by PP Corcoran
“Communications! Signal the destroyers to move into low orbit and compile a damage assessment of Garunda.”
The commander at Tactical turned to John with a wide smile on his face. “The missiles didn’t impact the planet, Admiral.”
John looked at him incredulously as he felt the weight lift from his shoulders. “Explain, Commander,”
“Sir, on his own initiative Captain Engel carried out a micro-fold and placed TDF Dagger just outside the upper atmosphere of Garunda where he proceeded to engage and destroy the two remaining missiles before returning to his place in the destroyer screen.”
To say that John was astonished by one of the gutsiest manoeuvres he had ever heard of was an understatement. It would only have taken the slightest of miscalculations to place Engel and his ship in the atmosphere of the planet – no place for a ship designed to be operated in space. Yeah... gutsy was the word.
“Communications! Signal to Dagger: You and your crew have the personal thanks of the fleet commander for your actions this day.”
John returned to his display. His fingers called up a more detailed image of the Buzzard and an idea began to take shape in his head. “Tactical, have you got enough data on the Buzzard to ensure that you could cleanly disable her engines permanently and identify all her exterior weaponry?”
The commander at Tactical turned slowly in his chair as he began to understand what his admiral was asking of him. “Sir, would I be right in assuming that you wish to ensure that Buzzard Six remains dead in space and you wish me to remove her ability to fire upon us but you don’t want me to destroy her?”
John smiled and pointed a finger in his direction. “I believe, Commander, that you may have read my mind.”
The Tactical officer frowned as he thought over the complex task Radford had set him. “I can certainly use surgical strikes from our particle weapons to do as you ask, Admiral. But if I may ask, why?”
John’s smile broadened as he turned back to the image of ‘The Others’ ship. “Because Commander, I intend assaulting that ship with marines and taking it intact.”
#
As the battle raged around Garunda, a small surveillance platform sitting motionless high above the elliptical plane and identical to that found around Planet V used its passive sensors to record the unfolding events and safely store them away. Its internal clock told it that it should receive the signal to download its take to the next visiting ship in just over three months.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Boarding Action
TDF Cartagena - 31 Aquilae
To John Radford’s surprise his request for marine support to carry out a boarding action of the remaining Buzzard was answered within the hour by the appearance of the marine assault ship TDF Saint Nazarene.
Based on the Vulcan class heavy cruiser TDF Saint Nazarene was an Excalibur class assault ship, carrying little in the way of offensive armament she relied on her extra armour to survive in battle. What she did carry was a marine assault battalion of five hundred and ten fighting men and women. Ten Buffalo assault shuttles to carry twenty wraith suited marines into a hot landing zone. Five heavy lift Gigant shuttles to carry the marines’ heavy equipment and five Reapers to provide close air support on a planet’s surface. The Reapers were a small, 2 man, highly manoeuvrable and lethal craft equipped with rapid fire plasma cannon and HVMs. All in all, Saint Nazarene carried everything a marine battalion needed to carry out independent actions like the one John had in mind.
“Saint Nazarene is hailing us Admiral.”
“Put her through Lieutenant” replied John as he spun his chair to face his personal Holo Cube. John felt his face break into a grin as the smiling face of Alec Murray appeared.
“Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Good to see you Alec. I see you didn’t waste any time getting here.”
Alec shrugged his shoulders in his typically nonchalant manner.
“I hear the navy couldn’t finish the job without us marines coming to the rescue… again.”
John let out a short snort of laughter before getting straight to the point.
“That Buzzard out there could be a wealth of intelligence Alec. Just the chance to get our hands on one of their ships, a look at their technology. Maybe even the opportunity to secure their navigational data, find out where they come from and the extent of the area under their control. It could lend us insight into what we are facing in this war.”
John’s voice took on a sombre tone. “And make no mistake Alec, this is a war now. We may have won today but we have no idea of what we truly face.”
In the Holo Cube Alec’s life-like image nodded its head in understanding.
“Time is of the essence here Alec, ‘The Others’ have a two hour head start and if I was in command of that ship I would be destroying anything and everything that I thought would be useful to an enemy; we need to get aboard that Buzzard and secure as much as we can before they have the chance to destroy it.”
John paused and Alec saw a frown appear on his friend’s brow. “To be honest with you Alec, I don’t understand why they haven’t abandoned ship and scuttled her already.”
“That was something that occurred to my planning team as well Admiral. We could only come up with two options: one - for whatever reason they can’t scuttle her or…” any trace of a smile left Alec’s face, “two - they’re waiting for us to board her then scuttle her and take us with them.”
Taking a breath John looked resolutely into the disembodied face of his friend, before he gave the order that he knew could be condemning Alec and his marines to death.
“It’s a risk we have to take Alec. The prize is simply too big to pass up.”
From the Holo Cube, Alec’s eyes steadfastly held John’s. It wasn’t the first time that John had sent men and women under his command into danger and Alec knew his friend would not do it lightly.
“You of course have my full support for your plan Alec…” the grin slowly returned to John’s face. “You do have a plan don’t you?”
This time it was Alec’s turn to let out a short laugh. “It may not be pretty but I reckon it will do the job.” Alec’s gaze flicked out of the holo cube’s field of view for a moment before returning to fix on John. “My marines are boarding the shuttles now. We launch in ten minutes.”
“Good luck Alec.”
With a quick nod from Alec the connection terminated. John sat back in his chair and quietly said a prayer for the marines.
#
Aboard his command shuttle Alec Murray remained outwardly calm. To any observer everything was under control. The operation will run as smoothly as a Swiss watch… Alec reassured himself; so why was his stomach doing flip flops and his brain running at a thousand miles per hour?
“Five minutes ‘til contact Colonel.” The warm, honey like southern accent of the female marine pilot called as if it was just another training flight.
Alec pulled up a real time flight plot on his Wraith suit’s head up display. Nine Buffalo shuttles were formed up into three flights of three shuttles. Each flight of three performed an intricate weaving pattern designed to fool any enemy gunners as they approached the 1,700 meter long, 220,000 tonne enemy ship from the rear. The navy had assured him that by using pin point energy weapon strikes on the Buzzard’s outer hull, they had turned anything resembling detection equipment, anti-ship or anti-missile systems into worthless scrap metal. All the same Alec saw no reason to take life-threatening risks. He wasn’t complacent, although no enemy fire had been directed at his shuttles, it could mean the enemy were simply waiting until the shuttles reached point blank range before opening fire.
Alec’s plan was simple, as he mulled on it a worried frown crossed his forehead. The plan was stripped back as he had no idea what he and his marines were going into. There was no intelligence to indicate the internal layout of the Buzzard. The crew estimate of 1,400 was exactly that. Based on Intelligence’s guesstimate on crew requirements for a
human ship the size of a Buzzard. Alec had no idea whether his marines would face ‘The Others’ version of themselves once they entered the Buzzard or whether it would just be armed ships crewmen. Assuming of course that they were able to actually enter the ship.
The Buffaloes were headed for what Intelligence had identified as airlocks spread along the hull of the Buzzard. Alec let out a sigh of resignation, they thought they were airlocks, they could be waste disposal hatches for all they knew. The thought of his marines blowing their way into the Buzzard only to be confronted by a mountain of rubbish was one that in any other circumstance would bring tears of laughter to Alec’s eyes; not today. Intelligence rationalized that the ports were spread evenly around the hull of the Buzzard and were roughly equidistant along its length.
Alec divided his initial assault force into three sub units: ‘A’ Company under Captain Brandon – the bow where all things being equal they would locate the bridge, ‘C’ Company under Captain Alonso - the stern where they should find the engineering spaces, ‘B’ Company under Captain Tanaka, with Alec’s small headquarters element attached -amidships where on human ships you would expect to find the computer core.
Of the three marine companies initially employed in the assault ‘C’ Company had, perhaps, the easiest yet most crucial task. Human warfare was governed by The Rules of War, it stated an enemy should be given the opportunity to surrender. In drawing up his assault plan Alec recognized he had no choice but to breach this rule, he could not afford to give anyone in the engineering spaces the opportunity to set off scuttling charges. ‘C’ Company were ordered to give no quarter, they were to secure the engineering spaces at all costs and hold until relieved. Captain Alonso’s stoic look when he received said order indicated he understood that tough calls had to be made at times and this was one of those times.
Following the initial insertion the Buffaloes were to return to TDF Saint Nazarene and pick up the second wave of marines who would then insert through the breaches made by the assault force to reinforce as Alec deemed necessary. This was guesswork on Alec’s part but it was all they had to work with.
#
“One minute… doors opening. Gravity off.” The command came in that same calm voice. The load master pressed a control and Alec felt the bottom of his seat retract until his legs dangled below him. The marines were now secured only by the magnetic shoulder harness as the emptiness of space sped past below. Alec took a sharp intake of breath as, not ten meters below his feet, the scarred and gouged battle armour of the Buzzard suddenly appeared. Damn that hull was close! Alec hoped the pilot didn’t have to make any radical manoeuvres. She hadn’t left herself much wiggle room.
The shuttle came to a halt directly over a three by three metre hatch with what looked like a locking mechanism off to one side. Alec assumed a rigid vertical position as the load master touched the control activating the pusher system. The shoulder harness dropped explosively downward before disconnecting from the marines suits, shooting the marines out of the shuttle bay akin to a cork exploding from a bottle. Twenty marines spat out of the shuttle bay doors at a speed only the integral Wraith suit computer could compensate for. The marines’ shoulder harnesses were still retracting into the shuttle bay as the shuttle was piloted back to TDF Saint Nazarene for her next load. Alec felt his legs bend slightly at the knees as his suit automatically prepared to take the impact with the hull. With a jolt Alec’s feet contacted the hull and his suit activated its magnetic boots to secure him in place while he orientated himself.
With no word of command the two marines carrying the breaching charges moved to the airlock doors and placed their cargo. The remaining marines stacked up a few meters clear, ready to enter once the charges went off. In Alec’s helmet display a small clock appeared and a warning tone sounded in his ear. Five… four… three… two… one… flash! The helmet filters automatically dimmed what Alec knew was a blinding explosion, he felt a slight vibration through his body and knew the initial breach was successful. A marine moved forward and without exposing himself stuck his rifle barrel into the hole. Alec’s head up display was filled by the image, courtesy of the marine’s barrel camera of a room four by three by two meters with a second bulk head at the far end. It was indeed an airlock.
“That’s a beer I owe Intelligence,” Alec muttered to himself as his marines were occupied with the next stage of their assault. A marine maintained an over-watch on the inside of the airlock while another, with a second breaching charge dropped in, his feet found the deck inside. “Internal gravity is on” Alec noted out loud.
The marine approached the inner airlock door and placed a second breaching charge before beating a hasty retreat to the outer hull. Five… four… three… Alec watched the countdown on his head up display as the warning tone sounded, two… one… Flash! Another successful breach. The airlock gushed atmosphere as the corridor beyond was subjected to explosive decompression. Atmosphere wasn’t the only thing to rush out into the cold darkness of space. At least half a dozen unsuited crewmen were dragged through the airlock and ejected into space. They may be the enemy but Alec hoped the merciful embrace of death came quickly to them.
The marines surged through the airlock, into the now empty corridor beyond and took up covering positions.
“Williams! Scan!” Ordered Tanaka. Marine Williams produced a handheld device from a leg compartment of his suit and slowly turned in a circle.
The Buzzard’s armour had previously defeated the TDF’s scanning equipment. The layout of the Buzzard could not be determined without a navy ship closing with it and using a powerful penetrating radar which would have damaged any computers and storage devices on-board and irradiated the crew. The decision to carry out a manual scan after the breach wasn’t really a decision, it was the only choice. Williams was doing a sterling job and within moments Alec’s suit indicated that it had started to receive the data that would build into a complete schematic of the Buzzard. Alec took the opportunity to check the progress of his other assault teams.
The other two ‘B’ Company teams amid ship had successfully gained entry and had as yet met no opposition. On the other hand the three ‘A’ Company teams in the bow were meeting stiff resistance by spacesuited crewmen armed with laser rifles.
Alec’s suit was having difficulty getting a solid link with ‘C’ Company. He wasn’t unduly concerned as communication difficulties were to be expected. The engineering spaces on any ship were heavily shielded and would, no doubt, cause interference. Alec keyed his radio and called Captain Brandon as Williams finished his scan. A ship’s schematic appeared in Alec’s display containing the marines known positions.
“Sitrep Captain Brandon.”
“Team One is pinned down in the corridor adjacent to the airlock. I have three KIA and two walking wounded. Without using something heavier I will be unable to make progress. Team Two have met minimal resistance and are advancing to what they believe to be the main missile bays. I have prioritized that task and have sent Team Three in support. I believe we have identified the bridge.
Our scan shows what appears to be a mass of command and control lines running to an area two decks above my current position, it’s more heavily shielded than any other section in the bow. I intend to break through current enemy resistance and make our way to that section.” A clear concise report, a sure sign that Brandon was an experienced combat leader. Alec’s own experience led him to read between the lines. Brandon’s professionalism and dedication to his men prevented him from spelling out his worst fears, his marines would continue to die without the release of heavier weapons.
Alec unconsciously worried his bottom lip, a habit he had developed in childhood that reappeared whenever he had a tough decision to make. He was sympathetic to Brandon’s position but using heavy weapons on board brought with it collateral damage and the possibility of destroying exactly what they had come to secure.
His marines though where taking casualties. Alec came to his decis
ion. “Heavy weapons at your discretion Captain but don’t get all John Wayne on me understood?”
“Aye aye Sir.”
“On ‘D’ Company’s arrival in…” Alec quickly checked the progress of the second wave of marines. Damn! They were still sixteen minutes out. “Sixteen minutes I shall chop two teams to your command. Your mission is to secure the bridge ASAP.”
“Roger that Sir. I’ll use explosives to blow upward through the deck plates and that should side step their defences.”
“Sounds good Captain. Let’s make it happen!” Alec cut the link and gave the sub vocal command “Suit, call Alonso.” A pause followed by a double tone informed Alec that his suit couldn’t establish a link to Alonso, instead it automatically searched for the next active ranking marine.
“Go for Semple.” The voice sounded strained and distracted. Alec’s face paled as he did a quick mental calculation. Semple was something like tenth in the chain of command.
“Sitrep Sergeant?”
“The situation is… let’s call it fluid at the moment Sir… Wait. Jonas on your six! Two enemy on… Shit!”
On Alec’s display Marine Jonas’ name flashed red then disappeared as Semple came back on the link.
“Sir I have fifty-three KIA and virtually everyone else has an injury of some sort. The initial entry went as planned but as soon as we cleared the airlocks we were assaulted by enemy marines in full-up armour. They were using some sort of plasma grenade. The suits can take a lot of damage but plasma in a confined space you can imagine…” Semple paused, Alec could hear the stress in his voice.
“Sergeant! Can you hold?”
“We’ve killed all the armoured marines and secured all the entrances into engineering by bodging the breaching charges and using them to warp the bulkheads. If they want back in here they’ll have to either blow or cut their way in. I’m sweeping the area now for anything that looks like scuttling charges and enemy stragglers. They seem to be mostly suited crewmen armed with nothing more than improvised weapons but they’ll attack a suited marine with whatever they can get their hands on. It’s like they have some form of death wish or something.”