Star Crusades

by Michael G. Thomas

  “These people were bound, just like the others.”

  “Prisoners or slaves,” said Valentine, “And its face…look.”

  She pulled the helmet away to reveal no breathing apparatus or attachments. Even the inside of the helmet was lacking any kind of technology. She hesitated, and then reached for the controls on her heavy helmet.

  “No!” Alexis said, but it was too late.

  The front plate slid down, leaving just the sealed environmental visor in position. She paused, and then let it open a few centimetres. She took in a couple of breaths and then coughed.

  “Val, seal that helmet!”

  She shook her head and took in another few breaths.

  “It’s okay. With the filters running it’s not so bad. It’s laden with fixed nitrogen and low levels of oxygen. With blood infusions it’s breathable.”

  “She’s right,” said Alexis, “My sensors show it as breathable.”

  “I found something else,” said Hawkins, kicking aside the rubble from the breach in the ground.

  “What is it?”

  “A Ski’lig. But this one is different.”

  The Novas surrounded the body while Hawkins rolled it over. It was a normal Ski’lig, with its wings retracted and wearing armour. In one of its hands was a thick chain, and in the other a much smaller version of the rifle they normally carried.

  “So…the Ski’ligs really are slave masters,” said Valentine.

  “And it looks like at least one of the prisoners got a hit in. Look.”

  He pushed the body onto its side, and they could all see three of the short lances embedded in the Ski’lig’s back.

  “Were they attacking us or trying to escape their slave master?” The pitch of Alexis’ voice had changed again, and Valentine knew she was in trouble.

  “We’ve still got a mission.” Valentine took a lance from a fallen alien worker. She snapped it over her leg and placed the point in one of her pouches.

  “Okay, where now?” Alexis asked.

  They looked back to the shaft, and Valentine began changing viewing modes.

  Okay, Tex, talk to me.

  Of course, he said happily, the shaft leading down will intersect the main passage and connect to the flank of our existing attack. Estimated range, two hundred metres.

  Valentine nodded.

  Thanks, Tex.

  She shared the data with the others.

  “Two hundred metres. We’ve taken the long way around. We need to hurry.”

  Alexis slumped against the wall, and two of the marines muttered to themselves. Valentine moved up to her and grabbed her arm.

  “Alexis, we ain’t got time for this.”

  “I…I just…”

  “No. Just stay with us. I’ve got this, okay?”

  Alexis nodded, and then shook her head like she was trying to get rid of cobwebs.

  “Let’s move out,” said Valentine.

  They moved on through the crystal like passage, and some of the marines slipped as the descent became steeper. Thankfully, the descent ended as soon as it had begun, and they entered a more open area with many small rooms on each side. Valentine looked to the marine and noticed he seemed intrigued by her face. She lifted a hand, half-expecting to find blood, but instead her thick bushy hair had pushed out and ran down over her left collar. She tried to force it back as she answered his question.

  “How did I become a Nova? It was nothing impressive, believe me.”

  “Nah,” said the man insistently, “I bet it’s one hell of a story.”

  “She died.” Alexis quickly silencing the excitable man, “She was engaged in an assault at Helios Prime when the bombs went off. What you see here is a marine reborn.”

  “For real?”

  Valentine nodded.

  “Yes, it’s true. The 2nd Battle of Helios Prime two years ago. We’d boarded the enemy flagship.”

  “The Leviathan Class Battleship Burijas?”

  Valentine laughed.

  “You’re a student of history, I see.”

  “It’s one of the most famous battles of the last decade. The boarding action that ended the war with the Star Empire.”

  “True. It did that, but I never saw it. My unit assaulted entrenched positions on the flagship and ran into a wall of hidden charges. I was mortally wounded and pulled away by Captain Olik himself.”

  “There’s something here,” said the squad’s sergeant. He moved forward and looked inside one of the small rooms. He paused and then looked back to the others.

  “There’s just a bench cut into the wall. I don’t like it.”

  Valentine moved over and looked inside, though not so far as to trigger anything that might be fitted in there. With her right hand, she held onto the frame around the doorway cut into the diamond rock and found a panel.

  “Oh, what’s this?” she said with feigned interest.

  A tech marine moved to assist, but without waiting, she tapped it with the fingers on her damaged right hand. A light blinked, and then a lattice of diagonal bars spread out to create mesh like door.

  “Uh…Val. You know what this is, right?” Kallias asked.

  She thumped her fist into the tunnel wall in frustration and tapped the buttons again. The doorway opened, and Kallias stepped inside. He wasn’t there for long when he reappeared with a pair of translucent bangles joined with a chain.

  “Manacles,” said Valentine, “These are prison cells.”

  “For who?” asked one of the marines.

  “For whom,” replied Alexis, instantly regretting her correction, it seemed unnecessary, especially now, “I’ll tell you who it’s for, those poor hairy creatures with the lances and the breathing apparatus, or those other ones that we just killed.”

  She hesitated, and Valentine thought she might lose it again.

  “All of them must be slave workers for this rock. That changes everything down here.”

  Valentine placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “We had no choice. It was us or them.”

  “I’ve got readings,” said Hawkins, “There’s a transfer tunnel to the left, and it goes right to the Captain.”

  “You’re sure?” Valentine asked, “What if we continue forwards?”

  “I’m pretty sure it just keeps on going until it gets to another opencast mine. Scans show an opening five kilometres wide down there, and then it opens up like an atomic bomb went off inside the planet.”

  “Okay, the transfer tunnel is the one for us. Let’s go.”

  They moved from the cells, but Alexis remained where she was. Both hands were on the frame of the cell door, and Valentine could tell she was in trouble.

  “Alexis, we need to…”

  She stopped as flickers of light came from where the tunnel continued downwards. It was a long distance away, but the light was getting closer and closer.

  I calculate one hundred plus lifesigns, all coming this way, said Tex.

  Valentine gulped.

  Incorrect. More are coming behind them, perhaps two to three hundred.

  “No! Novas, we’ve got to reach that transfer tunnel before they get to us first. We’re gonna be swamped.”

  “You heard the Lance Corporal!” said the Marine Sergeant, “Move out!”

  The slow, careful advance through the tunnels transformed into a bizarre race as they rushed through the passage, the Novas leading the way. Some slipped and fell, but waiting arms grabbed them. The distance closed, and then Valentine spotted it, a small gap in the shaft wall with a bulkhead bracing section half broken. There were two mining cars nearby, with one on its side. More worrying were the bodies of several IAB marines. It didn’t take long to reach the entrance, and no sooner had they made it than the gunfire started, solid slugs from Ski’lig weapons hitting all around them.

  “Push them back!” Alexis shouted.

  The Novas spaced out in the open area, while a dozen marines fanned out around them or behind cover. Both sides unleashed a storm o
f fire.

  “Valentine. Take the marines through. We’ll hold them back.”

  Valentine gulped nervously.

  “They’ll kill you.”

  “Don’t worry about us,” she said calmly, “We’ll be right behind you.”

  Valentine licked her lips, and then gave a short nod.

  “Marines! Follow me!”

  Without checking, she turned and pushed through the service passage. It was partially collapsed in many places, and her bulky armour made it harder to move. Once making progress, she checked the video feed coming from the others. Like all Novas and the IAB units they could share data, including feeds from their armour and weapons. But the flashing light from the battle behind more than encouraged her to keep going. Metre by metre she pushed on, the marines moving quickly behind her. And then to her shock she reached little more than a walled-up exit point.

  “No,” she said bitterly as the armies pushed in from behind.

  Tex…What’s going on?

  The main chamber is directly ahead. Three metres through the…

  Valentine sighed.

  Tex, you can see the same as me. Explain.

  “Oh…screw this…Marines, get back!”

  She lifted up her arms and took aim with her shoulder cannon.

  Tex, overload the damned cannon!

  A bright light built up inside the weapon, and this time Valentine waited until the gun was facing a critical failure. Warnings sounded inside her helmet, but she still waited another full second before firing. The bright blast of energy struck the sealed wall ahead, and a blinding flash engulfed the material. Some of the marines cried out as part of the ceiling collapsed, and then dust spread out inside, as well as fires from the burning plasma. Valentine watched carefully as the dust cleared, and then she could see the hole she had just created.

  “With me!”

  She forced her way through the breach, stumbling over the broken material. To her surprise she found herself in a wide chamber, much like the one they had been travelling down with the General. But then as the marines poured through the gap, she noticed the bodies in front of them where the blast from her cannon had engulfed them in the super-heated material. But as she looked at the fallen, she could see movement to her left.

  No way!

  Just a hundred metres away, and heavily entrenched slightly above their position were a great mass of Ski’ligs. Most were the heavies, with their thick armour and heavy guns. But there were also scores of the more common type, but with their wings retracted, and firing rifles from behind a series of barricades. Alliance weaponry thudded into their position, but every few seconds some of the Ski’lig heavies fired back with massive laser weapons. These weapons were so big that not even one of them could use it, and the large platform was run by three of them, with cables running off to the side of the passage. A blast shield at the front protected the occupants from falling debris, as well as the constant fire coming down at them from the marines and Novas pushing in from above. The beams of light lit up the passage, and she knew right away they’d stumbled into the perfect tactical position. Without checking if Alexis was around, she called out to the marines and pointed ahead.

  “Bayonets.” At the same time the visor and armoured plate on her helmet locked down into position.

  “You’re insane,” said the unit’s sergeant, “We have them where we…”

  “Sergeant, fix your damned bayonet.”

  Valentine was technically outranked, but in combat it was always accepted that Nova personnel were to be given a degree of authority beyond their official position in the chain of command.

  “General,” she said over the combat channel, “We’re in position.”

  “About time,” grumbled General Gun, “Pin them down. We’ll meet you in the middle.”

  “Yes, General. Good luck.”

  She then looked to the marines.

  “We go in close, and fire only as we stick in the bayonets. Understood?”

  One by one the marines activated the attached bayonet, and it swung out in front to create a short spear. It was a minor change, but seeing a squad of bloodied and filthy marines, all with their bayonets at the ready sent a chill through Valentine. She’d seen what they could do in battle, and there was something particularly brutal about using them over the gunfire.

  “Nobody fires until me. Let’s go!”

  The squad of nearly fifteen marines rushed forward, with Valentine in the middle and moving a little ahead of them. It was a small force, but surprise was on their side. They could have opened fire at range, but incredibly, every one of them held their fire until they reached just five metres from the enemy. Valentine fired first and sent a stream of energy from her cannon at them. Her carbine blazed away, hitting many of the enemy. Some turned to find the wall of marines upon them. That was when they opened fire. Rather than aim carefully, they all fired a long, fully automatic burst of fire and then physically crashed into the Ski’lig line. A dozen Ski’ligs went down instantly, and then the marines went to work.

  Armour breach, patching now, said Tex.

  Valentine grunted and slammed her mace arm into the face of a Ski’lig heavy. The warrior staggered back, and then found a bayonet embedded in its skull. Valentine lifted her shield and thrust it at the enemy. It was then she spotted a diamond tipped lance stuck in her chest. She howled with anger and spun about on the spot, hacking away and using her mace and shield to batter the enemy into submission.

  “The laser!” shouted a familiar voice.

  Valentine struck out again, and Hawkins leapt into the fray, while Kallias moved next to him with all of his guns blazing away. Valentine tried to coordinate her actions, but the Ski’ligs were all around her now. Something struck her face, and she felt a pain in her lungs. And that was the moment her rage took over. She could see the laser installations and rushed towards them. A beam of light hit her leg and then she was among them. There were high-pitched wails and screams, but that couldn’t stop her. She ignored the gunfire and blows landing on her body, swinging her arms like a whirling dervish. Limbs snapped and heads flew. Something flashed in front of her, and then her visor blacked out.

  “Tex!” she screamed, “I can’t see.”

  She swung her mace in a series of unending strikes, and on the third movement something hit her visor and partially cleared it. That was when she realised it was blood. With her right hand she wiped away the worst of it and gasped as a scattered line of Alliance soldiers came charging down towards her.

  “Out of the way!” said a booming voice.

  Valentine lifted her shield, but the giant warrior crashed past her, scattering marines and Ski’ligs like bowling pins. Helping hands pulled her up, and she turned around as the marines swamped over the broken defensive line.

  “The fight ain’t over yet,” said Valentine, “Their flanks are broken, let’s finish them!”

  A cheer rang out as the marines poured fire into the enemy. Others continued to grapple with those that could not retreat. With the barricades broken, the enemy had fallen back into small groups, clustering around their heavies. A handful managed to jump from the ground and soared away as they were chased off with gunfire.

  We’re doing this. We can win.

  Valentine cried out as she clambered over the wall of dead. She wasn’t feeling elation over the death and mutilation of the fallen enemies, but the relief that the battle had swung their way. Defeat would mean the same for them, and she could only watch so many of her friends fall in battle before it was too much.

  “Hell, yeah!” Kallias tracked from left to the middle of the passage. His four guns rattled away as the ammunition feeds pumped shot after shot into the modified L48 rifles. The 12.7mm slugs wreaked destruction as they slammed into the Ski’ligs.

  “Keep fighting!” Valentine said, “We’re almost there!”

  The General was there surrounded by the enemy, and in his hands the broken shape of the laser mining system. He pointe
d it off into the tunnel, and a thick beam of red activated. Ski’ligs were slashed apart by the power of the weapon, instantly breaking their will and sending the last few fleeing like rats.

  “Victory!” Kallias screamed, “This rock is ours!

  “Finally,” said Valentine.

  She noticed more shapes on her tactical map and sighed in relief at spotting dozens of landing ships bringing tens of thousands more troops into battle. They had pushed the enemy back so far they would be able to mass entire battalions to move to the next phase of the campaign. As she imagined their final victory, she noticed Kallias looking towards her. Then he called out in surprise. “Val, how are you still standing?”

  She was confused, but then two marines at her right looked down. She couldn’t see their eyes, but one deactivated the outer darkened screen of his helmet visor. Valentine could make out the shock on his face, and that sent a tremble through her own body. She followed his gaze and spotted the lance embedded in her chest. It was to the right of her breast and followed through almost to her collar.

  “Oh…come on. Not again.”

  She reached for the lance and grabbed it with both hands.

  “No!” A marine lunged to stop her, but it was too late. She only managed to withdraw the weapon a few centimetres, blood spurted from the front of her armour, and she collapsed to the floor. Her vision faded quickly, and then she could barely hear the people around her as they shouted to each other.

  Tex. Tex! I need your help!

  Something jolted her body, and she could feel her heart as the drugs and artificial electronic stimulation pushed her body beyond anything she could have done herself. She blinked, and her vision began to return, albeit it blurred and strangely coloured.

  “I’m okay,” she said as Alexis and Kallias bent down in front of her.

  An IAB medic attached equipment to her frontal armour, and then shook his head.

  “Her internals are stabilising. I can seal you back up, and you’re good to go for now. You will need some repair work after the fighting.”

  Valentine laughed at that part, forcing herself up to her feet. Kallias helped her, and then a number of IAB marines cheered. There were bodies all around her from the enemy she had felled, and soon enough they were lifting their arms for her and shouting.