Star Crusades

by Michael G. Thomas

  “This is more like it. Tactical, we have work to do. Coordinate with our squadron. You may fire at will.”

  They swept in towards the front flank of the ship and dropped downwards at the last minute to head underneath. The main guns fired again and again, but there was no cheering as the gunfire raked the alien ship. No sooner had they fired, the alien vessel responded. It began with a few streaks of gunfire, and then it lit up like a massive Christmas tree. Streams of projectiles reached out, hitting more than a dozen different ships.

  “We’re in for the fight of our lives,” said the XO nervously, “That ship is a monster. A titan of the seas.”

  They were now directly underneath, and massed fire ripped down to hit the Alliance ships. One Morato took two volleys that would have crippled a lesser ship and kept on going. The fighters had a tougher time, and two exploded as they were caught in the crossfire.

  “Close-ranged weapons. Use everything we have. Rake that bastard!” Captain Regina ordered.

  They turned around to head towards the line of cruisers now pounding the massive ship’s flank. Light flashed continuously as particle weapons tore away armour and plating with ease, yet the ship’s massive size rendered the damage little more than superficial.

  “Where is the Admiral?” Captain Regina asked as they rolled continually to avoid presenting one part of the ship to the enemy.

  “Sir. The heavies are massing ahead of the alien ship, both dreadnoughts, the battlecruiser, and eight cruisers. They’ve designated a bombardment corridor. I think they’re about…”

  He stopped as all twelve ships fired together. The particle beam weapon struck first, and then came the broadsides from the half a kilometre long dreadnoughts. Their massive 450mm mass driver bombardment cannons unleashed shells of the size rarely seen before. Each was roughly as big as a Human, though bulkier and tapered to a point. Every tip was constructed from ultra-dense material and hardened to allow maximum penetration in battle. And packed inside those shells was a micro-atomic warhead that would detonate with the equivalent of twenty tonnes of TNT in a confined space. The heat could melt through armour bulkheads and even a ship’s powercore.

  “Beautiful,” said Lieutenant Zimmer, “The alien vessel is sustaining significant damage.”

  “Good work. Don’t let up now.”

  “Aye, Captain. We’re hitting her with everything we’ve got.”

  She expected to see further flashes of energy from their guns, but the Lieutenant stopped and lifted a hand to his mouth.

  “Lieutenant?”

  “Tactical scans from Triumph have detected movement out in the clouds.”

  “Movement? Get to the point, Lieutenant.”

  “Well, I believe we have another three formations of ships, and they’re already moving fast. They’re coming this way.”

  “When? Where?”

  He tagged their original position, and then the marker lines showing their movement towards the battle.

  “Scans showed they were inner objects in the system, dormant and cold. They were flagged as asteroids or moons by fleet sensors.”

  “Dammit,” snapped the XO, “Continue your scans of the area. We cannot deal with more surprises.”

  “I’ve checked them,” said Chief Engineer Linus, “I don’t know how any of us missed this when we arrived. They’re still cold as ice. Only their movement gave them away. There’s nothing else within range.”

  “Like they’ll need anything else. I see three formations, with another dozen attack ships coming our way.”

  “They will be here in thirty seconds,” said Lieutenant Zimmer.

  The waypoints and positions for the fleet changed as new orders arrived from the flagship. Each change and adjustment made the Captain’s nostrils twitch in frustration.

  “All escorts are being pulled back to protect the heavies,” she said, shaking her head, “This was our chance to end the fight…here and now.”

  She considered refusing the orders, but at this range they continued to be hit by fire.

  “Then take us in closer to our flagship. Let’s do what we can, while we can.”

  They were halfway there when the new arrivals materialised near the Ski’lig flagship. They arrived so quickly one of them clipped the rear of an Alliance cruiser and split off its stern, triggering a series of blasts that ripped the ship apart.

  “Twelve attack ships to add to the four already deployed,” said Lieutenant Zimmer, “This battle just became a lot more dangerous.”

  “Wait,” said Captain Regina, “What is that?”

  The forward view shifted as it changed to the underside of the massive alien ship. Thousands of dark shapes launched from below and then fell into the atmosphere of the planet.

  “They’re bombarding the planet,” said First Lieutenant Meredith.

  “No,” said Captain Regina, “Those are not bombs.”

  * * *

  Alliance Heavy Starcarrier ‘ANS Izumo, Ekati Alpha

  General Rivers watched the battle taking place with increasing frustration. The enemy fleet was clustered around their flagship, the attack ships wreaking havoc amongst the transports and escorts that had been unable to withdraw fast enough. The remainder of the Alliance fleet now moved in a single large formation, slowly circling the alien vessels and continued to bombard them.

  “General,” said Major Shipley, his Naval Liaison officer.

  “Yes, Major?”

  “We’re picking up urgent distress calls from the surface.”

  “Distress, why? Show me.”

  His eyes opened wide in horror as videostreams from the landing grounds showed objects falling from the sky. They moved quickly like bombs, crashing into the ground in a cloud of fire and smoke.

  “Get our people further underground,” he said angrily.

  But then the smoke began to clear, and he could see it wasn’t shells hitting the ground, but something far deadlier. They were small objects, roughly the size of a ship’s lifeboat but shaped like an acorn, with the narrow front embedded into the ground. More continued to crash to the surface, some even hitting fighters and transports currently waiting on the ground. A unit of marines advanced towards one of the pods as the sides flipped open like petals. Inside was a single squad of figures that charged towards the marines. They were heavily armoured and carried much shorter weapons than those normally used by the Ski’ligs. Some of the marines fell under the storm of fire, and then as they returned fire, more of the shapes arrived.

  “General. We’ve got thousands of them hitting the surface. Each one is putting ten to twenty soldiers into the fight. We’ve been duped.”

  “Those cunning bastards,” he muttered, “They let us dig deep into this rock and sacrificed ships to keep us here. And now this flagship sits there and shrugs off our attacks, as if we’re little more than fleas biting a dog.”

  “What about our people below?”

  “God save them now…because we cannot. They need to dig deep and hope beyond hope we can survive the battle up here.”

  Even as he said the words, a beam of light struck the bow of the starcarrier, and remained there as it cut into the ship. Volleys of gunfire hammered into her flanks, setting off hundreds of small explosions. It looked as though this was the end, and he looked directly ahead ready to accept his fate. He’d fought so many battles, and each one he’d assumed would leave him dead. This place was no different, and unlike most soldiers, he was ready to go.

  “General!” said the Captain.

  “Yes?”

  “Admiral Hurik. She’s leading the heavies into a close-range attack and screening us.”

  “Good, about damned time, too. Now bring us about, and keep the heavies between us and the enemy.”

  “General, shouldn’t we withdraw?”

  “Why? They can reach us until the moment we leave through the Rift. So we stay, and we fight.”

  “Yes, General.”

  He smiled as the battered, but incredibly
resilient warship turned slowly and opened fire with its massed secondary weapons. Though designed for self-defence, they were still more than capable of showering the enemy attack ships with a storm of fire.

  “Oh…and do you have any fighters left onboard?”

  “We have one squadron of…”

  “Good. If it’s onboard, get it in the air. We might not have another chance.”

  For a second he almost believed it, but then a beam of light hit one of the two battlecruisers, punching through and coming out the other side. Explosions tore away a large part of the lower hull, and the massive alien ship bombarded it with direct fire guns. ANS Triumph fired at point-blank range, and then took an equal amount of return fire. A Liberty destroyer managed to pass through unscathed, and then took fire from three attacks ships that took it apart with ease. General Rivers glanced at the tactical map and almost choked.

  “Two more ships gone and three heavily damaged. Maybe we have a chance,” he said under his breath, “And maybe we don’t.”

  Even as he said it, a Ski’lig attack ship hurled itself at the column of heavy transports. With only their close-range defence turrets to protect them, they could do little more than harass the enemy as the ships crashed through the formation. Some intentionally slammed into the transports, causing heavy damage or even destroying them as they pulled away. The Ski’lig ships didn’t escape unscathed, yet still they came on, doing whatever it took to cripple the ships.

  He looked to the Rift, but he knew no help would be coming. It would take another week for ships from the Helios sector to be redeployed. That meant he would have to strip ships from the shipyards over the still unfinished Yorkdale Naval Station.

  “Put me on with the Admiral, and fast.”

  We need more ships.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The Cavern, Ekati Alpha, The Ski’lig Territories

  Valentine opened her eyes and let the cool air wash over her face. It tasted strange, and her suit’s filters struggled to keep it clear, but for just those few minutes it was worth it. She took a sip of lukewarm water from the feed tube and leaned back against the rock wall of the site the marines had christened, The Cavern. Some of the other Novas had done the same, and even the marines were enjoying short breaks of cool air before being required to pull back their helmets.

  “Nice piece,” said Hawkins.

  He nodded towards the rifle resting against her leg. It was a heavily modified L48, with a large cooling shroud over the front barrel, as well as its sights removed. The thing was very sleek and much stronger than the standard weapon. It also carried a slightly curved box magazine.

  “Yeah, a gift from the IAB. One of their Jötnar saw my knackered guns and threw this at me.”

  She lifted her right hand where the machine pistol assembly had been smashed.

  “It’s old school. I thought the L48 was only used by specialists now.”

  “And by me it seems.”

  She lifted the weapon and examined it with interest. The grey housing was marked, but it still didn’t look anywhere as old as it should have been.

  “That’s not a marine’s weapon,” laughed Captain Olik as he walked past. Valentine looked up as he headed towards the throng of officers clustered around battlefield computers.

  “What is it, then?”

  “That’s half a Thumper!”

  “Whoa,” said Kallias, “For real?”

  Valentine held it up in front of her and turned it around for a closer look.

  “The housing is bigger, and the shroud could be for cooling and for use in hand-to-hand combat.”

  “Yeah, and that mag,” said Hawkins, “That’s a lot bigger than normal. Double capacity I’d say.”

  Valentine lifted it up, and then activated the weapon. It was still safe, but now connected directly to her armour, and to Tex.

  LX48S. Modified fire support rifle for heavy robotics and Jötnar units. Standard dual forty round rounds and integrated serrated fighting blade on the lower housing.

  “Dammit,” said Hawkins, “Where’s mine?”

  “Go and talk to the Jötnar. Maybe they will donate one to you. After all, four guns clearly aren’t enough for you.”

  “The others laughed, and for a moment they were able to enjoy a brief few minutes of quiet. The Cavern, as they called it was hardly an original name, and like most of the other locations on the planet had been named purely for its looks. The other Novas were doing much the same as the marines continued to shackle their new prisoners. Most were the forced labourers, but there were also more than a dozen Ski’ligs, each of which hissed and emitted strange high-pitched sounds whenever they tried to speak with them. They were deep underground now, and according to her sensors, it was even colder here than it had been on the surface when they’d first landed.

  “Can somebody explain how we’re breathing down here?” Hawkins asked.

  Kallias shrugged.

  “It’s warmer down here, and don’t drone scans show heavy industry further down? There must be equipment deep inside this rock.”

  “Maybe. It’s still weird though, right, Val?”

  “Oh…you’re not wrong. I’ve never heard of a place quite like this. But don’t forget the green stuff. It’s working with the environment, and if I had to guess, I’d say it plays a part in creating the air down here. Without our life support systems, it would still not be enough. But for other creatures this is definitely a liveable environment.”

  There was a silence again until Hawkins broke it with yet another mundane point.

  “So after all this, our victory looks like this. I imagined standing on top of a fortress waving a battle flag. Not sitting in the cold surrounded by prisoners.”

  “That’s because you’re an idiot,” said Kallias, “This is a mining world. It’s not exactly Terra Nova, is it?”

  That caught Valentine’s attention. She thought about the planet, or at least what they had seen so far.

  “Wait a second,” she said, thinking aloud, “That kind of makes me wonder where their homeworld is? Surely they don’t live on a mine?”

  “Then why are we here?” Hawkins asked.

  “Because it’s the only inhabited planet in this entire star system, dumbass. That’s why.”

  “Still, this place is kind of impressive,” said Alexis, “It must have taken years to do this.”

  She looked up and out to the massive cavern in front of them. It was a colossal space cut into the heart of the planet, with smaller shafts and tunnels heading dozens of kilometres off below them. One particular side was curved like a crescent moon and rose hundreds of metres above them, and cut into the rock were steps, as well as rungs, and even metal railings.

  “I want to know what’s over there,” said Hawkins.

  He nodded to the left where a series of paths were cut into the rock, narrow bridges, and fragile causeways worked their way over a deep trench cut deep into the rock itself. The shaft worked its way horizontally through the planet and vanished many kilometres into the distance. High above it were a number of perches and monitoring stations that hung from thick chains.

  “I tell you what this is,” said Valentine, “And it’s nothing pretty. This right here is the heart of a slave mine. I bet before we arrived it was teeming with tens of thousands of slave workers, all watched over by Ski’ligs circling overhead.”

  “And now they’ve all gone to ground. Maybe they’re not as tough as we all thought they were.”

  “Maybe. Or maybe they’re a lot smarter and know when to fight, and when to flee.”

  She looked off into the massive caverns that riddled the place. Even with the limited scanning data from other marines, and the reconnaissance drones that had been sent out, it was clear the place was much bigger than expected.

  “I’m starting to wonder if this place is something much more important than we thought. What if the Skils are right below us and closer to the core? It would be warmer for sure, and a lot of them seeme
d to vanish after their first attempts at stopping us.”

  “Interesting,” said Alexis, “When we attacked the guns, they were protected by a host of Ski’lig warriors. Now that we’re moving deeper inside, we’re running into workers.”

  “Yeah. What do they eat?” Hawkins asked, “This place is a sterile wasteland, and I can’t believe for a second they eat diamonds.”

  “True,” said Valentine, “It’s strange, I’ll give you that. Maybe when all this is over our anthropologists will be able to explain what’s going on here.”

  Lance Corporal Tsarkov walked past Hawkins and gave Valentine a short nod of acknowledgement as he moved on towards Sergeant Jablonsky. Valentine watched him go, wondering quite what he was up to. He did seem to have calmed down recently, but there was always something about him that left her wary.

  “Whoa, what was that?” said a marine as he stumbled and nearly fell over. Dust fell from the ceiling, and Valentine looked up as more shaking ripped through the planet. It started off sporadically and then increased so that something hit the surface every five to ten seconds.

  “What’s going on?” Valentine moved from the passage wall, “Are those our guns or theirs?”

  Reports from the surface are concerning, Objects are hitting the surface, with most coming in at the landing ground and other entry points, said Tex.

  “What’s happening?” shouted a marine, and then the underground chamber turned to a hive of activity, “Are you hearing this?”

  Tex, what the hell?

  It is the enemy. They are here in vast numbers.

  She moved away from the Novas and spotted General Gun and Captain Olik shouting at a Ski’lig prisoner. She moved so quickly that two marines turned and tried to stop her. She skidded to a halt, and Olik glanced back at her as the ground shook. Dust dropped down amongst them, and Olik wiped some of it from his visor before speaking.

  “What is it, Lance Corporal?”

  “Wait,” said General Gun, “More of them are coming down to the Trench. We’ve got company. A lot of company.”