Star Crusades

by Michael G. Thomas

  “Get back!” screamed one of the crew towards the front as the Ski’ligs opened fire.

  Luckily, most were able to dart out of the way, but a handful of those to the front were hit instantly. The rest scattered to the sides, taking cover behind the strange, curved bulkheads that looked more like the spinal columns and bones of a great creature than an artificial structure. Though they fired identical projectiles to those of the so-called spike rifles used by the smaller alien soldiers, these weapons fired a fully automatic stream of them.

  “Captain. We’ve got a problem!” Commander Campbell shouted over the din of fire, “There’s no way through.”

  The Captain leaned out to look at him as another burst of fire struck around him. The razor-sharp spikes embedded in the walls of the ship, some hitting the ground so hard they stuck up like scattered caltrops to bring down horses.

  “I see them. Looks like heavies. We’ve got to push through before they send more to stop us.”

  A large man that Captain Zacharias didn’t recognise managed to get close to the fallen Ski’ligs, and then he did something incredible. He lifted the body up like a shield and pushed it in front of him. Spikes whooshed by, and then the heavies concentrated on him. The metal spikes hammered into the body of their fallen comrade, and the man soon cried out as some punched through into his body.

  “Now!” Captain Zacharias ordered.

  Small groups moved out from cover and opened fire at the creatures. Most of the shots went wide of the mark, but enough hit two of them to force them back.

  “Keep pushing!” said one of the women, and as one the remaining crew surged forward like a wave. Gunfire from both sides lit up the interior of the bizarre alien vessel. Two technicians were hit by a fusillade of fire as they tried to grapple with the enemy. Captain Zacharias managed to fire a single shot before his people physically leapt onto the heavies. They dragged them down like wolves tackling a larger animal. The fight was over as quickly as it had begun, and the sounds of weapons were replaced with heavy breathing and the cries of pain from the wounded and dying.

  “Move the bodies,” said the Commander.

  Captain Zacharias moved to the front to survey the way ahead, while his crew dragged the bodies aside and hid them as best they could. The first few minutes of the assault had proven more brutal than he could possibly imagine, but at least it had been short. Now they were inside the ship, and he had no idea where to go next. He tapped his Secpad and brought up the details for the ships they’d encountered so far.

  “What now, Captain?”

  Captain Zacharias looked back to him and shrugged.

  “We’ve only seen scans of wrecked ships or the boarded on Eridani Prime. Who knows what similarities they might have with a ship like this?”

  “We’ve never even come across one of these behemoths before,” said Commander Campbell, “It’s a lot darker than any of the ships I’ve ever seen.”

  “True,” said Captain Zacharias.

  He reached out and touched the walls. They were smooth to the touch, yet warm, almost alive.

  “I have to say, though, it is a beautiful vessel, a true work of art.”

  Captain Zacharias signalled to the others.

  “Keep moving forward. Bring the wounded.”

  “What about the dead?” asked a young ensign.

  “Move them to the shadows.”

  The man looked stunned. “Sir!”

  “You heard the Captain,” said another, “This is about survival now.”

  Captain Zacharias gave the man a nod and then turned his attention to his Chief Engineer.

  “I need information on this place, and fast. Can you find us somewhere safe to hole up for now?”

  “It’s impossible to tell what kind of ship this is,” said Chief Thompson as he moved alongside the pair, “I can tell you that it’s old.”

  “How old?”

  “At least two hundred years old, maybe more.”

  Captain Zacharias gave a low whistle and then continued forward. They were on a walkway now, and as they moved further ahead, he could see a pit below that extended out fifty or so metres.

  “What is it with these people and these open spaces?”

  The others moved gingerly along; many constantly checking around them for signs of danger. The Chief stayed towards the front and continued checking the internal structure with a scanner pack hanging from his belt. He carried a militarised thermal shotgun in his left hand, a weapon with a long history among crewmembers on ships. The interior of this part was unlike anything any of them had seen before. At first, the passages had been quite narrow as they passed through the outer compartments. They were sealed and heavily constructed to operate as a form of secondary armour. But as they moved further inside, it was clear the design was more like a honeycomb, with large open spaces joined together into a lattice structure.

  “I think this ship is very different to anything we’ve encountered until now. This lattice effect will make the ship incredibly durable. You could blast a third of it off into space, and the rest would remain structurally sound and intact.”

  “Well, if we had that kind of weaponry we would, but we don’t. Everybody keep moving. We need to get away from the hull.”

  The Commander nodded as he recalled the rest of the plan.

  “The blast?”

  “Exactly,” said Captain Zacharias, “Last thing we want is to get sucked out of the ship.”

  They passed through the narrow passages and small rooms, but soon enough moved out from the more confined part of the ship, and into one of many alien looking environments.

  “Incredible,” said one of the engineers, “Truly incredible.”

  The survivors spread out, and though most had made it, their numbers seemed so tiny compared to the vastness of the ship’s interior. For even the briefest of moments, they were able to soak in the details and the strangeness of the place rather than worry about violence. The interior was made of multiple large open spaces, with narrow walkways, and a complex lattice structure holding the vessel together. It was more like the interior of a colossal birdcage than anything a land-dwelling species would use.

  “Hold!” said a sergeant towards the front.

  Captain Zacharias felt his chest tighten, and he lifted his pistol ready to defend himself.

  “What’s going on?” asked a junior tech, just as a pair of shapes screamed down from the left. One whooshed past and slashed with a curved weapon that left the decapitated sergeant still standing. He remained there for a few seconds, and then tipped over and vanished over the ledge.

  “Bring them down!” Commander Campbell yelled.

  A volley of panicked fire reached out around them as they blasted away. These were not elite marines, though, but merely crew from the ship. Some had recent weapons training, but in the open spaces of the Ski’lig ship, it was hard to spot and track the enemy. Four Ski’ligs came in and landed in front of them, blocking their path, but not even their armour or martial prowess was enough to stop the Alliance crew. Captain Zacharias took aim and shouted loudly, “Fire!”

  Massed shotgun, pistol, and carbine fire cut them down until the fourth screeched and charged at them. In the tall space it had enough room to unfurl its wings and moved quickly towards them. Commander Campbell lifted his carbine and opened fire, putting a long automatic burst into the creature. It dropped down a metre in front of him and lay there unmoving.

  “No!” Captain Zacharias said as two of the crew moved forwards, “Get back.”

  They stopped just as the thing screamed and lurched forward with blades in its arms. Both Commander Campbell and the Captain opened fire, killing it before it hit the metallic deck. One of the unarmed crew, a bloodied ensign, bent down and ripped the creature’s rifle from its hands.

  Captain Zacharias stepped out into the open. Commander Campbell was right next to him, along with four crewmen all outfitted with light assault armour. Two carried carbines, the other two nothi
ng but a pistol. A fifth followed behind them with a Ski’lig rifle in her hands.

  “Where now?” asked an ensign.

  “Keep moving!” Commander Campbell said.

  “Yes. The further we can get away from the blast doors to Coventry the better.”

  “You heard the Captain. Let’s move.”

  They moved over the wide chasm towards a lattice that blocked access to the next space. One by one they moved there, passing through the open entry point, and into an even larger space with water dripping down and collecting on the surface.

  “Water?” Commander Campbell said, “What’s going on in here?”

  The entry point remained open to what looked more like a drainage channel than a walkway. Captain Zacharias looked to the sides and noted several movable plates he suspected would function much like internal blast doors or bulkheads.

  “Sir, I’ve started mapping of the internal of this ship, and it is showing some similarities with the vessel captured on Eridani Prime,” said the Chief, “I think we...”

  He stopped as they moved further inside the next section. They were at the bottom of a vast shaft that was lit by pulsing blue veins running though the very walls. The bulkheads arched into tortured shapes and joined at the base of a single massive platform floating out in the open. More bridges were moving in from the sides and from above.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Commander Campbell asked.

  Captain Zacharias put a hand above his eyes to shield them from the bright light at the top of the shaft. The platform was so bright it could easily have been a nearby star blocking out his vision.

  “A ship,” said a tech.

  “It’s one of their attack ships,” said Captain Zacharias, “I cannot believe it. They carry it inside as though it were little more than a shuttle.”

  The ship wasn’t easy to see due to the platform it rested on obscuring much of its shape. The platform wasn’t solid, though, allowing condensation to run through and then drip down in streams to the lower levels.

  “The ship is vast,” agreed Commander Campbell, “Perhaps…”

  He stopped as a crewman spotted something.

  “Movement, at the top of the shaft.”

  Some hid, but most remained out in the open, looking up and past the ship. Captain Zacharias was sure he could see something circling the higher levels. Commander Campbell lifted his hand into a fist and signalled for the others to spread out, and to move to the shadows.

  “I don’t like this,” said a man wearing body armour. He took aim with his carbine and then looked back to Captain Zacharias.

  “Sir, there’s more of them, hundreds of them.”

  The Captain gulped. There were only sixty or so of them, and he knew they would be slaughtered out in the open if they were attacked. He looked back and gasped as the opening began to close. It moved unlike anything he’d ever seen and sealed the area off in a matter of seconds. One of the crew rushed back and ran his hands over the lattice, but it was completely sealed, and so well built that the seams were no longer visible. What happened next sent a chill of sheer terror through every single crewmember present, a shrill scream that ran through the open space and then echoed repeatedly.

  “They’re coming,” said Captain Zacharias, “Chief Thompson!”

  The man moved to his side, while pulling the thermal shotgun from the custom mount he’d fitted it to. The man appeared to wield the weapon far too comfortably, revealing a history that the Captain was unfamiliar with. Another scream filled the place, and as he looked up, he could see some of the shapes becoming larger as they fell down towards them.

  “Chief, we need to blow the ship. And now.”

  Chief Engineer Thompson looked stunned. He moved closer as the screaming increased.

  “Sir. We need to get further away. At this range I can’t guarantee that…”

  A flurry of spikes hit around them, one hitting Chief Engineer Thompson in the shoulder. Two more struck below, tearing his right arm away in a brutal assault on his body. More spikes hit around them, injuring and killing with ease.

  “Open fire!” called out the Commander, but most of them had already responded. Shots rose up to hit the creatures, but they had the space to manoeuvre and easily outfought the small group of Alliance personnel.

  “What have I done?” said the Captain as he blasted away with his pistol. Some of his comrades continued to fight, but as the unceasing fire maimed more, they began to give ground. Some rushed to the sealed wall to try and get through while others scattered through the knee-deep water and further inside the ship.

  “Chief! We have to do it!”

  A medic struggled to apply a gel patch to staunch the blood loss but took a burst of fire to the face that killed him instantly. The Chief leaned back and aimed with his remaining arm. After emptying the magazine, he swung his Secpad unit around and pinned it to the nearest wall. He tapped it while grunting in pain, finally dropping it to the floor.

  “It’s ready for you, Captain,” he said, spitting blood, “Send your encoded sequence, and the engines will complete the overload. She’s primed to blow.”

  Creatures howled and screeched as the Ski’ligs attacked from the sides and above. They must have sensed an easy kill because many didn’t even bother using their rifles, hacking and slashing as they went by. Two of the Captain’s trusted crew fell to the ground, and then the unit’s cohesion collapsed. Most of them scattered, making them easy prey as they sloshed about in the water. The Captain looked to his Secpad and moved a finger to activate the charges that would start a chain reaction in the already overloaded system.

  God save us all!

  Nothing happened, and a Ski’lig dropped to the ground in front of him. Its wing was damaged, and it held up the rifle to fire at him. Captain Zacharias took aim with his pistol and fired, but the weapon was empty. The Ski’lig made a sound that he was sure was laughter, and then began to squeeze the trigger. At once, a low rumble shook the ground, and a smile formed along Captain Zacharias’ face.

  “Hold on!” he yelled.

  “You heard the Captain!” shouted the XO, “Hold onto something!”

  The floor tore open, and part of the lattice wall erupted and pulled away. At the same time, a swirling wind sucked anything not tied down. Captain Zacharias held onto the lattice wall with one hand, while gripping one of his crewman’s hands.

  “Do not…let go!”

  A terrible groaning sound grew louder and louder as other parts of the internal structure broke apart. At least two crewmembers were pulled through the air and vanished from view, but the breach in the ship’s hull caused the Ski’ligs much more harm. At least a dozen were pulled out in the first few seconds. The one in front of the Captain managed to lock its one foot to the ground, only for a mechanic to blast the limb with a thermal shotgun. As it detached from the ground, it was sucked away while screeching.

  “You bastards!” The Captain watched more and more of the creatures pulled away before a series of internal barriers came down to seal up the damage. It took time, but with each passing second, the wind decreased until he could release his grip.

  “Captain,” said Commander Campbell, “What now?”

  The Captain looked at the weakened group of survivors as they helped the wounded and stripped weapons from the dead on both sides.

  “We go deep into the belly of this beast, and we fight tooth and nail to the end.”

  He looked up at the damaged internal structure. Even the Ski’lig attack ship had partially collapsed onto the platform.

  “What about that?”

  “The ship?”

  “Maybe we can use it in some way? It could be a secure shelter.”

  “Perhaps,” said Captain Zacharias, “Or it could be our tomb. With nowhere to retreat to, they could surround and swamp us.”

  He looked down and touched the running water as it ran off into the distance.

  “I say we take this chance before they come back. F
ollow the path of the water and keep our heads down low. Help will come soon enough. If we’re lucky, they might even think we all succumbed to the explosion.”

  His XO hesitated, and then nodded.

  “As you wish, Captain. I’ll round up the survivors.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Martian Moon Deimos, Sol System

  25th May 2475

  Valentine felt like a civilian as she moved to the flank of the ship and to lines of soldiers. They were in groups, some chatting to each other, others unloading equipment and weaponry. Hawkins spotted them and jogged across the floor to meet them. Some of the crew and marines watched as the half robotic warrior moved just as quickly as they could, but many times their weight and mass. There were even two CES units lifting missile packs up into the loading bays beneath the ship. They were exoskeleton systems driven by operators that used the extra size and augmented strength to lift and move parts no Human could ever manage.

  “You weren’t kidding,” she said as one pushed an entire crate of warheads into the loading bay. The driver looked to her for a brief moment, and Valentine gave a polite nod, “Wow. It’s all go in here.”

  “Tell me about it,” said Alexis, “One day we were going through the usual introductory drills for the newbies, and then bang. All of this arrived, and suddenly, we went from standby status to operational readiness. That was overnight.”

  “Looks like I missed a lot.”

  “You’re not wrong there,” said Hawkins.

  They passed an entire platoon of regular marines carrying so much equipment it looked as though they would collapse beneath the great weight. Valentine noticed some of them looking at her, and to her surprise she felt a little self-conscious. She looked down, expecting to find she’d only half dressed, but it was then she saw her lightweight artificial limbs.

  I’m not one of them anymore, am I?

  It was a bitter pill to swallow, but her days as a marine were well and truly gone. She might feel like a marine and have trained alongside marines, but she had moved on to something very different. The way she looked as the CES suits and other heavies was now how marines looked at her.