by Lee Guo
Mike saw three marines lowering their rifles and extending their hands outward. Long blue blades extended from their arms like swords. Each sword hummed in the air of the corridor. The marines began cutting through the metal like it was cake.
It didn’t even take a minute. Soon, the hatch was pushed backwards and fell onto the ground of the opposing corridor, F8. “Opening made, ma’am!” said a marine.
“Platoon A, enter corridor F8 and claim a beachhead!” said Mike.
“Will do, ma’am,” said Sargent Hernandez.
Platoon A entered the hole in the hatch one man at a time. Before more than 5 men went in — suddenly, there was screeching from the opposite side.
Mike heard Sargent Hernandez say, “Holla crap! All men, open fire! Open fire!”
Mike could see through the eye-view cameras of each of the men that had entered through the hatch. Each of the five infantrymen opened fire at the ranks of bipedal lizards that launched wave after wave while being equipped with only claws and fangs. It was a pity that the rest of the company could not support them, as the rest were bottlenecked in the first corridor by the narrow human made opening. Only a few more marines from F9 were able to make it through to F8.
The firing and yelling on the other side did not stop for a long time. Finally, after minutes of carnage, the last human rifleman stopped firing.
“Swanson is down!” yelled one of her boys.
Hernandez’s voice said, “Is everyone else, ok?”
The voices came back positive.
Hernandez continued, “Private Meer, take Swanson back to the dropship. You and you, guard Meer and Swanson in case they get ambushed. The rest of the platoon, enter corridor F8. Major?”
“Yes?” said Mike.
“It’s all clear on the other side, but we got a lot of dead lizard bodies. Hope you don’t step on them.”
Flag Bridge, Federation Battlecruiser Carpathia
Unbelievable! The alien crews have no weapons!
Splendid. What more can I say? Yamato focused on the state of all marine teams on board Titan 5. Each team was moving through the Titans at a speed only possible as if there were no resistance.
Yamato grunted. Well, almost no resistance. The Argonan crewmen have tried again and again to attack with only their fangs and in sudden waves, but they are being mowed down. I can’t believe the Argonans never expected their warships to be boarded. If they did, surely they would have carried some weapons and minimal armor.
This is going to make it easy on us.
I hope that they don’t give up on their ‘melee’ assaults and start self-destructing their power cores. But if their lack of valuing their crewmembers’ lives are as they are now with these kamikaze assaults, they may very well start self-destructing.
Maybe… they don’t have a self-destruction routine embedded into their computer system? Maybe that’s why they haven’t done it when the most logical course is to do it, considering they don’t have any weapons to protect against my marine assaults. And even if they did have weapons and a manner of offering resistance, I would still be able to send company after company after them. I have an almost infinite number of marines. The only thing limiting my attack is the number of marine assault boats, but I still have a large number of those. No… their most logical course ‘is’ to self-destruct.
So why haven’t they?
Soon, it’ll be too late when our teams reach their power core.
Hmmph… Let’s see how well the other marine assault boats are doing against Titans 4 and 3.
He zoomed the holo view out. Instead of seeing the insides of Titan-5, he saw the big battle map in between Earth and Mars. He zoomed in on Titan-4 and opened another display as well, allowing him to see the space around Titan-3 equally well.
He could see 10 marine assault boats surrounding Titan-4 and other 10 MABs surrounding Titan-3, just outside both Titan’s main weapon range. It seemed the next phase for them was ready to be played out in the same way it had happened at Titan-5.
“All marine assault boats surrounding Titan-4 and Titan-3, you may commence the assault. Good luck,” said Yamato into the command line.
Immediately, his MABs dove inward and the corresponding Titan adjusting its direction so it could fire its TPCs. Here goes another assault. He sat, hoping for the best for his MABs.
Inside Titan-5, Company 1
Mike ran through corridor with her company while trying to figure out what the aliens will try next in their attempt to stop her advance.
Amazing, how the Argonans never expected a marine assault. They’re trying every tactic available but their means are limited. Gods know, they’ve been trying.
The only thing remaining is to nuke the power core, but they’re not doing that. It’s been 10 minutes since we’ve boarded. What is their next trick then, if not that?
They’ve already tried creating a vacuum in the corridors we’ve breached and entered, but it didn’t work. Our armor suits are gas-tight. We can survive without an atmosphere. Then, they tried dumping poisonous air in our way, but again, our suits protected us from atmospheric poisons.
Then… they tried increasing the artificial gravity to insane amounts on the corridors we’ve inhabited, but that did nothing, because we have antigravity units in our suits.
The only thing they haven’t tried is to detonate antimatter bombs in the corridors we’re in.
The only thing the tricks they pulled have done… is speed up our advance, as their unarmed crewmen can’t inhabit the same corridors we’re in without a vacuum suit and anti-gravity units of their own. In fact, we’ve encountered some of their atmospheric suited crewmen, and we cut them down with our guns easily. They couldn’t even charge us and expect to do any damage to us up close as their fangs and claws are inside their vacuum suits, and thus were completely ineffective at close range.
By all accounts, this ship should have self-destructed, but their ship commanders must be really, really against self-destructing. The commanders must think they can still save the ship some other way… some last ditch effort.
Mike exhaled. Maybe they think they can still get to Earth somehow?
… Not with over 600 human marines inside this vessel, about to encroach on their most vital systems.
Mike sighed. It had been a long arduous 10 minutes. Before the enemy had tried to dump the atmosphere in the decks she was in, they had tried to the maximum to fight her the old fashion way. Most of it was the same. They charged, we killed.
We killed, and they charged, again. Now, since her indicators said the atmosphere was returning to the deck, she guessed that the enemy was about to do the same once more. And if they did try to rush her, again, with claws and fangs, she and her marines were ready once more.
“Get ready,” she said on the company-level comm. “The oxygenated atmosphere is coming back. Expect an ambush anywhere along our line of advance.”
Flag Bridge, Federation Battlecruiser Carpathia
4 minutes later…
Not bad, Yamato noted. All his marine teams were doing pretty well. Titan 5 was almost taken over, as his marine teams almost reached its command center and power core. The boarding of Titan three and four was still in its early phases, but his marines in both were making steady advances with minimum interruption from the enemy’s crew, no matter how hard the lizards tried.
On the battlemap, he saw his Earth MABs hovering above Titan 1 and 2, once again positioned outside each corresponding Titan’s main weapon range. Each MAB there was waiting for his signal. As for Titans 3, 4, and 5 more Earth marine boats were latching on to the big enemy vessels to offer more reinforcements for his forces already inside. He saw dozens of new marine boats leave Earth every minute, as well as marine boats from Mars, which had much further distance to travel.
“MABs 30 to 50, commence boarding attack on Titan 1 and 2,” said Yamato into the command line.
He watched as the assault on 1 and 2 began. The two Titans did the same thing as Titan 3, 4, an
d 5 before them. They fired their TPCS and killed some of his MABs, but not all. Eventually, another 8 MABs were able to latch onto Titan 1, and 7 MABs for Titan 2.
History was repeating itself.
We’re getting there. The ultimate victory.
A ping told him that one of his self-created alerts had been activated. He glanced at the display that had brought up the alert. He saw… marine company two encroaching on Titan 5’s command center. They were just outside the bridge and were about to cut their way in through the main entrance.
Yamato’s heart beat faster as he grew more excited. This was it!
He brought up the foot-level display and now he could see marine Sargent Sherwin’s eye-view as Sherwin’s platoon cut through the hatchway that led to Titan-5’s command center.
“Get ready,” said Sherwin’s voice. “When this big ass metal door goes down, I want two guys going inside and immediately moving to the left and two to the right. We want a good line of fire ‘cause the bastards are sure going to throw every claw and fang they got at us. Everyone should spread out, so we don’t block our own line of fire.”
“Use stun grenades, Sarge,” said Lieutenant Fry’s voice. “Command is gonna want prisoners, especially from the enemy’s command crew.”
“Roger that, sir,” said Sargent Sherwin.
There was a silence.
Yamato patiently waited as four privates continued cutting through the door with their monomolecular blades.
The four privates kept cutting… and cutting—and finally! The door went down!
“Throw stun grenades in there!” yelled Sherwin.
Sherwin’s eye view saw all four of his privates throwing a grenade into the opening. Then, the grenades detonated on the other side. A massive blast of light and noise hit Sherwin’s helmet receptors, but his helmet cam blocked out most of it.
“Alright, platoon, go in! You know what to do!” yelled Sherwin.
All four privates entered the opening. Several seconds later, Sargent Sherwin trailed behind them, entering the opening as well. He saw… a large chamber of filled with lizards charging at the human troops. Sargent Sherwin fired his rifle, which added to enormous staccato of gunfire already existent within the room.
Lizard after lizard charged at the human platoon, and were subsequently mowed down by bullets. Green blood sprayed everywhere and the raw carnage of screaming and shrieking wounded lizards plagued the air.
As more and more human marines entered through the hole behind Sargent Sherwin, it quickly became apparent that the lizards had no chance, and never did.
Something hit Sherwin’s armor — it sounded like a bullet that was too slow to penetrate all his layers of nanocarbon. Sherwin glanced around the room, searching for its origin, and saw who shot it. It was a lizard… the only lizard with a gun… a gun that appeared too weak to do any damage to the human troops within the room.
“Shoot the one with a gun!” yelled a private who must have seen the same thing.
“No!” yelled Sargent Sherwin. “That’s their commander! Use a stun grenade. High command will want that lizzy alive.”
“Roger!”
Two privates tossed a stun grenade in the direction of the armed lizard, and the blast of light and noise that ensued was muted down by Sherwin’s helmet visor.
The lizard commander immediately fell to the ground, clutching its head.
Soon, the last of the lizards within the room went down, and it was apparent that those that had not charged were too stunned to do anything.
“Why’d the Argonans only give one of their crew a gun?” asked a private, who surveyed the dead and dying.
“They must only let their highest level officers have guns,” said Sargent Sherwin. “A signal of rank, and perhaps as disciplinary weapons.”
“A weak strategy if you ask me,” said the private.
“Not in a society where higher ranking soldiers are always being challenged,” said Sherwin, “where there is no consistency in rank from day to day.”
“How did we get beat by something like that?” asked another private.
“I don’t know,” said Sherwin. “Tie up the ones who are stunned! We got more areas to search! And get the xenotechs up here! We’ve got to take over their command controls!”
Inside Titan-5
We’re almost there. We’re almost there!
Mike panted as she ran through corridor E19 in the direction of the Titan’s power core. The other marines in her company ran with her, leaping with their antigrav units turned on.
We’ve got to get in there before they self destruct. Any sane enemy commander would know that it’s better to self-destruct than let technology fall into our hands. But who said these aliens were sane?
Eventually, she slowed down. She and her company neared it — the chamber that stored the enemy’s power core. They just had to cut through this last barrier. “Cut through that hatch, boys. Drill like you’ve never drilled before!” commanded Mike.
Eight marines went up to the enormous hatch and extended their monomolecular blades. The work to open the door began.
Two minutes later, the hatch fell onto opposite room’s floor with a loud clang.
“Go! Everyone go in!” yelled Mike.
Platoon A went in. Seconds later, platoon B went in. Then Platoon C.
It came time for Mike to enter as well, and she did.
When she reached the other side, she gasped. The vast room was empty. There was an enormous power core embedded into the center, with hundreds of plasma conduits extending to all areas of the ship. The other doors to this room were all closed.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” said Sargent Villiers, as more marines from first company entered the room.
Where are the bad guys? Her eyes were still scanning the chamber. And why aren’t they defending their power core?
She saw console stations where aliens used to work, and panels with alien calligraphy. She saw alien writings on the metal walls, and the hatches leading into the room…
“Why are all the doors closed?” asked a private.
Suddenly, there was a grating sound, like metal rubbing against metal. Where is that noise coming from?
“They’re opening up the plasma vents!” someone yelled.
“Plasma? Everyone, get out!” yelled Mike.
But it was too late — she saw something amazingly bright gush out of the vents directly ahead of her.
Plasma from each vent gushed into normal gaseous atmosphere and ignited the gas. The plasma expanded in every direction, further igniting more gas into a shockwave. Gaseous matter exploded and the ensuing blast wave slammed hard into every marine in the room.
Mike barely got her arms up before the blast wave smacked into her. She wasn’t even aware of the sudden Gs that threw her body into the air, finally slamming her into a wall.
Owwww! She fell onto the ground seconds later. Owwww!
But at least I can feel pain, so it’s not that bad. At least, I’m conscious. Mike trembled.
Then the sounds came. The shrieks and animal cries. She heard it before she saw it. After she removed her gaze from the floor, she saw each of the other hatches to the room opening up. Outward flooded ranks upon ranks of bipedal 3-meter-tall lizards.
“Everyone, get ready and open fire!” yelled Mike as she momentarily gazed at all of her company troops, most still on the ground or unconscious.
“Platoon B, get up and open fire!” yelled Sargent Villiers, standing up.
Mike returned her gaze at the incoming lizards. She stood up. She fired her assault rifle at the closest lizard. Her bullets cut into the raw flesh of the Argonan and removed its stomach and bowels into open space. Green blood spurted in every direction. She aimed at another one, and fired, again. Her bullets hit the second lizard in the chest, incapacitating it as it stumbled and fell onto the ground. Its body slid forward due to its initial momentum.
There’s so many! They’re coming at us
in waves!
She aimed again, but this one was so close that she could see the tips of its raging claws and its outstretched teeth. Her bullets smashed into the monster’s teeth, and into its brain. The beast nearly crashed into her. Then she aimed at another 3 meter tall monster — but it clamped its jaws and bit into her rifle!
She tried pulling her rifle away, but the monster clamped its jaws shut. It snapped its jaws so hard that the rifle broke into two.
Damn it!
And then it rushed at her — its jaws snapping at her. She used one arm to block its jaws, careful to not expose her inner arm — with its blood vessels — to the monster’s teeth like she had been taught in survival class. The monster clamped its teeth against her blocking arm’s armor, and luckily she didn’t feel any pain in her arm. Then, with her other arm, she extended her embedded monomolecular blade. The blue blade singed in the air, as she slammed it into the monster’s eyes. The monster let go of her blocking arm and screeched. Then she slashed her blade through the monster’s neck, decapitating it into two.
The headless lizard fell onto the ground.
She looked forward, and saw more monsters hurling towards her.
She extended her second monomolecular blade from her first arm…
And prepared to cut her way through the waves of lizards…
Inside Titan-5
2 minutes later…
The last Argonan fell onto the metal ground in a bloody mess, courtesy of a private whose name she couldn’t remember.
This is their workplace, and we’re desecrating it. But how is it any different than the fact that they intruded into our home system and desecrated our people? Mike surveyed the hundreds of alien corpses, smeared in green blood. She gazed around, thinking of asking a company-wide head count, and decided against it. She didn’t want to know… yet.
Everywhere, she saw hurt marines — their wounds being tended by other marines. The alien claws and jaws were powerful, and it was obvious these primitive alien weapons had succeeded in penetrating even carbon nanofiber armor her marines wore. She saw dead marines too… marines whose necks had been penetrated… or whose bowels had been ripped away from their bodies.