Demon Star

by B. V. Larson

  “Nice job, everyone. We have space superiority,” I said. “We have fighters and they don’t.”

  Even though their three battleships and six cruisers outgunned us, our shields gave us an enormous advantage. We fired salvoes and snapped on our shields between volleys, and so were vulnerable for less than one second out of every ten.

  They countered by spinning their ships around their axes. They continued to pinwheel and thereby spread the damage. Also, they pulled back their most heavily damaged ships. That kept their fresher vessels forward taking the hits. It was a grinding battle, and even though we were winning, I didn’t like what it was costing us. There was a lot of generalized damage to our forward hull. Several lasers, missile launchers and a lot of sensors had been taken out by shots that hit us when our shields were down.

  “All Daggers rearmed,” Bradley reported. “We have thirty-one still operating, but we’ve exhausted all our capital missile stores. Everything we have left is on the Daggers.”

  “Understood,” I replied. I’d been using up our nuclear missiles at an unsupportable rate, but we’d managed to clear away their fighter screen. Now we would see if my gamble would pay off. “Send in the Daggers now. As soon as they start taking hits, launch all their missiles and have half follow them in, keeping the other half near us in reserve. Suicide the attackers if you have to. I want those bastards smashed and the way cleared. The Demons will have to form a new rearguard, or we’ll crawl right up their tails.”

  I watched in the holotank as the two dozen Daggers swung around on looping attack runs, twisting in three dimensions to try to confuse the enemy as they advanced. They got quite close before the first one was destroyed.

  When the four remaining Demon fighters moved in to do what they could, our Daggers launched their big nuke missiles, two each, creating more than sixty targets.

  “All ahead full,” I ordered. “Relay that to Greyhound and the Nano ships. We’ll continue the general assault to finish off whatever survives the nukes.” I didn’t expect Marvin to take many risks, but he might do some good, and if he held back too much, I could use evidence of his cowardice against him in some future negotiation.

  That’s how I had to think with Marvin, always looking for an edge.

  With poor point defense and little in the way of a fighter screen, the Demons were doomed. They did everything they could to stop the incoming missiles and Daggers, which only allowed us to fire our beams more freely at them as my squadron closed in. I ordered the capacitors emptied, using the power-hungry anti-proton weapons as well as lasers to do maximum damage in minimum time.

  It turned into a slaughter—as I’d hoped. Half our missiles died, but that left more than twenty to slam directly into Demon ships.

  The three assault carriers and six cruisers were wrecked outright, but their battleships were damned tough. I had to give them credit for ruggedness as they survived three or four direct fusion strikes each before finally succumbing.

  “Slag them with beams,” I ordered as we moved in to optimum range. Soon we were giving them the coup de grace, blasting anything that showed a significant power signature. Marvin held back, of course, but the Nano frigates attacked with evident gusto, buzzing around like angry bees.

  I had reason to curse my overconfidence then, as Valiant’s voice abruptly blared.

  “Boarders detected. Assault imminent. Implementing anti-boarding protocols.”

  -13-

  “Anti-boarding protocols approved!” I snapped to Valiant. “Hansen, you have the bridge.”

  I had no idea what was going on or how the Demons had infiltrated so near to us before triggering the alarm, but I wasn’t going to sit on my ass while it happened, despite Hansen’s strangled protest.

  “Warn all the other ships!” I ordered Valiant as I ran for the armory. “I want to know where they came from. Why didn’t we detect them earlier?”

  “External sensors rely on radar and infrared laser pulses,” Valiant answered promptly. “The Demon boarders return no radar signature and only minimal infrared as they are wearing no suits. Also, the battle-space contains thousands of pieces of wreckage.”

  “In other words, they had a lot of clutter to hide in.”

  “Correct.”

  “No sealed suits,” I muttered, recalling that the Demons didn’t need atmosphere. “They must have deployed into space once they realized their ships were doomed—especially the hundreds of Demon marines on the assault carriers.”

  “Your unproven assumptions have failed the ninety percent probability test.”

  “Eighty percent is good enough on this one, Valiant. Dammit. We should have stayed out at long range and moved on.”

  Valiant remained silent. She never criticized my command decisions, for which I was grateful. I wasn’t so easy on myself, though.

  Entering the armory, I threw myself into my battlesuit.

  “Welcome, Cody Riggs,” said the suit.

  “That’s me, suit. Seal and prep for full combat mode.” I reached for a laser rifle with one hand and plugged in its power cable, and then picked up my Raptor axe in the other. “Switch my HUD to tactical mode.”

  Inside my faceplate, I saw a diagram of Valiant with icons scattered through her interior. Several angry red splotches showed where boarders, presumably Demon marines of some sort, had landed and begun damaging the hull.

  “Display marines,” I said as I strode out of the armory toward the nearest enemy location. Several clusters showed up immediately, each near a splotch.

  “External feed. Give me a look at what’s attacking us.”

  A window opened in front of my eyes, showing slick, shiny motion around an airlock. Though difficult to resolve, I was able to make out the limbs and carapaces of various bugs.

  One type looked like the things I’d seen in the specimen boxes of the Cubics’ planet, vaguely humanoid in size and shape. Others seemed larger and looked like scorpions with twin tails.

  The third type I’d seen before. They were huge beetles with horns a yard long projecting from their heads. The type that had chased Marvin all over the square. We’d also seen a bunch of them within the Cubics’ planet. Until then, I hadn’t realized they were part of the Demon forces. I wondered if they were a variant of the same race or a separate creation of this mad Ancient in Tartarus. That is, if what the Elladans said was even true.

  The Demons seemed to function as a team. They focused on taking out the turrets. Once again, I was glad that I’d installed the additional point defense to combat the Lithos. The low beams were doing a lot of damage as they sought to land. I couldn’t tell how many had been killed by those weapons as the dead had probably already drifted off into space.

  I rounded a corner to spot a handful of my marines waiting, weapons pointed toward the airlock, the weakest spot in this area of Valiant’s armored hull. One turned toward me, and I could see it was Sergeant Moranian, Adrienne’s most hated rival.

  Great.

  “Stay back, sir,” she said, but I ignored her words, clomping up to join them.

  “It’s the Demon bugs,” I told her. “Some are like those beetles we fought before, on the Square.”

  “Any idea of their armaments, Captain?”

  I took another look at the display within my HUD. “Looks like the humanoids have guns in their hands. The beetles will probably fight with their organic weaponry as before. There are also scorpion-types with two tails. No doubt they’ve got something nasty in their stingers.”

  Just then I heard a pounding on the deck-plates and turned to see a large group of Raptors running up. “Command us, Captain Riggs,” their leader said over the short-range com-link.

  To augment our dwindling supply of marines, I’d had sixty Raptor warriors inducted into Riggs’ Pigs and stationed in one of our cargo bays in hibernation, armed and armored for just such a situation. Valiant had activated them as part of the anti-boarding protocols, of course. Now I pa
tted myself on the back for my foresight.

  “You Raptors honor us with your efforts,” I told them. “Spread out by squads. Use your HUDs to locate any breaches and kill anything not friendly. One squad, stay here.”

  They took off in all directions, except for one squad, as ordered. I didn’t have the time to micromanage them, so they would have to function independently to slow down any attacks until marines could reinforce them.

  “Valiant, open firing loopholes on each side of the airlock. You and you,” I pointed at two marines, “get in position to fire through them. The rest of you take cover at the corner.”

  All told we had only six marines—counting me—and ten Raptors. I never had enough troops. It crossed my mind to wonder whether I could recruit some Elladans to join us—especially more women to balance out the crew. It was a pleasant thought, but it was misplaced today.

  Without warning, the airlock blew open.

  “Pour it on!” I roared, holding down the trigger on my laser for long searing bursts. My faceplate dimmed to black to preserve my sight as Demons pushed forward into the corridor, but our ambush slaughtered them in the confined space, especially with the crossfire from the two marines I’d placed to shoot through the holes in the side walls. Automated defenses joined in from Valiant’s internal turrets installed in the overheads.

  Soon the passageway filled with smoke and the steam of boiling bodily fluids, making our lasers far less effective. A scorpion leaped out of the gases toward me and knocked me flat.

  It was on me, filling my vision with churning mandibles and dripping saliva—the thing was hideous up close. I’d never been a big fan of scorpions, and this one was all over me. Its twin stingers rasped and leaked venom over my suit. The curved tips were seeking a way in, trying to punch through the armor.

  My faceplate was hit multiple times, making me wince away and cry out. I expected the visor to star—but it didn’t. A syrupy yellow splatter of venom obstructed my view.

  Roaring and making sounds of disgust, I wrestled with the thing. Then an axe swung out of nowhere and chopped away two legs. Another swing of the axe, and the bug was cut down. I was hauled to my feet.

  All around me, a mass of struggling chitinous creatures battled with marines. If it hadn’t been for our armor, we’d have been slaughtered. Already, two of the Raptors had been overcome and weren’t moving.

  There were too many Demons.

  “Fall back to the next intersection and use active sensors! Moranian, haul ass to the armory and pick up as many rocket launchers as you can,” I ordered.

  Anti-armor weapons weren’t standard issue for repelling boarders in Valiant’s enclosed spaces, but now I wished I had some, as they wouldn’t be affected by the concealing fog.

  “Aye, aye, sir!” she yelled as she turned to do as I asked.

  “Valiant, vent the atmosphere to clear the air where you can. We need clean vacuum for the lasers to be effective!”

  “Venting.”

  Retreating to the crossing of two passageways saved our butts, but it also allowed more of the things onto the ship. Smaller beetles and scorpions pressed toward us, dying hard to our massed fire, but their sacrifice allowed humanoid Demons to dart into the lateral corridors in the rear and begin rampaging within the ship. These bugs were armed and appeared to be more intelligent.

  The crew had armed themselves and barricaded all the doors and hatches, but I knew they’d be no match for the enemy. The bugs were beginning to run wild inside the ship.

  The close confines worked against us as we retreated deeper into the vessel. The armored beetle-types blocked us from counterattacking even as they died. They were holding us back just as much as we were them.

  Fortunately, I had a solution.

  The ship’s corridors were laid out in circles, with connections running from the center to the hull, so all we had to do was fall back further, then move laterally to intercept the enemy. As soon as Moranian came back with an armload of rocket launchers, I distributed half to our troops and ordered the other half set on the deck.

  I pulled aside two marines. “I need you to hold this position,” I told them as we set up camp in front of the power coupling chamber. “Use rockets when you need to, and I’ll leave two Raptors to back you up. Moranian, take one marine and four Raptors back and move to the starboard side of this deck. Intercept the bugs moving to flank us. I’ll take the rest and go to the port side.”

  Without waiting for acknowledgement, I clanked all the way to the hull of the ship. There was another passage there that circled the deck.

  Armored boots pounded on the deck behind me. Riggs’ Pigs were all veterans now, and the Raptors followed orders to the death, so I was confident of my backup.

  As soon as I reached the next passageway, I turned left. This one had a long arc with a contoured wall that followed the outer hull of the ship. Small automated laser turrets had been set up at the intersections. They tracked us restlessly, each equipped with its own simple brainbox and orders to shoot any detected enemy. Today, I was very glad we’d installed them, despite the risk of placing automated weaponry under full AI control.

  I turned left again at the next passageway leading outward. Ahead of me, I could see the blazing green of our lasers mixed with orange return fire—apparently the result of Demon firearms. These were the more sophisticated troops that carried weapons.

  “Valiant, what kind of rifles are they using?”

  “The Demon infantry is firing a pulsed plasma array,” Valiant replied.

  “Will our armor hold against a direct hit?”

  “Battlesuit armor should be proof against several shots before failing, except for the faceplate.”

  No surprise there. Faceplates were always the weak spot. The only way to get around that would be to do away with them and use cameras mounted elsewhere on our armor, but experiments like that always resulted in lowered combat efficiency.

  I slowed as I approached the ruckus in front of me at the next intersection. Even using my HUD, I couldn’t tell exactly what was going on.

  Suddenly, my four Raptor marines darted past me, followed by the lone marine, a private named Smith.

  “Stay back, sir,” Smith said. “We’ll handle this.”

  I was about to overrule him when I realized I was doing what Hansen always accused me of. I was becoming too involved in the details of close combat. Yes, we needed every battlesuit, and yes, the open-space battle was over for the moment, but getting myself killed would be a stupid thing, and not only for me personally.

  After all, if Marvin was willing to get all the other officers killed and eaten because he calculated I had the best chance of getting us home…well, who was I to argue?

  As the Raptors switched to their battle-axes and leaped to attack a half-dozen Demon infantry from behind, I hunkered down and shifted my focus to my HUD.

  “Suit,” I said, “tactical overview, display the entire ship.”

  A 3D diagram appeared in front of my eyes, and I manipulated it with a combination of eye movements and voice commands to see what I wanted. The Demons had broken through the hull in six places, including the four standard airlocks and the two drone launch tubes. With the heavily armored beetles as battering rams, they’d chewed their way much farther in than I’d hoped.

  Friendly green icons surrounded most of the incursions, but the red blotches were still spreading in some places. I tried to figure out what the problem was by examining the situation deck by deck.

  In the upper area, mostly occupied by the drone storage and handling deck, it appeared that the enemy was well contained. Someone, possibly Bradley, had organized the systems there to put up a stiff defense. The many Nano-style tentacles, usually used for repair and rearmament, held heavy tools and flailed at Demons. Parked Daggers with activated lasers fired using reduced power causing a lot of collateral damage but blowing handily through the creatures.

  It looked like we
’d have one hell of a lot of repair work to do, but at least the enemy was being slaughtered.

  On the main deck, where most of our marines and Raptors were, we were pressing them back from all sides.

  Frowning, I noticed a region without green contacts where a nest of red icons kept disappearing from view. Where were they going?

  The answer became obvious when I moved the “camera” to display the lower deck. The Demons must have cut through the floor and were attacking downward into areas of lesser resistance.

  I located Kwon’s icon on the other side of the main level and keyed a direct com-link. “Kwon, they’re cutting through the deck to the lower level. Get everyone you can down there, now!”

  “Roger, sir,” Kwon roared, and he cut out as he switched to short-range to give orders to the forces near him.

  “Suit, short-range noncom channel,” I said. When the com-link icon changed to the desired freq, I spoke to the squad leaders. “This is Captain Riggs. We’ve got to keep the enemy contained, Pigs, but I need you to send everything you can spare to the lower deck.”

  Without waiting for a reply I switched channels yet again to speak directly to Cornelius. “How’re you doing down there, Chief?”

  “Not good, Captain. I have several casualties, and the enemy is damaging my guns.”

  “Screw the beams, Chief. We can make more. Save the personnel. Help is on the way.”

  “Got it.”

  On my HUD, I could see clumps of friendlies working their way toward the lower deck. Most used the ramps and ladders, but there was a simpler, faster way for those with command privileges.

  “Valiant, create a hatch directly to the lower deck, right here at my feet, and keep it open,” I said.

  “Not advisable. Enemy is present in strength beneath you.”

  “I’m counting on it. Now do it!”

  “Command not accepted. The preset danger levels—”

  “Override!” I shouted, staring down at the deck between my feet.

  “Override accepted.”