Turning toward Jack, Red sheathed the pistol as she stomped over and looked down at Jack with what he had learned the hard way was a look of disgust for Bigfoots. “If you are done target practicing, we have a battle to win. They have thrown several shield walls into a box and we have already had several badly wounded trying to get them out. Now get off your butt and do your job Captain before someone gets killed.” Red jerked Jack’s Assault Blaster up from him as he sat looking up at her,then changed the power pack on his Assault Blaster before handing it back to him.
The Mech started screaming. “Get me out of here. I am your Admiral now get me out of here before that burning piece of junk catches this Mech on fire too.”
Jack glanced at the burning mech a few feet away and decided that he did not care if the hot burning mech caught the Commodore’s mech on fire or not. Noticing that the mag she handed back to him was empty. Jack realized that his shells had run out of any real power before the Commodore was half way to him. Flipping up his visor Jack rubbed his face and eyes trying to make is brain work again. “Aaa. Ya sure Red.” Holding out his hand to grab the hand offered by Red, Jack was pulled to his feet and started walking toward the last group of resistance. Olson and the girls forming on his flanks.
Not seeing any firing. “You sure? I don’t see any…” Then he saw the Shield walls pushed together over toward the outer hull as a Blacksuit head behind the wall poke up and dropped back down after a short glance. “Ok I see. Well. At least no one is firing at anyone now. Let’s go and see if we can talk some sense into them.” Jack glanced over at the scattered blackened body parts and fragments that had been the Redsuit that had tried to place a bomb on the Commodores Mech.
“You can’t leave me here now, get me out. That is an Order.” Jack could hear muffled pounding from the Mech behind him as he walked toward the shield wall makeshift fort surrounded by shield walls now being used by Redsuits for protection.
After talking to Krump, Jack stopped at the closest shield wall and yelled at the fort. “This is Captain Turner of the Red Pepper. I have captured your Commodore King. I am going to give you one chance to surrender or I am going to drop a very large demolition charge in the middle of that fort of yours and kill you all. You have one minute to come out with your hands in the air and no weapons. You will be treated fairly. I know most of you were just following orders so unless you raped or murdered someone you are safe from prosecution. That is if you give up now.”
Even with the roar of the burning Mechs and noise from the Redoubt, Jack could still hear the Commodore screaming to get out of the trapped Mech in the distance behind him. When nothing happened except a few shots of weapons blindly pointed over the Shield walls from the Blacksuits for a full minute Jack gave the signal.
Dozens of smoke grenades popped over and in the little fort and then Krump flew over them as laser fire from dozens of guns streamed blindly out across the Gundeck bay hitting nothing but other shield walls or the distant inner or outer hull. Krump dropped several demolition packs taped together into the middle of the fort, then quickly sped away.
Twenty seven Blacksuits jumped out over the shield walls of the fort leaving their weapons behind and hugged the deck covering their heads. A half a dozen leaped over the walls firing their weapons as they ran and were quickly cut down. Several simply stood up behind the wall holding their hands up over their heads.
Jack ran up and leaped over the wall ready to shoot anyone with a weapon and had to spread his legs to keep from landing on several wounded laying on the deck out of sight before he had jumped. His right foot hitting the deck between two wounded only inches apart barely missing their arms. Whipping his weapon around, all he saw were wounded and terrified men. Red and Krump only yards away doing the same.
Redsuits flooded in over the walls a few seconds later. The battle was over.
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Jack walked back to the Commodore trapped in his Mech. Looking down, Jack tried to think of what the hell he was going to do with the monster when he heard a bang behind him. Turning, Jack saw smoke coming up from the Shaft the Commodore had been ignoring since he knew it had to be a trap as he prepared to go out onto the ship’s hull to get around the trap.
Then Red Apes started jumping up out of the shaft dropping down to the deck with their weapons primed and ready.
Jack tapped his wrist comm then raised his hands over his head empty. “Stand down Red Apes. Stand down Gronks. We have taken the deck. Stand down.” It wasn’t much but he could see the Gronks relaxing. Taking their fingers off their triggers and standing a little straighter.
“Yes Captain Turner. I see much damage and destruction but no combat. How can we help?”
“We are going to have to sweep the ship for hold outs but it is going to take a while to get organized and ready.” Looking around at several wounded Blacksuits along the nearest barriers. “We have a bit of a mess to take care of first with all the wounded.”
“I see you out their Commander Turner. Get me out of this damn trap before I have you court-martialed. Thank God you put down the mutiny that had over whelmed the ship and forced me to do what I did. Now get me out of here so I can take back my ship and help my crew now the mutineers are dead. Besides I have to pee.”
“You are unbelievable Commodore.” Jack shook his head then a smile came to his face. “You know Commodore. I could never figure out why the Cargo Mechs had pee tubes in them as well as water bottle tubes and lunch box locks since they were restricted to inside work but I think they will come in handy now.” Turning to the Gronk Sargent. “First send half your squad around the core to get your wounded brothers off the damn bulkhead and down to Sickbay on the lower ship and put this scumbag back up in their place.” Jack pulled the thick armored shield covering the clear unarmored port of the Commodore’s huge mech helmet. Tossed it aside and looked through at the clear face plate staring back at him. “You are in a perfect prison for now until we get things sorted out Commodore. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of weeks.” Jack pulled his laser pistol, turning the power down and used it to weld the hatch seam closed not trusting the simple locking bar welded by Red, then stepped back to let the Gronks take the Prison Mech away.
Commander Glenn climbed up out of the Chase Shaft and looked around as the Gronks hauled the Prison Mech around the side of the core. Armored black suite men with their arms and helmets hurriedly painted red with Gronk weapons climbing out behind him and spreading out around the shaft head looking at the rest of the Red painted troops spread out checking bodies for wounded and collecting weapons from around the huge Compartment.
Jack walked over to the Commander. “Good to see you made it through the decks Commander Glenn. How are things below?”
Commander Glenn frowned as she looked around glancing at the armless, legless Mech being carried around the core. “Where is the Commodore? Dead I hope or do we have to hunt him down?”
“No to the first I am sorry to say and No to the second I am glad to say. Using his thumb to point to the side after the Gronks. “I left him in his Mech to keep him out of trouble or someone taking vengeance until things settle down. How are things below?” Jack asked again.
“I have the refugees bunked out in the officer decks in the bow and my ships doctor looking after them. The Ship’s Executive officer is in the brig already. The Gronks took the ship in only a few minutes as soon as I filled them in on the situation. Long before we got through I am sorry to say. I thought they would wait until I got down to help but once I freed them from your orders they went out of their way to make up for lost time. And then we came up here and again I missed all the fun.”
Jack glanced at the pieces of the Red suited Marine that had tried to place a charge on the Commodore King laying on the deck and then the hundreds of black suits laying dead around the core. “Ya real blast.”
The deck shook as the air thumped with a shock wave passing over them and the nearest viewing port flopped ou
t into the Gundeck Bay and onto the deck. The side hatch of a shuttle behind the hole in the hull opened. Red suited Gronks and Marines came flooding in through the opening quickly spreading out around the area. Their weapons ready to kill with the first shots.
The Redsuited troops already on the deck turned as they raised their weapons toward the surprise assault.
“Don’t fire! Jack shouted. Don’t Shoot!” Slapping at his comm hoping he opened all the channels right as he ran to get between both groups holding his hands up waving them back and forth. “All forces stand down! Don’t shoot. There are no hostiles on this deck. Lower your weapons. NO Hostiles on the deck. All troops lower and safe your weapons now!”
The Ensign came through the blown port carrying her stubby Gronk Assault Blaster as everyone stood or laid frozen ready for action and walked toward Jack.
Master Sargent Dundy came up behind Jack with a thumper under his arm looking at the troops standing toe to toe ready to kill. His voice echoed out across the bay without the need for amplification. “Can’t you morons see everyone is painted friendly fucking Red.?” Looking at the crude helmet jobs done on the ones around the shaft. “Well; I’m not sure I like the Red heads but they will do. Now stand the fuck down before I start knocking Red heads together trying to increase your intelligence.”
To Jack’s relief everyone started to relax pointing their weapons either down or up as the ones on the deck climbed to their feet.
The Ensign stopped in front of Jack. “I heard you were in a bit of trouble. Just what you deserve going off without me to look after your Butt.”
Looking out the other nearby ports showing space suddenly filled with fighters, bombers and assault shuttles. “Well, you think you brought enough and what took you so long?” Jack said trying to calm down again.
“I got your message and went after help. I have a thousand Marines and a hundred fighters and bombers with me know and the Red Pepper is only a half hour away with 10,000 more marines. I would have brought some destroyers but they are still laid up with modifications and moving the Battleship Hulk. What else do you want? A marching band?”
Jack grunted. “An hour ago I would have settled for a Marching Band simply to prove to that fucking oaf Commodore the jig was up and to get him to surrender before all the killing started.”
Chapter 13; four seconds left
Jack sat down in the Command Chair of the New Flying Bridge of the Red Pepper that was placed outside the main hull on the leading edge of Fin number One. Jack could not help looking around out the view ports surrounding him. He could not believe the difference between being able to see around the ship with his own eyes compared to the video screens that surrounded the rebuilt emergency bridge buried deep inside the ship a few decks ahead of the engines. He had gotten used to the small enclosed bridge during the short time he had commanded the Red Pepper during the battle 6 months ago that destroyed the Spider fleet and freed so many slaves. That had almost destroyed the Red Pepper yet again. He had actually liked the small size of the original emergency or second bridge but would have accepted the much larger bridge the ex-slaves had rebuilt it into but having to look through yards of hull and decks with all the added armor made it almost impossible to see anything with his own eyes. No he had hated it the first time he had sat in the Command Chair months before while the ship was half way through refitting, it was so damn restricting.
Yes, he liked this new flying bridge the first time he saw it. Thinking about how nice the small bridge was as he looked out the clear ports.
No, he definitely loved the new flying bridge. The sad thing was they had made it out of the crews second mess deck built into the base of the fin when the alien Ex-slaves had rebuilt the ship over the last 6 months at the captured Spider battleship they had been using as a base that was now locked to the diamond bubble that had almost destroyed the Red pepper. After surviving dozens of battles with Spider Battleships using weapons improvements those same ex-slaves had equipped the Red Pepper with. The shame was that while trying to rescue more slaves, they wear almost destroyed by the biggest fusion core explosion ever witnessed by man that created the bubble deep inside the Nebula cloud in the first place was almost surreal. The fact that the reason for the explosion was because the humans on the Spider ship had not known they were being rescued by the slaves and had used the opportunity to try to escape and killed the Ship’s God Officers, that then led directly to the detonation of the ship’s fusion cores and a thousand years’ worth of fuel.
The Red Pepper had not been able to run far enough fast enough through the cloud to escape the detonation wave that had created the bubble and almost destroyed the Red Pepper yet again. No, after this shit with the Commodore added to all the shit from months before, Jack was ready to sit someplace safe and relax and let someone else worry about the damn war. Besides, being able to see everything around him and the ship without the aid of machines that were half as good as his own eyes was relaxing.
No. Jack liked the new flying bridge that had once been his favorite mess deck even though he technically was not supposed to eat there. Not that he had asked for it after telling them not to bother rebuilding the main bridge in the bow and to use the space for more quarter’s compartments. He had gotten used to the cramped Emergency Bridge that reminded him more of his family’s Trampship Bridge on the Turner Joy he had grown up on. Though the Turner Joy’s bridge had view ports most of the way around it and the Red Pepper’s emergency bridge did not. But then the main bridge in the bow hadn’t either. Though without the armored hull of the Battleships, he had no problem seeing out through the transport’s decks and hull that had allowed him to save the fleet headed for The Rock through uncharted space his first week on the helm of the Admiral’s ship. Turning the fleet to miss a gas cloud (that would have devastated the fleet), the ship’s sensors had failed to pick up in time at the speed they were traveling at. No he couldn’t give the job away so if he had to be the Captain then he was going to us the bridge he wanted to.
The Flying bridge had been a big surprise to Jack as was the 20 foot thick shell of extra armor that had been added around the engines and stern section of the ship just below the active gun deck by the ex-slaves that was supposed to be able to take a direct hit from the huge monster cannons on the Spider Battleships. Realizing that without the engine protection, the ship could be stranded to be captured by a single hit during any future battles and then all the ex-slaves would be captured and killed. Though they had already added a good thickness of special reflective armor around the entire ship thanks to the cooking the ship had been subjected too before they managed to cut their way out of the huge fusion created diamond bubble.
Jack had a hard time believing that what had once been a tanker one step from the scrap heap was now a huge transport able to support some ten thousand crewmen and ex-slaves in comfort. The problem was that Jack was planning on leaving most of them with the Spider Battleship that was being rebuilt into a huge Base Station where they would be much safer. After all, the last thing he needed was to show up at The Rock with thousands of ex-enemy slaves at the Republic’s most secret military base. But he had to finish carrying out his orders to get the hulk he had been given command of back to The Rock and rejoined the fleet now that it was finally space worthy again. Then finally someone else could take Command of the Red Pepper. He was finished giving orders that kept getting people killed. That is as soon as he could finish with everything that kept getting piled on his shoulders every time he turned around.
Not to mention an additional complication as he looked out the side ports and the pair of ship hulks rammed together only a couple miles from the Red Pepper. He couldn’t very well leave them sitting out here in the middle of nowhere.
A flight of bombers flew past the Red Pepper close enough for Jack to see the pilots in the cockpits and the big Spider planetary city killing torpedoes Jack had used to take out the currier ship the week before (or was it weeks now), under their wings
. With a good dozen additional flights of fighters and bombers circling in the distance providing protection. Though Jack prayed that they would not be needed, he felt comforted that they were there.
Several large transport boats were docked to the hulks less than a mile away with another one pulling up to it now. A stream of shuttles were running between the hulk and the Red Pepperferrying the most critical patients to the Red Peppers Sickbay Hospital that had been greatly upgraded by the aliens. Including the Gronks Jack had found chained to the bulkheads first on the empty gun deck and then a search of the ship had found in several other compartments. He had just come across on one of them and had gone straight to what he had thought was the crews secondary mess deck to get a bight to eat and finally relax only with a good view only to find the new Navigation Bridge. Though after blurting out something about this being one hell of a nice Flying Bridge (remembering a story about ancient ocean going sailing ships) the aliens were now busy changing the name over the hatch entrance and on the equipment around the bridge before Jack could even get seated in the Command Chair. The chair changing automatically to fit Jack still wearing his altered combat suit with the added red painted armor plates and additional armor coating, a notch for his holstered pistol and a rack on the back to hold the Assault Blaster.
Jack was just amazed and could not help staring at what was going on around the ship like he was standing out on the ship’s hull without a suit. Finally turning his attention back to the hulks or hulk since they were pretty much friction welded together Jack could only shake his head.
The problem was that the lower hulks engines were slagged after the engines had over heated when the ship lost its cooling fins and super-heated cloud particles had been rammed up through their throats finishing the coils off. With no hope of repairing them even if the rest of the stern was in decent shape after 6 months of repairs by its crew while fighting to keep a maniac from taking over their ship. The only good thing was that after inspecting the engine rooms and what was left of the engines Jack was certain that the engines could be replaced fairly easily as the ship’s structure around the engines was still sound. Now the problem was where to get the new engines or at least one engine. More than one was actually a waist in the cloud anyway except as a backup.
Battleship Destroyer 2 (Battleship Destoryer) Page 57