Raid on Rigel

by Stephen Arseneault

  "You got in behind them?" Tanner asked.

  "They were occupied. And the two soldiers they left to guard their back were not very effective."

  Tanner grinned. "Not against the tornado, they weren't."

  Xurpok asked, "Mr. Collins, your hand?"

  "Got hit while stripping a tag they put on Tanner's back."

  Tanner said, "He gave me a hand."

  Xurpok stared.

  Mendez shook her head. "Wasn't funny the first time he said it either."

  Collins detached the remains of his stump and dropped it to the floor. "I'm still good to fight. Let's get this show on the road."

  Mendez returned a confused look. "What road?"

  Collins scowled. "You know what I said."

  Mendez slapped him on the shoulder with a coy smile. "Actually, I do."

  We turned toward the front of the ship and were quickly at a full run. Xurpok sped away and was soon out of sight. We could again hear the tell-tale noise of his assaults. The whumps of his plasma rifle were followed by the thuds of his victims as their bodies broke apart.

  When we reached the stairwell going up to the bridge deck, the door going into the stairs was locked.

  Mendez took aim and stopped just short of the door. "Bulkhead. They've sealed off that deck."

  I opened a comm. "Sammy, you still have the pipe connected?"

  "We do."

  "You coming back?"

  "We are."

  "Grimes! Come on! They're coming back!"

  A second voice could be heard yelling. "Go! Back! They're coming!"

  "We're here, Sarge."

  A comm from Grimes came through. "Abort! Maxans are flooding the hall! Sammy get ready to move!"

  Looking at a video feed from the hatch, half a dozen free ion bolts bounced off the far wall and began to scream down the hall toward a running Grimes. "I've been tagged!"

  I flipped my heads-up display to a video channel coming from her helmet cam. A shaky image of Sammy could be seen as he hurried through the pipe and toward the bridge of the Fracker. The image then showed the ceiling and floor as Grimes dove and rolled while attempting to pull the temporary hatch closed. Her breath was deep over the comm and was followed quickly by a heavy grunt as she pulled on the door.

  "Arrrgghhh!"

  The glowing purple of the free bolts grew in intensity as they streaked toward her. The hatch was nearly closed when the first two struck and came partially through. The temporary door was blown from it hinges, throwing Grimes back into the pipe.

  The video feed looked up to face the hall only a second before the next bolts found their mark. The video channel went dark.

  Chapter 6

  * * *

  Sammy yelled, "Closing off! We're losing air! Pipe is compromised!"

  "Get yourself to safety!" I yelled back.

  "Brace yourselves! The pipe is about the break free and that hatch is gone!"

  We slid to a stop, attempting to move into side rooms for the depressurization in the hall that was about to take place. Collins was the last to stop and turn, his missing hand unable to grab the doorsill. The pipe then broke away with the blast of escaping air, forcing Collins beyond the door and down the hall.

  I glanced out to see him on his back and sliding as the rushing air pushed him toward the breach hall and the dozen or so Maxans who had entered it only moments before.

  Sammy said, "I have bodies coming out the breach hole!"

  Before I could react, Xurpok pushed past and was sprinting down the hall, his blaster firing rounds past Collins as the unlucky Human continued to slide. Beyond him the bodies of several Maxans exploded as they grabbed at anything that would stop them from being pulled toward the void.

  Xurpok reached Collins just as he reached the corner. The Corbo fighter pulled the stockier Human to his feet, but the pull of the rushing air and the lack of anything to grasp was too much. The pair were forced down the hall and out into the expanse.

  "Sammy!" I yelled. "Collins and Xurpok are coming out! Can you collect them?"

  "I'll do my best!"

  The wind in the hall dropped off quickly as the inside pressure dropped to zero.

  Tanner glanced out the door. "This ain't good. We have Maxans flooding that end of the hall."

  I took aim with my blaster, releasing at least a dozen rounds before Tanner and Mendez joined me. But our barrage was short lived as an equal number of bolts were quickly coming our way. We rocked back inside the door only an instant before the hallway outside sparked and popped as it glowed purple.

  For several minutes we traded shots, neither side scoring a hit. And then the Maxans began to advance.

  Sammy said, "I have Collins aboard."

  "Xurpok?"

  "Another twenty meters... wait. He's pushing off! What is he doing?"

  I sighed. "He's coming back."

  "He has a hundred meters to cross."

  Tanner asked, "Any way you can put a cannon shot down that hall ahead of him?"

  "One moment. Mmm. No. Can't risk it. Gonna take him another minute... if he makes it there."

  Collins said, "Take us in closer. Depressurize. Maybe I can get a few shots past him into that failed hatch."

  Mendez leaned out and fired a half dozen pulses down the hall before pulling back. "Xurpok, you have Maxans coming your way."

  "I will handle them."

  The hatch of the Fracker opened. Collins, his stump arm wrapped around the rail handle, took careful aim with his blaster, sending two bolts just over a floating Xurpok and into the first two Maxans that made it to the breach.

  Collins let out a hoot. "Yeah! Take that you mangy splits!"

  Xurpok fired several bolts of his own. Being a low-mass weapon, his progress was not impeded by the firings. Half a dozen purple flashes came streaking out into the cold dark, barely missing their target. Collins released several more, again just slipping them by Xurpok, one striking a Maxan as he took aim with a repeater.

  Tanner said, "We have to do something. Can't leave him hanging out there!"

  Mendez let out a growl as she forced her way past us, dodging several bolts as she exchanged fire with the Maxans coming from the other way. Tanner was fast out the door behind her. I drew in a deep breath and followed.

  The charge was enough to send the Maxans in front of us retreating into side rooms. We turned the corner just in time to see four Maxans taking up firing positions at the open hole. Three blasters opened up at the same instant, sending the Maxan's guts spraying out into the void in an instantly icy fog. We turned back, covering the hall just as Xurpok reached the opening.

  Sammy said, "He's in. We're keeping this position in close. If you have to push off through that hole you'll have about twenty meters to cover. The automated software keeping us in this position won't let us any closer without extending a pipe. And we have no way to connect there again."

  I asked, "Any word from the other ships?"

  "All four teams are making slow progress. Richards and Sorensen are each down two men."

  Xurpok came up behind us. "We need to take that bridge."

  "Agreed. This level is now sealed off from the others. We either clear it and patch that hole, or we cross back over to the Fracker."

  I said, "We abandon it. Mendez, you and Tanner first. I'll follow. Xurpok, hold the Maxans off and then make a mad dash down the hall and out that hole. Go. I'll be right behind."

  A dozen plasma bolts impacted the end of the hall we occupied. Without an atmosphere, the normal thuds were no longer heard, only the vibrations were felt from the plasma strikes expanding. Tanner was first down the hall and across. Mendez ran after only seconds later.

  I placed my hand on Xurpok's arm. "You certain you have this covered?"

  "I am. Go!"

  I turned and sprinted, glancing over my shoulder just before reaching the opening. Xurpok darted around the corner. Next I knew I was flying the twenty meters across to the Fracker. Tanner and Mendez grabbed my a
rms, pulling me securely to the floor. Looking back I could see Xurpok come around the corner and head our way. Five free ion bolts followed.

  Mendez pulled me back. "Make room, Sarge. He'll be coming in hard."

  The twenty meters was covered in seconds. Xurpok crashed into Mendez, driving her back into the wall behind her as Tanner closed the hatch. The five ion bolts struck the hull and dissipated, not having the energy to do any harm.

  Xurpok helped Mendez to her feet as she rubbed her chest. "Gah. Didn't know I was gonna be a wall sandwich."

  Tanner chuckled. "You make a good bumper cushion for a high-speed Corbo."

  Mendez tilted her head. "Not sure what you’re trying to imply and before you explain... I don't want to know."

  I opened the comm. "Sammy, take us to the top deck."

  "Scan still shows close to three hundred bios up there."

  "Find us an out-of-the-way hall or room we can breach. We'll fight our way in from there."

  "Just so you know, that may leave the Fracker open to cannon fire from either of those Warmongers."

  "If you have to detach to protect yourself, so be it."

  "I just got a report in from Bradley and Flaxman. They are on the bridge level and still pushing forward."

  "Send a message that the moment either set of crews are successful I want them to send the ship off to the rally point before heading over to assist the other."

  "Got it. Breach in about twelve seconds. Take positions."

  We each grabbed a rail and held on as the Fracker came in fast to a quick halt. A new pipe was extended, and a hatch was cut. We were again near the aft section of the ship and would have to work our way forward. Xurpok was the first through the breach.

  Chapter 7

  * * *

  We entered a room off a main hall. Before I could ask Sammy for a scan of where the other bios would be on that deck, Xurpok was out the door and blasting away.

  Sammy came over the comm. "Detaching. And it looks like you have a couple dozen down at your end and the rest are evenly dispersed going toward the front, with a large group of about fifty in and around the bridge."

  "Good. How far—"

  "Hold up. The scan is updating. Your end of the hall is only showing you. Xurpok has already reached the midsection."

  "What? He just went out the door."

  "Just reporting what I'm seeing. Scan count says they are down forty-eight... no fifty-two already. He must be on a rampage out there."

  Tanner hustled by. "I gotta see this."

  I followed Mendez into the hall and soon found myself running to keep up. Three hallway corners were turned before the flashes of blaster fire could be seen from down the corridor. Xurpok was jumping from wall to wall as plasma rounds skipped by on either side. At the same time, his own blaster rifle was doling out what he considered justice for his people. Only three minutes had passed before the final hall was reached.

  Half a dozen Maxans were attempting to crowd through the bridge door when Xurpok unleashed his next round of fury. Bodies exploded, preventing the door closure and allowing in the one thing on that ship that would have the Maxans defeated.

  By the time we reached the door, the bridge had been cleared. Xurpok was standing hunched over, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily as he attempted to recover from his rampage.

  "Sammy?" He asked over his comm. "Can you bring the Fracker back to the breach point and connect?"

  "Will be there in about forty seconds."

  I squinted an eye. "You going somewhere?"

  "Until those other two ships have been cleared, we cannot proceed with our search for my people. I'm heading over to assist."

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take a second to catch your breath. You can't charge in like that."

  "I can breath on the ride over. You will want to stay here and protect this bridge. If the Maxans seal that breach below, they will be coming this way."

  With that, Xurpok turned and disappeared into the hall. The Fracker made a pickup and a drop was made in under three minutes. Fifteen minutes later, our crews on the second Warmonger were fully in charge. Another breach-port was connected and another transfer followed. Three-and-a-half hours after we entered the system, the last of the Maxan ships were under our control.

  Xurpok sat with a dejected look on his face. Our final scans of the colonies revealed there were no Corbos present. A quick analysis of the ship logs told of three warships that were fairly new, so no historical records of any Corbo interaction were found. And an assault on the outpost on Rigel VI showed no evidence of the Corbo ever having been there. Their whereabouts, if any were even still alive, remained a mystery.

  The three captured ships were cleansed of Maxans and then programmed for flight to the rally point. I was excited about the prospect of adding more assault ships to our merc fleet, but along with that would come the concern that politics would get in the way of us being able to defend ourselves. A return of the Herzek was almost certain. And the Maxan war would continue.

  After several smaller assaults on the remaining colonies, it was determined there was no evidence of the Corbo ever having been there. Again, Xurpok slumped into a depression I was uncertain of how to bring to an end.

  While on the ground at the Rigel colonies we confiscated items that might be of value to sell back in the Confederation. Aside from the ships we had captured, we weren't going home empty-handed.

  As we prepared for a jump out of the system, wormholes began to open all around us. It was our fleet. And after the last loss at Bellatrix, I knew they would be vengeful.

  From orbit, I looked out my viewport down at Rigel IV. Although inhabited by half a billion Maxans, from up high it looked peaceful and inviting. A part of me was saddened by the loss of life that would be taking place that day, but there was no negotiating with Maxans, no re-education, no changing of minds. They hated Humans and in turn we reciprocated. I turned away and gave the order to jump just as the first warship began to drop through the atmosphere.

  Mendez placed her hand on my shoulder. "Was a good mission, Sarge."

  "We lost Grimes."

  Mendez scowled. "She let curiosity get the best of her when she left her post. Cost her her life. Can't be sad over someone getting themselves killed because they won't listen or follow orders. She walked down that hall when she should have stayed right there at the pipe. Almost cost the rest of us our lives."

  "All those things are true, Mendez, but it's still a loss."

  The ride back to the rally point was solemn. Xurpok was depressed and the rest of us, excluding Mendez, were quietly mourning the loss of one of our own. Upon arrival at the rally point, however, the other crews were ready to celebrate. I walked down the ramp into the docking bay of the captured Warstalker.

  Tumbe Bradley was standing there with two beverages and a grin. "Superb, Mr. Balls. Absolutely superb."

  "We lost one of our crew."

  "We lost two. But their lives were given with honor and dignity. We celebrate their lives rather than mourn their loss. That's the life of a merc. Every mission could be your last, so you rejoice when you return and keep your focus on living. I would have thought as a Marine you already had that philosophy?"

  "I do, but at the same time, I feel more responsible for this crew. These are my orders they are not coming back from, not some unseen officer sitting back in an easy-chair. I know these people personally. Not that I didn't care before, but it was different. You knew death was always a possibility."

  A beverage was held out. "As it is here. Look, one of my crewman I lost I've been running with for more than five years. I'll miss her. She was a firebrand and a lot of fun to be around. But I'd rather get a chuckle when I think about some of her antics than be sad and reflect upon her torso being ripped to shreds and splattered on the deck as the result of a plasma bolt. Honor the dead by remembering the good they brought, not that they are gone and died a horrible death."

  I took the beverage, turned it up and
consumed it in two massive gulps, placing the cup back in Tumbe's hand. "I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Bradley."

  I strode off with a frustrated attitude. I knew Tumbe was right. It was the exact training we had received in the Corps, mourn the dead by celebrating their lives. But this wasn't the Corps, it was now my family. I would just have to find a new way of dealing with it.

  I took a seat in a lounge area that had been set up for the workers of Faulk and Waldorp. The lounge was empty as their crews were already hard at work stripping parts from the new ships we had just brought in. Mendez came up and sat beside me.

  "Boss. What gives?"

  "Just looking for a bit of peace and quiet."

  Mendez smirked. "You've been stewing over Grimes for five days now. Let it go. What's happened has happened and it wasn't due to anything you did or said. I know you've lost squad members before, you didn't do this after each loss or you'd have never made it in the CDF. So let's talk it out. We need you to be over this because there's more to come and we need you focused and fighting— if any of us are to survive."

  I glanced over at the time showing on a wall-clock. "Give me an hour would you? Where are you all gathered?"

  "Everyone was heading to the Magnifik. Sorensen is breaking out a case of some pricey booze he's been saving."

  Mendez patted me on the shoulder as she stood. "If you don't show soon we'll all be coming here."

  I gave a nod. "I'll be there shortly."

  Tanner and Collins entered the room.

  Collins stood to one side, shaking his head, as Tanner took the other. "You're coming with us... now. There's good booze over there and we don't want it to be gone before we have any. It's time you moved on. Grime's is the one who's dead here, not you. Get over it. Life's too short."

  For a pep-talk it was about as devoid of feeling as it could have been. But I knew they were right. I had a squad to run, a crew that was still with me and there would certainly be new missions and more danger, and with that... more loss of life.

  I drew in a deep breath and stood. "Fine. You win."

  As we walked toward the door, all I could do was shake my head as a flood of thoughts filled it. Thirty-six years of combat and all of the sudden I was allowing my mind to turn to mush. Did I, for some reason, now care too much? Maybe. I hoped the coming booze would numb some of those thoughts.