"Captain, we have fire coming from deep within the bay!” RadCom’s voice came in over the bellowing roar of fired weapons and explosions just on the other side of the boarding tube. “We haven’t yet been able to establish its source."
RadCom was sprawled just at the edge of the tube closest to the Hideaway door while he reported in. A quick series of shots buried themselves into the metal over his head.
Behind him, one of his team was sprawled out motionless on his back near the center of the passageway between the two ships. The captain watched RadCom reach out with one arm, his other grasping his own shoulder, and pull the motionless figure closer to him for cover. The wounded man’s body was completely still while RadCom dragged him the short distance across the floor.
"Captain, who is doing the goddamn firing?!" Faulken roared again.
"RadCom , any signs or indic...?" the captain ignored the war minister and kept his attention on the screen monitoring the boarding tube.
"Captain! We don’t have any signs of shit!" RadCom yelled over the speaker. Large bursts of gunfire drowned out his words. “We’re just keeping our heads down and trying not to fucking die!”
The captain watched RadCom curl his body across the soldier he had just pulled from the center of the tube. A fresh burst of fire tore overhead and brought a wall down around them. RadCom buried his head into the chest of the unconscious man and covered both of them the best he could with the top of his arms.
For the next few seconds, lingering smoke from the discharged weaponry obscured the area in front of the holovid transmitter. The only thing visible through the haze was one of the feet of the unconscious soldier. His boot moved slightly and then pulled in towards his body.
The captain could hear the sound of the exploding rounds echo through his own ship. The frigate’s command center was located one level directly over the boarding tube and the Hideaway landing bay where the battle was being waged.
"Frigate Captain, I demand a status report!" Faulken blustered.
"The status is any second my whole boarding crew is going to be dead!” the captain yelled towards the second screen not taking his eyes from the first. “That’s the goddamn fucking status!”
He strained his eyes against the smallness of the holovid trying to see through the thick smoke.
"Is the ship still intact?" Faulken asked again.
"It’s intact."
"Captain, we have two men down," RadCom's voice crackled again from the speaker. "Jones is dead. I got Swanson here. We need to get him back onboard the ship. Like right now."
The captain leaned over and switched channels on his transmitter.
"I need crewmen to the boarding area," he said softly trying to block out the war minister on the second holovid. "I want weapons ready and assault gear worn by everyone. Prepare to bring back wounded. We’ve got one in the tube."
"Captain, instruct your men to put down immediately whomever is on that ship!” Faulken’s voice blared. “Immediately. Do not identify or make contact. Kill them. Kill them now! Is that understood?!"
The captain of the explorer frigate turned back to the enraged man on the holovid screen. The expression on Faulken's face had changed from shock to complete rage. Veins pulsed from both sides of his neck, and his bottom lip quivered.
"What if it is the pilots?" the captain asked. He was furious that this question was even necessary. Especially since someone on his crew was now dead. “We may need at least one of them if they placed the signaturization into effect.”
"Captain, you listen to me," Faulken spit. "I want you to kill whoever it is that is firing from that ship. I don't give a goddamn who it is. Not even if it is the pilots! Kill them and take control of the Hideaway. Bring it back to Earth before it is too late. Are these orders in any way unclear?"
"No, sir," the captain said and clicked off the holovid.
He wasn't even sure if Faulken was done speaking. He didn’t really care. He turned his head to the holovid monitoring the boarding tube.
Heavy smoke settled over the area. Periodic flashes from discharging weapons still came from somewhere deeper within the landing bay. The echoes of battle had become quieter at least through the explorer frigate.
From the bottom of the monitor, the captain observed his second boarding party, which was composed of almost all the remaining men on his own ship, make their way slowly through the tube. They hugged the walls with their backs, two on each side of the tube. Their weapons rested tautly across their shoulders and pointed towards the destroyed door of the other ship.
RadCom appeared from the smoke just ahead of them. He crawled across the ground near one of the walls dragging the wounded member of the first team behind him.
The second team from the frigate slowly approached. Two pairs of hands reached down to grab the unconscious bleeding form RadCom held tightly in his grasp and quickly hauled him back to their own ship.
The two other men stayed along the walls with their rifles pointed towards the Hideaway and waited for RadCom to crawl to safety behind them. When he was safely back, all three men retreated away from the holovid monitor back to the explorer frigate.
Weapon flashes continued coming from the Hideaway, and the captain could still hear the faint echo of gunfire. A burst of static came from the speaker at his side. RadCom's breathless voice soon followed.
"We've still got four men pinned down in there."
An explosion sounded from the front of the boarding tube, and flame spilled from the Hideaway entranceway. A soldier from the first team appeared from the smoke and flames. He pressed his shoulder against the side of the wall and fired back into the ship.
He dove to the ground as weapons slugs traced a path over his head and threw hot sparks across his body. A short second later another soldier fell into the tube and pressed his body up against the opposite wall.
"We're being pushed back," RadCom said.
"RadCom," the captain said watching the flames that were now spreading into the boarding tube.
Two more small explosions caused the men to hunker down again and duck their heads. They pressed themselves hard against the walls as two large flame bursts bellowed into the chamber.
"RadCom, we can't take too many more hits to the boarding tube," the captain said. "We're going to have to seal it off from the rest of this ship. Bring your men back. We're going to have to figure another way to access the Hideaway."
"Sir, we can't do that," RadCom replied. A faint sound of buckling metal could be heard over his voice.
The holovid image of the boarding tube began to move as if invisible hands were rocking the transmitter. For a moment, the image became black.
"Captain, we've still got two men in there."
"If the boarding tube becomes damaged with the Hideaway still exposed, we're going to lose that ship. And the Beam Cannon Hardware."
"I know that, sir," RadCom responded as an image returned to the holovid screen.
The sound of buckling metal became louder over the command center speaker. What came across the holovid now was an image of the floor and the feet of one of the boarding members returning from inside the explorer frigate.
“Put it on my shoulder,” RadCom ordered the man that approached.
The holovid view raised to show RadCom sitting with his back against the wall. Then it turned and pressed against the chest of the soldier strapping the transmitter onto RadCom’s shoulder gear.
When he moved away, the captain could again see the flames scattered across the far end of the boarding tube towards the Hideaway.
"We can't get any transmitters set up in there," the holovid image rose as RadCom stood up. "You're going to have to settle for this. See if you can spot their positions while we put some fire on ‘em to push ‘em back."
"Copy that," the captain acknowledged softly. "Throw in concussion grenades. Then flame. Then artillery fire. That should push them back out of the bay. You’re going to need access to the controls of the s
hip right quick regardless of loss of life.”
"Copy," RadCom said. The image bobbed up and down as he sprinted back down the corridor.
The sound of running feet, the approaching sound of gunfire, and RadCom’s own haggard breathing came from the speaker.
The captain held his breath while he watched RadCom and the men behind him head back across the tube.
They had almost reached the two members of RadCom’s team still holding positions at the bay door and returning fire back into the Hideaway, when the holovid image dipped abruptly towards the deck. A loud series of explosions quickly followed. The captain’s holovid screen again became suddenly dark.
"RadCom!" the captain screamed over a sudden burst of multiple weapons being fired. A man shrieked in pain inside the boarding tube.
"Son of a bitch!" RadCom screamed over the sound of metal being shredded around him.
"RadCom!" the captain yelled furiously at the dark screen. "RadCom!"
"Transmitter two!” RadCom yelled over the din. “We got another one up. Go transmitter two!”
The captain pressed hurriedly at the controls in front of him until an image appeared again on the holovid. This time he was able to see RadCom with the remnants of the obliterated holovid transmitter strapped to his arm.
The image was tilted and slightly garbled from the device being knocked over on its side. But it was enough to show the captain what kind of danger his crew was now in.
"We're tossing the grenades now!" RadCom screamed.
The captain watched him reach into the shoulder pack of a soldier in front of him. Two other men crouched with RadCom behind the crumbled wall just inside the landing bay.
Pinned completely down by the heavy fire, RadCom pulled the small metallic devices from the soldier's pack. He crouched back to the ground next to the holovid transmitter. He was so close his face filled the entire screen.
When the firing coming from the bay lessened a bit, the two men next to him leapt up and returned a barrage of weapons fire from their own assault rifles. Small bits of smoke and flame burst from their weapons’ tips.
The fires along the floor and near the end of the boarding tube were growing quickly in size. They surrounded where RadCom and his men pressed down along the ground threatening to overtake them at any second.
"They're going!” the captain heard one of the men scream at RadCom. “They’re heading back deeper into the ship!”
"Keep firing!” RadCom yelled back. “Maintain that cover fire while I get these ready!"
RadCom scurried to the edge of the wall. Behind him, the captain could see the figure of another man lying still across the floor. His weapon was on the ground next to him near the front of his head. Its barrel was pointed toward RadCom and his two men.
Bright lights lit across the objects in RadCom's hands. He tossed two to the man next to him who then dropped his weapon and pressed his back against the wall.
"Seal off the tube before you use those!" the captain screamed.
RadCom moved to the wall nearest him. Without standing, he reached up and activated a set of controls near the entrance. A second mammoth door, one not damaged when they accessed the ship, slammed down behind them sealing them off from the frigate.
"Boarding tube secure over here," the captain heard someone yell.
He watched RadCom pull one of the men close and whisper something into his ear. At that moment, the firing had again stopped. Another of RadCom’s team crouched down next to him. His hands were clasped tightly about his rifle trigger.
The three men pressed their backs against what was left of the wall behind them. Smoke from the fired weaponry hung lazily over all their heads.
There they waited. No sound came from further within the bay. Silence rang through the battered air interrupted only by the soft licking of the flames scattered about the floor.
And then the captain saw RadCom nod.
The soldier holding the assault rifle jumped to a crouched position across the top of the war-battered wall and began to fire. RadCom and the other soldier stood to their full heights next to him and hurled the concussion grenades deep into the Hideaway corridors.
The haze cleared enough in front of the holovid transmitter that the captain thought he saw a pair of shoulders and feet turn and flee into the corridors leading from the landing bay. The six concussion grenades bounced along the ground just behind.
The last thing the captain saw across the screen was RadCom and his men dropping back beneath the destroyed wall structure and covering their heads with their arms.
The image on the holovid screen disappeared again. The sound of the grenade explosions reverberated throughout the explorer ship causing its entire structure to shake.
After the initial effects of the blasts had settled, silence followed again. The captain flicked the button on his intercom. No sound came from the speaker.
RadCom?"
For a moment there was no answer.
"RadCom?"
"Captain, we're moving to access the rest of the ship," RadCom's voice finally spoke quietly over the communications link. It was accompanied by the sounds of his men coughing near his transmitter.
"Roger that," the captain replied and sat back in his chair. With a deep breath he rubbed his sweaty hands through his hair.
* * *
The captain sat like that for more than an hour allowing the shock of the sudden battle work its way through his head. An alarm on one of his consoles finally ripped him back from his thoughts to the frigate’s empty command chamber. He reached over and hit the intercom switch, this time making contact with people onboard his own ship.
"Captain," a tired voice came through. "Swanson died before we could get him to the med ward."
"Thank you," the captain said. "Don't leave the station. Get it ready. There'll be more on the way."
"Yes, sir."
And with that, the captain flipped the intercom back off.
He sat back in his seat and stared ahead to the front of the room.
He didn't care if he had to pilot the Hideaway with the bloody severed hands of the pilots himself. Now more than ever, even before the onset of war, the days had become increasingly excruciating and unbearably long. He didn’t know if it was vengeance, hatred, or despair that guided his movements now. Or an undeniable uncontrollable fear. Fear of what it was he helped cause.
Whatever it was, he tried to push it back. He stood from his seat in the empty command room and went to assist what was left of his crew.
The empty image across the holovid screen buzzed softly at his back.
Chapter 24
"Get back to the Defenders!" Parker screamed over his shoulder at Barnes. Barnes huddled against a wall across the corridor from him.
They had gone about fifty feet from the landing bay further back into the Hideaway. Parker pressed his body up against the pieces of wall that jutted from the side of the passage. He stopped firing his weapon momentarily. His eyes darted about the darkness looking for his copilot who stood against the walls on the other side of the corridor. Small weapons fire ripped at their feet and the metal they hid behind.
Barnes' assault rifle dangled loosely from his arms. Its long barrel hung exposed from the side of the wall. A stray bullet caught it near its tip and ripped it from his hands. It flew down the corridor out of his reach.
Barnes didn’t move. He pressed his back further against the wall he cowered behind. His eyes centered on Parker who again raised his weapon and returned fire at the men trying to access their ship.
"Barnes, don't do this to me!" Parker bellowed over the firing of his weapon.
"Barnes! Goddamn it! Barnes!" Parker screamed not relaxing his grip on his trigger. "Barnes can you hear me?!"
Parker's rifle clicked empty. He stepped back from where he stood partially exposed in the corridor and threw his back against the wall. The air became alive with small rounds piercing the air where he stood as the boarders returned fire.
Parker gritted his teeth and waited for it to subside.
He could somewhat see Barnes through the sparks and flying metal as the cannon fire shredded the corridor around them.
The boarding crew had caught them by surprise.
Parker had shot one man dead the minute they breached the Hideaway's landing bay and pierced both kneecaps of another with automatic weapons fire. This second one moved slowly trying to pull himself from where he laid exposed across the floor. The others had ducked back into the boarding tube.
"Barnes! Goddamn it! Can you hear me?!" Parker shrieked.
The firing lessened again.
This time Barnes was able to react. A light seemed to turn faintly back on in his eyes. He reached behind his back and slowly pulled out another weapon. With a blank deliberate precision, he readied rounds in its chamber.
"Barnes, get back to the Defenders!" Parker screamed. "We’re going to need to go after them from the outside."
Parker extended his arm from behind the protection of the wall and fired three more prolonged blasts from his assault rifle. The hundreds of metal slugs it discharged ripped into a wall over the crouched figures of three of the attackers near the tube. Their heads disappeared as they ducked away for cover. The wall obliterated in a flurry of shrapnel and debris.
Parker's weapon clicked empty, and he threw it on the ground in front of him. He reached back and snatched at the next one strapped across his back. With a quick pump action and a flick of the safety switch, he readied it to fire. Before the men had a chance to pull themselves from the destroyed wall, he drenched their positions again with cannon fire and kept them pressed to the ground.
Parker pulled his rifle into his chest and backed up against the wall. For the moment, the ship was silent. The firing had stopped from both sides of the bay. Parker used the time to empty his spent rounds onto the floor and jam ammunition from his pocket into its vacant chambers.
"Check your weapon," Parker spoke calmly across the corridor to Barnes.
There was still no movement from the other end of the shredded Hideaway landing bay. He could hear a voice rattling off status reports back to their ship and whispers from the men hiding behind the damaged walls near the bay doors.
Overrun: Project Hideaway Page 25