The Dark Star War (Codex Regius Book 3)

by Chris Kennedy

  Two of the Jotunn by the Jarl were killed before they could move, and the other one moments later. The Jarl had enough time to draw his weapon before being hit by 10 of the projectiles. The Wall’s aft infrared sensor showed the giant from the corner approaching, and he reached back to fire several bursts into the enemy, while evaluating the giants in the center of the room. All dead.

  He turned to find the doorway empty; the other two giants had gone down the passageway. The giant behind him was dead, with three shots through his facemask. Although he had practiced firing behind him without looking in the combat simulator, he’d never had the opportunity to use the rear sensor in combat before. While its success didn’t make Dantone a fan of being a cyborg, he did have to admit that having eyes in the back of his head was something of a perk for a soldier.

  Screams and laser fire echoed down the passageway.

  He turned and ran out the hatch. The other two giants had made it to where he had left the remaining members of the fire team. One went around the corner, while the other chopped down with its sword, splitting Staff Sergeant ‘Mr.’ Jones nearly in half. The Wall’s rifles came up as he ran, and he put five rounds into the giant’s head before he could pull the sword out of the former CIA agent’s body.

  As The Wall rounded the corner, the other giant was already going down, hit countless times by the fire team’s laser rifles. The Jotnar collapsed, falling forward to bury his knife in Sergeant Anne Stasik’s chest. As big as a broadsword, it burst explosively from her back as she was driven to the deck by the giant’s collapse. The sword pinned her to the deck like a butterfly in a collector’s case.

  Dantone fired a three-round burst into the Jotnar’s head, just to be sure, and went to check on Stasik. There was no hope for Jones; the long-time member of the platoon had no chance of surviving his injury. The Wall knelt down next to Sergeant Stasik and could see she wasn’t dead yet. The knife had missed her heart, and she lay there gasping, blood running out of the corner of her mouth.

  “Solomon, we need medical assistance,” Dantone commed. Medical was only a short way down the passage. If help arrived soon, she might still be saved.

  Engineering, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-Jotunheimr System, December 23, 2021

  Staff Sergeant Loftis flung herself back from the giant. The axe passed through the space where she had been, narrowly missing her, but she was brought up short as she slammed into the bulkhead behind her. With nowhere to go, she dropped into a defensive pose, holding up her knife as if to ward off her massive opponent.

  “Ho, ho, ho,” the giant guffawed. “Ooh, I am so scared. Perhaps I should run away.” He chuckled again then asked, “How many times do you think you would have to stab me with that in order to kill me? Quit fooling around and come over here so I can end your suffering for you.”

  The Terran risked a glance over both her shoulders. She could lead the giant to the right into the interior of Engineering, where there was more space for her to maneuver, or she could go left into the dead end where she would be trapped and unable to run. There was only one way to go.

  The axe descended again, and she dove to the left. Matthews was hiding to the right; she couldn’t risk exposing him.

  The giant was unprepared for her choice and missed to her right, overextending himself in the wrong direction. Canary turned the dive into a roll and came up running down the side of the giant. Reaching out, she grabbed a handful of his suit and used her momentum to vault up onto the Jotnar’s back.

  The giant reached behind himself, but only grabbed a handful of air as she scrambled to the center of his back and drove the knife into it. The giant bellowed in pain as she pulled back on the knife, cutting a six-inch gash in his suit. Unclipping her last grenade from her belt, she pulled the pin and dropped it into his suit, diving out of the way as he reached back over his shoulder to grab her.

  This time she dove toward the main engineering spaces and ran several steps into it before turning to confront the giant.

  “How many times do I have to cut you?” she asked. “Just once.”

  The grenade detonated. Dialed up to its highest setting, it shredded the Jotnar from behind, but Canary was shielded from the blast by the giant’s massive body. His eyes rolled back into his head, and the giant fell forward; the deck shook with the impact as the Jotnar’s enormous body hit.

  “That was awesome!” Seaman Matthews said, coming out from hiding to stand next to her. “How did you learn to do all that?”

  “You killed Sven!” a voice boomed from the hatchway behind Canary. “Now I kill you!”

  Canary turned to find an even bigger giant coming through the hatch with a gleaming silver sword that was almost twice as long as she was tall.

  “Run!” she ordered over her shoulder to Matthews.

  “You can’t fight it with just your knife,” the sailor said. “You’ll be killed!”

  “We were told not to let any of these bastards into Engineering,” Canary replied. “And I’m not going to.” She turned and advanced on her new adversary, knife in hand.

  The new Jotnar neither laughed at her knife nor taunted her; instead, he swung the sword in a massive stroke that would have decapitated her had she stood her ground. Diving to the left, the sword passed over her; the breeze from its passage would have been enough to knock her over if she hadn’t already been in motion. Canary rolled to her feet, happy to be alive, but the giant backhanded her, and she went flying backwards to crash into the bulkhead 10 feet behind her. She slid to the ground, stunned.

  The giant advanced on her and picked her up around the waist. Canary found she had somehow held onto the knife, and she stabbed it into the giant’s thumb.

  “That tickles,” the creature said. He looked down at her, then he threw her into the wall again. She blacked out.

  Task Force O’Leary, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-Jotunheimr System, December 23, 2021

  “Solomon, can you see how it’s going in Engineering?” Lieutenant O’Leary asked.

  “Staff Sergeant Loftis has been rendered unconscious,” the AI replied. “The capture of the facility by the Jotunn is imminent.”

  “Fuck.”

  Lieutenant O’Leary looked into the faces surrounding him. Wraith, Witch, Father Z, Good Twin and the squad’s medic, ‘Spuds’ Ngata. Six Terrans versus two of the Jotunn down the passage. As he looked into their eyes, he knew it would be the last time he saw some of them…if he survived to see any of them at all.

  “Okay,” he said. “Here’s the deal. Loftis is down and Engineering is about to fall. You heard the Skipper; we can’t let that happen. When I say so, Good Twin, I want you to lay down a suppressing fire with the trident while we attack the remaining Jotunn in the passageway. We have to kill them and get into Engineering. Don’t stop until they’re all dead. Any questions?”

  The remaining members of the squad shook their heads inside their helmets. Veterans, they knew what he left unsaid.

  “Good Twin, make sure you aim over us; I don’t want a grenade in the back of my head. Got it?”

  “Yes, Lieutenant!” the trooper replied.

  “Good. Here we go. Ready. Set. Go!”

  O’Leary turned the corner, accelerating to full speed, firing from the hip as he ran. As he thought, there were still two Jotunn in the passageway although one of them had been hit numerous times; the Jotnar’s white suit was polka-dotted with green.

  The other giant brought up its flechette cannon and fired, and O’Leary dove to the side of the passageway. With a flash, a grenade exploded as it hit the Jotnar’s chest, blowing the giant backward and ripping apart its torso. As it toppled over, the remaining squad members’ lasers converged on the wounded giant, striking it over and over again as it knelt in the passageway, stunned. After a few moments and 15 laser strikes, it toppled over.

  “Let’s go!” Lieutenant O’Leary commed. He looked back over his shoulder as he started forward and slammed to a stop. Father Z was down and looked like a pin cushion. Witc
h stood over him, looking for a place to administer first aid without shredding her hands on the flechettes.

  “He dove in front of me,” she said softly, looking down at the fallen priest.

  Wraith lay on the deck behind Witch. She had only been hit by one flechette, but it had gone through her facemask and straight through her brain. Her life signs had already zeroed. Damn, Night was going to be pissed.

  “We’ll come back for them,” O’Leary said. “Let’s go; we’ve got to get to Engineering.”

  Without another look, he sped down the passage.

  Task Force Contreras, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-Jotunheimr System, December 23, 2021

  Lieutenant Contreras stabilized on the bridge next to a giant sitting on what looked like an oversized motorcycle. Although he thought he was prepared for the enormity of the creature’s size, he froze in shock looking up at the monster. All the way up. The bridge ceiling was almost 20 feet high, allowing the giants to stand, rather than crawl or be hunched over, and they were simply enormous. And nothing could have prepared him for the smell. The Jotnar stank of rotten food and body odor.

  Staff Sergeant Upton materialized on the other side of the Jotnar and fired into the creature’s side. The giant roared and backhanded the soldier. Upton flew backward, his rifle flying off in another direction.

  The giant turned to follow the flight of the soldier and drew a knife from his belt as big as a Terran long sword. Compelled to action to save his trooper, Contreras stepped forward and drove his saber into the giant’s stomach and up under his ribs, then pulled back down, gutting him. The stench of the giant increased as his entrails fell out, and the giant fell off the motorcycle on the side away from Contreras.

  Contreras ran to the other side of the motorcycle, and stabbed the giant through the chest. Pulling his saber out, he looked for Upton and saw him lying next to one of the side consoles. The soldier had landed in front of one of the other giants, who bent over and ran a sword through his chest twice. Upton’s vital signs went red on Contreras’ display, and Contreras turned away, disgusted, to find Staff Sergeant Mchugh trading blows with another of the giants.

  ‘Trading blows’ in the sense that Mchugh would fire his laser rifle at the giant and then dive out of the way as the Jotnar swung his battle axe at the trooper. It wasn’t a fair fight, and there was really only one way it could end—with Mchugh in two pieces.

  Contreras fired his laser pistol into the giant’s face. Although it didn’t penetrate the facemask, it distracted the giant, who turned to see his new opponent.

  “Fight me!” Contreras yelled, waving his arms over his head. The giant turned and took a colossal stride toward Contreras, raising his axe along the way. Contreras had just enough time to rue the decision to distract the giant when it fell face forward, crashing down at his feet. A wisp of smoke curled up from the laser hole through the back of the giant’s helmet.

  “Thanks,” Mchugh called.

  “Look out!” Contreras shouted, pointing behind him.

  Mchugh turned to find a giant had come in behind him from the back hatch of the bridge. He wasn’t fast enough to evade the massive war hammer the Jotnar swung, and the gigantic maul smashed him to the floor. Mchugh’s vital signs went red in Contreras’s display, his body broken in more places than he could count.

  “Bitch!” Corporal Sam ‘Mental’ Ward yelled, firing off several long blasts at the chest of the giant. The Jotnar staggered, but then took two steps toward the soldier, raising the hammer. Mental fired one more burst, then raised his rifle in both hands to block the giant’s stroke.

  The rifle snapped in half like a twig, and the hammer squashed Mental into a red paste on the deck.

  Several rifle blasts from Corporal King and Wolf felled the giant, allowing the one behind it to step forward and level his rifle at the troopers.

  “Move!” Wolf yelled. He pushed Corporal King away from him as the Jotnar fired the flechette rifle, sending hundreds of metal slivers across the bridge. Both troopers went down with a number of flechettes through their legs.

  The giant cocked the rifle, loading the next round, but Contreras shot him in the face before he could fire. Once again, the pistol didn’t have enough power to penetrate the Jotunn helmet, but it distracted the Jotnar long enough that Wolf could roll over and shoot the creature through the facemask, killing it.

  Wolf rolled back the other way, looking for the next target, but was pinned to the deck as Loki drove his dagger through his chest and into the metal deck.

  “Don’t go anywhere,” said the giant as he raised his battle axe in his other hand. Before the stroke could fall, Yokaze dashed in and cut his right Achilles tendon, and the giant lost his balance, staggering off to the side.

  “Fight me instead,” Yokaze said as Loki recovered and turned around. “I’ve already killed two of your troops; it’s your turn now.”

  “It is your death you are asking for,” Loki replied. “I will be happy to grant your wish.”

  He stepped toward Yokaze, dragging his right foot behind him.

  Loki swung his axe in a circle several times, back and forth, hoping to distract the smaller warrior. As Loki approached, Yokaze held up both of his swords in a high block position. Sensing an advantage, Loki lunged forward with his good foot and swung his battle axe in an overhead blow meant to shatter Yokaze’s guard and split the Japanese man in half. It would have, if Yokaze had tried to block it.

  He didn’t; instead, he dove forward, slicing out with his wakizashi and severing the Jotnar’s other Achilles tendon.

  Loki screamed in impotent rage, and he hobbled to turn around before Yokaze could reattack.

  “No,” Yokaze yelled to Lieutenant Rrower, who had been lining up a shot; “he is mine.”

  Engineering, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-Jotunheimr System, December 23, 2021

  Pain blinded Staff Sergeant Loftis as she came to. The upper half of her body hurt everywhere. The lower half didn’t…and then she realized she couldn’t feel anything from her waist down. Her back was broken. At least that part of her didn’t hurt. She screamed. Her head throbbed, waves of pain radiating from her scalp as she swung…

  Swung? She opened her eyes and saw that the giant was holding her in the air by her hair; her limp feet dangling a meter above the ground as she slowly spun around.

  “Now I kill you,” the giant said.

  She spit into his face as she rotated past. “You can kill me, but you’ll never escape this ship. Lieutenant O’Leary will come and kick your scrawny ass!”

  “Ha, ha, ha,” the giant replied. “You got one thing right. I am going to kill you, and I’m going to do that right now.” His other hand drew back the gleaming sword; the tip pointed at her right eye as if accusing her of failing to defend Engineering.

  She couldn’t think about that anymore. She hurt so badly. The light shining off the sword seemed to be dimming…perhaps it would go out before the blow arrived. That would be nice. She closed her eyes so she didn’t have to watch.

  “Get down!” a voice whispered. “Move! Get away! Do something!”

  She opened one eye a crack. It was all she had left. A three-armed creature pointed at her. No, it wasn’t a three-armed creature, it was Seaman Matthews, who had the Jotunn rifle braced on a piece of machinery and was aiming it at her. Why would he want to kill her after all she had tried to do for him? She didn’t understand.

  She hurt so badly.

  She wished he’d pull the trigger and be done with it. His lips kept moving, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying.

  “MOVE!” an augmented voice shouted in her brain, shocking her with a dose of adrenaline.

  Oh, he wasn’t trying to shoot her, but the giant behind her. She was in the way. She pulled her dagger out of her sleeve and sliced through the majority of her hair with one sweep. The rest pulled out on its own, and the agony blinded her again until she hit the ground and new waves of misery coursed through her body.

  She heard t
he crack of the rifle through a thickening fog, and then more pain seared through her body as the ground bucked underneath her.

  She opened an eye to see the giant lying next to her, its face riddled with steel slivers. Fuck you, she thought, too tired to speak. Things began graying, but movement caught her eye, and she tried to focus again.

  Matthews. Sort of Matthews. His shoulder looked odd. Wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

  “I killed him! I did it!” the sailor rejoiced.

  “Good…job.”

  “Move kid,” another voice said, and Matthews was pushed out of her line of sight.

  Another face took his spot.

  She struggled to focus. O’Leary. Cool.

  “I…did it,” she breathed. “What you…said. Killed…four…to my one.” She coughed and blood ran from the corner of her mouth. “Need…tell you…’thing,” she added, her voice not much more than a whisper. “Lean. Over.”

  Lieutenant O’Leary leaned closer.

  “Always liked…you.” Her head moved up, and her lips brushed his cheek; then her head fell back to the deck.

  She was gone.

  Task Force Contreras, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-Jotunheimr System, December 23, 2021

  Yokaze knew it was extremely dangerous to battle the Jotnar singlehanded, but honor demanded it. Not the honor of the giant; he had none. No, Yokaze’s own honor required it. Having engaged the giant in single combat, he couldn’t allow his squad mates to shoot Loki down like the honor-less dog he was.

  Which left him with the problem of how to kill the giant. None of his weapons’ instructors had taught him how to kill a being almost three times his size. None of his weapons’ forms were designed to stop a battle axe strike with the force Loki could put behind it. Nothing any of the Terrans had, even Gunnery Sergeant Dantone, could stop one. Yokaze would have to make the giant miss to get under his guard.

  Unfortunately, he had been too effective in laming the giant. With both Achilles’ tendons cut, Loki neither advanced nor retreated; there were no mobility errors for Yokaze to exploit. Unable to move quickly, he waited patiently for Yokaze to come within reach, knowing he could get in at least one, if not two, strikes before Yokaze could reach him.