On his knees beneath the exchange of rifle fire, he crawled back to the blaze-red panel marked with a white cross and forced the heavy door aside. Within it was stashed a row of medical bags, trauma gear and a series of shallow drawers containing the various injectable medications used by the Corps. Beside the shelves stood several tall, silver air tanks and a set of matching face masks on the wall above.
Stone pulled one free and dropped it on the threshold of the airlock facing the alien ship. The hallway beyond was dark, filled with more smoke and contained another sealed airlock ten meters inside.
“What are you doing?” Gunner asked.
“They won’t see this coming,” he growled and looked up to his companion who was waiting to the side, his shoulder braced against the manual airlock.
“Sounds good. Ready for you,” Gunner replied and gave a thumbs-up.
Stone pulled back and drove the stock of his rifle down on the tank’s primary valve. It hit hard, split the metal housing but held firm. He struck it again, widening the crack.
Inside the alien ship, a sliver of light appeared around the edge of the second door. Stone’s pair of guards opened fire while he ducked low over the tank. He chanced another strike and felt the valve give way. In a blink the tank disappeared.
The sharp acceleration sent the metal container tearing through the interior of the alien vessel. Stone saw an ignition flash just as Gunner slammed the airlock shut just above his head. A thundering echo rolled from the far side while he closed the manual release.
4
On the bridge, Ensign Meyers felt a distant rumble through his ship’s structure and leapt up from his defensive position. Since the rest of the crew left he had been lying on the deck below his station with a rifle trained on the exit. His first thought was that the fire below the cannons had spread but a yellow glow from the starboard window took his attention. Meyers relaxed his grip on the rifle and cautiously leaned out to inspect the anomaly.
The extensive plume of fire immediately took his attention. He keyed up the rest of the command crew, “Stone, half the Aquillian ship just exploded and separated from the Defiance. It looks like it’s breaking apart.”
After a pause, Gunner’s voice came back with a shout, “Meyers! That’s us! The airlock’s secure but they’re not wanting to give it up. We’re pulling back to give the security team space to move in.”
“Copy that,” Meyers replied and continued with a trailing voice to himself, “I’ll just keep holding the bridge,” another low rumble reverberated through the deck beneath his feet. He took a deep breath, knowing another bulkhead had failed to keep the fire contained.
**
At the landing, Gunner watched the team pull back and clear the corner to retreat the way they came. The XO was still on the floor, scrambling to get back up after the close encounter. Gunner wrapped Stone’s arm over his shoulder and hoisted him to his feet, “Come on!” he yelled above the constant roar of rifle fire, “Archer’s gonna drive them straight at us!”
They reached the corner when a single round bit Gunner in the neck with a sharp snap. Half his face instantly exploded, peppering Stone with bits of blood and brain. Together they stumbled and fell to the floor, narrow clearing the corner of the connecting passage.
Stone felt himself running on autopilot, as if he was watching his own movements on nothing more than a video. His ears still rang and his eyes burned from the smoke but the pain was little more than a blurry sensation. The mangled face of his fire control officer was only centimeters from his own. He felt no panic or concern; he forced himself to look away, pushed himself up and sprinted down the corridor after the others who were already gathering at the far end.
Toto was screaming at him. Stone concentrated on her motions, willing himself to hear along with it.
“Archer’s dead!”
Stone was convinced he heard it wrong, “no, it’s Gunner! Gunner’s hit! He was right next to me.”
“No, the security force just got overrun!” Toto shouted again, “Archer’s dead too. The survivors are retreating deeper into the ship.”
Still nothing; Stone didn’t feel a hint of emotion, “where do they want us?” he called back.
“Cargo bay! We need to secure and hold both entrances and keep those things out!”
**
“Good drop from the third jump,” Ensign Lane announced over the intercom of the Space Corps transport.
Kael sighed hard as the seconds ticked by. He stared out of the small observation port near the rear of the ship at the newly minted stars that were now populating the sky outside. With every moment that passed, hope faded a little more. If the operators on the bridge made out any sign of the Defiance, they’d surely make it known to the crew. Since they did no such thing, Kael’s fears only grew.
There was no chance he’d catch something himself while standing at the window, the tiny disc of glass giving him a pinhole view of the galaxy. Even if it was a futile attempt, standing around doing nothing was not something he was prepared to do. He was never one to wait on the sidelines of any engagement. He shouldered the burdens, he led the way and it was his responsibility if one of his soldiers didn’t make it back.
Why did the universe have to be so damned big so as to render his spirit as cold as the dust from which he was made?
**
The floor of the bridge shuddered one more time and Meyers looked down through the perforated steel, past the bundles of wire and piping. A hint of light escaped from the depths. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he realized the last bulkhead had failed. There would only be seconds before the room would be engulfed.
He sprung to his feet and sprinted for the door, grabbing a fire extinguisher on the way. Meyers put his back to the exit and waited for the inevitable. In an instant, the floor split in two and a rush of fire exploded into the room, feeding on the oxygen-heavy air and the two ruptured fuel lines it happened to consume..
Meyers stumbled from the blast and dropped the trigger on his extinguisher, quickly blanketing the inferno. It subsided momentarily with each swipe but was far from contained. He stepped forward, trying to put more pressure on the flames shooting from the floor with minimal effect. There has to be some other way, he mused and cursed himself for not somehow stopping it sooner.
His eyes fell on the leading canopy in front of his pilot’s seat. Would a breach to the vacuum outside be enough to pull the fire from the room? He’d had worse ideas. If nothing else, it’d evacuate the bridge and the oxygen lines would react and seal themselves in seconds. No more fire. He’d need an extravehicular suit to pilot the ship but it wouldn’t be the worst scenario imaginable. Undergraduate flight training included such drills within its battery of miserable trials.
He retreated to the hallway and cracked the access door. Bracing himself on the far side, Meyers raised his rifle at the glass panel, sighting over the roaring flames. He took the shot, blanketing the nose of the Defiance with a quick burst without a detectible impact. He aimed again and let loose another stream of closely-timed blasts, trying to overpower the substantial seals of the pane. It refused to budge.
The ensign sunk low, trying to think through any other options. With a crack sharp enough to pull his attention, a single round ricocheted from the airlock door before his face. He dropped without thinking, barely catching a glimpse of the lone Aquillian silhouette at the far end of the passage. More shots snapped at the deck around him and he dove back through the doorway onto the bridge, the only protection he had from the new barrage of lead.
The heat hit the ensign fast as he tumbled over the threshold. Smoke from the growing inferno continued to collect throughout the room as he searched around for anything that would keep him alive. As much as he hated the thought, dealing with the fire was only marginally better than taking his chances with the psychotic aliens.
They were coming for him, he realized. Meyers knew he’d be deluding himself if he allowed himself to think they’d let him
live. Putting all the distance he could manage between his body and the door, Meyers strafed around the fire and backed against the pilot’s seat. The roaring jet of fire provided concealment from the aliens who were pursuing him but he was now against the wall; there was no longer room to maneuver.
The fire continued to bite at his skin and singe his flight suit. The walls closed in around him as the airlock released and swung aside. Unearthly screeches filtered in along with sporadic gunfire. Meyers returned, raking shots around the doorway until his rifle ran empty.
His weapon’s missing retort sunk his heart and he shrank back farther, staring up through the glass panel into emptiness. Everything seemed so hopeless; shouldn’t there be a rescue team that bursts in at the last second to save the day? Where was the rest of the crew? Why did he ever leave them? Had Stone left him to die alone? Meyers continued to lament until his eye fell on a yellow release lever beside the glass panel. The pilot’s emergency escape in case the rest of the ship was lost. The last resort; he knew the metal bar had the power to take his life.
Meyers grasped it tight in his right hand and felt it call to him with an ethereal power. Death itself called for him but he forced the vision away. He didn’t think of it as ending himself, rather it was the only way to save the rest of the crew. Hopefully his deity would understand.
He took a deep breath and locked his gaze on the first alien the stepped onto the bridge, “this is for the captain,” he growled and pulled it down with all his strength. The glass gave way and instantly pulled the ensign, two Aquillian soldiers, the fire and every molecule of air on the deck into oblivion. The doors leading to the rest of the ship slammed shut just as the fuel lines below the bridge, reacting to the sudden drop in pressure, fused closed and instantly left the charred and darkened chamber in icy silence.
**
The cargo bay of the Defiance was nearly three stories tall and about half the size of a football field. It was filled to capacity with stacks of shipping containers, accessible from the outside via large airlocks on the leading and trailing walls. From the inside, a pair of entrances for personnel were located fore and aft on a network of catwalks attached on the upper floor.
Scissor lifts were located on either side of the bay which intersected the catwalks and provided a method to move pallet-sized loads through the rest of the ship. Their doors, like both large external airlocks, were sealed and only accessible from control panels inside the bay. All considered, the single bay comprised more than half the volume of the ship and ran nearly its entire length.
Stone sprinted down the ground floor of the cargo bay, giving each corrugated steel container a passing glance until he stopped before one that was emblazoned with oversized warning labels, “this is it,” he remarked while pulling the doors aside.
A single light glowed above, bathing the interior in flat, white light. The silvery, metallic finish of the walls stood in stark contrast to the rows of flat black weapons that were locked in cages down the entire length. Stone unlatched the first one and pulled a long light machinegun free and passed it to his sensor operator. “Take one. Everyone.” He ordered before reaching for the next, “armor should be in the next Conex; ammo in the one after that.”
Toto accepted the weapon and turned it over in her shaking hands, “what do you want us to do with these?” she asked.
“Just keep those freaks out of here; we’ve got enough to cover both exits.”
“And then what? We can’t sit in here forever.”
“I don’t know!” Stone exploded, his voice radiating out of the container. The others jumped as he threw the last rifle against the wall, “the captain’s dead, Gunner took the bullet that was meant for me and oh, by the way, our only security force is cooked too! I don’t know anymore; I don’t have a gaddamn clue!”
The group stood rooted in place, no one willing to respond. Lieutenant Stone sighed, shaking off whatever had taken hold, “I’m sorry. I, I don’t know what that was,” he picked the black rifle up from the worn plywood floor of the container, “look, I don’t know what sort of a chance we have with this. I just know we don’t have a choice. They’re here for the cargo and we need to stop them. No bullshit and no excuses; this is the way it is.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Taz replied from the next box over, “this one’s full of AP ammo and perimeter mines.”
“There we go,” Stone said to Toto, “the only way they can get in is on the two catwalks. Drop claymores the whole length and take covered positions on the boxes. We’ve got food and water. We’ll hold out as long as it takes for relief to arrive.”
Toto nodded in quiet comprehension, “yes, Captain. As you command.”
The words fell hard on Stone’s ears. He continued on without another word and moved on to the next container. He wrapped a minimally-protective armored vest around his torso and picked up a matching ballistic helmet before continuing to the next. The lieutenant filled a pack with ammo boxes for his rifle and a handful of anti-personnel mines. While the rest got themselves around, he made the first and last trip to the aft catwalk.
He hid a pair of the mines on each side, below the decking made of perforated steel and nearly invisible from above. The others he attached behind the stairs that led to the ground floor. Stone could hardly focus through each deliberate movement; he sure didn’t feel like captain material.
Their chances were growing slim as time wore on but even if they were dead men, he decided, it was better for them to take as many of the aliens with them as they could. Of course he wouldn’t voice such a dismal outlook to the team. They needed to fight for their lives and whatever that took he was willing to risk it.
“Aft entrance covered. Stairs and above are impassible. Returning,” he reported to the team while jogging back down the narrow space between the containers.
As a firing position, Stone chose a pair of containers of differing heights that provided about half a meter of protection. He tossed the pack up first along with the bundle of weapons before taking a jump and scaling the side in one shot. The vantage point provided him a clear line of fire to the aft airlock, he decided and quickly laid out his rifles and stacked the spare magazines to the side. There was no sense in keeping anything in reserve; there was nowhere left to retreat to.
Dark smoke began to waft through the open airlocks like the onset of death itself and quickly increased in volume. Lieutenant Stone swallowed hard as he stared down the iron sights of his rifle, “we’ve got company.” he stated over his radio as he watched the rolling plume approach, “I’m sorry it’s come to this. I wish I could have done better,” Stone sighed, “It may not be for us to bring this to Earth, but this won’t be in vain. I will be here beside you through whatever is yet to come. I will fight and do my utmost as if the whole issue of the struggle depended on me alone. So let them come for us.”
As if in response, a series of sharp gunshots erupted from behind the rising wall of dust and smoke. Stone saw movement and got a glimpse of a colored form rush out. His hand froze as he realized it was one of his missing maintainers.
The man ran with a limp down the catwalk, spurred forward by some unseen horror. Stone dropped his weapon and jumped to his feet, shouting to the aliens’ prisoner, seeing him run straight for the trap.
“Airman! Stop! Don’t go any—“ Stone managed before the maintainer hit the leading beam of his mine. The charge detonated with a sharp flash and cloud of red debris. The man’s upper body went flying and flew over the edge of the walkway, landing in the shadow of their cargo.
The lieutenant cursed aloud and dropped the trigger on his rifle, tearing into a pair of aliens as they emerged from the fog. Nothing moved as he heard more shots erupt from the bay behind him. Nothing shook his concentration, even as the vision of his maintainer’s soaring, tattered corpse echoed in his mind.
Stone saw the familiar gray tint of a flight suit emerge alongside a dark metallic figure. He instantly knew the smaller one was Dove,
her face coated with blood and stains down past her waist. The large Aquillian soldier was standing behind her as if to use the body as a shield. It didn’t carry a traditional projectile weapon but had what appeared to be a large hatchet secured at its side. Its other hand held a tether that was cinched tight around the ensign’s throat.
Pausing for a moment to survey the room, the alien took hold, roughly lifted Dove by her collar and tossed her from the upper deck. The cable caught the railing and pulled tight, leaving her hanging from a makeshift noose with her hands bound behind her back.
The captain cried out and fired blindly in response before leaping gracelessly from the container and spilling onto the floor. He sprinted the fifty meters to his crewmember, oblivious to the arriving aliens, additional gunfire and anything else in his periphery. He reached her in seconds, and tried to take her weight while fumbling for a knife to cut the rope. He looked up to see Dove’s eyes grow wide as she went into shock.
His mind sensed something amiss and he saw a small black box at her waist, his upper chest. A red light flickered on the security team’s perimeter defense mine and his heart skipped. It exploded in a ball of fire which Stone barely sensed. His armor took the damage while his chest took the force and blew the pair apart.
5
“Why the hell did we just stop?” Kael demanded as he bounded onto the command deck of his transport. The personnel around him appeared equally perplexed by the sudden drop but didn’t waver from their stations.
“I’m not sure. It’s from some kind of interference but I’m not seeing a source,” Lane reported, “but I’ve got a return. I think it’s the Defiance.”
MissionSRX: Before Space Recon Page 3