Johnny said, “We’ve got a grip. Jane and Jenny are moving over. As soon as they’re in I’ll follow.”
The Rogers circled, firing on a third cruiser that had come into her space.
Jane yelled out, “We’re in! Room is clear!”
Johnny replied, “On my way!”
Jordan Crawford followed: “We have access. Shuttle is empty. Moving into main hallway. Fire is heavy!”
Mace took a deep breath. “Take your time! We’ve got a handle on the ships from outside!”
Johnny said, “Resistance is light. Hold on… whoa Nellie! A dozen lasers just hit the wall behind us! Jane! Get them off me! We’re blocked up!”
Plasma explosions boomed over the comm, followed by the rapid fire of an AR-15. Screams could be heard as two assault parties charged forward on their respective ships. At almost the same moment, the blockades on both were cleared.
Johnny ran forward on a rampage: “Arrgghh! I’m coming for you fish-faced mutants! Get ready to eat my plasma!”
Jane yelled, “Stop, you idiot! This hall’s not clear!”
Johnny raced forward as Jane and Jenny dropped to the floor. Twenty seconds later he sprinted back, laser pulses pounding the walls and floor around him as he dove over the top of the girls and tumbled to a stop.
Jane and Jenny opened up with a barrage of precision shots on the half-dozen Karthians who rounded the far corner in front of them. The defenders down the side hall pulled back.
Jane stood. “Let’s move! They’re repositioning! Johnny, get your ape-butt off that floor!”
The three turned down the hall to the right, blasting each doorway as they approached. At the end of the hall, Jenny poked her head around for a view of the opposition. She pulled back just as the first laser pulse sizzled past, melting a six centimeter hole in the wall across from them.
“They’ve got some kind of bigger cannon sitting out in the middle of the hall. It has plating around the front and I’m guessing it might have a dampener field running. The front of that plate has four protrusions that look a lot like our field transducers.”
Johnny took several steps back to a door, pumping a plasma round into it and nearly sending Jane into a fit.
“Tell us what you’re doing next time, idiot!”
Johnny chuckled. “Sorry, just trying to find an alternate route.”
Jenny again stuck out her head, this time Jane pulling her back hard as the laser cannon melted another hole in the hallway wall. “Let’s not do that a third time, shall we.”
Jenny nodded. “I can live with that.”
Johnny poked his head out of the doorway he had just opened. “This way. Follow me.”
Mace’s eyes were in constant motion as he attempted to follow the two shuttle crews and at the same time fire on the fourth cruiser that had joined in the fight.
Fatso Geerok moved to Johnny’s console. “Mr. Mallot, pass me the control of the comms. Your expertise is needed on those sensors.”
Mace nodded as control was transferred. “Thank you, Mr. Geerok. Mr. Hobbs, keep us circling that first cruiser!”
“That I can do, sir!”
Johnny sent three heavy plasma pulses into the back wall of the room he had entered. A plasma cutter was then used to quickly cut through the metal wall.
A hard kick with his boot sent a mostly cutout plate buckling to the side. Johnny stepped through to the room on the other side. The feat was repeated on a new wall as Jenny watched the door behind them. A third wall turned out to be a bulkhead.
Johnny turned with a scowl. “How far down that hall was that cannon?”
Jenny said, “Twenty meters?”
Johnny cringed. “We’ve only moved fifteen.”
Jane said, “You hit that wall with a few plasma bolts and start cutting. I’ll keep them occupied. At a steep enough angle, I can have bullets bouncing off the walls. If you make your cut you’ll at least have an angle on them.”
Jenny nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think that cannon had much of a swivel on it. It looked to be more of a ground-based weapon than something you’d use on a ship.”
Jane said, “Jenny, you cover my back.”
Chatter from the AR-15 could be heard between plasma rounds impacting the side wall. Jane would poke the barrel around the corner at the bottom of the wall, fire off a half dozen rounds, pull it back and then move it up high for the same. Following her motions, laser pulses impacted the wall behind her.
Jenny turned to the door on the back wall of the hall. Using Johnny’s technique, she blasted and then cut a hole through to the room the laser cannon was impacting.
Jenny opened a comm. “Jane, pull back for a second. Johnny, tell me when you’re ready to kick through.”
Jane paused as Johnny replied, “I’m ready…”
Jenny said, “When you hear me firing, wait two seconds and kick down that wall!”
The chatter of an AR-15 could again be heard, followed by the loud metal clang of a wall plate coming free. The hallway twenty meters up erupted in laser and blaster fire as Johnny made his presence known.
“Cannon is clear!”
Jane raced around the corner, kneeling and firing three precision shots into Karthian soldiers who were occupied with Johnny. Jenny followed after, sprinting all the way up to the weapon. Hiding behind the shield plate of the cannon, Jenny cut down the four remaining, overwhelmed Karthian soldiers.
Mace let out a deep sigh as he turned to the other video feed.
Chapter 22
*
Jordan Crawford’s crew moved methodically along. Fire then cover, move forward, fire then cover. The constant moves kept the Karthian crew forever regrouping. Fifteen minutes after the engagement began, they reached the reactor room that powered the ship. One by one the four immense Karthian reactors were powered down. The plasma store quickly ran dry and the ship’s cannons went silent. A precise shot by Hans Mueller blew the nose of the vessel off. The Rogers efforts were quickly turned to a newly arriving ship.
Johnny, Jane, and Jenny continued their movement through the narrow Karthian halls toward the bridge.
Mace asked, “What kind of numbers are we seeing from the larger battle?”
Humphrey replied, “Fifteen ships lost to their forty-eight. But we’ve also lost eighteen of the microwave stations. Those seem to be a prime target.”
Mace shook his head. “We won’t survive those numbers.”
Johnny yelled over the comm. “Bridge at the end of this next hall!”
Jenny said, “We just passed a bulkhead. What say we cut through walls to there?”
Jane nodded. “Start cutting! Johnny and I will keep them occupied!”
Five room walls took Jenny minutes to blast and cut through. As the last wall cut was complete, Jenny stepped back through the previous cut and used two plasma rounds to blow the wall plate cutout from the center of the wall. The room was quickly filled with laser pulses as the crew and soldiers on the other side defended the bridge.
Johnny took the opportunity to charge. As he reached the end of the hall he dove, sliding on his belly as he sprayed the room with plasma. Jenny followed by kneeling at the hallway corner, handing out her brand of justice for the invaders’ prior genocides. In the chaos that ensued, Jane moved forward, delivering justice of her own. Seventeen seconds later, the bridge of the Karthian cruiser was silent.
Johnny said, “We have a cruiser. What should we do with her?”
Mace replied, “We just need it permanently disabled. Crawford and his crew took a different approach. They attacked the reactor room and shut down their systems.”
Johnny nodded. “Hmm. We passed that room a while back. Would have been easier than taking this bridge. Good to know for next time.”
Jane said, “Move over and cover the door. I’ll take this thing offline. Or at least make it dysfunctional. We can hit those reactors on our way back.”
Mace replied, “If you do, shut them down first. You don’t want one go
ing critical on you.”
Jane nodded. “Got it.”
The Rogers continued to circle as Jane and Jenny destroyed the bridge stations with countless plasma rounds. A rush back through the hallways was met with disjointed and chaotic attempts to stop their assault.
Once offline, the reactors took repeated plasma strikes before they were inoperative. With a jump across to the shuttle, the grappling clamps were released and the shuttle was on the way toward a new target. The Rogers’ cannons soon had the two assaulted cruisers exploding and breaking apart.
The shuttle assaults continued with six Karthian cruisers being taken out of the fight over a three hour period. Elsewhere, Jasper’s crews in the Collins ships had battled to a two to one kill advantage, while the Karthian focus remained on destroying the microwave stations. The cost in ships was high, but the odds of a victory continued to move in the Karthians’ favor.
Fatso Geerok turned to Mace. “Mr. Hardy, I know you didn’t ask, but I took the liberty to contact the Mawga. I’ve managed a conversation directly with the emperor. Would you be willing to offer assistance later should the Mawga want out of the agreement with the United Front?”
Mace fired off a wormhole, just missing an approaching cruiser. “Would I be willing to what?”
Geerok replied, “The emperor will send his fleet in support of our efforts here if you would be willing to assist with the negation of their recently-signed treaty with the UF. They are beginning to see the signs of what it means to be a second class citizen in that empire. He fears they are about to dismantle his armed forces anyway. All he asks is your commitment. He seems desperate.”
Mace nodded. “If he’s willing to send us help now, I’m willing to do all I can for the Mawga later. I can’t promise anything more than my support.”
Geerok spoke into the open comm channel, turning back toward Mace when the conversation was complete. “The emperor is sending his entire fleet. He commands two hundred eighty-four cruisers, a Muhatha, and four Dauntless. The larger ships he received in a trade with the Dellus before their demise.”
Mace asked, “When can he send them?”
“They are on their way now.”
A wormhole opened several minutes away from the battle scene. The Mawga fleet slipped through and formed up for an attack.
Mace opened a comm to the fleet admiral. “This is Mace Hardy. Use your ships to attack the left flank. Those ships are picking off our microwave stations. It’s critical that we keep those alive.”
The Mawga commander replied, “I’ve been asked to follow your lead, Mr. Hardy. I’m passing those orders along to our captains. And I will say I’ve misjudged you Humans from the beginning. When this is over, perhaps our peoples can become true allies.”
“Allies are good, Admiral. We, too, need all we can get.”
The Mawga cruisers were less than stellar performers when it came to the wide open battlefield, but what they lacked in strategy and tactics they made up for with determination. This was now their war. They were fighting for their emperor and would not be denied victory.
Shortly after the arrival of the Mawga forces, the tide of war began to turn against the Karthians. Their assaults on the microwave stations had claimed more than two hundred forty ships at the expense to the Targarians of one hundred thirty-four stations. For the first time in the fight, the allied fleet showed optimism.
Johnny came over the comm. “You can scratch cruiser number four. And hey, we almost took a critical hit while floating back to the shuttle. See if you can keep those ships off us during that time. I’d rather not get vaporized if possible.”
“Noted. Mr. Mueller, pay special attention to those shuttles when their crews are in transition. That’s when they are most vulnerable.”
Hans nodded as he fired off a burst, ripping apart the cruiser Johnny had just come from. “Will do.”
For the next hour that followed, with Mawga help the Karthian war effort was in peril. Word then came of the annihilation of the Tarnuks colony. The six hundred ships that had sowed the seeds of destruction were now opening wormholes for transit elsewhere.
Humphrey Mallot said, “We have incoming! The fleet from Tarnuks is joining the fight here! They’re targeting the Mawga ships!”
Twenty minutes passed before the evidence became clear. The Mawga ships were no match for the Karthians. Fifteen microwave stations had gone offline in the final five minutes of that short span.
Mace growled. “Crap, so much for any advantage. Mr. Collins? Any way to bring forward more of those stations?”
Jasper scowled. “Don’t see that we have a choice now. I’ll pull them all except those guarding Divinia and Croawla. I’ll divert all refugees to those two planets. That’ll give us another six hundred stations here.”
Mace nodded. “We’re gonna need them.”
As the new stations moved toward the fight, their microwave cannons began to have an impact. Then that impact was quickly taken away as another five hundred Karthian ships came through the rift and immediately jumped into the fight. The newest microwave stations were caught in the open without any support. Seventy of the Karthian cruisers that attacked were destroyed, but not before the ranks of the stations had been ravaged. The remaining Karthian ships joined in the ongoing fight.
In the span of the hour that followed, the two hundred ninety ship Mawga force had been reduced to forty-three ships. The orbital microwave stations only numbered in the tens.
The Karthians then enacted a new strategy. Transports loaded with soldiers, which had remained in reserve at the back of the Karthian fleet, flanked the battlefield and assaulted the planet directly.
The microwave stations on the ground focused their effort on the invaders, but those efforts were futile. The bulk of the ground-based stations went offline in less than an hour. It was soon apparent that Dethika had fallen.
Jasper came over the comm. “I’m pulling all forces back to Croawla. I advise you do the same.”
Mace sighed as he gave the order. “Johnny, leave that ship as it is. We’re pulling out. Mr. Crawford, bring the shuttle in. We’re done here.”
A comm was opened to the Mawga admiral. “Sir, we’re falling back to Croawla. I suggest you evac your ships as soon as possible. I’m sending over the coordinates.”
The admiral replied, “Horrifying beating we’ve taken today. I hope you’re able to justify this cost with your help for my people.”
Mace frowned. “If I remain alive when this is done, rest assured that I’ll do my best.”
The allied ships began to jump from the space surrounding Dethika. The shuttles docked and the Rogers quickly followed. As the ships reformed among the microwave stations at Croawla, a count was displayed on the main wall.
Humphrey said, “The Gorange are down to sixty-five ships. The Mawga thirty-eight. The Targarian fleet has one hundred twelve Collins and seventy-six cruisers. That puts us at two hundred ninety-one ships remaining, Mr. Hardy. Croawla has one hundred forty-two orbital stations and eighty-six ground stations.”
Mace frowned. “What was your last count for the Karthians?”
“In the neighborhood of fifteen hundred. And that massive station which hasn’t been involved in the fight.”
A comm opened from the Mawga admiral. “Mr. Hardy, given our losses, the emperor has ordered us home. Our ships will be dismantled and our armed forces civilianized. The emperor is releasing you from your commitment.”
Mace nodded. “I can only thank you for your sacrifices here today, Admiral. Tell the emperor I will honor my pledge. I can only hope I’ll live to repay my debt.”
The Mawga Muhatha opened a wormhole to Rhombia before following the thirty-seven other remaining ships out of Targarian space. Mace looked down at the deck as the wormhole closed behind them.
Johnny walked onto the bridge. “I just saw the totals. We’re getting our asses kicked.”
Mace shook his head. “We’re too outnumbered to be effective. Had Stark
committed his ships we might have been able to hold them off with a few hundred of those shuttle assaults. Good job, by the way. You, Jane and Jenny, and Crawford’s team took down ten cruisers between you.”
Johnny nodded. “I’m sure we have a couple dozen more in us if that’s what we’re called to do.”
Mace asked, “Mr. Collins, what kind of results did you see from your shuttle teams?”
Jasper scowled. “Of the two hundred thirty-six teams we started with, only seventy-seven remain. They took out a couple hundred Karthian ships. But those fights were too long and drawn out. Our remaining crews are pretty shot up as well. Our Collins ships did better. We lost seventy-eight and managed a hundred ninety kills. How’d you fare?”
Mace pushed the data across the comm. “We took down sixteen total. Somehow we managed to only lose two transducers. We’re replacing those now. I can’t help but to think Stark’s crews would have had similar numbers. At least their shuttle crews that is.”
Jasper returned and angry look. “I just hope I live long enough to punch that coward in the face. He’s just itching to see my people dead. The man has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.”
Mace propped his elbow on his armrest and his chin on his fist. “He does seem to come and go. Just when you think he’s on your side, he flips to the opposition. I can’t say I trust him, but if Earth’s gonna survive this, we’re gonna need him.”
Jasper threw up his hands. “No… we don’t. It’s the people who are fighting. Stark hasn’t lifted a finger. And if you think about it, almost every strategy he’s masterminded has been a flop. The man is rotten, and will never be anything but rotten.”
“I can’t really argue with you, but at this point I still think we need him. If anything, he’s a unifier.”
Jane came onto the bridge limping.
Mace asked, “What happened?”
Jane shook her head and laughed. “The ape ran me over.”
Johnny said, “I told you I was coming. Can’t help it if you can’t get out of the way.”
HADRON Chaos Page 21
