The Grovothe held their own, with dark grey fighter ships Riot guessed were the Warwings. The Grovothe fighters looked like single pilot compartments with two wings sloping down and blasters connected to the end of each wing. A single engine in the back propelled them forward.
It was clear the Grovothe were outnumbered from the beginning. They had not been expecting a fight.
Orders?
Rizzo asked, with big letters popping up over the window.
“This is what we’re going to do,” Riot said as Wang and Ketrick ran back onto the bridge. The former dressed in his double layer of body armor, the black dragon skin underneath the crimson red liquid armor; the latter wearing nothing more than a pair of iron greaves with a black Kevlar vest over his bare torso.
Wang dropped a suit of armor and duffel bag of gear next to Riot. Ketrick did the same for Vet.
“I thought you’d want Vet ready, just in case,” Ketrick said, nodding to Riot. “We’re ready if they board. I say if they want a fight, then let them come.”
“Good, because that’s exactly what we’re going to do.” Riot grabbed on to either side of her captain’s chair as the ship shuddered from the impact of Karnayer fire.
“Say what?” Wang looked up from checking the sights on his Villain Pulse Rifle, the equivalent of a M16A4 that the Syndicate had left them. The weapon was painted black with a heavy mag that never needed to be reloaded, and a thick barrel. “For the record, I’m always down for a fight, but we’re just letting them attach to us like last time?”
“When the Dreadnaught breaks off its run, we’re going to get as many of those Scarabs to follow us as we can. Hopefully, when they see us making a run on their destroyer, they’ll flock to try and intercept us. When we have as many of those buggers following us as we can, we increase the speed right at the destroyer and pull up at the last minute.”
“Sending all those Scarabs that aren’t able to make the tight turn straight into their own ship,” Vet said, finishing the thought.
“Rizzo, you need to be on top of that destroyer before your turn. We have to be hugging that mother freighter. We’ll need those Scarabs right on our tail at top speed if this is going to work,” Riot said, asking and already knowing, what the answer would be. “Can you do it?”
I can do it. The War Wolves ride again!
Rizzo’s response had come over the screen in large, red lettering once more.
“Let’s rock and roll,” Riot said, motioning to Vet, who was still changing into his armor. “I’ll take the guns. Vet, you’re the XO. You take point with Wang and Ketrick. Be ready. We’ll do our best to keep those Scarabs from attaching to the ship, but if one or two gets through, you’ll be our line of defense.”
“Oohrah!” Vet said.
“Oohrah!” Wang echoed.
Ketrick looked unsure if he was allowed to echo the words. Instead, he brought his weapon, a long staff blaster with an axe on one side of the barrel and a sledgehammer on the other, hard onto the floor twice.
“I love the energy,” Riot said with a laugh. “But let’s not put any holes in the floor.”
Ketrick just smiled wide and slung his weapon over his shoulder.
“Let’s go,” Vet said, grabbing his weapons and armor. He headed for the door with Wang and Ketrick in his wake.
Riot gave her full attention to the gun controls that appeared at the captain’s chair in front of her. She commanded the holographic interface to allow the two triggers to appear at the edges of her chair’s armrest. On command, two joysticks with triggers set into the handles and buttons near her thumbs appeared in the air.
The ship shuddered as a trio of Scarab fighters screamed past their front window, en route to chasing a Grovothe ship.
“Still holding strong,” Doctor Miller reported in. “Shields at ninety percent. If I remember, the Scarab ships’ blasters aren’t particularly strong. It’s them crashing into our hull we have to worry about.”
“Agreed,” Riot said, remembering their last run in with the Karnayers. Doctor Miller was right. The real threat the Scarabs possessed wasn’t their long-range weapons at all; rather, it was their ability to latch on and unload a squad of Karnayer soldiers onto the ship.
The Dreadnaught providing cover in front of them shuddered under the onslaught of the larger Karnayer destroyer. The Dreadnaught let out one last salvo of fire before breaking off its run at the Karnayer ship and turning right.
The two massive crafts passed one another like wooden ships on the ocean sea. They exchanged a broadside of weaponsfire with one another. The Dreadnaught’s shields finally failed. The Karnayer ship scored multiple shots across the Grovothe battleship’s left side. Explosions and fires rippled across the Dreadnaught.
“That’s our cue.” Riot grabbed the firing controls in front of her. Immediately, a heads-up display popped to life in front of her seat. A red, circular targeting system tracked with her movements as she tested out the controls. “We can’t let them take much more of a beating.”
Rizzo was the best pilot Riot had ever known during her time in the Corps. After the accident that had cost him his voice at the hands of the Syndicate, Rizzo had become even better. It was as if the loss of his voice was channeled into other parts of his body. His eyesight and reflexes were extraordinary.
The Valkyrie weaved in and out of the hundreds of Scarab ships that lay in between them and the Karnayer destroyer. Rizzo moved the ship like it was an extension of his body, adding more and more acceleration with each passing second.
The Karnayer destroyer took its attention off the Dreadnaught to meet the new threat the Valkyrie presented. Green laser beams raced through the air, headed for Riot and her crew.
“Get some!” Riot roared as the first wave of green fire splattered against her shields. Riot returned the favor by targeting two Scarabs who raced toward them. Riot tracked them on her targeting display like the trained professional she was. The trigger fingers on each of her hands pressed down hard on the joysticks. Red blaster fire erupted from the cannons set on either wing of the Valkyrie.
Red fire blasted from the Valkyrie’s guns. The two Scarabs heading for them exploded in balls of yellow fire.
Riot kept her trigger fingers pressed down hard as Rizzo took them below the Karnayer destroyer. She ripped a line of fire in the underbelly of the ship. The enemy destroyer’s shields held strong. Riot’s fire stopped a few yards short of the actual ship. They disappeared, striking a blue force field that showed for a moment, then vanished a moment after the blast hit it.
Scarabs raced after them from all sides.
It seemed from its underbelly the Karnayer destroyer was forced to rely on the smaller Scarab ships for offense and their shields for defense.
“Shields at seventy percent,” Doctor Miller reported in. “The guns on that destroyer are hella strong.”
“Don’t ever say the word ‘hella’ again,” Riot said, not taking her eyes off the screen in front of her. “Evonne, I need to hear what I’m doing here. Pressing triggers with no noise is weird. I want to hear the booms.”
“Understood,” Evonne said at once. “Redirecting audio to your chair.”
Riot checked a square window in the bottom right of her heads-up display. The smaller screen was like looking into a rearview mirror. More than a dozen Scarabs raced after them.
“One more pass, then let’s take them out,” Riot yelled to Rizzo as she targeted a Scarab coming in from their right.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Riot unleashed a barrage of fire from the ship’s guns and was rewarded with an explosion.
BAM!
“Yeah!” Riot yelled. “That’s more like it!”
55
They passed from under the Karnayer destroyer. Rizzo brought them in a tight turn, pointing them up toward the sky. Their ship shuddered as they were once again in the destroyer’s range. They had the full attention of the destroyer now as all the ship’s guns zeroed in on them. A
nother wave of green fire struck them.
Riot shook in her seat. A tremor ripped through the ship. Warning lights blinked off and on. A shower of sparks sprinkled the bridge from a control panel against the wall.
Sparks, Riot thought. Why are there always sparks inside spaceships when they get hit?
“Shields at fifty percent and dropping.” Doctor Miller grabbed on to her station with both hands as the ship was hit with another tremendous force from their left. “Two Scarab ships have attached to the Valkyrie! Med bay and cargo hold.”
Processing these thoughts, Riot gave into the adrenaline pumping through her body. Rizzo brought them up past the enemy destroyer’s rear side. They headed higher and higher, away from the massive Karnayer destroyer.
Riot looked in the corner screen showing a swarm of Scarabs chasing them. There were too many to count.
“Evonne, connect me to Vet.” Riot stared out into a target-free screen for the time being. They were heading up and away from the fight. Every enemy ship was trailing them for the moment.
“Done,” Evonne said. “You know, if I had a body, I could carry a weapon and help—”
“Not now,” Riot growled. “Vet, you have company. One ship attached to the med bay, the other to the cargo hold. And brace yourself. Rizzo’s about to let loose up here.”
“We’re on it,” Vet responded back through the comm.
READY? Rizzo asked, sending his message to the smaller screen Riot was using to target the enemy from her chair.
“Do it!” Riot yelled back to her pilot. “Let’s show these Karnayers, Earth isn’t going to take it lying down.”
Rizzo stopped his forward momentum. For a moment, the ship was weightless as it redirected angles and pointed down.
“Oh, God,” Doctor Miller gasped. “I’m going to be sick again.”
Rizzo spun the Valkyrie around, pointing the ship down directly over the Karnayer destroyer. Between them and their target was a swarm of Scarab ships still heading for them.
“AHHHHHH!” Riot screamed as she let loose on the enemies headed straight for them. “Come on!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Riot let the red blaster fire hammer over a dozen Scarab fighters, exploding three and striking a dozen more. Green return fire from the enemy struck the Valkyrie’s shields and dissipated before it could do harm. Rizzo weaved around the Scarabs trying to slam their ships into the Valkyrie. Riot took out another headed straight for them.
BAM!
Riot hit a Scarab dead center, right in the pilot section of the ship, in between the trio of protruding talons.
Rizzo increased the speed. The thrusters went to full power. A line of Scarabs pulled their same maneuver now and pursued at breakneck speed. A moment later, they were through the dozens of Scarab ships and heading straight for the Karnayer destroyer.
Over her comm, Riot could hear the sound of weaponsfire discharging from the fight taking place on her own ship. Right now, she had to deal with what was in front of her. She would have to trust that Vet, Wang, and Ketrick could take care of themselves.
Green fire spewed from the Karnayer destroyer. As the Valkyrie streaked toward their ship, the Karnayers evidently believed they were going to pull a kamikaze move of their own. Little did they suspect, Riot and her team had no desire to die.
Riot fought the G-force pushing her back into her seat as Rizzo embraced the dive and sent every ounce of power to the engines. The Scarabs chasing them were forced to do the same if they were going to have any chance of catching up with them and saving their destroyer.
Green laser fire coated the Valkyrie’s front screen. Riot kept her trigger fingers locked on tight, sending a constant stream of red fire at the ship.
Let’s see what you think of this. Riot’s right thumb pressed down hard on a button on the top of her control stick. A bright red beam shot a constant stream of energy at the destroyer. It looks like a freaking Christmas light show.
The Valkyrie shook again.
“They’re sending everything they have at us,” Doctor Miller screamed as another shower of sparks erupted over the bridge. “Shields at twenty—no, ten percent!”
They were so close to the enemy ship now, Riot could make out more details of the monstrosity. The black ship was made up of numerous thick spike-looking structures protruding from the base. The closer she got, the more she could see there was a method behind the construction.
What looked like spikes before were actually a combination of cannon barrels and towers. Riot hosed the ship with her weaponfire, but still the shields of the much larger destroyer held.
A warning light began to blink off and on, informing Riot her guns were in danger of overheating.
“Warrant Officer Riot,” Evonne’s voice came over the sounds of fire and explosions.
“Not now,” Riot yelled back.
The Valkyrie was so close to the destroyer, Riot thought for sure Rizzo had miscalculated how much room he would need to pull back.
“Pull up!” Doctor Miller implored. “Rizzo, pull up! Pull up!”
I’m going to freaking die in space. A smile turned the corners of Riot’s lips. Well, I guess there are worse ways to go.
Then the impossible.
Rizzo cut power to the thrusters, turned up hard, and hit the ship’s engines again, full power. The belly of the Valkyrie scraped one of the protruding Karnayer towers.
Another rumble through the ship. Warning lights went off. A hose disconnected from the wall, spewing a shower of cold gas.
Rizzo raced forward. Behind them, the Scarabs tried pulling the same maneuver. Only half of them were able. In such a tight pattern, trying to pull up in time was near impossible. The first few Scarabs struck the destroyer’s shields. The next few that hit, however, made it through the shield, exploding over the ship’s surface.
Riot watched it all happen in her rearview screen. Her heart was racing as fast as the ship, and her chest heaved.
“Rizzo, I take back everything bad I ever said about you,” Riot said. Her eyes never left the rearview screen. “And that’s saying a lot.”
Rizzo looked over his shoulder for the first time since the fight began, giving Riot a rueful grin.
Riot checked the rearview screen on the display in front of her seat. A dozen fires were erupting from the Karnayer destroyer. The numerous Scarabs that still remained did not give chase. They hovered around the injured destroyer. The Scarabs wouldn’t pursue now. Their primary responsibility was keeping the destroyer safe.
“We’re being hailed.” Doctor Miller looked over to Riot with a mix of fear and surprise.
“By who?” Riot asked, still looking at the Karnayer destroyer, as the massive ship slowly turned from the battlefield. “Admiral Tricon calling to pat us on the back?”
“No.” Doctor Miller went pale. “The Karnayer destroyer is hailing us.”
“Oh, interesting.” Riot turned to her monitor. She closed the targeting system in front of her chair. “Put him on the large scree—”
“Corporal Vetash is requesting to be patched into the bridge,” Evonne said, interrupting Riot. “His voice pattern would suggest whatever he has to say is urgent.”
“Put him through,” Riot said at once.
“Riot.” Vet sounded out of breath. “We thought we got them all, but Evonne informed us two Karnayer soldiers are still on the ship. My best guess is that they’re headed to the bridge. We’re on our—”
“It’s fine,” Riot said, standing from her chair. She looked at her armor and weapons Wang had brought back from the armory and had left by the command chair. “Let them through.”
56
Roger that,” Vet said without second-guessing his superior. “Evonne will be able to track them.”
“Understood,” Riot grunted, leaning down. In her right hand, she picked up the heavy war hammer she had become fond of from Ketrick’s world. With her left, she grabbed the Villain Pulse Rifle. “Rizzo, let Evonne autopilot for a min
ute. We’re about to have company. You’ll take the target one on the left when they breach the door.”
Rizzo pressed a few buttons on the holographic display that had risen from his controlboard. He stood from his console, opening his hands, ready to receive the weapon.
Riot tossed Rizzo the pulse rifle.
The Marine took a stance behind his chair, staring down the sights of the weapon toward the door to the bridge.
“Should I take cover or something?” Doctor Miller looked from Rizzo to Riot. “I’m guessing something dangerous is about to happen. Oh, the Karnayer ship is still hailing us.”
“As Corporal Vetash stated, there are two Karnayer soldiers making their way to the bridge,” Evonne added in. “What would you like me to do about them?”
“Bubbles.” Riot took a stance with her war hammer by the bridge doors. “Patch through the Karnayer ship on the screen. You’ll be fine where you are; Rizzo doesn’t miss.”
Riot stretched her fingers around the blaster staff on her war hammer. In her eyes, the ancient runes on the weapon made it look even more badass. On either side of the blaster staff’s end were physical weapons meant to kill—on one side, a sledgehammer end; on the other, a slightly curved spike that looked more like a giant tooth.
The screen flashed to life on the front of the ship.
Riot adjusted her stance so she could see the screen and the doors to the bridge. The screen showed a seething Karnayer. True to his race, his skin was a light blue, his long, white hair draped behind him and pulled into dreadlocks. A black uniform with buttons down the middle made him look much like the Karnayer Riot had run into on Ketrick’s planet of Hoydren. The way his eyes squinted in a glare, the point of his chin, and the high cheekbones all made Riot think of Remus.
“To whom do I speak?” The Karnayer’s language was translated for Riot thanks to her nanites. “Who are you?”
“Warrant Officer Riot, from Earth,” Riot said, readying herself to use the weapon in her hands. “And I don’t want to be raci—speciest, but you look a lot like a Karnayer I’ve run into. Are you related to Remus, or does your whole species look similar? That’s an honest question; I’m not trying to be funny.”
War Wolves: Boxset 1-3 Page 24