“They are right. If we eject during descent, the escape pods will burn up. We need to wait until we have decelerated enough to escape safely, or we can just wait till we land. We have to be patient.”
She nodded furiously as she spoke, doing her best to be understood. At the same time, Lieutenant Rossen activated one of the wall displays so they could see what was happening outside. A wide image appeared on the wall like a slit window, showing a view from the lower rear of the ship. They each watched in stunned silence as a dozen vessels from the size of small fighters up to heavy transports tried to move out of the way. Another group of vessels, this time much smaller were in a scattered formation and releasing volleys of fire into the rear of the vessel. There were black stripes on the wings of the craft.
“Who are they?” snapped Jack.
Again none of the Helions responded other than the young female. She examined the video feed closely.
“If this information is correct, then those are troops transports of the Helion military. I’ve seen them used before. They are very common.”
She hesitated before adding, “The markings are those of the Zathee rebels. Strange, how would they get access to this kind of equipment?”
Wictred coughed at the news.
“Who, in all of hell are the Zathee, and why attack us?”
The young Helion shook her head.
“I do not know. Perhaps they feel you are here to help us eradicate their last bands of warriors. You do seem to have more warriors than all of the five Powers combined.”
“Five? I thought with the T’Kari there were six?” asked Thai Qiu-Li.
One of the older Helions finally spoke.
“The T’Kari are a broken people. There is a reason we left them.”
Even Jack was surprised at the outburst, and also the revelation that the Helions had so little respect remaining for their allies and brothers. Hunn and Wictred looked even angrier at the news. Wictred moved to the Helion and sniffed him before looking to his comrade, Hunn.
“So, this is the worth of Helion friendship. When you are down, they abandon you.”
He turned and positioned his face just an arm’s length from the Helion’s unflinching face.
“I’ll remember that when the time comes.”
The warship shuddered once more, rattling and shaking along its entire length. The external feed had now shifted from one of dark space to that of fire and smoke as the mighty vessel dropped through the atmosphere. Their speed and the friction with the thin air covered the ship in flames as if they were descending to the core of a fiery planet like Prometheus.
“I don’t get it. Why have we dropped out of orbit so quickly?” asked Lieutenant Rossen. It appeared the question was rhetorical. Once again the voice of the XO blasted through the ship.
“This is the XO. Hostile forces are waiting in the lower atmosphere; this is a well-planned ambush by Helion forces. Gun crews to your stations. Abort evacuation procedures, and move into emergency descent secure locations. We’re going down. XO out.”
“No way, you’re kidding me!” laughed one of the other marines in an almost hysterical tone.
“Cut it out!” snapped Hunn.
The warrior was in no mood to listen to whining and ill discipline of frightened marines. Jack ignored them and pulled his personal secpad from his utility belt. After bypassing the locked security screen, he moved to the internal plan of the ship. It wasn’t complete and only showed him the emergency locations and those necessary for a marine to know when on duty. A few taps, and he’d accessed the three routes to safety. Lifting the device, he showed it to the Lieutenant. At the same time, the ship shuddered as it deployed its descent vanes and activated retro engines. One of the Helions staggered and lifted up only to crash into the wall. The rest managed to hold on as their speed dropped substantially.
“Look!” said Thai Qiu-Li.
The young woman pointed at the screen showing the external feeds. Gone were space and the burning streaks of flame from their descent, only to be replaced with the vast and detailed vista of the bustling surface of Helion.
“The Captain thinks he can land in the middle of this?”
The ship shook, but this time it was a heavy jolt as if being struck by something metal. Jack tapped the screen, and the image changed to the view from their left. A vessel about the size of a small cargo ship had moved alongside them and was firing into their hull. Jack shook his head angrily.
“Great, so if we eject now, we’ll be shot down.”
In answer to his question, a great stream of projectiles from the point-defense turrets opened fire in a devastating cloud of projectiles. Thousands of tiny but incredibly dense rounds ripped the vessel apart until it arced away wreathed in flames. Lifepods ejected from it as its crew tried to save themselves.
“Yeah, more like it,” said Wictred with a grin.
The ship twisted and rolled but not before sending a final blast, striking ANS Conqueror with such force that Jack and Lieutenant Rossen were thrown to the wall. The internal lights on the lifepods flashed with safety warnings, settling back down to green.
Lieutenant Rossen pointed at the screen and called over to the Ambassador.
“Ambassador, what’s going to happen? Where can we land safely?”
The Helions said nothing and stood there, speaking just among themselves. This time Wictred grabbed the most senior of the group and dragged him to the Lieutenant. She looked like she might reprimand him but decided against it, for now at the very least.
“Answer my question,” she said in a slow but firm voice.
“You will crash and probably kill thousands.”
Wictred placed his large fingers around his throat and squeezed just a little.
“Wrong answer. Where can we land?”
The Helion coughed and groaned. It took Jack to finally get something out of the alien leader.
“Just tell us the least populated area.”
He pointed off to the right on the screen at an area covered in thick fog.
“Under here is the nearest Zathee district. It is only two levels high in most places.”
Jack was sure he could detect disdain in the man’s tone.
“Zathee. Aren’t they the ones you said were attacking us?” asked Jack, this time directing his question at the young female Helion. The Ambassador threw her a stern glance before she could reply.
Lieutenant Rossen had heard enough and nodded to Thai Qiu-Li.
“It will do. Get me the XO, and fast!”
Thai Qiu-Li worked quickly and connected in seconds. The image of the man appeared to the left of the video feeds coming from outside the ship.
“Good, you’re still there. Why aren’t you heading for the emergency areas?”
Before the Lieutenant could answer, Jack had already moved in front of the screen.
“Sir, the Helions have intel on the best landing place.”
The XO looked surprised.
“Landing? We aren’t landing, son. This is a controlled crash.”
Jack nodded firmly, but Lieutenant Rossen pulled him to the side to speak.
“Sir, this area is over forty stories in height, and the casualties will be catastrophic.”
“So? Maybe they should have thought of that before they hit us.”
From the observation ports built into the lifepods around them, a streak of orange tore past the outside of the ship. A shredded lifepod vanished off into space, either torn apart by enemy fire, or more likely by the fact they were descending into the atmosphere. The young Lieutenant wiped her face and shook her head.
“No, apparently, these are not Helion ships. They are rebels. The Ambassador has a safer location here. It is far less populated.”
She tapped the communication unit to pass on the location. The XO looked at it but appeared unimpressed. He was able to give only a percentage of his time to the conversation as he had a dozen other things to do right then.
“Put hi
m on, now!” he snapped, taking Rossen and the other marines by surprise. She turned and indicated towards their guests.
“You!” she growled, the venom clear for all to hear.
Hunn pushed the Helion from behind and toward the screen.
“Is this true?” demanded the XO.
The Helion Ambassador nodded, saying nothing. The XO watched his movement with annoyance, and then walked away for a few seconds. The Ambassador tried to move back but was blocked by Jack.
“No, you stay there,” he said with a wry smile.
The XO returned, his left hand rubbing his chin as he thought about what he’d heard.
“Right, we’re targeting this new area. Lieutenant, keep our guests safe.”
He turned to leave them but looked back, staring directly at the Ambassador.
“We have things to discuss when we land. This crash is going to cause a lot of damage, and we will hold those accountable.”
The image turned black, and once again the marines and their Helion visitors were on their own.
“Any of you been in a planetary forced landing before?”
Wictred, Hunn, and Jack all laughed at the question.
“You name it, we’ve crashed in it.”
The ship started to shudder uncomfortably, and a howling sound rushed up from deep inside its cavernous interior. A pair of navy enlisted men ran into the oval room with looks of sheer terror on their faces. Both ignored the rest and went directly for the escape pod hatches. The marines blocked their path while the five Helions simply stood and watched.
“Hey, wait your turn,” said Hunn.
The look of fear turned to one of anger on the taller of the two men. He wore a blood stained tunic, and a tear the size of his hand showed just below his neck. Dirt and oil ran down his left arm, and a number of small cuts dripped blood from his chin.
“I’m not staying on this ship to die!”
Hunn blocked his path, and as soon as he stepped closer was greeted with a punch from his oversized fist. The crewman staggered back before straightening himself. The man reached down to his belt and pulled out a navy issue sidearm. Lieutenant Rossen saw this as the final straw, and with speed that took them all by surprise, she lurched forward and delivered a powerful snap kick that struck the man in the chin. Without so much as a sound, he dropped to the ground and slid back two meters. The second of the crewmen came to his senses and stopped trying to reach the pods. Instead, he waited next to his comrade, saying nothing that might encourage another violent response from the marines.
“What happened to you?” asked Lieutenant Rossen.
“The engine room was hit. The whole compartment was blasted out. Only two of us made it out before the bulkheads sheared.
Rossen took a long, deep breath.
“Well, you’d better stay with us; we’ll be on the ground soon.”
The man nodded and seemed to be calming down. What none of them could tell though was whether it was because he felt safe with them, or was it simply that he was now resigned to his fate? Either way, the great ship, the largest and most powerful universal warship in the fleet, was falling like a meteor toward the surface of the planet of Helios. A dull thud shook the floor, and a blast of air gushed in from three broken seals before the internal units could patch them with vaporized resin.
“That isn’t good,” said Hunn, his arm outstretched.
Jack followed his arm until he spotted the warning light on the life pod. It was flickering green and then finally showed red. One by one, the others followed until just a single door remained with the green light still showing. It flashed once and then stabilized. Jack approached the remaining sealed door and checked the panel.
“Well?” asked Lieutenant Rossen.
Jack looked back at her and shook his head.
“They are all showing as faulty. They must have been damaged by that ship in the attack, and only this last one is showing as fully functional.”
“And it takes only two crew?”
Jack nodded.
On the wide ribbon-line display they watched their own descent via external camera feeds. Every few seconds, a swarm of small shapes would detach and vanish into the sky as more lifepods and lifepods left the ship. The image of the XO appeared completely unannounced.
“The Chief says you’ve sustained damaged in the evacuation deck. Casualties?”
Lieutenant Rossen stiffened at the sight of the senior officer.
“No, sir. We were just about to leave, but all the pods are damaged, except one.”
He nodded as he listed.
“Look, we’re down to a skeleton crew of just fifteen. Automated systems are running the rest. You can try and reach the next level down, or ride the crash out like us.”
He moved closer to the screen.
“And protect the Ambassador and his assistant…at all costs!”
The image vanished and was replaced by the external feeds and the rapidly approaching ground. Lieutenant Rossen turned around and faced her small group of marines.
“Well, you heard the XO. Ride it out, or go for the next level down.”
The ship shook as though hit by a heavy object, but this time all of them were carefully braced. Wictred started to laugh at their predicament, much to the amusement of Jack and Hunn. The Helions watched them aghast, unable to fathom what could be amusing them.
“LT, there is no chance we’ll reach the next level down. We are on the top of this ship, the safest place,” said Jack.
The young officer nodded at him but said nothing. None of the others argued and simply checked around them for the safest place. The crewman with the bloodied nose staggered over to the right of the deck and slammed his fist down onto a panel. A board with several buttons popped out which he then tapped. Small metal rods flicked out like spikes around the deck, along with mag-seals and straps.
“For rough landings,” he said with a grim smile.
Lieutenant Rossen smiled for the first time in what felt an eternity.
“Good, everybody strap in.”
They moved to the small metal devices and pulled the straps out and round their bodies. The harnesses were simple but should be enough to keep them from being hurt in the landing. Jack lowered himself onto the crude seat and pulled the straps around his chest. He looked at the interior of the compartment as it shook and shuddered.
She’d better hold together.
He then looked over to his three comrades, and the look between them said it all. Jack closed his eyes and slowed his breathing to calm down.
This is going to hurt.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Alliance survived the generation of strife that followed the Great Uprising and on until the present day. Those early years were marked by minor insurrections and even the violent coup instigated by the corporations. Many worlds united by a love of peace and commerce and a mutual hatred of the violence of the past. Even the fires of the Apocalypse to come could not break the will of the Alliance.
The Unforeseen Consequences
Teresa and Gun stormed inside the Ministry of Justice building to find General Rivers, as well as another dozen marines watching a massive circular display. It showed an orbital view of a Helion satellite that was tracking ANS Conqueror. Though they were all armed, not a single one of the Alliance personnel looked in the slightest aggressive. All but two focused their eyes on the unfolding disaster.
“General,” Teresa called out, moving to the middle of the room.
The old man turned his head and grimaced as he saw her and Gun.
“This isn’t good, look.”
He pointed to the screen. The shape of the ship was almost impossible to make out, due to the haze, smoke, and flames engulfing it.
“We have been unable to contact her. Something or someone is interfering with our signals.”
“Yeah, amazing how that always happens, isn’t it?” she answered.
Gun looked about, noting the number of Alliance and also
Helion officials present.
“Who are these rebels, and why are they attacking us?”
A figure approached, nodded to General Rivers, and looked to Teresa and Gun. It was a male Helion, almost as tall as the General and wearing a long black coat. The collar was raised around the neck, merely emphasizing the pale face.
“I am Vigilis, Watchman of the City of Helios. I will coordinate the rescue of your people.”
Teresa looked confused.
“City?”
“Yes, it is the name we give to the urban layers of our world. Our entire planet is one urban site. Is it not the same on your worlds?”
Teresa didn’t seem impressed with this, however.
“Forget that, how is our ship?”
Vigilis nodded in agreement and turned to face the massive screen. He gestured at the unit with his arms, and the displayed altered to show a more zoomed in view. At this range, the feed started to jump, and the quality of the video dropped off considerably. Even so, it did show the rapidly moving object.
“We are tracking your ship. It appears they have changed direction from our designated landing zones. Do you know why that is?”
General Rivers heard the question and intervened before Teresa could answer.
“How the hell would they know? All we know is our ship was attacked, and they are heading low and fast into that area of your city. Would they even be able to land in those areas you suggested?”
Vigilis said nothing in reply. Teresa was already pointing at the vast dark area off to the right. Unlike the rest of the city, it was shrouded to the level that only a few spires could be seen and looked very different to any other parts of the planet any of them had seen so far.
“What the hell is that?”
Vigilis seemed unwilling to reply, but Teresa repeated the question, and Gun tensed the muscles in his arms, expecting trouble.
Star Crusades Nexus: Book 03 - Heroes of Helios Page 11
