What are we doing?
After what seemed like an age, they rounded a corner and directly into another marine, as well as Captain Galanos herself. Like the marines, she also wore full PDS Alpha body armour, and in her hands she carried the venerable L52 carbine. Her first words were to the alien, and then to him.
"Cadet. So, the Byotai are engaged. Can they hold?"
Nate licked his lower lip.
"For now, Captain. Private Valentine told me they needed you to hit them, hard and fast, Sir. Her words."
Captain Galanos grinned.
"I intend on doing just that."
She then nodded at the Byotai weapon in Nate's hands.
"Take the safety off. Can you use it?"
Nate could have shouted at himself for being so stupid. This particular Byotai weapon had a time-sensitive safety unit. If it were unused for more than five minutes or so, it would revert to its safe state. He had actually deactivated it the moment he'd been handed the weapon. The small bar near the trigger had pushed out and emitted a faint, barely perceivable glow. He pushed it in, and a gentle hum echoed through the unit.
"Yes, Captain. I can use it."
Captain Galanos remained impassive as he made the weapon ready for battle.
"Very well. Come with us."
The two PDS armoured warriors moved into the next passageway and towards a closed blast door. This part of the ship was less often travelled and a much narrow section barely wide enough for two people side by side. The door opened as they approached and gave access to a small cylindrical room, itself leading to additional doors. The three moved inside, but as Nate entered, the other two stopped.
"Ready, Captain."
The Captain glanced at the weapon and gave him a brief smile.
"Good work, Cadet."
The two were now waiting, and Nate stopped once he was in front of the hatch entrance, assuming they would enter first. The first marine had moved his head inside, but Captain Galanos pulled him back and shook her head.
"No, he can go first."
She then looked to Nate.
"Take the lead, Cadet, and keep your head down."
Being the smallest of the three, he was much more suited to the narrow passage. Even so, he stopped to check with the Captain.
"Sir, are you..."
"Cadet Lewis. The passage is narrow. You can enter without making much noise. Check it is clear. We will follow."
Nate moved into the darker passageway and turned sideways. He might have been smaller than the other two, but it was still quite a tight fit. At least twice his back scraped along the wall, and each time he almost panicked at the sound it made. He could not see the Byotai from here, but the sound of battle was definitely close. He looked down at his own weapon and suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable.
Where are they?
He looked to his left and saw the armoured face of Captain Galanos looking at him.
"Keep going," she said quietly.
Nate took another long breath and moved another six metres before clambering out of the narrow gap. The main lights were off, and only a secondary light flickered in the distance. The passage was tall and narrow, with the ceiling filled with pipes. Every two metres a pair of bulkhead sections pushed out, narrowing the space even more.
Don't stop now.
Nate moved one foot at a time, working his way through the section until finally reaching the halfway point. The bulkheads were narrowest here and gave a view of two new corridors. A light flashed to the left, followed by shooting. He pulled himself to the bulkhead and peered around the side. There was nobody there, but off into the corridor were shadows, and multiple flashes just like there had been near Private Valentine.
It's them.
Nate looked back. Both PDS armoured marines were looking back at him from the other side of the narrow section. He crept back to them, doing his best as before to make little noise. He pushed his head inside and whispered.
"It's them, Sir. The Byotai are to the left, at the end of the corridor. I can hear them talking."
The two warriors looked to each other, and then Captain Galanos began to climb through. She paused and lifted her left arm, pointing ahead. Compared to Nate's, her hand was massive inside its armoured gauntlet.
"Wait at the end. Cover us."
Nate needed no encouragement and headed back to the end of the long section and waited. Unlike the marine issue PDS Alpha armour, his lacked the sensors and tracking equipment. Once there he had to rely upon his own sight and hearing. He had run through Marine simulations a few times before, but he'd always been kitted out with the latest issue gear. He'd never felt quite so vulnerable as he did right now. A quick glance around the corner at least confirmed that the Byotai were not about to kill him. The hairs rose on the back of his neck, and he twisted around as Captain Galanos pulled herself forcibly through the gap. Her armour screeched as she twisted and turned, and Nate felt his chest pounding, expecting the enemy to appear at any moment.
The gun!
He looked down and checked the gun for the tenth time; the ever-real fear of being confronted by an enemy and then failing, all for the simple reason of forgetting to take off the safety. Unknown to him, the safety only reactivated when a hand was removed from the weapon. It was still live, and the gently green glow was just enough to help calm his nerves. He exhaled at the exact same moment an armoured hand touched his shoulder.
"Good work, Cadet Lewis. Follow us."
The group of three moved through the gap and into the primary shaft. The more heavily armoured marines moved first, and Nate quickly forgot that one of them was actually the Captain. She moved little differently to the marine, and he began to wonder if at some point in the past she had been one of the rough and ready marines, like Sergeant Perkins or Private Valentine.
"Clear," said the marine.
Captain Galanos indicated with her left hand to move on.
"Continue."
All three moved at a fast walk, but with their weapons lifted and ready to fire. They were now in the passageway, and it was much bigger than the previous one. It curved gently to the left where it followed the same path as the cooling pipes. The ship might have been old, but she was very well maintained. Even this far from the main passages, the deck was clean, and every single compartment and storage locker correctly sealed. Cables were fitted up out of the way and wrapped around the many clamps fitted throughout. Nate spotted several more drawings, each carefully drawn, using thick paint that was still visible to the touch. He made a mental note to come back to look at them, if and when they were victorious in their battle.
"Stay focussed," said the Captain.
As they rounded the last part, they moved into an oddly shaped hall with a thin railing running along the right. A drop of three metres on the other side led into a chamber filled with locked doors and a pair of airlock doors. One led off to the right, and the other to the left where a furious firefight was going on. Captain Galanos moved to the ledge and took aim.
"Aim," she whispered.
Nate moved up alongside her and took aim with his weapon, remembering to check the timed safety once more. He looked down. There were two Byotai soldiers off to the left, constantly ducking back from the corridor where they were being hit by incredible firepower. From here it might seem an entire squad was shooting, but Nate knew it was actually only two marines, Sergeant Perkins and Private Valentine.
"Wait," said Captain Galanos.
Off to the right were another pair of Byotai, but they were partially obscured by a tall bulkhead pillar. As one moved into view, Nate saw it was positioning a motorised gun platform. It was substantial in size and already blocked line of sight to most of the warriors. Behind the platform was the fourth of the group. As well as the wheels and primary weapon, there was a thick shield plate mounted on top of the gun platform. The unit made a screeching sound as it dragged along the floor, and then for some reason, it stopped. Nate's finger moved over the tr
igger, but he still waited for the signal from the Captain. Her hand lifted up in a hold position.
"Not yet," she said quietly, "Look."
The large doorway into the chamber flickered with light, and two more Byotai rushed in. Coilgun projectiles clattered around them, and one glanced over the last soldier's armour.
Valentine.
Nate had no idea how they were doing it, but somehow the two of them were keeping the Byotai at bay. Another staggered into the chamber and howled with pain. It grabbed a shoulder plate, tugged at it, and cast the broken section to the floor. It then moved further back into the chamber into a position along the side of the weapon platform. Nate could see the caterpillar tracks had locked up on the one side, making it difficult to move, but already they had stopped and rotated the unit to point in the direction of the footsteps.
They're going to ambush Valentine!
Nate altered his aim a fraction and pointed the weapon in the direction of the main gunner. As soon as it was in his sights, one of them stopped what it was doing and looked up in their direction. It grunted something, but it was already too late. He began to spin the weapon platform around so that the barrels pointed up at the ledge.
"Fire!" said the Captain.
The coilguns shuddered as they unleashed powerful blasts of projectiles. Unlike the others, Captain Galanos was taking no chances and used the high-power setting. Each time the trigger was pulled, the carbine accelerated three solid slugs together and fired them in a dense pattern at the target.
Shoot!
Nate squeezed the trigger, and the weapon snapped back under his arm. The shot was wide, so he fired three more, but only by the fifth did he hit the weapon platform. Each round sent a shower of hot sparks over the target. At least two Byotai were cut down by the time the platform was pointed up at them, and then it opened fire. All three threw themselves to the ground as it tore up bulkheads, doors, and panels with ease.
"Stay down!" Captain Galanos shouted.
The clattering and thudding of the gun went on for an age. It then stopped to be followed by shouting and a myriad of other weapon sounds. Nate lifted his head and looked over the ledge. Two marines were in the chamber, and all but one of the Byotai soldiers dead.
"Chamber’s secure, Sir. Looks like we've got a prisoner."
Nate recognised the voice of Private Valentine immediately. He watched her manhandle the soldier from behind the weapon. The Byotai was much bigger than the marine, yet she lifted him as though he was little more than a heavy child. When she looked back up, her visor was open and she smiled. Nate was sure it was towards him, but Captain Galanos was already giving orders. He watched in silence at the scene of the bloodbath. More crew had arrived and were helping to move the bodies; two more helped carry away the corpse of the dead marine.
That could have been me.
Nate couldn't be sure he'd even hit the Byotai, and as he watched the bodies taken away, he hoped he hadn't. A quick glance to his weapon showed it was deactivated. He moved his hand to check. Captain Galanos was looking at him.
"Well done, Cadet."
Nate tried to look confident.
"Thank you, Sir."
She then extended her hands to take the weapon.
"I suggest you join your comrades and take an hour. Get some food, and try and calm yourself down. I think you all deserve it."
Nate was a little confused at the request.
"Food, Sir?"
The Captain turned completely around and pulled at the seal on her armour. The helmet clicked, and she removed it to reveal her baldhead.
"Yes, Cadet, food. Trust me; based on what Lieutenant Higgins has prepared for you, you'll need it. Three hours, and then you'll be back to your duties."
"What about the..."
"Byotai?"
Captain Galanos looked back to the scene of the fight.
"Only six of them revealed themselves. We'll search Relentless from bow to stern to see if we have any more stowaways."
She gazed at the young cadet, realising in that instant how serious the effect of the fight was having on him. She was tempted to send him to the counsellor, but then, of course, there was no counsellor anymore.
Any chance of having somebody on board to help him was lost when we blasted away from the starbase. Now he will have to manage on his own.
"There will be a time to reflect on this, Cadet Lewis, but that is not for today. In forty hours we will reach our destination, and I need Relentless ready for battle. Can you do that?"
Nate licked his lips, straightened his back, and nodded quickly.
"Yes, Sir, I can do that."
"Good, very good."
Captain Galanos felt a pang of guilt. She didn't know whether Nate had noticed, but the shot that killed the second Byotai soldier had been a thermal bolt, fired from a Byotai weapon. She saw him looking at the carnage and stepped in the way.
"For now your job is done, Cadet. You are dismissed."
And as quickly as that, Nate's first experience of combat was over.
CHAPTER NINE
Alliance Armoured Assault Ship 'ANS Relentless'
Day 4
Nate wandered onto the hangar deck much more quickly than he'd intended. After all the excitement of the gun battle with the Byotai, his pulse was still racing. This part was well lit and showed a pattern of large red shapes on the ground, each marking positions to move ordnance and spacecraft. The paint was well worn, and parts used so much little of the red paint remained. Yellow and black chequered outlines marked areas not to cross under any circumstances.
He was moving so fast he almost crashed into Billy who was standing there speechless. The other four were waiting, as well as a small group of marines, all of whom were stripped down to their training fatigues. Nate nodded politely towards Private Valentine. She gave him a barely perceivable nod. He'd tried to find her after the battle, but he'd only found Matilda, and she wouldn't stop talking about their ordeal in the locked crew compartment.
Great work, Nate, great work. Now who looks like an idiot?
"Now that you're all here, I'll begin."
Nate twisted about. Lieutenant Higgins and the Byotai captain were present. Both were back in their normal uniforms, and gone was their body armour. The other cadets looked nervous around the Captain, but not Nate. It wasn't that he was now suddenly close to her, just that after the encounter with the Byotai, he was still pumped up on excitement and adrenalin. Captain Galanos started to speak, and her powerful voice boomed through the ship.
"We just survived a major breach by the Byotai. We lost lives, but survived the attack."
Her words were slow, yet every one dripped in the seriousness of the situation.
"In four minutes, Relentless will perform a last rotation, and then start the final deceleration phase towards our objective. That means we have less than thirty-six hours before we arrive, and when we do, I will need fighters on call. Without fighters, I just have an old carrier with limited ammunition and supplies."
The news was not surprising to the group of six. They had all talked about it during breakfast, especially as the Captain had sent out a briefing to all of them via their Secpad devices. There was not much information other than their estimated arrival, and that all had to be ready. The Captain looked directly at Nate.
"All of us, you included, have suffered great trauma; the violent battles on the starbase, our escape, and now this sabotage attempt by the Byotai. I'd like to say the worst is behind us, but I cannot. What lies ahead is uncertain. What I do know is that when pressed, you worked as a group. You have the skills, and over the next day you will gather more experience."
She looked to Lieutenant Higgins, and they exchanged a few quiet words. The Captain reached into her pocket to touch something and then walked out in front of the cadets. Nate noticed her hand come back out empty.
What was that, a relic, some kind of superstition?
"I've seen your status reports, and I believe
you will do what needs to be done. As of today, the Crusader Squadron has been activated, under the command of Lieutenant Higgins. You will be the eyes and ears of Relentless, and I expect each of you to do whatever is required to keep my ship, and my people, safe."
All six cadets called out in unison.
"Yes, Sir!"
Then the Captain moved along the line.
"Work hard, and I promise you, the name of Crusader Squadron will be remembered."
She turned and walked to the nearest wall. Above her were a series of windows fitted with thick, multi-layered material to protect the inner compartments in case of breaches. The deck team used it to handle flight operations in wartime. The Captain stopped and took something as big as her hand from inside her tunic. She held it up and then slid the electronic tag plate to the sliders on the wall. It slid into place without a sound, flashed, and then lit up with a new name. Nate looked at it, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not hide his smile.
1st Crusader Squadron!
The name was not of their choosing, and in fact taken from their tournament name in the Star Crusader simulation. Each team needed a name, and of them all, the Crusader title had potentially been the least exciting name used. Now it had become permanently associated with the cadets and taken on a life of its own. Captain Galanos left the deck. Within a few more seconds it was just the Lieutenant, six cadets, and a pair of deck crew who moved off into the distance.
"So far you've trained on the Lightning fighters. That's all well and good, but you will not be climbing inside these fine old machines. We have only the four, and there is a lot more to flying them than just the simulators."
He sidestepped and pointed to the back of the hangar deck. Unlike the section nearest them, the rear was pitch black. In a spacecraft, the only possibility of seeing an object was through artificial light, and all of that was being projected towards the group of cadet pilots.
"These are your fighters, and I want each of you to treat them like they are your family."
Star Crusader: Hero of the Alliance Page 16