The charges were composed of a unique explosive compound that wouldn't detonate until it reached an extremely high temperature. The charges were designed to breach the hull of an enemy ship, and they would make short work of the facility door. So when the detonators fired, the charges began a chemical chain reaction and began to heat. As the heat rapidly rose, the metal of the door bubbled and melted. The charges had nearly burned their way through when the temperature reached critical. The resulting explosion was directed inward by the charge, and the newly cut metal was blown forcefully into the room behind it.
Before the echo of clanging metal ended, the first two marines in the body of the air locks were through the opening, spreading out with weapons sweeping from side to side, looking for targets. As more of Third Platoon entered the facility, they began to search the small car park that was between the inner and outer doors.
Lieutenant Luthi entered the car park with the middle wave of her platoon and took her platoon sergeant's report stating that the area was secure.
"Good job, Staff Sergeant." She looked around to see just how many of her people were now inside. When sufficient numbers of her platoon were present, she moved on to the next part of the plan.
"Three-five, take one and secure that hatch." She pointed at the hatch in the south corner of the car park. "I'm going to take two and secure the other. Wait for my signal, then secure the corridor on the other side."
"Roger that, One," said Five. Staff Sergeant Duska called for first squad to join him and began to move off toward his objective when they were all assembled.
"Three, secure this room. Two, on me."
When the last member of second squad trotted over, Luthi headed for the hatch in the north corner.
Both hatches opened onto the same corridor running along the inner wall of the car park. If the schematics she'd studied were accurate, there were no other openings other than the intersections five meters up and down the corridor past the hatches.
Reaching her objective, she pointed to first squad's first fire-team leader and indicated that she and her team would be the ones going though first.
Sergeant Galvin and her fire team moved into position with two members on the left of the hatch—one crouching and the other standing behind him ready to press the hatch release—and the other two crouching on the right.
"Two-one in position," Galvin said.
"One-three, in position." First Squad's third fire team was going to be leading the squad through the south-side hatch.
Luthi took one last look around the car park, seeing her third squad, minus the fire team guarding the shuttles, spread out behind first and second squad, putting themselves in position to support them should it be needed. Members of Second Platoon began to enter, and she knew that she had to move her platoon out before it became too crowded in the park, and thus unsafe. Turning back around, she gave the order.
"Go!"
Both hatches began to cycle open, and the first marines crouched on the right-hand side reacted in unison, throwing flash-bang grenades into the corridor before the hatch stopped its movement. Three seconds after the hatches began to move, a loud bang and bright light flashed in the corridors, and, right on its heels, the fire team at the hatch raced through, securing the area immediately beyond.
A soft cough came from the south hatch, and two more came from the north.
"Clear."
"Clear."
Both entry teams reported, and the rest of the squads began to move swiftly through the hatches. As Luthi came though behind the last fire team, she saw two dead Xan-Sskarns, their blood covering the bulkheads and deck, victims of point-blank flechette fire.
"Bravo Actual, this is Three Actual, entrance corridor secure."
* * *
"Understood, Three Actual, wait one." Captain Optika entered the car park along with the bulk of Second Platoon. When the final members of Second arrived, he ordered Lieutenant Burnette to relieve Third Platoon, releasing Luthi to complete her part of the mission.
"Good hunting, Three," he said over Third Platoon's net. A chorus of various acknowledgments came back. "Bravo Actual out."
Optika turned his attention to his own part of the mission. All of Second Platoon had passed through the car park and was now in the corridor, pushing out only far enough to make room for First Platoon to join them. When Lieutenant Rook stepped through the cut opening, he knew it was time to begin.
"First Actual and Second Actual, this is Bravo Actual," Optika began. "Second, you will pull your squads back and cover the northern end of the corridor as First moves in to relieve you. First, maintain cover of the southern end. We'll hold those positions until we get word where the civilians are."
He waited for their responses before continuing.
"I want you both to keep your platoons sharp. Those Lokis let the Valkyries get awfully close before they torched that Sally carrier, but the ones on the ground probably suspect we're comin'. And they sure as hell will know it when Three reaches the command center. Bravo Actual out."
* * *
Lieutenant Luthi tried to flatten herself against the bulkhead, a difficult task when wearing combat armor. Enemy fire flashed around her, missing by centimeters, gouging out sections of the bulkhead she was currently trying to become one with.
Third Platoon was caught in a crossfire just short of their first objective. She held her flechette rifle close to her body, pointing it down the corridor as she pulled the trigger and swung the barrel back and forth. She was rewarded with a fountain of blood erupting from one of the Xan-Sskarns holding the far intersection. This fire fight was delaying them; they needed to be moving.
If they didn't make it to the control room quickly enough to get the information about the civilians' location to the captain, he could find himself decisively engaged and unable to act on it.
One of her marines was trying to advance along the opposite bulkhead. He had just come even with her position when he bounced away from the wall and began to jerk as if electrocuted—the normal response of a combat-armored marine when hit with a penetrator round. The round entered from one side of the armor, but did not exit the other side. Instead, it caromed around the inside, shredding the flesh and bone of the wearer.
He was the third marine she had lost since this ambush was sprung. Third Platoon controlled one intersection and two stretches of corridor that extended from it in opposite directions. The two corridors that extended from their intersection, perpendicular to the corridor, were held by the Xan-Sskarns, as was everything else, and they were using it to their advantage, pouring fire into the platoon.
Lieutenant Luthi made a quick decision. If there were this many Xan-Sskarn here, then the chances of there being anyone else around were negligible. With that in mind, she shouted her order over the platoon net.
"All hands! Concussion grenades, now." She reached down to the pouch attached to the waist of her suit and withdrew her own grenade. Thumbing the activator while cocking her arm, she threw it down the passageway. The enhanced strength from her suit turned the grenade into a missile as it hurtled into the intersection. She gave a small smile of satisfaction as she watched it punch through the throat of a Xan-Sskarn who had moved into the grenade's path.
Less than a heartbeat later, her grenade was joined by a dozen more, and she knew the scene was being repeated in four different directions. Detonation came seconds later as the nearly thirty grenades exploded almost simultaneously, sending a shockwave moving down the corridor past her. Her armor handled the concussion without difficulty.
"Up and at 'em!" she yelled over the net. They needed to exploit the opening they'd just created.
She and the first fire team to enter the Xan-Sskarn–held intersection looked around to see if there were any Xan-Sskarn survivors. There weren't. The concussive shockwave that had simply buffeted her armor had pulped the eleven Xan-Sskarns holding the position.
"Okay, this is where we split up." She connected to her three
squad leaders. "Two, Three, you go and secure the hangar and make sure we have a ride out of here. I'll take One and head to the control room. If you run into heavy opposition, do you what you need to. I don't think there are any survivors in the area."
She waited for their assent before using hand signals to start them all moving again. The hangar team continued through the intersection they had just taken, while Luthi and the rest of first squad turned to the right and raced forward. The command center was just ahead.
* * *
Lieutenant Rook ducked his head down behind the makeshift barrier his platoon had placed across the entrance to the corridor he was defending. Flechette rounds pinged off the bulkhead and the workbench barricade. The workbench, like the rest of the materials used in the barricades around First and Second Platoons' perimeter, had come from the car park. Rook was glad that the captain had thought to reinforce the perimeter, even though they weren't expected to be in position for long. Things never had a way of going right when the enemy was involved. They didn't seem to want to play by your rules. Case in point: the ambush of Third Platoon and the consequent delay that had allowed the Sallys to bring troops against the rest of the company.
"Well, crying about it won't do me any good, but this will," he muttered to himself, popping his head and shoulders above the barricade and loosing a burst of flechette fire at the advancing Xan-Sskarns. He was happy to see that one of them had dropped, clutching at its arm, before he ducked back down as their response came flying back at him.
It took Rook a moment to realize what he had seen during his brief exposure.
"Bravo Actual, this is First Actual."
"This is Bravo Actual, go First." Captain Optika sounded like he was a busy as Rook was.
Well, the captain is about to become even more busy, but, hey, that's what they pay him the big money for.
"I've got the Sallys setting up what looks to be a heavy flechette cannon at the other end of this corridor, and this barricade won't hold up long under that kind of firepower."
"Understood, First. See what you can do to slow them down." The strain in Optika's voice was clearly evident. Rook knew as well as the captain did that if the Xan-Sskarns got the cannon up and running before the marines made their breakout, they would have to fall back into the car park, and that would scrub the mission.
"Roger, Bravo, I'll see what I can do." Rook broke his connection to his company commander and opened one to the squad with him in the barricaded intersection.
"Okay, listen up people. One-one, I want continuous fire down this corridor—keep them down. One-two and One-three, I want you to keep your eyes open. If the Sallys are bringing up any more of their big guns, I want to know about it."
He let the fire-team leaders get their marines into place as he took stock of the rest of his platoon. Second squad was spaced out along the corridor, and third was still in the car park, watching their backs. If they stayed here much longer, he would have to start rotating squads as ammunition ran low and casualties ran high.
Rook came up beside One-one and took another quick glance to check the Xan-Sskarns' progress. So far, it looked as if his marines were succeeding in keeping them pinned down, but he knew it wouldn't last.
One of his marines pitched back, head nearly severed by a lucky hit to the gap between his torso armor and helmet, spraying Rook and the rest of One-one with blood. Another went down, this time from One-three, clutching the mangled remains of her left arm.
He listened in on Second Platoon long enough to find out that they were in the same situation as his platoon.
Shouts for corpsmen rang out over the net.
Hurry up, Luthi. We can't stay here much longer.
* * *
The Xan-Sskarn standing in front of the hatch leading to the control room burst apart in a shower of gore as Lieutenant Luthi walked a burst up its chest and into its face. The combat-armored marines of Third Platoon carried the same type of weapons as the rest of the company, the only difference being the size. Theirs were much bigger. And in this case, size did matter. A normal flechette rifle wouldn't have been able to penetrate the body armor the Xan-Sskarn guard had been wearing.
This thought brought a grim smile to her face as she stepped through the remains of her victim and dove into the command center. Coming up onto one knee, she snapped the butt of her rifle into her shoulder and scanned a section of the room. The fire team following her in did the same.
"Clear," she said, getting to her feet. The rest of the entry team followed suit.
"LT, you better see this," her squad leader said softly, beckoning her over.
Luthi walked around the first row of consoles and down into the recession in the deck where the second row was. Lying in the recession were the mutilated remains of eight marines. She looked around again, not seeing any Xan-Sskarn bodies; their comrades must have removed them. Looking back at the carnage at her feet, she saw dozens of spent rifle magazines and several drawn pistols. These marines had not gone down without a fight, nor had they simply stopped when the ammunition ran out. One of them held the haft of a broken combat knife in her hand.
She felt the anger begin to boil in her blood at the sight before her, but she kept it out of her voice as she got her team moving.
"Spread out. See if you can find out whether or not the scientists are still alive, and, if so, where they're at."
The fire team began to move, going from console to console, finding most of them smashed beyond any hope of repair. Finally someone found what they were looking for.
"Got 'em!" a voice called out.
"Where?" Luthi barked as she sped to the speaker's side, looking at the console herself.
"They're in the galley." The marine at the console began to switch between different camera views. "Looks like they've got the doors barricaded and sealed, and—Jesus Christ!"
Luthi saw what had caused the outburst.
There were still marines down there, and they were still fighting.
* * *
Captain Optika was about to order a withdrawal. Lieutenant Rook had reported the flechette cannon had finally been set up and had managed two bursts. What was left of the lieutenant's barricade would not stand up to a third. Fortunately, his marines had managed to take out the shooter, but it was only a matter of time before that third burst came, and, when it did, the Xan-Sskarns would have his two platoons in a shooting gallery.
He had just connected to the company net to issue the order when Lieutenant Luthi's voice burst out.
"Third Actual to Bravo Actual, found 'em."
"Where?" Optika asked back, not worrying about radio discipline.
"They're in the galley, and, sir, there's still a couple of marines down there putting up a hell of a fight. I recommend you hurry."
"Understood. What about the rest?" Luthi's mission to the control room had not only been to find the civilians.
"Looks like the guys here took care of it for us, sir." Lieutenant Luthi's voice hovered somewhere between respect and sorrow. "All hatches are in local control only, the environmental board is slag, and the power-distribution board is in even worse shape."
"Good work," Optika said, relieved. "Rejoin the rest of your platoon. Then I want you to establish a perimeter around the hangar. After that, get the shuttles moving and bring them in. I want to be able to load as soon as we get there."
"Roger, Bravo Actual. We'll take care of it."
"Carry on. Bravo Actual out."
Their extraction taken care of, now all he needed to do was get to the galley, rescue nearly one hundred fifty civilians, drag them through a Xan-Sskarn–held facility, load them onto shuttles, and blast out of here.
But first he needed to get out of this corridor, and to that end he opened a channel to his two other platoon commanders.
"First Actual, Second Actual, this is Bravo Actual. We've located the scientists and remaining marines. They're still holding out, so listen up. We're about to break out of here
and go and get them." Optika began to issue the orders that would allow them to do just that.
"Get your wounded ready to move. Second, we'll be moving through your position—the civilians are in the galley. Just follow the signs. First, when Second begins to move, I want you to perform a fighting withdrawal. But leave a few surprises behind for the Sallys to play with. Questions?"
There was only one, and it was like an icy hand clenching around his heart.
"The dead?" Lieutenant Rook asked.
"Leave them." He hated saying it, hated doing it even more, but they simply did not have the time or manpower to carry the dead and the wounded and maintain what was likely to be a running firefight throughout the facility. "Redistribute their ammo and disable their weapons. I'm sorry."
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