“Hey,” Jack called out from the landing craft. “Sam, you need to hear this.” Jack pointed up the lander’s boarding ramp to the pilot standing there.
“Just came up on the scanners,” the pilot’s voice quivered. “More Chitins on their way. They’ll be landing any minute now.”
18
The Scorpio turned to present its port-side battery to the oncoming Chitin Leviathan. Pretorius gave the order to fire and the high-density kinetic shot cannons spat their vicious hail at the Chitin craft. It was an opening shot. The Leviathan would take much more punishment than a single broadside before breaking apart.
“Fire a full salvo of combat drones and reload port-side cannon with high ex.”
The holostage showed the traces of ordinance from all ships streaking toward the Leviathan. Then the high-energy lasers flashed as the beams lit up, slamming into the Leviathan’s hull.
The Leviathan’s plasma cannon blasted huge gouts of white fire at the Monarch, the gouts of plasma slamming into her nose and scattering over the hull. Then the plasma arc whipped out from the Leviathan, flicking back and forth until it connected with the Monarch, the composite hull on the nose fracturing and flaking off into space.
The combat drones raced away from the Fleet ships, the hardest hitting ordnance racing toward the Leviathan. The Leviathan’s plasma arc sliced away at the drones, cutting through their fragile casings and leaving them to tumble harmlessly in space, but several combat drones got by the Chitins’ defense measures. The antimatter containment fields collapsed inside each drone as it reached effective range. The massive reaction created short-lived suns that expanded suddenly from a tiny point of antimatter, hitting the Leviathan with enormous violence and energy.
The Scorpio fired its high ex broadside. Then the cooling system failed.
“Roll the ship,” Pretorius said calmly. He knew he would lose the starboard-side battery, but there was still a lot more fight in his ship. “Ready the port battery.”
“Contact, sir,” Pretorius’s scanner commander called out. “A new contact on grid eight-eight-fourteen. It’s another Leviathan, sir.”
Pretorius zoomed out on his holostage. The carrier groups were closing in on the current target, and above the group, a new Leviathan was closing in on them.
Li appeared on the holostage. “That Leviathan can’t get here in time to support our current target. We destroy this Chitin ship and then head for home space. Give it everything you’ve got. Li out.”
The support craft swept in close to the Leviathan in concert with another salvo of combat drones. The Leviathan slashed away at the drones with its plasma arc. It turned its plasma cannon on the incoming support ships and fired a seething gout of plasma fire that engulfed the lead frigate, incinerating the nose section and destroying the ship. The next frigate fired its forward cannon before being destroyed by another gout of Chitin plasma. Then a corvette, turning away from its attack, was grazed by a gout of plasma, the fire scorching and fracturing the hull. The corvette broke apart mid-turn.
The laser cannon from the Fleet ships burned against the Chitin Leviathan in a constant and devastating attack. The Leviathan responded with its plasma cannon and near-constant assault with its plasma arc, the barbed plasma whip slamming into the Monarch again and again.
Pretorius could see the Chitin craft focusing its attacks primarily on the Monarch when not defending itself against the combat drones and the assault craft. The Monarch had taken heavy damage.
“Captain,” Pretorius’s scanner commander called out.
But Pretorius already knew. Appearing on the holostage was a new signal. A Chitin Leviathan moving in from grid eight-eight-twelve, moving rapidly toward the combined carrier group from below.
Group Captain Li appeared on the holostage. “Another Leviathan incoming. We are leaving. Full speed ahead, head straight for our current target and give it everything you’ve got. That Leviathan is sitting between us and our escape route to Eros and I would very much like to destroy it as we head home. Li out.”
Pretorius didn’t want that Leviathan firing at him as he ran for home. The Leviathan had taken heavy damage but was still a huge threat. The incoming Leviathans were a bigger threat, but they weren’t in range yet.
“Head straight for the Leviathan, full engine burn, and keep our forward laser assembly on full power. Divert all weapons system power to the forward laser assembly.”
Pretorius watched the holostage and the images of all ships turning head-on to the Leviathan. The two carriers were at the center of the group, their high-energy lasers beating into the Leviathan, while the remaining destroyers and support craft surrounded them. The fighters were flying home, landing in the side landing bays of the massive carriers as the group accelerated toward the target Leviathan.
Pretorius fired the Scorpio’s lasers, the beams lighting up, appearing to connect instantaneously with the Chitin craft.
The Chitin plasma weapons slammed into the Monarch. The ships were too close together for combat drones to be used, so the Chitin plasma arc was free to slash away at the Monarch.
“Stand by to roll the ship,” Pretorius said. “Show that Chit our starboard battery as we pass. Give it a kinetic hail broadside. See if we can’t finish it off.”
Another new signal appeared on the holostage. Another new Chitin Leviathan. It appeared at grid eight-eight-ten, directly ahead of the group. Then another appeared, just coming into sensor range, at their tail.
“Kravin Chits put us right where they want us,” Pretorius said. The Scorpio began its flyby of the Leviathan. It rolled in time to put its port-battery on target. The side of the Scorpio lit up as the high-density shot cannon belched a violent hail of shot in to the Leviathan at point-blank range.
The Leviathan succumbed to the Scorpio’s final assault and began to glow along the fracture lines that rippled over its hull.
“Flank speed,” Pretorius shouted. “That Chit is going to blow.”
The combined carrier group accelerated away. The frigates and corvettes leading the way, the destroyers just behind and the two carriers, the biggest ships of the fleet, bringing up the rear as even at full engine power, they still were the slowest ships.
The Monarch was marginally slower than the Overlord, and it was falling behind. Li appeared on the holostage.
“Monarch’s engines are failing. I’m down to fifty percent power. All ships, evade incoming Chitin Leviathans at all costs. Scatter and run dark. Get back to Eros as quickly as possible, but avoid contact with those incoming Leviathans.”
Li’s transmission ended. The holostage showed the Chitin Leviathan explode in a furious ball of destruction. The expanding detonation wave slammed into the engine assembly of the Monarch, pitching if forward.
Pretorius watched in heart-sinking silence as the Monarch tumbled and broke apart, the engines erupting as the reactor was breached.
“This is the Overlord,” Group Captain Wellard appeared on the holostage. “You heard Li’s order. Scatter. Go dark. Get home. Wellard out.”
Pretorius set his heading at a point of empty space and continued to burn engines at full power, exceeding flank speed duration.
“Reaction chamber seals reaching critical, Captain,” the drive commander called out.
“Shut it down.” Pretorius leaned on the holostage. “Shut it all down.” He tugged his cuffs and opened a ship-wide channel. “All hands. The Scorpio will go dark. Silent running protocols in effect. No ship-wide communications. No electromagnetic activity. Ship’s company to observe silent duties.”
Pretorius ended the call and nodded at his command crew to initiate the shutdown.
Commander Chou brought Pretorius a combat log. Pretorius flipped through the holopages. “Four Leviathans for one carrier, one destroyer, a number of support craft, and krav knows how many lives,” Pretorius said as he signed the log. “Better release a communication buoy. Let our Marine team know they need to find their own way home. Better let
them know not to call for assistance, this area is crawling with Chits.”
19
The long tunnel from the landing bay to the main compound was teeming with Chits. They rushed forward into the fire from pulse rifles.
The men holding the rifles had been prisoners only hours before. Now they were expected to be soldiers. Butcher pushed them into the mouth of the tunnel and shouted at them to fire.
Jack looked over at the tunnel. The prisoners were firing chaotically. Some were firing off single shots and taking an age to re-aim and fire again. Other prisoners were firing on full automatic, the bursts scattering wildly along the tunnel, many of them slamming uselessly into the tunnel walls.
“Organize that firing line,” Jack shouted.
Butcher walked toward Jack. Fury on his face. “Fix the kravin ship so we can get out of here.”
“Those Chits are going to get in here and kill us all if you don’t organize that defense.” Jack pointed with the field polarizing unit he was checking for damage.
“They are getting slaughtered,” Butcher said, not looking back. “Anyone can fire a gun. Point the right end at the Chits and they die. It’s not that hard, soldier boy.”
Jack handed the field polarizing unit to Canton for him to return to the transmission housing.
Jack stood up. “That is a probe. The Chits are counting your guns. They will come in force any minute and they will smash through that rabble of a line. When that first Chit hits the line, that sorry rabble will disintegrate and we’ll all be killed. Let me put some Marines in that line.”
The rifle butt hit Jack hard on the side of the head. “Shut the krav up and fix that boat,” Butcher said.
Jack felt his head pound and the ringing in his ears drowned out all other noise.
Laidlaw shoved Butch back hard. “How are we going to get out of here if you smash in his skull?”
Butcher raised the pulse rifle and aimed it at Laidlaw’s face.
“He’s right, Butch,” Torent said, stepping over. “We need them both if we want to fix that boat.”
Butcher lowered his rifle. He fixed Jack with a fierce scowl. “Fix the boat.”
“I haven’t got enough time, if you don’t hold the Chits,” Jack said, wiping the trickle of blood off the side of his head.
“He’s right about that too,” Torent said. “Let me pick a few Marines to stand in the line. They can fight good, Butch.”
Butcher looked sideways at Torent. He was filled with suspicion.
“Okay,” Butcher said as he walked away. “Pick a few Marines, but I want my guys aiming rifles at their heads. If they try anything, I’ll have them all killed.”
Torent nodded. “Don’t worry, Butch. They’ll do what they are told. They don’t know how to think for themselves.”
Jack watched as Torent picked out a small group of Marines. They were mostly the freshest replacements. They might not have the fighting ability of some of the more seasoned Marines, but they would listen to Torent and not try anything to fight against the prisoners standing behind them.
Torent walked along the line of Marines and pushed them into formation. He had a rank of Marines kneeling in a line, their pulse rifles aimed along the tunnel. A line of prisoners stood behind them.
Torent went along the line of prisoners. Jack could see him giving basic instructions on how to handle the Fleet Marine pulse rifle. Jack hoped with a few good, trained Marines in the front of them, the prisoners’ ineptitude wouldn’t condemn them all to death.
“Here they come,” Torent shouted.
Jack watched as his old friend knelt in the line of Marines. Torent was a good combat leader, capable and brave. He called out instructions to the small group of Marines and the prisoners behind them.
“Hold. Wait for it. Stand by. Pick your targets. Controlled bursts. Aim for the head. Wait.”
Jack turned from his repairs. He had a clear view out of the landing bay and along the tunnel to the main compound. It was dark in the tunnel, but Jack could see the familiar sight of a mass of advancing Chitin soldiers.
“Fire,” Torent shouted.
The front rank of Marines let out short bursts. Jack watched as they fired, re-aimed, and fired again, short and precise actions that created havoc in the line of advancing Chits.
The prisoners fired as wildly as ever, their shots badly aimed and uncontrolled. Jack hoped Torent would keep the Chits back long enough for the repair to be completed.
Jack didn’t need much longer. The landing craft was ready to go, but Jack wasn’t just fixing the boat. He had another plan. He was rigging the landing craft for a surprise. Jack was in control, and in a short time, he would have his prisoners strapped in their seats and heading back to Eros.
“Hold them,” Torent said. “Keep up the fire.”
Jack looked along the tunnel. The Chits were falling back. A prisoner stepped forward, shoving a Marine aside. He began walking into the tunnel, firing wildly, laughing manically and shouting at the Chits.
“Get back in formation,” Torent shouted.
The prisoner walked on. “Shut your mouth,” he said. He fired wild and sustained bursts into the tunnel.
“They are falling back,” Torent said. “Cease fire.”
The Marines stopped. The prisoners slowed their fire and eventually stopped. The prisoner walking into the tunnel carried on firing and walking forward.
“Get back in line,” Torent said.
The prisoner kept walking.
Butcher stepped into the tunnel. He raised his rifle and fired, the single round slamming into the back of the prisoner. He sprawled forward.
Butcher walked over to the fallen body and reached down to collect the fallen rifle. He then fired another round into the fallen prisoner.
Jack watched, unsurprised by the lack of discipline of the prisoners. He hoped the line of Marines mixed in with them weren’t in more danger from the prisoners than they were from the Chits.
20
Jack had little left to do to fix the landing craft. He was almost done. But he knew that at any moment, the Chitins would try to attack again.
Butcher was clearly pleased with the defensive work of the Marines and his prisoner gang. He pushed more prisoners into the line with pulse rifles in their hands. They looked nervous and unsure to Jack. He would have told these new press-ganged troops to practice fire a few rounds into the tunnel before they were required to fire at real life Chitin soldiers in a full attack.
Jack walked to the rear of the landing craft and pulled another access panel away. He placed it carefully on the ground. The rear of the landing craft was near a group of prisoners and Marines, all being watched over by Butcher and a group of armed prisoners.
The captive prisoners were lying about on the ground. The Marines were kneeling, hands on their heads. Jack counted the prisoners with pulse rifles and the number of Marines kneeling on the ground. It was an even split, but the prisoners had all the guns.
Butcher came over to Jack, pulse rifle aimed and evil in his eye. “Guess you are the prisoner now. What’s it like to be on the other side? Not so eager to bark orders at me now, are you, soldier boy?” Butcher jabbed the pulse rifle into Jack’s ribs.
Jack saw the look of fury on a nearby Marine’s face. He knew if he gave the order, his men would attack. They could disarm and kill many of the prisoners holding the Marines captive. Some Marines would die too, but they knew the risks.
He wasn’t prepared to give that order yet. He looked at the angry Marine and gave the slightest shake of his head. The angry Marine relaxed. Jack had given him an order, a non-verbal and subtle order, but an order nevertheless. An order to hold position.
Jack may not have a weapon. His Marines did not have their weapons, but he had no doubt about who was in charge of this situation. He was. Jack was still the company commander and he was still following his own strategy. Jack needed to fix the landing craft and defend the landing bay. So far, he had managed to work toward t
hese goals. Jack also had one other duty—to return the prisoners to Eros. He hadn’t achieved that yet, but he was going to do everything in his power to make sure these prisoners did get home to Eros.
“You better hurry and fix this thing,” Butcher said, “or you’ll be stuck here for good.”
“This is the last step,” Jack said, “and then I can fire up the reactor.”
Butcher smiled a dark, cruel smile. Jack read him perfectly. He was happy to hear he would be leaving this prison soon, and he was excited that he would finally get to kill the soldier boy, Jack Forge.
“Thank you for helping,” Jack said to Canton. He dropped a control panel from the reactor assembly and pointed at it. “Let me know when this goes red, then reduce the inputs here.” Jack demonstrated the sliding action Canton would need to use.
Canton nodded. “Watch out for Butcher,” Canton said. “I think he means to leave you behind when you’ve fixed his escape craft.”
“I think he means to kill me,” Jack said. “But I mean to take him back to Eros.”
“Might as well kill him here,” Canton said. “He’s going to be executed in a few days anyway.”
“I’m a Marine, not an executioner,” Jack said. “I’m here to save you lot from the Chits.”
Jack drained the power from the sub-unit and diverted it to the electromagnetic pulse distributor for the main reactor shunt. He was nearly ready.
“I don’t know why I’m helping you,” Canton said. “If you get me back, it’ll only be a matter of time before they execute me too.”
Jack looked at Canton. He had the look of an honorable man. “Have you been through the full legal process?” Jack asked.
“Not yet, but it’s just a procedure at this point,” Canton said. “They have set me up. They killed my wife and blamed me, just because I took an alternate view on the war with the Chits. The current government doesn’t like dissension in the ranks.”
Jack liked Canton, but the man was a prisoner, and a convicted murderer. Jack couldn’t let himself take a side. Jack had to get all the prisoners to Eros. Everything else was beyond Jack’s control.
Jack Forge, Fleet Marine Boxed Set (Books 1 - 9) Page 45