Fall of Terra Nova

by Michael G. Thomas

  “Murdered you mean?” she replied.

  “Well, I think you might want to look for yourself.”

  Captain Hobbs looked suspiciously at the datapad and then to the civilian Captain.

  “I understood that internal security units were to be disabled for operational reasons?”

  “Yes, that is true. This area of the ship is on a closed loop though, so somebody must have overlooked it.”

  One of the Captain’s marines gave her a concerned look and he instantly spotted it.

  “What?” he asked.

  With speed and precision, Captain Hobbs pulled her sidearm from her holster, lifted the weapon and fired a single shot into the man’s head. The back of his head exploded with a sickening blast that sprayed blood over the wall. The rest of her marines drew their own sidearms and blasted the two guards and the civilian crewman. With four bodies on the ground she moved along them, one at a time and lifted them up. Captain Hobbs fired multiple shots into each of them before letting them fall.

  “What about them?” asked the one of the marines guards, he was pointing to the almost unconscious Jötnar in their cells.

  “Stick to the plan. Blast open the doors and kill them with the guards’ own weapons. Oh, and don’t forget to leave out sidearms with the Jötnar. We wouldn’t want them thought of as victims in this.”

  “Yes, Sir,” he replied and moved off to the side of the metal bars. Another of the marines removed a set of small charges from a satchel and proceeded to place them on the frame.

  As they continued their work, she pulled out her own communication device. It was similar to the military datapads but had an archaic, almost antiquated look to it. She tapped a button on the side and a video screen popped up showing a dark shape of a man. She moved to a dark corner in the corridor where the marines couldn’t easily see or hear her.

  “Lord Typhon,” she said quietly, “We have been successful. The Captain is dead, as are his guards. I will deal with the Biomechs shortly. Everything is proceeding exactly as planned. Soon the fleet will be at war with their new allies, in time for our strike.”

  There was a pause of almost ten seconds before the man spoke.

  “Good work, your comrades will be proud of the work you have done today. We will be reunited shortly.”

  “What about your brothers, my Lord?”

  Again she waited and watched the marines putting the finishing touches to the charges. The devices weren’t particularly large, but their placement was critical in allowing the prisoners to potentially escape without harming them. It was of course all for show, and therefore had to be perfect.

  “Do not concern yourself, my child. My brothers are poised for the final blow. As we fight these last battles, they are already gathering for the beginning of our retribution. We are just days from final victory. Ensure our allies in the fleet are ready, judgment day for the Confederacy is coming and your loyalty will soon be rewarded.”

  “My Lord,” she replied and lowered her head reverently. The image turned dark and she dropped the unit back to its position on her side.

  “Fire in the hole!” cried the marine near the cell.

  Captain Hobbs stepped back and covered her ears. The blast was much less than she expected, but the shockwave it sent back in the confined space did throw a small amount of dirt and rubble about. As the dust cleared, she could see the small group of Jötnar. Two of them were trying to get up, and a third was moving his leg but was unable to get any further. She pointed at one of the carbines that had been held by the guards.

  “Pass it to me,” she ordered.

  One of her marines bent down and handed the weapon to her. With a quick glance at the magazine, she stepped to the barred entrance and took aim at the creatures. One, a heavily scarred warrior looked at her. Perhaps he recognized her, but there was something in his eye that she couldn’t quite understand. She took aim and then fired. It took a dozen rounds to kill the first. The others tried desperately to move, but whatever drugs they had been given did their job well. It took a magazine change and repeated shooting until she was satisfied that they were all dead. Captain Hobbs turned around to see her personal guard watching. They were cold, hardened warriors to a man, but even they looked shocked at the carnage.

  “You know this has to be done. They cannot be trusted, understood? Now, put some of the weapons with the creatures. It needs to looks like they were killed in a breakout.”

  The group nodded and moved about their work, but Hobbs detected a sense of confusion about them. She reached down to her sidearm, her right hand resting gently against it. One of the marines looked back to her.

  “Sir, won’t it look odd if everybody is dead?”

  “Good point, marine, somebody needs to survive this slaughter.”

  She flipped her pistol out with speed and precision, putting two rounds into the man’s head. He was dead before he hit the wall. The other marines spun around in confusion, but she was already amongst them. At this close range they had no chance, and in a matter of seconds they lay dead and slumped to the ground with the rest of the bodies. She stood in the middle of the blood and carnage, smiling to herself. She moved towards one of the cells and pushed the gun into the hand of one of the dead Jötnar. After making sure the hand was pushed around it, she placed her hand back into her black glove and picked up a pistol one of the marines had dropped. She stood back up, walked the length of the corridor and stopped near to where she would have been standing had she just arrived.

  “Spartan, you are going to wish you’d never joined the Corps,” she said happily. Reaching down to her comms unit, she tapped a sequence of keys and then lifted it to her face.

  “It is done. Bring them to the brig, and fast!”

  “Sir.”

  A quick hand gesture on the device wiped any record of the conversation. With a slow turn, she moved the pistol around and pointed it at her leg. She waited though, as there was no immediate rush. This part of the ship was secured from the occupied areas and noisy. There was little chance she would be found for at least a few more minutes. As she waited, she thought back to the battles she had fought for the Confederacy and opportunities she had been given, but until now she had been held back. Now she had full authority to strike the hated enemy, and she intended on making one man pay more than any other.

  “That should do it,” she said quietly to herself. With a quick squeeze, she blasted herself with a single shot. The impact dropped her to the floor. She cried out in pain, but also bizarrely in satisfaction. She hurled the pistol in the direction of the Jötnar and then pulled out an, until now, hidden handgun. This one was heavier duty and modified slightly to her specification. It was actually her regulation pistol, but it was fitted with compensators and a quick mode sight system. A quick tap on her datapad connected her with the security desk.

  “Security, the Jötnar have escaped. They’ve killed the Captain and my marines are trying…” she paused and fired off several shots with her firearm in the direction of the Jötnar bodies. “Hurry, they are coming!”

  Captain Hobbs dropped her datapad to the ground and slumped down, blood still dripping from her wounded leg. She knew it wouldn’t be long until reinforcements arrived. Try as she might, she simply could not disguise the slightest look of satisfaction on her face.

  * * *

  Spartan was becoming bored with having to wake from a daze to find himself in unfamiliar surroundings. But this time something was different. He could feel the cool, damp liquid about his body and thought for a second he might be in water. As he looked about, it was clear to him that wasn’t the case. He was slumped in the corner and against a wall in a darkened part of a ship. He forced himself to think back, but the last thing he remembered was the room with Hobbs and the others. He turned to the right only to feel a dull, throbbing pain in his head.

  “Argh, dammed bastards.”

  There were shapes on the floor and against the walls. He checked his hands and was glad to s
ee they were unbound. Perhaps somebody had freed him, or maybe this was a prison cell and the binds were no longer needed. There was a problem, for resting in his right hand was a marine issue pistol. He lifted it closer, recognizing the shape as the kind of weapon he normally carried. Still it couldn’t be his, Hobbs and her cronies had removed it from him. He started to move when the noise of running boots became louder and louder. From the end of the room appeared a group of marines. All were in armour and heavily armed. A bright light almost blinded him, and before he could get his eyes to adjust they started to shout.

  “God, no!” cried the first.

  The second man moved closer with the beam of light still pointing directly at Spartan.

  “Drop the weapon, now!” he roared.

  Spartan look back to the weapon and then the direction of the marine. He dropped the pistol without hesitation. As soon as it hit the ground, two more marines pushed ahead and grabbed him, lifting him up. From this position, he could finally get a good view of the place, helped by the now indirect light of the marine’s light. There were bodies all about him, and most of them looked like marines, but at one end he spotted what looked to be Jötnar. A group of them were almost in a huddle around a blown out metal door.

  “The brig,” he muttered, finally starting to understand what was happening. “Hobbs, you bitch!”

  More marines arrived and started checking the bodies.

  “Live one, it’s the Captain!” called out one.

  “Another one, here. It looks like one of the Jötnar is breathing.”

  The leader of the unit pointed his carbine in the direction of the fallen warrior.

  “Watch him, they are hard to bring down.”

  The Sergeant tapped his helmet and started speaking. He was presumably getting backup to assist with the bloodbath. As he started to talk, Spartan noticed the familiar outline and movement of his old friend.

  “Gun?” he asked with slightly slurred speech.

  The mighty Jötnar fighter turned his head to see Spartan. Gun stood with his hands free, but he had considerable blood on his body. Three marines levelled their rifles and aimed at his chest.

  “Spartan? What is this?” he growled.

  More marines arrived and quickly secured the rest of the area. Two helped Captain Hobbs up, but she cried out from pain in her leg.

  “What happened?” asked the Sergeant.

  “We came down to interview the prisoners when we were attacked by those two.”

  She pointed at Spartan and Gun, a look of malice in her eyes.

  “Bullshit!” snapped Spartan, but one of the marines struck him with the butt of his rifle, forcing Spartan to his knees.

  “You’re in a world of pain, Spartan. We heard about your Biomech friends.”

  He looked back at Gun.

  “So, it is true. They are ready to turn on us whenever it pleases them.”

  He waved over to the newly arrived marines.

  “I want these two in lockdown. Take them to the starboard loading bay, and put armed guards on them at all times. We’ll get them shipped over to the Cruz at the next changeover. In the meantime, get the Colonel here. We need to start a serious investigation, and fast.”

  * * *

  Khan stopped outside Spartan’s quarters and hammered his fist on the metal plating. Flanking him were two more Jötnar, both carrying blades and modified carbines. It took a couple of seconds, and then the door slid open to reveal Teresa. She stood silently in her nightclothes and stared at Khan.

  “Have you heard news?” he asked.

  “No, what is it? Spartan? Is he okay?” she asked, her face betraying fear.

  “Come with me,” replied Khan. He turned and walked down the corridor. Teresa grabbed her combat jacket and ran to catch up.

  “Tell me, what is going on?”

  “You know Hobbs?”

  “Of course, she’s the bitch that got us thrown off the Santa Cruz for helping your people. What about her?”

  “She has Spartan and Gun in prison. News is that there has been Jötnar revolt on Oceania. Jötnar killed the Captain, Bishop and marines.”

  “What?” she demanded.

  She stopped, but Khan kept moving and once again she was forced to catch up.

  “Khan? What is going on?”

  “Hobbs says they mutinied, and she says the will be tried today for treason. Five Jötnar are dead. She says they killed Bishop.”

  “No way, Bishop and the Jötnar have been friends for a long time. Why would they do that?”

  Khan shrugged and said nothing. They reached the doorway that led into dimly lit hall. It had once been used as just another storage room, but it was now a command and operations centre. The technicians and crew had installed a multitude of computers and communications equipment throughout the space. Inside stood a dozen Jötnar plus a small number of marines and crew. Teresa recognized most of them, especially the marines. They well all people loyal to Spartan. A Jötnar closed the thickened steel door behind her with a crunch. Two men moved from the darkness, and she instantly recognized the first as Major Daniels. It took longer to work out the second until he stepped under the ceiling-mounted light. It was Lieutenant Weathers.

  “When did you get here?” she asked, surprised and also partially relieved.

  “We came over on the last transport run. I was supposed to be taking over formally as Gun’s number two, but it looks like events have conspired against us.”

  “You could say that,” replied Lieutenant Weathers.

  Teresa was unsure for a moment exactly where their loyalties lay in the present predicament. She waited for them to speak first.

  “As you all well know, Spartan is a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy. No way did he or any of the Jötnar commit a crime, even murder. The idea they would try and mutiny on the Oceania is total bullshit,” said Major Daniels.

  Teresa sighed, glad that there were some allies in the fleet, or at least on the ship.

  “The problem is that the person in charge over there right now is Hobbs. She’s already declared martial law on the civilian liner and appointed naval crew with a new captain.”

  “We need to get aboard, Sir,” suggested Teresa.

  “No chance. Hobbs has already broadcast the attempted mutiny and conveniently outgoing long-distance communication traffic from our ships has stopped.”

  “So we can’t reach Admiral Jarvis?”

  “Exactly. Only narrowband ship-to-ship traffic seems to be working, and Hobbs has already persuaded Captain Schaffer to halt all inter-ship traffic until we reach the Anomaly. He is concerned that security breaches could occur, and with the fleet travelling together at this speed, the risks are too great.”

  “What about Spartan and Gun?”

  “Schaffer has authorised a trial by Captain Hobbs.”

  “He must know she hates Spartan.”

  “You don’t know the Captain. He is a traditionalist. As far as he is concerned, if he asks an officer to be impartial, then that is exactly what they will be. The trouble is that I have a feeling they’ll be found guilty and quickly. If that happens, they could be imprisoned indefinitely or…” he was unable to finish as Teresa interrupted him.

  “They’ll be spaced as a security risk in such a critical operation.”

  “There is another problem.”

  Khan stepped forward.

  “If Hobbs kills Gun, Jötnar will not fight for Confederacy.”

  “There are squads of Jötnar throughout the fleet. They’ve already heard about the attack, and one group on one of the light cruisers has already been placed in the brig in case of trouble. If this isn’t resolved, and quickly, we could be looking at a full-scale Jötnar uprising in the fleet.”

  “An uprising, just as we arrived at the Anomaly?”

  “Exactly.”

  “How long do we have?”

  “We are due to arrive at the Anomaly in sixty-three hours. We are expecting to go into battle immed
iately.”

  “So, less than three days before we get there and she dumps them out of an airlock. Have you spoken to Captain Schaffer?”

  “Yes, ten minutes ago. I don’t think he trusts the Jötnar. He is backing Captain Hobbs and won’t consider other options until he can speak with somebody higher up the chain of command.”

  “With the comms out, that isn’t gonna happen until after we are at the Anomaly,” added Lieutenant Weathers.

  “Convenient,” said Teresa.

  Khan stepped forward and placed his paw on Teresa’s shoulder.

  “You and Spartan risked your lives to safe us. We Jötnar will risk ours for you. Tell us what you want.”

  Teresa looked to the two marine officers. Daniels spoke first.

  “Right now we need information. It’s not like we can just turn up and start shooting. When we know what is going on aboard the Oceania, we will make arrangements to do whatever needs to be done to fix this problem.”

  “Get me on board, and I’ll find out what’s going on,” said Teresa.

  “Another marine will just attract attention,” replied Weathers.

  Khan lifted his hand to speak, but Daniels stopped him.

  “No, Jötnar are not right, not yet. We need eyes in the place, if it comes to needing some muscle, you will be the first to go in.”

  Khan nodded with pleasure, and he seemed satisfied with that answer, for now at least.

  “We need a civilian crewman on board to get us some intel.”

  “What, like this?” asked Teresa. She pulled the button on her combat jacket and let it fall to the floor. She stood in her black underwear that she had been wearing in bed.

  The two officers stared but said nothing as both were equally surprised.

  “Get me some overalls or civilian clothes, and they’ll never know who I am. Aren’t most of the marines rookies over there? Newbie’s from the garrisons?”

  Major Daniels nodded in agreement.

  “True, we can probably get a couple of people over, if we can work out a way of getting to the Oceania on the next run.”