“Sterling work, people, outstanding!” he said beaming.
Teresa appeared at the entrance of the building, shouting over to Spartan.
“We’ve got a problem!” she shouted and then ducked back inside.
Spartan turned from the firing line and rushed in through the doorway, closely followed by the two officers. As they moved towards the computer room, the first thing that was evident was that half the displays and computer systems were offline. As they watched a number of the screens shutdown.
“We’re losing them, one by one,” Jesus said as he frantically tried to isolate several of the systems before the lot went down.
Crackling in their headsets signalled a message from General Rivers.
“All company commanders, this is an urgent message. We are detecting explosions in the main reactor cores. According to our calculations, the insurgents are triggering a station-wide series of explosions that will destroy it. You have no more than forty minutes to get your people and as many survivors off as possible. I repeat, you have forty minutes to evacuate. We’re sending every shuttle we can find to you. Get out of there!” he barked.
Captain Mathews rubbed his jaw as he considered the situation.
“General, what is the status on the civilian population?” he asked.
“So far we have taken off sixty-two percent of those we are aware of. There are still three habitation zones, including yours, left to clear. We have spotted insurgents all around your position, expect heavy resistance if you try to reach them, just don’t be late!” said the General.
“Can we do it?” asked the Captain.
“We can’t clear the habitation area and get back to the landing craft in forty minutes, we have to choose one or the other,” answered Spartan.
“How about we wait at the habitation zone for reinforcements to pick us up?” Lieutenant Daniels asked.
“You’re assuming there is anybody that can reach us in time,” replied the Captain before calling to the Santa Maria.
“General, how long till those reinforcements get here?”
“We have a final shuttle group on its way, it will be landing in approximately thirty minutes.”
“Can you redirect everybody to the Central Habitation Zone Plaza? There is enough space to land shuttles and we can evacuate the entire section from there,” asked the Captain.
“Interesting, yes, it should be possible. I’ll see if I can get a few transports to redirect to you, good luck, Captain.”
“There won’t be enough transports to take off all the marines and the civilians,” said Lieutenant Daniels.
“There is another option,” said Spartan.
“All squad commanders prepare to move out,” said the Captain before turning to Spartan. “I’m listening,” he said.
“Give the Lieutenant one of your companies to clear the route back and get the landing craft. If they can do it in less than thirty minutes, they can get the rest of the landing craft and meet us at the central plaza. That should give us enough capacity to load the civilians and get out of here.”
“Can you get back with one company?” asked the Captain.
“Yes, Sir, no problem,” replied Lieutenant Daniels.
The Captain thought about the plan but only for a few seconds, decisive action was needed.
“Okay, Lieutenant, make your way back and get the boats to the plaza.”
Daniels turned and ran outside, though he was a lower rank than would be expected, he was a commando junior officer and the marines instantly recognised him as such. It was just seconds before the company were moving away and back towards the landing craft.
“Ok, Spartan, the rest of us will split into three groups, I’ll take the two main groups directly to the habitation zone, it’s two, three minutes tops from here. I want you to take two squads plus the rest of your commandos and take the right sector. You’ll be entering through the ruined bar and then hit them from the side. Get in there hard and fast, we don’t have much time,” he said.
“They aren’t my men,” Spartan said as he prepared his gear.
“They are now, Spartan, I’m giving you a temporary field promotion to Sergeant, now get going!” he said with a grin.
“Sir!” shouted Spartan before turning to see a grinning Jesus staring at him.
* * *
The CCS Crusader approached almost point blank range of the damaged battleship Victorious. Both vessels were still moving ever closer to the Titan Naval Station and it was critical that the battleship was stopped, one way or the other. A boarding action between two such vessels had never been attempted but that wasn’t going to stop Admiral Jarvis. As the battlecruiser moved into position her guns were silent. Unknown to the crew of the Victorious she was charging up her weapons for one final, overpowered volley of fire. This meant she was exposed to four more volleys of fire before she was in position.
As the two massive ships approached to within two hundred metres, a final broadside from each ship crashed into both vessels. At this range the damage was horrendous and hole after hole appeared along the length of the battlecruiser. It still wasn’t enough though and the leviathan slid into position, her gun ports waiting to unleash their deadly new weapon. This time the Crusader made use of her double-charged railgun to fire the modified and lethal close range Sanlav round. It was the first test of the weapon and at this range the damage was nothing short of impressive. Like a giant shotgun the railguns blast a wide dispersal, that at such a short range tore chunks from the outer plating along the entire length of the battleship. With a massive cloud of debris blocking the view, the magnetic couplers powered up, drawing the vessels towards each other. In less than twenty seconds the two ships crunched together and like a privateer in the seventeenth century the Crusader jammed herself tightly against the enemy vessel. The only way the two ships would now be sprung apart was if both took their couplers offline and this was something that could be decided by the first ever capital ship boarding action.
In the Combat Information Centre Admiral Jarvis watched her screens as the Sanlav rounds did their work. Several of the weapon batteries were taken offline by the brutal overloaded attack, but it had done its work. As well as tearing the great chunks out of the outer skin of the Victorious, the weapon had created a screen of dust, debris and plasma that gave her the cover she needed for her boarding action.
“All marine units, boarding action is a go, commence your assault. Good luck!” she exclaimed over the intercom.
From key points along the hull of the Crusader a dozen landing craft rushed out to transport their precious cargos of marines to the battleship. There were only three hundred marines and another two hundred volunteers from the crew in the attack but they were all targeting one point on the ship, the power core, the only target they could assault with any hope of slowing the warship.
* * *
Lieutenant Erdeniz kept his head down as the landing craft he was in dashed across the short distance between the two capital ships. He and the rest of the passengers all wore sealed suits, but the gear he wore was the bulky variant designed for extra vehicular activity when working on the ship. It was not the closer fitting personal protection suits of the marines. Most of the decks’ gunnery crews had been selected to provide assistance to the marines during the boarding action. It was the duty of all crew to practice basic hand-to-hand combat and marksmanship for such eventualities but he had never expected he would have to help in such a situation. Unlike the marines he was armed with a thermal shotgun, a powerful close ranged firearm but it was nothing as effective as the L48 rifles and carbines carried by the rest of the marines.
With a jarring impact the landing craft smashed through the damaged outer skin of the battleship and continued on until embedding itself fifteen metres inside the wrecked metal. Their objective was specifically chosen so they could insert the marines directly into the crew area of the ship. The front of the landing craft pushed though the sidewall of one of the service
corridors. The onboard sensors indicated a partial pressurised area, but it was still failing and like most of the ship, lacked gravity.
The bow doors opened to reveal the damage and the marines were already out, each using their hands or their manoeuvring thrusters to push on inside. According to the schematics of the battleship they should be near the main engineering hub that connected to key parts of the ship.
It was hard work to fight through the debris as well as trying to manage the lack of gravity and the bulky suit. As he moved, he positioned himself over the corridor and then activated his grav boots. With a clunk, he found himself walking on the surface though it soon became clear he was upside down as he pushed forwards. About ten metres ahead the marines gathered around a sealed door. From the plans, it was one of the many sealed sections of the ship. One man was already running a bypass on it whilst the rest had their weapons at the ready. With a jarring sound, the door slid across to reveal the main access corridor that led to the engineering hub. As they made to move inside a series of bright streaks rushed past him. Lieutenant Erdeniz jumped to the sidewall as the projectiles blasted past. One of the marines took multiple rounds in the chest. The impact of the weapon’s fire propelled him backwards.
“Go, marines!” The sergeant shouted over his intercom.
The first group pushed ahead, each man firing his weapon as he went. It was a surreal sight as the violence of the battle compared with the silence of space. The lack of sound didn’t cut the noise of the shouting and orders that constantly blared through his intercom.
* * *
Spartan and his small group of marines and commandos had made good progress in working their way across the Station. So far, they had run into just three insurgents and each had been dealt with quickly and quietly. After the bloody work of landing at the Station, the commandos seemed almost relaxed as they worked their way through the ruins of the old bar. Being so close to the habitation zone, they had to be as quiet as they were able and that meant using close quarter weapons or silencers when possible. As they moved past the ruined wooden bar several men and a bloodied woman leapt from cover. They managed to drag one of the marines down to the ground and proceeded to stab at him repeatedly with a stiletto-like knife. Spartan waded in, slamming his heavy boot into the woman’s chest and sending her flying back against the side of the bar. One of the commandos grabbed the arm of the closest man and jammed his fighting knife into his collar. He then pulled the blade out and struck several more times before letting the body slide to the floor. The rest of the squad made quick work of the rest before pushing on to the far side of the bar. As they reached the back section they moved more slowly, each well aware that on the other side could be scores, even hundreds of people. They inched along until Teresa found a crack in the wall that gave him a large enough gap to look though. As he peered inside his helmet-mounted headset crackled.
“I’m at the landing zone, there is a group of about forty insurgents on your way, we picked off the last few but the rest made it past us, watch your backs. We should be airborne in five minutes, will meet you at the rendezvous,” said Lieutenant Daniels on the intercom.
Spartan looked back, he couldn’t see any trouble but he wasn’t taking any chances. He sent four of the marines back to the rubble to keep an eye on their rear.
Looking back inside through a small gap in the wall he could see hundreds of people huddled in groups throughout the courtyard section of the habitation zone. The area was like a large dormitory with lots of rooms surrounding an open courtyard. Three or four Zealots guarded each group and there were large numbers of more guarding the doorways that led into the zone. Also there were more of them higher up, probably armed with sniper rifles to cover the courtyard.
“Captain, we’re in position, have you received our tactical data?” he asked.
“Good work, Sergeant, we will assault the four main entrances. We’ll start with a flashbang storm and then rush it. As soon as the firefight begins, I need you to clear the snipers and then move to the guards around the prisoners. Assault starts in twenty seconds.”
“Understood, Sir,” replied Spartan.
* * *
The boarding party had pushed past the lightly defended engineering hub and had progressed to just thirty metres from the power plant core when they came across heavy resistance. Dug in all around the engineering section almost thirty Zealots had rushed to defend the critical core of the ship. Unlike their normal aggressive tactics, they held back with each one taking cover and doing their best to hold off the marines. They ducked behind the thickly armoured coolant tanks and pipes that ran all through this sector of the ship. The battle looked bizarre as most of them were using their grav boots to stand on the walls, floor and ceiling. It made the battle both fluid and highly confusing to Lieutenant Erdeniz. Volley after volley poured down the corridor and every time one of the marines tried to push ahead, they were blasted back by the weapons’ fire.
“Shit!” barked the sergeant on the intercom. “We need heavy weapons here, we’re pinned down,” he shouted, though none of the marines seemed to know what to do. They were going nowhere.
Lieutenant Erdeniz leaned around the corner and fired several shots from his thermal shotgun. It looked impressive but he had no idea if he hit anything. He looked at the clip, noting he had only half the clip remaining. It was useless, at this rate they would end up surrounded. He looked around in the vain hope of finding something more dangerous than his shotgun. It was then that he saw the technician’s terminal behind the blast hatch on the left side of the corridor.
“Sergeant, I might be able to short out the coolants units, it could give us the break we need,” he called over the radio.
One of the marines tried to help the Lieutenant to the other side but another volley of shot blasted down hitting him in the arm and throwing him back in pain. The Sergeant could see what was happening and without hesitating, gave the order.
“Give him covering fire, now!” he ordered.
Seven marines pushed out from behind cover, each of them firing shot after shot at the enemy. Their fire was inaccurate and the Lieutenant saw only one of the enemy take a hit to the torso, before he was manhandled across the corridor and in front of the terminal. More fire blasted behind him that caught the Sergeant and another marine directly in the face.
Lieutenant Erdeniz did his best to ignore the ongoing carnage and pulled open the hatch. He needed the use of his hands and had to release several of the EVA seals on his suit to release his arms. They were still sealed inside his skin-tight protective suit but nothing like the armour the marines wore. One good stab with a knife could penetrate the skin of this clothing. He looked at the display carefully. Though he couldn’t shut down the power plant he could alter the controls that regulated part of the power grid and cooling. Luckily, his computing skills were significant enough for him to isolate and boost the coolant controls to overload. Warnings came up immediately but he easily overrode them and embedded a lockout on the engineering panel. Only a senior officer could override his work and even then the officer would have to make it down to engineering. It wasn’t perfect but he had bought them some time.
Turning to the rest of the marines and crew from the battlecruiser he gave a hand signal so the men ducked down and kept out of the line of fire. Corporal Jones moved up from further along the corridor, he held his L48 carbine at the ready.
“How long, Lieutenant?” asked the Corporal.
“Fifteen seconds!” Lieutenant Erdeniz shouted back.
“Take cover, when the tanks blow everybody move forward, no matter the cost. We have to secure the power plant!” ordered the Corporal.
They all pulled themselves into any cover they could find as the odd single shot tore down the corridor. There were now dozens of marines and crew all huddling down as they waited for the coolant tanks. Fifteen seconds passed and nothing happened. The Corporal turned to the officer, he was about to start shouting when a great burst of g
as rushed down the corridor.
“Go!” he shouted, and in moments the corridor was packed with scores of people trying to fight their way into the area. Fire scattered around them but the mixture of gas, steam and debris gave them enough cover to get a handful of marines into position.
Lieutenant Erdeniz moved ahead as bodies tumbled about him from both sides. He grabbed onto the wall pulling himself clear of the carnage and kept tugging until he reached the far side of the room where the defenders had been holding out. Further ahead was a dark room with a dull red glow flashing in sequence. He recognised it immediately. The Corporal had somehow survived the devastation and pulled himself up to Lieutenant Erdeniz.
“Is that it?” he asked.
Lieutenant Erdeniz nodded at the Corporal who sighed with relief.
“Get the thermite charges here now, everybody else clear the route to the boats, once they’re set we are out of here!”
The two dropped to the deck and, using their grav boots, made quick progress into the room. All around them were huge pipes and glowing tanks that surrounded the reactors. Though the actual reactors were safe, about fifty metres further inside they could easily cripple the ship by removing the coolant and generator links from the rest of the ship. By Lieutenant Erdeniz’s best calculations the reactor could manage three to four minutes once the link to its coolants supplies was removed. His plan was to overload the weapons grid at the same time. The strain should help to superheat the reactor and cause catastrophic damage.
Star Crusades Uprising: The First Trilogy Page 16
