Combat was not a new experience for Julianna. She had been in a number of harried fights against police and Legion forces. This was different though. All of those battles were on the ground, generally in cities and armed with very different weaponry and armour. She could see the other two Rebel fighters sitting next to her were also nervous. Both shifted in their seats as much as they were able, their hands clasping and unclasping around their Pulse rifles.
The Shadow Company stood like statues, in two lines down the centre of the Helo’s main bay. They were forced to stand with their feet magnetically clamped to the floor. Their armour was too big for the seats. There were no nervous movements from them, occasionally one would shift their arms or body slightly, but that was all. Across the bay from Julianna, sat the other two members of her fire team.
Those two didn’t display any more nervousness than the Company troops. The man actually moved less than them. The woman’s head was constantly roving about as she took in what was around her. From experience Julianna knew Troll would be talking almost incessantly, while Barney sat there and listened.
She met the two Enforcers when they were put into the same company by Major Forlani. They arrived with quite a reputation among the other criminals and then word got out they had fought alongside Carter numerous times. That went a long way with the members of Shadow Company. Julianna actually thought Troll would have been picked to lead their fire team over her. When Lieutenant Saito told them it would be Julianna, Troll hadn’t argued and that was a surprise as well. The woman seemed to comment on just about everything else.
The tall redhead must have seen her looking and her com flashed up on Julianna’s HUD.
“Don’t worry, this is nothing,” the other woman told her.
“Oh, really? Done many space assaults, have you?” Julianna couldn’t help the edge in her tone, the nerves were getting to her more than she thought.
Troll just laughed. “You should ask Rush or Hobbs. They’ve got a mean story about our second Job with Carter. They were stuck in the back of a recycling lorry with her, while Rush drove it by remote. She had him ram a building with it.”
“And where were you?”
“Barney and I were giving covering fire from another building. It wasn’t too bad, only a couple of dozen goons from a rival gang.”
“Stealing their stash?” The edge was still in Julianna’s voice, she couldn’t relax it.
“Nah, rescuing Hanna. Sneaker annoyed a rival Boss so she took Hanna as payback. Carter was a bit miffed.”
Curiosity got the better of her, stories about Carter were becoming legendary in the Alliance and she had to ask. “How miffed?”
“We didn’t know it at the time, but there were about a hundred goons before she went in. From what we heard afterwards, less than twenty got to walk away.”
“And she ram-raided their building with a recycling lorry? How many people did she take in with her?”
“Rush, Hobbs and Sneaker, and it wasn’t the hairiest. The Heists we pulled that year with Carter were awesome. Been a bit quiet since she left.”
Julianna shook her head and felt a smile tug at the corners of her lips. “I can imagine.”
“One minute.” Rush said over the com.
“We’ll watch your back.” A deep rumble said over Julianna’s com. She needed to double check the HUD to see who it came from. She couldn’t remember the last time Barney spoke to her.
“It’s what we do best,” Troll confirmed. “We did it for Sneaker and Carter. We’ll do it for you.”
That made her feel quite a bit better, her shoulders relaxed on their own and her breathing felt normal as she readied her rifle.
“Thanks,” she told them and the two Enforcers nodded back confidently.
The Helo shuddered slightly as it landed and the rear ramp slammed down. The armoured forms of Shadow Company’s First Platoon charged out. Charlie team went left, Delta right and Bravo straight down the middle.
“Let’s go!” Julianna ordered and hit the release on her seats straps, jogging to the end of the ramp. Troll and Barney beat her to it and crouched on either side, their rifles scanning for threats. Beaumont and Haworth weren’t far behind Julianna and ready to go on her word.
With Button and his team already on the rock, Helo One had five free spaces. Julianna and the others were picked to make up the numbers. They came through training with the highest scores. Sergeant Major Bickerstaff made it clear to her, they were not to leave the Helo until he gave the all-clear, so she held her team on the ramp.
As though he was listening in on her thoughts, his rough voice spoke on the com. “Bay secured, no hostiles. Move it out, Julianna.”
“Yes, Sergeant Major,” she replied and switched to her team’s net. “We’re all clear. Our objective’s the control room. Troll and Barney, you have point. Go!”
There was no hesitation and the two Enforcers dashed out into the massive bay. Designed for cargo shuttles, the Company’s Windsoar class Helo looked like a minnow in the cavernous space. She heard the engines whine and the Helo took off behind her. With their servo-assisted speed, the two Enforcers and three Rebel Fighters arrived at the door to the control room quickly.
The door didn’t open initially and Barney’s armoured fist smashed into the control plate. Troll was right beside him and connected up her wristcomp expertly. Unsurprisingly, this was something the Enforcers didn’t need to be shown in training and Julianna let them get on with it. In almost no time at all, the door slid open and Julianna was first in. A small crew lounge was to her right. A glance showed it was clear. She raced up the stairs to the control room.
Another locked door was at the top and she followed Barney’s example with a well-placed fist. Troll hadn’t wasted any time and was right behind with her wristcomp at the ready. Barney stood at her shoulder with his Pulse rifle aimed at the door. Julianna took up position on the other side. A nod from Troll was their only warning. The door slid aside. Mag rounds careened from Barney’s armour as he stormed through the door.
Men and women cowered behind ripped apart consoles. Bits of wire and circuit boards lay all across the floor. Two held Mag pistols and fired almost blindly from behind what cover they could find. Barney’s shots found the first one, his Pulse rounds tearing through a chair in front of her as though it was made of tissue paper. Julianna shot the second, her first burst catching his shoulder and throwing him back, to allow a second burst to take him in the centre of the chest.
Troll stepped in between them, her rifle up and ready, but it was all over. The surviving five technicians raised their hands and shouted their surrender.
“Wow, they’ve made a bit of mess in here.” Troll said. “Do you think there’s something they haven’t taken apart? Wait, I think that VI screen is still in one piece. No, sorry. They’ve ripped out its holo projector.”
Barney didn’t reply and began hauling the cowering techs out from where they were trying to hide. Julianna waved to Beaumont and Haworth who were just outside the door.
“Get this lot down to that crew lounge and lock them in.”
“No problem, Julianna,” replied Haworth and waved the barrel of his rifle at the newly acquired prisoners.
Looking around, Julianna didn’t like what she could see.
“What do you make of it, Troll? Do we need to put any of this together before the shuttles get here?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Troll replied, shaking her head in disbelief. “Even if Hanna unlocks the controls, we won’t be able to shut the doors. It’s already fifty degrees below out there and dropping fast. The prisoners will freeze before we can get them on the shuttles.”
The windows overlooking the landing bay were set to fully opaque. Probably by the tech’s they just captured when they saw the Helo coming in. Fortunately that was one control still in working order. The windows cleared at the press of a button. Julianna looked out and could see the three heavily armoured teams of Shadow Company, each at thei
r own objective. The Helo itself sat to one side, giving the two much bigger shuttles room to land.
Behind the Helo was the cavern entrance. The blackness of space looked back through a slight blue haze. The haze defined the energy field holding the air inside the bay, resisting the pressure of the vacuum outside. Airshields did an excellent job at allowing ships to land and take off, while stopping people from suffocating, but they could not prevent heat bleed.
With the doors open for over two hours, the temperature had been dropping the entire time. As Button’s team could attest to, the FPB armour was designed to operate at minus two hundred and seventy degrees centigrade, the average temperature of space this far out in a solar system. Her own teams MP armour would still be working at minus one hundred degrees, keeping them alive if it dropped another twenty.
Neither of those options were available to the prisoners. Unless they got the doors closed, no one would be able to leave. She checked the chrono on her HUD and calculated the timetable of their plan.
“Shuttles are five minutes out, Troll. Do whatever you and Barney can in that time to give our techs a head start. I’ll take Beaumont and Haworth and see if this place has an umbilical cord we might be able to jury-rig.”
“OK, Guv. We’ll see what we can do,” Troll replied.
“One-bravo-one, Julianna.”
“Go ahead,” the Sergeant Major replied.
“Things are pretty busted up in the control room. The techs are going to have to put it back together before we can shut the doors. I’ve got Troll and Barney working on it. I’m going to bring my team to you and see if there’s an umbilical we can rig up.”
“There’s an equipment bay here that might have something you can use. I’ll let the tech’s know what to expect and see you over here,” he answered and the com clicked off.
Jogging down the stairs, Julianna found Haworth and Beaumont outside the sealed crew room. She waved for them to follow her across the bay. Five black armoured figures stood in a rough ring around the bay’s main entrance. The door was shut for the moment. Julianna knew one of the Sergeant Major’s team were hooked into the cameras. They would be watching carefully what was on the other side. The plan was to wait until everyone had been assembled before continuing the assault.
One of them pointed to the side. Julianna thought it was Corporal Ulrich from the markings on the armour. It led her to a large door a Helo could fit through. Fortunately it wasn’t locked and opened easily at a press of the button. The lights came on automatically and didn’t really help very much. It looked like whoever ran this bay, kept it clear by simply throwing everything into here. It was a complete jumble of parts and equipment, slung in a seemingly random manner.
“How are we going to find anything in there?” Beaumont asked.
Julianna quickly glanced around and estimated distances in her mind. “We’ll have to pull it all out.” She pointed to the side opposite the bay entrance. “If we put it over there and keep it close to the wall, we won’t get in the way of the Sergeant Major or the incoming shuttles.” She spied several grav-lifts just inside and pointed them out. “We’ll use those and at least we don’t have to worry about damaging anything. Let’s get to work.”
Though Julianna was sure it wasn’t what their designers had envisaged, the MP armour was of great help. If they cared what happened to the stuff they didn’t need, maybe not, but with the extra strength the servos gave them, they were able haul stuff out much quicker and easier. They worked as quickly as they could, hauling, pushing and throwing everything out of the way while they searched.
MP armour regulated the temperature inside to account for whatever its occupant was experiencing. When they were inactive, it stayed warm and reduced the temperature when working heavily, like now. Even with all of its technological marvels, it could not stop the human body from perspiring. It occurred to Julianna, as the sweat beaded down her forehead and in her armpits, most soldiers who were standing and doing nothing while others worked, would be engaging in some sort of banter.
There was none from the Sergeant Major’s team. All five of them stood silently, their complete focus on the door. They were more than capable of a joke. She played cards with many of them over the last couple of months. Her cousin invited her to a few games and so did a number of other members of the Company. It seemed that now was not the time, as they bent all their concentration to the task at hand.
When Major Forlani said in their meeting she was bringing the best combat soldiers in the Legion, Julianna thought it was a slight over-exaggeration, despite her cousin. Even in training they looked very good, but not quite what the Major promised. Julianna only now understood what the Major meant. She felt slightly sorry for any guards who tried to put up a fight on the other side of that door.
A sudden noise reverberated through the bay and Julianna spun round. The first shuttle was making its way through the energy field. The noise of its massive engines echoed throughout the bay. This was one of the two Scarab class assault shuttles Shadow Company brought with them. The sleek shape bristled with weaponry. Julianna could easily imagine all of those turrets turning and locking on to targets as it descended into a hot landing zone. Today none of them were active. They did not have the trained personnel to pilot it and man the guns. The pilot flew passenger liners across Blaze until a couple of months ago. He touched it down more gently than would seem possible for something of its size.
Such was their Alliance. It didn’t matter. The pilot believed in the cause and when they had the time, the pilots of Shadow Company could train everyone the Rebellion needed.
The shuttle’s forward ramps lowered. Men and women in armour identical to her own spilled out. Squad leaders hustled their people into some semblance of order. Sergeant Major Bickerstaff broke away from his own team and jogged over.
With command of an over-sized company in the newly formed military wing of the Rebellion, the Sergeant Major should have been promoted to a Captain at the very least. The members of Shadow Company insisted on keeping their own original ranks, even when a Private was in command of a full platoon. Julianna asked Chao about it and he gave her a long and convoluted answer. When she had pressed him on it, it boiled down to one simple fact. The Company wanted to make sure Major Carter was going to actually join the Rebellion, before they fully committed. For them it was important, symbolically, to keep their ranks until she made that decision.
A team of men and women made their way out of the back of the armoured fighters. These wore civilian enviro suits denoting the technicians and engineers. Half took off at a run towards the control room and the other half headed over to Julianna. Evidently Bickerstaff was as good as his word and the techs already knew what they needed to do.
Walking out to meet them, Julianna held out her hand. The tech in the lead took it and smiled through her visor.
“Any luck?”
“Nothing, yet,” Julianna replied, shaking her head. “We’ve got about a third of the way in. Who knows what’s in there.”
“OK, thanks. We’ll keep looking. I’m hoping we can get the controls back together first though.”
“So do I. Have you heard anything from the other bays? Have they got the same problem?”
The woman nodded. “Yeah, Wings one and three are fine, two’s in a worst state than this one, but they‘ve found an umbilical, and four went a completely different route and took out the airshield.”
“Shit!” Julianna’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “That’s not good.”
The engineer shrugged. “It’s not too bad. Don’t get me wrong, it would have been easier if they hadn’t done it, but all it will do is slow us down and suck more air out of this place each time we launch the shuttles.”
Grinning back at the woman’s attitude, Julianna patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you to it. Good luck.”
“You too, try and get back alive.”
“We’ll do our best.” She turned to her fighters, who were show
ing the other tech’s how far they had gotten in the search, while she was talking. “Time to do what they’re paying us for,” she called and waved them over.
“Wait a second. No one said we were getting paid.” Troll said as she jogged over from the control room with Barney.
“It’s an expression. How did you get on?”
The taller woman shrugged. “Not good, but the experts are in there now. Hopefully they’ll be able to do something.”
“Alright, at least you did what you could. Come on.” Julianna led her team over to the motionless forms of Bickerstaff’s Bravo team. “Where do you want us, Corp?” she asked Ulrich.
He pointed to one side. “Over there will be fine until the Sergeant Major can get that lot organised.” A nod of his armoured head indicated the one hundred and fifteen Militia soldiers, made up of Rebel Fighters and Enforcers, who came out of the shuttle. “It shouldn’t be long and then things are going to get exciting. They’ve been setting up barricades on the other side of that door since before we arrived.”
The sound of engines cut through the bay again, announcing the arrival of the second shuttle. Julianna turned to watch it come through the energy shield and land next to the Scarab. It had the same footprint as the Scarab, but resembled a flying box with engines. It was a standard cargo shuttle, often seen in and around any space port in the Pantheon. They were the workhorse of freight transport, flying continuously for thousands of hours, both dirtside to orbit and across the system. This one was empty bar the crew. Its role in the mission was to help ferry the prisoners out to the Wandering Pony.
When the noise died down, Julianna turned back to Corporal Ulrich to continue their conversation. “How bad?”
“Not the worst I’ve seen, but nor is it going to be a walk in the park. They had five fully built lines of defence set up before they started taking out the sensors and cameras. Now, who knows? It’s certainly going to be bloody, I can guarantee that.”
Crusade For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 2) Page 38