Ep.#14 - "The Weak and the Innocent" (The Frontiers Saga) (9 page)

His ears rang and his vision was blurred. He could feel pain in every part of his body. He realized he was sitting on the ground, his back against the wall of the command bunker, his legs spread out on the ground. Something slammed into the ground next to him. Something bright blue. Then something moved in front of him. A familiar figure, bending down to grab him, pulling him to his feet as the figure yelled at him in muffled, barely audible tones.

He stumbled to his feet by instinct and the help of his friend. His ears were still ringing, but his vision was clearing and his hearing was returning. There were explosions, dozens of them. Tiny ones, from all directions, along with the humming of small propulsion systems and the repetitive zinging of small energy weapons.

A larger explosion nearby grabbed his attention as it lit up everything around him. He could feel the heat from it, seeing the fireball not thirty meters away, rising skyward.

“Move!” the master sergeant ordered.

Commander Telles raised his weapon as he began to stumble away from the explosion.

“Can you make it?” the master sergeant asked as they headed out.

“Yes!” the commander replied. He took several unbalanced steps, the tubules in his suit helping him move, providing him additional strength and balance, without which he might still be sitting on his ass…or worse.

He opened fire on the black, wedge-shaped drones that were flitting about overhead, firing at anything that moved. Within seconds, the drones had locked in on them and were firing away. He could feel their hot, needle-like beams slamming into his backpack as he ran. His tactical display flickered as he ran while the needle-like beams slammed into his pack and caused it to fail.

They made it to the nearest building, falling through the broken door into the lobby. Four drones crashed through the windows, chasing them inside. The commander and the master sergeant opened fire, quickly taking out all four of the black, meter-wide, wedge-shaped killing machines.

“We gotta get into the corridors where they can’t follow us!” Master Sergeant Jahal insisted, as two more drones entered through the front door and pressed the attack. Jahal returned fire, dropping one drone as he backpedaled to cover his friend’s escape. They ran down the corridor, more bolts of energy slamming into both their packs as they ran. They rounded the corner and Telles stopped, turning back around. He opened fire, spraying the ceiling and walls, causing them to collapse behind them. “That should slow them down,” he said, his voice shaky.

“Your back’s on fire,” the master sergeant said, panting.

Commander Telles looked over his shoulder and noticed smoke drifting up from his pack. He pressed the release button, allowing the pack to drop away. Without his pack, his tactical display vanished, and his comms went dead. He reached down and opened the compartment on his left thigh armor and pulled out the small comm-set that he normally used while at Porto Santo or on board the Aurora. “Your pack isn’t looking so good either, my friend,” he said as he pulled off his helmet and tossed it aside.

Master Sergeant dropped his smoldering pack, following his commander’s lead and reaching for his comm-set as well.

“Any Alliance unit, this is Commander Telles. Do you copy?”

“
Telles, Falcon Four,
” Loki replied. “
You’re broken and weak, but I can hear you.
”

“Four, Telles. What’s the situation?”

“
Telles, Four. Bulldog One is down hard. No survivors. Combat Three is holding up high, out of range of chasers for now, just like us. Where are you?
”

“Someplace those fucking drones can’t reach us, for now,” the commander replied. “What are they doing?”

“
They’re just hovering around the building to the northeast of the command bunker, between Micker Four and Kato Two,
” Loki replied.

“They’re not coming after you or Three?”

“
No, sir. They may have limited ceilings.
”

“Or they know they’d be wasting their time chasing jump ships in the air,” Jahal commented.

“What about Combat Seven’s crew?” the commander asked. “Anyone pick them up yet?”

“
Bulldog Six dropped their passengers on the Aurora in order to get back quickly,
” Loki explained.
“They’re picking up Seven’s crew now, then they’ll be returning to the Aurora.
”

“What about ground troops?” Telles asked.

“
Moving toward you from all sides.
You’ve got a few minutes, at most.
”

“Any bright ideas?” Jahal wondered.

Commander Telles shot him a withering look.

“Well, you
are
the commander.”

“Three, Telles. Your jump drive still operational?”

“
Telles, Three. Affirmative,
” the pilot replied. “
What do you have in mind, sir?
”

Telles opened the compartment on his right thigh and pulled out a remote detonator. He punched in a few numbers and waited for a response. A second later, a green light appeared. “Get ready to jump in. Your LZ will be between the command bunker and Bulldog One’s crash site. Jump in no more than five meters above the deck, as little forward momentum as possible.”

“
Sir, that will put us right in the middle of those drones. They’ll be on us before you can get aboard.
”

“I’m going to blow the bunker. The shock wave should knock them down. We should have at least twenty seconds before nearby drones can move in to replace them.”

“
Copy that,
” Combat Three’s pilot replied. “
Give us a few seconds to get into position.
”

“We’ll go in thirty seconds,” Commander Telles said. He moved to the nearest door on the street side of the corridor. He opened it up and looked inside. He was immediately met with the sound of broken glass and the zing of needle-like beams of energy from drones hovering outside the windows on the far side of the room. “Well, we’ve found our exit point.” He moved to the door on the opposite side and went into the next room, the master sergeant following him. He crouched down against the wall, then looked at the detonator, arming it. “Three, Telles. You ready?”

“
Telles, Three. Ready.
”

“Detonation in three……two……one……” Telles pressed the button on the detonator. A split second later, the command bunker outside exploded, shaking the entire building. The ceiling above them collapsed, coming down in large sections. Furniture from above them followed, crashing down all around them. The wall they were leaning against caved inward, falling down on top of them.

Telles pushed his way up through the debris. The corridor was gone, as was most of the outside wall in the next room. “Jahal!” he called out.

“Here!”

“Let’s go!”

“Right behind you, Commander!”

Telles and Jahal quickly made their way across the rubble and furniture. The room was full of smoke and dust; they could barely see anything outside. Within seconds, they were on the street again. The lingering haze from the explosion lit up a brilliant blue, immediately followed by a clap of thunder and another shockwave that nearly knocked them over again. As he regained his balance, the commander looked up. There, not more than four meters above the debris-strewn street, was Combat Jumper Three, coming to a dead hover a few meters away. More importantly, there wasn’t a drone in sight.

Commander Telles looked at his friend, gesturing for him to go first. He watched as the master sergeant took several running steps, then leapt upward with the assistance of his suit, sailing up into the wide-open side door of the combat jumper. Telles followed his friend, taking several running steps as well before leaping upward into the hovering shuttle.

“Chasers!” the pilot called out as the commander landed just inside the door. The shuttle rolled right, turning hard in order to avoid the incoming missile.

Telles felt the deck of the shuttle dropping out from under his feet as it took evasive maneuvers. The chaser missile passed directly beneath him as he felt himself falling back toward the surface.

Then, abruptly, his fall stopped.

Two different hands had grabbed him. One hand belonging to his friend, Master Sergeant Jahal, and the other to one of the combat jump shuttle’s door gunners. As the shuttle continued its right turn, they pulled the commander inside, just as several blue, needle-like beams from newly arriving drones slammed into the side of the climbing shuttle.

“We’re hit! We’re hit!” the copilot reported.

“Flight controls are still good,” the pilot reported.

“We’ve lost both starboard emitters!” the copilot added.

“Can we still fly?” Commander Telles asked as he struggled to get safely into his seat in the rear of the shuttle.

“Yes, sir,” the pilot replied, “we can still fly, we just can’t jump.”

“Can we make it to the Aurora?”

“Yes, sir. It will just take us a few extra minutes, that’s all.”

“Fine. As long as I get the fuck off this rock.”

Master Sergeant Jahal patted his commander on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. “That was some bright fucking idea you had there, Lucius!”

A small grin formed in the corner of the commander’s mouth. “Well, I am the commander, after all.”

* * *

“Flight Ops reports Commander Telles’ shuttle and Bulldog Six are both safely aboard,” Luis reported from the Aurora’s tactical station.

“Red deck,” Nathan ordered.

“Red deck, aye.”

“Comms, ask the commander to rep
ort to the bridge.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Jump flash,” Mister Navashee reported. “Comm-drone.”

“Incoming message from Scout One,” Ensign Souza announced. “They are on station at the KKV launch point. KKV will launch in…one minute.”

Nathan glanced at the mission time on the tactical display on the main view screen. “Helm, break orbit and head for the Jung battleship’s last reported position.”

“Breaking orbit,” Mister Chiles acknowledged.

“Ready a jump, safe distance from the target and Scout Two.”

“Plotting jump,” Mister Riley replied.

Although Jessica said nothing, Nathan could feel her fear even more so than his own as she stood beside him. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, offer her comfort, but it was neither the time nor place for such gestures.

“Another jump flash,” Mister Navashee reported. “Comm-drone.”

Nathan spun his command chair slowly to the right, exchanging glances with Jessica momentarily before turning to look aft.

“Flash traffic from Scout Two!” Ensign Souza called out as Commander Telles walked past him on his way to the tactical station. “Putting up audio.”

“
Aurora, Scout Two!
” Captain Roselle called urgently over the loudspeaker. “
Three has jumped! I repeat, Scout Three has jumped away! There’s a big fucking hole in the side of the Jung battleship, and her port shields down! She’s lost main power and appears adrift! She’s wide open for attack! Take the shot now!
”

Nathan glanced at the mission clock. “Comms! Flash traffic for Scout One! Abort launch!”

“Flash traffic for One, abort, aye!”

“Twenty-five seconds,” Luis noted, “it may not be enough time.”

“Captain?” Commander Telles began.

“How many men do you have with you?” Nathan asked.

“About two dozen.” The commander’s expression changed as he realized Nathan’s intent.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Commander Telles did not reply. Instead, he turned and headed toward the exit, tapping his comm-set on his way. “Flight Ops, Telles, ready both shuttles for immediate departure.”

CHAPTER THREE

“
One minute to jump!
” the shuttle’s crew chief announced over their helmet comms. “
Starting depress!
”

“
Ghatazhak!
” Master Sergeant Jahal barked. “
Stand ready!
”

All twenty-four men stood along either side of
the cargo shutt
le. The space was already a tight fit for its standard load of twenty soldiers in full space battle gear, let alone for the twenty-six that were currently on board.

“
Thirty seconds!
” the crew chief shouted as he reached for the door controls. “
Ramp, coming down!
”

There was a gust of air as the last of the cargo jump shuttle’s cabin pressure was sucked out the back of the ship. The rear loading ramp pivoted outward and downward on its hinges, quickly turning into an extension of the cargo shuttle’s deck that protruded a good three meters aft.

“
Five seconds! Eyes tight!
” the copilot called over the comms.

Commander Telles closed his eyes tightly as he waited for the jump, the flash burning through his eyelids as a brief yet intense orange glow.

“
Jump complete!
”

Commander Telles opened his eyes, looking down the narrow corridor between the two rows of men into the black void beyond.

“
Go, go, go!
” came the call from the cockpit.

The two Ghatazhak soldiers closest to the rear of the shuttle jogged briskly out toward the end of the ramp, with the eleven other pairs following close behind. Two by two, the soldiers stepped off the end of the ramp, firing tiny thrusters and spreading out in all directions as they floated freely behind the shuttle. Within seconds, all twenty-six men were drifting a few meters behind the cargo shuttle, their distance from the ship increasing by only a meter per minute.

Commander Telles and Master Sergeant Jahal were the last ones off the shuttle’s ramp. The commander looked down at the control stick sitting on a small arm protruding from the left side of the maneuvering pack encircling his waist just below his backpack. “
Rotate,
” he ordered calmly. He grasped the stick and gave it a tiny twist to the right, causing his rotation thrusters to briefly fire. His body rotated around quickly, bringing into view the back of the cargo jump shuttle they had just left. Behind it was the massive Jung battleship, without power and adrift on the outer edges of the Tau Ceti system. Another tiny twist of his control stick in the opposite direction stopped his rotation as easily as it had started.

The rest of his men also fired their thrusters, bringing them around to face their direction of flight. The cargo shuttle in front of them fired its own thrusters, translating quickly upward, revealing the gaping hole in the side of the massive enemy ship only a few hundred meters ahead of them. Several of its guns were still pointed directly at them, as if daring them to drift closer. But they did not move.

“
Eyes tight again, gentlemen,
” the copilot called over the comms. “
Good luck.
”

The shuttle disappeared in a flash of light from behind them, leaving the twenty-six soldiers gliding rapidly toward the crippled Jung battleship.

“
Damn, you sure those guns are dead, sir?
” one of his men inquired.

“
If they weren’t, you wouldn’t be able to ask that question,
” the master sergeant replied.

Commander Telles examined the nearby hull with his tactical scanners, searching for any threats. His display showed that his men had properly spaced themselves out to ensure that everyone would make contact with the hull of the target at a different point. “
Two hundred meters,
” he announced as they continued coasting toward the battleship. Even at this distance, the enemy ship was all they could see in their visors without turning their heads, and it was getting bigger with each passing second. “
Picking up some activity aft of the target area,
” the commander added. “
Low-level energy systems, exterior, mostly.
”

“
Static charges left on the hull, maybe?
” Master Sergeant Jahal guessed. “
Left over from Scout Three’s jump, perhaps?
”

“
We’ll execute a fifteen second decel burn at fifty meters,
” the commander ordered. “
At twenty-five meters, we power down then power back up after we’ve made contact.
”

“Jump complete,” Mister Riley reported as the jump flash faded and the interior of the Aurora’s bridge returned to its customary, red-tinged alert lighting.

“Bring us along her starboard side, in line with her breach,” Nathan directed. “Nose in to keep our forward tubes on her aft propulsion section.”

“Aye, sir,” Mister Chiles acknowledged.

“Lock all weapons on her starboard guns, Lieutenant,” Nathan continued. “One for one. If she so much as flinches, I want those guns taken out.”

“She’s got more guns than we do, Captain. I suggest we target her biggest ones first.”

“Agreed, Mister Navashee. If that ship shows any signs of powering up her engines, don’t hesitate to let us know.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If she tries to run, blow her fucking tail off.”

“Locking forward tubes on target’s propulsion section,” Luis replied. “Helm, give me a forty-five degree roll to starboard for a better firing angle.”

“Rolling forty-five to starboard, aye.”

“I’ve got Commander Telles and his forces on opticals,” Mister Navashee reported. “They’re one hundred meters from the breach, closing at five meters per second.”

“Put them on the screen,” Nathan ordered.

“Switching to midship topside cameras.”

The image of the aft end of the Jung battleship disappeared, replaced a moment later by a close-up view of the enemy ship’s starboard midship area. He could barely make out the black figures of the twenty-six Ghatazhak soldiers as they coasted toward the breach on the side of the target.

“Seventy-five meters,” Mister Navashee updated. “Still only minimal internal power, batteries I’d say. Not enough to run anything other than emergency lighting, maybe some internal comms. Fifty meters. The Ghatazhak are firing their deceleration thrusters now.”

“Any chance the Jung know they’re coming?” Nathan asked.

“Not unless they’re looking out the window at them, sir. I’m barely picking up anything from them on sensors. Just a tiny amount of electrical energy. They’re stealthy as hell.”

“How’s it looking, Lieutenant?” Nathan asked. He couldn’t help but feel nervous sitting less than a kilometer away from an enemy ship that was three times their size with twice as many guns.

“Nothing’s moving, Captain.”

“Jump flash,” Mister Navashee reported. “Five kilometers astern of the target. It’s Scout Two.”

“Comms, tell Roselle to keep his tubes on the target’s main drive. Fire if they light up.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Another jump flash, Captain,” Mister Navashee added. “One hundred kilometers off our port side. Falcon Four.”

“Incoming message from Falcon Four,” Ensign Souza announced. “They’re just back from Porto Santo, refueled and reloaded. Porto Santo control received your message, they’ll have a couple hundred Ghatazhak and a few more Falcons here shortly.”

“Decel burn is complete,” Mister Navashee stated. “Captain, they’re powering down.”

“Why would they power down?” Luis wondered.

“I’m sure the commander knows what he’s doing,” Nathan replied.

Despite what his tactical display had told him prior to powering down, Commander Telles wished he had burned his deceleration thrusters a few seconds longer. The jagged, torn-up decks of the damaged battleship were still coming toward them quite rapidly.

Without comms and tactical display, the commander felt very much alone. No comm chatter and no radio static. No beeps, tones, or alarms from his tactical display as data readouts changed. No whirring of fans blowing fresh air into his suit and sucking out the bad. Just the sound of his own breathing, and the occasional rustling of the inner lining of his suit as he moved his arms. He knew that there were twenty-five of his men spread out behind him, but at the moment, it was just him…and the damaged deck of the enemy ship coming toward him.

Much of the damage line was clean, almost surgical, while other sections, some deeper into the breach, appeared more irregular, with torn, jagged edges. Cabling dangled everywhere like spider webs. Bulkheads were bent and twisted, after their supporting structures were suddenly taken away by Scout Two’s jump fields. Pressurized gasses vented from severed pipes and ducts, and various fluids drifted about in groups of odd-shaped globules.

Drops of red and green fluids splattered across his visor as he coasted across the breach threshold. He was a little low, and the twisted deck was coming toward his knees. The commander swung his legs up, bringing his feet up and forward just in time to push up slightly on the deck as he coasted across its edge. Without gravity, he careened upward clumsily, bouncing off the overhead and slamming into a section of ventilation ducting that hung askew from its moorings. The impact caused his body to spin laterally as he tumbled. He felt something drag across his backpack as he continued deeper into the open compartment. Cabling. Lots of it, dragging across him, catching on his equipment and slowing him down. He only hoped it didn’t damage his life-support or combat systems.

Finally, he came to a stop, floating above the deck, tangled in the mass of cables. He could see Master Sergeant Jahal coming toward him, a grin on his face. The master sergeant reached out and turned on the commander’s power for him, then pulled out his combat knife and started cutting away at the cabling. Once he had freed his commander, he turned his own power back on as well.

“
That was the most ungainly landing I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing,
” he mused over the comms.

“
Glad you enjoyed it,
” the commander replied dryly as he pulled on the remaining wires to right himself. He looked around at his men. “
Count off,
” he ordered as he waited for his tactical display to boot up.

The commander activated his mag-boots and made his way toward the nearest hatch as his men reported in.

“
Missing one,
” Master Sergeant Jahal said after the count was complete.

“
Korlan didn’t make it,
” one of the men explained. “
Hit a torn piece of sheeting, nearly cut him in two. Bled out in seconds.
”

“
You know the drill,
” the master sergeant reminded his men. “
One, three, and five head for command and control. Two, four, and six for propulsion and main power. Three separate levels each way. No prisoners. If it breathes, it dies.
”

“
Three, set.
”

“
Five, set.
”

One of the men slapped charges onto the upper and lower halves of the hatch and activated their detonators. He turned to the commander. “
One set.
”

Telles, Jahal, and the other four members of their team moved off to either side of the forward hatch, as the remaining teams reported their charges were set.

“
Ready charges,
” the commander ordered. He pointed toward the soldier who had the detonator in his hand. “
Fire in the hole.
”

The deck shook beneath their feet for a moment as the charges flashed in silence, tearing the hatch apart and sending debris across the damaged compartment. The air in the next compartment, along with anything that wasn’t secured, was sucked out into the vacuum. Two Jung crewman, arms and legs thrashing about, were sucked out along with the wreckage, horrified expressions on their faces at the reality that death would be upon them in seconds.

The flow of debris stopped a few seconds later and the first four men charged into the next compartment, followed by Commander Telles and the master sergeant.

Commander Telles could feel the Jung ship’s artificial gravity take hold of him as he stepped through the hatch into the next compartment.

“
Clear left,
” the first soldier reported.

“
Clear right,
” the other followed.

“
Setting charges,
” the third man announced.

“
Are we gonna blow our way through the entire ship?
” the fourth soldier wondered.

“
We’ll find an airlock sooner or later,
” Master Sergeant Jahal remarked. “
Besides, I don’t think we have enough charges.
”

“
I’ve got the deck plans from the Jar-Keurog. If these two ships are at all similar, there should be an airlock three compartments forward, as we pass through one of the major structural bulkheads.
”

“
Charges set,
” the third man reported as he waited for the others to move to the sides of the compartment. “
Fire in the hole.
”

There was another silent flash of light as the charges detonated. Debris shot across the compartment, careening off the far wall. The men charged forward into the next compartment. Flashes of energy weapons fire filled the compartment as the commander followed his men through the hatch.

The weapons fire lasted only a few seconds.

“
Clear left.
”

“
Clear right.
”

On the far side of the compartment, his demolitions tech, Sergeant Arana, was pushing aside the body of a man in an emergency pressure suit that was blocking his access to the next hatch. Two more bodies, also in emergency pressure suits, were lying to the right, blood pouring from open wounds. On the other side were three more men without suits, their hands and faces bloated, with horrified, suffocated expressions.

“
Setting charges,
” Sergeant Arana reported.

“
I’m picking up four energy weapons in the next compartment,
” one of the soldiers reported, “
with about a dozen more in the corridor on the far side.
”

“
Breach charges on both sides,
” the commander ordered. “
There and there,
” he instructed, pointing to the far ends of the compartment on either side of the hatch.

The men shifted to the indicated corners, turning toward Sergeant Arana at the hatch as they got into position. The sergeant tossed a pair of charges to each of the two men, who quickly affixed them to the wall as the sergeant had done on the hatch.