It seemed to take forever before the deceleration stopped.
“That hoovers,” Leonessa said and Luke smiled.
“Better than the alternative,” Luke said.
“I don’t know,” Brita said. “I haven’t tried the alternative yet. I can see the merit in it.”
“Now you are sounding like me,” Luke said.
Brita just groaned.
The Ultio flipped over again to ease into the wormhole, past the crippled battle cruiser. Fires flickered along the hull and Luke surveyed the damage. She was almost dead and Luke doubted it could be recovered. The battle cruiser’s spine was broken and it wouldn’t be able to sustain any high-speed maneuvers without breaking apart. They were passing the ship close enough Luke felt he could step out on the hull of the Ultio and shoot at it with his rifle.
The frigates came in to dock along with the two fighters. One frigate eclipsed the Caliphate battle cruiser as it moved in. Luke tried another camera but there were few functioning external cameras.
“Frigates are docked,” Nelson reported. “Fighters are in the bay being secured.”
“Prepare them for fast launch if you can,” Luke said.
“Movement!” Brita yelled pointing at the battle cruiser. One drive had come online and was pushing it toward the Ultio.
“Open the wormhole!” Luke said calculating. “Sound the collision alarm! The bastard!”
The Caliphate battle cruiser pushed itself toward the Ultio, which was on course for the wormhole. Luke did the math. There was not much time. The Caliphate ship collided with the Ultio at the same time the wormhole grabbed the Ultio, pulling both ships into the wormhole.
A horrible grinding noise shuddered through the Ultio as the two ships ground against each other, as if in slow motion. Two immovable masses grinding together to see who would be the first to give way. The damage control board was almost all red before the grinding stopped.
They were in the wormhole. The Cutlass was under the Caliphate battle cruiser and Luke wanted to swear. There were two fighters in each of the bays but the starboard side bay could not launch the fighter because of the enemy ship. Which would leave him with only a damaged frigate and two fighters when they came out of the wormhole. If the engines worked.
Luke stared at the board.
“Prepare to repel boarders,” Luke said having a hard time believing it had happened. “Priority repairs to the plasma lances and missile bays. See if we can accelerate when we exit. Can’t ram if we can’t accelerate.”
“Aye, aye commander,” Nelson said. “We only have a single warbot squad aboard ship.”
“Bring up the estimated impact zone,” Luke said, regretting he had sent everything he had with Gray except for a token squad. He looked over the diagram of the Ultio and her new 'attachment'. “Chances are they will try to come in through the landing bays. Both are still open. They might try cutting through the damage but I doubt they have much time.”
Everyone grabbed their weapons and looked to Luke.
“Let’s get to the landing bay and fight for every inch of this ship,” Luke said. “Nelson verify the time but I think we have six hours.”
“Aye, aye Commander,” Nelson said.
“Jeeves here,” Jeeves transmitted. “Shall I join the assault?”
Luke was half-tempted to say no. Jeeves was not a combat droid but every rifle would help.
“Be damned careful Jeeves,” Luke said. “Hit and run.”
“Jolly good!” Jeeves said, somehow sounding afraid. He was in the rear of the ship near the engineering and in the auxiliary CIC. Other sentient droids would join the fight but precious few.
Heading toward the landing bays Luke wondered how many crew had survived on the enemy ship. “Nelson what is the estimated crew of that bitch?”
“I would guess around two thousand,” Nelson replied. “Based on the size of vessel, airlocks, observed life support apparatus, and the Caliphate’s desire to limit automation.”
“Survivors from that kind of damage?” Luke asked.
“Maybe half,” Nelson said. “Probably more than half considering how resilient humans can be in adversity.”
“We have about six hours to keep them away from anything critical,” Luke said. “We can do this people. After the six hours, everyone vacates to a lifeboat, in the event we get separated. Rally at Athena, or the wormhole to Chonka where the other two frigates are.”
“I can’t believe this,” Leonessa said. “Repelling borders during a wormhole transition in the middle of a suicide mission. Is this what you normally do?”
Luke shrugged. “Elena made me promise to live. War fighting is what I do. Sadly, there must be a chance of survival when I undertake a mission, which is how my luck turns. I figure one of these days I will luck out.”
“Yes,” Nelson interrupted. “It is what he does whenever he can. Right into the thick of it with a k-bar in his teeth, and tight pants.”
“We have boarders entering the starboard landing bay,” Nelson reported.
“Copy that,” Luke said. “First team of the ready squad is to engage. Second team will patrol and looking for other breeches and third team is being held in reserve. We will reinforce first team.”
“Aye Commander,” Nelson said.
“Tight pants?” Brita asked with a sly smile at Luke and a glance down toward his groin.
“Never mind,” Luke said, not wanting to guess what Nelson had meant.
Musashi, Brita, Leonessa, and Carmichael followed Luke as he raced through the corridors toward the landing bays. Both landing bays were close to the middle of the ship and separated by several storage rooms and an armored bulkhead. Each of the bays had withstood a great deal of damage and survive independent of the other.
Even with power fluctuating, the doors remained functional, locked, and secured. If Caliphate forces wanted to go anywhere, they would have to cut through heavy doors. It had been an added cost when Luke had commissioned the ship, but now it would pay off. Each door had its own power supply and sensor with an offline database of allowed users. Luke and the rest of the crew could move about the ship, but intruders would have to cut their way through every door. The panel on either side could also show what was on the other side of the door using a pin hole camera.
On the third floor of the hanger was an observation deck looking out over the landing bay and Luke got there before any borders. The camera was clear so Luke motioned everyone to stay low and entered. It was empty.
Luke moved over to the window and peeked down. The Caliphate forces had a cable coming in and fastened to a handhold. Armed crewmen in space suits were pulling themselves along the cable while several armored Janissaries stood nearby watching. Luke pulled back before they could spot him.
“Nelson,” Luke said. I want you to forcefully depressurize the ship in the landing bay area. Pump up the air pressure in the ground level adjacent chambers, especially the cargo dock, to about triple pressure, quadruple if you can manage, cut gravity, then open the airlocks to the bay. I think we might flush out some attackers.”
“Aye, aye, Commander,” Nelson said. “It will take about two minutes.”
“Lock your boots,” Luke told the others as he clamped on the magnets of his boots to full strength. They should easily hold him in place when the doors were opened although Luke doubted it would be a problem up here.
Luke peeked again. A Janissary was trying to cut through the bulkhead door with some heavy cutters while crewmen stood about grasping unfamiliar weapons and pointing them at the various airlocks. Luke dispatched members of the first assault droid team, using his InnerBuddy and a ghostly diagram displayed in his vision, to various hatches in preparation.
There were over a hundred Caliphate crewmen milling around down there.
Luke smiled, they expected the gravity to remain on.
“When I give the word, pop up, shoot out the windows, and engage any targets of opportunity,” Luke said to Musashi, Leonessa
, Carmichael, and Brita who nodded back at him. They had heard his conversation with Nelson and knew what was coming, but none of them had tried to peek. Musashi had probably tapped into Luke’s heads-up display and Luke was sure Brita would have known to do so.
“Ready,” Nelsons said.
“Open the doors,” Luke said and peeked. A Janissary took that moment to look up at him and raise his weapon before the gravity disappeared. Several doors, including the massive cargo door, slammed open and the escaping air slammed into crewman and Janissary alike, sweeping anyone not holding onto something out the landing bay door. Several of them slammed into the hull of the battle cruiser, or the trapped frigate but most of them disappeared into the swirling purple energy of the wormhole.
“Now!” Luke said grasping tight to a rail.
When the maelstrom had died down and the few survivors were getting back to their feet, they realized the gravity was gone. Few of them had magnetized their boots, and those didn't were holding onto something as the escaping atmosphere still tried to push them out.
Luke and the others stood up. Acquiring a target, Luke fired a shot and then switched targets. Another Janissary was locking his magnetic boots but wasn’t doing so behind cover. He died, Luke found another target.
The now open doors revealed warbots who leaned out and selected their own targets.
Disoriented after having seen most of their fellows swept out to their death, the survivors died quickly. There was no place in the hanger someone could hide from all directions. Cameras integrating with InnerBuddies, and Nelson helping to mark targets, turned the landing bay into a slaughter house. As quickly as it started, the shooting stopped.
A rocket shot out at one of the droids, shattering it and the surrounding airlock causing Luke and the others to duck. When look stood again he saw the Janissary who had fired the missile duck down outside the ship. Other Janissaries outside and attached the hull, fired in, using the hull for cover, and the firefight become a game of 'whack the mole'. Even the Janissary battle suits had target identification location software helping them identify where defenders were but they were nowhere near as effective as Luke’s hammer a weasel method.
“Keep moving position,” Luke said realizing they would also triangulate where the fire was coming from. “Never fire from the same place twice!”
The others acknowledge him as Luke shifted position, popped up and fired.
What the Janissaries did not have were internal cameras to tap into. They tried throwing in a couple recon balls that would attach to the hull and provide them with an integrated camera but they were flagged as hostile by Ultio defense software and pointed out to the defenders to destroy. The biggest problem right now was all the external cameras had been burned off in the last missile explosion and Luke had no idea what was happening outside.
The observation room began to feel small to Luke. He had fought from here for too long.
Luke looked at Leonessa after he ducked down. Even though nobody could see each other’s face because of the armored visor, everyone received a 3D view of the person’s face and Luke could see she looked scared. Her statistics flashed up since she was wearing an Ultio battle suit. She was doing better than most veterans Luke had seen. Brita was fighting like a machine, her heart rate was up, but she was ‘in the zone’. Definitely a veteran of infantry combat, a cold, dedicated killer, and her special operations training was obvious as she popped up, already in firing position with a target selected. Carmichael was terrified and was not doing as well. She would start making mistakes and she would only get to make one fatal mistake.
“Carmichael,” Luke said. “I need you to pull back and guard the hallway. I don’t want to get flanked.”
“Yes sir,” she said and scooted back from her window looking relieved. Luke would have to watch her. She was not infantry material and did not have half the training the others did.
Musashi WAS a machine and did not make mistakes, picking off Caliphate soldiers with cold, methodical shots that never missed.
“Hey,” Luke said on a private channel to Leonessa after taking a deep, calming breath. “It will be okay. If we can keep them out of the landing bay, we will be great! If not, that's okay too.”
Leonessa flashed him a quick smile. Her heart rate became more controlled.
Another rocket lanced out at a warbot fighting from an airlock. The rocket impacted outside the door and failed to damage the robot, which popped out and killed the gunner looking to see if he succeeded.
One Janissary launched himself to hide behind a fighter but Luke saw him first and placed a small burst into him. The Janissary flew on to smash against the fighter and then drifted back out into space.
“Nelson, send the reserve team outside the hull to snipe and harass anybody out there,” Luke said. “Second team will become the reserve as they patrol the interior.”
“Aye, aye commander,” Nelson replied.
Luke snapped off a shot at another Janissary who was peeking over the edge and decided it might be a good time to bug out. They would send a rocket at the observation booth shortly.
“Pull back into the hallway,” Luke said. “I’m guessing they will give us a rocket in a second.”
“Summers moving,” Brita said as she ducked down and pulled back to the door.
“Ferraro moving,” Leonessa said as she also ducked and retreated.
“Kishi m-“ a rocket slammed into the ceiling, just outside his window and threw Luke towards the door with darkness taking him.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Wormhole to Josaka
“Move faster! Fear Allah more than enemy fire!” Serkan yelled at the Janissaries. “If an infidel kills you, then your place in paradise is guaranteed! MOVE IT!”
Serkan had to gain control of the ship. That devil Luke would not have fought so hard to take a crippled vessel through the wormhole unless he had a plan. Serkan knew what he would do if he was in Luke’s shoes. It was what any warrior would do, and Luke was a warrior even if he was a hated infidel.
The last of the Janissaries from the Khalid arrived. Over four hundred crewmen were holding onto the cable with one hand and grasping a rifle or sub rifle in the other. They would soak up bullets for the Janissaries since they were unskilled in infantry space assault combat. They would be much more useful inside the corridors if only he could get them in there. He was not sure how much time they had but he had to assume they did not have enough.
Briefly Serkan stopped to stare at the glowing, pulsing purple walls of the surrounding wormhole. They might be absorbing lethal doses of radiation but Serkan didn’t care. Not anymore.
The team of Janissaries trying to get into the landing bay had enough rockets to volley fire, and seconds later they were scrambling into the bay. Once it was secure, other Janissaries would bring the cables with the crewmen aboard.
A sniper shot took out one of the Janissaries holding a line, knocking him and the fifty crewmen on his line off into space. They disappeared in seconds to be ripped apart in the energetic fields of the wormhole.
Serkan looked around and saw one of the infernal battle robots hiding behind some melted piece of equipment. It fired again, and again, and again. It was not missing as Serkan cursed and screamed at his Janissaries to kill it.
Serkan and the rest of the Janissaries fired as helpless crewmen screamed in fear and trying to climb down the line back to the ship. Damned cowards.
* * *
Luke heard a voice far away through the darkness.
“I didn’t come all this way, find and now lose you,” Elena said. "Please don’t die on me.”
“Ugh,” Luke groaned, everything hurt. “Not planning on it.”
Luke forced his eyes open and looked up at Leonessa. She was a little blurry, but she looked worried.
“I’ll be okay in a few,” Luke said. The nanites in his blood were working overtime repairing damage and replacing what they couldn't repair.
“How long?” Luke
asked.
“Almost two hours,” Leonessa said, her relief obvious.
Luke sat up and looked around. Brita was standing at the entrance to the CIC, her rifle aiming down the hallway.
“Are they attacking the CIC?” Luke asked.
“No,” Brita said. “Without a digital guide, this ship is a maze. Who the hell designed it?"
“I did, mostly,” Luke said feeling a little nauseous but better. “I got the idea off some US Naval ships I had been on long ago. They were confusing as hell. Sometimes you have to go up a level before you could go down a level. I’m sure having to cut through bulkheads isn’t making their job easier, although cutting through the floors or ceiling will be even harder.”
“You built tough,” Brita said.
“I paid for it,” Luke said. “The engineers thought I was crazy. It worked out I think. I already have ideas for the next ship.”
“You expect to survive?” Leonessa said.
Luke nodded and Leonessa flashed him a smile.
“Nelson,” Luke said. “You have any idea where they are?”
“Some, based on the depressurized chambers,” They are striking out in about three directions, or they only have three cutters.”
“Bring up the holoview,” Luke said blinking away some of the fuzziness.
It looked like one group was moving toward the CIC where Luke was right now. The CIC was in the standard location and would be a prime target even though they would have no hope of controlling it, but then Luke suspected their primary goal was just to kill everyone here. The ship could be controlled through wireless links and an implanted heads-up display from anywhere in the ship. The CIC was just a more of a traditional meeting place where Luke felt more comfortable. It could be locked out. The auxiliary CIC was the same way, although both centers had manual controls for the ship if one was authorized to use them.
Engineering was a different story. They could do some serious damage in engineering. Just shooting up the grav modules, power conduits or causing damage to the various systems would leave the ship helpless. The engineering compartments were close together and would have to be defended to the bitter end if the Ultio was to perform its final mission.
The Return: The Conglomerate Trilogy (Volume 1) Page 33