Assault on Ambrose Station: A Seth Donovan Novel (30 page)

49.

I picked my way between the corpses, taking care to make sure each was dead. Renthal and Harris were doing the same. I jumped a little at the crack of Renthal’s pistol as he executed a wounded Ghantri and looked around to make sure no one saw. Of course, Artemis had seen me startled.

“How’s the nerves?” she whispered.

“Surprisingly okay. I got jumpy at the beginning, but no panic attacks during the fighting.”

She smile at me. I was surprised the see it was an actual, genuine smile, too.

“What?” she said.

“Nothing.”

She touched me on the elbow and made her way over to where I had gathered the rest of the troops. When we were sure every Ghantri was dead, we moved over to the rest of the team.

“Anyone wounded?” I asked.

I was pleased to see everyone shake his or her heads or call negative.

“If you don’t mind, sarge, give them all a checking over.”

As Kekkin stepped into the group, Rego sighed and raised his hand.

“Took a round behind the knee. Didn’t penetrate, I don’t think, but I’m bleeding anyway.”

Kekkin ordered him up and took him over to a bench.

“Anyone else?” I asked.

“Just bruises.” said Gunther.

“Want a blanky?” snarled Masters, “Or a hot cup of toughen the fuck up?”

“Hey, the LT asked!”

“Okay,” I interrupted, “Anything needing medical attention?”

“Masters needs a chill pill.” muttered Gunther under his breath. Masters kicked him.

“Rest up, you guys did well.” I walked over to Kekkin and Rego. The Garz’a had his helmet off and had Rego’s leg stretched out. He was removing the armour plating around his left knee. “How is it?”

“Not life threatening. Human will live.”

“Don’t sound so disappointed, sarge.” smiled Rego, although I could see the pain he was trying to hide.

“Can you walk?”

“I think so. Sarge says a bullet fragment pierced my suit.”

“Will need to remove fragment if we can.” Kekkin said. He was starting to cut around the wound site with a pair of scissors. When it was nearly clear of material, Rego spasmed in pain, unable to stop from crying out.

“Warrior needs water.”

I handed Kekkin a bladder of distilled water from the medical kit by his foot. He tore the top open and started to pour it over the wound. Kekkin recoiled suddenly, bringing his hand up to his face.

“Urk. It stinks.”

“Oh, fuck.” I said, “Poison.”

Rego had gone white and pasty skinned, sweat breaking out on his face. His eyes were white with terror. Kekkin pulled back, looking at his bloody hands in horror. I grabbed Rego, placing one hand over the control module on the arm of his M4 suit. I focused inward, flooding it with nanites. I closed my eyes, trying to sense the circuits with my mind’s eye.

“Kekkin! Hold him down!” I felt him obey, as Rego began to convulse. When my nanites had control of his suit, I overrode the safety locks and activated the emergency pressure containment.

Star Marines do battle in any number of environments, including space. When a marine is injured so much that a limb is damaged and the suit is torn open, rather than expose the wounded marine to explosive decompression the suit can retract around the damaged section and seal up the leak. If the wound is great enough, a severed limp is sealed to prevent blood loss. With the safety locks removed, I told Rego’s suit that his lower leg had been destroyed and the M4 turned rigid and retracted.

“
Ertak!
” swore Kekkin. Rego screamed briefly, then mercifully fainted.

I opened my eyes to see Kekkin sprawled out on the floor, a severed leg in his lap. I heard several gasps and accompanied cursing from behind me as the rest of the squad saw what I had done. I checked Rego’s life support readings on his arm and when I was satisfied they weren’t getting any worse, for the time being, I turned to the others.

“The moment you get wounded, let someone know. Some Ghantri use ballistic rounds infused with poison from their home world. Not all, but enough to make it a very real threat. If Rego survives the next eight hours, he avoided a very painful fate. Harris, take two people and go get Tac and the others. We’ll find an apartment here to rest for the next few hours. We’ll move on to the transport hub after that.”

Kekkin got up, carried the leg over to the platform’s edge, and tossed it over the side. I joined him by the railing. I could see he was troubled.

“Sorry to drop that on you, I had to act fast.”

“
Naga-zak
saved human’s life. No apology needed.”

“What’s troubling you, then?”

He looked up into my face, a questioning look in his eyes.

“You’re not the first Garz’a I’ve hung out with, remember?”

“When you warned me of the poison, for a brief moment warrior knew fear.”

“Happens to us all. Fear is natural.”

“No,
lur shirtan-zak
should not fear death.
Lur shirtan-zak
should not lose duel and live.” I could see his jaw muscles clenching.

I mulled it over, “Your world view has been shaken? You thought you were invincible, beyond getting scared?”

“Warrior thought he was ready for
galab-
z
ak
.”

“Is that your next
lur kit-zak
rank? Above
lur shirtan-zak
?”

“One that warrior feels is unobtainable.” he said, nodding.

“Do you respect my opinion?”

“Of course,
naga-zak.
Would not be here if not so.”

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself. This is probably the most terrifying place I have ever been – thousands of miles of sub-structure to crawl through that is practically swarming with the worse enemy I have ever faced. I was so scared going into this fight. I thought I would freeze up like a rookie. You were calm, cool and collected throughout that entire battle. I knew that if you could keep your cool, so could I. I used you to draw on for strength to get through that fight. I’m going to need you many more times before this is through.”

He had bowed his head solemnly.

“If this is some sort of mid-life crisis, can it wait until after we get back to the Protectorate?”

He chuffed, and then shook himself all over. “Warrior will continue to remain stoic for
naga-zak.
You can count on me.” He looked me in the eye again, “Thank you.”

“I got your back, Kekkin. I just need you to have mine as well.”

He nodded and then straightened. “We need a medic.”

“What happened to your last one?”

“Tucker. Jaani killed him.”

“Ah, sorry. Let’s get some rest – we’re going to need it.”

I checked in on Rego, who was still unconscious, and then found a pile of debris to nest in. All our helmets were off, our reactors dutifully charging our spent power clips. Just as I was getting comfortable, Art jumped down next to me. I sighed.

“I didn’t know an M4 could do that.” she said, shoving a bundle of shelving from her side of the pile to mine.

“Normally, they can’t.” I pushed the pieces onto the ground.

“Will he live?”

“I hope so. If the poison got any further into him, he would be awake and screaming by now.”

“You’ve seen this before.” it wasn’t a question.

“Yeah, my last squaddie to die. Just a scratch, it was. Took a couple of hours to really hit him.”

“What happened?”

“I put a bullet in him.”

“That’s hard.”

“No shit. Most of what I did here was hard.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to bring it up.”

“What do you want, Art? We need to rest.”

“I know. I just…I just wanted to say I’m glad you’re here, and that you convinced me to let these goons tag along.”

I turned my head to look at her. She propped herself up on one elbow as she spoke.

“You’re being awfully nice. What is it?”

“Nothing. I just know I haven’t been the best person in the galaxy. The reasons why we’re doing this, Eric, all that stuff. What I mean is…I’m trying to say…oh fuck it.”

“Art. I understand…”

“No, you don’t. That’s what I’m trying to say. You don’t understand me. Why I’m doing this. Why
I’m
here. I put on this coy attitude, the tough girl routine, but it’s just a defence mechanism. I’m overly conspicuous with my sexuality to put people off balance, I push people away once I’ve used them for whatever reason I needed, I don’t care about anyone else’s fate but my own.”

She was clearly getting frustrated. I’d never seen her like this before. I could see she was struggling for the right words, and I didn’t want to interrupt her, so I just stared at her dumbly.

“Help me!” she said.

“What?”

“I don’t know!”

I stared at her in confusion. She was utterly at a loss for words.

“You’re not hitting on me, are you?” I said, my eyes growing wide, “As in,
actually,
really trying to tell me you have feelings for me?”

She looked as shocked as I was. “No! I mean, yes! No! Not like that. You’re the most real person I’ve met in a long time, probably ever. I’m not saying I’m in love with you…”

“But you’re in friends with me?”

“Ha. You’re pretty funny for a fuckhead.”

“What? I thought you were serious.”

“I am. I’m sorry, I sometimes get emotional after combat.”

“No shit.” she punched my shoulder plate, but she was smiling. A genuine smile, too.

“I’m not getting in the way of what you and Zoe have. I don’t think I could ever do that. You’d never respect me if I tried. That’s part of what makes you so real.”

“You want me to respect you?”

“I
need
you to respect me, I need to be worthy of it, too.”

I looked her over, thinking about what she said. Something about her body language was different, and it took me a few seconds to realise it. She wasn’t trying to use her sex to get her message across, there was no cant to her hips, no unbuttoned blouse or sultry look.

“I think for the first time since we’ve met, I’m seeing the real you.” I said.

“I’ve been trying to get you to see me for a while now. You’ve been a little busy, though.”

“Huh.”

“Can I tell you why I’m here?”

“Only if you think you need to. It doesn’t change our circumstances.”

“It matters to me.”

“Okay then. Why are you working for Benedict Jenner?”

“I was ordered to.”

“By who?”

“My superiors.”

“Your superiors?” I raised one of my eyebrows.

“We need Blackburn back in the Votus-Eridani Network. Jenner had the resources and the motivation.”

“Why?”

“The war in Eridani. It’s been coming for a long time, too many powerful factions vying for resources and power for it not to end in bloodshed. Osiris will add an element of stability to the criminal groups working in the area. If we get him back into business, direct him where we need him, we can control the region’s black market and other powerful factions. He’ll be a strong valuable asset.”

“For who?”

She breathed in deeply, “The Monarchy.”

“You’re an Esper Monarchy agent?”

She nodded her head, but kept silent. She was searching out my face for any sign of reaction.

“Okay.” I said, and rolled over.

“Okay?”

“Okay.” I repeated.

“What does that mean?”

“It means - I need to get some rest, and I had my suspicions.”

I heard her shifting, chuckling softly.

“You are so full of shit.” she said.

50.

Garner sat at his command chair, chin resting on a fist. Ormund watched him from his own bridge station, wondering what the Captain was going to decide. Seth and the rest of Naga Team had been quiet for a few hours, getting some much needed sleep, so there was really little for Ormund to do. He was going to retire for the evening when he was called to the bridge.

“Play it again.” ordered Garner.

The communications officer nodded and manipulated her console. A crackled and garbled voice started to play from a speaker mounted in Garner’s chair. After a few seconds the words became legible.

“…rone frigate, Calliope Class. We can’t out run it if it follows us all the way to the Jump Gate…” The message devolved into more static, before clearing once more. “…ly hope is that we draw the ship towards you and the Astral Spi…”

“Is there anything we can do about this static?” asked Garner.

“I’m trying, sir.” replied the officer, “There’s too much interference this close to the station. Too much debris between our two ships.”

“Okay, can we pick up the Dreaming from here? Can we see her with our long range optics?”

Ormund, his console already configured for sensors, accessed the long-range sensor suite.

“Not at the moment, although we do have a short piece of visual that’s nearly fifteen minutes old. Should I put it through to your station, sir?”

“Please.” Garner was quiet for a few moments while he reviewed the short clip of the Dreaming. “It’s headed this way, that’s for sure. Can’t make out what’s chasing her, but I do know what a Calliope Class is. Navigation! Get me a projected path from the asteroid field we sent the Dreaming of Atmosphere to, and us. Put it up on the navigation table, and include time intervals as well.”

Garner climbed out of his seat and moved to the rear of the bridge, where a small holo-table awaited. Ormund joined him, along with a young Sub-Lieutenant – the Navigator.

“Harold, how long will it take the Dreaming to reach us, and put up a similar path using an acceleration profile of a Royal Fleet Calliope Class Frigate.”

The Navigator hastily ran calculations on a console at the end of the holo-table.

“Ready, sir.” he said after a few minutes.

“She’ll be in range of the Calliope’s missiles before it gets here. We’ll need to intercept it.” Garner said.

“What about Naga Team? They’re relying on our intel and support.” said Ormund.

“They’ll have to do without for a while. If we don’t move now, the Dreaming won’t stand a chance. I don’t want that on my conscience, do you?”

“No, sir. I also don’t want Naga Team’s blood on my hands.”

“Well, this is what it’s all about. The burden of command. Do we remain on station and support the mission, or go help a civilian in need?”

“I’m not sure I’m the right man to ask that of, sir. Maybe you should ask Seth what he thinks.”

“I know what he would say. I think you do, too.”

Ormund smiled at the Captain.

“It’s settled then. Get Lt. Donovan on the horn and let him know. Tell him we’re sorry, but I’m sure he’ll understand. I’ve got some plotting to get done. Harold, over here.”

As Garner and the navigator put their heads together and began planning their next course, Ormund returned to his console and reconfigured it for the battlenet once more. When it was set up, he contacted Naga Team and told them the news. As Garner had predicted, Donovan wished the Astral Spider good luck in running to the Dreaming’s defence.

“Captain!” called the communications officer, “We temporarily have line of sight with the Dreaming of Atmosphere!”

Garner dashed over to his command chair. “Set up a tight beam transmission.”

“Established.”

“Dreaming of Atmosphere, we received your last and are moving to intercept. We don’t know how long we can maintain line of sight, so please respond as soon as you receive this.”

“Sending. Time delay – three minutes, forty two seconds.”

“Hurry up and wait.” said Garner, earning him a funny look from Ormund.

Garner waited for several minutes, impatiently tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair.

“Incoming LOS communication, sir!”

“Put it through.”

The voice of Maxine Cooper started to play through the chair’s speaker. “Astral Spider, this is Dreaming of Atmosphere. You have no idea how glad I am to hear this. We weren’t sure if our beam got through. Too much bloody shit in this system for a decent phone call. I’m sending you our acceleration profiles, and our sensor data for the Calliope, see what you can come up with.”

Garner reviewed the data packet sent with the message, forwarding the information on to various bridge stations.

“Let’s put this into our plan, find us the perfect spot for a good old fashion ambush. Transmit this message – Maxine, we’re putting together a tactical plan to intercept the Calliope, but we’re going to need your help. The Astral Spider can’t take on a Frigate by itself, even with our cloaking system, but we can if we work together. Is your crew willing to do what is necessary? Are they combat ready?”

Garner waited again to receive a reply.

“Don’t you worry about us, we’re always combat ready. Just tell us where you want us to get to and we’ll get there. We’ve only got a Class 2 beamer, and three interceptor drones left, but they’re yours if you can come up with a plan to take this bastard out.”

“Transmit message – our scans indicate there is a pocket of lighter debris three hours from your position, we’ll have a plan put together by then. We’ll be at your green zero five point five three., north one one point nine. Good luck, Garner out.”

“Lost line of sight, sir.”

“Did that last get through?”

“Affirmative.”

Garner stood, stretched his arms out and then pointed at a young ensign nearby, “Squire, go get my tactical hat!”

“Sir?” he asked, quizzically.

“Never mind. Navigator, we’ve got work to do. How’s that intercept plan going?”

“Inputting it through the AI now, sir. It’s accepted it. We’re good to go.”

“Helm! Take us out, easy as it goes. Don’t want one of these floating Ghantri ships to spot our drive signature.”

As Garner returned to the holo-table, the ship began to vibrate slightly and the sound of the ship’s thrusters firing momentarily drowned out all other sounds. The bridge was abuzz with activity, everyone had a task, all working in unison to get the stealth ship moving.

“Captain!” called Ormund, ten minutes later.

“What is it, Lieutenant, I have vectors to calculate.”

“It’s Ward. She’s asking about what we’re doing.”

“So? Tell her.”

“But, sir…”

“What? Out with it!”

“You know what she’s like. If she thinks we’re abandoning Donovan and the team…”

“Technically, we are. Nothing I can do about that now. The sooner she finds out the sooner she’ll understand we have no choice.”

Sooner, meant more interruptions moments later. Her face flushed, Zoe literally stormed onto the bridge. She paused briefly, appearing to compose herself before approaching the Captain.

“Sir!” she began, “I wish to talk to you about our current…”

“Can it, Zoe.” He turned to face her.

“But, sir…”

“Take a look around, Ms. Ward. This is a war ship. We do war. Your boy down there understands that. He even agrees with me.”

“But we can’t just…”

“Yes, we can. In fact that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

She put her hands on her hips in frustration, only partially aware that she’d gotten this same mannerism off watching Artemis do her thing. Garner simply looked at her calmly, one eyebrow raised in challenge.

“I won’t leave him.”

“Yes, you will. When you accepted that field commission, Sub-Lieutenant, it came with a whole set of responsibilities. One of those is accepting orders from me. I’m not going to wait around here while Maxine Cooper and friends, your friends I might remind you, are killed.”

“Leave me behind.”

“I will do no such thing.”

“Why?”

“Why?” he looked at her incredulously, “What possible purpose could leaving you behind serve? You can’t go down there, they’re hours beneath the surface already. You’ll be killed by the first roving Ghantri patrol you come across.”

“I can remain on one of the abandoned shipyard modules. I can monitor the Spider’s performance, along with Dr Elias. There’s your purpose. You know that there is a flaw in the stealth functions, or the Dreaming would never have spotted you. We can help you find that flaw. Elias said we needed an external sensor feed of the Spider’s cells as we’re missing a vital piece of the puzzle. You drop me off, and I’ll find you your flaw.”

“That’s a tall order. What if the Ghantri decide to patrol that region?”

“I’ll go with her,” said Ormund, leaning over the back of his chair.

Garner looked at him in annoyance. “Not you too.”

“I’m no good to Seth out there,” he pointed to the forward view screen, “and I’m no good to you in here. I’m no fleet officer, I’m a ground pounder.”

“Ormund can still run ops for Seth,” said Zoe, “Elias and I can monitor the Spider, you can go save the Dreaming. That’s a win for everyone.”

“A mutiny. On my own ship!” said Garner, tossing his hands in the air.

“You know,” added Zoe, “That’s what Maxine always says when Seth and the boys talk her into something. She knows when to listen to her crew, too.”

He stared at her long and hard, before finally sighing. “Do you always get your way, Miss Ward?”

“No, sir. But I have some strong women in my life who are teaching me how to.”

“Very well. You’ll need to get going very soon or we’ll be too far away for you to make it to one of those life support modules.”

“Thank you, sir!” she was almost jumping with excitement.

“Don’t thank me. Just get me that data to fine tune this stealth cloak.”

“Yes, sir. You won’t regret this.”

“I already do. Sub-Lieutenant Mortimore!”

The sensor officer turned in his chair. “Yessir!”

“Find me a life support module on that ship yard derelict, one with power, or no damage. Ormund, get out of here and get them suited up, you got twenty minutes before you miss your window.”

He got up to leave, taking Zoe by the elbow. As they entered the bridge lift, Garner called after them.

“Good luck.”