Ep.#14 - "The Weak and the Innocent" (The Frontiers Saga) (10 page)

Commander Telles moved to the wall to the right of the hatch, while Master Sergeant Jahal went left.

“
Colmeany and Takore take the right, Jahal and Willette left,
” the commander instructed. “
Arana and I will take center.
”

“
Set left,
” Private Willette reported.

“
Set right,
” Private Colmeany announced.

“
Blow the center first, wait ten, then the sides.
”

Sergeant Arana nodded, armed his detonator, then looked both ways to make sure that the rest of his squad was ready. “
Fire in the hole,
” he muttered as he pushed the detonator button.

The charges flashed, making no sound in the vacuum of the depressurized compartment. Chunks of the hatch flew across the room, slamming into the far wall and falling to the deck.

Commander Telles leaned in and sprayed the interior of the next compartment with energy weapons fire, sending red bolts of energy in all directions. He ducked back as the enemy on the other side of the hatch returned fire. He nodded at the sergeant.

Flashes on both sides of the compartment detonated, opening gaping holes in the wall at either end of the room. Master Sergeant Jahal jumped through the opening, his weapon firing before he entered. There were two mangled bodies on the deck in front of him, torn apart by the secondary blasts. He concentrated his fire on the opposite back corner of the room, spraying toward the center and back, taking care not to fire into the other corner where Colmeany and Takore would be. The enemy attempted to return fire, but only got a few more shots off before they too fell to the Ghatazhak energy weapons.

“
Clear left!
” Master Sergeant Jahal announced.

“
Clear right!
” Private Colmeany replied.

“
Forces in the next corridor are backing off,
” Telles reported as he entered the compartment.

“
Why the fuck would they do that?
” Willette wondered. “
That’s the airlock, right,
” he said, pointing at the next hatch. “
They’d have us boxed in.
”

“
I’m guessing they don’t know how many of us there are,
” Master Sergeant Jahal said. “
You can only fit so many of us in that airlock at a time. They probably want to let us in a few at a time and pick us off on the other side.
”

“
Or one of our other teams is giving them hell right now,
” Private Colmeany suggested.

“
More likely they’re afraid we’ll just open up every compartment to space and suffocate everyone without a pressure suit,
” Commander Telles said. “
Either way it doesn’t matter. We try the airlock. Once we’re inside the inner hull, we can move a lot more quickly.
”

“
All right, boys. You heard the man. Into the airlock we go,
” Master Sergeant Jahal said, gesturing toward the airlock hatch.

“Captain! New contacts!” Mister Navashee reported from the Aurora’s sensor station. “From the battleship. They’re launching shuttles!”

“Escape shuttles?” Nathan asked.

“Correction, fast-attack shuttles, sir. Four of them.”

“Targeting new contacts with forward point defenses,” Luis announced from the tactical station.

“Targets are moving away, accelerating rapidly,” Mister Navashee added.

“Captain, Scout Two reports they are targeting the enemy shuttles,” Ensign Souza added.

“Targets acquired, ready to fire,” Luis reported.

“Open fire…”

“Contacts are going to FTL,” Mister Navashee warned. “Contacts are gone.”

“What the hell?” Nathan exclaimed.

“Captain, that debris field, the one around the breach in the battleship’s hull. I’m picking up familiar alloys and composites. They’ve got to be from Scout Three.”

“Did she break up?” Nathan asked. “Maybe it wasn’t a jump. Maybe they managed to detonate their field generators?”

“Doubtful,” Mister Navashee disagreed. “Not enough debris, and not enough blast damage to the battleship. I’m thinking she jumped away pretty much intact, Captain.”

“Then those shuttles are going after her,” Nathan surmised. “Comms, tell Scout Two to track and pursue. Warn him they may be going after Scout Three.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Captain, if Scout Three jumped, that means someone is still on board,” Jessica reminded him.

“Our priority here is to keep Scout Three’s jump drive out of Jung hands,” Nathan said. He looked at Jessica. “You know that as well as anyone, Jess. Besides, Roselle will try to make contact before pulling the trigger. He’s not going to waste any friendly lives unless he doesn’t have a choice.”

“Are you sure about that?” Jessica asked, her eyebrows raised.

Nathan looked at her again. “Actually? No.”

“
Holy shit,
” Sergeant Arana muttered as he stepped out of the airlock and peered down the empty corridor. “
This is too good to be true.
”

Telles stepped out of the airlock after checking his tactical display. “
Anyone picking up any movement nearby?
”

“
Nothing on this deck,
” Master Sergeant Jahal replied.

“
Same here,
” Private Colmeany added.

“
Three, One. Sitrep,
” the commander called over his helmet comms.

“
One, Three. Light resistance. We just got past the airlock. We’ve got full pressure here. Going off suit air to conserve.
”

“
Negative,
” Telles ordered. “
Everyone stay on suit air as long as you can. There’s got to be a reason they’re falling back.
”

“
Three, copy.
”

“
Gas?
” Master Sergeant Jahal asked as the other team leaders confirmed the order over the comms.

“
Like I said, there’s got to be a reason they all fell back,
” the commander replied.

“
Let’s move out,
” Telles ordered. He continued ahead, his weapon held high and tight against his shoulder, sweeping back and forth as he sidestepped his way down the corridor. His men followed close behind in similar fashion, ready to engage the enemy in the blink of an eye.

“
I’m not liking this,
” Master Sergeant Jahal muttered. “
I’m thinking we should have kept venting compartments, sir.
”

“
Objection noted,
” Telles replied as he continued forward at a brisk but cautious pace. He turned the corner, coming face to face with three armed men. He fired three shots, ducking a single return shot fired by the last man just before the enemy was taken out by the commander’s third shot. The commander continued forward, stepping over the fallen without so much as a glance downward. He had no doubt that his shots had been fatal.

Another corner saw eight more men, some properly outfitted for combat, others simply technicians with guns. The commander and two of his men dealt with them without difficulty, their advance barely slowing during the brief confrontation.

“
I’m getting a lot of movement above and below us,
” Jahal warned. “
You seeing this, Commander?
”

“
Yeah, I see it.
” He held up a closed fist, signaling his team to pause. “
Three, One. Sitrep?
”

“
One, Three.
We’ve got lots of movement, coming our way…
”

“
Five! Heavy contact! Maybe fifty! Taking fire!
”

“
Three is taking fire! At least thirty targets!
”

“
Sir, movement on our deck, forward of the next structural bulkhead, about fifty meters ahead
,” Private Willette reported.

“
Five, One. Fall back, double-time. Get them to chase you aft,
” Telles instructed. “
Three, drop down to our deck and move starboard. We’ll move port and catch the advancing forces on our deck in a cross fire. Then we’ll both drop down to Five’s deck and pinch those fuckers fore to aft.
”

“
Three copies! Dropping down to your deck and moving starboard!
”

“
Five is hauling ass back the way we came!
”

Telles gestured to his men to follow him as he turned to his left and headed for the ship’s port side. “
Two, One, copy?
” he called over his comms as he moved quickly down the corridor. “
Two, One?
”

“
Static charges might be fucking with comms between us and Two, Four, and Six,
” Master Sergeant Jahal commented as they followed the commander.

“
Aurora, Telles, any contact with Two, Four, and Six?
”

“
Telles, Aurora. Negative. You’re the only ones we’ve heard from. Message from Porto Santo. They’re regrouping and sending you a few hundred men as quickly as possible.
”

Commander Telles turned the corner, opening fire as the targets on his tactical display came into view. He moved across the intersection, taking cover on the far side. He ducked back for a moment and let at least a dozen shots streak past him, several of which ricocheted off the wall next to his head. Several shots bounced back off the wall opposite him, nearly hitting him as they deflected back across the corridor. “
Fuck!
” He glanced across the intersection at his men, as Private Willette took two ricochets, one in the thigh and the other in his chest armor.

“
You okay, Willette?
” the commander asked as the enemy fire continued to bounced around the corridors.

“
Fucking stings, but I’m still good!
”

“
Stunners?
” Colmeany asked.

“
No good!
” the commander replied. “
Not if they’re wearing pressure suits.
”

“
How about a few charges?
” Sergeant Arana suggested.

A shot rebounded off the opposing wall and grazed the commander’s helmet, causing him to flinch to the left. “
Fuck! Worth a try!
” He glanced across the intersection as the sergeant started slapping charges together, forming a big ball of explosive material. “
Don’t be afraid to be generous, Sergeant!
” Telles yelled.

The sergeant handed the mass of explosives to Master Sergeant Jahal. “
Just roll it down the corridor at them.
”

“
Would you mind?
” the master sergeant asked, looking across the intersection back at the commander.

Telles leaned back out just enough to return fire with a barrage of his own, taking two more glancing blows to his helmet in the process. “
Why the fuck is everyone shooting at my head today?
” he grumbled.

Master Sergeant Jahal reached out and rolled the makeshift ball of explosives down the corridor toward the Jung soldiers. It rolled past the first few men tucked into a doorway, coming to rest in the middle of the spread of enemy troops.

“
Fire in the hole,
” Sergeant Arana announced, a menacing lilt in his voice.

This time, the detonation was not silent. The corridor lit up as bright as a jump flash, and shook violently as the force of the explosion tore apart the deck, the walls, the ceiling, and the bodies of the Jung soldiers. Smoke and flame shot past the intersection, licking around the corners, threatening to burn everything in its path, including the Ghatazhak. The commander stepped back and turned away, feeling the heat of the blast through both his body armor and his assistive undergarment. He held his position for several seconds, face turned away and back to the blast, waiting until the fireball receded. He peeked cautiously back around the corner. The enemy weapons fire had ceased.

“
Think you used enough explosives, Arana?
”

“
You told me to be generous, sir.
”

* * *

“Jump complete,” Commander Ellison reported.

“Whattaya got, Weedge?” Captain
Roselle asked.

“Nothing fore or aft,” the ensign answered.

“Jump us again,” Roselle ordered.

“One light minute, jumping,” the commander replied.

“We gotta be ahead of them, Cap,” Ensign Marka insisted.

“Jump complete.”

“Otherwise we’d pick up their old light,” the ensign continued. “If we’re ahead of them…”

“I know, they’d be traveling faster than their own light,” the captain interrupted. “I had relativistic physics too, Weedge. It ain’t the Jung ships I want to find. I want to find what they’re looking for.”

“Wait,” Ensign Marka said. “I’m picking up something. Five hundred kilometers ahead, two to port and four down. It looks like a debris field. Yup, definitely man-made. Something broke up here, sir.”

“Take us in closer,” Captain Roselle told Commander Ellison, his copilot. “Weedge, send the navcom the coordinates and feed me your opticals.”

“Roger that.”

Captain Roselle looked at the screen on his overhead monitor. The image was distant and poorly lit. “I can’t tell what the hell that is.”

“It’s gotta be Scout Three,” Ensign Marka insisted. “Same alloys, same composites, there’s even a plasma cannon, or at least part of one.”

“What about her field generators?” the captain asked. “Are they intact?”

“Wait one,” the ensign replied. “There are several larger sections of the hull still intact, but I can’t tell what they are yet. We need to move closer. Give me a couple minutes.”

Captain Nash groaned, opening his eyes slowly. It was dark, very dark, and it was cold. He could see stars…distant stars, and nearby glimmers of gray. He was inside something… He was floating.

The maintenance crawler.
His mind raced, his eyes opening wider in an effort to see what was around him. He tried to see the controls on the panel directly below the forward window, but it was too dark. He looked at the overhead console, finding the main power switch. He flipped it on, but nothing happened. He flipped again and again, but still nothing.

He stopped and thought for a moment.
These things have backup batteries, emergency kits…
He thought back to his training in the cramped little things more than a decade ago. He reached down between his legs, opening the top of the partition and pulling out a small box. He pulled it up and held it in front of his face as he opened it, squinting to see through the darkness. He fumbled around in the small box until he felt something familiar, a small plastic tubule. He pulled it out of its holder and bent it between his thumb and first two fingers until it snapped and began to glow. He shook it for several seconds, intensifying the glow.

Ah, light. Glorious light.
He looked inside the case, pulling out several more glow sticks and stuffing them in his pocket for later use. The little sticks would give him about thirty minutes of light each. He used the light to search his control console, looking for something, anything that might help him restore power. He needed electrical power. Without it, he had no heat, no comms, and no idea of how much oxygen he had to breathe. The maintenance crawler had CO2 scrubbers, but they required power, as did the heaters.