Jethro: First to Fight

by Hechtl, Chris

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Stunned, the surviving Horathians fled, running for home. The warships attempted to screen the unarmed ships but now it was Firefly's turn.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “By Jove it worked!” Shelby quipped.

  “Don't act so surprised Watson,” the Captain said, smiling. She turned to the resident tac witch. “Good shooting guns,” she said simply.

  “We've got a good team Captain.”

  “Time to send in the Marines. Boarding action to commence shortly.”

  “I bet some people have been waiting a while to hear that,” The AI replied.

  The Captain smiled wolfishly. They'd lost a few Marines due to battle damage, but so far so good. “Yeah, well, they've still got a bit of a wait, we've got riffraff to clean up. But they'll get their turn once we've overhauled the freighters trying to run.”

  “It looks like our part is about over,” Shelby said. She sounded a bit relieved and disappointed at the same time.

  “No, but it will be soon enough. Let's get in there and tear them apart.”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  When Cutlass, their flagship was disabled, the enemy fleet fled into the darkness of space. The retreat started in ones, but then the others broke into a tide of retreating ships. The freighters led the way. Ramona limped along, quickly falling behind. She was one of the first to fall to Firefly's force beams and precise fire.

  Firefly took damage but overwhelmed the enemy during the stern chase. The smaller warships would normally have been able to outrace the larger ship but they had been built with civilian parts and all had taken some damage in the fighting.

  Firefly isolated the fleeing force, diving straight into their center and throwing herself into the now familiar corkscrew. The corkscrew threw off their aim, forcing their energy weapons to waste themselves on multiple shields, not one small sector to bore through. Firefly of course fired back, ripping their shields down with her force beams then following that up with precision fire.

  The attack maneuver broke the smaller ships into smaller and smaller groups. By focusing on one at a time and pounding it into splinters or until it couldn't fight back and then changing targets or pulling back they broke the route. The freighters that couldn't handle the speed fell into Firefly's engagement zone. A few shots sent them tumbling, dead in space, their engines torn apart.

  Since Firefly was a modern light cruiser fully restored she was more than a match for the remaining pirates. Having the ships come at her piecemeal made it easier as well, without their tactical datalink, hampered by computer and physical damage and running scared out of their minds, the pirates just made it easier to pick each off in turn.

  Firefly also had the advantage of a fully functional AI and the blueprints and computer codes of the enemy. One corvette cut her drive after a cyber attack hit home. Her engines sputtered and then died. She tumbled end over end, a dead ship.

  “What happened there?” Shelby asked, pointing to the ship.

  “She's dead. No need to worry about it.”

  “I, dead, can she come back?”

  “No. I killed her life support and her computer. She's a dead stick. Any surviving crew are left with their suit air,” Firefly said. That sent a shiver through the organic crew.

  “War is hell,” the Captain murmured.

  Firefly's AI waged a cyber war, debilitating the enemy ships and either scramming their reactors or at least cutting off their communications. The pirates cut off their own communications when they figured out what was going on, forcing them to fight as individuals furthering Firefly's advantages. Once the warships were crippled, Firefly recovered her fighters briefly, rearmed them, and then sent them out once more. Then they launched SAR shuttles to recover any pods or beacons. Two additional shuttles launched, each were Warhawks loaded with Marine boarding parties.

  The fighters raced ahead of the warship and struck, disabling freighters engines for the shuttles to overhaul with boarding parties.

  “Nasty business in all that. They tried to fight, couldn't. Tried to run, failed that. Felt sorry at the end,” Purple Thorn said smugly, tapping at her controls.

  “You are so mangling that quote,” Commander Logan said, shaking her head mournfully.

  “I am? I didn't know I was quoting.”

  “Yeah,” Captain Mayweather said. “Check your implants. Or I'll give you the original source material... after this is wrapped up.”

  The tiny elf shrugged and tapped at her controls. “I think it's about wrapped up now Captain. Two Corvettes running and are out of the fighter's engagement range. They are bingo for bullets and bombs anyway.”

  “I see.”

  Only two corvettes managed to eventually escape, both headed to the Triang jump point. They didn't have the legs to return to Horathian space so Mayweather wasn't too concerned about their escape. She planned on checking on Triang on the way back to Pyrax though.

  “Yes, it's about wrapped up. At least our part is. Now it's all in the hands of the Marines.”

  “Oh boy. Spirit of Space help us,” Janice quipped.

  “Now now, they are Marines. And they like shooting people and breaking things. This is right up their alley. Besides do you want to do it?” the Captain asked, indicating the tumbling wrecks on the other side of the view screen, and then the station beyond.

  Janice took a long minute to look. She winced when a frigate flared with an internal explosion. Gases vented, turning her into a brief cloud of tumbling debris. “Well, when you put it like that... no,” she drawled.

  “Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” the Captain said. “Besides, we've got our own work to do. Damage control, then paperwork. Gigs and gigs of paperwork,” the Captain said with a suffering sigh.

  “Sadist,” the XO said with a grin.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Overall it was a remarkable performance for the Federation Navy. Captain Mayweather her crew, and the Cobra fighters had done a bang up job, destroying one destroyer, disabling two other destroyers, killing eight frigates, disabled four more and capturing a dozen freighters of various sizes. Most of the gunships were expanding balls of wreckage all over the system. She had also been forced to kill a dozen corvettes and reduced two to air bleeding wrecks. Two more were adrift thanks to the AI's and cybers.

  Two corvettes had gotten away in the confusion. CIC reported they had changed course and had headed to the Triang jump point.

  The improvised factory ship Ramora was down, she had already signaled her surrender. The tanker had blown up, self destructed to prevent it's capture when fighters had disabled her engines according to their report. Two other freighters had been torn up, but the other seventeen had cut their engines and were quivering in fear, waiting for the Marines. It was a bit of a twist, pirate freighters being seized.

  All for the loss of two fighters, one damaged, twenty navy dead, another thirty seven injured, and a dozen Marine dead or wounded. But the Marine body count was about to get higher. Much higher indeed. “Their turn,” the Captain murmured, looking at the Horathian ships, then back to the image of the station.

  Chapter 35

  During the action the Marines tried to keep up with the damage control parties before being ordered to suit up. A dozen Marines had been killed in the fighting, there were just too many bodies and not enough places to cower when the ship started taking hits.

  All the Marines were in their skinnies, now they resupplied and then hit the armory. Less than a third of the Marines had powered combat armor though. They waited nervously in the boat bays and shuttles. Some were strapped to the outside of the shuttles, others like Jethro waited in out of the way places.

  A half squad of powered combat armor was assigned to each pirate boarding, they would act as the ready reserve. They hit each ship hard, hammering any resistance into splinters.

  The boarding parties assigned to take the pirate vessels rode in the navy pinnaces or Skyhawk or Warhawk cutters. Those t
hat were in a pinnace had cover from the boat, it unlike the cutters, had a laser turret.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  With the pirates routed from the station the two Marine Warhawks in Antigua orbit broke orbit and headed to the station. They would cover the station with Cobra 4 until Firefly returned.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Marines did heroic boarding actions on pirate ships and on station in full combat armor. They were followed by small groups of naval personnel designated to run the systems they captured.

  They found sullen Horathians and some surviving human slaves that had been press ganged into service. Several ships spaced their slaves or shot them before they were boarded. Those ships had the most incidents of 'accidental discharge of a firearm' and the least number of surviving Horathians.

  One freighter managed to scram her reactor just as the Warhawk docked and the Marines were boarding. The first warning the Marines had was the vessel's escape pods launching. The Ensign in charge wisely pulled his forces back.

  The shuttle picked up the nearest pod but they weren't sure what to do with it. Shortly after they picked the pod up the freighter's engines red lined and then exploded, ripping her fuel tank and rear hull apart. The damage was extensive, but it hadn't quite destroyed the ship. It had turned it into a drifting colander yes, kill anyone, no. Just the same, the jarheads were particularly glad to not be on that particular ship at the moment. The Ensign was promised enough beer to swim in.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Major Zimmer heard the reports in stunned disbelief. It couldn't be possible, it shouldn't be happening, and yet it was. Impotent rage filed him, rage he knew now his victims had felt when they had seen his men coming and could do nothing to stop them. Well, he could do something, he had the better part of seven hundred soldiers and tens of thousands of hostages!

  “They're coming for us now men, mark my words. That means we've got to get ready. Find defensible locations Captain Red, Bronty, get me a track on the ships and let me know when shuttles are incoming. Yang, I want a stopping force organized. They can't have many soldiers with them in that thing, that means numbers are on our side,” he growled. He was still a little shocked over the outcome of that so called battle. One ship, just one, had blown their fleet straight to hell and was barely scratched! He was bitter over the outcome, it wasn't fair! They had a fully operational Federation Warship!

  “Put a third of our heavies out front. Nast to lead. I want them stopped hard, but set up fall backs here and here,” he said, pointing to the image of the station. “I want teams set to get behind them. And hit any security systems you can, take them out.”

  He didn't know if it would be enough, he wasn't sure what would work, but he had to do something and pray someone would think of a way out of the crack they were in. Or they'd go down swinging.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Major Pendeckle tried to draw order from chaos, managing all the various actions all over the area while watching Valenko prep his assault team. He had wanted to go in with the bear and lead the charge but he reluctantly realized his place was here, in Firefly's CIC managing his far flung people. Hopefully they would get it sorted out soon, Valenko was going in with only one squad as back up. And he had the hardest job of all, which was why two thirds of their armor had been handed to the bear. Thirty suits of powered combat armor and another forty eight skin suited Marines against... the last report pegged the Horathian numbers around seven hundred.

  Talk about a target rich environment.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Firefly arrived and braked to match orbits with the station. Her two wayward shuttles and Hurt Locker's fighter recovered on the ship. Boat Bay crews rushed to refuel the shuttles and fighter.

  Hurt Locker popped her canopy but waved off the ladder. She took her helmet off and graciously accepted the drink a rating handed her. She smiled and took the MRE she had as well. “Damn, I can't believe I'm glad to eat one of these. It beats mush from my life support any day!” she said, happily digging in.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Just before they launched, Valenko held a last minute briefing as they topped off the charges on their suits. He worked through the various points they already knew, then topped that with what was new. “Everything is in your download, so I suggest you read it. We've got maps of the enemy, so pay attention. Log into the computer net and get an updated real time feed.”

  “I love that idea,” Fonz said, fist bumping Asazi.

  “Don't think it's all fun and games. It's not. It's not a shooting gallery either. If someone wants to surrender, let them. Disarm them carefully, mind IED's. But also be mindful of a trap. The Germans played that prank in WW2.”

  “Oh?”

  “They'd send a kid in uniform out to an American tank with his hands up. The crew would fixate on the kid and not see the antitank gun that was nearby until it was too late.”

  “Ah. So, I guess we can't shoot prisoners?”

  “No. We need the intel.”

  “Darn.”

  Valenko looked at Fonz but he could tell the human was only partially joking. He returned to his script. “We've just been warned of possible surviving Dilgarth too by the way, so watch yourselves.”

  “Oh lovely. Why the hell...”

  “Someone wanted the pirates to have a little fun. Apparently the natives had them on ice and decided to dust them off, thaw them out and then let them loose.”

  “Okay, now, that's just wrong. On so many levels.”

  “Yeah well, the Horathian's like killing aliens and Neo's so much, apparently someone on the station wanted to introduce them to someone who wanted them just as dead.”

  “Perfect.”

  “Hey, I'm all for that. Besides, we're in suits. They won't scratch my paint.”

  “Speak for yourself,” a Marine said, wearing a skin suit.”

  “Tough love,” Sergei said. He turned to Valenko. “So, um, Lieutenant, just for the record and all, are we going in our Recon role or Raider?”

  Valenko rolled his eyes. “Shut up Sergei,” he sighed in exasperation.

  “I'm just saying, I can never tell these days,” Sergei said, hefting his rifle on his hip.

  “Enough,” Valenko said, shaking his head. “Let's load em up and move em out people. We've got a date with some pirates and some people to rescue.”

  “Yeah, just remember, sometimes it sucks to be the hostage,” Fonz said.

  “You ready on your end?” Valenko asked, turning to Jethro, prepping his armor with a pair of navy techs. Jethro looked up and gave him a thumbs up.

  “Semper Fi then.”

  “See you inside,” Jethro said, saluting. The bear returned the salute and then boarded the shuttle. Jethro watched the hatch close.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Some of the pirates panicked over the radio when reports of Marines in full powered combat armor came through on their net. “We can't fight that!” One young terrorized pirate screamed, backing away.

  “As you were Private!” His noncom clubbed him back into position. The Private took one look at Sergeant Nasty Nast and stopped, eyes wide. “You will be more afraid of me than the enemy! You read me?”

  “Yes sir!”

  “Get back into position. The next man who moves I'll shoot them myself. We've got our orders, get ready to kick some pussy ass!” Nast snarled, voice harsh with hate. One look into his visor at his scared face and cold artificial eye was enough to get his men back in order. The enemy coming were a distant thing compared to the killer in their midst, just waiting for a chance to cut them down for cowardice.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Approaching the station, Valenko was making last minute preparations with the squads when the pilots called him forward. He grumbled and instead of trying to squeeze his bulk through the all too narrow hatch to the flight deck, he tapped his link.

  “What is it Ensign?”

  “Sir, I thought you'd like to know, we're
on final approach for a hard dock, but we're getting readings. We're also receiving signals from the station.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes sir, but this is time sensitive, we have less than two minutes to dock.”

  “Pull back on the throttle son, let me see what you have,” The bear said. He frowned as the copilot shunted the feed to him. He turned and pulled his crew into it.

  The first feed he looked at was the shuttle's sensors, the enemy was piled up along their intended lock on either side of the hull. That extended outward with a blocking force stationed to cut them off. That was expected. What wasn't expected was the numbers, at least fifty, nor that they would be hugging the hull.

  “And this is...” he opened the second link to see a series of camera feeds. Each quarter image was of pirates scrambling to deploy in the halls, some setting up make shift barricades of shipping containers and goods in various locations. “Who is sending this?” Valenko asked, suspicious.

  “The station. We're getting some talk as well. Chatter. Want to hear it?”

  Valenko looked at the time, he had less than a minute. He frowned. “No, but give me the link. No, I want you to unzip them. Both sides please.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Hell yes! You'll be doing half our work for us!” The bear growled.

  “Sure, take the easy way,” the Ensign said and then shrugged. “Two I'll take the port, you've got starboard. Hold off a click out and then hose em. Start with the lock and then move outward.”

  “Roger,” Two's pilot reported.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “Get ready. We're going to let their point pass us and enter the basket, then we'll hit them in the middle. When their point turns the blocking force will move in to nail the coffin shut,” Sergeant Nast said, smiling a nasty smile. On him it was downright scary, he had a scar running diagonally across the right side of his face and lip. Another set of scars had torn his right eye up, a crude camera prosthetic replaced the torn out eye. He'd tangled with a Neocat in his youth, she'd been protecting her young. He'd been having fun with her until she'd ripped his face up. Her fur hide now made for a nice warm rug in his latrine back home. He made certain to dribble a little piss on it every chance he got, despite his wife's disapproval.