“So what now?” Chavez asked, from the central shaft.
“I want you four up here,” Dean said. “And bring the extra weapons and ammunition. Tallgrass and Ghost will help you move everything, while the rest of us check the next station. The command center will be our base of operations.”
“We’re on our way,” Chavez said.
Dean, Tallgrass, and Harper, along with the rest of the HA Specialists searched the next section. It was abandoned just like the others, but the corridors that led to the final housing and storage section of the space station had been blocked off. The signs of a struggle were evident, although it appeared that the aliens had broken through the barricade.
Dean and the other Specialists with him investigated the blockade rubble to see what they could learn about their enemy. The workers had welded large metal panels across the corridor, but didn’t have time to do a complete weld.
“Look, they just spot welded these panels,” Ghost pointed out.
There were support beams as well, but they were bent or broken.
“No signs of blast marks or scorching,” Tallgrass pointed out. “Whatever came through did so by brute force, not with firepower.”
“What the hell is strong enough to tear through a steel wall?” Adkins asked.
“Not the creatures we faced in the Charlemagne,” Dean pointed out. “Those creatures were powerful certainly, but I can’t see them tearing through this barrier.”
There were spatters of blood, some blue, some red. The carpet was torn in several places, and there were signs of what looked like shotgun blasts in the walls and ceiling.
“Captain,” Lieutenant Owens said via the comlink in their suits. “I’ve got the station systems online. Everything is operating on emergency power, which is why the wheel sections aren’t spinning. And there are several areas in the final wheel section that have lost hull integrity.”
“Where the alien ship bit down on it?” Dean asked, unsure how else to explain the large beak shaped vessel’s attachment to the space station.
“That would make sense,” the Operator replied.
“Can you power up the vessels in the hanger and pilot them?” Dean asked.
“Not from the command center, but I’m sure it’s possible. There’s more than enough power in the emergency generators. Why?”
“I like to keep my options open,” Dean said.
They hurried back to the command section of the station and met together to form a plan.
“We have to go into the alien ship,” Dean said. “There’s a chance our people are still alive in there.”
“There’s also a chance the alien ship is full of aliens,” Pimrey said.
“Then we kick their ass,” Adkins said.
“And get our people back,” Harper agreed.
“That’s the plan,” Dean said. “We just have to figure out how to do it without getting killed in the process.”
Chapter 40
“We go charging in there we’ll almost certainly be wiped out,” Chavez said.
“At least we’ll go down swinging,” Adkins declared.
“Dying doesn’t help anyone,” Dean said. “Especially not the prisoners on that ship.”
“So where does that leave us?” Chavez said.
“Strategy 101,” Dean explained. “Bring the enemy to us. Fight on our turf.”
“How do we do that?” Harper asked.
“Well, it seems like a good bet that they don’t know we’re here,” Dean said. “So we need to let them know. Which is where our Operator friends come in.”
“You want us to fire up the drones?” Owens asked.
“Yes, specifically the utility drones, the ones with cameras. Get them flying and as close to the alien ship as possible. We need to see what we’re dealing with.”
“The aliens will just capture the drones,” Adkins said. “They caught the comms beacons, remember?”
“I’m banking on in, Corporal. As long as the drones keep transmitting we’ll get to see what they’re doing with our ships.”
“Damn, now that’s what I call a plan,” Pimrey said.
“And what do we do when they come rushing over here to stop us?” Sergeant Burnett said.
“That’s what we want them to do,” Dean said. “We need to explore the central shaft. I’m confident that’s how they boarded the space station.”
“Not the pincers?” Lieutenant Owens asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” Dean said. “I think that is just a way for the mothership to hook onto the station.”
“For what purpose?” Wilson asked.
“Well, I can’t say for sure, but looking at the cobbled together nature of the alien ship, I’d say they’re looking for a way to incorporate the station onto their ship.”
“A whole space station?” Kliner said.
“The whole thing, or maybe just parts of it, I don’t know.”
“How does this plan get us any closer to rescuing the hostages?” Tallgrass asked.
“We have to know what we’re dealing with, and perhaps even thin their numbers if we’re going to get our people back. Like Chavez said, just rushing forward will only get us killed.”
“Fine,” Adkins said. “I’m for it.”
“It’s a good plan, Captain,” Chavez said.
“Alright then,” Dean continued. “Staff Sergeant, get down in that main shaft and let’s find a good spot to lay an ambush. The Swiss Guard had a good idea when they set up that kill corridor under the Papal Palace. Let’s see if we can’t create something similar down in that drive shaft. Preferably between the first wheel section and the attachment module.”
“Yes sir,” Chavez said. “Ghost, Harper, D’Vris, you’re with me.”
The four Specialist set out to find their ambush spot while Dean turned to the other members of his platoon.
“We have to assume they’ll get past the ambush,” Dean explained. “What we need is to find checkpoints between here and the ambush site to stow extra ammunition. Adkins, take the rest of the HA specialists and plant four or five caches of weapons and ammunition. Preferably in places where there’s some cover and room to fight from. But remember, they’re just check points. We can’t get bottled up in any one spot. We have to be able to retreat to the next section and continue fighting.”
“Yes sir! We’re on it,” Adkins said.
The big Heavy Armor Specialists drifted out of the control center, the lack of gravity and graceful movement making them seem strangely out of place in their bulky armor.
“Lieutenant, I need the drones powered up,” Dean said.
“No worries, Captain Blaze,” he replied.
“Not just the utility drones. They may not be enough to gain the attention of the aliens.”
“You’re thinking about something bigger?” Sergeant Burnett said.
“As a matter of fact I am,” Dean said. “Use the other drones first, but if you can pilot the two shuttles from here, send them out. They’ve got to be big enough to get the attention of the aliens.”
“I concur,” Lieutenant Owens said.
“But don’t use the tugs. We have to save them as a last resort. Just run system checks. Find out what we’ve got and what we can use, then let me know.”
“Yes sir, Captain.”
The two Operators left the control room and headed toward the Operations Room, which was in a different part of the space station wheel.
“You kept me back for a reason,” Tallgrass said.
“That’s right. We need a contingency plan.”
“If we’re overrun?”
“Or on the verge of it,” Dean said. “I want charges placed between the second and third wheel section.”
“Heavy munitions could puncture the hull of the station,” Tallgrass said. “It could open us up to hard vacuum.”
“I’m counting on that,” Dean went on. “I want enough plastic to break the space station away from that last wheel section.”
“I’m betting on the fact that there are safety systems to seal off that shaft, or at least protect the wheel sections.”
“And if they send more ships to pull us back?” she asked.
“I’m working on that.”
“Yes, Captain,” she said, before turning and drifting out of the command center.
Dean spent the next few minutes syncing his TCU with the station’s network, and ensuring he could at least view the space station’s systems. Some of them he could control, others needed authorization before they could be adjusted. What Dean cared about most was the ability to check on the life support systems.
“Captain,” Lieutenant Owens reported, “the drones are ready. Everything in the hanger is accessible and fully charged. The workers here were good at their jobs.”
“Excellent. We’ll send those utility drones first, but not until everyone else is ready. Can you send me a link from their vid feeds?”
“Making it accessible ship wide now, sir,” Owens replied. “Will that work?”
Dean checked his TCU, saw that the camera feeds from the four utility drones were accessible and set them up in his view as tiny little windows along the bottom of his face shield.
“I have them, Lieutenant. Good work.”
“Thank you sir.”
Dean went down to the central shaft to check in with Chavez. There were various workstations and access corridors made to allow workers to reach the bundles of electrical wiring, pipes, and life support systems that ran through the ship. Chavez had selected an area wide enough for three HA Specialists to block the passage way. On the right hand side of the passage was a bulky looking maintenance corridor.
“This is it,” Captain,” Chavez announced when he saw Dean. “They come this way, we’ve got ‘em six ways to Sunday.”
“Show me,” Dean said.
“We’ll set up here, three HA and Ghost,” the Staff Sergeant explained. “This maintenance hatch is where the water recycling system for the first wheel is located. There’s enough room for Harper, Tallgrass, you and me to hide in there. Harper is cutting kill slots in the bulkhead so we can slice and dice any alien stupid enough to come this way.”
“Excellent,” Dean said. “And egress if we’re overrun?”
“We can fall back in the main corridor here sir, but I can’t imagine needing to.”
“It’s good to plan for what you think your enemy will do, Staff Sergeant, but you must also be prepared for what he is capable of doing. Whatever tore through the barrier in the wheel section could very well tear through this ambush.”
“I understand, sir. I’ll work on it.”
“Good man, this is excellent, Chavez. Great job.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
An hour later and everything was set. D’Vris, Adkins, and Pimrey were in place at the ambush point. Ghost was right behind them with his long rifle and a fully automatic utility rifle as well. Dean, Harper, Tallgrass, and Chavez were in the maintenance panel by the water recycling apparatus. Harper had an MSV at the connection point between the space station and the alien ship. It was tucked into a corner, with a clear view of the hatch and anything that might pass through it.
Down the central shaft corridor at the first cache of weapons and ammunition, the Triplets waited. If the first ambush site failed, everyone would fall back and fight from the first cache site for as long as possible, leapfrogging back until they were forced into the command section of the space station.
“Are you ready, Lieutenant?” Dean asked.
“Ready as we’ll ever be, Captain,” Owens replied.
“Alright, let’s show these creatures what we’re made of,” Dean said.
“Force Recon!” Chavez shouted.
“First in the fight! Tip of the Spear!” the rest of the platoon chanted.
Dean realized they weren’t just the tip of the spear for this battle, they were the entire weapon and he hoped desperately that they were enough to finish the fight.
Chapter 41
Dean brought up the footage from the utility drones as they left the hanger and traveled up the ship toward the alien vessel. His main focus was on the lead drone, which he enlarged in the center of his TCU visor. Lieutenant Owens and Sergeant Burnett were each piloting two drones at the same time, which Dean knew was no small feat. They circled the drones out past the rings, giving each craft plenty of space so they wouldn’t accidentally collide.
It only took a minute for the tear drop shaped vessels to appear. Dean was surprised to see that only three of the ships appeared. He had expected more, and he couldn’t help but wonder if there were only three of the alien ships because that was all that were left after Dean’s platoon took out the other three on the Charlemagne.
He watched in silence as the teardrop shaped ships sent their magnet grappling arms out and secured three of the drones. The fourth was ignored and so it followed along behind the others, struggling to keep pace with the alien vessels.
“Lieutenant, keep that drone zeroed in on the others,” Dean said. “That will give us a view of what happens to them from the outside.”
“Yes sir,” Owens replied.
It didn’t take long for the teardrop shaped ships to turn about and head back to the large, alien ship.
“Holy shit,” Burnett said.
“What’s going on, Lieutenant?” Dean said, as the vid feeds of the captured drones suddenly went offline.
“There’s a gravity well around that vessel, Captain,” Owens reported. “They’re manipulating gravity, must be how their ships move so fast inside the heliosphere.”
“I’m not surprised,” Dean said, knowing that he had seen first hand what gravity control meant for ships traveling at high speed from his time on the Urgglatta ship. “Zoom in the feed with that fourth drone.”
Dean saw on the vid feed from the single remaining craft under their contol that the one portion of the alien ship held all the human technology. The Roosevelt was there, as were the communication beacons, and the shuttle his platoon had traveled in.
“Looks like they have smaller arms holding the ships in place,” Lieutenant Owens said.
From the last remaining vid feed Dean saw more tentacle arms reaching out and taking hold of the captured drones, pulling it close to the alien vessel. Then a blob of almost transparent gel spewed from an opening in the gigantic ship, holding the drone in place. Probes from the alien vessel extended.
“They’re studying their find,” Burnett said.
“The other vessels are coming back for the fourth drone,” Owens said in a high pitched tone.”
“That’s okay, Lieutenant. Let it go,” Dean said. “Can we transmit comms from those drone?”
“Yes sir, but we’ll lose the feed once we enter the big ship’s gravity well.
“See if you can contact anyone on the Roosevelt.”
After a few moments the vid feed from the fourth drone went offline, and Dean knew they had lost it. Lieutenant Owens reported that there was no reply from the Roosevelt. Not that Dean had expected to hear something from the captured vessel. It was inside the alien ship’s gravity well, and he knew that if he was going to contact anyone who might still be alive on that ship, he would have to get inside that bubble of artificial gravity as well.
“Alright people, look sharp,” Dean said. “We could have company at any time.”
“I hope they hurry,” Pimrey said.
“Patience is a virtue,” Adkins said
“Americans,” D’Vris said. “Always in such a hurry. You must learn to slow down, my friend. Enjoy the good things in life. Fine wine, the smell of fresh cut roses, the touch of a woman.”
“Captain!” Harper said.
“I see it,” Dean said. “The hatch is opening, Platoon. This is it.”
The hatch between the two ships was an iris shaped opening that spun as it enlarged. Through it came four alien creatures. De
an guessed they were the same as those from the teardrop shaped vessels, only they didn’t have the leathery looking suits on. The quadrupeds had thick chests and wide heads which they kept low to the floor. On their backs were large weapons with short barrels.
“They’re armed,” Dean said. “HA in defensive positions!”
The Heavy Armor specialist powered up the electromagnets in the soles of their boots. The attraction could be light for movement, or turned up to give the defensive warriors maximum traction in zero-gravity. Dean saw D’Vris, Adkins, and Pimrey adjusting the power to their mechanized armor as they prepared for combat.
The aliens reminded Dean of lions in the way they moved. They were covered in a tight fitting, black garment that looked like a wetsuit. They had wide paws with along, articulated toes. Their muzzles were uncovered, with wide, teeth filled mouths and goggle like protruding eyes, four of them in a wide row.
“Light them up, Ghost,” Dean said.
Just like in the Charlemagne’s hangar, Dean heard the report of the Vandemere SE Long Rifle as it fired penetration flechette bundles. The large bore weapon could fire a bundle of five inch long razor sharp flechettes. The aliens responded immediately to the threat, jumping to the sides of the corridor where they dropped down low to the ground. Dean’s first target wasn’t fast enough to avoid the shot, and took the expanding group of flechettes straight in the face. The beast’s teeth shattered and blood spewed from the creature’s wide snout and eyes. It flipped onto the ground screeching and thrashing.
One of the other aliens killed the poor creature with a quick shot from the weapon on its back, then two of the creatures slid behind their fallen companion. Only their weapons showed over the carcass, which Dean hit with two more rounds from his long rifle before ducking for cover behind the HA Specialists blocking the corridor.
Bright bursts of light shot out, popping as it hit the HA titanium-hydrogen alloy shields, and sizzling like drops of water on a hot griddle. The laser cannons, which is what Dean considered them to be, fired bolt after bolt in rapid succession, not penetrating the HA shields, but leaving dark scorch marks similar what Dean had seen in the wheel sections of the space station. The HA specialists could have fired back, but the aliens were at the extreme end of their utility cannons range, and Dean didn’t want them waste their ammunition.
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