Julio gaped as fires began to break out on the island and flashing laser light and explosions rocked the Academy.
His eyes widened, and he leaned against the bar for support as a hand covered his lips. “My God.”
Wolfson yanked a droid off a student and ground its head under his boot. The student pointed behind him as he helped him up. He couldn’t get the words out, but the security head nodded, knowing what he was trying to say. Satisfied that the younger man was now safe, he ran up the outer stairwell of the observatory to the second floor, from which he had seen him fall. He put his cannon away, exchanged it for a rifle, and held it at the ready as he reached the top and turned the corner. Three droids walked away, one in front and two behind. Those in the rear dragged a trio of students in a containment orb. Wolfson clenched his teeth and fired three shots, one through the head of each mechanical.
The two holding the orb collapsed but the shot that struck the one in front must have been off as it staggered but stretched an arm in his direction. The limb assumed the form of a cannon that immediately began to charge. It turned its head, but the security officer fired directly into the cannon barrel and ignited the blast within to demolish the robot. It was actually somewhat fortunate that the students were locked inside the containment field or they could have been caught in the blast.
He approached them quickly and flipped his gun to hold it by the barrel. The barrier was meant to be reinforced on the inside to keep those within securely trapped, but the outside was breakable with enough force. After it had been buffeted by the explosion, only a few blows from the butt of his rifle were enough to shatter it.
The three captives pushed to their feet and thanked him. He studied them quickly and realized that they were all young, probably late teens, which made them initiates. He wondered if they were prep kids. It wouldn’t have made this any better, but they would at least be somewhat ready for the potential of such an attack. Still, while the idea was good, it was a different matter when they actually had to live it.
He ushered them down the stairs and took the lead. When they reached the bottom, a shaking and half-destroyed Arbiter droid hobbled over to them with its weapon raised. But before it or Wolfson could fire, two shots struck it in the head from the right. It was the student he had rescued before, holding a pistol—his pistol, he realized.
The security head raised an eyebrow as the young man ran up quickly and tried to hand it to him. “I’m sorry, sir,” he stated. It seemed strange that he remembered formalities at a time like this. “The wind was knocked out of me. I should have asked but I took it before you went off so I could cover the rear—”
“It’s all right, boyo,” he assured him and pushed the pistol away. “You keep it for now.” His gaze settled on a hatch partially hidden behind a display of flowers at the corner of the building and he beckoned the students to follow. A few others hiding in the observatory or running through the grounds saw the officer and joined them as Wolfson ran to the hatch, leaned down, and tried to pry it off. His efforts brought no success. It was still locked.
Frustrated, he sucked in a breath and glanced at another student, this one clearly a fighter as the bruises and cuts confirmed—as did the well-used droid arm in his hands repurposed as a weapon. He tossed him his rifle, took his cannon out, and instructed them to move back as he charged a shot and fired to destroy the hatch so they could gain access.
“These lead to the tunnels,” he explained and made sure to provide clear instructions given the number of newbies present. “They’ll take you to a safe place in town. Hurry through and tell the officials what is happening here.”
“What is happening here?” one of them asked.
Wolfson sucked in a breath as he reached into a compartment on his belt. “An invasion by the Arbiter organization. And it doesn’t matter if you know who they are or not. Go!” he ordered and brandished an explosive. “And take this!”
“A mine?” an initiate asked. “For what?”
“To blow the tunnel behind you of course,” he told him. “The hatch is exposed and the internal defenses are down. We cannot risk the droids using it to access the town.”
“What about the other students?” a logistics student asked. “They need to escape too.”
“Me and the other officers will get everyone out. All of us—every teacher and faculty member—are working to keep you safe,” he vowed. “But we cannot risk—”
“I’ll guard it,” a red-haired soldier promised and snatched the mine from him. “I’ll bring in as many students as I can and if I am overwhelmed, I’ll blow the entrance to seal it.”
“I’ll help you,” the boy with Wolfson’s pistol stated and the two young men nodded to each other.
Wolfson smiled with approval. “I’ll hold you boys to that. The rest of you, go now, and quickly!” With no further discussion, the group moved quickly through the opening. The security head charged his cannon and gave one last nod to the boys before he ran around the corner and fired at more droids.
With more students like that, he wouldn’t have to worry about merely surviving. They’d keep this Academy from the grasping hands of the invaders.
Chapter Twelve
“Captain, I don’t get any responses from Command,” the ensign reported and continued to work on the monitor. “There is nothing coming in from the council either.”
Captain Andrion felt extremely nervous, something he shouldn’t be right now. Certainly, being sent to possibly intercept a terrorist cell would make anyone anxious, but in his thirty-five years of military service, he was more accustomed to such missions than not, by this point. The aid of his Maverick-Class Battlecruiser and crew of over a hundred and fifty was also a bonus.
But sudden communication failure was always a sign of something wrong. And the fact that they could not reach either their main post or the council itself was a major problem. In addition, there was the issue that they hadn’t found anyone at the coordinates—neither the terrorist cell nor allies and hell, not even an errant hiker making their way through the Russian taiga.
“Keep trying,” he answered, his voice neutral but low. He looked at the helmsman. “Is there any sign of our targets?”
The man shook his head. “Nothing, sir, except for wildlife. Even the closest messenger or supply ships are more than a hundred miles away.”
Andrion slumped in his chair and stroked a hand through his beard in thought. “If we get no answer from Command, we need to return at full speed. Something will have certainly—”
“Captain!” the ensign shouted and spun in his seat. “I’m getting a distress message from the council.”
The captain, along with anyone else in earshot, bolted out of their seats. “What? Let me listen!”
The officer nodded, flipped a switch, and a synthetic voice spoke over the speakers.
“This is a call to all units of the World Council Military,” it droned. “The council building is currently under attack by a malicious force. All nearby military forces must return to defend the council. All military forces that are currently engaged in sensitive operations, are located more than a thousand miles away, or are unable to return due to damaged systems or an act of God, should lay low and attempt to contact emergency channels.”
“Sir?” one of the crewmen sputtered. Andrion looked back and estimated the time of day and the current schedule of Terra. It should be hovering over eastern Europe. That was more than the specified distance for a call-back, but when was the last time the council itself was attacked?
“Get the ship ready,” he shouted and looked at the helmsman and crew. “We will return to Terra to assist in retaking—”
A loud blast above them cut his orders short and an alarm blared. Andrion was almost hurled to the floor when the ship shook. The crew scrambled to their seats and buckled themselves in as another explosion rocked the vessel.
“Lana, what’s going on!” he shouted to the officer who worked the internal defenses.
“A breach in the ship, two—” The hull shuddered with another blast and the captain grasped the arms of his seat and pulled himself up. “Three on the starboard side in the barracks wing.”
“The barracks?” he muttered and sat hastily. “Everyone, prepare for combat! Open an external and internal screen. I want to know what’s going on.”
“Right away, sir,” one of the personnel shouted, but as they turned to bring the screen up, their monitor died and the system erupted into sparks.
“We’ve been hacked,” another yelled as more screens faded out or systems began to malfunction.
“This is the latest Lexsys security system,” one of the technicians protested. “It’s not even on the market. How did they gain access without us knowing?”
Andrion thumped a button on the console of his chair and a compartment opened and revealed his rifle. He picked it up as he stood and primed it. “The same way they were able to infiltrate our ship without us knowing they were even here.” He grimaced. “Lana, save what you can, activate internal security, and issue the order for lethal force.”
“Understood, sir.” She nodded and hurried quickly through the bridge to salvage what she could. Several techies followed her lead.
The captain found a working monitor and was able to cycle through the few remaining cameras in the barracks. Dozens of armored troops made their way in armed with cannons, machine guns, long plasma blades, and shotguns. They all wore the same thing—gray medium armor over black underlays with angled helmets. He leaned in and focused on something familiar on their suits—a stylized A with W and C beneath it. That was the insignia of the Russian Ark Academy. How did these terrorists get the suits? Was the Academy compromised?
Another shock felt closer and he braced himself against the wall as he flipped quickly through more feeds, looking for the new attack. He found it was only a couple of hundred yards from the bridge. Two pods had pounded through the hull and as the front spun open, a team of troops dropped out and began a steady approach, some with circular devices on their back.
“They are coming for the bridge,” Andrion shouted and the crew hastened to their positions in preparation for the assault. He was about the pull away from the screen when he saw one final figure emerge from the pods. This one also wore the dark armor of the Ark Academy, but in addition, he wore a large armored coat of black, gold, and red. The captain gritted his teeth. He recognized it as belonging to Damyen Orlov’s, the Russian Ark Academy chancellor.
The man strolled casually away as a third pod breached the ship to deliver more troops. Andrion forced himself away from the screens when he heard thuds, blasts, and screams coming from the hall.
“Sir, there are still others trapped outside and I can’t activate the turrets or droids,” Lana called.
“Open the doors,” he ordered as he readied his rifle, and the officer looked at him in shock. “I will not hide while my ship is attacked and crew slaughtered. Open the door.”
“We’ll get it, sir.” Two officers volunteered and hurried over to the scanners on either side to disengage the emergency lock and force the door open. As soon as it slid up, Andrion and his bridge crew fired at any of the dark armored assailants who entered their lines of fire.
“Lana!” he called as he fired at a shotgun-wielding trooper. “You have control of the bridge. As soon as the weapons get back online, find the enemy ship and destroy it.”
“Yes, sir,” she acknowledged, leaned around the corner, and fired a few shots from her pistol at a cluster of troops that advanced down the hall. The bullets were stopped by a shield held by one of them.
“Vanguard,” Andrion muttered and gestured for those behind him to follow. “Shut the door when we all leave.”
“But, sir—”
“Do it,” he roared as he charged the vanguard. The enemy absorbed the shield into their gauntlets and blasted it at the captain. He fired a charged shot from his rifle at it, which canceled both out. He flipped into an alcove in the wall to shield himself as he pressed a switch on his rifle and changed to ballistic rounds. When he spun out and fired three shots, the vanguard erected a barrier, but the physical rounds passed through it and hammered the invader and two soldiers next to him. The vanguard toppled and his buddies with him.
“Push forward!” Andrion shouted and his team pushed out of the bridge. The door closed swiftly behind them He looked over to the other side of the corridor as four of his officers advanced. The grating above them gave way and two of the soldiers fell—or, rather, they were forced down as something pierced the back of their armor. The other two whirled to meet the new threat but their weapons were cut cleanly in half. A shimmer confirmed the telltale sign of a stealth generator as both his crewmen were felled. Two troops equipped with plasma blades appeared when their generators deactivated.
The captain grimaced and fired a ballistic round at the two raiders. One raised their hand and stopped the projectile in mid-air. Andiron’s eyes widened as the assassin coaxed the bullet toward him before he pointed it at him and rocketed it forward as effectively as if he’d fired it from his own weapon. He dove aside as the bullet struck the wall behind him and he barely managed to escape the blast.
The two assassins engaged the remaining crew as more hostile troops flooded into the hallway. Andrion rolled to see two demolitionists at the door, preparing to blow it open. He reached for his rifle but his hand was struck before he could grab it. He looked up at a figure in a black, gold, and red jacket, who flipped the visor of his helmet up and smiled at him.
His teeth clenched, he looked into Damyen’s face. “You’re behind this?” He growled with barely suppressed rage. “These aren’t terrorists. They’re your students, aren’t they?”
“They are my soldiers,” the man clarified as he knelt to look the captain in the eye. “Captain…Andrion, isn’t it?” he asked. “You can make this easier on your crew by surrendering and giving the order to stand down. We’ll take this ship, but you get to decide how long it will take.” He retrieved a small device and held it up to the captain’s mouth as he gestured to the speakers above them. “And how long the clean-up will be.”
He wanted to spit at the traitor, but he caught another sight of the demolitionists, ready to blow the bridge door. They merely waited for Damyen to give the order. More screams issued from above him and around him. How many were there left to save?
With a solemn sigh, he nodded. The enemy leader’s smile grew wider as he pressed the button on the device. “This is Captain Andrion,” the captain began. “To the crew of the Heimdallr, lay down your arms and surrender.”
Damyen looked around and listened for further sounds of battle. The ship became eerily quiet. He nodded, placed the device in his pocket, and reached to his belt. “Good choice, Captain. Certainly, a better one than the other captains made.”
“Other captains?” he asked. “How many—”
“You make the fifth,” he stated as he drew a pistol and placed it against his head. “If it counts, this was easily the biggest ship yet.”
Andrion looked at the pistol and strained under the man’s foot to reach his rifle. “You said you would—”
“Make it easier on your crew. Their deaths will be much faster this way,” Damyen told him with a sick laugh. “Except the Ark graduates. They will live and they’ll even have a place.” The chancellor’s finger eased down on the trigger. “As one of my soldiers.”
Chapter Thirteen
Kaiden rushed to the back of the arena in Wolfson’s training area. He shoved tables aside as he searched frantically for something.
“Kaiden, are you looking for the weapons rack?” Marlo asked and pointed behind him.
“No, I’m— Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Genos, deactivate the lock on that, would you, while I—aha!” He shoved a locker aside and yanked up the mat to reveal two doors beneath it. Quickly, he crouched and slid a small window open to reveal a keypad into which he punched several numbers. A sm
all circle appeared when he pressed confirm. “Marlo, grab the other handle.”
The demolitionist nodded. The ace grasped the right handle of the vault and Marlo the left. When the keypad blinked green, Kaiden nodded and they both pulled the heavy doors of the vault open to a small space beneath with a ladder.
“What is that?” Flynn asked and peered down. “It’s pitch-black down there.”
“The light switch is in the storage room.” Kaiden slid through the hole, his hands on the ladder. “It’s kind of cramped down there. Amber and Chiyo, do you mind coming down? I’ll hand stuff up to you.”
“It had better be good stuff,” Cameron commented.
The ace grinned at the bounty hunter before his head disappeared into the hole. “This is Wolfson’s personal stash. He showed it to me after Gin’s attack, just in case.”
“This is certainly a case.” Flynn nodded and gestured to the two women. “Get down there!”
Kaiden reached the storage room, turned the light on, and hurriedly began to grab any weapons or device he could and handed them to Amber, who handed them to Chiyo, who distributed them to the others in the group.
“There’s enough down here to arm all of us,” he shouted as he placed a rifle and a container of shock grenades in Amber’s hands. “Genos and Jaxon, take the weapons on the practice rack and give them to the students out in the gym.”
“I’ve unlocked the rack, friend Kaiden,” Genos responded. “But you know that many of these are training weapons, correct?”
Invasion (Animus Book 10) Page 6
