by Ryk Brown
“TAC COM, Razor,” Josh called over comms. “We can do this, Cam!”
“Razor, TAC COM, are you certain?”
“Of course not!” Josh replied. “You got a better idea?”
Cameron was growing more frustrated by the moment. “No,” she replied, “I don’t.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this,” she said to herself, just before keying her comm-set. “Razor, TAC COM. You’re cleared to penetrate their shields. Take out as many emitters as possible.”
“Any preference on shields?” Loki wondered.
“Your choice,” she replied. “Maybe whichever one is weakest?”
“How about everyone else attacks whichever one is weakest, as a diversion, and we’ll attack the opposite side,” Josh suggested.
“Good idea,” Cameron agreed. “I’ll pass the word. Attack in two minutes.”
“Copy that.”
“TAC COM to all Alliance forces…” she called over comms.
“I can’t believe those idiots didn’t know about these tunnels,” Corporal Chodan commented as all three fire teams of Gold Squad moved swiftly, but carefully, down the Aurora’s machinery corridors, between decks D and E.
“With all the shit running through here, they probably didn’t even detect it,” Sergeant Doray surmised. “Those big yellow pipes up there are main power conduits. The EM field from those alone scrambles the hell out of sensors. That’s why we can’t see the enemy positions on the deck above us on our tac-visors.”
“Guns, brawn, and brains,” the corporal replied. “That’s what wins battles.”
“That’s it!” the sergeant barked. “Ladder two four seven!” The sergeant ran up to the ladder and looked up, pointing his assault rifle up the tube. “This will put us aft of the Dusahn element attacking engineering.” He looked at the corporal. “You first, Chodie. You’ve got the big gun.”
Corporal Chodan smiled as he stepped up to the ladder. He pointed his large-bore assault rifle up the ladder with his right hand, and started up, using his left hand to make a one-handed climb up the ladder.
“Gold Alpha, you’re the brawn,” the sergeant announced, pointing up the ladder.
The three specialists slung their weapons over their shoulder and headed up the ladder after their team leader.
The next fire team stepped up, ready to head up the ladder, as well.
Sergeant Doray held up his hand, stopping them. “Now for the brains,” he said, smiling as he headed up the ladder himself.
“We’ve done pulled some crazy stunts in the past, but this one has got to be the craziest,” Loki commented as he calculated their intercept jump.
“Crazier than flying through a waterfall?” Josh asked.
“Yup.”
“Crazier than a series jump without a canopy?”
“Yup.”
“Crazier than…”
“Crazier than all of them,” Loki interrupted. “Turn to two five seven, eleven down relative, and slow to seven five eight. That should give us a closure rate that is so slow, they may think we’re dead.”
“I can’t believe we’re about to jump in a meter away from a Dusahn battleship’s shields…backwards no less, in the middle of a battle.”
“I told you,” Loki said. “Craziest stunt yet.”
“You could be right, Lok,” Josh agreed. “On two five seven by eleven down, at seven five eight.” Josh twisted his flight control stick to the right, causing the Sugali fighter to yaw around one hundred and eighty degrees, so they were flying backwards.
“Ten seconds,” Loki announced.
Sergeant Rossi slowed as he neared the top of the ramp, pausing to peek over the edge of the deck and down the command deck’s central corridor. He could see several Dusahn soldiers running toward the Aurora’s bridge and the sound of energy weapons fire from around the starboard corner. “Eagle Squad, Blue Leader,” the sergeant called at a low volume. “Sit rep.”
“Eagle is down to two!” Corporal Penwell reported over comms, the sound of his own weapon screeching in the background as he defended his position. “Port airlock is jammed! Hini and Hoca are unknown status! We’re engaged with eight! Maybe more! What’s your position?”
“Command deck, main ramp, full squad,” Sergeant Rossi replied. “Keep them busy for a minute while we get into position to mow them down.”
“Make it quick, Sarge!”
Sergeant Rossi looked back at his squad. “Bravo circles to port, Charlie to starboard, Alpha up the middle with me. We attack in one.” He looked down the corridor again, checking to make sure it was clear, then added, “Go, go, go!”
Corporal Penwell and Specialist Penton continued firing from their position in the starboard airlock, leading to the Aurora’s bridge. They moved their weapons left and right with precision, trying to hold the Dusahn back while Blue Squad got into position.
A Dusahn soldier leaned out and tossed something in their direction, and Corporal Penwell cut him down with two shots to the neck and face. The object the soldiers tossed bounced off the deck and over the airlock hatch threshold, into the airlock itself.
“GRENADE!” Specialist Penton yelled, scrambling to grab it as it bounced off the back wall and back toward him. He grabbed it and spun around, throwing it back toward the open hatch toward the Dusahn, but the grenade detonated before it exited the airlock.
The blast knocked both men off their feet, slamming them into the walls of the airlock, knocking them unconscious. Seconds later, the Dusahn charged forward, cutting both men down as they entered the airlock.
“What was that?” Nathan wondered, hearing the muffled explosion.
Jessica didn’t respond but grabbed one of the weapons Nathan had pulled from the weapons locker in his ready room, and moved around to the left side of the tactical console, opposite from the starboard entrance.
Nathan grabbed his weapon, as well, moving around to take cover on the forward side of the helm console. “Get down!” he ordered Lieutenant Commander Kono.
His warning came too late. Several Dusahn soldiers charged through the door, their guns blazing. Energy bolts ricocheted off the walls, breaking displays and damaging the main spherical view screen. One of the ricochets slammed into the lieutenant commander’s chest as she scrambled for cover, twisting her around as she fell to the floor next to Ensign Bickle’s body.
Nathan and Jessica both returned fire, dropping the first three soldiers who entered. Nathan glanced at the lieutenant commander as he fired, but saw by the blank stare in her eyes that she, too, was dead.
Four more men charged in, their shields flashing as they absorbed the incoming weapons fire.
Jessica charged out from around the tactical console, plowing into the first soldier, knocking him into the starboard auxiliary console. The next soldier turned his weapon toward Jessica, but Nathan’s next shot slipped past the man’s shield and caught the enemy soldier in the gut, doubling him over.
Jessica raised her weapon and drove its butt into the first soldier’s face, breaking his nose and tearing his cheek open, sending blood squirting into the air and across the nearby console. In a smooth motion, she rolled over on the deck, drew her combat knife as she rolled, and drove it into the face of the second soldier, who was writhing in pain from his gut wound.
Nathan fired again, his blast slamming into the third soldier’s shield. Jessica swept her foot, catching the third soldier’s foot and sending him toppling. Nathan’s next shot caught the tumbling soldier in the left shoulder after he inadvertently lowered his shield. The impact caused him to release his shield completely, and Nathan put two more shots into the man, killing him.
A series of energy weapons fire sounded from outside the bridge, and the next three soldiers attempting to enter fell forward with massive,
sizzling wounds in their backs.
The weapons fire continued as Jessica scrambled to her feet and tucked in behind the edge of the starboard hatch cowling, preparing to attack the next Dusahn soldier who tried to enter.
“NASH!” Sergeant Rossi yelled from the corridor on the far side of the starboard airlock. “ROSSI! HOLD YOUR FIRE!”
“CHALLENGE!” Jessica barked.
“WHISKEY SEVEN!” the sergeant barked, “ECHO TANGO, ONE SEVEN TWO FIVE!”
Jessica breathed a sigh of relief, her body relaxing. “GET YOUR ASS IN HERE, SERGEANT!” She ordered, moving back toward her tactical console.
Nathan moved over to check on Lieutenant Commander Kono, putting his fingers on the carotid artery on her neck.
Jessica looked in Nathan’s direction as he shook his head. “Damn it!”
“Holy shit!” Sergeant Rossi exclaimed from the starboard entrance. He looked around at the damage to the bridge. “How the fuck did you two survive?”
Jessica thumped the chest of her body armor twice to answer his rhetorical question.
“Secure this deck, Sergeant,” Nathan ordered as he rose and stepped over the lieutenant commander’s body, moving back toward the helm.
“Aye, sir,” the sergeant acknowledged. “Blue Squad! Secure the command deck! Seal all entrance points. Emergency ladder one alpha will be the only access point to this deck, until further notice.”
“Check Flight Ops for survivors,” Nathan added.
“As soon as I secure this deck, sir,” the sergeant replied as he headed back into the starboard airlock tunnel to direct his men.
“Now what?” Jessica wondered.
“As soon as that battleship realizes their boarding attempt failed, they’re going to blast the hell out of us,” Nathan replied as he sat back down at the helm. “Jesus, the helm took a direct hit. Everything is fried!” Nathan tapped his comm-set. “Vlad! You still with us?” he called. “I need some kind of forward propulsion!”
“If you can’t steer, what good is propulsion?” Jessica wondered.
“They’re right in front of us,” Nathan replied. “All we need to do is get close, maybe even ram them.”
“What the hell is it with you and ramming things?” Jessica demanded. “What, is it a man thing?”
“We’ll attack their port midship shields,” Robert instructed over comms. “Razor, go for the bow! Fewer guns and fewer emitters!”
“Will do!” Loki replied. “Thanks!”
“Good luck, guys,” Robert added. “Strikers, Leader. Follow me in, single column, left right, high low peel off. We’ll get pounded, but it’ll be like dangling a piece of meat in front of an angry tiger!”
“At least we’ll only have to make one pass,” Sasha commented.
“Here we go!” Robert declared as he pressed his jump button. A split second later, his forward windows were filled with the black and crimson battleship. He pressed the firing button on his flight control stick, sending wave after wave of plasma torpedoes into the enemy warship’s shields, causing them to flash brilliantly with each impact. A mere second after his first round of torpedoes had left their tubes, the battleship opened fire, as well, sending more than twenty streams of plasma bolts into the gunship’s forward shields.
“Shields down to fifty percent!” Sasha warned as the gunship rocked from the impacts.
“Just a few more seconds,” Robert mumbled to himself.
“Thirty percent!”
Robert held his course, firing away as the gunship shook violently from the incoming energy weapons fire.
“Ten percent!”
“Jumping!” Robert announced, taking his finger off the firing button, pitching up, and pressing the jump button.
Vladimir gave a mighty battle cry as he swung the heavy pry bar with all his might, striking a Dusahn soldier in the face as he came through the blasted-open hatch. The soldier directly behind the first fired his weapon, sending an energy bolt through the first guard before he fell. The energy bolt struck the pry bar, instantly superheating the metal, causing Vladimir to drop it. The burly engineer lunged at the second guard, throwing all his body weight into the man and knocking him over.
The two men fell to the deck, rolling over, as each struggled to get the upper hand on the other. Vladimir found himself on the bottom, with the Dusahn soldier’s hands on his neck. Vladimir grabbed the man’s left arm with both hands, trying to wrench it from his neck. The soldier raised his right hand and punched Vladimir repeatedly in the face; once, twice, three times, before Vladimir managed to knock the enemy soldier’s left hand from his neck. He twisted as the soldier lost his balance and fell forward, managing to roll over on top of the Dusahn intruder’s back, reaching around his neck to put him in a choke hold and pulling back hard.
Two more soldiers charged into the compartment, bringing their weapons to bear on the man attacking their comrade, but were cut down by energy weapons fire coming from behind.
Vladimir squeezed with all his might as weapons fire sounded from the corridor. He grunted while he pulled back on the enemy soldier’s neck. The Dusahn soldier’s face began to turn red as he tried to break Vladimir’s hold on him. Feeling like he was slipping away, the soldier started flailing his arms about, attempting to reach Vladimir’s face, his eyes, his mouth, anything he could to disrupt the attack and save himself.
But Vladimir held firm, even biting off the man’s finger when he found the engineer’s mouth and tried to rip open his cheek. The man tried to cry out in pain but had insufficient breath to do anything but whimper.
Four Ghatazhak charged into the compartment, ready to mow down any enemy troops inside, but all they found was the Aurora’s chief engineer, choking the life out of a Dusahn soldier.
Specialist Vallo instinctively raised his weapon to end the doomed soldier’s life, but Sergeant Estabol pushed the specialist’s weapon down.
Vladimir let out one last cry of anger as he ended the life of his attacker. “NOT IN MY SHIP!” he yelled. The Dusahn soldier finally went limp, and Vladimir gave one last twist, snapping the man’s neck, just to be sure. Finally, he pushed the limp body aside and fell back on the floor, trying to catch his breath.
“Cheng’s a fucking badass,” Corporal DaPra declared.
“Bridge is secure,” Sergeant Rossi reported over comms. “Nash and Scott are alive.”
“Engineering is secure,” Sergeant Estabol replied, smiling as he walked over to Vladimir and offered him a hand up. “Commander.”
Vladimir opened his eyes and looked at the grinning sergeant. “What are you smiling about?”
“I didn’t realize you were a killer,” the sergeant said.
“I used to be,” Vladimir replied as he took the sergeant’s hand and climbed to his feet.
“Vlad! You still with us?” Nathan called over Vladimir’s comm-set, lying on the deck next to him. “I need some kind of forward propulsion!”
“Chort!” Vladimir cursed as he reached for his comm-set. “He’s so demanding!”
The Sugali fighter jerked violently, like it had backed into something solid at a high speed. At that moment, their engines shut down, all their systems went dark, and the emergency lights in the overhead switched on.
“I guess we’re in,” Josh decided as he immediately activated the reactor restart cycle. “How long do we have before we collide with them?”
“Their forward shields stand about fifty meters out, and our closure rate was fifty meters per minute, so…”
“Not long then…” Josh said. “Reactor is spinning up. Engine restart in ten.”
“Weapons held their charge,” Loki reported. “That’s surprising.”
“I’ll take it.” Josh checked his flight dynamics display as it came back to life. “Reactor at ten p
ercent. Restarting propulsion and maneuvering.”
“Thirty seconds,” Loki warned. “Sensors and weapons are coming back online.”
“Propulsion and maneuvering are almost up.”
“Fifteen seconds,” Loki announced.
The window screens started flickering, coming to life a few seconds later. Josh looked back over his shoulder, spotting the massive Dusahn battleship looming behind them, twenty meters away and closing much too quickly for his taste. “Come on, baby…” Finally, his ship came back to life, and he fired his aft thrusters just enough to suspend their approach and avoid a collision. “We’re in business, Lok!” he declared as he twisted his flight control stick, spinning the tiny fighter around one hundred and eighty degrees.
“Targeting all forward shield emitters!” Loki reported.
Small red squares began popping up on the window screens all around him. Josh twisted his flight control stick again, pitching slightly up, in line with the nearest target. The red square near the upper middle of his forward window screen turned green, and he pressed and released the firing button on his control stick, sending a single bolt of energy from both his left and right wingtip cannons. The bolts of plasma slammed into the unprotected emitter only ten meters away, blowing it apart. “That’s one!” Josh bragged.
Loki kept his eyes on his sensor display, watching for any sign that the Dusahn battleship just outside was locking weapons onto them.
“That’s two!” Josh declared as the next emitter to their left blew apart. Another emitter exploded a second later. “This is easier than Jelladar!” he giggled as he blew up another emitter.
“I used to love that game,” Loki said, remembering the hours they used to spend on that game console back on Haven.