by Jay Allan
“Get off me!” he protested.
Babacan struck him across the face with the back of his hand. He didn’t much like his tone, let alone his insubordinate manner. The man landed on his back with a crash, clearly stunned. They heard another burst of Alliance gunfire, but a volley of shots roared out from enemy weapons to drowned it out. Several single shots rang out, and then the guns fell silent. Listening while they could do nothing was worse than horrific, but none of them were under any illusions. Right then, survival meant hunkering down and not making a sound. Hiding from the enemy. This could not be their fight, even if they wanted it to be.
“What can we do?” Flores whispered.
Riley was back on his feet and creeping into cover. He had learnt his lesson and didn’t doubt Babacan anymore, but looked to him for answers. But Babacan deferred to Woods.
“Captain, this is your space station and your mission. What do you want of us?”
Riley looked irritated that Babacan was still not taking charge, but he didn’t dare question him a second time. He looked away, as if afraid of being struck again.
“We need a plan or we are all gonna die,” said Flores.
“The Captain has a plan,” Babacan grunted, “I suggest we let him stick to it.”
Woods grimaced. “I wouldn’t say it’s a plan. It’s just an idea.”
“Come on, you know it is more than that. You risked everything, desperate to get me to help, and you say it is all for Sarik? A Krys you probably never even met.”
“I met him, sure I did. I wouldn’t say I know him well, but I did meet him, and I know how important he is to this war effort.”
Babacan groaned, as if not entirely convinced.
“I didn’t even know he was aboard the station.”
Woods sighed. “Of course you didn’t, Private. That information is way above your pay grade.”
“All well and good,” Flores said, “But seriously, how much time do we have left? Won’t they just blow this station to hell once they have what they want?”
“Yes, they will, which means we don’t have long.”
“So let’s stop wasting time and get moving.”
Woods looked to the other two for confirmation. Although he obviously didn’t have confidence they would follow him. Why? It worried Babacan. Something wasn’t right. Something was not as it seemed.
“Let’s move.”
Chapter 4
Babacan carefully reached across the body of a dead marine and detached his rifle from its sling. He searched around for more magazines, found none, and went on to the next body. Woods followed, finding a weapon to replace the one he’d lost.
“What are you doing?” Flores asked.
Babacan shook his head and grunted, realising she had never been in combat before.
His reply was blunt. “They don’t need them anymore. We do.”
“But…I know that man. I used to…”
“Whatever he was is gone. Unless you want to follow him, stop complaining.”
Woods was in agreement, and they scavenged what ammunition they could find. They were not encouraged. Both realized their weapons would be of little use if they came up against the Juggernaut officer that had passed them.
“So what now?” Babacan asked him.
“We move, quickly and quietly.”
Babacan nodded. “We don’t have long. If we do not find Sarik in the next fifteen minutes, we should leave, or we will never make it out alive.”
“We’ll find him. We have to. And we’ll get him to safety.”
Riley looked sullen. “What good is throwing our lives away if we can’t save him?”
Woods frowned. “We have to keep trying.”
Then he moved off without another word. The gunfire was dying down and had faded into the distance. “They must have cleared the area,” he murmured.
“Why?” Riley asked.
“Because they have killed everyone who stood in their way and still not found what they came for, what they want,” replied Babacan.
A harsh truth, and one they had to face. The Captain led the way, but as he stepped through another doorway, he crashed into someone and fell. He landed on his back, but with his rifle aimed up and ready to fire. Babacan leapt through the opening a second later to support him, but he lowered his rifle when he found a dozen of the ship’s crew. One was an officer, and the only one among them carrying a weapon. They all shared a common expression. Terror.
“Thank God,” said the officer, a woman.
“Lieutenant Freebury?” Woods asked, barely recognising her.
She was a short black haired woman with a slight French accent. Her face was bloody where it looked as though glass had showered over her face.
“Captain Woods, what are you doing here?”
“Trying to help.”
Babacan said nothing, but he was suspicious.
“Don’t we need to keep moving?” Flores asked.
Freebury nodded. “Damn right we do. We need to get the hell out of here, right now.”
Woods was already shaking his head as he got back to his feet.
“Negative, we have a mission to complete, and we cannot deviate from it.”
“What are you talking about? Do you want to go down with the ship?”
“Liberty 3 is no ship,” he protested.
“You know what I mean. Anyone who doesn’t make it out soon will die. This station is lost.”
They looked to Woods for guidance. He was the highest-ranking officer there, but he in turn glanced at Babacan. Flores jumped in before he could speak.
“These crewmen need our help.”
He didn’t look happy, but the look on their faces was desperate, and he was stuck for words. Finally, he said, “We have a mission to do. We must go on.”
“To hell with that. It’s time to go,” Freebury snarled.
“We will help them, surely?” asked Flores.
Woods sighed as he checked the map on his pad.
“There is a diplomatic hangar not far from here. We may find something airworthy there. We’ll escort you that far, but then you are on your own.”
“What’s your problem? The battle is over. We should get away with our lives before it’s too late.”
Babacan didn’t understand it. He couldn’t believe the Captain would risk so much for an alien he barely knew. Even for a human, that sounded stupid.
Freebury spoke again. “Any of you who want to come with us, you should come now. You don’t owe anyone anything here. In fact, yeah, you do, you owe it to those who have died to get out of here and keep on living.”
Woods grimaced. “I wish we could go, but our work isn’t done.”
“What is wrong with you?”
“We are fighters, we are marines, and this is our job.”
It was obvious she didn’t believe what she was hearing.
“We have to move. We don’t have much time,” said Woods as he led them away.
They wound through several rooms, cutting across the station to reach their destination. Several times they stepped over bodies. Each room had corpses littering the deck, and they tried to ignore them as best they could. Soon they reached a hangar and found three ships stationed there. More bodies lay strewn about where others before them had tried to reach the ships to get away. There was no sign of their attackers.
“Last chance, Captain. Come with us. There is no reason to stay.”
Woods’ mind was made up, although Riley was adamant he wanted to go.
“If you want to go, do it,” he said as the others rushed to the nearest craft.
Riley at least dropped his head in shame as he walked away. Few blamed him for deserting, but Babacan did, a characteristic of the Krys that was in his blood. They were a tough people.
Half the crew had boarded the ship when gunfire rang out from across the hangar bay, and shots whistled among them. Babacan and the others were quick to return fire at two enemy soldiers. They had entered throug
h a side door, as if they’d followed and tracked them. They were more lightly equipped than the other creatures, but faster. One sprinted for cover, but Babacan tracked him, riddling him with gunfire. To his relief, several of the bullets penetrated and the creature went down. The other raced for cover, but a burst from Riley struck it in the face before it could reach safety.
The body dropped to the ground, and as the echo of the gunfire died down, it was replaced by the groans and screams of the wounded. Three of the crewmen had been hit. One was dead, and the other two wounded, including the Lieutenant. They helped her to her feet, and she aimed her pistol towards the enemy fallen as if about to add her weight of fire. She was dazed and losing a lot of blood, but she held her fire, awaiting orders.
“Get out now, go!” Woods yelled.
“Thank you.”
Her voice was weak as they carried her aboard. Riley looked lost in his own personal guilt, but there could have been any number of reasons why. He stopped, as if waiting. Flores waited, too.
“If you want to go with them, go.”
But when Riley looked into the Captain’s eyes, his expression appeared to change. To become something more composed. More determined. Angry.
“We have a job to do. Let’s do it.”
Flores nodded. She was in.
Woods smiled. “All right, then. There’s probably a hundred or more enemy between us and our target. We need to move fast, and move smart.”
They watched the shuttle’s engines power up, and it lifted off the deck.
“What you did, getting them out, that was noble,” said Flores.
“Hard to feel good about it when we have not completed our mission.”
“And what is that?” Babacan asked.
“I told you.”
“But you wouldn’t risk all this just for Sarik, would you?”
Woods refused to say another word and tried to brush it aside. They were all now aware something suspicious was going on, but they had no choice but to trust him. And trust he knew what he was doing. Riley looked more eager than any of them, as if he had gotten his first taste for combat, and had started to enjoy it. They ducked and weaved through different rooms, wading through the heaps of dead bodies. It seemed none were left alive, until they heard noise ahead. Woods reached into a gap in the buttress of a nondescript wall, a concealed place invisible to anyone who didn’t know it was there. The wall slid open to reveal a hidden door.
“Come on,” he said.
They rushed inside, and the door shut quickly before the enemy came upon them.
“What the hell is this place? I have never seen it before.”
He gave Flores a grave look. “Some things are military secrets, on a need to know basis.”
“But this isn’t a military station, it is a medical one.”
“Get real, Corporal. We’re at war. Every planet, every station, every colony, they are all part of the war effort.”
Babacan nodded in understanding. “You’re saying there’s more to this mission than just Sarik, is that right?”
Woods shrugged and kept going, but they all saw Babacan was right.
“Don’t walk away from me,” he growled.
Woods carried on. “We don’t have time for this.”
Babacan caught up and spun him around. “Trust is something Colonel Taylor believes in more than anything else. It is the reason he keeps our unit together, and the reason we continue to fight and die for him, and he for us.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Bullshit,” Riley said, “Come on, Captain, we’ve come this far with you.”
Babacan gripped him tighter to stop him walking away. Intimidating Woods, who flinched, but he released his grip. Trust went both ways.
“Tell us what we are fighting for,” he insisted.
“You really want to know?”
“If we are risking all our lives for it, yes. We could have got on that shuttle and ridden away with ease,” said Riley.
“And go where? The Alliance is losing this war, and nothing short of a miracle is going to save us.”
“What is it you are not telling us?” Flores asked, “What was going on here that you are so desperate to protect?”
Woods look worried, but he didn’t reply.
“Sarik was never here, was he?”
He sighed. “Sure he was. He was recovering on this station just like I said, but he left several days ago.”
“Then why lie to us?”
“Because you wouldn’t have come with me if I hadn’t, would you? And I couldn’t do this without you.”
“Do what?” asked Flores.
“Save a new and powerful weapons technology the Alliance has been developing. This could be a real game changer.”
“A weapon, are you kidding me?” Riley screamed.
Nobody cared for the Captain’s rank anymore. They were furious, but Babacan stayed silent. Thinking.
“This weapon could revolutionise infantry combat.” Woods told them, “You have seen what it’s like out there. You more than anyone, because you’re still alive.”
Babacan held up the puny rifle. “We already have better than this.”
“Yes, but it isn’t enough, is it? I have seen the reports. Even your finest Reitech rifles just aren’t touching those Juggernauts, and the enemy armour is getting even tougher. This is an arms race, and we are losing. Aboard this station is a weapon that could give the ordinary fighting men and women of the Alliance a real chance. A chance not only to survive, but to win.”
“Why haven’t we heard about this before?”
“What part of top secret did you not get, Private Riley?”
“So this is what we are risking everything for?” Flores muttered.
“We need all the chances we can get. If this weapon can really make a difference, then it is worth fighting for.”
“And is it worth dying for?” Riley asked.
“You’re damn right it is,” he spat, “I would have thought that much was obvious. Don’t you think I wanted to get on one of those shuttles, as well? Twice I have had a chance to get away from this hell, but there are more important things than you or me. This is a risk worth taking, so what’s it gonna be? Do we go on?”
“Let’s get what we came for,” Babacan replied firmly.
Riley snarled, “This was supposed to be a rescue operation. I mean, I didn’t mind staying to help, but…”
“And it is.”
“What do you say?” Babacan asked Flores.
She sighed. “If this can give us a fighting chance, then I say we do it.”
Riley groaned, three against one. He had no other option.
“All right, this is crazy, but all right. I’m in.”
“Let’s do this.” Woods typed in a code to a keypad. A door slid open, and they walked through into a well-lit research lab. There were no bodies in sight, alive or dead, but equipment in abundance.
“Hell, yeah!” Riley said, “This is really something.”
Chapter 5
Babacan went straight to the rack of armour, to the exoskeleton powered armoured suits that were standard equipment in his unit. There were five of the type made for humans, and three for the Krys, a welcome relief and something he hadn’t expected. The suit clamped around his body, and he stepped back into the room with a smile on his face. Racks of Reitech rifles were nearby, as well as Assegais, a short, thrusting close-combat weapon able to pierce almost any thickness of armour. The best equipment available at the time.
Riley and Flores jumped into the other suits and moved around in them. They were like kids at Christmas. They’d obviously never known such power, but Woods was mesmerised by a single item. It was floating in mid-air above a stand in the centre of the room. Disassembled weapons and parts were everywhere, and even a small firing range at the side.
Riley looked at the range. “How can they use this?”
“This facility is sealed and extensively soundproofed. W
eapon tests were carried out daily without a single soul knowing, other than the few involved.”
Woods placed his hands on the weapon. It was smaller than the Reitech rifles, and the magazine fitted at the back of the stock, in a bullpup configuration. The muzzle was wide, far wider than any rifle they had seen before.
“How does it even work?” Flores was loading a Reitech weapon, but gazing at the novel weapon.
“It is called the Liberator A16. Believe me, it’s a work of pure genius.”
“I read you, but how does it work?”
“If I had the answer, I wouldn’t be in this job, would I?” he asked, dropping the empty magazine and loading a replacement.
“If nobody knows about this place, and it’s sealed, why don’t we just stay put and wait this out?” Riley asked.
“Because they’re gonna blow this place to hell, idiot,” snapped Flores.
Woods went to a console nearby and opened a drive in the panel. They were all surprised to see solid-state data cassettes.
“Everything in this room runs in isolation from the systems of the station. Nothing is networked, so there can never be a risk of information being discovered or stolen.”
“Except when you take the whole station,” said Flores.
He nodded. “You can only go so far with security.”
“Yeah, like not putting top secret weapons technology at the heart of a medical facility.”
“You don’t like it? Well, tough. This isn’t a nice war. Neither is it a clean war. It’s as bad as it gets, and we can’t afford to play nice.”
A large mechanism suddenly whirred into action, and the doors at the far end of the room began to open.
“What did you do?”
Woods was desperately flicking through screens on the console.
“It wasn’t me, Corporal. This shouldn’t be happening.”
“Weapons are hot, whatever comes through that door we stand and fight,” said Babacan.
The first door was already open, but they could see several more layers. Woods realised it was futile to waste any more time. He slipped the drive from the computer into his webbing, as well as all the magazines he could fit.
