"Yeah, me, too. Ready?"
"Ready." He saw her nod before taking off down the corridor, pausing at the next junction to scan for targets. Another explosion reached his ears, and he turned to look back at her. Seeing her waving, he took one more look down the corridor behind him and sprinted toward her. One more step closer to escape.
He took up a position opposite her and started to say something when he saw her put up her hand to stop him.
She must be talking with the captain.
When she turned her head to him, he asked what the new situation was.
"The captain is pulling back the perimeter as we get closer. They're engaging some Sallys, but not many. Seems like they really want us."
"Well, I've always wanted to be popular."
"Me, too, but not this much. This module is like a God damn Sally magnet," Tracy said, jerking her thumb over her back.
"How close are we?" Alan hadn't had time to check his pad for their current location. All he knew was that they were traveling in the right direction.
"Two more hops down this corridor, then a left and three more straight to the hangar." Her voice was light. "Piece of cake."
"Right," he said dubiously. "So, who's turn is it?"
"Yours."
"Of course it is."
Looking around one last time and taking a deep breath, Alan sped off down the corridor, not even slowing as he blew apart the Xan-Sskarn that had stepped into his path.
Not willing to risk damaging their ride home, or being a contributor to the old axiom about friendly fire, they switched back to flechette rifles once they were in a direct line with the hangar. They had just made it to the last intersection when the Xan-Sskarns made their final push.
Alan had the one full magazine in his rifle and no way to replace it once it was expended. However, long months of training had built him, and every other Recon Marine, into an expert marksman. The Xan-Sskarns were mauled by his and Tracy's murderously accurate fire.
"Where the hell is the rest of the company? We could use some cover fire," Alan asked his fire-team leader as, with a short burst, he tore the throat out of a Xan-Sskarn that had looked into the corridor.
Alan knew that if they broke from what little cover they had at the corner of the intersection, they would be cut down long before they could reach the safety of the hangar.
"The captain's got most of the company and all of the civilians loaded already," Tracy told him. "There was an armored squad out here waiting for us, but apparently there's another way into the hangar that wasn't on the schematics, and the Sallys came pouring out on the deck. Looks like if they can't have the data, they're going to make sure no one can have it."
"So, we're on our own, then?" He took another Xan-Sskarn down.
Tracy had been busy as well, taking three more down as they spoke.
"No, an armored fire team is on its way now."
As if summoned by her words, four sets of combat armor came streaking down the corridor toward them.
"Tracy, go!" Alan shouted when he saw them coming, leaning out around the corner and dropping another enemy. "Get the module to the shuttle. I'm right behind you."
She nodded at him and let loose a long stream of flechettes before turning on her heel and sprinting down the corridor.
Alan fired off another burst as an armored marine moved up to take Tracy's spot. Another came up behind him and tapped his shoulder, indicating it was time for him to go as well.
Emptying the rest of his magazine at the Xan-Sskarns, he followed Tracy's example and sprinted toward the hangar and the waiting shuttles.
* * *
Tracy joined Captain Optika at the shuttle's hatch, having quickly stowed the memory drive in a secure locker. She finally saw Alan come hurtling through the hatch and onto the hangar deck and waved him over, feeling a rush of relief at his arrival.
He was slinging his rifle and drawing his pistol as he came trotting over. She crouched to one side of the shuttle's hatch, rifle pointed toward the hatch he had just come though. Alan took up a position on the other side, crouching with pistol extended, without any direction from her. She laughed to herself, thinking that they had settled into a routine already when it came to dealing with hatches.
The four armored marines came through the hatch in rapid succession, the last one stopping to close the hatch. Tracy held her breath as it cycled closed, expecting something to happen at the last possible moment, and was relieved when nothing did. The marine smashed the door control with an armored fist. The Xan-Sskarns would need to blast their way onto the hangar deck, and by the time they could manage that, the marines should all be airborne.
"Okay, everybody in the boat," Captain Optika's voice called over the general net. Both Tracy and Alan held their positions, waiting for everyone else to enter first. After the captain finally entered, Tracy opened Recon's net.
"Alan, go!"
He popped up and pulled himself into the troop compartment of the assault boat, and she followed.
She took a seat next to the captain, and Alan took one next to her.
"Looks like you had a few close calls, Corporal," Captain Optika said over Recon's net. "Both of you."
"Yes, sir, you could say that," Tracy said blandly. "I would highly discourage hand-to-hand combat with Xan-Sskarns. It's too messy."
"Among other things," Alan added, holding up his arm so the captain could see the bandages. "They don't believe in manicures."
The three of them chuckled while the shuttles lifted. Tracy kept her eyes on the monitor, and when it showed them a sufficient distance from the facility, she pulled a small box from her belt.
"That looks like a remote detonator, Corporal," the captain observed.
"Yes, sir, it is," Tracy said, her voice cheerful.
"To what?"
"Oh, just a little thank-you to the Xan-Sskarns from Alan and myself for all the hospitality they showed us."
"Well, my mother always told me to send a thank-you in a timely manner," Optika said deadpan.
"Mine, too." She laughed as she pressed the button.
In the computer core of Hugin Research Facility, three one-kilo blocks of high-yield explosives, each powerful enough to demolish a small, hardened military target, detonated. The initial concussion was enough to send a visible shudder through the base, right before a giant explosion consumed the entire facility, and every Xan-Sskarn within it.
Optika's eyes widened, and he looked at Clark and her detonator dubiously.
Clark shrugged nonchalantly and said, "The computer core was right by the base's main reactor. How often do you get a chance to blow up one of those?"
Chapter Thirty
USS Valhalla
October 13, 2197
2147 z
Phobos Orbit, Sol
"Attention on the flight deck," a voice echoed throughout the Valhalla's port-side hangar bay. "Assault Boat Five and Valhalla Shuttle One, now arriving."
Captain Alexandra McLaughlin and her XO, Commander Tony Ruggs, stood together on the hangar deck, out of the way of the waiting flight crews and medical teams but close enough to witness all that was about to happen.
The lift closest to her finished its descent, and the hatch began to open. Against all safety regulations, the pilot of Assault Boat Five began to taxi out of the lift as soon as there was enough clearance.
With the number of wounded Optika had commed her about on board that boat, Alex had no intention of disciplining that pilot if her actions got them to the med teams even one second faster. She knew that every moment counted when it came to combat casualties.
The assault boat rolled to a stop directly in front of the waiting medical personnel, and its hatches began to open. Dr. Stratis and several med techs rushed forward to meet the marines carrying out their wounded comrades.
Alex noticed that none of them, not even the wounded, had their faceplates lifted. It wasn't until they set foot onto the hangar deck that the hale began cracking
the seals on their helmets.
After one final look at the organized chaos around the assault boat, she turned her attention to the shuttle, just now finishing its taxi. As hatches opened, a few marines, their helmets still sealed as well, dropped to the deck and began to assist the civilians out.
"Commander," Alex said to her XO, "I want you to organize some quarters for our guests."
"I've already contacted the quartermaster. He's getting quarters and supplies organized and the master-at-arms is setting up escorts to see them throughout the ship and to keep them out of the way for now."
Alex absently nodded her approval, her eyes focusing on the group currently exiting the shuttle.
"Christ. Children," she whispered to herself. She had known intellectually that there would be children with the civilians—it was unavoidable—but seeing them with her own eyes made it a reality.
I don't want children on this ship, not with what we have to do. They're so young, and when you're young, it's too soon to die.
But Alex knew they were here to stay, and that she would do her utmost to see that no harm befell them. She knew the path ahead would see more ghosts added to her dreams; she didn't intend for any of them to be children.
"Tell the quartermaster that I want a nursery set up for those children in the most secure part of the ship, and I want it done tonight."
"Yes, ma'am, I'll see to it," Commander Ruggs replied, his tone clearly confused by the snarl in her order.
"Attention on the flight deck," the voice from the tower announced again. "Assault Boat Four and Valhalla Shuttle Two, now arriving."
Alex waited patiently for Boat Four to finish its descent into the hangar deck and taxi into place. When it finally stopped and opened its hatches, she saw three marines jump out immediately. The one in the middle turned his head, looking for something. After only a few moments, he walked directly toward her, the other two marines flanking him.
None of the three had lifted their faceplates yet, and as they closed, Alex could see the red camouflage of their combat suits was stained a much deeper red: the color of blood. Xan-Sskarn blood, while red like human blood, was a much deeper hue; however, Alex could not tell at first glance what species' blood was covering the marines. The marine in the center looked like he had walked though a knee-deep river of it and been splashed in the process. His lower legs were entirely encrusted with dried blood. The rest of his combat suit was crisscrossed in spray patterns. The other two simply looked as if they had been painted from head to toe in blood and ichor. Bits of unidentifiable hunks of meat clung to their gear and armor. The stench of rotting meat was noticeable even at this distance and grew worse as they moved closer. Xan-Sskarn blood decomposed extremely fast and emitted a distinct, horrible smell.
When they had closed to within a few steps of her, Alex felt an icy stab in her heart. The blood-covered figures, their polarized faceplates distorting the reflected images of her and Tony's faces, reminded her so strongly of the ghosts in her dreams she could hear the echoes of their howls in her mind. Only when they stopped and lifted their faceplates was the spell broken.
"Captain Optika reporting, ma'am" the center figure said, snapping his right hand up into a salute. Years of military discipline allowed Alex to respond automatically as her mind pulled itself back to reality.
"Congratulations on a mission well done, Captain."
"Thank you, ma'am." He reached out to his right, and the marine there shrugged off her pack and handed it over to him. Turning to face Alex, he held out the bloody and tattered bag. "The computer core's back-up memory module, ma'am."
Alex reached out and took hold of the straps of the bag, and when the captain released his grip, she nearly dropped it.
"Damn, that's heavy," she groaned, lowering the pack to the deck. She knew the marine had not done it on purpose; people his size and strength often forgot how much physically weaker someone of her size was.
Seeing the disconcerted look on his face, Alex began to assure him she wasn't offended, when a piercing voice interrupted her.
"Which one of you is Captain McLaughlin?"
Alex watched as a severe-looking woman in a business suit, face flushed in what she guessed was anger, stormed over to her small cluster of people.
"That would be me, ma'am," Alex said cordially, extending her hand. "Captain Alexandra McLaughlin. And you are?"
"I am Director Sabrina Richardson, and I want to lodge a complaint, several actually, against these people," she wailed, pointedly ignoring Alex's hand and waving at the three marines.
Alex would not have believed it possible for Optika's face to adopt an even harder, deadlier expression if she had not seen it for herself. Letting her hand drop, she forced a smile onto her face before responding.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll be happy to listen to any complaints you might have regarding Captain Optika and his marines. Would you like to join me in my wardroom after we get your people settled, say in forty-five minutes?"
"That will be acceptable," Sabrina snapped before turning to stalk off toward the huddled group of civilians.
"What a bitch," Tony muttered when she was out of earshot.
"You have no idea, sir," Optika said in a voice like frozen helium.
"Well, it seems to me that we will all regret having the chance to find out for ourselves shortly," Alex commented. "Captain, once again, outstanding job. Get your marines settled, then report to the wardroom in forty-five minutes. I'll want to hear what happened down there."
"Yes, ma'am," Optika said as he and the two other marines—Clark and Lewis as she could see now that their faceplates were up—snapped to attention. Optika gave her a smart salute.
"Dismissed, Captain," Alex said, returning his salute.
As the marines marched away, Alex turned to face her XO.
"Tony, once you get those civilians taken care of, get us moving and heading out-system, maximum speed. Then assemble the command staff in the wardroom. There are some things we need to go over. We were lucky there was only an assault carrier in the area. I suspect that will soon change."
She didn't specify the time, trusting that he would have them there in time to hear the captain's mission report.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll have them there before Optika arrives," Tony assured her.
Alex smiled; she and the XO were beginning to mesh.
But then, combat and hardship tends to have that effect on people.
"Very good, Commander. Carry on."
Alex didn't wait for his response before she spun about and began to head toward the lift, plans and worries chasing each other around in her mind.
* * *
Alex sat alone in the darkened wardroom, absently stroking her chin and smoking a cigarette as she watched the hologram displayed before her. The representation of the Sol system and the last known location of any friendly units slowly rotated by her gaze. The green icons were depressingly few in number, and she wondered how many of them were still there.
Probably not many. Whatever Xan-Sskarn planned this attack did a damn thorough job of it.
The loss of Home Fleet brought Admiral Stevens to mind, the similarities between then and now standing out.
She had just lit another cigarette from the stub of her last when the hatch opened, pouring light into the compartment.
"Sorry, Captain, I didn't know you were here already," Commander Ruggs apologized, silhouetted by the open hatch.
"Don't worry about it, Tony. Come on in and sit down. I must've lost track of the time."
As Tony took his seat, two more officers entered the wardroom. Both of them paused for a moment to let their eyes adjust to the darkness before continuing to their seats. Alex merely nodded at their greetings, her eyes never leaving the display.
Over the next several minutes, the rest of her officers arrived and assumed their positions around the table. The only officer not in attendance was Dr. Stratis, and Alex had not expected him. He had more important things to attend to.<
br />
The last to arrive was Director Richardson, escorted by a marine private. Richardson, too, paused upon entering the wardroom, but Alex suspected it was due to uncertainty rather than any other reason.
"Please, Director, have a seat," Alex said, pointing at Dr. Stratis' empty chair.
"Thank you," the director said in a clipped voice, accepting the invitation with reluctance.
"Now, I understand you wish to file a complaint against Captain Optika and some of his marines," Alex began, looking at the director. Finding herself in a very delicate situation, she tried to keep her voice calm and even. She was going to need this woman's help in the days to come and didn't want to alienate her from the beginning. But neither was she going to sacrifice any of her marines to satisfy vanity. "Before we begin with that, let me introduce my staff."
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