Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1)

by Michael G. Thomas

  How many more attacks must we face?

  To answer his question, another rumble shook the ground, and he could see flashing lights approaching from the nearest tunnel. Ayndir beckoned towards him and threw one of her rifles at him. He grabbed it, lifting it to his shoulder, ready for battle. Gun and Teresa stepped alongside him, both holding their weapons up and ready.

  * * *

  The enemy ships needed several hours to reach their rift, but Admiral Anderson was having none of it. His force of warships continued right behind them, firing their railguns and particle beams as frequently as they could. It was more a chase than a battle, and in less than twenty minutes, only one of the ships was able to keep moving.

  Captain Thomas grabbed onto the handrail as his marine bodyguard helped him to the lifeboats. The valiant warship was burning, and he’d already given them his orders. Incredibly, the ship had survived the battle long enough for the reinforcements under Admiral Anderson to arrive. Now that they were being pursued, he had given his last order aboard ANS Devastation. There were no more explosions, but it was clear that the ship was no longer habitable with her powerplants off-line, engines out and hundreds of major hull breaches.

  “Sir, Colonel Barnett’s deputy reports the remaining enemy vessel has been captured. She has just under a hundred prisoners and says the ship is habitable.”

  “What happened to Barnett?” he replied suspiciously.

  “It looks like she died in the first wave, Sir.”

  He shook his head.

  “Damn it. She was a fine officer. Still, there will be time for mourning later. The enemy warship, we shall claim her as a prize. Move the crew over as quickly as possible. I will transfer my flag to the enemy ship.”

  Commander Parker saluted and then continued with her work to help evacuate the crew. As she moved away, she even considered the possibility that the ship might be salvageable, assuming they survived. They were not far from the starboard evacuation deck, and the blast doors had been torn off. Luckily, all of the crew were now wearing sealed suits and pulling themselves past the debris to the waiting shuttles and lifeboats. Captain Thomas waited for a moment as he spotted the enemy’s rift like a second sun in the distance. Though the enemy command ship was far away, he could work out the silhouette against the colours of the space phenomena.

  Who are you? He thought bitterly.

  * * *

  Admiral Anderson had the perfect view from the CIC of ANS Crusader, the lead ship in the new class of Alliance warship. The magnified view on the mainscreen showed the enemy command ship was moving back through its own rift, presumably withdrawing from battle. Tempted as he was to pursue it further, he had already ordered all of his ships to turn on those few ships still in the system. He was going to make sure New Charon was secure before he let a single vessel head anywhere near the new rift.

  “Admiral, the T'Kari ship is continuing on its course to the rift.”

  “What? Why?”

  Captain Harris, the commander of the ship shook his head.

  “Unknown, Admiral. Wait, they’re firing something into the rift.”

  They watched as a blue pulse of energy, much like a magnetised railgun round but emitting massive amounts of energy. It moved at almost the speed of light before entering the rift. There was a small flash, and the rift started to ripple and shift. Admiral Anderson instantly knew something terrible was about to occur and grabbed the intercom, selecting an open frequencyy.

  “This is Admiral Anderson. All ships are to move away from the rift immediately. I repeat, move away from the rift. It is showing signs of instability.”

  More flashes jumped back and forth through the rift, and the command ship started to break up. Explosions and streaks of light bounced around the great hulk as it tore itself apart over a period of several minutes. The rift remained but continued to emit unstable radiation as it shuddered and destroyed its prey like some carnivorous worm. Almost as quickly as it had arrived, the enemy ship was gone, leaving an unstable rift in its wake.

  The crew of the warship cheered at the sight of the enemy’s destruction, but the Admiral, ever the worrier, thought of the reports he’d been seeing over the last hours. He looked to the XO of the ship.

  “Get the order out to our forces in this sector. I want all bases, moons and landing sites to be reinforced and secured as a matter of urgency. It’s time we took control of this place.”

  * * *

  The last defenders of Hades waited as the sound of footsteps increased. The acoustics were surprisingly good there, and Teresa’s mind wandered as she considered the many things that could be accomplished in this underground refuge, other than combat and death, of course. She looked to Spartan and the others, and her memory flashed back to the dozens of warzones they had fought on together. She and Spartan had encountered their first bloody battle on a captured Confederate moon base. It seemed fitting that they were now about to face a final confrontation on yet another. The difference of hundreds of light-years seemed insignificant next to the violence of their situation. The sound from the nearest opening became louder, and each of them carefully trained their weapons, waiting for the moment.

  “Steady!” Spartan called out, though it wasn’t needed. His group were professional to the last. More noise and then several bursts of gunfire. The sounds became louder, and then came the lights at the entrance. They were close. Each of the bloodied fighters trained their weapons on the numerous breaches. Hunn was completely out of ammunition now, threw his carbine to the ground and pulled his razor sharp glaive from his back. Gun and the other Jötnar watched him and then did the same. Even Spartan dropped his weapon and picked up the blade he had only so recently borrowed.

  “Here they come!” shouted Teresa, and before the rest even blinked, she’d cut down the first two to come through the gap.

  Hunn burst out from cover and charged across the open space towards them. Spartan and the others watched in awe as he made the distance, even after being struck four times in his chest. He arrived just as the rest of the enemy force rushed out and disappeared into the middle.

  “Now!” roared Gun, and with a great bellow, the small group charged across and jumped into the furious melee started by Hunn. Limbs and heads were hack off with every slash of their weapons while none but Hunn were forced to their knees by injuries. The armoured butt of a rifle struck Spartan in the belly, and just as quickly, it seemed as though their desperate fight would be over. As he dropped to one knee, he noticed the T'Kari doing their best to emulate the Jötnar as they threw themselves at the last wave of enemy attackers moving from multiple access points.

  Gun brought his glaive down with such force that it crushed the helmet of the soldier and cut down to the shoulder. The man dropped to his knees, lifeless before his head even touched the ground. Teresa sidestepped another and emptied the last of her ammunition into two soldiers before being stabbed in the leg. Spartan tried to reach her, but three more soldiers blocked his path. With a supreme effort, he pushed himself upright, but two figures passed by in front and leapt upon the soldiers. It was Ayndir and one of her warriors. They attacked with little skill or grace, just the ferocity of anger, and a vain attempt to emulate Spartan’s team.

  “Spartan, down!” shouted Khan as he limped about in the middle of the battle.

  Spartan knew his friend well and didn’t even hesitate at his cry. He dropped to the floor to witness the sight of the soldiers being cut apart by glaives. Even so, one of them managed to bring Khan down to one knee, yet he refused to go down. Another figure blocked his view, and Spartan immediately grabbed to pull them away from Khan.

  This isn’t the way it should end, thought Spartan, as a hand grabbed him and pulled him out of the way.

  He looked up, ready to grab at his foe to find a Vanguard Marine, the Alliance’s equivalent to the strength and power of a Jötnar. The marine smashed his fist into the nearest enemy and then stomped past to finish off the others. More Vanguards and c
onventional marines surged in behind him, and as quickly as it had started, the battle for Hades was over. Spartan tried to stand, but a familiar face appeared from the middle of the battle. It was a blood soaked marine in standard PDS body armour, but as he approached, the man deactivated the visor to show his face.

  “General?” spluttered Spartan in surprise.

  General Rivers smiled at him and reached down to help his friend to his feet. More and more marines continued to enter, and he was sure Colonel Daniels had moved off to assist in a short skirmish, but the General caught his attention. He called out over his external speakers.

  “This is General Rivers, Alliance Marine Corps. This battle is over!”

  There was a short pause as those still in the fight struggled to believe the words they’d just heard. Dozens of hands lifted to the air, waving their bloodied weapons. Even the T'Kari, who seemed totally alien to the concept, raised theirs and cheered in unison.

  The newly arrived marines helped the wounded to their feet or moved them into a more comfortable position. Spartan, Teresa and Gun moved towards the General, and Khan pulled himself over to check the badly wounded Hunn.

  “What about our people on the surface?” asked Teresa as she approached Spartan and the General. The marine commander smiled at them, but her exertions were more pronounced than either of them had seen in previous battles. He took a deep breath before replying.

  “They are all safe. We found just one enemy ship in low orbit during our approach. Not that it was much of a problem, it was trying to get away.”

  He leaned against one of the broken pillars and pulled off his thickly armoured helmet.

  “This was a pretty close run thing. It looks like Admiral Anderson and his friends turned up at just the right time. We’ve been hiding in the debris field for hours, waiting for a chance to come and help. Any vessels that were caught out on their own were destroyed in a matter of minutes.”

  “Anderson?” asked Spartan.

  Ayndir and a small group of the other T'Kari approached as he continued his explanation.

  “Yes, he brought in reinforcements and forced them to withdraw into the rift. One ship, ANS Devastation, commanded by Captain Lewis, managed to hold them back long enough for Anderson to mobilise a reserve.”

  He then nodded towards Ayndir.

  “Our friends here fired something into the rift as they tried to escape, and it collapsed, destroying their ship in the process. This battle is over, my friend,” he said with genuine warmth.

  Khan and the other wounded Jötnar staggered over to Spartan, eager not to miss out on the end of the battle. Instead, they found themselves stood next to Ayndir and three of her people. Spartan beckoned towards them.

  “This is Ayndir, of the T'Kari.”

  She bowed slightly in an overly flamboyant gesture and then spoke quietly.

  “We thank you for your help, General. There are few of the T'Kari remaining here now. I have received word from our scout ships, and they confirm the distortion has been disrupted. It can no longer be used for travel. The Great Enemy cannot come back this way for some time. They will have to create a new tunnel from another system in the meantime.”

  General Rivers nodded.

  “Excellent, how long will it last?”

  Ayndir shrugged.

  “Every distortion is different.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Spartan, “Why not stop their distortions and keep your worlds safe?”

  Ayndir smiled at him.

  “Using this weapon has told the Enemy we are still here. We, and the rebels, have been fighting them for centuries. They send agents to our systems and start civil wars. They rarely fight their own battles.”

  General Rivers spoke briefly to one of his marines and turned back to Ayndir.

  “This has happened in our own system. We have just come out of our own Civil War with the machines and their servants.”

  Ayndir looked surprised at this.

  “Your people survived a war, one started by the enemy’s agents?”

  He nodded in reply.

  “Yes, it was hard, but we fought them to their last world. We found a rift, distortion as you call it, directly to this moon.”

  Ayndir waited for a few seconds.

  “Then our people are brothers. We are linked by this distortion and by our experience with the Great Enemy.” She then looked back at her own people.

  “Each of these moons has a small colony of T’Kari, and we have a small number of remaining scout ships to patrol these planets. Our two peoples will be stronger together than apart. I have been authorised by our Council to offer our technology and support to your people, in exchange for your protection.”

  General Rivers looked at Gun, Teresa and Spartan before returning to Ayndir.

  “You wish to live under the protection of our people? The Centauri Alliance?”

  Ayndir looked back at the small number of surviving civilians and spoke quickly. A short discussion took place, and she looked back to the General and the Spartan.

  “My people have seen your honour and your military skills, especially those of Spartan and his giants. We have neither the strength nor violence of your people. We only survive because our last citizens have been in hiding. You have already seen our graves and the battlefield on the surface. They were once our great cities. The T’Kari were once a people of twenty billion. Now we are less than fifty thousand. If you will protect this system, then we will ally with your Alliance.”

  General Rivers looked at Gun and Spartan, both of them nodded slowly at the proposal. Gun lifted his arm.

  “What about our people already here? My people have started building on the high-gravity world.”

  Ayndir smiled.

  “We do not own these worlds. All are welcome to live here, in peace. Go back and tell your leaders that the Centauri and the T’Kari are friends.”

  Gun grabbed Khan and Hunn’s arms and lifted them up high into the air. All three roared as loudly as they could manage, much to the dismay and annoyance of the General. He moved one step closer to Spartan, Teresa and Khan but was forced to shout over the noise of the Jötnar.

  “Your sons, Wictred and Jack. I have news.”

  The group of three all shared the same look of weariness and concern, but of them all, Khan did his utmost to appear stoic.

  “They escaped the destruction of one of our medical frigates and are being treated aboard ANS Beagle. They are both up for a commendation in the battle.”

  Teresa grabbed Spartan and pulled him close, even though the movement brought groans of pain from them both. She embraced him firmly and listened to the rest of the General’s news.

  “Those two did well, very well. Between them they destroyed an entire warship.”

  Ayndir heard his words and shook her head in amazement. The General then looked directly at Spartan.

  “I think you might have competition in the destruction stakes, old friend!”

  THE END

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 

 

 

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