A yellow light strobed as the Vella Gulf sent the warning signal. “Five seconds to lights out,” Calvin said over the low-power comms system.
The signal went red. “Lights out!” he commed.
He thought-clicked the power switch for the suit to ‘off’ and received a pop-up warning. ‘The conditions around you are hostile to Terran health and well-being. Are you SURE you want to turn off your suit?’
No, he wasn’t sure he wanted to turn off his suit, damn it. In fact, he definitely didn’t. Still, he had a mission to run, so he clicked on the ‘Yes’ button.
Everything went black, and the terrors started to rise in his mind. He forced himself to count as the questions rolled through his subconscious. 1…2…3...What if the suit doesn’t come back on again? 14…15…16…What if he missed the asteroid? How long could he survive? 27…28…29…Would they find him before his air ran out? With the shipyard’s defenses coming online, would they even be able to? 40…41…42…Holy shit! What if the suit didn’t come back on? He felt himself starting to hyperventilate as the timer in his mind reached 55, and he took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as he could.
60, and Calvin thought-clicked the suit back on. Relief flooded through his veins as the suit began its normal boot-up cycle. Something was wrong, he thought, starting to panic; it was taking too long. He looked between his legs and found he could now see the asteroid. It was growing.
Fast.
Far faster than he’d thought possible. The shuttle must have been going too fast when it let them off.
He was going to impact at high velocity, exiting life as a stain on an asteroid in another universe. The events that led to this predicament flashed before his eyes.
The suit icon in his head flashed green, signifying its operational status, and Calvin turned his thrusters to max. He locked the suit so the lower half wouldn’t bend and risked a glance down.
The asteroid was still growing too fast. He was going to die.
Shuttle Bay, Jotunn Ship Falcon, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022
Oleif Magnusson could barely contain himself as he waited for the Shaitans to arrive. Outwardly calm, the anticipation of battle surged through his veins, calling him to give in to the berserker madness.
But he couldn’t.
He had to play their game, at least for a little while longer. The Shaitan shuttle landed and the boarding ramp came down. The ambassador was the first one down the ramp, looking extremely happy to be back in Jotunn territory.
One of the godless Shaitans strolled down the ramp next, strutting as if it owned the Falcon and didn’t have a care in the world.
The creature sauntered over to where Magnusson was waiting. “Are you the Jotunn known as Magnusson?” it asked.
“I am Captain Magnusson,” the giant said through clenched teeth. “I’m sure it is lost on you that Jotunn is plural; Jotnar is the word for a single member of my race.”
“Whatever,” the creature said. “I’m the load master for the shuttle. The faster I can get your smelly ass up the ramp and into the shuttle, the faster I can get you back off again and begin the cleansing process. Come with me.”
Stiff-legged, Captain Magnusson followed the creature, amusing himself by thinking of all the ways he could kill the Shaitan.
“Up the ramp and to the left,” the creature said, pointing at the gangway.
Built for the Shaitans, the ramp was wide enough for Captain Magnusson to walk up. In order to get into the shuttle, though, he would have to go head-first and then sideways to negotiate the passageway to the cargo bay.
Captain Magnusson had no idea what kind of idiot designed the shuttle, but it was the dumbest layout of any ship he had ever seen. The ramp didn’t lead to the cargo bay, which would have made sense for loading and unloading; instead, it ended in a T-intersection with the passageway that ran the length of the ship. At the top of the ramp, he had to choose whether to turn left and crawl toward the cargo bay, where he was supposed to curl up for the trip to the Shaitan cruiser, or to turn right toward the cockpit. The Shaitan loadmaster had ordered him to go left.
He turned right, and listened to the loadmaster’s muffled yell as his security detachment killed it. On his hands and knees, Captain Magnusson crawled as fast as he could, hoping to arrive before the flight crew noticed something amiss.
The Jotnar felt the shuttle start to lift as he slid through the last turn and saw his targets in front of him—two Shaitans in harness systems. The beast on the right was closest, and seemed to be working a weapons system while the other was flying the tub. Captain Magnusson drew his knife and released the berserker rage, giving free reign to all of the hatred and indignation he had held back for the last two years.
When he came to his senses again, the cockpit was a slaughterhouse, with pieces of the cow-like beasts scattered everywhere; their blood coated the cockpit windows so thickly he couldn’t see through.
He shuddered as a wave of pain from his left arm threatened to overcome him. His left hand dangled awkwardly from an obviously broken wrist. He realized he was sitting on the port bulkhead and decided the injury must have come when the shuttle crashed, although he remembered neither of the events.
Shaitan Asteroid, Anti-GD 165 System, January 8, 2022
The asteroid filled Calvin’s horizon, and he knew he was dead. He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to watch.
“Hey, Lieutenant Commander Hobbs!” Night commed on a private channel. “Come back!”
Calvin opened his eyes. He was flying up and away from the asteroid. He killed his thrusters and flipped over to kill his momentum. “Thanks,” he commed, “I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to watch me go splat. I…uh…guess I didn’t.”
“Yeah, it was intimidating to see the asteroid come up so fast, but we had it timed pretty well. For almost everyone, anyway.”
“Almost everyone?”
“Yeah. Phil went splat. Corporal Rozhkov is missing. She must have missed the asteroid; I can’t reach her on the low power comms.”
Damn it. Calvin shook his head. Corporal Irina Rozhkov was one of the original members of the platoon. The damn war with the Shaitans had better end soon before they were all gone.
“How far are we from the door?” Calvin asked as he touched down on the asteroid. Although there was some attraction, the tiny body didn’t have enough gravity to hold him firmly. They would have to use their suits’ propulsion systems to move around.
“Not far. Half a mile, tops. The shuttle crew did an excellent job getting us in close.”
Except for Rozhkov.
Calvin switched to the common frequency. “All right, Captain Train, let’s get them organized and headed toward the doorway. It’s time for some payback.”
“You got it, sir!” Night began issuing orders.
It was unlike any force Calvin had ever led. Nine Terran troopers, a Kuji, five Ssselipsssiss and an Aesir, led by four Terran officers. Nearly all of them had tridents. They weren’t coming to capture or take prisoners; they were only there to blow shit up. And the faster they could do it, the better. Even a couple of the Ssselipsssiss had tridents. Calvin shook his head as the force moved out. For any of the Shaitans on the asteroid, the angels of death had arrived.
Bridge, Jotunn Ship Falcon, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022
“Get me the Shaitan ship,” bellowed Captain Magnusson as he strode onto the bridge. “On screen.”
Within a few moments the screen lit up to show a Shaitan wearing a blue sash covered in silvery emblems. “I am Captain Zelotai of the Shaitan ship Megalos. What seems to be the problem?”
“This!” Captain Magnusson roared, holding up his damaged wrist. “Your incompetent shuttle pilot crashed the shuttle in our shuttle bay. I was almost killed!”
“What did you do to cause the crash?”
“What did I do? Nothing! I was wound up like a ball in the back of your stupid shuttle, and he crashed it. Now I am going to have to seek medical atten
tion before my audience with your high lord.”
“You do not have time. When the high lord wants someone, he wants them now! You must come at once; we cannot keep him waiting.”
“I will have my ship approach yours,” Captain Magnusson said. “When I am healed, I will shuttle over to your ship in one of my shuttles. I no longer trust your shuttles or your pilots.”
“That is fine, however, it is in your own best interest to hurry. Trust me, you do not want to be late to a meeting with the high lord.”
“I am on my way. Falcon out.”
The connection terminated and Captain Magnusson began laughing. “Never fear,” he said; “I will get as close to you as I can. Within laser range, at the very least.” He laughed again. “Helmsman, close on the Megalos and bring us broadside.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Shaitan Asteroid, Anti-GD 165 System, January 8, 2022
“There be the door, mon,” Witch commed from the point. “But it not be open.”
Night and Lieutenant O’Leary approached the doors. Two blast doors sealed the entrance into the asteroid, joining in the middle. The hinges were on the interior of the structure, leaving little means of access for the Terrans.
“Everyone back,” Lieutenant O’Leary ordered. “I’ve got just the thing.” He jetted to the side of one of the blast doors and pulled several breaching charges from his pack.
“You’ll all want to be behind something heavy,” he said a minute later as he backed away from the doors. He turned and flew over to a rock outcropping. “Knock, knock!”
He activated the initiators, and the troops could feel the detonations through the rock. O’Leary leaned around the outcropping in time to see one of the doors go spinning off into space.
“Let’s go!” he ordered as he shot toward the opening.
He reached the doorway and grabbed onto the remaining door for leverage before jamming the head of his trident into the opening and firing five rounds into the passageway beyond. He waited for the vibrations to cease and threw the trident back over his shoulder.
“Follow me!” he commed as he dove headfirst into the hole.
Bridge, Jotunn Ship Falcon, GD 165 System, January 8, 2022
“Captain Magnusson, we can wait no longer,” Captain Zelotai said. “If you do not come now, you will be late, and it will not be on my head. If you are not on your way within the next three minutes, I will be forced to return to my universe and let the high lord know you have chosen to disregard his invitation.”
“I have been down to our medical department, and I am now well enough to travel,” Captain Magnusson said. “Please stand by just a little longer; I will be able to launch within moments.”
“Two minutes. Then I leave.” The screen went dead.
“Demanding, isn’t he?” Captain Magnusson asked. “I don’t think we should keep the little corpse molester waiting any longer. I want all weapons targeted on the engineering section of the Megalos. We need to keep it from jumping back to their home planet and alerting any other ships there. Stand by…fire!”
Lasers reached across the intervening distance to poke holes in the smaller ship, and a full broadside of missiles launched in what was surely overkill for the Shaitan cruiser. A second round of laser strikes melted holes well into the interior of the Shaitan vessel.
“Missiles in 10 seconds,” the missile technician called.
“Good,” Captain Magnusson said. “That ought to be enough to finish the little bastard.”
“Missile will hit in three…two…”
The Shaitan cruiser disappeared as it jumped to the other universe.
Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-GD 165 System, January 8, 2022
“Contact!” the DSO called. “A Shaitan cruiser just appeared in the vicinity of the planet.”
“I see it, as well,” Steropes replied. “My sensors show it to be the same ship that jumped to our universe a little while ago, but it has sustained serious damage. Laser strikes have breached its hull in a number of places.”
“It’s a long shot, and it would have to be with one of the disintegrator missiles,” the OSO said, “but it’s still within range, and I think I could hit it. Want me to finish it off?”
“No,” Captain Sheppard replied; “I’m not ready to give away our presence yet, nor do I want to waste any of the missiles we’ve modified for the shipyard. That has to remain our primary target. The Jotunn will just have to deal with it if it jumps back to our universe again.”
Shaitan Asteroid, Anti-GD 165 System, January 8, 2022
“Fuck,” Lieutenant O’Leary said, looking at the blank wall. The passageway ended with what looked like an airlock door that slid across the entire tunnel, sealing it. “There’s a door at the end of the tunnel,” he commed. “It’s going to be nearly impossible to blow.”
“What do you recommend?” Calvin replied.
“Finding another way in would be good.”
“Not only do we not have time, Intel couldn’t find another way in. If you can’t get through that door, we’re screwed. There’s no way the shuttle can get in to get us until the energy screen is down.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that.” O’Leary studied the door again. There was no way to tell how far the panel slid into the wall, but it probably went far enough that warping the door enough to get the end of the panel to pull free wasn’t going to be an option. “Our best bet would be to cut through it with a laser, but that’s going to take a while.”
“How long?”
“Best guess? With everything working optimally? Several hours. And it’s going to get really hot in this confined area. Probably too hot for our suits.”
“That’s not going to work. They already know we’re here, and every minute we’re here makes it more likely that a defensive force will respond. We’ve got to do it, and do it quickly. Why can’t you just blow it?”
“Because the amount of force I’d have to use to blow the door would probably fracture the asteroid. I have no idea where the fault lines are, but all of us are probably going to go spinning off into space somewhere, and I still may not even make it through the door. Also, this looks like an airlock door. There is probably another one on the other side that is equally strong. If I don’t destroy the asteroid with the first explosion, I may weaken it enough that a second detonation will.”
“Okay, I understand that, but I still haven’t heard anything that resembles another option.”
Lieutenant O’Leary shook his head. They were screwed. “There isn’t another option.”
“What about the grenades? Wouldn’t the gold and silver eat through the door?”
“Maybe, but I doubt there’s enough gold and silver to break through both doors unless we disassembled them and concentrated the metal into a single slug of it.”
“Can you do that?”
“Disassemble the grenades? Yes. In this universe? No fucking way. Sir. It would go off in my hand. No sir, using the metal in the grenades would be awesome, but there’s no way I can jury rig it to work with the materials and time I have available. There’s just no way.”
“Then set it up to blow. Use one of the tridents if you have to, but get that damn door open, and do it now. Maybe we’ll get lucky and break the force projector while we’re at it. Everyone else, give him room to work and be ready to get the hell out of the tunnel once he’s done.”
“Yes sir. It won’t take but a moment.” O’Leary opened his pack, but he knew he didn’t have anything in it that would breach the door. The only option he had that would generate enough force to destroy the door was to set one of the tridents to self-destruct, but that basically meant setting off a nuclear bomb while he was in close proximity to it, something his demolitions instructors had always said was a ‘bad thing.’ Although funny at the time, it wasn’t quite so hilarious now that he was actively contemplating it.
But it was their only option. All the rest of the explosives he had wouldn’t take out the door.
The only bright side was that the energy screen projector would probably be destroyed along with the rest of the asteroid and 13 Terrans, a Kuji, five Ssselipsssiss and an Aesir still on the damned rock. It had been a good ride, the last three years. His mom had always said he’d never amount to anything, but now here he was, light years from home, blowing himself up to save the human race. 20 beings were about to be sacrificed so all four of their races could have a chance at life. It sucked to be a member of the 20, but it wasn’t a bad swap when you looked at it that way.
“I’m done,” he commed, setting the trident self-destruct sequence to three minutes. “Everyone get the hell out!”
The trident buzzed angrily to get his attention. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ the display read.
Having already made up his mind, he selected ‘Yes’ and set the trident next to the blast door. With a sigh, he turned and began jetting up the passageway. Not that it would matter. He’d be just as dead if he sat next to the trident, but this way he’d have a few more milliseconds of life. And you never knew; stranger things had happened.
Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-GD 165 System, January 8, 2022
“All the Shaitan vessels from the stargate just appeared in this universe,” Steropes noted. “They appear to be heading toward the cruiser; the Falcon must be nearby in our universe.”
“That’s going to make things interesting,” the DSO said. “We’ll have a total of two battleships, three cruisers and two destroyers in missile range shortly; as soon as we drop stealth to fire at the shipyard, they’re going to be on top of us.” Under his breath he added, “This is going to suck.”
“Man up the fighters,” Captain Sheppard ordered. “I still don’t want to use them in this universe if they aren’t needed…but we’re going to need them soon, one way or the other.”
The Dark Star War (Codex Regius Book 3) Page 29
