Solbidyum Wars Saga Book 1: Battle of the New Orleans (41 page)

I triggered the release and our container opened silently.  Immediately Reidecor and
Marranalis were out, guns in hand and ready for action.  Fortunately no one was in the cargo hold. The cool dry air of the ship and chilling effect of our wet clothing was a relief after being in the box as we began a sweep of the inside of the
TRITYTE. 
Everyone was quiet, relying on hand signals for communication.  Reidecor took a peak outside the hatch door which was opened , two guards stood at the base, surprisingly there were no others about, but then with a limited number of rebels and several thousand people to keep contained they probably could not spare anymore guards then that.  Both guards had their backs to the ship and were close enough for both Reidecor and Marranalis to leap from the hatch and dispatch them both in an instant.  Moving forward quickly as a team we headed to the hangar control room.  This too was empty.  Now was the part that was going to be tricky, we were hoping that Commander Thimas would feel the need to gloat his triumph and would be broadcasting on the Vid screen, but he wasn’t.  We had no way of knowing how many people were on the bridge or if the sensor screens were being monitored, we had to assume they would be as any rational ships
first Officer would do.  I asked Lt. Commander Wanoll for his opinion since he was the most familiar with the
DUSTEN
.

“If the
NEW ORLEANS
is close enough to the
DUSTEN
when they switch the RMFF off they may not be detected,” Wanoll said quietly “Normally the sensors are set for long range detection.  On the other hand the
NEW ORLEANS
is so large that is almost impossible for it not to make some sort of signature on the sensors.   It could set off the collusion sensors because of how close it is if that happens, well I have no idea what will happen on the bridge.”

I thought a minute, “
Do you have any idea where they may be holding the non-rebel troops,” I asked Wanoll.

“I have an idea
,” he said, “a few years ago we had to transport about three thousand criminals from Megelleon to Nigan we used one of the large cargo holds that has only one access to it and it easy to guard.  I would bet that is where Thimas would want any prisoners he has held. 

“
Marranalis, do you know the hold he is talking about?” I asked.

“Yes sir I do,” he said.

“Take another man and see if you can get there and take out the guards and free them.  Well give you fifteen minutes and then I’m going to open the hatch, hopefully they will have monitors on the hold with the prisoners and when you break them out attention will be drawn to try and contain things back there and we can open the hangar without it being noticed.” I said.

“
Wait Marranalis, before you go”, Wanoll said, “Thimas may have put lockouts on the weapons lockers and you will need to be able to arm the troopers when you break them out.  There is an arms locker not far outside the hold where the prisoners should be.  Let me give all of you my security access code, it should allow you to override anything Thimas may have put in to prevent access by anyone to the arms. Only Captain Maxette can block me and Thimas from being able to override the lockouts.

It was about ten minutes later
when alarms started going off and Thimas’s voice was heard screaming across the vid system “The prisoner’s in the hold are escaping STOP THEM! Get down there and STOP them! Kill them if you have to but get them back in that hold!”   While he was screaming we opened the hold door, we saw the
NEW ORLEANS
suddenly materialize and it’s hangar door open while a group of patrol ships quickly moved away from it and into the hold of the
DUSTEN
, the entire event taking less than a minute.  No sooner did the last ship clear the hangar door of the
DUSTEN
then the
NEW ORLEANS
vanished. Two seconds later there was a light display as energy beams played over the invisible RMFF field of the NEW ORLEANS with fire from the
DUSTEN
.   Claxons sounded on the
DUSTEN
the call to battle stations went out over the com system Thimas voice started screaming again “INVADERS IN THE FORWARD HANGER BAY! INVADERS IN THE FORWARD HANGER BAY! KILL ALL PRISONERS AND ATTACK HANGER BAY!”  As he was saying this hangar door in the
DUSETN
closed and before it was totally pressurized troops were pouring out of the cargo holds of the pilot ships and headed to the access doors to the
DUSTEN
interior.   Flashes of laser fire could be seen in the corridor as the troopers entered and men could be heard fighting.  I tried to contact Marranalis on the wrist com but got no response.

“There’s a wiring trunk access at the end of the hangar that will get us up to the next level, it’s probably not being guarded we can get to the bridge from there.”  Wanoll said.  We managed to pick up another four troopers coming off the last patrol ship and they fell in with us as we followed behind Wanoll.  The access he told us about turned out to be a long trunk with a ladder in it and we had to ascend nearly ten meters to an access door on the level above.  We exited into a corridor on the next level and appeared to be in an accommodations section, no one was in sight and all was quiet.  We all paused and Wanoll said, “My cabin is just down this corridor, if we can get into it we should be safe for a few minutes and I can pull up images from the remote security station in my cabin.  I can also isolate certain sections trapping some of the rebels there.” We followed Wanoll the short distance to his cabin and watched him apply his palm to the scanner plate, the panel lit green and we all entered, the door closing silently behind us as Wanoll palmed the switch plate inside. 

His
accommodation was much smaller than I had expected after having seen the luxurious accommodations elsewhere on the ship, though much smaller it was still lavish but with tastefully decorated and had several rooms.  Wanoll immediately went to a small room, only big enough for a few persons to squeeze in.  Inside were rows of view screens and a large control console with a lot of buttons and lights on it.  Without any explanation Wanoll began bring up view after view on the screens.  Many sections of the ship appeared to be abandoned, especially the areas normally designated and crew spaces and zones for military people.  In the civilian sections however some, though not many, people milled about.  These people were civilian on the ship living in the non-crew areas, doors leading out of those areas had a red light over the doors indicated that these doors were sealed preventing them access to the engineering and military parts of the
DUSTEN
. Views from the opposite side of the doors revealed two rebel guards, making sure no one got in or out.

“I think for now, the civilians
aboard are safer where they are. If they were able to get out they would only be in the way,” Wanoll said and I had to agree. He panned to the hold were several hundred troops were being held prisoner by the rebels, they all appeared dead, we could not tell from the image if Marranalis and his men were inside with them when Thimas ordered them killed.  It appeared that they had either died from suffocation; no doubt Thimas had the air evacuated from the hold killing them all in about a minute or two.  While I hoped that Marranalis and his men survived it did not bode well that I was unable to get any response from him on my wrist communicator.  Other scenes of the battle between the troopers we had brought from the
NEW ORLEANS
didn’t look too good either as the troopers appearing to use martial arts techniques against the rebels in hand to hand combat were sluggish and were more of a liability than an asset. Many of them were getting killed or severely wounded while trying to use them.  Obviously the headband training was a failure, we were losing the battle and it seemed that only a miracle could save us.   Wanoll did manage to isolate a few rebel troops in one area and lock them in from his security console, but the bulk of them were in areas where there was little he could do.  Suddenly as he was moving from view to view a room appeared with a man obviously torturing a woman. Wanoll paused and then zoomed in on the woman, it was Lunnie. 

“What
... I exclaimed, how did they get Lunnie, what’s she doing here, where is she we have to rescue her?”  I exclaimed with panic.  Wanoll activated some controls and we were able to hear the conversation in the room. “TELL ME, WHY WERE YOU ON THE
TRITYTE
!
”
The voice of Corporal Lexmal demanded. I had not recognized him with his back to the view screen.  “What is the Federation planning to do? TELL ME YOU DOESEE!”             

Lunnie was tied with her arms stretched
out and attached to the wall, she was naked from the waste up and it was apparent that she had been slashed and cut numerous times in an attempt to get her to divulge information.

“Isn’t
it obvious to you lover boy that I came all this way just to be with you,” Lunnie said in her usual mocking way.   Lexmal struck her across the face so hard I was sure she would be unconscious and I was surprised when she turned her head to him and spit blood in his face. “That the best you can do lover boy?”   Lexmal’s body blocked the view as he obviously made still more cuts to Lunnie’s body, but she didn’t scream though you could hear her grunt in pain. 

“Now tell me Doesee,” Lexmal
said forcefully, why where you hiding on the
TRITYTE
when it was brought over here!”

“I told you, you asshole
. I was taking a nap in my bunk on the
TRITYTE
and don’t know anything about the Federation’s plans. When I woke up the ship was already being hauled into the
DUSTEN
hangar and I hid hoping not to be found.”  Lexmal hit her again, just as the compartment door opened and Reidecor’s voice rang out.

“GET AWAY FROM HER YOU FILTHY BASTARD,” Lexmal spun but then two guards in the room, not previously seen, appeared and both firing in unison blasted Reidecor and he fell dead just inside the door.  Lunnie could be heard screaming, “NO REIDECOR NO!!!!“  We were shocked and turned to see that Reidecor was missing from our group; apparently he had slipped out on seeing Lunnie being tortured and had gone to rescue her. 

“How do I get to that compartment,” I asked
Wanoll.  Immediately he pulled up a chart on the screen that showed our location and the route to the compartment.  Fortunately it was a relatively simple route and I told Wanoll and the others to continue on without me that I was going to save Lunnie. Then without waiting for a reply I was out the door and headed down the corridor at top speed.  I found one raider lying dead in the corridor; obviously he had an encounter with Reidecor and come out the loser.  A few steps further and around a bend I found yet another.  I approached the door to the compartment where Lunnie was being held quickly palmed the door and was prepared to enter the door low and quickly fire left and right killing the two guards that I now knew to be in the room. When the door opened I saw myself staring at two legs of a guard apparently about to leave the compartment from the other side. I felt a sharp blow on back of my head and all went black.

When I
regained consciousness I found I could not move my arms or legs, my head was hanging on my chest and it felt like the back of my skull had been ripped off.   I slowly opened my eyes, my head still down, trying to remember what had happened.  Nearby I heard voices and I tried to focus on them. 

“You sorry slime eating
Doesee, you better talk soon or I’m going to have to start removing body parts.” It was Lexmal’s voice, still threatening Lunnie I presumed. “How’d you like that… we could start with a few fingers, like Ex-Captain Maxette, or maybe with the nipples. How about that, Doesee?   Now are you going to tell me the Federation plans or not?” 

“I hope they slow you roast in the lava pools on Rivalon,” Lunnie said.  I lifted my head and turned to look over at Lunnie and Lexmal just as he went to strike her again
, he must have caught my motion because he stopped just short of striking her and turned to look at me. 

“
Well if it isn’t our mighty heroooOOOOOO AhhHH!....” Lexmal let out a scream as Lunnie moved her head quickly catching Lexmal’s little finger with her teeth, he had left dangling close to her mouth.  I heard the crunch from where I was and two guards from the back of the room sprang forward as Lunnie spit half of Lexmal’s little finger out of her mouth and halfway across the room. 

“YOU DAMN DOESEE, DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU, I
’LL SHOW YOU! YOU DAMN DOESEE!” Lexmal screamed as he raised the knife in his other hand and began slashing and stabbing Lunnie over and over again. I strained against my restraints trying to get free to help her, but I couldn’t.  “DAMN DOESEE! Someone find my finger and get it on ice so the med unit can reattach it,” Lexmal shouted as he tried to curb the blood flowing from the severed finger.  

Lexmal looked over at me, his face a mask of pain and rage
. “Well Mister
martials arts
man, I guess all you fancy dancing hasn’t done the Federation any good has it.  That crew that you brought over here is all but wiped out, only a dozen or so remains. You’ll tell us what we want to know about the Federation plans, or I promise you there will be so many pieces of you that if and when they find you no one will ever be able to recognize what you were.”   He walked over to me and pushed the blade of his knife through the palm of my right hand and twisted it.  I bit down hard with my teeth trying not to scream out in pain.