“Then don’t fire unless you’re sure.”
“Aye, Captain.”
The two continued to survey the area. Vehicles were coming and going all around them. Irons waved off civilian cars that kept up along side the Jeep, their drivers hoping to find out what a gun mounted military vehicle was guarding.
A flash appeared from in front of the APC.
“Contact front!” Lindsay yelled. She took aim and noticed another woman sitting next to Syracuse.
“Hold fire!” the Commander shouted.
“Naura.” Sitasha sat perfectly still.
“You should rejoin us, Sitasha. Haddron has such plans. You won’t want to be here when they see fruition.”
“I know of his plans. It is why I left.”
Syracuse and Hannah sat stock still while Lindsay continued to aim at the new addition.
“Brooks!” Irons yelled. “What’s going on up there?”
“It’s not Haddron, sir. It’s some Nordic woman.”
Naura turned to look at Lindsay as she spoke to her fellow Nordic. “This is truly your wish, Sitasha?”
“I wish for Haddron to let go of his vengeance.”
Naura didn’t even look back at her former crew member. “A pity,” she said, sounding truly sorrowfull before teleporting away.
“What was that all about?” Syracuse asked.
“Prepare yourselves,” was the only reply Sitasha gave.
A flash went off behind Irons. He spun around to see Jammin sitting on the edge of the Jeep.
“You ain’t Haddron.”
Jammin bit off a hangnail from one of his fingers. “No, I’m not. And I don’t need a human reminding me of that.” He stood and took a swing at Irons, catching the Captain off guard.
The Iron Albatross managed to lean back before the blow connected. He recovered and took a swing of his own but Jammin had already vanished.
“Irons!” Roy shouted. “Who was that?”
“Not Haddron. Looks like he got his crew.”
“Up ahead!” Roy pointed toward the roof of the APC.
Lindsay was already in a fist fight with another Nordic. Elit took swipes at her exposed upper half. Lindsay had a hard time dodging the strikes in the small space of the shutter opening.
She blocked the last swing with her rifle and twisted the gun to get a solid hit on on the side of Elit’s head.
“You’ll pay for that, human.” Elit teleported out.
“Durham!” Lindsay shouted.
Taylor Lee Durham squeezed into the opening, standing back to back with Lindsay. “I got your back. No pun intended.”
Gun shots fired from Roy’s gun, flying toward another flash of light. The bullets only struck the walls of the tunnel.
“Civilians, Allen!” Irons shouted.
“What else am I supposed to do?”
“Just drive!”
Roy pulled the Jeep to the rear right of the APC to keep guard of its side and rear. Lindsay fired off shots at the ceiling before another bright flash transported whoever she was shooting at out of her line of fire.
“Gonna run outta bullets or hit a civilian before we draw a line on one of these Nordics,” Irons muttered.
“Privates!” Benjamin yelled up from inside the APC. “What’s going on?”
“Haddron’s team, sir!” Lindsay shouted, keeping her head on a swivel. “They’re teleporting in and out. We can’t get a bead on them.”
“I didn’t think it would be this soon.” Mona twisted her fingers together.
“Try to stay calm, Admiral. The Iron Albatross is on it,” Benjamin said in his most reassuring voice.
“Damn Nordics!” Irons’s muffled yell came through the Neural Transmitter.
“Maybe not without some difficulty..” Benjamin corrected his initial statement.
Mona glared at him.
“Hit and running bunch of—”
“Maybe you’d like it if we stayed in one place,” Elit said from the hood of the Jeep.
Roy shoved the windshield down and he and the guard in the passenger seat fired off pistol rounds at the Nordic. Elit didn’t even bother to teleport out of the way. He just dodged and danced on the hood as if the whole thing really was a game.
The bullets bounced off of the APC, flying into the tunnel walls and even shattering windows of nearby civilian vehicles.
Irons took his eyes off Elit just long enough to glance at the civilians. The quick scan revealed no injuries.
“Hold your fire!” Irons barked.
“Indeed.” Elit crouched down on the hood and stared dead at Roy. He took out his knife and waved it back and forth. “Hold your fire. It makes things so much easier.
A single shot hit Elit’s knife. The blade spun forward and stabbed into the back rest between Roy and the guard.
Elit turned around to see Durham sighting down on him. “Good shot, human.” He turned back around and looked up at Irons who only snarled. “But can he hit this?”
Elit launched himself off the hood and flipped backwards. Durham fired up at the flipping Nordic. Pieces of stone from the tunnel chipped off and rained down on the cars below. Durham continued to fire and miss as Elit finally reached the apex of his leap, right over the APC’s hatch.
He threw another knife down and teleported away. The knife zipped right past Durham and Lindsay only to land in the seat next to Benjamin’s knee.
“Get back!” Durham yelled down in the APC.
Benjamin and Mona pressed themselves into the APC and away from the hatch as much as they could.
Lindsay tried to get a clear shot on Jammin as he and Syracuse threw punches at one another from seated positions inside the back of the front transport truck.
“Why do you defend her so vehemently?” Haddron asked. He had appearred seated on the tailgate of the Jeep.
Irons turned and took a fighting stance. Haddron observed it and considered the possibility for a moment. He smiled.
“You are a war hero, James Irons. I know much about you.”
“And you’re a traitor. That’s all I need to know.”
“Innocent or guilty, does my time spent imprisoned not absolve me?”
“You attack my team? Threaten my planet? And come after my..?” Irons trailed off.
“Your what?” Haddron asked with great interest.
“The only shot you got is to leave Earth and never come back.”
“How honorable of you. Then this will be interesting.” Haddron stood. His attention turned to the opening of the tunnel. Space cruisers sat just beyond it, docked in the water of the Earth Fleet port. He smiled as if an idea had formed. His eyes shifted back to Irons. “Very well, Iron Albatross. We will wait until you are on more stable ground.”
Irons only glared at Haddron. He knew getting a solid hit was going to be impossible as long as Haddron could come and go as he pleased. He just kept his eyes on the Nordic.
The stare told Haddron a little more about who he was dealing with. Captain James Irons was every bit the man he’d heard about. And even though he and his team had the upper hand, Haddron knew, instinctively, this was not a man to take lightly. And while Haddron was confident in his own abilities, he knew to give Irons his due respect.
“Though it will still be feeble work on your part.” Haddron pressed the lens on this teleporter and vanished.
Irons took note of the rear and saw nothing. He faced the front. “Durham, what’s happening on the other side?”
“All clear, Boss!”
“Mona?”
“She’s still with me, Captain,” Benjamin’s voice came over the Neural Transmitter. “I see we’re nearly at the docks. We’ll get the Admiral secure aboard the Star Predator. We’ll formulate a better plan from there. I’m sure the Admiral has some trick aboard her ship.”
“You would know, Stevens. You built the thing..”
* * *
The small convoy parked directly in front of the Earth Fleet port station. Two troop tran
sport trucks pulled up on the other side of them and two groups of more Wartech security guards jumped out from the back of them, taking up positions around the convoy.
Benjamin watched until the men were in formation before opening the door to the APC. Durham exited the vehicle first while Lindsay hopped down from the roof. Benjamin got out with Mona close behind.
“All these fire arms and you didn’t have them with the convoy?” Irons ran up to the APC.
“We didn’t want to alarm the general public,” Benjamin explained.
“Well, I’m sure they’re alarmed now,” Syracuse said.
“That’s a good point, Commander.” Benjamin took one look at the Star Predator. As a priority Fleet ship, it had been repaired quickly after the last Catter attack. “I suppose a little damage control is in order. Admiral, how fast can you set up a press room on your ship?”
Mona took out her phone and dialed.
“Ok, while we’re working on that, I want all Wartech Security on the Admiral’s ship. No blind spots.”
“My team will assist.” Irons started for the ship.
“Not this detail, Captain.”
“Excuse me?”
“We need the Lucky Liberty out there.” Benjamin pointed skyward. “If Haddron shows up with the Slagschip in-planet, the destruction will be more catastrophic than a team of Catter tanks.”
“It’s that powerful sir,” Hannah warned.
“I’ve seen the specs on this thing, Albatross. It’s at least as bad as Stevens is saying,” Syracuse added.
“So what are we supposed to do?”
“You’ll run offense with Captain Allen on his ship.”
“We’ve already got you set up, Captain.” Roy pointed to his ship, the USS Drastic Nova.
Irons looked at the Wartech designed ship. It was the first time he’d seen it since it assisted in their last battle with the Ka’traxis Brood on Jupiter. He turned back to Stevens, ready to protest.
“I understand your hesitation, Captain. But trust me, this is for the best. We need to keep Haddron’s ship out there.” He pointed skyward again. “The best way to do that is to meet him there. The best team to do that is all of you. The Admiral will be safe with my security force on her own ship. Worst case scenario, the Star Predator flies off planet. Either way, nothing bad is going to happen to her.”
Irons looked at Mona, hopeful she would override Benjamin’s suggestion.
“You have your orders, Captain.” Her voice held some reluctance. “Wartech Security is perfectly capable of handling the situation should one arise.”
“I hope you are correct,” Sitasha’s voice was full of doubt. “No matter, I will help in any way I can.”
“Good. You go with her.” Irons pointed at Mona. “You know Haddron better than anyone. You may be the best shot at preventing him from succeeding.”
“Of course.”
“Well, saddle up, everyone,” Irons said to his crew. “Let’s see what Allen’s ship is all about.
* * *
The interior of the USS Drastic Nova was far more advanced than that of the Lucky Liberty.
“You’re looking at a state of the art battle cruiser, ladies and gentlemen.” Roy Allen was full of pride as he walked Irons and his crew through the ship. “Nearly everything is automated just like the modifications your ship had. Ours are a little faster since they’re hardwired but, semantics.” He feigned modesty. “The anti-gravity drive is—”
“What about the Inertia Nullifier?” Hannah was completely enthralled by the ship and its workings.
“Well, Specialist Xuyen, I won’t claim to understand the science behind it but I can say that it works.” Roy smiled at Hannah Xuyen.
Irons scoffed.
Roy’s attitude had shifted back so easily to cockiness, he didn’t even consider the problem with not knowing the basic tech behind what made his ship run. It wasn’t a good trait for a ship Captain where Irons was concerned.
The bridge doors opened and Roy stepped through.
“Captain on—“ A woman cut herself off upon notice of Irons and his crew behind Roy. “Captains on deck!” the woman said even louder.
“At ease,” Roy told those on the bridge. “Captain Irons, I’d like to introduce you to my crew. We’re small but, like you and yours, we get the job done.”
Irons watched the Drastic Nova crew. The four of them were having trouble stifling their smiles.
“Settle down, everyone.” Roy smiled, too. “Sorry, they’re not used to having celebrities on board. You should have seen them when we fought the Flagship. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone smile so much during combat.”
“Cuz you ain’t seen enough combat.” Irons looked over Roy’s crew.
“In the spirit of camaraderie, I’ll let that one slide. I’d like to introduce you to my second, Lieutenant Bobbi Sinclair. Petty Officers Reginald Dyer and Lance Drake. And my own Specialist Linda Moyer. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the crew of the USS Lucky Liberty.
Roy’s team could no longer contain their excitement and they rushed up to the others, eager to shake their hands. It wasn’t a welcome any of the Lucky Liberty crew were accustomed to, unlike Irons who’d dealt with this sort of thing before.
“Where’s the wheel?” Irons asked Roy.
“Oh, you’re going to love this. There’s no wheel.” Smiling, Roy walked Irons to a circular column in the middle of the bridge.
The column had a black glass on top of it. Beneath the glass glowed a dark blue surface that pulsed in rings of light every few seconds.
“We can move in any direction with complete immediacy because of the antigravity drive. Just touch the glass and move your hand where you want the ship to go. Simple as that.”
Irons looked at the steering mechanism with some confusion.
“I admit, it’s not as flashy as a Boomerang maneuver but it takes far less time.” Roy proudly grinned.
“I guess it’ll have to do.” Irons turned to the two crews as they conversed. They were getting along pretty well for having just met. “Ok, listen up!” Irons barked.
Both crews turned to salute, except for Durham who was still taken aback by all of the attention.
“Here’s the plan.”
“Captain?” Roy tapped Irons on the shoulder. “Don’t take this the wrong way but, my ship, my command.”
“It’s my mission. My command.”
“All due respect, James. This isn’t the Lucky Liberty. You don’t know the Drastic Nova. And professional decor dictates you—”
Irons clenched his teeth. “I get it.”
“Don’t worry. I do have a command post for you and your crew. We have manual weapons systems below the ship. I figure that’s probably where you’re strongest suited.”
“You snot nosed…”
* * *
The manual weapons station below the Drastic Nova was very much like the inner workings of the Lucky Liberty. It was a disappointment for Hannah but a familiar enough space to be comfortable for everyone else.
Lindsay quickly identified the stations and chose one at the stern while Syracuse and Durham took their places on the starboard and port sides, leaving the main bow side gun for Irons.
He walked to the gun and grumbled, agitated at their post. “Dig in, kids.” He grabbed hold of an older looking radio. “We’re strapped in down here, Allen.”
“Come back? I didn’t get that,” Allen said. The tone of condescension was unmistakable.
Irons growled. “Ready to launch…Captain.”
“Very good. Initiating launch sequence.”
“Launch sequence?” Hannah asked. “Anti-gravity doesn’t need a launch sequence.”
“Oh, Irons, I forgot to mention Big Lou.” Roy pretended the thought had really slipped his mind.
“Who?”
“He usually mans the manual guns. He’s partial to the bow side gun. Just in case you took a shine to it.”
“Ok,” Irons said, confused. “So wh
ere is he—”
Suddenly Irons felt like he’d been hit by a truck as a hulking man barged into him, knocking him away from the bow side gun.
“I don’t know who you are,” the booming voice said. “But that’s my gun and this is my position.”
The entire crew looked at the massive man with wide stares.
Ten
A Good Old Fashioned Brawl
Irons stood up, trying to shake off the dizzy spell from being rammed into a wall by what felt like another wall. The rest of the crew stared in silence, each of them shocked by the surprise attack.
“Who are you?” the large man asked.
Irons looked up. It was clear he was angry about being blind-sided. As he glared at the brute that struck him, the object of his glare stared back, eyes widening.
“Captain Irons?” The large man held his hands out, hoping to calm the situation and getting a chance to explain. “Sorry, sir, I didn’t know it was you.”
“Now you do, son.” Irons dug his boots into the floor and sprang forward, rushing at the big man and slamming his shoulder into him. His attempt succeeded only in nudging the larger man backwards just a little.
“Sir, I can’t fight—“
“Save your outranked excuses.” Irons threw a right hook at the man’s head and hit nothing but empty air. “What the—”
“It was a mistake, sir,” the large man tried to explain as he righted himself from his evasive move.
“That was the first right thing you’ve said.” Irons leaned down and threw three more punches at the man’s torso. All three missed.
Hannah looked at Syracuse. "How’s someone so large move so fast?”
“What do you wanna bet that boy’s had Mars training?”
“Can the Captain beat him?”
Syracuse cocked his head and smirked.
“Quit dancing around and fight back.” Irons swung at his opponent, finally landing a solid hit. Against the man’s forearm— and blocks didn’t count as far as Irons was concerned.
The Captain switched his strategy from big swings to shorter strikes. He jabbed at the man’s stomach, immediately knocking the air out of him. Irons smiled at finally achieving some success, and pressed his attack. The first punch slowed down his opponent’s reflexes, making him easier to hit. But this man gave almost as good as he got.
NORDIC WRATH (War In the Void Book 2) Page 7
