From the Black (Free Fleet Book 4)

by Michael Chatfield

The carats lined up with my rail gun as I fired my seat shuddering while I flipped the automatic firing switch. The computer compensated for the ships massive velocities staying on target as I zoomed in guiding my carat to engines, then onto the next ship trying to guide the gun onto something important, then the next target and the next. I hammered away plans and ideas, nothing was in my mind as I chose one target, found a weakness, moved to another repeated, again and again.

  The Kalu's bomb-pumped acceleration was insane. It was a weakness if we could hit the armor they used to deflect the explosive force. Yet there were so damned many of them, all closing in on us that it was a mess. Ships were already over taking us. There was no more rolling the ship in an attempt to spread the damage. Ships that were now past us, turned to fire their bow armaments again, and were using their bombs to brake and try to come at us again.

  ***

  “The Destroyer Japans revenge is rolling. She’s lost a gunnery section and her shields are down. The battle cruiser Kalied is also rolling,” In Sook called out as ships rolled in the main formation as Rick watched the progress through the Kalu ships.

  “Sir requesting permission to use the capacitors to charge shield,” Krat said, a note of panic entering his voice.

  “Do it!” Rick said, not faulting Krat for that panic, he was confused as to how his own voice was calm.

  Shields surged, using the power from Resilient's jump capacitors.

  “Have the destroyers roll in opposites to keep constant pressure up. They’re getting a pounding, have the corvettes and cruisers roll independently. All Commandos are to prepare to repel boarders, general alert,” Salchar said, in Rick's ear.

  Rick passed the commands on as he looked at the battered formation of ships. The Kalu just kept coming, it seemed as if they had unending reserves. Thousands bared down on the Fleet, soaking up tens if not hundreds of losses.

  “AI's?” Rick asked.

  “Yes,” Salchar paused for a second.

  “Resilient, you and the other AI's are cleared to take over control,” Rick said, forcing his anxiety away.

  “Commander,” she said by way of acknowledgment.

  “I can't use my gun!” Rick could hear over Salchar's channel as one of the gunners yelled in panic.

  “Resilient's in full command now. She's going to need coil change outs and stoppages cleared still!” Salchar barked, closing his channel.

  “Vort, pass on that the AI's are in command of their ships, the crews are to help them out in anyway,” Rick said.

  “Uhh, yes commander,” he said, passing on that information.

  “Fuck me,” Prev said in unrestrained awe.

  The ship's the AI's were housed in erupted in fire, each round was accurate as they rolled, twisted and turned, missiles fired out in waves.

  Resilient and the others were co-ordinating with the other ships. Space was alight with the fiery fury of AI's bent to one purpose, to destroy Kalu.

  ***

  “Jam!” Someone yelled as a rail cannon pulled inwards as a round had become lodged in its runners.

  I was the closest to the gun. I jumped up, using my powered armor to brace myself and drive a foot down on the cocking handle. The messed up rounds dropped out.

  I fell down as a gunner was looking to get the belt that fed the rail gun back into position.

  “I've got this Salchar.”

  “Good work,” I barked as I looked for the next gun that needed some powered armor to solve their issues.

  I had seen simulations of battles on the gun deck before. Yet there was no simulating the cries as hot rounds, gasses, and coolant found a creature. Guns barked like the hammers of some impossibly massive factory.

  Everyone was covered in grease and grime. Blackened creatures toiled to get their guns working. Hammering at their equipment to get it back in operation again.

  Guns blew out taking people with them.

  These guns were made to take a beating, and the gunners knew just the tricks to get them back into action.

  Alerts pinged on my visor as I ran to the next gun, grabbing coils so hot it seemed to melt my gauntlets.

  Like the goddamn plasma cannon all over again. I heaved the coil out, reaching to grab the other one when while a gun crew was slapping in new coils.

  “Come on you bastards! Are you ready to let Chief Zor and his lot beat you?!” Brusk barked, chewing on gum angrily as he kicked a gun into action, clearing it. In all of this I could see the grim look of pride on his face. He wasn't some sadist that loved the death and destruction around him. No he was living as part of the gunners and loaders. They worked together, pumping out as much might from their machines as possible, doing their damndest to make them pay in full when they were hit.

  His people were the damned best in the fleet and he was proud to be among them.

  “No Chief!” His people barked back as one.

  “Well you aren't going to get it done at this pace!” He barked, a new fire filling his crew. We might be riding a war chariot into certain death, but I wouldn't be surprised if the competitive ways of my gun crews was on their mind instead of dying.

  “Dying is for the slow and lazy! Cycle those guns, clear those actions and replace those coils! We will give Resilient everything we've got and more!” Chief Brusk yelled.

  “Cause we're gunners!” Someone yelled.

  “Cause you're what?” Brusk barked.

  “Cause we're gunners!” More yelled.

  “Why are you gunners?” Brusk said, slamming an ammunition belt into the gun I was pulling overheated coils from.

  “To be the best, to line the shot, and shoot the bastards!”

  “What is your calling?” Brusk barked, I was surprised he could keep the volume up over the rounds falling on deck, with the noises of guns firing and tens of crews getting guns functional faster than any professional racing team could change a tire. One should never underestimate a Chief's ability to yell.

  “To be gunners, to serve the fleet and to write our names on their hulls!”

  “With what?” Brusk demanded.

  “Our rounds!” Brusk joined in his people, a vicious smile on his face.

  The noise of the yelling died down as the chant of the Avarians, the Commandos and the warriors of the Free Fleet could be heard, no felt through out the Resilient.

  I chanted the words as I went from gun to gun, using my mecha's strength and armor to do the heavy jobs, or pull coils. My legs hammering away with the beat.

  “Give us war;

  Give use death,

  And know despair.

  We are Avarians.

  We are shadows,

  Blades, and claws.

  Hear our chant.

  We are war;

  We are death;

  We are despair.

  We serve battle,

  Masters lead us

  Not to victory,

  But to death.

  “Battle Master,

  Battle Commander.

  Salchar,

  Salchar,” they paused.

  “We serve the Free Fleet. Commandos!” Commandos roared their namesake, no matter their race.

  Come on you Kalu bastards, my Commandos have a few things to say to you, claw to plasmid, I thought hungrily.

  “The Kalu are getting through the fire, most shields are gone. Resilient is spotting,” Rick said into my ear.

  “What are they doing?” I asked.

  “Same thing they did in the Union war, they're moving to board us,” Rick said through gritted teeth. I could sense his fear, but also pride which was not unlike the kind Brusk and myself felt to be next to the creatures of the Fleet.

  The Kalu might have fought the Union, but they had never fought the Free Fleet. I hoped that we were able to rock the Kalu back on their paws. The Union hadn't been good at fighting them hand to hand, but the Commandos had been training to do that very thing since the birth of their creation. Hopefully it would give us an edge.

  �
�Chief I'm going to help the Commandos,” I said, pulling my plasmid sword out.

  “Good luck Commander,” Brusk said as we shared a look before I left. We both understood one another perfectly in that moment, two warriors doing their damnedest to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

  We were riding the dragon of war, and we knew our duty.

  ***

  Bok Soo looked over the reports across all of the Free Fleet's ships, his Commandos were ready for the oncoming Kalu.

  “Alright Commandos, you know what to do, let’s be sure to give our guests a warm welcome as they embrace the dark,” his tone anything but warm. “See to your people, listen to your Commanders and I will see you afterwards, for we all ride the rays of light,” he cut the channel as the first ships were boarded. One of them being his own Talhalla.

  “We have breaches in sectors one four and three seven,” Foshunti himself said. Bok Soo greened up, Commandos were already reacting without orders.

  The Kalu Star Warriors breached ships by peeling back their frontal armor, underneath the entire front of the ship was a breaching air-lock. It attached to its designated ship, blew its cutting charges, equalized the air pressure difference and Kalu warriors rushed from their ship onto their prey’s.

  Protective defence Systems changed targets as missiles destroyed themselves. The Kalu wouldn’t risk destroying an attached Star Warrior.

  The systems changed to penetrators instead of scatter shot and fired into the Star Warriors. It took some time but they got through the armor and ripped up the Kalu inside. Star Warriors raked the Free Fleet ships, clearing off PDS systems as they came in, slamming into Free Fleet ships and breaching them.

  Each Star Warrior held a hundred Kalu which charged into the ships as fast as their airlocks cycled.

  Bok Soo reacted to every incoming Star Warrior, dispensing units to fight off the flood of Kalu.

  Talhalla rotated constantly to throw off more as the fighters that called it home fired into the star-warriors. Bok Soo glanced at the sensor readout of the area around Talhalla, a hungry look passing over his face, Rav might be a veteran of fighter tactics and co-ordination, but Heston had learned everything he knew from video games, simulators and real battles. His people were unconventional, working in twos instead of massive formations used by the Union.

  They were faster, more understanding of their fellow fighters and that made them deadly. Other units skirted the battle, darting in when a unit got swarmed by Star Warriors or when there was a prime target.

  Another breach was announced in Bok Soo's area.

  “Move it!” He said, giving a marker to his people as he checked his lever-action shotguns.

  Avarians led with their beader cannons. Damned organic tanks, he thought with pride as he and the rest of his commandos, from the tens of races across known space, some with names that Bok Soo couldn't even pronounce, worked as a single unit.

  The beaders barked with Avarians covering their fellow Commandos as they flowed past them and engaged the Kalu for the first time.

  The Kalu looked like big ass Panthers in their armor. They moved fast enough. One jumped over the cover Bok Soo had found, he shot blindly, raking its under-belly. It turned, more pissed off than hurt, even with plasma turning its black armor to smoke.

  It charged as Bok Soo snarled, he wasn't about to let some damned cat beat him.

  He released his left shotgun, no time to flip it and crank the lever, grabbing the cat’s neck he turned his shotgun into the creature's armored jaw as he pulled the trigger and slammed the lever back and forth firing again, claw marks were etched into his armor and silver rivulets of fresh metal marked the last throes of the Kalu.

  Bok Soo retrieved his shotgun, cocking both.

  “Well come on Commandos! We aren't on damned leave move through the walls!” He bellowed, Ersvlt would have his skin, but the Commando's tactic was damned effective.

  Another Kalu was charging. Bok Soo fired his dual shotguns, hitting the creature in the face as beaders and rail rounds hammered the beast down.

  “Charge!” Bok Soo said, seeing an opening.

  He led, Commandos firing and pulling their plasmid swords out as they charged the Kalu.

  Commandos smashed into them, claws digging into armor as plasmid raked black hides. Bok Soo stood on a pallet, shooting into the Kalu grouping, helping out the Commandos that had beat him to the fight.

  A Kalu jumped on an Avarian, the big brute grabbed them by the face and smashed it into its fellow Kalu. The Avarian used them like a damned mace, smashing Kalu out of the way before it buried a dagger into the creature's neck.

  It punched another Kalu's claw away, grabbing the back of the creature's helmet, and dragging the Kalu downward as he smashed his dagger into its face.

  The dagger became stuck and the Avarian was left weaponless in the middle of a shitstorm.

  Bok Soo opened a channel to the Avarian.

  “Hey!” He barked, the Avarian snapping back to look, Bok Soo threw him a shotgun. The Avarian snatched it from the air as another Kalu was attacking him, the creature's jaws clamped around his left forearm. Again the Avarian used the Kalu as a mace. A commando next to him, Slevaran by look of his powered armor, stabbed the Kalu through its neck joint. But the creature's jaws became locked onto the Avarians arm, even after its death. The Avarian used the Kalu's body as a shield and mace as it smashed Kalu away and shot them with a flurry of strikes and bullets.

  The Commando's progress was slow but constant until the teams that had gone through walls, or maintenance corridors appeared, cannons flashed as Commando's fired into the Kalu's main body. Commandos without beaders rushed in, using the surprise to their advantage as they rolled the Kalu, separating them into two groups.

  Bok Soo stored his shotgun and grabbed Henry's Battle Axe.

  Once again into the fray brother.

  “Come on you fuckers!” Bok Soo Yelled as he jumped into the middle of the Kalu and swung the axe with all his strength, clearing the area around him as he twirled his body like an acrobat. Yasu had shown him how to use the Battle axe to the greatest affect, he was now the conductor of death as momentum carried him from one target to the next.

  The axe came up on an upswing, killing the charging Kalu, he twisted his shoulder, bringing it around him and across another Kalu. He jumped from one foot to another, the axe making him spin right across a Kalu's back, as it arched in pain. Two Commando piled onto it, stabbing it and ending it.

  Bok Soo spun the axe with one hand bringing it down on another Kalu's head, his reaction was slow enough to add more claw marks to his chest as he stumbled backwards, pain lancing across his chest, at least one claw had penetrated. He spun forward again, his axe crashing through two Kalu fighting the force that had broken through the walls.

  “Move!” Bok Soo said bringing his battle axe into a spin above his head.

  He moved through the advanced line, right into the Kalu, he put his full strength into the blow, cutting limbs, heads armor and whatever else the axe could find.

  To lose momentum was death, so he pressed forward, swinging the blade around him and across the same area as before.

  “Are you here to admire the landscape or fight Commandos?!” He barked.

  “Fight!” They all yelled back, a new vigor filling them.

  Three new ships had docked within Bok Soo's area. His Commanders were already given areas to protect and each was smart enough to do what needed to be done. Unless something changed drastically Bok Soo was just another Commando, and he was just fine with that.

  “Let me welcome,” he grunted as he jumped, contorting his body as his axe struck the Kalu that had leapt for him, his axe stuck, he pulled his shotgun, releasing the battle axe, firing as he fell, the Kalu getting a face-full of plasma. “You!” He said with his teeth grinding together.

  He got up, the Commandos rallied to him, they'd gained a few seconds of rest.

  “Here,” Bok Soo said, throwing hi
s shortened-lever-action-shotgun to the big brute with a Kalu still mostly attached to his arm. Bok Soo sprayed sealant on his suit as someone passed him his axe. He flipped it in his hands, the weapon as familiar as his powered armor. He tilted his helmet in thanks to them and checked where the Kalu were on his HUD.

  “I think we should formally introduce ourselves,” Bok Soo said, dark grunts and guttural noises telling him his Commandos were ready.

  They had lost a good number in the fighting already, but they were Commandos, they fought till the end, the time for the dead would come, now was time to send the fallen some companions and exact a Free Fleet price.

  They ran, their anger and desperation powering them as they found another group of Kalu.

  Bok Soo used the point between the battle axe's blades, spearing a leaping Kalu and smashing them into the floor, another charged through the gap. Bok Soo raised the axe over his head and buried it in the Kalu's midsection.

  It wounded the Kalu heavily, but they didn't die. Claws raked his sides as Bok Soo fell under the creature.

  He grabbed its jaws as it tried to gnaw his helmet.

  He used his nerve ports, his powered armor going full power as he ripped the creature's jaw off. The creature flinched away. Bok Soo flipped over the creature's lower jaw, using it like knuckle dusters, he punched the armored fangs into the Kalu's neck.

  He didn't know how long it was until the creature stopped thrashing. He rolled it off, grabbing his blade, purple blood stained his armor as wake-up sent intoxicating energy through him.

  “Well that's enough lying down,” he said to himself as he slung his axe and loaded the shotgun he'd given to the Avarian. It whined with a full charge as he cycled it, shooting Kalu that were using their companions corpses like a springboard to jump on the Commando's.

  “Come on you springy mother fuckers!” Bok Soo yelled as he pulled out his rail pistol, using his shotgun and pistol to smash the Kalu back, few died but it kept the pressure off of his Commandos. It had come down to Plasmid blades and Cannons being used as clubs.

  “Cannons on me, trust drop,” Bok Soo said, all the Cannons came back to him, their guns badly smashed, but hopefully still serviceable.