The Dark Star War (Codex Regius Book 3)

by Chris Kennedy

  “Wait!” he commed…too late.

  The sergeant’s body was blown back out the doorway along with a swarm of metal spikes. The Shaitan inside had some sort of flechette gun.

  O’Leary pulled out another grenade and lobbed it into the room from around the corner. It detonated and smoke billowed from the room as the gold and silver reacted with the equipment inside. O’Leary waited for a count of five then dove in low through the doorway.

  A Shaitan rested against the back wall. It had absorbed most of the grenade blast and a large portion of its lower chest and belly had been blown or melted off; pieces of it hung in the air, slowly settling toward the floor.

  It moved weakly, and Lieutenant O’Leary shot it through the head. Twice. A third time. And once more for good measure. “Now stay dead!” he yelled.

  Lieutenant O’Leary checked the control panel, which had been splattered by the grenade and was pockmarked in several places as the gold melted through. One of the Shaitans had shown him the controls earlier when they had been captured; sure enough, the bastard had activated the energy field again. He disabled the field and opened the airlock doors, then turned and shot the Shaitan corpse one more time. “Fucking cowtaur.”

  He turned and left the room, expecting to find Sergeant Walker dead, but her eyes were half-open and she gestured weakly from where she was pinned to the opposite wall.

  “Why did you go without me?” Lieutenant O’Leary asked.

  “You said we…had to hurry.” She coughed and O’Leary could see blood splatter her face mask. “Is it..dead?”

  “Yeah, I killed him.”

  “Good. Fucking…cowtaur.” Her eyes closed and her vital signs went to zero. She was gone.

  Lieutenant O’Leary bent down and picked up her trident from where it lay and activated the self-destruct sequence. This time he wasn’t going to stop it. Fucking cowtaurs.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “What the hell?” the DSO asked. “The energy field just came back on.”

  “What?” the CO asked. “Which energy field? The one around the shipyard?”

  “Yes sir, the one around the shipyard. It just came back on again.”

  “How close are we to it, helm?”

  “Too damn close, sir,” the helmsman replied. “It almost got us. I’m pulling away.”

  “Where is the shuttle? Did it get caught in the field?”

  “No sir,” the comms officer replied. “They are still loading on the asteroid.”

  “What’s taking them so long? We need them back ASAP! Well, as soon as they can get the energy field down again, anyway.”

  “Apparently, they took a bunch of prisoners and are tearing up the shuttle to make room to get them back.”

  “Well, tell them to get the field back down and back here immediately! We need to leave!”

  “Sir, the energy field is down again,” the DSO said.

  “Good!” the CO exclaimed. “Get them back here now!”

  Bridge, Jotunn Ship Falcon, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “In range,” the missile technician noted. “Standing by to launch.”

  “Hold for now,” Captain Magnusson said. “I repeat, do not launch.”

  “Holding,” the technician said, sounding confused.

  “Missiles inbound,” the defensive technician said. “I count at least 10 from each of the battleships.”

  “Falcon, move the shuttles to 100 yards in front of the ship,” Captain Magnusson said. “Put two on the line of bearing to each of the Shaitan battleships.”

  “Moving the shuttles,” the ship’s AI said; “although it is likely that doing so will result in their destruction.”

  “Noted. I’d rather lose the shuttles than the ship.”

  “How long would you like me to wait to fire, sir?” the missile technician asked.

  “Until I tell you to!” Captain Magnusson roared. “Are you questioning my judgment?”

  “No sir!”

  “Good. We are going to pass between their ships. As we come within laser range, we will fire all of our weapons at the battleships. We will knock down their shields and give them a beating the likes of which they have never experienced. After that, we’ll deal with the smaller ships. Hopefully the Terrans will be with us by then; otherwise, it will be difficult.”

  “I will do what I can to stop their missiles,” the defensive technician said; “however, we’re going to end up taking a number of hits before we’re in range.”

  “Don’t worry,” Captain Magnusson replied; “any moment now, one of their smart captains is going to notice how fast we’re going in the opposite direction, and they’re going to have to flip their ships or we’re going to blow right past them. Once they turn their ships around to brake, most of their weapons won’t bear on us anymore.”

  “Why wouldn’t they want to shoot as many missiles as they could while they’re closing on us?”

  “For one reason and one reason only. They don’t know if they can stop us as we go by, and they have to stop us from getting to the stargate. None of them will want to report that they let us escape.” He laughed. “I hear reporting bad news is usually fatal.”

  “Sir!” the sensor technician called. “Their ships are all flipping to decelerate.”

  “Ho, ho, ho,” Captain Magnusson said. “See? They have to stop us. Their lives depend on it. Now they are ours!”

  Shaitan Asteroid, Anti-GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “Where’s Walker?” Calvin asked as Lieutenant O’Leary approached. He checked her status and then commed, “Never mind. What happened?”

  “The dead Shaitan wasn’t dead. He is now. Let’s get the hell off this rock sir. There’s a trident ready to blow, and I’m not stopping it this time. It’s the least I can do for Walker.”

  “Clip on to the outside of the shuttle,” Calvin commed. “We’re riding back on the exterior; the Shaitans are taking up all of the room inside.”

  “We could always just leave them here with the trident,” Lieutenant O’Leary said as he attached himself to the side of the shuttle; “you know, put them out of our misery.” He gave Calvin a thumbs-up.

  “Roo, Calvin. We’re all set back here. The asteroid is set to blow; let’s get the hell out of here!”

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “Skipper, the shuttle is aboard.”

  “Good; it’s about time. OSO, what does the shipyard look like?”

  “Like shit sir. All three replicators are falling apart. There are going to be some big pieces left, but it looks like all of the important parts have been destroyed. I worked over the shipyard pretty good; it’s going to be a long time before they build anything there. There’s going to be some of it left because there was so much to start with, but we’ve set them way back.”

  “Good work, OSO, and good job to everyone else,” Captain Sheppard said. “Let’s go see what our allies are up to and get the heck out of this miserable universe. Helm, jump us back to our universe and head toward the stargate.”

  “Aye aye, sir!” the helmsman replied.

  Everything flashed as the ship jumped.

  “Wow! Look at that furball!” the DSO said. “It looks like the Falcon is trying to take on the entire Shaitan navy, all by itself.”

  “Who’s winning?” the CO asked.

  “Still to be determined, sir. It looks like they’re slugging it out. The Falcon has taken some heavy damage.”

  “They can’t jump, so they’re going to need our help,” Captain Sheppard said. “All ahead flank. Comms, tell them to hold on; we’re coming.”

  Bridge, Jotunn Ship Falcon, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “Power is out in officer berthing and the port mess decks,” the damage control technician reported. “Missile Station #16 and Laser #10 are both open to space…what’s left of them.”

  “Cruiser #3 is launchin
g again,” the defensive technician added.

  “Battleships are in range!” the laser officer called.

  “Fire!” Captain Magnusson ordered. “All batteries fire on the two battleships!”

  Coherent light lanced out on both sides of the ship to strike the Shaitan vessels as missiles leapt out to join the energy weapons.

  “Their shields are older models,” the laser technician noted; “they weren’t built to withstand the power of a full, modern broadside…look! They are already almost at maximum!”

  The Falcon swayed. “Missile strikes on the starboard bow. We’ve lost Missile #23 and Laser #1, as well as half of the chase armament.”

  “We don’t need the chase armament anyway,” Captain Magnusson said. “They are all falling behind us.”

  “Missile strikes on both battleships! Their shields are down!”

  “Good,” Captain Magnusson replied. “Pour it on them. Aim the lasers at their engineering sections; let’s see if we can’t keep them here in this universe to finish them off!”

  “The Vella Gulf is in this universe and on the way,” the comms technician announced. “Their captain said to save a few of the Shaitans for him.”

  “Tell him he is welcome to all of the cruisers,” Captain Magnusson said. “The little drinkers of other people’s piss won’t stay in this universe long enough for us to kill them.”

  The lights flashed on the bridge.

  “Missile hit on the #2 engine; re-routing other power to the grids. Sir! Most of the #2 engine is gone.”

  “Understood,” Captain Magnusson replied. “Comms, tell the Vella Gulf to hurry.”

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “Captain, one of the cruisers is turning toward us,” the DSO said.

  “Does it have shields?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Take it with the jumping missiles. We’ll save the other ones for the battleships.”

  “Aye sir!” the OSO replied. “Designate contact as Sierra One; taking with jumping ASMs. We’re coming into range…now! Firing!”

  “Sierra One just launched at us,” the DSO said. “Six missiles inbound.”

  “Defend the ship, DSO,” the CO said.

  “Launching the last jumping AMMs,” the DSO said. “Helm, come right five degrees and up seven. Well try to get the others on the pole.”

  “Captain Sheppard,” Steropes said, “one of the other cruisers and two of the destroyers are turning toward us. Designate the cruiser as Sierra Two and the destroyers as Sierras Three and Four. Both destroyers have shields.”

  “Launch the fighters,” the CO ordered. “Send half of them after each of the destroyers. We’ll take the other cruiser once we’re done with this one.”

  “Good hits on Sierra One,” the OSO said. “Second round firing.”

  “Three of the incoming missiles have been destroyed,” the DSO said. “There are going to be leakers.” He switched to the ship’s intercom. “Missiles inbound! All hands brace for shock!”

  The ship jumped…then jumped back…

  “Hit alpha!” the duty engineer called. “The missiles jumped with us. Two hits on the bow. One got the pole, and the other hit the bow. Most of the chase armament is gone, and the bow is open to space.”

  “Second round of missile strikes on Sierra One. The ship is dead. Sir, we are almost in range of the two battleships, and their shields are down; recommend switching targets to them.”

  “Agreed,” Captain Sheppard said. “Fire a couple of the gold missiles into each of them. That ought to impress the Jotunn.”

  “Aye sir; firing now!”

  Bridge, Jotunn Ship Falcon, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “Captain! The Terrans killed one of the cruisers. It tried to jump out of this universe, but the Terran missiles also jumped.”

  “So they can make their missiles do that, too?” Captain Magnusson asked. “It will be handy when we acquire that technology. Until then, keep pounding the battleships with everything you’ve got until they no longer fire at us.”

  “The Terrans just hit the battleships with something different than what they were firing before. Whatever was in the missiles is reacting with the ships, and they are falling apart where it touches them! The starboard battleship is dead in space; whatever the substance was just made it to their engines.”

  “Comms, ask the Terrans what that is,” Captain Magnusson ordered. “We’ll need to get some of that, too!

  “Sir, the Terrans said their missiles are full of…gold? Yes, they just confirmed; the missiles are full of gold. The Terrans said the metal in the Shaitan ships reacts with it.”

  “Those are expensive missiles if they’re filled with gold. The Terrans are giving us mighty gifts by using them on our enemies, mighty gifts indeed.”

  Cockpit, Viper 01, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “Viper 01 is clear and proceeding on mission,” the fighter’s pilot, Lieutenant Denise ‘Frenchie’ Michel, commed. She turned to her WSO and asked, “Where to, boss?”

  “Coordinates coming…now,” Lieutenant Commander Sarah ‘Lights’ Brighton replied, pushing a button on her panel. “Head in that direction while I get everyone sorted.”

  “You got it,” Frenchie replied, turning the craft.

  “All Vipers, Viper 01,” Lights commed. “Stand by for mission tasking. We will be going after two Shaitan destroyers, codenamed Sierra Three and Sierra Four. Vipers Two through Six will be with me on the first; Lieutenant Simpson in Viper Seven will lead the rest of the squadron against the second. We need to take them out before they get to where they can launch on Mother. She’s already been hit a couple of times, and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s a long walk home without her.”

  She gave the crews a second to let that sink in, then added, “We will make two launches. The jumpers will go first, followed by the standard missiles three seconds later. After launch, we’ll follow the missiles in and finish off the destroyers with our lasers if necessary. It’s up to us to take these ships out. Any questions?”

  There were none.

  “Very well,” Lights commed. “Good luck and happy hunting!”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Cockpit, Viper 07, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “Coming up on launch position,” Lieutenant Sasaki ‘Supidi’ Akio noted. “Stand by to fire.”

  “Committing,” Lieutenant Carl ‘Guns’ Simpson replied, pulling the trigger which enabled the system to launch when the ship reached its pre-programmed launch point. Within seconds, five flashes of light indicated missile launch.

  “Missiles away!” Supidi commed. “All fighters, Viper 07. Take trail positions and follow us in for individual strafing runs. Concentrate your fire on the destroyer’s aft engineering spaces.”

  Cockpit, Viper 10, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “Turning inbound,” Lieutenant Tom ‘Harv’ Walsh, the pilot of Viper 10, said. “We’re following 08 in on the target.”

  “I just got the word. The first destroyer is dead in space,” his WSO, Lieutenant Daniel ‘Admiral’ Walker reported. “The other group got both of the destroyer’s motors with their missiles, and they are forming up for strafing runs to finish it off.”

  “Lucky them,” Harv grunted. “I hope we get just as lucky.”

  “Since we lost a fighter when the giants attacked, we’ve got one less in our group,” Admiral replied. “We’ve got five fewer missiles; we’ll need to be even luckier.”

  “Yeah, that’s likely to happen.”

  “Missiles hitting…now!” He paused, watching his monitor. “Damn, it looks like you jinxed us; we got one of the destroyer’s motors, but the other is still online. We can expect the destroyer’s defenses to be operational.”

  “I already figured that out,” Harv said. “We’ve got a missile inbound!” He snapped the fighter into a tight turn, launching countermeasures to break the lock of the missile tracking in on them
. The missile steaked past and detonated behind the fighter, and Harv yanked the fighter back toward the target.

  “07’s off target,” commed the lead fighter.

  “Damn there’s a lot of laser fire for a destroyer,” Harv said. He reached up and turned off the setting that allowed him to ‘see’ the laser fire. “Some things I’m just happier not knowing.” The fighter swayed as Harv continued to jink back and forth.

  “08’s off target,” commed the second fighter.

  “Coming up on firing range,” Admiral said. “Now!”

  “Firing,” Harv replied, enabling the laser to fire where the WSO was aiming.

  “Good hits!”

  “Did we get the motor?”

  “I don’t—”

  The destroyer’s lasers were small for a naval vessel, just slightly less than a foot in diameter, but the laser that swept across Viper 10 was big enough to kill its pilot and destroy the smaller ship’s controls. The fighter slammed into the side of the destroyer, right where the WSO had been aiming.

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022

  “Sir, both destroyers are dead in space,” the OSO reported. “The last one got taken out when one of our fighters rammed it.”

  “Understood,” Captain Sheppard replied. “What are we doing with the cruiser we’re coming up on?”

  “I’ve got the last three jumpers in the next broadside; two of them have silver in their payloads. Those are the last of both types of missiles.”

  “Don’t miss.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it sir.” The OSO paused then swore. “Sir, the cruiser just jumped.”

  “Follow it to the other universe, helm,” the CO ordered. “Keep jumping until we get a firing solution.”