Crusade For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 2)

by Adrian D. Roberts

  The three-round burst, from Julianna’s rifle, caught him low on the right hip. He spun round to the floor and she shifted her aim to the two already on the floor. Both began to collect themselves and both died, highly accurate bursts from Troll and Barney killing them. With them out of the way, Julianna brought her rifle back to her first target. He had fallen behind a desk and she darted forward.

  Rounding the corner she found herself face to face with the barrel of his rifle. Time slowed. She could see the blue energy gather and fire out of the hole at the end. She couldn’t react or move. No one can dodge something heading towards them at the speed of light. She didn’t even have time to brace herself for the pain of impact. No one was more surprised than her as they streaked past her, millimetres from her helmet.

  The guard didn’t have time for a second, more accurate, burst. Julianna’s own Pulse rifle whined in tune with his and hers struck him squarely in the chest.

  A hand landed on her shoulder, jolting Julianna out of staring at the corpse in front of her.

  “Nice work,” Troll congratulated. “That is what I call ‘getting back in the game’. Grab the Stone Dragon by the teeth and rip its throat out.”

  “A what?” Julianna asked a little dazed.

  “Stone Dragon. Big monster. Lives up in the mountains on Blaze. You’ve never heard of it?”

  “No.” Julianna said as she shook her head. She felt much more in control than she had a few minutes ago. She knew she wasn’t over the deaths of her team, but for now she could put it to one side and deal with it later. “Come on, these rooms won’t clear themselves.”

  “Too right,” Troll agreed.

  ***

  “How are we doing, Lieutenant?” Valerie asked, sitting back on her haunches behind Button. He was also crouched down. They were all using what was left of the previous barricade for cover while they took a quick breather.

  Lieutenant Saito hunkered down next to her and deployed his holomap. “Sergeant Major Bickerstaff’s forces are at this point.” An area of the large central corridor flashed green on the display. “He reports two more Plasma Cannons and a Blaster set here in a hard defensive point, around this corner.” A second icon, this time in red, flashed. “He doesn’t have a way to get at them without exposing himself to heavy fire. Those walls are too strong to cut through and all the doors along it are sealed. We have two more barricades to go before we get to that hard point.”

  “What about the areas beyond the sealed doors?”

  “Fire teams are working their way through them, clearing as they go. Just as Briseis and team two are.”

  “What are they facing?”

  “Same as our people have. Pulse rifles, grenades and unpowered armour. Nothing fancy.”

  “How’s Guggenheim doing on the remotes?”

  “No luck there, Major. It’s too close an environment.” The combat drones, smaller than her finger, were perfect for use on a planet. They could hide a couple of klicks above the combat zone. Their stealth and camouflage systems made them impossible to spot. They could send back highly detailed, accurate information on the enemy positions. In the tight confines of a space station they were too easily seen. The guards may have not been front line soldiers, but they knew enough to shoot a drone.

  “We managed to get some snapshots,” the Lieutenant continued. “He’s sent what we have got to C&C. We’ll see if they can get more out of them.”

  “They’ve got the luxury of time and a comfy seat, so I bloody well hope they do.” Button commented.

  Valerie ignored that. “How are your energy reserves?” she asked the Lieutenant.

  “All five of us are around the thirty percent mark. I’ve ordered everyone to keep the Plasma and Blaster fire to a minimum.” Thirty was too low but couldn’t be helped. With only five of them running the assault of the rear half of the admin section, they had to rely more on the energy hungry heavy weapons. Standard Legion Army doctrine called for a withdrawal and rotation of front line troops, when they reached fifty percent. Commandos generally went as low as forty before worrying and Devils as far as thirty. It was their job to fight well outside of any support element.

  This time their support was non-existent. If their electron cells ran dry, FPB armour would only be good as an unmoveable shield and not a very good one. A lot of its defensive systems needed power to be properly effective.

  An electron cell generated power, and that was how almost all vehicles worked. That power generation was a slow steady process. The use of heavy weapons drained them faster than it was possible to regenerate. Electron cells could be recharged by an outside source. Due to the highly specialised and extremely expensive electron cell used in Devil armour, they could only be recharged using a system unique to that cell.

  It was built in to all of the officers Tea Chests, but were deemed too expensive for the troops. The Windsoar Helos used by the Company, had the capability of charging two suits of armour at a time, in a process taking half an hour. Valerie trusted Shannon thought of this and brought along a mass recharge system somehow. Even if she did, it couldn’t help them right now. There were three barricades left, the last certainly with heavy weapons. With no information on what the other two would be using against them, they needed to limit their own firepower. None of this made for a good scenario.

  “What about the rest of the Platoon?”

  “With thirteen of them, they‘ve been able to spread the load better and they haven’t been running as long as we have. They’re all hovering around the sixty-five percent mark.”

  “Thirteen?” Valerie said sharply. “Who did we lose?”

  “Mina Silongo and Bedrich Profeta.”

  It felt like a pit opening up inside of her and wanted to swallow her whole. Like all the members of the Company, Valerie personally vetted and recruited Mina and Bedrich. She’d met Mina’s parents and Bedrich’s sister. Now they had died to save her from this prison. The rage strained and fought against its box. It wanted out and she was inclined to let it. A part of her whispered it was not the guards fault, they were only doing their jobs, but her people were dead.

  “Button. Give me all your grenades.” Her voice was ice as the rage came free and bonded with her diamond hard control.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” there was no question from him, no quip or banter.

  “Major, what are you planning?” Lieutenant Saito did not have Button’s history with her. He didn’t know that now was not the time.

  “My job, Lieutenant,” she told him coldly, her helmets external speakers reproducing every nuance. “Everyone stay here.”

  Valerie ripped her yellow arm bands off and took the nine grenades from Button, six frags and three high explosive. A belt pouch took the high-ex and two of the frags. The rest she kept, two in each hand. Leaving her Pulse rifle behind, she lay down on the floor. Without a backward glance at those who came all this way to save her, she crawled out on her belly, through the remains of the barricade. Debris lay strewn all about, much of it was still hot from the Plasma cannons and she burrowed into it.

  “Major, you can’t go into there alone,” she heard the Lieutenant say.

  “Leave it, Lieutenant,” Button cautioned him. “She’s the Major and besides, it’s what she does best. Trust me. You should be feeling sorry for those guards, rather than her.”

  The next barricade was further along, slightly around a corner. Both sides were just out of sight of the other. Valerie edged her way through the debris scattered between them. Once she was a few metres out from Button and the rest, she eased herself up slightly and looked back. All were still hunkered down out of sight, with two remotes hiding near the ceiling. Turning, she was now far enough out to just about see the next barricade around the bend.

  About two dozen guards were set up behind it, all of their guns pointing this way. One of them must have spotted her and waved frantically for her to come closer. Dressed in the guards own armour, she looked the same as all of them, though she had th
e scuffs and marks of combat. Most of them almost shone in comparison. A couple were survivors of the fighting. She needed to make sure she stayed away from them in case they didn’t recognise her. The armour’s helmet could be set to a full black opaque or one-way mirror, but none of the guards she could see had done that.

  Carefully, she eased herself off the floor and staggered to her feet, making a show of being injured. In a stumbling run she approached the barrier. Several of them were now waving and encouraging her to get to what, they thought, was a point of safety. Getting to its base, she clambered up. Hands grabbed her, pulling her up and over. Valerie kept her face down, preventing anyone from seeing through her visor.

  At the top of the loose construction, she relaxed as though she was going to fall. The hands were still there and tried to hold her in place, and she struck. Lurching into motion at her full speed, she backhanded one of guards. The woman flew back with a startled cry. An elbow to the ribs took care of her second helper. Such was the force of the blow, he collapsed with what felt like some broken ribs, even through the armour. With the ease born from years of training and experience, she armed all four grenades still in the palm of her hands. Standing at the very top of the barrier, she scattered them around her and back flipped down the barrier.

  The guards were only just become aware the person they were helping was not one of them. The grenades detonated and the sharp pins, surrounding the powerful explosive in the centre fired out in all directions. On the opposite side, Valerie was safe, but the force of the blasts were so great, the makeshift barrier creaked and toppled towards her. She darted forwards and leaped over the falling debris.

  Guards were down and dazed all around and she didn’t have her rifle. Alpha team would have moved the moment they heard the explosions, but she didn’t have time for them to arrive. A guard was tucked into one corner, protected from the explosions and held a Plasma rifle in his hands. He had not reacted to Valerie. He was starting to aim that deadly rifle down the corridor, to where he must have presumed the attack was coming from.

  Landing squarely on her feet, Valerie grabbed a guard rolling on the ground, her body a bloody mess from the frag grenades. Holding onto her arm and leg, Valerie spun in a circle and launched the half dead guard at the Plasma rifle holder. The two crashed together and she charged towards them. The guard barely realised what hit him when her fist slammed into his throat. Always one of the weakest points on any armour, this was no different. She felt it flex and break under her fist.

  Spinning, she swept up the rifle. The power pack was secured to the guard’s waist. The rifles cord only just long enough for her to aim it at the men and women who survived her first attack. They were still disorientated and completely unaware when the blast of white hot energy swept through them.

  The Plasma needed vital seconds until it could fire again. It was time she did not have. Three guards were further back from the barricade, untouched by either her grenades or the Plasma. They were now responding. Valerie cast aside the Plasma and the barrels of their Pulse rifles swung towards her. Diving right, she sensed the Pulse bursts strike were she had been standing an instant before.

  Rolling to her feet, she knew she was out of options. The distance to the guards was too great. There was no cover she could use to protect herself while closing the distance. All she could hope for was a dodging run that might allow her within striking distance. Valerie ducked and darted to the left. More shots whined past her, closer than before. There was no hope of escaping her predicament. The armoured form of Chao Button came charging through, the remains of the barricade. Debris flew in all directions. The Pulse guns mounted on both of his wrists whined. All three guards dropped to the ground.

  The next barricade was in sight. The guards behind it saw everything and there was no time to waste.

  “Pop smoke and launch flash bangs!” Valerie ordered as she shut down all of her helmets external feeds, leaping in amongst the bodies of the guards he had killed. She trusted Button to comply with her order without question. All she could see was the solid black visor, but she heard the muffled thumps of the flash bang grenades through the deadening of her helmet.

  Flipping the helmet back to full visibility and audio, Valerie rolled to her feet. Grabbing a rifle in each hand from fallen guards, she charged through the dense smoke Button laid down in the corridor. The guards in the next barricade were fully alert and this would not work for the rest of Alpha fire team. Without their power-hungry stealth systems, their much larger armoured silhouettes would be obvious targets through the smoke. Smaller, faster and more agile, Valerie hoped she would be able to get there and destroy it without risking any more of her Company.

  The smoke was top of the line electrostatic field and thermal bloom generation, confusing any active sensors. Valerie was just as affected as the guards. Only her own eyes could show her the way. Pulse bursts came out of the smoke all around her. She glimpsed a roaring ball of Plasma go passed. Fortunately it was over a metre to her left and they would not get time for a second shot.

  The barricade loomed out of the smoke and Valerie took a running leap. In one bound she cleared its height, guns blazing. To the guards she must have seemed like a demon out of ancient legend bursting in amongst them. Her Pulse rifles fired with an almost impossible accuracy. Guard after guard died as she whirled about. Hastily they turned away from their posts to fight this superhuman threat.

  Valerie caught sight of the Plasma riflewoman, but couldn’t get a clear shot. She had been carefully positioned to give her the best cover possible. The woman turned and tried to line up Valerie in her sights. Guards were all around and Valerie continually made sure she kept them between her and the Plasma.

  Half the guards were down. Valerie closed the distance between herself and those left. All it would take would be a single shot to hit or clip her, as it had on Ison Island, and this would be over. Spinning, she shoulder charged a guard and sent him sprawling back onto the ground. Another was right beside him and she tried to bring her rifle to bear on Valerie. She was too close. Valerie avoided it easily and lashed her own rifle across the woman’s visor. She felt the rifle break, along with the woman’s helmet and hopefully her skull.

  The barricade began to topple backward towards Valerie and she leapt clear. Some of the guards followed her example, but most only turned in surprise at this new threat and were buried beneath it. This time it was the entire force of Alpha team. While Valerie distracting the guards, they ran up and hit the barrier as one. With their extra weight, momentum and the strength of their armour, pushed it right over.

  Using her remaining rifle, Valerie put several bursts into those who avoided the fallen barricade. Alpha teams powerful sensors, designed specifically to be unaffected by their own smoke, allowed them to pick out the surviving guards under the debris. With Pulse guns, metre long, extendable thermal blades or just simply by crushing them under foot, they took care of the rest.

  “All clear,” Lieutenant Saito reported.

  “Nicely done, Major.” Button congratulated her.

  Looking at the dead around her, Valerie didn’t feel much of anything. “I did what I had to do,” she told him coldly. To protect my family were the words she couldn’t say. “Let’s get a look at the last one, Lieutenant. We’ve used up all the surprise we’re going to get. They would have heard this lot and be ready for us.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Guggenheim, put one of the drones round the corner. They’ll be expecting it so go fast.”

  “Yes, sir,” the Private answered. The next barricade was situated in a kink in the corridor, both her team and Sergeant Major Bickerstaff’s force would need to go around a corner to attack it.

  “Put the take up on a holovid so I can see it,” Valerie told Guggenheim.

  “No problem, Ma’am.” He projected a screen out from his armour. It hung a metre in front of him and Valerie stepped over to watch. She saw herself and the others as the drone flew over their heads. Guggenheim sw
ept the drone around the corner at speed. Valerie thought the guards would have at least one person, if not two or three, whose job it was to watch for recon drones coming at them from behind. There was none of the expected Pulse bursts heading in the drones direction.

  The drones camera targeted the barrier and was rock steady, as it went through a pre-programed avoidance pattern. It took a moment for Valerie to register what she was seeing on the screen in front of her. The guards were all standing, or starting to stand after laying their guns on the floor, and raised their hands above their heads.

  “Lieutenant, put Bickerstaff on speaker,” she ordered.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” he answered and after a short delay he said. “Go ahead, Ma’am.”

  “Are you seeing the same thing I am, Gil?” she asked.

  “It’s good to hear from you, Major, and if you mean it looks like they’re surrendering then, yes,” he paused. “I’m going to link you into the command circuit. Major Forlani is back in C&C, with a whole mess of other people, and Hanna out in the Spectre.” There was another pause before he spoke again. “Major, Hanna. Lieutenant Saito has Major Carter on speaker. You can talk to her now.”

  “Valerie!” Hanna exclaimed. “You’re out!”

  “Not yet, Hanna,” Valerie gently admonished. “We’ve got a way to go. I take it you’re both seeing this?”

  “We are, Valerie,” Shannon answered. Valerie got a sense from her voice, she was going to be having a long conversation with her old friend. It was one that would have to wait and they both knew it. “We’re getting reports coming in of guards surrendering from all of the Rock’s Wings.”

  “They’ve also stopped their attempts to kick me out of the prison’s system,” Hanna reported. “It’s station wide.”