The Col Sec Chronicles Box Set
Page 39
A man wearing a lab coat, the same as all the tec guys working there, came to greet them at the door, a worried expression on his face.
Tall and slim with thinning hair combed across his pate and with ocular implants, he looked every inch the geek he obviously was; yet the straight back and military bearing gave the opposite impression.
“General, what the devil is happening, are we under attack?” he asked in a voice that showed the strain they were all under.
“Yes, Major Purvis, we indeed are under attack and that is why we are here to see if your efforts can help us,” Sinclair answered.
“We’ve made some progress, sir, but I’m not sure how it’ll help against an invasion.”
“Show us, then we’ll decide if it’ll be of any use to us.”
“Come this way, sir,” Purvis said as he turned back into the room and led them over to his workstation. “When you informed me of what OMEGA had in terms of the same tec as us, I went back to basics as it were. If they have Neural Interfaces like us there’s a good chance they could access our com. satellites, channels and even the battle com., so like I said, I’ve gone back to basics. I designed this ear bug which, when placed inside the ear, enables you to communicate with anyone else using the same network. It will be isolated from the usual networks and double encrypted so there will be little or no chance of your com. chatter being intercepted. In time we can have them implanted inside the ear canal for safety reasons. As I’m sure you’re aware, placing them inside the ear means they could be dislodged with vigorous activity.”
“Impressive,” said Hawk. “Anything else?” he added.
“I’m not sure, we’ve got a few things under development but nothing quite ready.”
“We need something to combat that huge ship, or something that would help get a team on board,” Hawk said.
“I might be able to get you on board,” Tanya said and they all turned to look at her as if they’d forgotten she was there.
“Excuse me?” De Boer said incredulously.
“I… er… can get you on board; well I can get you through the shields if they’re similar to those at the MaxCorp building where Dad works. I don’t know about the locks on the docking bays but then again if they’re the same principle as my Dad’s office then I can get you in those as well. Why are you all staring at me like I’ve gone mad?” Tanya said in that rambling, breathless way of hers.
Hawk came over to reassure her and said, “It’s okay Tanya, we don’t think you’re mad, we’re just not sure you quite grasp the complexity of the situation.”
“Why, ’cause I’m a girl? Listen, my NI allows me access to areas in the MaxCorp building that only top-level managerial staff members have. Dad made sure I could go wherever I wanted if I needed to speak to or see him. Some areas are shielded to keep out those not authorised but I can just walk through them. My NI has a recognition code embedded within it, which negates the security protocols embedded in the shields or locks. Now if they’re the same on the ship, and I have no reason to think he’d change them, then I should be granted access,” she said, showing she had a firmer grasp of the situation than they had assumed.
“This might work,” Hawk said and then turned to Purvis, “I need as many of these com. bugs as you have.” Finally to De Boer he said, “Fancy a trip into the belly of the beast Colonel?”
“Hell yeah!” came the rousing reply from him and the two marines.
“Assemble your team, Colonel, you’ll need at least a full squad,” Sinclair said. “I’ll contact Jefferson on the Valkyrie to stand by, he can transport you onto the Nemesis.”
Hawk turned back to Purvis to ask, ”Is there any way you could extract those recognition codes from Tanya’s NI?”
“I’d have to log onto the NI and search through all the codes written on it, but there’s no telling which would be the right one. It could take some time but I’m sure I could do it if Miss Wilde wouldn’t mind. I may have to extract the NI for an in-depth search,” Purvis said with a thoughtful expression.
“Time is something we don’t have, she goes with you,” Sinclair said with a tone that brooked no argument.
“I can’t ask her to do that, she’s a civilian,” Hawk argued.
“You don’t have to ask, I’m ordering you to take her with you.”
“Again with the ‘she’s a civilian.’ You can order me but not her. If she says no then she stays here and we figure something else out.”
“What ‘something else’, there is no ‘something else’. We’re right out of options, Matt, you know that as well as I do.”
“You don’t have to ask, I’ll go,” Tanya said virtually stepping in between the two men whose voices were getting louder and angrier with each new word, or so it seemed to her.
She’d had men fight over her before, well, argue really, they never actually came to blows, but this was different. This was important, life or death important, and not just who she would dance with first. This was how many lives will it save important, and she had no hesitation in saying yes. Was she afraid? Not yet but she was sure that would change sooner rather than later. She was also sure that these men, especially the dishy, tall, broad shouldered one, Matt, would keep her safe from harm no matter what, she knew that.
So really there was nothing to be afraid of, except fear itself.
Hawk, Sinclair and the rest of them turned to look at her, “What, have I just grown another head or something?” she asked suddenly nervous under their scrutiny.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Hawk asked, concern causing deep furrows across his brow, his ice blue eyes intensely boring into her to see if she had the strength to do what would be asked of her if she went along.
“The General’s right, you’re out of options and short on time. You have to take me along,” she replied earnestly. “Do I want to go, quite frankly, no, but I can’t allow my father to go through with this, he’s done enough harm already and it has to stop.”
“Okay then,” Hawk said, smiling to reassure her and also feeling quite proud of her for showing some steel, “I don’t like it, but it seems we have to go.
Sinclair smiled at her also, like a father who was proud of his daughter’s achievements.
De Boer placed a beefy hand on her shoulder and softly said, “Don’t worry girl, we’ll make sure you’re okay, no harm will come to you while we’re at your side.”
She looked up into his stern countenance and said, “You’d better not let anything happen to me, I’ve got plans for when this is all over,” then leaning into him she whispered, “but don’t tell him, I don’t want to scare him off,” indicating Hawk with a slight nod of her head.
De Boer smiled, the first time she’d seen it and he said, “Don’t worry Miss, I’ll personally make sure he turns up for whatever you have in mind.”
“Tanya, call me Tanya please.”
“My pleasure, Tanya.”
* * * * *
Wilde paced the width of the bridge watching the forward viewscreen as the Nemesis’ pulse cannons fired down towards the planet’s surface.
Tanis Rygar, the Rover5 and what was left of the mercenaries, all stood at the rear of the room watching the events unfold on the viewscreen.
“Sir, we have incoming fighters, it’s the Tiger squadron based at Col Sec HQ,” said ops.
“Launch all our fighters, wipe them out then continue firing at the HQ, raze that building to the ground,” Wilde replied coldly. Briefly turning to Rygar he said, “You and your men take two troop carriers full of my new Rover5s and head down to the HQ, make sure they’re all dead. I want no survivors, is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Rygar said, then just as he was about to leave Wilde halted him by saying, “No wait, if General Sinclair is still breathing, bring him here to me.”
“What about your daughter, sir, shall I bring her too?”
“Only if she’s alive, if she gives you any trouble, kill her.”
19
The loss of life was horrendous; hundreds died in the first few seconds of the attack and then more died as the panic set in and escape became the only thought the survivors could think of. Like lemmings, many hurled themselves from sections that had been destroyed, through windows or walls blasted open to the air and to certain death below. Many more were crushed in the mad rush for any exit that seemed a possibility, making it nothing more than a panic-fuelled stampede.
The true death toll would not be known for many weeks, maybe even months, after the attack when all the names could be correlated with the remaining body parts. DNA would have to be used where no recognisable evidence remained. The final count was bound to be in the thousands.
Deep in the bowels of the building Hawk, De Boer, his marines and Tanya Wilde were still with Sinclair when the call from Ops Centre came through.
“Sir, the Nemesis has stopped firing.”
“What’s happening up there?” Sinclair asked urgently.
“Tiger squadron has scrambled and is engaging Nemesis but they are outnumbered, sir, by the fighters on board the carrier.”
“Where’s our backup?”
“Only the Justice and the Legend were within range, sir, and should arrive in five minutes.”
“But they’re just light battle cruisers, they’ll be no match for the Nemesis,” Hawk said both shocked and angry at Col Sec’s complacent belief in its own invincibility that had left them so undefended against such a formidable enemy. One life lost was one too many and he dreaded to think how many would be lost before this day was done. He wondered if mankind ever truly learnt anything from mistakes made by former generations or were they fated to keep repeating the same ones ad infinitum.
“All the more reason for you to get on board her and do whatever you can to stop this,” Sinclair said with finality in his voice, leaving them in no doubt what he meant by ‘whatever you can’.”
“Sir, we have two incoming craft, Hurricane C230 troop carriers, headed straight for us, ETA ninety seconds,” Ops Centre reported.
“This just keeps getting better and better,” commented Hawk sardonically.
“Inform the garrison to expect incoming hostiles and to take whatever steps required to defend this building,” Sinclair ordered.
“This is a new development,” observed De Boer. “Why send troops down here when they could blast us from orbit?” he added questioningly.
“Does seem a bit like overkill to me,” agreed Hawk.
“You’re not going to be able to leave by normal exits before they arrive so you’d better utilise the secondary emergency exit tunnels and you should go now,” Sinclair said.
De Boer said, “We’re still waiting for the rest of my team to arrive so we can be equipped and then leave on the shuttle, sir.”
“Contact them and order them to get their asses down here now,” Sinclair said angrily.
* * * * *
The garrison marines from Recon Delta Bravo Company mobilised the moment the attack began. All twenty of them were suited up in battle gear, including the Rapier Mk III battle tec helmet, and were armed with the Sig P996, standard issue sidearm and the Remm assault rifle.
Hopelessly outnumbered against the approaching OMEGA shock troops they began to mount a defence.
* * * * *
Tiger squadron came at the Nemesis from all angles, swaying and twisting through intricate manoeuvres to outfox the defending Nova fighters.
Firing their pulse cannons at both the attacking Nova fighters and the Nemesis when the opportunity presented itself, they fought a desperate dogfight against overwhelming odds, displaying bravery seldom equalled.
The pilots, some of the best that Col Sec had to offer, showed their true worth by destroying ten of the Nova fighters in the first skirmish without even taking a hit, but then greater numbers began to take their toll and Tiger squadron began to lose numbers.
Although they scored numerous hits against the Nemesis, their pulse cannons were no match for the battle carrier’s primary shields and again, although they reduced the Nova fighters numbers by over half they found themselves decimated within five minutes. Out of the twelve fighters who took off from the landing field next to Confederation HQ all but one was gone and he made a suicide run against the Nemesis. Taking out two more Nova fighters on his end run he smashed his craft into Nemesis’ shields just above the bridge.
Wilde watched impassively as the last fighter came hurtling towards them aimed, so it seemed, directly at him. As the fighter died in the explosion of the collision against the primary shields he turned to ops and said, “Recall all remaining fighters and the moment our two troop carriers are within landing range of their target cease firing against the primary target. They’ll no doubt have recalled some starships, so keep long-range sensors on standby. The moment they arrive I want all weapons targeted on them ready to open fire on my command.”
* * * * *
Colonel De Boer assembled his team from Recon Delta marines who were already in the building; he had no other resources to call upon. There were twelve available, either in the training area or being debriefed, so he split them into two teams. He had six join him at Tec Division and ordered the remainder topside to help with the defence of whatever was left. They were to report to the officer in charge of the garrison on arrival.
They were still en route via the express alternative escape tunnel when the C230 troop carriers came in to land.
The garrison was equipped with a rotating M570 pulse cannon with missile launcher. The commander had it manned the second they were alerted. Two marines operated it, one to fire the pulse cannon from a seat he was strapped into directly behind the grips with which he would control the huge weapon. Above this control was a screen that he used to target the cannon using computer enhanced sensor sighting. He could lock onto a target in a variety of ways and be sure he would hit what he aimed at.
The second marine sat below him and, using the same method, would target the missiles that were housed in racks below and on either side of the huge cannon.
They started to fire the pulse cannon as soon as the first C230 was within range. The pulsed plasma bolts lanced through the dust-laden air towards the incoming troop carrier. The first salvo struck the portside engine housing as the two engines tilted into downward thrust position. The explosion rocked the transport and the pilot almost lost control as the starboard wing dipped drastically as the opposite wing, now minus the main engine, was thrown upwards by the force of the explosion.
Sabre missiles, fired from the ground, streaked towards their target closing the gap almost quicker than the eye could blink.
Seeing their transport was in danger, the Rover5s on board took the initiative and started descending to the ground over two hundred feet below on zip lines.
The second C230 saw the danger awaiting them and opened fire on the ground-based pulse cannon/missile launcher with their own pulse cannons mounted above and below the pilot’s station.
Pulsed plasma bolts raked the ground in a deadly trail leading to their target, destroying the plascrete before striking the weapon and destroying it in an explosion which ignited the Sabre missiles making its destructive force at least ten times more than it would’ve been.
The blast killed the two marines manning the weapon, the six who had just arrived from the remains of the Headquarters building and at least four more who were nearby, but not before the Sabre missiles fired from beneath the cannon found their target.
The C230 was blown clear out of the sky killing the cre
w and the twenty Rover5s who didn’t make it to the ground. The remaining C230 came in to hover so that its compliment of fifty Rover5s could descend to the ground. They were given covering fire from the turret pulse cannons and the thirty Rover5s who had exited the doomed first C230.
The remaining fourteen Recon Delta marines stood little chance caught out in the open like that against such overwhelming odds and superior firepower. They were blasted to pieces in minutes hardly slowing the advance of the incoming force of Rover5s led by Tanis Rygar and his mercs.
Within a few minutes of landing they were entering the ruined Headquarters.
* * * * *
Purvis had supplied Hawk, De Boer, his marines and Tanya with com. bugs as the six other marines arrived. They too were quickly given the com. bugs, instructed on their use and what the intended mission was.
“Sir, the garrison topside has been completely overrun. We now have eighty hostiles en route to your location,” Ops Centre said. Ops Centre was situated on the first sub level so the Rover5s led by Tanis Rygar would reach them first. Being just one section on that sub-level, the people manning the centre had no idea what purpose the invading force had and so remained at their posts.
“Understood, I suggest you vacate your posts now, seek an exit route that is unoccupied and make your way to the surface,” Sinclair offered.
“Not possible sir, the hostiles have split up into teams, they’re covering each and every exit tunnel. Seems they’ve done their homework, sir, and they’ve come prepared,” replied Ops Centre.
“Then lock all the doors and barricade yourselves inside. I’m not sure what their intentions are but arm yourselves just in case. If they want to cripple us they will need to cut all communications with the outside world and beyond, so the defence of your section becomes paramount, at least until reinforcements get here to render assistance. I’m sorry to ask this of you, what’s your name son?”