Chou tapped a few controls in front of him and then nodded to the Captain that they were ready.
“Scorpio, this is the captain. We have been recalled to the carrier group. We are going to kill a wounded Leviathan. Battle stations.”
10
Jack stood just inside the landing craft and watched the Marines secure the prisoners in the seats. Every prisoner needed two Marines to secure him. It was taking ages. Then he had a message from Major Griff on his communicator.
“Hold fast on current position, Commander,” Griff said.
Jack walked down the boarding ramp. He stepped around one of the large landing struts and into a quiet area of the landing bay. “Say again, Major,” he said.
“You heard me, Jack. The Scorpio is redeploying. You are being left behind. No time to pick you up.”
Jack knew this had to be a sudden and unexpected development. As a commander and a leader he knew he had to respond quickly and positively to changes in the plan.
“Copy that, sir. Holding fast. Guess I just pack these prisoners away again.” Jack looked at the group. Fewer than half his prisoners were secured in the landing craft.
“You deal with them however you think is best,” Griff said. “They are your responsibility until we get back.”
“Copy that, sir,” Jack said. “Do we have an expected time for your return?”
“We are going to engage a Leviathan, Jack,” Griff said. “So it maybe best not to wait on us. If you can complete the prisoner rescue without the Scorpio then go ahead.”
“Copy that, sir,” Jack knew that a Leviathan was a tough battle and Fleet vessels were often lost in these encounters. “Good luck against the Chits sir,” he added.
“To us all,” Griff said and then closed the channel.
11
Jack stood looking up at the landing craft. It dominated the prison landing bay. The Marines were guarding the prisoners in a group over to one side of the landing bay. Some prisoners were still secured in their seats.
“That landing craft is never going to make it all the way to Eros,” Jack said to the pilot standing next to him.
The pilot shook his head. “I wouldn’t want to take the chance, sir.”
Jack remembered the array of warning lights on the crafts cockpit display. The vessel needed a serious overhaul of all systems.
“What if we strip some of the subsystems and all the non essential systems for parts?” Jack said looking at a fluid leak on one of the landing struts.
“I guess,” the pilot said, “if we had a few engineers with us.”
Jack had worked maintenance before. He knew these landing craft inside and out. He could do it himself, with maybe just a little help.
The squad leaders were standing nearby waiting to hear Jack’s orders. Stepping over to them he shook his head slowly.
“Anyone in your squads good with machines,” Jack said. “I want to get this landing craft space worthy but I need help.”
“Commander, I can help you fix it,”
Jack looked over his shoulder. One prisoner waiting to be boarded was shouting over to Jack.
“Let me help you.”
Jack looked at the prisoner. It was Steph Canton, the former government secretary.
“I might have trouble seeing out of this eye,” Canton pointed at the swelling around his eye where he’d taken a heavy blow from one of the Marines, “But I’ve got a steady pair of hands.”
Jack ran a background check on prisoner Canton through the prisoner database. The former secretary had served in the Fleet Marines as a commander in the space dock around Eras before moving into politics. He had technical qualifications in drive mechanics and weapons systems. The Marines shoved Canton back into line and moved him toward the rest of the prisoners.
“Can’t trust a convict, sir,” Torent said as the three squad leaders moved closer to Jack.
Jack shook his head. “I agree. But if we are going to get out of here we will need to use any resource we can find.”
Jack looked over to the group of prisoners. They outnumbered the Marines two to one. But Jack knew the Marines were a disciplined group while the prisoners were a disorganized group motivated only their own self interest.
“Move the prisoners back into the main compound.” Jack looked nervously at the rabble of prisoners. He hated making a change to his orders. It made him look indecisive but if he was going to get these prisoners away he would have to prepare this landing craft for the long flight to Eros. “Remove the prisoners from the landing craft and get them back in their cells. I’ll work with our pilot and see what we can do to get this landing craft ready to take us to Eros.”
The Marines pulled the prisoners out of their seats and shoved them to the boarding ramp where more Marines pushed and prodded the prisoners back into a single group and then along the tunnel to the main compound. The Marines stood shoulder to shoulder and pressed the rabble back toward the main compound.
“I don’t like the look of this,” Laidlaw said to Jack quietly as the prisoners were all moved out of the landing bay.
“The sooner we get them all back to Eros the better,” Jack said. “Go and keep order, Stuart,” Jack said. “And tell Torent to stay away from his old friend.”
“Copy that, sir,” Laidlaw said and marched off after the rest of the Marines.
Jack turned to the pilot. “Ok, let’s power this thing up and see what we’ve got to work with.”
12
The Scorpio reached the coordinates for the rendezvous three seconds behind the rest of the carrier group. Group Captain Li appeared on the holostage in front of Pretorius.
“The group will accelerate to flank speed. The Leviathan probably knows we’re coming. Get into firing range and hit it with everything you’ve got. Li out.”
Pretorius tugged his cuffs. “Flank speed. Target that Leviathan and standby for action.”
Pretorius turned to Griff who was standing at the holostage reviewing his battalion’s deployment patterns.
“Is the battalion ready for action, Harry?”
“Marines are always ready. Let’s hope the Chitins aren’t.”
The Scorpio took position on the starboard side of the Monarch. The holoimage showed the deployment pattern with the Aries on the port side and the Pisces holding position a kilometer above the upper hull of the Monarch. The frigates and corvettes spread out in an arc at the rear, five hundred kilometers away.
“Thirty seconds to weapons range,” Pretorius said studying the holoimage. “Launch the combat drones now.”
The holoimage showed the launch of the drones, each one represented by a single red dot. A similar pattern appeared around the other destroyers as they launched their drones. The flight of drones accelerated away from the group and toward the Leviathan.
“it’s just sitting there,” Griff said. “It must be badly damaged. Maybe it’s dead,” Griff said.
Pretorius watched the Monarch, waiting for Li to make her move. Then Pretorius saw the flashes of blue from the sides of the massive carrier as the fighters were launched.
“There go the blades,” Griff said as the fighters curved toward the motionless Chitin Leviathan. “Good hunting,” Griff said. “It looks like we’ve got this one in the bag,” he said.
“Fire all weapons,” Pretorius said as the Scorpio closed in on the Leviathan. “Maintain speed.”
The combat drones closed in, only a few seconds from detonation. The Scorpio’s high energy laser lit up at the same moment the lasers on the Aries and Pisces. The three high energy laser batteries on the upper hull of the Monarch fired into the Chitin craft a moment later. All beams slamming into the Leviathan.
Griff punched the air. “Get it,” he said triumphantly.
An image of Group Captain Gregor Wellard of the Overlord carrier group appeared on the holostage.
“Attention, Monarch group. Overlord group incoming. I didn’t think you mind us joining you for the kill.”
The Overlord group was marked on the edge of the holostage. Pretorius could see they were ten minutes away.
“They’ll never get here in time,” Griff said. “It’ll all be over by then.”
Pretorius watched as the combat drones detonated, their antimatter reactions presented as boiling balls of green fire on the holostage
Li appeared on the holostage. “All ships, delta attack formation. Finish that Chit off.”
Pretorius nodded at Chou who initiated the delta maneuver, where all ships positioned themselves at four points around the target.
Then Pretorius saw the image of the Leviathan shimmer. It looked like a hologlitch but Pretorius knew his holostage was in good condition. The data from the Leviathan was correct. This was no shadow image. The Leviathan had taken a hammering and it was falling to pieces, cut by the high energy lasers and a salvo of combat drones.
“We got it,” Griff said in triumph. “Well done Captain,”
“All cannon,” Pretorius shouted, “High ex. fire,”
The Leviathan image flickered again and Pretorius watched as two Leviathans came out of the wreckage of the first.
“They were hiding behind the crippled Chit,” Pretorius said as Group Captain Li appeared on the holostage.
“All craft, break off. We can’t take on two of the bastards. Converge on the Overlord carrier group at coordinates Eight, Eight, Thirteen.
Group Captain Wellard of the Overlord group appeared. “Overlord group is accelerating to flank speed now,” he said, his image flickering. “Powering all weapons. We’ll be with you in two minutes.”
Pretorius held on to the holostage as the Scorpio took a sharp turn, veering away from the Leviathans. The holostage flickered as power was drained away to the maneuvering systems. Then he saw the Kraken class interceptors spread out from behind the Leviathans, the smallest and fastest of the Chitin craft. The holostage presented a count of five hundred Krakens.
“We’ll never outrun them,” Pretorius said. He stood straight up as the force of the sharp turning maneuver died away. “Leave them a parting shot of a few combat drones. That should take care of a few of them.”
The Scorpio dropped a spread of combat drones behind it. They detonated as the Krakens neared, the expanding green fire of the antimatter explosion annihilating dozens of the Kraken interceptor craft.
13
Jack sat in the cockpit of the landing craft. The control panel showed more systems were failing than were functioning correctly. But with some clever re-engineering he could get this old crate back to Eros, with its cargo of passengers and Marines alive and breathing.
“If we strip out the field injectors from the atmosphere shield we can use that to boost the environmental stabilizer unit,” Jack said. He turned to the pilot. “We just have to be careful on reentry to the Erosian atmosphere.
The pilot shrugged. “I just fly them, sir. But it’s not just the environmental systems that are failing. The antimatter reactor will never get us back to Eros. It will give out before we get half way.”
“So, we strip a reactor out of one of the weapon systems. To be honest, we wouldn’t last long in a fight, armed or not,” Jack said.
“I guess that would work,” the pilot said, “I hope it’ll work.” He covered his face with his hands.
“I can do it,” Jack said, and gave the pilot an encouraging pat on the back.
Squad leader Dave Jarett spoke over Torent’s communicator. “Sir, we’ve got a message from the prison security system in the guard tower here. Seems there’s a breach in the outer perimeter fence.
Jack stood up out of the cock pit seat and pulled his helmet on. “Count the prisoners,” he said. “Find out who’s missing.”
“No one is missing, sir. Everyone is accounted for. Prisoners and Marines. We’re all here sir.”
Jack ran down the boarding ramp and onto the landing bay. He ran into the tunnel toward the main compound. “I’m on my way, Jarett.”
The run was easy for Jack with his suit assisting his run. He made it to the compound in moments. Laidlaw was keeping watch over the Marines who had the prisoners corralled into one small area. Torent was standing at the entrance to the guard tower. He pointed up.
“Jarett is up there sir,” Torent said as Jack came near.
Jack ran into the tower and up the narrow stairway into a circular room on the second level. A clear composite wall let Jack see out into the compound. In front of that wall, in a ring around the room, was a control panel. Jarett was standing at one area. He pointed at a small holostage.
“The breach just appeared. The warning system lit up. I don’t get it, sir. No one is escaping.”
Then Jack spotted movement on the edge of the holoimage. Something was moving just beyond sensor range. Then it moved toward the breach from outside of the prison. It moved fast and was inside in the blink of an eye. Jarett scrolled back through the surveillance feed to capture an image of what had entered the prison.
Jack didn’t need to see it again, he knew what it was. He spoke into his communicator. “All Marines. A Chitin has just entered the prison from the north. Be alert.”
Jack watched the holoimage. He knew that Chits rarely worked alone. If there was one then there would surely be more. He sent a message to the pilot on the landing craft to seal the craft and sit tight.
“Watch the perimeter sensors, Jarett,” Jack said as he walked toward the stairway. “Let me know if you detect any more movement.”
But before Jack could go down a single step Jarett called his attention.
“Another, sir. And another. Sir, they are coming.”
“All Marines,” Jack said into his communicator as he ran down the stairs and into the main compound, “multiple Chits inside the perimeter. Stay alert.”
The Marines were alert, looking to the north of the compound. The prisoners could sense something was happening and they were becoming rowdy and unmanageable.
Richard Butcher called out to Torent as Jack came down the stairs. “What’s going on, Sammy?”
Jack stepped alongside Torent and spoke gently. “Don’t speak to that prisoner again, is that clear, Sam?”
Torent nodded. “Yes sir,” he replied and continued looking to the north of the compound for any movement.
“Keep those prisoners under control,” Jack said as he walked out into the middle of the compound. The Chits were coming fast. How could he control the prisoners and fight off the Chits? Jack considered his priorities. Survival was definitely high on the list. He couldn’t return the prisoners to their cells with a bunch of Chitin soldiers heading their way. They would be sitting targets for one thing. But if the Chits came into the compound he would need his Marines to fight them off. The prisoners would be unguarded. But maybe self preservation would keep the prisoners from running if the Chits were around.
Jack wondered how many of the prisoners had seen a Chit in real life. Sure, they would have seen them on government propaganda and in the training simulation VR games that just about everyone had played.
But few people had seen a Chit in real life. Jack knew how Marines acted when first confronted by the massive four meter tall soldiers. They reacted with fear and surprise. But time and training removed the surprise. Fear was always present but Marines learned to manage it.
The prisoners would have no training to help them manage their fear. They would in all likelihood panic. When they panicked they would run, and the only place they could run was toward the landing bay and the landing craft. The landing craft was secure. They would be trapped, but they would be contained. In a situation with only bad choices available, holding out in the landing bay might be for the best.
“Hey, soldier boy,” Butcher shouted as Jack walked across the compound toward the prisoners, “want to tell us what we are doing here?”
A rumble of agreement ran through the crown of prisoners. Butcher was asking what they all wanted to know.
“Chitin soldiers have entered the prison.
They will likely try and capture you. They have a conversion process that will break you and make you a Chitin agent. If you run they will chase you. If they catch you, you should hope that you are killed.”
“You don’t scare me with your monster stories, soldier boy,” Butcher called out.
Jack saw the Chitin soldier break through the wall behind the ground floor cell to the north of the compound.
“Here they come,” Jack shouted. “Open fire.”
The Marines opened up with their pulse rifles. The well aimed shots tore the Chitin apart only to be replaced by a second and then a third.
The prisoners panicked as Jack knew they would. They ran away from the threat but there was nowhere to go. The prisoners that ran to the south of the compound soon turned and headed to the tunnel that led to the landing bay. Jack let them go. They couldn’t do any harm down there and at least Jack would know where they all were.
“Keep up the fire,” Jack said.
The Marines had formed up into a line, all thirty firing into the small breach where the Chits were entering the compound. Then another beach opened up with an explosion. The Chit plasma spears lanced through the breach and slammed into the line of Marines. Several fell, thrown back by the force of the Chitin weapon.
Jack could see the Chits were holding back beyond the breach and launching their plasma spears into the compound, returning the withering fire from the Marines’ pulse rifles.
“Advance on that breach,” Jack said shoving Marines forward. “Push them back.”
The Marines advanced. Jack pulled two Marines out of the line and told him to gather the fallen Marines, their pulse rifles and the side arms and guard them. Jack realized the danger of having weapons lying around with a bunch of hardened criminals loose around the compound. Jack’s suspicions were confirmed as he saw Butcher, lurking at the opening to the corridor to the landing bay, eyeing the fallen Marines and their weapons with devious, narrow eyes.
Forged in Battle (Jack Forge, Fleet Marine Book 5) Page 6
