“Status?” called out Captain Thomas nervously.
“It’s taking time, Sir. The weapons are burning through her hull. I don’t know what they make those ships out of, but it is layered and very thick.”
The optical scopes had magnified the lead three enemy ships so that they filled the mainscreen. The two red beams seemed to been locked onto the bow of the first ship for an age before a series of explosions started a quarter the way along her hull from the bow; quickly followed by ripples and flashes. Then the bow tore off with a mighty flash, sending broken metal and debris around the vessel.
“Yes!” cried the XO before quickly calming down. Even so, the cheer of excitement through the bridge quickly spread.
“Good work,” announced the Captain. “I think that will get their attention.”
He was answered in the simplest of fashion as four of the ships made subtle changes in their course direction. Flashes of light ran along their hulls, followed quickly by the emergency alarms inside the bridge.
“Alert, incoming warheads!” announced the computer.
There was no time for the officers to give orders. The computer had already told them all they needed to know. In just three seconds, the hypersonic projectiles slammed into the port side of the ship with terrible effect. The massive warship shuddered from hundreds of impacts, and alarms blared on multiple screens.
“One powerplant off-line, breaches on six levels. Those are powerful weapons, Sir,” said Lieutenant Powalk.
“Take us closer. I want every defensive turret online and firing. I don’t care how much damage we cause, just keep as many of them busy as you can.”
The great ship shifted a few degrees until the four enemy ships and ANS Devastation became locked in a bloody close-ranged battle of kinetic and particle beam weaponry. The turrets of the Alliance ship were designed for stopping fighters or missiles, but on this occasion they sent thousands of projectiles at the ships. The damage was minimal, but they did cause minor damage on all four ships.
It wasn’t just the capital ships that were busy in the battle; as at the same time, the squadron of Lightning MK II fighters entered the fray. The group of agile fighters split apart and loosed off their Sea Skua missiles at two of the ships. All missiles impacted, with the enemy ships appearing to make little, or no use of countermeasures of defensive systems. Unfortunately, they struggled to penetrate the thickly layered armour and did little more than blast great hole in their flanks. Even so, one more pass by the Alliance warship put her in position behind the hostile vessels. Another long burst of particle-beam fire, and she was left as a burning hulk from the inside out. The particle beam emitted by the ship had the potential to release over a gigajoule of kinetic energy, at speeds approaching the speed of a light. Tests had shown the weapon should negate any realistic means of defending a target, providing the power and focus could be maintained. The explosive impact of the particle beam had the capacity to literally explode the target upon impact. With one ship down, it was starting to look like ANS Devastation might be more than capable of fighting off the enemy. That was until they were finally able to face their flanks to the gallant ship.
“Captain, they’re building up power. Something is coming!” cried Lieutenant Powalk.
The crew did their best to manoever past the enemy ships, but it was too little too late. Two of the heavily armoured warships unleashed a volley of much lower powered direct-energy weapons. The effect was very different to the weapons on ANS Devastation but was equally terrible. Streaks of blue matter blasted from their flanks and slammed into the much thinner hull of the Alliance ship. Each round ripped through the outer skin and proceeded to burn slowly through several metres before coming to a halt.
More alarms triggered inside the ship, but incredibly, none had reached the main crew areas or the powerplants. Even so, the alarms warned of hull breaches and losses of power to a number of minor systems. Captain Thomas paced back and forth as he checked each of the stations and encouraged them on. At this range, he had to rely on their training and reactions, and so far he could find nothing to fault.
“Captain, the port emitter has overheated. We’re down to just one,” explained Lieutenant Powalk bitterly.
“Just use what you have, Lieutenant, and bring us around to burn a hole in the closest ship.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but a great shudder threw most of the crew about and to the floor. The mainscreen split down the middle, and a number of screens stopped working altogether. Emergency alarms activated, and jets of steam and gas burst in at least seven locations. Captain Thomas picked himself up and looked over to the XO.
“What the hell was that?”
“Unknown, Sir, it came from the lead warship. Our main engines show as out of action, and the particle beam capacitors have overloaded. We’re dead in the water.”
As if to emphaises the point, another three volleys of weapons fire crashed into the hull, sending a flurry of damage reports and warnings about the remaining computers.
“Your orders, Sir?” asked the XO.
Captain Thomas pulled one of the smaller screens closer, so he could get an external view of the battle. One enemy ship was gone, and a second was burning about its centre section. But there were still four remaining, and he knew where they would go next. Right now, though, they were moving into position to protect the damaged ship from the cloud of turret fire still pouring from ANS Devastation’s close in weapon systems. All of the remaining ships were now moving on the same linear course to ANS Beagle. It looked almost as if they were in a running race to the finish, but in reality, they were all in the deceleration stages so that they could move into position around the target, rather than fly right past it. That was what gave Captain Thomas an idea.
“Helm, we still have maoeveringing thrusters, do we not?”
He was greeted with a quick nod.
“Good. Get me closer to the ship protecting the damaged vessel.”
The XO walked over to him and leaned close to his ear.
“Sir, what are you thinking?”
Captain Thomas just smiled back.
“I mean to use our last remaining asset against them.”
The XO looked confused. Their fighters were engaged, their main engines and weapons were off-line, and their only offensive system was either the small-calibre point defence grid or the bulk of the ship itself. Another volley of gunfire tore into the warship, causing even more breaches.
“Captain, powerplants are fluctuating, and we have containments breaches. I’m evacuating the entire level!” announced the Chief Engineer.
Captain Thomas didn’t seem particularly concerned. He was well aware their options were limited and that ANS Devastation was facing her final minutes. Instead, he made direct contact with Lt Colonel Maria Barnett, the commander of his embarked marine unit. Her image appeared but crackled with digital distortion as more gunfire rained down on them.
“Colonel, your marines, are they ready?”
“Aye, Sir, armoured and waiting.”
“Good, to your boats, Colonel. I want you to board the two nearest ships.”
“Sir?” she asked in surprise.
The warship shuddered from yet another powerful blast.
“Colonel, we don’t have much time. Split your teams and hit both ships. Do what you can. We’ll cover you with as much point-defence fire as we can muster.”
The Colonel saluted smartly; painfully aware her mission was almost certainly a suicide run. The video cut, but the status indicators on the computer showed the landing craft and shuttles were already primed and moving into the launch bays at the rear. Captain Thomas watched as the first craft moved away from the ship amid streams of fire and flashes of energy.
“Tactical, protect our people!”
* * *
The view from the boarding shuttle was one of destruction and carnage. The group of ships were still travelling together like a shoal of fish. Lt Colonel Maria Barnett could see the grey hulk of
ANS Devastation nestled between the crude but thickly armoured enemy warships. Like a battle from Earth’s eighteenth century, they continued to blast each other with powerful broadsides. The Alliance ship was taking the worst of it, and she spotted at least seven major fires as the gallant ship burned from the inside. She tore her eyes away from the crippled vessel and to her target. She’d sent one company to the damaged ship, but she was heading for the undamaged one that had moved into position to protect the other from any more fire.
What the hell are we going to find on that thing? She wondered.
“Colonel, where do you want to land?” asked the pilot nervously.
She looked carefully at the design of the ship. There were many gaps on the hull that gave the impression of landing bays or docking areas. She couldn’t be certain, but they didn’t have the time to perform a more thorough examination.
“There!” she said, pointing at the schematic. “Get us there as fast as you can. Co-ordinate with the others. I want maximum deployment at the landing zone.”
“Understood, Sir.”
She looked at the other marines waiting patiently in the armoured craft. All wore the general purpose PDS armoured suits, and in their hands, they cradled their fabled L52 Mark II Assault Carbines. The enemy vessel seemed to approach them quickly but, of course, it was the other way around. At a distance of just fifty metres, she could clearly see a flat landing area with three small vessels clamped into place.
“That’s the spot. Put us down.”
She then hit the Marine Corps open channel. It was encrypted but went to every marine in her unit.
“Marines, we don’t have much time. Fix yourself to the hull and assist with the entry points. Once we’re inside, use your scanners to identify energy blooms and hit them hard. I want power systems, fuel, weapons, and anything of value destroyed. We’ll gut them from the inside. Good hunting!”
They moved slightly closer, and the doors of the craft opened before they even touched the metal. The Colonel was the first out, and she drifted right up to the hull before her boots performed the final link with the surface. She glanced back to see the small flotilla of craft disgorging the rest of the marines onto the spacious landing area.
Right, what next?
A quick glance showed two circular hatches that looked suspiciously like an airlock seal. She signalled to one of her personal guards who made quick progress towards the hatch. He pulled a tool from his suit and proceeded to start placing a compact thermite charge, designed especially for spacecraft breaches. More marines arrived, and in less than thirty seconds, there were charges set at three separate locations on the platform.
“Now!” she cried.
A brief flicker of white was the only effect until the hatches themselves ripped off and blasted out into space. It depressurised the inner section immediately, and she watched with a mixture of pleasure and sickness as three of the crew were sucked out into the void. There wasn’t time to look any more closely at them, but they were clearly human, of a fashion.
This is it then!
She didn’t hesitate, and instead, pulled herself through the hatch into the ship, her carbine at her hip and ready for battle. The other marines did the same and very quickly they secured the empty sections of the ship. They appeared to have gained control of almost a complete rear deck of the ship, and nearly forty marines moved inside. The design was more cramped that an Alliance ship, but the level of technology appeared highly advanced. There were no exposed machines of any kind, just glowing tubes and cabling, as well as granite-looking slabs coming up from the floor. Some of them flashed with blue energy, as information in a foreign tongue appeared, much like on a monitor. There was little time to investigate, as two large doorways flipped upwards to reveal small groups of warriors. They were of a similar size to the marines but slighter in build. They blasted away with unknown weapons, but the effect as terrible. Streaks of energy tore through the marines’ armour as if it were nothing but thin plastic.
“Stop them!” she screamed over the communications gear.
The deck turned into a savage warzone, with defender and attacker alike falling and being blown apart by terrible weapons. Lt Colonel Barnett reached them first, and she kicked away from the wall, smashing her weapon at the nearest armoured soldier. Surprisingly, the enemy troops seemed to instantly fall back when confronted by the ferocity of close quarter battle, even in a zero gravity environment. More marines joined her, and the firefight quickly turned into a close quarter brawl, a situation that perfectly favoured her marines.
“Keep pushing forward!” were her last words, as two of the enemy pinned her to the wall and blasted her helmet apart with close-range gunfire.
* * *
The area of space around the entrance to the Spacebridge was surprisingly busy, as over thirty civilian vessels formed up in a widely space cloud around the station. They were operating under automated control or skeleton crews, just to give the enemy something else to shoot at. So far, the only military presence was the two Alliance frigates posted there. Like two small guard dogs, they moved out to form a pathetic skirmish line. It was nothing but a token gesture, as the group of enemy ships could easily hit ANS Beagle with their long-range guns, and there was little they could do about it. Even so, both ships waited with weapons systems active and ready for the inevitable attack.
Captain Raikes watched patiently as ANS Devastation and the enemy ships continued their violent battle, but minute by minute the group came closer to his position.
She’s doing her job, though. Forty minutes now, and they are still fighting. He thought with amazement.
“Sir, close-range sensors have just picked up an approaching ship. Unknown configuration, and they are only a kilometre away!” shouted the Tactical Officer in surprise.
Captain Raikes approached the monitor and examined the vessel. It was completely different in size and configuration to the enemy craft or anything else he’d seen. The computer system brought up a comparable image of one of the craft spotted, bombing Hades, prior to the arrival the large enemy ship.
“Uh...Sir, they are hailing us,” announced his Communications Officer.
A quick hand gesture was all that was needed to transfer the communications from the vessel to the mainscreen. It showed digital noise until segment by segment it rendered to a high-quality video feed. A group of three armoured warriors appeared inside a cramped command deck of some kind. One of them started to speak in an odd tongue before a synthesised voice spoke in broken English.
“Greetings, Commander. We offer you our assistance.”
On the tactical screen, Captain Raikes watched the vessel take up position alongside the two frigates and then wait as if it was no more than another Alliance frigate. He looked to his XO with a look of outright surprise on his face.
“Uh...what is this?” he asked slowly.
ANS Beagle’s internal warning system activated, and just as on all Alliance ships, the lights slowly altered to low level red as a warning to all crewmembers.
“Sir, the enemy formation is moving into weapons range. One is badly damaged, and three of the others are making course adjustments. I think they’re going to attack.”
The Captain nodded. He’d expected this.
“Send the signal through the Rift, and start the shutdown sequence. If anything happens to jeopardise Prometheus, we’ll cut the link.”
He then looked to his XO.
“Get them ready. It’s time.”
As if in response to his comments, a great volley of projectiles and missiles appeared on the scanner. At the current range and velocity, the first would hit in a matter of seconds.
“Defensive fire, now!” he shouted.
The area of space around ANS Beagle instantly filled with clouds of metal shards, and scores of multi-barrelled turrets opened fire. They were designed to pinpoint and blast tiny, high-speed objects in a fraction of a second. Both the station and the two frigates concentrated ever
y weapon they had into a broad corridor towards the slowing ships. It was an impressive sight, and by all accounts, stopped over ninety percent of all incoming fire. But that was still enough to devastate one of the large cargo ships waiting five hundred metres away from the entrance of the Rift. Explosions rippled around the engine area, but incredibly, the vessel stayed intact.
“Sir, they are moving to present their broadsides to us!” shouted one of the officers, but the Captain barely registered it. His eyes were drawn to the new arrival; the alien ship that had accelerated away and was jinxing around the enemy capital ships, bombarding them with heavy fire. The effect was impressive, but he still doubted it would change an awful lot.
The interior of the bridge flashed light blue as a ship came through the Rift, quickly followed by many more until a force of twelve capital ships, including five of the new Crusader class, poured out of the tear in space. They must have been ready because no sooner had they arrived, and they were already firing. The five Crusader class tore into the exposed flanks of the enemy ships with devastating effect, and two were cut clean in half by the coordinated and concentrated fire. The image of Admiral Anderson appeared on ANS Beagle’s main screen.
“Sorry we’re late, Captain. Leave this to us. We’ll drive them back to the abyss!”
With that one announcement, the battle for the Spacebridge turned around. In minutes, those enemy ships still able to manoeuvre had turned and accelerated at maximum speed back towards their own rift and command ship. Three ships remained; ANS Devastation and the two now heavily damaged enemy ships. All three were so close, they now looked like a single vessel, and from what Captain Raikes had heard; they were a warzone.
* * *
The defenders of the underground complex had now held off four attacks, but already their ranks were starting to falter. Khan and two other Jötnar were quite badly wounded and forced to withdraw to the fallen columns around the centre of the room for defence. Over half of the T'Kari were now dead or wounded, and even worse, those that remained seem incapable of fighting at close range. Spartan had never seen anything quite like it. He’d witnessed three of the T'Kari simply kneel down to be killed by edged weapons. It seemed they were either not trained for close quarters combat, or they were unwilling. Either way, it had fallen to the depleted group to fight when the enemy came again.
Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) Page 25
