A Faded Star 3_The Battle for Lashmere

by Michael Freeport

  He made one final survey of his people and said, “Okay, everyone. We know what the stakes are. We’re going back into the tunnels, and we have to be at the side of the Woduur ship in three hours. That’s because in three hours plus forty minutes, these charges all have to explode, and we still need to make it to a safe distance. We expect moderate to heavy resistance, and everyone has been given maximum loadouts of projectiles, but don’t waste it. It will run out faster than you expect. Only fire when you have a clean shot.”

  He looked into many of the faces peering back at him. He saw determination, fear and in a few instances, excitement. “I know you’re all eager to get some payback from the Woduur. Just bear in mind that they are tough, fast and dangerous. Believe me, when I tell you, I’m just as eager as you are to hit them as hard as possible. They have a lot to answer for, and we will make them pay dearly for invading Lashmere. Stay focused and watch your teammates. Any questions?”

  No one spoke. Everyone hefted their rifles close to their chests. Anticipation hummed in the air. “Let’s move, people.”

  More than thirty armored and armed humans trooped out of the hospital basement. They moved quickly across the street to the subway tunnel. Once in the darkness, their progress slowed, but their suits had all been updated with maps of the subway, and they proceeded with far more confidence than Valencia’s small team had several days before.

  Two stations on, Cooper spoke into the quiet. “This is my stop, Sarge. The cannon is just above.”

  Valencia said, “Make sure you get out safely, Coop. Get that civvie out, too.” Valencia didn’t think Hughes would need any help, but he hoped it would make Cooper a bit more cautious.

  “Roger that, Sarge,” Cooper said as he moved away from the group.

  Valencia led his platoons through the tunnels until the suit sensors told him he was within fifty meters of the ring. He brought the group to a halt and brought them in to talk. As everyone gathered around, Valencia spoke, keeping his voice low. “Okay, Platoon one, stay here and keep rear guard. Sound off if you pick up anything on the passive sensors. Platoon two, advance until we have the ship in sight. Platoon three will advance to the bomb site. Nate stay with me and make sure the charges are set properly.” Valencia was giving instructions that everyone already had, but he wanted to make sure no mistakes were made.

  Nate nodded and said, “I’m with you.”

  The second platoon stopped a few meters later, and Valencia moved further into the tunnel. The floor was covered in rubble and twisted tracks. No way appeared directly to the side of the ship, but Valencia’s suit sensors indicated he was within two meters of it.

  “We’ll have to dig some of the tunnel out to set the charges,” Valencia said.

  Two Marines with shovels started digging. A few minutes later, they found the burnished silver side of the Woduur ship. Valencia checked his chrono. Plenty of time to set up the explosives and get clear.

  Cooper jogged up to the artillery piece. Hughes was already there, waiting for him. She rested her hand on the barrel as Cooper approached.

  “Glad you made it, Corporal.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it. Let’s get the camouflage off and clear it away for firing.”

  The pair quickly got the rubble away from the cannon and brought the small targeting computer online. Cooper was getting shells lined up to feed into the loading hopper when a flash of reflected light moved across his field of view repeatedly. He turned and saw a glint from atop a nearby building. He squinted and made out the form of one of the Karn snipers waving at him before he dropped back out of sight.

  “McCandless is up in that building, over there,” Cooper said and pointed.

  “Nice to have them looking out for us,” Hughes said. Her face was sweaty and covered in grime. Moving the concealment away from the big gun had been dirty, heavy work.

  “Yep. I have four high explosive rounds ready first. Do you want any armor piercing rounds?”

  “No just feed me the HE rounds until they’re gone. I don’t think we’re going to need any armor piercing. How long until the surface attack begins?”

  Cooper looked at his wrist. “We have about ten minutes.” He got the rest of the HE shells rolled into a neat line near the loading hopper. Hughes levered herself up into the gunner’s chair and ran the targeting computer through a diagnostic. The cannon rotated through several degrees of movement in all directions.

  “Looks like the artillery is ready,” Hughes said. “I have a good line of sight on the hatch. We’re on target.

  Cooper nodded and checked his chrono again. “Just a few seconds now.” He counted down and heard the booming roar of explosives toppling the short office tower a few blocks away.

  Hughes said, “Opening fire.” A shattering boom roared out from the cannon. A second or two later, Cooper saw a flash of light in the personnel hatch. A second shot rang out from the artillery cannon a few seconds later, and Cooper bent to get a pair of shells into the hopper.

  Cooper turned and looked where McCandless was watching over them from, but he couldn’t see the sniper. A third shot from the cannon turned his head back to the personnel hatch. A fire was burning fiercely inside the opening.

  The sharp crack of a sniper shot sounded behind Cooper. He turned and looked down the street. A single Woduur soldier was lying on the ground, blue blood fountaining from a jagged hole in its chest. Cooper quickly bent and loaded two more shells into the cannon. Another crack sounded, but Cooper couldn’t see where the sniper was firing.

  “Three more HE rounds,” Cooper said to Hughes. She glanced over her shoulder and nodded. The cannon boomed again, and Cooper loaded the last of the rounds. He turned to look back down the street just in time to see a blue flare arc up from the building where McCandless had set up overwatch. Cooper brought his gun around from his back and checked the load. He had a full magazine. He flipped the safety off and watched the street.

  Hughes dropped to the ground next to him and said, “All done. Let’s get moving.” She readied her rifle and then looked at Cooper expectantly. “Where to, Corporal?”

  “We have to head west to the surface attack.” Cooper could hear the faint sounds of gunfire in the distance. A red flare arced up from the short building. “We have to move. Now.” Cooper started to trot down the street. He ducked into a storefront

  Hughes followed him inside and ducked down behind a counter. He watched his suit sensors as a pair of Woduur soldiers moved past on the way to the artillery cannon. Once they were clear, Cooper led Hughes back outside and down the street. A quick jog brought them into range of the firefight. Cooper crouched at the edge of a crumbled building near the cleared area.

  A dozen Woduur were arrayed in the no-go zone. They were all firing into the collapsed building. Rapid fire from projectile weapons crackled all along the area and Woduur were quickly gunned down as they entered the cleared area around the inside of the ring.

  Hughes dropped into cover next to Cooper and nodded at him. “Let’s join the party,” she said.

  Cooper lined a Woduur up in his sights and triggered a short burst, causing the invader to drop where it was, its legs thrashing for a few seconds before it went still.

  Hughes fired next to him a few times, bringing down another of the Woduur. Cooper had another in his sights when there was a roar, accompanied by the ground lurching violently beneath his feet. Cooper caught his fall awkwardly and saw that Hughes had fallen as well.

  A huge plume of billowing smoke was blooming upward around a section of the ring nearby. As it cleared, a wide gap in the ring was visible. Jagged fragments of the hull were scattered around everywhere Cooper looked. A moment later, Cooper’s suit radio crackled to life. The circuit indicator showed it was the command net frequency.

  “All allied troops inside the Woduur ship are to coordinate with arriving support column at battlefield coordinates epsilon five niner.” As the smoke continued to clear, several APCs and other ground vehicles started to
push through the breach. Cooper heard himself whooping in excitement. The cavalry had arrived.

  Chapter 28

  Netupliktik lifted the king side knight carefully from the board and placed it close to Simmons’ queen. “Your king will fall, Marli,” he observed.

  Simmons suppressed a sigh. When she taught Netupliktik to play chess, she’d beaten him soundly for the first several games, but he’d quickly caught on and now she lost more games than she won. “You win. I’m almost sorry I taught you how to play.”

  The Etyrni assassin cocked his head at her and smiled disarmingly at her. “Why do you say that? Losing is the best way to learn.”

  “Oh, that makes it so much better. Thank you.”

  Netupliktik chuckled and said, “It’s far more entertaining than the game I had to play while trapped on that old station.” He lounged back against the small couch across the tiny wardroom table from her.

  “Well, it’s only another half a day until the ship is completely fixed.” Loki was in orbit around a planet about thirty light years from her first hop away from Netupliktik’s system. The asteroids were densely laced with rare mineral deposits, and there was a gas giant capable of producing fuel for the Loki.

  Simmons levered herself off of the small couch and moved towards the door. “I need you to pick a place for me to drop you off, Netty.”

  “Are you so eager to be rid of me?” he asked. “I may want to stay with you, help you on your quest.” Simmons’ conversation with Netupliktik over their chess games had focused largely on her reasons for being so far from home. Simmons had avoided filling the Etyrni in on exactly how she’d come to be in command of the small ship.

  “You can join me if you want, but I might be going away from where you want to go.” She started down the narrow passageway and up the ladder to the bridge.

  Netupliktik followed her up and said, “Show me where we’re going.”

  Simmons brought up a chart of the area. She had five more hops to the base she wanted to investigate. She tapped out a sequence of commands. “This is where I’m going.” A mark appeared on the chart, followed by a second mark. “This is where we’re at now. I can drop you virtually anywhere between here and there, so long as it’s a place friendly to outside ships coming and going.”

  Netupliktik studied the chart carefully for a few moments before turning and saying, “I’d like to be dropped off at the station in this system.” He pointed at the chart.

  Simmons zoomed in on the location and marked it out. “It’s two hops from here. I can have you there in about a day and a half.”

  Netupliktik’s eyes bulged. “I still cannot fathom how fast your ship is. This trip would take weeks on an Etyrni ship.”

  “It’s just how we do things,” Simmons explained. She tapped at the console next to the command chair. “All damage is nearly repaired. We can leave in about ten hours. I’m going to turn in and get some sleep. We’ll leave in the morning.”

  Netupliktik nodded and said, “I hope you will be successful in your endeavor.” The Etyrni took two long steps until he was looming over her. “I will miss your presence. So, few of my people are willing to spend time associating with someone of my profession.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slim metal card. It was engraved on both sides with lines of Etyrni text. “This will give you instructions on how to contact me, should you wish to.”

  Simmons reached up and took the metal card from Netupliktik. “I hope I can spend time with you again.” She smiled up at him as he looked deeply into her eyes. His gaze was almost hypnotic, and his physical presence was having a strong effect on her.

  “So do I,” he said. He turned and left the bridge, his light steps making almost no sound as he went to his quarters.

  Simmons sat for several long minutes stroking her fingers along the engraved surface of the card. She’d have to translate it for it to be of any use. The text was little more than organized gibberish to her eyes. She set the card down and put the bridge controls on security lockout. Moments later, she was lying in her bunk, staring at the ceiling and thinking about Netupliktik. Sleep came only reluctantly for her.

  The next morning, Loki was completely restored. All twenty-four drones were nestled in their launching bays at the bottom of the manufacturing ring, and her updated pinnace rested in the aft boat bay, ready for use. After a quick systems diagnostic, Loki formed a jump ring and headed towards Netupliktik’s destination. Simmons ran through the cooldown and maintenance routine after the hop and then settled in to wait for the system to be ready to make another transit.

  Netupliktik stayed in his quarters nearly the entire time, only coming out to eat. Simmons tried to engage him in conversation, but the assassin avoided it and deflected her efforts. His reaction confused her, but she pushed on with the second transit, arriving at the system where he’d selected to be dropped off. She pushed into the system and received a hail from the station orbiting the fifth planet. After a short exchange, she received a docking port to use.

  She keyed the general announcing circuit and said, Netupliktik, come up to the bridge. We’re approaching the station.”

  A moment later, Netupliktik walked into the bridge. He looked at the forward display and said, “You should send a signal asking for permission to dock.”

  “I already did. We’re headed to the coordinates they sent over. We should be there in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Our time runs short, then, Marli,” Netupliktik said.

  Simmons nodded and said, “I have a feeling we’ll meet again.”

  “I hope so.” The pair watched the slow progress as Loki approached the docking port. A shudder ran through the hull as it nudged against the Etyrni station.

  Netupliktik departed down the boarding tube, and Loki pushed away a few seconds later. She spun the small ship and headed to the edge of the system before making her next hop.

  Simmons sat, quietly contemplating her time with the Etyrni, while Loki moved out to the FTL transit point. The time passed slowly. Loki finally reached the transit point and made its next hop. Simmons passed the time while Loki cooled down its engines by combing through the information she’d captured from the first two bases.

  Nearly two days after Netupliktik left the ship, she arrived at her destination. The old base was a huge, sprawling affair that covered more than three square kilometers of the surface. There had been a large settlement adjacent to the base itself. Simmons locked the Loki into its most aggressive stealth routine and headed to the boat bay.

  Simmons got suited into her armor and loaded two weeks food and water into the storage compartment. After a power-up test, she stepped off of the rack to the airlock that led to her pinnace. She exited her armor in the pinnace and went to the cockpit to run the small craft through its startup and preflight procedure.

  A few minutes later, the pinnace lifted out of its docking cradle and exited the small boat bay. Simmons descended and brought the pinnace in on a high pass over the old human base. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and no power signatures were present. Simmons ran the active scanners over the area and found no life signs, either.

  The base was huge, and she wondered where she should start her search. There were two landing aprons inside the base. Simmons chose the smaller of the two. The pinnace landed gently on its skids. She ran the small craft through its shutdown routine and then enabled her new security protocol. No one was going to steal her ride again.

  She got her armor on and exited the ship. She turned and tapped out a complex sequence into the keypad next to the entrance. The ship locked itself down, and Simmons walked towards the crumbling building closest to the landing apron.

  The structure appeared to be made of concrete and some kind of brick, but it was badly degraded. Her suit sensors told her there was little chance of collapse, but parts of the interior were exposed to the elements. A simple hinged door faced the apron. It fell from its frame when Simmons attempted to open it. The resounding clatt
er from the falling door filled the air.

  Simmons checked her sensors again, but there were still no readable life signs or energy sources in the vicinity. She was alone. She pushed forward into the building and found the place in a state of profound disarray. There was furniture piled high in the room, haphazardly. The mound of chairs, tables, and desks had corroded into a mass of moldy, rusting and disintegrating materials.

  Simmons headed into the next room, and on the wall she found a faded and badly discolored map of the facility. Her suit sensors quickly copied and enhanced the image, creating an interactive map and overlay of her surroundings. The markings translated easily enough into her native language, and Simmons could now plot a course towards the research wing of the base.

  Her destination was about halfway across the base, near the center of the area. She picked up the pace and was soon jogging along the crumbling corridors and breezeways. Her armored boots pounded on the cracked walkways, raising puffs of dust and shattered building materials.

  A few minutes later, she stood in front of a building marked ‘Research Annex A.’ The building appeared to be in much better repair than most of those surrounding it. The materials used must be far less susceptible to the elements.

  The door was still solid in its frame when Simmons put her armored hand on it. The knob resisted twisting for a moment before it groaned and turned in her hand. The door swung inward on creaking hinges. The suit sensors immediately started feeding her new data. Parts of the building were shielded from the outside, and there were several active power sources within the building.