The other teams headed out of the detention area and to the courtyard’s quad. Once there they found a half a dozen Karduans, who they open fired on and took down hard. It was at this point that all hell broke loose. The public announcement system started blaring in both English and in Karduan that –
“The station is on lock down! All prisoners must return to their cells or be shot on sight!”
The courtyard ceiling suddenly opened up revealing four hidden panels each containing a nested gauss cannon turret. The two closest turrets opened fired on the raid teams hitting several members and over a dozen prisoners forcing them back to the detention wing.
“What do we do now?” Lt. Chow asked having picked up a fallen gauss rifle.
Cappillo held up a finger signaling him to wait one. Touching that finger behind his ear he finally spoke.
“Martin, we have a problem here!” he declared.
Daily’s voice quickly answered him inside his head.
“The ceiling guns are on an emergency automatic backup system that I can’t hack. They default to an internal independent control system when on lock down or when the main security system is down.”
“That really doesn’t help!” Rufo replied as he and the others retreated further back from the gauss cannon’s withering fire.
“Cavalry is on the way,” Lt. Daily replied.
Across the courtyard floor dozens of heavily armed Karduan guardswomen appeared and started to tactically cross towards the detention wing. The ceiling mounted cannons ignored them staying focused on their last targets.
“Stanton, where the hell are you?” Cappillo demanded.
“Be there in a minute,” came his reply followed by a “Yee ha!”
A Karduan voice yelled for the prisoners to throw down their arms and return to their cells.
The Confederation prisoners and raid teams taking refuge in the detention wing’s hallways wondered if this crazy plan would work or if they all be dead or made prisoners again. Many of them were determined not to be slaves ever again and were prepared to go down fighting. Chow and Doyle gripped the rifle and pistol that they had recovered from fallen raid team members. They gave each other a nod knowing that they’d had nothing to lose.
For everyone it was a long minute but sure enough the cavalry arrived in the nick of time.
The cargo entrance to the outer spurs was used for bringing in supplies, equipment and of course salvaged ship parts. Every level had one and the central ring was no exception. A few minutes after Daily’s reply, the huge cargo doors blew open sending debris and molten metal flying across the courtyard.
Karduan guards were sent flying into the air as the fusion powered main gun of a M45 grav tank blew open the doors. The wreckage was made worse as two grav tanks crashed through the remains of the cargo doors. As they flew into the courtyard the ceiling mounted gauss cannons open fired on the tanks. Thousands of heavy gauss rounds pounded their armor plating to no avail and at best only making pockmark divots on the tanks’ surfaces.
Both tanks quickly returned fire and it was an impressive sight to see. Their fusion turrets blasted the ceiling as their twin gauss cannons opened fire on any remaining guardswomen. In another moment the room became silent filled with smoke and dust from the collapsed ceiling and chemically enhanced water from the station’s fire suppression system.
The M45 grav tank moved deeper into the courtyard turning into a V covering the area in front of them. After a quick but seemingly forever scan of the area a voice announced that it was all clear.
Lt. Cappillo cautiously led the raid teams and prisoners out into the wrecked courtyard. As they approached the grav tanks their rear troop ramps dropped and a half dozen armored men came out. The last few dragged crates that they quickly opened up. The poly crates were filled with gauss rifles and battle vests complete with helmets and ammo belts.
The raid team members ran over and quickly equipped themselves.
“All raid teams get to your primary targets, medics we have people down, Alpha team secure the area and get all the prisoners rounded up. Echo team get to your secondary target,” Cappillo ordered as people scrambled about to carry out their missions.
Lt. Stanton popped out of one of the tanks’ copulas.
“How’s that for a save?” he asked with a big grin.
“The Iron Brigade to the rescue!” Rufo agreed while being positive that they’d hear of this save for the rest of their lives.
Frank Stanton was still smiling as he scanned the area and then asked a question.
“Where’s Lt. Collins?”
_____________________________________________________
Station Mistress Bie-Tor was more frustrated than in her entire life and her comm. unit was not making it any easier for her. The damn device was constantly going off with updates and requests for guidance from her staff.
Flipping it off she ignored them for another moment as she needed to resolve this matter one way or another.
“Tell me what you have done or I will roast you alive!” she screamed at the helpless prisoner.
“Sure, I’ll talk. I’ve taken away your power to read minds, knocked out your security system and freed your prisoners. Your defenses are being destroyed, our fleet is about to break through your battle line and I’m about to take this station from you,” Mike Collins stated trying to do his best imitation of one of Rufo Cappillo’s shit eating grins.
Another explosion rocked the station to emphasis his point.
She was so mad that everyone could see her anger as her already clearly visible blue veins flared along the almost translucent flesh of her neck. Her next statement was no surprise to those watching.
“I’ll kill you!” she declared adjusting the surgical center’s settings to enact her promise in the most painful way possible.
“What are you going to do?” Alexander asked moving a bit closer to watch.
“I’m going to have him slowly dissected joint by joint. Then I will have all of his organs removed one by one until only his heart and lungs are left. He will be conscious throughout the process as the machine will keep him alive and awake,” she said truly inspired to inflict a new level of pain on this human creature. If she did this right and drew this out as slowly as she wanted he might even still be alive in an hour or so. By then maybe he’d be more willing to talk.
Mike braced himself for the worst though he had been hoping for a rescue it seemed that the raid teams must have run into a snafu. He was trying to think of some brave last words like Nathan Hale’s but nothing was coming to mind when he noticed something strange.
Behind the pirate Alexander and the traitor Darden, the broken navy commander called Dog stood half hunched over. As another explosion occurred somewhere nearby the Dog stood up. His normally vacant and emotionless face now had a look off determination and anger.
“Oh this is going to good!” Mike said with a smile making all three of his captors look at him strangely and in various levels of confusion at his last words.
Collins continued to smile as he watched the commander pick up the pirate and toss him as easily as someone tosses a pillow. Alexander flew out of the room through the open door and crashed somewhere in the adjacent lab.
Darden was the first turned to see what was happening and was the recipient of a fast low snap kick to his groin. The blow was powerful that it picked him up and threw him into the back of the preoccupied station mistress sending both of them to the ground in tangled heap.
Reaching the surgical station’s controls, he hit the emergency stop. This safety panel immediately cut off the power and shutting down the entire machine.
Mike was suddenly free of the restraint field and pulled himself to his feet with the help of the commander.
“Lt. Mike Collins, ISS Star Wolf,” he said introducing himself.
The man known as Dog smiled, his unshaven face lighting up as his blue gray eyes sort of flared in joy.
“Commander Edmond H
unter, ISS Star Tiger,” he replied as he pulled the younger man to his feet.
The young lieutenant looked at him in surprise for a moment and then stumbled and inadvertently said what he was thinking out loud.
“You're the Black Prince!”
Scotty Darden had just regained his breath but was still laying on his side on the floor racked with pain.
“He’s … he’s the Emperor’s son!” the traitor announced in shock as the station mistress pulled herself to her feet and charged him.
“Well, that cat is out of the bag,” Edmond responded with a frown.
Seeing that the pirate had also recovered and was drawing his weapons the commander decided to take out two birds with one stone. Grabbing the station mistress’s arm as she went to grab him he smoothly stepped and turned into her, rolling her across his hip and he threw her at the incoming pirate captain.
Mike recognized the throw as one used in several martial arts as O Goshi or a major hip throw. He also saw that not only did the Black Prince use this opponent’s energy against her but he added his own enhanced strength throwing her much further than any normal man could have.
The effect was that the station mistress hit the pirate with considerable force sending them both flying out of the room. Alexander the Great was not only knocked down but lost his recently drawn extension sword and pistol.
“Kodokan judo?” Mike asked with a nod of approval.
“That and some other things,” he commented and then he asked “This is a real attack and rescue operation and not some crazy bluff on your part?”
“It is crazy but it is also a very real assault,” he answered.
“Good! I was getting really tired of playing possum and waiting for my chance to act,” the commander replied moving to the door to go after them.
Mike moved to follow but saw that the traitor Darden was trying not to be noticed. Turning he kicked him in the face sending him rolling across the floor to lay unconscious in the corner of the room. There would be time to properly take care of him later he thought.
Edmund stopped at the doorway and retrieved the poly carbon extension sword and activated the blade which sprung out to its full length.
“A Templar model,” he remarked recognizing the maker of the sword.
Mike saw that it was actually his extension sword that the pirate had reclaimed after his capture.
Further into the lab the Blue mistress and the pirate both managed to get back to their feet. Alexander the Great did what any sensible and unarmed pirate would do and he turned and ran as fast as he could. The station mistress on the other hand was no coward and turned to fight producing an extension sword of her own from somewhere within her robes.
She activated the blade as they both noticed the pirate’s fallen pistol laying almost half way between them.
“I’m a Patar Master of the First Rank with over thirty death matches,” Bie-Tor announced as was the custom in the Great Arena to do. She followed her declaration with a sweeping gesture of her blade.
Commander Edmond Hunter nodded, “My real name is Connor Blakely and I learned how to fight from my father, the Emperor of the Confederation who was the same former Black Prince that defeated your Masters of the Patar.”
He then performed the same Vorooshin opening gesture perfectly copying her movements. This gave her pause for a moment as she looked to the nearby pistol. Ignoring that thought she quickly touched her inner forearm and something odd happened that they could all easily see.
As an aging Karduan one of her problems had been exactly that getting old. A little slower with a trust, a parry that barely could block a strong cut, tiring before the fight could be won were all symptom of her weakening condition. She still had skill and that had kept her alive as well as a danger to any who might challenge her. The problem was that she couldn’t safely advance or press those in charge for better positions and assignments by issuing challenges.
Bie-Tor was still a Prendere and that opened doors for her as well as being a onetime Fleet Mistress but her House was out of power and she needed to find a way to her help House as well as herself. Those were the most important reasons for her taking such a demeaning posting as a mere station mistress. Here she found the ships they needed as well as new technologies. She also found numerous types of augmentations amongst the humans. Some she understood, others she was still working on decoding or backward engineering.
Pressing down on the subdermal controls under her inner forearm’s pale skin she felt the surge of power as her augmentation kicked in. As she was an older and very pale skinned Karduan that some would even say was almost transparent in places her augmentation was easy for them to see. At her muscle groups in her arms, shoulders and legs they could see small pinpoints of red lights flash for a second as her implants activated.
The Blue Master of the First Rank took a deep breath in and smiled as she stepped forward and brought her sword up to guard position.
Leaning on the burned out battle robot as he fought off the effects of being repeatedly electrified, Mike looked to the Black Prince as he slowly nodded his head at the Karduan mistress.
“Bionic implants,” Collins warned taking a guess at her augmentation.
“Bionic implants,” the navy commander agreed. He knew that it was a more subtle augmentation, not nearly as powerful as a hardwire but nevertheless effective. Many elite para military groups and executive body guards used this cheaper alternative but in the Confederation service they were mostly used by NIA agents and a few covert special operations groups.
“Give me your sword, I’ll take care of her,” Collins said as he pushed himself off of the robot’s chassis that he had been leaning on.
The Black Prince shook his head and smiled.
“No, I’ve got this Lieutenant. You go find yourself a weapon as this place is going to be crawling with Blue guards in a few minutes.”
Mike nodded and looked to the nearby tables full of broken down technology scanning for a possible weapon. Running over to a table full of weapons parts he smiled as he recognized many of the mixed up pieces. He had trained to do this with a blind fold on in less than a minute and even with other parts mixed in he still finished it in under sixty seconds.
Running a quick functions check he was happy to see that he had correctly resembled a Colt Electro Auto Needlier also known as the M26 assault rifle. This gauss weapon was a cut down version of the standard Confederation M35 battle rifle. This model was used for close quarters battle or CQB operations.
Mike had only one problem with his newly assembled rifle and that was where the hell was the ammo? Looking all around the table all he saw was more weapons parts. The tables nearby were also a bust having other non firearm related projects laying about them. Looking under the table he saw a partially opened crate and pulled it out. Opening it up he praised God as he reached in and grabbed several standard gauss magazines. Slapping a sealed magazine home, he was rewarded by the automatic sound and the familiar hum of the EM motor’s start up. The ammo counter indicated that the magazine was full.
Now armed he turned around to help the commander and quickly saw how their fight was going.
Bie-Tor was retreating having just taken a second cut. This one was across the top of her thigh. She had another slash on the outer portion of her left shoulder. They hurt but both wounds were shallow and not life threatening.
She let the point of her sword dip as she shuffled backward away from her former human slave that she had once called Dog. His sword arm was strong, and his skill was surprising. She was a Patar Master of the First Rank and he was defeating every technique and trick she tried.
The station mistress had opened with Stabbing the Flying Maul which he easily followed and parried giving her the cut along her shoulder. She then retreated while using a Summer Desert Storm Cut bringing her blade around her head in a clearing technique hoping he’d step into the cut but instead he simply waited. She then tried using a Desert Wind Shifts s
triking his sword blade out of line and then dipping her point under his blade as he tried to bring it back into line. The Dog again followed her blade parrying with a strong beat before she could get her thrust in. This time he angled his sword downward and sliced her along her leg.
She had the human implants and could feel the power coursing through her yet he made her look like a foolish novice. She was fast, powerful and skilled but he was much more. Keeping her point down she hoped for him to charge after her and fall for her trap.
This time he just laughed.
“If your hoping to use Running onto the Horn you are wasting your time,” he said moving after her yet keeping an appropriate distance.
She was mad because she was trying to use that very technique, one that would allow you to impale an overly aggressive opponent as he charged after you.
“How is it that you know what I’m about to do?” she demanded wondering if this Psi-Void was really some sort of a telepath.
He smiled and shrugged a little.
“My father trained me as well as my godfather. Maybe you’ll recognize his name - Colonel Robert Bannon,” he explained keeping out of distance as he spoke.
“The Bane!” she spat, not knowing what a godfather was but knowing the name of Bannon.
The two human names that every Vorooshin and Karduan Patar masters knew were those of the Bane Bannon and that of the Black Prince Blakely. They had caused the defeat of the Vorooshin masters in the Grand Arena and had subsequently led the Great Rebellion. They had stolen ships and had then captured the sole Kazad made warship which led to the defeat of the Vorooshin Empire.
“I have also been your prisoner, your dog for weeks and as I scrubbed your floors I watched and listened. Every time you performed your fighting routines I noted each move, every step and subtle movements,” he informed with an irritating grin.
The Black Prince then lowered his blade and stepped closer almost daring her to attack.
She knew it was a challenge as he was too skilled to leave such an opening. The old Patar Master had two techniques immediately spring to mind. The first was called, Stabbing the Flying Mual. It started with a small circular cut on her first step and then followed with a slow low feint, which turned, into a quick high thrust. This was one of her favorite and smoothest maneuvers but that made it one that the Dog would be expecting. Instead she decided to try a compound attack using two separate techniques combined.
Wolf's Run: The Chase of War (Star Wolf Sqaudron Book 2) Page 49