They'd need Claire, too. If anything happened to her, it would be on his shoulders.
“What do you think their chances are?” Proda asked quietly.
Chris took a deep breath. “Pershing is supposedly a military genius and the Hronguards aren't stupid,” he responded as calmly as possible.
Isolated from the ship, the bridge was utterly silent save from the intermittent beeps and humming of the bridge's machines and equipment. The tranquility betrayed the gory violence likely occurring just behind the bridge door.
Suddenly, Proda jerked his head up. “I've got a call in from Battery Two, from Pershing. Hronguard and Dominion people have set up and loaded the guns. They said Nick and another group was moving towards Battery One and would open fire once we were ready,” Proda said, not quite able to hide the excitement or apprehension from his voice.
“How long?” Chris asked jumping up from the chair.“Who are you talking to?”
Proda shrugged holding the headset in one ear and listening to Chris with the other. “Pershing, I think, and they don't know. They want to know if they should open fire at a specific time regardless if the second group reaches the other battery.”
“Tell them to open fire in one minute. We can't wait any longer than that or else we risk a breach here.” One minute was a lifetime in battle and he wondered how many lives that delay would cost. How many more men and women wouldn't be returning home to their families? How much more blood will spill and how many more lives snuffed out? There was going to be a stiff price to get these Dominion officers back to their territory.
He opened his own communication link to the engine block. “Kerali, how's that mask looking?”
“Almost done, boss,” she grunted, obviously busy at work.
“I need you to split the mask between the engines and the guns. We're going to need to get out of here quick. Can you do that?”
“I can, but we risk one or the other being detected,” she said. “I don't know how long the mask will hold. It wasn't really designed for maintaining a high power mask this long, just temporary bursts.”
“What about the jump drive? Can we make an in-system jump?”
“It's not charged sufficiently so we won't get far. And we're really risking a misjump at short distances, part of the ship could end up an AU from here the other at the other end of the solar system.”
“Fine, keep the mask split between the guns and the engines. We'll hope it holds long enough,” Chris ordered.
The fighting outside had reached a crescendo and bullets were pinging off the bridge door. Most of those Hronguards were probably dead. There was nowhere to run on a ship; surrender or death was the only option. Apparently, he had elected death for himself and his bridge crew if the Lotus people got through that door. There was no way they'd take prisoners after the fire fights all the way here. He didn't like deciding the fates of others.
Enough. Do something! “Proda, tell the people at Battery Two to open fire. We can't wait any longer. Get us out of here.”
Proda complied and Chris turned his attention to the schematics of the ship and the relative positions of the Lotus vessels. Immediately he saw the guns on the schematics flash yellow indicating weapons fire. A few seconds later, flashes of red appeared on the nearest Lotus ship. Hits!
The Lotus ship moved slowly forward, reacting to the attack and bringing its guns to bear. It was slower than Chris thought, clearly unprepared for the assault. The return fire didn't appear to be coordinated and most of the shots missed. Chris could feel the ship quake when heavy ballistic weapons did hit and the screens instantly reported hull damage. A small ship like the MacCleod was not designed to handle space conflict even with its illegally reinforced structure and armor.
Come on, get that second battery going. Please Amrah...
The fighting outside the bridge seemed to quiet. Either the Hronguards were dead or the Lotus troopers had figured out something was wrong. If they were retreating, Chris didn't particularly feel like letting them get away. Not after what they'd done. Not if Claire lay dead in the ship somewhere.
“Close and lock the landing bay,” Chris ordered, feeling a rising tide of vengeance. “I don't want those people getting out.”
Chen acknowledged and the screen reported the closing of the bay. The Lotus party can't slip away now. They'll be faced with the same choice we were: surrender or die.
The MacCleod began to move as Kerali got the engines going. They'd barely traveled a kilometer before Battery One opened fire on the Labored Soul, red flashes lit up all along its flank. Chris felt his stomach untangle a few ravels. The Labored Soul started to drift as a few shots blew into the engine housing and the MacCleod flew right by. Someone's alive at the guns. Thank Amrah.
“Sir, the second ship is maneuvering, coming up on our port side,” Proda said, slipping back into his military training. Rarely did anyone on this ship call Chris “sir.”
“If she comes into range, open up on her.”
“Aye, sir.”
Chris leaned back in the chair. “More power to the engines, drop the masks if you have to. I don't care if the whole system knows we're here. We need to slip by them before they can give us a broadside.”
Kerali shouted something, but the roar of the engines overpowered her.
Chen's SESE tattoos were glowing brightly, as he fought the ship for control of the engines and maneuvering thrusters. Physics wanted to take them in one direction, Chen wanted to go everywhere else. Chris felt the engines increase in power, a comforting feeling, like watching the sun come up to expel the dark. The entire ship was vibrating and Chris wondered briefly if she would hold together. They'd taken damage and a blowout was a real problem. If the ship depressurized, the damaged sections would be sealed off and vented. If anyone was in those sections they would be dead pretty quickly.
The MacCleod picked up speed as it neared the second Lotus vessel. Its crew seemed unsure how to respond to the new developments. Didn't expect us to fight back did you?
The batteries had adjusted their aim and peppered the second ship with fire. Once the distance had closed to only a dozen kilometers, the Lotus ship powered up its engines, peeling away from the MacCleod's trajectory. Seeing the destruction of the rest of the small fleet was apparently enough to convince them that discretion was the order of the day. It broke off and fled.
Chris sat back in his chair, wiping his brow and exhaling slowly. His entire body was covered in sweat and he actually started to shiver. Somehow they'd managed to fend off one of the most violent groups in the Human Core and he was sure Lord Morlan had a hand in leading the Hronguards to victory.
Once the MacCleod was safely under way, he ordered the bridge unsealed. It was time to take stock of his ship. Nick had not reported in and he silently prayed that his body would not be discovered gunned down by those monsters. Claire was closer and family came first.
Chris opened the bridge door and peered out. The corridor outside was a mess of blood and metal. Empty shell casings littered the floor and dead bodies, both Hronguard and Lotus, were scattered about. The sergeant and two other Hronguards were all that were left. She looked up at him, pain chiseled on her face as she clutched at a bloody wound across her belly. He thought he could see her hand gently holding in her guts. Chris looked away, his stomach rolling at the carnage.
“Well that's it, sir,” she said. “We'll begin our sweep for survivors, but I don't suspect there are many.”
“No, Sergeant, stand down. Your people have been through enough,” Chris said. “We'll conduct the sweep ourselves.”
Chris swore silently. Even wounded and bleeding to death, the sergeant was still doing her duty. Chris shook his head sadly and stepped around the bodies in the hall. He picked up a weapon from one of the dead bodies. He'd never actually fired a weapon before, but he kept it pointed ahead ready to at least frighten any Lotus who happened to still be alive with a loud burst of gunfire. He was moderately sure the safety was
off. He held it awkwardly, unaccustomed to its weight and balance, his finger wrapped tightly around the trigger.
The corridors of the ship reeked of gun smoke and and coppery blood. His SESE tattoos glowed nervously. Carefully, he stepped over dead bodies, but his boots slipped in the blood soaked floors. Several times he felt himself grow woozy at the sight of white broken bone sticking out of a severed limb, or internal organs which weren't internal any more. He forced himself to look away. They were all either wearing the black Lotus or the blue Hronguard uniform. There were no gray suited DLT figures, yet.
Scuffs and holes dotted the walls where bullets had gone astray. In some places, the shell casings were so thick they created a brass carpet that Chris hastily brushed aside. Blood had splashed up on the walls, still dripping down to the floors, and the air quickly took on a stinking scent of death. Some of the pipes that lined the corridors of the ship had been shot open and released gases into the air like volcanoes or leaked liquid coolant like blood. Even the ship is bleeding.
The carnage wreaked in the halls defied what he could possibly imagine. While I sat sealed in the bridge, these men and women were fighting and dying out here. Was I really so important that I deserved to be kept from this? And to send Nick out here rather than myself? What kind of monster am I?
Shaking furiously, Chris passed through a hatch and entered the living quarters of the ship. There were still dead bodies here, but they had been moved to the sides rather than scattered about the floors. Someone had been through here recently. Chris moved through them quickly, his boots squelching and slipping through blood and casings. His heart, already thundering louder than the Cleod's guns, seemed to burst when he saw the door to Claire's cabin open.
No, this can't be happening...
A figure stepped out of it carrying an assault rifle and wearing all black. He spotted Chris and screamed an expletive before trying to back into Claire's cabin. He brought his gun up as he slipped in blood. Before Chris even realized what had happened his finger tightened fractionally and the weapon discharged. The rounds skipped off the floor then caught the falling Lotus trooper and tore his torso apart. Blood splattered as the man collapsed in the door frame. His gun clattered away as his head hit the floor with a sickening thud.
He'd just killed a man.
His legs seemed frozen in place and his mind screamed at him to move, but he couldn't.
He took a careful step forward and his knees quaked. Unsure what to do, he prodded the dead man. A fresh gout of blood spurted from a bullet hole near his heart and Chris nearly vomited. He realized he'd been holding his breath so he exhaled then inhaled, but it did nothing to stop the burning in his lungs. He gagged and closed his eyes.
He peered into the cabin and wished he hadn't. Blood was splattered all over Claire's books and papers like a blindfolded person had taken a paint can and simply tossed it about. He shook his head, but the image stayed. It was real.
Claire was not here.
He stepped back out and slipped in the same pool of blood as the dead Lotus soldier. He went down hard, banging his elbow and head and feeling his arm go numb. Idiot!
He clambered to his feet, feeling his vision go woozy and he struggled to keep the hallway from spinning. Must get to the batteries. They will be there.
He passed through the hatch that lead to the batteries with a limp and blood covering his flight suit.
There were a pair of Hronguard troopers standing outside the battery access. His sudden appearance startled them so badly they raised their weapons and Chris ducked back shouting, “Don't shoot!”
It took them a few moments before they recognized his uniform and the captain's rank sewn on it. They waved him forward. Chris passed them, ignoring apologies, and stepped into the battery. There were a few more dead bodies nearby. The Hronguards who had died in the fighting were lined by the hatch. The Lotus marines had been dumped in a pile after being stripped of weapons and gear.
Chris actually had to do a double take when he saw Nick shaking the hand of Lord Morlan Pershing. Several other survivors were talking quietly while the ranking Hronguard was taking stock of the remnants of his command.
“Nick!” He shouted, running across the battery and embracing his first officer.
“I didn't think you'd stay on that bridge forever,” Nick responded with a partial grin, “but you shouldn't have come here until the ship was secure.”
“I wasn't going to send my people into danger if I wasn't going too,” Chris said.
“It's safer here than anywhere else,” Pershing added. He had a rifle slung over his shoulder. If there was going to be an attempt to take the vessel, he would do it now with the ship's officers here and the Hronguards destroyed. Chris eyed the weapon.
Pershing noticed. “You're not stupid, young captain,” he said. “You have nothing to fear from us. You could have turned us over to the Lotus, but instead you decided to fight. Even though you are merely a lowborn civilian, you have some fortitude in there somewhere.”
Chris nodded. “But Claire...my sister. Her cabin, there was a man in there. I killed him.”
“She's fine, Chris. She's in the other battery working on one of the Dominion soldiers who was shot,” Nick said. “She's fine. I promise.”
Chris breathed and closed his eyes. “I couldn't let-”
“I know.”
“The doctor? She is your sister?” Pershing asked raising an eyebrow.
Chris nodded slowly.
“The one who ran into the line of fire to drag away one of my wounded men? Apparently courage is something that runs in the family,” Pershing said, barking a laugh.
“She did what?!” Chris shouted.
“Don't worry about it,” Nick said, dismissing the captain's concern. “What about the remainder of the Lotus troopers? They came back this way pretty quickly.”
“There's probably only a half dozen or so left,” Pershing said. “You might be better off venting the hangar and being rid of the bastards.”
“I don't think I can do that,” Chris said. “Not after all this.”
Pershing shrugged. “Understood. If you're insistent on keeping them alive the Dominion will be happy to take them off your hands.”
“What will happen to them?” He asked slowly.
“Why do you care?”
“They're human beings,” Chris said, crossing his arms.
“They are pirates and will be treated as such,” Pershing said, determination hardening his face.
“Are we not pirates as well? Sneaking through solar systems with illegal technology, smuggling a prisoner of war back to his territory?” Chris planted his feet, squaring off against the older noble. “We're violating every law I can possibly think of in Dominion, Commonwealth, and Azuren legal codes.”
Pershing was quiet, not finding an answer immediately. He was saved by a Hronguard who cleared his throat loudly. “We're approaching the Dominion base. We're also talking to the Lotus still in the hangar. There's only four of them now.”
Chris nodded. “Thank you, corporal.” He turned back to the small group and added, “We should return to the bridge.”
The bridge was quiet for the remainder of the flight. The Dominion officers had returned to their areas in the cargo hold, except for Pershing who joined them on the bridge. The surviving Hronguards and Claire cleaned up the ship and cared for the dead and wounded as best as they were able. She was trying to stabilize as many as she could now and relying on the medical station at the Dominion base to save them when they arrived. The Cleod was no hospital ship.
The Dominion base itself was hardly what Chris had been expecting. Military bases were supposed to be huge with ammunition bays, vehicle and destrier hangers and neat rows upon rows of barracks. What he’d seen from the MacCleod’s window caused his shoulders to sag with disappointment. LNK X was the furthest world from the Letterkenny star. It was a tiny ice ball with just one moon orbiting in a lazy ellipse. Because it had no atmosphere, th
ere were no roads, street lights, or even uniformed soldiers patrolling. Pershing explained the base was located underground, protected by the thick surface. It served as a pirate hunting base, kept well away from the system's habitable worlds and stations.
What was I expecting? Some sort of hero’s welcome? We fended off a few rogue Black Lotus ships and delivered some escaped Dominion soldiers. All of that is hardly noteworthy in the daily goings-on of the Caeph Dominion, he thought morosely.
The MacCleod was signaled to land on a small metal platform on the surface of the proto-planet. The ship touched down slowly with Chen at the controls and after a few bumps, the ship settled. Once secured, the platform descended and two massive doors closed over the hole, encasing the MacCleod and her crew in darkness.
“Into the belly of the beast,” Nick said quietly.
Chris ignored him, but Lord Morlan did not. “No worries, my young friend. No harm will come to you while you’re in our care.”
Nick appeared to shoot him a look from across the bridge, but made no additional comment. Any camaraderie they shared in the fighting had apparently cooled.
Finally, the massive elevator settled and another pair of massive doors slid open to reveal a moderately sized chamber which served as a hangar for small combat vessels, frigates and fighter craft. Combat ships were stacked along the walls in their berths. This base was barely a staging area, an early warning system. It was a backwater posting, Chris realized, feeling further dejection. It was for the rejects of the front line Dominion units and officers who'd screwed up, but were too politically powerful to discharge. It was a black hole for careers doomed to fighting honorless pirates.
There was not much of a welcome for Lord Morlan himself, but Chris began to suspect that was the point. As grateful as the Dominion might be, they couldn't trust mercenaries with military secrets. One ship emblazoned with House Pershing's heraldry was waiting on the floor of the hangar. Gathered around the elevator were two individuals who looked like officers and several armed guards. The officers were shuffling around either impatient that the ship was late or anxious that a Dominion lord would soon be on station.
Schism of Blood and Stone (The Starfield Theory Book 1) Page 18