuttle had been able to escape the Imperial Star without anybody detecting it. The ship had a cloaking device. Jon re-evaluated his earlier opinion. Marcus had a talking ship with a cloaking device. That was way cooler and Jon was extremely jealous. It was obvious Marcus kept all the best toys for himself.
“Commander my sensors are detecting external energy weapon’s fire outside the hanger,” the computer interrupted his musings.
“Very well I think it’s time for us to leave. Can you initiate the pre-flight check?”
“Affirmative.”
Jon left the ship to complete the pre-flight checks by itself, which altogether seemed a very strange concept. Jon wondered if this day could get even more strange. Hurrying to the entrance he called out to Miranda, “The shuttle is ready to depart. I’ll finish the pre-flight checklist with the ship. Let Gunny and Jason know and order them to fall back to the shuttle. As soon as the pre-flight check is complete and you are all aboard it will be time for us to go.”
Miranda just gave him a funny look for the way he phrased the announcement, but nodded her head in understanding and disappeared off to inform the crew.
*****
“I’m dry!” Jonas called out to Jackson, empting his final clip into the massing guards. Unfortunately the element of surprise was never going to work twice, not with dead bodies strewn along the corridor like a necropolis. Hence the second squad of guards sent to the hangar did not charge headlong down the corridor, but held back at the junction and proceeded to exchange weapons fire with the two marines.
In this scenario the two marines were significantly disadvantaged, as they only had a limited number of clips for their assault rifles, unlike their enemy who practically had an unlimited supply with their near inexhaustible energy rifles. Additionally the usual advantage of the assault rifles high rate of fire was offset by the distance to the enemy.
“That’s my last one,” Jackson yelled to be heard over the weapons fire, tossing Jonas his last clip.
“Now this reminds me of Ophiuchi,” Jonas said to nobody in particular, shifting the firing selector on the rifle to single shot, as they needed to conserve their rapidly dwindling ammunition. “Trapped on a god forsaken planet, in the middle of nowhere. Almost no ammunition left. Wondering where the hell is the Commander, Jackson?” He called out, noticing the firing had stopped from the other side of the corridor. Swearing, he glanced around, noticing the motionless body of his friend on the other side of the corridor.
Shouldering his rifle he dashed across the open corridor, ducking low to avoid the occasional bolt of pulse rifle fire in their direction. Coming to a stop at Jackson’s side, he carefully rolled him over and swore. His friend’s eyes were wide open but lifeless. A quick glance to his side confirmed the worst, as Jonas could see the burn marks where multiple shots had impacted Jackson on his side, in the gaps between his tactical armour. “Shit,” Jonas cursed softly, lowering the lifeless body back to the floor.
Jonas ducked as another bolt of energy hit close by, barely missing him. Unfortunately he was not so fortunate on the next bolt, which hit him cleanly on the torso, spinning him around, so he came to lie on top his friend.
*****
“Hold your fire,” the officer called a few moments later, when he observed that the gunfire from the opposite end of the corridor had ceased completely. Glancing around, he observed the carnage all around him. The first squad to arrive had been completely massacred. Of his own squad fully half of them were down, either dead or badly wounded. The accurate weapons fire from the enemy had picked off his squad members one at a time. “Sergeant, report,” he demanded.
“Looks like we finally got them all sir,” he replied. “But we should proceed with caution in case it is a trap.”
“Very well take a few men and advance. I’ll remain here with the wounded. Signal when it is safe.”
The sergeant just looked at the officer incredulously, before finally nodding his head reluctantly. Signalling to a few of his men, they started to advance cautiously, weapons at the ready. However, when they reached the far end of the corridor, encountering no resistance and finding the two fallen soldiers he motioned back towards the officer that it was safe to approach.
“Looks like we got them all sir,” the sergeant reported.
The officer advanced and stared dumfounded at the two dead soldiers. The first squad had consisted of a dozen men; in addition he had lost almost half of his squad. “Two men?” He demanded in disbelief. “Two men caused all this?” He motioned around them. A groan from one of the bodies of the enemy soldiers caused him to take a step back in sudden fear. However, when it became obvious that he was no threat, he used his foot to roll him onto his back. With another whisper from the dying man on the floor the officer leaned closer to try and make out what he was saying. “What did you say?” He demanded leaning forward to try and make out the softly spoken words.
“I said fuck you!” Jonas whispered with his dying breath. His eyes stared up sightlessly towards the ceiling.
The officer leaned back on the balls of his feet, rocking thoughtfully to himself. He was just about to comment when he noticed that the dead man’s hands seemed to be tightly fisted around something. Curious to find out what he was holding the officer prised open the hand and two spherical objects dropped to the floor at the officer’s feet. The officer only had time to note the two pins that still remained in the dead man’s hands. Trying to scream a warning, but it was too late.
With a bright flash of light and a thunderous explosion that carried all the way back down the corridor, the last grenades Jonas had been carrying exploded.
*****
The thick blast door separating the hangar bay from the rest of the complex was enough to save the life of Gunny, Miranda and the remaining Marines that were grouped around the entrance. Even then the massive explosion was enough to cause the door to buckle inwards by several centimetres. The force of the explosion caused several of them to dive away from the door as the concussion wave expanded.
“Jonas. Jackson,” Gunny shouted, sprinting towards the door, but it was no use as the door was now fused shut. “Help me,” Gunny called to several of the other Marines grouped around the entrance, as he put his shoulder against the door and started to push.
“Gunny, stop. It’s no use,” Miranda cried darting towards the large Marine Sergeant. “Nobody could have survived that explosion.”
“No,”
Gunny replied angrily. “You don’t know that. We need to at least try.”
“Gunny, Patrick. They are gone. Leave it. They sacrificed themselves so we could make it to the shuttle. We need to leave. Now. Don’t let their sacrifice be in vain.”
“No!” Gunny shouted in anger, spinning around as he felt her touch on his back, raising his fists in anger. “I promised them I would not leave them behind.”
However, Miranda made no effort to move away from him, or the fist drawn back, ready to strike. She did nothing to defend herself and just stared at him with understanding and sympathy in her eyes. “I know you did, but they are gone. Let it be. We need to all go. Jon has a shuttle prepped and we must leave while we still can.”
Gunny stared at her for a moment longer, wavering, before he lowered his fist in shame. He knew that it was just the urge to strike out, to lash out in anger, at the helplessness of the situation, but still he was ashamed of his actions. Nodding defeatedly, he motioned for the other marines to fall back to the shuttle. One of them carried Marcus over his shoulder, the other helped Sofia. With a final last, sad look at the buckled door Gunny hurried after them, towards the waiting shuttle and rescue.
Chapter Sixteen
Planet Tartarus, Sigma Draconis System
“Is everybody on-board and firmly strapped in?” Jon asked as Miranda re-entered the cockpit.
Miranda did not respond for a moment, before finally nodding her head sadly and replying, “Everybody is on board.”
“Okay, the pre-flight check list is almost complete. We are ready to get the hell off this rock,” Jon replied, wondering at her subdued behaviour but deciding now was not the time to inquire about it.
“Commander Radec,” the voice of the ship interrupted his thoughts. “Pre-flight has been aborted, as my sensors report that there is insufficient take-off distance for a safe departure. Analysing—”
Jon looked up in surprise, wondering what the ship was talking about, when he finally noticed the obvious. The external hangar bay door was firmly closed.