“Otis, how the heck do we go about getting inside?”
“You don’t, but my men can. We’ve trained for this but have never actually done it. I’ll have a dozen shuttles there inside an hour, two at most. They will have the equipment and the manpower to subdue the ship. If we need more, I’ll send more.”
Josh spoke up. “My men would like to assist,” he said.
Otis used the very human gesture of rubbing his chin with his hand. “This is not a training class, Colonel, but your request is appropriate. There are probably Chessori still alive, and if their goal was to invade the planet, there might be a lot of them.” He thought for a time. “Sire, what is your decision. Do we proceed?”
Mike considered his commitment to Ellie and her need for protection, yet he could not pass up the opportunity to get his hands on an interstellar communicator.
“We proceed,” he replied.
“Very well, Sire. Colonel Dace, prepare your men for a briefing as soon as I arrive. I will explain the breaching process at that time. We will invite four of your men to accompany each first-in team, just in case the Chessori are waiting. The rest of your men will follow as soon as we can get them there. I’ll join you as soon as I can.” He signed off.
Mike looked at Josh. “You got your wish. Are you going, too?”
“I hope so. I like to lead from the front, but we have three fronts. I need to be wherever I can be of the most use, probably somewhere where I can communicate with all the teams, or maybe with a reserve force. I’ll discuss it with Otis.”
“You’ve got an hour or two. Better get your guys saddled up.” As Josh turned to leave, he asked one more question. “How are the guys that were in cargo hold four?”
“Alive, but pretty banged up. Internal injuries. Sergeant Jacobs doesn’t know if they’ll make it or not. The ship is well equipped, but it can only do so much. He’s earning his pay today.”
Mike went to sick bay to check on the wounded men. One had died, the other two were in a bad way and would not fight again, but Jacobs and the ship’s medic were keeping a close eye on them. Mike brought both of them up to date, and Jacobs accompanied him as he left. Mike lifted his eyebrows in a question.
“They’re under good care, Sire. I think I’ll be needed elsewhere today. I’m not going to sit this one out.”
Mike nodded soberly. There would definitely be need of medics with the teams, and these medics were fighters as well.
They went to the hangar deck to welcome Otis aboard. All of Josh’s men were there. Mike reminded them of the part Otis had played in saving the Queen, and he reminded them that Otis was a Knight of the Realm. He then piped Otis aboard, a small ceremony that Voorhees helped set up.
Thirty Great Cats accompanied Otis, all business. They padded among Josh’s men, the men studying the cats while the cats studied the men, each taking the measure of the other, each wondering if they could ever learn to work effectively together. The cats clearly had superior strength and reflexes, everyone in the room knew and accepted that, but Josh’s men had all seen their share of action and had lived through it to reach this point.
They were the best Earth had to offer. They held their heads high, unafraid of the testing to come.
Otis left them to their perusal for a time, then ordered everyone to the adjacent cargo bay that Josh’s men had been using as a training room. He inserted a chip into the overhead presentation system as Josh’s men attached translating devices to their ears. He brought up a schematic of the cruiser and explained its general layout, then he brought the bridge area into detailed focus.
“Team A will breach here,” he said, indicating the appropriate area. “We will use a shaped charge to blow a hole in the outer surface of the ship. These ships are very hard; it will take several charges to breach. Inside the outer hull is an inner hull which contains the air inside the ship. It will be much easier to breach. We will place a hardened cylinder against the hull, secure it with a glue-like substance, then use another shaped charge to breach the inner hull. When this is accomplished, we will close the inner door of the hatch, enter the outer door and close it behind us, then pressurize and open the inner door.
“This will be a dangerous time. Only one or two will be able to enter the ship at a time. One cat and one human will go first. Since this is in the area of the bridge, you can definitely expect to encounter Chessori. Another cat and another human will enter next, followed by the remainder of Team A.
“Your shortest route to the bridge is directly below the breach in the direction of the front of the ship. Make certain you are properly oriented before entering. You can’t afford to go off in the wrong direction. Each of you will be carrying detonation cords to breach the bridge hatch which is armored and probably locked.
“Your mission is to secure the bridge, its occupants, and to lock down the computers. The computers can be voice activated, so you will have to be quick if anyone is alive on the bridge. We would like to interrogate any survivors, but you have no restrictions against killing anyone on the bridge in order to accomplish your mission.
“Team B will breach here,” he explained pointing to the engineering spaces. “You will enter through the Chief Engineer’s office in the same manner and secure it. I do not anticipate encountering Chessori in this area, but the humans will team up as already discussed just in case. We will send a follow-up team as soon as the shuttle is clear since this is, by far, the largest critical area to secure.
“Team C will breach here,” he explained pointing to the communications area. “It is absolutely critical that you secure all equipment and computers in this area. It potentially holds a great prize. You will take great care to prevent destroying the equipment.
“The rest of you will follow as soon as the shuttles can get you there. Three shuttles will be held in reserve. They will reinforce where needed. Everyone will be in protective suits until the Team Leader decides the suits are no longer necessary.”
He began to describe the few essential hand signals the teams would use in case of communications breakdowns, but Jessie spoke up. “Not necessary, Sire. I’ve taught them the basic verbal commands as well as the basic hand signals. I vouch for their understanding.”
“Excellent,” Otis exclaimed. “Are they proficient with the protective suits?”
“Reasonably proficient, including in vacuum. They have never experienced weightlessness, though.”
Mike was startled. He hadn’t even considered the fact that the ship might not have its artificial gravity functioning. There were infinite amounts of additional instruction Josh’s men needed, but there just wasn’t time to cover every eventuality. Mike was certain their mettle would be tested this day. Had he chosen wrong? Was he sending them to their deaths? He looked at Josh, who returned a grim nod. He knew his men, and he knew they would give it their very best even if it wasn’t enough.
Otis and Josh broke the men into teams, and the first three shuttles departed, followed soon after by the rest. Mike led Otis and Josh to the bridge where they would wait until needed.
Josh kept his translator device in place – it was essential that he communicate clearly with Otis. He and Mike entered the net and called up the communications channels of the boarders, of which there were four. Each team had a separate channel, and all team members had access to the command channel. Josh communicated with Otis over the bridge speakers and discovered that Kirsten could easily handle the two-way translation. They were both able to converse with no difficulty through Kirsten’s interaction while remaining in direct contact with all the team members. Josh, wishing he was aboard one of the shuttles, knew deep down that he was in the right place, a place where he could easily and effortlessly communicate with his men through the magic of the net. Otis was in overall command of this operation, a point which he emphasized and a point which Josh seconded without hesitation.
The first three charges went off simultaneously. After that, they went off as quickly as they could be pla
ced. The hatches were soon in place and the inner hulls breached, though it took a good hour before the first team made it in. Shortly thereafter, Mike felt the scree. Voorhees and his crew almost took him and Josh out with them before he was able to get Kirsten to disconnect them. When they got their act together again, pandemonium had broken out on the cruiser. Otis, laboring under great strain from the scree, demanded a report from each Team.
Team A was in the ship. Four cats were down, the humans had gone ahead of the cats, their situation unknown. Josh, in contact with his men, passed a report to Otis that his men had reached the bridge and were placing the charges on the bridge hatch. The cats had free passage to the bridge, the way was clear. The men needed help; they didn’t know how to activate the charges. Otis passed the activation instructions through Josh, then focused on the other Teams. Josh, meanwhile, ordered his reserves to deploy to each hatch and be ready to move in.
Teams B and C completed their breaches and entered. Team B, in the engineering section, had sporadic contact with the Chessori but pressed on and quickly secured the engine room and engineering spaces, then began moving slowly forward through the ship. They soon called for reinforcements; there was too much ship to cover, and they didn’t want to spread the team too thin.
Team C, in communications, became pinned down in the corridor as soon as they entered. They needed reinforcements, human reinforcements if possible. The area was crawling with Chessori.
Otis gave Josh the go ahead. Josh, in turn, passed the word to his men aboard the reserve shuttles to move in. The shuttles were not able to dock, however. The pilots, all Great Cats, got close, but they could not operate the shuttle controls with the great finesse a docking required. The scree demanded incredible inner strength for the cats just to function at a minimal level, let alone the high levels needed for docking.
Josh’s men, knowing Team C was in dire straits and desperate for help, called on Josh to command the pilot to let all the air out of the ship and to go weightless. They swam to the exit, attempting to line up just as if they were preparing to jump out of a plane. It was a pretty ragged lineup as they exited one at a time, launching themselves at the nearby hatch through the vacuum of space. It was a disaster looking for a place to happen, but everyone made it to the lock with only a few minor injuries from hard landings. Otis passed instructions through Josh on how to work the lock mechanisms, and they eventually got the job done. Josh passed the idea on to the other teams, and they followed suit. Some thirty humans poured through each breach as fast as they could operate the locks.
Two of Josh’s men were lost on entering the bridge. Two Chessori there were taken out by the two remaining humans who stood guard over the Rebels writhing in agony on the deck. They were soon joined by the cats and the bridge was secure.
Reinforcements poured into the breach in engineering, fanning out forward and aft to search the ship for surviving Chessori, securing Rebel crewmen as they went.
Team C encountered the stiffest resistance, not because they faced the most Chessori, but because they couldn’t blow the place up to get at them. Their job was to take the communications section with minimal damage. The reinforcements added greatly to their firepower, but there was limited space to maneuver.
One of the Great Cats angrily entered a compartment adjacent to the main communications compartment, motioning six humans in before him. He struggled with a heavy gun, took aim, and burned a hole through the wall of the communications compartment, then motioned the humans forward. They managed to pick off two Chessori guarding the outer door which allowed access for the rest of the team. After that, Josh’s men used standard room clearing procedures to work their way through the remaining spaces. An hour after entering the ship, the communications section was secure.
A couple of hundred Chessori hounded Josh’s men and the cats as they fought their way through the ship. Josh issued directions to his troops when they became lost, and he sent reinforcements where necessary. The worst battle took place in the armorer’s section where the Chessori had unlimited access to weapons, both personal weapons and heavy guns. These Chessori were true fighters and highly skilled, possibly the ones assigned to root the Great Cats out of their positions on the planet.
A battle raged for hours with little progress, though with great damage to the ship. Mike eventually ordered everyone to retreat to safe locations, then ordered the gunners aboard Stardust to hole the ship in that exact location. The Chessori that didn’t perish from the blasts were evacuated into space by the escaping air. No one wasted the effort to retrieve the bodies.
The cleanup took more hours, but once the last Chessori succumbed, no Rebels proved willing to challenge the cats. It was simply a matter of time as they cleared the vast spaces of the cruiser. The ship was still in grave danger and would never sail again, but the task now became securing it against its own destruction.
Forcing the Rebels to do the work was no problem at all. They were simply told they could not abandon the ship. They would save it or perish.
The cruiser’s captain was brought to Stardust with the last batch of wounded. Josh had left the bridge to check on his wounded men. Otis and Mike stood up as the captain entered the bridge escorted by two of Josh’s men.
“Your name?” Otis inquired. The man’s expression only hardened. It was clear he would not talk easily. “It’s your choice, Captain,” Otis stated plainly. “You can talk now with us, or you can do it later with the experts. I have no interest in what you might tell us anyway.”
The man remained mute. Otis ordered Josh’s men to escort the prisoner to the designated brig area and to secure him hand and foot.
Mike added, “You searched him, right?”
“We did, but we’re not real sure what to look for,” answered the senior sergeant. “What if he has implants or something?”
Mike turned to Voorhees for guidance.
He shrugged. “Who cares if he kills himself?” He held up a hand to forestall argument. “Okay, I’ll detail a crewmember to keep a watch until the medic can check him out, but not before the medic has seen to each of our men. We’ll strip him until then. Let him play with himself if he wants to.”
Then Voorhees brightened and turned to Otis. “Should we just give him to your men?”
“Hmm,” Otis mumbled deeply in his throat. “They’re probably hungry by now. Let me think on it.”
The prisoner showed his alarm but did not speak. He was taken away.
* * * * *
The battle was over, and they had won. Mike and Otis took a break and headed for the lounge. Stepping into the central shaft, Otis chuckled.
“Remember the first time you rode one of these?” he asked grinning. Mike just rolled his eyes, remembering how he had felt about falling down the shaft.
“You’ve come a long way, Sire. I call you a cub no longer. Today was a great day for the Empire.”
Mike thought through the events of the day and shrugged. “As usual, I’m just the hands and feet of the experts, doing their bidding. Josh, Voorhees, and his Chief came up with the strategy we used against the cruiser. You put your breaching plan together with incredible swiftness. I’m impressed, Otis.”
“You led today, Mike. You led well. That included choosing what advice you would use from the experts. It was a very good day, and to top it off, you saved my world from tragedy. Brodor is in your debt. We will not forget.”
Mike nodded absently. Otis took him by the arm, turning Mike to face himself and looking him in the eyes. “Hear me well, Mike. Brodor is in your debt. Think about what I say. We have long memories and do not forget our obligations.”
Mike responded as First Knight. “Sir Otis, Brodor has pledged itself to the Queen. I will not accept anything less or more. Therein lies your duty. Do not forget it.”
“You truly are learning to lead, Sire,” Otis responded with his toothy grin. “That doesn’t change the fact that we have long memories.”
Chapter Twelve
It was just as well, Juster decided. He wasn’t in the mood for another tirade, and this one would be deserved. He had sent the picket force at Brodor in to attack the planet without Struthers’ approval and had lost touch with the ships. He would take the blame, and that was okay, but what had happened? No one knew what defenses Brodor had, but surely they weren’t capable of taking out a cruiser. And not a hint of what had gone wrong.
He slumped in the chair behind his desk deep in thought. How had the cats done it?
Reba
Chapter Thirteen
Reba didn’t know it, but she and her men were destined to lead the Queen’s first major assault against the Rebels. The battle would take place at Orion III, and its outcome would heavily weight the scales of success or failure for the Queen.
Among her one thousand men from Earth, she alone knew the mission, she alone spoke the language, and she alone was responsible for ensuring her soldiers were prepped and ready to go on arrival at Orion III. In addition, she had yet to earn the trust of her men, a motley group of special operations soldiers chosen from across the globe.
Reba and the group’s commander, Colonel James Waverly, a middle-aged, barrel-chested Ranger with wide-set eyes and hair showing the first flecks of gray, had eight weeks to pull the men into a viable fighting force. They lifted from Earth two months after Mike and Trexler, all one thousand men crammed aboard a trader headed for Orion III. She had no idea if Val was still there, but she allowed herself to hope.
Knights of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book Two) Page 20