He then walked away to leave the two of them.
"Nate!" yelled a familiar voice.
Billy looked to the nearby fighters, but the newly arrived Hammerhead caught his attention. Matilda was hanging from the cockpit door. Cassandra was leaning against the side, drinking water as though it were going out of fashion. Two marines spoke animatedly with Cassandra, as more marines clambered out from the rear doors of the Hammerhead. Though the spacecraft looked big inside Relentless' hangars, the craft was vastly smaller than the venerable Maulers. The marines climbed out, but Nate couldn't find who had been calling his name. Two orderlies moved away with a marine on a stretcher, but none of them seemed to be in any great hurry. One dropped something, and Billy jumped ahead to help, leaving Nate next to a motorised ammunition pallet.
"Here, stupid."
I know that voice.
Nate turned around, a smile already on his face. He found Private Valentine and the much more massive form of Sergeant Nál, and his smile vanished as quickly as it had arrived. They had their visors up so their faces were visible, and both were still fully armoured from head to toe. Nate looked at the pair of marines but found he could not drag his eyes away from the markings on their armour.
What happened out there?
The PDS armour, while similar to his own was much bulkier and fitted with additional sections. It was now common for boarding parties to make use of extra plating to the front, especially when forced breaches were expected. Her carbine lay at her side where it was fitted to a maglock system against her body.
"Are you okay?"
Private Valentine lifted an eyebrow in a questioning manner. Sergeant Nál grunted and then indicated off inside the ship.
"The others will be here soon, Private. Get your gear sorted out and meet in thirty minutes for debriefing. This is not over yet."
The Sergeant marched off along the deck to where three bays were open awaiting the arrival of spacecraft. The Sergeant's feet made dull thuds as she walked. There was nobody inside the ship that came even closer to her great size, and marine and crewmembers alike kept well away as she walked on by. Nate kept his eyes on Valentine, waiting for her answer.
"It was rough in there. My squad took a few scrapes, but the guys in the other Hammerhead…"
She shook and lowered her head for a moment. Nate reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Casualties?"
Her eyes rose to meet his.
"They were waiting for us. Sergeant Perkins was hit first as we moved through the station. He took so many hits to the body. He never had a chance. More were killed trying to get to the control room."
Nate looked stunned as he listened to her.
"We secured the control room, but they just redirected power, so we had to follow them. Home territory gives you a lot of advantages. If we didn't have the intel from Captain Dreuc, we'd still be there."
One of the elevators further away began to rise from the floor, and resting on it was the second Hammerhead. Steam or smoke rose up from something near the rear engines, and a group of deck crew ran towards it with fire extinguishers.
"Come on!"
The two ran along the deck, but Sergeant Nál had already beaten them to it. While the crew busied themselves with putting out one of the burning engines, the Sergeant manhandled two wounded marines from the rear doors of the Hammerhead. She held them both up while orderlies arrived with wheeled stretchers. More of them clambered out, but of all the marines, one stood out above the rest. He dropped down to the floor while steam continued to rise from his helmet. He moved calmly, barely noticing as his visor lifted up to show a bloodied face inside.
"Get them to medical," said the man.
Deck crew rushed about while the officer watched them do their work. His armour was scuffed and burned in various places, but none of it seemed to bother him.
"Lieutenant Heiskell," Nate said, scrambling to salute.
The battered looking officer shook his head in irritation.
"Not now," he snapped, "This is not the time or the place."
In one smooth motion, he detached the helmet from his neck plates and pulled it away. A gentle hissing continued as he held the partially burnt object away from his body. Nate had seen similar damage before when he'd helped remove one of the fearsome thermal spikes fired by the Byotai. That time it had been Private Valentine who had been the victim, and even now Nate could remember the heat coming off the deadly projectile.
"Do you need medical aid, Sir?"
Nate and Private Valentine looked on in amazement at the disfigured shape. He rubbed his nose and then looked down at his battered helmet.
"A squad of Byotai marines hit us as we withdrew. I lost two marines in that fight, and my eye."
Nate looked at his face, but with the black marks on his cheek and forehead, he hadn't even noticed the bloodshot eye. A medic approached and handed a soft material laced in a fusion of chemicals. Lieutenant Heiskell pushed it against his face and winced a little. He then reached out and grasped Nate by the upper arm.
"Your squadron did us proud, Ensign. You bought us the time we needed, and you got us the hell out of there when the mission was done."
He looked back at the battered Hammerhead. The fire was now out on its damaged engine, and all the marines were in the open and being treated for any wounds they might have sustained.
"I suggest you check on your people, and then make sure your birds are getting the attention they deserve. We might have made it through, but this mission is not over yet."
Nate had no idea what to say for a second, but Private Valentine had no such problem.
"Mission, Sir?"
Lieutenant Heiskell chuckled.
"This Spacebridge control station was the battle, but the mission isn't over until we reach Nozu-Kuba. Make sure you're ready."
He walked away, leaving Nate and Private Valentine together, and a little confused. Nate breathed slowly, but his breath just came out ragged.
"I thought we'd just won the battle. Now..."
Cassandra and Matilda moved towards him, and after sharing a cursory greeting with Private Valentine, they turned to Nate. Without any explanation, Matilda activated her Secpad bracelet and brought up imagery of a massive ground battle.
"Have you seen this?"
Nate and Martina looked closer. Nate's eyes opened wide, but Martina appeared less stunned by the videostream.
"Yeah, I heard something about this on the way here. Some of the marines that transferred from Spascia said weird broadcasts were being intercepted from out of the Empire."
"Like what?" Cassandra asked.
Martina looked at the imagery for a few seconds.
"Not much different to that, sequences of Biomech machines and gun battles. There didn't seem to be much information behind it, other than one idea. That Biomechanical creatures are bad."
She then grinned, trying to lighten the mood.
"I think we can all agree with that, right? In any case, it all looked pretty faked to me. Why?"
Even as she spoke, she noticed Alliance iconography mixed in with the same footage of the Biomechs from the war. Some of the shots had been merged together to show Alliance standards and ground troops advancing alongside Biomechs. Then the images changed to a space battle between Byotai, Alliance, and Biomech ships.
"Is this for real? Because this is saying that we fought on the side of the Biomechs in the war."
She looked to Nate who was equally entranced by the new information.
"My uncle died in that war, and he wasn't fighting to save Biomechs. That much I do know."
Matilda nodded in agreement.
"This is part of a clever programme to indoctrinate. Have you seen what they are calling us?"
Nate and Martina shook their heads as Matilda pointed at various runic symbols scrolling along the bottom.
"It says the Biomech Alliance has enslaved every race it touches."
Billy now joi
ned them, and having just caught the end of the conversation, did what he always did and blurted out a random question.
"What about us?"
Matilda sighed once again.
"Us included. They are saying we are the pawns of the Biomechs."
* * *
Alliance Armoured Assault Ship 'ANS Relentless'
1st Quadrant Spacebridge, Trinity Sector
The Byotai Empire has been defeated.
The words burnt into Captain Galanos' mind as though she'd said them herself. The fleet had just conducted a major operation deep behind enemy lines, destroyed a capital ship and captured two more, all for the loss of eleven fighters and gunships. And now the news was that they were too late.
All of this, and for what? One man, a boy and his dreams of an impossible victory!
Captain Galanos looked at the imagery of Nozu-Kuba while drinking from a partially filled glass of tepid water. She'd been looking at the same data ever since being patched into the Captain's briefing. After all the nerves, fears, and trepidation to clear the Spacebridge control station, she'd assumed they were finally ahead. Now she could see all they had done was close the stable door after the horse had bolted.
We are now allied with the enemy? Are they insane?"
It wasn't the damage sustained to her ship that angered her, or even the casualties and lost fighters. It was the loss of life already sustained for a goal that seemed less achievable by the second. One moment they had been the heroic allies of the Byotai, and now they were being called the servants of the Biomechs. Just thinking about it drew her eyes to the latest status reports. Every time she looked at it, she felt a chill running up her body. She barely even noticed that the Admiral was speaking.
"There's no other way to put it. This new faction is sending more than fifty ships to establish a blockade at Nozu-Kuba, and more ships are moving into the area to arrive within the week."
Captain Galanos shook her head.
"All because of this one member of the Byotai royalty?"
Admiral Churchill nodded grimly.
"Yes, all because of him. We have intercepted audio traffic confirming multiple civilian ships are en route and escorted by large numbers of warships. I can only assume these are the volunteer soldiers Captain Dreuc suggested. Presumably spurred on by the latest series of propaganda broadcasts."
"Yes," said the Byotai officer.
Captain Galanos turned to look at him as he spoke to the Admiral via the group video streaming conference.
"This idea has been proposed before, that the many races of the Nexus are slaves to the Biomechs. That only a unified people, free of intelligent machines, can bring peace."
Admiral Churchill lifted his hand to stop him.
"You are suggesting that the people of the Byotai Empire seek stability and peace by creating us as their enemy?"
Captain Dreuc shook his reptilian head and hissed quietly.
"No, any race that refuses to turn their back on the advanced machinery of the ancients. There has been a long suppressed fear in the Empire, one that has been released."
He rubbed at his chin.
"While agitators push for a change to the caste system, others look for wealth and land redistribution. There is another, much darker movement, and I fear it has taken a hold of my people. We have all seen the propaganda coming from territory controlled by this new regime, and they are using fear of the Biomechs to create their new Empire. The Star Empire."
One of the older captains voiced his agreement.
"We had a similar situation on Earth centuries ago. Occasions when factions rose and united against their rulers for all kinds of reasons."
"What happened?" Captain Dreuc asked.
"It ended badly. On almost every occasion, the ruling leadership was executed and a new regime installed. It happened in the old states of France, Russia, England, and China. It was bloody, and usually followed be a series of wars."
The officers remained silent, but the Admiral had little patience for a drawn out discussion.
"And they seriously now blame us?"
As they continued speaking, Captain Galanos turned her attention back to the imagery in front of her. It was completely unexpected, and had been sent to all of the captains. It consisted of a montage of imagery taken from various Alliance engagements over the last two decades. To her astonishment, the careful arrangement suggested a world radically different to the one she was aware of. She shook her head bitterly.
"This is...unexpected, and highly problematical."
Captain Galanos looked away from the footage of war machines, Biomechanical warriors, and starships."
"Will anybody believe this nonsense?"
Captain Dreuc pointed to another montage of machines.
"It is a clever piece of work. They have combined footage of the Biomech war, with your own operations to remove criminal gangs on Spascia. It is not a new narrative. I have heard it before, and it will resonate with those less exposed to the realities of the galaxy."
Captain Galanos placed her hands at her side and looked up at the ceiling.
"We and the Biomechs are the same thing? They do know that we and most of the races out here fought a long and bloody war against the machines, right?"
Captain Dreuc shook his head.
"Information is strictly controlled in the Empire. The younger of our people have only the media to inform them of what lies beyond our borders. Stories of the conquered Biomech world have spread. Is it not true that you have built a military installation and work alongside Biomechs?"
Captain Galanos laughed angrily.
"Not really. We have established a Naval base and research site at Taxxu. The Biomechs are the surviving rebels, less than a dozen of them."
"But...they are Biomechs, are they not?"
The Captain shrugged.
"And large numbers of their old foot soldiers are now serving on board auxiliary ships. This is how the new regime is creating its narrative. They say the Biomech Alliance is commanded from Taxxu by the remaining creatures, and that all of you are slaves to the machines."
A flickering light caught her eye, and she looked back as Admiral Churchill highlighted the planet that was their ultimate objective.
"Whatever is happening, we do know that both the Anicinàbe and Byotai colonies are merging. Regional governors are taking control, and the military of both is being combined at every level. All that remains of the old system lies here at Nozu-Kuba."
He waited as each of the captains looked at the imagery.
"They have him trapped, and when the rest of these ships arrive, they are going to finish off Prince Kratha once and for all."
"And if he dies, so does the Empire," said Captain Dreuc.
Even through the translator his tone seemed sad. Admiral Churchill's expression appeared to have changed as he continued speaking. It was as though he'd just experienced some great revelation.
"This is no longer simply an uprising, or even a civil war. The old regime has collapsed, and our mission has changed. The Star Empire is a danger, and keeping Prince Kratha alive will keep the resistance alive."
He pointed to the planet, and at a point where multiple ships were already beginning to converge.
"This is the mission. We will breach the Star Empire positions before they can become established, and snatch the Prince from out of their hands."
"And then?" asked Captain Ontarus, the captain of ANS Vigilance.
Admiral Churchill breathed out slowly, now clear in his mind about what needed to be done.
"And then we get the hell out of Dodge. Because the minute we have him, every single soldier in the Star Empire will be on our tails!"
CHAPTER TWELVE
Alliance Armoured Assault Ship 'ANS Relentless'
Trinity Sector
18 hours from Nozu-Kuba
The battlegroup had already begun its deceleration phase, and Nate could still not shake the memories of the battle from his mind.
He kept moving ahead, as he and Hawkins led the rest of Knighthawk Squadron from the Fighter Control Suite and towards their quarters. The squadron had slept, been debriefed, and run two simulated runs with the other pilots to make sure they were ready for the upcoming mission. He had no doubt that the same was happening on every ship as they hurtled towards the planet of Nozu-Kuba.
No training scenario or briefing could remove the excitement and dread that Nate felt. The feelings of euphoria had long died since coming back to Relentless, replaced by a dozen other emotions that seemed to change by the minute. He could have been killed on the last battle, and only chance had saved him and Billy in their gunship.
"You okay?" Billy asked.
Nate looked to his right and slightly behind to where Billy and Rex were positioned. Off behind them were the rest of the group. He did his best to smile. Rex was alongside Billy, and gave him a courteous, yet silent nod. Since getting back, he'd reverted to his silent, almost brooding nature. Nate had seen this come and go before, and knew from experience it was best to let him work it out for himself.
"Yeah, I'm good. I could do with a few hours of sleep, though. It's been a long day."
"I heard that," agreed Ensign Hawkins, off to Nate's left.
Since the battle, the Knighthawks as they were now known, had stayed together. Two of the OTC pilots were killed in the battle, and though Nate and his friends hadn't known them well, it was still a painful loss. The group moved like a horde of shambling zombies as they travelled through the interior of the ship.
They were tired, but not from physical exhaustion. They were all fit young men and women, and easily capable of several days of constant action. It was the mental punishment they'd sustained in the battle that was doing the damage. Just twenty-four hours earlier they might have been walking separately, with them arguing or bickering over the fine details. The battle at the Rift had drained any desire for fighting between them, and they walked together, each now a veteran of a battle where they had fought alongside each other.
Star Crusader: Knighthawk Squadron Page 21
