by G J Ogden
“I really hope this thing works,” said Alexis as the breaching pod maneuvered into position in front of the squadron’s three fighters. “I don’t like the idea of dying in that oversized tin can. If I’m to die, then I want to go out fighting.”
Cad double-checked that his advanced power armor was configured for space walking, then depressurized the cockpit.
“We don’t have a choice,” Cad said as the canopy of his fighter slid back. “Even with their armor shields enabled, these ships can’t withstand a full barrage from that base’s cannons. And we have to grab another high-level member of Dr. Rand’s little renegade troop; otherwise, we’re screwed.”
The intelligence that Draga had so gleefully extracted from the commander of the first renegade base had turned out to be worthless. Draga had been – and still remained – incensed by this. She took pride in her sadistic methods of retrieving information, and this failure had been a rare humiliation. It also couldn’t have come at a worse time. Damien Doyle had been on Cad’s ass to accelerate his attacks on the bases in order to flush Dr. Rand out into the open. Cad had boasted to Doyle that they had the remaining renegade positions, and that it was only a short matter of time. The truth was that Cad only had the three initial hideout locations they’d retrieved from Scarlett Brock, the renegade operative who they’d interrogated and killed on Janus.
“I will find the commander,” said Draga, though it sounded like she was forcing the words out through gritted teeth. “And this time, I will get the truth, slowly and painfully. They will beg me for death once I’m through with them.”
Cad had a healthy respect for Draga’s macabre talents, and despite her recent failure, his confidence in her had not diminished. He too had underestimated the resolve of the renegade commander; Dr. Rand’s followers had turned out to have far more grit than he’d expected. However, Draga and anger were two forces that did not marry well together; he needed to be sure she stayed on mission.
“You know I appreciate your work, Draga, but I need you focused,” replied Cad, concerned that his third squadron member might get carried away and leave no one alive to interrogate. “We don’t want to have to attempt a raid like this again.”
Cad saw Alexis push herself out of her cockpit and thrust gently toward the breaching pod, using the maneuvering jets in her suit. He unclipped his harness and climbed out of his own cockpit, kicking off on the hull to give himself some initial momentum. The rear door to the pod swung open as he drew closer, making regular, small course corrections with his thrusters to ensure he didn’t sail straight past it.
Their three fighters would remain in position, out of range of the hideout’s guns, and only fly in to retrieve them once Cad gave the all clear. However, they still had a mountain to climb before that could happen. Even Cad had admitted to himself that the assault was high-risk, but if they pulled it off, he also knew it would further enrich his mystique and reputation. A mercenary was only as good as their last mission, and Cad’s last mission had been tainted with failure. It had left a bitter and unfamiliar taste in his mouth; one he intended to wash away with blood.
Cad reached the breaching pod, and Alexis grabbed his arm and helped to pull him inside. Draga touched down a few seconds later with the agility of an eagle landing on its perch. Then the enormous metal door of the pod slowly drew down, sealing them all inside like the dead inside a tomb.
“Okay, let’s do this,” said Cad, pulling himself into the forward seat. Their weapons had already been stowed inside the pod before their ships had generated the temporary bridges to the hideout’s location. Draga’s shotgun was fixed in position next to her seat, while Alexis had already retrieved and holstered her Five-Seven-Seven pistols. Cad had forgone his usual sidearm for a powerful sub-machine gun with precision-guided rounds. Normally, he considered such a weapon to be beneath him, but on this occasion, he wanted nothing left to chance. And, as usual, his Black Prince sword was carefully stowed by the side of his seat for the inevitable, but enjoyable, close-quarters action he anticipated getting into.
Draga and Alexis both chorused the word “Secure…” before Cad prepared to initiate the breaching program. The plan was to fly straight and fast at the hangar of the renegade base, weathering the storm of flak and cannon fire that would be rained down upon them. Then, when it was within range, the pod would fire its braking thrusters, slowing it to a stop mere meters in front of the bay doors, safe from the base’s cannons. It would involve enduring a near twelve g-force deceleration burn. Cad was used to high g-forces, but even with the protections provided by their sophisticated combat armor, he knew the experience was going to be deeply unpleasant.
Cad initiated the breaching program and called out the countdown. “Okay, initiating approach burn in, five… four… three…two…one…”
The kick from the breaching pod’s engines was savage, and despite knowing it was coming, it still took Cad by surprise. The virtualized image of the renegade base came at him with incredible speed, and soon the pod was being hammered with cannon fire and shrapnel from exploding shell rounds. Cad held on and kept his cool. He’d endured more hair-raising atmospheric re-entries than he could count; this was a fairground rollercoaster ride in comparison.
Alarms sounded all around him and Cad saw in his visor HUD that the pod’s armor integrity was failing. However, they were almost through. Two minutes… Cad told himself. Two minutes, and I need to be ready to fight…
Suddenly, Cad’s chair swung around by a hundred and eighty degrees, and the braking thrusters fired. Cad steeled himself as best he could, but even he was finding it tough to stay conscious. He glanced across to Alexis and Draga, but all he could see was the backs of their helmets. He had no way of knowing if either was still conscious. You two had better be ready when this bucket breaches the doors… Cad thought. Because I’m sure as hell not doing this on my own.
The thump of cannon shells vanished, as did the immense pressures on his body. Then the forward armor detached and the pod latched on to the base’s docking bay doors. Powerful cutting lasers immediately set to work, breaching the outer layer in a matter of seconds.
“Gear up, one minute!” Cad shouted as he jumped out of his seat, almost immediately falling flat on his face. He’d saved himself any embarrassment by instinctively grabbing the back of his chair, but the erratic response of his body to attempting such a basic move was concerning.
“Hell, I don’t even think I’ll be able to see straight in sixty seconds, not to mention fight,” said Alexis, bouncing off the wall of the pod. Her ability to remain unfazed by any situation continued to amaze Cad; it was one of the things he loved about her. Draga also looked unsteady, but she said nothing and instead merely wrestled to release her semi-automatic shotgun from its stow. Whether she was ready to fight or not, nothing would stop Draga from heading out, all guns blazing.
“Hit yourself with drug package seven alpha,” said Cad, his foggy mind suddenly remembering the wild concoction of meds that had been formulated to counteract the effects of the pod. “Then get ready to move. This crazy little stunt should catch them by surprise, but we should still expect heavy resistance in the hangar.”
Cad executed the drug package command and felt tiny pin-pricks pierce his body, all the way from his neck to his calves. Whatever the blend of drugs was, it worked fast and the effects hit him like a train. For a moment, he felt ten times worse – then he felt invincible.
“Ten seconds to breach,” Cad called out while pushing his Black Prince sword into the scabbard he was wearing over his armor and grabbing his SMG. Draga and Alexis appeared beside him, weapons held ready as Cad counted down the final seconds in his mind. Three… two… one… breach!
The entire front section of the breaching pod exploded outwards, revealing a tunnel that had been extended directly inside the renegade base. Cad ran through, feeling rounds pinging off his armor even before he’d reached the end of the passageway and leapt into the hangar. His visor acquired
several targets and Cad opened fire with his SMG as the thrusters in his suit fired automatically to control his descent to the deck. The precision-guided rounds steered themselves on target, and a second later, two renegades were dead.
Cad landed and ran for cover as the blast of Draga’s shotgun and rapid crack of Alexis’ Five-Seven-Sevens added to the commotion. Cad peeked out from cover, acquiring additional targets in his visor before firing a snapshot of precision-guided bullets. Two more renegades soon lay dead in what would have been impossible shots to make, were it not for his high-tech weapon.
“That’s cheating,” said Alexis Black, slamming her back up against the storage crates beside Cad.
“Only if we’re keeping score,” replied Cad, smiling back at her. Then he added cockily, “That’s four already for me, by the way…”
Alexis let out a laugh that was bordering on maniacal, then said, “Just leave some renegades for me, okay? Otherwise, I’ll be cross…”
Draga had already advanced beyond Cad’s position, and Cad peeked out again to see that the remaining renegades had retreated from the hangar.
“Let’s move out!” Cad ordered through the suit’s comm channel before running further into the hangar and taking cover behind a repair station.
“This is going to be easier than we thought,” said Alexis, dropping to a crouch next to him. “They’re already on the run.”
Suddenly, the feedback sensors in the soles of Cad’s armored boots detected heavy thuds vibrating through the deck. Alexis was about to advance again, but Cad held out an arm to stop her.
“Everyone hold up. Something’s not right,” Cad commanded, feeling the weight and number of thuds intensify. He then stood up to get a better look toward the connecting doors from the hangar into the main foyer of the base, and laughed.
“What’s so funny?” asked Alexis, also rising up to take a quick peek. Then she saw what had caused Cad to let out his curious snort-laugh. Advancing into the hangar were three military-grade combat bots, and they were each armed with rifles.
“You have got to be kidding,” said Alexis as the machines spread into a vee formation. “They must be mad to let those things roam free, and even more insane to actually arm them.”
Cad ducked back down behind cover and smiled at Alexis, but her face remained twisted into a frown.
“I still don’t see what you’re so happy about,” said Alexis.
The sight of the combat bots had only bolstered Cad’s already drug-enhanced confidence. The volatile combat machines were prone to glitches and logic errors, and were normally deployed only as a last resort. Cad had only ever seen them used proactively by Damien Doyle, who always had a personal protection bot close by. However, as with everything Damien Doyle owned, his personal unit had undergone bespoke upgrades worth millions. The aging former military units that were advancing toward them now with unrelenting haste were likely just as screwy as the day they were activated.
“The renegades aren’t mad,” Cad answered, continuing to meet Alexis’ confused expression with one of amusement. “They’re terrified of us…”
Alexis’ frown quickly morphed into a smile, and she raised her pistols, ready to attack. “Then let’s show this renegade rabble why they’re right to be scared of the Blackfire Squadron.”
4
Debris rained down on Cad and Alexis as the trio of combat bots concentrated their fire on the repair station they were using for cover. Soon, the metal frame of the station had become so badly perforated that rounds penetrated through and impacted against Cad’s armor.
“Draga, draw their fire,” Cad called out over the comm channel as he plucked a grenade from its magnetic stow on the rear hip of his armor. “I need you to distract them for a few seconds.”
Draga acknowledged the order and then sprang out from cover, blasting the bot closest to her with the powerful semi-automatic shotgun. The combat bot staggered off balance as the slugs hammered into its armored shell before its left arm was blasted clean off at the shoulder.
Cad watched and waited as the other two bots refocused their attack on Draga, who dove for cover as rounds filled the air around her. With the bots distracted, Cad shot up and threw the grenade toward the trio of mechanized combatants. It connected with the central bot, attaching to its metal body with a satisfying thunk, then detonated. Cad felt the fractured remains of the bots clatter against his armor and advanced, his visor filtering out the smoke to give a clear view of the leftovers. One bot was still partly functional and tried in vain to raise its rifle at Cad, but he pressed a boot down on its metal arm and fired two shots into its cranial unit.
“I hope that’s the last we see of these mechanical monsters today,” said Alexis, moving up to Cad’s side. Alexis’ personality always switched to that of a serious, hardnosed killer whenever the Blackfire Squadron’s circumstances became more perilous. And although her metamorphosis had yet to be complete, Cad knew that the fewer jokes and smart-ass comments she made, the more dangerous their position had become. “Those grenades will be as much of a risk to us as to anything else once we reach the narrower confines of the inner base,” Alexis added, peering toward the door leading off the hangar with narrowed eyes.
Cad sifted through the fractured carcasses of the combat bots with the toe of his boot, before finding the back panel of one of the units. He reached down and picked it up, while Alexis and Draga covered the door.
“These things were antiques,” said Cad, looking at the serial number and manufacturer code on the bot’s back panel. “If we’d have just left them alone, they’d probably have shot each other to pieces before becoming a serious threat to us.”
Draga advanced toward the main section of the base, now holding her shotgun in one hand, while grasping a pistol in the other. Cad could see that the back section of her armor had taken a number of hits during the combat bot’s assault, penetrating through in one section. Blood was slowly leaking out of the hole.
“You’re hit,” said Cad, throwing the metal panel down and moving up alongside Draga.
“It’s nothing,” Draga replied. “A bit of pain helps me to focus.”
Cad shot a knowing glance to Alexis before answering, “Just a bit of pain, though, okay? I want us all walking out of this base with our armor mostly intact this time, rather than hanging off us by threads.”
Cad cautiously approached the arched double-door leading from the hangar into the main base, and peeked around the corner. Immediately, he was pressed back by a savage barrage of gunfire flying through the opening. However, this time, it was not mere small arms fire; this was something far more threatening.
“They’ve set up a damned gun emplacement, guarding the corridor to the operations command center,” said Cad. He then realized that one of the high-velocity rounds had snuck through the wall and nicked his shoulder, biting a chunk out of the advanced armor plating. He turned to the others, tapping his finger to the damage. “And there’s no way we can just storm the castle gates this time,” he added. “We’ll be shot to pieces before we even make it through the door.”
“They must have expected us to enter via the storage elevator again,” suggested Alexis. “The cowards set up an ambush for us.”
Draga nodded. “It would explain why they played the combat bot card so early; they obviously didn’t anticipate that we’d breach the hangar.”
Cad chanced another look through the opening and saw maybe a dozen renegades in position behind a makeshift barricade. However, his visor was unable to get a lock on any targets before he was again forced back into cover by the vicious, rapid crack of the machine gun.
“They’ve also fortified their position,” said Cad, stepping further away from the door. The powerful machine gun the renegades were using had already chewed through a section of the archway. “And I can’t get a lock on them, so there’s no chance of me picking them off with smart rounds.”
Alexis smiled. “Good, that means you can’t cheat anymore.”
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Cad scowled at Alexis. “You should be wanting me to cheat right now. Or would you rather head out there and get torn to shreds by that gun?”
Draga then holstered her pistol and removed a grenade from her belt, but Cad quickly waved her off. “Stand down, Draga. If we start throwing high-explosives at them, we could cave in the passageway to the main operations center. Besides, you’ll get cut in half long before that thing leaves your hand, blowing us up along with you.”
“Got any better ideas?” Draga replied grumpily, still holding the grenade ready.
Cad peered attentively around the hangar and discovered that they had another option. He smiled back at Draga. “I always have a better idea,” he said with his usual swagger, turning to Alexis. “This base is just a cobbled together mix of old freighters,” he added, pointing up toward the ceiling of the hangar. “If you can get inside the structural crawlspaces, you should be able to work through from this space into the next room, right through where they sliced the two ships open.”
Alexis nodded and holstered her Five-Seven-Sevens. “I’m on it…”
Alexis fired the thrusters built into her armor, propelling her rapidly toward the ceiling. As with everything Alexis did, the ascent was graceful and natural, as if flying was second nature to her. She then carefully maneuvered herself into position, grabbing on to the various metal supports and struts like a rock climber.
Cad moved back in front of the archway and began firing blindly through it. Draga looked at him as if he’d gone slightly mad. “I’m just letting them know we’re still here,” said Cad, noticing Draga’s curious look.
“Still here, waiting like lemons,” Draga answered, stowing the grenade. Her expression was still as gloomy as a storm cloud. “You should just let me blow them up.”