Star Crusades

by Michael G. Thomas

  Tex, what’s going on out there?

  Shots ripped past them, and a single blast hit them from the front, punching hundreds of holes into the armour. One of 2nd Lance’s Novas cried out in pain and then slumped back as blood floated around the compartment.

  Empty transports and crippled warships are being thrown at the enemy flagship. All the enemy escort vessels have been destroyed. I believe this is what you would call, the Endgame.

  “Ten seconds,” said Lieutenant Sterling, “We’re heading for the coordinates coming from the General. He has a target for us. Hold on!”

  Valentine watched the crack in the dropship’s hull, and for a second she could still see space. Then it vanished, to be replaced by a maze of metalwork and lights. She turned to looked ahead as a massive beam punched through the front of the dropship. Incredibly, it missed the passengers and burst out through the back, crippling the spacecraft. That was followed by a jarring wrench that threw two Novas to the front of the dropship. They slammed into the inner bulkhead, with both knocked cold by the impact. Amazingly, they still moved as their Cortex AI systems took over control of their bodies.

  “We’re still moving!” said a stunned Kallias.

  They continued on the same trajectory for nearly twelve seconds until they came to an abrupt stop. Lieutenant Sterling moved from his seat, grabbing a carbine as he moved inside the passenger compartment.

  “We’re close to a kilometre inside the ship.”

  “A kilometre!” Kallias laughed, “Looks like we’re not leaving anytime soon.”

  “General’s orders,” said Sterling, checking the carbine, “He wants us as far inside the ship as we can get.”

  “Okay, Novas. This is it!” Lieutenant Fletcher said, “With me!”

  Valentine shook her head, her vision still blurred from the impact. Even so, she released her harness clamp and was surprised to find she could walk normally.

  “Artificial gravity inside the ship.”

  “Hell, yeah,” said Hawkins, “That’s more like it.”

  Hawkins and Alexis moved to each side of the side hatch and struggled to open it.

  “Get back!” Kallias said.

  They leapt back as he moved in front and opened fire. His four guns shredded the metal plating, and as he stopped, Tsarkov moved forward and shoulder barged it open. It crashed to the ground to reveal a mess of metalwork, broken cables, and split bulkheads.

  “Go, go, go!” said the Lieutenant.

  Valentine was third out, and as soon as she hit the ground, her visor filled with tactical data from the other troops doing the same. Three other Jackals were inside, as well as marines from the ruined Alliance starcarrier. They were spread out over a large area of the ship.

  “Where now, Sir?”

  “The General has put sixteen teams aboard the ship, including those from his starcarrier.”

  Valentine checked each of them on her visor and quickly worked out how many warriors had made it inside.

  “We can’t take the ship with these numbers.”

  As if to emphasise that point, three of the sixteen flagged combat alerts as they encountered enemy soldiers. But then an additional target blinked.

  “Change of orders. The others are wrecking engineering stations, powerplants, and more. We are joining the General on a rescue mission. The crew of the Coventry is here. We get them, and then join up with the others.”

  Valentine’s eyes opened wide. Their orders made demands of them that she was sure they could not meet. But they kept on moving forwards, with those at the front ripping apart metalwork to find a way through.

  “This is insane,” said Kallias.

  Valentine laughed, but then two marines pushed past carrying a case. They lowered it at the bulkheads in front and signalled to the Novas to get back.

  “Ten seconds,” said the Sergeant, and then they rushed back. Valentine lifted her shield arm and one of them sheltered behind it as another called out the seconds. It reached zero, and then a blinding light ripped the space apart.

  “Go!”

  The Novas stepped through the breach and moved forward into a wall of fire. Valentine could see scores of Ski’ligs on the ground ahead, but still she stepped forward, gritting her teeth. Her interceptors went to work and then she opened fire. Shapes fell around her, and she started to scream. Kallias moved to her side and joined in. Soon they were in the middle of hell, and for the first time she simply didn’t care.

  “Kill them!” Lieutenant Fletcher yelled.

  A marine fell with spikes embedded all over his body, and over his fallen form stepped Tsarkov. He snarled as shots hit his armour, and then he opened fire.

  “You heard the Lieutenant. Kill them all!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Ski’lig Flagship, Ekati Alpha

  The ground shook as demolition charges ripped through the deck. Some of the Novas cheered as the powerful warheads wreaked havoc, but as the smoke and debris cleared, more shapes leapt out to attack them. Something hit Valentine’s shoulder, and she immediately lost power.

  Limb motive function impaired. Rerouting backup power to compensate. Perhaps stop taking damage?

  Valentine laughed to herself as she blasted away.

  “Keep fighting!” said a voice in the distance.

  Valentine had no idea who it was, and continued the butchery as the Ski’ligs threw themselves at the attackers. They were smaller, weaker, and nothing like the soldiers they’d fought on the surface. At one point, she knocked one aside and was able to see the next wave more clearly. They were slighter built, some with wings, and many without. Some wore helmets as well as armour over their chests, and the majority held Ski’lig rifles.

  “Who are these people?” Kallias asked.

  One leapt from the side carrying a kind of tool or wrench. It hammered as it struck Valentine’s left arm, and she swung her shield around, striking the Ski’lig in the face. The creature dropped down, and she placed her foot on its torso to pin it there.

  “Stay there!”

  Less than a dozen of the enemy were left, and though they should run, not one considered it. They threw themselves at the Novas and died just as quickly. The first thirty minutes inside the alien vessel had been hell itself. Valentine’s armour was buckled, scratched, and covered in blood. And now, for some strange reason, the sound of the fighting had died down. She looked down and sighed upon seeing the alien warrior had been hit by stray fire and killed in the last moments of the fight.

  “Damn it.”

  She pushed it over and bent down to look more carefully.

  “Ski’ligs all right. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re armed civilians. Maybe the crew, or a militia.”

  “Crew,” said Hawkins, “Look.”

  He lifted one of the bodies with one arm. The Ski’lig was unarmoured and wore a utility harness filled with tools.

  “He’s right,” said Sergeant Jablonsky, “This place. Look at it.”

  He pointed to the walls, and in particular to the heavily damaged bulkheads that were partially sealed back up. There were spare parts nearby, as well as machinery and numerous bodies. And further back were five floating platforms, each packed with parts and tooling. He pushed down on it, and the thing pushed back.

  “I’d say we stumbled into a repair crew by the looks of things. A heavily guarded repair crew.”

  He snorted as he looked back to them.

  “They knew we were coming.”

  One of the marines rushed to the floating platform and ran his hands over it.

  “Corporal,” said Lieutenant Fletcher, “We don’t have time for that.”

  The marine looked up and sighed.

  “The technology…it’s already beyond us. Anti-grav tech like this would allow us…”

  “I know. And if we’re not quick, we’re going to end up buried here.”

  He then hesitated.

  “Take some scans, but be quick.”

  A flash of light envelo
ped part of the wall to the right, and Valentine swung her guns around as a shape appeared before her. IFF alerts warned her they were friendlies, and she lifted her muzzle as four Novas approached, as well as the bulky shape of Captain Olik. Three more followed behind them, each showing signs of recent battle. He entered the space and then looked to the bodies littering the place.

  “Captain,” said Lieutenant Fletcher, “You’re a sight for sore eyes. Where’s the rest of your platoon?”

  “2nd Platoon have split up and are making their way to the rear engineering decks, smashing anything they run into. We were separated in the fighting.”

  He looked around the area they had half obliterated already.

  “It looks like you’ve been doing the same. But it won’t win this battle for us.”

  “Sir?”

  “The General is working his way through the ship. He believes he’s located the missing crew of Coventry, but their transmissions are weak and being blocked by a local dampening field.”

  Lieutenant Fletcher nodded as he listened.

  “As Nova units move too far away, we’re losing contact.”

  “That’s the field. It is making coordination difficult,” agreed Captain Olik.

  “The General. You said he’s working his way forward?”

  “Correct. His ship punched a channel into this monster, and now he’s trying to keep the momentum against the Ski’ligs before they can regroup and counterattack. His forces are moving in from the rear of the ship. We will approach from the left to assist him.”

  “Why?” Valentine asked, “I thought this was a smash and destroy operation?”

  Lieutenant Fletcher started to speak, but Captain Olik drowned him out.

  “A fair question. They have been here since the fighting in Epsilon Eridani. If they survived this long, they may have tactical data on this ship. And we need it…”

  He then growled, glancing back at the breach he and his unit had entered through.

  “We must hurry. General Gun and Colonel Barnaby are holding their own on the rock below, but every minute this ship remains over the planet sees more troops sent down to fight them.”

  “Our fleet?” Lieutenant Fletcher asked.

  “They’re doing little more than harassing this ship now. We’re evenly matched and reinforcement will take weeks.”

  He stamped his foot hard on the metallic floor.

  “This battle and this war will be decided onboard this very ship. We stop them sending troops to the surface, and general Gun will be victorious. Are you ready?”

  “Yes, Captain!” said the exhausted Novas and marines.

  “Good. Then let’s go.”

  They left the shattered part of the ship and made their way through a rabbit warren of tunnels and walkways. There was no obvious design or structure to the ship. And at one point the style of the interior completely changed, with bright colours and cramped compartments. Minutes later they were back out and into a dark, gloomy area filled with open spaces.

  “Is it just me, or does this place feel like it’s been added to over a long period of time?”

  “Yeah,” said Hawkins, “You might be right.”

  Valentine could barely breathe as her body tensed. They moved through so many sections of the ship that she’d utterly lost her bearings, and still the Captain pushed them forward. He was relentless, and when they ran into small groups of the enemy, he crashed through them, expecting the Novas to deal with any still standing. That was when they finally reached a part of the ship that seemed more familiar.

  “Okay,” said Kallias, “I’ve seen something like this before.”

  The walkway continued ahead, but there were massive circular open spaces, joined together by beautifully carved metal bulkheads that could just as easily have been marble. Valentine reached forward and touched one. It glistened, and as her metal finger moved over it, she could see it was not at all metal.

  “The diamond rock on the surface. This ship is built around it. Look.”

  Sergeant Jablonsky moved to her side and ran a device over the carvings.

  “You’re right. The internal supports of this ship are composed of a diamond composite. But why?”

  “Keep moving,” said Captain Olik, “They’re not far away.”

  The Novas were spread out in a short column, with the marines mixed in between them as they travelled over a bridge hundreds of metres up from similar structures below. They were halfway across the wide span when a booming sound filled the interior. It was followed by the sound of alien voices.

  “What the hell is going on?” Alexis asked.

  There were more sounds, a rhythmic sound. Valentine moved to the edge and peered over the side.

  “Holy crap!”

  The others did the same and looked down at the bridges and open spaces below. Even further down inside the ship were scores of the landing pods that had littered alien soldiers on the planet below. As they watched, long columns of people moved towards them.

  “Hold on,” said Valentine.

  She tapped her helmet, and the optics adjusted for a longer telephoto mode. She could see soldiers waiting on the lower deck, but others were being herded into the craft at rifle point.

  “Slave soldiers. Those poor bastards! They did it to our people at Mars, and they’ve been doing it before.”

  “You’re right,” said Lieutenant Fletcher, “All of those pods are being loaded with slaves. These Ski’ligs, their entire society is based on it. I bet this ship moves from world to world doing the same.”

  He snorted with derision.

  “There could be our own people down there.”

  “Lieutenant,” said Alexis, “There’s more.”

  She pointed to four massive platforms further inside the ship. Each was the size of an Alliance corvette and surrounded by thousands of Ski’ligs who waited in large groups.

  “We can’t beat them, and we can’t destroy this ship. What can we do?”

  Captain Olik watched the enemy, and then indicated to the span they were crossing.

  “If those soldiers reach the surface, we’ll lose the battle and perhaps the war. General Gun will be overwhelmed, and the Ski’ligs will continue this fight forever. We have to reach the General. Let’s go.”

  They moved to the far end of the span, and then directly into the bulkheads themselves. What had been open and exposed now became cramped. Small open doorways and arches led into a myriad of storerooms and space. A long flight of steps cut into the glistening rock, the only light coming from pale blue patches on the walls. Other arched openings led to more bridges that spanned the open spaces.

  “Where now?” Kallias asked.

  Valentine saw a flash from down below, and then a familiar sound.

  “Listen…gunfire.”

  The Novas stopped, and for a few seconds there was nothing. But then came the familiar chatter of Alliance weaponry.

  “We go down!” Olik said.

  The stormed down the steps and right into a small group of Ski’ligs. They wore drab clothing and carried firearms in their hands. One took aim, and Olik slammed his fist into its chest so hard the poor creature vanished off to the bottom of the steps. They chased after the Ski’ligs and then out into a space not unlike the great hall of some medieval lord. Brightly coloured artworks hung down, and there were chairs and curved tables that were overturned and broken. And there, in the middle were several dozen Navy crewmembers engaged in battle against a host of enemies. Many were hiding behind whatever cover they could find as they fought a one-sided battle against the much larger number of Ski’ligs.

  “Help them!” Olik demanded.

  “You heard him,” said Alexis, “To battle.”

  Valentine leapt off the last step and crashed down in the middle of a group of Ski’ligs. She could tell right away that these were civilians. They lacked the armour, equipment, and weapons of the others. They also moved with less skill and efficiency. She hacked down two before they could
react, and then they threw themselves at her. One carried a rifle, while the others used long knives that were slightly curved, like swords. One struck her right hand and slashed off a finger with ease. The assailant spat words at her, and Valentine swung her rifle into its face.

  “No time for talking, pal.”

  Streams of gunfire crashed all around them, and one of Olik’s Novas tore apart before her eyes. She stepped up to help, and more fire slammed into them.

  “Heavies!” Kallias shouted.

  Valentine looked to the left as part of the wall opened, and in came an entire squad of the fearsome warriors. They looked so much bigger than the civilians, with their thick external bones and guns that could cut marines in half. Colston and Tsarkov moved in from the left and came under a mass barrage. Tsarkov lost an arm, and Colston took multiple strikes to the face. Somehow, he remained upright and opened fire as more shots lanced through his body. He staggered back, and three of the civilians leapt onto him. One stabbed a blade in through his shoulder and another into his throat.

  “Bastards!” Valentine screamed.

  She hurled herself at them. A blade pierced her thigh, and she felt pain in her lower body. She grunted, and then swung the muzzle of her rifle back at them. The long, serrated bayonet swung out, and she decapitated the first. The second staggered back in horror, and then vanished as she obliterated it with her XHEC cannon. The last tried to run and took a shot to the back as the mortally wounded Colston collapsed. Valentine kept vigil over his body with a shield arm raised and returned fire. But as it seemed the enemy attack would succeed, a stream of marines raced in from the other openings. Two dropped down from the ceiling and opened fire at point-blank range. Precise carbine fire struck around the enemy, and they quickly gave ground. Valentine put in two bursts, followed by a stream of energy from her cannon.

  “Clear!” shouted one Marine, followed by another.

  The fight was over as quickly as it had begun, but at a cost. Valentine could see crewmen, marines, and two Novas torn apart in the fighting. She bent down to Colston, but he struggled to speak. She tried to get closer, but blood bubbled at his lips, and he succumbed to his injuries before she could speak to him. Valentine released his arm and stepped away. The massive hallway was now a slaughterhouse filled with the bodies from both sides. As she waited there panting, she spotted the famous General Rivers move out of the shadows and towards the centre of the hall, flanked by the marines. He wore completely standard armour, but with the secondary visor open Valentine could see his aged faced and neat beard.