Star Crusades Nexus: Book 09 - The Black Rift (39 page)

Khan stopped and checked for signs of the enemy. All around him his own forces were cutting down any remaining Thegns near him, and he could feel the tide already turning.

“Can you take control of the ship from there?”

“No, but On'Sarax is working on it. She believes she can control their systems soon, why?”

Three Eques walkers turned around to face back in the direction they had arrived from. A single SAAR robot deployed its primary weapons and then exploded in a single bright explosion.

"Incoming!" yelled a marine private.

He too was cut down by hundreds of rounds fired from the next level up. Shapes moved through the arena and poured out to strike Khan's position from behind.

"It's a trap. To the rearguard!"

A pair of Ghost Warriors dropped down from the next level up and faced off against Olik and Khan. Behind them came more Thegns and six more Ghost Warriors. More and more streamed out from the arena, and for a fraction of a moment, Khan felt doubt. He glanced to Olik and Knaprig. The latter held his one good arm up, with its blade extended out in front of him. His lost arm had been replaced with a secondary gun mount slaved to the computer. It gave him an odd, slightly robotic look.

"Major Terson has what he needs. We need to buy him time."

The other two grunted in agreement and separated, increasing the gap between them. Dozens more marines moved back while others took position in cover to provide help. Two Vanguards rushed back, both firing at the Ghost Warriors as they skidded alongside Khan.

"Need help, Sir?" asked the first.

"Yeah, follow me."

He took a step forward and then increased in speed. Fire from both sides ripped marine and Thegn apart with ease, but it was the Ghost Warriors, Vanguards, and Jötnar that proved more difficult to kill. The Gatling guns of the Vanguards ripped chunks of armor from the Biomechs, while blue pulses from their weapons quickly dispatched a Vanguard and disabled Knaprig so that he fell to the ground. Olik spotted his friend fall, but Khan called him off.

"Hit the bastards, Olik. Remember what they did on Prometheus!"

Olik barely needed the reminder. The most recent battle was enough to ferment an almost religious zeal amongst the Jötnar. Their origin on Prometheus was an even darker chapter, and one the Jötnar always looked to avenge.

They moved quickly, each tracking the enemy machines. One of them barked orders in some odd alien tongue, immediately drawing Khan's attention. This one’s armor was different, embellished, and marked and narrower than the others. The machine also moved with great athleticism. Khan was convinced he could make out Anicinàbe markings along its torso.

Odd.

“Die!” it hissed.

Khan was so surprised by its speed that he didn't even notice he'd understood it, or of the venom in the machine's tone. It leapt passed the other two and extended two short reflective blades. He'd already seen their configuration, just like those carried by the enemy's Thegn and Biomech warriors.

"Try it, monster!"

They reached the Biomechs out in the open. There were now six of them, and just a single Vanguard and two Jötnar still able to fight. Olik ducked past the first of the machines and moved toward the more agile of the group.

This is going to be interesting,
thought Khan.

He pushed down hard and jumped a meter in the air. He came down with a crash while slamming both of his arms into the first Biomech's chest. Two plates ripped off, and Khan continued to cut and strike until he'd ripped the thing to shreds. Two more came at him, but he sidestepped and let gunfire from the Vanguards slow them down. A missile fired from the next level up, screamed down, and struck one in the arm. The warhead fizzled and hissed; a small flash blew a hole the size of a man into the shell.

Not bad.

The machine twisted about, but a fusillade of carbine fire punched a hundred holes into it. It dropped down to join the other shattered husks. Now the odds were a little fairer. Four against three, and Khan was just beginning to feel his blood begin to boil. Thegns were running past them in all directions, but he ignored them, only striking out if they came too close. He extended his arm and pointed at the most agile of them all.

"You!"

The machine spotted him and called out an order. The three remaining machines formed a defensive wall in front of it, a shield of metal and flesh. Khan didn't care; his rage was at its peak, and he charged. A blue flash slammed into his shoulder and tore off the weapon as well as all the plating. He howled in pain but kept on. Another blast struck the ground beneath his feet, but he was already airborne. Khan crashed into the line and toppled it, landing directly on the lithe warrior at the rear.

The other three were trying to stand as Olik and the Vanguard arrived. They blasted them mercilessly, tearing armor, weapons, and limbs off with brutal efficiency. Khan held down his foe with both arms.

"Who are you?"

A long, slow sigh came from the machine as though it was releasing its last breath.

"Thayara."

* * *

Military Outpost, Rintau, Eos.

The wall was gone, holes taking up more space than actual rock and stone. A smashed Eques walker lay straddled across one of the many breaches, and dozens of dead Thegns filled the breaches. The rockets had stopped, but the fusillade of small arms fire had reached a crescendo. A single NHA body lay among the fallen Thegns, a testament to the brutal assault that had almost seen the base fall.

"Corporal, take three marines and cover the south wall. More of them are coming in."

Wictred nodded and ducked low, doing his best to hide his large form from the Thegn sniper’s position that was less than a hundred meters from the outpost. With quick hand gestures, he signaled the marines to join him. With every step, another bullet struck nearby. He ran past the heavily damaged Mauler and on to the partially damaged wall. The Bulldog waited patiently, it's turret turned and guns pointing off into the distance. Four Helion soldiers manned the position, and they seemed to relax as the Alliance giant arrived alongside them. Three marines joined him and placed their carbines and a single L48 rifle onto the low wall.

"How much longer, Corporal?" asked the pale looking private.

Wictred checked the figures on his visor. They had already lost contact with those ships still in orbit over Eos, but he had the projection for the arrival of the relief party.

"They should be here is eleven minutes, maybe twelve."

He looked over the top and felt his heart stop. A wall of warriors filled his view. They were partially obscured in the cloud of dust they'd kicked up, but the sight of hundred of warriors was a sight not mistaken for something else. There were even Eques walkers amongst the hordes of Thegns.

"This is gonna hurt."

He placed his looted Biomech cannon onto the wall and then looked to the other marines. Each was experienced in battle and had seen the enemy on multiple occasions. Even so, he could see the fear and the nerves on their faces.

"Just hold them back for eleven minutes. That's all we have to do."

He looked back at the enemy and took aim. Two rounds glanced off his helmet, and he ignored them, as if they were nothing more than chunks of ice.

"Fire!"

* * *

Kha’Dri, Taxxu, Uncharted Space

Spartan detached the cables from the access points in the flesh armor he still wore. As he removed the last flat cable, he could sense a calm, something akin to relief as his last contact with the machines was severed. Even the sound of Z'Kanthu had vanished, leaving him with just his thoughts.

What did he say? Three on the left and down under the floor?

The words were strange, but he followed them. So far, the wizened machine had been correct at every point. He moved carefully through the ship. It was unlike any vessel he'd ever seen before. The corridors looked organic, with rib like bones making up the walls and thick piping filled with colored fluid running in all directions. The air was very dry, to a level that almost hurt his throat. Spartan followed the direction until reached the small passageway. There were pipes on almost every surface, but in the middle was an access point. He bent down and grasped the lever. It pulled with a groan and then detached. He cast it aside and lowered himself into the new space.

Just drop.

He released his grip and fell for the briefest of minutes. His eyes shut as he hit the ground, and his legs flexed, taking the strain from the landing. The adrenalin felt good, and each second that it pumped through his body, the more alive he felt. His eyes opened, and he almost staggered back at what he saw. The room was long like a barracks, and along the walls were dozens of Ghost Warrior armored suits. Each of them was open at the front to reveal they were empty.

"Just what I need," he said aloud, forgetting for a second that he was trying to be discreet.

"Exactly," said a familiar voice.

He spun about and found one of the suits waiting in the open. The armor was sealed, yet it moved with purpose.

"How did you do that?" he asked suspiciously.

"As agreed, I told you I would keep part of my essence with you, now it is inside their Core. They will find me eventually, but until then I can control a machine body. I have chosen this one."

Spartan shook his head.

"Z'Kanthu, you're full of surprises."

"There is more," he said, "You must prepare yourself. Take one of them, and finish this. Do it for your people, and for mine."

* * *

Kha’Dri, Taxxu, Uncharted Space

The ancient machine watched the Rift with growing impatience. He began to pace, waiting for news of the Defeated and their final victory over the enemy. The ship felt empty, even though it was filled with thousands of his own dormant Ghost Warrior suits, all ready to be controlled by the ancient Core deep inside the ship. Then came a single flash, an indicator that something was coming through.

"What is this?"

The shape transformed into the massive hulk of the battleship Retribution. The machine hissed to itself.

So, the Defeated prove their name is well
deserved, once more.

Then more shapes came through, first a just a handful, and then scores of ships from multiple races. For a moment the machine was confused, then it recognized the shapes of the Alliance warships. Biomantas came through with them, and the space battle continued just as it had on the other side of the Rift. He sent the command to One-Zero-One, but nothing came back, just the silence brought on only by the true death.

"I have been betrayed!"

With a single thought, he screamed a warning through the entire ship. The shockwave rippled through every section of the vast behemoth. One by one, the machines of the ship were accessed and taken control of by those souls drifting inside the ancient Core. He watched as hundreds, and then thousands of machines activated around him.

It is time for them all to fight.

One more order sent the same activation signal to every vessel in Taxxu. Even the dormant Tomb Ships activated their defense routines and woke their biological warriors, summoning them all to the fight. He looked at the indicators and began to calm. There were limitless ships and millions of warriors, all of them expendable. He looked back to the capsules that kept his five kin in their ancient slumber. For a second, he considered leaving them, waiting to see what might happen. But then came the warnings from his ship commanders, and the news sent a shudder through his soul.

They are coming here?

He turned to face his five equals, and with a heavy heart began the procedure to waken them, just as One-Zero-One had done for him.

Very well, their end will take place here, and not in their own domain. It makes little difference to me.

* * *

ANS Warlord, Taxxu, Uncharted Space

Admiral Anderson looked upon the new region of space with calculating eyes. All round the battleship were the survivors of the battle at the Rift. Even now, the Spacebridge was shuddering, doing its best to collapse. On the mainscreen were videostreams from General Makos and now from Major Terson and Khan. Dozens of impacts registered along the warship, as those vessels near the enemy flagship turned on the new arrivals.

"Admiral, the coordinates sent to Khan are for that ship, the one that is similar in configuration to the Arks, just massively bigger. It will take days to destroy it, assuming we could even get through in one piece."

"It's true," explained Khan, "The plan is working, sort of."

He looked to his tactical officer.

"What can you tell me?"

The man breathed in deeply. On the mainscreen a Crusader was ripped apart by the combined fire from twenty different Biomech ships. Admiral Anderson watched the destruction and shook his head bitterly. It was only then that he understood Khan's words.