“Oh, yes. Is Admiral Jarvis there?”
“I’m here, Captain, what is it?”
“The Sergeant here has an important message for you. Permission to send a party over?”
Captain Tobler looked to the Admiral. “Send him over.”
“Understood, he will be with you shortly.”
The image slid to the side to return to the hulk of the War Barge and the increasing number of Confed ships moving into position around her. At first glance, the ship appeared lifeless, but the Crusader’s sensors were picking up hull vibrations. Every minute or so a short burst of gunfire would erupt from the hull towards the circling ships. It was light and sporadic but it did confirm the enemy still had control of some or all of the ships weapon systems. The main engines appeared heavily damaged but the manoeuvring thrusters were still functional and maintaining the vessel’s course towards the planet.
“What’s going on in there?” asked the Admiral.
“I’ve done a detailed scan of her hull. The best I can tell is most of the vibrations are coming from explosions and weapons fire on board.”
“There are only two people I know who can cause so much trouble, one of them is on the surface with the Vanguards.”
“Gun?” he asked.
“Of course. Who else would go against direct orders and cause so much noise and violence?”
She moved over to tactical display and gave a cursory look at the ship dispositions. There were now three main groups of ships. The largest group was in orbit around Euryale, this included some of the newly arrived reinforcements. Most of the warships were boarding the crippled enemy vessels following the main battle and the remaining ships were splitting off to deal with stragglers.
“How many ships have left the System?” she asked.
“The Leviathan, one damaged cruiser and four frigates. Everything else is either destroyed, boarded or crippled,” replied the tactical officer. “The Leviathan is still on the same course. If they don’t start their engines soon, they will be caught in the gravity well of Euryale.”
“Other than those on board, what is the downside?” asked the XO.
“At that distance, they will have a clear run on any transports and vessels still in orbit. They could also use their bombardment weapons against the colony. War Barges are the perfect platforms for that kind of work.”
“I want every capital ship able to move to take up positions around the Vengeance. One way or the other, they will not be entering the orbit of Euryale,” ordered the Admiral.
She turned to Lieutenant Nilsson. “Can you reach any of the crew of the Yorkdale? We need to know what is happening down there.”
“I’ll see what I can do, Admiral,” she replied, but at the same time kept pressing a series of button and keys. She was the most competent and experienced communications officer on the ship, possibly the Fleet. She turned quickly.
“I’m getting something faint, it looks like internal suit communications from personal armour. I’ll try and amplify it, give me a moment, I’ll put it on the main speakers.”
The crackle of suit communications was initially nothing but noise and spikes of volume. The expert hands of Lieutenant Nilsson quickly removed most of the distortion until a number of voices became clearer.
“Turn it up, Lieutenant.”
A random selection of words, most sounding like orders and shouting in the middle of a battle, poured from the speakers. Each of the officers listened intently, trying to understand what exactly was happening.
“Wait, I’ve locked onto one suit,” she said with triumphalism in her voice. Most of the static vanished to be replaced by the voice of man, his breathing heavy.
“Report in. Four dead, CiC still barricaded...Gun!...Gun!...What the hell!” there was more crackling followed by a series of screams and heavy gunfire.
Admiral Jarvis looked to Captain Tobler and started to speak but was cut off by more audio on the speakers.
“Gun is down, I repeat, Gun is down. We need to fall back, we can’t get inside the CiC!”
“Lieutenant, keep the channel open and record the stream, cut the speaker feed. Get me General Rivers.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Admiral Jarvis picked up the intercom and waited for the nod from Lieutenant Nilsson. It took a few seconds for the linked to be connected.
“Admiral,” came the familiar sound from the General.
“We are cleaning up the fleet in orbit. What is your status?”
“The spaceport is secure and my forces are pushing their way to the city. I have the landing platforms organised and the heavies are landing armour ready for a full frontal assault.”
“Excellent. How are your casualties?”
“The lead elements suffered badly. Anti-aircraft defences were more substantial than intel suggested. Since securing the landing zones we’ve had the upper hand. We have taken substantial prisoners, the rest are falling back to the city.”
“Any news on the city? Is it secured?”
“Yes. Captain Daniels reported in a few minutes ago. The Vanguards plus militia elements from the city have been digging in. I’ve sent reinforcements, as well as armour, to help but it’s down to whether they can clear a landing zone in time.”
“Who is doing that?”
“Spartan, he’s taken a unit of engineers to clear the site. They should be there by now.”
“Is there anything you need?”
“No, Admiral, just keep their forces off our backs and I think we’ll have this operation wrapped up in less than ten hours.”
“Excellent, keep in touch.”
“Admiral.”
She replaced the intercom handset and looked at the crew in the CiC. With the enemy ships destroyed or retreating, the urgency of the battle had vanished. With the War Barge still drifting, there was a palatable sense of fear. It was well justified. The War Barge would require the full weight of the Fleet to destroy her. Even then, the wreckage would continue to drift into orbit. The odds of the capital ship hitting the populated areas were slim, but it was a risk she wasn’t prepared to take.
“Send a signal to the Yorkdale and anybody you can reach on the Vengeance. They have twenty minutes. If they can’t move the ship then we’ll be forced to open fire.”
“Admiral. Captain Severus and the troops from the Yorkdale are still fighting on board her. If we turn our guns on the Vengeance, we could lose hundreds of warriors.”
“You think I don’t know that?” she replied with an irritable tone.
* * *
The first wave of assault shuttles swept down and disgorged their squads of marines. These were the kind of fighters Spartan had started with months before. Fast, agile and equipped with tough PDS armour and carry L48 rifles. They were the best the Confederacy had to offer and Spartan watched with pride as they fanned out around the landing zone in less than thirty seconds. The shuttles lifted off to make room for the first of the heavy Army Landers. Just one remained, probably the command shuttle that was positioned off to the right and out of the path of the following vessels. These much larger craft carried whole companies of Army units into battle, as well as armour and artillery. Less mobile and far less well trained, they were the hammer. The marines were the scalpel.
As the first of the massive vessels lowered itself onto the cleared landing zone, a great cloud of dust and debris was kicked up from the engines. It served to mask the arrival of Captain Hobbs, who appeared from the dust like an evil apparition.
“Spartan,” she said, ignoring his rank and position in the Vanguards.
He straightened himself, expecting to hear a tirade from her mouth. Before she could speak, the young Sergeant from the pathfinders stepped in front and saluted.
“Sir. The Vanguards have secured the site and we’ve mounted beacons along the perimeter, it is safe for the follow-up waves.”
“Excellent work, Sergeant,” she said but kept her gaze on Spartan.
Once the Sergean
t had left, she took a step closer to him. Spartan looked carefully, trying to assess what was going to happen.
“I take it you have heard the news about your Jötnar friends? As expected, they have gone against orders and got themselves stuck on board a derelict spacecraft that is heading for our transports in orbit.”
“I’m sure they are doing their best, as we all are.”
She looked angrily at him, her gaze still locked on his eyes.
“We have a chain of command for a reason. Allowing the Jötnar to serve alongside us was a mistake, and one we will soon see rectified!”
Spartan nearly choked, realising that Hobbs was referring to something he knew he didn’t want to hear.
“What do you mean?” he asked, bracing himself for her news.
The War Barge will be in amongst our ships soon. If she doesn’t change course in the next five minutes, the Fleet has orders to destroy it.”
“What?” demanded Spartan.
“What did you expect? The ship is risking the entire Fleet. As far as we know, the enemy is still under control of the ships weapon systems. If they get close enough, they can hit the transports mid drop. There could be thousands of casualties.”
“Rubbish. The Jötnar will secure the ship and get it away from the Fleet.”
“Can we even trust them? They will probably take control and use the guns anyway.”
Spartan was starting to shake, his temper just barely controllable. He was about to reply when Teresa and one of the Vanguards appeared to his right. Her armour was almost as smashed as his. Dents and burn marks ran along the limbs and he spotted over a dozen dents from small arms and cannon fire. She saluted to the Captain.
“Sir.”
She then turned to Spartan.
“Sir, I’ve just received a communication from Captain Daniels that he wants us to bring reinforcements back to the transport hub to help with the defence.”
Captain Hobbs cleared her voice loudly.
“Sergeant, I am the commanding officer here. Round up your Vanguards and help unload supplies. I will take the reinforcements to the frontline, you look like you could do with a break.”
“Captain!” barked Spartan.
She turned back to him and glared. “That isn’t a request, Lieutenant. You are in no shape to fight. Use the power loading equipment you are wearing and help with unloading the heavy gear. That is an order!”
She waited for a few seconds, expecting further argument from Spartan. Though he wanted to put his fist through her visor, he was well aware of her intentions. One obvious act of sedition and he’d be locked up and sent to the brig. He saluted lazily.
“Yes…Sir.”
Captain Hobbs turned away and moved to the assembled troops. She started giving them their orders. Teresa indicated for the rest of the Vanguards to join her and Spartan.
“How is Marcus?”
“Concussion and lacerations to the legs. He’s being loaded onto the shuttle to return to the Cruz,” answered Randle, one of the new recruits in the platoon.
“Teresa, I need to speak with Admiral Jarvis,” said Spartan as he looked around, trying to find a way of speaking with her.
“No chance. Hobbs can route a signal up through the Cruz and then on to the Crusader. No way, will she, though. Why do you need the Admiral, what’s the problem?”
“We have to stop the destruction of the War Barge. Gun and the rest of the Jötnar will be massacred.”
He continued speaking but the assault shuttle that Hobbs had arrived on was powering up its engines. The powerful turbines were fitted up high on rotating wing mounts and as the power plants revved the dust cloud increased in size. Spartan started walking towards it. Teresa chased alongside.
“Hey, what are you doing?” she shouted.
Spartan said nothing and simply marched up to the side-loading ramp where several stretchers were being taken inside. Spartan pushed past two of the crew and into the loading bay of the shuttle. Teresa stood outside and looked at him, confused.
“What?” she said, shaking her head.
“I’m going to get Gun,” he replied dispassionately.
“Gun? Are you joking? They’ll court martial you for this. Leaving your post in times of war and all that!”
“I don’t care. I’m talking hundreds, maybe thousands of lives here.”
Teresa stood silently, unsure what to say or do. The rest of the Vanguards had arrived and stood next to her, even less sure about what was happening than she was. She turned to them.
“Spartan and I are taking Sergeant Keller back to the Santa Cruz. Tell Captain Daniels we are going to get Gun.”
“Gun? The Jötnar?” asked Randle.
“Yes, Gun. Just pass it on. Good luck!” she said and then threw herself inside the section, alongside Spartan. The door slammed shut behind them and in less than thirty seconds the heavily armed assault shuttle was blasting off, leaving a ring of dust and three confused looking Vanguards in their wake. Spartan looked down at the bruised and battered shape of Marcus who was lying on the stretcher. He lifted himself up slightly, his vision and hearing obviously returning fast. He spotted the shape of Spartan, still inside his battered Vanguard armour. To the side of him was the equally rough looking Teresa.
“What in God’s balls are you two doing here?”
The two sat there looking at each other. Marcus shook his head and closed his eyes. The shuttle started to vibrate as the main engines fired. The boost of power was the first stage in its trip up into orbit and the waiting ships.
* * *
“Any sign of their engines powering up?” asked Admiral Jarvis.
Captain Tobler finished speaking with his immediate officers before looking back to her.
“No, Admiral, they are dead and drifting in the water. They will be close enough to start hitting the transports in less than fifteen minutes. How many are left in orbit?”
She looked at her tactical display and did a quick tally.
“Three Army transports. They are taking on wounded from the shuttles. The rest have pulled back, but most of the infantry transports and landing craft can’t break out of orbit. Only some of the marine shuttles have the power to break away. Those that can’t make the trip have already returned to the surface. The Santa Cruz has dropped back to provide cover for the rest of them.”
“We’ll have to start now if we are going to stop her. Even then it might not be enough, Admiral.”
She stood silently, hoping and praying news would arrive of a change but she knew deep down it wouldn’t. The badly damaged Yorkdale had broken away from the War Barge and was moving slowly out of the area. As they moved apart, a number of cannon shells blasted back and forth between the two ships. From the Crusader, it looked as though they were locked in some kind of private argument.
“Admiral, what are your orders?” asked Captain Tobler once more.
She waited just a few more seconds before making a final decision.
“Give them one last warning. They have sixty seconds to evacuate the ship or we reduced her to ashes. We can’t wait any longer!”
“Aye, Sir,” replied the Captain, pleased to finally have orders to act on but also feeling angry that he would have to fire on a potentially friendly ship.
Admiral Jarvis lifted the intercom unit.
“This is the Admiral. The Vengeance is showing no signs of movement and is still shooting back. You are hereby given fifty seconds notice of a fire order. Upon my command, all ships in range will target the Vengeance. Total destruction is paramount to avoid damage to the colony below. Standby for my signal.”
She lowered the intercom and checked her tactical screen, again looking for something she could use.
“Captain, I’m picking up a reading from near the Vengeance. A shuttle, one of the assault shuttles from CCS Santa Cruz is changing course and moving towards the War Barge.”
“What! Who is it?” he demanded.
“I have a signal from Lieuten
ant Spartan,” said Lieutenant Nilsson excitedly.
“Put him on the main screen!”
The image once more slid to the right to make space for a new video feed from the shuttle. It showed the crew section of the craft with a pilot at the controls and two Vanguard marines pointing their weapons at the man.
“Explain yourself, Lieutenant!” said the Captain.
“The Jötnar deserve better. I’m going to board the ship and do what I can to help.”
“Where is your unit?”
“On the surface, they are assisting in the city defence, Sir.”
“This is dereliction of duty, Lieutenant.”
“Call it what you like, Sir. I won’t leave them behind!”
The video feed cut off, leaving the image of the assault shuttle rushing towards the War Barge. As it moved closer, multiple streams of tracer fire blasted around it from the ship’s automated defence turrets. Several rounds struck the thick armour of the craft but nothing substantial enough to stop its progress. As quickly as it had arrived, it disappeared underneath the great ship’s hull.
“Where are they going?” demanded the Admiral.
“The shuttle bay on the underside, Sir. I’m receiving messages from the Fleet, they are awaiting your orders.”
Admiral Jarvis considered her options. Should she wait and give Spartan a chance or should she start shooting now? It was an unenviable decision to make.
“Admiral, two of their forward guns are tracking towards the transports, they are almost in position to fire.”
Lieutenant Nilsson called out. “Admiral! Status report from General Rivers. His forces have reached the city and have surrounded the last enemy forces. Most are surrendering, the last few are being hunted down by Vanguard units under Captain Daniels.”
“Excellent, pass on the message to the transports and see if he needs any aerial assets to assist him.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Admiral Jarvis looked down at her deck and the intercom. She couldn’t believe after all that had happened, with the ground battle almost over, that she would have to do this. She took a deep breath.
Star Crusades Uprising: The Second Trilogy Page 25
