***
Krom felt sluggish, as if his entire world was fogged. He was in it, but he kept floating out of his body. There was no sense of clarity. He knew he was being moved and that there was thumping in the background but he didn't know why. He took a breath, remembering the teachings of the awakeners.
Focus your mind, center yourself and evaluate. Do not think with the senses, but with the mind, evaluating that which you perceive as sense.
He focused on a single point on his forehead, forcing his mind, which kept seeming to yo-yo around, to concentrate on that point. He didn't allow himself to give in to frustration, as he realized that he remembered the sound of one of the noises.
A Free Fleet PDS system, he thought. Remembering the weapon, he focused on the information surrounding it, grounding himself in the knowledge. His mind became focused as he assessed why he heard that weapon, whether it was real or not. It wasn't just one it was tens of them firing. He felt the ground around him moving. The area was being bombarded.
He fought his excitement down they had found him, they would save him. He had another purpose to fulfill. He must find his Battle Master. To do that he had to control not only his mind but his body.
He twitched his body. Drain the poison with circulation. He flexed muscles, his hands, to his forearms, to his upper arm, then chest and back, abdominals and lower back, then legs, calves and feet. He did it again and again, gaining more control of his body each time as he cycled the inhibitor from his system. He checked his implants, and found they were down except for short-range transmissions. He was about to activate his beacon when he paused.
Save the beacon until I'm with James, he thought as his implants connected with another.
“Calerd?” His implants picked up his subvocals so he didn't have to move his mouth.
“Krom? Are we dead finally?” The relief in Calerd's tone made Krom's anger flare.
“No. brother. We are now given a chance to fight. What do you know?”
“Commandos coming for us. They're trying to hide us away in another base,” Calerd said, sounding subdued.
“Good, rest. We will have a chance soon,” Krom said, testing his mobility and finding bindings around his hands.
“Krom, I... I don't know if I can fight anymore,” Calerd said.
“Calerd, you must, if not for yourself then for Dave and Janice,”
“But they're dead, dead because we were too blind to listen to the facts. We killed them!”
“No, they killed them. They lured us here under the pretense of peace, and future trade and betrayed us. We will create an honor guard for Dave and Janice from their ranks. We are Commander Salchar of the Free Fleet's protection detail! We will carve Dave and Janice's names into this planet!” Krom said, fury building in him.
“We're a protection detail? We failed. I can't pick up Salchar at all! They probably granted him mercy,” Calerd sounded relieved.
Krom realized that Calerd was no longer a warrior, that torture had driven him away from the sword and into self-pity. Krom would have only himself to rely on in this fight. At one time that had been his way. Now the Free Fleet had taught him the importance of working with others. Now it felt foreign to be preparing for a fight with no one to rely on.
***
Dreckt fired down another hallway. He moved to the side as an Avarian with a beader fired down the hall, ripping the whole passageway apart. The walls were too thick for plasmid weaponry to be effective and the place was a damned maze, even with the maps that they'd gained from somewhere. Kreum was covering the rear as Dreckt forged ahead with brutal fire power and a lack of any real tactics.
The Avarian advanced, another two waiting on either side to add their fire if needed. A mixed squad followed them, posting sensor balls, a new invention from Felix and the late CAMC, Henry. Teams would stack up and clear the rooms as they went. Backrooms were the way to go. Dreckt took every passage that didn't connect to a main passage to get to his target. He couldn't get bogged down with a long fire fight. He just needed to get to his target area and hold for the other Commandos to link up.
“Kreum, pull up,” He said, getting a green light as Kreum moved his forces closer to Dreckt.
The whole thing was too slow for Dreckt's liking, but he knew charging ahead would only get his people killed. Something he would never forgive himself for.
***
“What in the Dashro is going on?” Marhtu demanded from Jelum, the commander of his armed forces, who was clearly busy, dust and debris falling around the command centre he was located in.
“They've dropped their Commandos on the surface. They're in the bunker compound that Salchar and his people are in. I'm getting them moved to another location,”
“How did they find out? I want the perpetrator found and sent to my KaaOrv's!”
“Sir, we have more immediate problems!” Jelum said, Marhtu's colors showing his annoyance at his commander's lack of the deference due his position.
“You dare use that tone with me! Our fighters will be victorious. We will still take their ships.”
Jelum bowed his head, clearly cowed.
“I am sorry, master, for my words. They too have fighters, one's that are better than our own,”
“Bring in more from other compounds,” Marhtu said, infuriated with the lack of ability in Jelum. He would have to have him replaced after this fiasco. “What about the traitor who sent the Fleet information before they descended?” He would not breathe the traitors’ name, to do so would grant him some small kind of victory.
“He has been dispatched as per your orders. The city is in disarray. It looks like a faction has begun rising up. They have been organized by some unknown group into cells. I do not know how they operate but they are taking over the city rapidly, and other cities have shown a similar uprising,” Jelum said as Marhtu's head swam.
I am surrounded by traitors, all of them creatures that give me smiles, and take from me everything.
He looked to Jelum, his body shaking in anger as his colors flashed into new spectrums.
“Kill this fleet and these traitors and I will give you a city of your own Jelum,”
“Yes, sir,” Jelum said, lowering himself even more.
Marhtu closed the connection.
“Get me my ship,” he said, his guards reacting immediately.
He was favored by Lady Fairgate. If he appealed to her, then she might lend him forces. He could reclaim his planet and show his people how fair he had been before. He had kept his dealings with Lady Fairgate a secret before, so as to not give rebellious factions a reason to gain more support, but now he did not care. This universe was created for people that knew how to work with pirates. There was no such thing as honor, law, or some kind of code to be upheld. These Free Fleet creatures were holding onto an ideal that had long since perished, shortly after the Union had fallen apart.
***
Rick watched as the battle raged. There were fighters coming from other bases across Daestramus. He had requests for assistance taking cities from rebel groups. While he was dealing with the incoming reports from his people inside the base where Salchar and the other Free Fleet personnel were being tortured. It was chaos, he didn’t know how Salchar dealt with it all.
“Vort, give those rebels any and all information you can to assist them. Tell them that we can’t help in a physical capacity at this time,” he said as he scanned his screens. “Resilient have the FengFang enter atmosphere. She's to cover our westwards side. Have them use us as a shield,”
“Good thing we added new armor,” she said, her bulk shaking from hits.
“In coming fighters from the south!” Walf reported.
“Milra, change us to orient south-north on our guns,” Marleen said.
“Do it,” Rick said, as Milra turned to ask him to confirm.
Resilient's thrusters fired, plumes of smoke blasting away as the guns faced the southward fighters.
“Clear the south skies,�
�� Marleen said as Rick passed the orders. He saw what she was doing.
The Free Fleet fighters dove for the ground, exposing the enemy to Resilient’s guns. The rail guns fired, their rounds like colossal buckshot as they exited the barrel and shredded the incoming fighters. Damn, Felix's rounds are effective. Rick thought as the rebels changed to engage the incoming eastward fighters. Half of the fighters were refueling and re-arming.
“Bok Soo, what's the Commando's progress?” he asked. The man was on Pandora, but he was overseeing the ground operations. He was coordinating support and assisting Santos who was the on ground commander.
“We've got a solid beachhead. We've got two platoons moving under Dreckt to get to the supposed location of the prisoners. The rest are clearing as they go,” Bok Soo said, his voiced sounding rushed.
“Leave you to it,” Rick said, not wanting to disturb the CAMC more than needed. He had his own battle to run.
I need to get out of this damned gravity well, he thought. Until he did, he would keep being pounded by the fighters. Resilient was durable, but the Corvettes weren't. Daisy skimmer, one of those corvettes, was climbing back into space as Rinky Dink came down to replace her.
Chapter – Down but Not Out
My implants were down, Savrare’s handiwork had seen to their painful removal.
“Where are the others?” one of the guards asked another group they had run into.
“They'll be here soon,” the new voice said. I looked around seeing Calerd and Shreesht. Both of them looked like hell, with rough points left behind by where an Orv had touched their skin.
I looked to Calerd. His eyes were open but he was unresponsive, looking away instead of facing me. I looked to Shreesht. The Avarian looked at me, groggy but still with a fire behind his eyes. He gave me a small nod, his eyes telling me everything. He was with me no matter what. I tried to tell him to wait with my eyes and he seemed to understand as I looked around slowly. We were in a room with four waiting transports. They had signs and information on them that would make them look like one of the thousands of transports on Daestramus. Once we were in those things we'd be lost.
People were opening them and other carts were being rushed into the room. A few of my people were being dragged through the room, towards us. I could tell they were in immense pain by the way they half-flinched, not strong enough to try and get away from the pain, just acknowledge it. I saw Krom, his eyes were closed as they took him to one of the nearest transports. He looked like he was dead, but suddenly he reached out grabbing a Falu and snapping a lower limb. He rolled off of his cart. Using the Falu as cover, he pulled a side-arm and shot three of the guards. I threw myself at the first guard I encountered, grabbing her plasma pistol. A pull of the trigger took off her leg as I dragged it free.
My body felt slow and groggy, as if I was moving in jelly, everything else felt numb. Shots rang out as the guards reacted. Shreesht punched a Shafio hard enough to kill it as he too dove to the side to use the transports as cover. I tried to yell to the others but nothing came out. I looked to Calerd who just lay upon his cart, subdued. They had gotten to him and broken his will. It only took a matter of time before anyone could be broken. I had simply lasted slightly longer than him. Calerd was of no use to me in the state he was in, but Shreesht and Krom had somehow endured their treatment. The second relations team were mixed. Some were trying to fight, two lay dying from wounds and the remainder were like Calerd.
Krom grabbed a cart, throwing it into a group of guards, he charged them. He ripped into them like a chainsaw. There was no finesse or thought as he dug his claws and teeth into vital areas, his blunt blows leaving guards stunned or dead. He wasn't without wounds either, though he just didn't seem to care. Sporting a plasma burn across his chest as well as the Orv wounds and cuts from tussling with guards, he tossed grenades at the retreating guards.
He ran to the transport I was hiding under. I gave him as much cover as I could as he slipped down next to me. He motioned to me, pointing to his throat. I did the same, neither of us could talk. He pointed to his head with a questioning look. I shook my head. Implants aren't working, I tried to say with my eyes as he nodded, handing me a pistol and some grenades. I fired at the guards and military personnel that weren't running for the doorways. It seemed they didn't care about keeping us alive anymore as they brought heavier weapons to bear against the Transports. I nodded to where Shreesht was and indicated for Krom to bring him back. As I made to go over there, my legs not even supporting my weight, he pushed me down, before running out. Again I gave him cover. Please hurry up. I thought as I kept shooting at the fuckers keeping us from safety.
Shreesht came back a few minutes later, breathing heavily from the short run. I nodded to him as I popped off a few rounds. The other prisoners must have survived, because I could see shots hitting the doorways leading into the room. Shreesht pulled me back and looked to me, his voice raspy.
“Ac...tivate....ed.....Bea...con” he said, coughing as I nodded.
Hopefully someone would pick up on the Beacons that Shreesht, Krom and myself had in our implants. Before it had been useless, but now with our people being so close, hopefully it wouldn't be jammed anymore. My prayers were answered by the response of a beader cannon. A doorway was cleared of Daestramus' people as beads ripped into them. Commando's came out of the doors minutes later, firing at the other doorways to cover a squad which rushed to our aid.
They set up a perimeter, one of them coming to me and sticking a hell fire into my shoulder. I welcomed the pain, knowing that at least with this I'd be able to be useful again. My relief turned to shock as the hell fire took over my body. I watched a guard who wasn't dead raise his pistol, shooting a Commando in the back. Self-loathing filled me as I watched the Commando fall, their visor filled with the purple blood of a Sarenmenti. I cried as hellfire wracked my system, not because of the pain, but at how absolutely fucking useless and powerless I was.
I had gotten my people killed coming to this planet. I was the reason for all of this suffering. I was just an idiot thinking I could make a difference. The Universe didn't care what I did. It would just roll over me. Anger built up, becoming a storm as I looked up at the camera which had been recording my pain. I felt a new kind of strength, a cold and deadly one powering me. I was the commander of the Free Fleet. Shit was bound to happen. I was the one that would remind the bastards of this universe what would come down on them if they crossed me, or my people. A new hatred, raw and terrible, shaped itself inside me. Before I would have been scared by these feelings. Now they gave me a terrible and monstrous strength.
***
Dreckt checked the codes again, they matched with Krom's and Shreesht's.
“Move it! You four blast anything between us and them. Dreckt, I want you on recovery. I'll establish security,”
“Got it.”
Dreckt's Avarians and their beaders laid into anything that dared to put their heads out, the two platoons following right behind.
“Santos, this is Dreckt. I believe that we have a location on Salchar and his security detail. We are moving to intercept,”
“Understood. I'll pass the info higher,” Santos said as Dreckt saw an opening up ahead on his HUD's map. The cannons wasted a group that wasn't paying attention to the right direction.
That's got to be them, Dreckt thought as he had the beader cannons split.
“Shoot anything that isn't ours,” he said, the cannons started shooting into the doorways that opened into the room.
“Move around and secure the entrances, have a gunner in support,” Dreckt said, his squad commanders getting a hold on their people and moving out to secure the doorways.
Dreckt looked to Kreum who was just getting to the transports. He had his people checking on the prisoners there, and creating an all-around-defense. Kreum walked up the side of a transport as one of the guards who’d been playing possum lifted a pistol. A shot rang out as Dreckt ripped his eyes from the scene. The nois
e in his suit and the information scroll, told him all he needed to know. Kreum was one with the light.
“Secure this goddamn place down!” Dreckt said, fighting back his emotions as he checked the overhead hangar doors.
“Dreckt to CAG, I have a possible route for extraction,” he said, passing information to Heston's staff, who were working the shuttles and fighters.
“Understood. Get it open and we'll get you transport,” the person said, somehow sounding calm during all of this chaos.
“Understood. Will do. Someone find me a control panel for that overhead,” Dreckt said to his squad leaders.
***
“It's confirmed. We have the prisoners,” Vort said, not wanting to use the names of those who they'd recovered just yet. Casting eyes at Edwards, he thought that the man had been suspiciously quiet since learning about coming to Daestramus. But he seemed to be on his best behavior. Rick understood it completely. When they had been travelling from Earth to Parnmal he had done nothing but complain and get into every nook and cranny he was not supposed to be in.
“Get them back up here and pull our remaining forces. We've been down here long enough,” Rick said as Vort turned to pass out the orders.
Heston's fighters had done an amazing job, but they'd still been lit up to all hell. Santos' people as well. Rick wondered if he'd made the right choice getting the Fleet's people back, at the cost of losing even more. Only time will tell, Rick said to himself. He felt that it had been the right call. The Free Fleet looked after its own, no matter the cost.
“Walf, we have confirmed targets on those extra fighters’ hangars, correct?” Rick said, noticing some enemy fighters retreating.
“Uhh, yes sir. We're getting it relayed from Daisy, which is linking up with the rest of the Fleet,” he said, clearly not thinking of that as Rick nodded.
“Vort,” Rick said. “Inform the orbiting fleet that I want those targets marked, and hit. Kinetics only, I don't want any fallout, or any civilian casualties.”
***
Free Fleet Box Set 2 Page 20