Rebellion: Rise Of Mankind Book 7

by John Walker

  The marines approached a door and beyond that was a corridor where the enemy soldiers held up and fired into the room that Jenks and his men dug in. When the marines breached, they would be in the thick of the enemy soldiers. They stacked up and drew grenades, cooking them just before busting in.

  This should even the odds.

  The first guy opened the door.

  “Fire in the hole,” Walsh muttered as the rest of his men threw their payloads in. The door closed again and bedlam occurred on the other side. Shouts, panic, terror…they came out in equal measure as the victims tried to flee the resounding explosions. Unfortunately for them, the grenades only sat idle for two seconds…not enough time to escape.

  When the pops went off, sounds of meat slapping the walls followed. Then the screams turned from fear to outright agony. Guns went off as they seemed to fire randomly. More shots happened elsewhere and the place appropriately sounded like a war zone. Walsh nodded to his men and they opened the door, stepping in to finish off those still holding weapons.

  “Jenks, we’ve got the western hall,” Walsh said. “Please stop shooting in that direction.”

  “This is Bravo,” the voice came over the com, “we’ve got the eastern side and the southern side seems to be clear as well. The people there must’ve went after Ethan and Orin.”

  “You two still okay?” Walsh asked.

  “Hustling it,” Orin replied. “But we’re fine for now. We’d like to lead them your way?”

  “ETA to this spot?”

  “Three minutes.”

  “You heard them, men. We’ve got three minutes to set up a welcome party. Tend to the wounded and dig in. Get ready for the final fight here. I’m pretty sure when we take care of this, there won’t be anyone left to mess with us.”

  Walsh hurried into the room and found Jenks pressed up against the wall, blood smeared all over his left shoulder. “Is that yours?”

  Jenks nodded. “Took a shot. There’re only four of us left combat effective. I think I’ll be fine.”

  “You sure? That looks pretty bad.”

  “I shoot with my right hand?”

  “And steady with that left.” Walsh shook his head. “Motion?”

  Jenks moved his arm and shrugged. “Armor helped a little.”

  “Lucky shot to get you so dead on. Up to you, man but I’d sit it out.”

  Jenks laughed. “No you wouldn’t.” He crawled to his feet. “Let’s shore up these wounded and take the rest of these pricks out. We’ve got a mission to finish.”

  “By all means, Hercules. Let’s get going.”

  Chapter 7

  “Tully!” Hoffner yelled into the com. “You’re at the three minute mark! Are you blowing the doors or what? I need a no BS estimate. Now!”

  “I got through the protocols,” Tully replied. “Just…another moment…”

  “Define a moment.”

  “It’s relative to how distracted I am, sir!” Tully grunted. “Less than a minute.”

  Hoffner peered out the door and watched the troop transports drawing closer. They were as big as Lorenz suggested, two of them coming in and ready for action. Each probably had the capacity to hold more than twenty men. He only hoped the Orion’s Light idiots didn’t happen to have enough guys on the planet to throw at them.

  “It better be.” Hoffner’s eyes narrowed. “Geralt, get those explosives outside. Let’s give them a quick welcome before they’re in firing range.”

  A moment later, Geralt came hurrying into the lobby and rushed outside. He set up several large charges and retreated back into the base, long before the ships arrived. Their estimate of their speed turned out to be somewhat exaggerated but not by too much. As they began a landing sequence, Tully reported that he got the door open.

  Hoffner heard an exchange of gunfire and someone screaming. His heart raced for a moment before Tully’s voice crackled over the com. “Room’s clear. I’m establishing a link to the ship and jamming all enemy signals.”

  “Fine work.” Hoffner directed the other marines to get into firing position. “As these guys come in through the door, you have to hold. Geralt, make sure they think twice about running in here. I’ll be back. I just need to access the computer and get us some help. Be back shortly.”

  Hoffner ran down the hall, slowing as he approached the computer room. Four bodies were piled up off to the side, presumably the men hiding out who wouldn’t open up. Tully nodded to him as he approached and gestured to the screen. He saw a percentage meter rapidly climbing, approaching one-hundred percent.

  As it finished, Hoffner stepped forward and tapped his own com, checking if the interference cleared. He felt a wave of relief hit him as Marshall’s voice piped over the line. “What’s been going on down there, Captain? We haven’t heard from you in a while. I expected more frequent reports.”

  “We took the power facility,” Hoffner said. “But they jammed us until just now. We’re about to be sieged by a lot of guys…” He checked the scanner now that it worked and cursed. “Looks like thirty total. They’re all Orion’s Light down here. They held this place right under the noses of both the rebels and the military.”

  “I wondered.” Marshall sighed. “Tap the computer and send me any security data it might have. I want to see what happened when they lost the facility. I’m sending down some support as well. The second part of your mission might not matter much so get ready for an extract if absolutely necessary.”

  “Why wouldn’t it matter?” Hoffner asked. “That sounds suspicious.”

  “The rebels are flying a bomb to one of the space stations. If they succeed and that thing hits orbit, it’s going to be a catastrophic event. People aren’t going to be worrying about food at that point. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you up to date just stay alive and get me that data ASAP. We’ll talk again soon.”

  “We’re transmitting the information now,” Hoffner replied. “Talk soon.” He turned to Tully. “See what you can do with the computer. I’ll leave someone to watch your back but the rest of you are with me. Let’s repel these assholes until our relief gets here.”

  “Do you really think they’re trying to destroy the planet?” Tully asked. “That seems…pretty extreme, even for rebels. I was under the impression those people wanted to take the place over, not wipe it out.”

  Hoffner shrugged. “If Orion’s Light is involved, it’s hard to say what they’ll be willing to do…or why. We’ve got work to do. Get to it.”

  The engines from the incoming ships started shaking the building before Hoffner returned to the lobby. As he arrived, the shadows blocked out the sun as they flanked the place, setting down away from the front door. At least they have the sense not to disembark right in front of us. Still, they have to get past our defenses and that’ll be a challenge.

  Clearly, these guys wanted to take the facility back for whatever reason or they would’ve just shelled it from the sky. They’d have time to discover what was so important later, unless Tully figured it out during the fight. Hoffner knew there was data command wanted but the enemy’s response to them taking the facility helped define its importance.

  The sound of Orion’s Light battle language sounded from their left. Hoffner took cover behind a metal desk with good visibility of the door and some of the courtyard. He aimed down the scope on his weapon, allowing it and his HUD to gather information about his potential shot. He knew that to the fence, he had exactly fifty yards and that to compensate, he’d need to aim less than a quarter inch higher with his weapon to score a hit.

  Scans from his helmet indicated the enemy were just around the corner, taking cover and preparing their breach. Hoffner hoped Geralt was ready to give them their surprise prior to them busting out something nefarious like grenades. Or worse, shoulder mounted weaponry. He didn’t know how much of the facility they needed intact.

  They might only care about the computers that Tully was working on.

  “Hold your fire,” Hoffner said. “Let
Geralt’s handiwork greet them before we take some shots.”

  A couple scouts came through first, tentatively testing the ground as they walked. They held their weapons low, ready to hip fire. Spreading out, each man’s head was on a swivel as they must’ve felt the danger pressing against them. Another head peeked around the corner, some curious fool who didn’t want to wait for a report.

  “Lorenz, what’ve you got?” Hoffner asked.

  “Full contingent of troops. They seem to have all left their ships except the pilots. You’ve got two in the courtyard and two about to enter behind them.”

  “Geralt, when those other four come in, blow the explosives.” Hoffner scowled. “Lorenz, when the explosions go off, see if you can’t take someone that looks important.”

  “Oh, I’ve got their leader targeted, sir.”

  “Coordinate.” Hoffner watched as the next two enemies entered the courtyard. They drew closer to their companions, quicker than they should’ve for sure. Geralt counted backward from three…the resounding explosion when he got to zero shook the walls. It was loud enough to easily mask Lorenz’s shot.

  “Officer down,” Lorenz said.

  Body parts landed in various places around the massive pits created by the bombs, four men totally destroyed. This prompted the invaders to aim around the corners into the courtyard and open fire, blindly taking large bursts in their direction. Hoffner called out to his team to remain calm, to let them waste ammo.

  A few rogue shots made their way inside but they didn’t get close to the cover the marines were in. They’d have to make a move sooner than later and when they did, they’d discover their mistake in trying to take the place in a frontal assault. Hoffner’s team simply needed to be patient.

  “Sir,” Tully called out. “I know why they want this place back so bad and you’re not going to be happy.”

  “Yeah, I’m not surprised. What’ve you got?”

  “They were rigging this place to go up,” Tully said. “And let me tell you, it would pack a punch. We’re talking…” He paused. “I mean…huge. Like…ruin this entire region bad. The radiation alone would take decades to clean up if not longer. I’m trying to disarm it, which pretty much means shutting the reactor off safely. That’ll take a little time.”

  “Couple that with the station coming down and this planet would be devastated.” Hoffner shook his head. “Makes it all the more important to not let them take this place. Okay, folks. You have the stakes now. We have to buy Tully time and keep these guys busy. This is a ‘failure isn’t an option’ kind of situation so put your game face on. It hasn’t mattered nearly so much until now.”

  ***

  Clea received the data from the surface which meant Hoffner’s people managed to take the power plant’s control station. Security footage flooded her screen and she ran a program to search for images of Trellan. As that happened, she glanced up at the view screen in time to see the enemy battleship get hammered as another salvo battered its shields.

  Adam reported that the bomber threat had been neutralized and that the fighters were on the way to prevent the next catastrophe. Agatha called out that their enemies didn’t respond to request for their surrender so the fight continued and promised to get a lot worse for the enemy. Checking the casualty reports, they weren’t coming away unscathed but compared to their other missions, they were proving the superior force by far.

  Her computer alerted her to finding Trellan and she watched a moment of the footage. The man helped them take the area and lower the security for the station but there was more going on there. The military took out most of his force then Orion’s Light showed up. They occupied the facility and took Trellan captive, which made him the only survivor.

  How’d you pull that off? A lack of audio made it so she had no clue what he might’ve said, if anything. Maybe they just wanted another conscript. If so, mission accomplished. He got where he needed to be but something told her that there was a lot more going on than met the eye. A few moments later, she received the report that they rigged the facility to explode.

  Fantastic. They want to completely annihilate this planet’s ability to feed itself.

  Such a blow wouldn’t destroy the culture completely but it would be a demoralizing blow. Their colonies would live on and yet the loss of something so cherished as their point of origin was unacceptable The worst part was they didn’t know what was about to happen and if the plan did transpire, they’d likely blame the rebels.

  Who might not feel bad about it but they shouldn’t take the blame for something they didn’t do.

  “Marshall reported in,” Adam’s voice distracted her and she perked up to listen. “He states that the reinforcements on the station have met up and they’re once again pushing to the control center but the opposition is intense. They’re really putting up a fight. At first they thought it was the military rebels but Marshall’s starting to think it’s someone else.”

  “Orion’s Light?” Gray shook his head. “Must be, right?”

  “Probably. They’re fighting like demons and we know those guys don’t like to give up.”

  “Even when it’s advantageous to do so.” Gray turned to Clea. “What’ve you got?”

  “Good news.” Clea sent him a quick text to indicate what she’d discovered. “At least as far as the mission’s concerned…possibly.”

  Gray nodded. “Yes, they might’ve killed him. Some news is better than no news. Do we know if they got their hands on the weapon schematics yet?”

  “Once they take the command center of the space station, we’ll be able to find out.” Clea tapped at her console. “I still can’t access anything. They need to open up the connection relays again and give me access.”

  “Anything Olly can help with?”

  Clea looked over at the lieutenant and shook her head. “He’s a little busy right now, sir. Besides, if the connections aren’t open, it doesn’t matter how good you are with computers. You’re not getting in.”

  “Understood.” Gray cleared his throat. “Damage report on the battleship.”

  Olly answered, “their shields are at thirty percent and they’ve taken some pretty heavy damage here and there. We’re ready to reduce power on the weapons for some more surgical strikes.”

  “What about our damage?” Adam asked.

  “We’ve had a few system shorts from concussion damage,” Olly said. “And three people are in the hospital from being burned during those events but otherwise, we’re doing well. Nothing that we can’t fix as we go here. Their weapons are genuinely unable to pierce our defenses.”

  “Good news,” Gray stood up and was about to say something else when Olly interrupted.

  “Sir, I’m picking up another ship coming in…another capital ship.”

  “The other battleship they boasted about?” Gray asked.

  Olly shook his head. “No, this is a different make entirely. Wait! It’s an Orion’s Light ship, sir! It’s moving into attack range!”

  “Great,” Adam grumbled. “We get to take on two at once now. Again.”

  “Maybe not,” Clea pointed. “Look.”

  They watched the view screen as the Orion’s Light vessel, all black and bristling with weapons, opened fire on the battleship, laying into it with one of their dreaded continuous beam cannons. The shields flared then random explosions began appearing all over the hull of the waylaid vessel.

  “Their systems are at fifty percent!” Olly shouted. “Twenty! Reactor is critical!”

  “No!” Gray clenched his fist, stepping forward. “Fire at the Orion’s Light! Warn them off.”

  Redding redirected and opened fire but it was too late. The battleship went up in a massive blue-white globe and as the light faded, nothing remained of the ship at all. Everyone on board and any of their own fighters within close proximity were gone. Clea checked and felt a shimmer of relief that none of their own pilots happened to be close by.

  “They just hopped in and took them o
ut,” Gray muttered. “Why? Wasn’t starting the conflict enough? They had to intervene and kill the people they riled up?”

  “We can be blamed,” Adam said. “It’ll just be ammo against us when this fight’s over. Any anti-alliance faction might say we used extreme measures if these jerks get away or worse, blow us up. That has to be why they did it. A PR move that involved snuffing out a lot of lives. Despicable.”

  “They’re moving to engage,” Olly said.

  “Looks like they want to fulfill your prophecy,” Gray said to Adam. “Clea, you didn’t start the process of throttling back the weapons, did you?”

  “No, sir. They’re still at full power.”

  Gray nodded. “Redding, let’s meet them head on. Get up there and fire.”

  “Yes, sir.” Redding engaged the engines. “Weapons are prepared and thrusters are full. Estimated time to firing solution…sixty seconds.”

  Gray continued, “Ensign Marcus, get us a microjump course. I want a flanking position if we need it.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “We’re being hailed,” Agatha said. “The Orion’s Light ship wants a word.”

  Clea watched the muscles tighten in Gray’s face as he scowled. “Ignore it for now. I’d like them to see what we think of their attack on the battleship before we have words. I’m thinking a little emphasis to our position might make them more amiable when I ask for their surrender.”

  ***

  Rudy checked his scanners and saw what they were racing toward: a large freighter pulling a massive cargo container, something too big even for it to fit inside. They probably didn’t need the engine power to pull the thing but even with the extra thrust, they weren’t moving too fast which was lucky.

  If they’d moved any faster, the Behemoth crew would not have been able to catch up and stop them before they wiped out the station. The extra complication came from the fact that several of the Behemoth’s marines were performing an op on the space station. If Rudy and his people didn’t stop the attack, they’d lose not only the planet but crew mates as well.