Star Crusades

by Michael G. Thomas

  “Captain,” said Chief Engineer Linus, “Just as they powered up their engines, I picked up strange readings from inside her lower hull.”

  “What kind of readings?”

  “That’s just it. They were garbled and incomplete, but I’m certain they were Alliance transponders.”

  “From inside the ship?”

  The XO almost choked as she looked to the gleaming dot as it left the star system. Captain Regina pointed to the ship just as it finally vanished from view.

  “You’re telling me that they have our people onboard?”

  Chief Engineer Linus nodded.

  “It is possible, Captain. I am almost certain they were naval transponders…”

  He looked back to his bank of displays and continued running through the data. Columns of icons flashed past, and it looked as though he’d completely forgotten that they were in the middle of a conversation.

  “Chief?”

  He continued for several more seconds, and then grunted as if he’d just discovered, or at least understood more than he’d already let on. He looked back at the Captain who waited with her hands on her hips.

  “Well?”

  “Captain, it’s confirmed. One of the crew was broadcasting a message near to a heavily damaged part of the hull. It was a narrow band, encoded, and focused message targeting our ships.”

  “They knew we were here,” Captain Regina said in hushed tones, “And still we were unable to help them.”

  She walked from her position towards the front and between the Engineering and Tactical stations.

  “Show me our recorded footage of the Ski’lig ship.”

  Video footage overlaid with tactical scans and estimated schematics expanded before her eyes.

  “Rotate and show me the source of the transmission.”

  Lieutenant Zimmer rubbed his chin as he struggled overlay three sets of data to show as much of the hull as possible. Then he zoomed in closer and waited for the computer to fill in the blanks.

  “There.”

  None of them had looked this closely at the alien ship so far, but as they did so, it was clearly unlike any of the others they had encountered. The basic style was little changed to the much smaller attack ships, but there were domes and embellishments never seen on the other craft.

  “This must be a transport ship or mothership of some kind,” said the Captain, “It’s clearly designed to carry a lot of people for a very long time.”

  “Like the Worldships at Taxxu?” Lieutenant Zimmer suggested.

  “Maybe. Now pull back from the damage…slowly.”

  Each time he moved back, it took a few seconds for the computer to render the missing data, but as it finished they could all see the damage.

  “Okay, that isn’t from gunfire,” said Lieutenant Zimmer, “And that…right there. That’s wreckage from an Alliance ship. The computer says it is eighty-eight percent certain it is ANS Coventry. Part of her hull is still there embedded in the Ski’lig ship.”

  “They rammed the Ski’lig ship?”

  “Unlikely. There’s less than fifteen percent of the ship left, and it is all heavily embedded into the side of the enemy ship. And the damage to the lower side…”

  He scratched his head and then looked back. Captain Regina lifted a hand to silence him and studied the forward view from the ship. The enemy attack ship had run into the path of the main line of Alliance ships and was paying the price. She smiled as beams of lights ripped into its hull, causing significant damage. Once satisfied her ship was no longer in danger she looked back.

  “Go on.”

  “Captain, if I had to put money on it, I would say Coventry overloaded her engines and detonated. The hull damage and burn markers to the Ski’lig ship, and the hole in her hull, match that blast pattern of a nearby ship. I would guess Coventry made it close to the ship and then exploded. The blast tore open the Ski’lig ship’s outer hull and ruptured scores of compartments.”

  “But if that’s true, how did we get a message?” First Lieutenant Meredith asked, “A blast of that magnitude would have killed all onboard, and we have found no pods or lifeboats anywhere in this area.”

  “That’s because they were never onboard,” said Captain Regina.

  They all looked back to her, but none could work out what she was thinking.

  “It’s not so complex, if you think about it,” she said with a smile, “How can you be onboard an enemy ship at the same time as your own vessel explodes?”

  “Of course,” said her XO, “They boarded the Ski’lig ship before detonation. And that must mean they are still inside the ship.”

  “Wow,” said Lieutenant Zimmer, “The crew of a frigate boarded a ship as big as a space station. Her captain must have balls of solid steel.”

  Captain Regina’s eyebrows rose in surprise at his words.

  “Captain Nektaria Zacharias is an experienced officer and skilled captain. There’s a reason he commanded a squadron of warships out here.”

  Before she could say more, a burst of fire struck the portside bow of Nautilus. She scowled as the attack ship turned away, trying to escape as it came under fire from the dreadnoughts. Two turned and accelerated away, while the third remained where it was and continued to fire.

  “Tactical. Give them a volley. Nobody fires on my ship and gets away unscathed.”

  “Aye, Captain. Firing,” said Lieutenant Zimmer.

  The array of guns fitted on the upper superstructure flashed once as the quadruple 255mm particle cannons delivered a powerful burst of fire. Part of the enemy ship broke away, and then more split apart as other ships joined in. It returned fire only once before succumbing to heavy damage. The hull remained significantly intact while scores of small explosions crackled about the outer hull as the vessel explosively decompressed. The rest of the fleet stopped shooting, leaving the wrecked ship adrift in space, yet another dead hulk to litter the system.

  “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” asked the XO.

  “We’ve got an intact, but dead in the water attack ship,” said Captain Regina, “And if I’m not mistaken, it looks like she still has partial power. She’s not quite as dead as we thought.”

  She looked at her XO with a raised left eyebrow.

  “Interesting. Get me Captain Olik immediately.”

  It took a few seconds before his image appeared, and he looked more irritable than normal. Other officers were nearby, and she could see he was on the bridge of one of the Confederate Class warships.

  “Yes?”

  “Captain. We’re in range of a crippled attack ship.”

  “And? We have a campaign to begin. We don’t have time to strip hulks in space.”

  “The ship still has power, Captain. If so, we may be able to obtain data from her systems. There may even be prisoners. It’s not often we catch one of them in space.”

  “Go on.”

  “I have Jackals loaded with six lances of Novas that are good to go. I can have them aboard in less than ten minutes.”

  He rubbed his chin as he considered that, and then gave her the nod.

  “One lance only,” he said carefully, “Let’s not risk too many of our soldiers so early in this fight. Keep the others in reserve, just in case. You recall the last time we boarded and captured one of their ships.”

  “You’re expecting trouble?”

  Olik shrugged.

  “I always expect trouble, Captain Regina. If I were on that ship, I’d rig it to blow the second it was boarded. Eight Novas is already eight more than I want to chance.”

  “Understood, Captain. Sending them in now.”

  He turned to leave, and then looked back.

  “Wait, who are you sending aboard?”

  “Lieutenant Jack Fletcher, with Sergeant Jablonsky’s lance.”

  Olik smiled upon the mention of the names.

  “Good. They’re more than familiar with booby traps. Remind them to watch themselves. They’ve died enough times already.�
�

  “Yes, Captain.”

  Captain Regina took in a deep breath and then nodded towards the ship now circling slowly in space. Trails of dust and gas from breaches in its hull gave it the impression of a dying beast, but she knew better.

  “Helm, bring us in on a deployment orbit around that ship. Keep us moving. I don’t want to make things easy for them. Once the Novas are launched, we will fall back to the outer marker and provide covering fire if needed.

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “And Comms, put me through with Lieutenant Fletcher.”

  “Sir!”

  * * *

  Something slammed against the hull of Nautilus so hard it shook the dropships clamped inside. Valentine looked across to Alexis who gave an alarmed expression.

  “That was heavy.”

  Valentine smiled and then looked to the others. None of the Novas had jumped, even though they were well aware that Nautilus might have just sustained a major hit from an enemy vessel. All of them had gone into combat numerous times, and all critically injured or technically killed in battle. For most it numbed their senses, and she knew at least a handful of them simply did not care whether they lived or died anymore. They were here for the camaraderie and the thrill of combat.

  “She can take it,” said Sergeant Jablonsky, “It’s just debris from the attack ship. That thing is spewing junk everywhere.”

  Kallias appeared happy to hear that part.

  “You mess with the bull, and you get the horns!”

  “What?” Hawkins shook his head, “What are you talking about now?”

  Valentine laughed as she listened to the banter. She’d missed this over the last months in the medical bays. They’d developed a closer bond while she’d been away, though now that she was back, she’d slipped into routine as though she’d never left. She watched the others inside the cramped, darkened interior of the Jackal with interest.

  “Okay, Novas.” The side door opened, and Lieutenant Fletcher stepped inside, “We’ve got a mission!”

  Valentine had gone into battle inside landing craft, dropships, and even fully fledged landing ships over her relatively short career. For all that experience, she still felt the nerves in her body, a reminder that the unknown waited out there for them, and that even a Nova wasn’t immortal. They could be saved, but only up to a point.

  “What kind of mission?” Sergeant Jablonsky asked.

  “Special request from the Boss.”

  That drew silence from each of them. Only one person was called the Boss in the unit, and that it was easy to enrage their leader, Captain Olik. Those that had served alongside him knew what a monster he could be on the battlefield, and those that hadn’t had the pleasure knew the stories. Some had heard of the number of foes he’d ripped limbs from, while others had heard tales of the mighty warrior standing alone in a passage, taking multiple hits, and simply howling at his foe to strike him. Valentine knew better, but even she knew that an enraged Olik was a warrior best steered clear of.

  “We’re up for it,” said the Sergeant, “Whatever the Captain needs, he gets.”

  “Simple mission. I’m taking in your lance aboard a disabled Ski’lig attack ship.”

  “One lance, Sir? Eight Novas?”

  “Ten, including us.”

  He tapped his arm, and a plan of the ship appeared inside their helmets. Valentine tapped her visor, and it slid down before she realised the imagery was being fed directly to her ocular system via her Cortex. The ship looked similar to the vessel she’d helped capture on the planet’s surface, though the inner compartments seemed smaller, and it was clearly much more heavily armoured than the transport. Overall, there was more common in the design than different.

  “The ship has been split open, but she still has power.”

  “What is our objective? I can’t imagine there are many souls left onboard?”

  “Search and recover. We need any data that can be obtained. We have done this before on Eridani Prime, and we can do it again. Your cortexes have been upgraded with the latest data on Ski’lig data systems. Strip what you can from them. Then we bug out.”

  The other Novas began to detach their clamps, but Lieutenant Fletcher lifted a hand in surprise.

  “Hey, where do you think you’re all going?”

  They seemed confused, especially as he tapped the door controls, and the outer door slid back into position.

  “One lance enters the ship, two will stay here in case they’re needed for backup.”

  “What do you say?” said an irritated sounding Sergeant.

  “Sir, Yes, Sir!”

  “All right, then,” he said happily, “Let’s go to work.”

  He moved to the vertical barrier and stepped against it. The clamps activated automatically and locked his Rhino armour into position.

  “You heard the Lieutenant,” said Sergeant Jablonsky, “We’re going in.”

  The dropship shook, but Valentine knew this time it was not a hit, but the Jackal being lifted to the platforms along the top of the ship. It didn’t take long as soon the dropship rocked gently while they waited atop the frigate.

  “Detaching!” said a voice towards the front. Valentine smiled as she recognised the sound of their pilot, the daring Lieutenant Sterling, “This won’t take long.”

  Valentine nodded to herself and then remembered she’d deactivated her Cortex’s ability to initiate communication. With no more than a thought she activated the unit, and he sprung to life.

  Well, that’s better.

  Valentine laughed to herself as she heard the reassuring sound of her friend.

  Tex, good to be back.

  I see you’ve sustained multiple repairs since you were last active. I’m showing ninety-eight percent effectiveness. You need more time to…

  Enough. Not now. Test my gear.

  Affirmative.

  Only then did she look back to the other three members of her unit. Alexis was busily chatting with Sergeant Jablonsky, but Hawkins and Kallias were both surprisingly silent.

  “You two good to go?”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Kallias said, “I’ve been itching to teach my homebody Hawkins another lesson on combat.”

  Hawkins stared back at him, doing his best to hide his smirk.

  “That’s rich from a city boy. Have those hands ever worked a day in their lives?”

  “Don’t hate me for being from Prime, space boy.”

  They both laughed, and Valentine looked back to Alexis and shook her head. For all the differences in upbringing and culture, the two men were so much alike. Kallias was from the rich and successful industrial world of Proxima Prime, while Hawkins came from a struggling family originally from Carthago. Like his parents he was highly religious, and ever critical of those from Terra Nova. They were nothing alike, but when in the armour, what difference was there?

  “Okay…” said the Lieutenant, “We’re in position. This will be a standard insertion from two hundred metres.”

  “We’re not using the umbilical?” Alexis asked.

  “Not today, Corporal. There’s a chance the ship may be booby trapped. We don’t want to lose a lance and a Jackal in one day. Even one Nova is too much for searching space junk.”

  “Man,” muttered Kallias, “I know Hawkins ain’t worth much, but that’s harsh.”

  His friend shook his head in feigned anger.

  “Enough,” said Alexis, “Get on mission.”

  Kallias might have been enjoying the moment, but those few words from the Corporal instantly silenced him. He looked around to the others, and then nodded to Alexis.

  “Good,” she said as a warning sounded inside the craft. Sergeant Jablonsky said a few words to the Lieutenant, and then looked back to the Novas.

  “3rd Lance…Go!”

  Valentine smiled as she descended to the underside of the Jackal, almost as though she was little more than a bomb. Once through the sealed hatches she was jettisoned with a puff of ga
s and thrown towards the clouds of wreckage.

  “Good hunting!” Lieutenant Fletcher said as he moved ahead of the others. He quickly darted in and out of the wreckage with impressive speed.

  Wow! Not bad! Valentine thought.

  “Novas,” said Sergeant Jablonsky, “Use your thrusters and make for marked waypoints. Move in pairs.”

  Valentine moved closer to Hawkins, and Kallias did the same with Alexis. It was a manoeuvre they had practiced many times before. Valentine looked directly ahead, and for nearly a minute she felt like a superhero. Her bulk and weight meant nothing in the vacuum of space, and she felt fast and free. The enemy ship was right ahead, and she could see the breaches marked on her visor.

  “Going in now!”

  She lifted her hands to protect her face as she whooshed in through the breach and towards the inner walls. Just moments before crashing into the metalwork, she rolled about, slamming into the wall feet first. Her legs compressed and then slowly expanded back out as they locked into the metalwork. Kallias came in right behind her, and once landed, he deployed his arm guns and tracked for targets.

  “Looks clear to me, Val.”

  Valentine nodded and pushed away, so that she was floating once more and reverted to her thrusters. They were small additions to the Rhino armour and only capable of use in a weightless environment. On the surface of a planet, they would prove useless.

  “Look,” she said as they pushed through a warren of broken cabling, some of which pulsed blue with energy, “This ship took a beating.”

  “Yeah. And the crew didn’t do much better.”

  They entered a shattered internal space so severely damaged it was difficult to tell what shape it had been. There were patterns like blood over the walls, as well as parts of the crew drifting about, each frozen solid in the cruel, frozen temperature.

  “Death in space is never nice,” said Valentine.

  “Agreed.”