Fernix (Harmony War Book 4)

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Fernix (Harmony War Book 4) Page 7

by Chatfield,Michael


  “On it, SWAS,” she said, their joking from earlier forgotten.

  Time to get to work, Tyler thought, pulling his helmet off and hooking it onto his shoulder straps.

  “Hey, babe, see you later,” Tyler said as he passed Alexis.

  “See you later, hot stuff,” she said with a smile, kissing him.

  Tyler grinned and winked, continuing to the armories.

  ***

  Jerome pulled on his powered armor’s armor plating. The rattling was gone and the work he’d done with the welder seemed to have sealed it up nicely.

  The powered armor was stored in a supply room filled with food crates and it had smelled terrible as the rotten food had been heated for weeks.

  They’d tossed it out of the airlocks and got to work. It seemed that everyone on the Carriers was trying to fuck with them.

  Jerome grabbed a burrito he’d got a few hours ago, looking around the room. Weapons and armor were all over the place, and people were working on their powered armor. They moved with the casual professionalism of veterans that had seen combat so many times before that they had become numb to it. To them, war was their day job.

  Some sported beards, others were working shirtless. To an outsider they might look like a bunch of misfits, to one another they wore their beards and tattoos with pride. They worked on their machines with practiced efficiency. Armorers and techs wandered around dispensing their information, the Troopers working with them to make the powered armor as deadly as possible. Their armor had already changed a lot in the few hours since the Regiment had got their hands on it.

  Mark wandered over to Jerome, nodding in greeting.

  “Sup, man?” Jerome said, holding out a hand, and Mark slapped his hand into it, sighing.

  “Just working on these things like you, man,” he tapped Jerome’s armor.

  “Things are a mess, they need a week to get them combat capable,” Jerome complained.

  “Preaching to the choir,” Mark said, shaking his head. “Well I come bearing good news. You and yours are headed for the rack, so get some sleep.”

  “Sweet, I’ll try,” Jerome got to his feet, feeling more tired than he’d expected.

  “You need all the beauty sleep you can get,” Mark said with a grin.

  “Smartass.”

  “Dashtund must be rubbing off on me!”

  Jerome snorted. “Don’t tell him that.”

  “Not planning on it, go get that rack, I’ll grab you if anything happens.”

  “Will do, see you in a bit. Alpha Company, get your shit finished and grab some rack,” Jerome said, pitching his voice so that it could be heard throughout the storage area.

  Troopers put down what they were working on and followed him out. Jerome looked at them; he’d known them for a couple of weeks as their lieutenant, and it still felt like he was in someone else’s shoes and that they’d bust him back down to sergeant.

  Yet until they were smart enough to do that he would do everything in his power to look after his people. He sighed, shaking his head, and went in search of a rack, responsibility weighing heavily on his mind.

  Chapter 17

  Asamau City

  Cela, Cerey System

  6/3294

  It had been a long and hard battle, and there were still Legion patrols heading off into Cerey’s wilderness hunting down the last remaining feral Maraukians.

  Nerva sat in the center of Asamau city in the Legion’s headquarters. The entire city had been turned into a defensive structure, and massive armorite panels now lay open letting sunlight drift into the city.

  It was one of thirteen such structures, bastions that had stayed controlled by humanity as the Maraukian Scourge raged at their gates. Massive acceleration tubes lay dormant. There had been weeks where Nerva had wondered if they would ever stop. Firing day and night, hundreds of rounds an hour, had turned the wooded area around the city into a cratered ruin.

  “The battle for Fernix is about to begin,” NIDenise said.

  Even through the years as he had fought a war that Earth and Her Colonies didn’t know about, he had stayed updated on the events unfolding against Harmony. He made himself watch, even though it hurt him and made him want to go back, but he couldn’t.

  “How are they looking?” Nerva asked, getting the unfiltered reports coming from Fernix. Unlike the EMF, he could see what Harmony was doing. A Legion ship was monitoring the situation with stealth shuttles, staying away from the forces, ready to move in and claim those that had been earmarked for recruiting into The Legion.

  A few would be asked if they wanted to join The Legion, purposefully faking their deaths so that The Legion might be able to recover them and pull them into the real war for humanity’s survival.

  Nerva hoped that his people were among those that were recovered. He knew what Harmony’s plans were and they could very well shift the power of the EHC and EMF. It could turn into a purge of the EMF.

  If that happened, Aurelius had told Nerva about The Legion’s plans to have those Carriers disappear, and their crews transferred to The Legion while their derelict Carriers would show up, in time.

  Nerva looked around the main command center; he wasn’t the only one watching the feeds of Fernix and Housapel.

  These would be the first engagements in space between Earth Military Forces Carriers and an opposing force. Already Nerva could hear people comparing the two ships and those of the Space Legion and the Maraukians barges.

  “Shit, it looks like they’ve got fighters,” one of the legionnaires said.

  “So the battle of Fernix began,” Nerva thought-spoke, feeling impotent, just another observer of a battle in which he couldn’t intervene.

  Chapter 18

  EMFC Dauntless

  Fernix System

  6/3294

  “I’m not liking the look of those ships one bit,” Yu said to Haas. They were off in a corner of the storage closet where the Regiment was getting their armor ready and hanging out. There was just a matter of hours until the Carriers intersected with one another.

  “I know, but what can we do?” Haas said, his voice low, using the noise canceller that he and the other Triple-Twos had received as a gift from Moretti.

  “We get the Regiment loaded up on the Combat Shuttles,” Yu said.

  “Higher isn’t going to like that.” He’d listen to Yu’s advice, but he wasn’t going to have his ass thrown in the brig right before they got into a battle without damned good reason.

  Yu pulled up a diagram of the Carrier on his surface. “That armor is the same as what we have on one side of our hull. We don’t know how much armor they have, but they’re burning hard to close with us. I think they’ve got more armor, and those rail guns, they’re taken from orbital launchers that heavy grav planets use. They’re obviously streamlined, more so than our own cannon. I had a talk with a gunner’s mate. He was getting himself well and drunk. He says that it’s all over if those cannon get a bead on our unarmored side. It has twice the missile capacity and those hangar doors we’ve seen; they look like a flight deck to me. Hell, they look like a fighter catapult.”

  “How bad is it going to be?” Haas asked.

  “Worse than everyone except Fearless is thinking. I had a talk to Moretti on a secured transmission. Fearless is holding back, citing mechanical issues, because they know that they won’t be able to defeat the Harmony ships. They’re just hoping the EMF fleet can slow them up so that they can get their Troopers down on the planet. The fleet commanders know that nothing can defeat their Carriers. Too much time with caviar and high class escorts, and no time in combat.” Yu shook his head, painting a grim picture.

  “Alright, then we go with your plan, let’s get talking with the Regiment. We’re going to pull as much as ammunition as we can get, and load up the Combat Shuttles. Have them ready and good to go,” Haas said, putting a plan together.

  “We’ll be ready.”

  “It’ll only be four days in the shuttles,�
� Haas sighed.

  “Much better than Masoul or Osdal,” Yu grinned, turning and leaving.

  “For once I want to get to the planet’s orbit by Carrier!” Haas yelled at Yu’s retreating backside, and he heard Yu’s dry laugh.

  “Laugh or fucking cry,” Haas said, opening a channel to his officers. “Alright boys and girls, plans be-a-changin.”

  ***

  “Those dumb bastards.” Yu was strapped into his Combat Shuttles alongside the Regiment, with ammunition, medical supplies and everything that the Troopers might need pressed against cargo nets in overhead bins or in the lockers between the central drop seats.

  The shuttles were resting in an empty hangar, and most of the crew were looking at a view screen that showed the fleets closing together as if it was some kind of sporting match.

  Few, if any, were in armor; most had a beer in hand at the mess or were hanging out in their quarters, secure in the knowledge that no one could defeat an Earth Military Force Carrier.

  Though Yu’s comments weren’t for them, they were a forgone conclusion. No, they were directed at the forward elements of the Carrier group. The Harmony fighters were out and in their formations, spreading away from their mother Carriers.

  “They’re well trained, too well trained for my liking,” Young said from her co-pilot seat, staring at the feeds on the fighters.

  “Yeah, better than our dumb bastards that are just walking in fat and happy, not a single fucking Combat Shuttle in the sky,” Yu spat.

  Not a single Combat Shuttle moved out to offer battle against the fighters in the EMF vanguard.

  The EMFC’s Fearless, Liberty, Mighty, and Solace were as far from the Harmony ships as possible, in their own small formation. It seemed that someone on those ships understood about never underestimating the enemy.

  They had their own roving Combat Shuttles flying around them. Yu had heard the transmissions between the Carrier captains. The lead ship, EMFC Terra, the most sought after and prestigious Carrier in the EMF, held the only admiral in the EMF that wasn’t on Earth. Admiral Everrett, commander of the EMF fleet and, in Yu’s opinion, an absolute and utter waste of fucking oxygen.

  “Bobbie, how are those codes looking for the hangar doors?” Yu asked.

  “Just give me the word, take thirty seconds till launch,” Bobbie said.

  “Keep your finger on the button,” Yu said, wishing there was more that he could do, but also knowing that he had done all he could without having himself thrown in the brig, because then this attempt to at least save something would have gone up in smoke.

  Chapter 19

  HC Bulwark

  Fernix System

  6/3294

  “Other than the five Carriers that are away from the main fleet, the enemy haven’t flushed any Combat Shuttles,” Sensor Aide Fernandez said.

  “Well, I’ll take any luck we can get,” Zeichner said. “They might have one hell of a ruse going on, there’s a reason that we’ve been stuck under the companies for so long.”

  She didn’t need her people getting all cocky, she needed them focused and anxious. It would give them an edge. Hopefully the training would kick in and they would do what needed to be done.

  “Coming into engagement range,” Baike said.

  “Connect me to the fleet,” Zeichner said.

  “You’re connected, admiral.”

  “Here, today, Fernix joins the battle with Harmony’s Chosen, who have given their lives in order for us to show these Company dogs just what we’re capable of. I am proud of you all; trust your training and prepare for combat.” Zeichner looked to Baike and nodded, cold fear pooling like acid in her gut. “Bring the fleet into formation, begin firing. Let’s knock and see if anyone is home.”

  FTL communications meant that the Harmony Cruisers turned and fired their batteries as one. Rail cannon to auto-turrets added to the wall of metal headed right into the teeth of the EMF fleet. They could move and try to dodge, but there were rounds everywhere, no matter where they went, unless they hid behind another Carrier, they’d be hit.

  The lead EMF Carrier turned to present its side, firing back.

  “Are they idiots?” Baike yelled.

  The Carrier fired back, but it didn’t have the mass of fire as the HCs. Their massive flight deck limited their armament and, if that wasn’t enough, the Carriers were made to budget, not because they were the best of the best. Their weapons were meant to scare the enemy, maybe take out a shuttle or two, or hit a planetary target.

  Their rounds were faster and heavier than the HC’s, but there were nowhere near as many of them.

  “Have the fleet start evasive maneuvers,” Zeichner said, calm, cold, and collected.

  So far it was no different from any one of the thousands of simulations she had lived through in preparation for this moment.

  The Harmony fleet moved to evade the incoming weapons fire. Some of the EMFCs were either smart, or incredibly lucky, as they fired their missiles, creating a temporary hole in the oncoming Harmony rounds.

  The lead EMFC ship wasn’t as smart or lucky.

  Rounds hit its armor in hundreds of places. The EMFCs were big. Big enough to make Zeichner grind her teeth with nerves.

  Round after round hit the Carrier, a Harmony ship was hit by an EMF round, and she looked at the damage; the armor had held under a direct hit by an EMF rail cannon.

  “Stupid bastards,” Baike scoffed.

  Zeichner looked up, the lead Carrier was fighting to try and reduce its profile. Rounds were denting and deforming armor and a few rounds made it inside.

  More and more rounds pierced the armor; it was tough, but they weren’t as tough as the Harmony ships.

  Something was hit mid ship. An explosion ripped out the Carrier’s side, opening it to space.

  “Get some fighters on that,” Zeichner said, the Carrier was still fighting, but it looked like this Carrier wasn’t as good as the one that had died over Osdal. Their weapons were failing, their connections had been cut and no orders loaded into their targeting computers.

  Combat Shuttles were starting to flee the lead ship.

  “Make sure they keep those Combat Shuttles off us too,” Zeichner said.

  Cold and efficient, she thought, channeling a woman who had trained for war for too much of her life, instead of the young woman who had started down this path in hope of defending her home. That young woman flinched at the number of Combat Shuttles that were fleeing the Carrier.

  “Incoming missiles. Fleet is reacting,” Fernandez said, glued to her monitor.

  Zeichner looked at the fighters that fell on the first Carrier that was expelling atmosphere, a few remaining guns were blown into uselessness.

  The fighters had auto-cannons and in-close missiles. They weren’t as advanced as the Combat Shuttles, but they were nukes, not conventional explosives.

  Three missiles made it inside the Carrier, and the fighters pulled away, raking the Combat Shuttles which were running like hell, firing only as the fighters got close.

  The nukes blossomed, breaking the Carrier into four massive, spinning Sections. The engines went out on the rear panel before exploding.

  “Turn fleet to face line of acceleration,” Zeichner said.

  The ships moved from presenting their sides to their forward bows, and any guns on the bow fired, but the weapons fire was less than a tenth of what it had been.

  The Harmony fleet fighters were now among the Carriers, which were reacting with shock and confusion.

  Looks like they weren’t expecting fangs as sharp as ours, Zeichner thought, smiling. “Missile launch, flight plan alpha.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Baike said.

  Moments later the Harmony ships were firing missiles out of all of their tubes. They dropped out and accelerated faster than a human could expect to live through.

  The Carrier’s defensive measures fired back, lines of tracers playing a game of tag with the smart missiles.

  While they were d
ealing with missiles they couldn’t fire on, the fighters darted into the unprotected sides of the Carriers, free of any armor or weaponry.

  Four more EMF Carriers were spinning debris and spewing Combat Shuttles by the time the Harmony fleet crossed the first ships.

  The Harmony Cruiser shuddered with hits. Being this close to the EMF it was nearly impossible to miss their rounds. The opposite was also true, and the Cruisers gave out worse than they received.

  Missiles launched from the EMFCs.

  “Harmony Cruiser Freedom has lost engine, they are moving out of the battlefield,” Fernandez announced.

  “Missile spread coming at Freedom!” Baike said moments later, and the Cruiser shuddered as lights changed color, switching to backups.

  “Get them to pull in close to the fleet so we can give them aid!” Zeichner snapped, tasting copper in her mouth. She’d bitten the inside of her mouth with the last hit.

  “Captain wants us to seal up,” Aide Tipperary said.

  “Helmets on ladies and gents, we’ve got work to do! Captains are to fire missiles at their own discretion. Have the fighters get in there and mess up their plans, leave their secondary fleet alone,” Zeichner said, looking to the four Carriers that were staying far away from her and her fleet, but still heading for Fernix Prime and the Blue Moon. She saw a flight of Combat Shuttles heading from one of the Carriers in the main fleet and heading for the secondary.

  “Freedom lost structural integrity on their starward side,” Baike said.

  “Have them flip and angle themselves to use their dark side as much as possible,” Zeichner said.

  Her fleet was getting the piss knocked out of them. Rounds were being spat between each fleet, missiles populating the skies, their warheads coming in close enough to tear at weapons and armor, or throw the crews around.

  Another twelve Carriers were broken, and by now the EMF were getting the idea and flushing out their Combat Shuttles to try and deal with the fighters that were getting in their unprotected sides to get more fire on the Harmony fleet. But at the speed that the two fleets were heading past one another, it would matter little.

 

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