Star Crusader: Battle Fleet Victorious

by Thomas, Michael G.

  "Don't stop!"

  Valdis moved to the front of the group as they sprinted through the vessel. Occasionally, they passed a ruptured wall or broken ceiling, but the truly awful sight was when they moved past a body. Most were Byotai crew, but at least one was an Alliance technician. They kept on moving until finally Billy slowed, and the group scattered in the passage, looking for cover.

  "What now?" Nate panted.

  Valdis pointed into the passage, while Lieutenant Commander Holder rushed off to check what lay ahead of them. The rest paused to catch their breath, simultaneously trying to avoid the continued sounds of twisting metal.

  "We keep moving inside the ship, away from the fires."

  Matilda panted like the rest, but she was already checking her Secpad bracelet, and as she examined the schematics, her expression soured.

  "Commander Higgins, he's sending us new data. Check your Secpads!"

  Nate lifted his and tapped the unit. His functioned immediately, but most of the others did nothing. Either they'd been damaged during the escape or were failing to connect to the internal security system.

  Extra pieces of data from Commander Higgins popped up, and with every additional piece, her face became more distraught. The connection was unreliable, and every few seconds fragmentary data arrived.

  "It's getting worse. The fires are spreading through the open compartments and heading for the weapon and ammunition decks."

  Lieutenant Commander Holder appeared in the distance, and she moved back to join them, her face blackened from the smoke and dust further ahead. At her side was a single marine.

  "We can't get through that way. Some of your engineers have fused the main doors together."

  Nate watched her, and his expression altered as he recognised the bruised shape of Private Valentine.

  "Valentine."

  The marine smiled at him, and then pulled away from Saffron.

  "What happened?" Nate asked.

  "The inner doors are sealed. I found her trying to get inside."

  Private Valentine shook her head.

  "I was checking if anybody else was coming when the doors sealed behind me. The rest of the squad is safe inside the fire doors."

  Again came the voice from the wall-mounted speakers, and this time Valdis lifted her head to listen. She muttered as the words repeated, finally turning her attention to Saffron.

  "Sir, we have a big problem."

  "Yes?"

  Valdis nodded back in the direction they'd come from.

  "The inner compartments are locked down from bow to stern. Nothing can open them now."

  "Okay, so what happens next?"

  Each of them looked to the Lieutenant Commander, but to their surprise, Nate spoke up. He tried to look and sound confident, but he could only hope he'd managed to pull it off. There were quite a few of them there, and each looked hopefully, waiting for his life saving plan.

  "We head outside and away from the fires."

  Billy shook his head in amazement, and Fletcher laughed.

  "What, are you insane? We avoid the fires, and freeze in the void."

  Cassandra looked equally surprised.

  "Not the best idea, Nate."

  The ship shuddered again, and this time the disembodied voice sounded desperate. When the words finished, Commander Higgins followed it.

  "All crew. You have ninety seconds until the outer doors are breached. Furiosa will vent every compartment outside of the inner sections. Find a safe place, barricade your selves in, and wait for the ship to reseal."

  Again, all eyes turned to Nate. He moved his attention to Matilda.

  "You know the systems better than anybody else. How long will they need to completely vent the ship?"

  Matilda made several quick calculations in her head before answering.

  "Two minutes to open up every external vent. A minimum of five minutes to remove every cubic centimetre of atmosphere, and then five more to reseal. Atmo and life support will than take another ten to fifteen to make the ship habitable again. Assuming no problems."

  Nate shook his head as she spoke, and when she finished, he pointed back towards the flames. At the same time, he activated his now disconnected Secpad and showed them the layout nearest them.

  "This is the third point on the hull. It's heavily reinforced and runs parallel to a secondary service airlock system."

  "So what?" said Cassandra, "We'll still be blown out into space."

  Matilda nodded, and for a moment it looked like she was agreeing with Cassandra. Nate opened his mouth to argue, but instead Matilda came down on his side, much to everyone else's surprise.

  "Both of you are right. It will open like the rest..."

  Cassandra grumbled, but Matilda simply increased the volume of her voice and continued.

  "...but there are emergency EVA suits right next to it."

  Lieutenant Commander Holder rubbed at her eye as she listened.

  "Okay...that makes sense. I saw some suits on my tour when we came aboard. Will there be enough?"

  The ship groaned with pain for the hundredth time, and Fletcher was already heading away from the group.

  "Do we have a choice right now?"

  Saffron Holder gave one of her rare grins and quickly checked her partially functioning Secpad bracelet.

  "We've got just over a hundred seconds. Let's go!"

  Valdis moved ahead of them as they broke into a run. She shouted to them as she raced away, and her voice faded as she reached the first bend.

  "I know the way. Follow me."

  Nate looked to Private Valentine.

  "Can you run?"

  He tried to sound calm, but his voice betrayed the fear he had of what would happen to her if she couldn't.

  "Ensign, I'd run if I had one leg."

  She started at a hobble and then increased speed. Smoke was already drifting through the ship, and they lifted their hands to their faces. It was thin, but grew by the second, blocking off sections, and making it harder to physically exert themselves. Billy began to panic, but Nate grabbed him and pushed him on ahead.

  "Move it!"

  They broke from the passage and then moved back in the direction they'd come from, passing two doorways on the left, both heavily damaged. A large section of metal tore from the ceiling and dropped down, narrowly missing Valdis before striking the ground. Yellow flames leapt out and instantly blocked off that half off the passage.

  "This way," said Valdis.

  The young Byotai turned to the left and cut through a half broken doorway just as more flames filled the space. Fletcher was next, and in just a few seconds, the entire group were leaving the main thoroughfare and heading into a much narrower passageway. The floor was covered in a metallic grate that made an odd sound as they passed over it. Distant speakers sang their song, warning anybody still moving throughout the ship of the impending danger. Valdis paused momentarily and glanced back, making sure they were all still together.

  "Through the door, then two more chambers till we reach the docking clamp controls."

  Nate was there, nodded, and then pushed on. The gentle rumble of gas explosions were through the metal flooring, but all of them were well past worrying about problems they couldn't see. The clock was ticking, and when it reached zero, the ship would be vented to space. And right now, that was all any of them were concerned about.

  "Here!" Valdis shouted.

  They moved quickly into the tight passageway and past a door hanging open against the wall. The long bar bolt lay shot off where somebody had forced it open with weaponry. Marks were visible on the wall where bullets had struck the metalwork. They moved past it towards the final door, but it was firmly sealed shut and surprisingly small. This wasn't just an interior door; it was designed to function as a blast door, and was heavily reinforced and already locked. Valdis reached it, and hit the pad to the right. A sequence of coloured shapes flashed, with a tone that suggested a countdown. Lieutenant Commander Holder help
ed her with the controls, and two lights quickly blinked active as the door seals cleared to allow the blast door to open.

  "Less than a minute," said the Lieutenant Commander, while tapping the unit again. She looked quickly at Valdis who nodded back.

  "We need to get inside and find those suits."

  "Hurry up," said Cassandra, her nerves already beginning to fail her.

  "I'm going as fast as I..."

  The door hissed open, letting in a blast of cool air. Up it went just as another blast shook the ship. Nate stumbled and fell right into Valentine's arms. She pushed him back to his feet, simultaneously giving him a wry look.

  "Not now, Nathaniel."

  More smoke filled the corridor, the small gap providing a little respite from the noxious air. Nate coughed loudly, and soon enough the others followed suit. He moved to the door to find Valdis and Fletcher tugging at the metal frame. Either due to an electrical problem, or from the twisting bulkheads, the door was now jammed in its partially open state. Holder bent down, checked under the door, and sighed in relief at spotting the suits, still sitting inside their secure mounts on the wall.

  "Get through...now!"

  Billy went through first, and his hand appeared under the door to grab at Cassandra. Nate looked back as the smoke started to fill his lungs. Off in the distance, flames were filling the corridor. No matter where they moved, the flames seemed to be following them. As he watched, a series of bright orange balls of flame darted back and forth. Seconds passed before Nate realised it was coming their way as the fresh air from partially open blast door drew the flames towards the fresh fuel.

  "Close the door!"

  Nate turned and ran back to the inner door that lay open nearly twenty metres away. Once there he pulled on the unit, but it groaned and shuddered due to its damaged and malformed hinges. More smoke belched in, and the flames moved ever closer.

  "Help me!"

  Fletcher and Private Valentine broke from the group and reached him just in time. Between the three of them they pulled the inner door from its position on the right, and then pushed it firmly against the bulkhead doorframe.

  "Thirty seconds!" Lieutenant Commander Holder yelled.

  Without hesitating, she slid under the door, joining Valdis and her comrades, as well as Cassandra and Billy. They were already opening the wall mounts and pulling away the Byotai issue emergency EVA suits. They were nothing fancy, just a fully sealed suit with integral air supply, life support, and lightly armoured helmet. Valdis and her kin were ready, and Cassandra was busy pulling a helmet on her head. Only Matilda remained behind and called out to them to join her.

  "We have to go!"

  Another blast struck the inner door, and this time it opened wide enough to allow a burst of smoke and flame to enter. One caught Fletcher in the leg, and he fell flat onto his back. Nate and Private Valentine took the impact from the door and flew halfway along the passageway before hitting the ground. A hand reached out and grabbed Valentine.

  "Now!"

  She struggled to get back to Nate, but she was already halfway through the jammed blast door. Another burst of heat ripped through the section, and Nate rose to one knee, ready to head back and help Fletcher. A third wave hit him as he rose, followed by a powerful blast of air, and this time he slammed head first against the upper section of the blast door.

  "Fletcher, get here!" Cassandra shouted.

  Flames burst into the passage, threatening to overwhelm Nate and the others. These were not small puffs of flame, but great gouts of fire, like the breath of some ancient, mythical dragon. The walls burned black as Fletcher rose from the floor, his clothing already ablaze. He screamed in pain, but as he turned from the inner door, more flame poured in.

  "Fletcher!"

  Hands reached out and dragged Nate's stunned form under the jammed blast door, while Fletcher staggered back and threw himself against the burning hot metal door. The young pilot was quickly engulfed in flame and smoke as the pilots pulled Nate into the next section. Lieutenant Commander Holder was there and already fully attired in the Byotai gear. She held out a suit for Nate just as the unit on Valdis' wrist began beeping. She looked up to the others and gasped.

  "Ten seconds."

  Forgetting Fletcher for a moment, each of them checked the person next to them, ensuring their equipment was fully sealed correctly. These were not the complex spacesuits used for complex EVA operations, but the modern equivalent of a life jacket. The seconds continued to tick away, until just a handful remained.

  "Hold onto something, and do not let go, no matter what happens!"

  There were grab rails dotted throughout, and each moved for the nearest.

  "Use your clamps!" said Valdis.

  She reached to her waist and pulled a ring-shaped piece of metal connected to a rubberised cable. She hit the nearest rung, and it clipped on like a standard issue calliper. Valdis opened her mouth to warn them, but at that very moment, the outer doors flew open, blasting the air out into space, as well as anything not tied down. Nate and the others rose from their feet, each sucked towards the two breaches that opened up in the hull.

  "Hold on for your lives!" Lieutenant Commander Holder screamed.

  The young pilots and marine swung about like fish on a line, but the clamps held, even when the inners doors opened and flames raced through the ship. Nate opened his eyes as he recovered from his impact to see the great snaking flames rushing past him and to the breaches. He could do nothing now but watch as the fire, heat, and smoke moved into space, along with every cubic centimetre of breathable air. Nate breathed in once, and then again, sucking in the clean, slightly warm air from the Byotai life support system. He swung to the left and then the right, settling on the floor as the final blasts of air left the ship fully depressurised. At that point, he finally blacked out.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Imperial Battleship 'Furiosa'

  3 hours later

  The lights flickered once more, giving the room the look of a scene from a horror film. There were at least twenty people in there, with Nate and his friends making up a sizable percentage. He looked to the right where it opened out into a small medical centre. Opposite that area of the ship was another medical room, and there were at least as many wounded personnel in that part, too.

  "Nate, you doing okay?"

  The voice was a little muffled, and Nate blinked several times to clear his vision. In front of him was Billy, in his fatigues, and with several dark blood patches marking his chest. None of them were wearing their PDS gear while they were in the medical quarters, and Nate found that almost amusing. Only he and Cassandra were actually sitting on the beds, while the others paced about impatiently. Valdis looked particularly odd without her sections of intricately made armour.

  "How's your head?" Billy asked.

  Nate had forgotten all about the bang he'd taken, and just thinking about it brought back the pain. He instinctively lifted his hand to his head and felt an immediate throbbing pain on contact. He half expected to see blood on his hand, but instead it just sent a spasm through his body. He moved his hand away, instantly regretting the movement.

  "Ouch!"

  "Stop touching it. Your head took quite a hit," said Matilda, "You remember what the medic said to you, don't you?"

  "Actually, no, I don't. Those painkillers did one impressive..."

  "Idiot," muttered Cassandra, "He said to wait at least three hours for the gel to bond. Mess around if you want, but you'll just open up the cut."

  Nate nodded to her and tried to respond with something witty. He could think of absolutely nothing, so he just muttered under his breath and brought his hand back down to his side. He hated the sight of blood, but there was nothing worse than seeing his own. He looked to his right where the short line of beds was positioned. They were strange units, angled so that one end was almost ten centimetres lower than the other. The ceiling was transparent, and directly above them were several medical orderlies moving ab
out.

  "Could have been a lot worse," said Billy.

  All of them looked to him, and right away Billy knew he'd misspoken. He blustered and muttered, desperate to get out the right words.

  "I...uh...the people here, I mean."

  Cassandra ran her hands through her hair, and then swung her legs off her bed before setting them down on the cool floor.

  "That was a bad way to go. The flames took Fletcher before space could finish him off."

  Valdis groaned and looked away. Nate felt his chest about to heave, so he took a short breath and held it there. The last thing he wanted right now was to throw up in front of them all.

  "Death in space is the death we all fear," said Valdis.

  Matilda nodded, keeping her eyes locked onto the floor.

  "Death in space is quick. He wouldn't have suffered for long."

  Nate looked to her. Matilda often said such things, and though some might see them as cruel, perhaps even callous. She was merely trying to placate them with the cold, hard facts.

  "It's true," said Nate, "Remember the briefing on Relentless. You can only last up to fifteen seconds in space without a suit. He'd be unconscious in seconds due to the lack of oxygen. After that he..."

  Nate stopped at that point. He frequently babbled when nervous, but he very much doubted his friends would want to be reminded of that minute details of what would happen. Death would likely come from asphyxiation or the effects of the pressure reduction, neither of which you'd want to be conscious for. As Nate tried to banish the thoughts from his mind, he felt relieved it wasn't him that had been pulled out. And that one thought left him feeling sick to the stomach. They'd seen so much and so quickly. It was more than any of them should be expected to live with.