His pulse began to increase, and he found his finger automatically moving to the trigger on his carbine. The shapes came closer, and he could see how big they were now. There were dozens of them, and each one at least the same size as Z’Kanthu. They had multiple legs, and from their torsos hung many more arms. An odd variety of tools and equipment was attached both to their torsos and to their limbs.
“Engineers. They are the oldest of the Biomechs, the most experienced, and the most intelligent. Their skills at the construction and operation of advanced machines are unknown even to me.”
Blue flashes marked where the machines started firing their weapons. The pulse of energy moved at high-speed toward the advancing marines and their Thegn allies. Seven were vaporized in the first blast even though they kept their bodies low to the ground.
“Open fire!” Khan shouted.
He’d already taken aim with his new toy, one of the Jötnar L56 multi-barreled guns. The marines joined in with their own carbines, using only the high-power mode to smash the enemy machines. A sprinkling of L48 rifles sent explosive rounds hundreds of meters inside the Rift Engine.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Spartan has always been a character of mixed fortunes. In the Uprising he was loved and hated in equal measure for his military successes, and for the bloody incursions that left so many dead and wounded. The Fall of Terra Nova, though a pivotal moment in Alliance history, is still subject to argument. The assault and battle on the surface left many dead, and much of the blame was placed on Spartan, a man renowned for frontal assault and body counts. Is it therefore surprising that the events of the Black Rift would leave him remembered as the man responsible for more death then any man since the great wars of Earth?
Heroes of the Great Uprising
Biomech Rift Engine, Black Rift
Two platoons of marines advanced, with Thegns moving along the walls and ceiling. They all fired repeatedly with great volleys of gunfire ripping through the tunnel. Every few seconds, another blast of energy would come back and tear apart whatever it struck. Even so, Spartan’s assault had now penetrated into the primary passageway and was halfway along its length toward their objective. Additional passageways and rooms on both sides provided extra hiding places from which the defenders made quick attacks before melting away into the blackness.
“Spartan, we’re getting close,” said Khan.
Fifty meters ahead was a circular chamber with objects hanging down from the tall ceiling. It was a massive room, easily two hundred meters in diameter, and both the floor and ceiling disappeared into great pits. A pair of walkways wide enough for five or six people ran around the sides. There was an additional metal bridge over the great pit, but it was exposed with no protection of any kind.
“Yes, Z’Kanthu, is the plan still on?”
The machine headed for the central bridge and answered without even looking at the marines.
“Yes, the Amplifier system is on the other side of this structure.”
He extended one arm and pointed ahead.
“Beyond the pit are four access points. Two of them lead to the Amplifier system. That is our objective.”
Three heavy projectiles struck his chest, and the machine stumbled back, hurtling about before he could clamp onto the wall. Superheated blue material burned into his armor plating.
“And there is the enemy,” Spartan said through gritted teeth.
The machines had so far avoided close range combat, but now they were coming out from the pit to block off access to the bridge and the two walkways. At this range, Spartan could see their shapes quite clearly. One took aim directly at him and fired. The blue energy narrowly missed him, burning through the wall instead.
“Put them down and keep moving!”
Line after line of Thegns threw themselves forward, only to be gunned down by the heat and power of the machines’ weapons. Those that made it to within ten meters found they had keep their projectile weapons silent until now. The flash of white indicated dozens of barrels spitting out rounds that punched through marine and Thegn armor with ease. Spartan pulled himself back, watching in horror as more than thirty Thegns and marines were gunned down in a murderous salvo.
Bastards!
His visor showed there were seven of the machines, standing with a small gap to the next one. More were arriving from the other side of the pit and taking up position. Each was as different to the next with an odd array of arms, tools, and weapons. Many carried as many as five different limbs, and all were equally capable of tearing a man in half.
“Get in cover, now!” he yelled.
Khan had already taken cover behind a tall pillar flanked with pipes and thick cabling. Three Thegns clawed at the pillar and climbed up to reach the ceiling. It was a bizarre three-dimensional battlefield, a place where ceilings and walls became floors. Spartan lifted his carbine and took aim at the closest machine. Two high-power shots punched holes into its armor. His shots seemed to do no more than get the thing’s attention. It rotated two of its six arms as though stretching and then moved away from the pit and toward the sheltering marines.
“Spartan, here they come,” Khan said, excitement in his voice.
Spartan threw him a quick look and spotted a pair of serrated blades extending out from his friend’s armor.
“You fool, Khan, you’ll need more than blades against those things.”
He looked back and all seven machines were marching in time. They stepped with one foot at a time, each crashing to the ground and connecting via magnetic links before the next. They had switched to their conventional guns now and blasted everything they could see. Spartan’s helmet seemed to fill with sound.
“Come to us,” said an odd voice.
“Did you hear that?” he asked Khan.
His friend was much too busy preparing himself for the approach of the metal monsters. Dozens of Thegns moved above the machines. They had somehow managed to avoid the guns and were moving along the walls to the pit. One lost its grip and spun out into the open, quickly drawing the attention of the machines. As soon as one saw the Thegn, they all did. Seven machines and sevens guns tore the unfortunate creature apart.
“Now!” Spartan called out.
Scores of marines and Thegns came out from cover and fired at the machines. It was almost impossible to miss at this range. Khan pushed away from the wall and landed on the side of the closest machine. He pushed the barrels of his L56 into its torso and fired. Sparks and flashes erupted all over the thing. Spartan tried to join in, but a red shape pushed past and threw itself at the machines. Another drifted past with blades held out in front of it before crashing headfirst into the next machine.
“Jötnar!” he said happily.
Dozens more of the Hyperion-marked warriors rushed into the fray, and only one stopped nearby and turned to look at him.
“Olik?” Spartan asked.
The Jötnar’s armored visor lifted up so that only the transparent part remained.
“We’re here. I’ll keep the machines busy. You finish the mission.”
More of the Jötnar moved in around the machines, and a deadly close range melee broke out. The machines were much better suited to the fight, and for each one destroyed, they killed or maimed three of the Jötnar. Even so, weight of numbers quickly turned against them. Spartan blasted the final machine, just as Khan embedded his blades into a power core on its back. The machine collapsed, and Khan pushed off and grabbed a nearby rail. Spartan placed his hand on Olik’s shoulder, but Khan spoke.
“Always late to the fight!” he laughed.
They looked to the chasm and beyond where more machines were arriving.
“It’s time,” said Olik.
Spartan pushed in another magazine and climbed onto the wreckage of one of the fallen machines.
“You’re right there.”
He bent down into a low stoop and then pushed out. He moved effortlessly over the chasm in the zero gravity environment, easily avoi
ding the bridge and the vast gaps on either side. Other marines joined in, but the Thegns elected to stay in contact with solid surfaces.
* * *
ANS Warlord, Black Rift
“How many more?” Admiral Anderson asked.
His voice was bitter. Even after more than an hour’s combat, the battle was still far from resolved. His crew was exhausted, yet they continued the fight even as gunfire raked her hull.
“Three more Cephalons have moved in. They have joined the other Biomech ships near the Rift Engine.”
The ships were a major threat, but instead of attacking his ships, they had joined dozens more to create a strong defensive position. Any attempt to assist Spartan and his landing parties would require breaking through the Biomech blockade, something that had proven impossible. He looked to the tactical display that showed the remaining seventy-four Alliance ships. Every one was now damaged, but not one had even considered withdrawing. All but one of Spartan’s Black Ships had also fallen back and to the rear of his own force.
“Sir, another assault wave is coming for us,” said the XO.
The mainscreen showed sixteen Biomantas in an arrow formation, and a screen of at least fifty drone fighters of unknown configuration. They were already firing and heading for his ship. Admiral Anderson activated the communication protocols.
“All ships focus your fire on the approaching enemy vessels. Burn them!”
One by one they opened fired. Missiles, guns, and particle beams ripped the Biomantas apart, yet still they came. Four exploded simultaneously and then a Crusader joined them. The Biomech ships continued at an even faster pace even though they were taking heavy fire. Admiral Anderson looked to the right where the bulk of the Biomechs sat patiently near the Black Rift.
They are just waiting for this to be over. They won’t even help their comrades.
“Admiral. They are on a ramming course!” yelled the XO.
Admiral Anderson pulled himself to his feet and pointed at the Biomantas.
“Get our bow facing them. Concentrate all fire on the nearest ships.”
The XO passed on his orders while a chorus of brace commands echoed through the massive warship. Admiral Anderson sat down and checked his mag belts were secured.
Come on, Spartan! End this! My ships can’t take much more.
* * *
Biomech Rift Engine, Black Rift
Spartan looked back for a brief moment. The fighting around the pit had expanded to include machines, Thegns, and marines in a bloody battle. Hundreds of bodies, congealed blood, gore, and smashed chunks of machines drifted about the interior.
“We have to end this, Khan.”
Khan was busily ripping off a gun mount from a fallen Biomech machine as Z’Kanthu held it down. The weapon came off with a flash of sparks, and Khan rested it under his arm. Just six other marines had made it this far plus a pair of Thegns; the rest were busy in the massive battle for the pit.
“The Amplifier, we need to end it now,” said Spartan.
Z’Kanthu looked about, beckoning to the large arches ahead and to the right. A smashed Biomech war machine drifted out near an arch, and two more had taken cover behind the pillars.
“Two machines stand before us and the prize,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Keep it simple,” said Spartan, “High power and aim for the heads.”
Z’Kanthu was already off though, his metal limbs propelling him along the wall with speed and precision. The two defenders fired at him and began to inflict substantial damage to his left side.
“Help him!” Spartan yelled.
The last few members of the assault force pulled themselves along and fired where possible. Spartan managed to blast three limbs off one of the machines, but Z’Kanthu ended them both when he reached them. It wasn’t so much a fight, more a sequence of machine operations that saw chunks of metal, arms, legs, and pieces of armor ripped from each of them. The two were finally destroyed, and the battered Z’Kanthu grabbed the wall and pulled himself through the arch. Spartan moved in right beside him and face-to-face with one remaining machine. This one looked almost identical to Z’Kanthu. It was large and looked ancient, yet was colored bright red. It carried no obvious gun, but both of its arms were heavy and fitted out with powerful-looking clamps that might easily stand in for claws. It swung both its arms and sent the ancient Steersman flying through the air.
“Spartan, move back!” called out the machine.
He refused, of course, and pulled himself past and to the side of the machine. Khan and the others were right beside him, and rather than retreating were looking for cover. The chamber was large but with a much lower ceiling, and bank after bank of large cylinders. A huge three-dimensional model lay in the center of the room that showed a pulsing cylindrical object. The machine twisted about and pressed a panel. A holographic control unit appeared, and with a few subtle movements, the room flickered. Spartan found himself falling. The impact was hard, but luckily for him the drop was just two meters.
“Watch out!”
He rolled to the side without looking, and one of the machine’s blades came down hard into the floor. More shapes appeared at the entrance, and Spartan waved them in. A pair of marine engineers carried one of the many portable thermite charges, equipment designed specifically for this operation. Behind them came one of the Biomech machines, but it dropped to its knees as dozens of Decurions clambered over its torso.
“Set the charges. Move it!”
The marines move with much greater speed now that artificial gravity had been activated. As more came inside, they split up and to the control and power cells for the Amplifier. The machine continued its deadly fight, and any coming too close, were quickly dispatched by its deadly arms. One marine tried to stab it with a bayoneted rifle, but one of the arms cut him clean in two.
“On’Sarax!” said Z’Kanthu from where he lay on the ground, battered and badly damaged.
Spartan looked at the machine, but he had no idea what he was talking about.
“She has succeeded. Her forces are falling back to the boats.”
Just as he finished speaking, the Rift Engine shuddered. One of the overhead beams swung down and crashed into the ground. Khan and two marines lost their balance and slid along the floor toward the enemy machine. It clamped its feet to the ground and snapped at Khan. Unable to avoid it, the arm latched onto his leg and swung him closer. The crazed warrior opened fire with the looted Biomech weapon. Incredibly, the power of the weapon tore the limb apart and sent him flying through the air.
“Z’Kanthu!” hissed the machine.
They were the first and only words any of them had heard from the machine. Gas vented into the chamber, but Spartan had no time to work out how sound was now traveling inside the Rift Engine. Maybe it had activated its own internal air pressure, or it might have hacked into his communication system. All he needed to know was that the thing had moved in on Z’Kanthu.
“No!” Spartan shouted out.
Part of the wall ripped apart and mechanical arms appeared. Machines slightly larger than a Decurion fanned out to clear a path to the fallen Steersman. They moved on four legs, while another four utility arms fanned out along their flanks. One ran straight into the path of Khan. He dispatched it with a single shot from the Biomech weapon he carried in his two arms. It exploded and sent pieces of broken metal in all directions.
“I love this gun!” he yelled as he turned it on the rest of them.
Spartan twisted from left to right to assess the situation. More marines were coming in from their side, and there was ample cover to move about while avoiding gunfire. The machinery, computers, and equipment filled the open space, yet the machines almost entirely ignored them and concentrated on getting to Z’Kanthu. Incredibly, he lifted himself back to his feet and blast two more of the attackers just as they arrived. The machines were still outnumbered, but they were powerful and quickly halted the advance of the marines.
“Spartan, they’ve got him!” Khan shouted.
Off to the left, the struggling Steersman had been grabbed by one of the Biomech engineers, and half a dozen of the eight-limbed fighting machines had formed a wall of limbs to shield them both. Spartan broke from cover and ran at the machines, firing his carbine as he went. Holes appeared in their thick armor but not enough to halt their attacks on Z’Kanthu. He made it halfway when for no apparent reason the machine turned about and bolted away from him. Fire from the other marines struck at its armor, but it made off with great speed, dragging the smashed machine behind it.
“Khan, finish the mission.”
He looked back and tried to look calm.
“As soon as the charges are set, blow them. Don’t wait for me!”
He didn’t wait for an answer and ran after the machine. Khan still ran along with Spartan and destroyed two of the eight-legged walkers. They both moved to the back of the room while ducking to avoid return fire from the machines.
“Spartan, there’s something else coming through, something big. How much longer?” Anderson asked over the network.
A machine blocked Spartan’s path but instead of stopping he dropped down, grabbed a section of a machine’s shattered leg, and then swung it with all his might at the thing. The club cracked metal plating and one of the limbs with ease. It struck back, leaving gouge marks across his back.
“You bastard!” he cried out. The warning sensors in his suit flagged the breaches.
“Get down!” said another voice.
He ducked to the right just as a metal bar swung over his head. The impact tore the head from the machine, and then Olik and two more Jötnar smashed it to the ground. There were arched doorways on all of the walls, and Spartan tracked the engineer as it made for the largest, one that was covered in the sculptured forms of machines.
“Spartan?” Admiral Anderson called out again, “I need that Rift collapsed, now!”
Star Crusades Nexus: The Third Trilogy Page 56
