He gave a palms-up shrug. “Certainly not new territory for us going into something blind. That said, I say we avoid the intersection. How about we go left and cut through to that corridor in a less likely ambush spot?”
“Looks good to me,” Sinner replied, and they ordered the team on a new heading. A couple of short corridors later, they entered a large, diamond-shaped room, with doors at opposite poles. The interior was dark and silent, so their helmet displays shifted automatically to heat-sensing. They locked down the door behind them with explosives and advanced to the middle of the space. Saint pointed at the wall to their right and said, “Plasmacord there, and we’ll cut through.” Moya “Flame” Candella nodded but froze in shock before she could take a step.
An alien voice sounded inside his helmet, over their own comm channel. “That won’t be necessary, Gunnery Sergeant St. John. You’ve already gone as far as you’re going to.”
None of them had time to react before the room was filled with light and mechanical sentries switched from cold and dormant to hot and active. In seconds, the Marines were surrounded by rifles.
They responded in shouts of, “Contact,” across the comm and brought their weapons up to firing positions. Seeing the forces arrayed against them, Saint snarled, “Halt. No firing unless fired upon.”
The climbing lights revealed another set of sentries entering the room on a tier above them. The majority were aliens encased in body armor. One of them, in a full suit of power armor that gleamed in shades of blue and green, lifted its arm. The voice in their helmets was smug. “Welcome to my ship. I’m sure you’re going to enjoy your stay here.”
“Saint,” Sinner said over a channel that connected just the two of them.
“We’re dead if we go now, Sin. Even if we could take the robots, the ones up top have got us outflanked.”
He looked up at the aliens above and raised his hands in submission. “All right, you bastard,” he said, forcing a confident and cheery tone into his voice, “I guess it’s time to discuss the terms of our surrender.”
Chapter Thirty-One
"Evasive," Indraat snapped as one of the human ships, sparking and dying from wounds she’d inflicted, attempted to ram the Ruby Rain. Her ship flipped 360 degrees to port and hurtled unscathed away from the doomed vessel.
"Nice flying, First," she said. Her officer returned a grunt. Indraat imagined shooting her in the back of the head, simply for the enjoyment of the action, then refocused on the screen beyond the annoying wench.
"Poor little human ships, they think they can survive by banding together. Load the shield droppers in the forward tubes."
Moments later, her weapons officer reported "Ready."
"Fire."
The missiles hurtled from her ship, one headed toward each member of the pair of enemy cruisers shooting at her. The torpedoes had been designed to combat the Domeki, so Indraat was positive they’d find the humans' inferior technology no challenge at all. She watched on the external view as the projectiles flew. Unknown to their targets, they gathered data as they approached to assess the characteristics of the ships' defenses. Shortly before impact, the missiles' outer skin ripped away, and the projectile flipped to release clusters of smaller objects. These continued on with the speed of inertia to pepper against the enemy's shields. As each struck, an electrical charge precisely attuned to the ship's defensive barrier activated, and the forward protection of both vessels dropped.
"Fire," Indraat ordered again with a wide grin, and brilliant beams of energy reached out from the Ruby Rain to carve into the enemy ships. They turned to flee and nurse their wounds, but a salvo of traditional torpedoes each was enough to finish them. They broke into satisfyingly small pieces that hurtled away in random directions.
"Excellent, weapons," she said. "Reload into the forward tubes. How many do we have remaining?"
"Two now in the tubes and four in reserve, Fleet-Captain."
"Very good," she replied. Sparks at one side of the screen alerted her to a rammer under attack by a squadron of human ships at their second entry point.
"So, they've broken through, finally," she said. "Chart a course toward that rammer ship and scrape those parasites off it."
The ship spun on its thrusters, and its main engines ignited again to hurl it in a different direction. As the Ruby Rain neared the fight, Indraat counted only five human attackers remaining. "Port broadside to enemy one, starboard to two, shield droppers to three and four." She marked the ships on her display as she called them out. "We’ll charge number five. Fire energy attacks from forward and aft cannons as we go by. Then loop around and take care of the ones who no longer have shields." She leaned back with a predatory smile curving the corners of her mouth.
The main display updated with a schematic overlaying the real-time view and illustrated the projected path and launch points for the Ruby Rain. She nodded and said, "Execute."
One of the missile salvos missed as the target ship saw them coming and ducked behind the rammer. The missiles redirected, failsafes preventing them from striking the Xroeshyn vessel, and they wobbled onto evasive vectors as they attempted to reacquire their target. The second salvo blasted into an enemy cruiser just moments after a strike from the rammer's weapons. Its shields fell, and a torpedo penetrated to explode deep inside. Fire gouted from the opening, and the ship went dark and started to drift. They fired at enemy number five in passing, and then turned to reengage.
The missile flight struck her on the bow, covering the display in incandescent blooms. "Reinforce forward," she ordered, and drew a, "Yes, Fleet-Captain," in response. The offending ship was one of the two that had been targeted with shield droppers, but its defenses were very much alive as the Ruby Rain's return fire failed to penetrate. "What happened?" she asked, then followed with, "Eliminate number two and send torpedoes from each broadside at number five."
The missiles leapt from their tubes again to pursue their designated targets.
"Number two took the torpedo blast for number three as well. They dropped its shields, but the other ship wasn’t hit."
"Clever," she said. She was always willing to admire a brave move, whether it be from an ally or enemy. "Let's reward them with a pair of spreaders."
"Loading into aft tubes now, Fleet-Captain," replied her weapons officer.
"Fire when you’re able. Also, get rid of number five, please." The Ruby Rain erupted in weapons’ fire again, clearing the fifth enemy out of the way. It limped, jettisoning atmosphere and plasma, away from the fight.
"Let it go," she said to forestall the question. The spreaders launched from the aft tubes, and she leaned back to enjoy the show. Another technology developed against the threat of the Domeki, the spreaders were made of many smaller missiles hiding within a larger one. As they neared their target, they assessed the shields' strength and programmed the target location for each of the internal weapons. Then the outer shell separated and fell away, and individual engines on the nine hidden inside rocketed them at the enemy. When deployed in pairs, one was always slightly delayed, so its impacts would follow the first. It took fourteen of the eighteen incoming munitions to create a hole in the human ship's shields, but the torpedoes that made it through ripped into and across the length of it before exploding near the engines in the stern. The human ship came apart and scattered debris in all directions.
"Back to Alpha point," she ordered, and switched her chair's display to a tactical view. While she took great personal pleasure in delivering death blows to the enemy, her main responsibility was to coordinate the traditional space portion of the system’s defense. This required retreat to a safe location at regular intervals to review, assess, and redistribute her forces. As the Ruby Rain arrived at Alpha, she noted the humans had broken through at all three locations, but resistance was adequate with the support of the double squadron of missile boats hanging in the back. These had proved so effective during the battle over the humans' home world that they’d re-outfitted s
everal other ships with scores of tubes. The resulting decks were poorly shielded and lacked mobility compared to fully equipped vessels, but they put out an incredible amount of damage. As a flight of missiles reached out toward one set of enemies, Indraat noted the human force coming in through the spot nearest the reliquary of Trensun, the God of Love, were funneling in more or less as expected. She ordered the defenders to hold their line, out of range of the humans' weapons, and wondered how stupid the invaders would be.
They supplied an answer almost immediately.
With their path finally cleared, the humans sent ship after ship through the gap, vectoring to port, starboard, above, and below, to make room for those entering behind them. Once all the incoming vessels were past the asteroid field, they raced forward together, firing missiles and energy blasts at the Xroeshyn defenders ahead even though they were out of range.
How surprised they must have been to see explosions so much closer than expected when their weapons hit the mines seeded all along the inner arc of the field, just far enough away to allow all of them to get positioned and advance. They couldn’t stop their foolhardy rush, and the human ships plowed into hidden explosives, one after the next. Each was no more powerful than a standard torpedo warhead, but there were thousands of them, and the forward vessels struck many at once. The first several ranks of the enemy assault vanished in a chain of detonations, rendering that portion of her screen into static noise for almost a full minute. When the smoke cleared, her forces were in motion, taking shots at the damaged, the drifting, and the uncertain among the humans.
"Didn't expect that, did you, vermin?" she growled. To add to the good news, a shimmer appeared behind the missile platforms and the carrier Emerald Torrent entered the sector. The tactical computer automatically connected to the new arrival, and Indraat ordered the ship to move in defense of the human incursion on the other side. Meanwhile, she redirected the efforts of the missile batteries away from the humans along the edges nearest the asteroid field, and closer to those in the middle.
"Verify torpedo interlocks," she ordered.
"Verified," her weapons officer said after a moment. The interlocks would prevent the missile barrages from detonating against their own ships mixed up in the melee. If they came into proximity, the warheads would deactivate. While they could still damage them through kinetic force, the likelihood of catastrophe was much less. It was another lesson learned from the Domeki, one that had proven very effective against the Xroeshyn.
She watched in satisfaction as a barrage of missiles launched, then noted the carrier hadn’t obeyed her command.
"Hail the Emerald Torrent," she said. After a minute, there was still no response. "Scan that ship. Is it fully functional?"
Her sensor officer replied, "It appears to have taken damage, Fleet-Captain, but reads as operational in all respects."
She had a moment to frown in confusion before fighters boiled out of the ship's hangars, and the carrier fired its impressive array of weapons. Torpedoes and laser blasts struck the weakened rear shields of the torpedo platform nearest the ship and penetrated, setting off its magazines and inspiring cataclysmic explosions that consumed it. The carrier's engines ignited to push it down the line of platforms, and it continued to pour fire into them, destroying each in series. No other ships were close enough to assist, and the missile interlocks prohibited the torpedo decks from launching upon it.
Indraat barked angry orders. "Override our interlocks, throw everything we have at the carrier. Mark it as an enemy. Link that data to the Fleet." She turned to her communication officer. "Inform the Planetary Defense Center. Request assistance against the Emerald Torrent."
She swiveled back to the main display. "First, get us out of here," she said, and the Ruby Rain leapt away, then spun to a stop, still within range of the cruiser.
"Why have you stopped?" Indraat roared. "Has getting this ship destroyed been your goal all along, traitor? Are you in league with the carrier?"
Her first officer slapped the buckles to release her safety belt and stood to face Indraat. "This treasonous ship is not my doing, Captain," she sneered. "However, I wish it was. It illustrates exactly how weak and pathetic the Navy has become under your leadership. Our brave commanders are being held back by the spineless command structure that has been set in place by our hapless leader, and you’ll snatch defeat from the talons of victory. For the good of all Xroesha, this ends now."
The woman extended her arm, a holdout blaster sliding into her hand from the holster within her sleeve. Indraat had no time to react, and a bolt of energy sizzled across the bridge.
Right into the neck of her traitorous first officer.
The would-be assassin dropped to the deck with a moan, and Indraat stood. She turned and gave Deacon Raanja a nod of thanks. He returned the acknowledgement while keeping his weapon trained on the fallen sailor.
Indraat stepped on the woman's hand, grinding her bones into fragments as she knelt to whisper. "It seems you’ve once again confused ability with ambition, Creena Shan. That was ever your weak point." Her boot pressed down to elicit a fresh scream as her body straightened. She quick-drew her custom pistol and put a blast of energy into the traitor's eye. Her screams fell instantly silent as she convulsed, then relaxed into lifelessness.
Indraat returned to her seat and strapped herself in. "Deacon Raanja, please take the communication station. Sheena, helm. Tareel, you’re promoted to First." Her officers, each capable of operating any position on the bridge, moved quickly in response to her commands.
Raanja's voice was filled with surprise, "Hail from the Emerald Torrent, Fleet-Captain."
Indraat heaved a sigh. There was no potential good in this communication, other than the knowledge of her enemy's identity. Nonetheless, she waved to accept it.
A snowy-haired human appeared on the screen, reclining in the oversized command chair with a cup at his side. He paused and took a sip, then shook his head in appreciation. "One thing this ship has is some of the finest tea I've ever tasted. I am Captain First Rank Dima Petryaev of the Allied Asian Nations. I felt it was important for you to know who had eliminated your missile platforms, and who will now sow destruction among your forces."
She glared at the vermin on the screen, unable to form words to reply. He gave her a quizzical look, then shrugged. "Very well. Again, regardless of what happens from here, thank you for this tea." He raised the cup in a toast.
The channel dropped as Indraat stifled a scream, a sapphire haze filling her vision and causing everything around her to vanish beneath the intensity of her anger.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Sinner examined the encircling robots on every side in her helmet display, and ever so slowly returned her rifle to the carry points on her back. She raised her hands in time with the other Marines, each of whom had come to the same conclusion.
The intercom crackled. “Standby,” instructed GeeWhiz, but nothing more.
The alien laughed at them again. Sinner glared up at him. “It appears that you’ve outplayed us,” she said. “I’m curious to know how you got into our comms.” As an effort to stall, it wasn’t particularly impressive, but it did elicit a chuckle from the enemy leader.
“Quite simple, really. Your access into our systems gave us access into yours. You should be far more careful with firewalls in the future. Of course, that’ll be difficult, as you have no future. Kill them,” the alien finished in the same passionless tone.
“Sparta,” Saint yelled, and the Marines collapsed into a tight cluster and activated their shields. Laser and plasma fire struck and was either absorbed or reflected by the overlapping energy barriers. One out of every four was outfitted with extra power for the run, in the form of a large backpack full of fuel cells. Saint and Sinner had envisioned those members of the squad using them to hold chokepoints during a retreat or a flanking maneuver. However, they served this purpose effectively. As the shields of those without the extra power faded, they dropped
to the floor and arranged themselves carefully between the legs of those who had the packs.
“Calvary,” GeeWhiz said after twenty seconds of the barrage had elapsed. The door they’d used to enter, disintegrated as shaped charges exploded on its far side, and a phalanx of their sentry bots rolled into the room. Three of them were the protectors that had been guarding GeeWhiz and their arrival hangar, and the other four had been on decoy duty: pretending to be the Marine force and traveling in a different direction. Their quad mount lasers blasted into each enemy robot in turn, the coordinated fire dropping most of them before they could redirect their weapons at the new arrivals. The ones that succeeded in shooting at the sentry bots found their counterassault defeated by the bots’ portable shields and were quickly eliminated.
While all the enemy’s attention had been focused on pouring damage into the Marines, GeeWhiz had also launched an assault against those in the top ring. Tiny spheres rolled into the space through a hole burned in an environmental transfer duct and traveled soundlessly to position themselves at equidistant intervals around the circle. As the fire stopped below, they exploded. Screaming aliens were thrown from the balcony onto the floor below with flaming gel and shrapnel penetrating their armor to damage the fragile beings within. The Marines hurtled out of their pile and drew their weapons. In their default pairs, they eliminated the enemy soldiers with headshots. Just as they finished, the final shields faded.
Sinner looked around at the smoking remnants of the birds and said, “Heaven, preserve us from competent enemies. That was close.”
“Plan Zed,” Saint ordered as a reply, and she stopped speaking. The protocol for that operation scrolled into her display to jog her memory. With a nod, she pulled out a communication cable and plugged it into a receptacle on the forearm of Saint’s armor.
Victors Page 19